Father, will you please answer my questions?

Following the example of Fr. Joseph Evinger in August’s column, this month, I will answer several of your submitted questions in a brief manner. 
 
Why do we have trouble trusting God’s plan?
One reason we distrust God’s plan is because, in this life, we can only perceive a tiny part of it. His plan guides everything from the motion of the planets to the functioning of microscopic cells in our bodies, everything from the rise and fall of nations to our own personal health or sickness. It is easy to trust God when things are going well. When tragedy strikes, it becomes more difficult. In those moments, we should think of the apostles gazing at Jesus on the cross. They could not yet perceive the resurrection, and it seemed like a disaster. When we struggle to understand, we, too, should look at a crucifix and realize the Lord turned the greatest evil into the greatest good. We killed Him, and He used even that to save us. If He can do that, He can bring good out of any difficulty we are facing. As it says on the Divine Mercy image, “Jesus, I trust in you!” 
 
Why do some churches have a crucifix in the front of the sanctuary while others have an empty cross or a cross with the risen Lord?
Some non-Catholic denominations forbid images in their churches out of a fear that displaying them might violate God’s commandment against graven images. Yet God commanded, in numerous places in the Old Testament, that the Temple and the Ark of the Covenant be adorned with images. The prohibition is clearly against the worship of idols, not the display of images altogether. Others object to the Catholic practice of displaying Jesus on the cross because Jesus is risen and, if He is risen, why keep Him on the cross? Catholics, of course, don’t “keep Him on the cross,” as if we were denying the resurrection. We display images of the crucifixion to remind us of how much God loves us. He was willing to do even that, for us. The image of the crucified Jesus is an inexhaustible source of meditation for us. Consider the answer to the previous question, as one example.
 
Is it proper to wear a cross or must it be a crucifix?
For personal jewelry, both a crucifix and a cross are acceptable. Both convey a Christian message and, so long as they are worn respectfully, can be good choices.
 
What if I forgot to confess a sin and remember it later? Was it absolved?
We must not intentionally withhold any mortal sins as we confess in the sacrament of reconciliation. If we honestly forget to mention one, it is absolved along with all other sins we committed. God knows our memories are imperfect and that we cannot confess what we do not remember. We should, however, mention any serious sins we realize we have forgotten during our next confession.
 
Can God forgive my sins without me going to confession?
God is God and He can do whatever he wants. So, yes. But, as the Catechism explains, “Individual and integral confession of grave sins followed by absolution remains the only ordinary means of reconciliation with God and with the Church” (1497). God might forgive someone in an extraordinary way, outside of confession, but that is not to be taken for granted. Jesus gave us the sacrament of reconciliation because He knows we need it. What’s more, we know that it works. One of the great blessings of going to confession is hearing those words, “I absolve you from your sins…,” and knowing that we are, in fact, forgiven. Are we forgiven without the sacrament? Maybe, but we don’t know. We must never presume that is the case. Go to confession!
 
Is it okay if I fall asleep praying at bedtime?
We ought to offer the Lord at least some quiet prayer every day. Occasionally, we may fall asleep during that time. It happens to the best of us—both St. Therese and Pope Francis admitted to it. It is acceptable, now and then. But if prayer becomes a regular time for sleep, we risk missing what the Lord desires to say to us in our time with Him. Venerable Fulton Sheen wrote in his autobiography about sleeping through an entire hour of prayer. On waking, he asked Jesus, “Have I made a holy hour?” An angel replied, “Well, that’s the way the Apostles made their first holy hour in the Garden, but don’t do it again.”
 
How do I explain purgatory to my children who view the world as more “black and white,” as in good and evil, with nothing in between?
In a sense, your children are right. In the end, everyone finds themselves either in hell or in heaven. There is no final, third option. Purgatory is a temporary state of purification on the way to heaven. It is for those who die in friendship with God (not having died in mortal sin) but who are yet imperfect. It is a state in which our imperfections are “purged,” a painful but hope-filled state. Everyone who is in purgatory will, after they are perfected, be in heaven. 
 
Why do we bless ourselves with holy water when entering or exiting a church?
There are several reasons. The use of holy water, in this way, reminds us of our baptisms, performed with holy water, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” As we make the sign of the cross, we are also professing our faith in the Trinity. By making this sign upon our own bodies, we are asking that the merits of Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection be applied to ourselves. In some places, early Christians washed themselves prior to entering the sacred space of the church, perhaps inspired by the Jewish practice of purifying oneself before entering the Temple. Blessing ourselves with holy water, then, is a subtle reminder that we, too, should seek not just bodily cleansing, but a cleansing of our souls, the forgiveness of sins, as we enter the worship space.