General

Q: My family are non-practicing Jews, I personally don’t follow any of their customs, but I’ve grown up in a Christian society. I do consider Christ to be the son of God but not the Messiah. I’m not sure what path to follow. Do you have any advice? – Oscar

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: It’s great to hear about your interest in Jesus and your belief that he is the Son of God. It’s interesting, however, that you don’t think he is the Messiah. But let’s leave that issue aside for now.

Some quick advice would be this:

— Pray for guidance from God. Ask him to enlighten your heart as to where he is trying to lead you.

— Read a bit deeper into the person of Jesus Christ and his place within salvation history. One book that might help is Salvation Is from the Jews by Roy Schoeman. A modern classic is The Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen.

Also helpful: Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist and Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, both by Brant Pitre.

— Jesus founded a Church. So, you might find it useful to get an overview of the Catholic faith.

The Youth Catechism and the Compendium of the Catechism (available online) can help people of all ages. These could be a warm-up for the weightier Catechism of the Catholic Church.

— Feel free to attend Mass, but don’t receive Communion; that is only for Catholics in a state of grace. Explanations of the Mass abound online.

If later you feel the tug to enter the Church, you could attend an RCIA program at a nearby parish. The RCIA teaches the basics of Catholic beliefs and practices. The parish could give more details.

I hope that this helps. Count on my prayers.

Q: Hello, I am a Jew living in Israel. Lately, I have been thinking about Christianity and Utopia, and how the two might be connected. Becoming a Christian is relatively easy (in comparison to Judaism), and an essential part of Christianity is convincing other people to be Christians as well (to save them and make sure that they arrive in heaven). Due to that fact, one might argue from a materialistic point of view, i.e., a point of view of a nonbeliever, that the purpose of Christianity as a religion is to create a utopia. Because the more people have in common, the less likely they are to fight or participate in warfare. If the entire world were Christian, fewer people would fight and there would be more peace, a thing that resembles a utopia. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you very much. — Gilad

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: Shalom! It’s good to hear of your interest in Christianity. Christians believe that Jesus fulfilled all the hopes expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is the long-awaited Messiah.

The Catholic Church doesn’t aim for a utopia in this world. The word utopia comes from Greek and means “no place” (a tip-off!). The only perfect place is in heaven, with God.

Catholics do aim, however, to improve the world, for a healthy culture helps people more easily lead upright lives. But we don’t believe in the perfectibility of the world, per se.

Man is damaged by original sin. Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden had an impact on all his descendants.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

402 All men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as St. Paul affirms: “By one man’s disobedience many (that is, all men) were made sinners”: “sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.” The Apostle contrasts the universality of sin and death with the universality of salvation in Christ. “Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.”

403 Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam’s sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the “death of the soul.” […]

404 How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man.” By this “unity of the human race” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as all are implicated in Christ’s justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. […] [end quoted material]

In effect, we inherit a damaged human nature (another name for original sin). We can improve with the grace of God, but life is a battle — and one that we fight till the end.

Unfortunately, Christians haven’t always been the witnesses of Christ’s love that they should be.

History is full of accounts of Christians who did evil and even fought one another. And their treatment of the Jews in the past hasn’t been without fault, either.

If you want to learn more about Catholicism, you might check out the Youth Catechism and the Catechism (a heavy read) or its leaner Compendium.

The Catholic Answers site has lots of helpful resources. And the document Gaudium et Spes gives an overview of the Church’s relation to the modern world.

Above all, the Catholic faith is centered around the person of Jesus Christ. So read the Gospels to get to know him.

I hope some of this helps. Count on my prayers.

Q: I like to make people laugh. Whether it be my family and friends or people I don’t know, I’ve always enjoyed making people smile. I’ve been getting more into my faith and have begun to look at my attempts at humor in a different light. Sometimes when I crack jokes, it can be at the expense of others. While I don’t intend to do any harm and it’s often understood that I don’t, I am now wondering if this is a sin. I don’t think my jokes cause any harm to the person I’m joking about, but I am wondering if I should go to confession as I didn’t know this could be a mortal sin. I tend to be a little overly scrupulous so I might be overthinking this but any insight would be appreciated. – Ben

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: If you are asking these questions, your conscience might be nudging you to reconsider these jokes.

You say you getting more into your faith. That’s good. And that might be precisely why you are viewing the jokes in a different light.

It might be good to follow your conscience. You mention that you don’t think the jokes constitute a mortal sin and thus you don’t need to go to confession. Fair enough.

But ask yourself another question: If these jokes were “only” a venial sin, would you keep cracking them?

Remember, we aren’t here just to avoid mortal sin. We are here to become saints.

So instead of asking, “Is this a mortal sin?”, it might be better to ask, “How can I use all my words for the glory of God?”

This isn’t to imply that all joking is forbidden. In certain circles, telling jokes about others is actually a way of showing appreciation for them.

But this would need to done with prudence, for an ill-timed or indiscreet joke can leave a deep wound.

And let’s not forget the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:26 — “On the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak.”