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Confession of sins We are to name and number our mortal sins during confession, which has its roots in sacred Scripture Msgr. Charles Pope 9/27/2017 Question: As a child, I was taught to confess my sins individually by name and the number of times committed. Is this practice legally required? Some confessors say this amount of detail is unnecessary. Also, how did the confession ritual of the Church get established? There is no biblical record that I know of.— Glen Morton, Peoria, Illinois Answer: Confessing sins in kind (by name) and number is required only for mortal sins. For lesser (venial) sins...

Reparation to Mary Msgr.Charles Pope Question: In the Fatima devotions, we are told to make the five First Saturdays in reparation to Mary. But, though I am devoted to Mary, I wonder how I can make reparation to Mary for my sin when the sins I have committed have been against God and those around me? Is it not to God that reparation needs to be made? — Margaret Mantia, St. Louis Answer: The word “reparation” means to repair damages that we or others have inflicted. Even in secular language the word is used when one nation or group is...

Mass Gestures? Q: I’ve read where outstretching our hands (like the priest at the altar) when responding in the Mass and when praying the Our Father are not acceptable acts. Are we to raise our hands at either of these times? Tricia, via emailMonsignor Charles E. Pope A: While the gestures of the priest at Mass are rather clearly prescribed throughout the liturgy, prescribed gestures for the faithful are minimal. There is an occasional directive to strike the breast at the Confiteor, or to bow at one point in the Creed. But there is no mention of particular gestures for...

Will to listen Only open and tender hearts will be blessed with the knowledge of the mysteries of the KingdomMsgr. Charles Pope August 20, 2017 Question: As I understand it, Jesus came as the Savior for all. Yet Jesus spoke in parables, and when asked why, he says that knowledge of the mysteries of heaven has not been granted to everyone (Mt 13:10-17). I am puzzled, as it seems as if Jesus is speaking in code and purposely excluding many, especially those in most need of his mercy. Would you please help me understand? — Robert McBride, Cheswick, Pennsylvania Answer:...

Epic Imagaery Question: I was in a conversation with several unbelieving college friends who dismissed the Bible as unreliable and merely mythical because it presumes the existence of monsters like Leviathan and fiery dragons. I wasn’t sure how to answer them. — Name withheld, Massachusetts Answer: Leviathan is a name of a large beast in the Old Testament. The term seems to be used both symbolically and also literally to refer to actual beasts in the sea. For example, in Psalm 104 we read, “There is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small...

Doctors of the Church Monsignor Charles PopeQ. What is the process for determining how someone is declared a Doctor of the Church? Sam, via social mediaA. The Doctors of the Church are teachers of the faith who have demonstrated exemplary holiness and have deepened the whole Church’s understanding of the Catholic faith. They must be officially declared doctors by a papal proclamation. Such men and women also are known particularly for the depth of understanding and the orthodoxy of their theological teachings. Though their teachings are not infallible, being a “doctor” means that they contributed significantly to the formulation of...

Inner vision Having a deep understanding and connection with God is more satisfying than physically seeing God 7/12/2017 Monsignor Charles Pope Question: You said in a previous answer, “We need not presume that we will see God with our physical eyes.” This confuses me, because St. Paul says of heaven that we shall see God “face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). Can you elaborate? — Name, location withheld Answer: My use of the word “presume” does not exclude physical seeing altogether but seeks to avoid reducing the beatific vision to natural seeing (light hitting our retina). But while not...

Vain Sayings? Q. Is saying “Oh, my God!” when reacting to a situation or story taking the name of the Lord in vain?Janet, Wakefield, Kan. A. While the phrase “Oh, my God” could be a prayer, it is not usually meant in this way. More commonly it uses the Divine name as a mere expression of surprise or exasperation. This is not a reverent or prayerful use of God’s name in most circumstances. The word “vain” means empty. And, therefore, the context you cite would usually seem to qualify as using God’s name in vain. However, in assigning culpability (blameworthiness),...

Race in the Bible Question: A friend of mine, referencing some sort of black studies program she attended, says that the opening line of the Song of Songs is racist. It says, “I am black and beautiful, Daughters of Jerusalem” (Song 1:5). She tends to be radical, but I must admit I couldn’t really give her an answer. Can you help?— Name and place withheld Answer: The reference is more likely to economic class than to race. She is a Jewish woman, from the region of Shulem, speaking to other unspecified Jewish women about how she found love. She speaks...

Levels of sin? While all sin is offensive to God, Church teaches the difference between mortal and venial sin Msgr. Charles Pope 9/21/2016 Question: I think the Catholic notion of mortal and venial sin is flawed. All sin is serious, and since it offends God, it is an infinite offense. The Catholic distinction leads to ignoring many sins and only focusing on some. All sin is a grave offense against God.— John Malvine, Boulder, Colorado Answer: It should first be noted that the distinction between mortal and venial sin is found in Scripture. The First Letter of John says, “There...

Msgr. Charles Pope The Catholic Answer Teleology vs. Typology? Q. I am trying to understand the different theological and philosophical terms that we use as a Church. Two big ones for me are teleology and typology. They both seem to point to the future, but how are they different? Typology was used by the Church Fathers, right? Claire, Alexandria, Va. A. Teleology comes from the Greek word telos, meaning “end,” “goal,” “destination” or “perfection.” As such, teleology is that aspect of theology that looks to the end, or goal, of something. In terms of theology, the end goal of the...

Msgr. Charles Pope 12/22/2015 Nativity animals Question: I was told that the animals in the Christmas Nativity scene have a symbolic meaning. Is this so, and if so what?— Jennifer Ladd, Buffalo, New York Answer: Yes, the traditional animals of the Nativity scene are chosen for a reason. The ox and the donkey are a reference to Isaiah 1:3 which says, “An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master’s manger; But Israel does not know, my people has not understood.”So, it’s actually rather an unflattering self-accusation we make of our own human family that, in effect, declares the...

Msgr. Charles Pope OSV Newsweekly Star of the Magi Question: I was reading a Catholic commentary on Scripture by a priest who maintains that the star that guided the Magi was not a star at all but some sort of moving ball of gas in the atmosphere. Is this Catholic teaching? I have never heard this.— Brad C. , St. Louis Answer: You were probably reading the commentary by Father Cornelius á Lapide who speculates the star was not really a star but was formed of condensed air and dust, with brightness infused into it and moved by the angels...

Antidote for sloth? 4/8/2015 Q. Do you have any suggestions for a person who is guilty of sloth and laziness? On account of it, I am often sluggish and this keeps me from many of my responsibilities and duties to be a good and prayerful Catholic.— N.W., Baltimore, Md. A. Here’s a reply from Msgr. Charles Pope: Sloth, which is one of the seven capital sins, is sorrow or aversion to the good things that God is offering us. And thus one who has sloth — and hears that God can save them from sins and enable them to do many...

A higher calling The Bible doesn’t denigrate marriage; it acknowledges marriage can’t compare to the joy of heaven Msgr. Charles Pope 11/4/2015 Question: I cannot escape the conclusion that the Bible denigrates marriage. We are told by Paul by that we should live as though we had no spouse (1 Cor 7:29), and Jesus says that in heaven there will be no marriage. The Church also calls priesthood and religious life “higher callings.” What am I to make of all this negativity?— Joseph Harris, Washington, D.C. Answer: The solution is to understand the statements you reference in their wider context....

What are the parables of Christ? It’s a deceptively simple question, in part because the two dozen or so parables found in the Synoptic Gospels — the Fourth Gospel contains none — are deceptively simple. They are so apparently simple it is easy to think anyone could have produced them. But as Father George William Rutler notes in “Hints of Heaven: The Parables of Christ and What They Mean for You,” an exquisite collection of reflections, “The only proof I have of their literary superiority is that no one has ever been able to match them.” He compares them...

CoreOS and Joyent's SmartOS/Triton have worked to redefine, in radically different ways, what an OS needs to be to run applications at scale in the cloud.Now another candidate is set to join the ranks of maverick cloud OSes: OSv, open source, hypervisor-optimized, and "designed to run an application stack without getting in the way.">OSv runs existing Linux applications, but is not itself Linux; it's entirely new and written from the ground up in C/C++. It can run on a slew of hypervisors and virtual machine systems, or in cloud environments like Amazon EC2 or Google Compute Engine. The company claims significant...

Pro-life groups have staged "rescues" at abortion clinics over the years in an effort to save unborn children. Now, a new movement is underway to "rescue" the thousands of human embryos created through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and placed in frozen storage indefinitely.This movement carries different names in various parts of the country, but the objective is the same: to transfer frozen human embryos into the wombs of "adoptive" mothers who will give birth. Since the Catholic Church teaches that in-vitro fertilization is immoral, the whole idea of such human-embryo "adoption" has stirred spirited debate among moralists and bioethicists.The Vatican, meanwhile,...