When you are a parent, you clock many hours in the back of churches. Pacing with fussy babies. Corralling rambunctious toddlers. Calming down restless children.
But the hidden beauty found at the back of church?
You get close to the ones Jesus loves.
Question: I have heard Advent used to be time of fast, much like Lent. Is this so, and what should we do? — Steven Acton, Washington, D.C. Answer: This is true. Advent was once treated more like Lent than it is today,
Question: I was trying to instruct someone that masturbation is wrong. And when I went to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it did say masturbation is “intrinsically and gravely disordered.” But then it says this: “To form an equitable judgment about
Question: I am an 86-year-old Catholic, and I am trying to remember the three signs of demonic possession that I was taught. I seem to recall that they are coldness, objects moving by themselves, and the third I can’t remember. Can you
Even after 2,000 years, people continue to misunderstand or misrepresent Jesus. Examples are plentiful. From televangelists who churn out cheery books and breezy sermons that sidestep the realities of sin, the cross, and the Passion of Christ, to New Age mystics who
Question: I was surprised to hear on a radio show an advocate for the gay community say that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not about homosexuality, but that the sin for which God destroyed that city was greed and a
Question: I get confused about the various uses of the words continence, chastity and celibacy. Are they the same thing? — Name withheld, via email Answer: The words are related but also have distinct meanings. Continence, in the wider sense, simply means
Every year around Christmas time, a holiday cactus blooms rich red blossoms. Throughout the rest of the year, the Christmas cactus looks vaguely alien, with flat, dark green spiky leaves reminiscent of claws, the branches arched as if predatory insects. But come
Question: A friend told me he was insulted that, in confession, a priest asked him how many times he had committed a certain sin. How specific does one have to be when confessing sexual sins? And does one have to mention how
Question: You recently referenced Matthew 19, where Jesus forbids divorce. But you said nothing about an exception the Lord makes “for unchastity.” Please explain what the Lord means here. — Name Withheld, Chicago Answer: The particular verse you reference reads as follows:
Question: Should priests, organists, altar servers and sacristans be paid for participating in a funeral? — Name withheld, via e-mail Answer: It varies according to each. Priests are not “paid” for celebrating funerals. And while it is customary for many families to