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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017


ASK A PRIEST
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
FATHER KEVIN BATES
PRIEST STAFF
CATHOLICVIEW


CATHOLICVIEW STAFF

"I have sinned, and from what I have come to know through
my Catholic faith, it would be improper to receive the
Eucharist in this state of being. What can I do?"
- Shaun

 

 

CatholicView:

I am hoping for some consultation.  I have not received the Sacrament of the Eucharist in several months.  
Similarly, it has been some time since I last received Reconciliation.  I have sinned, and from what I have
come to know through my Catholic faith, it would be improper to receive the Eucharist in this state of being.  
I have not been to confession mainly because the sins which I have committed, time and again, I know that
I will commit again.  I know that I cannot make a true confession, since I cannot resolve to actively make
an effort not to sin as I have.  What can I do?  You have my permission to publish. - Shaun

 ________________________________________________

Shaun:

I am sorry to hear that the sins you have committed have caused you to lose your faith in the Lord.  Sadly,
if you continue to live this life of sin, you could also lose your soul.  Have you spent time praying to God to
strengthen you?  Only He can help you to move away from your sinful behavior.  Only He can forgive the life
you have created for yourself.

Life is not promised to any of us unless we follow the path of the Lord.  You say you continued to sin, putting
behind you the Lord Who gave you life and loves and cares for you.  To keep on the path of evil behavior
means you are continuing to take a dangerous chance for your life is NOT promised to you.  Should you die
in this state means you have lost and destroyed your soul and are on your way to eternal hell.  Do you want
this to happen to you? 

Do not let Satan steal your soul.  Get our Father's forgiveness.  His Son Jesus Christ, Who died for you and
for me stands waiting for you to ask for forgiveness.   if you truly mean it; pray and ask Almighty God to
strengthen you, and to give you the courage to keep moving.  If you repent, God will forgive you by erase
those sins as far as the East is from the West because He loves you that much.  Keep praying to the God
Who loves you.  Be strong.  This life is NOT your home.  May the Lord touch your heart.
 
  -   CatholicView Staff

                                                                                                       

CATHOLICVIEW STAFF

"Why Does God Send One Of His Creations To An Everlasting
Flame and suffering?

 

CatholicView:  .

How can a loving, merciful Creator send one of His creations to an eternity in everlasting flame and suffering? 
I could never do that for a child of mine.  Maybe a spanking or some temporary punishment but for all eternity?  
How can I love and respect such
a God?  - Jhea

___________________________________________________

Jhea: 

God sends no one to hell for all eternity.  On the contrary, we send ourselves by the decisions we make and
the destiny we FREELY chose.  If someone doesn't want God in their lives, God respects that decision.  If a
person wants God in their lives, then all possibilities and heaven itself is open.  So your question is placing
blame on God when in fact the blame of someone in hell is directly on them.  God cannot make someone love
Him.  If a person doesn't want God, then that's their decision for all eternity. 

That's what free will and self-determination is all about.

You ask "How can a loving, merciful God send His precious souls to an everlasting Hell"?  I must tell you that
during our lives, and through the Free Will that God has bestowed on us, we have the great opportunity to be
obedient to the Lord and what He tells us, but many follow their own sinful paths. Those who do believe in the
Lord through free will know that through the blood of Jesus Christ, He has already paid the price of everlasting
life when He died on the Cross as sinful souls jeered and laughed at our Lord, Jesus Christ when He was nailed
to that cross.

God sent Jesus Christ, His Son to die for you and all of us.  Why?  To let us know that we are loved.  Jesus
came down from Heaven to pay with His life for you and I and yes, for all of us.  He taught us all about eternal
life and if we accepted and believed, we would be saved and will live forever.  Keep in mind, one day He will
come back to us, and if we have followed God's teachings, we will enter our everlasting "home" and live forever
with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  Imagine this…Forever!

God does not deny us.  All of us are sinners and yes, we are not perfect, but He still wants us on the road to
eternal life.  He loves you and all of us. Why?  He cared for us so much that He gives us time and time again to
change from sin and become believers.  Yes, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross for us. 
If we deny God and Jesus and refuse to follow God's path, we will spend our lives in hell forever more.

Would God forgive us for our sins while on earth?  Yes, He does.  And He sends the Holy Spirit to remind us of
those sins. {God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit}.  

If we accept His teachings, we will be saved.  If we sin, we must pray, asking God for His forgiveness.  And
when we do, God, Who loves us so much, will forgive us, and say with that love, "I forgive you and that for-
giveness will be forgotten…as far as the East is from the West.

"Matthew 25:31-46 reads:  "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will
sit on His glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on His right and the
goats on His left.  "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, enter the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and You gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and
you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison
and you came to visit Me.'  "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'LORD, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in,
or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'  "Jesus will
reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did
for Me.'  "Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave Me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did
not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.'  "They also will answer, 'LORD, when
did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'  
"He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.'  
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life
." 

Our Loving Father is there for you and I, and all of us.  Without Him, we are nothing.  Think about that precious
love.  -   CatholicView Staff

 

CATHOLICVIEW STAFF


"My boyfriend is from Colombia and is not a citizen.
  Because it is
his dream, he pursued a sham marriage.  It was a civil paperwork to
gain citizenship.  Does this marriage have to be "annulled" for
him to marry in the Catholic Church again?
  Kim

 

CatholicView:

I am a Catholic and an American living in the U.S.  My boyfriend is from Colombia and he is not a citizen.  It's
been his dream to live in the US, and so he pursued a sham marriage years ago before he met me, just for
citizenship.  He didn't tell me until re-cently that it happened.  It was just a civil paperwork marriage to gain
citizenship, that's it. I know that is wrong, but it happened.  Obviously this marriage isn't recognized in the
Catholic Church and by standards of most religions isn't a marriage at all. They don't communicate or stay
together - never have never will and it will be terminated soon.  Is it still considered adultery if I am in a re-
lationship with him?  Does this marriage have to be "annulled" for him to marry in the Catholic Church again?
 
Kim

_______________________________________________________

Kim:

If your boyfriend is a Catholic and from Colombia, he should not have used this American girl for marriage
in order to live here.  As you say, he pursued this sham marriage years ago just for citizenship.

Is your boyfriend is Catholic?  If he is, he must talk to a priest about this situation.  To enter a fake marriage
civilly was a wrong thing to do.  You are right in that this is not a real marriage and he encountered this girl not
only illegally, but used her for his
own purpose.

Do you know if this girl cared for your boyfriend?  I would suggest that you both talk to a priest about this sit-
uation.   He will want to discuss with you both about this "shammed" marriage.  God go with you. 
 -  CatholicView Staff  
 

CATHOLICVIEW STAFF

"Do I have to go to confession at Easter to receive Communion?"
 - David

 

CatholicView:

I became Catholic at Easter still learning about the faith.  Do I have to go to confession at Easter to receive
communion?   I'm going to Rome next month and I would like to do it there.   Thank you.  - David 

____________________________________________________________

David:

The Church especially wants to urge the faithful to receive the Sacrament of Confession during the time of
Easter.  It is a very special time that Catholics will want to receive the Sacrament of Confession.   Go forth
to Rome and receive your confession while there.  God go with you.
     -CatholicView Staff

CATHOLICVIEW STAFF

"Is it wrong to pray for the soul of a father that he
may be in Heaven?  Is this a sin? Please give me
a prayer for that soul. - Faith

CatholicView: 

Is it wrong to pray for the souls by saying "I pray for the soul of father that he may be in heaven?"  Is
that a sin?  Please give me a prayer for the soul of one person. Thank you,  Faith

_________________________________________________________

Faith:

I am assuming that you want to pray for many people who need the love of Almighty God.  Praying for
others is precious in the sight of God.  If the person is alive here on earth but needs God's care, you can
pray for that person and ask God to touch that person's soul.  Here is a prayer:

"Heavenly Father, help those in need, give strength to the weak, comfort the sorrowful,  pray
for God's people, intercede for those who need His precious love..  May all who need Your help,
let all people experience Your unfailing protection.  We ask this through the Name of Your Son,
Jesus Christ.  Amen!"

Here is another:

Almighty God, please help all those in need, comfort the sorrowful, give them strength when
they are weak, bless all those who do not know our Heavenly Father.   May those who seek You
know your unfailing and precious Love.  Amen. 

I hope this helps.  God be with you always.  -  CatholicView Staff

 

CATHOLICVIEW STAFF

"My husband and I married in Civil Court, then married in
the Catholic
Church.  After his affairs I divorced him.  He is now in a
nursing home with Alzheimer.  I want to see him but he would not know me. 
What should I do?  -   Patricia
 

CatholicView:

I am a Catholic and I am over 18. In 1960 My husband and I were married by civil court.  In 1963 we were
married in the Catholic Church. In 1983 I filed for divorce due to his many affairs , we are still married according
to the church.  He is now in a nursing home with Alzheimer's and although I would like to go to see him, he would
not know me.  I am still his wife.  

Could I tell the nursing home I am still his wife?  Thank You For Your time. - Patricia
___________________________________________________________ 

Patricia: 

It is honorable that you want to visit your ex-husband who had many affairs, causing the breakage of your
marriage.   I know that our God Who sees all things is pleased to know that in spite of his behavior which
caused the marriage breakup, you seriously care about him.

That you still care for ex-husband shows a wonderful honor that you not only still care for him, you still feel
the bond of your former marriage.   Please talk to the nurse and explain to her that you were his wife of
many years and are concerned about his illness.  If necessary, you might want to ask your priest to give
you the papers to show her.

I will pray for you that your desire to see your husband will be granted.  May God bless you.
  -  CatholicView Staff 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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                                                                            MORE TO COME

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

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