Catholic Teaching

Category Archives: Catholic Teaching

LifeTeen.com Blog

Why Do Catholics Believe in Indulgences?

By | April 12, 2012

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Catholics believe in indulgences because ultimately we know we’re all sinners and need God’s mercy. When a person commits a sin, there are two kinds of punishments that they have to deal with as a result of that sin. The first is called “eternal punishment” which means the sinner can’t enter heaven because of a grave sin that is not repented from. Through Christ’s sacrifice we don’t have to suffer eternal punishment if we repent. The second kind of punishment is called “temporal punishment” and every sin we commit carries a temporal punishment with it.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Finding Christ in a Secular Easter

By | April 9, 2012

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I recently heard someone ranting about how commercialized Easter has become and how there is “no trace of Christ” left in His holiday. I understood the person’s concerns and agreed, in part, with their assertions. The more I got to thinking about it, though, I felt like their thoughts, while valid, were a little bit short–sighted.

Christ is everywhere. His death and resurrection are everywhere. We just need to know where to look and how to uncover them.

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Is it "Illogical" to Believe in the Resurrection?

By | April 7, 2012

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St. Paul had to deal with a lot of “high minded”, philosophical types in his day. Most were very prideful, long on academics but short on humility. Some people back then claimed that Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead (as we celebrate this weekend). Rather than mince words, Paul gave it to them straight (in the verse up above). Many people will tell you that “based on human logic” the Resurrection makes no sense. The first thing we need to remember is that “human logic” is not omnipotence. God makes it very clear that “(His) ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts.” (Is. 55:8-9)

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LifeTeen.com Blog

This Is My Body: One Girl’s Journey From Doubt to Belief

By | April 4, 2012

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Joanna and I became friends in college, when I was a junior and she was a freshman. Her family had converted to Catholicism when she was a teenager and she struggled to embrace their new beliefs. I was a theology major who loved my Catholic faith and a good discussion. Joanna would often knock on my door, offer me a pudding snack, and spend hours grilling me about the Church. Not Just a Symbol Joanna’s biggest issue with the Catholic Church was the Eucharist. Having been raised Episcopalian, she had celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a “symbol” since her childhood. [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Standing Up For Truth: It’s Worth It

By | April 3, 2012

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He was laughed at for the things He said. They called Him a liar. They even spit on Him while He was hanging on the cross. What I’ve experienced in my life is that people like to laugh at my beliefs when they don’t conform to what they’re comfortable with. I haven’t been spit on but I’ve been verbally slapped for sure.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Thou Shalt NOT Have Fun

By | March 27, 2012

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My image of God the Father, enthroned in heaven in flowing white robes and Birkenstock sandals, was overshadowed by my certainty that he didn’t want me to have any fun. Not only was God all about rules, he’d drop anybody that strayed off his path. Parochial school should have taught me how to live but instead I learned how not to die and burn. The result was that I treated Moses’ Commandments with the same reverence I reserved for one of Letterman’s “Top Ten” lists.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Why Are You So Different?: When God Made Man and Woman

By | February 4, 2012

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Man lives more in the external world, because made from the earth and closest to it; it is his mission to rule over it and subject it. Woman lives more in the internal world, because she was created from an inner, human life.

Man is more interested in the outer world; woman in the inner world. Man talks about things; woman more about persons. Man fashions products of the earth; woman fashions life, having come from life, both Divine and human. Man, more related to the earth, makes sacrifices for things that are in the future and are abstract; woman, more related to the human, is more inclined to make sacrifices for persons and for that which is immediate.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

What If I Told You The Truth

By | January 13, 2012

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Editor’s Note: Can you see the truth through the Religion vs. Jesus debate? We’re praying for you as you talk about this issue and the viral video with your friends. We loved how well Peter Kreeft articulates this question about “church” in his book Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about what Really Matters. Here is the truth, boiled down to the basics without any fancy distractions. “What’s the Big Deal about Church? Why is she so important? Because she is how we know Jesus. She tells us (by her teaching), shows us (by her saints) and feeds us [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Jesus Wasn’t Born on Christmas?

By | December 19, 2011

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I’ll never forget when I learned Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th. It shocked me. I felt cheated – like somehow my adolescent life had just lost some of its innocence. Thank God, I thought, Santa was still real – that would have really shattered my holiday season.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

The Immaculate Conception: It’s About Mary.

By | December 8, 2011

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First, we need to be clear here. The Immaculate Conception is not about the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. It’s about the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb years before. While Mary was conceived in the normal, human way through her parents (Joachim and Anne), the Immaculate Conception speaks to the fact that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin.

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Consubstantial: What Does That Mean?

By | December 8, 2011

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But when we talk about the union of God the Father with God the Son, it is not enough to just say that they are the same. They are both God – one God in three unique Persons. By asking us to now use the word consubstantial when we pray the Creed (remember, the Creed is a statement of what we believe as Catholics) the Church is reminding us of the importance of professing that the Father and the Son are the exact same substance.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

What is Advent?

By | December 1, 2011

What is the Season of Advent

To God everything is exposed: all of our faults, imperfections, personal secrets but also all of our talents, traits, successes and achievements – that’s the good news. The even better news is that God is always seeking you and me.

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What is Mass?: A Resurrection Celebration

By | November 14, 2011

Why did we switch the “Sabbath” from Saturday to Sunday? What does the Mass have to do with the Resurrection, besides being on the same day of the week, Sunday? How does that effect me? How can I live out the Resurrection celebration in my daily life? Fr. Fred explains the answers to these questions and tells us how we can still celebrate Christ’s rising from the dead today!

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LifeTeen.com Blog

A Full Contact Sport: Why Participate in Mass

By | October 18, 2011

Here in South Bend, people get pretty pumped over Notre Dame football. They dress in blue and gold, paint their faces, prepare food all night for the tailgates, even get up early. When the game starts, the crowd goes nuts! Cheers. Standing. Sitting. High fives to strangers you don’t know. We are fully engaged in the event. I wonder what would happen if we participated with the same heart and passion at Mass on Sunday?

Let’s be honest. Mass … it’s boring, right? Growing up, that’s what I thought.

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To Protect and Serve: The Truth About Guardian Angels

By | October 2, 2011

Yes, guardian angels really do exist! In fact, every year on October 2nd the Church celebrates a Feast Day in honor of Guardian Angels. Your guardian angel is one of God’s greatest gifts to you. They are a source of His power. They never leave your side yet they are constantly looking upon the face of God, too. Guardian angels are not only real they are very active. You should invite yours into your day. Invite your angel to pray with you, to protect you, to help keep you focused on God and to protect you from evil and from harm.

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Three Misconceptions of Confirmation

By | May 25, 2011

Confirmation is probably the most misunderstood Sacrament out of the seven. Let’s take a quick look at the misconceptions, shall we?

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The End is Coming…at some point: Rapture and Catholicism

By | May 19, 2011

A few months ago, I first heard the news that the world would come to an end on May 21st, 2011. It really bummed me out because I had big plans this year for Memorial Day. But since then, I’ve heard it more and more and I bet you have too. It seems this idea started a while back, when a small Christian group from Oakland, CA stated that May 21st, 2011 would be the end of the world. The prediction was based on their founder, Harold Camping, and his creative Biblical mathematics in which he calculated the exact date [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

On Fasting (John Paul II Lenten Reflections)

By | April 8, 2011

“Why do your disciples not fast?” Jesus answered: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:15) Why fasting? It is necessary to give this question a wider and deeper answer, in order to clarify the relationship between fasting and “metanoia”, that is, that spiritual change which brings man closer to God. Food and drink are indispensable for man to live, he uses them and must use them, but he may not abuse them in any way. [...]

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Video LifeTeen.com Blog

What Do You Believe? Video: The Apostles' Creed

By | March 24, 2011

We dug into our Life Teen video archives and pulled out this video on the Apostle’s creed. Give it a watch!

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Pornography: The Truth behind the Lie

By | February 22, 2011

Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. Internet sales alone reach over $5 billion per year. More than half of its viewers online are men (72%), but in recent years more and more women are viewing pornography (28%). Pornography is everywhere and easily accessible to anyone of any age at any time. With a culture that has become obsessed with self-gratification and instantaneous satisfaction, it is no surprise that the pornography industry continues to make money. But, what are they really selling?

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