​The nature of your question asks the Genesis account to be what it really is not, namely, a scientific and strictly historical account of creation. It proposes to be neither of these. Rather it is more of a poetical account of God’s creative act. 
 
Hence the chronological dating of Adam and Eve to, say, 6,000 BC, based on Genesis is not possible. 
 
The account does seem to locate the Garden in Mesopotamia, but here too we need not presume this is meant as a precise map but could be more allegorical. 
 
What we must hold is that God created everything out of nothing and guided all the stages of creation, even unto this day. Catholic teaching does prefer to see Adam and Eve as directly created by God and as actual, historical persons.

​When God first established marriage, it is clear that his vision was that: a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Hence there is one man, with one wife, and the two are stably united by “clinging” to one another as the text says. Hence divorce and multiple wives were not part of God’s design of marriage. 
 
However, on account of human sinfulness, and out of fear that men would kill their wives to be free to marry another, Moses allowed divorce. It is also clear that the customs of the Ancient Near East also infected Israel’s notion of marriage and that many, at least wealthier men and patriarchs, did often take more than one wife. Thus we see that sin corrupted what God intended and that, for a time, God overlooked this sinful behavior. 
 
However, we ought not equate the mere reporting of sinful behavior with approval of it. For, while the polygamy of the Patriarchs is reported, so is all the trouble it caused wherein brothers of different mothers contended and even killed one another. For example, there are terrible stories told of the sons of Gideon, and also the sons of Jacob, to mention but two. The well-known story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers emerges from the internecine conflicts of brothers of different mothers. Hence while reporting polygamy, the Bible also teaches of the evil it brings forth. 
 
Gradually God led the ancient Jews from approving of polygamy such that, by the time of Jesus, it was rare. As for divorce, Jesus sets it aside by teaching the people at that time although Moses allowed divorce due to their hard hearts, it was not this way at the beginning and it was now time to return to God’s original plan (cf Matt 19:4, 8) and that we should not separate what God has joined. 
 
As for Nathan saying that God gave David his many wives, this can be understood as the ancient tendency to stress God as the primary cause of all things. It does not necessary mean that God actively wanted and approved of polygamy, only that he is the first cause of everything that exists and happens.

As the days of Holy Week move forward, various events occur that directly lead to what will take place on Good Friday. Among these events was the fateful betrayal of Jesus by one of his own disciples. 
 
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:14-16) 
 
This action by Judas earned him the title of “spy” by medieval Christians, in accord with the traditional definition of the English word, “one who keeps secret watch on a person or thing to obtain information.” 
 
From Wednesday onward, Judas secretly watched for a chance to turn Jesus over to the chief priests, and so many Christians labeled this day as “Spy Wednesday.” 
 
In the same vein various cultures reflected the somber mood of this day by calling it “Black Wednesday” or “Wednesday of Shadows,” which also corresponds to the liturgical rite of Tenebrae that is celebrated on this day. 
 
It is also called “Silent Wednesday,” as the Gospels do not record any activities in the life of Jesus. The only event is the secret meeting of Judas with the chief priests. 
 
Wednesday’s events usher in the final days of Jesus’ life on earth and directly lead to the sacrifice of Jesus on Good Friday.

​The priest or deacon at the burial should bless the gravesite. If for some reason this did not happen, it can be done at a later time. Hence, it may be good for you to ask a priest or deacon to come and pray the prayer of blessing with holy water. 
 
This is especially the case in non-Catholic cemeteries and military cemeteries. In Catholic cemeteries the bishop has already generally consecrated the ground. But in non-Catholic settings this is not the case. 
 
Be assured, that the grave was not blessed, in no way affects your husband’s status with God. But it is our Catholic custom that burial sites should be blessed. 
 
A related pastoral problem is that many cemeteries, especially national cemeteries, make it increasingly difficult for us to fulfill this custom. For it is often the case that people are not able to go to the actual gravesite, but are moved off to a separate chapel or pagoda somewhere nearby. This makes it difficult for the clergy to know where the gravesite is, and bless it. Perhaps the National Conference of Bishops can most effectively address this problem since it is a national trend.

​The conferral of a blessing, even with the sign of the cross, is not forbidden to the non-ordained in all circumstances. For example, parents should be encouraged to bless their children, even trace the cross on their forehead. In some settings and cultures, elders often bless youngsters. Laypeople even bless themselves whenever they make the sign of the cross. 
 
However, in the liturgical setting you describe, some parameters should be observed. The moment of the distribution of Holy Communion, at a Mass or communion service, is not really the moment for people to seek other sorts of blessings. In a Mass, the priest will surely give the general blessing at the end of the liturgy with the sign of the cross over the whole congregation. Hence, all those present will in fact receive a blessing. 
 
There are however pastoral concerns of how best to deal with a practice that has become widespread, and is not done in bad faith. Frankly, most pastors overlook the practice and when requested, confer blessings in the communion line. Even if they do dissuade their parishioners from the practice, many visitors still often come forward requesting blessings. Thus, the matter may better be resolved at the diocesan or national level. 
 
While the situation you describe is wrong, Sister is probably trying to make the best of a difficult situation wherein people expect such blessings, even if they are not Catholic. Finding a teachable moment to gently instruct the faithful is not always easy given the presence of many visitors. 
 
Nevertheless, the goal to move toward is to teach that the distribution of Holy Communion is not really the time to seek other blessings. An additional confusion is created when, though priests and deacons are present at Masses, laypeople at other communion stations are often giving out what appear to be priestly blessings. Finding a gentle way to clear up the confusion becomes increasingly important.

​The references to deaconesses in the early Church are complicated, and much debated. St. Paul does speak of certain women as having a ministry of service. And, in his discussion about deacons, in 1 Timothy 3:11, Paul does say, “The women too…. “ 
 
But what he means here is unclear. Does it mean that women were ordained deacons? Or, is he referring to the wives of deacons? And even if they were deaconesses, did they receive the ministry by the laying on of hands? It seems not. Though Acts 6:6 mentions the first deacons having hands laid on them, there is no reference to this in terms of the women. 
 
In the Greek text of the New Testament, the word diakonia can refer to the office of deacon (diakoni), or more generically to a ministry (diakonia = ministry) of service. 
 
Some speculate that an essential task of deaconesses was to attend the baptism of women, since baptisms were conducted dis-robed. For modesty’s sake women conducted the baptisms of women. 
 
At the end of the day however we are left with a great deal of speculation, if we simply examine the scriptural text. But, we do not simply attend to the Scriptural text. We also look also to the practice of the early Church. And regarding this, there is no evidence, that the clerical office of deacon was ever conferred on women by the laying on of hands. 
 
There is little doubt that women can and do serve in many capacities in the Church today. It is true that women can provide great service (diakonia) to the Church. But it does not follow that they must be ordained to the clerical state of deacon to do so.

​The phrase you cite from the Gloria, (itself a quote from Luke 2:14), is not about who or what we are praying for. Rather, it is about how God's peace comes to rest upon us, and upon this world. 
 
God's peace is not just a human wish that we can have for others; it is the result of being in conformity to His will and about being reconciled to Him. There can be no true peace where there is a refusal to live according to the vision of his kingdom. 
 
The biblical concept of peace, (shalom), does not simply mean an absence of conflict, it means that there is present in the relationship everything that ought to be there, e.g. justice, love, reciprocity, and truth. 
 
Hence, God's peace can only rest on those who are of "good will". The Greek word from Luke’s Gospel translated here as “good will,” is eudokia, a word which describes one who manifests a desire, and delight, who is disposed and open to the Kingdom of God. 
 
Hence, the new translation is both more accurate in terms of the biblical text, and also more theologically accurate. Peace does not just drop out of heaven, on all people. But rather, it results for those who, by God’s grace, are open and disposed to what he is offering. Peace is the result that accrues to those who, by their good will and openness, accept what God offers.

On February 2, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, forty days after Christmas. In the 1962 calendar the feast is called the “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and commonly referred to as Candlemas. 
 
This is considered a “Christmas feast,” even though it is not part of the Christmas season. This is the last feast of the liturgical calendar that we commemorate Christ still as an infant child. 
 
Candlemas is an ancient feast that has developed over the centuries. In the early Church’s liturgy, January 6 was a combined feast with Christmas, Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord, with February 14 being the date for forty days after January 6. The famous pilgrim Egeria who traveled to the Holy Land between 381 and 384 AD. recorded the feast of the Presentation on the 14th. 
 
Another development is the color of vestments. In both forms the priests wear white, but before 1960 the priest would wear black, and then later violet vestments for the Candle blessing and lighting procession. 
 
The liturgy focuses on the meeting of Christ with the elderly Simeon. With Simeon we rest our hope in the Lord. The Gospel includes the beautiful Canticle of Simeon, Nunc Dimittis, which is said at the Church’s Night Prayer. 
 
Although this is a considered a Christmas feast, it also is clearly connected to the upcoming Lenten and Easter seasons. Mary and Joseph offering Jesus to God is the beginning of His earthly ministry for His Heavenly Father. This is the first of Our Lady’s seven sorrows, and a foreshadowing of the Cross. 
 
Even the popular name Candlemas hints at the “light to reveal you to the nations” that we celebrate at Easter, the ultimate feast of Light. The blessing and procession of candles is more than a strong indicator of the upcoming Paschal Candle. There is also a link to the bees—candles for church use were traditionally required to be at least 51% beeswax. 
 
Not every parish will have blessing of candles. Unless your parish makes the requirement, it is not necessary to have only beeswax taper candles to be blessed for home use. Candles designated for religious use in the home can be any style: votive, tealight, or taper. 
 
Special foods for this day? While crepes are the traditional dish, dishes with a little fire are bound to bring the Light of Christ to mind, such as Snowballs on Fire or Cherries Jubilee. 
 
With His grace may we continue to recognize the Light revealed to all nations and wholeheartedly be able to pray every day “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace.”

​To understand the numbers, it is helpful to make a distinction between nominal and practicing Catholics. Nominal Catholics are those who call themselves Catholic, but are not practicing or living the faith in any real sense. This number, is going up as our population continues to grow. And that growth is mainly from immigrants, the majority of whom are at least nominally Catholic. Thus the overall number of Catholics is growing. 
 
But to be a nominal Catholic is not necessarily to be a practicing Catholic. And, though here in America, the overall number of Catholics is growing, the number of practicing Catholics does seem to be declining overall. Sadly, only about 25% of Catholics go to Mass each Sunday (down from close to 80% in the 1950s). And an even smaller percentage agree with all the teachings of the faith and practice their faith daily to a significant degree.

​Non-Catholic Christians have usually been termed Protestants in the English language, because they were collectively "protesting" something in Catholic teaching or practice. But of course, Protestantism is a very diverse group of tens of thousands of different denominations which span the theological spectrum: liberal to conservative. 
 
Thirty years ago Protestant denominations were largely broken into two groups: the more socially conservative "Fundamentalists", and the more liberal, both socially and theologically "Mainline" denominations such as: Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, et al. 
 
The Fundamentalist tended to draw their numbers more from the more conservative Baptist congregations, and a wide variety of independent and nondenominational groups. 
 
What tended to divide Fundamentalist from Mainline Protestants was how the Scriptures were to be interpreted. Fundamentalist tended toward a more literalist adherence to the text that was more suspicious to applying historical context or other interpretive principles for understanding the text. The mainline denominations moved rather dramatically toward such interpretive keys, so much so that many of them have arguably moved beyond the text itself, and, as such, have no problem permitting things which biblical texts unambiguously forbid, e.g. homosexual acts, homosexual marriage, women clergy, etc. 
 
During the 1970s and 80s, there was a protracted campaign in the media and wider culture to discredit fundamentalism as rigid, pharisaical, and out of touch. Fair or not, the fundamentalists began to adopt the term "Evangelical" in response. While today's Evangelical Christians are not simply synonymous with the "Fundamentalists" of the past, the term "Fundamentalist" has largely been replaced by the term "Evangelical." 
 
Today, despite theological differences between Evangelicals and Catholics, there is a lot of common ground on the moral issues. This has led to greater and one of the most fruitful sources of converts to the Catholic Church from Evangelical Christian denominations today. 
 
They bring with them a great love for the Lord Jesus, and a great love for Scripture and seek a more stable, historical, theological and sacramental framework of the Catholic Church in which to live their faith. 
 
These closer relations have led to the description of "Evangelical Catholicism." This term expresses an emphasis on the Scriptural and Apostolic origins of our holy faith. At the heart of Evangelical Catholicism is the concern to avoid becoming too self-referential, to always remain centered on Christ.