Dear Padre: Questions Catholics Ask Book

	Foreword	xiii
	Introduction	xv
1.	Advent and Christmas
	Introduction: The Meaning of Advent	1
	Why Advent?	3
	The Great Dogmas	4
	The O Antiphons	5
	What Are the Jesse Tree and the Giving Tree?	6
	The Christmas Tree	7
	The Twelve Days of Christmas	8
	What Do We Really Know About the Three Kings?	8
	The Visit of the Three Kings	10
	The Shopping Mania	11
2.	Angels
	Introduction: Angels: Messengers From God	13
	Angels: What Does the Church Teach About Angels?	13
	An Angel's Power	15
	Good Angels, Bad Angels	17
	Who Are the Archangels Michael, David, and Raphael?	19
	Who Is the Devil?	20
	The Devil's Power	22
3.	The Bible
	Introduction: Catholics and Sacred Scripture	24
	The Bible: God's Last Word?	25
	Why Is the Bible So Hard to Understand?	27
	Why So Many Versions of the Bible?	28
	How Should I Read the Bible?	30
	Is the Bible Just Myth?	31
	Can Scripture Set Me Free?	33
	Genesis: What Does It Mean?	35
	What Does Revelation Really Say?	37
	The Bible and Inclusivity	39
	What Is "Private" Revelation?	41
4.	The Blessed Mother
	Introduction: The Blessed Mother	42
	The Role of Mary	43
	Are Beliefs About Mary Bible-Based?	44
	Why Is Mary Called the Mother of God?	46
	Is Mary an Obstacle to Ecumenism?	47
	What Is Mary's Role Today?	48
	What Is "Popular Devotion" to Mary?	50
	Mary's Assumption	52
	"The Immaculate Conception Doesn't Seem Important"	53
	What Is the History of the Rosary?	55
	The Rosary: A Meditation on the Scriptures	57
	Mary's Tomb	59
5.	Catholic Beliefs
	Introduction: The Foundations of Catholic Beliefs	61
	Is Everything We Believe in the Bible?	62
	If It's Not in the Bible, How Do We Know It's Right?	63
	Bible or Church? Which Speaks God's Truth?	65
	Fundamentals and Fundamentalism: What Is the Difference?	66
	Are You Saved?	68
	Have You Been Saved?	70
	Do the Unbaptized Go to Heaven?	71
	Praying for the Dead	72
6.	Catholic Practices
	Introduction: Uniquely Catholic	74
	Stations of the Cross	74
	The Poor Souls	75
	Is Incense Out of Style?	76
	What Does Holy Water Do?	78
	Divine Mercy Sunday	80
	What Is an Indulgence?	81
	What Is Infallibility?	81
	Can the Pope Retire?	83
	Is Exorcism Back in Vogue?	84
	Excommunication	85
7.	Christian Living
	Introduction: What Is a Christian?	87
	Gifts of the Spirit	88
	Anger and Lust	88
	Suffering	89
	Any Sense in Suffering?	90
	Sexual Freedom and the Catholic Church	91
	What Is a Covenant?	93
	What Is a Vocation?	95
	Christians and Ecology	97
	Gossip	99
	What Is the Gospel of Prosperity?	100
	Sunday: Work or Rest?	102
8.	The Church
	Introduction: The Church Is a Sign of the Presence of God	104
	Do I Have to Join?	106
	The Heart of Vatican II	107
	What Happened to My Neighborhood Parish?	108
	The Deacons	110
	Deacons: Part Time or Full Time?	111
	What's the Church Calendar?	112
	What Is Appropriate Music for a Funeral?	114
	What About Anti-Catholic Literature?	116
	Who Are the "Old Catholics"?	118
9.	Confession and Sin
	Introduction: Jesus and Forgiveness	119
	How Does the Bible Define Sin?	120
	Is Evil for Real?	122
	What Is Original Sin?	123
	Is There Really an Unforgivable Sin?	125
	What Is the Difference Between Temptation and Sin?	127
	I Don't Like Confession!	128
	Too Young for Confession?	129
	Guilt and Forgiveness	130
10.	The Eucharist/Mass
	Introduction: The Second Vatican Council and the Eucharist	132
	Why Do We Call It "Mass"?	133
	Why Is Mass So Important?	134
	How Is the Mass a "Sacrifice"?	136
	Sunday Mass: Obligatory or Optional?	137
	Is Missing Sunday Mass Wrong?	139
	I Haven't Been to Mass in Twenty-Five Years	141
	What Is the Catholic Belief in the Real Presence?	143
	Eucharistic Adoration	145
	Dancing Before the Lord	146
11.	Faith
	Introduction: what Is Faith?	148
	Does God Love Me?	149
	My Faith, My Children	150
	They Won't Get the Baby Baptized!	151
	I Feel Spiritually Empty	153
	How Can I Deepen My Faith?	154
	How Can I Renew My Faith?	156
	I Want to Come Back to My Church!	158
	What Is True Worship?	159
	Five Facets of Holiness	161
	Deepening Faith	163
	How to Pray	164
12.	Jesus
	Introduction: Jesus, God, and Man	165
	Why Was Jesus Baptized?	166
	Was Jesus an Only Child?	168
	"Did Jesus Know That He Was God?"	170
	The Good Shepherd	171
	Seeing Jesus Now!	172
	The Heavenly Kingdom	174
	The Kingship of Jesus	175
	Why Did Jesus Visit Hell?	176
	What Happened to the Body of Jesus?	177
13.	The Last Days
	Introduction: A New Earth and a New Heaven	178
	What Is Christ's "Second Coming"?	179
	What Is "Eternal Life"?	181
	Is the End Near?	183
	My Fundamentalist Friends Insist That This Is the "End Time"	184
	End of the World	185
	The Last Judgment	186
	What Does the Church Teach About Heaven?	187
	Do Non-Christians Go to Heaven?	189
	Do Suicide Victims Go to Hell?	191
14.	Lent and Easter
	Introduction: Lent, the Popular Understanding	193
	What Is "Metanoia"?	194
	The History of Lent	195
	Why Do We Fast, Especially in Lent?	196
	What Makes Ash Wednesday So Special?	197
	Why Bless Palms on Palm/Passion Sunday?	198
	Holy Week's Special Place	200
	What Is the Triduum?	202
	Is Faith Based on an Empty Tomb?	203
15.	Marriage and Family Life
	Introduction: Jesus and Marriage	205
	Marriage: New and Old	206
	Divorce and Remarriage	207
	Good News About Marriage	208
	Annulments: Information Please?	210
	I'm Tempted to Be Unfaithful	212
	I'm Divorced, Can I Go to Communion?	213
	I'm Worried About My Teenagers	215
	Marrying a Non-Catholic	217
	Do We Have to Be Married in a Church?	218
	I Want My Spouse to Be Catholic!	219
	My Son Attends a Protestant Church!	221
	I Lost My Son	222
	In Need of a Miracle	224
16.	The Saints
	Introduction: Catholics and Saints	225
	How Are Saints Made?	226
	All Saints and All Souls	227
	Do Saints Ever Smile?	228
	Patron Saints	230
	Why Pray to the Saints?	231
	Are Catholic Statues the Same As "Graven Images"?	232
	Do the Saints Remember Us?	234
	Who Was Saint Valentine?	236
	Saint Joseph, Our Guardian	237
	Why Is Saint Joseph Called "the Worker"?	238
17.	General Questions
	Introduction: A Human Being Who Seeks God	240
	What Do the Stars Tell Us?	241
	Can Catholics Believe in Reincarnation?	242
	Organ Donors, Givers of Life	244
	Organ Donations	246
	Can Catholics Be Cremated?	247
	May Catholics Be Masons?	248
	Do I Need to Monitor Movies?	250
	Is Gambling a Sin?	251
18.	Appendices
	Glossary of Terms	253
	Different Translations of the Bible	266
	Authors Referenced	268
	Resources	269