– Who would you recommend reading on successful modern Catholic marriage? What is the proper way to handle disputes or disagreements? Secular marriage advice is pretty awful. Are you supposed to just suffer and pray? Isn’t it lying to just bear all things without saying anything to your spouse when you are hurt or repeatedly upset about things? That is the advice I get from my priest: to pray and bear all things. But who can bottle things up over and over? I make it about three to four weeks and then crack.

– Jimmy, this is a bigger question, I suppose, but I have been thinking about the efficacy of prayer. Not that praying doesn’t matter, but asking for things to happen in prayer seems complex: “Why isn’t my prayer answered?” “Thank God, my prayer was answered.” “Pray harder.” “She’s a saintly person, and God listens to her prayers.” I think that, in the big picture, God isn’t cashing checks or picking winners and losers like that. To me, prayer is more about us and our relationship with God and less about winning or losing some spiritual game. I’m interested in your thoughts.

– Should Catholics try to use the reality of hell to get people to convert to the faith? I heard a traditional priest advocating that we should, but it seems ineffective and even counterproductive to me.

– This is probably stupid, but how do I know I’m supposed to join the religious life? What are the steps to join? This is driving me crazy.

– Why do so many people say “grevious” (GREE-vee-ous) instead of “grievous” (GREE-vus) during the general confession at Mass?