Dear Father John, My reactions to things seem out of control. For example, when I am cut off in traffic by another driver, I often get “road rage.” And, I get very sad when people reject my good intentions. There doesn’t seem to be any basis for it, nothing in my childhood or upbringing or
CARRYING OUT WORKS OF MERCY Dear Fr. John, Sometimes, when I set out to do some work of mercy, such as go to a funeral or help someone out, all of a sudden, I feel ill. I have the good intention but feel physically lousy and not able to carry it out. In other words,
A CURE FOR DISCOURAGEMENT: A RETREAT GUIDE FOR EASTER The newest Retreat Guide from RC Spirituality, A Cure for Discouragement, is now available at www.RCSpirituality.org. The appearances of Jesus after his Resurrection, as recorded in the New Testament, are, to be honest, kind of confusing. The people he appears to don’t recognize him right away,
Editor’s Note: In Part I, we looked at the variability of emotions, today we’ll get to the heart of the issue at hand: why we have emotions. We’ll also talk about the unruliness of emotions. Here is the question we are examining: Dear Father John, my very emotional nature often gets me in trouble. Why
Dear Father John, my very emotional nature often gets me in trouble. Why do we have emotions in the first place? What’s the purpose of them? THE NINE BASIC emotions are just the raw material for this complex, powerful, and intriguing dimension of the human soul, the dimension of our feelings. The varied reality of
Dear Father John, I understand that demons hate God, but they also suffer from being separated from Him. Is it possible that a demon could repent, and accept God as we can? The Catechism gives a direct answer to this question, so let’s start there. I will quote the four numbers in full, since they
Editor’s Note: In Part I, we examined the gift that the emotions are and the categories of emotions. Today we will look at the nine most basic emotions and an example of emotion in action. Here is the question we are considering: Dear Father John, I’m not usually an emotional person. But sometimes, I can
Dear Father John, I’m not usually an emotional person. But sometimes, I can get very angry. And, sometimes I am so moved by something at Mass, it brings me to tears. I know we are not supposed to be attached to things. It seems that the more attached I am to something or someone, the
Dear Father John, I’ve heard that God forgives all sins. But, I’ve also heard something about an “unforgivable sin”. It seems there’s a contradiction there. What is that all about? Is there really a sin that God won’t forgive? And, what happens if I commit that? What do I do then? This probably is a
How Does One Love God with the Soul? (Part II of II) Editor’s Note: In part I, we looked at the x-ray of a soul and the kinds of souls that plants and animals have. Today, we examine the problems with the philosophical distinction called a soul and how the soul is beloved of God.
