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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 15, Number 5
 May/June 2004 
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We Are Not to Judge but to Pray
Q: Can I have a Mass said for the repose of the soul of my Protestant friend? And what happens to my prayers if he’s in heaven already or, God forbid, hell?
A: You can, and should, have a Mass said for your Protestant friend, or anyone for that matter.
If the one we are praying for is in heaven, he is not in need of our prayers. If he is in hell, no prayer can benefit him. But because the Church does not presume to know if any particular soul is damned, we are not to judge but to pray. The rest is up to God. Only God judges the heart (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7).
Q: Why is it that Anglo-Catholics (or Anglicans and others who are considered Catholic) who observe the Eucharist cannot receive Communion at a Roman Catholic Mass? What is required in order to do so?
A: Anglo-Catholics may consider themselves Catholics, but the Catholic Church does not. This isn’t a matter of snobbery; it is simply a matter of the Catholic Church remaining consistent with what it has taught and believed for over 2,000 years.
In the Anglican communion, it remains legitimate to believe that the sacrament is merely a symbol of Christ’s body and blood. Further, if one has not received valid orders, he cannot confect a valid consecration, and thus there is no Eucharist. Because of this and other theological differences in the way we understand the Eucharist, the Catholic Church has not normally allowed intercommunion with Anglicans. The Eucharist cannot honestly signify unity until that unity exists.
Q: Is it true that ten days were lost to the world after Teresa of Avila died?
A: In a manner of speaking, yes. Teresa of Avila, the reformer of the Carmelite order and cofounder with John of the Cross of the Discalced Carmelites, died on October 4, 1582. Due to the reform of the calendar by Pope Gregory XIII (reigned 1572–1585), the ten days counted from October 5 to October 14, 1582, were dropped. Thus, the day after Teresa died was not October 5 but October 15. October 15 is her feast day on the liturgical calendar.
While this bit of saintly trivia can be amusing to drop on unsuspecting fellow Catholics at the next coffee-and-doughnut social after Sunday Mass, rest assured that the "lost days" were not dropped from the calendar because of Teresa’s death. They simply happened to coincide with her death.
Q: If there is no salvation outside the Church, then what relationship does Christ’s sacrifice on the cross have with those who sincerely believe in a false religion and die having never entered the Church?
A: Remember that Jesus said from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). What did his sacrifice on the cross have to do with those who mocked him, spit at him, and crucified him? In other words, what did it have to do with those for whom he was asking forgiveness from God the Father? The answer is: everything. For some, it was through ignorance that they crucified him, and invincible ignorance can diminish one’s culpability for evil done—even the crucifixion of our Savior. They still could be saved, or Jesus’ plea for their forgiveness to the Father would make no sense. Whoever enters heaven will do so only because of Christ and his sacrificial work on the cross. Some people may enter heaven having never heard of Christ, but it will be because of him that they enter.
Q: On your web site you suggest that the expressions from the Nicene Creed "and the Son" and "through the Son" mean the same thing. How do you explain this?
A: As stated at our site, "These expressions mean the same thing because everything the Son has is from the Father. The proceeding of the Spirit from the Son is something the Son himself received from the Father. The procession of the Spirit is therefore ultimately rooted in the Father but goes through the Son" (www.catholic.com/library/filioque.asp).
The Trinity is our ultimate model in the self-donation John Paul II speaks of as necessary in personal relationships. Just as the Son receives all that he has from the Father, so the Father gives all that he has to the Son. That means that, although he is rooted in the Father, it can be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son because the Son receives the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father.
"And the Son" and "through the Son" are slightly different ways of expressing the same reality: The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son because the Holy Spirit is rooted in the Father and directed by the Father through the Son.
Q: Why wasn’t the Catholic Church established five thousand, three thousand, or even 2,500 years ago?
A: God worked out his plan of salvation to the minutest detail. He knew the precise moment that the Church must be established in order to accomplish the mission he entrusted to it. We might speculate about possible reasons that made the chosen moment opportune. For example, at the time of Christ’s birth there was a single world empire (the Roman Empire), there was a common language (Greek), the Romans established a network of roads for travel and trade, and it was a time of peace. From a human perspective, at no time before or since were conditions so conducive for the spread of the gospel. But in the end we must trust that God, in his infinite wisdom, chose the best possible moment for his Incarnation and the establishment of his Church (cf. Gal. 4:4–5).
Q: Does the phrase "sins of the father" mean that the spiritual or emotional burdens of previous generations, unknown to the recipient, can be passed down to succeeding generations?
A: No one can pass down to others their personal sins. We say that the original sin of Adam and Eve is passed down through the generations, but original sin is not the actual fault of the recipient. Rather, its effect is the privation of grace and the loss of original innocence that our first parents had.
Likewise, one can pass the effects of one’s sins through generations. Let’s say that someone is an alcoholic. His original choice to abuse alcohol could have disastrous effects on his family that can last for generations, including influencing his children and grandchildren to abuse alcohol. This is not because they are guilty of their father’s sin but because dependency on alcohol is the only way they learned to deal with problems. In that way one can say that the sin of the father has been passed down through generations. It is not the actual fault that is passed down but the consequences of the original sinful choice.
Q: My sister is a massage therapist who works with people whose bodies have been traumatized by car accidents or other serious injuries. In addition to massage, she says she prays over them and moves around their energy fields. Does the Church allow this kind of thing?
A: It is fine, and even meritorious, for a massage therapist to pray for her patients. But she should be prudent if she wishes to do so in a way that is obvious to her patient, such as praying aloud. Asking the patient’s permission would seem appropriate. The claim that a person has an inner energy that must be manipulated for healing to occur is a New Age idea that must be rejected.
Q: If seven is the symbol of perfection, why do we not receive all seven sacraments?
A: Seven is a symbol of perfection in biblical numerology, and the fact that there are seven sacraments may symbolize the perfection of God’s grace offered to mankind collectively through the work of Christ on the cross. Nonetheless, it is not necessary for individuals to receive all seven sacraments. Some of the sacraments, particularly the vocational sacraments of holy orders and matrimony, are meant to empower or strengthen the individual in his state of life. He does not need sacraments that do not pertain to his individual vocation.
Q: Can absolution be withheld from a murderer until he agrees to give himself up to authorities?
A: Absolutely not. A priest may withhold absolution from a murderer if he has reason to believe that the penitent is insincere. He also may assign the penitent to atone for his sin by helping those he has harmed, anonymously if necessary. For example, if the victim was a husband and father, the priest may direct the penitent to contribute to the support of the widow and children. In order to avoid revealing the murderer’s identity, the support may be given through the mediation of the parish’s charitable funds. The priest also may encourage the penitent to turn himself in to authorities. But he may not condition absolution upon the murderer’s confession to civil authorities. No one—not even the priest—can require an action that would reveal to outsiders the contents of his sacramental confession and thus violate the seal of the confessional.
Q: In our parish, those who are not able to receive the Eucharist are invited to come up in the communion procession and receive a blessing. Since we have several extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, it is usually they who give the blessing. Is this correct?
A: There are certain cases in which a lay person may give a blessing. The general introduction to the Book of Blessings, n. 18 states: "Other laymen and laywomen, in virtue of the universal priesthood, a dignity they possess because of their baptism and confirmation, may celebrate certain blessings, as indicated in the respective orders of blessings, by use of the rites and formularies designated for a lay minister."
In the rubrics for the distribution of Holy Communion to the sick by extraordinary ministers, the minister may not bless the sick person but only may make the sign of the cross over himself and ask for a blessing upon both of them.
Based on these statements, the practice of extraordinary ministers giving blessings during Holy Communion does not appear to be in keeping with Church law.
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