Table of Contents:
WordBytes on Catholic Doctrine

FAQs & Teachings of the Faith

Catholic doctrine covers everything in our world and in our own personal loves. In this group of WordBytes, we answer questions that help shed light on how to apply Catholic doctrine to our lives in order to experience Jesus Christ more fully.

What does Catholic doctrine teach us about evil in our world today and End Times prophecies?

• The Second Coming of Christ: Should we believe modern revelations?
  I’m often asked for my opinion about modern-day mystics, inner-locutionaries and visionaries, i.e., people who claim to be getting messages from Jesus or Mary. The questions come especially about the ones who warn that Americans are soon going to pay for their sinfulness, or that the anti-Christ is here or is coming soon, or that time is short and disaster is looming for the entire society or world. And is the Second Coming of Christ going to happen soon?

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• Malachy’s prophecy, Pope Benedict’s resignation, and other end of the world stuff
  Saint Malachy has been attributed to writing a prophecy regarding the succession of popes beginning with Innocent II, who became pontiff in 1140. According to his predictions, the line of popes will end after the papacy of Benedict XVI. And then the world will end. Was he right?

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• Are natural disasters really chastisements?
  Let’s take a look at what the Catholic Church Magisterium teaches about God’s punishment. We know that people create their own disasters when they make bad decisions and when they sin. God allows people to reap what they sow — it’s a spiritual law — so that they might learn from their sins and repent. This is their personal, self-made chastisements. God prefers them to repent an easier way. God does everything possible to help them repent an easier way. He is merciful.

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• Are we seeing signs that The Tribulation has begun?

  Are mass shootings and other terrorist attacks an indication that The Tribulation has begun? Or any disaster (man-made or natural) since then? Or predictions about the end of the world? The official Catholic Church teaching on The Tribulation is worth reading at times like this. Otherwise, we are easily led astray.

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• Is America blessing God or rejecting  God?
  Question: I heard a preacher on TV say something that bothers me, and I’m not sure why. He said, “Why would God bless America as He has? I believe the reason is that He intends for us to influence the nations of the world. Not only are we an example of liberty and democracy, but we also have the resources and manpower to take the gospel around the world—and in many respects, the Church has done just that. But there is too much sin, too much immorality in America!”

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• The affects of moral relativism: A frank analysis of what’s running amuck in our world
  We are living in a time when it sounds more foreign and uncomfortable to take literally and sincerely the call to “do everything that the Lord has told us.” We are like the Israelites in Exodus 24:3-8. We want to be good and faithful children of God, and we intend to obey his commandments, but we (good Catholics as well as inactive Catholics and other Christians) easily fall into the traps of moral relativism.

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• Why does God favor the ungodly?

  Question: You might have noticed that people we consider to be ungodly are thriving in all their undertakings. They hold high positions in societies, have more than enough money, etc. while the ‘God-fearing’ ones are wallowing in poverty. What is behind the success of ‘ungodly’ people? Do you think God has any merit for loving such people? What should the ‘God-fearing’ people do to earn the Creator’s grace like what is being lavished on ‘bad’ people?

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• Have We Lost Faithfulness, Trust and Courage?
  We’re alarmed about how increasingly un-Christian our society is becoming. In the Church, I hear lots of blame being cast in the wrong direction. In an attempt to return to a time when faithfulness to Christian morality seemed much more commonplace, there’s a growing desire to regain “conservative” values. Good! But the trend is to take this too far: ultra-conservatism with a longing to return the Church to the way it was before Vatican Council II.

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What does Catholic doctrine teach us about some very “Catholic” beliefs?

• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• Defining Purgatory & the Communion of Saints
• Why must we go to confession if God’s love is unconditional?
• Why go to a priest for Confession?
• What is the Heart of the Church? (video podcast)
• The Christmas Magi: What do we know about them?
• Is the Catechism of the Catholic Church Dependable for Teaching Truth?
• Are the Magisterium & the Pope dependable for teaching truth?
• Preventing priest burnout amidst shortages

What does Catholic doctrine teach us about Mary?

• Was Mary an immaculate conception?
• What do we know about Mary’s birth and life?
• How do we know Mary never sinned?
• Was Mary the Mother of God?
• Did Jesus have a brother named James?

What does Catholic doctrine teach us about controversial topics?

• Is the Catholic Church right about contraception?
  The debate about whether state and federal law should mandate contraception and sterilization coverage in health care has created a wonderful opportunity to provide the world with some faith formation on a very misunderstood topic. How well are we doing?

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• Does Catholicism condemn homosexuals?
• Why must I get an annulment to remarry?
• God’s mysterious ways with an annulment

What does Catholic doctrine teach us about the Catholic Mass?

• What’s the big deal about going to Mass?
• Why is Mass the best way to progress in the spiritual life?
• The correct posture at Mass: Should we be standing or kneeling?
• The correct posture at Mass: Can we genuflect when receiving Communion?

What does Catholic doctrine teach us about the after-life?

• Who wants to live to be 150? Not me!
• Mysteries of the afterlife: Where do spirits go?
• Are spouses reunited in the afterlife?
• A Vision-Parable of Purgatory
• Is hell crowded or empty?
• Do pets go to heaven?