Nativity will have a Communal Reconciliation Thursday, April 14 at 7:00 PM. Do Catholics have to go to confession at least once a year? Paragraph #1457 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us “each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.”...
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What is the significance of all the sacramentals-holy water, candles, incense? When the younger children in grade school come to Mass, they understand the homilies best when there are lots of visual aids. Clocks, treasure chests, oversize pencils, flashlights and props of all kinds help them grasp the meaning of the Gospel and how...
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Genesis 12: 1-4;  2 Timothy 1: 8-10;  Matthew 17: 1-9 Hopefully every one of you, at some time or other in your life, has had what I like to call a “mountaintop experience.”  This is an experience like Peter, James and John had when they saw our Lord transfigured before them.  It is one...
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Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5: 17-37 I think I can safely assume that most of us here today are doing our best to follow the laws of our faith.  When it comes to the laws for attending mass on Sundays and Holy Days, and the laws of fasting and abstinence, most of...
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Why do we confess to priests? Can’t we just confess to God? Let’s just suppose for a moment that I, as an underpaid writer, decided that I needed some fast cash and so I rob a store! Whom would I owe an apology to? Certainly I would apologize to the store’s owner, as well...
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Is it wrong to go to someone who claims to speak to the dead? I’ve been invited to go to see a medium and am not sure if I should. The Bible is very clear that consulting with ghosts and spirits or seeking oracles from the dead are an abomination to the Lord. According...
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I wonder if there’s anything I can do to influence my friends to get involved in church-and even go more often? Can you help? Evangelization is always a delicate balance. Faith itself is a gift, yet it needs to be nourished. So any influence you have needs to be the kind that encourages and...
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Exodus 32:7-11,13-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32 Discipleship, if you really think about it, is an adult experience of faith.  While children can and do believe in Jesus, their expression of faith is pretty much limited to the choices their parents make for them.  A child cannot typically live the call to discipleship because...
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Sirach 3:1718,20,28-29; Hebrews 12:18-23; Luke 14:1,7-14 It is through pride that sin and suffering came into this world.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were faced with the very temptation that resulted in the fall of the tempter.  As faith teaches us, Satan began as an angel named Lucifer.  Created as a pure spirit,...
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Does watching Mass on TV fulfill my Sunday obligation? In the age of instant communication, e-mail, voice mail and teleconferencing, many people wonder if these media of communication can be used for sacraments. Many priests, I am sure, have had people ask about going to confession on the phone. While it may seem like...
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