May the ambo be used for announcements before Mass begins?

Is it a sin to miss Sunday Mass, given the extreme pain? 

The use of altar bells during Mass is neither mandated by the church nor forbidden; it is an option but not an obligation, left to the discretion of the pastor.

How does one blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? 

Recently, Pope Francis signed a document with Muslim leaders about there being one world religion. How can that be? Some of my non-Catholic friends are accusing the pope of being out of line. What really happened? (Batesville, Ark.)

I’ll answer your second question first, because that’s the easier one: “Do Sundays count as part of Lent?” The clear answer is “Yes.” In the liturgical books of the church, the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends just before the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. In the Roman Missal, for example, March 10 this year (2019) was designated as the “First Sunday of Lent.”

I would say, “Wear the ashes all day.” 

Q. A good Protestant friend has asked me to be a witness at the wedding of her nephew in a Protestant church. Is a Catholic allowed to participate, taking a major role, in formal rites and rituals of non-Catholic churches? (City of origin withheld)

Q. In a recent column, you quoted Luke 24:39 (“Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”) Are we to believe from this that Our Lord is confirming the existence of ghosts? (Virginia Beach, Va.)