Horoscopes, Faith without Religion, and Forgiving Oneself

Fr. Josh addresses reading horoscopes for fun, how to forgive oneself after committing grave mortal sin, and whether it’s possible to have faith without religion.

“The goal of the Christian life is to imitate God, adoration of God leads to imitation of God."

Glory Story (2:53)

Feedback (5:22)

Faith without Religion (8:15)

Hi Father Josh,

I hope you are doing well during this pandemic. I have a simple question which may or may not require a long and sophisticated answer. My question is: Is it possible to have faith in God without having religion? There are a couple of highly regarded Christian figures who follow this mantra. What are your thoughts about this?

Thanks,

-Derrick

Forgiving Oneself ( 14:59)

Fr. Josh,

I was introduced to your podcast through the racial discussion with Fr. Mike Schmitz and I am so happy to have it added to my playlist. I was hoping you could shed some light on the topic of forgiving oneself. Often, we go to confession and do penance but when it comes to grave sins we hold ourselves in an emotional prison and are unable to accept the grace of God. I’ve talked with women that have had abortions, affairs, divorce and the inability to accept Gods grace after confessing these sins seams to be a resounding theme. Do you have any insight on how to begin the process of accepting God's love and grace after a grave or mortal sin?

Thank you for all that you do!!

-Mary

Horoscopes ( 24:01)

Hi Father Josh!

First off I want to thank you for your podcast! I’m a new listener but I’ve already found your show helpful and insightful.

I want to preface my question by saying already know the Church’s stance on the use of astrology and other forms of divination. I am aware that delving into these practices can make us vulnerable to evil spirits. With all that said, is casually reading your horoscope in a magazine for entertainment, rather than for serious insight, treated with the same gravity? While I find the zodiac pretty silly, from time to time I have read my horoscope and will occasionally get a good laugh over those zodiac memes people post online. Is this okay, or should I truly avoid this type of material altogether?

Thanks so much!

-Victoria

Resources:

• Pocket Guide to Adoration by Fr. Josh Johnson
• Email your questions and feedback to Fr. Josh at askfrjosh@ascensionpress.com
• Broken and Blessed by Fr. Josh Johnson
• Pray, Decide, and Don’t Worry: Five Steps to Discerning God’s Will
• As parishes plan for the fall, Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings!