Answer Priest

St. Aloysius Questions -- 23 October 2012

• If Jesus was a Jew, why don't Catholics celebrate Jewish holidays?
• If there is no time in eternity, how can we spend time in Purgatory?
• Given the shortage of priests, will the Church ever allow priests who have left the priesthood and married return to priestly ministry?
• Does the Pope have a plan to cope with the increasing shortage of priests?
• Who goes to Limbo?
• When was the new system created that counted years Before Christ (BC) and "Anno Domini," (AD, "Year of the Lord")?
• What is the difference between "extern nuns" and "cloistered nuns" who live together in the same monastery?
• Can cloistered nuns move from one monastery to another?

Brand new questions (October, 2012)

Catholic Biblical Study?

John Z. from Facebook: My wife, 2 teens, and my oldest daughter in her thirties are considering doing a Catholic bible study in our home. I was wondering if you could point me to some websites or materials we could all use that would follow the teaching of the Church.

Violent Muslims and Violent Christians

Sue from Facebook: In my view, terrorists are to Muslims as the Klux Klan is to Christians. Both are aberrations of religion.

Women in Catholicism

Lynn from Facebook: "I'm not Catholic, but what I appreciate most about the Catholic Church is the credit it gives to the women who loved Jesus so much that He revealed Himself to them first after the Resurrection, and the Church's love of Mary, his mother."

Limbo

What is the Church's current teaching about Limbo?

Various Scriptural Questions

• Ann, East Aurora: Why did Jesus stay in the Temple instead of going to look for His parents? (added 10/22/12)
• Fred, Rochester: What is Agape love? (added 10/22/12)
• Peter from Clifton Springs: There seem to be many sacred numbers in the Old and New Testament. Which numbers are sacred for Catholics? (10/30/12)
• Ed from Rochester: What does the Church teach about the Rapture? It says in Scripture that "One will be taken; the other will remain."
• Why does the Church keep the Old Testament in the Bible? The Old Testament is not the same as the New Testament. If the New Testament is right, doesn't that mean that the Old Testament is wrong?
• What is the "gift of tongues"?
• What is the meaning of the book of Revelation?
• What is an "ecumenical Bible"?
• What did Jesus mean when He said, "among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Mt 11:11). Does this mean that John the Baptist is in Hell?
• How persuasive were the genealogies of Matthew and Luke to the Jews?
• Why in John 20 did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene not to hold on to Him after the resurrection? (Added 10/22/12)

The papacy

• Ed, Rochester: Why don't popes regularly raise people from the dead? Wouldn't that be the best way to prove that the papacy is pleasing to God?
• What is a "motu proprio"? How does it differ from an encyclical or a "papal bull"?
• Why does the Catholic Church have a pope? (11/02/12)

Sin

• Emmanuel (e-mail): Can you please give few examples of the "sin against the Holy Spirit"? (Added 10/30/12)
• What is the difference between mortal and venial sin?
• How do we deal with drug dealing or other criminal activity that we see in our neighborhoods?
• Why can't Catholics use contraceptives? (added 10/22/12)

War and Peace

• What is the "Just War Theory"? I don't see anything like that in the Scriptures.
• Why aren't Catholics pacifists? The Quaker tradition seems closer to the ideal proposed by Jesus to "turn the other cheek."

Pious Spiritual Practices

• What is the history of the use of scapulars? How many kinds of scapular are there?
• How did the devotion to the Infant of Prague develop?
• Why do people bury a statue of St. Joseph when they are trying to sell a house?
• What are "icons"? How are they different from other kinds of art found in Catholic Churches?
• How can we explain Benediction to teen-agers?
• What is the best way to present the pro-life message to a parish?
• The Old Testament and many Protestant churches require "tithing"--giving 10% of one's income to God. Are Catholics who give less than 10% of their income to the Church offending God?
• Must prayers be spoken out loud? Is it possible to pray silently or without any words? (Added 10/22/12)
• How can we tell what is from good spirits and what is from evil spirits? How can we tell what ideas, feelings, beliefs, inspirations come from God?
• What graces do you get from using holy water?
• Jean from Rochester: How can we tell that a speaker is in good standing with the Church?

Impure Spiritual Practices

• Amy, Rochester: Can Catholics use a labyrinth as a legitimate form of meditation? It seems to be a pagan practice.
• What is the "creation spirituality" of Matthew Fox all about? Is this approved by the Church?
• Is the use of "affirmations" an Eastern spirituality and therefore an anti-Christian practice? (added 10/30/12)
• What is Catharism? What was St. Dominic's role in correcting this heresy?
• Can Catholics join Masonic lodges?
• I've heard people use the word "gnosticism," but I don't understand why it is a problem. What does it mean? Why does the Church condemn gnosticism? (10/22/12)
• Are there ghosts?
• Can people talk with the dead?
• Is the evil eye real?

Liturgical Questions

• Rick's question: What is the difference between a solemnity, a feast, and a memorial? (added 10/22/12)
• Gabriel from E. Amherst: What is the origin of benediction of the Blessed Sacrament?
• What kind of materials should the chalice and other sacred_vessels be made out of? What should I do if my priest uses vessels made from the wrong materials?
• Some parishes ring bells during Mass, some don't. Which is the right practice?
• Aren't the bells at Mass like the voices of the angels in Revelation?
• Bonnie: Is it OK to receive Communion twice at the same Mass? (added 10/30/12)
• Can a priest dictate that people only stand to receive Communion at his church? In other words, may he prevent people from kneeling to receive Communion?
• It seems that men, in general, hate going to Church, while most women seem to enjoy it. Why is that?
• Are priests who are recovering from alcoholism allowed to use grape juice at Mass?
• What is the "Sunday obligation"? Who is obliged to go to Mass? What about the elderly, the sick, and travelers? When is it OK to skip Mass?
• What if I only attend half of the Mass? Have I met my Sunday obligation?
• Do we still have to fast 1 hour before receiving Communion? Does water or medicine break the fast?
• Why do some non-Catholic Churches have a different calendar from ours? Which one of us has the real date for Christmas and Easter?

Sacramental Theology

• Randolph from Hamilton, Ontario: The Catholic Church teaches that some other Churches not united to Rome (for example, the Eastern Orthodox) have a valid priesthood and therefore have the same seven sacraments as the Catholic Church. Does this apply to the Anglican (or Episcopalian) Church? (Added 10/22/12)
• What is the difference between a permanent deacon and a priest? (Added 10/30/12)
• Frank, Rochester: At the end of John chapter 6, Jesus says, "It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life." Doesn't that mean that the Eucharist is spiritual, not physical?
• If "catholic" means "universal," why can't everybody take Communion with Catholics?
• Why doesn't the Church ordain women as priests? Doesn't the New Testament talk about deaconesses? Doesn't the prohibition turn all women into second-class citizens in the Church?
• Why does the Roman rite make celibacy mandatory for priests? (Added 10/30/12)
• Why doesn't the Catholic Church allow priests to get married?
• Who is allowed to receive the Sacrament of the Sick? May one be anointed before knee surgery?

Catholic Universities

• John from Webster: What is a "mandatum"? Is the mandatum a legal Church document, or Church contract an educator agrees to and signs when presented by the local bishop (diocese)? What effect has the mandatum had on keeping Catholic schools Catholic?

- Do Catholic Universities/ Colleges Boards of Directors or the Presidents of the schools cooperate, facilitate, or prevent this contract coming into existence?

- Have local bishops given up requiring this?

- Are teachers in Catholic elementary and high schools required to have a diocesan mandatum?

• Kevin from Buffalo: I attend a Catholic school. What should I do when the truth is not taught by my teachers?
• Have we lost the purpose of Catholic education today?

Mary

• John from Webster: What are the Seven Sorrows of Mary?
• Why do Eastern Christians call Mary "Theotokos"? (added 10/22/12)
• Does the fact that the New Testament says Jesus had brothers mean that Mary did not remain a virgin after His birth?

Angels

• John from Williamsville: How do angels do battle against humans? They do not have bodies. How do they war against each other? (Added 10/22/12)
• Are parts of cities under the dominion of Satan?
• Can people talk with their guardian angels? (Added 10/30/12)

Saints

• Christina: Are Catholics the only ones who have saints whose bodies are incorrupt? (Added 10/22/12)
• Are we obliged to believe in all of the visions and all of the writings of the saints? They are perfect, aren't they? Doesn't that mean that there is no error in what they taught?

Development of Doctrine

• What does the Catholic Church mean by the words "Holy Trinity." Is that phrase found in the Scriptures? (Added 10/22/12)
• Has Catholic doctrine changed over the centuries, or hasn't it? In particular, did Vatican II change the teaching of the Church?
• Wasn't the Body of Christ really simple in the beginning, with no rules or rulers? Hasn't the Catholic Church betrayed Jesus by inventing all kinds of things not found in the Scriptures?

Church history

• Dave: Was the Church born when Jesus died on the Cross (blood and water from His side) or on the day of Pentecost? (Added 10/26/12)
• Why did the Jews reject Jesus? Weren't they waiting for a Christ? (Added 10/22/12)

Faith and Reason

• Should Christians try to prove the articles of faith by reason alone? If someone seeks scientific evidence for the resurrection, wouldn't that mean that the resurrection was not a miracle? If science could explain the resurrection, then it would seem that the resurrection is something natural rather than something supernatural.
• Emmanuel from Rochester: Are faith and reason opposed to each other? Isn't someone who just believes what they are told a better person than someone who wants explanations and arguments in favor of the faith?
• Daniel: Can you have wisdom without a lot of intelligence?
• How does St. Thomas Aquinas understand the relationship between faith and reason? (Natural theology vs. revealed truths.) (Added 10/22/12)

Religious life

• Ed from Rochester: Why are there so many religious orders in the Catholic Church? Shouldn't all Catholics have the same way of life? (added 10/22/12)