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 35: Whether Holy Communion Forgives Sins; and Welcoming Muslims
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Wednesday September 9, 9:00 pm on Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM
Episode #35 of Father Knows Best sponsored by St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, NE features Father Mark Stoll addressing questions about whether Holy Communion forgives sins and welcoming Muslims.
Tune in tonight 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? This is not what I learned in school. What does the church really teach? Welcome to Fundamental's Bush, the studios of 88.1 FM, KFA C Pakasu City, and K-O-I-A. Storm Like, 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 kind of 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 opportunity 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 Siouxland Catholic Radio want to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska to Help Point, South Dakota, to Stromlake, 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 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. I'm a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City, and I'm with you again tonight. And joining me again is Tim Sardine, Executive Director of Sioux Line Catholic Radio, presenting some of the questions I received from you, our listeners. Tim, are you again ready? Are you really ready for this evening's questions and answers?
SPEAKER_01I am so ready for another Wednesday night. I look forward to this night every night of the week, and I am so excited that we get to learn more about the Catholic faith, because that's a very important piece of what we're trying to accomplish here.
SPEAKER_00Amen. And we got some interesting questions this evening. And again, thank you to Ann for being on the control board so we make it on the air so you can hear the answers. So, Tim, let's uh go into these questions and hopefully we can get maybe two or three questions answered this evening. And so, what's the first question?
SPEAKER_01Don sent this question to you via email, and the question is one that I think a lot of people have. If we receive Holy Communion, are our sins forgiven without confession?
SPEAKER_00Thank you for that question. It's an awesome question. In fact, I actually heard this question raised several months ago, and when I had several people contact me, they had heard this homeless mention that it's true that Holy Communion forgives sins. And my first response was, well, that's not what I learned at school. And it says, this is not true. And so I went right to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and looked it up, and in paragraph 1393, it says the following Holy Communion separates us from sin. The body of Christ re received in Holy Communion is given up for us, and the blood we drink shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins. For this reason, the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins. And so I'm looking at that, I think I can see how the homeless pulled us out that forgive sins, but that's not what it's saying. And so let's kind of dive into this paragraph of Catechism Catholic Church 1393. When we read the line, holy communion separates us from sin, this is not the same word as we use for the word forgive or to absolve. This line says holy communion separates us. It does not say holy communion forgives us. In fact, it doesn't even say holy communion absolves us from our sins. This word separate means to become detached or to be disconnected or move apart or to isolate. Again, the word separate does not mean to be forgiven or to be absolved. And again, we'll examine this a little more. So let's examine what it means first of all to be separated from sin, then what it is to be forgiven, and then what it means to be absolved from sin. Because there are key distinctions here in how sin is overcome. First, of course, the church teaches us that we need to be and can be absolved from sin through baptism, sacrament exhalation, and of course, via the sacrament of anointing six, especially during the Vatican through the apostolic pardon. To be absolved means to declare someone free from guilt, free from obligation, free from punishment. And this is what God does in these three sacraments. It's obviously absolutely necessary for the remission of mortal sins. There's also a wonderful remedy for venial sins. And most often we experience this remission of sins in the sacramental recollection when our priests praise the prayer of absolution over us. And again, that's a powerful prayer. And he says, Absolve you of your sins, name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And it's one of the precepts of the church that we celebrate sacrifice recollection at least once a year, so we're worthy to receive Holy Communion. And I'm going to come back to that word, receive, be excuse me, worthy to receive holy communion. There is one other way to be absolved of venial sins and only venial sins, and that's not mortal sins. And we've talked about this before. And that's through the penitential rite at the beginning of Mass. When the priest leads us via the confidor or by the invocations that are done, then concludes with Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. And the priest prays a short prayer. That penitential rite is an act of contrition and a prayer that asks for God's mercy. And it can remit venial sins because it implies an interior movement of repentance. It implies a destation, detestation of sin, desire to turn towards God. And again, I note the phrase can remit venial sins because this means that those who are gathered at Mass who are very sorry and truly sorry for the venial sins can be forgiven as all of their venial sins. St. Thomas Aquinas stated that the penitential rite can forgive venial sins when it is sincere, and we are not just saying the words, but have a real turning of the heart to God. In addition, this means that we need to be physically present at Mass by the time penitential rite begins to receive this benefit of this rite. And this is all about, again, purifying our hearts and minds so that we may hear the word of God, celebrate clean hearts, and be worthy of receiving holy communion. This rite, this penitential rite, does not forgive or absolve mortal sins. In fact, the church teaches that if we are guilty of mortal sins, we are not to receive Holy Communion. The Mass, also known as Eucharist, does not forgive mortal sins. Again, only the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, anointing sick with viaticum, with absolute pardon can forgive mortal sins. And so again, I repeat, if we are guilty of mortal sin, we are not to receive Holy Communion. We are still encouraged and should attend Mass, but we are not to approach the priest, deacon, or extra minister of Holy Communion for Holy Communion. Again, that would actually be another sin itself to do that. Absolution is the only way for us to be declared free from guilt, free from obligation, or free from punishment, so are worthy to receive Holy Communion and to enter into heaven. So regarding then forgiveness, forgiveness means that we are willing to offer goodness towards another who have been unfair to us by reducing negative thoughts, feelings, behaviors. And so we can say to someone, I forgive you. We can either do that directly to a person or even without the other person knowing that we've released ourselves from past injuries. But again, remember the sin still remains. So this is what God does when we ask God for forgiveness, such as when we pray the act of contrition. God forgives us, even our venial mortal sins. However, we are still guilty of sin and we still have an obligation to make reparations and suffer the punishment for our sins. Again, this is where the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, anointing the sick, and viaducum with apostolic pardon are necessary, you know, to completely absolve us of venial mortal sins. And again, penitential right at Mass for venial sins. And so we are not only forgiven, but we are also declared free of the game of guilt, obligation, and punishment through absolution. Again, the key word is absolution, I talked about a little bit ago. So that's forgiveness. So it's another level. Then this third level that we hear in the Catechimist Catholic Church, 1393, it says, it talks about separated, being separated from sin. The word separate again means to be detached or disconnected, to move apart or to isolate. This is not the same as forgiveness, it's not the same as absolution. And so to separate, it's kind of like putting up a barrier or a fence, a wall between good and evil. And this is what Holy Communion helps us to do. And so when we receive Holy Communion, we ought to remember that receiving the Holy Communion cannot remit mortal sins. It is not about remitting venial sins, but it's giving us a strength to avoid sin. And so, Holy Communion remits venial sins only virtue of the Eucharist itself. Again, remember the Eucharist is the Mass, and Holy Communion is part of the Mass, part of the Eucharist. And so, if we've already been forgiven of venial sins at the beginning of Mass, if we are physically present and sincere during the penitential rite, we are then worthy to receive Holy Communion, which then strengthens charity, as the church teaches. And that is our ability to live with charity, help other, to help us to move away from venial sins and avoid future mortal sin. So the church teaches the Eucharist, that is the Mass, is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins. That's what sacrament legislation is for. But again, we need to be worthy to receive Christ in Holy Communion. And so the Eucharist is all about helping us to preserve us from future mortal sins, from future venial sins, even. Again, it's all about uh again, if we're uh if we can if we have doubt about, you know what, let me repeat this. The Eucharist belongs to the sacrament to forgive venial sins, and it cannot be doubted that by Eucharist their the venial sins are remitted. So again, Eucharist is a remedy for daily future sinfulness. It has nothing to do about the past. And that's again penitential rite recycling. So if someone is conscious of mortal sin, again, the penitential rite does not replace sacramental confession, and receiving holy communion is not the proper means for forgiveness. In fact, as we've pointed out in previous episodes, anyone who is aware of being have committed a mortal sin must not receive holy communion, even if he experiences deep contrition without having first received sacramental absolution, unless, again, we talked about a previous episode, he has a grave reason for receiving holy communion, and there's no possibility of going to confession, as is stated by the Council of Trent in 1551 and by the current code of canon law 916. Thus, if we're truly contrite for venial sins, the pentangerite cleanses of sin, and the communion becomes the medicine to help us be free of future venial sins. Again, this is all based on the Catholic Church, canon law, and of course the theology of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, eucharist, rexolation. Again, this is what I was taught in Catechstool. This is how I even taught in seminary. And so we are to receive Holy Communion in a way that is worthy to receive Christ. That is, keep repeating, we're free of moral sin. That we're a truly contrite for venial sins during the penitentiary rite. And again, so when we receive holy communion, we are not absolved of any sins. We are not forgiven of any sins, but we're given strength to be separated from sin. That is, to help set up this burial, this fence, this wall between good and evil, to help be the medicine that cure us from the desire to sin again, to help, in a sense, inoculate us, to protect us from future sin, to give us strength to be like Christ that we have just received in Holy Communion. Thus, Holy Communion is not for forgiveness of sins, but it's the remedy, the help we are given to avoid future sin. And if we sin again, then we have to either go to confession for mortal sins, venial sins, be present at Mass for the penitential rite, so that we are then worthy to receive Holy Communion. So I hope that answers your question.
SPEAKER_01That does very much answer the question. Let's go back to that penitential right again, just for one second. If we're honest about our venial sins, does that essentially cleanse our biennial sins? Right, again.
SPEAKER_00Done. Perfect. I think we'll move on to the next question.
SPEAKER_01Awesome. Don is this question as well. In 1095, in the Crusades, the knights fought against the Muslims who were attacking the church. Why do we welcome them now? And their Koran of faith has not changed.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for that question. In episode 14, we did speak about some of the similarities between Christianity and Islam and the faith of Muslims and some of the differences. And again, just to kind of refresh, some of the similarities include that we do believe in one God, which dates back to the time of Abraham. There is a reverence for Jesus. There is importance of prayer. There's an honor for the Virgin Mary. There's a commitment to charity. Fasting is a spiritual discipline. There is belief in the afterlife. There's emphasis on peace. Again, we find divine revelation in holy books and their strong family values. However, there are many nuances, differences, variations, and even irreconcilable truths of each of these beliefs, again, not only among Christians, but even especially between Christians and Islam. And so, one of the major differences between Christianity and Islam includes, you know, Christianity, we believe in a God who is Trinitarian. God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, again, revealed through the incarnation of Christ, who offered salvation via his cross. And the key to this belief, again, is God is one God, three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Due to our sins, God sent his only begotten Son, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to reveal God's unconditional love for us, to offer salvation for eternal life. And of course, in Catholic Church, we rely on the scriptures, sacred tradition, and the teaching of the Magisterium to guide our lives. On the other hand, Islam calls its followers to submission under Quran's law through Muhammad, does not believe that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, does believe that even though Jesus suffered and died, excuse me, that Jesus, that Jesus even suffered and died a little, didn't, you know, didn't the repeat that getting ahead of myself a little bit here. That Jesus didn't suffer and die alone just to offer sins for salvation for eternal life. Firmly believes that Muhammad fulfills the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and then they are sealed by Muhammad's prophethood. The Quran is the supreme, superior holy book, as it is the post-Christian completion, and Muhammad is the final prophet. He died in the year 632. And again, essentially relies on their holy book, the Quran, and their spiritual practices of belief in God, known as Allah, prayers, charity, fasting, palms giving. So now, the clash between Christian and Muslims seems to be again with Islam's official discrimination against followers of other religions. While Christians often live within a society that strives to follow Christian or follows Christ by converting one soul at a time, Muslims in the history have tendency to be intolerant of other religions, as they have and will assign Jews and Christians to special status and even require a payment of a per capita tax, require pagans to accept Islam or die, employ their doctrine of jihad or holy striving, which refers to an active struggle against armed forces or using armed forces whenever necessary to gain political control over collective affairs of societies or to run in accordance with the principles of Islam. This, of course, has led to conversions of people to Islam, even though forced conversion is forbidden by the Quran. And there's various leaders of the Muslim people who do engage in using armed force to gain converts, as we've seen through history, due to various beliefs and interpretations of the Quran, you know, again with various sects or groups. So let's go back to the questions about the crusades in 1095. Again, we see here in 1095, Pope Urban II initiated the first crusade at the Council of Cremont. This was a military expedition that was organized by the Western European Christians in response to centuries of Muslim expansion. And the goals of this military expedition were to halt the spread of Islam, reclaim the Holy Land, conquer pagan territories, and regain formerly Christian lands. And so the first crusade saw the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the establishment of the Crusader states. Again, motivations in participating in this first crusade from 1095 to 1101 were complex, but involved a blend of religious fervor, desire for redemption, and the belief that welfare and defense of Christianom was a holy act to protect the freedom and to free Christian populations that were suffering from Muhammad tyranny. And there are other crusades dating from 1145 to 1270 at various times. There's officially about eight or nine of these crusades at the various times, but then all used in defense of Christianom to protect the free Christian populations. Now, since at least the 1990s, we have seen Islamic, let me be using the correct word, Islamist terrorist incidents that have occurred around the world that targeted both Muslims and non-Muslims, carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists, and Islamic extremists such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and ISO, all with the aim of achieving various political religious purposes, including using tactics of kidnapping, sexual enslavement, public executions, suicide bombings. Again, the followers were used to use guns, bombs, vehicles, knives, and a combination of methods to increase casualties. Even though Islam has no connection to terrorism, but these various groups have distorted basic teachings and practices of Islam. And so this is why we need to understand the difference between what we call everyday Muslims and the militant Islamists and Islamic extremists, including those who are extremely politic have extremely political views, such as promoting socialism. So this is just the same way we might ex uh distinguish everyday Christians from some of those Christians who do become very militant and extremists in similar ways. And so we need to basically continue to welcome Muslims now while their principles and practices of faith have not changed. And this is because we welcome Muslims simply because, again, through because of human dignity, we need to do through esteem, dialogue, and cooperation for peace and common good. And this is stated in paragraph three of Vatican II's document, Nostra Ate, that's the Declaration of Relations to Church to Non-Christian religions. It was issued in October of 1965. And again, it urged, quote, to all to forgive the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all humankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and justice. It goes on to say this does not mean the Catholics approve of Islam's religious claims as true. In a way we confess Christianity, but welcome means that we appro we approve the doctrine and practice of excuse me, does not mean, maybe repeat that, welcome does not mean that we approve the doctrine and practice of Islam. They're contrary to Christian doctrines. But again, when we look at Christ and we look at our Catholic Church teachings, it emphasizes that we must respond to contemporary needs, including even the extreme beliefs of some Muslims, with peaceful coexistence, justice, religious freedom, freedom of conscience, and rejection of distortion or rejection of discrimination and intolerance. Pope Saint John Paul II in a speech to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Pakistan, when they made their aluminum visit in October 1994, he said that the attitudes of trust and distrust, attitudes of distrust and mutual rejection must be overcome. The church cannot forsake dialogue, even when difficult. Pope Benedict 16th, in November of 2011, at his postineal apostolic exhortation, Africa Munis, which was addressed to the bishops, clergy, and consecrated persons, the lay faithful of the Church in Africa, said that the church must seek recognition of religious freedom so that citizens can freely choose religion and have freedom of conscience, adding, religious freedom is the road to peace. Subsequently, we find in various church documents, including from the Dicaster of Interreligious Dialogue, that interreligious dialogue has specific purpose and limits. It says dialogue. Itself does not aim at conversion, but it can be an occasion of conversion, and dialogue is an attitude of respect, hospitality, and willingness to learn as it leaves room for other persons' identity. Catholics are to propose faith but not impose it, acting in truth and charity. And the mission of the church must always respect the other's freedom, especially rejecting coercion, especially in religious matters. So the Church welcomes Muslims now because the Church teaches that charity, justice, and religious freedom are not optional extras. Thus, we are demanded by the gospel and by human dignity, even when there are doctrinal disagreements. So while there are some quarrels and hostilities between us and Muslims, as we sp as I pointed out earlier, we are to forget the past and work sincerely for mutual understanding to promote peace and freedom. Again, this means that we do not justify past violence. It does not mean we treat Muslims as enemies by default, and we still must believe the truth. That truth must ultimately be opposed in a free and respectful manner. So we continue to welcome Muslims now because the church teaches esteem for the faith of Islam, because Islam is grounded in religious goods in order to peace, justice, mutual understanding, and religious freedom. And also we welcome Muslims because church dialogue is meant to be done in a respectful way. Again, respecting freedom and not doing through conversion or hostility. And we do this all for the issues, you know, and all in fact we do the small issues in the church, including when we address issues with killing of unborn children, you know, that what some people believe is a human right. It's like we need to be very respectful. And of course, we also look at what Jesus would do, including we do not compromise our faith or our beliefs or practices. It's good for us to learn more about other our faith, our practices, beliefs, and including those of others who do not share the same faith, belief, and practices. Again, we need, as Catholics too, to stand firm in our faith, beliefs, and practices. Again, we share in a Christ-like manner the truths of our faith, truths of our beliefs and practices, and also being willing to die as Jesus did for standing up for the truth. Again, remember what the early Christians did. They won converts to Christ by their love and their commitment, even through shedding of their blood. And so I hope this answers your question. It's kind of a complicated question, uh difficult to answer because some of the uh nuances with some people of Islam have done, but again, you know, what would Christ do? It kind of comes down to this.
SPEAKER_01I think I think it comes back to you know the tenet of our faith. Love one another as you would want to be loved.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And so again, love is you know a powerful tool. And so it's so difficult when we're being uh we're being um persecuted even by Muslims. And so again, I would say, you know, most normal Muslims, if I can use that term, they're good people. Right. But we have always these groups of extremists, and we see it in every society, every organization, there's always these extremists that take it to a degree that's not what it really was meant for.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think you get into that with even Presbyterians or Methodists or any of the other ones, too. There's always extremists where they're going to the far end of the pendulum with their thoughts and actions. Right. So I think that that's an incredibly difficult piece to for us to reconcile sometimes. It is. So I think having the peace to understand that our faith is built on tradition and history and faith is really the rock that we need to rely on.
SPEAKER_00Right. So if we rely on that rock, the truth of the gospel, what Jesus taught, I think that'll help us a lot. Um again, when you take a look at the apologists, that for example on EWTN, again, they talk about how do you address some of these issues. Again, it's not attacking the person, but basically kind of learning where they come from and then maybe challenging what they believe. And they may find out that their foundation may not be as strong as what they thought it was. And so, again, that's why we're here preaching the truth, sharing the truth here. That's why we have these wonderful questions, which we're only gonna get to two this time, but uh these are two awesome questions.
SPEAKER_01Well, this is one of the things that troubles people one of the things that Mother Angelica really came back with was that we need to base our faith on tradition and history. She was an incredibly important piece as we're bringing EWTN along, and this is what she truly believed in. And she was challenged at times, and she she for forestood that challenge by trying by standing up for what she believed in, which I have a great level of respect for.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. So, again, we're gonna conclude here tonight, just answering those two really big questions. So let's next week, maybe let's talk a little more about maybe guardian angels and maybe what heaven's like and see what else we get into. Uh, but uh for now, again, we really appreciate tuning in here to Sioux Line Catholic Radio as we answer your questions about faith and about uh the life of the church. Again, also we also offer from wonderful programs, including Faith in Action, Life Plan, Catholic Ministry Professionals, Divine Mercy Chaplain, Sunday Morning Mass. Please check out our Facebook pages for Siouxland Catholic Radio and Father Knows Best for more information about this show, including more information about questions and answers I have addressed, and some information I've not addressed in the show. So as we wrap up today's questions and answers session, I extend a heartfelt thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought and provoking questions, your curiosity, your engagement makes the show possible. We're always inspired by the incredible range of topics to bring to the table. We hope you found the answers both informative and lightning, and that you'll carry some new insights 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, would like to re-listen to this or other episodes, please visit our website, so on the catholic 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, please, if you have any questions, send your questions to me at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com or mail them to Father Knows Best, Southern Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 5103. And thank you to our sponsor, St. Augustine Indian Mission, Pinobago. Please join us next week, next Wednesday at 9 p.m. for another round of questions and answers. Till then, stay curious, stay faithful, and keep your light shining and keep those those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Stoles, your host signing off. Wish you a great week ahead. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.