Ask Father

Dear Father, I generally read the obituary column in my daily newspaper. Lately I’ve noticed that in obituaries which are clearly for Catholic families, there is a decrease in the number of funeral Masses that are included as part of the…

Our pastor said in a homily that the Eucharist makes us more like Christ. It transforms us. Well, I go to Mass every Sunday, and I find it a rather boring routine. It’s always the same thing, week after week. I’m just as impatient and…

Some Catholics say yoga is a helpful exercise regimen. Others say it's the portal of hell. What's going on here? She told me her name was Janet and that she was in the office a couple of days a week. She was a trim, petite woman, probably…

What happens when we pray for a sick person to recover, and they don't? Every Saturday it was the same. We’d pile into the car, my mom and dad, my brother and sister and I, and off we’d go to visit my grandmother. I was 9, and the visits,…

I recently heard a priest say that we should only do things like visit the sick or elderly and not do unnecessary work on Sundays. I can’t visit the sick or elderly every Sunday, and I feel better doing something rather than just sitting…

I once heard a priest explain in a homily that the First Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3), means that we should not let ourselves become “possessed by our possessions.” That’s an interesting thought, but I find…

I am saddened when I see a large number of people leaving our parish church immediately after receiving Holy Communion. I always believed we were to stay until we received the final blessing. Am I wrong? P.O., Illinois You’re right; we…

As I grow older and experience more physical suffering and the deaths of loved ones, I feel that my faith is waning and not increasing. Sometimes I worry that there really is no afterlife and doubt God's existence amid the many trials I’ve…

What is the meaning of tithing as taught by the Catholic Church? I understand it is a certain percentage of one’s earnings. If there is more than one wage-earner in the family, does the tithe apply to all income? To whom does the money go —…

When I was young, a Baptist girl friend told me if I accept Jesus as my personal savior, I am saved. However, the Baltimore Catechism answers I later memorized seemed to tell me that salvation is not that simple. I’m much older now, and I…