Ask Ellen: Who is the patron saint of art? Anna.

I have to admit, Anna, I had to look this one up.  Officially it is St. Catherine of Bologna.  Her feast day is March 9th.

I think she was named the patron saint of art because she painted the many glorious visions she saw.  She also drew lovely pictures that were contained in manuscripts.

She lived a very private and simple life.  She died when she was 49.  Eighteen days after her death, the people reported a beautiful fragrance around her grave.  It was discovered that her body remained untouched.  It is now housed in the Chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna.  You should get your dad to take you there.  Get some spaghetti while you are there.

A great way to honor St. Catherine would be to have an exhibit of your art on her feast day.  You could have some fun party foods and celebrate the gift of art in your life.

Best Of....Ask Ellen If I am divorced, that means I can’t receive Communion, right? Lisa.

Thanks for the question, Lisa.  This is one of the most misunderstood things in the Church today.  Yes, you can receive Communion if you are divorced.  You may not receive if your marriage hasn’t been annulled and you are involved with or married to someone else.

In the eyes of the Church, a legal divorce does not end the marriage.  It is still a sacramental marriage (meaning a sacrament took place)  So you can receive Communion as you did in your married life. (assuming you are free from any other mortal sins).

The problem becomes when you are involved with someone or remarry without an annulment.  See, cause in the eyes of the Church you are still married to person number one.  Therefore, you aren’t free to marry anyone else. 

In order to do so, you must seek an annulment.  This is a process the Church uses to decide whether or not a sacramental marriage occurred.  Many times and for many reasons it might not have been a sacramental marriage and it is annulled.  This means you are fee to remarry and to continue to receive Communion.  Does that make sense?  If not, I encourage you and anyone else with questions about annulments to ask your parish priest.  If you are unable to do so, contact me and I will put you in touch with someone who can help.

Ask Ellen: Are Catholics even Christians? Julie.

I do not usually answer questions as forcefully as I will this one but it pushes my buttons.  Yes, Catholics are Christians and anyone who told you we aren’t was telling you a lie.  All Catholics believe in Christ which is what defines a Christian.  But there is more to it.

Catholics are different from all other Christians in that we do not belong to a denomination.  All other Christians denominated from Catholicism.  The term “catholic” means “universal.”  From the very beginning, the Church spread universally.  In the Early Church, if you were Christian, you were Catholic.  It was that simple.  That is all there was.

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ Himself.  He made Peter the Rock on which He built the Catholic Church.  This Church is apostolic, meaning it has been passed on through unbroken succession for the last 2000+ years.

All other denominations broke off from this one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church and were founded by a man or woman.

So, yes, Catholic are Christians.  I would go as far as to say the original Christians.

Ask Ellen: What is Gracie's favorite color? Lexi.

What a cute question, Lexi.  A lot of times we see Gracie wearing her school uniform which is a blue plaid.  Do you wear a uniform to school?  If you do, you might agree that it isn’t your favorite thing to wear and might not be a color you would choose.

If you look at the strips, you might notice two things.  For one, Gracie likes her pajamas.  I think comfort is very important.  She also wears pink shirts a lot.  I think Gracie likes to bring color into the world.  Remember when she said she was “a pink candle girl in a purple candle world”?

We will probably see more colors and trends as Gracie grows.  I think she would want you to bring color anywhere you go too.  When you wear a bright color this summer, think of Gracie and smile, ok?

Ask Ellen: How can I keep from being distracted during prayer? Tricia.

Great question, Tricia.  My answer in short is practice, practice, practice.  When I first made the decision to get serious about prayer, I found it nearly impossible to sit still.  A good friend told me that I just needed to sit in the quiet.  This terrified me.  I had always surrounded myself by noise.  I would have the TV on even if I wasn’t in the room and an Ipod blaring upstairs even when I was outside.  I didn’t do silent.  But I believe it was the key in going deeper.

Once you get used to sheer quiet, you begin to open yourself up to what is going on inside of you.  You are able to “pour your troubles out to the Lord” like we saw Hannah do this week.  It becomes easier each time you sit down to pray.

It also carries over to public prayer.  I used to spend my time at Mass people watching.  Once I learned how to pray, I could be in a room full of people and hardly notice.  For me, the quiet was the key.

In fact, I just noticed that I am sitting in my office, typing away and the only noise is from the keys tapping and the birds chirping and I am at peace.

Go, unplug, sit in a chair and be quiet!

Ask Ellen: Why do Catholics use a crucifix and not a regular cross like other Christians? Holly

This is a great question, Holly.  Can you get to Easter morning without going through Good Friday?  I ask because that is what the crucifix represents.  As Catholics, we remember the suffering that was required to bring about the glory of Easter.  We all know that suffering is part of life.  The Church doesn’t want us to overlook the pain and anguish Jesus went through on His way to Glory.  Therefore, we are reminded every time we see a crucifix.  The crucifix is a promise that through our sufferings, we see God.  To take the Corpus off of the Cross, is to take away the power of suffering.  The next time you see a crucifix, think about what Jesus went through for you and bask in the promise that through your sufferings, you will see God.

Ask Ellen If I am divorced, that means I can’t receive Communion, right? Lisa.

Thanks for the question, Lisa.  This is one of the most misunderstood things in the Church today.  Yes, you can receive Communion if you are divorced.  You may not receive if your marriage hasn’t been annulled and you are involved with or married to someone else.

In the eyes of the Church, a legal divorce does not end the marriage.  It is still a sacramental marriage (meaning a sacrament took place)  So you can receive Communion as you did in your married life. (assuming you are free from any other mortal sins).

The problem becomes when you are involved with someone or remarry without an annulment.  See, cause in the eyes of the Church you are still married to person number one.  Therefore, you aren’t free to marry anyone else.

In order to do so, you must seek an annulment.  This is a process the Church uses to decide whether or not a sacramental marriage occurred.  Many times and for many reasons it might not have been a sacramental marriage and it is annulled.  This means you are fee to remarry and to continue to receive Communion.  Does that make sense?  If not, I encourage you and anyone else with questions about annulments to ask your parish priest.  If you are unable to do so, contact me and I will put you in touch with someone who can help.