Ask a Franciscan

Person standing in front of a grave with flowers

A Deep Wound

How could God take my precious son at age 43 and yet allow rotten people who have stopped believing in God to keep on living? My son was a great Catholic and spent eight years in Catholic schools.

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Father Stephen Saffron, parish administrator, elevates the Eucharist during a Tridentine Mass at St. Josaphat Church in the Queens borough of New York City in this July 18, 2021, file photo. The Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has responded to bishops' questions about Pope Francis' July document limiting use of pre-Vatican II Mass. Among the clarifications was that confirmations and ordinations are not permitted to be celebrated according to the older rites. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Why the Push for a Latin Mass?

There seems to be a push to return to the Latin Mass and all its implications. Our parish has become very divided when this was imposed on us with refusal of Communion in the hand, reintroduction of Communion rails, and ...
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Pedophile Priests Protected

My wife and I do not feel comfortable discussing this with our parish priest and hope you can provide some guidance. As cradle Catholics, we find it very difficult to continue in our Catholic faith because of repeated reports of ...
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St. Francis and the Eucharist

What did the Eucharist mean to St. Francis? How did he express his devotion to it?
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Questioning God’s Plan

My wife and I are both seriously ill and have been since we married 14 years ago. Now her medications have stopped working, and we are meeting with the doctors. I'm currently very angry and questioning God's plan. I don't ...
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Where Do Prayers Go?

If you are praying for someone who may have gone to hell, where do those prayers go? Should you keep praying for them even though you don't really know where anyone goes? Only God knows for sure.
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Why Pray for Grandma Jones?

In your August 2018 column, you wrote that God does not have a vast, eternal plan that Grandma Jones had successful heart surgery last month. OK, why do I pray for her or anyone else? You prayed before her surgery ...
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Do you have a question for Father Pat McCloskey, OFM? The author of our popular "Ask a Franciscan" feature is ready to answer your toughest questions!

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