Patrick answers questions ranging from the rites of the Catholic Church and differences between Eastern Catholic and Orthodox practices to the emotional tug-of-war families sense over traditional Latin Mass versus contemporary liturgies, wrestling with reverence, choir commitments, and parental concerns for their children’s formation. He shares thoughts on altar girls, highlights generational shifts in liturgical norms, and responds to listener reflections about the abolitionist movement within pro-life circles, threading through conflicting impulses of tradition and innovation while also confronting online hostility and resurfacing anti-Jewish rhetoric. These moments, layered with personal anecdotes and real-time problem-solving, propel the episode forward with frankness, vulnerability, and a call for discerning faith in a world pulsing with contradiction.

 

• Monica (email) - Could you elaborate on the Greek / Russian Orthodox. Are their priests ordained like ours? Can we attend their mass and receive the Eucharist? (00:43)
• Kristy (email) - Should we alternate Sundays between our local Novus Ordo parish (where our 9-year-old homeschooled son loves singing in the children’s choir twice a month) and the Traditional Latin Mass parish an hour away, or commit to one church to avoid confusing him? (06:27)
• Michael (email) - Should I allow my 6-year-old daughter—who already wants to be a nun—to serve at the altar in our reverent Novus Ordo parish (which has great reverence for the Eucharist), or would that risk pushing her away like my parents’ decision to forbid my sister, who later left for Protestantism? (19:51)
• Rich - What are your thoughts on being pro-life vs being an abortion abolitionist? (29:43)
• Andrew - I attended a wedding in a park and the presider said 'by the power invested in me by the universal life church, God, and her universe...'  (41:24)
• Irene - I came across a Catholic group on X that hates Jews (48:27)