Q: Who wrote the most books of the Bible?
A: Thank you for your question and while I do not intend to be clever here, the point of fact is that God wrote all of the books of the Bible. This being said, several writers share his word in different periods of Salvation History.
Much scholarship has gone into the Old Testament inquiring how many books Moses or David or Solomon would have penned. Unquestionably there are numerous writers in the Old Testament and a few of them received credit for writing more than others. As for the New Testament, this is a different story. While St. Paul is credited with providing the most letters (for our purpose, we will also consider them books), do you know that more words were written by St. Luke the Evangelist?
Let us not forget the purpose of the numerous letters from St. Paul, for he was evangelizing an ancient society immediately following Jesus’ resurrection. We may wish to look at it this way: St. Paul utilized in the most effective way the social media of his time in order to get the word out that Jesus Christ suffered, died and rose from the dead and that the human race is at the doorstep of immense and eternal hope.
Q: Why do we see pictures and statues of angels in church?
A: Throughout most of the Catholic Church history, paintings, stained glass and statues have decorated church buildings, but not simply for “interior decoration.” Each item tells a story of our faith. Years and decades ago, many, if not most people in a parish community, were illiterate. The manner in which they learned about their faith was through catechetical instruction, through preaching, or through their gaze on the various religious objects and artwork in a church.
Our faith teaches us that angels are spiritual messengers of God. Angels also have the ability to choose, namely, they have both will and intellect. Hopefully you will learn more about that in your religious instruction. For our purpose, pictures and statues of angels reinforce the fact that they exist.
Moreover, providing visuals of our spiritual friends instructs us of not just their existence but of their nearness to you and to me. The existence of angels is further instruction that you and I are never alone.
Q: Why is Rome such a big part of Catholicism?
A: In the first century of the Church, two of the most prominent Apostles died in Rome, the capitol of the Roman Empire. St. Peter, the first pope, was given the task to lead Jesus Christ’s Church as the Vicar of Christ. St. Paul, who converted after Jesus rose from the dead, was named the apostle to the Gentiles, or in St. Paul’s time, those who were not Jewish. Both of these holy men gave their lives in Rome, but that was only the beginning. The blood of these two martyrs lives on as declaration of Jesus Christ’s enduring presence in our world.
Furthermore, Rome is the city of the pope, the successor of St. Peter. From the time St. Peter was martyred on Vatican Hill to the 21st century, popes have had residency as bishops of Rome from St. John Paul II to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to Pope Francis. Rome has a distinguished place in Catholicism because Jesus himself made it so from the very beginning.