Ask a Priest

4,953 Responses

Darla, on September 25, 2022 at 8:01 pm said:

For background I have year round allergies so I am always kinda sick. I also worked 72 hours last week and my immune system isn’t the best. I have a cold and am exhausted. I don’t want to get out of bed at all. It’s nearly 4 pm (to be fair I have to disclose that I work until about midnight so my normal time is shifted-I don’t get home at 5:30 so 4 is like a 9am start time layin would be maybe 10 or 11.) I am going to drag myself out of bed and go to Mass (assuming I don’t have more serious issues upon getting up) but for future reference is that “enough” of a reason to stay home, a cold/exhaustion? Or would I be in mortal sin and need confession?

FATHER JOE: When it comes to illness there are a lot of subjective elements I cannot answer. Of course, for some illness utterly incapacitates them. There is also the issue of spreading sickness to others. Health is a mitigating factor in regard to Mass attendance.
Jonathan Edwards, on September 22, 2022 at 5:13 am said:

Dear Father Joe,
Is legally buying and selling a person’s soul a sin?
I’ve searched for answers on this topic but could never find one that was definitive. If so, what part of the transaction would qualify it to be a sin? Thank you.

FATHER JOE: Every time a person sins he or she is literally handing the soul over to the devil. The notion of persons buying souls as in a contact is a fiction. You cannot take acquisition of a human soul. When a soul leaves the body it becomes a ghost and the body becomes a corpse.
Michael, on September 22, 2022 at 12:42 am said:

Dear Fr. Joe,
My elderly father passed away. He was very religious and a daily communicant. I was given several boxes containing dozens of small statues, hundreds of old holy cards, prayer cards, scapulars, crosses, medals, holy pictures, and I don’t mean disrespect but a lot of religious trinkets such as plastic rosaries, metal coins with a religious symbol or Saint imprinted on it. This is way too much and while I will keep a few of these items to remember him, I don’t know how I can respectfully dispose of the rest. Thank you.

FATHER JOE: Donate to a church.