Pat McCloskey, OFM

Why were Lucifer and his band of angels created when God knew what would happen to him and the human race?

Your question presumes that God acts in time as humans do: past, present, future. That, however, is a human restriction on God. God created Lucifer for the same reason that God created everything else: to share life. Unfortunately, Lucifer eventually resented his subordinate status and led a revolt of angels. The question “What did God know when? ” is framed in terms of human time.

In the second part of the Hail Mary, we say, “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. ” My fundamentalist brother wants to know how Mary can be the mother of God if God made Mary. How can I explain this?

Although Mary is not the mother of God in the sense that she is the mother of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (the Trinity), she is the mother of Jesus Christ, who is fully human and fully divine.

Although I was raised Catholic and attend Sunday Mass regularly, in recent years I am finding the Church’s position, or perhaps its silence, on many political issues disturbing. I understand pro-life concerns, but I don’t understand why the only pro-life issue the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) really seems to care about is abortion.

Pope Francis is the best thing that has happened to the Catholic Church since St. John XXIII. I know there are lots of dedicated priests, religious, and laypeople working on the front lines with refugees, the poor, the elderly, single mothers, and other at-risk groups of people. But where among today’s leaders are the Oscar Romeros, the Daniel Berrigans, and the Dorothy Days? I don’t think I’m having a crisis of faith; it feels more like a crisis of religion because of tepid leadership.

I understand that if I pray for someone, that action affects me and how I deal with that person and perhaps others. All our lives, Catholics are geared to praying for others, but what we do after that praying is also crucial. Pope Francis usually ends a homily or talk with a request that his listeners pray for him. What good does that do?