Catholic Answers Live

Questions Covered:

17:05 – I’m worried about my upcoming marriage. Is there any way to accommodate my Protestant fiancé in the way he wants to be married? I just don’t want to be in a state of mortal sin.

22:22 – If I’m doing the Lenten devotional and trying to have it help me with worrying about my vocation. Is there any advice for how to deal with when I do start worrying a lot about my vocation?

30:57 – I’m currently an addict and worried about relapsing. How can I worry less about relapsing?

36:30 – I got your book last year and really devoured it. My husband has been recently diagnosed with throat cancer but because of your book I feel at peace with it.

39:30 – I lost my 18 y.o. son two years ago Christmas morning to leukemia. I just don’t know how to get past it.

49:45 – My work involves being on a temporary contract. Can you give me advice on how not to dwell on my work issues so much?

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Questions Covered:

02:29 – I attend a protestant bible study often and in the coming weeks we’re getting to John 20. What are some common Protestant arguments for it and how can I respond to them?

11:52 – Something Jimmy quotes in The Fathers Know Best on St Ignatius’ letter to the Smyrnaeans is that some people abstain from the Eucharist because they don’t believe it’s the flesh. Since this is in the short version and there is a longer version, how do we know which versions of these early Christian writings are reliable or if any of them are?

21:04 – A fellow parishioner said the Devil must have been surprised at the resurrection. Of course, Satan knew Jesus was the son of God but how can I point him in the right direction?

29:47 – Can you explain how you know Jesus and God exist without making any biblical references? I have adult children who were raised Catholic, left the faith, and nothing I say works to convince them of the existence of Jesus and God.

36:16 – Can a Catholic who married in the Baptist church, and got divorced, then get married in the Catholic Church?

41:56 – Is it possible to know the existence of angels through natural reasons alone?

Resources Mentioned:

https://jimmyakin.com/2013/08/did-jesus-exist-an-alternate-approach.html

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Open Forum – Questions Covered:

10:38 – How can we rightly talk about the soul in terms of relational but not physical terms? 

20:44 – If we’re not in a state of grace and we’re praying, do the prayers not get through to God because we’re not in a state of grace? Will they then get retroactively answered after confession? 

24:13 – Jimmy writes that the verse about cutting sin off is not literal. How are we so confident that if we were to be literal about it that it would not be a grave sin? 

33:58 – What’s the difference between Catholic and someone that calls themselves just Christian? Do Catholics believe everything they do but not vice versa? 

37:54 – How should we as Catholics respond to the Asbury University revival? Also, can a Catholic receive communion at an Orthodox church and vice versa? 

45:54 – In Deuteronomy 21:10-14, is the captive war bride being raped or not? 

51:37 – In the gospel of John, why would it be unfitting for Jesus to say, “When you see me, you see the Holy Spirit”?

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Questions Covered:

05:25 – I’m just entering the Catholic Church. A lot of my friends see me as a spiritual father. These friends will follow me if I convert. That makes me very uncomfortable. Can you offer some advice?

14:40 – What happens if you’re going through RCIA and you can’t find a Confirmation sponsor?

16:41 – How is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist different from the way God is always present to us, as Scripture says?

29:27 – I’m not Catholic. How can I better understand the real presence? Where in the Old Testament does God prophecy that he was going to reveal himself as bread and wine?

38:00 – Does the bible lose its impact when it is translated?

45:59 – I’m not Catholic but I would like to be. Why would being divorced preclude me from becoming Catholic?

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Questions Covered:

13:00 – I grew up Catholic. I had an abortion as a young woman and was told it was no big deal. I felt guilt because of this. All my friends go to an evangelical Church. What church do I go to?

31:35 – I work in a prison and some of the guards were playing with consecrated hosts that fell out of the tabernacle. I have the hosts now, what do I do with them?

36:22 – I’m thinking of converting. Where in the Bible does it say that Mary was assumed into heaven? And where does it say that she was born without original sin? Why go to a priest to confess?

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Open Forum – Questions Covered:

05:54 – Is Redemptionis Sacramentum, especially regarding the role of extraordinary ministers of holy communion?

16:11 – Does the Church recognize the existence of ghosts, and can they cross over from the afterlife to earth?

23:02 – Do Catholics have to believe in the historical existence of Adam and Eve?

31:49 – I’m not Catholic. Can I participate in Ash Wednesday and receive the ashes?

34:02 – What is the difference between being one of the elect and the doctrine of eternal security?

44:16 – Can we have efficacious prayer if we are in the state of venial or mortal sin?

48:55 – My protestant teacher said that Catholics were wrong and bad during the time of Martin Luther. How do I respond?

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Open Forum – Questions Covered:

05:18 – When we’re in heaven will we focus on our life on earth? Do you have book recommendations?

10:47 – Why do we confess our sins to a priest and not directly to God?

17:11 – If Jesus was all man and all divine. Could he have looked at God and not died?

20:26 – In my parish, in our intentions, we pray for those who don’t believe in Christ. Who are we praying for and why are they separate intentions?

29:10 – What is the bible evidence for purgatory?

34:40 – I have protestants claim that the Council of Rome in 382 AD under Pope Damasus I. Did actually happen because there is no evidence. How do I refute this?

44:51 – Was Mary resurrected at her death? Is this in the bible?

51:30 – How do I reconcile between God being totally sufficient but Jesus thirsting for us and us adding something to him?

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Questions Covered:

04:25 – What is satanic music? Is that even a thing? What are the characteristics?

12:58 – Who are the two witnesses in Revelation 11?

17:20 – If a Hindu friend offers to pray for you, should you ask them not to since they’re praying to demons?

21:13 – In the Gospel of Mark, when the woman touches Jesus’ robe and he asks who touched it, that doesn’t make sense to me because he should know. What’s going on there?

28:56 – Why are things related to the Pope called “papal” but he’s not called the Pape? Or why aren’t they called “popal?”

34:35 – After the flood, how did the one family left multiply the human race again?

43:43 – Why is it that if you go to hell, something bad will happen to you? Why would the devil torture me when I’m doing exactly what he wanted me to do?

49:02 – When Jesus calls the apostles, they all seem to drop everything and follow him even though they don’t know him. Did God the Father actually draw them to him, as Jesus says must happen?

51:27 – When Jesus tells Pilate that he wouldn’t have power over him unless it was given from above, was he referring to God?

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Questions Covered:

05:00 – Where is the Garden of Eden?

06:56 – Why, if Scripture seems to make it clear that some individuals are in hell, doesn’t the Church officially condemn them?

17:11 – Have any of the popes ever had military jurisdiction, and if so, why?

29:24 – Can a Catholic be a sponsor for a Lutheran going through Confirmation?

33:07 – St. John Chrysostom said in a homily on Matthew 16 that Jesus said he’d build his Church on Peter’s confession of faith, which seems to agree with Protestants arguing against the papacy. What do you think of that?

38:29 – Why did Jesus pick Judas if he knew what Judas was going to do?

47:37 – What does the Bible mean when it says God hates certain people like Esau?

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Open Forum – Questions Covered:

04:11 – Were gospels written to try and make Romans, especially Pilot, look good? I watched a show that made this claim.

10:33 – Does the grace of the Divine Mercy Chaplet that I pray for my relatives reduce if I include others?

15:34 – I’ve heard that scientists that study the universe are finding evidence that the earth might be the center of the universe. What are your thoughts on this?

19:46 – I know my faith pretty well and have been doing bible study with Jehovah’s Witness. I also go to Sabbath with my Jewish friends. Where is the line when it comes to praying with other faiths?

29:31 – I’m Catholic and my wife is agnostic. My priest pressed me about her converting. He got upset with my response and denied me absolution. Can you give me some clarity with this situation? Am I going to hell for this? It felt very judgmental

42:56 – Is there any theology on why Jesus came to earth in the time that he did?

47:14 – What causes Jesus’ different reactions in 4th and 8th stations of the cross?

51:10 – Psalm 110:7 What does this line mean?

52:45 – Was Mary Magdalene the sister of Martha?

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