{"id":153364,"date":"2021-04-02T09:30:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T13:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:05:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T19:05:21","slug":"ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/","title":{"rendered":"“Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Q: I understand Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, but because humans murdered him, is it like a sin trying to remove sin itself? A rough analogy would be if I rubbed out a stain with my finger but my finger is oily. Yes, the stain is gone but now there is a new oily stain. Why didn’t God the Father just will the Son to die of a disease\/accident instead of murder? \u2013 J.N.<\/address>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC<\/em><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0Your question is the kind that keeps theologians busy. A proper answer could easily fill a book.<\/p>\n

Suffice it to say that it was Jesus\u2019 loving obedience to the Father that redeemed us by re-establishing communion between mankind and God. It was man\u2019s sinfulness that made Jesus\u2019 obedience so painful.<\/p>\n

Our Lord\u2019s willingness to accept that pain without giving up on us is a beautiful and inexhaustibly rich expression of how much God loves and values us.<\/p>\n

If Jesus had died of disease, the sacrificial and loving nature of his death would have been lost on us. Rather, he wanted to let us know that he was willing to die for our redemption.<\/p>\n

That people put Jesus to death was an extraordinary way by which God shows that he can bring good out of evil. God wanted to send his Son, the fullness of what he wanted to reveal to the world, and the fact that the world put Jesus to death is part of the mystery of the plan of redemption.<\/p>\n

God didn\u2019t will<\/em> that people would kill his Son, but he did foresee that act and had already incorporated it into his plan for redemption. And what seemed a horrific end for Jesus was actually his great victory, for by his death he showed a victory over sin.<\/p>\n

This is part of the mystery that surrounds Our Lord’s passion and death. For more insights into the theology of Christ\u2019s suffering, you might find Inside the Passion<\/em><\/a> well worth your time.<\/p>\n

You could spend a life contemplating Jesus\u2019 suffering … which might have been part of God’s plan all along.<\/p>\n

Keep learning more with <\/span>Ask a Priest<\/a><\/p>\n

Got a question? Need an answer?<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s secular world throws curve balls at us all the time. AskACatholicPriest is a Q&A feature that anyone can use. Just type in your question or send an email to AskAPriest@rcspiritual.wpenginepowered.com<\/a> and you will get a personal response back from one of our priests at RCSpirituality. You can ask about anything \u2013 liturgy, prayer, moral questions, current events\u2026 Our goal is simply to provide a trustworthy forum for dependable Catholic guidance and information. So go ahead and ask your question\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: I understand Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, but because humans murdered him, is it like a sin trying to remove sin itself? A rough analogy would be if I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"featured_media":145952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3718],"tags":[3779,5751,118,5395,5055,4472,3476,3399],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-153364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-a-priest","tag-christs-passion","tag-good-friday","tag-jesus","tag-mcilmail","tag-passion","tag-reason","tag-redemption","tag-suffering"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n"Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?" - Regnum Christi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Q: I understand Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, but because humans murdered him, is it like a sin trying to remove sin itself? A rough analogy would be if I […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Regnum Christi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-02T13:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-22T19:05:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RegnumChristiEn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b\"},\"headline\":\"“Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?”\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-02T13:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-22T19:05:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":469,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Christ's Passion\",\"good friday\",\"Jes\u00fas\",\"McIlmail\",\"Passion\",\"Reason\",\"redemption\",\"suffering\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ask a Priest\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?\\\" - Regnum Christi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-02T13:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-22T19:05:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png\",\"width\":3750,\"height\":2500,\"caption\":\"Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"RegnumChristi.com\",\"description\":\"Regnum Christi is a Catholic Community of Apostles including lay people, consecrated men and women, and the priestly order of the Legionaries of Christ\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RegnumChristi.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/open-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/open-1.png\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"RegnumChristi.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/RegnumChristiEn\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RegnumChristiEn\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/regnumchristi_english\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b\",\"name\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC\"},\"description\":\"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, taught theology and Scripture at the then Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island and is now a part-time chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Greenville, R.I. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.regnumchristi.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/emcilmail\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?\" - Regnum Christi","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?\"","og_description":"Q: I understand Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, but because humans murdered him, is it like a sin trying to remove sin itself? A rough analogy would be if I […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/","og_site_name":"Regnum Christi","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn","article_published_time":"2021-04-02T13:30:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-22T19:05:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3750,"height":2500,"url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RegnumChristiEn","twitter_site":"@RegnumChristiEn","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/"},"author":{"name":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b"},"headline":"“Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?”","datePublished":"2021-04-02T13:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-22T19:05:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/"},"wordCount":469,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","keywords":["Christ's Passion","good friday","Jes\u00fas","McIlmail","Passion","Reason","redemption","suffering"],"articleSection":["Ask a Priest"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/","name":"\"Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?\" - Regnum Christi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","datePublished":"2021-04-02T13:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-22T19:05:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ask-A-Priest-Header.png","width":3750,"height":2500,"caption":"Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-couldnt-jesus-just-have-died-a-natural-death\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Ask a Priest: Couldn\u2019t Jesus Just Have Died a Natural Death?”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/","name":"RegnumChristi.com","description":"Regnum Christi is a Catholic Community of Apostles including lay people, consecrated men and women, and the priestly order of the Legionaries of Christ","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#organization","name":"RegnumChristi.com","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/open-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/open-1.png","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"RegnumChristi.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RegnumChristiEn","https:\/\/x.com\/RegnumChristiEn","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/regnumchristi_english\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad2d347644cc6887ae52670c470c68b","name":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC"},"description":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, taught theology and Scripture at the then Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island and is now a part-time chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Greenville, R.I. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/emcilmail\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153364"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=153364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}