Q. Why do we need purgatory? A. Sacred Scripture and Tradition repeatedly affirm that God’s ultimate intention is for us to become perfect as He is perfect (see Mt 5:48). Why? Because God wants us to live forever in friendship with Him, and He Himself is completely holy — without sin or weakness of any kind. To see God face-to-face in heaven, and to know, love, and enjoy Him there fully forever, we must be like Him (see Heb 12:14; 1 Jn 3:2-3). In fact, heaven simply wouldn’t

Dear St. Catherine Parish Family, This past weekend we held our Stewardship of Treasure commitment. Two of our parishioners offered testimony about their personal path towards stewardship at St. Catherine's. If you were unable to attend Mass at St. Catherine's this weekend, I invite you to listen to this recording of the testimony. As I mentioned in my homily, stewardship of our parish from all of our parishioners is essential to allow our parish to continue to thrive. If you

Q. Are Catholics allowed to receive Communion in non-Catholic churches? A. No, they are not. Receiving Communion in a non-Catholic church would proclaim that a person is in “communion” with that denomination and its teachings, and therefore not in “communion” with the Catholic Church. Moreover, Communion for Protestant Christians is not what it is for Catholics. We believe that the most Holy Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, and this is t

Dear St. Catherine Parish Family, Over the past several weeks we have been conducting our annual parish stewardship campaign: Live Courageously, Love Heroically. Stewardship, as we have been discussing, means first acknowledging our deepest identity as God’s children and trusting in His providence, recognizing that everything we have is a gift from Him. Consequently, we are led to a deep sense of gratitude and strive to use God’s gifts well by living a life of courageous and

Q. What is the nature of the soul according to Catholic teaching? A. The Catechism points out that Sacred Scripture often uses the word “soul” to denote a human life, or the totality of a human person. “But ‘soul’ also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God’s image: ‘soul’ signifies the spiritual principle in man” (CCC 363). That is, the soul is what animates the body; it is the seat, so to spe

Q. Who was St. Ignatius of Antioch (feast, October 17)? A. St. Ignatius (c. A.D. 50–c. 107) was the martyr Bishop of Antioch, Syria, an “Apostolic Father” of the Church — that is, one who received the Christian faith directly from the Apostles. According to ancient tradition, he was taught by St. John, appointed as bishop by St. Peter, and consecrated at the hands of several Apostles. He refused to deny Christ in the persecution of the Church during the reign of the Emperor T

Engaged and married couples, St. Catherine’s new Natural Family Planning Ministry is here to offer you support, encouragement, and community as you live out the Church’s beautiful teaching on married love! We invite you to visit our new website here. You can learn details about NFP methods, develop a deeper understanding of what the Church teaches regarding sex and procreation, or see what living out NFP in real life looks like by checking out testimonies from some of our own

Q. Is it true that the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7) commemorates a military victory? A. Yes. This feast, designated for several centuries by the alternate title of “Our Lady of Victory,” commemorates a sixteenth-century naval victory of Christian forces over Muslim Turks who sought to invade Western Europe and ultimately conquer Rome. Turkish victory would have been a catastrophe for the Church in the West. On October 7, 1571, a combined naval force of Christia