| I am a practising Catholic and have received all the sacraments of the church. I however do not fulfil the sacrament of reconciliation due to fear. I know this is a sin (not to go for confession). How do I overcome this fear and return to all sacraments? |
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| Why is the Eucharist so important to Catholics? |
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| What actually happens during the Eucharist? |
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| What are the main symbols used during the Eucharist? |
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| Can God still in today's world full of lawlessness and all human weakness intervene? Is this not the same God who spoke through the apostles ,the prophets and great saints in history,can he not understand our human existence? |
| | Thank you for your question to which I try to answer. Well, the book of Qoelet says that there is nothing new under the sun, therefore men of our time are not worse than they used to be in the past. What makes the difference between the past and the present is the fact that evil and good enter our houses very fast through the mass media. Both of them become global and we can see good and evil sitting in our sofas. We see the ravages of wars and starvation while sipping a nice cup of tea.
God is the master of history and since the first couple refused to recognise God as the supreme source of their joy and life, sin entered the world destroying the three great harmonies of creation.
1) The harmony with God.
2) The harmony with my neighbour.
3) The harmony with creation.
These three harmonies are as three super ways for man. When we sin against one of them we touch the other two. The “ten words of life” have been given us by God to live his life in this world. What happens in this world is either the acceptance of the ten words of life or their refusal.
The book of Wisdom says that death entered the world through the jealousy of the devil. It is a mystery how and why God allows the evil one to work in the heart of man and in the world. There are evil men and women doing the interests of evil in the world. We have structure of sin supported by ideologies, personal interests, terrorism, integralism, etc. In the gospel we see Jesus facing and fighting all kinds of evil. Jesus frees man from the worst evil, sin, the root af all evils, spiritual, psycological and physical.
Well, in front of this we, as intelligent people, we can ask ourselves and God, why all these happen in the world, overall after Jesus Christ's Resurrection. Israel has asked its God the meaning of suffering in the world. It gave an answer to it through faith and theological reflection.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (C.C.C) at No. 269 says: …Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will. He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is the master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with his will.
C.C.C at No. 3003 says: The witness of Scriptures is unanimous that solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate, God cares for all from the least things to the great events of the world and its history. The sacred Books powerfully affirm God’s absolute sovereignty over the course of events: “Our God is in heaven, he does whatever he pleases.” And so it is with Christ, “who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.” As the book of Proverbs states: “Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.”
Again the C.C.C at No 304 says: And so we see the Holy Spirit, the principal author of Sacred Scripture, often attributing actions to God without mentioning any secondary causes. This is not a “primitive mode of speech,” but a profound way of recalling God’s primacy and absolute Lordship over history and the world, and so of educating his people to trust in him. The prayer of the psalms is the great school of this trust.
May God bless you and your family.
Fr. Eugene Ferrari
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| Why do Catholics celebrate the Eucharist? |
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| Is there a minimal age for one to become an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion? What other criteria is there? |
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| Why do Catholics have a Saturday night Mass? |
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| Is there a Christian community I can join to strenghten my Christian walk? |
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| Is it biblical to venerate Mother Mary and why does the Catholic church emphasise on this more than the Protestant churches. Are we worshiping Mary and why do we present our petitions through her when the Bible says that Jesus is our High priest..... |
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| Is it wrong to carry the Blessed Sacrament from the church? |
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| Do you need to be baptised to receive communion during Mass? |
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| What other things will I need to do – to be baptised? |
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| How does the learning process begin….and end? (Becoming a Catholic) |
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| How do I find out some basic information? (Becoming a Catholic) |
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| How do I get started? (Becoming a Catholic) |
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| What does the Catholic Church claim to be? |
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| What steps do I need to make to become a Catholic? |
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| Q. How did the first Christians live Unity? |
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| Q. Who Can Receive Communion? Receiving Communion or not? |
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| Q. Is there a structure or program followed during the Mass? |
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| Q. So it sounds as if the Church can't do without the Mass? |
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| Q. It does seem a wonderful gift. Is it given only for ourselves? |
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| Q. So at Mass we offer ourselves to God – don’t we receive anything back? |
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| Q. You said the Last Supper took place just before Jesus died – Why is that significant? |
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| Q. Who invented the Mass? |
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| Q. What makes the Mass so important? (What Happens at Mass?) |
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