Ask A Priest Live The Station of the Cross

Canon Ross Bourgeois, ICKSP serves as Parochial Vicar at Most Precious Blood of Jesus Parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Canon Bourgeois was ordained in 2019.
 
 
In Today's Show:
I was wondering if there are any orders in which married men can join the TLM. For example, is there a vocation similar to the permanent diaconate? Is there any traditional equivalent to a Third Order Carmelite? Is it possible to start one? During High Mass and after consecration, after the servers and schola pray the Confiteor and the priest faces the right side and absolution is given and he makes the Sign of the Cross, why does the congregation then make the Sign of the Cross? Do you need to know French well to enter a vocation with the ICKSP? If you don't have the faculty of language, is there any way to make it? What happens to a plenary indulgence offered for a soul already in heaven? Clarifying details within Lumen Gentium Who is the author of the Psalms? Is a Catholic allowed to attend a service at an Orthodox church? What about receiving communion? Why does the Catholic Church believe that Catholics should confess individual sins to the priest, instead of simply expressing remorse for sinning?  Why would the Church require Catholics to recite a laundry list?  Isn't a penitent either absolved of their sins or they’re not?  
Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!

Fr. William Rock, FSSP serves as Parochial Vicar at Regina Caeli Parish in Houston, Texas. He was ordained in October of 2019 and serves as a regular contributor to the FSSP North America Missive Blog and the TAN Direction Blog.
 
 

In Today's Show:

I have a religion assignment from school and I should write about a saint. I was wondering if Mother Mary was considered a saint? I see a lot of mixed answers and how she was never officially canonized and that she wasn't actually a saint, but at the same time, I do see many stating that she was a saint. Am I permitted to eat chicken on a Friday? I was told the law was relaxed after Vatican II & restricted to Ash Wednesday & Good Friday, or is every Friday a fast? Can we sin accidentally? I live in rural Nevada. The TLM is nowhere to be found. Does the FSSP plan to come to the West anytime soon? If I am not Baptized, are my mortal sins taken away at Baptism? I'm not Baptized right now because I live in China. I had a friend who was using a ouija board. I feel that I may have uncharitably corrected this person when telling them that they should not have this in their home. How can I more charitably speak about things like this in the future? Is it a sin to even touch a ouija board? What are the rules on this for Catholics and Christians? I am a diocesan seminarian and a member of the Confraternity of Saint Peter. I attended an FSSP mass and noticed the Fraternity's Code of Arms on the Vestments. As a member of the Confraternity myself, would it be appropriate for me to have and wear those types of vestments? Can souls in purgatory help themselves? Is there really a purgatory? I'm having a hard time believing in it and I'm Catholic. Since priests take a vow of celibacy, why does it matter if the priest is gay? What is the average stay for a Fraternity priest at a parish? Is the rotation in August? What are the nature and limitations of wives submitting to husbands? Are any of the sacraments more important than another? What is a Breviary and where might I buy one? Why do we sign ourselves when the Magnificat, Benedictus, Nunc Dimittis is said during the Liturgy of the Hours? How deeply does an average priest study Marian apparitions? Why might my priest have seemed offended when I asked him about a specific Marian apparition?

 
Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!

Fr. John Brancich, FSSP is the pastor of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Nashua, New Hampshire. He was ordained into the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in 2004.

 
 
In Today's Show
What is puscillanimity and how do you distinguish it from humility? When I've been to confession in the past, when I'm confessing certain sins, I don't know the number so I have always said "many" (for the number of sins) and I was wondering if that was okay? In other words, was my confession still valid because I used the word many and not a specific number? Many times I have made an appointment for a confession and about four times I was stopped by the priest; I guess he didn't have time even though I made an appointment, so I didn't get to finish my confession although I was there to say everything. So my question is: because I know you're not supposed to hold anything back and I'm not, they're just stopping me from saying my full confession, I would like to know if the things that I confessed were forgiven because I didn't get to finish everything that I had written down on a piece of paper. My list can become very long because I see lots of things on the internet that say you have to confess all these sins at confession, so my list becomes huge. Is there such a thing as a blind priest, or does one have to be sighted to join the priesthood? If a man started seminary with the FSSP and concluded with the SSPX, what standing does that leave him in with the church? Can an SSPX priest say a Catholic funeral mass? During the homily at daily mass, sometimes the priest or deacon will begin and end the homily with the sign of the cross.  Why is this done? My daughter asked me, "Mom, why do we have to say the Hail Mary 53 times... didn't Mary hear us the first time?" I'm hoping you can provide her with a more insightful answer than the one I gave her. I’ve been going to confession on almost a weekly basis as memories have come up. I feel like a horrible person now. I thought I was a good person. Life has been tough, so this is not helping to make me not feel bad about myself. Any suggestions?  
Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!

Fr. Daniel Alloy, FSSP has served as Parochial Vicar at Regina Caeli Parish in Houston, Texas since July of 2022. He was ordained in June of 2020.
 
 
In Today's Show
At my FSSP and ICKSP churches, they have dress codes. It doesn't really bother me because I always dress "correctly" for mass. But wouldn't this turn away sinners? What is the cover used for chant pages? I've seen them, usually in the Liturgical Color of that season, in the Traditional Mass, though usually in Pontifical Liturgies. What is it called? Matthew 23:9 says "Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven". Why are Catholic priests called Father? If Jesus came to fulfill the law of Moses, then did He also fulfill the Ten Commandments, or are those still in full force? Questions about the validity of various versions of the St. Benedict / Miraculous Medals Can a traditional priest from the FSSP or ICKSP celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass occasionally, if for example he is visiting a church back home and wants to do that for parishioners? I know the Constitutions of these societies mention the exclusive celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, but does this Constitution actually forbid a priest of such a community to say the Ordinary Form? My questions revolved around receiving communion during mass. I’ve been baptized and received my first communion when I was younger. During mass everyone receives it but I’m hesitant to get up because I always had an understanding that you must confess before mass to receive communion, which no one does here. I also was not married through the church, which I always understood makes me not able to receive communion. I really want to receive communion on Sundays but am unsure because I don’t want to do it and end up not being able to and disobey God. So my question is: Is it okay for me, or should I not? I am discerning a vocation. I believe I will enter seminary in a few years, and I have some questions about it. How well must I know latin, how hard is it in seminary? Do I have to learn any more languages? Also, I am bad at singing! In today's Gospel, what did Our Lord mean by "Render what belongs to Cesar to Cesar and render what belongs to God to God? I heard the Gospel on the radio but missed the homily. I was in a Eucharistic Procession this past Corpus Christi Sunday and the Monstrance had no canopy above it and the Deacon was carrying it.  Wondering why this may have been? In the TLM, should we strike or beat our chest three times at the Consecration? I saw Father on the live stream of the ordinations! Father, why do so many priests attend the ordinations? Is there a special reason for it?  
Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!

Fr. Anthony Amato is the Pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in Clifton Springs, New York. He was ordained as a priest in June of 2017 by Bishop Salvatore Matano of the Diocese of Rochester, New York.
 
 
In Today's Show
Can you please interpret for me the last verses of the Angelus prayer? "Pour forth, we beseech thee... through the same Christ our Lord. Amen." It is a very difficult passage for me and I could use some insight into its mystery. My spiritual and physical life are in shambles and I've lost my way. Please help, as I'm starting to have crazy thoughts. The first verse of the first chapter of Timothy is often used to question Catholic disciplines. Can you please dissect some of the language that is used? Did the apostles hear confessions? When was the Rosary established within the Catholic church? I am a revert Catholic. Could Father please explain if venial sins are to be confessed regularly? I believe I read that mortal sins must be confessed before receiving the Eucharist. If Mary was conceived without sin and full of grace, did she already have the fruits of the Holy Ghost in their fullness, or did she receive them on Pentecost? Can you speak on how we can honor Jesus' Sacred Heart like St. Margaret Mary? If you go to mass on Saturday night i.e. vespers for Sunday, can it still count for Saturday night for first Saturday devotions and can you still receive communion at two different masses on the Sunday? Tips on attendance policies for non-Catholic weddings!  
Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!

Fr. Elias Mary Mills, F.I. served as Rector of the Shrine Church at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lacrosse, Wisconsin from 2016 to 2021. He was ordained in May of 2000.
 
In Today's Show - All About Our Lady! (Part Five)
I was surprised to see a statue of Mary without a head covering. It is The National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church in Laurie, Missouri. I always see our Blessed Lady wearing a veil, crown or some kind of head covering. Please comment. I was scanning through a Protestant blog which was attempting to refute Catholic teaching point-by-point. They seem to have a lot of misconceptions about what Catholics actually believe. One statement they made was that Catholics believe that Mary is the “co-redeemer”, for she participated with Christ in the painful act of redemption. They accused Catholics of believing that Mary had an equal part with Jesus in the redemption of sin. I have never heard any official Catholic teaching refer to Mary as a “co-redeemer”. What is actually meant by that term and why would they think we profess it? How do we evangelize Protestants who think we are worshiping Mary? A related name for Mary is “mediatrix”. What is the meaning of that title and how is it different from co-redemptrix? Can you please explain why May has been named/dedicated as the month of Mary? I suspect that you may have a “favorite” Marian apparition (with no disrespect meant to the others, of course). Is this the case, and if so, which is your favorite and why? Our Lady of Medjugorje… Is that valid in the church? Could you talk about the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady? There are many different publishings of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Which one would you recommend?  
Visit the show page at thestationofthecross.com/askapriest to listen live, check out the weekly lineup, listen to podcasts of past episodes, watch live video, find show resources, sign up for our mailing list of upcoming shows, and submit your question for Father!