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NEW MESSAGES/HOMILIES CHRISTIAN REFLECTIONS DEFENDING THE FAITH
Blogger Priest 
father
would u help me with the steps and with the rituals of being a priest.
how am i suppose to apply for that.??????
and the eligibility and the course details please.
show me the way father.
bless me
Father, it is said that our sins nailed Jesus to the cross and from then the cross is the power of Christ (the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
As I have seen in some movies, what does the upside down cross signify? It is said that the devil does it?
And Father, what do the words in Latin stand for, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit?
I wonder if the expectation to wear his collar all the time because it is a vocation is the case for self-supporting NSM priests?
I am such a beast and my “commitment” is as much or as little as I want! I do not have any church house, so any pastoral visits or meetings take place in my own house or a local coffee shop. Wearing the collar then is expected because I am on duty, but these are rare occasions; as a rule my “role” means a Sunday morning only. So picking my son up from school, shopping and other such events seem a time when my collar should be left behind, or am I wrong?
When I worked as a chaplain I wore it every day, despite my commitment to the church was the same! But I do worry about Evangelization; if they do not see my collar, how do they know I am a priest? But I feel odd wearing it walking my dog! On occasions I make visits to hospitals, retirement homes, addict rehab centers, plus meetings with other clergy; then I put it on. If I was fulltime, I would never take if off unless it was my “Day Off” as I want to be available; but as a part time priest, I feel I am “pretending” when not on duty. So whether I am right or wrong, I do not wear it.
We try to pray as a family. Our house has not been blessed because the lady that used to live here was very religious and we know that the priest used to come to visit her often so we figure we didn’t need it to. Do you think it would be best to contact a priest?
Could you please direct me into where can I find the litany and consecration to the sacred heart?
Good Morning Father,
I am wondering if in confession I forgot some of my sins or have sins from childhood that after much consideration I now remember, do I have to tell them the next time I go to confession? And does it mean that I have commited a mortal sin by not saying all my sins through out all these years? I also went to a class/talk about confession from a priest about 2 yrs ago and he told us only to confess any mortal sins that we had at the time and all of other sins would be forgiven in general since I guess he was short on time, does that count for my childhood sins?
Thank you, Father.
Father, beforehand, I would like to say, “THANK YOU, THANK YOU!” for all of your time and dedication in answering our questions and posting about topics which have been very helpful to me personally.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a black-like shadow standing nearby and looking at us. I could not see the face but I know that it was looking at us. Although many years ago, that incident, however, has been on my mind ever since. The question is, was it God allowing me to see an evil spirit? I really don’t think it was something good since it was all black.
[Recently upset about something], I stayed up all night. I could not sleep and I got up and asked our Lord to please help our family to be at peace. I prayed a rosary. My daughter told me that she could not sleep at night. She said that all of a sudden she felt like waking up and saw someone sitting on the adjacent bed. She could not see the shadow’s face but it was shaped like a person. She felt it was waiting for something or someone. I am not sure if she were dreaming or not. However, I am wondering if this could be the same image I saw once?
Dear Father,
In the Old Testament God commands us to not eat certain foods. God was very specific about what not to eat. What has changed since then that merits now eating these foods? Jesus as a Jew obeyed all these directives. I just don’t see where Jesus reversed these specific commands. I understand how Jesus took the place of sacrifices and atoned for our sins; but did Jesus mention anything regarding these other commands? For example, why would we relax disciplines regarding diets and memorial respectfulness after Jesus? It would make sense to carry on as well as enact Jesus’ commands. Your thoughts please.
Many Regards and God Bless,
Anthony
Father, I would like to ask your opinion on an event that happened to me thirty years ago. I was preparing for bed when a figure appeared in my room, like the dark outline of a human shape with a blinding white light behind the darkness. The figure was suspended in the air and had the most awful majesty about it. It greeted me by saying ‘You do not really believe in me, do you?’ in a chiding sort of tone. I was convinced that I was in the presence of God and immediately said that I did believe. The spirit then went on to mention my grandmother and mother and point out that they had faith even though they had never experienced such as I was now witnessing. He told me that I should read the Bible more intelligently and the example he gave was about Moses going up the mountain. He said it didn’t mean he literally went up a mountain but that Moses was spiritually elevated above the mass of the people. He also said that I must be strong, brave and lead out of darkness. he then told me some personal things that would happen to me as a punishment for my sins (‘your hell in heaven shall be…..). These things have come to pass.
I became very much frightened as well as feeling like a cockroach in the presence of this mighty all-seeing, all-knowing being. I felt some sort of internal struggle, like a voice telling me I was going mad, and then the whole vision disappeared. When I ran from the room to my flatmates, they had seen or heard nothing out of the ordinary.
This event has had a profound effect on me, not knowing what I’d seen or what it meant, and I still struggle with this to this day, nearly 30 years later. I spoke to a priest about it, but apart from giving me literature on the discernment of spirits, he seemed as confused as myself.
At the time, I had fallen away from the church and was living a sinful life. It frightens me that the spirit may have been the devil, as I know he can appear as an angel of light. He did not say ‘Do not be afraid’ which seems to be the first thing all good apparitions say. I was worried that I was going mad, but after 30 years , nothing like this has ever happened again, so it seems unlikely. Also the prophecy the spirit made about my punishment was fulfilled.
What do you think of all this? This event was followed by two deaths the following week by members of my immediate family. I was very depressed for a very long time, and still feel frightened when I think about it.
Having led a sinful life for a long time, I am now once more a practising Catholic, thank God, but I am still haunted by this visitation. What do you think?
Dear Fr Joe,
Still on the topic of fear, especially as we celebrate the Sunday of Divine Mercy, we must remember that Peter, the one singled out by Jesus to head up His Church here on Earth, was so afraid, so totally petrified, not of Hell, but of being found out, that he not only lied and denied knowing Jesus and being one of His gang, but he also did it with an oath.
I know that, with Jesus up on trial and set for execution Peter was very much afraid of some similar fate, and I can’t start to imagine how it would have been had I been around then and tangled up in the following of this rather dubious Messiah…..after all Peter certainly wasn’t willing to accept that Jesus would have to die; hence Jesus’ admonition: “Get thee behind me satan!” But Peter had been with Our Lord for nigh on 3 years and seen first hand just what He did and taught.
So that wasn’t fear of Hell fire, quite the opposite, it was fear of being found out and fear of being executed also. Remember, this man of the sword actually defended Our Lord and cut off the ear of Caiphas’ servant (or some high ranking constable). And I would probably have done the same…a big man when Jesus was around but as soon as the Messiah was chained up and overpowered, it would have been too fearful to even claim knowledge of Him.
And it’s fear of going to Hell that motivates me much of the time. The opposite is Divine Mercy, and although I’ve just come back from the 3 pm exposition and prayers, I still don’t ‘feel’ any thing extraordinary.
So I’m back to blind faith and fear. In other words: “The carrot and the stick”. It never worked when I was growing up and it doesn’t work very well now, but the Church certainly makes full use of it; no wonder the ‘Evangelical Protestant Movement’ is so appealing. They say a little prayer, are saved and then rely on Divine Mercy to do as they like. Much like many priests featured in your various other bloggs.
What on Earth does God make of all this, that’s assuming there is a God. I haven’t heard much from Him lately.
With Love, Paul.
Recently my 17 year old daughter has been listening to some interesting new music and out of curiosity I looked it up and found something disturbing. I would really appreciate it if you would watch this video I found the music she has been listening to [on youtube].
LINK DELETED: Chelsea Grin – Desolation Of Eden
I am very concerned by this and afraid that she may be an atheist. How should I talk to her about something like this? Thank you for your time and God bless you.
What role do you think fear plays in faith?
The argument being made: God did not out law polygamy, man did.
Basic truths: God does not change, man does.
Marriage, divorce, and fornication are separate acts.
Marriage is ownership: She is my wife. He is my husband.
Dear Fr Joe,
Thank you for your reply, and I think you have hit the nail on the head. What I struggle with is points 5 and 6 in your list, the idea that our intimate relationship with God was forefited because of sin, and the concept of inherited original sin.
I suppose the dilemma starts with the idea that; “everything God created is good, and yet there was a snake in the garden”
Where did the snake come from?
And I suspect that, due to all sorts of events in my childhood, I have an over developed sense of “fair play” that us English are renowned for. I can’t help identifying not only with all sinners of both Old and New Testaments, but also the concept of God as well…..you know the sort of: “If I were God then I would……..blah, blah blah!”
Fear of punishment and of being found out and exposed has been particularly huge in my history and also having to carry the can for the failures of others, so I find it very difficult to accept that I have ‘inherited’ this worthlessness and need to rely of Gods saving benevelence. I have learned to rely only on my self, I have learned that I can only trust myself and my own intentions, and that is simply because I could not even trust my own mother, and later on, my own wife. If you can not even trust those closest to you then how on earth can you trust a distant and historic God? Especially one who suddenly strikes people down dead with little apparent concern for their eternal soul, and then we see the complete opposite with Jesus who was ransomed for us…………..and that, too, is enormously ‘unfair’.
This nail that you hit fair and square on the head is the “unmerited” stuff. It is that we can not save ourselves and have to rely on God’s goodness and saving grace……..back to trust all over again I suppose.
Now I didn’t ask to be born, and it was the stirring of my father’s loins and my mother’s, probable, passive yet receptive body that caused the process to begin, and despite being in distress at birth, I did survive. Now why does that make me full of sin, so much so that unless I’m baptised and washed clean I have no hope of salvation…..that just sounds so unfair to me and difficult to accept. If I’m made in the ‘image of my creator’ then surely this sense of fair play must come from Him, because it can’t come from the devil as he is all evil.
And I wouldn’t suggest that your ability and willingness to accept these hard truths was manifestation of gullibility, I would suggest that it’s God’s gift to you and I would welcome some of it myself.
With love, Paul
Dear Fr Joe,
It seems that the legacy of Adam and Eve was more polygamous and incestuous rather than ‘faithful’. We know that this first family ended in tragedy when Cain killed Abel, and then who knows what Adam had sex relations with, but there was suddenly another woman who came out of the bushes……….where on Earth did she come from?
And as for God either taking a passive or interventive role in His creation; well I believe neither, I feel He just made us and left us to get on with it. And I will judge the Patriarchs of old and I judge them serious sinners. Unless you want us to follow King David’s example and both have our cake and eat it. He took another man’s wife, but to ensure that he followed ‘the law’ he engineered the killing of her husband, and we know that he was not successful in that subterfuge either. What a nasty, evil man!
Come-on, let’s face it, these leaders were just power hungry war mongerers, and just took what ever they wanted and that included land and women and slaves. How could God ‘tolerate’ it? Everything was against His will, and if we are to believe some of the fables, He sent terrible punishments on these sinners. Did God send plagues and destruction, did He destroy the Tower of Babel, did He wipe out the Egyptians in The Red Sea? Did he strike Onan down dead? Well NO, of course He didn’t but that was just how the authors tried to understand what happened to them over the centuaries and retrospectively put a spin on it to control the masses using the age old technique that The Church still uses today: FEAR.
And it can be argued that the sin of Onan was not so much one of ‘spilling the seed’ as the fact that he was having it off with someone elses wife!!!
Best wishes, Paul
Christianity / Saint Augustine (354–430 C.E) saw a conflict with Old Testament polygamy, and wrote about it in The Good of Marriage (chapter 15, paragraph 17), where he stated that though it “was lawful among the ancient fathers: whether it be lawful now also, I would not hastily pronounce. For there is not now necessity of begetting children, as there then was, when, even when wives bear children, it was allowed, in order to a more numerous posterity, to marry other wives in addition, which now is certainly not lawful.” He declined to judge the patriarchs, but did not deduce from their practice the ongoing acceptability of polygamy.
In another place, he wrote, “Now indeed in our time, and in keeping with Roman custom, it is no longer allowed to take another wife, so as to have more than one wife living [emphasis added].”
QUESTION: What patriarchs is Saint Augustine talking about, as he was alive from 354–430 C.E.?
As even St. Augustine had the same thoughts on this matter, like what about say 40 to 60 years into his life, way after what Jesus said about divorce.
This leads one to believe that, yes, polygamy was still being practiced, as why would he even write about it and compare it to Roman customs, as they did not practice polygamy if polygamy wasn’t being praticed? So if that is true then yes the Catholic Church still practiced polygamy.
Taken from the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA:
“Names of Christian dignitaries were in early days taken sometimes from civil life (episkopos, diakonos), sometimes borrowed from the Jews (presbyteros). The name patriarch is one of the latter class. Bishops of special dignity were called patriarchs just as deacons were called levites…”
As in the Bible is states, if anyone wanting to be a Bishop must be
the husband of one wife. 1 Tim 3.2
Thus indicating Christians still practiced polygamy? Other wise why would that be pointed out?
Rev. Joe, it seems you may be missing the point. That being that God never outlawed marriage of a man to more than one woman.
In your response, you speak of what Jesus said about divorce, not marriage, as even then the Hebrews were marrying more than one woman. It was a Catholic priest who told me that the Jewish people in Israel are still allowed to marry up to three women, only that they do not as it is too expensive to support that many wives.
If one reads Leviticus, one has to see that even the Hebrews who God choose to be His people were having sex with anyone, and everyone, mother, sisters, aunts, etc. As He lays down the law on whom a man can, and cannot have sex with. As even then they were marrying more than one woman at that time?
Nowhere in [Leviticus] does God Himself, being the Father speak of not/no longer allowing the marriage of more than one woman to a man, only forbidding incest.
As it seems back then they were just as bad as the rest of mankind having sex with whomever they wanted to, as He choose them to be His people, He saw the need to straighten them out on the matter of who they can and cannot have sexual relations with so He gave His chosen people these laws.
If God Himself did not want man, His chosen people, to have more than one wife, logic tells me that He would have said it right then and there, explicitly. He did not, and history tells us that it is ok God the Father for the Hebrews to have more than one wife, by God, as they did. Too, knowing full well that He was to accept the Gentiles, pagans, into the family unit later on.
As God does not change, and Jesus, being God made flesh, who gave out the words of His Father (book of John), did not change this, as Jesus only spoke of divorcing a woman, not in how many a man can marry.
Too, you stated that the church never allowed polygamy. “There never was a time that the Church permitted polygamy and/or concubines.”
As the Jewish people being the first converts some, if not a lot of them having more than one wife when it was the “early church”, as well as the pagan converts into Christianity. So this statement of yours must be in error.
It must have been changed by man’s hand, as was Mosses law to divorce, because of the hardening of heart, selfishness.
Kings went to the church for guidance in matters including marriage. As it was the Church that one went to get married.
That being so, my question still being when did man, not God outlaw the marriage of more than one woman to a man, what Canon law is it, and what year did the Church do this, as everyone was ‘Catholic’ until Luther did what he did?
In the book of Leviticus God not Moses sets down the law on who a man can and cannot marry, yet never condemn the marriage of more then one woman to a man. As we know from the bible and even today Jews can marry more then one woman, as God never outlawed it.
My question is when did man, the Church out law the marriage of more then one woman to a man, what cannon law is it, and what year did the Church do this?
Sorry Father, I get you now. I totally forgot about the Easter. There is a set of other questions that I would like you to answer.
For some unknown reason, in 745 A.D., under Pope Zachary, a Roman council ordered seven Angels removed from the ranks of the Church’s recognized Angels, two of them being the Archangels Uriel and Raguel? Is it true that there are only 5 archangels per the church?
It is said that when we make our requests to an archangel, they are not able to interfere with our karma? Is that so? If so, then how is the Archangel Michael able to heal the boy (in the possession story) as he cannot mess with his karma (and his karma is possibly bad as he has done something wrong inviting the demon in resulting in possession)? How is St. Michael supposed to get the demon out as the suffering person has done something wrong resulting in possession, like using the Ouija board or Channeling?
It is said that as the angels are ranked and so are the demons with Abaddon being the King of Demons. He is better known by his Greek name Apollyon. Mephistopheles is regarded in some sources as a servant of Lucifer, the devil himself. And it said that demons are foot solders of devil and are ranked like the ranking of archangels: Abaddon, Asmodeus, Baal, and Beelzebub. How many more?
It is said that the devil makes us sin and thus we are serving the devil. Does this mean that the gate of heaven is never an option?
It is said that God only forgives and that he does not punish or kill (Luke 2:9 – thou shall not kill); so who sees to the punishment department? If it is the demons, then who sees to it since it is for sure that all humans are going to fall (as no one is pure)?
The Orthodox Church is the one Church founded by Jesus Christ and his apostles, begun at the day of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit in the year 33 A.D. Is this right? Does it alone have the power to exorcise demons?
And it is said that one should always command the devil in the name of Jesus Christ and never to use your own name or challenge the devil as he knows your past and your sins. But Father, all priests go to confession to Jesus and Jesus forgives all our sins; then how is the devil is able to see our sins if they are forgiven by the almighty power Jesus?
And is it always needed to confess in a church to a priest or can we just confess to Jesus whenever we feel like we have done something wrong, which I do all the time as it is India and churches are hard to find.
Tell me the Enrollment process for being a priest, the steps I mean? How can anyone be one? How to apply and where? Reply Father, your words really mean a lot to me as you show me the way and I will follow then.
Take all the time you need to answer my questions.
Thanks a lot, Father.
Dear Father,
I am a Hindu 17 year old boy. I am suffering from stammering and an addiction of vulgar stuff. Both of these things are just killing me from inside. Stammering does not allow me to speak in public with a confidence. And I am tired of the vulgar thoughts all the time, thinking of dirty things. The worst things happen when I think of something wrong at some religious place.
Being a Hindu, can I take Holy Water from the church? Will it help me? Please help me. What should I do to get rid of both of these problems?
Akshay
I have a question father is the catholic church in communion with the Coptic orthodox church since their pope recently passed away? I’m confused more than one pope I thought there was only one don’t they mean the patriarch? Is he a legit pope since to my understanding they hold the line down from St. Mark the evangelist up until now?
Dear Father,
I am in need of advice. I have a 14 year old daughter that although we have struggle with her on keeping her on track with her grades she had shown good judgment in her decisions. However, this week she gave me her folder to sign some school work and when I tried to see some papers she also had in there she worried and did not wanted me to see them. Of course that was a red flag to me and I did search in her folder. I found a couple of printed cartoons from Asian origin which were very explicit (pornography) and some were of homosexual acts. We had already found something similar some months ago of Madonna & Britney spears kissing. Of course we spoke to her and grounded her but apparently that did not stop her. My husband and I have tried to guide our children in God’s ways and we have tried to stay active in church, my children are currently in catechism and soon to have their first communion. We reminded and spoke to her about the danger of looking at those things and how worried we are for her. I am going to try to home school her for the next year but, we don’t really know how to handle this matter. Please father I would really appreciate your advice!
Dear Fr Joe,
POST PRODUCTION MODIFICATION, KNOWING BETTER THAN THE MAKER!
There was a time when the Church actually ruled against circumcision unless it was medically necessary. It was not accepted as a good thing to do simply as a so called preventative measure. But then ‘identity’ probably had something to do with it and an identity apart from ‘The Jews’ was a necessary part of discipline at that time.
I do wonder if it was really God that Abraham heard telling him to cut his own foreskin off and that of his 2 sons, a the sign of the covenant, or if it might have been some other bizarre voice in his head; after all, if the practice had never been normalised from the past, I would think that today it would be seen for what it is; a violation of human rights and a sexual mutilation of babies.
It is interesting to note that Moses even failed to circumcise his son and could therefore have been stoned to death by his own ruling, and that was finally ‘righted’ when his wife, or perhaps one of his wives finally did it to her 8 year old with a stone……..nice!
The Jews certainly used it as a very clear demonstration of identity and thus helped to discourage mixing with Greeks and other pagans who were still as their maker intended.
If God really did design and make us in His own Image, then either His design is defective, or we really do know better than God……..or simply we just evolved from a swamp and as evolutional development is not quick or effective enough then the knife has to step in. And it could be argued much the same about breast augmentation and even nose jobs. Are these sort of interventions, motivated by pride or defective body image, sinful, or are they just a manifestation of our fallen nature. Certainly if we look to the Bible then tattooing, ear piercing, wearing gold and precious metals, perming and colouring hair, and paying too much attention to image is considered as a sin. In that case then we are all doomed.
Interesting! Paul.
Dear Father, I was just wondering what the Church’s teaching is in these modern times about the circumcision of little boy babies. Is this compulsory or not?
Regards
CHERYL
Dear Fr Joe, I have it on good authority that Tim Malone is so ugly that it looks like someone has set fire to him and put him out with a shovel. For someone who sees looks to be so important I wonder if he only goes out after dark so as not to scare the public? I’m repugnant too, but that’s just the way God made me, so, Tim, send your complaints about God’s handiwork straight back to the manufacturer. Paul
Tim,
I find it very disturbing that you imply a priest doesn’t know anything about marriage. I am sure Fr. Joe has studied and read more about marriage and family life than you have even thought about. I am sure that as a priest he has dealt with many families over the years and is more than qualified to give his advice in these situations. The fact of the matter is that as a devout Catholic, we respect and appreciate the opinion of a priest about all spiritual matters. Because a priest is not married, he has more time to devote to the Lord, which in turn, God will give him the grace and wisdom to give the best of help and advice to His people.
As far as your last comment, that was completely unacceptable. You need to stop slandering innocent holy priests. The only thing repugnant is your attitude and lack of respect for God’s Church and the priesthood.