Question of Faith
A weekly question of faith answered by Cleveland Catholics. Fr. Damian Ference, Vicar of Evangelization and Deacon Mike Hayes Director of Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Cleveland co-host with frequent guests from the Diocesan Office who join in the conversation. Sponsored by Briefcase Marketing--check them out at https://www.Briefcase.marketing
Question of Faith
Why Are Gen Z Women Leaving the church?
SPONSOR: Briefcase Marketing
Exploring the complex reasons behind the decline of church attendance among Gen Z women, this episode sheds light on their unique experiences and perspectives. The guests, Kate and Natialie, students at Walsh Jesuit High School, both articulate and reflective, provide meaningful insights into faith, community, and identity.
• Examination of why Gen Z women leave church
• Differences in religious experiences between genders
• The influence of societal narratives on spiritual identity
• Importance of community and emotional connections in faith
• Personal stories of re-engagement with spirituality
• Discussing the role of social media in shaping faith experiences
Make sure to join us for this enlightening conversation and share your thoughts with us by emailing your Questions of Faith to: mhayes@dioceseofcleveland.org
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On today's Question of Faith. Why are Gen Z women leaving the church? Hey everybody, this is Question of Faith. I am Deacon Mike Hayes. I'm the Young Adult Ministry Director here at the Diocese of Cleveland.
Fr Damian:And I'm Father Damian Ferencz, the Vicar for Evangelization.
Deacon Mike:And we have two guests today.
Kate:Kate Feliciano and Natalie Patrick.
Deacon Mike:And they're both from Walsh Jesuit High School, correct? Yes?
Fr Damian:Yeah, kate, do you want to tell us your parish?
Kate:Yeah, I'm from Holy Family in Stowe and St Mary's of Hudson.
Fr Damian:And Natalie.
Natalie:I'm from St John Newman in Strongsville.
Fr Damian:And I know both of these ladies who are Gen Z women from Tolle Lege, which is a little institute. I run out at the seminary in the summer, the last two weeks of June, for rising seniors. We study philosophy, theology, culture and liturgy, and so I spent a week with both of these ladies and some of their other friends. So a shout out to all our Tole Lege friends who might be listening.
Deacon Mike:So you've got a lot of research this week.
Fr Damian:I have, and I obviously spend a good amount of time with Gen Z women who are young adults and you're the director of Young Adult Ministry and one of the things that I've come to know in the last few months is that there's a most recent study that their generation so they're not millennials, their generation is born between 1996 and 2012. And it's the first generation where women are leaving the church at a faster rate than men, With millennials, men, Gen X, which is what we are men, baby boomers, same but the women have always been pretty steady, and so this should be some cause for alarm. So what we want to do today is talk a little bit about why Gen Z women are leaving the church, and we also want to hear why you stay, because you guys are both pretty faithful.
Deacon Mike:And I found this to be so. First of all, we're talking about all Christians, not necessarily all Catholics Correct, not just Catholics, yeah.
Deacon Mike:But then, secondly, it's like so when I started doing young adult ministry, we always had trouble finding men right and healthy men on top of that. And then when I went to campus ministry, it was the same thing. We had plenty of women around, very few men. Every once in a while we'd get a couple folks coming in, but we struggled. We had a great campus minister who did a lot of stuff with the athletes and that's where we got a lot of our guys, but we really struggled to attract men. And now it seems to be the reverse. I do a lot of work in the young adult ministry and that's, you know, this age right, a whole bunch of guys like a catching fire, grapevine, you know, overrun by men, but now they're struggling to find women. So I really resonate with this.
Fr Damian:I was at a young adult event two weeks ago. I want to say it was maybe 80% men. So interesting, that's interesting, yeah. So what have you? What has your experience been? Have you had friends who have left the church, female friends, and if they have, have they voiced why?
Natalie:I think, specifically for me, a lot of my friends have left the institute of the church, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're leaving God. Which I think is a distinction that needs to be made is that while these women may be leaving organized religion, they aren't completely turned off to the view of God and to the idea that God still wants a deep and personal relationship. And I think, talking to a few of my friends, I've seen more of an issue with the institute of the church and a lot of things that go on in the church that is more they find fault in than actual the being of God.
Deacon Mike:Do they talk about anything specific?
Natalie:I heard a lot of just like it's a male-dominated religion, and I think that in today's society, where women are told to be independent and that they don't need a man, that's scary and that's something that they have been just like, culturally pushed away from so I think it's a huge societal thing.
Fr Damian:Kate.
Kate:Yeah, and playing off of that, I also think that looking at the idea of a relationship with men with God, whether that be fathers, brothers, boys at school, things like that, you definitely see that those relationships are struggling, which also causes a lot of people to. When they go to church and they see their priest, they kind of tend to be a little bit more closed off, tend to want to hold back a little bit, and you see a lot of women, like Natalie said, leaving the institute of the church but not turning away from God, rather kind of taking that time. I have some friends who don't feel very comfortable in Mass but will go and spend hours in adoration or hours in prayer because they desire that relationship with God and they really want to still be one with him. They just tend to kind of struggle to find that community within their church life.
Deacon Mike:Yeah right, do they have a similar relationship with other women that are religious? Like, do they hang out with other women and talk about God's stuff and just like push the men aside, or is it something different?
Kate:I think I've definitely noticed from having two very strong life team communities as well as a community at Walsh A lot of women just tend to be like either they don't associate with, sometimes they don't associate with men as much because they don't want it to become a distraction in their faith. They don't want it to become like something that they rely on in their faith, Whereas they also tend to see it as more of they don't want to have to kind of revolve their life, seem like they're revolving their life around men.
Deacon Mike:Got it.
Natalie:Yeah, I would also say with men specifically, are like the way they're viewed, at least in school, and men seem to bring politics a lot into religion and I think that's really. I feel like women are better at leading with emotion, Like we are very emotional people and that's easier to have those conversations about deeper things with, and it can be scary to be vulnerable to a man when faith is so personal and such a vulnerable space in our lives.
Deacon Mike:That's true. We tend to argue about things right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Fr Damian:I'm wondering. The one thing you said was that you're raised in a society where and women are taught that they don't need men, and I wonder if there's something false or erroneous there, because as a man, I need women, Like I love the fact that I have you as my friends. If I didn't have good women in my life, I would be in deep, deep trouble. You know my mom's deceased now, but I love thinking of the church. As female, as mother and teacher, I think that women at their best bring out the best in me and I wonder, like I understand, about being independent and not totally reliant or dependent upon, but what would you say to? Men themselves aren't bad and we're creating God's image and likeness, male and female. He created them, so can you speak to that a little bit?
Natalie:Yeah, I think that the feminist movement is such pitting men against women and I think that's so counter of what everything the church says. Men have certain qualities that women need and women have certain qualities that men need and the ability for us to coexist, and there's things that me and Kate get out of our friendship that I like, need and are good, but there are also things that male friendships provide and that are also so good. But I think the feminine, like the feminist movement right now is so set on we need to be the same and I think, rather than glorifying our differences and finding the beauty and femininity and the beauty of what makes a woman feminine, is so beautiful and what we've kind of lost, that as a society, as our standard beauty has changed and we're just pitted against men and I think that that really hurts, can't like we see that in the church and I think it hurts that too yeah, and we um tend a lot to just kind of, like she says, like pit ourselves against one another, but also compare it as well.
Kate:If this person's doing this, then, like I also need to be doing this, when we're all created for our own vocation, we're all created for our own way of life, um, and we just have to come to that sense that, you know, natalie and I are going to have two very different futures. Um, I want to go into education, sports, things like that, whereas Natalie is looking more into the health and departments like that, because we're both created in that way that we want to follow our way. And I think that a lot of people think that when you look at the men sometimes in the church, you tend to think, okay, well, if this person is doing this, I need to try and be at the same level, I need to try, and so it's a continuous competition.
Kate:And that's not just between men and women, that's also between women, like women alone. I know a big thing as seniors in high school. It's applying to schools how much money can you get for scholarships, things like that that people really kind of like it. Almost everything turns into a bit of a competition which, coming from somebody who's very competitive like that, can be so hard to not completely revolve your life around. And I think that that also just kind of ends up falling into the church where you feel like every time you show up like you're competing with somebody, to whether it's competing with them to look holier than them or be like oh well, I sinned less than you this week, and things like that, and I think that's become a problem that we kind of tend to fall into a lot virtue signaling kind
Deacon Mike:of stuff right yeah, yeah, I mean, what role do you think social media plays in all this?
Kate:you know, in terms of competition and you know looking good and yeah, um, social media is one of my least favorite things but also something that I love so much. Um, I know Natalie and I both haven't been on TikTok for a really long time, so that's been healthy for us just to kind of get away from. But things such as like Instagram, where it's just consistently you see things on your feed and you're comparing things I know, like I'm a photographer for sports teams I see other photographers and I immediately start comparing myself to them, and so I think that, like that's another thing that's also just added another level of it is what? And then, if you do choose, do choose. Like I had a period in my life where I went completely off social media and I immediately felt out of it. I didn't, I felt like I didn't know what was going on in the world I felt like I had.
Kate:No, I literally had no idea what was going on, because that's where I realized I got all my news from there. I got to see what my friends were doing. I that that's where. But I also noticed such a difference in, like, my self image. I was able to look at myself in the mirror and be like, wow, I truly am like perfectly created in the image of God and things like that, where when I'm on social media, I can't see that as much. Yeah, you're just comparing that, right? Yeah.
Deacon Mike:That's interesting, and so it's interesting how the fast had the opposite effect there. Right Like you would think that purging yourself of it would. Instead, it ends up being FOMO, you know.
Fr Damian:I'm preparing for Lent and I've decided to give up Instagram and X for the entirety of Lent. I've never done that before. I usually give up drinking, so I'm going to give up drinking and dark chocolate and social media. It's the trifecta. I was debating between the three and then I just felt like the Lord's like go for it, Go for all three. I'm like okay, whatever, I'll do it.
Deacon Mike:I'll do it. We'll see how it goes.
Fr Damian:Don't sound so excited, it's one of those things where you do it and then, when you're done doing it, you're so grateful, but at this point I'm not, I'm not grateful yeah yeah.
Fr Damian:So well, tell us a little bit about what I mean. I've got a lot of articles here. We could link some things to the show notes because there's a lot of reasons and I think the political thing's a big one that you mentioned, um, the, the, the patriarchy business. I mean, when you think of church, you think, okay, what's god, the father, j the Son, and sometimes if relationships with men haven't been great, then you could bring that in. So there's a lot there to cover. But how about? Why do you stay? Because you're both really active, both at Walsh and in your parishes, and you went to CLE 216. You love being Catholic. So tell us a little bit about why you stay Catholic.
Deacon Mike:What are some meaningful experiences you've had?
Natalie:Me and Kay have different experiences on this.
Natalie:I grew up very much Catholic.
Natalie:Through my whole life I struggled in my faith, but it was never a complete separation from the church at all, and I think the reason I continue to pursue God and to seek that relationship and seek the community that is found in the church is there's so much beauty found in the church and I think, specifically as a woman, our beauty is so under attack right now.
Natalie:And all the beautiful things that we love about being a girl like there's a trend on, like there was a trend on TikTok a while ago, like I love being a girl and like it a trend on, like there was a trend on TikTok a while ago, like I love being a girl and like it was list all the reasons like why, and like so many of those reasons of like, oh, getting ready before homecoming, and like becoming beautiful, putting on a fancy dress, like all those things I think speak into the deeper truth of what women long for.
Natalie:And like we just long to feel beautiful and feel a connection. And I think like that all to me points back to the Eucharist and the beauty of the sacrament and the beauty that is the mass and I think, like my favorite masses are the ones where it's like the Easter vigil, like there's incense and it's just very reverent and and you truly feel Jesus is present there. Not to say that he's any less present in other masses, but the unique beauty in that, I think, as a woman specifically, is what we long for. We long to feel beautiful and we long to feel loved, and I think that the love that we long for can only be found in God.
Kate:Yeah, and so for me. I grew up in a family that was not very religious, did not attend Sunday Mass most of my childhood, and I think that that created like a big kind of empty space in my heart. It actually was just about a year ago a couple weeks ago that I had my full reversion back into the faith.
Kate:I attended a retreat from Walsh called Kairos and I got to sit in adoration for an hour and a half two hours close to and I honestly sat there and just sobbed. I had never really sat in front of the Eucharist before, unless it was like a religion class assignment or something like that. I never really went out of my way to do that and I got to sit in front of the Eucharist and just completely collapsed. I got to be so close, I was sitting right in the front. I just was able to experience Jesus in his full glory and ever since that day I decided that I wanted to turn my life around.
Kate:I had struggled with a lot of things prior to that experience between unhealthy relationships, unhealthy relationships within my family, unhealthy relationships, unhealthy relationships within my family and I just kind of struggled to see myself as a person other than just somebody's girlfriend or somebody's little sister or whatever it was.
Kate:And when I had that aversion back into the faith, the first thing that always sticks with me is just being able to like go to confession.
Kate:Confession, honestly, I think is what completely saved me being able to sit down with a priest and I didn't honestly feel that true confession until June when I went on totally like I got to meet an amazing priest, who I now do almost all of my confessions with, and I just was able to see like there is somebody there that God completely placed in my life, that is God sitting in front of me, that I am getting to talk to and hear from, and honestly that's just made me want to stay and want to keep coming back.
Kate:And then I go and I sit in Mass and I'm not going to lie, I have my days where sometimes mass just it's like all right, I just I have to go. But then I get there and I received the Eucharist and I see the beauty around me. Um, whether that's the little kids running up to your pew or the sweet old grandma sitting in the front row, whoever it is getting to see like the beauty of the church makes it a thousand times easier just to be there and want to go every single day and receive Jesus and, you know, come to that love so much deeper.
Deacon Mike:Kate, I'm curious on that, on that retreat that you went on, where you said you sat in front of the Eucharist. You know, I always say it's it's. People talk about the profound experiences they have in those, in those situations, but it it takes something to get people there. You know what got you to to actually take the step to go to to spend some time with Jesus in the Eucharist.
Kate:So I so that retreat um was not when I wanted to go on. Prior to that, I completely renounced God, I renounced the church as a whole and my oldest brother, my oldest.
Kate:I only have one brother my older brother was a leader on this retreat and we kind of went back and forth of oh, I don't know if I really want you going on this retreat because I'm leading it and that might throw it off. And then I was like I don't really know if I even want to go, um, and it wasn't until about the week prior that finally I was like okay, fine, maybe I'll just give it a try. I don't really know what this whole Jesus thing is, but you know, maybe it could be cool. And then spoiler alert to anybody who hasn't gone on Kairos yet they give you that opportunity where they don't really tell you what you're going to do. They tell you, hey, like the monstrance is going to be out, you're going to see the Eucharist, but they kind of just let you, you know, guide it on your own, let you see it how you want to. And it took me about 15 minutes to kind of be like okay, is this whole thing like? Is everybody like fake crying around me or like what's really happening? And then, once I started to realize that it all hit me at once and I just started crying and I realized how much like that was the Spirit moving me.
Kate:And then from then, it's like you don't even realize how much adoration is going on. I mean I am blessed that my church, holy Family, has a 24-hour adoration. I mean I have gone in there at 2 in the morning because I couldn't sleep sometimes, or sometimes I just really need to talk to Jesus. As much as I love confession and I do think it's a great sacrament, sometimes I just get really nervous, so I'm like I need to go sit directly in front of Jesus for a little while before I do. And so I think that, like being placed there and now I get to take that opportunity to go into adoration, it like has made it such a different opportunity and I don't feel that feeling of consolation every single time, which is how it's going to be. But knowing that, like thinking back to that situation on Kairos when I did feel that, and being like I strive to feel that every single day, has helped me like grow in my faith so much.
Deacon Mike:If I had a dime for every time. Someone said I didn't think I wanted to go on Kairos, but then I went Yep.
Fr Damian:Can I ask if you could talk just briefly about what you liked or what was a benefit of being part of Tole Lege, Because that's where we met and I know that a lot of the things you talked about may have been present there. So if you could just chat, especially if there's a rising senior who's thinking of applying what would be something that might be a draw.
Natalie:I think, being in an environment where everyone wanted to be there and everyone was there for the same reason to deepen their faith, I feel like even Kairos a little bit.
Natalie:It is such a beautiful and great experience, but it's also like you're pressured to go a little bit, at least at our school, so sometimes you get some of the people who aren't fully in it just maybe for, like, the social aspect of which is beautiful, growing closer to your peers. But I think Toilet Lake allowed me to deepen my faith in a way that was like through education. Deepen my faith in a way that was like through education and I think I am a very if you know me, I'm very science, very math, like I like to. I like my education is very important to me. So bringing that into my faith in a new way that wasn't just Catholic school or like the normal teaching and like actually like being able to read about, like philosophy and all these beautiful doctrines and things that we learned about, allowed me to understand my faith better, which in turn brought me closer to God.
Natalie:And I think also the friendships and just the community that's built. There is beautiful and we still talk to everyone today.
Kate:Yeah, our group chat is always texting still. We still talk to everyone today. Yeah, yeah, our group chat is always texting still. But, yeah, totally was my first, my first opportunity after Kairos that I was like I'm just going to. I'm going to start saying yes to every opportunity that I get to grow my faith and being somebody who had been so distant from the church for such a long time when I sat in religion classes at school I didn't really listen and things like that so taking that week out of my life, out of my busy schedule, getting away from lacrosse, getting away from everything else that was going on, and fully committing to it, that same idea of everybody who was on Tolle wanted to be there. Was there maybe a kid or two that, like everybody else in their family, went, went? So they went, yes, but at the end of the day, like when you came to the end of the week, that person wanted to be there.
Kate:And I think that's what made it such a big difference was that I was very hesitant. I went without knowing anybody. Natalie and I knew each other, but I didn't know she was going on it until I had got there and I ended up completely falling in love with every single person there still to this day. I mean, I see Natalie every single day. I see most of the people there at least once a month. So it's been such a blessing to have that community Most of the people they're at least once a month. So it's been such a blessing to have that community.
Kate:And those are also people that I mean you text in our group chat at any time and somebody will respond, no matter what it is. We text about some of the weirdest things, but no matter what, you always have somebody. And also it's been such a strong thing for my faith because I see these other kids who we all came from different areas. Some of us have been homeschooled for our whole entire lives. Some of us did public school for our whole life, whatever it was. But you see these kids who you're like wow, that person's so deep in their faith and they send a text in the group chat and they're like hey, does anybody know what this means? Or?
Deacon Mike:can somebody?
Kate:explain this to me and you will get people who fully go in-depth, explaining it in words that like us as teenagers are going to understand.
Fr Damian:Sounds like Trinity or something.
Kate:It's very much Trinity Blake.
Natalie:Yeah, I feel like nobody wanted to leave at the end of the week either.
Kate:Yeah.
Natalie:And then, when the reunion got canceled, everyone was so sad, everyone was so sad.
Fr Damian:Well, there'll be more reunions. The other thing I was going to say, although you guys drove her nuts a little bit usually the second week is the wild week, but the first week was the wild week. Dr Beth Rath also teaches there, and for a lot of the men too, but to see a young woman PhD in philosophy is, I think, very impactful for a rising senior to say, my gosh, this is pretty incredible. And I know that some of our women have gone on at least to minor, if not major, in philosophy because of their experience with Dr Rath at the SM. So if I could just sum this up, because these were some things I was thinking of Things that are unattractive the institutional aspect and the political aspect.
Fr Damian:And it's interesting because we've studied this with Francine your generation as a whole is suspicious of institutions, and maybe the women even more than the men, much like ours. But that's true of like banks and that's true of big box stores and all those things. So the church is one institution among many, but there's some other issues there too, and again we'll put some links in. But the things that drew you you said beauty, the relational aspect, relationship with God, relationship with others, the sacramental life, eucharist, confession, prayer, life, spirituality. So if we're trying to reach out to young women, it'd probably be best to lean into the beauty, the relational aspect, the sacramental aspect, prayer, all those things would be helpful, yeah.
Natalie:Is that sound right? Yeah, we're learning. We're learning from you, so I'm asking I think like more of an importance on prayer, like for some people, like the institution is just going to turn them away, so like saying that's okay, but like like still having that deep prayer life and a deep spiritual connection with God is so important and I think if it starts with that, then that will lead them back to the church eventually.
Deacon Mike:That's smart, good. One last question for me what's one thing that you think older people don't know about your generation that they should know, or that they don't understand about your generation, maybe?
Kate:I think something that you see a lot from the older generation is that the people who are showing up to church, the people who want to create that relationship with God, we're not all going to look like the same. So I think something that I definitely struggled with a lot coming into the church was, you know, my dresses are usually above my knee or, you know, every once in a while, like I'll wear like a smaller shirt to church, things like that and I think that something that I've experienced from the older community is that leads to a lot of judgment, that leads a lot to a lot of okay, well, well, you're not actually practicing your faith because you don't look like you are, um.
Kate:So I think that's also something that scares people a little bit. Is that like, oh, I'm scared to wear the wrong thing, I'm scared to wear this, um. Or just in general, I'm scared to be judged yeah, sure, yeah so I think that's a big fear, even like you even see that in high school and stuff. It's just a big judgment aspect that people are scared of.
Deacon Mike:Notre Dame did a longitudinal study about this. This is going back now too, about 30 years now. That's one of the biggest things that all generations have that there's a judgmental attitude amongst religious people in general that turns them off immediately, especially when they're found to be hypocrites. And the same thing, natalie.
Natalie:I think that, just as our generation as a whole, we're seen as more ignorant and that, just because we're younger, we aren't as smart to certain things, and I think we're just looked down upon like, oh, you don't understand this or that. Our I'm trying to think of the right word our faults come from ignorance, and I think that we're a lot smarter than you, like the older generation, may think that we are, yes, you are.
Natalie:We have so many more resources available to us and we are very well educated and our curiosity like sometimes our curiosity comes off as, oh, the institution might not be right for me right now or oh this, I'm like really struggling with this, just because our we are so curious and we are, we want to learn, and I think that that curiosity can leave lead to a lot of head-on collisions between things, and I don't think the curiosity is bad and I think if the older generation wants to connect with us more, share your experience, what knowledge do you have, instead of looking down on us.
Natalie:It's like a mutual thing, but we both have different experiences that are equally as valuable, and we can learn from each other rather than we can just learn from you.
Deacon Mike:One of my all-time favorite students, ryan Undercoffer, who just called me the other day. He said that one of the things that I have to teach him is life experience right, the different experiences I've had and what I've learned from them. And he said but if you tell me about like a TV show or a movie or a book, he goes, I'm going to go home and I'm going to look at this on Google and by the end of the day, I'll know more about it than you will. And I was like, not wrong.
Deacon Mike:And so, yes, you both have talked a little bit about your parish, but I think, Natalie, maybe you didn't talk a little bit about John Newman. Can you tell me a little bit about your parish there?
Natalie:I really love St John Newman. I think the leadership that we have in Father Barry he's been there for a while and I just the wisdom that he imparts is really beautiful. And then I also think that our life team community is it's growing and it's just such a warm and welcoming environment. So if anyone lives near Strongsville, sunday nights 5 pm, come to Life Teen Mass.
Fr Damian:I heard you had a really crappy speaker, though this week.
Natalie:Yeah, last weekend some guy named Father Damien. It was kind of disappointing very disappointing he's the worst. No, it was great. It was a really really good time.
Fr Damian:Oh, thanks, thank you, it was good to see you guys.
Natalie:Yeah, and just the community that provides, even finding other people that are as deep in their faith, and I think that St John Newman does a really good job of being in the community as well and not just sitting as a standalone church, but helping those around us as well.
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Fr Damian:So visit their website. That's briefcasemarketing. We've got their link in the show notes or text 308-627-1262. And our pal Dan First will take good care of you at Briefcase Marketing All right.
Deacon Mike:Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time coming up this weekend, Gospel is Luke's Gospel. What I liked in this one this week is a good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil. I think the word store in that sentence is the key one. What do you store up? Do you store up goodness or do you store up hatred? Right, and if you store that up, that's what you're going to give back, that's what you have to give. So store more goodness than hatred.
Fr Damian:I was visiting a couple of my friends on Friday in Steubenville Brittany Buchanan, who's a former Tolle Legge girl, and Anna Marino, and they both have been doing pottery recently Interesting and Anna Marino and they both have been doing pottery recently and so I was drawn to the first reading. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation, is the test of the just. So when you put your clay into the kiln, if it's not right it'll crack and break apart. So you learn someone's character when the heat is on and that's when one's character is revealed. And I like that, especially since I have friends who are now at the potter's wheel on a regular basis I.
Natalie:The part that stuck out to me was for every tree is known by its own fruit and it made me think about, like, what fruit am I producing and what does it say about who I am as a person? So I think it just brought a lot of self-reflection of, like, what you are putting out there. The words you speak become like the house that you live in and all those things that you are acting like. That speaks a lot to your characters.
Deacon Mike:Yeah, very good.
Kate:That line also had stuck out to me earlier when I had read it, and I think it also plays into what we were talking about earlier with. Everybody is made for their own vocation and every tree is going to be different. Even if there's a line of apple trees, not a single apple on those trees is going to look the same, is going to look the same. So, understanding that every one of us is made to bear our own fruit and make it beautiful and flourish it on our own.
Deacon Mike:Very nice, All right. So, Kate Natalie, thanks so much for joining us.
Kate:Thank you for having us.
Fr Damian:You have blessed us with your beauty, intelligence and feminine genius, and we're grateful.
Natalie:Thank you.
Deacon Mike:You're welcome. Amen, this has been Question of Faith. I am Deacon Mike Hayes and I'm Fr Damian Ferentz, and we'll see you all again next time.
