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The gifts of understanding and wisdom

By Fr. William Saunders
Having pondered the gifts of fear of the Lord, piety, and knowledge, we proceed to the gifts of understanding and wisdom. Please remember that the quoted definitions are from Father Jordan Aumann’s Spiritual Theology. Understanding is a gift “to give a deeper insight and penetration of divine truths held by faith, not as a transitory […]
8/26/14
Reading Time 5 min

The gift of piety

By Fr. William Saunders
In the last issue, Straight Answers reflected on the gift of the Holy Spirit identified as fear of the Lord. Recall that fear of the Lord is a profound reverence for Almighty God, which motivates us to avoid sin and attachment to all created things. Here a person realizes his “creatureliness” and dependency upon God […]
7/16/14
Reading Time 4 min

Establish a personal relationship with God

By Mary Beth Bonacci
I’m a moral theologian – a law and order girl. I have always been intrigued by the question of the rich young man: “What must I do?” There is a real beauty to moral theology – a harmony that comes from living the way God wants us to, the way we were created to live. […]
7/15/14
Reading Time 4 min

‘Whoever has ears ought to hear’

By Fr. Robert Wagner
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples the parable of the sower and the seed, which He concludes with the following: “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Taken literally, the warning makes little sense. Can a man command his ears to hear, any more than he can command his nose to smell or his […]
7/8/14
Reading Time 3 min

The work at home

By Elizabeth Foss
As she bent to examine my child, the health professional, making small talk, asked what I do. “I’m a wife and the mother of nine children.” “She blogs,” piped the child helpfully. “You blog?” inquired the examiner. “What do you blog about?” “Catholic family life – mothering, cooking, cleaning, spirituality …” I faded, weakly watching […]
6/10/14
Reading Time 3 min

What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

By Fr. William Saunders
Q: I received the sacrament of confirmation as an adult this past Easter Vigil Mass in my parish. Although I know that I received the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, we never really discussed them in the RCIA class. Could you please explain them? – (Alexandria) A: As a pastor, I fear that many […]
6/4/14
Reading Time 4 min

Disposal of religious items

By Fr. William Saunders
Q: I understand that objects of devotion that have been blessed (such as palm branches, rosaries, crucifixes, etc.) should never be simply discarded in the trash, but should be disposed of by burying them or by burning them and then burying the ashes. Is this correct? – Via email A: As Catholics, we are accustomed […]
5/21/14
Reading Time 3 min

Editing our own genes?

By Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk
A number of serious diseases are known to occur because of defects or mutations in our DNA. Curing such diseases could in principle be carried out by rewriting the DNA to fix the mutated base pairs. Yet until recently, scientists have remained largely stymied in their attempts to directly modify genes in a living animal. […]
5/21/14
Reading Time 3 min

The departed are in God’s hands

By Mary Beth Bonacci
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about two friends who have died. One lived a difficult life and died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. I would appreciate your prayers for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his four children. The other died nearly 17 years ago. Although I still pray for the […]
4/9/14
Reading Time 4 min

How old was St. Joseph?

By Fr. William Saunders
Q: The celebration of St. Joseph’s feast day prompted me to ask: How old was St. Joseph when Jesus was born? Every year, I receive Christmas cards, and some depict him as a very old man and others as a young man. (Sterling) A: The simple answer is that we do not have any record […]
3/26/14
Reading Time 4 min

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