Question: What is Purgatory? Answer: People tend to think of Purgatory in a variety of ways: “Purgatory is a place where souls who don’t deserve heaven get a second chance to be with God”; “Purgatory is the best that I can hope for in the afterlife, since heaven is only for really holy people”; “Purgatory is a place where souls work their own way into … Continue reading
Question: What is the difference between mortal and venial sin? Answer: The “Glossary” in the back of the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines mortal sin as: A grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life (or “sanctifying grace”) in the soul of the sinner, constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be … Continue reading
Question: Did St. Paul really mean to say that bishops must be married? Answer: In one of Paul’s letters, he wrote, “Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:2). Some non-Catholic Christians try to use this as proof that bishops should be married. However, that is not in fact what Paul is trying to say. Here is the … Continue reading
Question: Is it always a sin to be angry? Answer: Feelings in and of themselves are not sinful, just as temptations in and of themselves are not sinful. Morality only comes into play when there is a movement of the will. In other words, it’s what we do with the feeling or how we respond to it that is important. There are certain responses to … Continue reading
Question: What is Sacred Tradition and why do Catholics believe in it? Answer: Sacred Tradition is basically all the ways in which the teaching of the Apostles, the “deposit of faith,” is passed on and preserved by the Church. This deposit was preserved and passed on through the writing of Sacred Scripture, which was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but it is also found in … Continue reading
Questions: What is transubstantiation? Answer: Transubstantiation is what takes place in the Mass when the bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is basically a way of explaining how the change from “bread” to “Jesus” takes place. In transubstantiation, the accidents of the bread and wine remain the same while the substance of the bread and wine are … Continue reading
Question: Someone told me that, when we go to heaven, we will see God face-to-face. Is that true? Answer: Indeed it is. Theologians call this the “Beatific Vision” (the word “beatific” is the adjective form of the word “beatitude,” which means “a state of supreme joy”). Scripture says that the angels already behold the face of God: “See that you do not despise one of … Continue reading