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Original sin introduced disharmony into the world on three levels. On each level, there is an effect on the relational aspects of human existence. The first level of disharmony is between the human race and God—demonstrated by Adam hiding from his Creator. On the second level, human beings are out of harmony with each other, beginning with the primary unity between husbands and wives. Adam blames Eve, and woman will now suffer male dominance that God did not intend. And finally, the human …

Can you lose your salvation?Some Protestants believe in the doctrine of “Eternal Security” and would say no.Catholics take a different view.Apologist Karlo Broussard tells us Galatians 5:4 is a go-to text for Catholics when it comes to defending the belief that Christians can lose their salvation:You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.Notice that St. Paul says the Galatians were “severed from Christ” and that t …

Earlier in my priesthood, I pastorally ministered to a man who had cared for his adult son during his son’s battle with cancer. As I came to know the man, he shared with me the account of his son’s life and holy death. When the son was first diagnosed with cancer, no one realized how serious it was. As the medical team did more tests, it became clear that the cancer was terminal, and that the young man’s physical life was nearing its end. In response to this news, the father t …

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.Christ’s Ascension: A New Path 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 …

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 …