We wrestle with the world’s view that happiness can only be possible under better circumstances and we discuss how God’s wisdom provides a much better perspective than our own.

Join Greg, Jennifer, Mac and Katherine as they point out the perennial power of the liturgical seasons, and remind us of how much we absolutely need seasons like Advent and Lent in our lives today.

Greg is prepping to deliver a series of three different talks for an upcoming parish mission and solicits help from Mac, Katherine and Jennifer on the most important things to talk about when discussing Mary, Confession, and the Eucharist.

A failed boating excursion turns into an opportunity to record an outdoor podcast wherein we discuss the value of true friendship, the difficulty of cultivating and maintaining friendships, and how to go about finding a true friend that will accompany you (and that you can accompany) during good times and bad.

Sirach 6:5-11 counsels that:

“Pleasant speech multiplies friends, and gracious lips, friendly greetings.  Let those who are friendly to you be many, but one in a thousand your confidant.  When you gain friends, gain them through testing, and do not be quick to trust them.  For there are friends when it suits them, but they will not be around in time of trouble.  

"Another is a friend who turns into an enemy, and tells of the quarrel to your disgrace.  Others are friends, table companions, but they cannot be found in time of affliction.  When things go well, they are your other self and lord it over your servants. If disaster comes upon you, they turn against you and hide themselves.

"Stay away from your enemies, and be on guard with your friends.

"Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth.  Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; those who fear God will find them.  Those who fear the Lord enjoy stable friendship, for as they are, so will their neighbors be."

A continuation of our conversation about how to react to confusion in the Church and how we can help improve negative situations through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  

We talk about turning inward to examine our own consciences and ways to focus on increasing our own holiness.  For the sake of the Church we must continue to look at Jesus on the cross.  One way to do that, as we continue through the month of October, is by returning to more frequent recitation of the Rosary as a way to combat evil.

Katherine came across an essay that gave words to a long festering frustration with which we’ve each struggled:

What do we do when the shepherds of the Church aren’t clearly leading we the sheep?

The article specifically urges bishops and theologians to press Pope Francis for greater clarity in regards to vague and ambiguous statements that are quickly and easily misconstrued and manipulated by the media and those with a bias against particular teachings of the Catholic Church.

In cases such as these, how should ordinary Catholics react and respond to various news stories that come out of the Vatican and our own various chanceries?  

In this episode we discuss our reactions and responsibility to this elephant in the Cathedral, the responsibility of the pope and bishops to be shepherds of clarity and clear teaching.

LINKS MENTIONED:
OnePeterFive Article

Cardinal Sarah’s book, “The Power of Silence,” got our attention.  Are we afraid of silence?

We all seem to have major issues with noise entering into our heads through social media, internet, games, and more.  

How can we help our children embrace silence if we ourselves struggle with it so much?

In this episode we share a clever tactic on how to use the devil’s techniques against him.

Links Mentioned:
The Power of Silence

What to do when your gift is to evangelize online.  Are we being genuine with the message that we preach or are we simply prisoners to our online personas? These are the kinds of questions Amy Welborn brings up in a recent article, “The Hazards of Online Faith-Writing.”

Amy brings up the question that personas force us to be “on” at all times and potentially imprisons those of us that focus our energies on online ministry.  

Links Mentioned:
Amy Welborn’s Article
OK Catholics YouTube Channel
Catching Foxes Discussion on Amy’s Article

St. Theresa of Jesus describes Contemplative Prayer as “nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”

Contemplative prayer, the Catechism teaches, is a choice of time and duration that arises from a determined will (2710).  It is the prayer of the child of God, the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer, an intense time of prayer that is a gaze of faith, focused on Jesus.  

Additionally, Contemplative prayer is hearing the Word of God and is silence, the “symbol of the world to come.”

An exploration of Catechism paragraphs 2709 through 2719, in this episode we work though the complexities of what should a very simple action: experiencing God through Contemplative Prayer.