Knowing that God is all-powerful, why did he allow Christ to be executed?
Being of mostly Irish descent, I will answer your question with another one: Why did God allow Cain to murder his brother, Abel? Isn’t the answer to both that God gave human beings freedom, a key part of being created “in the image and likeness of God”?
Doesn’t your question suggest that God lives in time exactly as we do (past/present/future: chronological time)? Such time is a human invention that we cannot simply project onto God, thereby limiting God.
Although it is difficult to understand, all time is simultaneously present to God (also known as kairos time). Humans necessarily live in chronological time. Granted, Scripture often speaks as though God operates in chronological time—for example, God’s instruction to Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gn 2:16–17).
Some people use their freedom generously and benefit others. Other people, however, abuse their freedom terribly. That explains most of the news we receive via TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. When we cooperate generously with God’s grace, we will always be stretched in the direction of what God considers normal.
Is Group Prayer Better?
I’m having a heavy heart about prayer. It seems God listens only if we have a large group praying for a particular intention. Does the prayer of one person matter? I know there’s strength in a group. Does Jesus listen only to group prayer? That can’t be true.
Group prayer is recommended but is not required. Individual prayer is fine.
Please remember, however, that we do not pray to change God’s mind. Let’s call Plan A what would happen if I/we do not pray for some person or intention. Let’s call Plan B what we would prefer to happen. We do not pray because we think that our Plan B is better than God’s Plan A.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he began, “Our Father.” We should always pray in that spirit—not as though we are giving God new information or stressing the urgency of something that God might have overlooked.
Individually or as a group, we pray to open ourselves to God’s grace and to deal with whatever happens. That includes being ready to offer whatever assistance we can if our prayer seemingly goes unanswered.
Helping an Addicted Person
I want to help a coworker who is struggling with a gambling addiction. How can I help her? What are the Catholic Church’s views on gambling?
Gamblers’ Anonymous (GamblersAnonymous.org) is a 12-step group whose members admit that gambling has made their lives unmanageable. Members gather for mutual support on their daily journey to recovery. An Internet search may reveal such a group close to where your coworker lives. The more humbly you suggest this group, the more likely your coworker will accept it.
Facing an addiction is a one-time decision that must be supported by countless daily decisions. There are similar groups for other addictions, each of which can be addressed effectively only if the addicted person stops lying to herself or himself about the effects of that addiction and then takes steps toward long-term recovery.
All gambling isn’t necessarily evil, especially if people impose on themselves limits regarding the time, money, and energy used for it. For some people, for example, bingo is more a social activity than a way to make money. For others, though, it might be an addiction.
Must I Continue Chemotherapy?
I have just completed my first round of chemotherapy and am not sure if I am willing to engage in a second round. Do I have a moral obligation to do that? Am I, in effect, committing suicide if I refuse to do so?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, or extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is a refusal of ‘over-zealous’ treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decision should be made by the patient if he [or she] is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected” (2278).
The text continues: “Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a patient cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity even if death is not willed as an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged” (2279).
Can Homosexuals Be Knights of Columbus Members?
Is it morally acceptable for a homosexual to become a member of the Knights of Columbus? I do not feel homosexuality is morally acceptable in God’s eyes; too many things that are morally wrong are becoming socially acceptable. This world is backward, and we are blind to what is coming.
Doesn’t the term homosexual refer first to an orientation and only later to specific actions? The Catholic Church recognizes that genuine homosexuality is not truly a free choice. That does not, however, mean that engaging in homosexual acts is morally OK. There is free choice involved there.
Thus, a celibate, homosexual person can be a Knight of Columbus, Communion distributor, or belong to any other organization linked to the Catholic Church.
Yes, our world is in bad shape, but reducing its problems to homosexuality as an orientation is too simple to be true.
