Dear Catholic Exchange:

Is it canonically possible for a layperson to "bless" a religious article, i.e., a rosary, a Miraculous Medal, etc. in the home and is there an approved "book of blessings" available?

In Christ,

Ben Nasca
Santa Ana, CA

Dear Ben,

Peace in Christ!…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

There are times when the priest in our parish omits the prayers of the faithful in the mass. Is it permissable to omit the prayers of the faithful in the mass?

Sol Magat
Philippines

Dear Mr. Magat,

Peace in Christ!

There are times…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

My daughter has had a very challenging life during her 26 years on earth.

She was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was 13 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments for 2½ years. She is in remission and has…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

Our Pastor says that to receive Communion at the Saturday evening Vigil Mass and then at a next day Sunday Mass is not permitted since the readings are the same and this would be the same as receiving…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I have been in communication with non-Catholics regarding religious matters, and, as is habitual for Protestants to do, they have pointed out a Bible verse to explain a belief that they held. For the majority of the objections…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

Why can I not find the name of St. Joseph's mother and information on her?

Thank you,

Noreen C.

Dear Noreen,

Peace in Christ!

The Bible records very little information about St. Joseph. He first appears in the Infancy Narratives (Mt. 1-2 and…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I am currently in a dialogue with my pastor about using titles for God the Father that are not in the Sacramentary, i.e. Creator, Lord, Holy One. At times the prayers sound distorted and unnatural. He tells me…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have a question on corporate donors to Planned Parenthood. Is American Express still donating to them?  Also, what about IBM?  Thanks so much!

Gabriela Granados

Dear Gabriela,

Peace in Christ!

Apparently neither American Express nor IBM give to Planned Parenthood, although…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Can you please give me the history of the rosary-who started it and when? By answering this, maybe I could help some of those born-again Christians who do not believe on repeating prayers.

Thanks a lot,

Nelson

Dear Nelson,

Peace…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

My daughter was married in the Roman Catholic Church. She divorced her husband who is Greek Orthodox. He had their marriage annulled in the Greek Orthodox Church and is now remarried and has a daughter by his present…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have been wondering while at church if I am doing wrong. I was baptized as a little girl, but I never got the chance to make my First Communion. I am now 24 years old and…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

A co-worker claims that Dubuque, Iowa proclaims to be the papal refuge in the United States for the pope if he needs to flee Rome. This seems a little far-fetched to me.

Thank you!

Jackie

Dear Jackie,

Peace in Christ!

First, a…

Dear Catholic Exchange, 

Could you please provide me a legitimate authoritative resource that tells who is allowed to go in to tabernacle? In my diocese, any lay Eucharistic minister seems to be able to access the tabernacle, and I would…

Dear Catholic Exchange:
I was raised in Protestent churches, but never felt at "home" there, and the older I get the more I view myself as a Catholic. After attending Mass and a lot of thought and study on the subject…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I have recently been attending the "Tridentine Mass" and would much prefer it over the "Norvus Ordo" liturgy. In the Tridentine Mass, we are asked not to just pray at Mass, but to "Pray the Mass." In addition,…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I've got a question that has been gnawing at me for a long time and I'm always frustrated when I can't defend myself against questioners. What is the exact scope of God's will over our lives? That…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I have read that if a person is not married in the Catholic Church, then he or she cannot receive The Eucharist and all the Sacraments. My sister is married out of the Church, and I do not know…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

At my high school, Catholics are a minority, and when I try to explain my faith, the Protestants always ask, "Where's that in the Bible?" Then I explain to them how the Bible is not the only infalliable…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have a friend who is joining the Church this Easter. She believes in the Real Presence and accepts that her non-Catholic family and friends who come to the Easter Vigil will not be able to receive…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have been married for over 40 years to the same man. I returned to my Catholic faith in 1961. He embraced the Catholic faith about 1964. However he returned to his Greek Orthodox faith about 1998 and…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

If I lose someone who is really a beloved person to me and I cannot seem to get over the loss, does that mean that I don't have enough faith?

Josephine

Dear Josephine,

Peace in Christ!

There are a number of…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

A friend has made the statement that he believes Jesus did not know who He was until after the Resurrection. This individual is very knowledgeable of scripture and church teaching however I believe that he is out in…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I have a friend and his wife that were asked to be godparents for their niece; however, they have since been told that they can not serve in that capacity due to the fact that they are not…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

My niece is taking me to task over sprinkling baptism as opposed to the biblical baptism which to her is "immersion." Please show me some scripture which backs up sprinkling baptism. Thank you!

Blessings,

Merryl Garley

Dear Merryl,

Peace in Christ!

In John 3:3,…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

My son is going to be married in Jamaica in 3 weeks by a non-Catholic clergy. His fiancée is not Catholic. What is the status of him being able to remain practicing his faith and receiving sacraments?

Jan Praska

Dear…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I have heard about man's free will and how, when he exercises it in opposition to God's will and laws, there's not much that can be done until that man decides for himself to follow the Lord.…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I'm hoping that the answer you provide to my question is the same as my recent decision about dating a man I met.

I am single, 51, never married, Catholic but not currently attending church. I recently met a man…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

In the Faith & Morals channel of 12/16/06, Cardinal Keeler was quoted as saying that the Holocaust was perpetrated against the Jews as the People of God. My understanding has been that after Jesus' first coming, the Jews…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have a rather strange question. I am a new mother and through God's gift of my son I have found the desire to become closer to the Lord. I have been more active with my daily prayers…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I belong to a lay community and we have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament once a month. At times, there are "discourses" taking place while the Blessed Sacrament is exposed — someone may give a talk about morality…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

In 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, it says that if anyone eats and drinks without discerning the body, he eats and drinks judgment on himself. How does this judgment happen and why? I understand that we should not partake of the…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I just got engaged this past weekend. I am wondering if I have to make my Confirmation before I am able to be married in a Catholic Church. I have been baptized and I made my Holy Communion…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

In reference to Luke 22:19-20

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me." And likewise…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Hello, I hope you can help me. My husband and I are practicing Catholics and attend mass weekly. However, in a few weeks we will be out of town for the weekend and have been invited to attend…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Yesterday, Friday, there was apparently no Eucharistic Minister to assist our priest, so he distributed the Body of Christ, and we "helped ourselves" to the Blood of Christ. I've never seen this done before and wonder if this…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

What is the difference between the Catechism of the Catholic Church first and second edition?

Julian

Dear Julian,

Peace in Christ!

The second edition is a revised edition. The first edition was written originally in French and translated into various languages…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Could anyone answer my question as to where and when nuns first started [serving the Church]?

Thank you.

Dear Friend in Christ,

If by "nuns" you mean women who forgo earthly marriage for the sake of Christ and His kingdom,…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I found it difficult to explain the man-made doctrine of justification by faith alone to my Protestant friend. I told her that St. Paul says justification is by faith, apart from the works of law, but it doesn't…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Can a Catholic get married in a non-denominational church and still be a Catholic? Can a priest perform a wedding in a non-denominational church?

Thank-you very much,

Marian

Dear Marian,

Peace in Christ!

Normally, a Catholic marries another Catholic in a Catholic…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I recently attended a Protestant wedding of a family member. During the rehearsal the "Wedding Coordinator" told the brother of the bride (who was taking the place of the deceased father) that he needed to give the groom…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

Hello there. I am in need and I feel that you are the right person to come to. I need to know something. I am in love in love with a guy whom I have been in love…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I help teach a bible study to Evangelicals and they do not understand why Catholic service (liturgy) is so ritualistic. Why is it not modern and free form?

Mr. Moore

Dear Mr. Moore,

This is a great question and there are…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have always hated money, for it seems always to be a "necessary evil." I asked my friend if she thought that because I hate money that that is why I have so many financial difficulties. Do you…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Will Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hindus, et al be saved?

I fully accept spreading Jesus' message, but I'm not so sure about the Protestant method of attacking and demeaning other Christian faiths, and non-faiths. Did Pope John Paul not…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Are IVF and IUI infertility treatments accepted by the Catholic Church? Which treatments are not accepted, if any are?

Patrick

Dear Patrick,

Peace in Christ!

If they help married couples realize the basic goods involved in marriage, the Church favors technological…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

My parish priest does not say the Creed at Sunday Mass. When I asked him why he did not say the Creed, he said that it is not obligatory. Another parishioner went to him with the same complaint,…

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I am 64 years old, my husband who I married in the Catholic Church 40 years ago, left me after 40 years of marriage for another woman. How free is he to marry in the Catholic Church and…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Does God punish for sins or merely withhold protection? Some of the examples I think of are Noah's Ark, Sodom & Gomorrah/Lot's Wife, and the 40-year desert exile.

Thank you,
Jackie

Dear Jackie,

Peace in Christ!

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches,…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I am a Catholic student in a Seventh-Day Adventist school and I have recently started a relationship with a fellow student at the school who is SDA.  I am not sure if you are familiar with their beliefs,…

Dear Catholic Exchange:

My nephew, who is Catholic, was married in a non-catholic ceremony conducted by the bride's father, who is a Baptist minister. I have read that they could have sought a dispensation from the bishop of the diocese for…