Catholic Questions & Answers

The Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, present in the Holy Eucharist—body, blood, soul and divinity. 

Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because Jesus tells us this is true in the Bible: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:48-56).

Furthermore, the early Church Fathers either imply or directly state that the bread and wine offered in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is really the body and blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, the doctrine of the Real Presence that Catholics believe today was believed by the earliest Christians 2,000 years ago!

Yes! No matter where or when you go to Mass, you will always know what you’re going to get! Jesus Christ celebrated the first Mass with His disciples at the Last Supper, the night before He died. He commanded His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The celebration of the Mass then became the main form of worship in the early Church, as a re-enactment of the Last Supper, as
Christ had commanded.

Each and every Mass since commemorates Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross through the Holy Eucharist. Because the Mass “represents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass - instituted by Christ and practiced by the early Church - with the whole community of Catholics around the world… and in heaven.

First of all, a lot of things seem boring to us if we haven’t taken the time to really learn about them. Perhaps you can think of a sport that seemed really dull and confusing to you until you learned the rules of the game. Then, everything became much more exciting. Why?  Because you were “in the know,” and that made participating so much better. The more we learn about the Mass, the more we fall in love with it and can get more out of our experience at Mass. If you learn about the biblical roots of the Mass parts, why we do what we do (sit, stand, kneel, cross ourselves, use holy water, etc.), and how important the Eucharist is in our lives, you will begin looking forward to participating in all of these things when you go to Mass because you’ll know what’s going on! Also, practicing your faith is like practicing a sport. Sometimes, practicing can be difficult, but we have to remember that practice points toward a goal—the game. At each and every Mass, we practice what it will be like to worship God in heaven, which will bring us supreme joy and no boredom. Start using Mass as an opportunity to practice prayer, practice talking to God, practice learning the story of the Bible through the readings, and so on. Use other resources to learn more about the Mass, and you will discover more the gift that it gives.

Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, meaning that what appears to be bread and wine is really Jesus’ body and blood—not just a symbol of his body and blood. When Catholics receive Holy Communion, it is an expression of the unity among all those in communion with the Catholic Church throughout the world, who maintain the belief in the Real Eucharistic Presence of Christ. Therefore, only those who believe in the True Presence may participate in this sacrament of oneness with Christ and his Church. “… The celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion” (CCC 1382).

Ultimately, Catholics believe that we cannot celebrate this unifying sacrament with other Christians while there are disagreements about the Eucharist itself. However, Catholics pray for the day when we can reconcile with other Christians and share in the unity of God’s people through the Holy Eucharist.

Catholic communities express this desire for unity: “We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us ‘that they may all be one’” (John 17:21).

In Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22, Jesus says of the bread, “This is my body.” He says of the wine, “This is my blood.” Rather than saying, “this is symbolic of,” or “this represents,” He says, “this IS.” In John 6, He repeats Himself, like He does nowhere else in Scripture, to emphasize the fact that He expects us to eat His flesh and drink His
blood and that His flesh is real food and that His blood is real drink. There are several facts that point to the literal meaning that Christ meant to convey here.

• Fact #1: The Jews took him literally in verse 52.
• Fact #2: His disciples took him literally in verse 60.
• Fact #3: the Apostles took him literally in verses 67-69.

If everyone who heard him speak at the time took Him literally, then all of us today, 2000 years after the fact, are also called to take Him literally, in accordance with the Scriptures. Also, in verse 51, Jesus says that the bread which He will give for the life of the world is His flesh.

When did He give His flesh for the life of the world? On the Cross. We know that Jesus was not speaking symbolically here. Since we conclude that Jesus was speaking literally of dying on the Cross, we should also conclude that He meant what He said about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. When we believe that Jesus is talking symbolically here in John 6, we come across a real problem when it comes to John 6:51. Did Jesus give His real flesh and blood for the life of the world, or was it only His symbolic flesh and blood?

No, you ought to first go to confession. The Catechism, in conformity with ancient teaching about the necessity of attending Mass says, “Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit grave sin.” (#2181).
Hence you ought to go to confession first. There are some reasons that one might miss Mass that are legitimate such as serious illness, the care of the sick, or some lack of capacity due to weather or distance. So also struggle with work schedules. But in this matter they should consult with their pastor or confessor and also seek solutions.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession, is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ providing a means for those who fall into sin after Baptism to be restored into God's grace. It involves the admission of one's sins made to a duly approved Priest in order to
obtain Absolution.

It is one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of Catholicism. Jesus Christ, in His abundant love and mercy, established this sacrament, so that we as sinners can obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconcile with God and the Church. The sacrament “washes us clean,” and renews us in Christ.

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:21-23).

If you haven’t been to Confession in a while, the Catholic Church wants to welcome you back, and invites you to participate in this beautiful sacrament of healing. Take a step in faith. You’ll be surprised about how free you feel after taking part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So many Catholics describe incredible feelings of peace, joy, relief, and love that they never expected. Jesus is calling you to experience His mercy in this way too.

Passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church to consider:

•  “The sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for this who have fallen after Baptism” (CCC 980)
• “the Church possesses the power to forgive the sins of the baptized and exercises it through bishops and priests normally in the sacrament of Penance” (CCC 986)
• “In the forgiveness of sins, both priests and sacraments are instruments through which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of salvation, wills to use in order to efface our sins and give us the grace of justification” (CCC 987)
• “those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin and have thus lost their baptismal grace… the Sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and recover the grace of justification.” (CCC 1446)
• “When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.” (CCC 1452)
• Each faithful of right discerning age is “bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.” (CCC 1457) Some might be tempted to just do the minimum. The Church allows it at one per year after all. But diligent selfexamination will reveal that almost each one of us, if not all, actually sin several times - making a yearly Confession simply not enough.

Besides performing his penance after confession, the penitent, if he has justly injure another in his goods or reputation, or if he has given him scandal, must as soon as possible, and as far as he is able, restore him his goods, repair his honour, and remedy the scandal.

Father’s Day is celebrated worldwide to recognize the contribution that fathers and father figures make to the lives of their children. This day celebrates fatherhood and male parenting. Although it is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide, many countries observe this day on the third Sunday in June.

The idea of a special day to honour fathers and celebrate fatherhood was introduced from the United States. There, a woman called Sonora Smart Dodd was inspired by the American Mother's Day celebrations in the church. So, she decided she wanted to designate a day for her dad, William Jackson Smart and to honour all fathers as well. Dodd’s mother had died in childbirth, and Dodd’s father a Civil War veteran, had taken the responsibility of singlehandedly raising the newborn and his other five children. So from then on, Father's Day has been celebrated in June since 1910 in USA. The celebrations in the United Kingdom and other countries are thought to have been inspired by the American custom of Father's Day. This is in contrast to Mother's Day, which has a very different history in the United States and the United Kingdom.

In our Catholic Tradition, we only have one “Father”, “Abba” who is our God. He is perfect image of a Father who looks after His children, cared for them and provided their needs. Likewise, we also have the image of St Joseph, who served as the foster father of Jesus, who protected him from harm, considered Him as his true son, and taught him everything what He needed as He was growing up.

The Seal of Confession is the bond of secrecy that forbids the priest to reveal for any reason whatsoever what has been told to him in confession. The penitent himself is the only one who can release the priest from that bond. A priest cannot reveal what has been told to him in Sacrament of Confession even to save the  whole world from destruction. Rather than violate the seal of confession, a priest must be prepared to suffer false accusations, disgrace, and what is worse, death. If a priest were ever guilty of having deliberately broken the seal of confession, he would be penalized with the strictest type of excommunication the Church can inflict.

What does the priest do if a crime has been mentioned in the Confessional?

Always remember that there are processes during the confession. The sinner must first confess, he or she must be genuinely sorry and then he or she must make restitution or serve ‘penance’ in some way before Absolution will be granted by the priest. In the case of child abuse, the restitution would be for the priest to tell the penitent to turn themselves over to Police and make amends to what he/she has done wrong.

There are six sins against the Holy Spirit:

1. Despairing of being saved,
2. Presuming of being saved without merit,
3. Opposing the known truth,
4. Envying another's graces,
5. Obstinately remaining in sin,
6. Final impenitence.

These sins are specially said to be against the Holy Spirit, bacause they are commited through pure malice, which is contrary to goodness, the special attribute of the Holy Spirit.

Purgatory is a place or state in which are detained the souls of those who die in grace, in friendship with God, but with the blemish of venial sin or with temporal debt for sin unpaid. Here the soul is purged, cleansed, readied for eternal union with God in Heaven. The suffering of the soul in Pergatory is intense, yet it is  a suffering in love: the souls in Pergatory are not turned from God; they are deprived of the vision of God but they are united with Him by love. Theirs is a twofold suffering, that of privation of God for a time and that of physical pain.