BROADCASTS.com

At the start of a recent homily, Father Dave addresses two things from the Gospel of St. Mark that Catholics and non-Catholics alike often have questions about.\xa0\xa0

In the Gospel of St. Mark and in a few other places, we hear about Jesus\u2019 brothers and sisters. Father Dave explains that those who translated Gospel texts from the original languages wanted to keep\xa0 faithful to the language. In the culture of Jesus' time, immediate and extended family were considered almost the same, to the degree that they would actually use the same word for \u201cbrothers\u201d and \u201ccousins\u201d \u2013 two family members that we would have distinct names for in today\u2019s culture.\xa0\xa0

RELATED: Learning About Sacrifice, With the Help of St. Mark

The Greek term Adelphos used The by St. Mark in his Gospel is an ambiguous word that could mean either brother or cousin. This passage could actually say that Jesus had blood brothers and sisters, or it could refer to cousins or more distant relatives, common parlance in Near East family descriptions.\xa0

\u201cSo we're left with a big shrug, right?\u201d Father Dave says. \u201cWhich is why many of our Christian brothers and sisters would adhere to the fact that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth, but not necessarily after that, whereas we, from our sacred Tradition, have always believed and always taught that Mary is blessed Mary ever virgin, and that she did not give birth to any more children. So for us, our faith always comes with a balance of Scripture and Tradition. And tradition isn't simply, well, we've always thought that so I guess it must be right. It is, we believe, Holy Spirit- inspired sacred Tradition, in a similar way, that the Scriptures are inspired.\xa0 So for us, if we take those two together, we know that we must be talking about cousins, and not literal brothers and sisters here.\u201d

The second question Father Dave answers comes from the Gospel of St. Mark when Jesus refers to the \u2018Unforgivable Sin.\u2019\u2019\xa0 He begins with Jesus\u2019 own words, \u201cAll sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness.\u201d\xa0\xa0

LISTEN: Are Any Sins 'Unforgivable\u2019?

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d Father Dave asks.

Father Dave notes that St. Pope John Paul II\u2019s encyclical about the Holy Spirit specifically addresses this concept.

\u201cScholars and official Church teachings have been unable to really pinpoint exactly what Jesus means by that. St. Pope John Paul II said that it really emanates from God's gift of free will \u2013that God desires that all be saved and offers forgiveness. But he doesn't ever force it down our throats. So in that sense, John Paul II defined this \u2018blaspheming the Holy Spirit\u2019 as a complete, utter rejection of God with our own free will. So it's not that God can't, but that God won't force it on us.\u201d\xa0

Father Dave goes on, \u201cSo is there an unforgivable sin? Is there some secret list somewhere, like the secret menu at a fast food place? No. There's not something that you can utter by mistake or even intentionally that will cast you away from God if you seek God's forgiveness, which is what we're encouraged to do all the time. There's also not one particular thing you or I could ever do, that God wouldn't forgive if we asked.\u201d