Ask a Franciscan
What Is Excommunication?
All excommunications are meant to be medicinal. They are a kind of shock therapy intended to make sinners aware of the seriousness of their sin and their spiritual condition and call them to conversion.
Was Saint Nicholas Real?
Books say Nicholas died in 342 A.D., but they don’t say when he became a saint. They also say that, while many miracles were performed, they were not recognized by the Catholic Church and he was dropped from the Roman ...
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A Priest’s Prayer
I am not doing what I should in order to enter the gates of heaven. Could you send me a daily prayer? I need to change my life, but do not know where to begin.
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What about Reincarnation?
One of my close friends believes in reincarnation. My Catholic education and faith leave me with no reason to believe in multiple lives. Among other things, my friend claims that all mention of reincarnation was removed from the Bible in ...
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Can Ashes Be Scattered?
I understand the Church’s regulations on cremation. In view of the events of last summer, what are the Church’s regulations on the final disposition of the deceased person’s ashes? May they be cast to the winds at sea?
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The Symbolism of Incense
Would you explain why the priest uses incense at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and other ceremonies?
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‘I Believe’ or ‘We Believe’ in the Nicene Creed?
On Sundays and holy days of obligation, we recite the Nicene Creed. We begin by saying, “We believe in one God….” Although this is the first person plural, this prayer’s Latin text reads “Credo” (“I believe,” first person singular).
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