Welcome to the Ask a Franciscan archives! Categorized by themes, they go back to the March 2013 edition. Each link will open to a flip book for you to enjoy on your desktop or mobile device.
EVIL
Good People and Bad Things 06/17
Is God Missing in Action? [in times of crisis?] 06/16
Why Does Evil Exist? 12/13
Why Does God Make the Devil So Powerful? 05/17
Why Was Lucifer Created? 9/17
Where Was God? 10/17
FORGIVENESS
Can That Thief Ever Be Forgiven? 01/17
Forgiving the Sin of Abortion 05/16
Has God Forgiven Me? [abortion 40 years ago] 11/15
How Can God Be Both Just and Merciful? 01/16
How Can We Forgive Terrorists? 03/16
How Can I Forgive Him 11/17
Defending My Good Name 4/18
JESUS
Block under Jesus’ Feet [on the cross] 08/16
Did Jesus Have a Soul? 08/16
Did Jesus Rise or Was He Raised? 02/15
Jesus’ Anger 08/13
Two Questions [Did Jesus die as a Jew; where was St. Joseph] 12/14
Two Questions About Jesus [Judas needed? Blood and water?] 08/14
Uniqueness of Jesus 12/14
Why Was Jesus Baptized? 04/14
Jesus’ Crown of Thorns 10/17
Marking the Spot Where Jesus Died 09/18
Jesus and Slavery 10/18
Good People Who Died before Jesus 02/19
MORAL ISSUES
Are the Knights of Columbus Anti-gay? 11/13
Can Married Couples Engage in Oral Sex? 12/13
Changing the Sabbath [by whose authority?] 08/16
‘Consumed with Guilt and Sorrow’ [hit pedestrian with my side mirror] 07/16
‘Did I Do Enough?’ [sins of omission in past] 06/14
Disposing of Excess Goods 06/16
Honoring One’s Father [who deserted the family] 07/14
How Much Is Enough? [I feel too materialistic] 05/15
Hungry People along the Road 04/14
Selling Real Estate on Sundays 03/17
Should I Report It? [income from remodeled, rented rooms] 08/16
Unsolicited Religious Materials 05/16
Caring for In Vitro Newborns 11/14
Dealing with Infertility 05/15
Feedback on ‘Dealing with Infertility’ 10/15
Excommunicated for an Abortion? 03/14
Few Pro-life Homilies 09/14
How Many Children to Have? 05/15
Respecting Life at All Stages [hospice] 12/14
Which Party Reflects Catholic Teaching? 8/17
Handling Post-Abortion Guilt 9/17
‘I Need Help to Control My Anger’ 12/17
May a Catholic Have a Living Will 12/17
Is Filing for Bankruptcy a Sin? 07/18
Change on the Death Penalty 10/18
Hospice or Palliative Care 12/18
I’ve Killed a Lot of People 06/19
Questioning God’s Plan 08/19
Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? 10/19
Pedophile Priests Protected 11/19
A Nephew’s Coming Out 11/19
PRAYER
Does Prayer Change Things? 07/17
Is God Listening to My Prayers? 12/16
‘Lead Us Not Into Temptation’ 10/16
Non-Catholic Devotionals [OK to use these books?] 02/16
Praying to the Saints Only 04/16
Same Prayers, Different Responses [why?] 03/15
Who Wrote the Memorare? 05/17
Why Pray for Others? 06/17
Why Pray to Mary and the Saints? 05/17
15th Station of the Cross? 11/17
Why Pray for Grandma Jones 0519
REDEMPTION
Can She Be Saved? [writer’s agnostic wife] 03/17
Did Judas Fulfill God’s Will? 07/15
In Heaven Will She Learn of My Infidelity? 05/13
Obsessed with the State of Grace 03/13
Only Christians in Heaven? 05/14
Purgatory on Earth? 05/14
Sacrificed for Our Salvation 02/14
Several Questions about Heaven [Where is it? Will my husband know me? Will people I’ve hurt forgive me?] 06/17
Why a Second Judgment? 12/16
Will My Husband Know Me in Heaven? 07/17
Will I Know Him? 09/19
Purgatory Seems Unnecessary 8/17
Outside the Church? 9/17
Staying in God’s Grace 0219
For All? For Many? 12/19
SACRAMENTS
Anointing of the Sick
Moment of Death [when is it?] 04/13
Who Can Receive the Anointing of the Sick? 06/13
Baptism
A Second Baptism Needed? 07/17
Are Anglican Baptisms Valid? 12/13
Baptizing Grandchildren Secretly 06/15
Becoming a Catholic 03/13
Catholic Baptism? 05/14
Catholic Being a Sponsor in Another Church 01/14
Is That Baptism Valid? [in Anglican Church] 08/14
‘What Can I Do?’ [couple refuses to baptize twin babies] 05/16
Eucharist
Can We Sing the Our Father? 10/14
Eucharist Not Mentioned in Creed 10/14
Eucharist Not Mentioned in the Creed 01/16
‘For Us Men’ [Nicene Creed] 06/16
Francis of Assisi and the Eucharist 10/19
Holy Communion for Everyone? 04/16
Holy Communion without Confession 09/13
Mass Facing Which Direction? 10/16
May Everyone Receive Holy Communion? 10/13
More Participation Needed [at Catholic Masses] 01/17
No Mass on a Cruise Ship 04/14
Not Drinking From the Cup 10/14
Same Eucharist? [National Polish Catholic Church] 04/14
Sunday Mass Obligation 11/14
Tattoos and Piercings [keep me from attending Mass] 11/16
What’s the Difference [Eucharistic Prayer 2 – deceased who hoped for the resurrection and those who died in God’s mercy] 05/16
Why Break Off a Piece of the Host? 12/15
Why the Change? [holding hands at Our Father, fewer people exchanging the Kiss of Peace] 02/14
Why in Greek? [Kyrie eleison at Mass] 07/16
Why Add Water to Wine at Mass? 03/18
Necessity of the Eucharist 03/18
Why Gluten-Free Hosts? 10/18
Holy Orders
Did Those Bishops Sin? [transfer of pedophile priests] 06/14
Response Much Appreciated 06/14
Individual Successors for Apostles? 09/15
Uncaring Priests [are younger ones dismissive of laity?] 01/16
Widowed Deacons [remarriage] 12/14
Marriage/Weddings
Banns of Marriage 11/16
Can a Catholic Do a Reading There? [nondenom. wedding] 01/14
‘Can I Come Back?’ [marriage situation] 09/13
Can They Marry in the Catholic Church? 05/13
Declaration of Nullity Changes 11/15
Is She in Good Standing? [divorced, no case for tribunal] 08/15
Only Two Vocations? [marriage or religious life] 06/13
Should I Attend? [granddaughter’s wedding without Catholic witness] 02/16
Why No Beach Weddings? 09/15
Schedule a Wedding 10/17
Jewish Wedding Customs 4/18
Wedding On an Airplane 4/18
Penance/Reconciliation
Confessing to a Priest 08/14
Confessing to a Priest [where is this in the Bible?] 08/16
Confess All Venial Sins? 10/16
Forgiving the Sin of Abortion 05/16
Mortal? Venial? [where does this concept originate?] 07/16
No General Absolution? 10/14
No Unforgivable Sin 06/15
SAINTS
Did He Witness Mary’s Assumption? [apostle Thomas] 09/13
Feast Days of Saints 07/14
Patron of Husbands? 03/14
‘They Seem Too Ordinary” [some saints at Saint of the Day online feature] 04/16
What Happened to St. Christopher? 08/13
What Is ‘Equivalent Canonization’? 07/14
Where Did He Get His Learning? [St. Peter] 11/13
Why No St. Sarah? 06/14
Why Two Feasts for St. Joseph 11/17
Saints on the Wrong Days 08/18
(Mary)
‘Catholics Seem Obsessed with Mary’ 07/13
Lourdes and Fatima 10/13
Mary and the United States 04/13
Mary as ‘Mirror of Justice’ 10/15
No Statue of Mary [why?] 09/14
Scriptural Basis Available? [Mary’s assumption and Coronation] 01/16
Two Questions about Mary 04/15
How Can Mary be the ‘Mother of God’? 9/17
Answering Protestant Objections 2/18
SCRIPTURE
Bible Readings at Mass 04/15
Biblical Inspiration 07/13
The Bible and Homosexuality 09/13
Books Added to the Bible? [Old Testament canons] 05/17
Bothered by Biblical Contradictions 03/13
Is There an Official Catholic Bible? 05/13
‘Two-Edged Sword’ 07/18
Who Chose the Books in the Bible? 06/17
Works of Mercy [where they are in the Bible?] 12/15
Why So Few Catholic Bible Study Groups? 09/19
(Old Testament)
‘Dresser of Sycamores’? 10/15
Old Testament Fulfilled by Jesus? 08/15
Psalm Numbers 07/15
When Was Adam Created? 02/17
Why Was Cain’s Sacrifice Rejected? 04/13
Humor in the Old Testament? 1/18
Why Did God Change Names? 2/18
Jacob’s Deception 2/18
God the Warrior? 11/18
(New Testament)
490 or 77? 04/13
The Holy Family’s Arrival in Nazareth 07/13
House of David? 05/15
Imprisoning Debtors 03/13
‘Made to Be Sin’? [2 Cor 5:21] 03/14
The Nicene Creed and Scripture 06/13
Seven Last Words 09/15
Still a Leper? (Simon in Mt 26:6-13 and Mk 14:3-9] 07/16
Understanding Parables 07/13
What Is the Origin of John’s Baptism? 08/16
What Is the Source of These Stories? [Annunciation, Joseph’s dream] 06/14
Why No Mention of Peter in Rome? 03/13
Why Was the Fig Tree Cursed? 06/13
Why Into the Swine? 9/17
What Was That ‘Good News’? 12/17
Humor in the New Testament? 1/18
Limits of Language 07/19
Quick Questions and Answers
June 2018
August 2018
September 2018
October 2018
November 2018
December 2018
January 2019
February 2019
March 2019
April 2019
May 2019
June 2019
July 2019
August 2019
September 2019
October 2019
November 2019
December 2019
OTHER TOPICS
Angels [Do Only Christians Have Guardian Angels?] 08/13
What Do I Tell My Children about Muslims? 06/18
What Does God’s Word Say about Addiction? 07/18
Personal Monstrances 7/18
How Can I Know God’s Will? 08/18
The Seven Unities 09/18
Is Agnosticism a Sin? 03/15
Can Laypeople Give Blessings? 11/18
