Below are posted questions from St. Thomas Parishioners and answers to these questions from Fr. Andy. If you have a question that you would like Fr. Andy to answer on this page, please e-mail it to askfr.andy@yahoo.com!

Q: Since celibacy was mandated for financial reasons centuries ago, and many bishops, popes and priests were married prior to 1139, why does the Church continue this rule? I'm sure there are several reasons the rule is continued, but one really flies. What would the Church do if it had to support families? It would be more HUMAN!

Haven't you ever felt the wonderful chemistry that happens between two people attracted to one another? I doubt you have lived your life without her on your mind.

I saw a documentary on priest hood and was sickened by the idea that "choosing God over the girl" is holy. If God cares about all his/her creatures, then would God have the girl feel the rejection from someone she knows feels for her because the Church will not allow the man to be human? I pray that the thousands of women denied the marital experience and the love of their lives over the centuries will one day be satisfied in knowing God does not make these rules.

Teachers are devoted to their students and work hard to educate their "flock," but they also go home to their loved ones. Doctors do the same... and so on. What makes priests so different? Can't they do their job and love at the same time? (posted October 1, 2007)

A: Yes indeed, I knew several and loved a few girls before I was ordained a priest! The choice I had was to still have them as friends and to embrace the call of the Church and God to the priesthood, or single one of them out as a person with whom I felt called to spend the rest of my life as a husband.

The celibate priest's call is to walk toward Christ in a different manner than his married brothers. Due to the unsearchable wisdom and love of God, he is called to a type of journey into the Kingdom that is more socially solitary--but he is never alone. The celibate, too, believes that 'it is not good for man to be alone;' but remember that marriage is not the only way to be 'together.' The celibate joins himself to the world in a relationship of no single intimate union with another, that through his one union with Christ, and through Him the Spirit and the Father, he may be lover and companion to all. It is a very different call than to the blessed state of marriage; but a call is always, by its nature, social.

Celibacy is a positive calling, and we are reminded of this when we appreciate its nature as divine gift. We find here, too, reassurance of the fullness of life to be had in such a calling. Society may be eager to disparage the celibate life as one in which the individual 'misses out' on the fullness of life attainable in marriage, but in so doing, our modern world only shows more clearly its failure to understand the nature of the gifts of God as effective personal realities. The richness, the wholeness and the completeness of life do not come from the adherence to any social or relational model: they come from personal union with God. Such union is always and only available to us through the gifts given us by our precious and loving Lord; and so individual fullness comes from realizing, embracing and fostering within us the gifts we, and not any other, have received.

Many receive the gift of the married vocation, and to these the richness of union with God comes, in part, through that gift's actualization in a holy and sanctified marriage. Not to embrace the gift is to wage battle with God, who knows better than we what life is most suited to us. And this same concept is equally true of him who has received the gift of celibacy: only in the gift's embrace will such a person ever truly know the richness and fullness of life as God has set it before him. No other way shall ever satisfy the longing in his heart, even if that other way is that which brings fulfillment and union to a hundred million others. It is not his way. To live a celibate life is, for the one who has received this gift, the context of his journey into union with God.

You are correct in pointing out that celibacy has not always been a rule in the Roman Catholic Church. We believe that it is through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that such rules are put into place in our Church.

There are, in fact, some Roman Catholic priests who are married and have families. One of these is the current pastor of St. Joseph in Fayetteville, Fr. Brad Barber. As in the case of Fr. Barber, these priests were ordained priests in the Episcopal Church and converted to Roman Catholicism. After their conversions the petitioned the Holy Father for permission to be priests in the Roman Catholic Church. He grants this permission on an individual basis.

May God give to us the patience and the openness to discern which gift we have been given; and when we have found it, to follow Him in that gift. If we are faithful to Him and Him alone, surely our wise Lord will bless our lives with richness beyond imagining and fullness beyond expectation; for He is a good and loving God who knows and desires what is best for all His children.

Q: Why should I go to Mass, now that I don't have to do what
my parents say? (posted August 15, 2007)

A: Well, let's see... first of all, your parents were trying to teach you the important aspects of your faith so that when you are on your own, as you are now, you will make choices that will enhance your faith life and make your place in the church more meaningful to you.

Secondly, I hear so many of our students who do not attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays say-"OH, NO... I FORGOT!" In a recent book on sin and confession, a Catholic writer says that it is a mortal sin to forget to attend Mass on Sunday and Mass on Holydays of Obligation-like the Assumption of Mary on August 15. His argument is that God told the Israelites to "remember to keep holy the Sabbath," so to forget to make it to Mass must be a grave sin.

We do have a grave obligation to attend Sunday Mass. It's been Church law since, well, even as old as I am, long before any of us were around. The reason is simple: We are creatures, and our first duty is to worship our Creator. More than that, we are social creatures, so it is right that we should worship together, and that worship is done best at Mass, which is the highest prayer of the Church. Since the Church has authority from her Founder, we ought to obey whatever strictures are imposed for our spiritual good, such as the requirement to be at Mass on the Lord's Day and other obligatory days.

So, yes, it is a mortal sin to miss Mass knowingly, but not if one has a sufficient reason (such as illness or the incapacity to get to a church). But the writer is wrong to insist that merely forgetting to go to Mass is a mortal sin. Sin arises only through deliberate act. This is true of any sin. You cannot commit a sin--either mortal or venial--accidentally.

During one three-day holiday a while back, I remember waking up on Saturday (already having had Friday off) and thinking, for a moment, that it was Sunday and that I had to hurry to get ready for Mass. Friday had been my Saturday, my
do-nothing day (not that I really do nothing on it, but you know what I mean), and the day after my do-nothing day always starts with Mass, so...

If that kind of mistake is possible (even common, I think), so it is possible to err at the other end of the weekend. Imagine the case of a person who normally has Saturday and Sunday off, but this week had to work on Saturday. They might wake up on Sunday and engage in their routines as though it were Saturday, realizing too late in the day that they missed Sunday Mass.

Did they commit a mortal sin by forgetting to attend Mass? No, since they did not intend to miss Mass. Without consent, there is no sin. Mortal sin requires three elements: serious matter, knowledge of the sinfulness of the act and free consent. If any one of these is missing, no mortal sin is committed.

So, the book was wrong to say that forgetting to attend Mass (not faux-forgetting, which is used by some as an excuse for idleness, but actual forgetting) is a mortal sin. Unfortunately, some readers of the book, particularly those with a tendency toward scrupulosity, will not see through the error, which is made by a
well-respected writer, and may be led to see sin where there is no sin.

Q: What's so special about the Mass when there are so many different faith options on campus that look more fun and interesting?
(posted August 15, 2007)

A: All of us on campus who are here to minister to the spiritual needs of U of A students try our best to make all of you feel at home and to offer to you not only religious, but also social activities to make your life here on campus as well-grounded as we can. There are indeed many great opportunities on campus for this. As fantastic as many of the other faith groups' offerings on campus may be, they do not offer to you what every Catholic needs as spiritual nourishment: The Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist!

Many criticisms directed toward the Catholic Church often focus on the Eucharist. This demonstrates that the critics and opponents of the Catholic Church recognize one of Catholicism's core doctrines. What's more, the attacks show that Fundamentalists are not always literalists. This is seen in their interpretation of a key Biblical passage, chapter six of John's Gospel, in which Christ speaks about the sacrament that will be instituted at the Last Supper.

John 6:30 begins a colloquy that took place in the synagogue at Capernaum. The Jews asked Jesus what sign he could perform so that they might believe him. As a challenge, they noted that "our ancestors ate manna in the desert." Could Jesus top that? He told them the real bread from heaven comes from the Father. "Give us this bread always," they said. Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." At this point the Jews understood him to be speaking metaphorically.

Jesus first repeated what he said, then summarized: "'I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.' The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" (John 6:51-52).

His listeners were stupefied because now they understood Jesus literally--and correctly. He repeated his words, but with even greater emphasis, and introduced the statement about drinking his blood: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day; for my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." (John 6:53-56).

Notice that Jesus made no attempt to soften what he said, no attempt to correct "misunderstandings," for there were none. Our Lord's listeners understood him perfectly well. They no longer thought he was speaking metaphorically. If they had thought this, if they mistook what he said, why, then is there no correction?

On other occasions when there was confusion, Christ explained just what he meant (cf. Matt. 16:5-12). Here, where any misunderstanding would be fatal, there was no effort by Jesus to correct. Instead, he repeated himself for greater emphasis.

In John 6:60 we read: "Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?'" These were his disciples--people used to his remarkable ways. He warned them not to think carnally, but spiritually: "It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoke to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63; cf. 1 Cor. 2:12-14).

The Eucharist that we celebrate as Catholics is a true sacrifice, not just a commemorative meal, as some other Christian groups insist. The first Christians knew that it was a sacrifice and proclaimed this in their writings. They recognized the sacrificial character of Jesus' instruction, "Do this in remembrance of me" (Touto poieite tan eman anamnasin; Luke 22:19, 1Cor. 11:24-25) which is better translated "Offer this as my memorial offering."

So, as much as some other offerings on campus my provide rich and attractive activities and experiences, you, as Catholics have only one source for your needed spiritual nourishment: the Mass! Check out the many other activities and offerings we have at St. Thomas Aquinas and I think you'll see there is much available to you here to enhance and deepen your faith as well as lots of fun and enjoyable activities that enable you to meet and develop community with other Catholics like you on campus.