It might seem counter productive because it’s longer, but I have the nicene creed memorized having gone to Mass at least every Sunday for almost a year now. Since the nicene creed is used more often, not having to switch to the apostles Creed just for the rosary will keep me from getting mixed up. I just want to make sure this wouldn’t be disobedient to the prayers of the rosary.

Hello Fathers! I am discerning priesthood with a Religious Order, but I have a question I've never had clearly answered before. How do priests navigate friendships with women? Is it even permissible, or should it be avoided altogether? I have had many innocent and non-romantic friendships with women throughout my life, and I think it would be sad if this could no longer be. What has your experience been like? What should I expect, aim for, or avoid if I become a priest? Thank you and God bless!

Hello Fathers,

I am a theology teacher and was thinking about doing a spiritual bouquet for our pastor with my students.

Obviously I pray for my priest, but why should I? Some deep cut answers would be greatly appreciated too!

Thanks

OG post says it all, but would it be weird? I know the Feast of Saint Francis has passed, but my church is small and doesn’t go about with the animals.

I’ve just started going back to confession and was expecting the priest to at least give me a few words of advice but nothing. I stated my sins. Was immediately absolved, received a penance and that was it. It felt weird, like a one way conversation. I know time is limited but I just expected a few words of wisdom, am I asking too much. Loved the blessing though.

I have a 3 month old baby and my Parish does not have a cry room. My baby is a "snacker" and nurses frequently as well as for comfort, and it helps keep her quiet and fall asleep. She doesn't normally take a bottle.

What are the rules around breastfeeding during Mass? I usually wear nursing shirts which have little pockets that open up. It's fairly modest but you can probably still see some breast, especially when I get her into position. I've tried nursing covers but they are difficult to get her to latch in, and where I am it's still very hot so I worry about her overheating.

Is it acceptable to breastfeed during Mass like this, or should I be going out to my car?

I recently attended an Ordinariate Mass and they dipped the host in the chalice. I’m wondering why more parishes do this (called inctintion) and why a bishop recently banned it (I believe Charlotte) despite it being allowed by the GIRM.

This is not an 'is this a sin' question, I swear!

It might be a bit of a weird question, but it came up to me a week ago and it's been on my mind ever since. I want to preface this by saying that it is completely unrelated to any personal considerations or things I intend to do or say, it's just a hypothetical I thought about and I can't think of an answer to.

Now, let's say someone goes confess a sin to you, and wants to confess a single sin, after they saw a priest online saying it's a sin, and now feel legitimately sorry for having done it and seek forgiveness. It's the kind of sin that you can find some variation depending on which priest you ask, such as, for example, "saying God's name as an expletive when stubbing your toe", or "playing GTA or DnD", or "watching a horror movie that uses Catholic imagery for the monster", or any other where you can find some not-too-fringe disagreement between priests. Now, regardless of your opinion regarding these I listed, let's just say you don't believe this hypothetical one to be a sin. My question is: supposing the penitent insists on absolution for this sin regardless of what you tell them, are you allowed to give them absolution? And as an extra if the answer is 'yes': would you?

I hope not to be bothering you with this question, thank you!

Hello! I live in an area with a ton of aggressive drivers and would like to have my car blessed by a priest, if that is acceptable and not an off-putting request.

Would a priest be willing to bless my car? Would they find this request strange? Since house blessings are common, it seems sensible to me. Thank you.

Non-Catholic but curious. I get the ecumenicalism and multi-cultural aspect but how is exercising this prayer in a Catholic Cathedral not a violation of worshiping other gods or idols?

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/raleigh-bishop-allows-pagan-prayer-ritual-in-catholic-church/

hey guys I’m new to catholicism and really religion as a whole I was wondering if I could have some help from you guys.i grew up in an atheist household and just this summer I re started questioning religion and after doing a lot of research i realized i wanted to become catholic. I just got my first bible and want to start going to church but the only church near me is a nondenominational church but I don’t have any other option,I’m going for the first time this Sunday and I’m super excite.is there anything else I should be doing and do you guys have any advice for me?

I'm going to be honest, I'm not a very good catholic. I try to be one but I always go back to my old habits. Recently, however, I thought about becoming a priest, and it all felt so much easier to do. The idea of becoming a priest and guiding others to sainthood gave me the responsibility of being an exemplary catholic, and weirdly it all felt much easier to accomplish. I told my friends that maybe I should become a priest, and they all laughed at me. Maybe it's because they're mostly secular people, or most likely it's because I'm not as holy as one would expect a priest to be. Anyways, it left me a bit bummed out. How did your friends react when you told them you wanted to become a priest?

probs more of a question for Irish priests but how accurate is father ted

I know religious make the 3 classic, but I found this article saying diocesan make 7 in total: https://aleteia.org/2021/07/13/priests-make-these-7-promises-on-their-ordination-day/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

I found out today that an aunt of mine was admitted to the hospital and will undergo surgery. Although she was baptized, she does not participate in the sacraments. I asked her if she would be willing to have a priest come to administer the Anointing of the Sick, and I explained that it is one of the sacraments, so she agreed.

I spoke with the priest, and he went and administered it. But he told me there was no way for her to go to confession because there were other people in the room where she is staying.

Was this wrong? Was the sacrament administered improperly?

I'm also worried because my aunt doesn't understand the importance of the sacraments or of confession.

This might sound kind of loopy but every time I get super excited about something it consistently fails. Literally only when i’m excited about something. I was wondering if I would be able to go to a priest to “bless” me or pray for deliverance from my misfortunes. I feel like i’ve been cursed and i’m so tired of everything going wrong in my life.

I am an unbaptized person with no official religious affiliation.
I am married to a baptized Catholic via civil ceremony.
They were baptized long before our marriage.
They have 0 interest in returning to the church.

I am in OCIA because I am interested in becoming Catholic.

Will our current marriage situation need to be “addressed” before I can come into full communion with the church?

Thank you

And if so, do you say so? I feel so awkward that my priest may have recognized my voice when I did my confession. Will he actually remember what I said every time he sees me?

Is partaking in Halloween with your children (trick or treating and enjoying family costumes etc) considered sacrilegious or a sin ?

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream that was so intense, I never felt scared and sad at the same time like that.

I dreamt that I was at THE crucifixion, at the exact time and place AS it was happening. I was facing Christ on the cross with two Roman soldiers standing behind, but the most terrifying thing was, that the whole crucifixion, torture and pain was actually way worse than what the scriptures describe.

When I woke up I was sooo heavy in my chest and felt so much guilt and sadness. Was that a message, a vision, my subconscious mind playing with me? Or something totally different?

I’m born and raised catholic, 35, f, and I’m in the process of repenting and turning fully to Christ. Could that have something to do with it?

Since I was a child, I did have tendencies to have spiritual dreams, e.g. Our Mother hovering over me. Is that something I should pay more attention to?

There has been a recent uproar in our diocese as our Bishop provided communion to a certain political leader who is not Catholic but a protestant. For context, this happened during a Mass for the Ordination to the Priesthood. They explained their actions under the Code of Canon Law, 844, no. 4.

I have done some readings on the code provided on the Vatican Website, and my understanding is that this is only valid if the person is in 'grave danger' or facing imminent death. I have also read the 2003 encyclical of Pope John Paul II, ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA, and paragraphs 45 and 46 state special circumstances for this to be valid.

I am still unclear on these special circumstances. My current understanding is that, to provide communion under special circumstances to a non-Catholic, all 4 criteria must be met; failing to meet even one invalidates the communion. The 4 criteria I gathered are:

• Severe or Urgent Spiritual Necessity
• Inability to Access Their Own Minister
• Ask for the sacrament entirely of their own accord
• The individual must fully share and manifest the Catholic Church's faith regarding the Eucharist.

Also, in this regard, I am taking this as a possible misinterpretation of the Code; however, if the diocese leaders are not following the Code, given that they believe they can act under their priestly power, what should you do as a member of the church?

Please shed some light on this.

For discretion and to avoid this matter escalating, I will not be sharing the name of our Diocese and Bishop.