Articles
How to Choose a Confirmation Saint: Steps, Questions to Ask, and Patron Saint Ideas
To choose a Confirmation saint, pray about it, look first at the saint behind your baptismal name, consider saints who share your interests or struggles, read their lives, and talk...
Read More
What Does a Godparent Do? Duties, Catholic Requirements, and Godparent Gifts
A godparent, also called a sponsor, stands with a child at baptism, professes the Christian faith with the parents, and promises to help raise the child through prayer, example, and...
Read More
How to Explain Easter to a Child: The Story, Simple Words by Age, and Activities
Tell a child that Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead: He died on the cross because He loves us, and on the third day God raised Him...
Read More
What Is Candlemas? The Presentation of the Lord, the Blessing of Candles, and February 2 Traditions
Candlemas is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, celebrated on February 2, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Jerusalem Temple forty days after His birth. It...
Read More
What Is Pentecost? Meaning, Symbols, the Color Red, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Pentecost is the Christian feast of the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles and Mary in Jerusalem, fifty days after Easter. It is often called the birthday of the Church,...
Read More
The 12 Days of Christmas: What They Really Are, the Song's Meaning, and How to Celebrate Them
The 12 days of Christmas run from December 25 through January 5, beginning on Christmas Day and ending on the eve of Epiphany, known as Twelfth Night. They are not...
Read More
Lent Fasting Rules: Who Fasts, No Meat on Fridays, and What to Give Up for Lent
Catholics ages 18 through 59 fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and Catholics 14 and older abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and every Friday of Lent....
Read More
What Is a Mass Card? How to Get One, What to Write, and Mass Card vs. Sympathy Card
A Mass card is a Catholic card that tells someone a Mass will be offered for a particular intention, most often for a loved one who has died. It is...
Read More
St. Patrick's Breastplate: The Prayer, Who St. Patrick Was, and Keeping St. Patrick's Day as a Feast
St. Patrick’s Breastplate, also called the Lorica, is an ancient Irish prayer, traditionally credited to St. Patrick, that asks for Christ’s presence on every side: “Christ with me, Christ before...
Read More
Epiphany and Three Kings Day: Meaning, the Magi's Gifts, Traditions, and the Chalk House Blessing
Epiphany, traditionally celebrated on January 6 and also called Three Kings Day, celebrates the Magi visiting the Christ Child and Jesus being revealed to the whole world. “Epiphany” means “manifestation”...
Read More