Why do I need a relationship with Jesus to be happy? In the know with Father Joe How faith and happiness are first about embracing and maintaining a relationship with God Read More
I really don't understand the Trinity In the know with Father Joe The Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as a single majesty and power is a difficult, yet awe inspiring, mystery. Read More
How do I love someone I can’t stand? In the know with Father Joe Father Joe's step-by-step guide to figuring out how to love a co-worker you don't even like Read More
How can I help...? In the know with Father Joe How we can help those in mourning and those in need Read More
How can I help...? In the know with Father Joe Effective, prayerful ways to help struggling couples and priests who always seem harried. Read More
Will we become angels when we go to heaven? In the know with Father Joe This is such an important issue for all of us – death affects all of us indirect... Read More
How can I ‘do’ Lent better? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: Every year, Lent happens and I start off really hoping to mak... Read More
How do I talk to my kids about sin when they disagree with a lot of the Church’s teaching? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: My kids don’t always agree with the Church on some moral ... Read More
I feel so distracted at Mass In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: Sometimes, there are so many distractions at Mass that I can’t ... Read More
When we see design, we assume a designer In the know with Father Joe Q: Some of my Protestant friends insist the Genesis account is to be taken liter... Read More
Why is it still Easter? In the know with Father Joe The Easter season gives us time to ponder and celebrate following Jesus to heaven Read More
Should we baptize our grandchildren in the kitchen sink? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: My wife wants to baptize our grandkids in the kitchen sink. I thin... Read More
What does it really mean to be blessed? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: After a disaster, I hear people who were saved talking about... Read More
Is religion really the cause of all the world’s problems? In the know with Father Joe It’s great to get an opportunity to answer this question. It pops up a lot in va... Read More
Apologetics or Apologizing? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: Whenever I hear people talking about apologetics, I get confused. ... Read More
Did we do the wrong thing by cremating my dad? In the know with Father Joe Thanks for asking this – I have had a lot of people ask about this so I am going... Read More
How can I invite my family and friends back to church? In the know with Father Joe What a great question – it can be such a difficult thing to invite someone into ... Read More
Why is there so much violence in the world? In the know with Father Joe I write this article with a heavy heart. We live in violent times. Some will ... Read More
Do I really have to talk about Jesus? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: To be a good Christian witness, is it enough to be a good perso... Read More
Priest, pastor, nun, brother: How are these roles different? In the know with Father Joe These questions sure made me do some research! It’s funny, but I found that ther... Read More
What's the point of small faith-sharing groups? In the know with Father Joe All over the country, a movement is really taking shape in the form of small fai... Read More
How can I be a better Catholic? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I came into the Church last year, and I really want to be the best... Read More
What are our obligations to Planet Earth? In the know with Father Joe We begin by looking at animals and how our faith teaches us to treat them. In... Read More
Why should I go to Holy Week services? In the know with Father Joe I’m glad you asked that question: I know that, at first glance, the Holy Week sc... Read More
Should we send our kids to Catholic School? In the know with Father Joe Someone told me that, as Catholics, we are supposed to send our kids to Catholic... Read More
Are Catholic superstitions OK? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: Is it OK to pray for Notre Dame to win their football games? Af... Read More
Are there sins my pastor can't forgive? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: I read that, as part of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis is allo... Read More
A vocabulary lesson for Mass In the know with Father Joe GREETINGS IN CHRIST! This article is going to be a little different. The last fe... Read More
Do I have to believe everything the Pope says about the environment? In the know with Father Joe Q: Dear Father Joe: The pope’s new encyclical on the environment contains assert... Read More
Can you be anointed more than once? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: What is the difference between the sacrament of the sick and la... Read More
Social justice in this world In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: What exactly are the principles of social justice?The first princi... Read More
In the Know with Father Joe In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: My Father was sick and recently died. I was touched by how the ... Read More
What is RCIA? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: What is RCIA? I see and hear a lot about it at Church but I don’t... Read More
I don't think people at mass should dress 'like that' In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I’m appalled by some of the clothing I see at church on Sunday – e... Read More
Why do bad things happen to good people? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: So many good people I know have suffered horribly in the last m... Read More
What does the synod mean? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I keep reading conflicting things about the synod – some bloggers ... Read More
Why do I have to do all this for my kids’ religious ed? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: My parish expects parents to jump through a lot of ‘hoops’ in orde... Read More
Why are Christians being persecuted in the middle east? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I’m reading and hearing about all the horrible things happening to... Read More
Why should I believe in God? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: Why should I believe in God? Do you have proof he exists? ... Read More
What's the point of going to Church? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: I am spiritual, but I have a problem with organized religi... Read More
Why should I get married in the Church? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: My parents are demanding that my fiancée and I get married in t... Read More
Why can't Catholics be Masons? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: What is the Church’s teaching regarding being a member of a Fre... Read More
My parish closed AND I HATE THE CHANGES In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: My parish has merged with another one and everything is ch... Read More
Why is the word ‘catholic’ in the Methodist Creed? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: Why does it say ‘catholic’ in the middle of the Creed in the Me... Read More
Why should we pray to saints? Shouldn’t we go directly to God? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: My friends who are not Catholic say we should only pray to God ... Read More
I hear there is a new Anglican rite, along with married priests. How does this work? In the know with Father Joe Dear Father Joe: I hear there is a new Anglican rite, along with married priests... Read More
Am I really supposed to be an evangelist? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I hear talk that we are supposed to evangelize, but I’m not sure I... Read More
What if we don’t have a Catholic funeral – do we still go to heaven? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I am worried my children will not have a funeral Mass for me – can... Read More
How can I tell what my vocation is? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: How do you really know what your vocation is – is it just a feelin... Read More
Is it really wrong to cheat on exams? Isn’t it just ‘helping’ each other? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: A lot of my friends cheat on their exams and don’t see anything wr... Read More
Why should I stay Catholic? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: It seems to me that every day there is a new scandal in the Church... Read More
How can we forget that our son stole from us? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: Our son stole a lot of money from us. He has apologized, and we fo... Read More
How do I keep my New Year’s resolution to be holy? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: It seems that once again, we’re approaching another new year and, ... Read More
Is Dec. 25 really Jesus’ birthday? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I heard that Christmas is simply a pagan feast that Christians too... Read More
Why can’t we get married outside? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I recently became engaged and set up a meeting with our priest. We... Read More
How do I shake this funk I am in? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: I’m really in a funk and I can’t shake it. At college, I find that... Read More
What’s the point of asking God for what we want? In the know with Father Joe Dear Fr. Joe: Why do we ask God for things? Doesn’t he just do what he wants and... Read More
What does the Church teach about family planning? In the know with Father Joe In an earlier issue, we looked at why the Church teaches us to reject contracept... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What do you have to do to be excommunicated? In the know with Father Joe A. Well, I’m hoping you are asking this because you want to know and not as some... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Why is the Church refusing to pay for birth control? In the know with Father Joe A. This is a great and timely question. Right now, one of the core issues the Ch... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What do I say when people ask, ‘Are Catholics really Christian?’ In the know with Father Joe A. This is a great question and, the answer is going to go a lot of places, so s... Read More
How do I report liturgical abuse? In the know with Father Joe A. Thank you for this question! In many ways, you’ve captured an important... Read More
Why don’t parents take their crying babies out of Mass? In the know with Father Joe A. The first thing I think of is a great story from Bishop Sheen. The story goes... Read More
What do I say when someone dies? In the know with Father Joe A. This is a great question – it’s one that affords us a chance to look at how w... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: How do I go to confession? In the know with Father Joe A. Last time, I talked about how to go to confession. We made an examination of ... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: How do I go to confession? In the know with Father Joe A. What a great thing that you’ve decided to return to the sacrament of reconcil... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What exactly are the principlesof social justice? In the know with Father Joe A. So, last issue, we looked at the idea of social justice. This month, we are g... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What is social justice? In the know with Father Joe A. This is a great question! These are confusing times for American Catholics, I... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Is adoration idolatry? In the know with Father Joe A. You know, I hear this one a lot. Basically, it stems from some misunderstandi... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: I can’t carry a tune – why do we have to sing everything at Mass? In the know with Father Joe A: I’ve gotten a few of these types of questions. It seems that more and more of... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Is it OK to parish shop? In the know with Father Joe A. OK, this may not be the answer you wanted to hear, but ... it depends. Fir... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Mom doesn’t want life support is that OK? In the know with Father Joe A: This is such a complex and difficult issue. It’s a good thing that you are wo... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Why won’t our pastor bless children? In the know with Father Joe A: This has been coming up more and more in discussions – let’s take a look at i... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: How does the pope pick his name? In the know with Father Joe A: Now there’s an interesting question! If you take a peek at the Bible, you’... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What does it mean to be a practicing Catholic? In the know with Father Joe A: It’s wild, but as much as we throw around the phrase “practicing Catholic,” i... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: So, why can’t I go to Communion if I have committed a mortal sin? In the know with Father Joe A: Right. This one is a follow-up to a recent column where I explained what a mo... Read More
Is there one 'right' way to receive Communion? In the know with Father Joe A: I’ve gotten this one and variations on it from a few readers – I hope my info... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: is it OK to believe in space aliens? In the know with Father Joe A. OK – good stuff! The L’Osservatore Romano is the somewhat official newspap... Read More
I don’t like my pastor. What do I do? In the know with Father Joe A: I’m sorry this is happening. It’s a tough thing for sure. I remember experien... Read More
If God forgives, why confess to a priest? In the know with Father Joe A: This is a really relevant issue for us right now in Lent. We start by look... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Is the world ending in 2012? In the know with Father Joe A: I’ve been getting a bunch of these…let’s get right to it. First of all, le... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What’s proper etiquette at Mass? In the know with Father Joe Q: When I drank from the cup at Communion last week, I saw a soggy piece of some... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: How can I convince my kids that going to Mass is not about being entertained? In the know with Father Joe A: You know, I get this question a lot and have spent a good deal of time ... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What is a practicing Catholic? In the know with Father Joe A: It’s wild, but as much as we throw around the phrase “practicing Catholic,” i... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Was there really a Pope Joan? In the know with Father Joe Sorry, folks – but while there have been popes and lots of Joans, there’s never ... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Does God know what we are going to do before we do it? In the know with Father Joe Such a good question deserves an absolutely crazy answer. To that end, I’m start... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: If God knows everything, what is the point of free will? In the know with Father Joe A. This is one of the hardest questions I’ve had to work on – what a great chall... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Can you please tell me why Catholics pray to saints? In the know with Father Joe As we discussed last month, we are all in the process of becoming perfect creatu... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Can you please tell me why Catholics pray for the deceased? In the know with Father Joe How about this: What if I made your question into two questions and answered bot... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What is purgatory? In the know with Father Joe A. When I was young, I thought “purgatory” was Mom’s cute nickname for me … W... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: What does it mean to be "saved"? In the know with Father Joe A. The short answer is “yes,” but I get paid by the word, so I’m going to go ahe... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Can Catholics be orthodox? In the know with Father Joe A. Great question – it’s funny how often we are not careful with our terminology... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Can I be a politician and a Catholic? In the know with Father Joe A. I think it’s wonderful that you are thinking of going into politics. As much ... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Did the priest scandals prove that a celibate priesthood is unrealistic? In the know with Father Joe I say this with all the sincerity I have: The time of the priest scandal was, an... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: My parish is changing now what? In the know with Father Joe This month’s column isn’t so much about one specific question as it is about a w... Read More
How do we deal with a divorce in the family? In the know with Father Joe We seem to have arrived at this point again, where our actions and laws have ser... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Catholic school or going back to work? What do I do? In the know with Father Joe A. Great question! What you have here are two conflicting goods: Catholic educat... Read More
If I don't like my priest, can I switch parishes? In the know with Father Joe A. First of all, I think it's important to keep in mind that you are not enslave... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Is it a sin to join the military if the war is unjust? In the know with Father Joe This is a tough one and a bit nuanced. Let’s see what we can do with it. Ofte... Read More
Dear Fr. Joe: Do people go right to heaven or wait until the end of time? In the know with Father Joe Well, assuming they “make the cut”…. In a nutshell, we believe that immediate... Read More
Broken Toilets and Issues of Faith In the know with Father Joe A little while ago, a friend of mine told me a story he heard about a guy tryin... Read More
¿Qué decir cuando ... una amiga se pregunta por qué su joven hermana acaba de morir mientras su abusivo abuelo todavía está vivo? In the know with Father Joe En 2018, Teología 101 continúa centrándose en el tema de la evangelización. Espe... Read More