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Sky with clouds and light shining through

Questions about Heaven

Where is heaven? Will my husband who died two years ago know me and still love me? If we have hurt people, will they have forgiven us by the time we get to heaven? What if there’s nothing beyond a person’s casket and grave?

Heaven is more a state of being than a place such as Boston, St. Louis, Phoenix, or Los Angeles a place that you can find on a map. Christians understand heaven as being with God for all eternity.

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Why Pray for Others?

I understand that my prayers for someone will not cause God to move that person to the head of the line or guarantee a desired outcome. Then why do we pray for other people?

We cannot pray honestly for someone else without at the same time growing in compassion toward that person in particular and indeed toward all suffering people. Through honest prayer, we become more like the God to whom we address those prayers.

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Blessed Virgin Mary statue

Why Pray to Mary and the Saints?

Why do Catholics pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to various saints? Is there anything in the Bible to back this up? Can’t this be considered idol worship? Why not pray directly to God?

The mother of Jesus Christ and the other saints have no meaning or power independent of God. Catholics and many other Christians venerate the saints as ongoing examples of what a life generously open to God’s grace can look like in a great variety of circumstances.

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Why Does God Make the Devil So Powerful?

If God created the angel Lucifer, who failed God through pride, why didn’t God simply dump him in hell instead of allowing him to torment and wreck so many human lives? Isn’t God more powerful than Satan?

I have heard this explained in terms of free will. When did that theory begin? It seems that our all-knowing and all-powerful God has been shoved aside. What am I missing here?

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Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary

Who Wrote the Memorare?

I have read that St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153) wrote the Memorare, but I have also read that it came later. Which is it?

The text ( “Remember, O most gracious virgin Mary, . . . “) is the shortened form of a longer prayer (Ad sanctitatis tuae pedes, dulcissima Virgo Maria) that comes from the 15th century. St. Francis de Sales (1567−1622) writes that he prayed it as a student in Paris.

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