<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<!-- Copy and paste the url into your newsreader application" -->
<!-- generator="About.com/0.01" -->

<rss version="0.91" >
   <channel>
   <title>About.com Catholicism: What's Hot Now</title>
   <link>http://catholicism.about.com/</link>
   
      <description>These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week</description>
      <language>en-us</language>
      <pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <image>
      <title>About.com</title>
      <url>http://z.about.com/f/lg/s10.gif</url> 
	  <link>http://www.about.com/</link> 
	  <width>118</width> 
	  <height>20</height>
      </image>
   
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pope Benedict XVI]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/history/p/Benedict_XVI.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI was elected on April 19, 2005.  Find out more about the life and pontificate of Joseph Ratzinger, the man who became Pope Benedict XVI.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prudence]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Prudence.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Prudence, one of the four cardinal virtues, is the virtue that allows us to determine what is good and what is evil in a practical matter.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Counting the 40 Days of Lent]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/f/Counting_Lent.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Lent, the period of prayer and fasting in preparation for Easter, is 40 days long, but there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and Easter.  How can that be?]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[When Does Lent Start?]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/lent/f/Lent_Start.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[When does Lent start?]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Presentation of the Lord]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Presentation.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Known originally as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and known popularly as Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord celebrates the presentation of Christ in the temple at Jerusalem on the 40th day after His Birth.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Pentecost 101]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/tp/Pentecost_101.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Pentecost marks the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.  Learn more about this holiday that is often called the &quot;the birthday of the Church.&quot;&#10;]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Sacred Heart of Jesus]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Sacred_Heart.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in reparation for the ingratitude of men for the sacrifice that Christ made for them, is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost Sunday.  The feast owes its origins to the apparitions of Christ to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the late 17th century.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Just War Theory]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Just_War_Theory.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[What does the Catholic Church teach about war?  Can any war ever be just?  If so, what are the conditions that determine the justice of a war?  And has the existence of weapons of mass destruction changed how the Church views the question of war?  Find out more about the just-war theory of the Catholic Church.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Date of Holy Thursday 2009]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/f/2009_Holy_Thurs.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In the Catholic Church, Holy Thursday is the day that we celebrate the Last Supper, at which Christ instituted the Mass and the Sacrament of Holy Communion.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prayer for a Safe Delivery]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Gerard_Delivery.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In this prayer, a mother asks St. Gerard Majella, patron of mothers and motherhood, to intercede for safety for her and her child during childbirth.  This is a good prayer to pray as a novena as a mother's due date approaches.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Abstinence in Catholicism]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/catholicliving/p/Abstinence.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[What does abstinence mean?  Why and when do Catholics abstain from meat?  Learn more about the spiritual discipline of abstinence in the Catholic Church.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Date of Christmas Day 2008]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/f/Christmas2008.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Christmas Day, the second-greatest feast day in the Christian calendar, celebrates the nativity, or birth, of Jesus Christ.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[For Gifts of the Holy Ghost]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Prayer_Gifts_HG.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In this prayer, which is part of the famous Novena to the Holy Ghost recited every year between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday, we ask Christ, Who promised the Holy Spirit to the apostles, to send His Spirit to us that we may receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.&#10; ]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Friday Prayer for the Dead]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Prayer_Dead_Fri.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[This prayer is offered on Fridays for the souls of the faithful departed.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Knowledge.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Knowledge, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is, like wisdom, the perfection the theological virtue of faith.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Novena to St. Frances Cabrini]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/novenas/qt/Novena_to_Saint_Frances_Xavier_Cabrini.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In this novena to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American saint, we ask Mother Cabrini to intercede for us, so that our prayers may be answered, and that we will understand God's will for our lives.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Date of Trinity Sunday 2009]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/2009calendar/f/2009_Trinity.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Trinity Sunday falls one week after Pentecost Sunday, and it is the day that the Catholic Church has set aside to honor the most fundamental of Christian beliefs&amp;#8212;the Holy Trinity.  Find the date of Trinity Sunday 2009.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Catholic-Anglican Relations]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/organization/p/Catholic_Anglican_Relations_and_Differences.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[What are the differences between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion? What might  reunification of parts of the Anglican Communion with Rome mean for the broader question of Christian unity?]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Saint Nicholas of Myra]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/thesaints/p/Saint_Nicholas.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[There are few saints better known than Saint Nicholas of Myra, one of the most beloved saints of all time and a Christmas icon.  Find out more about this bishop and wonder-worker.&#10;]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Counsel]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Counsel.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Counsel, the third gift of the Holy Spirit, is the perfection of the cardinal virtue of prudence.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[The Divine Mercy Novena]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/divinemercy/p/Novena_DM.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Divine Mercy novena was revealed by Our Lord to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska.  The words of the prayers were dictated by Christ Himself to Saint Faustina, and Saint Faustina recorded in her diary Our Lord's instructions for each day's prayer.  It is usually recited starting on Good Friday, but it can be recited at any time of the year.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Make Your Own Advent Wreath]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/adventactivities/ss/Make_Adv_Wreath_10.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[For many Catholic families, the centerpiece of their Advent celebration is the Advent wreath. Find complete instructions for making your own.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Lighting the Advent Wreath]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/adventactivities/ht/Light_Ad_Wreath.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Learn how to light the Advent wreath.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[When to Put Up Christmas Tree]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/catholicliving/f/Xmas_Tree_Up.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Many people today decorate their Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  But is there a proper time to put up your Christmas tree?]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Novena of Confidence]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/tothesacredheart/qt/Nov_Confidence.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In this novena, or nine-day prayer, to the Sacred Heart, we ask Christ to present our request to His Father as His own.  While it is especially appropriate to pray this novena around the Feast of the Sacred Heart or during the month of June, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, it can be prayed at any time of the year.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Catholic Calendar 2011]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/a/2011_Lit_Cal.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[This Catholic calendar for 2011 lists the dates of the Holy Days of Obligation in the United States, as well as the dates of moveable feasts (holy days whose dates change from year to year).]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Catholic Lenten Schedule 2010]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/a/2010_Lent_Cal.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Lent is a time of preparation for the death of Christ on Good Friday and His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  The following is a list of the dates of the Sundays and major feast days that fall in Lent 2010.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Reconciliation]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/thesacraments/g/Reconciliation.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a common name used for the Sacrament of Confession.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Prayer to the Holy Spirit]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Prayer_HS_Favor.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Prayer to the Holy Spirit for spiritual growth is particularly appropriate.  This prayer, since it asks for a favor, is well suited for praying as a novena.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         
         <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Anima Christi]]></title>
            <link>http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Anima_Christi.htm</link>
            <description><![CDATA[This beautiful prayer, often said after receiving Communion, dates from the early 14th century.  St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was particularly fond of the Anima Christi.  The translation is by John Henry Cardinal Newman, one of the great converts to Roman Catholicism in the 19th century.]]></description>
            <category>religion</category>
         </item>
         </channel>
</rss>