Q. I love meditating on the luminous mysteries when I pray the rosary, and I am thankful that Pope John Paul II established them. The joyful mysteries highlight Jesus' early life, while the sorrowful mysteries focus on his suffering and death. The luminous mysteries highlight the "in-between time"...
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Q. I am an old-time Catholic. We were taught that, to be forgiven in confession, we had to: 1) be truly sorry; 2) resolve firmly never to commit the sin again; and 3) make it right (e.g., give the money back, tell people that the gossip was a lie, etc.). On television and in the movies, sometimes a...
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WASHINGTON (CNS) – It has been 25 years and counting, but Father Michael Shields doesn't have any plans to leave the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska’s mission in Magadan, Russia, any time soon.             Father Shields, 69, loves...
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Q. The news reports of settlements made in the millions of dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse trouble me. Were there secret assets from wills and estates on reserve for that purpose? Where did all that money come from? (Metuchen, New Jersey) A. National Public Radio reported in August 2018 that...
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Q. One of my sisters who is Lutheran recently moved to an area where there is no Lutheran church, so she started attending Mass at a nearby Catholic parish. She has been receiving the Eucharist at Mass even though she is not Catholic. She says that she asked the Catholic pastor and he said that it...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People would be wise to think about Judgment Day and wonder what God will see when he examines their lives, Pope Francis said on Nov. 27.             "If the Lord were to call me today, what would I do? What will I sa...
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Q. Could a person go to daily Mass and receive Communion without having gone to confession in four years? (Batesville, Indiana) A. The answer, technically, is yes. If the person had committed no serious (mortal) sins over that four-year period, he or she could go to Mass and receive Communion every...
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Perhaps it's the compressed calendar or the external decor that grabs our attention with "Celebrate the season!" Or maybe it's the emphasis on reunions – bringing loved ones dear to us near to us for joy-filled sharing.             Whatev...
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We know what kind of person the infant Jesus, born on the first Christmas, would be in adult life: someone known for drawing near to others and walking with them in their actual lives.             The Gospel of Luke shows the resurrected Jesus...
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Q. Where do single people "rank" within the Catholic Church? Many times we are asked to pray for those who are married or who have followed a calling to the religious life -- but how many times has anyone in any parish been asked to pray for those who are single? Are we singles shut out, are we to...
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