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NEW MESSAGES/HOMILIES CHRISTIAN REFLECTIONS DEFENDING THE FAITH
Fr. Joe:
What is your take on the Life in the Spirit seminars that are tied to the Charismatic Movement? Especially the strong focus on speaking in toungues i.e. the prayer language as a sign of being “baptised in the Spirit”. I understood this as something well and good for personal prayer but it is only one, and of the least, of the spiritual gifts. I have been told it is a “gateway” gift and you just need to practide it. I personally can’t concieve practising a gift! I am not demeaning the seminars or the gift or the people involve, just trying to make sense of it for myself. Thanks for any insight.
Hello and Thank you for your time. My question is that I have a memory of when I was a little kid of selling my soul to the devil. I forgot this for a while and got this memory recently. I have since felt as if god was telling me that I could still be saved and have because of this learned a message of the deepest love and compassion. That all beings are saved by god no matter what and that everyone goes to heaven no matter what. I am curious what a priest would have to say on this matter. I do not think it would be very good of god, truth, and everything to allow a little kid that didn’t know any better to sell away their soul and receive eternal damnation. I do not think that any being for that matter should be allowed to ruin things for themselves eternally with no chance of salvation, healing, or change, and that no good god would allow this to happen. I read on research mixed things about selling your soul, some say that you can’t. While others say that if you do there is no salvation and that god can’t hear you repent. That’s not the god that I know. The god that I know is all knowing and all powerful and all knowing means that god knows the thing of me repenting, or god is indeed not all knowing. This seems contradictory and I wanted to know about this and the other things. Thanks!!!
Why would the priest even think of refusing this boy? (No criticism meant, just looking for an explanation).
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/nonverbal-autistic-boy-denied-communion-214423760.html
Thanks,
Hilary
Hello Father,
I work for a catering company and I worked this Friday and am probably working the next couple of Fridays. Tonight, I had to bring hor’s deourves around to people. Some of these appetizers had meat. One couple even took some meat, then said “Oh wait it’s meat” but then ate it anyway even though I think they were Catholic. Is it a sin for me to serve meat to people or offer meat to people on Fridays during Lent? Do you have any advice? Thank you for your help.
Dear Father Joe, Hi, I have a short question. Is it a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday during lent? Thank you.
Hi Padre. I am 57 and recently divorced after 21 years, she left for someone else. But sometimes when I cant sleep I masturbate which puts me to sleep. Is this a mortal sin?
I’m a camera assistant on movie sets. There is a short film being done based on the 7 deadly sins.
Would it be immoral to work on set during a suggestive sex scene? It will be tastefully abstract, not explicit.
Fr Joe
I am Catholic and would like to marry. However if so some reason I can not marry in a church. What can I do to make sure I see heaven or will that just not be able ?
Fr Joe
Children of a annulled marriage are considered legitimate ? However is it right to ask someone with child to get a annulment?
Father Joe,
I am scheduled to work Easter Sunday. I will miss all the masses. I have put out a request for a trade but so far no takers. My boss has volunteered to work from open until I get out of mass, which is great, but he is at least nominally catholic, too. I even said, well, that means you would miss mass, too, and he shrugged.
I could go to the vigil mass, which would leave me up until after midnight on a day when I have to het up at 5am. I’m a pharmacist and am concerned about being alert.
I am NOT looking for excuses. I really want to go to mass, and will do the vigil if that is my only option. But I wanted your opinion on taking my boss up on his offer. I am afraid it would be akin to actively preventing him from going to mass.
I don’t know he’d be going anyway, (he is divorced and may be away from the church for all I know), but I feel dicey about it.
May I have your thoughts on the matter?
Hello, Father!
Is secretly reading my wifes’ diary a sin? If so, what kind of sin is that – how does it qualify and how should I confess it?
As we offer Mass Intensions to the souls we pray for in purgatory, The Mass Should be enough to deliver a soul in purgatory into Heaven. How come do we continually offer Mass intentions for the same person over and over? Is it not similar to confession? If we are truly sorry and do fulfill a penance for our sins, we don’t repeat the confession? Same as the order of demonic presence in a home? The “final” order in spiritual warfare is having the Mass in the home correct. It doesn’t have to be repeated from what I understand.
In short, I’m asking what the proper form and order like for a Mass Of intension?
Father, what should I do if I strongly suspect my 2 teenage daughters don’t believe in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist? Should I tell them not to receive communion? Should I still take them to mass with me?
What is your position on the gift of toungues, especially with the emphasis of it beig the earmark of beiNG “baptized in the spirit” within the charismatic movement. I have always seen it as a gift for personal use. I have never understood it as a prerequisite for spiritual gifts.
Thanks for you input!
Fr Joe,
Honestly, I fail to see how anyone could be a saint. It is so hard to be really good. I just made what I thought was a really good confession last night and was buoyant until just now, barely 12 hours later. I’m at work, alone and trying to get work done, and a delivery guy comes with the drug order and I was annoyed with the interruption. I wasn’t rude to him, but did harbor some thoughts along the line of “I’m doing something important here, I hope he can see that” kind of prideful nonsense. I’m annoyed at myself and disappointed. Plus, I don’t know if this is a mortal sin since I was prideful and irritated in my heart. Do I need to go to confession again before Sunday?
Where is the absolute proof of the existence of a god or many gods
And please don’t tell me that it is in the bible so it is true.
Fr. Joe,
Can you please clarify this for me. I was under the impression that when one dies there is a particular judgment of the soul and it goes to heaven or to purgatory for where ever. At the second coming, the general judgment, that is when souls on Earth go to heaven or hell, souls in purgatory go to heaven and souls are united with their glorified bodies.
Hello Father,
My wife and I are happily married for over 15 years and have 5 children from 2.5 to 12.5 years and have decided that we are happy with 5 kids and do not want anymore. My wife is now 40 years old and we also feel too risky to continue since we have also had 4 miscarriages.
We practice NFP as best we can and are open to life if ends up resulting in pregnancy but during her fertile time we are drawn to each other and tend to arouse each other. Most of the time we work each other up but do not climax. However recently we have been engaging in intercourse after stimulation but I am able to withhold myself from orgasm while she does. I do this by choice and of course a lot of focus.
Without getting too detailed I am curious if this is permissible or not? Most of what I have found online speaks of “coitus resurvatus” which I am finding mixed opinions on.
Can you please help clarify for me so that we can determine if this is allowable or not so that we can make sure to not lead each other into any sort of occasion or actual sin?
Thank you.
Dear Fr. Joe,
Thank you so much for your online ministry, I am sure that you are well aware of your large and growing readers around the globe.
Many like myself, who have followed your blog for many years, are keen to “listen-in” to your weekly sermons. Would this be possible? Perhaps through YouTube, or a social media platform?
However I would not want it to be an additional burden on your already hectic schedule. Please let me know how I can help make this happen.
Hendra
Hi Father. I know someone who informed me that she witnessed a desacration of the Holy Eucharist. I personally would have reported it if I witnessed it, but the person who saw it might not want to report it although she said she had lectured those that have done it that it’s disrespectful to our Lord. I do think that she did the best that she could on that situation but she doesn’t know that it was supposed to be reported. Am I under obligation to report the event?
Hi Fr. Joe, I was raised Catholic, but my whole extended family did not really practice. We were wishy washy in our practice of our faith and devotion to God. My parents have had some bitterness against the Church due to some experiences as kids. They did sent us to CCD, and we got Confirmed. However, we only went to Church only on Christmas, Easter, and the rare random Sunday, and we never prayed together as a family.
Since childhood, I’ve always been very aware of God’s presence around me. It seemed that I was alone in this in my family. By God’s grace, I had encounters in college that lead me to practice my Catholic faith fully. My faith is extremely important to me now, and I”m so thankful to God for all the gifts that have allowed me to love and serve him. Because of God and my faith, I know great joy even amid tremendous struggle and difficulty. I feel so blessed to be Catholic. Truly.
I continue to be the only practicing Catholic in my extended family. Even my college aged/ grown kids do not attend Church regularly. I struggle to find the courage to evangelize in my own family. And, I wonder if this will have an impact on my own salvation. What comes to mind is Luke, “To whom much is given, much will be expected”. I can’t explain why I have this gift of faith, especially considering my upbringing. I feel as though it has been a blessing from God. Sometimes I wonder if God gave it to me so that I could be the one to share it with those I love. But, I am failing greatly in this. I struggle to know how, I’m hesitant and unsure of myself. I am already judged at times (even though my family does love me). How culpable are we when it comes to saving souls? I fear I will stand before God and he will say, “With all the gift I blessed you with, why didn’t you do more?”. And, I will not have an answer. This has me concerned.
Thank you Fr. Joe
Hello Father
Today I got really angry as I was trying to fix the beads of my rosary when It didn’t work out I teared the rosary apart and spitted on the Holy Cross. This is not my first time, another time I was angry and I spitted on a holy book. I’m feeling so much sorrow in my heart right now I feel sad and angry at myself. The Lord is the only one I have left and now I may have lost him. I’m very ashamed of myself I cried and I couldn’t sleep. I feel like a cruel person.
My question is what can I do to repent? Do I have to make penance? And how?
Sorry for my English, I am a 18 years old Brazillian.
My parents got married two days ago in the Church. They have been married in civil since many years ago, but they received the matrimony sacrament without Confession. In other words, perhaps in state of sin. Now, they want to prepare to receive the First Communion, certainly attending catechesis classes in the parish. I had the opportunity to ask the priest in the marriage day, few minutes before the celebration begins, if state of grace is needed to get married, but I didn’t. I also thought that I could interrupt the celebration to talk about the issue, but I didn’t.
Did I sin by omission? Mortally? I also would like prayers, maybe one to regret what I did.
Fr. Joe:
While visiting a home bound parishioner today, as an extraordinary minister, I read today’s Gospel. It says they “Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord….”. The parishioner said “how can that be since the baby Jesus was the Lord”. I wasn’t sure of the proper response.
They would not have recognized the Trinity at that time with their son as the Second Person of the Trinity. Or did they? What is the proper explanation?
Hi Father, I’m divorced and remarried. I’ve had a catholic education from grammar school through college. From what I remember, once you’re divorced and remarry, you no longer can receive communion. Not sure about the other sacraments. Please advise. When I do go to church, I usually pass on receiving communion.