In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by Father Jeffrey Kirby, STD to talk about ascetical theology: the ancient and holy Catholic practice of dying to yourself. We dig deeply, with Fr. Kirby as our guide, into how understanding the purpose of our lives, through a knowledge of Scripture and God’s plan, we can more fully and truly live out our Catholic lives and vocations. It’s a really fascinating, fun, and in-depth conversation – as it always is... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by Shannon Wimp Schmidt, one of the co-authors of Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s: A Black Catholic Celebration of Faith, Tradition, and Diversity, to talk about some of her thoughts on the black Catholic experience. This is a topic I’ve had a lot of requests to tackle on the show and I’m so pleased, and grateful, to have Shannon as a guide this week. Her insights are phenomenal and, I hope, helpful... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined once again by my good friend Catholic convert, author, and historian Rod Bennett to talk about the apostles, apostolic succession, and how the Early Church understood the role of these very first Christian leaders. Rod always brings incredible insights into Early Christianity and this episode is no different. We dig deep into the historical understanding of the roles of the apostles, how this role was passed on, and how the Early... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined once again by Dr. Brett Salkeld, theologian for the Catholic Archdiocese of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada and host of the Thinking Faith podcast to talk about purgatory. What exactly is purgatory? Why does it make sense? Where can we find it in the Bible? In Church history? Isn’t it just a medieval invention? Didn’t it go completely sideways and caused the Protestant Reformation? All of these burning questions, and more, this... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by returning guest Suan Sonna from Intellectual Conservatism to talk to us about the papacy, and the pope. Suan is making major waves these days strongly defending the papacy and he’s here today to tackle some of the most popular (and difficult) objections that you’ve probably heard to the idea of the pope. Where is the papacy in Scripture? Shouldn’t it be obviously found? Isn’t attempts to find the papacy foreshadowed... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by Jason Bulman, a father, candidate for the diaconate, and one of the “stars” of the Word on Fire show Meet the Bulman’s where Jason and his wife Rachel, a previous guest on our show, open their home and their lives up for viewers to see a picture of a Catholic family, living and loving their faith. In this episode Jason and I talk about his vocation of marriage, family, how... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by The Jewish Catholic, Daniel Suazo, to unpack the absolutely incredible story that’s led to his decision to become Catholic, this Easter 2022. Daniel was raised Protestant, from a Jewish background, and began exploring his heritage after asking some difficult questions about his Protestant beliefs. After discovering the Messianic Judaism movement Daniel thought he’d finally found a faith home only to begin asking even more challenging questions and, eventually, deciding to... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by Catholic convert Christian B. Wagner, the Militant Thomist, to share the story of his incredible journey into Catholicism. From an upbringing as a Baptist, Christian was exposed to the Early Church Fathers through some of the Reformed theologians he began reading in college. His exploration of Early Christianity led him to ask questions about ecclesiology which led him to explore the Anglican Church and, eventually, through exposure to St. Thomas... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by the inestimable Father Gregory Pine, OP to talk about grace, prudence, and how to live out the virtues in our Catholic faith lives. We talk about exactly how grace infuses our lives and helps us to live more virtuously, the role of prudence in the life of a Catholic, how to make decisions in God’s will (and how to understand God’s will to begin with!) and the role of the... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I’m joined by podcaster, writer, and speaker John Edwards to share what I think is the most incredible conversion story ever. John breaks the record previously held by the wonderful Tsh Oxenreider as he speaks for a full hour unpacking his whirlwind conversion story: through a crippling drug addiction, successes and failures, ups and downs, and an incredible return to the Catholic Church through the grace of vulnerability and the sacraments John’s story... Read more
