1. Was Jesus what you might call a socialist? I keep thinking about that line from Scripture in which it says that the early disciples would sell their homes and lands for redistribution to the needy. I know the Church isn't against the idea of private property, but if Jesus came back to America today, would He have a problem with the fact that so many of us own homes while so many others don't? If not, how do we enact that same collaborative mentality of the first Christians?

2. What's our obligation as Christians to speak up for the faith? At my work, we have a fair number of dedicated days honoring ideas and causes that are completely contrary to Catholic teaching, and I never know quite how to handle them. I don't wear the clothing and pins and such that they encourage, but at the same time, I don't speak out against it either. I certainly wouldn't get fired if I did, but there's no question I'd be alienated. Is it okay to stay silent when one's professional and personal reputation is at stake, or is that a betrayal of Jesus? I'm always so torn about it.

1. I recently suffered a pretty significant betrayal by a close family member. I want to forgive her, but the stumbling block for me is that she doesn't understand why I'd be so hurt by what she did. I explained myself to her but we don't see eye to eye, and she basically thinks I should just get over it. So now it feels like there's a big hole in my heart where her apology ought to be. How do you forgive someone when that person doesn't think there's anything to be sorry for?

2. We recently discovered that our child is going to have significant developmental delays and will likely never be able to keep up with his peers in terms of school, sports, or socialization. I know God loves and values him just as much as He loves and values everyone else in this world, but my fear is that the world won't see it the same way. I get a little tongue tied when I'm upset, and I don't want to say anything confrontational, so I'd like to have some answers at the ready to protect my child from people's negative judgments. When he doesn't measure up according to the world's standards, what can I politely say to remind people that my son is just as precious to God, no matter how much he falls short in someone else's eyes?

1. My friend is a former Catholic, and the topic of Purgatory being made up by the Catholic church and not being in the Bible came up during some bantering over text. I know that there are some verses that allude to purgatory and praying for the dead, but how else can I explain the Catholic stance that there is a purgatory?

2. I'm a practicing Catholic, but it's been a winding road, including an abortion, a devastating break up after 6 years of living with the man I thought was the love of my life, and some other bad choices. I've accepted God's love and mercy, and He and I are doing fine, but I wouldn't wish the suffering it took to get here on anyone. I have two nieces I love very much, and I can tell they're starting to head down the same bad road I did. Whenever I try to stop them, though, they think I'm being "judgey" and "preachy." My past is not a secret to them, so I want to hold myself up as an example of what NOT to do, but I don't want to alienate them. How do I get them to see that I know what I'm talking about, because I lived it, without them feeling like I'm coming down on them like a ton of judgmental bricks?

1. I don't want to sound anti-Catholic, but some of your beliefs just don't seem to have any historical or biblical founding to them. That said, I also can't believe an intelligent and holy priest like you would simply accept a-historical or un-biblical teachings. So I want to understand how you reconcile some of the teachings I find most problematic, starting with the so-called infallibility of the Pope. What does it mean when the church says the Pope is infallible? Surely Catholics can't believe the Pope is never wrong.

2. I'm 13 years old and feeling a little stuck. My church friends are nice, but we don't have a lot in common, and I feel a little babyish when I'm with them. I have a lot more fun with my school friends, but sometimes their choices are not always the best and they use really inappropriate language most of the time, so I sometimes feel uncomfortable with them. Which group would you hang out with if you were me?

1. I'm not sure quite how to ask this question, so please be patient with me! I've heard you say that "through prayer we entrust ourselves to God's loving and providential care," but what does that mean? When I try to think through what I can expect from a more committed prayer life, I feel a spark of excitement, but also a fair bit of fear, because I'm afraid I'll feel let down. If I go to God with everything, won't He end up disappointing me sometimes? Surely there will be times when He will say "no" to my prayers, or maybe even ignore them. I guess I'm looking for some assurance that "entrusting myself to God's loving and providential care" is really the right way to happiness and fulfillment.

2. I heard your beautiful answer to the mom who asked about bringing a crying baby to church, and I thought maybe you'd be able to help me too. I've got a 5 week old newborn and I'm really struggling with the baby blues. I don't know how to explain it better than to say that I love my baby, but so far there are moments when I really hate being a mom. I feel terribly guilty for feeling this way, but motherhood is so much harder than I expected, and I'm having a lot of trouble feeling grateful for this amazing gift God just bestowed on me. Will He forgive me for having such negative feelings towards my own child?

I keep seeing Christians mocked online for believing in "the magical man in the sky". As a cradle Catholic, I have always accepted that God exists, but how do we know the whole thing wasn't made up to control people or as a way of explaining what can now be explained through science?

I'm engaged, and I'm thrilled to be marrying the man of my dreams. However, although we're in agreement on almost everything else, we don't see eye to eye on the topic of birth control. I believe in the beauty of the Church's teachings on the subject and long to embrace a natural lifestyle. My fiance, though, believes that natural family planning will be a hindrance to intimacy. He's heard me very respectfully on the topic and I know he'll defer to me, but I don't want him to just defer - I want him to see such an important issue the same way I do. Can you help me explain the Church's teaching on birth control in a way that might persuade him?

1. It's been said that "God will never give us more than we can handle," but I don't believe it anymore, and I've stopped regurgitating it to my kids. When things get painfully tough, what can I say to rescue my children from suffering? I am afraid they will blame God.

2. I'm very discouraged. I know teenage rebellion is par for the course, but my daughter has been outright hostile to the faith lately. She hates going to Mass and rolls her eyes in contempt whenever I try to talk about God. I try to keep my temper in check, but it angers me because I feel like she's being foolish, and it scares me half to death because I don't know how she'll get through life without a strong faith life. Do you have any advice for a mother struggling to keep her adolescent on track in the religion department?

1. Do you believe in angels? My grandmother used to pray to her guardian angel every day, but if they exist, why don't they protect kids from child abuse, or stop car accidents and other tragedies? I'm willing to consider the possibility that they're real, but it seems foolish to me to rely for protection on a figment of one's imagination.

2. Father, this is going to sound awful, but I'm tired of being Catholic. I'm in my mid-20s and most of my friends are sexually active, and happily so. Their lives are just as fulfilled as mine - probably more so, actually, because I'm lonely. I've been hanging on to my virginity because it's what I was raised to do, but there's a big part of me that thinks it's a pointless sacrifice and I'd be better off if I loosened up and followed my friends on this one. Is the chaste life I've lived so far even worth it?

1. Do you believe in angels? My grandmother used to pray to her guardian angel every day, but if they exist, why don't they protect kids from child abuse, or stop car accidents and other tragedies? I'm willing to consider the possibility that they're real, but it seems foolish to me to rely for protection on a figment of one's imagination.

2. Father, this is going to sound awful, but I'm tired of being Catholic. I'm in my mid-20s and most of my friends are sexually active, and happily so. Their lives are just as fulfilled as mine - probably more so, actually, because I'm lonely. I've been hanging on to my virginity because it's what I was raised to do, but there's a big part of me that thinks it's a pointless sacrifice and I'd be better off if I loosened up and followed my friends on this one. Is the chaste life I've lived so far even worth it?

1. Do you believe in angels? My grandmother used to pray to her guardian angel every day, but if they exist, why don't they protect kids from child abuse, or stop car accidents and other tragedies? I'm willing to consider the possibility that they're real, but it seems foolish to me to rely for protection on a figment of one's imagination.

2. Father, this is going to sound awful, but I'm tired of being Catholic. I'm in my mid-20s and most of my friends are sexually active, and happily so. Their lives are just as fulfilled as mine - probably more so, actually, because I'm lonely. I've been hanging on to my virginity because it's what I was raised to do, but there's a big part of me that thinks it's a pointless sacrifice and I'd be better off if I loosened up and followed my friends on this one. Is the chaste life I've lived so far even worth it?

1. Do you believe in angels? My grandmother used to pray to her guardian angel every day, but if they exist, why don't they protect kids from child abuse, or stop car accidents and other tragedies? I'm willing to consider the possibility that they're real, but it seems foolish to me to rely for protection on a figment of one's imagination.

2. Father, this is going to sound awful, but I'm tired of being Catholic. I'm in my mid-20s and most of my friends are sexually active, and happily so. Their lives are just as fulfilled as mine - probably more so, actually, because I'm lonely. I've been hanging on to my virginity because it's what I was raised to do, but there's a big part of me that thinks it's a pointless sacrifice and I'd be better off if I loosened up and followed my friends on this one. Is the chaste life I've lived so far even worth it?

1. Recently I've felt trapped in a "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality - everything seems to make me feel jealous. My co-worker got a promotion I wasn't even going for, and rather than be happy for him, I felt envious that he got some well-deserved recognition from the higher-ups. My sister recently announced she's pregnant again, and even though I do not want another child, I felt secret envy that she's now the family's center of attention. I know these are poisonous thoughts but I don't know how to break out of them. Can you give me some advice for not feeling so envious?

2. I love being Catholic, but I often feel lonely within my own parish. Folks are always very friendly at Mass, and to be fair, before the pandemic hit there were a few potluck dinners in our parish hall, but for the most part I experience a lack of fellowship, and it hurts. Where can I find friendship within the Church?

1. To be very blunt about it, I'm not a big fan of prayer. Maybe I was absent from CCD the day they taught us how to do it, but I just don't feel like I'm very good it, I don't really like doing it, and frankly I'm not sure God listens to me anyway. But old Catholic habits die hard and I feel like I ought to pray, so can you help me find more meaning in it?

2. I'm a new mom with an 8 month old baby, and let's just say she's very vocal. I've always gone to church and would like to continue, but I'm really afraid that my daughter makes it impossible for other people to pay attention and probably annoys the priest. Is it okay to bring her, or should I try to find a babysitter every Sunday until she can keep quiet?

1. Does personifying God help or hurt our ability to better understand him/her/it/them? Or is it just the best we have in terms of metaphors?

2. I was raised Catholic, but in my experience "Church" often feels more like a political party than anything else. I want to know God, but I feel like I'm more likely to find Him on my own than in a so-called worshipping community. Am I missing something?

1. I've had what you might call a checkered past, and I won't pretend I didn't know better. I know you'll say that God will forgive me if I repent, but the fact is I don’t know how to forgive myself. How can I go back to church when I feel like I don't belong there?

2. I've come to believe that God is calling me into the Catholic church, but my family thinks organized religion is foolish and I feel them slipping away over it. It would sadden me, but should I delay becoming Catholic until the people I love most are more accepting of my new life?