Ask a Franciscan

My 49-year-old daughter left the Catholic Church several years ago. She loves praying by herself to God the Father but avoids public prayer. How can she not recognize Jesus’ presence in the Blessed Sacrament?

I don’t understand why the name of God was so important to the Israelites. I thought God’s name was simply “God.”

If a person commits adultery and then goes to confession, does that person have to ask forgiveness from his or her spouse?

Our diocese distributed a pamphlet on examining your conscience. It states that having an abortion or encouraging a woman to do so would mean automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church. If I do that, is this so?

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 ...

Question about limbo: Are souls in a state of eternal happiness outside heaven or do they go to hell forever? I pray for my granddaughter’s soul.