Avoiding Repetitious Prayer
Pat McCloskey, OFM
July 26, 2019
The Bible tells us to avoid repetitious prayer. Isn’t the rosary a repetitious prayer?
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.
Questioning God’s Plan
Pat McCloskey, OFM
July 26, 2019
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 know if I’m losing my faith. Although I will always believe in Jesus, our present suffering and fear overwhelm me with questions. She is everything to me, and I want to be strong for her. God’s will be done. I feel like a sinner for questioning I am simply lost.
Mental Images of God
Pat McCloskey, OFM
June 24, 2019
Although I have struggled with an eating disorder for most of my adult life, this has been less of a problem in recent years. I am, however, tormented by some things I did in order to support that disorder. I have tried to make amends, but I am never satisfied that I have done enough. I sometimes feel that I will go to hell because of these sins.
If God were answering your question definitely not the case here! I am quite certain that God would urge you to ease up on the sins you have already confessed and for which you have done penance.
Limits of Language
Pat McCloskey, OFM
June 24, 2019
If God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons in a single divine nature, why does Jesus say that Caiaphas will see Jesus seated at God the Father’s right hand (Mt 26:64)?
Quick Q & A
Pat McCloskey, OFM
June 24, 2019
My husband of 31 years was baptized a Baptist but has not practiced that faith since he was a teenager. He has been going to church with me throughout our marriage. We have raised our three children as Catholics. Is there some way for him to become a Catholic without going through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)?
He should go through the RCIA because it will expand his knowledge of what the Church believes and why.
It will also help him see from a new perspective to what kind of service lived faith leads.
St. Anthony: Help Us Find Healing!
Pat McCloskey, OFM
May 28, 2019
Many of us have wanted to believe that the Catholic Church had finally turned a corner in dealing with the crime of clerical sexual abuse.
Quick Questions and Answers
Pat McCloskey, OFM
May 23, 2019
In simple terms, how can I explain the Trinity to a non-Christian?
St. Patrick is said to have used a shamrock to illustrate unity and diversity. Believing in many rival gods and goddesses is very easy. Believing in a single God whose three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) never act out of rivalry or resentment shows us what our being made in the divine image means.
What is the “unforgivable sin ” against the Holy Spirit (Mt 12:31)? Can it, in fact, be forgiven?