What would be a reason for me to get into purgatory?

Q. What would be a reason for me to get into purgatory?

A. Let’s start with the painful truth.  The only way to enter into the full glory and splendor of the Beatific Vision, thus seeing God face to face and being in perfect communion with Him, is to be forgiven of every sin AND to be purified of every attachment to sin.  This is a glorious invitation and a demanding endeavor!

Purgation of all sin and all attachment to sin is not an option.  Only when we are perfect in every way will we be ready to enter into what saints have called “Divine Union” or “Mystical Marriage.”  Think of it this way: If you are attached to sin in your life, even the smallest imperfection, that attachment cannot enter into the presence of God.  God is all holy and pure love. God wants you to be in union with Him, but He will not accept your sinful attachments.

The first step is forgiveness.  But that’s the easy part. God, in His mercy, will forgive us of our sins if we are sorry and ask for forgiveness.  But the second step is to then become completely detached from all remnants of sin. For example, if you have a habit of being critical of others in your speech and you confess this, then you can be assured you are forgiven of all past sins of being critical.  But forgiveness does not mean you have been purified of the “attachment” you have to that sin. In this case, an attachment to the sin if being critical is the disordered tendency to be critical. An attachment is different from a temptation. An attachment is more of a habit you voluntarily formed.

Purgation is the process of breaking every sinful habit you have and detaching from all habitual sins and even imperfections so that you can be attached to God and His holy will alone.  But how on Earth do you do this? In the end, you don’t do it by yourself. Instead, you allow God to come into your soul and purify it of all sinful habits and attachments. And that will hurt!  But it will be a purifying hurt and will be freeing.

Purgatory refers to the purification process of all attachments we still have when we die.  Ideally, we would go through the process of purification here on Earth, before death, so as to enjoy Divine Union here and now and not only in Heaven.  But when we do not complete the process here on Earth, Purgatory will complete this process after death.

If that sounds gloomy, it’s not.  It’s beautiful when understood and embraced.

 

(From the Catholic Faith)

Is it OK to have rosary hanging over rear view mirrors in cars?

Q. I’ve seen people hang rosaries over the rear view mirrors in their cars and a few of them wear them around their necks. Is it OK to do that?

A. First of all, let me give a simple answer and say that I think these practices are fine. I’ve seen many rosaries hanging from rear view mirrors of people who are quite devout and love our Lord and His Blessed Mother. For them I believe it is a way of letting their love for Mary show forth for all to see. I think the same would be said for those who have worn them around the neck. So I think that if someone chooses to do either of these practices they are most likely doing it out of a devotion to and love for our Blessed Mother. Personally I do not hang the rosary from my mirror or wear it around my neck but I always have it in my pocket. And at night I sleep with it wrapped around my wrist. I suppose that keeping the rosary close to us is similar to wearing a cross or scapular or like hanging a sacred picture in our room. Rosaries are blessed objects so, for that reason, are good to have around.

With that said I think it must also be said that the Rosary is, first and foremost, an instrument of prayer. And I suggest to you that it is one of the best prayers we can pray. Rather than explain the Rosary in my words, allow me to offer you some of my favorite quotes from the great saints regarding the rosary.

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.” St. Louis de Montfort

“Of all prayers the rosary is the most beautiful and the richest in graces…love the Rosary and recite it every day with devotion.”  St. Pope Pius X

“How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening.” St. Pope John Paul II

“The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth.” St. Pope John Paul II

“The Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God.” St. Louis de Montfort

“There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessings upon the family… than the daily recitation of the Rosary.” Pope Pius XII

“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.” Pope Leo XIII

“Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.” Pope Blessed Pius IX

If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.” Pope Pius XI

“Our Lady has never refused me a grace through the recitation of the rosary.” St. (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina

“The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.” St. Francis de Sales

“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.” St. Dominic

(Taken from My Catholic Faith)

Do devotions to Mary and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet have any biblical foundation?

Q. Do devotions to Mary and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet have any biblical foundation?

A. That depends upon what you mean by a biblical foundation.  Strictly speaking, the Bible does not explicitly say, “Pray the rosary and other devotions to Mary.” Nor does it explicitly say, “Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.”  But, of course, that’s a somewhat obvious answer.  The real answer to your question has to do with the biblical foundation to those practices.  So let’s take a look at that.

Regarding devotion to Mary, there are numerous ways that devotion to her is found in the Bible.  Here are some of those ways.

First, the Rosary, which is the most common devotion to our Blessed Mother, is primarily Scriptural.  On each bead of the rosary we pray the words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, as well as the words of St. Elizabeth to Mary.  “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”  And, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:26-46).  Additionally, we pray the “Our Father” prayer which is directly from Jesus and pray the “Glory Be” prayer which is echoed in Scripture numerous ways.  So, yes, the Rosary is very Biblical in that sense.  We are primarily repeating certain Scriptures.  Additionally, in praying the Rosary we are to meditate upon one of twenty different Scriptural stories during each of the twenty decades.  So the prayers are Scriptural and the meditations are Scriptural.

Second, devotion to Mary in general comes to us from the fact that Jesus lived the Fourth Commandment perfectly.  That Commandment says, “Honor your father and mother.”   Jesus honored His mother perfectly and we are to imitate Jesus in all He does.  Therefore, we are to honor His mother, too.

Third, at the Cross Jesus said to the Apostle John, “Behold, your mother.”  And in giving Mary to John, the Church has always seen that Mary is given to all of us.  We are all to behold our mother in the person of Mary.

Fourth, Jesus gave Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and said that whatever he binds on earth is bound in Heaven (Matthew 16:19).  He gave Peter the gift of infallibly leading the Church into all truth.  We believe that this gift of infallible teaching did not stop with Peter but was passed on through the ages to all his successors whom we call the popes.  And these popes have definitively taught, in countless ages, the value of honoring our Blessed Mother.  So though this last point is not a direct biblical call to honor our Blessed Mother, it is an indirect Biblical command through the teaching of the Church founded by Christ in the Scriptures.

There are also numerous ways in which Mary is spoken of in the Old and New Testaments which would require a book to detail it all.  But hopefully the few thoughts above help.

Regarding the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the same basic principles apply.  Though this Chaplet is not mentioned in Scripture, the message and meditations are deeply Scriptural in every way.  “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”  This is the heart of the Chaplet and it is at the heart of the Gospel message.  In truth, there could not be a more Scriptural based prayer than this.  The Scriptures reveal God’s mercy, His gift of salvation and our need for it. The Scriptures point to Jesus’ saving sacrifice as the source of salvation and this Chaplet acknowledges that truth and calls upon that grace.  So, yes, it is very Scriptural.

The last point to make is this.  Be sure to use the Bible in the way it was written.  It was not written as a strict and complete road-map which answers every question directly.  Yes, it does answer every question and gives us the necessary message of salvation.  It is the fullness of revelation from God.  But Jesus never said to us, “Here is my Bible.  Follow it and only it.  Do not do anything that is not explicitly spoken of in these pages.”  No, what Jesus did is to start His Church through the foundation of the Apostles.  And from that Church the Bible was also given.  But the Bible must always be read in union with the Church and Her teachings through the ages.

Why did God choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus?

Q. Why did God choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus? Why was she so young?

A. These two questions are actually hard to answer with accuracy.  In many ways, the answers remain a mystery. But here are some thoughts.

From a theological perspective we can say that God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus because she, herself, was the Immaculate Conception.  This means that she was the only fitting mother for God in the flesh. Mary was conceived in the womb of her mother in a miraculous way in that she was conceived without sin.  God chose to bestow upon her a “preservative grace,” meaning, God preserved her from all stain of sin, including Original Sin, at the moment of her creation in the womb of her mother.  Of course, He did this so that she would be a fitting vessel for God the Son to become incarnate in her womb. The grace that preserved her came from the Cross of her Son Jesus, but it transcended time so as to free her at the moment of her conception.  Thus, her Son was her Savior even though He had not yet been born in time. If that’s confusing, try to ponder it for a while. It’s a great mystery of faith and a deep one also.

Additionally, Mary chose to remain free from sin throughout her life.  Just as Adam and Eve were born without sin, so was Mary. But unlike Adam and Eve, Mary never freely chose to sin throughout her life.  This made her the perfect vessel for the Son of God. Her body and soul were perfect making her the perfect instrument.

But this only answers your question from one perspective.  You may also be wondering, “But why Mary?” This is a question that is hard, if not impossible, to answer.  It’s most likely a matter of God’s mysterious will. Perhaps God, who can see all things and knows all people even before they are born, looked at all women from all time and saw that Mary was the one who would never freely choose to sin.  And perhaps for that reason God chose to gift her with the Immaculate Conception. But this is ultimately a mystery of faith that will be revealed only in Heaven.

As for your second question, “Why was she so young,” this may be easier to answer from a historical perspective.  Today, in the twenty-first century, it’s uncommon for a fifteen-year-old girl to marry and have a child. But it wasn’t that way back then.  When Mary had Jesus, she was not seen as being a dependent child but as a young woman ready to start a family. So it’s always important to try to understand the culture of the time when considering questions of history.

(taken from My Catholic Faith)

How Many Children Mary Had?

Q. How Many Children Mary Had

Q. Did Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, have other children after Jesus?

A. The short answer to this question is “No.”  But let’s explore further.

Most likely you are asking this question because some Scripture passages seem to suggest that Jesus had brothers and sisters.  For example, here are two such passages:

Mark 6:3 – Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?”

Matthew 13:55-56 – Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us?

So should we conclude from these passages that Jesus had brothers and sisters in a literal way, meaning Mary and Joseph had other children in addition to Jesus? Certainly not.

Below is a brief answer to this question that is taken from Chapter 3 – The God-Man and His Mother of the book My Catholic Faith!

The Virgin Mother

Scripture is quite clear that Mary conceived Jesus in a virginal way – by the Holy Spirit. Additionally, it is the constant teaching of the Church that she always retained her virginity. She had no other children and never engaged in the marital act with Joseph. Sometimes this is confusing since there are references in the Scriptures to Jesus’ brothers and sisters. But this language was commonly used in reference to cousins. So this shouldn’t confuse us if we understand the language of the time. In fact this is still a common practice in other cultures of our day. For example, those from various African countries commonly refer to those within their own village as their brother or sister when they are with them outside of that village. It was God’s plan that Mary only have one Son for various reasons. It was especially so because of the fact that we are all called to become brothers and sisters of Christ through spiritual adoption. Therefore, if Jesus had blood brothers or sisters it would have undermined his spiritual brotherhood with them. It would have made their relationship with Jesus different. But God desires this deeper spiritual relationship with all people. Mary is the only blood relation to Jesus, thus, she shares a special bond with Him that no one else does. But it had to be that way if God was to become true man.Interestingly, though, even Mary’s deepest bond with Jesus does not come as a result of her physical blood relationship. It comes, first and foremost, by her spiritual motherhood. She is united with her Son primarily by her perfect faith and obedience. It is this bond that surpasses the natural one.

Do Animals Go to Heaven?

Q. Do Animals Go to Heaven?

A.  This is a commonly asked question by children and youth.  It seems that the deep affection people have for their pets leads them to a strong desire for a “yes” to this question.  So the answer is…”yes,” “maybe,” “not exactly,” and “you can hope!”

This is a difficult question that does not have a clear and absolute answer. Therefore, any of the answers above could be correct.  However, let’s offer some clarity and possibilities regarding the afterlife and animals.

First of all, when we humans die right now, that is, when we die in this age in history before Jesus returns to establish “The new Heavens and Earth,” we believe that our body and soul separate.  The body dies and is “laid to rest” until Jesus returns in all His glory and brings about the resurrection of the body.  Until then, the body is dead.  However, the spirit of humans lives on.  Our spirit cannot die and, thus, Heaven (or Purgatory or Hell) await our spirits after earthly death.  Only humans, angels and God have eternal spirits.  Animals do not.  Therefore, for now, when an animal dies it is dead and there is no spirit that lives on in Heaven.

But wait just a moment!  There is hope that your pet, and all creatures, will rise again.  How and why?  The reason you can have this hope is because from the very beginning of time, in the original state of holiness (the Garden of Eden) it appears there were animals.  So, even though animals do not have eternal spirits, they are physical and have what we may call an animal soul.  An animal soul does die when the animal dies but there is no telling what may happen at the resurrection of the dead!  When Jesus returns in all His glory and all humans rise from the dead will animals and all living creatures also rise?  This is something you can hope for.

Furthermore, Isaiah 11:6 speaks prophetically about this new age to come.  And in that passage it says, “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.”  So is this a literal statement?  Is it proof that animals will rise?  Or is it just symbolic and figurative?  Hard to tell.  However, for that reason it is worth having hope that animals will have some share in the new Heavens and Earth to come!

(Taken from my Catholic Life)

If Adam and Eve Didn’t Sin, Would Jesus Still Die?

 

Q. If Adam and Eve Didn’t Sin, Would Jesus Still Die?

Q. If Adam and Eve didn’t eat the fruit, would Jesus still die on the cross?

A. No.  Jesus’ death was because of our sin.  Therefore, had sin never entered the world, Jesus would not have had to die.  This question, however, can only be answered in a “theoretical” way since Adam, Eve, and all of us did sin.  

Though this question is difficult to answer in a short and simplified way, let’s consider an analogy.  Let’s say that your parents ate poison. The result of this poison is death. The only cure for this poison is to receive a transfusion of new and healthy blood from someone not affected.  By analogy, you could say that Jesus entered the world without any effects of this “poison” so that He could offer the divine “transfusion” to Adam and Eve and all their descendants affected by the poison of sin.  Thus, the blood of Jesus is what heals us as we receive this blood poured forth from the Sacrifice of the Cross. We receive His saving blood by accepting Him into our lives, especially through the Sacraments and faith.

But this question brings up another more interesting question.  If Adam and Eve (and all us who descended from them) never sinned, would God the Son have become human?  Would He have taken on human flesh through the Incarnation by the Virgin Mary?

Though the death of Jesus was on account of our sin, His Incarnation (becoming human) was not solely so that He could die for our sin.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that one of the primary reasons for His Incarnation was “in order to save us by reconciling us with God,” but it also identifies three other reasons:  “so that thus we might know God’s love” “to be our model of holiness”; and “to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’” (See CCC #457-460).

Therefore, it is speculated by some that even if there was no sin, God would have become flesh so as to fulfill these other effects of the Incarnation.  Perhaps that’s a bit deep and is only speculation, but it’s beautiful to reflect upon nonetheless!

Why did Adam eat the apple?

 

Q. Why Did Adam Eat the Apple?

Q. Why did Adam eat the apple?

A. The simple answer is that he was persuaded by the serpent (the devil) that eating the apple would be to his benefit.  That he would “become like God” if he ate it. Sadly, Adam believed this lie and chose to disobey God who told him not to eat it. This was the first sin and resulted in humanity falling from what we call Original Innocence. But to give a more thorough explanation, let’s consider the entire story in a broader way.

First of all, did Adam actually eat the apple?  Perhaps, but perhaps not. It’s important to understand that this story is not to read in a “literal” way.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. A good explanation of this comes from Cardinal Ratzinger in his book “In the Beginning …: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall” (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing).  In that book, Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI) stated, “It has become clear that the biblical creation narratives represent another way of speaking about reality than that with which we are familiar from physics and biology.”  He went on to explain that these stories “represent truth in the way that symbols do — just as, for example, a Gothic window gives us a deep insight into reality, thanks to the effects of light that it produces and to the figures that is portrays.” In other words, the story of Adam and Eve is true, but not necessarily in the way a science book is.  A science book presents truth in a literal way, explaining the physical truths as they are in this world. The story of Adam and Eve presents truth in the form of a symbolic narrative. Whether or not Adam actually ate the apple in the literal way explained in that symbolic narrative is not important. What is important is the truth that narrative presents.

So what is the truth it presents?  It presents us with the fact that our first parents turned from God in disobedience.  The consequence was a fall from the original state of innocence and union with God that they were made for.  Therefore, the answer remains that Adam “ate the fruit” for selfish motivations because he believed the lie that disobeying God was better for him.  He was selfish and failed to trust the truth of God.

(Taken from My Catholic Life)

All Souls Day - An Article

All Souls Day

The earthly Church prays for the Church in Purgatory in hope of a reunion in Heaven

Every country has a civic feast day dedicated to soldiers who died for the nation. Every country has a tomb of the unknown soldier where an honor guard stands solemnly erect near an unnamed hero whose grave represents all the unknowns who never walked off the ship to hug their wife, who never met their parents at the airport and drove home. All Souls Day is like such Memorial Days and Tombs of the Unknown. Because of the Church’s ancient pedigree, timeless customs, and unmatched role in shaping cultures, it is more apt to say, though, that civic customs and ceremonies imitate the Church’s practice rather than the opposite.

The Feast of All Souls is the Catholic Memorial Day. Today the Church commemorates the souls of all the baptized who have died and yet who do not yet enjoy life with God in heaven. It is Catholic teaching that souls needing post-death purification can benefit from the prayers, alms, sacrifices, and Mass offerings of souls on earth. The Old Testament recounts the Jewish belief that the deceased benefit from temple sacrifice made on their behalf (2 Maccabees 12:42–46). Continuing this Semitic practice, prayers for the dead were offered by Christians from the very earliest years of the Church. The walls of the Christian catacombs of Rome were crowded with innumerable marble plaques in succinct Latin praying for the dead. There has never been a time when the Church has not commemorated, remembered, and prayed for the dead.

Few die with their souls so perfectly purified from sin and imperfection that they proceed directly to the Beatific Vision. No one is prepared for a ten thousand amp light to shine into their eyeballs the moment they awake. Nor at the moment of death would most be prepared for the intense light of God Himself to gaze into our imperfect souls. We would simply not be ready for such a holy searchlight examining our every dark corner. The soul first needs to be purified. Its sins must first be burned away in the fire of God’s merciful love. This is purgatory. It is the ante-chamber of heaven, the place of waiting and preparation where the soul is readied to enter and absorb the whitest of God’s light. But souls in purgatory have no free will or ability to atone by themselves for themselves. They depend on us. They advance in purification due to our prayers and offerings for them. This is why we pray for the dead and offer Masses for their advancement into heaven.

The Feast of All Souls, then, is much more than a spiritual family reunion where we visit the graves of our ancestors and recall with a tear all the good times. All Souls Day longs for a deeper bond, for an ultimate reunion with God at the head of the family in heaven with all His saints and angels. The dark arts of pagandom understand well the role the dead play in the imagination of the living. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies and witches surface in many cultures on this day. They manifest a frustrated, non-Christian longing for the afterlife. These characters are the living dead who inhabit the middle ground between earthly life and ultimate death. The undead, the forever young, the “after life but before judgment” souls lust after the flesh and blood of the living to preserve their immortality. In this imaginary world, death feeds on the sacrifice of life, especially young and beautiful life, so that dark powers can slake their thirst.

Today we put such fiction to the side and mobilize Christian prayer and sacrifice for Christian souls on a Christian Feast. Through the Sacraments, grace, redemptive suffering, alms giving, good deeds and fasting we move through the shadowlands of occult fiction, horror movies, and vampire legends. The hidden land of the dead is not just beyond the edge of the woods, or in the dark of night after the last ember of the campfire goes black and cold. The Church offers mystery enough for everyone. The deathly battle of good and evil, of devils against angels, of sin against grace, of the cross against temptation, is not fiction. It’s as serious as cancer. In this supernatural arena, souls hang in the balance, with heaven or hell, eternal life or eternal death, resting on the scales. Today we put our fingers on that scale and tip the balance in favor of those we love who have gone before us.

All Holy Souls, our prayers and Mass offerings are directed to you this day, in the hope that what we do on earth may benefit your advancement toward a fully divine life in heaven where you may, in turn, pray that we may one day join you there.