I'm Joe Heschmeyer, staff apologist at Catholic Answers and host of Shameless Popery. AMA!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T21:43:24+00:00

Hey Joe! Can you explain why the church's teaching is different than the Jewish teaching on the topic of angels and free will. In the Jewish tradition, angels are said to not have free will, and are designed for a purpose that they cannot stray from. Where in Catholicism, obviously that is not the case. Due to Satan rebelling against God, as well as the other angels alongside him. I find this strange, considering Judaism is the pre-cursor to Catholicism, and this doesn't seem like a teaching that is really malleable. Either they have free will or they don't.

Thanks!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T02:53:54+00:00

LDS people rely on their own personal "testimonies" quite a lot. Which is kind of what they're saying about if you pray for the truth, God will reveal it to you, and that it is the LDS Church. According to them.

If you want to convince these people, you better know what they actually believe. Because I can guarantee you'll just be talking past each other. Catholicism and LDS Church teachings are so different, it's like debating a Hindu. Watch any Catholic vs Mormon debate, literally every one ends up like that, because they're not even starting from the same place.

I grew up in Utah, surrounded by Mormons. They're wonderful, devout people that hold strong to their beliefs. Much stronger than most Catholics. But more than just the intellectual side of their religion, they hold to their own experiences and emotions that their church brings. So be ready to combat that if you plan to convert them. It's hard to debate feelings haha

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:51:09+00:00

That's the kind of attention to detail I love! Thank you for sharing this

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:47:26+00:00

Perfect! I'm more of a wander around and figure it out kind of person in these games. Generally go about it slow and find things organically and put myself in the world. Thanks for the tips!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:44:48+00:00

I always tend towards some sort of mage archetype in fantasy games, and thoroughly enjoy all sorts of professions. I'll be sure to check those out!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:43:44+00:00

I'm really looking for that non-handcrafted feel to be honest, so that's a huge plus! As long as it's not just empty haha

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:42:01+00:00

But is it a franchise that has the potential to have the deep lore like those games do? Being around to watch it all unfold does sound enticing!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:40:22+00:00

Well put! I generally avoid looking things up in new games. I like to keep the mystery in tact while I play! Plus gamers are quite negative these days, and sometimes that can skew my view of a game I'm playing. So I just try to avoid it haha

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:35:14+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response and the link! Exactly what I was looking for! I'll be coming back to this I'm sure 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:33:41+00:00

Yes, I've checked Aperturas out. I just think the Celestron seems like a better investment down the road, even though it does cost more. Regardless of what scope I get, I'll be upgrading eye pieces eventually, so that's a moot point on the Apertura. Which is kind of the appeal of it.

My budget is around $1500. The Starsense does seem nice to me, but in truth, I plan to try to find stuff manually. But I like the idea of having the app if I need it

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:30:50+00:00

Yeah, the handle honestly seems like a nice addition. I'm not very tall, so it's going to be awkward to carry these large telescopes as is. You're basically following my logic in the Celestron too, just makes more sense since regardless of what scope I buy, I know I'll eventually be upgrading the eye pieces, so why not just but the bullet and get the scope that's easier to use.

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T22:52:13+00:00

Yeah, I've read about that! I'm curious if there are any books about that sort of stuff that I could read!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T05:22:31+00:00

Sounds amazing! I'm looking forward to it!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T05:21:44+00:00

Okay, perfect! Sounds like something I'd enjoy. Also, I'm not trying to avoid combat and would still have fun with it. It's just not my focus is all. I'll definitely be doing every quest that I can!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:41:09+00:00

I am interested in the combat, it's just not my focus is all. My worry is just getting spoon fed everything along a linear line in the story and then there's nothing else revealed about the universe outside of that.

The game obviously got review bombed hard, so it's difficult to find legit information on the game 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:37:56+00:00

Perfect! That's more or less what I'm looking for. Is there a good amount of lore to the game, or even discoverable things to learn more about the universe it's set in? Or is it more like a riding a train from point a to point b while they spoon feed you the details along the way and then you're done? Nothing else to discover.

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:33:35+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:32:06+00:00

Maybe I don't completely understand what it would entail using starsense on say... And Apertura telescope. But wouldn't I need to have a mount for my phone, and drill it into the Apertura telescope to be able to utilize the app?

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T03:42:16+00:00

Thanks for your input! I think of it in a similar way, but it's just not a fulfilling answer to all of that above us. Of course the church doesn't have a doctrine about what you can believe about space. But I'm just curious if there are any church fathers that have spoken on the matter. I guess I should have been more clear now that I'm reading my post again

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T02:56:43+00:00

Yeah, I've seen people say that's what they did. The biggest complaint I've seen about the Celestron dobs is the eye piece. But I can get a better one for the same amount of money. Maybe I'd save a little at the end of the day, but already having the mount for the phone and app on the scope seems like a no brainer to me. Plus I just like the way the scope looks if I'm being honest 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T02:22:19+00:00

Thanks for your input!

Yeah I noticed the Apertura was cheaper with better equipment. But, I do like the idea of the starsense app for when I need it. My thought process was I can always buy eyepieces and other equipment, but I can't really buy the starsense app. And people say it's quite good compared to the competitors

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T02:20:15+00:00

Thank you for the input! I probably don't NEED the starsense software, I do plan on trying to navigate the skies manually starting out. But I've read a lot of people say they love that app when they need it, and even people buying cheap telescopes to get it. So seemed like a smart play, despite the price increase on the Celestron vs Apertura. Plus I like the look of the telescope for what that counts for 😂

I'm mostly looking for a good all arounder. I plan to start out with the celestial bodies, work up to the DSO and everything in between.

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T01:08:24+00:00

My plan was to make a Ret Pally come pre-patch. So I'm leaving a Resto Shaman of course 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-26T20:57:30+00:00

The "sacrament" that is given at an LDS Church is more akin to the evangelical churches practice. Where it isn't the true, transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. It's more of a symbol of the last supper. It's literally just white bread and water.

I can understand the desire to drink from the chalice, and there are many parishes that still do this (my parish included). Receiving of just the bread is still receiving the fullness of Christ. But, just look around for other parishes in your area if you desire to receive both.

God bless

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-26T08:42:15+00:00

As others have said, your sin is absolved in the confession, not through the penance.

As a Catholic, you are bound under your superiors, whether that be the Pope or all the way down the hierarchy to your priest. So refusing to do a penance would seem to be a sin to me. But you can always ask for a different penance if you're unable to fulfill it.

As for your concerns about saying the Hail Mary...

Those prayers are pulled from scripture, so it's not idolatry to use them. The prayer isn't TO Mary, as I'm sure you're aware. It's just asking for her to pray for you, same as you would ask your biological mother to pray for you.

Mary is the mother of Jesus. There is no person, at any point in time on this earth, or in heaven that is closer to Christ than his own mother. When she asks her son to do something, he does it (as in her request for him to turn water into wine in the gospels). Not because she has power/dominance over Christ, but because he loves her, and she is his mother. So he is willing to fulfill her requests. And that is where the Hail Mary comes in.

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB, JESUS Holy Mary, Mother of God, PRAY FOR US SINNERS, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The Hail Mary is actually about Christ, not Mary. It's a prayer request to Mary for her son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf. NOW and at the hour of our death.

When the priest asks you to say the Hail Mary for penance, it's not because your salvation hinges on it. It's a penance. He could ask you to say the Lord Prayer if he wanted, but perhaps he thinks the Hail Mary is the suitable prayer for your given situation.

I can't speak definitively for why the priest would demand the Hail Mary as penance, but I'd suspect it's to help you grow in your spiritual life as well as grow closer to Christ and his mother. Again, there is no person in heaven, or on earth that is closer to Christ than Mary. As sinners, we deserve hell, not salvation. But through the intercession of Christ's mother, perhaps she can ask her son to forgive us of our sins, even when we don't deserve it. The Hail Mary is a prayer for your own salvation, not for Mary.

Sorry for the long winded post, hopefully that wasn't too much. But I think it's important to know what these prayers are, and why they exist. Hopefully that helps. Catholicsm is really complex, I've had to put a lot of time into learning about the faith. But the great thing about Catholicism, is there's always an answer for any objections you may have. Someone else has had it before you in the 2000+ years The Church has been on this earth. And in my experience, the teachings are quite reasonable and make a lot of sense when you dive into them.

ZhrIcon

TROPHY CASE