Notes for the next broadcast

Sitz im leben

In the company of Jesus.

• Liturgical year.
• Year of Faith.

August 8

Prologue

The "Open Forum" on Tuesdays and Thursdays are ordinarily devoted to "Fr. Poblocki's Passionate Pastoral Apologetics." He is enjoying a well-deserved vacation these days and will be back soon. Fr. Poblocki serves as a parish priest, seems to know the whole communion of saints as his best friends forever, and provides apologetic insights based on his studies, spiritual reading, and personal experience in ministry. NASCAR had the Intimidator (R.I.P.); The Station of the Cross has "the Poblockinator" (Mario Vinti from Facebook). "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3:15). Memorial of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (!). A great day not only for Dominicans, but also for the Franciscans, who love and honor St. Dominic almost as much as they love and honor St. Francis. Prayer to St. Dominic.

Modifying Prayers

• Laura from Facebook: When I say my rosary in the morning, I do pray "O my Jesus forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of your mercy." And I also add: "and console the souls most abandoned." Is it OK for me to make this addition to the Fatima Prayer?

Ushers and Sunday Obligation

• Dan from Facebook: I was called out of the pew at Mass to assist with the collections, because they were one usher short -- so I had to get up and head to the back of the church during the General Intercessions. Although I had to interrupt my standard participation, is my Sunday obligation still fulfilled?

Reverence for the Precious Blood

• Anonymous from Facebook: I made the mistake of licking my upper lip while the consecrated Host and Wine were in my mouth. I don't know if I got any of the wine onto my upper lip. What would you recommend doing in the future if this sort of thing happens? Would I be committing sacrilege if I didn't wipe off my face with a towel or something before, say, eating?

Theories of ensoulment

• Andrew from Facebook: Andrew from e-mail: Many Pro-Choice 'Catholics' appeal to old theological teachings of the church that talk about a male child becoming ensouled at 40 days and a female child becoming ensouled at 80 days. They then argue that before this the child has no soul and is just a blob of cells that can be aborted. This is a strange teaching and doesn't fit our modern canon law. What is its origin and how did it change? All I can say from the biological side of things is that somewhere in this time frame is when a fetal heart beat will show up. Before that it is complex and difficult to tell if an embryo is alive or dead; that makes following church teaching in the treatment of these patients especially difficult in the case of infection. When God created the universe, why did he make so hard to answer questions like this?

Zealot: Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

• Kevin from Buffalo: What do you think about Reza Aslan's best-selling book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth?

Jimmy Akin, "14 Things ...".

In the end, there are only two hard historical facts about Jesus of Nazareth upon which we can confidently rely: the first is that Jesus was a Jew who led a popular Jewish movement in Palestine at the beginning of the first century C.E.; the second is that Rome crucified him for doing so.

Sex reassignment surgery

• Kathy, Rochester, New York. At work, my Department Head announced at a staff meeting that an employee was going to be changing from a male to a female. What is the church's teaching on that?

• Dolores. Hamburg, New York. If a Catholic is Baptized and received the first Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, but NOT Confirmed, can they be married in the Church?

"Queen of Creation"

• From a parishioner: I like to call Mary "Queen of Creation" when I am praying to her. Is that appropriate?

Selling or renting property to same-sex couples

• From a parishioner: Would I be cooperating in evil if I sold or rented a house to a same-sex couple?

What would Jesus think of today's Church?

• Bob from e-mail: If Christ returned to Earth tomorrow as a typically normal 21st Century Catholic, what do you think He would think of the Church that He created and the leadership it has? Would he approve of it and back it, unquestionably? Or, would he rail against it, or various aspects of it, as he did the moneychangers and merchants whose tables He dispersed from the synagogue when he was here 2000+ years ago?

Promoting Women's Vocations to Religious Life

• Patti from e-mail: Imagine Sisters wants to make Jesus loved by introducing the world to religious sisters in love with Christ through media and personal encounters. We want to encourage and inspire a culture of vocations to women’s religious life by fostering a deep desire for holiness through the witness of religious sisters.

Who are the vultures?

• From Awesome Lawson: I was told by a priest that the verse, "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather" (Mt 24:28) refers to Eucharistic adoration. Is that true?

Footwashing

• Letitia: Footwashing is for everybody--everybody should do it to everybody. She sent slippers, a towel, and foot cream to her nieces and nephews, and asked them to wash their mother's feet. Jesus said, "Do as I do. Such love and humility. Jesus took the place of the last and the least. Usually done by the Gentile slave, by wives for their husbands, by children for their parents, and by disciples for their teachers.

St. Malachy and the End of the World

• St. Malachy and the End of the World
• I have figured out how to prove that Pope Francis is "Peter the Roman." That means the end of the world is near (again!). :-O

"Pope Francis = Peter The Roman = Antichrist ?"

"In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end."

Seven Pilgrim Churches

• Wikipedia, "The Seven Pilgrim Churches Of Rome."

Catholic Children's Bible

• For parents: The Catholic Children's Bible by St. Mary's Press.

Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ

• Suellen Ann from Facebook: I just saw a beautiful documentary on EWTN about Fr. Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit who was held captive in Siberia for 15 years. Could you talk a little bit about his life and works?

Walter Ciszek, SJ

Catholic understanding of marriage

• Nicole from e-mail: I spoke w/a 20-something co-worker regarding male/female complementarity one day when she mentioned that people who don't accept "same-sex marriage" are bigots. She listened to me kindly but did not accept the idea that opposite genders go together because of procreation. Her immediate answer was, "well, the couple can use IVF." I find that many younger people have a utilitarian point of view - the end justifies the means. How can I present the Church's teaching on marriage and the natural law in the most effective fashion?

Evidence of Ordination of Women?

• Andrew from e-mail: Sylvia Poggioli did a piece on NPR recently entitled "With New Pope, Catholic Women Hope To Regain Church Leadership Roles." What are we to make of the argument that ancient mosaics and epigrams talk about women priests (presbytera) and bishops (episcopa)?

Year of Faith Website

• David M. from Rochester: Here is the Vatican’s website for the year of faith: www.annusfidei.va.

Common Bible includes "Apocrypha"

• John W. from e-mail: I was very surprised this afternoon when you quoted Tobit 4:8 on giving. You said, "The Protestants don’t have Tobit in their Bible." Here in Canada, or at least Toronto, we DO! We also have Judith, Wisdom, Baruch, 1&2 Maccabees, and the other Deuterocanonical Books in the pew Bibles of at least our local Anglican and Presbyterian churches, and probably in the local United Church too. The pew Bibles are the “New Revised Standard Version (with Apocrypha).” These are logical developments based on Vatican II, which began fifty years ago, and the first Anglican-Roman Catholic Common Declaration and the establishment of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission forty-six years ago. Most Protestant churches are also using the Revised Common Lectionary. Is this just a Canadian thing?

- Apocrypha in Common Bible.

Psychology and Catholicism

• John from Facebook: At the school I work, they are doing workshops on motivation and learning. They presented a workshop on William Glasser's "choice theory," which seems to me to advocate faith but no God. When the Church provides counsel through Catholic Charities or even through a priest, how does it merge psychology and faith?

Godly Gynecology; Pregnancy Support Services

• Melissa from Kenmore, New York: "A friend of a friend of mine was told for decades that she had a thyroid problem that would prevent her from becoming pregnant. The doctors were wrong. When she began to gain weight because of a pregnancy, her doctor just adjusted her medication, thinking that her weight gain was due to thyroid problems, not a pregnancy. This was a devastating situation for her, as she ended up having an abortion. Many women who opt for abortion are not FOR abortion in and of itself. Many just do not have the support of the father or their family, and do not know who would help them cope with an unplanned child at the time of birth. Could you list some resources women in such a situation can turn to?"

Pacifism required?

• Anonymous: Why do some candidates who are pro life still support violence via wars, detainment, and the like? Why can't being pro life mean being more vigilant in ending wars through diplomatic talks rather than continuing what seems an endless fight in another country? Our military wants to come home. Does war ever make any sense?"

- Just War Theory.

Feeling guilty after Confession

• Anonymous: "I have a hard time forgiving myself, even after I confess a sin in confession. Is that also a sin?"

Interceding for Sinners

• Anonymous: "What is the consequence if someone who is not Catholic receives the Eucharist in ignorance. Besides educating them, is there a penance one can do for them?"

What should I do when I see others sin?

Forgiveness Prayer.

Spiritual Warfare

• John Z. from Facebook re: spiritual warfare.

• Can people be used by demons to try and fight and create turmoil and strife?
• Are there angels and demons duking it out fighting for our souls?
• Also, I saw on a blog where a guy said to look in the Old Testament as to how many people Satan killed vs God. He claims that Satan only killed ten and God killed thousands. So, in his view, the whole Christian idea of God is false, and Satan got a raw deal.

Genocide in the Old Testament?

• Kevin from e-mail: Why did God order the Israelites to massacre whole villages when they conquered them? Today we would call that "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing." The Church teaches that it is intrinscially evil to target whole populations in warfare. How could God command His people to do evil?

Successors of the other apostles?

• Rich from e-mail: Most Catholics know that the Pope is the successor to Peter. Has the "lineage" from the other apostles been preserved just as carefully? Would the holders of some of those Sees be the Latin Patriarchs? There are not twelve of this class, so who are the direct successors of all of the original apostles and Paul? (I include him because of his unique status).

Patriarchs and Cardinals

• Rich from e-mail: I think that a fairly recent canonical change required that all patriarchs be made cardinals, although they've always actually outranked cardinals in the hierarchy. Is that correct?