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Biblically, an idol is anything to which we give the adoration and submission that are due to God alone. The ancient world worshiped personal idols, such as Zeus and Athena. Our contemporary world struggles with more spiritual idols, idols that are more discreet and seductive, such as pleasure, money, and power.Just as, in the early centuries after Christ, ancient peoples tried to retain their idolatry and impose it upon the gospel, leading to Christological heresies such as Docetism and Ariani …

The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary’s preservation from original sin from the very moment of her conception. The formal definition of this dogma was given to the Church by Pope St. Pius IX in 1854:We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all …

When we speak about reason, we mean uses of the human mind to seek and to understand the truth. We can use our reason in academic disciplines such as psychology, mathematics, and history. Reason is also exercised in producing various technologies and in living life wisely. Two uses of human reason are especially important when considering the relationship between faith and reason. One is found in science, in which people use the method of empirical verification to determine whether or not some …

Faith and Reason: Both Come from God Both the truths of faith and truths of reason come ultimately from God, who is the truth. The Catechism, citing the first and second Vatican Councils, puts the point as follows: “Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.” …

Who Are the Saints? A saint is one who is holy. In most languages, the two terms are synonymous (sanctusin Latin,santoin Spanish, etc.). The New Testament refers to all living Christians as saints. That is so because the Spirit sanctifies every Christian at baptism in Christ’s blood, becoming sanctified after yielding his body to righteousness, by abstaining from unchastity and sin, fulfilling God’s call to be holy and blameless. So every Christian is a saint, due to his relationship wi …