Jenna Marie Cooper Q: I always thought the end of the Christmas season came with Epiphany and the arrival of the Magi. A priest recently said the season doesn’t end until a week later with the Baptism of the Lord. What has the Baptism of the adult Jesus got to do with Bethlehem? If…
Jenna Marie Cooper Q: What is the Church currently teaching about the Real Presence in other denominations? I thought that at one time we recognised both the Lutherans and the Anglicans as having the Real Presence. Does that still hold true? Others? A: For context, let us recall that the Catholic teaching on the “real…
Q: Why doesn’t the Church allow women to be priests? A: The reason why women can’t be ordained priests is because of the pattern set by Jesus himself while he walked the earth. Pope St John Paul II mentions this historical fact as the fundamental rationale for reserving the sacrament of holy orders to men…
“For the son of God became man so that we might become God” and “… might make men gods”. I am to become GOD? That doesn’t seem right.
A two-point question: It is common to hear, ‘It’s a miracle,’ for a sports comeback victory. Does the Church actually have a definition of a miracle? When it comes to canonisation, miracles are required, aren’t they? Does a miracle happen in other domains except health and medicine? A miracle is an extraordinary phenomenon that cannot…
Jenna Marie Cooper Q: Why do Orthodox Christians confirm their infants at Baptism and also permit babies to receive the Eucharist, and why do Catholics wait? A: Thank you for your interesting question! First, it’s not only Orthodox Christians who confer all three sacraments of initiation at the time of Baptism – Eastern Catholics do…
Jenna Marie Cooper Q: Why do Catholics pray for the souls in purgatory to lessen their sufferings? Is it possible that the souls already in purgatory would even go to hell, so our prayers for them would save them from going to hell? A: We don’t pray that souls in purgatory won’t wind up in…
Jenna Marie Cooper Q: When I was a kid we put up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and took it down a day or two after Christmas. As an adult, I put the tree up a day or two after Thanksgiving and left it up until January 2nd. Now as a Catholic, what…
Jenna Marie Cooper Q: My parish recently returned to communion under the second species. A Eucharistic Minister holds one cup and one cloth and does one wipe after each serve. Most people are still not receiving it for fear of Covid or other illness. Why can’t the Church simply use disposable plastic cups with…
Q: I receive solicitations from many religious organisations with pictures of saints etc. I cannot not afford to give donations to all, so I trash them. I hope it’s not a sin to throw away those pictures of saints? My priority is my contribution to our parish and other areas that the Church gives donations.…