10/18/23 - Canon Benjamin Norman, ICKSP

Canon Benjamin Norman, ICKSP currently serves as Representative of the Institute of Christ the King at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Oakland, California. He was ordained in 2018.     In Today's Show: I have a nephew in the military who is being deployed to the Middle East. The chaplain of his unit is a non-denominational minister. Should he attend the chaplain's Sunday service? Should he try to watch a mass on the internet – assuming it is available? What else could he do? How can we know when our works are just an attempt to merit salvation vs. being part of living out our faith? What is the best way to learn the history behind the Stations of the Cross and how to pray them? If God knows all, how do we have free will? How does one respond to gratuitous evil; that is, evil that doesn't have a clear good end, like natural disasters and such? We have a family wedding coming up. I know that a lot of family members on both sides are Catholic "in name only" and rarely if ever go to church on Sunday. Is there a charitable way for us to handle this so that we don't have a parade of non-believers taking communion at the wedding, or should we just leave it alone and let God be their judge? What is paraliturgy? I've heard Catholics say the Jewish people are still God's chosen people because that covenant can not be taken away. Is this correct? I am very interested in studying the Catholic faith and possibly becoming Catholic someday, but I am worried about the reaction of my family who would be horrified if I went through with this. Do you have any advice on how I should handle them?   Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!