Oct 8th - Mgr Tony Rogers is joined by Fr Stefan Park to answer this week's questions: 1) Why should we pray? Doesn’t God know all of our needs?  2) Why do we pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary? Surely it’s more effective to pray directly to God? 3) My child is asking me, why doesn’t Jesus just come back to earth? Wouldn’t he help sort out all the world’s problems and it would be easier for everyone to believe in him too. 4) How do you know which parts of the Bible are real facts and which are just stories that illustrate a point. For example, in the Book of Tobit do you think Sarah really married seven husbands before she met Tobias? 5) What’s the main message to take away from the Bible? 6) Why do miracles happen for some people and not others? 7) If Christianity is the true religion, why are there so many others?

Questions of Faith - 2021-10-15

Sister Gemma and Fr. Luke Goymour answer questions from listeners.

Questions of Faith - 2021-10-08

Mgr. Tony Rogers and Fr. Stefan Parc answer questions sent to Radio Maria.  A caller asks, "Why is Mary so important to Catholics?"

Questions of Faith - 2021-10-01

Sister Gemma Simmonds is joined by Radio Maria guest Fr Vladimir Felzmann. Fr Vlad is the Canary Wharf Multifaith Chaplaincy’s dedicated Catholic Chaplain. He is also Catholic Chaplain for sport, CEO of The John Paul II Foundation for Sport (which he launched in 2011) and is a trustee of The Passage, CaAPA and Genesis. Today's episode is a special for the Feast of St Therese of Lisieux. Fr Vlad and Sr Gemma look at how St Therese's 'Little Way' can help us to come closer to God in our everyday life - in particular looking at the virtues of faith and hope. 

Questions of Faith - 2021-08-20

Sister Gemma Simmonds and Fr. Luke Goymour answers questions from listeners and Radio Maria volunteers.

Send your questions to [email protected]

Questions of Faith - 2021-08-13

This week's Sr Gemma Simmonds and Fr Luke Goymour, tackles the following questions that we've received recently: 1) Where did people go after they died before Jesus sacrificed himself? 2) Can you negotiate with God, because Moses seems to be doing it a lot in our recent Mass readings?  3) God in the Old Testament sounds different depending on which prophet is speaking. How can we explain this? If it is God speaking through the prophet, surely he’ll be recognisable as the same person? 4) Jesus was meek and humble but also threw over the money-changer’s tables in the Temple. How can I know when my anger is justified? 5) Do you think just going to Sunday Mass gives me enough spiritual guidance in my life? What else can I do to find some direction? I want to pray more but sometimes I feel that I’m not getting very far with it. 6) How can we make an important decision in our life and be sure that it is God’s will? 7) How is it that God always existed? My mind can’t fathom it at all. And what was He doing before he made the world? 8) How can I forgive my spouse for things that hurt me a lot?

Questions of Faith - 2021-08-06

Mgr Tony Rogers and Fr Stefan Park of Clare Priory look at this week's questions: 1) How is the Orthodox Church different from the Catholic Church? 2) Some Christians from non-Catholic denominations think that we worship Our Lady. Or even if they accept that we ask her to intercede for us through prayer, they believe we are not allowed to as she's not alive. What can we say to that? 3) If a couple are unable to conceive, is their marriage relationship still licit? i.e. medical reasons, older in age. 4) Is it possible that we’ll have women priests one day? I’ve heard it’s not possible because the Church is the spouse of Christ and so this supposes that the one who stands in for Christ, the priest, is a man. Is this right? 5) Can people with learning difficulties become consecrated? 6) Moses never step foot in the promised land. Don’t you think God was being a bit harsh on Moses by only letting him see it? Wouldn’t it have been a good opportunity for God to show how forgiving he is? 7) We’re living through so much turmoil and the news is frequently full of floods, heatwaves and natural disasters – do you think we are in the end times? Or do you think God is just trying to wake us up?

Questions of Faith - 2021-07-30

Fr. Luke Goymour and Mgr. Tony Rogers are back answering questions.  2 young ladies also showed up to ask them about what angels look like and are there such things as Guardian Angels.  

Questions of Faith - 2021-07-23

Hosted today by Mgr Tony Rogers and Fr Luke Goymour, both parish priests in the diocese of East Anglia. Some serious questions today, delving deeper into the riches of the Catholic faith. 1) Everyone is talking about the Latin Mass this week and the Pope’s Muto Proprio ban/announcement. What has happened and why has the Pope done this? Does it affect all liturgy in Latin? 2) This week is the feast of St Mary Magdalen. Do we know whether she is the sister of Martha – the Mary who sat at the feet of the Lord? And who is the Mary who wiped the feet of Jesus? Part 2) Mary seems to have been a very popular name at the time of Jesus – what does the name mean? 3) As we’re probably going to be stuck in Britain all summer, are there any Catholic shrines we should make an effort to visit? Is there special grace attached to making such a trip? 4) Regarding exorcism, do bishops appoint enough exorcists. 5) Have we neglected the words of Jesus in recent centuries? 6) I’m always confessing the same things. Should I stop confessing them? How best can I get out of sin and bad habits? 6) What is temporal punishment? When I suffer, should I accept it as ‘punishment’? 7) Does the Church still believe in the existence purgatory and if yes, how long much time might we spend there? 8) The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that through Baptism laypeople participate in the mission of Christ as prophets, kings, and priests. What does it mean? What is the common priesthood? 9) Now it’s the sports season, it is OK to pray for your favourite team or player to win?

Questions of Faith - 2021-07-16

 Fr Sam is joined again by Fr Stefan Park of Clare Priory in Suffolk who was co-host in Mary. Together they tackle this week's questions: 1) After England lost to Italy last Sunday there was some bad behaviour from some of the British fans. Might this behaviour and the reaction suggest that football is fundamentally ‘ungodly’?  It seems to me that the emotions and commitment given to football support is a form of idolatry – what do you think?  And are there other forms of idolatry in Western Societies? 2) My husband and I are discussing getting rid of the TV because of the effect that it is having on our children. I also read that TV encourages football hooliganism. What does it mean for Christians to be in the world but not of it? 3) My friend says I shouldn’t have a statue of Buddha in the garden. Is that right? 4) I’ve lived abroad where people dress less provocatively. Do you think it matters what we wear? And what about the clothes were when they go to Church? At Mass on Sunday a woman was wearing a very scanty dress which I found distracting and inappropriate. On the continent they often have signs as one goes into the Church about not wearing shorts and covering one’s shoulders. Shouldn’t we have them here too? 5) In the Nicene Creed and in the Apostle’s Creed we say that we believe in the catholic Church but there is nothing in the Bible about a ‘Catholic’ Church.  In Acts 11:26 the followers of Christ were called ‘Christians’ and not ‘Catholics’ – where did this title come from? 6) Recently a Catholic Bishop in Switzerland gave communion to some Protestants and a Catholic Cardinal in Germany gave communion to Protestant clergy and I have heard that the same has happened here in England and in France. I thought that this wasn’t allowed?  Has the Church changed its teaching? 7) Is it true that the Catholic Church in the past prevented people from reading the Scriptures by burning Bibles it didn’t approve of and by chaining other Bibles to lecterns to prevent people from reading these?