Q—If my mother is confined to an assisted living facility and has no option for Sunday Mass other than television does this satisfy her obligation? If not does she commit a serious sin each Sunday?

Q — We see our liturgical colors have changed. What is the meaning and symbolism of each of our colors through the year?

Q: The reading on Oct. 4 from Genesis says “The Lord  says, it is not good for the man to be alone.” So why does the Catholic Church feel priests should not marry?  Is that not going against God’s word? The Greek Orthodox say their religious leaders have to marry to be ordained. An explanation please.

Q — When Jesus shared his last meal with his followers, did the bread and wine become Jesus in the same way we understand that it becomes Jesus today? One person put it this way — “Did transubstantiation take place at the last supper?”

Q —I understand this may be a silly question to you, but I’ve always been curious about the personalities of the disciples (context being how they behaved around people), so my question is: Were any of the disciples, before and during their time with the Lord, considered social misfits? Also, did any of the disciples not get along with each other?

Q — Do Catholics have dietary restrictions, not including Lent? My mother remembers meat from animals with non-cloven hooves being forbidden.

Q — In today’s Gospel — “go into the city to a certain man . . .” Who is that “certain man”? 

Q —As a Catholic, is it morally permissible to believe in evolution? What is the Catholic teaching regarding evolution versus creationism?

Q — Why is the Lord’s Prayer translated into English to say “lead us not into temptation” instead of “let us not into temptation” or something similar? Why do we now say that awkward phrase “that you should enter under my roof” when we don’t say the rest of what scripture says from that passage?

Q — A priest in his homily said that we baptized are all prophets, since we are sent forth to bring the prophetic message to others. “In religion, a prophet is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and to speak for them, serving as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people.”(Wikipedia) Why this focus on prophet rather than disciple?

Q — What is your take on the film ‘Babette’s Feast’?

Q ­— I hear Pope Francis will write an encyclical on the environment. How do encyclicals differ from, say apostolic exhortations? What encyclicals from the past have impacted society the most, in your opinion?

GOA, India — Expecting more than 5 million pilgrims for the once-a-decade exposition of the body of St Francis Xavier in Goa, the Catholic Church in the former Portuguese colony is working to ensure the event is "spiritually nourishing" for the visitors.

Q — Is a tattoo acceptable? A friend of mine is upset because he got a tattoo of our Lady of Guadalupe in the chest. But as a catechumen in a church he has been asked to have it covered or deleted. What do you think?

Q — Paragraph 19 of Dei Verbum, Vatican II’s document on scripture says regarding the history contained in the four gospels; “whose historical character the Church unhesitatingly asserts.” This, of course, would be very significant regarding the teachings and deeds of Jesus that they contain. But at Vatican II, Cardinal Franz Koenig of Vienna arose and charged that there were errors in what is reported in the New Testament. Several other bishops supported him and no opposition was expressed to his remarks. Were Cardinal Koenig and the other bishops in error or is Dei Verbum wrong regarding the historical accuracy of the New Testament?

Q — As used in the Nicene Creed, what is meant by “proceeds from the Father and from the Son?”

Q — My husband recently asked me if I thought our parish priest had made a pledge to the campaign that is going on in our diocese. This got me thinking about tithing in general. Do priests and bishops have an obligation, like the rest of us, to contribute 10 percent of their income to their church, campaigns in their dioceses, and other charities?

Q — I notice some worshipers genuflect in church while others bow. What are the origins of these two forms of reverence and are they interchangeable in Catholic worship?

Q — Is writing a list of your sins before you go to confession considered “not good?” What I mean is lately I have had tendencies that are increasingly difficult for me to control. As much as I want to go to confession, a problem for me is I can’t confess my sins “on-the-spot” because it’s intimidating. I asked another Catholic this question and he said that if I do this, I’d be lying during confession. What are your thoughts?

Q — In the first paragraph of John’s Gospel, we read about the “Word.” Isn’t this the same as the Logos? And isn’t the Logos the creator god in Greek mythology?

Q — We are often told that receiving under both species is not necessary. However, Jesus thought it important for His apostles to do so and He specified that we should eat His body and drink His blood. At Mass, the priest always receives both; shouldn’t it be offered to everyone?

Q — How have Catholics’ relationships with the Jews changed since Vatican II? Are there Catholic-Jewish talks locally?

Q — I recently attended a seminar for liturgical ministers and was surprised when the question/answer section was dominated by questions about the growing interest in the Tridentine or Extraordinary Form of the Mass. I was under the impression that Vatican II allowed the Extraordinary Form if parishioners requested it. When I asked for a clarification, I was told that the two rites were never intended to be compatible or run parallel to each other. The impression I got was that the post-Vatican II rite was the only “acceptable” rite. I later learned that Pope Benedict stated the exact opposite. Since there appeared to be a growing interest among parishioners from what I heard in the seminar, just how many Catholics in the Portland area are interested in learning and experiencing the Tridentine Mass? Is anyone investigating this?

Q — What is Catholic teaching on presence of the body at the funeral? Is it preferable to have the body as opposed to cremated remains at the funeral? If so, why?

Q — What does it mean to be “in the world, but not of the world”?

Q — I have a younger brother who was converted to Islam due to his marriage to a Muslim woman. I believe deep in his heart that he is still attached to Christ. Our family is a strict Catholic household and also my brother still maintained his saint’s name after his Muslim name. My question is this: “Is his baptism still void according to the holy sacrament or will Christ Jesus still recognize him in the later life?”