
Purgatory and Praying for the Dead
A Christian friend says that the Bible contains no references to purgatory. What is the basis for the Church’s teaching about this? Why do Catholics pray for the dead?
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A Christian friend says that the Bible contains no references to purgatory. What is the basis for the Church’s teaching about this? Why do Catholics pray for the dead?

Answers to some often asked questions about the Christmas season.

Chris Padgett cannot keep still. In the hour we’ve spent together, Padgett, though seated, has burned more calories than most runners can manage in a 5K.

“College basketball was a men’s club, ” emphasizes Cathy Rush, the Hall of Fame coach who led Immaculata to that seemingly impossible 1972 national title. “Look, games were played on Monday afternoons at three o’clock. Nobody but the parents and a few friends even came. Nobody cared about women’s basketball. It was just our little thing. “

We sometimes experience confusion and uncertainty. But Jesus promises His peace to us. There is no need to be afraid.

Cathy Raney was all smiles: The pregnancy test read positive. Her husband hugged her gently, as if she’d suddenly become a porcelain doll. Their children were more active in their joy, jumping up and down at the thought of having another baby brother or sister.

The Church invites us to celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist and to receive Holy Communion “often” and “worthily” (CCC 1389).

Making the Sacrament of Reconciliation a vibrant part of one’s spiritual life—especially if it hasn’t been such in quite a while—basically just requires the decision to begin again.

Vatican II clarified that marriage is a partnership between a man and a woman ordered toward their mutual good and the procreation and education of children (cf. GS, 48.1).

Grateful living is a celebration of the universal give-and-take of life, a limitless “yes” to belonging.