Were some Catholic saints actually transgender—and has the Church simply refused to acknowledge it? Nonsense! And I'm attacking this argument with a war hammer.

See my article here, for a prelude to this livestream. It'll get your fire started

What happens when Catholic saints are retrofitted into modern gender ideology—and a Catholic priest helps promote the claim?

In this episode of FireBranded, I respond to an article arguing that Catholics should look to saints who supposedly “defied gender norms.” I look at the historical examples being used, including Joan of Arc, and ask whether the evidence actually supports the conclusions being suggested.

I also revisit a similar controversy involving Father James Martin and explain why I think the same basic argument is being recycled again.

Then, in the second half of the show, I turn to another question that has been bothering me: How do we actually bring young people back into the Church?

I push back on the constant language of “listening,” “accompaniment,” and dialogue and argue that what young Catholics are really looking for is something much more substantial: identity, purpose, formation, clear teaching, and leadership.

00:00 Fired Up Intro and Topics

01:58 Jesuit Reposts Gender Claims

21:04 Debunking Saints in NCR Article

44:24 The Tie In Saints Misused

53:23 Calling Out Latin Mass Fix

01:06:32 Listening Church Execution Fail

01:16:12 Youth Need Clarity Leadership

01:27:59 Wrap Up Prayer Advice Platform

A Jesuit priest says he “hates” the Traditional Latin Mass—but that may not be the most interesting thing he said.

Fr. Thomas Reese’s provocative article, “Why I Hate the Old Latin Mass: A Confession,” generated plenty of outrage online. But judging from the reactions, a lot of people never got past the headline.

I did.

In this Catholic Q&A edition of Fire Branded, I take an honest look at Reese’s argument: what he gets right, where I disagree with him, his surprisingly traditional comments about obedience to the Church, and the liturgical reforms he says he still wants to see.

And that last part is where things get interesting.

Because the real story may not be that a Jesuit priest “hates” the Traditional Latin Mass. The real story may be what happens when liturgical reform begins loosening the boundaries of the Roman Rite—and whether that leads to a better liturgy or simply the Wild West.

Later in the show, I also talk about some changes coming to Fire Branded, the new members-only “Fire Pit,” why I’m returning the podcast to more of an old-school broadcast style, and why I’m increasingly pulling my energy away from social media and toward the people who actually show up.

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CHAPTERS

0:00 A Jesuit Priest Who “Hates” the TLM

5:51 What Fr. Thomas Reese Actually Says

17:13 The Liturgical Reforms He Wants

28:12 The Danger of a Liturgical “Wild West”

36:46 Big Changes Coming to Fire Branded

44:28 Rethinking the Newsletter, Social Media & the Future

Trusting God sounds simple until we actually have to do it.

In this episode, T.J. Haines looks at spiritual combat, our tendency to worry about the Church, and the difficult work of surrendering our own need for control. He also discusses encouraging signs of college students returning to the Catholic faith, Jacob’s mysterious wrestling match with the angel, and Lorenzo Scupoli’s insight that discouragement and failure can reveal just how much we still trust in ourselves rather than God.

The struggle itself isn’t necessarily the problem. Sometimes the real spiritual battle is learning when to stop fighting God and allow Him to fight beside us.

0:00 Why Trusting God Is So Hard

9:44 College Students Are Returning to the Church

21:37 Jacob Wrestles with God

27:03 Scupoli: Failure, Pride, and Trust

47:00 Struggling with God—and Letting Go