July 29, 2020
Missing Mass on Sunday
As an 80-year-old Catholic, I was taught that missing Mass through your own fault is a mortal sin that, if unconfessed and unabsolved, could send you to hell forever. I know friends and other Catholics who are good people but no longer go to Mass. How could a merciful God condemn them to hell forever?
The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation is serious but must be understood in relation to other serious obligations. Caring for a terminally ill spouse or child is a greater obligation than attending Sunday Mass.
One of Life's Great Losses
How do I understand and find peace in the death of a parent? Please accept my condolences on the death of your father or mother. Allow yourself to grieve properly but without being absolutely consumed or paralyzed by this death. ...
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Finding the Historical Jesus
Christians believe that Jesus was both fully divine and fully human. For at least the third time since the birth of modern scientific thinking in the 1700's, there is a renewed interest among some biblical scholars in what they call ...
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Confronting Racism
I have a family member who seems to harbor a racist attitude. How do I respond when I hear this person make thinly veiled racist statements? These comments probably reflect what this family member considers "normal, " "what everyone knows, ...
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Sunday Soundbite for August 2, 2020
Our Sunday Mass nourishes us, prepares us, even obliges us to feed the hungry seeking nourishment and healing.
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