Ask a Franciscan
Casual Sex on TV Programs
Q: Many TV shows include sexual remarks or people sleeping with people to whom they are not married. I don’t watch much television, but I do enjoy several hospital-based programs that have good plots but frequently include these situations, which are becoming more and more common.
Is it a serious sin for me to watch such programs? Do I need to confess such viewing?
Is There a Heaven?
Q: All my life we have been told that when we die we will be with God for all eternity. I sometimes feel, however, that when you die that’s it—no heaven, God or anything. It’s frightening to think that what I ...
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Receiving Holy Communion in a Protestant Church
I recently attended the wedding of a friend’s son who was married in a Protestant ceremony. This wedding included a communion service. In order to show respect for my friend and his son, I received communion but afterwards questioned if ...
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Marks of Respect Vary by Culture
Why do people kiss the pope’s ring? This strikes me as a very odd custom and is certainly not based on the Bible. I have never found anyone who could give me a good explanation for this practice.
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Has Anyone Seen God Face-to-Face?
From the description in Genesis 3:8-24, it does not sound as though Adam and Eve saw God face-to-face. When Moses encountered the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-22), he heard God speak but did not see God.
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Substituting for the Gloria
For the past few years, from midnight Christmas through Epiphany, the director of music in our parish has elected to use "Angels We Have Heard on High" instead of the Gloria. What is proper in this regard?
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The Our Father, Amen, and Holding Hands
Would you say if there is still an amen at the end of the Our Father? At Mass, I realize a prayer has been inserted between the main body of the prayer and when the priest says amen.
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