Patrick opens the episode weighing whether non-Catholic students should be altar servers in Catholic schools, laying out Church teaching and exploring its purpose. As listeners call in with their own stories and questions, he gives thoughtful responses, especially on how roles at Mass shape faith and vocations in boys and girls. Mid-discussion, Patrick shifts instantly to urgent updates about a tragic mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, breaking from ordinary conversation to offer live news and prayer.

 

• Adam (email) – Can non-Catholic students who attend Catholic school be altar servers? (00:52)
• Ellen (email) - Aren't altar servers supposed to have made their First Communion? (12:18)
• Stephanie – Non-Catholic kids in the Mass: I think as a kid it helped me to go to Mass to feel that I was welcome and that it wasn't closed off. (14:10)
• Brother John – A woman told me that we don't say altar boys anymore but altar servers. (21:12)
• Rick - Have you ever heard of Father Peter Mary Rookie?  (35:40)
• Bethany - I was a girl altar server. What would be beneficial for girls to do? Being an altar server helped bring me closer to my faith. What other options are there for young women? (39:09)