Feel free to submit a new question or concern in the comment box below. Various topics and questions are archived here for easy retrieval. Please be courteous. Comments are moderated so please be patient in waiting for them to appear and for any responses. God bless you!
NEW MESSAGES/HOMILIES CHRISTIAN REFLECTIONS DEFENDING THE FAITH
The first Martyr was saint Stephen. He was chosen by the Apostles to distribute food for the followers of the good news. He was stoned following our lord. Every Christian is called to bear witness to Jesus Christ. How many people would do what Saint Stephen did?
You responded to my question, but was my sin Mortal?
Hello Father,
Years ago I remembered a sin from the past and confessed to being flirtatious on one occasion while in a wedding. I am married. I was trying to be better about confessing kind and number. Of course, with more knowledge I might now call it lust, but I did my best at the time. Anyways, the backstory to this situation is that I was in a wedding party and we were taking pictures/poses as a group. One of the groomsmen grabbed my hand during the picture process. I’m not sure if he was leading me to the next pose or what his thoughts were. However, I felt like I enjoyed the attention I was getting from him grabbing my hand. So… when I confessed the sin, I confessed being flirtatious on one occasion. I didn’t think I need to tell the whole story, as I had been asked by priests I prior confessions to say less. I just want to make sure I didn’t invalidate the confession. I tend to run on the scrupulous side of things.
I have a question. I know a woman that keeps insisting that doing yoga for health and mobility reasons. Is it evil even if the Hindu spiritual side has absolutely nothing to do with my reasons for doing yoga? Is it evil and a pagan practice to use yoga for stretching?
I am a 26 year old female, and I am concerned about my mother. She has always been a conservatively minded person, especially as we live in the United States. Over the past few years, She has become more involved with certain right-wing or Traditionalist organizations and fifures that persistently disparage the Pope, including things that he says or does within his office. For example, he recently added Coptic Martyrs to the Roman Martyrology. I read the newsletter she had seen on the issue, which cited Aquinas and other thinkers to build an argument that this was yet another example of Pope Francis flying in the face of Catholic Tradition. I sent her another article written by Jimmy Akin for National Catholic Register (which is usually the standard around here) explaining how this move, while unusual, was not at all unprecedented. Rather than reading it, she tried to argue with me.
Other practices that make me worried is that, at least since 2020, she began refusing to even go up for the Eucharist unless she could receive on the tongue and from the priest. This normally would be fine by me, but in this case it came in response to Covid measures against receiving on the tongue. She has asked me more than once if I’d seen so-and-so receive Communion when “they really shouldn’t”. I normally try to explain that I don’t think I should be worried about that in the moment.
I don’t know if I’m being a bit of a gripe, but I hope you can help. Thank you.
I am struggling with whether or not I committed a mortal sin. Here are the circumstances: I was engaging in an action that I thought may be sinful (it is doubtful whether it was and if it was it was venial – it was a matter of going into a building that I may not have been authorized to go into to help my wife deliver some items [it was her place of employment after hours])) and I started to get feelings of anxiety and guilt about going in the building. I have been wrestling with OCD (scrupulosity specifically) which has manifested in intrusive/unwanted thoughts. In this instance the feelings of anxiety and guilt made me think that I was likely committing a sin by going in without authorization and I began to have intrusive, distressing images come through my mind of me hurting Jesus, i.e. because I thought I was sinning then these images were about this presumed sin adding to His agony in His torture and crucifixion. On some level I knew the thoughts were intrusive OCD, but on another level, because I already felt guilty, I accepted them and on some anxious level assumed that I was really adding to His pain in His Passion. I entered the building twice, the second time deliberately even though I knew I was going to have more of these thoughts/images going in. I continued to help my wife deliver the items. These thoughts greatly disturbed me and made me very uncomfortable as I had no intention or desire to hurt Jesus. To sum it up, I don’t think going into the building was necessarily sinful – what I am worried about are the thoughts/images of me hurting Jesus through His torture and crucifixion and my reaction to these thoughts/feelings by still entering the building. I did not rationally dismiss them as OCD as I could have done, rather I tried to ignore them or let them be as I went in the building, acknowledging on some level through my perceived guilt that they might be true. Had I rationally assessed the situation I could have reasoned that entering the building may or may not have been sinful and that these thoughts/images were OCD and nothing more. I had no clear, rational reason to believe that I was actually hurting Jesus, and it was not my intention to do so at all. However, I went ahead and entered twice, not combatting these thoughts but letting them be and assuming on some rushed and hurried level that they were true. Is my anxious assuming on some level that I was hurting Jesus and my continued actions in this direction mortally sinful?
I have made promises to god in times of stress. To explain further I promised god that I would not use nicotine products anymore if he were to keep my father cancer free since he has an appointment coming up in the next month. I feel super guilty if I were to use nicotine products and I just want to know will god punish me by allowing my father to have cancer if I break my promise?
Good evening Father. Thank you for answering me. I have already found an answer to my last question. I have a new one. I’m very sorry if my question is too explicit, I hope it doesn’t offend anyone.
When I was 11 years old, a person on the internet sent me a message and tried to befriend me. Then, that person asked me to send impure pictures and videos of myself, which I did. My therapist said it is called “grooming”. But I worry that I’m actually the culprit because my memory is unclear, I can’t remember if I was aware of how sinful the situation was, BUT I do remember hiding the situation from my parents, so I knew it was a bad thing?
The thing is, on my last confession I said that I was unsure if I did it willingly, that only God knows what the truth is…
By stating the sin in such way, did I make it clear enough for the confession to be valid?
Thank you very much.
Fiancé and I are debating whether we should have a child now or be stuck waiting another few years
Both myself (M 28) and my fiancée (F 31) want to have a baby and conceive soon but we’re not yet married by the Church. Our wedding will be late in 2024, which for reasons I’ll list below may jeopardize our window of opportunity for having a kid before serious career related concerns come into focus. Because this is such a nuanced scenario, we haven’t found anyone else on the internet with the same problem. Would it be wrong for us to knowingly choose to conceive a child before we were properly married?
The reason for this situation is that my fiancé is trying to balance her career as a lawyer with becoming a mother and raising any potential child. She would naturally need to take maternity leave to have a baby but this would impact her ability to work if she chose to have a child later and she is in the unfortunate position where she won’t be guaranteed maternity leave in her new role for the next few years. In the case that we had a kid later, she would be forced to abandon her career trajectory and give up on her dream job as would need to quit to help mother any potential infant.
We would ideally want to both have a kid and have her keep her career, but the colossal problem with this is we aren’t married yet and won’t be for another year; and by then we may run out of time before she begins the next phase of her career. She has benefits like maternity leave right now and would absolutely want to leverage this now rather than be forced to quit after having struggled through law school. We’re also deeply concerned with putting off pregnancy into our late 30s as there are inherently more risks with having children so late in our 30s.
We love each other very much and will of course have any potential child baptized and brought up Catholic, but I can’t shake the fact that this might just be plain unfeasible. How should we proceed in a way that works best?
I (18 male) have been invited to go on vacation with my same age girlfriend and her family. This is a FAMILY vacation we won’t have alone time for inappropriate things or anything like that we will constantly be occupied. I am independent I go to church with my mom every weekend I’m an accomplished kid I have 0 disciplinary problems and decent grades. My mom who is very a devoted Catholic won’t let me go on this vacation since she claims it is immoral. Should I be allowed to go on the vacation?
Hello Father,
I did a general confession, but when saying one MORTAL sin I was deeply ashamed of, I tried to ALLEVIATE my sense of shame by changing a circumstance (age). That change doesn’t modify the gravity of the sin, but I DELIBERATELY said a LIE to Jesus Christ Himself…
In this case, did I commit a sacrilege?
Should I do a general confession again? Or should I confess that I lied during confession and explain the circumstances?
Thanks a lot for offering your knowledge
Good morning, Father. I teach in a Catholic school. We have students from many backgrounds, including both Roman Catholic and various Orthodox churches. I hold that students who are not Roman Catholic, even though they are Orthodox, can not act as altar servers at our weekly masses. I stated that they are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and that they are not properly trained in our Mass traditions. Another teacher said, “They are more Catholic than we are.” I find that erroneous and offensive but I thought I’d check. All my research has only addressed receiving Holy Communion. Will you please clarify? Thank you.
The Catholic Church goes to great lengths to encourage the faithful to forgive themselves and others. Why won’t the Catholic Church reconcile with the Masonic Lodge? Isn’t it hypocrisy to hold a grudge? Isn’t pride a capital sin?
Fr, i am aware of breeching copyright laws in my work life .I would like to make restitution but don’t know how much I owe as many years have passed in some cases
I have a question about God that I’ve been pondering. If the scientific theory that infinite realities exist beyond the space time continuum is correct. Does that mean there are infinite gods one for each reality or does that mean there is only one God above all infinite realities?
Hello Father, I have a question as to what constitutes the sin of masturbation?
Please Father what do I do in this situation?
I converted to the Catholic Church as a result of our marriage. I fell in love with the faith and made sure all five of my children were baptized. Now I find out that my husband is an occultist and an adulterer with another family overseas. He introduced pornography into our marriage and he became a porn and alcohol addict. After about a month into our wedding, my husband stopped going to Mass on Sundays; but I would go every single Sunday with my children. We had three children before actually getting married in the Church. I forgot to mention that he is also trying to initiate my only son (eighteen years of age) into the occult. Fortunately my second daughter has already consecrated him to St. Joseph. I think my husband might be possessed. There is also the issue of medical bills. I have been diagnosed with an ailment that resulted from the contraceptive pills I have been taking. My husband introduced me them. He was a lapsed Catholic and I did not know it was wrong. I did not have much knowledge of the Catholic faith and relied mostly on what he told me. Now I am experiencing physical and emotional abuse. I do not know if I am being punished for my sins. I think he wants to kill me and take away the children. I do not know if I would survive due to the fact that my so-called husband wants me dead. I believe he can change, even if he has another wife— he is also my husband.
I am afraid of getting an annulment because of my children. I do not want them to be without a father because of how the society looks down on such people. Most will actually put the blame on me as a woman, even though I am the victim. I do not know how I will live with gossip from neighbors, family members, friends and parishioners. Like I said, I am scared of an annulment. I do not even know how much that would cost.
For 19 years of marriage I have been handling more than 70% of the family expenses. I’m only a school teacher but I’m from a wealthy background. Since I was diagnosed with my condition, he has not contributed a dime for the medical treatment. I do not know how I will be able to cope with 100% of the expenses. With the way things are I do not really get much help from family members since two of my children are out of college and free of debts. But they do not understand that my salary and my first daughter’s salary will not be enough to satisfy the costs with the education of the other three children. They are not as good academically.
I am concerned about my children’s future. Two of my children (daughters) just graduated from the University. I never allowed them to be involved in any side hustle or part-time jobs because I wanted a white collar job for both of them. My first daughter is not so good academically and she is not as likely to land a good paying job. My second daughter who graduated with a first is not interested in working. She wants to discern religious life. I have tried to explain to her the situation in the family but she is deaf to my pleadings. I do not want my daughter to enter religious life. I just cannot see myself accepting it. I actually threatened her that I would leave the Church and kill myself if she leaves for the convent. My son is not serious with his studies. He wants to play football but I do not want that. I want him to become an engineer. Very sorry if it seems I am too pushy. But I want to see all my children become successful. I have worked really hard to raise them. They have to repay my efforts. They are the only reason I have endured this marriage up to this day. But now my life is in danger.
I am too ashamed to be without a husband. I have never liked being humiliated. That is why even when my husband wanted to take my children to a public school (because he did not want to provide), I disagreed and decided to take on the responsibility of their education in a private school. I find it hard to discuss my life’s situation with my parish priest. It is very shameful. Please help me Father. My life is in a mess, what do I do?
Father Joe, my friend recently went through a major operation ( stomach removal) . I sent him this : Be assured that christ’s peace resides in you as you embrace the weight and the enormity of the day. Looking forward to your recovery and return to normal .
Please pray as you do, thanks
Hi
My name is Mike but I’m changing that soon. I went to one of your buildings here in south Bend Indiana because I was under spiritual attack but I was turned away but I was able to deliver a message.
I need to have a miracle of healing confirmed. The proof is medical records from birth, polygraph, and the Holy Spirit will be working through this LOWLY VESSEL for the Returning King the Lord Jesus Christ and LOVE for God’s Glory
AMEN
1st Corinthians 12
I have many listed and unlisted and it appears that I am one of the two mentioned in Revelation 11
God is UNFAILING
HE CHOSE ME
NO PROVE ME WRONG
IF YOU CAN
BUT BY GODS
WORD WHERE POWER AND AUTHORITY
THAT HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO ME I WILL DO HIS WILL NEVER MANS
AMEN
Free will
Accept or Deny
But you are CHARGED with TESTING ALL THINGS
AMEN
It is said that there is no sadness in heaven. However, if a mother goes to heaven and her child does not, wouldn’t that absence make a mother sad?
Be assured that christ’s peace resides in you as you embrace the weight and the enormity of the day. Looking forward to your
Recovery and return to normal
Activities. From john
Hi Father,
I have a question about business ethics. I came up with a title for a creative project that after doing a search no one else appeared to be using. The domain name was available and I purchased it and moved forward with the project.
However I recently discovered that at least one other person is using a similar version of the title as their username on social media.
Lets say, for example, I thought I had come up with Supermouse and they are using SuperMouse as their username.
But they don’t seem to be using it in a professional/creative capacity, and the name is not trademarked.
Legally, I can register the trademark (and would most likely do so with the definite article, as in, “The Supermouse”) but in terms of business ethics, I’m not sure what to do because the title isn’t as generic as “Supermouse.”
Thanks!
Father,
I have spent many a dreadful year in loathing and disstain for myself on multiple levels both physically, and mentallh. It is because of this that I have come to the realization that I myself have strayed from gods light and thusly that my soul has been tainted. I am like so many young men my age…lost. Since then, it sometimes seems as though I have lost a piece of myself that I am worried that I may never re-attain. I do not believe myself to be beyond salvation, however, I sometimes look around me at people my age and see nothing but sin and the blatant bastardization of gods creation. I believe that there are angels amongst us which is why I pose to you the question; “How do I find my way to god’s righteous love once more, and resist the vast societal pressure to become something that I am not?”.
Dear Father,
I’am a catholic who was born and still live in Aruba a small island. Now here in Aruba most priest come from abroad, so most of them don’t speak the native language (Papiamento) fluently.
The priest from my parish is from the Philippines and although he has an accent he speaks papiamento rather fluently. He was my confessor at my last confession.
My last was my first confession in about 7 years and frankly I forgot how to confess. During my confession everything was going well untill my mind went blank and I forgot a sin that I wanted to confess. When that happend I said to my confessor that I am trying to remember, and he must have misheard what I said (remember my confessor is from the Philippines), because he started giving me advice on how to deal with sin and before I knew it he started the prayer of absolution. Now at about halfway through the prayer of absolution I rememberthe sin that I wanted to confess, but because I didn’t know if I schould stop the prayer or not I simply didn’t do anything.
My question is Father. Was my confession still valid or did I commit sacrilege?
Looking forward to your reply,
Thank you Father,
Good evening,
I have returned to the church after many decades away.
I spoke to a Priest and explained my situation. He told me if I was repentant my sins are forgiven. I confessed my sins to God in personal prayer. I would like to go to confession in church but I’ve recently had surgery on my throat and must refrain from speaking for quite a long period of time. My question is can I give the Priest a written list of my transgressions?
Thankyou for your understanding in this matter.
David