Catholic Replies
Q. If I dream that I killed someone, would God consider that a sin? — J.B., Pa.
A. No, we are not morally responsible for sinful actions that occur in dreams. The only sinful actions we are responsible for are those involving grave matter, full knowledge that the action is grave matter, and deliberate consent to the sinful action. These conditions cannot be met in a dream. However, one ought to be careful about cultivating sinful thoughts before going to sleep. For example, if one watches pornography before going to bed, that may be followed by dreams of immoral sexual acts. What happens in a dream is not a sin, but entertaining sinful thoughts before going to sleep is a sin.
Q. When I attempt to explain the Mass to my Protestant friends, it seems too much for them to accept and embrace. Can you suggest a better means of explaining the Mass that my friends might understand? — M.O., Md.
A. Here is how we have explained the Mass to Confirmation students, both teenagers and adults:
The origins of the Mass go back to Adam and Eve, whose original sin set us against God and prevented us from getting to Heaven. For thousands of years, the people of the Old Testament tried to gain God’s forgiveness by sacrificing animals and offering them up to God. But these offerings were not enough to make up for the sins of Adam and Eve and their descendants.
God loves us so much, however, that He sent His only Son Jesus into the world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. Because Jesus is God, He could offer the perfect sacrifice to His Father and make up for our sins. Because He was also a man, human like us in all things but sin, Jesus could stand in our place and offer His life in atonement for our sins. That is why we call Jesus the “Lamb of God,” because He shed His blood for us and restored our friendship with the Father.
Jesus wanted us to share in His perfect sacrifice, so He instituted the Mass. At the Last Supper, the night before He died, Jesus changed water and wine into His body and blood (“This is my body … This is my blood”) and gave the Apostles the power to do the same in memory of Him. The priest at Mass stands in the place of Jesus and offers the same sacrifice that He offered on Good Friday. This sacrifice in our churches is being offered at the same time in Heaven, so we are part of a much bigger celebration than what we witness in our churches. That is why the priest, in the first Eucharistic Prayer, asks God to “command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high.”
We can’t see them, but dozens of angels are surrounding the priest every time he offers Mass in our churches, and they take our prayers to God.
What is Holy Mass? It is a continuation of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, but in an unbloody way. Jesus died only once, but the Mass is a memorial of His death and Resurrection. It is also a banquet that recalls the Last Supper, that celebrates our unity as followers of Christ, and that anticipates the final banquet in Heaven at the end of time.
Why go to Mass? Six reasons: (1) To give praise and adoration to God, who brought us into the world and who watches over us every minute of every day. (2) To offer thanksgiving to God for the many blessings He has given to us. (3) To petition God for favors for ourselves and for other people. (4) To make reparation for our sins and the sins of others. (5) To hear the Word of God read and explained to us so that we know how to lead a holy life. (6) To receive Jesus in Holy Communion and get the spiritual food we need to strengthen our souls so we can get to Heaven.
Whenever evil people try to take over a country, one of the first things they do is close the churches to prevent people from going to Mass. Millions of Catholics down through the centuries have risked their lives, and even died, to attend Holy Mass. They have bravely told their persecutors that they cannot live without the Eucharist and the Mass. Neither can we if we want to get to Heaven.
The best way that we can show our love for God is by faithfully worshiping Him every week at Holy Mass, which is being celebrated every moment of the day somewhere in the world. Holy Mass is the greatest prayer of all, the central act of worship for a Catholic, and the source of many blessings to help us in our daily life and help us get to Heaven.
God expects us to go to Mass, and He will not look kindly on those who deliberately ignore the Third Commandment, which commands us to keep the Lord’s Day (Sunday) holy. The night before Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, He said the first Mass and told the Apostles, the first priests, to “do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). God gives us 168 hours a week. Is it asking too much for us to give Him one hour on Sunday?
Q. Is there any tradition of “speaking in tongues” since apostolic times? My daughter has a very extensive prayer life, but now practices speaking in tongues. I’ve told her that our religion is based on reason, not emotional gibberish, but she continues to teach her children this. The enclosed article from the local newspaper praises this form of prayer. Have I missed something? Please inform me. — P.A.R., Va.
A. In apostolic times, speaking in tongues can be found in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, when, on the day of Pentecost devout Jews from many nations of the earth were able to understand, each in his own language, what the Apostles were saying. In chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, however, St. Paul talks about a different gift of tongues, whereby a person talks in unintelligible speech. This gift can be good, Paul says, if the speaker also has the gift of interpretation and if he uses his gift to build up the Church, not to build up himself. “Thank God, I speak in tongues more than any of you,” said Paul, “but in the Church I would rather say five intelligible words to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue.”
So, while speaking in tongues does occur today, it is not for every Catholic. When St. Paul was listing the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues came near the end of the list. More important were the gifts of expressing wisdom and knowledge, showing faith, healing others, performing mighty deeds, making prophecies, and discerning spirits (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1–11).
If your daughter truly has this gift, and it brings her and her children closer to God, all well and good. But the author of the article you sent, while enthusiastic about the gift of tongues for himself, offers these words of caution:
“One important point: Unlike certain Pentecostal churches, it is my Roman Catholic and Anglican teaching, and my experience with Christians of many denominations and spiritualities, that one can definitely be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ and not have or use the gift of tongues. I have met many ‘Spirit-filled’ and holy, mature Christians who do not pray in tongues, and I have encountered several people who do have this gift who are far from mature and balanced in their faith, attitudes, and lifestyles.”
Q. I read as part of my evening devotion the following from The Imitation of Christ: “For he communicates mystically, and is invisibly fed, as often as he devotedly calleth to mind the mystery of the Incarnation and Passion of Christ, and is inflamed with the love of Him.” What is this “mystical communion?” — F.D., N.Y.
A. It means that one is able, through the special, unmerited grace of God, to enjoy an acute, immediate, and personal experience of God’s presence in the soul that is truly extraordinary. It is to realize what St. Paul meant when he said that “the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me” (Gal. 2:20).
