Ask a Franciscan
The Heroic Act
Many years ago, as a child of 11 or 12, I read a book on Fatima. At the end of the book was a pledge called a heroic act where persons pledged to give all the indulgences they earned during life and after death to the souls in purgatory.
Dedication of Days and Months
When I grew up I learned what or to whom each month of the year was dedicated. A lot of years have passed. Can you tell me if the months still have a special dedication? How are they dedicated?
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What Is the Process for Canonizing Someone?
What steps does the Church follow in recognizing saints? How do Servants of God and Venerables differ?
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Why Eucharistic Adoration?
What is the meaning of eucharistic adoration in the Church? I have been attending such adoration in the past year and would like to know about it. It makes me feel good to attend. Does it carry a special blessing?
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Withdrawing Food and Water?
Hospitals today really encourage people to have living wills. Is it permissible for patients to choose to have water and food withheld in case of very severe illness? I think this is suicide.
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How Do the Saints Help Us?
Do you think that saints can help us out? Can you be sure that they are there and that sometimes they talk to you?
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How Are Mass Readings Chosen?
A non-Catholic friend asked me how the Scriptures at Mass are selected. Who started this and when was the present system adopted? Vatican II’s 1963 “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” called for a wider selection of biblical texts to be ...
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