Do you have a tough question about the faith, Church teaching, Church law, liturgy, the saints, or the spiritual life?
E-mail your question to corpuschristiaff@yahoo.com and we will post it on our website along with a "straight" answer. A written response will be offered within two weeks by our Director of Adult Faith Formation.
When sending the e-mail, please write "Straight Talk" in the subject line for a quick response.
Why when we see pictures of Mary or Jesus do we often see the heart on the outside of their bodies? What does this mean?
The heart has always been a symbol of love. The Heart of Jesus (The Sacred Heart) symbolizes the love for us in a humanly concrete and profoundly attractive way. Devotion to the Sacred Heart consists primarily in attention to the inexhaustible source of mercy and love poured out for us by God through the pierced heart of Christ. Saints, such as, Saint Francis de Sales and Saint John Eudes increased the popularity of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Other saints, such as, Saint Margaret Mary and Saint Faustina, experienced visions of Jesus and His Sacred Heart. We learn about these mystical experiences through their diary writings. The feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated as a solemnity on Friday of the second week after Pentecost. The Immaculate Heart of Mary illustrates Mary's love for all humanity. Pope John Paul II in his first encyclical, Redeemer of Man, developed the theme of the unity between Mary's heart and her Son, Jesus' Heart. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart. (Adapted from: Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia) |
Why isn't the Our Father sung at Mass anymore? Even when the Priest sings/chants the Eucharistic Prayers, the Our Father is spoken.
According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (#81) , the "Our Father" may be "sung or said aloud." The General Instruction (#40) also states that, "In the choosing of the parts actually to be sung, preference should be given to those that are of greater importance..." So in most instances (other than those parts that must be sung, such as, the "Alleluia" before the Gospel), it is up to the priest celebrant and/or choir director to decide which parts get to be sung and which do not. |
Does the Roman Catholic Church sanction the word "Rapture" as intended in 1st Thessalonians 4?
"The Rapture theory first appeared toward the end of the 19th century among some American Protestants who were fixated on the end-times. Prior to the 19th century, the rapture theory, as it is commonly understood, was unheard of."
1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 "refers to the second Coming of Christ and says nothing about a 'secret' or 'hidden' coming of Christ. This event is public and audible; exactly the opposite of a 'hidden' coming of Christ that those who promote the rapture theory assert. They claim Christ will appear secretly, seen only by those who are raptures. But that notion completely clashes with 1 Thessalonians 4 and is another example of reading into the Biblical text something that simply isn't there."
"The Catholic Church rejects the rapture theory for good reasons. It is unbiblical and completely alien to the historic Christian tradition surrounding the Second Coming of Christ. Remember that Christ said he would return on 'the last day' (John 6: 39-40) to judge the living and the dead (cf. Matthew 24 & 25). There will be no secret or hidden coming in the meantime. When the Lord returns, (we'll) definitely know about it."
Quoted from: Where Is That in the Bible? What's Up with the Rapture by Patrick Madrid as appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times (August 24, 2006). |
How does the Catholic Church view freemasons?
Freemasonry is a fraternal society that arose in 1717 from Masonry, the international fraternity called the Free and Accepted Masons. According to the former Code of Canon Law (Church Law), membership in Freemasonry was forbidden to Catholics. In Church history, eight popes in seventeen different pronouncements and six separate councils have condemned freemasonry. Today the Church and the Order of Freemasons have a greater understanding and often work together on charitable and civic enterprises, but the prohibition of Catholic membership is still in force. On September 18, 1974, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith stated an exception, saying that Catholic lay persons may join Masonic lodges that do not plot against the Church. There is no direct reference, to my knowledge, of freemasons in the revised Code of Canon Law. However, #1374 of the code does state that, "One who joins an association which plots against the church is to be punished with a just penalty." Yikes!!
As analyzed by Catholics, "Freemasonry denies the supernatural, the revealed word of God, the fall of the human race in Adam and Eve, and as a consequence, the whole mystery of Redemption, the Incarnation, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church...all the Masonic teachings are based on the natural order, and the supernatural is carefully excluded. Freemasons call their teaching Naturalism because nature is good and whatever is natural is just and right; and, there is no such thing as sin in the sense of the Church. Masonry, according to its votaries, is a universal system and teaches the relative and social duties of men on the broad and extensive basis of philanthropy."
Reference sources for this response: The Catholic Encyclopedia and Welcome to the Catholic Church CD-ROM |
The archdiocese is ordaining a neighbor who was married outside the Church while he and his second wife were both waiting for their annulments to come through. When did the laws change?
We were glad when we learned Rome exempted him so we are now able to go to Communion with our children, even though my wife's annulment has not cleared yet.
Another neighbor says it is ok for priests and deacons.
So, who is right? Is this only for the clergy to have their actions washed away as if they never happened? Do what I say, not what I do!
Or, is it for all Catholics to be able to live like they were fully married in the Church?
Church law has not changed regarding declarations of nullity, and "the rules" are the same for everyone. However, the knowledge you have concerning the specific details of your neighbor's case might be very incomplete and inaccurate. So, we must always be careful about judging someone else's situation and using it to justify our own actions. Have you ever approached your neighbor in sincerity and integrity to talk to him about it? At times when we receive our information about a neighbor from someone else, facts tend to get confused. Remember that childhood game called, "Whisper Down the Lane?" By the time the original phrase got passed down to the last child in line, it was nothing like the original phrase!!!
If your neighbor did in fact marry outside the Church, his marriage would need to be declared null prior to his ordination to the Permanent Diaconate since marrying outside the Church is considered a "defect in Church law."
Many circumstances often prevent us from receiving Holy Communion during Mass. It is always possible to make a spiritual communion that is also a source of grace. Spiritual communion means uniting one's self in prayer with Christ's sacrifice and worshiping him present in his Body and Blood until that time when we can approach him worthily in Holy Communion.
To learn more about declarations of nullity, please consider picking up a packet of information from the tables in our church narthex. These packets were provided by the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and are a valuable resource in educating ourselves about the process and meaning of annulments. |
How many books are in the Roman Catholic Bible?
The canon consists of 46 books of the Old Testament and 27 of the New Testament. (The Canon of Scripture is the complete list of the sacred writings which the Church has come to recognize through Apostolic Tradition.)
I have Catholic Bibles that differ in the amount of Deuterocanonicals or Apocrypha. Why do they differ?
The amount of books differ because of the translation used within that Bible. The Deuterocanonical (called the Apocrypha in the Protestant tradition) include Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. These books of the Bible are found in the "Septuagint" (ancient Greek translation of the Bible), but not the Hebrew canon. Saint Jerome included these books in his Vulgate (Latin) translation of the Bible. During the proliferation of published Bibles after the advent of printing, the reformers followed one Jewish tradition of excluding the books. Today in Protestant editions, these books are often included in a section at the end of the Old Testament.
Are Deuterocanonical books of the Bible inspired and authored by God?
God himself is the author of Sacred Scripture. For this reason it is said to be inspired and to teach without error those truths which are necessary for our salvation. The Holy Spirit inspired the human authors who wrote what he wanted to teach us. All books in the canon are considered inspired.
I have seen Maccabees 3 & 4 in some Bibles, but not in others. Why?
I'm not familiar with ever seeing or reading about Maccabees 3 & 4. Perhaps you mean Kings 3 & 4? This referred to former titles that were used prior to the 1970's New American Bible (the first Bible in the Catholic tradition to use proper names derived from the Hebrew instead of the Latin and also name books to agree with the more proper usage of Bibles in the Protestant tradition). For example: 1 Samuel was formerly called 1 Kings; 2 Samuel was referred to as 2 Kings; 1 Kings was 3 Kings; and 2 Kings was formerly referred to as the 4th Book of Kings. |
At Mass, on December 8th, the priest said that "Mary was born without sin, and lived her entire life without sin." This is the statement that I am having difficulty with..."Mary was sinless." Please help me understand this mystery a little bit.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. (Simply stated, he declared this dogma as being divinely revealed.) The dogma declared that the Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the very first instant of her conception, exempt from sin and clothed in sanctifying grace. This does not mean that Mary was exempt from redemption; rather she was given this privilege in advance (in anticipation) according to the divine plan of God. This is what we celebrate on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception every December 8th.
We also believe that by the grace of God and Mary's open receptivity to it, "as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature," that she remained free from sin her whole life long (Catechism #493). This thought becomes a bit "easier to swallow" when we realize that Mary lived a life totally and exclusively dedicated to her Son and His Mission. We sin when we do not put God first in our lives. If Mary always did so, there was no sin.
I would suggest the book entitled, The Essential Mary Handbook: A Summary of Beliefs, Devotions, and Prayers (a Redemptorist Publication by Liguori Press) for your further consideration. |
I've heard that it is okay for Catholics to be cremated now. Are the ashes permitted to be scattered, or must they be buried in the container? I have heard conflicting reports on this. If you must be buried, may a very small portion be scattered?
"The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body." (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2301)
In cases where cremation is planned, the Church urges that if at all possible, the body be present for the funeral Mass with cremation taking place afterwards. However, if for some reason cremation takes place before the funeral Mass, the diocesan bishop can permit the practice in his diocese of allowing cremated remains to be brought into the Church for the funeral rites. This practice is permitted in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Whenever a Catholic is cremated, all the remains are to be buried, not scattered. (Taken from The United States Catechism for Adults) The burial of the dead is considered a corporal work of mercy and should be treated with respect and charity. |
Is there still a Limbo (a place after death) for those who are not baptized? How do they get to Heaven?
The word "limbo" originates from the Latin "limbus" meaning "fringe" or "edge." Limbo, therefore, was considered to be "outside of heaven." The word itself is not used in Scripture nor is it even mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The use of this word during the past 1,500 years was merely an attempt on the part of theologians to reconcile the necessity of Baptism (John 3: 5) with God's eternal mercy.
"Limbo of the fathers" meant that state in which the souls of the just were detained until the complete redemption by Christ through which heaven was opened to them.
The "limbo of the unbaptized" meant the state where the souls of the unbaptized, who died without committing grievous actual sin, enjoy perfect natural happiness. Although they were excluded from "the vision of God," they do know God and love Him with their perfected natural faculties.
After the Second Vatican Council, the notion of limbo began to fade. Although the Council reaffirmed the need for Baptism and the primacy of the Catholic Church, it also affirmed that anyone who "seeks the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it can be saved."
The idea of limbo was never a defined doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. However, Pope John Paul II, shortly before his death, set up a commission for the Doctrine of the Faith to start studying the limbo question.
Recently, Pope Benedict ratified the commission's findings by stating, in effect, that all unbaptized children go to heaven. As for unbaptized adults, in the end, we can only trust in God's love and believe that God's mercy has made provision for them beyond our comprehension. |
May a non-Catholic take Communion at Mass? The person is a Lutheran.
Although our fellow Christians are always welcome to our celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters, they are not ordinarily admitted to Holy Communion.
Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united may not receive Holy Communion.
All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.
(Adapted from The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults) |
When the priest consecrates the wine at the Eucharist, what is the meaning of water being mixed with the wine?
One ancient gesture which remains a part of the Prayer over the Gifts is the mingling of water and wine. The priest pours a small amount of water into the chalice of wine, as a sign that we, with Jesus, have in our humanity a share in God's divinity. The prayer which accompanies this action is a fragment which remains from the eleventh century: "In this mingling of the water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." |
When the church grants a marriage annulment, what is the status of any children that resulted from that marriage?
In most marriages declared null by a marriage tribunal today, both parties were in good faith when they wed. The Church says the children are legitimate or "lawful" because everyone wanted to do right. The defect that caused the invalidity was then undetected, so no ill effect should touch the children. Even where one party knew, but the other did not, that the marriage could not be valid, the children are still "lawful" since at least the party unaware of the defect wanted what was right. Not unless both parties were certain of the nullity of their marriage at its beginning would children be "unlawful" or illegitimate.
(Answer quoted from "New Law and Life: Annulments and Legitimacy of Children" by Thomas G. Doran) |
Why must Catholics come to priests and confess in a booth in order to be absolved of their sins? No where in the Bible does it say that one must do that to be saved, aren't we supposed to confess our sins to Jesus Christ alone (1 John 1:9)?
In the story of the paralytic at Capernaum told to us in the Gospel of Mark (Chapters 2: 1-12), we read that only God forgives sins. By virtue of his divine authority; however, he gives this power to men to exercise in his name. (John 20:21-23) Christ willed that the whole Church should be a sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that he acquired for us at the price of his blood. He entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the "ministry of reconciliation." Yes, if we are truly sorry for our sins God does forgive us. For Catholics, the priest is the guarantor of that forgiveness.
Remember also that when we sin we not only offend God, we harm other people, too. When one link in a chain is weakened the entire chain is weakened. This is true with the Church, as well. When an individual sins, the entire Church is weakened. Through the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession), we are afforded the opportunity of reestablishing our relationship with God and others.
Listen to the words that are pronounced by the priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation: "Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins..." God is doing the forgiving and the priest is acting on behalf of Christ (in His name through the ministry of the Church).
Also, keep in mind that most of our churches no longer have traditional confessional "booths." Most of our Catholic churches are now equipped with Reconciliation Rooms that provide for either face-to-face confession or anonymous confession behind a screen.
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Is it wrong to hold out your hands at church while saying the Lord's Prayer?
Opening one's hands in prayer is a beautiful gesture that symbolizes an individual's willingness to follow God's will and an openness to His Divine Providence. It is certainly an acceptable gesture to use while praying the Lord's Prayer during the Mass provided that our action is not so overt that it detracts in any way from the central action of the priest celebrating the Mass. Many families also find that holding hands while praying the Lord's Prayer is a powerful _expression of family love an unity.
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Please explain to me why it seems that the Catholic Church and Corpus Christi , in particular, are spending much more time and effort debunking "The Da Vinci Code" than it did explaining the priest sexual abuse scandal.
The priest sexual abuse scandal was a tragedy in Church history. Only God knows the heart of man. Yet, we can certainly conclude that any priest who caused such physical, emotional, and spiritual harm to another human being must have possessed great psychological defects, a broken relationship with Jesus Christ and a strong "disconnect" from the Eucharist. An abuse of power and trust resulted...lives were shattered...and the faith of many was shaken.
Parishes across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia chose to deal with the sexual abuse scandal in different ways and with varying degrees of intensity. Many parishes immediately created open forums to provide the laity with a way of expressing their views and emotions. Prayer vigils for healing were also initiated in many parishes; Corpus Christi Parish dedicated a Eucharistic Holy Hour for this purpose. Other parishes, including Corpus Christi Parish, simply addressed this grave matter through Sunday homilies. Only the most naive would have believed that this great sadness in the life of the Church would evaporate into thin air if we didn't speak of it any longer. It will take MUCH MORE TIME AND EFFORT to complete the process of healing and the restoration of confidence and trust.
As for the Da Vinci Code, it is important for people, especially for those not formed in the faith as well as they should be, to realize that the fictional book and movie are not based on historical accuracy or Biblical scholarship. Just as sexual abuse by the clergy undermined the faith of many, the presentation of the Da Vinci Code as "truth" has the same potential.
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What is the churches thoughts on the Gospel written by Judas?
The Gospel of Judas was recently re-discovered and published by National Geographic. It is not a "lost gospel" as the press is leading us to believe. Why was the "Gospel of Judas" lost for centuries? Because early Christians thought it so ludicrous that no one bothered to copy it and keep it in use. What the early Christians wisely consigned to the dust bin of history, the modern press seems determined to acclaim as a sensational discovery.
Historical experts, Christian and non-Christian alike, generally agree that the four canonical Gospels were written between the years 65-95 AD. In the following century, a religious movement named Gnosticism arose and attempted to co-op Jesus and make Him their own, though radically twisting his person and mission to fit their own philosophical system. Various Gnostic "gospels" began to appear under the names of apostles and close associates of Jesus: The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and the Gospel of Judas, among many others.
While including events supposedly related to the life of Jesus, the Gospel of Judas and the others really are texts "attempting to bolster the importance" of the personalities they are named after, not of Jesus, according to Jesuit priest, Father Gerald O'Collins. "To give Judas greater credit" the Jesuit said, the gnostics "portray Jesus giving him secret knowledge." But, there is no evidence to support this claim.
(This answer is an excerpt from: This Gospel is Bad News
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I don't understand how popes or bishops can issue indulgences.
It is true that in the Middle Ages the name "pardoner" was used for preachers of indulgences who were "licensed" to solicit alms for church building and crusade sponsoring.
Over the years, so many questions, misunderstandings, and abuses of indulgenes were arising that Pope Paul VI issued an Apostolic Constitution regarding them entitled, Indulgentiarum Doctrina. In it he states: "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of satisfactions of Christ and the saints."
We know that absolution by a priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation forgives eternal punishment (the privation of eternal life), but not temporal punishment. To put it in everyday laguage, if you bang a hole in a wall and then patch it, the hole is still there. Purification frees us from "temporal punishment." If this purification is not accomplished on earth, there is a 'state of purification" called Purgatory. Since the faithful departed now beng purified are also members of the communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1475) explains this as "a wonderful exchange" in terms of the communion of saints in which the holiness of one benefits others far more than the harm of sin could bring others. The contrite sinner who appeals to the communion of saints is more quickly and efficaciously purified of punishment due to sin.
Reflect for a moment on the words of absolution that are pronounced by the priest during the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He says"...through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace..." God is doing the pardoning but through the Church. The same holds true with indulgences. God is granting the indulgence through the Church. Pope Paul VI again tells us in the document quoted previously that "An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of Mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity." Keep in mind that the person must be "duly disposed," as previously stated, with a contrite heart and a desire for true conversion. No individual can buy his/her way into heaven. As Saint Thomas Becket once said, "Without real effort, no one wins the crown!"
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Why does the Philadelphia Archdiocese refuse to support a one year window for filing lawsuits for victims of sexual abuse by priests? To my knowledge, California has the one year time period in place. Recently, the Bishop of Detroit advocated this time period as an avenue for justice. Yet, our Archdiocese has stood against this. Why?
I contacted the Philadelphia Archdiocese's Office for Child and Youth Protection and presented your question to them so that I could answer it in an honest and comprehensive manner. They forwarded the question to the Office for Communications. The Office for Communications responded by asking you to refer to their press release of December 5, 2005. Simply log on to the website www.archdiocese-phl.org. Click the "Communications" bar then "Press Releases." Scroll down until you get to "Statement Regarding Legislative Changes to Statute of Limitations."
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Thank you for your response and your kind words. Your e-mail explains to me why we should bow at Jesus' name but would it be appropriate to bow when we say "God" or "Holy Spirit" since they are one in the same (Blessed Trinity)? It sounds like we shouldn't even mention the word "Yahweh" or "God" because of His overwhelming greatness???
You are correct, of course. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one. We bow at Jesus' name because He is the Perfect Revelation. He revealed God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit to us. Remember, God the Son didn't just start to exist when He became man. "God" and "Holy Spirit" are God Himself, but "Jesus" is the name given to God. Think about the Nicene Creed that we profess during Mass on Sundays. We bow at these two lines: "by the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man." We came to know God through Jesus.
We should always be mindful of God's overwhelming greatness. Hopefully the mystery of the Trinity won't let us forget it!!!
Any better???
I am an organ donor and would also like to donate my body to science when I die. Since there would be no body, does the church accept this and would I be able to have a memorial service in the Church?
To begin, the Church views organ donation (at death) as something chosen in the freedom of charity. Transplanting organs from one living person to another is also ethically acceptable provided that certain criteria are met. In 1956, Pope Pius XII wrote: "A person may will to dispose of his body and to destine it to ends that are useful, morally irreproachable and even noble, among them the desire to aid the sick and suffering. One may made a decision of this nature with respect to his own body with full realization of the reverence which is due it. . . this decision should not be condemned but positively justified." When a person chooses to donate their body to science, the Rite of Christian Burial is replaced with a Memorial Service similar to a Liturgy of the Word or with a Memorial Mass.
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In the book "True Devotion to the Blessed Mother" (by St. Louis-Maria de Montfort), there is a reference made about the 14 Joys of Mary. could you please explain what the 14 Joys of Mary are?
Although I can't locate any references to the "Fourteen Joys of Mary" in any
of my source books, I can only assume these refer to the joyful experiences
of the Blessed Mother that are recorded in Scripture or pronounced by the
Church. Some might include the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of
Jesus, the Adoration of the Magi, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the
Assumption, the Coronation, etc. . .
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Under the Catholic Church's definition of adultery, if one person is married, and the other is single, are both considered adulters?
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