As I grow older and experience more physical suffering and the deaths of loved ones, I feel that my faith is waning and not increasing. Sometimes I worry that there really is no afterlife and doubt God's existence amid the many trials I’ve…

When I was young, a Baptist girl friend told me if I accept Jesus as my personal savior, I am saved. However, the Baltimore Catechism answers I later memorized seemed to tell me that salvation is not that simple. I’m much older now, and I…

I have two questions. Was John the Baptist born without original sin? I don’t understand how a man with sin on his soul could baptize the Son of God. And my second question relates to the Virgin Mary. Did she die? Since death is a…

Why do we pray for the dead? And how do we pray for the dead? I think a lot about these questions and hope you can give me some insight. - S.P., Connecticut These are good questions, shared by many others, and they touch upon a long…

What is the meaning of tithing as taught by the Catholic Church? I understand it is a certain percentage of one’s earnings. If there is more than one wage-earner in the family, does the tithe apply to all income? To whom does the money go —…

What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on suicide? Do people who take their own lives go to hell? My son committed suicide. In the note he left, he said he was going to hell for this, but didn’t know what else to do. He made many mistakes,…

I recently heard a priest say that we should only do things like visit the sick or elderly and not do unnecessary work on Sundays. I can’t visit the sick or elderly every Sunday, and I feel better doing something rather than just sitting…

I am saddened when I see a large number of people leaving our parish church immediately after receiving Holy Communion. I always believed we were to stay until we received the final blessing. Am I wrong? P.O., Illinois You’re right; we…

I once heard a priest explain in a homily that the First Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3), means that we should not let ourselves become “possessed by our possessions.” That’s an interesting thought, but I find…

I've been confessing for 80 years,and now a new priest at our parish says I'm doing it wrong. I thought that I could go up to Pentecost to make my Easter confession, but he says that's not how he learned it. This priest also says I should…