Faith Questions Answered

Question 1

Why am I here?

Accepted Answer

The Catholic understanding of life's purpose is broken down into several foundational theological concepts. The Church believes and teaches that every human being, regardless of their career or status, is called by God to a life of holiness. That God gave us His only begotten Son as a perfect model. It was Adam and Eve’s failure to live life this way in the Garden of Eden which caused the rest of humanity to suffer the consequences of Original Sin. But in Jesus Christ the opportunity to return to God and live once more with him and in his Glory was consummated when Jesus died for us on the Cross. Now because of His suffering, death and resurrection once again the ultimate, final goal of human existence is Heaven. 
As Catholics we believe the supreme happiness of life is the eternal, direct contemplation of God in His heavenly glory. While everyone shares the same ultimate purpose, individual purpose is discovered through a personal "vocation." This is a specific state of life to which God calls a person, such as marriage, the priesthood, consecrated religious life, or dedicated single life. Human purpose is also actively lived out through love of neighbour. The Church emphasizes performing corporal and spiritual works of mercy, defending human dignity from conception to natural death, and caring for God's creation.
As an individual I enter into a personal relationship with God. He is present to us at all times. Unlike human beings who are often distracted with their own personal cares, God has only you in His focus, always. He listens and more importantly He hears. He is greater than any of our problems. To understand that you have to believe and trust Him. That is Faith and Hope acted out in full. You may say where is He in your mind, I am believing in a ghost! But you are not, it is just Satan and his legions trying to make you uncertain. Just like you are now possibly, trying to understand who and what to believe. Just believe in God and let Him guide you.
Commit to trust Him now. Don’t expect a hurricane of storm, look for a quietness within because the One who created you is full of love for you. He wants you to be with him forever. He is not an online store where you place your orders and wait for the delivery. Because what you want and what He wants may truly be the same very often. The delivery system may be quite different to how you expected it. For God having you with Him for eternity and as Supreme Creator of all that ever was, is or will be, only He knows the best way to that goal.

Question 2

Why does God allow suffering?

Accepted Answer

The problem of suffering is one of the most enduring theological challenges we face daily. In a world where we see so much war, natural disasters, along with their own personal tragedies, people can become overwhelmed. Often to the point of despair! A despair that makes us want to commit even more atrocities in the expectation that we can eradicate the source. We even blame a loving God for permitting this suffering. This question reveals a deep struggle with faith because when we blame God, we alienate the one solution to all our problems. There is nothing left just more despair.
No one can explain away suffering! But if we blame God then why would Jesus, who is God enter into suffering and death?  Why would the Father send His only beloved Son into a world that would crucify Him if he were the Person inflicting the pain?  Freedom makes real love possible but also makes real harm possible, because it was from that freedom that a wounded creation came about. Adam and Eve used their freedom against themselves, prompted by the devil. Believing what the serpent said would give them more power, ended with just giving them and us suffering and death. God was not finished though, He believed in humanity and that with His direction and love He could destroy death. He loved Man, His creation, with such intensity that He planned a way for them to return to Him. Even though that plan would mean demeaning Himself to the level of a human, he was prepared to fight for us. That fight which is the answer to all suffering was finally accomplished with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of His only begotten Son: Jesus Christ. So, suffering carried with Christ becomes redemptive: not meaningless.

Question 3

Does God answer every prayer?

Accepted Answer

God hears every prayer, He does not ignore what we ask but puts in place what will give us the best reward. It may not be what we thought, because God sees all, He knows what is best. 
Do not make your request like you are ordering from a menu. That is not a request for intercession by God, that is you telling Him the best solution. Pray for God to help us with the problem, rather than trying to bend His will to ours. Answers will come, sometimes as changed circumstances, changed hearts, or a strength to trust what does not change, in our eyes.
When you wait, trust and remain prayerful, that is truly believing in Him. With that will come a great peace, a feeling of being loved and a feeling of loving God will swell up inside you. Suddenly everything around you makes you see that God is in everything. Keep pictures around your home of Christ, Mary or saints. These will help visually to bring you back to the reality that God is always with you, always looking out for you. Carry prayer beads with you at all times, so you can say a Rosary or Divine Mercy. The times when you feel alone, sad or worried, you can hold those beads and the cross and know He is with you.

Question 4

Why do Catholics go to confession to a priest?

Accepted Answer

Because Christ gave the authority to forgive sins to his apostles and their successors. Confession makes forgiveness concrete: sin is named out loud, absolution is heard with our own ears, and healing comes through the Church we wounded rather than only in private. Preparing well with an examination of conscience makes the sacrament far less daunting than most people expect.

Question 5

What do Catholics believe about the Eucharist?

Accepted Answer

That the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ, while the appearances remain. This is why the Eucharist is called the source and summit of Christian life, why adoration developed, and why Eucharistic miracles have been reported and investigated throughout history. It is a real presence, not a symbol or a memory.

Question 6

I have been away from the Church for years. How do I come back?

Accepted Answer

Start with one step, not ten. Go to Mass without receiving Communion, then arrange a confession — telling the priest at the start how long it has been is enough, and he will guide you through it. There is no penalty for having been away and no need to have your questions resolved first; belonging comes before understanding everything.

Question 7

Do Catholics worship the saints?

Accepted Answer

No. Worship belongs to God alone. Catholics honour the saints as older brothers and sisters who ran the race before us, and ask for their prayers exactly as you would ask a friend to pray for you. Their images and relics point beyond themselves to the God who made them holy.

Question 8

How does someone become a saint?

Accepted Answer

Canonisation is a long investigation, not an award. A cause opens after the person has died, their life and writings are examined for heroic virtue or martyrdom, and they may be declared Venerable, then Blessed, then Saint. Miracles are usually required — except for martyrs, whose death for the faith stands in their place.

Question 9

Are there really martyrs in the modern world?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and in significant numbers. Christians are killed today for refusing to renounce the faith, for serving the poor, for defending the vulnerable and for staying with their people in danger. What makes a martyr, as Cyprian of Carthage wrote, is not the pain but the cause for which one is prepared to embrace it.

Question 10

Why is the Church opposed to abortion and euthanasia?

Accepted Answer

Because it holds that every human life carries an inviolable dignity that no circumstance removes, from conception to natural death. That single conviction stands behind the Church’s defence of the unborn, its opposition to assisted suicide, and its enormous investment in hospice and palliative care, which aims to remove suffering without removing the sufferer.

Question 11

Is refusing burdensome treatment the same as euthanasia?

Accepted Answer

No. Catholic teaching distinguishes clearly between choosing not to prolong dying with disproportionate treatment, which is permitted, and acting to end a life, which is not. Comfort care, effective pain relief and the withdrawal of futile interventions are all compatible with the reverence the Church asks for the dying.

Question 12

How do I talk about these issues without sounding harsh?

Accepted Answer

Lead with the person in front of you. Ask questions before making arguments, acknowledge the real fear of pain, dependency or an unplanned pregnancy, and offer concrete help alongside conviction. Truth spoken without charity rarely changes anyone, and charity without truth leaves people alone with their situation.

Question 13

I do not know how to pray. Where do I start?

Accepted Answer

Begin small and fixed: five minutes at the same time each day. Use words already given to you — the Our Father, a Psalm, the day’s Mass readings, a decade of the Rosary — and end by naming one thing you are grateful for and one thing you need. Consistency matters far more than length or intensity.

Question 14

What if prayer feels dry or God feels absent?

Accepted Answer

That experience is normal and well documented in the spiritual tradition, including in saints such as Teresa of Calcutta and John of the Cross. Dryness is usually a stage of growth rather than a sign of failure. Keep the commitment, shorten it if needed, and bring the dryness itself to God instead of waiting for feelings to return.

Does Life Have a Purpose?

The Church and the sacraments

Saints and martyrs

Life and moral questions

Prayer and the spiritual life

Where to go next

Catholic prayers

Examination of conscience

Modern day martyrs

Eucharistic miracles