Father Knows Best Show
Father Knows Best is a locally produced Question and Answer show on Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM. The show is hosted by Father Mark Stoll. He is a priest in the Sioux City diocese, canon lawyer, and trained media person on air. The program airs on Wednesdays at 9pm.
Father Knows Best Show
Father Knows Best—Episode 30: Keeping Holy the Sabbath; Calling Priests "Father"; Reasons We Choose to Not to Sin; and Holy Communion Twice a Day
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On Wednesday August 5, 9:00 pm on Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM
Episode #30 of Father Knows Best sponsored by St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, NE features Father Mark Stoll addresses questions about keeping holy the Sabbath, calling priests 'Father', reasons we choose to not to sin, and Holy Communion twice a day.
Tune in so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts, souls and minds so we may be illuminated, informed and inspired. Please send your questions to fatherknowsbestshow@yahoo.com.
I have questions. I don't understand. I'm confused. What's going on? Welcome to Fund's studios of A point one F M. K F A City K O I A Mike. Brought to you by the Santa Claus and Indians. We all have questions and curious matters of faith. As it is normal for humanity, ask questions and seek answers for understanding matters of faith in the church. And I say the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. And the reality is that the questions you have are the questions others have is so good to ask. Sometimes the answer leads us to more questions. Sometimes the questions and answers will lead us to insights we never considered. We at Soulan Catholic Radio wanted to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska to Help Point, South Dakota, Stromlick, 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 Knowles 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 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. I'm Father Mark Stowe, priest of the Diocese City with you today. And again, joining me today is Tim. So Dean, executive director of Sioux Lan Catholic Radio, presenting some of the questions that I have received from your listeners. And so, Tim, are you again ready for another round of questions and answers?
SPEAKER_01I cannot tell you how much I look forward to Wednesday nights, because it just allows me to get closer to my faith, become a more informed Catholic, and I hope the listeners feel that way too.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And again, this is our 30th episode, believe it or not.
SPEAKER_01That's exciting.
SPEAKER_00It's like the year that Jesus began his ministry, age 30.
SPEAKER_01Well, we're way ahead of him then because we've started this ministry way before number one.
SPEAKER_00Jesus was doing some stuff in the before, too, you know. But anyway. Anyway, so you know, he remembered age 12, he was in the temple.
SPEAKER_01He was, that's right.
SPEAKER_00Anyway, so again, thank you to also Ann for being here with us to uh record and uh make sure this show gets on the air. So, Tim, let's uh begin with a question. What is our first question of this evening?
SPEAKER_01You know, this is one of those shows where we're gonna do a lot of in-house.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_01Because Ann and I seem to have a corner on the questions this week. But we want you to continue sending in questions to Father because we need your input. We need to know what you want to know about.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01This question comes from Ann. What does it truly mean to keep holy the Sabbath in our modern, fast-paced culture?
SPEAKER_00Excellent question. Thank you, Ann, for that question. I did address kind of a similar question back in episode 15 where we talked about that again. The third commandment says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, six days you shall labor and do all your work. But on the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord, you shall do no such any work. Now, the Catechism Catholic Church, of course, offers some wonderful points on how we keep holy the Sabbath day. Catechism 2171 says, God entrusted the Sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant. The Sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise of God, praise of his work of creation, and praise of his saving work of actions that's done on the behalf of Israel. Now for the Jewish people, of course, Sabbath was sat is Saturday. For us as Christians, we have moved Sabbath to Sunday because, as we see in Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2174, Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Because it is the first day of the week, this paragraph says, the day of the Lord's resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it's the eighth day following the Sabbath, it symbolizes a new creation ushered in by Christ's resurrection. For Christian has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's day. Sunday is the day we all gather on the day, for it is the first day when God separated the matter from darkness, made the world, and on the same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead. So again, for us as Christians, Sunday is our Sabbath. And so, what does it mean to keep holy the Sabbath in a fast-paced, modern world, especially when there's many things going on in our lives every day of the week, including Sundays? I think first, no matter what is going on in our lives, we do need to make time in our schedule to attend Mass on Sunday or Saturday evening. Because again, we have an obligation and actually a need to attend Mass on Saturday or Sunday or Saturday evening. And so, again, just a reminder again, that obligation to attend Mass on Sunday or Saturday evening evening, of course, we also talk about holy days. You know, can it be dispensed if we're sick, unable to attend Mass due to circumstances beyond our control, such as we're not able to drive, or there's no one to drive us to Mass, or the nearest Catholic Church is a long distance away, or even weather driving conditions or hazardous or impossible. Now, again, we have this obligation to attend Mass because, as Catechism at the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2176 says, the celebration of Sunday observes the moral command inscribed by the nature in the human heart to render God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship as a sign of his universal benevolence to all. Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the old covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of the people. A few paragraphs later, in 2180, it says, The precept of the church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely. It says, on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass. The precept of participating in the Mass is the satisfaction by assisting at a Mass, which is celebrated anywhere in the Catholic rite, on either on a holy day or the evening of the preceding day. Now, when we look at Sunday as a Sabbath, Sunday is meant to be a day of grace and rest from work. Again, in paragraph 2185 of Catholic Catholic Church, it says, on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God and the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social services, you know, can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful are to see to it that legitimate excuses are not to lead to habits that prejudice religion, family life, and health. So again, just want to point out note that the church here teaches that there are circumstances that can legitimately excuse a person from the obligation to rest on Sunday. But again, these excuses are not to become a regular habit. So the church is basically teaching here on Sundays are good days to practice good works, to do humble service, devote time and care to the families and relatives, to grow in the interior life of the Christian life. And so again, the church is teaching that there needs to be a common effort. Again, we're talking about everybody kind of working together, to not necessarily make unnecessary demands on others that would require them to neglect their observance of the Lord's Day. We are to avoid the excesses and the what the church even calls violence, sometimes associated with popular leisure activities, such as sports and even like restaurants. And so again, the sanctifying of Sundays, the keeping holy Sabbaths of Sunday and Holy Day, is all about avoiding, again, unnecessary demands on others that would hinder their ability to keep holy the Sabbath day. The church also teaches that we as Christians ought to seek a recognition of Sundays and Holy Days as legal holidays. And I know this is kind of difficult in some countries, such as the United States, because you know we've got some set dates, you know, such as Labor Day and Memorial Day in July 4th. But then they say, wait a minute, we're gonna make uh the the solemnity of of of uh the uh the the of I'm gonna think of the of Mary in August 15th, that's the uh assumption of Mary uh make that a holy day. That'd be kind of odd for a lot of people who are not Catholic, and some even not Christian in our in our country. But anyway, so you know we can encourage that. Now, going back to our fast-paced, busy modern lives, you know, it's been more common nowadays for people to even work on Sundays and holy days, especially on holy days. Um, there are those, of course, we remember, of course, are in public service, such as law enforcement, fire protection, doctors, nurses, restaurants, and of course priests who offer masks every Sunday and holy day. Again, those jobs are about service for the public good. And hopefully those people also do find a day off where they can do some relaxation, even if it's not every not on a Sunday, that they need to get some time for rest and leisure too. But again, we know there are people who will do the work for which they're paid, and which when they probably ought to be taking the day off on Sunday or holy day. And so the church is teaching that for most people, what we need to do is that again take Sundays and holy days off to the best of our ability for the Lord, for worship and prayer, for relaxation, for good works and humble service, for devotion of time and care to families and relatives, and again, growing our Christian interior life. Today this seems to require a little more conscious effort on our part to avoid some unnecessary work, to focus on the Sabbath is the time for the Lord and relaxation. We know it's a challenge, you know, uh to for some people, let alone nation again, to keep holy these days, keep work off these free days, you know, like we sometimes do on July 4th, Memorial Day of Labor Day. And so I'm not going to get into specifics of what you know each person needs to do or not do on Sundays or holy days. It's really up for each of us to decide how to keep holy the habit uh the Sabbath. But we need to do, each of us need to do the best we can, choosing to abstain from those labors and those business concerns which do impede the worship of God, which do impede the joy that is proper to the Lord's day, and also that impedes our ability to relax mind and body. We do need to allow for, again, sufficient rest and leisure to cultivate our family and our cultural and social and religious lives. We need to avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord's Day. We need to do the best of our abilities in our current state of life to avoid anything really that harms worshiping God, practicing religion, family life, and health. And again, one thing I think we need to remember is why did the Lord give us this command is that the Lord knows that we need to take some time for Him and for ourselves and just relax and spend some quiet time sometimes. So, again, I'm not getting into Pacifics, but again, we need to do our best to uh honor those that day of the Sabbath.
SPEAKER_01I think it's very important for each of us, once a week, once an hour, whatever, to find peace. And I think that's a very hard thing to find in today's society.
SPEAKER_00Exactly, it sure is. So let's uh go for another question.
SPEAKER_01And we have a twofer from Ann.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yes, she is uh she is on fire.
SPEAKER_01She wants to know so much about her faith, just like every other listener out there.
SPEAKER_00And you probably had the same question out there too.
SPEAKER_01I did have that same question. Why do Catholics call priests father when Matthew 23, 9 says to call no man on earth father?
SPEAKER_00Notice she even quoted scripture, so she's really good. I am so impressed. We are impressed. That's why she's the employee of the year. So thank you for this question. Again, this is a very, very common question. I mean, Anne's not the only one that's asked this question. Many times when you listen to the call and shows on national uh EWT and radio, they're asking the same question. They are. So in Matthew chapter 23, verse 9, it says, Call no one on earth your father, you have but one father in heaven. And so we also keep in mind in that same teaching, Jesus also says, Do not be called rabbi, you have one teacher, do not be called master, you have but one master, the Messiah. And yet, we call some people master, master gardener, master of science, master of arts, master sergeant, master chief petty officer, and goes on and on. And then, of course, we call people teacher. We go to school, teacher. So this is all kind of falls in the same line of this whole uh idea of why do we Jesus is not asking us to call people father, master, rabbi. So we call, of course, we have people on earth we call father, our male parent, dad, father. We saw Father's Day every third Sunday of June. Again, we call priest father. So if Jesus commanded us not to call anyone on father, why do we continue to give people this title? This prohibition against the titles of rabbi, teacher, master, and father, interestingly enough, is only found in the Gospel of Matthew, which is so is very likely that this means that these terms, these titles, were not being used by the people that Matthew evangelized. But when we take a look at the heart of what Matthew is recording in his gospel, is the prohibition on the spirit of superiority and pride that some people exhibit with these titles. And so today we still use these terms to identify some people by who they are and what they do. For priests, we see them as spiritual fathers. Like just how we referred to one of our parents who is our biological father, priests are called to serve the faithful to which they are assigned as spiritual leaders in the community. And like the role of biological father, that priest is to serve the family as leader, uh, just like the biological father is written, you know, working with the biological mother in the family to help lead the family. And so the title father is not to designate someone, you know, a priest or even a male parent as being superior. It's all about designating the relationship to the community, to a parish or to a family. And so for us to call someone father, or rabbi, or teacher, or master, that expresses a superiority or pride greater than their role, could imply a greater power and authority than they actually have, even greater than what God has. And so what Jesus is doing, he's reminding us that ultimately God is the one true father, the one true rabbi and teacher, the one true master. And that to apply these titles to any person on earth, to apply that they have the same level of authority with God, would be a scene as a sin of blasphemy, you know, again, against the first commandment. Rather, the people we give these titles to, including father to priest, is all about recognizing that they have some degree of expertise in the vocation or field. They have a role to play in our lives, they do have some authority given to them by God to serve the community. And so, in summary, a priest is a spiritual father through the ordination he is entrusted with guiding and nourishing the life and grace of the community by his preaching, by his sacramental ministry, by his pastoral governance. For a priest, he does have a real ministry, uh spiritual, and again, it's a it's a form of fatherhood, especially how priests communicate Christ and the care of souls. Again, the role of the priest is not to be treated as replacing God's unique fatherhood. It is not about claiming to represent God in God's total reality. So the title father is an analogy that points beyond itself to a function that the priest exercises as a proxy. Again, it does not deny that God is the true source. Again, it's all about mediating God's care or keeping God's fatherhood absolutely primary, and then through ordination, uh, he has the ability to act as a spiritual father, to bring the Christ people, you know, excuse me, to bring Christ to the people through word and through sacrament, to care for them as God's children, again, without confusing the role of God's unique fatherhood. And so to claim superiority over God or as an equal role with God is what Jesus is forbidding. And so the priest is actually an instrument that God works through as master, rabbi, teacher, and father. So I hope that answers your question.
SPEAKER_01I think that's a really good answer.
SPEAKER_00Good, thanks. All right, if you're just tuning in, you're listening to Father Knows Best here on Sudanic Catholic Radio as I answer your questions about faith in the Catholic Church. I'm Father Mark Stowe, and I'm joined by Tim Sudin, who is presenting the question I questions I received from you, our listeners. And so, Tim, let's go to one of your questions.
SPEAKER_01It is one of my questions. I had sent Father a whole list and we're getting to those now, which is very, very happy for me.
SPEAKER_00Excellent.
SPEAKER_01How do we contrast a relationship with God where we forego sin because we're afraid of going to hell versus one where we embrace the power of God and want to go to heaven because God is all-loving?
SPEAKER_00Again, thank you for that question, Tim. And again, I know this is a question others ask. Um, because in short, this is a question that regards do we avoid sin because we are afraid of going to hell? Or do we avoid sin because we're aware of God's love for us? So, in some sense, we're looking at two choices here. You know, in other words, what is our motivation to avoid sin? So this question is assuming that we want to avoid sin and go to heaven. And it seems like there are people who, you know, could, I mean, there's obviously there's people out there that seem that they could care less about avoiding sin simply because they assume they're going to go to heaven, just because God loves them. And of course, that's not true. We know that, of course, God loves us. We know that God has proved his love for us since at the dawn of very creation, including when we look at uh the Gospel of John, John 3.16, it says, For God so loved the world, he sent us over the God and Son. So we have many proofs that God loves us. You know, God has given us free will, the ability to make choices how we live, including, you know, where we'll be in the next life is up to each of us and the choices we make. And so for each of us, we have a choice. Do we want to live forever in heaven with God and all the saints and angels, or do we want to live forever in the absence of God and absence of all the angels and saints, what is known as hell. And so to make this choice, we need to decide how to live. Do we live in fear of going to hell, or do we live in this awareness of God's love for us, that we're gonna live in a loving way? So, we do know we do know there are some people who seem to live their lives in the fear of going to hell. And possibly this has been encouraged over the years, sometimes by what we call people hearing this fire and brimstone sermons where preachers would try to scare the people to avoid sin so as to avoid going to hell. In other words, scare the hell out of them. There is a famous sermon delivered by Jonathan Edwards in 1741 called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, which emphasized God's wrath upon unbelievers and the reality of hell, again, urging listeners to repent and seek salvation. Edwards used very vivid imagery to convey this precarious state of sinners, illustrating that they are held over the pit of hell by a thread with God's judgment imminent. It is a sermon that would scare the hell out of people who either heard or read the sermon. And believe it or not, the copies of the sermon are still available in some bookstores and online. And there, of course, we know there were priests back years ago that gave similar homilies, basically that scared people from sinning. Of course, you know, we do have the teaching from Jesus in Matthew chapter 10, verse 28, it says, And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can strike both soul and body in Get Hannah. And so this seems to be a statement from Jesus that would make us be afraid of the devil. Now, of course, I would say we ought to have some natural, rational fears, including of the devil, like we do of a lion who is about to pounce on us and attack us. However, the question is, is this the best way to live our lives in fear so as to avoid hell? We know that there are people too that live out their lives out of respect for God's love. And so while there may be a rational fear of the devil, they live their lives wanting to please the Lord, just as we find in Paul's letter to the Colossians chapter 1, verse 10, where he says, Live in a manner worthy of the Lord so as to be fully pleasing in every good work, bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God. We have examples of prophets, Jesus, of course, the apostles, the many saints, who lived their lives not in fear, with no fear of being killed or martyred. What they wanted was to fulfill God's will in their lives. They believed that love is more powerful than evil, even though evil could kill their bodies. They lived in a way to fulfill the commands of God, to love God and love neighbor itself. So when we change Love, we are choosing to live in a way that helps us helps us to avoid sin. And so when we choose to live in a way that chooses love, we are choosing again what God desires, what God wants us to do in order for us to join Him in heaven. When we choose to live in a way that we choose love, it's helping us to overcome some of the fears, especially even the fear of going to hell. Yet, of course, I should point out, because of free will, the final choice is ours. Do we forego sin because we're afraid of going to hell? That is, we want to live our lives in fear, acting out of fear? Or do we embrace the power of God, the graces that God gives us, and we want to go to heaven because God is all loving. In other words, again, going back to Paul's letter, Colossians chapter 1, verse 10, are we living our lives based on God's love for us and strive to love God, others, and ourselves so as we live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing in every good work, bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God. Well, of course, fear may sometimes rule the world and our lives. I believe it is, of course, that love that will win hearts for the Lord and help us lead lives that are worthy of the Lord. Again, remember what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 13, verse 35, and he commands us to love one another as he has loved us. For this is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. I hope that answers your question.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think it's an interesting contrast between living life in fear or living life full of love and wanting to embrace the warmth of God.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01That's an incredibly different. I mean, you may end up in the same place. If you live your life in fear, you still might end up in heaven because you didn't sin. Right, exactly. But love living a loving life is much more applicable to what we should be doing.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Again, you're gonna be uh the your whole outlook on life will be different.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00Let's try one more question and see if we can get that in. I think we can do this.
SPEAKER_01I think I've actually encountered this several times. And it again is from me. Can a practicing Catholic take communion twice in a day? aka once for a wedding or funeral on a Saturday morning, and then go to Mass on Saturday evening.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for this question. The answer is yes. A practicing Catholic may receive communion twice on the same day, again, provided that the second reception is done within the Eucharistic celebration, that is the Mass that they are attending. In the Codakan law number 917, it says a person who has already received the most holy Eucharist can receive it a second time on the same day, only within the Eucharistic celebration in which the person participates. Thus, if on a Saturday you attend Mass and receive Holy Communion at a wedding or a funeral mass on Saturday morning, then you go and participate Saturday evening on Virginia of Sunday, you may receive communion again. The same is true if you attend a weekday mass morning, you know, go to morning mass at the parish, and then receive Holy Communion, and then go to a funeral mass, you may receive again. Of course, this goes without saying that any time that we receive communion, either with us once a day or twice in the same day, communion must be received wordily. That is again, if someone is aware of having committed a moral sin, they must not receive communion without going to confession, receiving absolution. Unless there is a grave reason, and we talked about that grave reason, receive holy communion in episode 8. And of course, before receiving holy communion, the person should be abstaining from food and drink for at least one hour, except of course water and medicine. Right. So, in short, receiving Holy Communion twice on a Saturday, once at a wedding or a funeral mass in the morning, and again on a Saturday evening that you attend is allowable. Again, as long as that Saturday communion is received within the mass you're participating, and you of course meeting the usual requirements that you're receiving wordily, and receiving three or more times in a day is not permitted unless you're dying and Holy Communion is given to you in Viticum. Hope that answers your question.
SPEAKER_01That is a wonderful answer to the question. I've actually done it several times. Oh, yes. Taking the second communion recipient, but this at least makes me feel better about doing it.
SPEAKER_00Again, that's a this is a very common question people have again because they're they get so worried. Can I can do receive communion again the second time? It's like yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I mean, because many times weddings or funerals do happen on a Saturday.
SPEAKER_00They do. Exactly. So, Tim, I think we're running um near the end of our show here. So I think on the next episode, let's plan to address questions about holy communion in a senior care facility, questions about the Pope, maybe addressing some political issues, and even the status of a Catholic who's engaged in the annulment process and maybe more. But again, we want to thank everybody for tuning in tonight, listening, because we here at Sunland Catholic Radio do offer wonderful lineup programs from national and local, including Faith in Action, Draw Near, Life Plan, Catholic Ministry Professionals, Divine Mercy Chaplain, Sunday Morning Mass. Again, also, we, of course, Sunday Catholic Radio and Father Knows Best offers a Facebook each have a Facebook page where you can find more information about the station or about this show. And again, as we wrap up today's question and answer session, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all over listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought, provoking questions, your curiosity, engagement make the show possible, and we're always inspired by the incredible range of top topics to bring to the table. We hope you found this the answers here both informative and lightning, and that you'll carry some new insights with you as you go about your week. If your question wasn't answered today, you may hear the answer to your question next week. If you missed this episode or like to re-listen to this or other episodes, please check our website, Sue LineCatholic Radio.com, and visit the programs drop menu and click local programs to find this episode and other episodes of Father Knows Best and other local programs. Again, if you have any questions, please send your questions to me at fatherknowsbestshow at yahoo.com or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sioux Line Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. And thank you to our sponsor, San Augusta Indian Mission, 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, keep those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Stowe, your host signing off. Wishing you a great week ahead. May Mighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.