This year commemorates 800 years since the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, and Father Dave welcomes Jon Sweeney to discuss this saint's lessons for the modern world. Jon is Religion Editor and Associate Publisher at Monkfish Publishing, as well as the author of many books on Franciscan spirituality including his latest, "Experiencing God: 36 Ways According to Saint Francis of Assisi."

On Pope Leo's first international trip last year, he shared that the book "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence helped shape his spirituality. Father Dave welcomes Father Gregory Pine and Rebecca Dougherty as they dive into this work in the latest season of Ascension's "Catholic Classics" podcast.

Can Catholics attend a gay wedding? Father Dave explains that neither the Catechism nor official Church teaching prohibits Catholics from attending, while also discussing how the Church understands marriage, conscience, and family bonds.

Following Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical entitled Magnifica Humanitas, Father Dave welcomes back friend of the show and ethicist Dr. Charles Camosy to discuss humanity in the age of artificial intelligence. Dr. Camosy teaches moral theology and bioethics at The Catholic University of America.

On May 25, Pope Leo released the first encyclical of his pontificate entitled Magnifica Humanitas, and Father Dave and Team Busted Halo delve into its contents.

The Vatican recently noted a "remarkable increase" in the number of Catholics in Africa, and Father Dave welcomes Nigerian priest Father Ken Amadi to discuss how catechists there are keeping up with this growth. Father Ken is the director and co-founder of Church Life Africa, which is a non-profit apostolate dedicated to forming lay Catholic leaders and educators across the continent. They recently announced a partnership with the Augustine Institute in the United States to further grow this mission.

A listener named Becca asks Father Dave about how to approach an interfaith interaction. Becca says, "[Sometimes] Mormons come to my property; I ask them to leave and they get a bit bothered. They ask if they can pray with me, and I say 'No, thank you.' Am I wrong for saying no?"

May is National Mental Health Awareness month, and Father Dave welcomes Catholic psychologist Dr. Greg Bottaro to discuss how we can improve our relationships through better listening. Dr. Bottaro is the founder of the CatholicPsych Institute and author of "The Power of Listening Well: How Holy Curiosity Can Build Trust and Restore Relationships."

Father Dave welcomes Ann Koshute to discuss how we can support Catholic couples facing the hardship of infertility. Ann is the co-founder & executive director of Springs in the Desert, a Catholic ministry dedicated to accompanying those experiencing infertility and loss through community, spiritual resources, and faith-based support. Springs in the Desert and Ascension also collaborated on a new prayer and reflection series called "Scripture and Saints for the Path of Infertility" now available on the Ascension app.

A listener named Mark asks Father Dave about the Easter season in the Catholic Church. "I'm a new Catholic. How long is the Easter season?" Mark asks.