Who invented Advent?

By Victoria M. Tufano| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Saints, Feasts, and Seasons Scripture and Theology

The easy answer to that question is, we, the church, did. The feasts and seasons of the liturgical year all developed from the church’s desire to remember, celebrate, and live the great mysteries of our faith.

The answer gets more complicated when we realize that these seasons originated centuries ago and developed independently in different places, spreading, combining, and sometimes dying out.

Before we can talk about Advent, we have to talk about Christmas, obviously, and, less obviously, Epiphany.

Victoria M. Tufano, pastoral associate and director of liturgy at Ascension Catholic Church in Oak Park, Illinois. See more posts by Victoria M. Tufano

Who invented Advent?

By Victoria M. Tufano| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Saints, Feasts, and Seasons Scripture and Theology

The easy answer to that question is, we, the church, did. The feasts and seasons of the liturgical year all developed from the church’s desire to remember, celebrate, and live the great mysteries of our faith.

The answer gets more complicated when we realize that these seasons originated centuries ago and developed independently in different places, spreading, combining, and sometimes dying out.

Before we can talk about Advent, we have to talk about Christmas, obviously, and, less obviously, Epiphany.

Victoria M. Tufano, pastoral associate and director of liturgy at Ascension Catholic Church in Oak Park, Illinois. See more posts by Victoria M. Tufano

What women theologians have done for the church

By Heather Grennan Gary| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology Women
Catholics can thank women theologians for 70 years of building up the church.

Heather Grennan Gary is a former editor of U.S. Catholic.

See more posts by Heather Grennan Gary

What is original sin?

By Joel Schorn| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology

You won’t find the phrase “original sin” in the Bible. The story of humanity’s “fall” in Genesis 1 doesn’t use the term, and St. Paul, one of the church’s earliest theologians, only hints at it in places. After the first century the early church fathers started to define it, but those in the East and West took different approaches.

 Joel Schorn is an editor and writer in Chicago. His most recent book, on saints, is Holy Simplicity: The Little Way of Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, and Thérèse of Lisieux (Servant Books).

See more posts by Joel Schorn

What women theologians have done for the church

By Heather Grennan Gary| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology Women
Catholics can thank women theologians for 70 years of building up the church.

Heather Grennan Gary is a former editor of U.S. Catholic.

See more posts by Heather Grennan Gary

What is original sin?

By Joel Schorn| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology

You won’t find the phrase “original sin” in the Bible. The story of humanity’s “fall” in Genesis 1 doesn’t use the term, and St. Paul, one of the church’s earliest theologians, only hints at it in places. After the first century the early church fathers started to define it, but those in the East and West took different approaches.

 Joel Schorn is an editor and writer in Chicago. His most recent book, on saints, is Holy Simplicity: The Little Way of Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, and Thérèse of Lisieux (Servant Books).

See more posts by Joel Schorn

Ordination, past and present: An interview with Gary Macy

By A U.S. Catholic interview| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Prayer and Sacraments Scripture and Theology Women
Our understanding of priests, bishops, and deacons has changed dramatically in the church's long history, says historian Gary Macy.
See more posts by A U.S. Catholic interview

Ordination, past and present: An interview with Gary Macy

By A U.S. Catholic interview| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Prayer and Sacraments Scripture and Theology Women
Our understanding of priests, bishops, and deacons has changed dramatically in the church's long history, says historian Gary Macy.
See more posts by A U.S. Catholic interview

How the door was opened for Catholic women theologians

By Heather Grennan Gary| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology Women

If necessity is the mother of invention, it’s fair to say that American Catholic school students in the early 20th century were, in a way, the mothers of Catholic women theologians.

Heather Grennan Gary is a former editor of U.S. Catholic.

See more posts by Heather Grennan Gary

How the door was opened for Catholic women theologians

By Heather Grennan Gary| Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare
Article Scripture and Theology Women

If necessity is the mother of invention, it’s fair to say that American Catholic school students in the early 20th century were, in a way, the mothers of Catholic women theologians.

Heather Grennan Gary is a former editor of U.S. Catholic.

See more posts by Heather Grennan Gary

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