This article first appeared at: catholic.com When I converted from Evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism, I made a lot of theological changes in my life. I expected this, but I didn’t expect that I would be making a lot of sociological changes, too. Every group has...

The Fourth Sunday of Advent marks a switch in focus from John the Baptist (on the previous two Sundays) to the events immediately leading up to the birth of Christ. 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent marks a switch in focus from John the Baptist (on the previous two Sundays) to the events immediately leading up to the birth of Christ. 

Two words about Mary from the Bible describe most of our lives in December: “in haste.”

We run in haste to the mall, post office, grocery store. In haste, we rush to the office parties and pageants. We pack the bags, pack the car or race to get the house clean and ready. There are only 24 days left to fit everything in, so all must be done with haste. While the month of December has moments of joy, for many, words like “stressed” and “overwhelmed” more adequately describe the norm.

But if there was ever a woman who had an excuse for feeling overwhelmed and needing to be “in haste” in the days leading up to Christ’s birth, it would be Mary.

Two words about Mary from the Bible describe most of our lives in December: “in haste.”

We run in haste to the mall, post office, grocery store. In haste, we rush to the office parties and pageants. We pack the bags, pack the car or race to get the house clean and ready. There are only 24 days left to fit everything in, so all must be done with haste. While the month of December has moments of joy, for many, words like “stressed” and “overwhelmed” more adequately describe the norm.

But if there was ever a woman who had an excuse for feeling overwhelmed and needing to be “in haste” in the days leading up to Christ’s birth, it would be Mary.

What’s the truth Jesus comes to bear witness to in this last Gospel of the Church’s year?

It’s the truth that in Jesus God keeps the promise He made to David of an everlasting kingdom, of an heir who would be His Son, “the first born, highest of the kings of the earth”

What’s the truth Jesus comes to bear witness to in this last Gospel of the Church’s year?

It’s the truth that in Jesus God keeps the promise He made to David of an everlasting kingdom, of an heir who would be His Son, “the first born, highest of the kings of the earth”

In death, the divide between hope and fear is unbridgeable. Each of the waiting dead knows what will happen to them at the time of the Final Judgment. They know if their body will be resurrected to death or to life. Those who hope, hope with certainty. Those who fear, fear with equal certainty. They all know what they freely chose in life—heaven or hell—and they know the time for making another choice has passed. Christ the Judge has pronounced their fate, and that fate is sealed.  

When it comes to the most misunderstood doctrines of the Catholic Church, purgatory probably ranks at the top. Often, these misunderstandings are manifested in what everyday folks say about purgatory.

Let’s consider some of these catchphrases here.