3/7/24 - Fr. William Rock, FSSP

Fr. William Rock, FSSP serves as Parochial Vicar at Regina Caeli Parish in Houston, Texas. He was ordained in October of 2019 and serves as a regular contributor to the FSSP North America Missive Blog and the TAN Direction Blog.     In Today's Show In an earlier show, I mentioned that my dad said that soda didn't break a fast. The question was taken with the Eucharistic fast in mind, but I was referring to a Lenten fast. Does soda break a Lenten fast? As Catholics, we invoke the names of Mary and the saints alike interchangeably in prayers as mediators to pray for people who have passed. I want to know the reason why we do this, as our Bible says to not do this. Why do we call priests "Father?" I have a friend who hasn't been to confession or mass in 40-45 years. He is looking at coming back, but he doesn't see the reason to confess to a priest and says, "Why can't I confess straight to God? Why do I need a priest?" How do I respond to him without getting him off track? I understand that in the Novus Ordo mass, you'd read the whole Bible in three years if you went to mass every day. How much of the Bible do you read in the 1962 missal? Can you get married sacramentally only? Why do you also have to be married by the state? When the Creed says the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, I read that to mean that the Holy Spirit came first. What does it mean that the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father and the Son? Do those who pass away AFTER the Resurrection have a special grace or intimacy with Jesus that others who died before the Resurrection did not? During the four days between Lazarus' death and Jesus' restoring him to life, while his body was wrapped up in the tomb, where would his soul have been?  And, during this incident, would Lazarus have gone through what we today might call a, "Near-Death Experience?" And while we're on the subject, does the Church have a position on, or explanation for, near death experiences? What does it really mean to be a "practicing Catholic"? Does the Church have specific laws and/or beliefs that constitute the "minimum requirement" for truly being Catholic? What would be the difference between a practicing Catholic and a Catholic "in name only?"   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!