Understanding Our Church

A Treasury of Arkansas Writers Discussing the Catholic Faith

Understanding Our Church

Explore this treasury of Arkansas writers discussing the Catholic faith on a wide variety of topics. Find what you're looking for by browsing the whole list or search by keyword or author. All articles have been reviewed for theological accuracy. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Sexual misconduct allegations show reality of falling into sin
Father Jason Tyler
Harvey Weinstein. Bill O’Reilly. Roger Ailes. Bill Cosby. Throughout the past few years, we have heard about accusations of sexual misconduct against these men — and against others, too. The particularities of the allegations differ somewhat for each man.
Inerrancy of Bible means truth in message, not always history
Paula Standridge
Sacred Scripture has always been regarded by Christians as the inspired word of God. As such, it logically follows that this Scripture would be free of error since God, being perfect and all-knowing, cannot be the author of error.
Prayerful daily review guided by Holy Spirit brings us closer to God
Judy Hoelzeman
Part of the rich tradition of the Catholic Church is to look back on our day’s activities to remember how well we responded to God’s call that day. St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) wrote his examen in about 1524 as part of his well-known spiritual exercises.
Peace can be gained from understanding our venial, mortal sins
Kelli Nugent
I entered the confessional to confess my sins to the priest — spoken aloud, in humility and with true repentance.
Resurgence of deacons has its roots in Nazi concentration camp
Betsy Wiederkehr Huss
Why do we have ordained deacons in the Catholic Church? The history might surprise you.
Catholics support dignity, rights, indispensable role of workers
Deacon Matthew Glover
We just celebrated Labor Day here in the United States, a holiday that most people associate with the end of summertime, the beginning of college football season and a much-needed three day weekend before the long grind towards Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Religious images, statues are not idols as described in Old Testament
Father Jerome Kodell, OSB
The First Letter of John ends with the terse sentence: “Children, be on your guard against idols.” (5:21)
Grandparents can learn from Joachim and Anne to pass on faith
Chris Thomas
One difficult afternoon, many years ago, was spent disciplining our 6-year-old son Andrew. After tears of anger and frustration, he shouted out, “I want to talk to Grandma.”
Gestures in Mass signify unity in body, mind and spirit with Christ
Paula Standridge
One of the countless treasures of our Catholic faith is the fact that we worship with our whole person: body, mind and spirit. Sometimes we do this so routinely and automatically that we are not even mindful of doing it or forget why we do so.
God gives charism to each person to share, unique as DNA
Sister Joan Pytlik, DC
All is a gift. We all know that God is always giving us gifts like the beautiful spring flowers, the people who love us, himself in the Eucharist.

Pages