Ask a Franciscan - All

Confession has been a really sore spot for me but, having been raised a Catholic, I do love the Church and all the other sacraments. I am sure there are priests I could go to for confession, but I feel so uncomfortable and always feel that God already knows my sins and what I am sorry for.

How did St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil become friends? What led to the ending of that friendship?

I recently read that a prenuptial agreement invalidates any marriage in the Catholic Church. Is that true? No.

How did the gentlemen who gathered together to write the Bible do so? Where did their information come from? The holy Bible is beautifully written. When was it written?

I was surprised to read in an earlier “Ask” column that John the Apostle did not write the Gospel of John. Who did? We are not entirely sure.

Please explain in simple language the concept of the kingdom of God. What Jesus means by the expression the kingdom of God is accepting God’s values as trustworthy and enough, not needing any “improvements,” as we often describe them.

I realize that I can sin by some action (for example, murder or theft), but I have never understood how someone can sin by inaction, by not doing something. How is that possible? Yes, sins of commission (such as the examples you cited) are pretty easy to recognize.

As an 80-year-old Catholic, I was taught that missing Mass through your own fault is a mortal sin that, if unconfessed and unabsolved, could send you to hell forever. I know friends and other Catholics who are good people but no longer go to Mass.

How do I understand and find peace in the death of a parent? Please accept my condolences on the death of your father or mother. Allow yourself to grieve properly but without being absolutely consumed or paralyzed by this death.

Is it all right to ask God to give someone a happy death?