Religion

The Sacrament of First Confession: what it is and how it takes place

The Sacrament of First Confession: what it is and how it takes place

Contents1 What is the First Confession2 The First Confession explained to children.3 Thoughts for the First Confession First Confession is a fundamental moment for the spiritual growth of a child, because it teaches him the concept of Repentance and divine forgiveness and prepares him to…

Saint Mark the Evangelist: the disciple of Saints Peter and Paul

Saint Mark the Evangelist: the disciple of Saints Peter and Paul

Contents1 The life of Saint Mark2 The symbol of the Evangelist Mark3 The patron saint of Venice Saint Mark the Evangelist, patron saint of Venice, was a missionary with Saint Paul and a disciple of Saint Peter. He founded the Coptic Church in Egypt and…

Spiritual discernment: what it is and how it is practised

Spiritual discernment: what it is and how it is practised

Spiritual discernment is a gift from God that helps us in the knowledge of ourselves and of life, and the Holy Spirit is our guide The term discernment has a very broad meaning, and even within Christian Catholic spirituality it can take on different meanings…

For an urgent cause, address your prayers to Saint Expeditus

For an urgent cause, address your prayers to Saint Expeditus

Saint Expeditus the Martyr is invoked for urgent and desperate causes. Here is how his cult originated and spread Praying for a grace should never be done in haste. Yet it is also true that today, and even more so in the past, men and…

All of Jesus’ parables

All of Jesus’ parables

Contents1 How many parables of Jesus are there2 Parables common to the four Gospels3 Parables common to the three Gospels4 Parables common to two Gospels5 Parables exclusive to the Gospel according to Mark6 Parables exclusive to the Gospel according to Matthew7 Parables exclusive to the…

Testimony of Faith: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Testimony of Faith: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Contents1 Who are the witnesses to the faith?2 What does it mean to be witnesses to the faith?3 Some stories of faith For a Christian, the testimony of faith is not just a declaration of one’s belief. Faith becomes daily action, mercy, service to others,…

The Trial of Jesus: From Arrest to Crucifixion

The Trial of Jesus: From Arrest to Crucifixion

Contents1 Last Supper and Jesus’ arrest2 Before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin3 Pontius Pilate and Jesus4 Crucifixion The trial of Jesus, as narrated in the New Testament Gospels, is one of the central events of Christianity. The Trial of Jesus represents one of the first, dramatic acts of…

Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well: the explanation of the parable

Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well: the explanation of the parable

Contents1 The Gospel of the Samaritan woman2 Who was the Samaritan woman3 The Parable of the Samaritan woman’s meaning. With the meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus reveals his identity as Messiah and speaks revolutionary words, anticipating the work of evangelisation of…

The Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: what it is and its meaning

The Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: what it is and its meaning

Contents1 The Beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount2 Sermon on the Mount: meaning3 The Lord’s Prayer With the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers a new vision of the divine law, offering a revolutionary model of conduct based on love and forgiveness The Sermon on…

The meaning behind the parable of the Good Samaritan

The meaning behind the parable of the Good Samaritan

Contents1 What the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us2 Who represents the Good Samaritan?3 Who’s next in the parable of the Good Samaritan?4 The Parable of the Good Samaritan for Children The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that love and compassion know…

Healing the person with paralysis: the meaning of the miracle

Healing the person with paralysis: the meaning of the miracle

The healing of the paralytic in Capernaum is one of the many miracles of Jesus, but it contains a series of profound meanings worth exploring. The healing of the paralytic of Capernaum is an episode described in the synoptic Gospels (Mk 2:1-12; Mt 9:1-8; Lk 5:17-26). According to…

The Public Life of Jesus: From Baptism to the Last Supper

The Public Life of Jesus: From Baptism to the Last Supper

Contents1 The first episode of Jesus’ public life2 Jesus in the Desert3 The ministry of Jesus in Galilee4 The Final Ministry in Jerusalem From the Baptism in the Jordan to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The three years of Jesus’ public life that changed the…

Jesus the Good Shepherd: Why the Comparison?

Jesus the Good Shepherd: Why the Comparison?

Contents1 Why Does Jesus Compare Himself to the Good Shepherd?2 Prayer to Jesus the Good Shepherd3 When Is Jesus the Good Shepherd Celebrated? On the fourth Sunday of Easter, the liturgy celebrates Jesus the Good Shepherd. Where does this image of Christ originate? We are…

Laetare and Gaudete Sunday: The Sundays of Joy

Laetare and Gaudete Sunday: The Sundays of Joy

Contents1 What Does Laetare Sunday Mean?2 What Is Gaudete Sunday?3 The Rose Chasuble: Its Meaning Situated within two penitential and anticipatory periods of the liturgical year, Gaudete Sunday and Laetare Sunday celebrate the joy of faith and the hopeful anticipation of believers. Anyone who claims…

Egg tempera: this is how sacred icons are painted

Egg tempera: this is how sacred icons are painted

Contents1 What is egg tempera2 The pictorial technique of egg tempera in sacred icons3 Egg tempera: recipe Sacred icons: genuine expressions of religiosity, symbolic works that transcend art. How are they painted? Discovering egg tempera Much of the deep symbolism that permeates sacred icons comes from the…

The Episode of the Expulsion of the Merchants from the Temple of Jerusalem

The Episode of the Expulsion of the Merchants from the Temple of Jerusalem

The expulsion of the merchants from the Temple of Jerusalem represents an act of rebellion by Jesus against a now outdated and corrupted religious tradition, in favour of the new purity of spirit and the hope that He came to bring. Among the many episodes…

What is meant by freedom of religion? 

What is meant by freedom of religion? 

Contents1 Why is freedom of religion a right?2 When was freedom of religion born?3 Why is Article 19 crucial?4 What is the only limit to religious freedom? Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, defined by many national constitutions. That’s why it’s so important.…

Dedication of the Church: Here Is How a New Sacred Building Comes into Being

Dedication of the Church: Here Is How a New Sacred Building Comes into Being

Contents1 What Does the Dedication of a Church Mean?2 The Rite of the Dedication of a Church3 The Parts of the Rite For the Christian religion, the dedication of the church is a moment of fundamental importance. It is the solemn consecration of a new…