Catholic Insight

The term ‘charismatic’ has an ambiguous meaning in the Church, invoking images of liturgical guitars, drums, emotional crescendos, and disconcerting glossolalia. In the Church’s theology, however, it has a rather specific meaning, derived from Saint Paul’s letters: A ‘charism’, from the Greek word for ‘grace’, Χάρις is a gratia gratis data, a gift, talent, ministry, freely given by God to a soul, by which others may be led to holiness.

I decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome, prompted by the Jubilee year, and walking through the Holy Doors. But I couldn’t just show up in Rome, so to make a pilgrimage of it.

Apologetics is the art of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse, making reference to both faith and reason as appropriate, in light of Saint Peter’s admonition to ‘Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence’ (1 Peter 3:15).