A non-Catholic funeral usually is not a prayer for the person who has died, just a memorial service. This is why non-Catholics are often struck by the beauty and foreignness of a Catholic funeral: unlike many non-Catholic Christians, we Catholics are there to pray for the dead.

“The Cross and nails of the Son were also those of His Mother; with Christ crucified the Mother was also crucified.” — St. Augustine

Here’s the thing about Catholic teaching: it is precise and has been honed over two thousand years. Rarely is there a way to improve upon the words. Catholic doctrine is the most precisely articulated system of thought in the history of mankind. It is therefore appropriate to dive into what the Church teaches about faith and obedience rather than merely question the meaning of a confusing phrase.

When asked what gets him out of bed each morning to continue the pro-life effort even after fifteen years, Shawn said that it is because of the value of human life. “I think it’s the sense of urgency that comes with every abortion. Every single abortion ends an innocent human being. And no matter how long I have done this, I have never felt burnt out from the root of what we are fighting for. If I didn’t do this work, this thought would consume me.”

In the New Testament, we find many titles for our Lord. He is the Christ (or Messiah), the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Word, the King of kings, the great high priest, and many more. One that speaks to me is his title as “teacher.” We find Jesus referred to as “teacher” […]