Q. One of my sisters who is Lutheran recently moved to an area where there is no Lutheran church, so she started attending Mass at a nearby Catholic parish. She has been receiving the Eucharist at Mass even though she is not Catholic. She says that she asked the Catholic pastor and he said that it...
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People would be wise to think about Judgment Day and wonder what God will see when he examines their lives, Pope Francis said on Nov. 27.             "If the Lord were to call me today, what would I do? What will I sa...
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Q. Could a person go to daily Mass and receive Communion without having gone to confession in four years? (Batesville, Indiana) A. The answer, technically, is yes. If the person had committed no serious (mortal) sins over that four-year period, he or she could go to Mass and receive Communion every...
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Perhaps it's the compressed calendar or the external decor that grabs our attention with "Celebrate the season!" Or maybe it's the emphasis on reunions – bringing loved ones dear to us near to us for joy-filled sharing.             Whatev...
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We know what kind of person the infant Jesus, born on the first Christmas, would be in adult life: someone known for drawing near to others and walking with them in their actual lives.             The Gospel of Luke shows the resurrected Jesus...
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Q. Where do single people "rank" within the Catholic Church? Many times we are asked to pray for those who are married or who have followed a calling to the religious life -- but how many times has anyone in any parish been asked to pray for those who are single? Are we singles shut out, are we to...
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BALTIMORE (CNS) – Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said on Nov. 14 that he had opened the bishops' fall general assembly "expressing some disappointment;" but "I end it with hope."        ...
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Q. I have been a lifelong Catholic, never missing Mass on weekends or holy days. But for the last four or five weeks, I have not attended Mass, and it was a conscious decision. I am utterly disgusted at what the Catholic Church has become. I still believe that the Catholic faith is the correct one,...
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Editor’s note: U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved this pastoral letter in a Nov. 14 vote. The Message will have more coverage of the meeting in the Nov. 23 issue.  BALTIMORE (CNS) – The U.S. bishops took the first steps toward approving a pastoral letter against racism with the d...
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The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held Dec. 8-9 in the Diocese of Evansville. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office in Washington, D.C., the appeal benefits 31,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests. The Diocese of Evansville d...
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