January 1, New Year’s Day, has a number of liturgical names celebrating a variety of events. Could you sort some of this out? January 1, New Year’s Day, celebrates newness. Exactly eight days after Christmas, traditionally it celebrates Mary as the mother of God. The Greek word for Mary’s motherhood is “Theotokos” meaning “God-bearer.”...
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Why is the Vatican sometimes called the “Holy See”? A little background in ecclesiology will help explain why we call the Vatican the Holy See. The church is very structured and organized in its hierarchy. A diocese is a geographic area governed by a bishop appointed by the pope. Each diocese is further broken...
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How are the gifts of Pope Leo the Great seen in the church today? November 10 is the feast of St. Leo the Great, a doctor of the church and the first of three popes named “great.” As pope from 440 to 461, he was not only a great administrator but also a well-respected...
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What were Pope John XXIII’s hopes and goals for the ecumenical council that he convoked? Fifty years ago, on January 25, 1959, at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, newly-elected Pope John XXIII made a brief announcement to a small group of cardinals gathered at the Roman basilica of St....
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