Can you stretch holy water by adding unblessed water to it?
Yes, you can. So long as the amount of the water is less than half of the total in the container, the water continues to be holy water.
Reprinted April 9, 1999
How many Catholic dioceses are there in the United States? How can I find
out?
If you were to include the Military Archdiocese for our country, the dioceses of the Eastern Rites, and the dioceses of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, there are 36 archdioceses and 164 dioceses. This does not include some other American possessions (such as Guam). The Official Catholic Directory for the U.S.A. is published each year with a wealth of such information and statistics by P.J. Kennedy and Sons (121 Chanlon Road, New Providence, N.J., 07974). Your Catholic bookseller might be able to obtain a copy for you or you could deal directly with the company. If you want world-wide statistics and in formation about these kinds of matters, you need to obtain a book called the Annuario Pontifico, published by the Vatican Press each year. Once again, your bookseller might be able to help you to get one.
Reprinted April 9, 1999
Yes, animals can be blessed. Pets are often blessed on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Farm animals (and seed and other farm commodities) can be blessed to ask God to make and keep them healthy for the benefit of the farm owner.
Reprinted from January 8, 1999
Why did Judas not get a chance to repent?
I believe that Judas Iscariot probably had a chance to repent, but may have passed it up. We do not know with absolute certainty that he is in hell, but the words of Jesus to the effect that it would had been better had he not been born seem to strongly indicate that he is there. Suicide, when done deliberately and with full knowledge and free consent, is a particularly horrible sin, because it really does not give much room (or any room) for repentance. We should remember, however, that many, if not most, people who commit suicide are mentally impaired or seriously disturbed and thus are incapable of full knowledge and consent. This might mitigate or elminate their guilt for what they do. However, we do not know too much about the internal dispositions and subjective aspects of the suicide of Judas.
Reprinted from January 22, 1999
If Mary was a virgin, where did the brothers and sisters
of Jesus mentioned in the Bible come from?
It is a truth revealed by God, and ever held by the Cahtolic Church, that Mary, the mother of Christ, was a virgin before, during and after the birth of our Lord. St. Jerome noted already in the 5th century that throughout the Middle East, especially in the culture which spoke Aramaic (which was spoken by Jesus), the words "brother" and "sister" were regularly used for any members of an extended family, especially for coursins. Another traiditon, dating at least form the pProtoevangelium of St. James in the 2nd century, says that St. Joseph was a widower with four sons and two daughters from his first marriage. Recent scientific research about the Essens shows that religious celibacy and virginity were highly esteemed among certain Jewish groups at the time of Christ, contrary to previous notions about this matter. Also, a document in one of the Qumran caves shows a possible arrangement for a virgin and her "husband" mutually to vow and observe continence even after their marriage. Thus the "brothers and sisters of Jesus" could have been His cousins or other relatives, or even could have been the children of his foster father from a previous marriage.
Reprinted from February 5, 1999
How can one find a spiritual advisor, especially if one lives in a rural area?
Could such an advisor be someone other than a priest? Could one get spiritual
direction by mail?
I suggest you contact a priest initially, if nor your parish priest, then one in a neighboring town, and ask for some suggestions. There could be competent spiritual advisors and directors who are not priests, such as religious men or women, seminarians, or even deeply spiritual lay people. However, before getting involved with non-clerics in that capacity, there should be some truly careful investigation, regarding the person's training, orthodoxy, academic learning, moral and mental health, etc. In his autobiographical work "Gift and Myster," Pope John Paul II tells of how, as a young man, he came under the spiritual direction and influence of Adam Chmielowski, a layman. Adam was never ordained but he later founded two religious orders and was canonized a saint as "Brother Saint Albert." Spiritual direcdtion by mail is possible, but very difficult to keep up on the part of the director and the directee.
Reprinted from February 26, 1999