Episode 10 - Praying to Saints, Matthew 24:40-42, Reconciliation

In this episode, Father Mark Stoll answers questions about praying to the saints, how to interpret Matthew 24:40-42, the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the new sign of peace at Mass.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I have questions. I don't understand. I'm confused. What's going on? This is not what I learned in school. What does the church really teach? Welcome to Father Knows Best, the studios of 88.1 FM, KFA C Pankasu City, and K-O-I-A Storm Lake. Brought to you by the St. Augustine Indian Mission, Winnebago. We all have questions and the curiosity about matters of faith as it is normal for humanity to ask questions and seek answers in the timeless quest for understanding regarding matters of faith in the church. We believe that there is no such thing as a foolish or dumb question. The only opportunity is to learn and to connect. And I say the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. And the reality is that the questions you have are like questions others have, and so it is good to ask. Sometimes an answer leads to more questions. Sometimes the questions and answers will lead us to insights we never considered. We at Sioux Line Catholic Radio want to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska, to Elk Point, South Dakota, to Storm Lake, Iowa, and everywhere in between and beyond, send your questions to us at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com. Or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sioux Line Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. During this time, once a week, I or another guest will do our best to answer some of the questions I've received here at the studio so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts and souls and minds, so we may be illuminated, informed, and inspired. So I thank you for tuning in. We invite you to open your mind, let the questions begin, and let your curiosity find its voice. Hello, I'm Father Mark Stoll, Priest of the Dice of Sioux City with you again. Joining again with me is Tim Sudin, who is the executive director of Sioux Long Catholic Radio, here to present some of the questions I received from your listeners. How are you doing, Tim?

SPEAKER_00 1:49

I can tell you, Father, that I look forward to Wednesday every week. It's just one of those things where I know Father's going to be speaking tonight, and I look forward to the information I'm getting.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

And it's glad to be on again because again it's wonderful to be with you, Tim. I'm glad you're joining me again. And of course, we also have Ann here who is at the control board to help us make us sound good. So without further ado, let's dive into some questions. So let's you know what's the first question that we have tonight?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

The first question comes from Lisa from Sioux City. And she asks, I have a special connection to Saint Teresa of Avala. Is there a difference between praying to a saint or praying to Jesus Christ for assistance?

SPEAKER_01 2:28

That is a wonderful question. It's very similar to a question we addressed last week, but again, I'm gonna say the short answer to that question is there a difference between praying to St. Teresa of Avala or another saint or praying to God or Jesus? The answer is yes, and no. So, first of all, the answer is yes. There is a difference, of course, because we know that saints like Saint Truth of Avala are not God. Saints are human beings, just like you and I, who lived in this world, who lived in the midst of this ups and downs and the joys and sorrows and the good times and bad times of life in their own age, they also have the same call that you and I have to follow Christ. And the reason they're called saints, of course, is because now they are enjoying the heavenly kingdom. And so today, today, saints are providing us hope and encouragement and an example to follow. And of course, they serve a very important role as an intercessor. As they cannot provide graces on their own. The graces that come, of course, come from God alone. And so they in they they wrote their role as an intercessor to help God to provide those graces that we ask for. The other part of that answer, of course, is no. There is no difference. In that sense, I would say because those saints, as I just said, are servants' intercessors. Thus, when we pray to Saint Teresa of Avila or any other of our favorite saints, we are asking that saint to intercede for us. We do this because we know that that saint, Saint Teresa of Avila, for example, is in the very presence of God in heaven. And we call this the beautiful vision of God. They have then a very unique connection with God, that when we pray to a saint, we are asking the saint to intercede for us. What I'm saying is to put in a what I would say, a good special word for us with God, that God may then grant the graces that we're asking for. And so when we are praying to our saints, our prayer is answered. It is by God who answers that prayer through the saint. Let me put this kind of maybe in kind of simple terms. Praying to the saint is like when we go to a restaurant. And we go to the restaurant, the waitress, the waitress comes, takes our order. And again, usually it's not the waitress or the waiter who prepares the meal. The meal is usually prepared by the cooks in the kitchen. And so then the meal is brought out to us by the waitress or the waiter. In this case, God is the cook, and the waitress and the order the waiter is the saint. And thus, when we go to a restaurant, we ask the waitress or waiter to intercede for us, to bring us a good meal from the cook. And when and then we can even maybe even give the waiter or waitress a tip because they've served us well. And sometimes what we say when we pray to a saint is like we thank the saint, Saint Teresa, for helping to answer our prayers. Now, of course, there are times when we can and we do pray directly to Jesus. In fact, many of the prayers in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for example, are directed to God the Father. There's some directed to God the Son, and occasionally we might hear some directed to God the Holy Spirit. The Lord's Prayer, of course, is directed to God the Father. And this is like we may go to some restaurants, maybe not as many as they used to be, but you may there at that restaurant communicate directly with the cook who's going to then take your order, prepare your meal, and then bring the meal to you. But in either case, whether we're praying to a saint such as Saint Tristan of Avila, or we're praying directly to Jesus, we are still asking God to answer our prayers, either through the intercession of a saint or directly. Either way is good, either way is appropriate, as long as we know the saint is interceding for us, just like the waitress or the waiter does, that God may then answer our prayer. So I hope this answers your question, your wonderful question about prayer and the saints and the saints' roles and intercessors before God.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

I really love that analogy. That is really a good way to put it, and it makes it understandable. Yes. Do we have another question? We do. Awesome. This is anonymous from God's kingdom. Oh, wow. I think we're all in God's kingdom. This one asked specifically. Would you explain the gospel passage? Matthew 24, 40 slash 42, where two women are grinding at the mill and one is taken and the other is left. Two men are in the field and one is taken and the other is left. And two people are in bed and one is taken and one is left.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Thank you for that question. And that this passage I know can be confusing to many people. And one, because we only hear this passage from Gospel of Matthew only once every three years. On the first Sunday of Advent in cycle A. And I'm going to talk about this whole deal about cycle A's and B's and all this on another episode. But we last heard this on the first Sunday of Advent in 2025. And this passage comes from a section in Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus is speaking about the unknown day and hour when he is going to return. We also kind of find a similar passage in Luke chapter 17, verse 34 to 35. And that passage is used on a Friday of the 32nd week in the year. But let's read this passage in Matthew starting at the end of verse 39. And so there in that gospel it says, So will it be also on the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field, one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore stay awake, for you do not know on which day your Lord will come. So the question is, what does this passage mean? The first thought that some people might have when they read this passage is that this passage refers to what some people call the rapture. Now some Protestant traditions will interpret this rapture as this secret event which will precede a seven-year tribulation that spares believers from trials. This is not what we as Catholics believe. In the Catholic Church teaching, when we talk about rapture, which we don't do very often, but it's not a distinct event that separates, you know, excuse me, it's not a distinct event separate from Christ's second coming. You know, it's part of that second coming of Christ. It's that moment when the faithful who are both resurrected from the dead in Christ and those who are still alive here on earth, when, as St. Paul in his first letter of Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16 to 17 says, We'll be caught up together on clouds to meet the Lord in the air. What does this mean? Those who be taken. Those who are taken are taken into the kingdom of heaven because they've been found ready to receive eternal life. Those who are left behind are left for destruction, as the scriptures would say. That is, that they'll be condemned because they're not ready for eternal life in God. And so what we see Jesus saying here is that there will be people in the same situation, might be working in the field, might be preparing a meal, might be even listening to the same radio show, might be even going to the same mass, and they're going to be dealt with in opposite ways based on their readiness for the coming of the Son of Man for His for Jesus' return. I believe this is a little bit like there's a story told of St. Francis of Assisi, who supposedly was asked one day by one of his brother friars, he says, you know, they were out in the garden working, and the brother friar asked Saint Francis, If you knew the Lord was coming today, what would you do? And Saint Francis supposedly said, I would continue working in the garden. And I believe the point of this exchange with Saint Francis and his fellow friar was that he figured he was ready to be as as much as ready as he could be. And if he was worthy of heaven, great. If not, then there was really not much more he could do. And so he just continued on doing what he was doing because, you know, he's as prepared as he could be. For us, this passage encourages us to be ready for the coming of the Lord on any day, any hour, any minute, no matter what we're doing, even if it's at this moment right now. If we're ready, even if we're sleeping, working, praying, or listening to this show, eternal life with God will be a great possibility. If we have not been uh preparing ourselves, if we're not getting ready, no matter if we're sleeping, working, or praying, or even listening to the show, eternal future might look even grim. So Jesus encouraged us, he says, stay awake, which basically means keep working, keep striving to be faithful to uh what I've asked you to do, faithful to God at all times. And so hopefully our own going-on efforts, ongoing efforts to be faithful will lead us to eternal rewards. And so I hope that that answers your question.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

I think that's a very appropriate answer, because what it does is it does tell us that we need to have faith that if we continue on the path that we have in following God, we will have the faith that we're going to go to heaven.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

So it's again, it's not no, eternal life is not automatic. We need to be doing our work ongoing, every day, every minute, as best as we can. If you're just tuning in, you are listening to Father Knows Best here on Suit Light Catholic Radio as I answer your questions about faith in the Catholic Church. And Father Mark Stollam joined by Tim Soudine, who is presenting the questions I received from you, our listeners. So, how about a third question this evening?

SPEAKER_00 12:00

This comes from Mary from Hinton, and she asks, I go to the sacrament of reconciliation. I am absolved of my sins. I perform the penance immediately. I believe I am in a state of grace. As I leave church, a drunk driver runs me down and kills me. What are my chances of going straight to heaven?

SPEAKER_01 12:21

That is a wonderful question, and I know I've I've had heard other people ask that same question, even as I work to prepare even people to join the church that asked that type of question. It's a wonderful question about the power of the sacramentation. This question highlights the power of the sacramental, which you also would call the sacrament of confession and repentance. And in the sacrament of reconciliation, there is a prayer I call is the most is the second most powerful prayer that we can offer, and that's a prayer of absolution. The priestess that priest prays over you towards the end of the sacrament that is celebrated. On the sideline, I would say the most powerful prayer in the church, I believe, is the Eucharistic prayer, which, again, where the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, but that's another topic. But let's get back to Sacrament Consolation. The church teaches and believes that based on the words of Jesus found in the gospels, words that Jesus spoke to the apostles, that Jesus gave the priest of the church this awesome power to totally offer forgiveness of sins to a sinner who is truly repentant, who has made a complete and faithful confession, and is truly sorry for all the sins that he or she has committed, and is in perfect what we call contrition. And so, thus, a person who has just celebrated the sacrifice, received the prayer of absolution from the priest in a penance, has completed that penance that was given, is very likely in a state of grace. And, God forbid, this person is then killed by a drunk driver. Now, I would hope at this point, too, that there would be no sinful thoughts because if you look at the car that's driving towards you, hopefully there's no bad thoughts go through your head. Maybe you're not facing the car, so you have no chance to say anything bad or do anything that would be sinful. At that chance, at that moment, you might would have a good chance, probably going straight to heaven. However, there's one little might say caveat might say even though you're absolved of all your sins completely in the straight of grace, you might still need to spend a little time in purgatory, you know, to make reparation for any harms of sin that, of past sins that have been forgiven, absolved, those uh that those harms that have caused other people because of your sinfulness. So again, you may spend a little time in purgatory. But again, you know, I should also point out, you know, if we want more information about purgatory, you know, we did an episode back on February 11th and 18th on of 2025 on Father Knows Best. Again, talk about purgatory. But again, it's a very good chance, you know, that um the being in state of grace that you would be uh welcome to into heaven.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

I think that sounds like a wonderful plan.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Excellent. So again, that's why the sacrament exhalation is so important, it's so so so powerful. That's why we encourage people to to go to the to the sacrament at least once a year, if the church actually requires it, and even go more often. The Bishop of the United States encouraged it once a month. So again, it's it's a wonderful sacrament. So if you've not made use of that sacrament, please see your priest, don't be afraid, Jesus says, because of the power of that sacrament to forgive and absolve sins.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

I think that sounds wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Do we have time for another question?

SPEAKER_00 15:34

I believe we do have time for another question. This is from Joanne from sunny Arizona. Uh-oh. Is there a time when Arizona is not sunny? I don't know. It's not sunny right now. While attending Mass at a church in another state, at the conclusion of the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, when the priest says, For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. And the congregation says, Amen. Then there is a short pause, and the priest began, Lamb of God. Nobody seems surprised, except me, as there was no sign of peace. When did this become optional?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

So when did the sign of peace become optional? This is a great question. And the short answer to this is the fact is that the sign of peace has always been an optional rite, optional part of Mass since the New Mass was issued after Vatican II. And some people, and this is before my time to be honest, before Vatican II, with the traditional Latin Mass, there was no sign of peace offered by the people to each other. And so this is something that was added to the New Mass. And so, yes, in the Mass that most people, you know, go to church on Sundays or daily Mass, the priest does say to the people, the peace of the Lord be with you always. And at that point of the Mass, you know, and that this all comes after the Lord's prayers, as you were describing, Joanne. However, the priest or deacon do not need to ask the people to offer the sign of peace to others. Again, it's an optional right. So let's take a look a little bit what we find in the Roman Missal. Again, that's that big book that the priest uses at Mass for the prayers, and there's rubrics we call instructions. And right at that point, it says, If then, if appropriate, the deacon or the priest adds, Let us offer each other sign of peace. And then the next instruction says, And all offer one another sign in keeping with local customs that expresses peace, communion, and charity. The priest gives the sign of peace to a deacon or minister. And so, again, that's an optional right, it says, if appropriate. And so, again, it's the priest or deacon could, you know, priests could decide whether or not they want to do that. So we may as well may recall, um, kind of a kind of a little low point in our time here with the COVID pandemic, when we were allowed to have limited attendance at Mass, we did not offer the sign of peace. And so part of it because we were sitting like you know 20 feet away from each other and couldn't reach across pews and things like that, but but you know, it was again it was for hygienic reasons. In the diocese of the city, in October of 2022, Bishop Nicholas issued a letter to the priests saying, We're now going to allow that sign of peace to be to be returned if the priest wants to do that. And so he said we can allow that under circumconditions. And so in his letter he wrote to the priests of the diocese of the city, Pastors are to instruct prisoners in a proper way that this ritual action is to be carried out. He then went on and says, The sign of peace signifies that peace that comes to us is coming from the risen Christ, who has just come down from the upon the altar for the consecration of bread and wine. It is a moment of prayerful reconciliation in which we receive Christ's peace and likewise pray for peace. This sign of peace, as Bishop Nicholas goes on and says, is to be exchanged in a manner that is appropriately reverent for the celebration of the Mass. Remember that we are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The sign of peace is to be not to be unduly prolonged, noisy, or an opportunity for chatter. And he also continues, though often shared through a handshake. It does not require physical contact with another person if this is not desired. It may be simply given by saying, Peace be with you, or in similar words. In addition, he says that this is to be given to those immediately around you, the person, either to the either side is sufficient. There should not be any movement from one's place, nor should be there to be gestures waved across the church. And he points out again, this is an optional right. And so, in short, Bishop Nicholas that time in October 2022 was reminding us what we find in the instructions of the Roman Missal that we do not need to offer this, you know, the priest doesn't need to do this. And so I would also point out we don't need to go to another state to find that sign of peace is not offered. Um there are priests and even places, even in the diocese of city, and I'm sure in Sioux Falls and Omaha too, that they do not do that. An example is I know at the Carmelite Monaster in Sioux City, the sign of peace is not done. And there are no some parishes and priests in our diocese of Sioux City that do not offer the sign of peace. In short, it's really up to the discretion of the pastor of the parish, the presider at the mass, or even the community, whether or not that sign of peace is offered or not. And so again, it's an optional right, and so as you say, sometimes it does not offer, and we just go right into the Lamb of God. So that's uh how the sign of peace works. So it's optional.

SPEAKER_00 20:50

So you are saying that it is really up to the individual priest? It is. Does the bishop ever lay down a requirement or a recommendation to do one or the other?

SPEAKER_01 21:01

I would say again, when we go back to the COVID years, there was of course that time where it says we're not gonna offer it. And so the bishop said no. Um October 22, he says if you want to. So he doesn't require it. You know, it's not required, but he could very point say, No, we're not gonna, you know, do this, but it's up to the bishop too. I know that I'm guessing there's some priests that don't do it because it becomes too noisy, it becomes a uh like a greeting hall, and that's not that's not what it's about.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

A distraction.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

A distraction. I'm not like the Carmelites don't do it because we only have maybe 40, 50 people there from the public, and we have six or seven sisters there, and they're around each other all the time, and so they don't offer the sign of peace. And so, again, that's our community decision. So, again, it's up to each individual, priest or presider, or community.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Sounds fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

So I think we're running about to the end here, aren't we? We are running just about to the end, and we've really imposed.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

As we do always, again, I've um I love the comments I received back from people. It's like, boy, I learned a lot tonight, and again, I learned a lot too just by researching this uh these questions. So, again, keep your questions coming because we'll get to them. And again, I I and of course Tony or Tim and I and Anne really appreciate you tuning in to Catholic Radio, Soul Land Catholic Radio, as we offer both the national and local programs. And again, please check out our Faith in Action Joan Fox, John Near with Friday and Care, Life Plan, Catholic Ministry Professionals, the Divine Mr. Chaplet, Sunday morning mass. And again, please check out our Facebook pages, Sue Lan Catholic Radio, and of course Father Knows Best for more information about this show, including more information about the questions and answers that I've addressed. And so there may be some additional information I provide on Facebook to about something we've just addressed here. So as we wrap up today's questions and answers session, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought-provoking questions, your curiosity, engagement, make this show possible. And we are always inspired by the incredible range of topics you bring to the table. If you have found the answers both informative and enlightening, and you would like to, and and and we would hope that you would then carry these new insights with you as you go about your week. If your questions, you know, or your question hasn't been answered to this episode, you may hear your answer maybe next week. So if you missed this episode or like to listen to this episode, other episodes, please visit our website, so linecathagradio.com, and visit the programs drop menu and click on the local programs to find this episode other episodes of Father Knows Best and other local programs. Again, if you have any questions, please send your questions to us at Father Knows Best Show at Layoutyahoo.com or mail them Father Knows Best, Sulan Catholic Radio 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. And again, thank you to our awesome sponsor, St. Augustine Indian Mission of Winnebago. Please join us again next Wednesday at 9 p.m. for another round of questions and answers. Until then, stay curious, stay faithful, keep your light shining, and keep those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Stoll, your host signing off, wishing you a great week ahead. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.