Today I'm joined by labourer and devout Catholic, Matt Varnes. In this open and frank diagoloue, we discuss the ups and downs of Matt's faith journey, the challenges and rewards of parish life, and explore the attention the Latin mass is receiving. 

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And thanks for listening. 

We meet Alex, who shares his impressions about his first Mass. How does a non-believer who values tradition see a rite so heavily imbued with symbolism and passed down over millenia? Listen to find out!

4:15 First time at Mass

5:15 Catholic institutions and separation of church and state

6:08 Being conservative and needing structure

7:08 Pomp and circumstance of religion, and why you go to church

8:30 Jordan Peterson and our role in society

10:15 Role of priests in Mass

11:15 William Wordsworth on the beauty of creation

13:30 Humility and marrying God

14:20 No sex before marriage and Love

16:15 Is just the Bible enough, and singing in the choir

18:20 Is Catholicism relevant? Does it need to be? And why God created silicon

19:30 God has a plan for us

21:20 Starting on a new diet

23:25 Going to Mass as a measuring stick for your spirituality

25:15 Fostering a relationship with God

27:10 Giving up faith and giving into despair

28:00 Spreading the Gospel and wrapping up

Today I'm joined by Social Worker and committed Catholic, Sam Tyler. We look at Thomas Aquinas' application of the scriptures in the "living out" of emotions. Are emotions good or bad? Do they define us? And is OK to "go with the flow" of our feelings? Listen in to find out!

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004:05 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica and Five Proofs for the existence of God

007:45 The Passions and how they relate to Sin

012:10 Types of Passions (concubispable and irascible)

013:50 Rightly Ordered Love

017:55 Hate is absence of Love or apprehension of something repugnant, and how it relates to Sin

021:30 Desire and aversion, and anxiety disorders 

025:12 Delight and Sorrow

026:50 Anger in response to injustice

029:00 All Souls Day and being purged of sins through Grace

032:05 Ordering the mind and not defining yourself by your emotions or being dismayed by difficulty

040:20 Holding onto special moments and treasuring God 

042:35 Hope and Despair 

053:18 Fear

057:50 Relativism and emotional reasoning vs objectivity

1:02:00 Men, emotions, anger and stress release

1:06:25 Effect of Technology on emotions, disconnecting and getting a dumb phone, online dating and using technology the right way

1:14:45 Why it’s worthwhile to identify emotions and order them rightly

1:16:50 Closing

In the Name of the Father film https://youtu.be/bG1igo2ciI4. 

In the episode we look at capitalism and its impact on modern society. Considering inflation in Australia and the debate on cost of living, does capitalism help or hinder us? To answer this, I'm joined by Tony Youself, a fellow Christian, husband and tutor. Tony uses plain English to help us understand this system, its history and find out its consequences.

You may be surprised by the answer.

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Mary grew up in a Catholic household, so like Jareth, she is a so called “cradle Catholic.” We hear her testimony today, growing up in a devout, traditional and community oriented Catholic family. The Gales are a cornerstone of Catholic life in Katoomba. You probably don’t realise it, but if you live in the Upper Blue Mountains and are Catholic, you have met a Gale.

Mary is an active member of the Legion of Mary and has discerned monastic life, even becoming a nun for a short time. So quite apart from sharing the namesake, she is a great person to ask about the significance of the Virgin Mary in the prayer life and apostleship of Catholics.

Legion of Mary is a lay organisation founded by an Irishman named Frank Duff in the 1920s. Its members around the world have many responsibilities which form their apostleship, including missionary work, evangelisation, prayer, social work, supporting the clergy and most importantly, drawing inspiration from Mary as the perfect model of how we must follow our Lord and Saviour.

For more information of the Legion of Mary in Australia:

https://legionofmary.org.au/

3:45 Introduction

5:00 Discerning religious vocation

10:30 Catholic family life

11:05 importance of daily prayer

12:30 Catholic VS Protestant services

14:25 history of the rosary

20:35 Spirituality of rosary prayer

22:20 why we pray the sorrowful mysteries

23:50 Legion of Mary and Frank Duff

25:30 organisational structure of The Legion and work

28:30 Miracles on Tap: Incredible Transformation of Dublin's "Bentley Place" by Frank Duff

29:00 Legion hierarchy and intention of members

33:10 Practical Guide to Catholicism

33:20 and Legion as a spiritual army and spiritual warfare

38:47 Screwtape Letters

40:05 talking about Jesus

40:27 committing time to church groups and lay organisations, living life for God

46:50 advice to people giving up their faith

50:10 Edel Quinn missionary in Africa

53:50 social justice in the church and joining The Legion of Mary

59:50 Legion handbook as a compendium to Mary and where to find it

1:06:15 Legionary promise

1:09:20 Closing

Jareth is choir director of St Canices's Katoomba with a background in law and history. On this podcast we analyse the trappings and benefits of growing up in a Catholic family. We answer this important question: Why continue in the faith,  and do cradle catholics even have any real faith? We answer this, and much more. Listen in for details.

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Thanks!

2:15 Introduction and St Canice's choir

6:00 Origins of BoB Sydney

6:30 why Catholicism? Why go to mass?

7:45 growing up as a"cultural Catholic"

9:50 histororical gravitas of the Catholic church and why it works as a social institution

13:05 Going to a Catholic school

14:40 Responding to anti-Catholic criticism

16:50 Developing virtue in oneself

18:45 Being a virtuoso singer in a parish choir

20:40 Connecting with practising Catholics

23:05 How being part of the choir adds to the spiritual experience

25:00 How Christianity added to the Jewish tradition

26:00 Isn't just The Bible enough?

31:55 We need to adapt to the church not the other way around

33:10 Serving in the choir at family funerals

35:00 Justifying your existence and allowing other people to suffer

41:00 Jareth's history at St Canice's Church Katoomba

42:20 Definitions of different singing parts in a choir

43:18 Analogies used in teaching choir

43:55 Bell Canto singing and value of Analogies

46:00 Hillsong VS Catholic church music

47:15 Reducing tension in singing

49:55 Choir as participation in the community

54:55 Jareth's goals for the choir

01:00:55 Beauty of mass

01:01:20 Becoming more religious without being too pious

01:05:15 Wrapping up

On today's Podcast, I'm joined by Zena Mason, who is completing the Rite of Catholic Initiation of adults at St Candice Katoomba. We explored the role of and necessity of tradition, her journey to and though faith, and its impact on her life today. How her journey started may surprise you. Listen in today.

01:55 Intro

02:30 Choosing a traditional church over a contemporary one

05:35 Growing up without faith

06:35 RCIA and having an open discussion about the faith

08:00 Introduction to Mary (see her interview here)

09:00 Difficult conversations when becoming Catholic and logic of Thomas Aquinas

10:50 Role of RCIA program

11:30 Rosary beads and role of Mary

16:25 Going back to your roots

20:05 Is the mass a dead ritual?

21:40 Waiting to be able to receive communion

22:45 Who is Jesus?

23:50 Coming home

24:30 Sacrifice and being outspoken

26:05 How Zena got into Jordan Peterson

28:00 Getting permission and having the right reasons to become Christian

30:50 First time in a Catholic church

34:30 Adoration chapel

37:10 Community outreach

39:40 Importance of the Sacrament of Marriage

44:30 Learning from the lives of the Saints

48:10 Isn't tradition irrelevant?

49:25 Corruption in Catholic church

On today's Podcast, I'm joined by Caelan Myers, who was recently baptised into the Catholic church. Caelan had little to no association with religion, and in fact was a strong atheist. Caelan's journey involved both faith and reason, yet the starting point for his interest, in my view; was most compelling.

03:00 Introduction to Caelan

05:05 What brought Caelan to Catholicism  (TEFP)

06:40 Being atheist

09:37 Evidence for Christ's Existence

13:51 What Caelan's friends & family thought of him talking an interest in Catholicism

17:15 Aquinas's Five Ways

18:04 The Big Bang and Science

20:45 RCIA and Religion in society

22:45 Advice for Catholic institutions

23:45 Caelan's everyday spiritual life and future plans

26:00 Why go to mass?

28:45 Does the faith contradict science?

32:00 Collapse of morals in society

33:45 Advice to non practising Catholics

34:40 Is Catholicism all works based?

36:20 Is God a killjoy?

38:55 Living out the faith in the community

40:05 Is the Catholic church impersonal?

40:55 Rosary prayer and Blessed Virgin Mary