In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by Shannon Wimp Schmidt, Parish Vitality Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Chicago, to talk about the Catholic parish. What exactly should we expect from a Catholic parish? How does it compare to an Evangelical church? How can we get more involved? What if nothing is happening in our parish – is it OK to go somewhere else? These questions, and many more, are answered this week as Shannon joins me for... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by David Patterson from Yes Catholic to talk about his own incredible journey out of, and then back into, the Catholic faith – thanks to some amazing miracles, plenty of grace, and some incredible moments of divine providence! Then we dig into what it means to say “Yes” to Christ and His Church, the beauty of being Catholic, the Eucharist, confession, and so many incredible stories of grace that David has encountered in his life... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined Heidi Witte, aka Miss Heidi, from Children’s Liturgy of the Word, to talk about just about everything to do with raising our kids Catholic. For this listener-requested topic, we tackle bringing kids to Mass, passing on the faith, creating a domestic church within our homes, celebrating the liturgical calendar and feast days, praying as a family, and a whole bunch of other incredible insights, ideas, and tools for not only making the Mass meaningful but... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by the Marlene Watkins, founder of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers, to talk about Lourdes: the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a poor French peasant girl, the miracles that followed, and, incredibly, the mind-blowing miracles that science and medicine cannot prove which are still happening today! This episode is truly one of my favourites. Marlene shares her experience with leading over 200 pilgrimages, bringing thousands of pilgrims to this incredible holy... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Matthew Breuninger, clinical psychologist and associate professor of Psychology at Franciscan University of Steubenville to talk about finding freedom from our wounds in Christ and the Catholic Church. We talk about the healing power of the sacraments, how to begin letting go of what we put in the way of true healing and freedom and, practically, how we can get out of the way and let God do His thing. This was such... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Justus Hunter, a Methodist seminary professor, church historian, and theologian to unpack his family’s remarkable story of Catholic conversion. From an “all in for Jesus” faith background, Justus and his wife, both devout and deeply connected Christians, began to find themselves attracted to the Catholic faith and, following an incredible journey eventually became Catholic. Justus spins a fantastic tale this week full of ups and downs, miracles, incredible insights, and a healthy dose... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by my good friend Keith Nester to talk about some of the pitfalls new Catholic converts may experience on their journey. Keith is a former Protestant pastor (with 20+ years in ministry), a Catholic convert himself, the author of some fantastic books, and the host of a popular YouTube channel – and he knows a thing or two about this topic! We talk about bad liturgy, bringing kids to Mass, a loss of programs, events,... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by one of my favourite people to talk to Erick Ybarra. Erick is a former Reformed Baptist who became Anglican in his search for an authoritative, apostolic Church but didn’t stop there. After carefully examining Catholic vs. Orthodox claims Erick eventually became Catholic – although continued his long and exhaustive search of Scriptures and Church History to be able to fully defend his decision. Erick’s search, and his extensive research into the papacy, is recorded... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by the show’s most requested guest Keith from Grassroot Catholic. Keith has a popular Instagram and YouTube channel where he unpacks beautiful, sometimes forgotten practices from the Catholic faith, encourages reverence, and shares awesome insights as someone trying to earnestly live the Catholic life and pursuit Christ. Keith is an awesome guy – of course he is, he’s a Keith – and this is a wonderful conversation about how we can be more reverent as... Read more
In this episode, I’m joined by Patrick Callahan, Director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We talk about the Catholic experience on college campuses and dig into some of this wisdom Patrick’s gleaned over years of working with Catholics on campus. We chat about how Catholics often come to college (inoculated against learning more about the Catholic faith), how to meet them and engage them, how relationships trump programs, and how introducing... Read more
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