Blog
Welcome to the Catholic Answers Shop Blog! This is a great place to dive deep into a popular topic and gain insights about many of our titles. Happy reading.
Your Ascension Thursday Reflection: Preparing a Place for Us
Please enjoy this Ascension Thursday devotion from our brand-new devotional by Mike Aquilina and Adam Lucas, Feasts 0f Our Fathers: Praying the Church Year with the Early Christians, out now.In his commentary on the Gospel of John, St. Cyril of Alexandria reminds us that what happens to Christ affects the whole human race; and so, as Christ is raised up to heaven, he brings us with him into paradise. Reflect:Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11 Read:Jesus departs to secure the way to the m
…
May 8th 2024
How to Answer Protestant Misunderstandings on Baptism
The vast majority of Christians believe that baptism is a means of salvation—Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, and even some Calvinists. Only Baptists and those springing from the radical side of the Reformation reject this.On the part of Catholics, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that baptism is “necessary for salvation” because “God has bound salvation to the sacrament” and that the Church “does not know of any means other than bapti
…
Aug 27th 2022
A Friend Says There's No Proof Jesus Rose From the Dead - How Do I Respond?
A common claim by atheists and agnostics is that there is no good evidence that Jesus actually rose from the dead.How should you respond?The Resurrection better explains the evidence than any alternative hypothesis.According to the Christian message, Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. He rose from the dead, his tomb was found empty, and he appeared to his disciples. Finally, he ascended into heaven in their presence.The pivotal claims here are that he died, rose from the dead, and ascend
…
Aug 12th 2022
Can You Lose Your Salvation?
How can the Catholic Church teach that it’s possible for us to lose our salvation when Jesus says that his sheep always hear his voice and that no one can snatch us out of his hand?Recall that the Catechism warns of “offending God’s love” and “incurring punishment” (2090). To fear incurring the punishment of hell implies that a person can’t have absolute assurance of his salvation. There is a Bible passage that some Protestants use to mount a challenge—John 10:27-29: My sheep hear my voice, and
…
May 16th 2022
The Early Church on Baptismal Regeneration
St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology dates to around 160. In the text we find Justin offering an explanation and a defense to the pagan emperor. That includes a description of what the Christians of his day thought about baptism:I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ; lest, if we omit this, we seem to be unfair in the explanation we are making. As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertak
…
Nov 16th 2021