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Q u i c k Q u e s t i o n s
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This Rock
Volume 13, Number 5
 May-June 2002 
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Books for the Intelligent Skeptic
Q: What books, magazines, or other materials would you recommend for a highly intelligent college science student who was raised Catholic but is doubting the existence of God, the authority of the Bible, et cetera?
A: The following books would be good: Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli; The Creation Hypothesis edited by J. P. Moreland; Scaling the Secular City by J. P. Moreland; The Verdict of History by Gary Habermas; The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg; and Mere Christianity and Miracles, both by C. S. Lewis.
Q: How often can you receive Communion at Mass on the same day?
A: The Code of Canon Law (canon 917) allows you to receive Communion up to two times in one day. The first time you receive Communion may be at a Mass at which one is assisting (worshiping) or it may be at a Mass where you happen to be in the church at Communion time or it may be outside of a Mass (e.g., at a Communion service). However, the second time you receive Communion it must be at a Mass at which you are assisting (worshiping).
Q: What is the difference between secular priests and religious priests?
A: Secular—or better, diocesan—priests are priests who are ordained for a particular diocese and who serve ordinarily in parishes. This is their main work, although some are engaged in other ministries as well. At their ordination as deacons they incardinate (affiliate) with a particular diocese or archdiocese. At this time they make a promise to obey their bishop and, in the Western Church, to remain celibate.
Religious priests are not necessarily more spiritual than diocesan priests. The word refers in this case to the form of life these priests live. All men and women who make public vows in a religious order are called religious. It means that by their vows of poverty, celibate chastity, and obedience, their lives are oriented in a special way to the virtue of religion so that all they do becomes a continual act of the worship of God.
This is true of all religious, sisters and brothers as well as priests. Ordinarily they live and pray in community. Many of them wear a religious habit. Often they are engaged in a specialized form of ministry.
Q: Some of us Catholic have been doing apologetics on an Internet forum and have been successful in explaining that Mary and Joseph did not have conjugal relations. However, I’ve got myself into trouble over the fact that today the Church would say that is not a valid marriage and Scripture does say that Mary and Joseph were married. How do we resolve this?
A: The first of the two premises—that the Church would say Mary and Joseph did not have a valid marriage—is false. This objection has been dealt with a long time ago. Thomas Aquinas considers it in the Summa Theologiae (cf. ST III:29:2). Basically, a marriage is valid as long as the two parties exchange valid matrimonial consent, which involves the exchange of a right to marital congress with the spouse. The intent to exercise that right is not required for the consent to be valid. Therefore, according to the standard account, the marriage between Mary and Joseph was valid because the right was exchanged even though it was not intended by the parties to be used. There have been parallel cases down through history, and these are known as "Josephite" marriages, after St. Joseph.
Q: I am curious exactly what your definition of Fundamentalist means. Do you define it to mean any Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Protestant) who does not adhere or belong to Catholicism? I find the term Fundamentalist pejorative. When non-Christians use it, it usually signifies any one who is legalistic, takes the Bible literally, or is a complete moron.
A: We use the term Fundamentalist to refer to that group of Protestants who apply the term to themselves. It is not meant to be pejorative. This group tends to be more anti-Catholic than other groups, so it gets more attention from us than other groups, who generally are discussed in proportion to the frequency and intensity of their attacks on the Catholic Church. Evangelicals, mainline Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox do not count as Fundamentalists for the simple reason that they do not use the term for themselves.
Q: How should one explain to a Protestant why it was necessary for Mary to be conceived without original sin but that it does not naturally follow that her parents (Anne and Joachim) would have also had to be immaculate?
A: Original sin is the deprivation of sanctifying grace. In the present condition of the human race, we cannot function properly if we have been conceived with original sin. Being conceived in this way damages the person such that they are born with a fallen nature. This damage is known as the stain (Latin, macula) of original sin.
To cause Mary to be born without original sin and its stain (i.e., immaculate), God infused sanctifying grace into her soul at the moment of her conception. Mary was given the special privilege of being conceived without original sin (with sanctifying grace) and without the damage or stain such a conception causes. This was done to equip her with the graces needed to make her a fit Mother for the Redeemer and for the Church.
Mary’s preservation from original sin was accomplished in anticipation of her Son’s redemptive work. Therefore, Jesus is also Mary’s Savior. Because of what he would do on the cross, this grace was given to her early. The gracious character of this blessing is also the reason that Anne and Joachim did not need to have it: It was a grace God could give to anyone at any time. He chose to give it to Mary to make her a fitting mother for his Son.
This grace was not given to Anne and Joachim because it was not fitting for them to have the same precise graces as Christ’s own mother, who bore him in her womb. No doubt they were very blessed in many ways, but not as blessed as their daughter.
Q: Why do some Protestant denominations not consider Catholics to be Christians? How do you refute someone who tells you this?
A: The confusion is cased by the fact that different groups define the term Christian differently. A Catholic would define a Christian as anyone who professes faith in Christ and who has been validly baptized (water baptism).
Many Protestants do not use the term Christian in this way. Different denominations have different criteria for determining who is a Christian—e.g., Christians are those who have "accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior" or those who profess to be saved "by faith alone." Since Catholics don’t generally use this language, they classify Catholics as non-Christians (though many are willing to concede that some Catholics are Christians even though they don’t use this language).
For those who approach you with this issue, point out several things to them: (1) Catholics are Christians; (2) the Catholic Church is the Church Jesus started and which he said would never pass away (Matt. 16:18); (3) when Scripture speaks of Christians it speaks of every church member as a Christian, no matter what his "walk with God" may be like; and (4) Christians throughout history have always recognized baptism as the method by which one becomes a Christian. It was not until after the Protestant Reformation was underway that people denied this.
Q: What is the proper crucifix to have or to wear? I was told that a cross is not the same as a crucifix. I was told also that a cross represents that Jesus has risen and is proper to wear.
A: Some Protestants suggest that because Catholics often depict Jesus on the cross it means that they believe he has not risen. This is, of course, nonsense. Catholics are adamant about the resurrection of Christ. That’s why it is written into the creed that we say every Sunday.
Depicting the cross bare is not an especially good symbol of the resurrection since the cross probably never stood bare. When Jesus was taken down from it, the crossbeam that his arms were nailed to was probably removed. It is doubtful that after he rose from the dead anyone bothered putting the crossbeam back up.
From a Catholic perspective there is little theological significance for items of personal jewelry whether or not the cross is bare. In a wide variety of art forms, Christians throughout the ages have depicted both Jesus on the cross and the bare cross depending not on theological considerations but on other factors, such as whether the medium they were working in could accommodate the human form easily and whether they had the artistic skill or craftsmanship to fashion a corpus.
Traditionally there has been a preference for showing the corpus when possible, as this is a more vivid reminder of the crucifixion (the crucifixion is the whole point of a cross, after all). However, this is not a theological mandate.
Bottom line: Wear whichever one you prefer. (Though know that most people will identify you as a Catholic if you wear one with a corpus.)
Q: My sister-in-law left the Catholic Church about ten years ago and joined the Jehovah Witnesses. Her "incoming threat" radar is turned to absolute maximum, and any slight religious comment is interpreted as a major incoming ballistic missile attack. She also won’t accept religious literature. Is her soul in trouble? How can I love her back to the Church?
A: Many times it is not possible to evangelize a relative directly. Jesus himself pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country and among his own people and his own household (Matt. 13:57). If she will not take religious literature and responds badly to religious discussions then the best thing you can do is pray for her and love her and refrain from doing things that antagonize her.
This does not mean that one should capitulate to Jehovah’s Witnesses sensibilities. I wouldn’t take a crucifix off my wall or anything like that. If she wants you to accept her the way she is, she needs to accept you the way you are. Be a loving Catholic role model for her, pray, and by God’s grace things may turn around.
Regarding her soul, there may well be danger there. We cannot see her heart, and what you should do is simply be a loving brother for her and entrust the care of her soul to God. He works miracles.
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