Catholic Answers Focus

Questions Covered:

13:47 – Is there a cycle of readings in the Eastern Churches, and what are they? How do they differ from the west? Are they similar to the readings from Orthodoxy? 

17:56 – I’m part of the Assyrian Church of the East, being in partial communion what should I do? Should I seek full communion? 

22:09 – For any of the Orthodox churches to come into the Church, does it boil down to the primacy of Peter or are the other things that are in the way? 

30:41 – Why do you think we don’t talk about the eastern rites among Catechism classes? 

34:36 – I’m Eastern Orthodox. Why did you convert from Orthodoxy to Catholicism? Is there anything else we can do to promote unity apart from praying? 

42:33 – I heard that as a Catholic you can go to an Orthodox divine liturgy and fulfill the Sunday obligation. Is this true? 

44:51 – Can you explain the use of the prayer rope in the east? 

47:27 – Does the Russian government have any role to play in the lack of unity amongst the eastern orthodox churches? 

49:22 – Mickey Rorke played St. Francis of Assisi in a Biopic movie. 

50:18 – Is there any belief that the Orthodox have that we don’t as a point of faith? 

53:16 – What is your perspective on the Orthodox teaching on contraception? 

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Questions Covered: 

15:31 – Regarding the sacrament of penance, I know the Eastern Orthodox Churches deputize lay people to hear each other’s confessions. What is the Catholic view of this, and do we ever make allowances for this? 

19:02 – I’ve been to confession where the priests asked me to choose my own penance or gave me a penance with no end date. Is this a normal thing to come across? What should I do in these situations? 

29:22 – I have a big sin from my past that I’ve confessed and still feel guilty about. How can I get that guilt to go away? 

34:44 – My parish priest visits me once a month and I take that time to go to confession. If I sin the day after he comes and I do a sincere act of contrition, am I forgiven then or do I have to wait till the next month to be forgiven? 

44:20 – Is it sinful to question whether I’m actually forgiven? 

48:14 – My elderly father has started to come to Mass again after a very long time. He hasn’t been to confession and has been receiving communion.  What’s the best way to approach him? 

51:14 – Is it possible to request from God and receive from God our penance to not get it in purgatory. 

52:53 – Can one be forgiven for a sin that one is too embarrassed to confess but says “and forgive the rest of my sins”? 

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Questions Covered:

03:39 – My girlfriend is not Catholic but is now open to converting. Does she have to go through RCIA to just get baptized or are there other options? 

07:16 – I’m just getting started in RCIA but am in the class with children but getting mixed information of when I could join the Church. Should I just “parish shop?” 

15:39 – My fiancé is non-denominational, and her parents are strong evangelicals. How can I guide and lead her to the Church because she’s expressed interest? 

18:41 – I’m moving and am currently attending RCIA at a Novus Ordo (N.O.) parish, but I love attending the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Should I start attending RCIA at the TLM parish or continue at the N.O. parish? I plan on receiving the sacrament at the N.O. parish. 

20:50 – I’m in RCIA and going with my wife but I’m not converting. If Mary and the saints are so important, why doesn’t Paul show that? 

29:12 – I’m in RCIA, regarding the “I” “We” baptism story: How do I know whether my pastor said the right words and am validly baptized? 

33:52 – I’m considering joining RCIA, there are currently no issues with me joining but if there is a problem within my family, is there a better way of going about joining the Church? 

43:06 – I’m having my teenage daughter come live with me. She doesn’t have much faith formation.  Does her entry to RCIA have to be on her behalf or can I put her in it?   

47:07 – I just came back to the Church, when does a sexual thought become a sin? 

51:40 – Do Catholic schools or RCIA do a better job at catechizing Catechumens? 

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Questions Covered: 

08:01 – My granddaughter is in RCIA, and we went to Ash Wednesday Mass together.  She asked why we don’t have women priests. What’s a good way to explain this to a teen? 

15:39 – I’m considering joining RCIA. Why can’t religion embrace evolution? If God infuses a soul, how do new souls come into existence? 

21:12 – I’m a RCIA instructor, I want to ask you about the processes and if you think there’s a better way to instruct and improve now that you’re on the other side? 

29:22 – I’m too shy to come into the Church but can I still receive the anointing of the sick? 

35:42 – If a person was baptized into the Church do they have to go through RCIA to receive all the other sacraments? 

40:30 – I’m very confident in converting but the one thing that hangs me up is not being married in heaven. Are we going to have a close relationship in heaven? 

47:48 – Can a baptized 9-year-old go to RCIA and get formed in the sacraments? 

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Questions Covered:

05:23 – 1. Cor. 15:29, Mormons justify baptism of the dead, what does this actually mean? 

14:36 – If God were to contact humans and directly communicate the immediate details of their life, would a human be able to deviate from that? 

21:00 – There’re several places in scripture where it says that David is a Man after God’s heart. Because of this you could argue that David was the first person to be devoted to the Sacred Heart, Is this a good argument? 

31:10 – Is anyone familiar with the book Bible, the Quran and Science? Can you speak on that? It purports inaccuracies in the Bible. 

35:18 – Canon 1251 says we should abstain from meat on every Friday. Why is that not practiced? 

44:50 – Can God create Himself? Was Jesus created? 

50:50 – What’s the most convincing argument to make to a non-believer that the culture that the Church created promoted the advancement of science? 

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Questions Covered:

04:11 – 1 Tim. 2 it says that woman should not have authority over a man. What does this mean? 

8:39 – Why is online confession not allowed yet? 

15:40 – In the Old Testament how do we know what a measurement of years is equivalent to the years of today? 

23:07 – What kind of soul does a single cell organism have? 

34:23 – Why does the priest remove a small piece of the eucharist and place it into the chalice during mass? 

41:46 – Why did paradise not seem to be enough to Adam and Eve? 

48:08 –  When Jesus is walking to Calvary and addresses the weeping women he says “If this is done to green wood what will be done to dry wood”  What does that mean? 

 

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Questions Covered:

04:44 – My 7-year-old daughter wants to know why do we abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays?

11:07 – What does “created” mean in Sirach 1:4. – “Wisdom was created before all other things, and prudent understanding from eternity”

14:56 – How is the bread consecrated without Jesus being sacrificed yet while he was in the upper room during the last supper?

17:41 – I was married outside the Church to a non-practicing Catholic. I was never Confirmed and we divorced 3 years ago. Are we technically still married?

21:55 – I was raised Pentecostal and I had a vasectomy, would this bar me from becoming Catholic?

29:16 – Is it a mortal sin to provide transportation for someone who doesn’t have a work visa to work?

32:43 – In Matthew 6 it says that Jesus goes back home and does not perform miracles because they don’t have faith. How does the people not having faith play into Jesus not doing miracles?

35:29 – I tend to be emotional over the grandkid and my mom who is elderly, why do I get emotional? I’ve talked to a priest in the past about this.

40:56 – I’m not able to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday because I’m a trucker. Am I going to hell?

45:25 – Follow up on Vasectomy: I got one and my wife had medical issues where it was risky for her to get pregnant. Can you help me sort through the logic and values associated with the vasectomy decision?

51:09 – How do I approach my 26-year-old son when he challenges me about the Church? He insinuates that religion is evil and brings up slavery, inquisition etc.

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Questions Covered:

09:42 – How can I start a local group? 

14:38 – My mom is in recovery and doesn’t think she needs more than AA. What resources can you provide? My sister and I enjoy an occasional drink. What do you recommend for us as children of an alcoholic, so we don’t follow the same path? 

23:50 – I have a high schooler who’s struggling with online gambling addiction, and I need advice on how to handle this. 

40:43 –  I’ve been in recovery for 13 years and am a convert. I find the Faith and AA compatible.   

43:40 – You mentioned overeating and I have an addictive personality. 

52:07 – My fiancé is struggling with porn addiction. He’s been resistant to getting outside help. What can I do? 

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Michael Lofton of the Reason and Theology podcast shares his experience of leaving Catholicism for Orthodoxy and eventually returning. He explains why he concluded he needed to be in communion with the pope, and why every Christian should.

Cy Kellett:

Is the grass greener in the Orthodox Church? Michael Lofton next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. This week, we welcome Michael Lofton who made his way from Protestantism into Catholic Church, made his way from the Catholic Chu...

Questions Covered:

03:22 – I’m Catholic and married a Lutheran, but she divorced me. Is the marriage still valid? 

10:48 – How many times a day can you go to mass? 

12:32 – Is God all-knowing and all powerful? 

18:07 – I’ve been married and divorced. Does my divorce nullify me being Catholic?   

30:27 – Did the followers of Jesus that had originally followed John the Baptist have to be rebaptized? 

36:42 – I’m going to be received as a Catholic this Easter, can I go to confession now? 

41:57 – I heard in an RCIA class that being Catholic is just a liturgical form of worship, if this is true why should I become Catholic? 

47:36 – Baptism in Jesus, I have a defense for why it’s valid. 

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