A reader writes: “In RCIA, we have begun praying the creed at the beginning of meetings. I got a question about the language in the creed, specifically the word ‘begotten.’ My students have a hard time understanding how ‘begotten’ is a term
A reader asks:: “I’m curious about the jump in the Apostles Creed from ‘born of the Virgin Mary’ to ‘suffered under Pontius Pilate.’ That jump excludes Jesus’s three-year ministry, which I believe was exceedingly important. There are different ways in which his
A reader asks: “How does a priest become an exorcist? Can he volunteer, or is the selection process personally handled by their bishop?” Monsignor Charles Pope answers:, “If a priest is appointed exorcist, the initiative should be the bishop’s, and the priest
How many Mass-goers fully understand what they are saying when they join in the profession of the creed? Do they appreciate that, when they say “I believe” they are pledging themselves along with the rest of the Catholic Church to the realities
A reader asks: “I have heard a few times that an alarming percentage of Catholics don’t know that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. This is arguably the most important belief that Catholics should hold. Why is it not part of
Question: There are some inconsistencies in Luke’s Gospel about Zechariah that I don’t understand. In the first place, the angel Gabriel punishes Zechariah by rendering him mute. But later in the Gospel, the people make signs to talk to him as if
Every Sunday through the Nicene Creed, we Catholics profess our faith in Jesus Christ and express our complete conviction to the Divine Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. We stand up in community, in the presence of our Creator and with the
Question: I am an 86-year-old Catholic, and I am trying to remember the three signs of demonic possession that I was taught. I seem to recall that they are coldness, objects moving by themselves, and the third I can’t remember. Can you
At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives his followers the threefold task of the Church throughout the ages: 1) “make disciples of all nations”; 2) “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy