Suffering from Natural Disasters
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 30, 2025
Why do you think God inflicts such natural disasters on many innocent, God-loving people?
Posts from:
Pat McCloskey, OFM
Pat McCloskey, OFM, is the Franciscan advisor for St. Anthony Messenger and the writer of its "Ask a Franciscan" column.
‘Asleep in Christ’
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 29, 2025
In my Bible readings I come across passages about “those asleep in Christ.” What is meant by those “asleep in Christ?”
Sharing Communion Is Rarely Permitted
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 28, 2025
May a Catholic give or invite a non-Catholic to receive holy Communion? Wouldn’t that promote our efforts toward ecumenism?
How Many People Have Received the Stigmata?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 27, 2025
Who besides St. Francis of Assisi and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina have received the stigmata, the marks of Christ’s five wounds? Have any women received the stigmata?
Why Is the Pope Called the ‘Supreme Pontiff’?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 26, 2025
According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, the definition for the pope is “supreme pontiff.” Why is that?
Can a Catholic Marry a Lutheran?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 25, 2025
Will this marriage be recognized by the Catholic Church? Can a Catholic priest give a blessing?
Why Two Judgments?
Pat McCloskey, OFM
November 24, 2025
In parochial school, I learned that there is a particular judgment when a person dies and that there will also be a general judgment at the end of the world. Why?