St. Joseph is the foster father of Jesus. He was engaged to Mary when, by the Holy Spirit, she became pregnant with Jesus – see the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25. Not much is known about St. Joseph beyond the fact that he remained committed to raising Jesus alongside Mary and that he is named as […]
Did You Know?
The Difference Between Feasts of All Saints and All Souls: Did You Know?
It’s nearly universal among faith traditions to have beliefs and practices focused on departed family, friends, and strangers. The Catholic Church professes its links to those who have gone before us with two adjacent holy days: November 1 of each year is All Saints, and November 2 is All Souls. When Catholics talk about All […]
November Month of Remembrance: Did You Know?
The month of November is traditionally a time in which the Catholic community remembers those who have died. It is related to the fact that the end of November is the end of the Liturgical Year with a new year starting the First Sunday of Advent – the four-week period of preparation before Christmas. The […]
Communion Blessings: Did You Know?
Did you know about receiving a blessing at the time of Communion at Mass? Members of the UP community are welcome to attend and participate in the Mass whenever it is offered on campus. For those who are not Catholic or for any reason do not receive Communion at Mass, there is an option for coming […]
Did You Know? A UP Archive of Why Catholics Do Some of the Stuff They Do
The “Did You Know?” upbeat feature has answered a lot of questions that members of the UP community have asked about why Catholics profess and do some pretty distinctive things. If you are new to UP, or new to wondering about such things, this link will take you to the archive of questions and answers. […]
Catholics and Crucifixes: Did You Know?
Every classroom at UP has a crucifix. Dundon-Berchtold Hall’s crucifixes have been donated by UP students, priests, faculty, and staff from their studies, service, and travels all over the world. Anywhere you have Catholics, you will have crucifixes, which differ from crosses in that there is a corpus (body) on a crucifix, versus the emptiness […]
The Crucifix and Catholicism: Did You Know?
Do you know why Catholics use Crucifixes? Around campus and in the classrooms, there are crucifixes hanging on the walls. Why is this such a popular representation of Jesus of Nazareth? In part it is because this representation of the suffering and death of Jesus points to much of the good news that He came […]
Lay Collaborators In DNA of Holy Cross: Did You Know?
Here’s a true fact: a mere four nucleic acids in our DNA yield endless variety in human beings. What if we re-combined that infinite human potential to heal this broken world? The post-Revolutionary world into which Blessed Basil Moreau launched his new Congregation of Holy Cross demanded more healing and education and pastoral care than […]
Did You Know? Catholic Social Teaching
How does one live in relationship with the world today and do so in the light of the teachings of Jesus? Catholic Social Teaching seeks to answer this question. This teaching does not come from one particular document but is drawn from a range of sources that have been developed over the years. From these […]
Holy Cross Connection to the Holy Family: Did You Know?
When Blessed Basil Moreau founded the Congregation of Holy Cross he did so with a vision of a community of sisters, brothers, and priests who would look to the life of the Holy Family for inspiration. The sisters were dedicated to Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus; the brothers were dedicated to Joseph, the foster […]