"What are 5 major reasons we pray?"

By Paul Dion, STL

Brothers and Sisters,This question is meant to plunge you into a mood of "snuggling up to God." The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" devotes 60 plus pages to this topic, so I know that we will not exhaust it here. I also know that your answers will not contain erroneous statements or opinions. The reason why I am challenging you with this question is that I want to provoke you to realize in a special way what it means to have a relationship with God.

Here is the question:

What is prayer in general? What are the five major reasons why we pray? These five elements are all contained in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by the way.

This is not a pop quiz - there are no pass or fail marks. Nor is this an intellectual exercise. It is a mere opportunity to look into your hearts and let your spirituality speak out.

If you are too shy, you can always post anonymously.

What does the Holy Spirit do in your life?

By Paul Dion, STL

The Holy Spirit means a lot of things to a lot of people. His name is used in many ways and has influenced the spiritual lives of many. A careful reading of the Major Prophets will bring His existence into our conscience. A reading of the New Testament will introduce us to Him and His works. From St. John the Baptist to Jesus, He is promised to us as we live our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Here are some "givens" to get you started: The Holy Spirit is the third person of God. He is equal in every way with the Father and the Son. We generally give the Father the name Creator and to the Son we generally and traditionally give the name, Savior.

The Burning Question for this week has more than one part because we want to make you think about the Holy Spirit in more ways than one.

1. What name do we traditionally give to the Holy Spirit?

2. When is the first time that we receive the Holy Spirit?

3. What is the sacrament that accentuates the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

4. What is the name of the special Sunday that is dedicated to the celebration of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

5. Does this Sunday have a fixed date or is it determined by the same method as the date of Easter Sunday?

6. There are two miraculous events that are related to this Sunday, what are they and where can you find their story in the Bible?

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Share them with nus and with the rest of the world.

CLICK HERE to view the answers.

Peace and joy.

Is it more important to believe in God or to believe in the Church?

By Paul Dion, STL

We've all been in contact with the Catholic Church for many years now, some more, some less. And you have perhaps noticed that Catholics are true "believers" in their Church. They talk of their Church as "Our Faith".

Catholics have been accused by others, clergy and lay alike, of believing more in their Church than in God.

Some of you reading this "Burning Question" have become Catholics during the last year or so. Some of you are preparing for the moment of Baptism or full membership.

So the Burning Question this week is: What is more important, to believe in God or to believe in the Church?

If you've thought of this before, you have an opinion. If this is a new question, thank God that you are getting a chance to delve into your conscience about it. God bless you all.

Post a comment today. Share your thoughts with us about this very incisive topic.

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Do you invite the poor to your Easter banquet?

By Paul Dion, STL

Jesus said to the man who had invited Him: "When you make a dinner or a supper, don't call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; and you will be blessed, because they don't have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke chapter 14, verses 12 to 14)

The other day a group of Catholic School Teachers, I among them, were sitting around a table drinking coffee and tea and talking about what it means to make the message of the Gospel known these days. The leader of the group read the quote that appears above and asked if any of the members of the group had ever practiced Jesus' outspoken directive. There were actually two or three.

Their stories are interestingly similar. Listen...

They had experienced similar invitations in their own extended family, if not in their immediate family. They had been at such meals where the neighborhood loner would be invited at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They had a grandmother who was a lousy cook but who fed all the neighborhood children anyway, with or without invitation.

The responders said that these meals were taken at a common table, in their own home, or that of their grandfather's, etc.

Could you imagine yourself inviting the Pastor of your parish over for dinner and hearing him say, "I notice that you haven't invited any maimed people. Don't you know a widow who could use a little company and a nice meal with us?" Or worse yet, "Would you mind if I invite old Mrs. Shakalot? Three doors from you. I could bring her along."

How would you respond to that? If you had ever done it before anyway, it wouldn't faze you. Have you ever done it before? Would you do it now that you know that Jesus directs us to do it?

Some suggestions? How about Easter Sunday? Memorial Day; July 4; Labor Day; Thanksgiving; Christmas and new Year's day, not to mention your birthday, or the widow's!

Share your thoughts with us. Tell us your story.

"What two sacraments were instituted by Jesus on Holy Thursday?"

By Paul Dion, STL

Welcome to all of you. We are living in the heat of the heart of the mystery of Christianity. We start at the moment of the last Seder Meal celebrated by Jesus with His disciples and we will end with the descent of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the disciples. The first three days are called the Sacred Triduum and comprise Holy THursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil.

These three days which cap the Lenten Season and the following 50 days during which we meditate on the historic first days of the history of the Christian Church are the defining season of our Faith/Religion. We here at ParishWorld.net will do our best to provide you with the spiritual food which will make your relationship with Jesus grow and flourish on a daily basis.

Let us start with a simple Catechism question for you: What two sacraments were instituted by Jesus on Holy Thursday?

Give us your opinion in writing. Then, if you like, you can click here for the answer.

"What influence does the Pope have on your personal life?"

By Paul Dion, STL

This question gets close to the heart of Roman Catholicism. The Pope is the human leader of the Catholic Church. He is a lot of things to Catholics, not the least of which is being an object of Catholic Faith. To wit, more later.

The question is: "What influence does the Pope have on your personal life?"

You may also feel free to comment on what, if any influence you think that Pope has, or should or should not have, on other people of the world.

Feel free, be honest. This is not an easy question. Give it a shot from the bottom of your heart.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Share your comments with the rest of the world.

Peace and joy.

(Click here to view the many wonderful articles that await you in www.ParishWorld.net, America's Catholic Lifestyle Magazine. Be informed, be inspired, be blessed. )

Should you Confess before you receive Communion?

By Paul Dion, STL

"Lord, I am not worthy to receive you," we say. Then we go to communion anyway. Well we should. Jesus didn't let the words of the Roman Centurion stop Him from blessing him and his family with a miracle.

It is Christ Himself who invites us to "Take this and eat it, all of you". He further states, "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." (John, 6:53)

More than ever, more and more people approach the altar of Communion. This is happening at the same time that fewer and fewer people are approaching the sacrament of Penance (confession).

Some Catholics, including some priests, wonder therefore if everyone who approaches the altar to partake of the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is truly ready to do so according to the spiritual demands of the Act of Taking Communion.

At the same time we are reminded that John Paul II exhorted the bishops of the United States to encourage more people to participate in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

It remains true also that some Catholics stay in the pew. Others leave the church when the communion procession forms. Some feel genuinely unworthy to receive their Lord, some realize that they have not observed the rule of fasting for one hour before the time of communion and some judge themselves to be too full of sin at the time and so they refrain from receiving.

In the not-too-distant past, and even at the present time, people go to confession before every communion, and many receive communion only rarely. The life style of the practicing Catholic has changed.

But the question is still valid: In your opinion, is it required to go to confession before receiving Communion? Let me add, If you haven't been to Confession in more than one year, should you feel free to receive Communion?

If you are among those who receive Communion without going to Confession first, tell us your reasons. If you Confess before you receive Communion, tell us why.

Give us your comments. The electronic soapbox is all yours.
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How Catholic are you? Take the Quiz

By Paul Dion, STL


Those of you who just can't wait for the ParishWorld.net mailing every Friday are in for some homework this week. By now it has become clear to you that ParishWorld.net is INTERACTIVE. It is clear to you that the evangelization that Jesus expects from us is the soul of our publication. You have also become accustomed to the BURNING QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

Some of you will remember the time when we had a list of about 35 questions about basic Catholic doctrine. This week we are presenting a questionnaire that is somewhat more insidious...now, there's a word! This is a rather engaging test of what it is that we as Catholics believe. Trust us, we are not out to catch anyone sneaking a puff behind the barn. That is not our intention.

We want you to think a bit, participate and then click the final button and see your score.

If you get 100% Catholic, write to us and brag. God will allow it for this one time. If you get a disappointingly low score, look in the mirror and ask yourself why. If you want to blow off steam and write to us and make a point about the @@^%&**+@@ injustice of the questionnaire, we will take you seriously and get back to you with love and a smile. If you want clarification about a question that you think should be a 5 and you wrote a 1, write to us and we will hold your hand.

Enjoy this exercise. I did.


CLICK HERE to begin this quiz. Make sure you come back to this page to report your score.

Post your scores below in our comments section and also see what others are saying.

"Why are Catholic parents obliged to baptize their children as babies?"

By Paul Dion, STL


You have all heard the expression, "cradle Catholic." You have heard it from all levels of Catholics, from the daily Mass-goer to the Christmas and Easter Mass-goer. You have heard it on television and in the movies, "I was baptized Catholic a few days after I was born..."

You have also been in conversations where there was a lively give and take between those who were opposed to infant baptism and those who were all in favor of it. It was even possible that those involved in the discussion were all Catholic!

It could also be that you were surprised to see that your Lutheran friend was for infant baptism and your Catholic relative was against it. You listened and shook your head in disbelief at this turn of events.

It is true, there are Catholics who wait until there children are old enough to make up their own mind about whether or not to be baptized. There are plenty of non-Catholics who would be surprised at this opinion. Yes, there are Protestant communities who seriously believe in infant baptism. Martin Luther himself never abandoned the practice of infant baptism in his break from the Catholic Church.

ParishWorld.net is asking you where you stand in this matter, and why...

So here is the Burning Question of the week: "Why do you believe that it is an obligation of parents to present their new born children to the sacrament of baptism as soon as possible after birth?"

Give us your convictions and we will join the discussion and present a wrap-up.

Is the Mass a Eucharistic Banquet or a Holy Sacrifice

Is the Mass a Eucharistic Banquet or a Holy Sacrifice
By Paul Dion, STL


1. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2. a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3. a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4. a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5. a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6. a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7. a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8. a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace
(Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3)

There is also a time for naming things and a time for remembering what the name was before the name we now use. I am giving you the opportunity to participate in this exercise in the following manner.

What is the name that defines our central act of worship, the Mass? Is the Mass a Sacrifice or is it a Banquet?

Tell us what you think and please elaborate on your answer.

Did John the Baptist go to heaven right after death?

By Paul Dion, STL

Read these words of Jesus which you will hear in this Gospel story about John the Baptist: "History has not known a man born of woman greater than John the Baptizer. Yet the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11).

We're talking about Jesus' first cousin here. This is the precurser of the Messiah. His father was a priest. He was still in the womb of his mother when he leapt for joy when Elizabeth and Mary met when Mary was in the early stages of her pregnancy with Jesus. John dedicated his entire life to the mission of spreading the word and the love of God. John was a straight talking prophet calling for the repentance of the Chosen People. John himself washed Jesus in the waters of baptism from the Jordan.

How then can Jesus say, "Yet the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he."? So, when John died, the greatest of all prophets, he didn't go to the kingdom of God on the Archangel Express?

That's right. Although John had seen the Anointed One and heard of his wonderful works, he, like Moses, did not enter into the Kingdom during his lifetime. Why not? Let it all hang out. You know that you have an answer and you also know that you have questions. Fire away. Let us know.

Of course if you don't want to do that, check out the article "Rejoice in Hope - John the Baptist: "Gaudete Sunday" and you will find the answer.

If you still need to get something off your chest, we await your sentiments with open arms and a sharpened pencil. Post your comments below.

God bless you all.

"What is Faith?"

By Paul Dion, STL


How many times you have heard from me, "This is not an intellectual exercise."

Now is the time to put this axiom to the test. We are not looking for left-brained answers this week. (OK, you lefties, stop gloating!) We are getting really basic and fundamental here, but the simplicity of the question may stun you, so think it over.

"WHAT IS FAITH?"
 

I beg of you to refrain from "Googling" this one. If you've thought of this before, you have an opinion. If this is a new question, thank God that you are getting a chance to delve into your conscience about it.

Post a comment today. Share your thoughts with us about this very incisive topic. And see what we others are saying as well as our recap of this important question.

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Do you applaud after the homily?

By Paul Dion, STL

I am 70 1/2 years old. I have an advanced degree in Theology. I don't think that I have missed a Sunday Mass 10 times in my life. I have participated in the Holy Mass hundreds of times on Sunday and during the week. I have done this in hundreds of churches in at least 10 countries plus the West Bank.Needless to say I have listened to countless homilies and slept through more than I can count.

But last Sunday, four days after the 70.5 point of my first glimpse of the light of day, I had a new experience. After the homily, the church broke out in applause. Please notice that we are not talking about applause that happens at the beginning of Mass as the bishop walks into the Church. It is not the applause that spontaneously happens as the Bishop or some other dignitary walks out of the church after Mass. We are talking about applause immediately after the homily.

ParishWorld.net could not help but investigate to see if this was against Church law or maybe even against the common morality. We did find out that the question is not a new one. In fact we discovered some quotes from some of the Old Testament Prophets.

ParishWorld.net is asking why people would applaud after a homily. We are sure that those of you who read ParishWorld.net have opinions about this question. Please let us know what it is.

Would you applaud after the homily? What would you signify by your applause?

The liturgical correctness of the delivery?

The theological content of the speech?

The oratorical brilliance, the grammatical quality?

The linguistic mastery?

The magnificence of Biblical understanding and communication?

The sharpness of the priest's wit and the ability to manipulate secular and religious punditry?

Please let us know. Also here's a related article on applause at Mass that is sure to interest you.
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"What would you ask of God?"

By Paul Dion, STL

Be careful what you ask for. This is the kind of question that everyone likes. There is no wrong answer. Or so we think.

Let's start with the saying, "Be careful what you ask for."

That having been said, there is a story in the bible about a young man who was destined to be king of his country some day. He knew it ahead of time because God had promised his father that his first son would inherit the throne. It is to be supposed that this young man knew many things about the world. His father was a rough and tumble man who had won many a battle in his day. At one point, when he was quite young, he had killed the one person who was the largest threat to the nation. He had been chosen by God to be king and God made a promise to him that his son would also be king and the son would some day build God a house, fit for God and not for humans.

One night the son got a vision that most of us dream of at least once in our life. God appeared to him and asked: "Ask something of me and I will give it to you."

Are you ready for this? What would you answer? Think about it a moment, and talk to yourself with the request that you would make and what you would do with the grant. Think about what would make you happy.

You may think that there is no wrong answer to this question. That may be true, but there are some that are better than others. Go ahead, tell yourself what your answer is to God's question: "Ask something of me and I will give it to you."

Before you click to compare your answer to that of the young man try to think of the name of the King and the name of the Son. Hint: They were distant relatives of Jesus. Now you can compare your answer to the young man's by clicking below.

Click here to view the answer to this Burning Question.

Is it Better to Pray or To Study the Faith?

By Paul Dion, STL
 

This week's "Burning Question" is a challenge that you are going to have to churn out of the depths of your hearts and souls.

"Is it more effective to pray than to study the tenets of a religion when seeking a spiritual home community?"

Take a look at this and at yourself and throw your convictions out on the table.

God bless you all with health, peace and happiness.

Why do we say the Rosary at Catholic funerals?

By Paul Dion, STL

The question of the week for the is one that you are going to have to figure out for yourselves. I don't think that there is a source that you can consult for the answer to this one.

This question was presented to me by a member of my RCIA class, seeking Baptism through the Rite of Christian Initiation at St. Christopher parish, Moreno Valley, California.

I deeply appreciate this question because it is a seriously probing one. I had an answer ready for them which I will share with you in the Grand Inquisitor's wrap-up.

"Why is it that Catholics always have the recitation of the Holy Rosary as a part of their funerals?"

It's all yours. Tell us what you think.

(Click here to view the many wonderful articles that await you in http://www.parishworld.net/, America's Catholic Lifestyle Magazine. Be informed, be inspired, be blessed. )

What favorite bible verse serves as foundation for your spiritual life?

By Paul Dion, STL

I thought that we might give the reader the opportunity to provide a BURNING QUESTION of the week every now and then. I am therefore brazenly presenting the following.

I have been a Catholic all my life. I reserve the right not to declare my age. My father and mother were very devout Catholics. You know the type - more Catholic than the Pope.

Well, my father lived his life in prayer. He was a senior manager and a superintendent in the business world. He and I participated in the 5:30 AM Mass on every Sunday during the year. We never missed a single "Stations of the Cross" celebration during Lent. We received Communion every Sunday when it was only the "Holy Water Font Frogs" who did so. We recited the family rosary every single night of May and October and during the school year we had to answer all the questions of the Baltimore Catechism even though we had been grilled by the nuns in school during the day.

My father was one step ahead of a lot of the Catholics of his day in one respect. He had a Biblical guiding principle for his life. My maternal grandfather did too. Do you?

Our question to you this week is:

What is(are) your favorite and guiding Bible verse(s) that serve as the foundation for your spiritual life?

What is the "Real Presence of Christ" that Catholics talk about?

By Paul Dion, STL

Here is the Burning Question of the Week: When Catholics talk about the Real Presence of Christ, what are they talking about? How many other forms of Christ's presence in our midst can you think of?

Catholics among you should be able to answer the first one without difficulty. With a little thought and some prayer you should be able to answer the second question and come up with two or three other forms of presence.

Those of you who are not Catholic may have a little trouble with this one.

Try your thoughts out on it. If you don't come up with anything, hit the Bible first and then Google and wait for the response to see how the Catholics did.

We would like to hear your thoughts. Share them with our readers from all over the world so that they too may be encouraged to look into their hearts and reflect upon our burning question of the week.

(Click here to view the many wonderful articles that await you in www.ParishWorld.net, America's Catholic Lifestyle Magazine. Be informed, be inspired, be blessed. )