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