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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2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 Leprosy is an extremely painful and highly communicable disease.  The sores and open wounds of this illness can grow to the extreme that the one infected could even lose fingers and toes.  In addition to the physical pain is the emotional pain of loneliness that one...
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Why is it so important that we register in a parish? Isn’t it good enough that we go to Mass? Registration is the official way we join a parish community. Many people think that because they attend a particular parish they automatically belong. At times young adults who have moved away for years think...
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Some people say that living together before marriage helps you be more certain that a couple will get along when they are married. It seems logical, but my parents and priest do not approve. Wouldn’t marriages be better if couples lived together before they married? It might seem logical but actually living together before...
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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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(Video and discussion) Why are priests transferred from one parish to another? How is that decided? Priests joke a lot about how transfers are decided. Answers range from “a huge dartboard in the chancery” to “pick a number and win a parish!” But managing personnel, especially now when numbers shift and the average age...
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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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1 Kings 17: 10-16; Hebrews 9: 24-28; Mark 12: 38-44. I will never forget the first time I met Matthew.  He was a gentleman that the priest’s at St. Paul Seminary had “adopted.”  About once a week he would show up on the doorsteps of the seminary looking for one of the priests to...
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How do the readings from Sunday’s liturgy link to the celebration of Priesthood Sunday? This Sunday we celebrate Priesthood Sunday, an opportunity to thank God for the service and ministry of many great and wonderful priests who help us deepen our relationship to God and others. The Lectionary readings for this Sunday offer significant...
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Why was the name for this Sunday changed from Corpus Christi to the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ? The Lectionary revised by Vatican II changed the name of this feast from Corpus Christi, the feast of the body of Christ, to the feast of the Most Holy Body and...
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