Q. Does every Christian belief have to be “proved from Scripture” to be valid? A. Not at all. That notion actually contradicts itself. Nowhere in Scripture itself does it say, or even imply, that every Christian belief must be proved from Scripture. So you cannot prove from Scripture that every Christian belief must be proved from Scripture. The claim refutes itself.

Karen Grantham’s Dance Academy is now enrolling for the 2019/2020 school year! Dance, tumbling, and musical theater classes will be offered at St. Catherine of Siena School beginning August 19th. Class details and registration forms are below.

Q. Many place names in Scripture begin with “Beth,” such as Bethlehem, Bethany, and Bethsaida. Does “Beth” have a particular significance? A. The word “Beth” in Hebrew means “House.” “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread.” (How appropriate for the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the “Bread of Life!”) “Bethsaida” means “House of Fishing.” (The fishermen Peter, Philip, and Andrew, and perhaps also James and John, hailed from Bethsaida.) “Bethany” means, according to some scholars, “Hou

Q. We celebrate the feast of St. James the Apostle this week (July 25). Were he and his brother, the Apostle John, kinsmen of Jesus? A. We don’t know for sure. Some authors, comparing John 19:25 with Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 (parallel passages naming the women standing at the foot of the Cross), conclude that Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joseph (mentioned in Mark and Matthew) is to be identified with “Mary [the wife] of Clopas” (noted in John). Since Mary Magd

Dear St. Catherine Parish Family, Each year, the United States Bishops sponsor “Natural Family Planning Awareness Week” to promote an awareness of Natural Family Planning (NFP) and to mark the anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, Humanae Vitae, on the dignity of marriage and the Church’s teaching on contraception and sterilization. This year’s theme is “Love Naturally! NFP: Cooperating with God’s Design for Married Love.” I would like to emphasize that Natural Family Pla

Q. What is the Gregorian calendar? A. The Julian calendar — an earlier form of our contemporary calendar — was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. and became the standard in the West. But its imprecision allowed the true (seasonal) year to move away from the calendar year over a period of centuries. To solve this problem, in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII made adjustments to the Julian calendar to make it correspond more closely to the true length of the solar year. The new arrang

Fr. Valery, our new parochial vicar, shared his Vocation story with us at all of the weekend Masses this past weekend. If you were unable to attend please take a few minutes to listen to his story. Click this link to be redirected to a recording of the homily.

Q. Why are the biblical books of Luke and Acts separated if they were written by the same person? A. St. Luke did indeed write both these books, apparently as two volumes of the same work (see Acts 1:1; the Greek word translated here as “book” is logos and can be rendered in English as “book” or “volume”). The Gospel ends at the point where Acts begins, with the ascension of Our Lord into heaven (see Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-2). So in a way it would make sense to arrange the N

Please join us in welcoming our new Youth Director. Lisa Fiamingo is a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She holds degrees in Theology and Mental Health & Human Services. She has worked for many years with teenagers, college students and young adults. Lisa can be reached at lisaf@stcatherinercc.org.

Catholic School Education Opportunity! WELCOME GRANTS ATL is available to Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta including our own St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School. These grants significantly reduce tuition for the child’s first two years at the school, while the child is immersed in a nurturing Catholic environment with strong curriculum standards and excellent opportunities to develop the child’s faith. Our schools are faith communities in which t