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    Fr. Joseph Jenkins

  • The blog header depicts an important and yet mis-understood New Testament scene, Jesus flogging the money-changers out of the temple. I selected it because the faith that gives us consolation can also make us very uncomfortable. Both Divine Mercy and Divine Justice meet in Jesus. Priests are ministers of reconciliation, but never at the cost of truth. In or out of season, we must be courageous in preaching and living out the Gospel of Life. The title of my blog is a play on words, not Flogger Priest but Blogger Priest.

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5,114 Responses

  1. Fr you asked me where I got the information that Archbishop Vigano said the covid vaccine was a satanic baptism .it is here :August 15 ,2021 The Robert Moynihan Interview ,The Vigano Tapes .Question 10 .Is it just an opinion?

    FATHER JOE: I still cannot find it. Can you give me the passage in context? It such an odd assertion that it strikes me as nonsensical.

  2. I have a friend who is 12 weeks pregnant and just found out her child may have down syndrome and is contemplating abortion. I am strongly opposed to the idea and am encouraging her to keep her child. If she does decide to have the abortion am I obligated to cut her out of my life? Can I still be faithful to my catholic beliefs but still be her friend?

    FATHER JOE: This is not really a matter of your faith, except that you should urge her to keep her baby. If she does not, then how will this impact upon you? What is the emotional stuff of which you are made. Can you be a close friend to someone who has destroyed her child?

  3. I got my first holy communion in 2016 when I was 9 years old at a catholic church. I was baptized and already had my first confession beforehand. But I hadn’t gone to any catechism classes when I was a child I got confirmed because I went to a catholic school, but for some reason I’m feeling guilt that my first holy communion was not valid because I didn’t meet the requirements and now I’m not sure whether I can receive the eucharist anymore so I’m trying to ask a priest if my first holy communion was valid and if I did meet the requirements because I don’t know what the requirements are to make a first holy communion.

    FATHER JOE: You should have been catechized prior to the reception of first Holy Communion. However, you received in the proper sequence— baptism, first penance and Holy Communion. You were later instructed and confirmed. All your sacraments were valid.

  4. Fr ,i am worried about the sin of Presumption .Can this sin be forgiven ? Does St Thomas Aquinas say it is too grave to be forgiven ?

    FATHER JOE: Presumption is not only a sin in its own right, but it is intricately aligned to other sins. Often it serves as a sinful attitude that would excuse other sins and resist necessary repentance. Further, it tends to selfishly place our will over that of God and his providence and power. False assurance is not the same as virtuous hope. We are all dependent upon the Lord and his mercy. Such is not automatic and requires a proper disposition. Like other sins it can be forgiven but it must be renounced so as to make possible sufficient sorrow and contrition. St. Thomas Aquinas does not regard it as an unforgiveable sin.

  5. Hi father joe, I’m a Christian, with a Muslim girlfriend and we are planning on getting married (in the church). But my parents are not agreeing because of the culture and religious differences, I tried talking to them a lot but they aren’t agreeing and I think about Jesus Christ because he never told us to discriminate any culture or any religion. my question is if the girl gets baptized and we get married in the church, is it okay to marry her?

    FATHER JOE: You are presuming many things and only speaking from your side of the equation. Does she really believe in Jesus and the faith so as to want instruction and baptism? How does her family feel about all this? Catholics would have to get a dispensation to marry a Moslem and such is not automatic. There is a high failure rate in the West with such unions. Where will you live? There are places in the world where such marriages would be illegal and she would face imprisonment for conversion. Think this through seriously. It is not just about you. Her life and happiness are also at stake.

  6. Good day Father, i would like about INRI in crucifix in rosary, what font or what country is the inscription looks like 1xx1 of INRI. Thank you so much. God Bless

    FATHER JOE: The letters stand for the Latin inscription at the head of Christ’s Cross given by Pilate: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum = Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.

  7. Tell me please all you know about God and how you know that it is God . Thank you .

    FATHER JOE: All I know about God? Really? I can’t do that in a quick blog comment. If you want to know the Lord I would recommend you start reading the Bible. Peace!

  8. I work at a place where visitors were supposed to get tickets for free that they accidentally paid for online before they came in. For some reason they got paid tickets, and didn’t ask about getting them for free even though they had a free pass that they showed me at the entrance. They already bought tickets to go on the tour, so I just let them inside without really thinking about getting them a refund. I can’t do anything about it now, since I don’t have any way to contact them and don’t know their names, but do I owe restitution in some way?

    FATHER JOE: They had some responsibility in this as well. Maybe they wanted to pay? I would let it go.

  9. I just saw on a calendar that January 1st falls on a Sunday. Since it’s the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, do I have to go to Mass twice that weekend? Once for Sunday obligation and once for the Solemnity of Mary?

    FATHER JOE: The solemnity takes precedence . . . you only need to go once.

  10. Dear Father I have read your articles re final impertince etc .Are the sins you have mentioned apart from final impentince unforgivable or can you repent of them and be saved ?

    FATHER JOE: As long as there is life, there is hope. Forgiveness is possible.

  11. Flip the script.
    6 is an important number on the Altar.
    We have 6 candles with Jesus being the one which makes 7. Completion. So reset your thoughts. We become what we think about as we think how we feel, which manifest what we become. So don’t allow your thoughts to generate. Well, better yet, begin to retrain your thoughts to change how you feel, to enable you how to project your day. Set your hand to the plow within your faith and don’t look back.
    Another tip is your comment projects past as being unworthy. God forgives! So rewire your direction of thought to being in the present, and trusting Gods future for you of his will.
    The mind wants to stay in familiar territory because it knows how to feel and it wants to not change. That leads to how we think. However, it is important to reverse that order. Managing what we think about is magnificent when we spiritually trust in conscious through The Holy Spirit communicating to us. Living in the past by feeling Is by the subconscious of memories that are attached to neurotransmitters which will cause you to stay in that feeling.
    If you believe, then prob yourself if this question from a practical perspective: How do we live what we believe and how do we believe what we live?

    Peace Be With you
    Skip

  12. Hi Fr Joe
    Greetings and hope you are in good health.
    My concern is, I recently started a side career as a makeup artist. I spent quite a fortune buying materials that I felt i needed to start on the right track e.g expensive quality Canon camera, expensive makeup etc. Is it a sin to always buy quality stuff? Where does one draw the line? I have some makeup already but want to add one more to my cart because I feel it will make for a great content on YouTube. I won’t deny that I derive great pleasure in owning quality stuff, but is it a sin?
    I try to grow in holiness by going to confession, Mass and Holy Communion and saying my Rosary. Can one derive pleasure in quality stuff and love God at the same time?
    Being a Youtuber and especially a makeup artist on YouTube means sometimes keeping up with the trend of latest makeup releases. I try not to buy every makeup releases, I choose the ones that appeal to me. The mindset i have in making makeup purchases is that it would look good for my channel and i will express my creativity in doing a makeup tutorial beautifully.
    I don’t usually think too much about these things before but I’m wondering if I’m guilty of sin based on what I described above or if I’m being scrupulous, any advice will help. Thanks.

    FATHER JOE: Owning stuff is not sinful, especially if used for your livelihood. The problem is not owning things but allowing things to own or possess us. Material things can add to the quality of life and be used for God’s purposes. But we must all be careful about what might become a distraction to our spiritual lives as Christians.

  13. Well, for starters, let’s define intimate. I presume, by the nature of your thoughts, you are defining intimate with sexual activity/“love making”.

    It is wise to separate those two.
    Your relationship should be full of intimacy in all forms of complete language of our intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritually beings.
    Sex is just a small section under intimacy. However, when we do fulfill the relationship entirety of intimacy, the physical intimacy has more meaning and more powerful to engage our heart mind and souls into true desire of the marriage. If we look at sex as the only thing to intimacy and that happens to be not good, then everything works off of that. Which is why we see so many marriages fall apart. They begins to create desire through the mind first, then make it believable that they must be able to get that intimacy, desire, and pleasure somewhere else.

    So start there and really dive into intimacy of the marriage.

    Discuss that together pray about it and God will guide you.

    Peace be with you
    Skip

    FATHER JOE: The use of the word “intimate” is sometimes employed as a less graphic denotation of vaginal intercourse and sexual congress. None but an utter hedonist would deny that married couples should be best friends and as knowing and loving persons close in many ways besides genital activity. The Church would speak about them as being helpmates so as to go to heaven. The problematic issue with human sexuality is that it can become easily exploited and uprooted from its natural ends. The Church appreciates the marital act as directed to the generation of new human life and to the fidelity and unity of the spouses. Beyond the natural level, within the sacrament of matrimony, this form of intimacy constitutes a renewal of the covenant bond in Christ.

  14. I am 72 and my wife of 40 years passed away 4 years ago. Before that I was married to another woman for 5 years and divorced. I am not Catholic. I have met a Catholic woman whose husband passed away 2 years ago. I know there are certain “rules” about divorce and death as far as marriage again for us. This seems to be an unusual predicament. What needs to happen for us to marry?

    FATHER JOE:

    Actually, the situation is more common than many would suppose. There are a number of pressing factors to consider in any answer.

    First, given that the Catholic woman was only married once and now her husband is deceased, she is free to marry again.

    Second, although your second wife has passed, the problem is your first bond. If she were a baptized Catholic and you married outside the Church, then a simple declaration of nullity would declare the first bond invalid, freeing you to marry in the Catholic Church. However, if neither of you were baptized Catholics, then the Church would presume that the first marriage is still binding (regardless of divorce and remarriage). Catholic laws requiring the vows to be witnessed by a Catholic minister only bind our own believers. Non-Catholics can get married before a Protestant minister or a civil judge and we would recognize the unions as valid. This is because marriage is a natural right. Valid marriages between Christians are raised to the level of a sacrament. If the first marriage is still valid then you would have to seek a formal annulment through the diocesan tribunal. You would need to write an essay and provide witnesses for why the marriage failed and should be annulled. If this is the case, and you really want to marry again, then talk to a local priest to start the process. There are no guarantees as the court will have to find legitimate grounds. Peace!

  15. Hello!

    I am a 52 year old man from southern Sweden and decided to give religion a shot about five and a half years ago. Now, it would be a very very long story to type here to mention every detail so i will keep it short. This is just three things i have experienced while being wide awake during the years:
    1. Demonic activity for maybe 5 (2016 in the middle of the night. Was right next to me trying to make open my eyes. Had a loud deep, agressive growling
    With right next to me i mean 12 inches)
    2. Angelic pressene as a organge/golden orb right next to me on the soffa for about 4 seconds.
    3. Angelic presence in male human shape stare at me from outside kitchen window. Felt fear so probably demonic.

    So, this tells me that there is a dimension we don’t see. There has been too many disapointments and i don’t want to have god in my life anymore, i want him to take his so called salvation, holy sprit and leave me alone. I don’t have any tolerance for his treatment, no faith, no love and so on.
    I rebuke, reject, and i deny the bible, the holy trinity as true, i am not interested in forgiveness and will never ask for it. I typed this here to mark that i am serious because so far i can’t get god to respect me.
    I really don’t care wether i go to gehenna or whatever there is.
    So, what can i do to make god leave me alone?
    Do i really have to contract a real life dark witch to curse god?

    FATHER JOE: You are spiritually deceived. If you are also mentally ill, I cannot say. The devil loves a vacuum. If you cast God out then the demonic will come to roost. How can you get rid of a divine presence and grace that you never possessed. You may have given religion a try, but I suspect is was not the true faith. It sounds like all you have known throughout has been dark spirits. Now you mimic them. They also want no part of God and seek to avoid his light. See a priest about proper instruction and ask for deliverance prayer.

  16. I want to invest in the stock market, but as a Catholic, I’m aware that I don’t want to invest in companies that are pursuing immoral activities. I live in the UK and am looking to invest in the SNP 500 and another that covers markets in different countries. Would you be able to recommend me a platform or advice so I comply with Catholic teaching when it comes to investing

    FATHER JOE: Sorry, I am not well-versed in such things. I know the Knights of Columbus here in the U.S. make efforts as ethical investments.

  17. Is wet dreams a sin

    FATHER JOE: No, because the will is impeded.

  18. Hello Father Joe, I was civilly married and divorced outside of the church by a justice of the peace. Both my ex and I are baptized Catholics. I have recently returned to the church and was told that my marriage was not valid and therefore after first going to confession I could receive holy communion. Does this sound correct to you and is my past sinful relationship forgiven after confession? Or do I need to seek an annulment?

    FATHER JOE: Yes, you were told correctly. Go to confession. Return to the practice of your faith. If you should decide to marry again (in the Church) then you will need a simple declaration of nullity from the Church.

  19. i am having trouble with my confessions every time i confess my sin i keep thinking about wether or not i am feeling what i am supposed to be feeling i can feel anxious whenever i think about it too much but i am not sure if i am actually feeling what i am supposed to be feeling in order to do a proper confession

    FATHER JOE: While it can be emotional, confession is not about feelings. Sorrow or perfect contrition flows from knowing that sin dishonors God whom we are to love above all things. Imperfect contrition is the fear of the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. Either suffice for absolution.

  20. Dear Fr. Joe, hope you are well. I have a question i am unsure if you can answer for me and i completely understand if this question cannot be answered or deemed not suitable here.

    Why am i seeing number 33 everywhere? I didnt get a chance to ask the exorcist and now i cant even contact one because they have a committee where it is very difficult to reach them as they are extremely busy. I am concerned because everyday i am seeing this number. I use to be woken up at 3.33am and every hour 33mins past leading up to seeing an exorcist but now i still occasionally see it every now and again just not as much as i use to.
    Also, I am praying daily. But if you have a prayer you recommend i would appreciate it.
    Thank you.

    FATHER JOE: I do not believe this is a spiritual matter.

  21. Fr. Joe,
    My husband’s family is Catholic and my stepson was baptized Catholic. We have him every other weekend and for the whole summer (his mother relocated and lives 90 minutes from us). His mother is not religious and makes no effort to support religious education or take him to any kind of church when she has him. Our parish priest has said he likely cannot be catechized because he will not be supported at his mother’s home in keeping the sacraments and he is only with us every other weekend. We are very disheartened and would like to find some kind of solution so he can take his First Communion. Is there any way to support a child who lives in two different locations through no fault of his own? Thank you very much.

    FATHER JOE: Perhaps you could give him virtual catechesis over the computer? Then when he visits you can test him and take him to church. Talk to the priest or his director of religious education. Maybe they would make an accommodation?

  22. Dear Fr Joe,
    Is it a sin to not want to forgive yourself?I divorced and remarried many years ago. When I was 18 I married someone who I thought at the time was a devout Christian. He ended up not really being and that came to light a few years later. He ended up drinking possibly using drugs and became abusive. To this day I have had trouble forgiving myself fully for being naive and putting myself in that situation. For many years, I was depressed and angry at myself for destroying my life. I found it was easier to forgive him than myself and I still don’t understand why. I suppose it’s because I intended on marrying for life. I had tried marriage counseling and to work through things. Nothing seemed to work at a certain point when he walked away towards alcoholism. I definitely don’t think I necessarily reacted perfectly to all these issues, but it definitely became something that seemed beyond me when physical abuse occured .I had been in a purity program as a teen and knew I was only going to have sex within the bounds of marriage. I suppose the biggest reason I’m still unable to forgive myself for my past is simply because I made a bad choice possibly due to low self-esteem I had been molested by a relative as a young child and my father died when I was 11 so I think a lot of that interfered with actually clearly seeing how things were. It’s been 17 yrs since I went through all that and I still don’t think Ive been able to forgive myself.
    It’s actually one of the things that scares me about also discussing my past with a priest and converting to Catholism.

    FATHER JOE: Do not be afraid to talk with your local priest. You may need counseling he is not equipped to give, but he can certainly get you started. The Church is here to share Christ’s love and to help you, not to condemn you. You blame yourself for so much, and none of us are without guilt, but you need to break out of the cage of being a victim. You were abused, hurt and young. Now you are older and wiser. Move forward. Seek to fix what is broken and know that if God can forgive you then who are you to condemn yourself? I will keep you in prayer. God bless you!

  23. 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.

  24. 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.

  25. 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.

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