Question Corner

We are truly and fully forgiven from our sins when we receive absolution after a good confession. However, sacramental absolution by itself doesn’t necessarily resolve all the consequences of our sins.

The joy found in the paschal candle is actually a sign of the joy we find in the resurrected Christ, who brings light out of darkness.

In our lives as Catholics, we are not only obligated and privileged to partake in the Eucharist, but we are also called to maintain communion with the body of Christ, which is the church, which is united visibly under the teaching authority of the Holy Father in Rome.

An 80-something Catholic in good health who was capable of physically traveling to Mass would be just as bound to observe the Sunday obligation as their younger counterparts.

Pope Benedict clearly manifested his intention to step down; his resignation announcement was made at a meeting of the College of Cardinals and in front of several journalists.

A true fully, conscious and active participation in the Mass is understood to require our literal, physical presence at the liturgy. Because of this, watching Mass on a screen would not fulfill the Sunday obligation.

The smoke that rises from the burning of incense has for millennia been understood by the Christian community as a symbol of the prayers of the faithful rising up to God.