Reflecting on the people’s faith helped him to see that, for the Christian, death “means no more and no less than the end of our testing period here on earth; it is a return, a going home, to the God and Father who first created us. It is not the end of life; the fact of the resurrection proves that beyond a doubt.”

The Catholic customs of praying for the souls of the dead, praying to the saints who have gone before us in earthly life, and of venerating relics are based primarily in the church’s long-standing tradition and theology rather than explicit scriptural “prooftexts.” However, the Bible does indeed allude to these practices.

While economics largely drove the result of this election, we Catholics understand that many cultural and social issues are far more important than decreasing interest rates and controlling inflation.

Co-writers and directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ chiller “Heretic” (A24) probes the nature of faith.

Capsule reviews of theatrical movies available now for streaming or scheduled for broadcast on network or cable television as well as notes on TV programming for the same week.