Dear Catholic Exchange:
I recently purchased your Genesis Bible study, and I must say you are to be commended! I have never found a better Catholic Bible study anywhere! The lessons are totally orthodox, engaging, and enlightening! You are the best, and I will recommend your site to all my students. I will also encourage them to support your apostolate.
I don’t know if you remember me, but I complained to you when I found out the old Bible studies were going to have to be purchased. You enlightened me as to why, and I apologized to you for my stupidity. We then had a nice reconciliation. Well, now I am so glad to give you such a modest donation for such an infinitely enriching study! Your asking price is more than fair for such richness! I plan to buy more of your commentaries in the future.
Thank you, Gail, et al., for all you do for the Church! Keep up the great work!
In Christ,
Charles Junjulas
Promote CE in Your Church Bulletin
Dear Mr. Allen:
I will be happy to advertise Catholic Exchange in my weekly bulletin. I use CE as my homepage and get lots of information from it each day.
God bless,
Rev. Brian E. Jeffries
Pastor of St. Augustine Church
Seymour Ct.
P.S. I also like the quiz; I take great pleasure in it when I know the right answer. If there is any way I can promote this endeavor, please let me know.
Thank you kindly, Father.
If you like, please feel free to reproduce our quiz in your bulletin with a tagline encouraging people to make Catholic Exchange their Internet homepage.
In JMJ,
Tom Allen
Editor, CE
Men, Women and the Priesthood
Dear Mark,
Thank you very much for your article on the sacraments. I especially enjoyed learning more about the all male priesthood. What a sticking point that is in our culture! My husband and I are young, yet we deal with the argument of men vs. women all the time. Articles like this are very encouraging because they give me hope that not all is lost and that our Faith will eventually prevail, despite the culture/society in which we live.
I learned so much from the article. I copied it so I can reread it and remember it for future use!
God Bless,
Helen Russo
Salinas, CA
***
Hello Mr. Shea,
Congratulations on the most concise article I’ve ever read regarding women, men, and the priesthood! Two unrelated pet peeves: 1) the quotation in the first paragraph was not attributed (always like to know who’s speaking for the other side); 2) My dictionary still says “gender” refers to words, “sex” refers to people. Keep up the good work.
God’s peace and blessings to you,
John T. Cotton
John,
Thanks for the kind words!
1. The quote was a sort of distillation of an Internet conversation (one of jillions) I had in which my interlocutor summed up most of the typical rhetoric on the matter.
2. I plan to make the dictionaries obsolete by sheer dint of will (just joking).
Blessings on you and your family!
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
Why Be Confirmed in the Catholic Church?
Dear Catholic Exchange:
How would you explain to a non-catholic why a person should be confirmed in the Catholic Church?
Thanks for your help!
Robin
Dear Robin:
First of all, a person should be confirmed in the Catholic Church because confirmation is a sacrament of Jesus Christ, and we want everything Jesus has to give us. Confirmation is celebrated in Acts 8:14-17. The idea that God grants us the Holy Spirit in Baptism and that this gift is somehow given in fullness in Confirmation is very ancient and very Biblical. Why God grants the fullness of the gift in Confirmation, I do not know—but that He does it appears to be the clear teaching of Scripture. In the same way, Jesus grants the Holy Spirit to the disciples in the Upper Room (John 20) when He breathes on them. Yet, Pentecost still happens.
The purpose of Confirmation, in Catholic understanding, is to equip us for the work of our mission, to grant us the graces necessary for maturity in Christ, and to make us, not merely children of God (as Baptism does), but also *friends* of God. A very good discussion of Baptism is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
I suppose a good counter question would be, “Why *not* be confirmed in the Catholic Church?”
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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