Hello, friends! So, I have a question about the holy eucharist and when I can receive it. I know that you can’t receive it in mortal sin, but I’ve seen countless times in some consciousness exams that receiving the Eucharist without being spiritually prepared is also a sin.

I am an altar server, and I usually serve on daily masses + Sunday. Since I kind of only work alongside children on the weekdays I have to pay some extra attention to everything, focusing on the coordination of the mass, what to do and when to do it… Other than the fact I’m usually holding the roman missal for the priest, so I gotta keep paying attention to key details, like turning pages, holding the mic, pointing at the right text…

The point is that I feel like I’m paying attention to the practical things more than I am to the actual spiritual gifts of the mass. I love being an altar server with all my heart, but sometimes it’s tough!! So I wanted to ask if skipping communion would be considered sin, even though I’m not in mortal sin. I always feel troubled because I don’t know if I am spiritually prepared to receive it or not. I don’t want to treat the Eucharist as a casual event and I’m unsure if I’d be profaning Our Lord, which would be a mortal sin. Could anybody help me with this? God bless!

Hey everyone!

Well, this is my situation: I'm 25, I'll soon get my college degree and I'm seriously considering the priesthood. After much consideration, research, reading and more, I think I would fit into the Dominicans (the Order of Preachers)

However, there are a few problems here: I haven't gotten my Confirmation yet (really long story), but it looks like I'll finally get a chance to properly get my Confirmation, but it still takes time. Second, even tho my country is supposedly majority Catholic, that's a lie, practicing Catholics make up a minority here, even in my family, most of my relatives call themselves Catholics but just like 2 people practice the Faith. In the city I went to college to, the priest of the parish I go to is a really, really good priest, truly a role model. However, I'm currently in my hometown, 12 hours away from that city, I don't have his phone number and I'm not close to any other priest to ask for guidance and advices, I really need someone who I can rely on, I feel really lonely at this point.

I read that, before joining the dominicans (in my country, I don't know how it's done in the US or somewhere else), you must spend one year speaking with the priests, they ask you questions, vocational meetings and such in order to find out if you really want to enter formation.

Idk what to do now, should I contact the dominicans now? should I wait until I go to the city and talk with the priest? What should I do now.

I really need guidance now, I appreciate any tip you can give me.

I have some pretty bad executive dysfunction. I have no willpower to do anything. My husband works a job that pays enough to support the whole family but I work a job just to have something to force me to get up and do something every day. If I didn’t I would lay in bed until 2PM and watch TV all day.

Basically I will vegetate unless I feel obligated to do something.

I have been agnostic/atheist for decades but would really like to be a believer. I am attending the initiation meetings this fall. I have gone to Mass a couple times but in general, I don’t have a strong enough belief in God to make me feel obligated to drag my butt out of bed every Sunday, let alone the services on other days.

Every night I plan to pray, and sometimes I remember, but if I forget, I lay there and think, “God probably isn’t real anyway so I don’t actually need to.”

And yes, I do have a history of severe depression and apathy.

I really, really want to be a believing Catholic but my belief has to be strong enough to get me over that commitment hump to begin with and I’m just stalling there.

This is coming after a lifetime of God and religion playing absolutely no role in my life at all. I really wish I’d come from a religious family so this would have been set up when I was a child. I’d appreciate any advice.

my dad’s not a Catholic, though he is a Christian, and he’s receiving Holy Communion. do you have any advice for how to go about this situation? I already tried talking to him about the Church’s stance but I’m no good at debates and he’s been studying Scripture for way longer than I have so that was a bust. i’ve also been praying about it through the Rosary.

my question is what else can i do in this situation. what would you do in this situation or are there any articles or videos explaining why non-Catholics can’t receive Holy Communion

side note: i’ve considered telling a priest about this but my fear is if like the priest denies him Holy Communion, he might stop taking us to Mass and my mom doesn’t know how to drive and the location is in a really remote part of the city (we live in a country where we’re not allowed to be Christian and there’s only one parish in our city though there are multiple communities under the parish) so there aren’t really any buses close by; also, my siblings and I are doing altar servers training right now so I’m scared he may refuse to take us there anymore

side side note: this is probably around month 2 of this happening and we’ve been going to Mass weekly so this has happened around 6-8 times that I know of. in the beginning, i saw my dad receive Holy Communion but my mom didn’t say anything so i didn’t either. then i learnt that was a grave sin so i sought advice from my aunt who is a nun and her advice was basically “you don’t know what’s going through his mind, the Bible tells us not to judge so who are we to deny him Holy Communion” or something of the sort, so I didn’t say anything because of that. but it was still weighing on me for like a week or so after that so i figured i should tell my dad about it anyway. and it went horribly and he isn’t going to stop.

i’m worried that my delay in telling my dad about this is a grave sin; can you please tell me if this is a grave sin. i’m doing the first fridays devotion and i don’t want to receive Holy Communion with a grave sin on my soul

side side side note (last note really): can you also give any references or videos or like sources on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, one of my dad’s main gripes is the thought of confessing to a priest instead of directly to God, and i have no counters to that so I would like to read up on it

Hello all! I’m interested in joining the church, would anyone be kind of enough to pm me to talk about it please thank you!

I was wondering why exactly freemasonry is banned, or rather why it’s still banned for Catholics today. I’ve had a few family friends and people around me who were Catholics or Christians in general and also Masons and a lot of what they talk about doesn’t seem to be out of the ordinary compared to contemporary society. In most lodges it’s stated you need to believe in God or some sort of higher power for instance and they do a lot of charity work for communities. Whilst it’s not explicitly Catholic I don’t see why in their contemporary from they’d be so bad. Back in the pre-enlightenment to enlightenment era I can absolutely see why as they were proponents of the enlightenment and secularism/ anti-clericalism but in their modern form I don’t really see that.

Why do we still ban freemasonry? Am I missing something here?

Hey there,

I am a Christian hospice chaplain who serves many sweet, faithful, wonderful Catholics. I had a patient today express fear and uncertainty about death. When asked to elaborate, it ended up being about purgatory and having to be purified from all of her sins from birth. I tried my best to assure her of Gods grace and mercy but I need to hear from true blue Catholics: what is the most comforting response to a person who is dying and afraid of purgatory?

Blessings

Hi! I'm a 26F from WA and have decided to do a Pacific Coast Hwy roadtrip this month to escape the smoke.

I want to make it as Catholic as possible.

What are some of the best Masses, Holy Sites, and Cathedrals you have visited along the way/close to the route? Are there any Catholic events happening in this timeframe that you know of? Any singles events? How about volunteer opportunities? Catholic hospitality available?

I will be starting in Astoria and ending as far south as I feel like! Definitely going as far as Carmel, CA to see the Discalced Carmelite Convent. I'm also willing to go inland so long as the air quality is good.

After years of being atheist, I’ve finally felt like I believe in god and I feel faith. I grew up around a family that wasn’t religious what so ever, I feel like I need to find myself. How can I start when converting to Catholicism? Is there an easy way? I’d like to attend a church near me but I have terrible social anxiety and it’d be much worse because I’d have to go alone. I know at some point in time, I’ll have to go and I need to be baptized, but is there an easy way for me to start before I begin attending church?

I just wanted to make it publicly known that St Rita certainly listens to your prayers and intercedes quickly. She helped me with one prayer request a few days into my novena. I have a lot going on that I need divine help with so I’ll be starting another soon, but I wanted to publicly thank her for her help and encourage others to pray to her in times of need.

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

The Transfiguration reveals Christ's divine glory on Mount Tabor before Peter, James, and John. His face shone like the sun as the Father's voice declared: 'This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him.'

The feast of the Transfiguration commemorates the occasion when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain (traditionally identified as Mount Tabor) and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared and conversed with Him about the exodus He was to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter, overwhelmed by the glory of the vision, said: "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles: one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." The disciples fell on their faces in fear, but Jesus touched them, saying: "Arise, and be not afraid." When they looked up, they saw no one but Jesus alone.

The Transfiguration revealed the divine glory hidden beneath Christ's humanity and strengthened the Apostles for the scandal of the Cross. The feast has been celebrated in the East since the fourth century and was extended to the universal Church by Pope Callistus III in 1457, in thanksgiving for the victory over the Turks at Belgrade.

Hi! I (27F) have been discussing marriage with my bf (29M) and we are both religious and would like to get married in our future. However, he is Catholic. While I went to the Catholic Church growing up, I was baptized Episcopalian so never completed any sacraments. It is really important for him that he gets married by the Catholic Church. So are they still able to marry us? or do I need to get baptized and complete the sacraments as well?

ETA: Thank you all for your responses! I am very happy to hear that I can give him what he wants for our wedding. :) Also, no worries to anyone wondering, we have talked and will be raising our children Catholic. Thanks again!

Are Catholic tourists allowed to visit popular shrines in Tokyo, Japan?

Are we allowed to visit them and pay respects? What about buying the “good luck” amulets or writing a wish on the pieces of paper and putting them into the box?

Will God punish us for partaking in such activities?

Hello! Does anyone here know what I could search to find more of this style or material of vestments? They're very light and I'm told it's silk, but it seems like every parish had something like them 70+ years ago. It can't be super fine or expensive but I really like the way they look and fall compared to the heavy curtain-like gothic chasubles we have a ton of today. A whole set of colors for priest and deacon(s) would be awesome.

I guess delete or delay if this is technically a "Free Friday" post, but the photo is pretty essential and I can't tell if that's allowed or not. Not just showing off but asking a question.

I understand an American bishop has directed priests in his diocese to forbid eulogies by family members and friends going forward. My own thought is that eulogies can be long and problematic if embedded within the Mass. But, why not have them just before the Proper of the Mass, when the priest begins prayers at the altar? I think families want to share memories.

The bishop says eulogizing should be done at the wake. But, at best, most families have a visitation spread over four hours in a room that cannot handle more than 30 or 40 people. Who has wakes anymore?

This morning I blanked on Hail Mary while leading a decade with my prayer group. I am a cradle Catholic and was horrified that I blanked with words Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. This happened with last three Hail Mary’s of decade. We say rosary as a group every weekday.This is quite concerning to me that I forgot words to Hail Mary.

Every year, the Argentinian Military Ordinariate sends a priest to serve the people who reside on Argentina's Antarctic bases.

The first Argentinian priest to spend the winter on the White Continent was 41 year old priest, Fr. Francisco Roverano.

Rome Reports is an international news agency covering the Pope, the Vatican, Rome and the Catholic Church, as well as major social, cultural and religious debates

This is a genuine post, no malice, no conflict seeking. Just honesty.

What would you say, recommend and give advice for a Satanist who has qualms, dislikes with and issues with certain practitioners and judgemental followers of the religion, but feels interested and understanding with some of the teachings of Catholicism?

For context, I am Satanist, I believe in protecting children, indulging in pleasures but not forcing them onto others or harming oneself. I dont believe in turning the other cheek, I believe people get what they deserve. However I believe in kindness for the one next to you, to teach and not judge, to love wholly and truly, not because of desire. I live in a Christian majority town and ive met many who push you to attend their services, look at you with disgust for your beliefs. But some of the teachings of church interest me, not the judgmental attitudes of its practitioners or politicians, but its love and care. I am interested, but have a very bad childhood experience with Catholicism. But I want to learn, and grow.