QUESTION CORNER Q: Often, I have been at a Mass where the deacon reads the Gospel, which is fine. But then, sometimes, the deacon goes on to give the homily while the priest watches. This disappoints me and makes me feel that the deacon is overstepping his bounds. Why should a deacon, rather than the […]

  QUESTION CORNER Q: I am having a hard time understanding why a Catholic church closed by a bishop can no longer be used for Masses, weddings and funerals. For more than 100 years, this particular church — built by my great-great-grandparents — was considered sacred ground. Now my grandson wants to get married in […]

QUESTION CORNER Q: Every summer, my husband and I go on a cruise. Only one cruise line (Holland America) continues to have a priest on board to say Mass. When we travel on other cruise lines, frequently we have missed Sunday Mass because there was no priest on board and we could not get to […]

QUESTION CORNER Q: I grew up in a Protestant church but converted to Catholicism. Sometimes it seems to me that Catholics give a lot less money to their churches than Protestants do. (The Sunday collections reported in our parish bulletin would, I think, be dwarfed by some Protestants parishes much smaller than our own.) On […]

QUESTION CORNER Q: I have often wondered about the difference between the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit immediately after the Resurrection “on the evening of that first day of the week” (Jn 20:19-23) and the coeming of the Holy Spirit upon them at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Is it two different accounts of the same event, […]

QUESTION CORNER Q: What is the Catholic view on whether there is an actual, literal hell? A lot of people, including some who are Catholics, while they believe in an actual, literal heaven, say that hell is simply death. (Indiana) A: Catholic theology holds that there is an actual, literal hell. The Catechism of the […]

QUESTION CORNER Q: We Catholics honor many female saints for their outstanding lives of service and virginity. Why do we never mention St. Joseph’s virginity or the virginity of some of our wonderful male saints? (City and state withheld) A: I think the main reason is that women religious generally refer to their vow of […]

QUESTION CORNER Q While I know that only confession will reconcile me with God, I am confused about the terminology used in my parish. (We are a rural parish and have very few opportunities for confession, but there is always the chance to make a private appointment for confession.) Any scheduled confessions are now announced […]