Fr. Josh answers questions about whether or not spending the night together before marriage is OK, what true humility looks like, if Catholics believe in paranormal activity, and how to evangelize to friends who believe same sex adoption is good.

If you have a question, comment, or response for Fr. Josh, email us at askfrjosh@ascensionpress.com. You may hear your question or comment in an upcoming podcast episode!

      

Snippet from the Show

     

Authentic love never sends the lover to the confessional because of sin. Authentic love always accompanies the lover to the confessional because of grace.

-Fr. Josh Johnson

    

    

SHOWNOTES

  

Glory Story (1:08)

Whenever a gift in the Body of Christ comes to the surface, a need arises. Fr. Josh shares three real life examples of people making a gift of themselves and the people who came to receive that gift.

   

Listener Feedback (4:55)

    

Same Sex Adoption (6:49)

My name is Tony from the south side of Chicago. I was hoping you could respond to my question in a future podcast as I recently had a pretty intense conversation with some acquaintances about the issue of same-sex couples being able to legally adopt children. I tried to be as understanding and respectful as I could. But, it was very hard for these acquaintances of mine to hear out any of my arguments because of two main reasons.

1- They are not as religious as I am (if at all), which begs me to question how I am supposed to debate the topic of same sex adoption when we cannot even come to an agreement on the existence of God or infallibility of church teachings. It led to many tangents in the conversation.

And…

2- They refused to hear me out because of their personal situations. One man in the conversation was a homosexual male, and he felt that I was personally attacking his ability to be a loving parent. Another woman in the conversation was actually raised by two women, and she stated that “she turned out just fine”. Others would cite the fact that they “knew someone” or “had a family member” being raised by a same-sex couple and that their home is very loving and nurturing for children.

I know this seems like a lot to wrap your head around… I really do try to sympathize with everyone’s unique situation.  But, by the end of the conversation, I truly felt attacked and was met with a lot of hostility for the sake of my beliefs. I hope I handled it the right way, but any guidance from you would be tremendously appreciated. Thank you so much Father!

-Tony

    

Humility (24:50)

I have recently started listening to your podcast after one of my really good friends showed it to me and I love it! You are so informative and relatable and I love it. My question is, what is humility? Everything I read on humility is what humility is not but no one seems to be giving good examples of what it is. The Litany of Humility provides a great basis for me but beyond that it seems very subjective and it seems to be becoming a hot topic. Thank you for your docility to the Holy Spirit and using your gifts to lead myself and others to the Lord and sanctification! Have a great day!

-Mikayla

    

Spending the Night (28:33)

Hi Fr. Josh! I’m a huge listener to your podcast and love it!  My fiance is Catholic and I am going through RCIA right now. I was Methodist before going through RCIA and finally feel at home in the Catholic Church.

Prior to my fiance and me dating, I was very sexually promiscuous and not chaste at all. Although it was a part of my religion’s beliefs I was not that involved with their teaching because I never got a definitive answer for why we believed anything.

Once my fiance and I started dating we were sexually active. As we started going to Mass more and more and I started RCIA I have become more aware of the Church’s teachings and why things are moral or immoral. I know having sex before marriage is sinful and so does my fiance & we’ve had discussions about it, but neither of us have really tried to stop.

We are going to be married in less than a year and spend the night with each other a lot, as we are long-distance so it’s really the only option. I know a lot of people advise to not sleep in the same bed because that can lead to more sin. They’re probably right, but it’s not practical for us to do that at all.

I’ve been praying about this over and over & I concluded we shouldn’t be having sex, but when we’re together it’s different. We’re so close to being married now, is it really worth it to try and be chaste?

-Anonymous

   

The Paranormal (36:32)

I love your podcast and have learned a lot about my faith through it. I have a question about ghosts and other paranormal things! What do we believe as Catholics? Are they souls in purgatory, demons, or nothing at all?  

-Bernadette

   

Universal Points (40:31)

1. Same Sex Adoption – Remember that we have three roles 1) to be joyful witnesses 2) to encourage relationship with Christ and 3) to be practical in our expression of the natural law.
2. Humility – Just remember the truth of who you are.
3. Spending the Night – Don’t do it. Avoid the near occasion of sin.
4. The Paranormal – Once a part of the Body of Christ, always a part of the Body of Christ. Remember to pray for your loved ones who have passed on so that they may become great saints in the kingdom of heaven.

   

Resources

Broken and Blessed

Dating Detox by Kevin and Lisa Cotter

Christina Mead – Lifeteen article

      

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Meet Your Host:

While Fr. Josh was raised Catholic, he didn’t like the Church growing up. One day, in adoration, he fell in love with Jesus and received the call to become a priest. Now, Fr. Josh is the pastor for Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Louisiana, and he is a presenter in two of Ascension’s programs: Altaration, and YOU: Life, Love, and the Theology of the Body and author of Broken and Blessed.