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MARCH/APRIL 2016 ASK A PRIEST
PRIEST STAFF
Father Francisco: Thank you for taking my question! I have a first cousin who received an annulment. Since the State I reside in Ohio does not allow first cousin marriages, we were unable to get a dispensation from my local Catholic Church to marry in Ohio. We are both in our 60's so there is no chance of having children, We married in a civil marriage, in a State where Cousin Marriages are permitted. Are we considered living in sin? It is a detriment only because of geneticsm not Diving Law? Thanks. - Lex
__________________________________________________________________ Les: I understand that each state within the United States of America make their own marriage requirements. The Church, on the other hand, speak for ALL Catholics and Christians of good will in regards to the requirements for a sacramental marriage. The Catholic Church, as well as the Orthodox Churches, have a common requirement in regards to sacramental marriages. There should not be any marriages between first cousins and closer, especially in the blood line. Yet, as you stated, a dispensation can be given by the bishop of the diocese to permit the marriages between first cousins.
I want to be
clear about something you said:
that sacramental marriages between
first cousins is a detriment ONLY because of genetics, not Divine
Law.
Genetics
is
DIVINE LAW because that is how God works. Science and genetic
studies show how God works and how God organizes the Universe
according to His Divine Plan and natural
law, of which God is the Architect. Nonetheless, a dispensation can
be given to you as a married couple. Once you have the civil
marriage certificate in hand from the state you
were married, even the State of Ohio must recognize it according to
the law that all states must recognize the marriage status of
another citizen from another state with different
Dear Sir: I am a Hindu guy who is deeply in love with a Christian (Protestant) girl. I don't want her to covert her religion but conversion on my part is also very very difficult as my parents won't allow. Sir please show me a way for saving my love my relationship as I just want to marry only and only this girl, Your guidance would be greatly appreciated. With Regards, Soumitra Acharjee. ________________________________________________________________
Soumitra Acharjee: You have failed to take into account that you just don't marry this girl ONLY. You marry into her family, and she marries into your family. There is no way to cut the family ties just to marry. Marriage is a social institution as well as a love relationship between a man and a woman. Each marriage influences and effects the society as a whole. Your future children will be the future of your society. There is no way that you just marry this girl alone without the entire package of socio-religious traditions and expectations. Religious conversion of either party, her the Christian party and you the Hindu party, is not expected (nor wanted) to make this marriage work. But the marriage will have major challenges from the beginning and your attraction to each other and your physical love for each other will not be enough for this inter-faith marriage to work. There will be socio-religious pressures from both sides of the family and that pressure will break down your love in time unless you both have a deep emotional and spiritual bond together. I am sure that others have told you that it would be easier to marry within your own religious tradition. I would say that as well. Your relationship with your Christian girlfriend isn't going to be easy. Christians have their own religious holidays and we, as Christians, believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior while you have a pantheon of gods that you call upon for specific needs. This will be the greatest obstacle to your marriage, the major differences between Hindu and Christian belief and traditions. Your girlfriend won't be able to take part in any Hindu religious rites or even celebrations that involve the exultation of other gods that Hindus accept. This will make your family members quite negative against your girlfriend. And her family will definitely not be able to accept participation in Hindu rites of any kind. There are many challenges and your families will present the biggest of challenges. A marriage will not survive unless there is family support and involvement. I am sorry that I am a bearer of bad news. I don't see how your relationship will survive all the pressures from both religious traditions and your families. Without your family support, you won't have a marriage even if you "elope" and marry elsewhere. Please don't think with your heart. Think with your brain. Even though some inter-faith marriages succeed and flourish with love, most inter-faith marriages that I have seen failed because of the spiritual differences and non-support from their families. Enter this relationship with open eyes. - Father Cervantes
Dear Father Cervantes: On my path back to God, which includes much prayer and meditation, I feel called to contact a brother who I have been estranged from for 25 years! The estrangement was precipitated by an act in which he appeared to swindle my mother out of her assets. Although I saw documents that seemed to prove this, he always denied such a thing occurred. I try not to judge it, but that is hard. I meditate on " forgive...as we forgive those who trespass against us". I abhor dredging up all those old wounds. Is it sufficient to write that I love him as a brother and pray for him and say nothing of the grievance? Or should that grievance also be addressed? - Michael ______________________________________________________________
Michael: When you re-establish your contact with your brother, and I hope you try, there is no need to bring up this unsavory past -- yet. As you say, it is sufficient for now just to write to him and say that you are praying for him and thinking of him (leave the love part out for now since it may be taken in a negative manner). If he responds, then go slowly trying to figure out what has been happening in each other's lives for the past 25 years. But, there must be a frank discussion about the past for both of you to be fully healed of the past. That frank discussion of the past can wait for a while until you are comfortable in bringing it up. The past must be confronted for healing to take hold. For now, patience is needed. If your brother responds, you both are on the way to healing. If you brother does not respond, or responds negatively, then pray for him and move on with your life. Ultimately, God knows your heart and will bless you for trying to contact your brother. I will pray now that healing will happen for both of you. Once you have contacted your brother, be patient and let things happen naturally. My hope is that all will be fine in time. May the Spirit of God calm your anger over past events and may the Lord fill you with peace and patience. - Father Francisco
Father
Cervantes: _______________________________________________________ Jesse: Before I give you direction for your life in Jesus Christ, I want you to always remember one thing, and I don't want you to forget it: you are a child of God. That is your identity. You are a child of God. No one, not even yourself, can take that away. You are a child of God no matter if anyone else recognizes it. I proclaim to all the world: you are a son of God, a beloved son of God forever. Saint John in his First Letter of John (I John 3:1) states this fact: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. We are God's children now. Your primary identity is that you are a son of God, you belong to Him always. You can say that you are gay, but the reality is, your homosexual orientation is just one aspect of yourself, an aspect that informs your human life and gives you certain gifts from God that others do not have. You are more than gay. You are a son of God. No matter what happens, no matter the pain and suffering, no matter the judgment of others, no matter how you are treated, you are a son of God. I repeat that because that identity as son of God is why you are loved beyond any human words can express. People will judge you because of your sexual orientation because people do not know Jesus Christ and His love for each of us as children of God. It is amazing how quickly people will judge when Jesus Himself says this in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 1-2: Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measure out to you. None of us have the right to judge and put anyone into a "box" to be hated. And we should not even judge ourselves nor condemn ourselves. Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 3 (I Corinthians 4:3) says this: It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I don't even pass judgment on myself.....the One who judges me is the Lord. You need to stop judging yourself as someone who is an "aberration" or "abomination" because you are not. You are a child of God. No one can judge you, not even yourself. As Saint Paul says, "The One who judges me is the Lord." Why? Because only the Lord knows the depths of the human heart. No human knows the depths of the human heart, and no human truly knows the experiences of the other though we do share some common suffering. When someone understands and does not judge, we define that as compassion or mercy. As Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6:36): Be merciful as your Father is merciful. Be merciful to yourself as well. What most
people do not understand is that one's sexual orientation
(heterosexual or homosexual) is not chosen, but given at birth.
Jesus made this allusion to that when his disciples asked about
heterosexual (straight) marriage and why some people don't
marry in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 19, Verse 12: Some
are incapable of marriage because they are born that way; some,
because they were made so by others. You were born with a
homosexual orientation. God gave you that sexual orientation
because of His plan for you and for those around you. Remember, you
are a child of God. You are more than your sexual orientation.
When God gives you something that is the cause
of suffering and
pain, it is for God's greater glory. This is shown in Jesus' words
in the Gospel of John, Chapter 11, Verse 4, when Jesus gave this
teaching that all things are for the glory of God when he says:
This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God
that the Son of God may be glorified through it. (John
11:4) I am not saying you are ill or sick. I am saying that
EVERYTHING we are is meant for the glory of God that the Son of God
(Jesus) may be glorified through it. Your sexual orientation is
meant to glorify God. It is up to you to find out how to
glorify God in everything you do and in who you are.
You cannot be healed of your homosexual orientation because it is not wrong or some mistake of creation or an illness. So, your prayers for "deliverance" from the homosexual orientation will go to the Holy Spirit who will help you accept yourself as you are...remember, God made you as you are. God can't "fix" something that is not broken. God made you with that orientation so it can't be healed since it is God's Will for you. So accept it. Live with it. Be at peace with it. Make it work for you for the greater glory of God. Stop judging yourself. Stop with your judgment that somehow you are flawed and an abomination. You are neither. Stand up on your own two feet, with your head held high because you are loved eternally as a child of God. You can't make people or yourself understand something that is foreign to their own experiences and from what you were taught to think. I pray that you will simply accept youself as God has made you. You are made to give glory to God! So, stop being anxious and worried about peoples' feelings and opinions because no one can judge you, not even yourself. Only God will judge you and He has already judged you as His child. He loves you. He will care for you. He will send people in your life to love you and accept you as you are. You must try to navigate your faith in Jesus and the teachings of the Church in regards to human sexual intimacy. You only have to answer to God. And since God made you as you are, He wants you to live life to the full, be compassionate and merciful, and make the world a better place for all no matter who they are. I have no problem with your sexual orientation. Homosexual orientation is NOT sinful in Church teaching. I have more of a problem with your judgment against yourself. The Church rightly teaches that having a homosexual orientation is not sinful in itself because the Church recognizes that the homosexual orientation is a God-given trait. The Church has a problem with all sexual intimacy outside of a sacramental marriage which the Church defines as between one man and one woman. So, everyone who has sexual relations outside of marriage is considered to be in a state of sin and that goes equally for straight (heterosexual) and gay (homosexual) people. The Church, through its human experience, has seen that when sexual intimacy is done outside of a life commitment called marriage, "outside marriage sexual intimacy" can become selfish, narcissistic, destructive, and tear a person apart....people using other people then throwing them away. Even in life, you know of people who have had sexual relations outside of marriage and it has hurt them in ways that will take them a long time to heal. But each person is different. You should love deeply according to your sexual orientation. I define someone's sexual orientation in this way: it's not who you have sex with, it's who you fall in love with that determines your sexual orientation. It is clear you have a homosexual orientation. Please forgive me for being so flippant, but you need to hear it: what does it matter whether you are homosexual? Only God cares because He made you that way. You don't have to explain yourself to ANYONE. Do you hear me? You don't have to explain yourself to anyone. As long as you have your eyes on Jesus, you are not going to hell. As long as you love as Jesus loves, you are not going to hell. As long as you have faith in Jesus, that faith will save you. You are not going to hell. You need to stop accepting problems and live the life that God gives you. You are a
child of God, made in His image. He will bless you more once you
stop judging and hating yourself. Accept the fact that you are a
child of God. That is your
identity. You are more than gay. Gay
is not your total identity. It is one aspect of
yourself. Instead, remember who you are: a child of God, loved
eternally. I do not judge you. I embrace you with Christian love
and compassion. I embrace you both because you are gifted beyond
your comprehension. Now, use those gifts for the greater glory
of
God and for the good of all humankind. Love and do not judge. For
Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it.
John writes in his Gospel these words (John 3:17): For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the
world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him will not
be condemned. See, your faith in Jesus saves you as
you are. He does not condemn you because that is not why He came to
us. Be at peace. Live your life authentically. Do not be someone
you are not. Do not live up to anyone else's expectation. Do not
give anyone power over you through their judgment of you. Just be
what God has made you to be. I praise God for your strong faith
that will save you. I praise God for who you are. I praise God for
the gifts that you will unleash on the world. I praise God for
everything you are! How blest you are! The greater sin is not
living authentically as God has made you. You are loved! Now, get
on living for God's greater glory! See you
Father: I am a Protestant considering catechumen classes at my local Catholic Church for vivid, deep and personal reasons. In a nutshell, it would be the right thing to do since I wouldn't feel any closer to God if I didn't. I pray the Holy Rosary every night in the quietness of my room, and nothing has been more reassuring and beautiful than my personal experiences with praying traditional Catholic prayers. (I have also had vivid dreams of St. Mother Mary, telling me to pray and that it would be right, she keeps saying she wants me to join and these dreams keep waking me up at exactly 6am in the morning). Both my parents were raised Catholic but are now Assembly of God Christians (as am I), and I still live with them. My dad is a licensed pastor waiting for a church and would want me to lead worship, since I sing and play worship music. If I decide to go through with my desire to become Catholic and my Dad gets hired at a church, would I still be permitted to sing at my Dad's church even though it would be a Protestant Church? - Fgh ___________________________________________________________ Fgh: To simply
answer your question, you can still sing songs of praise to God
through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit at your parents' church
community. Do not be anxious about singing. But be careful not to
take a leadership role in your parents' church. Instead, in time,
seek a leadership role in your local Catholic parish. I praise God
that you are seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. May
the Spirit of God guide you in all things! And sing the praises of
God no matter where you are! - Father Cervantes
Father: ____________________________________________________________________
John:
Father Francisco: How can a "shut-in" elderly Catholic fulfill the requirements of gaining the plenary indulgence that Pope Francis offers on Divine Mercy Sunday? Then again at any time. - Cathy ______________________________________________________ Cathy: You can receive the plenary indulgence when you receive communion (and confession if you are able) and the designated prayers on Divine Mercy Sunday and any other opportunities for a plenary indulgence. You don't need to be in a church to receive the plenary indulgence. God sees your heart filled with faith and love. He rewards that faith with His eternal love and with the church's indulgences. If you are unable to leave your place of residence, the graces of God come to you! So, follow the prescriptions for any plenary or partial indulgence in your home. To receive holy communion, you can arrange for a priest, deacon, or extraordinary Eucharistic minister (or acolyte) to bring you communion on a regular basis by calling your parish office. - Father Francisco
Father Cervantes: ___________________________________________________________ Deonne:
Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, surround my home with the light of your protective love and power. In the name of Jesus Christ, drive away all evil from my home and from my family. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, send your Holy Spirit to drive away all evil presences and send them back to hell. In the name of the Lord Jesus, send your Spirit of peace and health upon all who dwell in my home. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, I exorcise all evil spirits and entities from my home. In Jesus' Name, break all curses that come from others and replace them with the blessings of your love! I trust in you, Father, in Jesus' Name. Amen. I pray that peace returns to your home and stay away from people who seek to harm you and your loved ones. Pray for your husband's healing and strength. He will bounce back! - Father Cervantes
Father Cervantes: This topic has been on my mind for along time now and recently talked among with my friends. We as Catholics are told to go to confession so our sins are forgiven and in order to get to heaven. What about other religions ,and I have non-Catholic friends that do not have confession? We are told that confession will forgive us of ours sins to get to heaven. I am sure that they will also go to heaven without confession. If we do not confess our sins we are told that we may not go to heaven. Why are we required to go to confession in order to get to heaven and they don't have confession???? - Richard ___________________________________________________________________ Richard: The sacrament of Penance, called confession, is a special sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in the scriptures. In the Gospel of John, Chapter 20, Verse 21, Jesus said this to His apostles in the upper room: "Peace be with you. As the Father has send Me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." There are several other biblical verses that state that the Church and its leaders have the authority to forgive sins in the Name of the Lord Jesus. The sacrament of Penance is for all Catholics who seek to be reconciled to the body of believers called the Church. At the same time, because of the final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, all who believe in Jesus have full access to God the Father through Jesus Christ as our one Mediator. That means that all who believe in Christ have full access to the forgiveness of God simply for the asking (of course, that depends on true repentance of the sin committed). Confession is a special gift, a sacrament, that Jesus gave to the Church so that we may be truly free of our sins and know that our relationship with the body of Christ on earth, the Church, is healed and reconciled. And if the body of Christ, the Church, has forgiven you in the Name of Jesus, you know with confidence that you are forgiven by God. Confession is that special gift filled with God's graces and blessings and available to all who avail themselves to this wonderful sacrament. Confession makes me accountable to the Church for my actions. For all my actions either bless the Church with God's graces or hurt the Church by making it weaker because of sin. My actions always affect the Church no matter how "private" the sin is. That's why confession is so important to the spiritual discipline of a Catholic! But for those Christians who are not Catholic, the full forgiveness of God is given to all who ask. While those who do are not Catholic do not enjoy the fullness of forgiveness and reconciliation that confession offers, every Christian is forgiven through faith if they repent from their sins. Now, I must say that I have not heard in all my seminary training or through other preachers that "if we don't confess our sins, we are told that we may not go to heaven." Confession is a sacrament of Jesus Christ and His Church. It is part of our spiritual discipline and our journey to salvation. But if one does not afford themselves the joy and peace of this sacrament, they are missing a lot. All who seek God's forgiveness is afforded this grace of reconciliation with confession or without confession. The sacrament of Penance is not an absolute necessity for the forgiveness of sin. But it is in confession that I meet Jesus as Forgiver and Healer. I go to confession at least every month for my spiritual growth and maturity. I need to go to confession and hear the few words of encouragement to continue in my journey to salvation. What other Christians do in regards to confession or the forgiveness of sin is not my focus. They are forgiven because of their faith in Jesus. My focus is on my salvation and bringing with me as many people as I can to salvation. Confession is my sacramental tool for doing that. - Father Cervantes
Dear Father
Francisco: ___________________________________________________________________
Anthony:
Father Francisco: After being widowed 10 years ago, I have now met a man that is also Catholic. He is 52 but was married for only 2 years in his early 20’s. He was not married in a Catholic church and was divorced by the State of Florida where the marriage occurred. Are we able to have a Catholic Ceremony without an annulment? Thank you for your time. - Kathy _____________________________________________________________________
Kathy:
Father: My name is Rhonda, and I had been going through a very hard time in my marriage. My husband is an abusive drug addict and it's led to us being separated for two years. Two years ago (when we were first separated) I prayed very hard and for a long time. A blue light appeared above me and then it changed colors, (blue, green, yellow, white) later that night I was woken up and found 7 angels, and I knew their names. (Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Ariel, Azriel, Jophiel) Uriel was surrounded by a bright white light, and when the light got brighter they disappeared. I'm just trying to figure out what that meant. Why did the Arch Angels show themselves to me this way? - Rhonda ________________________________________________________________
Rhonda:
Father Cervantes: I have not prayed in years and wanted to confess my sins to Jesus, after praying and asking Jesus to forgive me I experienced a lot of chest pain, am I hallucinating or can this happen after praying, thank you Father and have a Blessed day. - Bio ________________________________________________________________
Bio:
Hello Father: Recently I've been facing many problems about relationships. I was wondering if you could help solve or give me an answer to show me into the light. I'm a Catholic and I love my religion it has gave me so much happiness and joy throughout my life. The problem is recently I've fallen in love with my best friend who is a Muslim. She respects my faith and is always happy to hear about my religion, and me like wise. She's the kindest, nicest person I've ever met in my life. I understand there may be religious barrier but this it feels so real and pure. I believe that God has guided me well though out my life this time I'm just unsure. Thank you so much for reading my question. God bless. - Luis _______________________________________________________________________
Luis:
Father Francisco: I'm trying to develop a personal relationship with Jesus, and I've always been anxious about how He can be with me when there's millions people out there. It's very hard for me to wrap my head around that. I guess I'm thinking too human like. - Marilyn ________________________________________________________________ Marilyn: Jesus is God (God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.) He can be everywhere since we are all connected to the consciousness of God. Our souls have been made in the image of God. Therefore, we are all connected to God. - Father Francisco
Father Francisco: Over the past year my two children have undergone tremendously hard things in their lives, break up of serious relationships and major setbacks in their careers, health issues, among other things. They are 28 and 30 years old. My husband says horrible things about God. Calls Him names I won't even repeat. He is angry at me for remaining faithful. I don't know how to respond to him or how to pray my family out of this dark place. What do I say or do? - MS Canlon ______________________________________________________ Ms Canlon: Suffering is part of life and I am saddened to hear of the challenges that your children have had to carry. Sometimes, things just happen. We have no control over things that happen to us. God is not exactly responsible for the evil in the world. Evil and sin come from the free will of human beings. All negative and painful things always come from the decisions of others. Your children suffer because they have been offended by others, not by God. And God will not intervene in the decisions of others because God gave us free will, and we are responsible for our own actions and the consequences of those actions as they effect others. If you did not have your faith in God and Jesus as Lord and Savior, you would not have the inner strength to go on and overcome these problems. Without faith in God, a person will descend into such negativity as to blot out all the blessings surrounding them. These people who have shut out God will experience a life of pain and hatred. Without God, life is not worth living. Continue to pray for your family, but also encourage your family to overcome all the obstacles that life can throw in their way. Your children can overcome these obstacles and win in life. As you know, there are always people in worst positions than you. Look to them for inspiration, You can find their stories all over the Internet, Stay strong, have faith and hope in God, and you and your family will be victors in the face of such challenges. Please say this prayer constantly in your mind. This prayer will lift your spirit when things really get you sad: "Lord, I trust in you. Fill my mind and heart with peace." Keep moving forward in the Lord always. - Father Francisco
Father Cervantes: My son is having spiritual experiences with shamanism. I do not know a lot about it and have no way on how to direct him. He says it is a beautiful thing and that God is teaching him so much. Can you help me understand if this is good or bad? - Marshall _______________________________________________________________ Marshall: Shamanism is a cover word for mystical experiences of people who encounter spiritual worlds or entities outside of themselves. This is accomplished in many ways, through the use of deep meditation to the use of drugs. I am concerned for the spiritual welfare of your son. Shamanism is not necessarily evil. But it can lead to mistaken notions about the spiritual world. Some cultures value shamanism as an expression of their ancient traditions. Your son sounds like he is searching for spiritual answers, but shamanism is prone to misinterpretation of spiritual realities. Self-delusion is always the danger in this kind of spiritual out of body experiences. He needs a spiritual director to guide him through his spiritual imagery that he receives through his meditation journeys of shamanism. Without an experienced spiritual director, your son will descend into self-delusion. Pray for him. Ask the Holy Spirit of God to fill his mind and heart with the truth that Jesus is Lord and Savior. And share this answer with him as a way to begin a discussion on this subject. But your son is an adult and he is ultimately responsible for his life before God. Be patient with him and trust that God will protect him on his spiritual journey to knowing, loving and serving God.- Father Cervantes
Father Francisco: Thank you,
Father, for your time. I'm a practicing Catholic and have
issues with scrupulosity. I think this is connected with
the scrupulosity but I am not sure. For the last several
years I feel that I have to report to the police or road dept.
anytime I see a dead branch stuck in a tree over or near the
road. If it was a large enough branch that it was
obviously dangerous, there would be no issue. I would report it
right away. But if it's slender and I'm not sure if it could
do any damage, do I still have to report it? I don't think
that it's that I mind reporting. I mind that I feel
compelled to do something, that I'm sure most people don't even
notice. Is it a mortal sin? I can't receive communion,
have to go to confession, etc. if I don't report it?
I know that it seems a silly thing with so many people in the
world actually dying or in great ________________________________________________________________ Moira: There is no sin in not reporting little dead tree branches. Your struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder is a heavy cross to bear. I am impressed that you are self aware of why you make these compulsive decisions. I hope that you are in therapy for this disorder. By being in therapy, you will be able to better distance yourself from the compulsive messages from your brain and make good decisions. You are not sinning if you do not act in regards to reporting little dead branches. Focus instead on knowing that God loves you as you are and He will never abandon you. God loves you always. Focus on that! - Father Francisco
Father Francisco: I was
volunteering at an old folks home in my community, Chester's regular
volunteer, and thought I could do it for the Catholic Church. I
joined the Legion of Mary and did what I could and doing more when
was asked of theme but because I didn't or couldn't follow the
schedule laid down by the presidium leader, because of medical
reasons and a scheduling conflict with my child, the presidium leader
tore me down every chance she got. So, even though I did what I
could and more than any other did, because it didn't go along with
her plans for me even though I was doing good in the name of God it
was not good enough for her. it irks me and I can't seem to get over
it. what should I do? I would volunteer to help others, not to
please her but you do it because it was the right thing and she tore
that apart. - JW JW: I am sorry to hear that you have had such a terrible and negative hurtful experience with this Legion of Mary presidium leader who is such a controlling person as not to understand that you have health concerns and family obligations. You may have to separate yourself from this person and volunteer on your own terms for the greater glory of God. What you did as a volunteer is a beautiful gift for God and others. I commend you for the volunteer work you do. It is time to let go of the hurt and disrespect of this leader and go forward on your own to volunteer on your own schedule. That may mean to either go to another Legion of Mary presidium (in another parish) or leave the Legion of Mary all together. God is more important than this leader. And your love of God overcomes all the negativity of this uncompassionate leader. Leave the past behind and continue to show your love for God in what you do! I wish I had more people like you in my parish. - Father Francisco
Father Cervantes: My question for you today is, what are the Catholic Church's teachings on human intuition? Is it sinful to believe that God could grant us the ability to know if something bad is going to happen? - Rebecca
________________________________________________________________ All people have gifts given to them by God. We all have human intuition in some form. Some have worked on gaining more insight on human intuition and making it work for the good of others. Some of the great saints have had the gift of human intuition and were able to see things in the future. For example, John wrote the Book of Revelation through human insight and his mystical experience with Jesus as he saw future things and present issues. So, it is not sinful to have the ability to know the future. But according to God's Plan, everything is not destined. Some things can be changed by a free will decision here or there. So, many people with the enhanced gift of human intuition can sense the future but also know that the future can be changed. The prophets of the Old Testament could sense the future and wrote about it in hopes that people would change their lives and then change the future for the better! May the Spirit of God guide you in all things. - Father Cervantes
Father Cervantes: Can you please tell me if it is correct to hear confessions on the Sanctuary while the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for exposition on the altar. People are continually walking on and off the Sanctuary passing Our Lord and having their confessions heard with their backs turned to the Monstrance. It seems to me to be very irreverent and rude. I’m sure that while Our Lord is exposed on the Altar we should try and concentrate 100% on Him alone, but this is very difficult when this is going on in front of me. Is there any Church directive with regard to this? Yours in Christ - Aidan _______________________________________________________________ Aidan:
What you
describe is odd but not unheard of. I think that having the
sacrament of Penance happening in front of the presence of the Lord
Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is a wonderful experience: Jesus
forgiving His repentant sons and daughters. But it is something
that I would not do in the parish setting. I would offer confession
in the
confession boxes or elsewhere in the church building while
the Holy Eucharist is in monstrance for public adoration. But there
is no exact church directive in regards to having
the sacrament of
Penance done in front of the Blessed Sacrament in monstrance. Each
diocese has its own liturgical norms in this regards.
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