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Why can’t I have financial success?
Dear Father: My husband and I have been married for 14 years and have three children together. We both work (him full time and me part time), but for as long as I can remember we have struggled financially. We never seem to really get…
When your job requires immoral work
Dear Father: My friend works for a company whose methods she says are rather dishonest. She’s really not comfortable with the way they tell her to serve customers. She would like to quit, but she’s afraid for her own financial situation and…
Do I need to confess the abuse I endured?
DEAR FATHER: Father, I have a question for you. A few years ago, my sister went to my 85-year-old mother and revealed a period of incestuous molestation that one of my brothers perpetuated against her, myself, and another sister. I have…
Ask Father: I’m feeling a “tug” to return to confession — can you answer some…
Question: I haven’t been to confession in many years. But I feel something is tugging at me to go. Do I have to confess every sin since my last confession? What about ones I no longer remember? Are priests really bound not to tell anyone…
When should parents have ‘the talk’ with their children?
Dear Father: I grew up in a family where my parents never talked about sex or other sensitive topics. I was left to figure things out on my own and learned about sex from kids at school. It was not the best moral education! I am now married…
Ask Father: Describe the difference between meditation and contemplation
Can you describe the difference between meditation and contemplation? I’ve heard those terms used interchangeably, but I don’t think that is correct. Can you help me understand the differences in these kinds of prayers? – Anonymous …
I doubt my faith. What should I do?
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…
I love being a Catholic
Dear Father, I have been silent all my life. I love God with all my heart and love being a Catholic, but have been very quiet about it. No more. I can’t afford to be quiet. I know I must be an evangelist, but I have no idea how. Do I pick a…
Helping non-practicing Catholics return
Dear Father: Several of my close relatives who were raised Catholic no longer practice the faith. Easter seems like a perfect opportunity to invite them back to the Church. How do I approach this delicate subject? If they agree to attend…
When did Jesus know he was God?
DEAR FATHER: I have a question that you probably don’t have an answer for, but I will give it a shot. History tells us that Jesus did not start preaching until he was in his early 30s. Do you know why he waited so long before he started…