Shows
Ordinary Old Catholic MeSin, What Sin?As we wend our way to Holy Week, we should be thinking about why Christ died for us? Because of, sin. The only way to restore the relationship with God after the sin of Adam and Eve was for God to become Man, join time, join history, die, be resurrected and offer to us, once again, the joys of Paradise. But we still have to say "yes". And that means that we have to have a sense of sin, which is lost in this modern society even among Catholics. Some thoughts from the Ordinary Catholic.2022-04-0923 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeResponding to the Gaze of ChristImagine that you are in Jerusalem and Jesus Christ stops in your neighborhood and stands in front of you and looks at you with his beautiful eyes. Even without his words, "Come, Follow Me" you know what He wants. Do you follow? How can you become disposed to follow? 2022-04-0325 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeMary, Would You say ”Yes” again?Given the state of the world, which never seems, despite all the technology, to get better, and given the warnings of the Blessed Mother to the human race, that seem to go mostly unheeded, I found myself wondering whether, if Mary had to do it over again, would she say that "Yes" to the Angel Gabriel. I mean, now she knows in detail, what she did not know when she was that young girl in Nazareth. What a can of worms this little question opened up for me!2022-03-2724 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeIf Edna and I Could TalkMy mind became abuzz with the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay this week, and one thing led to another and I began to wonder whether she and I could talk about the Catholic purpose of life without rancor, but more, whether she might be drawn to it. But then, that's a problem for all of us, even Catholics, no? What is the purpose? To know, to love, to serve, praise, obey God in this life so that we may be united with Him in the next. That's not something most people, including Catholics, like to hear. 2022-03-2024 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeAn Interview: Ada Onwukeme,It has been a while since I have done an in person interview. It is so extraordinary to listen to the ordinary stories of other Catholics, and I am privileged to be able to bring a little of that life to your attention. In conversation with Ada Onwukeme. 2022-03-1247 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeA Perfect Ordinary DayThis episode was initially going to be a description of a rare day of peace doing ordinary things, but it turned out that it had real connection to the retreat I am trying to do, the ebbs and flows of consolation in the Lord and desolation because of original sin and how His sacrifice leads transforms desolation, suffering, into eternal consolation, into joy itself. 2022-03-0521 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWhat’s This Loosing and Binding Stuff?A simple, but not so simple question, from a listener brought me to explore today's subject. What was the power to loose and bind that Jesus gave to Peter? What did it all mean? 2022-02-2627 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeStuffRamblings about seeking to be grateful to God for His Creation and to learn to trust Him in all things, especially when it is not as easy as watching a beautiful sunset.2022-02-1919 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWhat Is Going On Is Very ScaryCan you believe, it happened again? Another week at Mass. Another person walking away with God in her hand. It is the tip or the foundation below the water of the iceberg. Small disregard becomes larger and larger disregard of moral imperatives. The Church is not immune, as we know, but how frail the people of God have become seems to portend a terrifying response to come. 2022-02-1224 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThat’s God In Your Hand!I am not pretending to be holier than thou, I promise! But when I see someone, often many someones, receive Communion like they could not care less, or as if they have other, not so wonderful plans to desecrate the Host, my dander gets kicked up. That's God in our hands! That is how He is with us, always, until the end of time!2022-02-0524 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Worst Times?It is easy to think that the times in which we live might be the worst ever. But when you look at past times, and events, you are not so sure. But whether these are the worst times or not, the solution is the response that we make to the existential realities about us, our yes or no to the Higher Authority who created us, who redeemed us, who guides us. Either He exists and we cooperate with Him or He does not, and it doesn't matter about the times. Only one thing is true. 2022-01-3023 minOrdinary Old Catholic MePray Pray Pray for TrustPraying is difficult for me. And it's even harder to pray to Trust Him. I am a creature full of fear about what happens if. . . .a million things. And what if I trust and still the worst happens? The point isn't whether the worst does or does not happen. The trust itself is what ought to suffice. The trust will lead to a response of peace, no matter what the outcome. But I battle myself always to see this. And even in prayer I am battling. Pray anyway. Pray all the more. 2022-01-2326 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe ”Privileged Way” or the ”Non-Negotiable Way”?This is a big subject and, as usual, I barely scratch the surface. Is it required that we all be Catholic to be saved? I look to the history, in brief, and give some thoughts as an ordinary old Catholic girl. Best thing to do is for each of us to study, and pray, and see what the Lord is telling us.2022-01-1628 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBrand Two: My Will, Your Will, God’s WillI have returned to considerations of the Play "Brand". His "All Or Nothing" should, perhaps, give way to the paradoxical but more compassionate, "All And Nothing". What do you think?2022-01-0923 minOrdinary Old Catholic Me2022: Continuing the Journey through the Desert to the Promised LandIt has been a discouraging two years, and sometimes it feels like trudging through a desert without ever finding the oasis. I find myself murmuring--complaining--about God's purposes. A priest friend reminds me of the Psalms, which I have hardly ever spent any time with, and they remind me of God's Modes of Action from the beginning of time, through the Israelites Exodus to our own to the Promised Land.2022-01-0122 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeCovid ChristmasI suppose this title rather speaks for itself. Here I am doing what is "right" but somehow something is terribly wrong. 2021-12-2518 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeAll or Nothing: Is that Your Will, My Will or God‘s Will?It is amazing how sometimes circuitous are the ways that I discover what will become the subject of a podcast on Catholic life. So this week while watching You Tube Videos about "The Prisoner" a TV show back in the 1960s with Patrick McGoohan, I ran across a play by Henrik Ibsen, "Brand" which has intrigued me, and I hope intrigues you.2021-12-1838 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeHeaven Meeting EarthWhen Jesus was born, Heaven Met Earth. At every Mass Heaven Meets Earth. Lord, Grant me the Grace to see that, and never to forget it, so that my soul may be saved.2021-12-1123 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeA Girl of Mount Saint UrsulaI guess I am waxing nostalgic this season of Advent. After watching the Bells of St. Mary's for the umpteenth time, I got to thinking about my grammar school and high school days at a Catholic School, The Academy of Mount Saint Ursula in the Bronx, an experience that straddled the days of a Bells of St. Mary's type of education to the Post Vatican II days, with its pros and cons. It was hard to watch the place that I grew up in change, I mean change in a physical way, with large parts of the property given...2021-12-0531 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeYou Can‘t Be a Saint Unless You Evangelize?Well, yes. But with a caveat, in my Ordinary Old Catholic Me opinion. Evangelizing comes in many forms, I have concluded. Some of them I can do. Some of them you can do. You can be the firebrand St. John the Baptist, but most of us aren't in that league. Being a faithful Catholic (not perfect obviously) is the key, so that all who know you know what you believe without contradiction, without compromise, but with charity. Not false charity that says everything is equivalent, but a real charity that brings the truth into the marketplace. 2021-11-2834 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeJesus, the Second Person of the One GodI hadn't intended a third installment on Who Do You Say that He Is? But I ran across a typed address from 1973 of one of my late pastors, Monsignor George Parnassus. There really is nothing from him on paper or recording, so this was a treat. And it fits nicely into the last couple of episodes of this podcast. I think he ties up the subject (as best as can be done by this Ordinary Old Catholic) very nicely. And Father Parnassus gets a little of the recognition he deserves besides!2021-11-2023 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWho Do You Say He Is? Part TwoWhen one thinks about it, the union of God and Man in the Person of the Trinity Jesus Christ is really the only solution to the separation of man from His Creator because of sin. God became human, not to abuse him, to manipulate him, but to save him and reunite with him. Jesus is the perfect bridge, fully God and fully Man. It is up to each of us to agree that He is also the one true Messiah. 2021-11-1328 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWho Do you Say He Is? Part One.Peter had the answer. The New Testament has the Answer. The Catholic Church has the Answer. It's not easy, though, to really accept it because we are so limited. My struggle is your struggle in trying to do so. Some thoughts in Part One. Bottom Line? He is Truly God and Truly Man and what He did brought us back from the brink of eternal death into Eternal Life. 2021-11-0728 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWho Do You Say He Is? PromoA little promo to tell you that I will be recording a little later today or tomorrow. The title? Who Do You Say He Is? Well, you know WHO, right? Who do you say Jesus Christ Is? 2021-11-0601 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBeware the Divider!Everything around us is division these days. And the Devil loves it. And he looks to stoke the anger that escalates the division. Let us not allow that, in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 2021-10-3028 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLight and Dark All and NothingThanks to William Shatner for generating the thoughts and readings in this week's podcast. The things he said about his experience of seeing the earth from the cusp of space and of the darkness of space beyond got me onto St. John of the Cross' view of the Dark Night of the Soul. 2021-10-2421 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBring Back the Men With ChestsA trip to my dentist's office, entirely manned (pardon the expression) by women got me onto a CS Lewis phrase, "Men Without Chests". We have made a mess of the truth of men, and women. We have made a mess of the truth of everything, and there are no men with chests, people of virtue and comprehension of objective truth, to speak up!2021-10-1623 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeA Man for This SeasonYou remember how your mother used to say "Just Because Everyone is Jumping Off a Cliff, that doesn't mean you should"? Just because everyone says its true or good doesn't mean that it is. We used to know that. We used to know it because most of us agreed what was good and true based on principles beyond ourselves, those so called "higher principles" of God and Objective First Things. But from time to time humanity strays, wildly, from the good and the true. It happened in the time of St. Thomas More. A great and mighty King, Henry...2021-10-1032 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeKeeping Focused to Keep the FaithA bit more this week on the short story read last week. It was called "The Hint of An Explanation" by Graham Greene. This week I look at my reaction to the story and the urgent need to realize in the depths of body, mind and soul the nature of the Eucharist, the living Christ.2021-10-0422 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Hint is AllWe Catholics say we know that the Eucharist truly is God. But in a strange way "knowing" and "believing" are two separate realities. I know it is so. But I have to repeat, over and over, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief", because that unbelief crops up the moment after I have actually received Him. But there are Hints as to how absolutely the Supernatural Second Person of the Holy Trinity is surely there, and one day we will grasp it with total unswerving faith. Have you ever read the short story, "The Hint of an Explanation". I...2021-09-2639 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeToo Rigid to Be a Saint?In these days of unclear teaching about clear truth, it is possible to say that a person on the road to publicly declared Sainthood might not be the culture's, including alas, the modernistic collaborative Catholic Culture's, cup of theology. Suggesting that some persistent sin, as detailed in the Catechism, can lead to hell is considered too harsh, too "rigid". So is it possible that someone say, like the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, could find his public path to declared Sainthood a rough one. Something to consider on Ordinary Old Catholic Me.2021-09-1932 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeToo Horrible to Be a Saint?I am always grateful when someone poses a question that generates a podcast. I may not have the exact question right but as I understood it--are there some things done in the life of a saint murder for instance, that are so beyond the pale that it seems incongruous the person should be considered a Saint, someone we look to as a figure of holiness? I may not have found the best answer. But it is worth the tussle!2021-09-1229 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeNavigating Evil and the End of the WorldIf you don't believe in God and His Plan and His hope for our Repentance and Cooperation in that Plan, then maybe you aren't worried about the End of the World. Me? I am worried plenty. Where will I stand when the Time comes? Where will you? There is a lot at stake. Do you see that we are in yet another potential time of the Anti-Christ? The idea for me, I realize is to worry less but to rely on God by preparing now in fervent and regular prayer that I will stand with Him while the Devil...2021-09-0534 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeSubordination Is What It Is All AboutThat letter to the Ephesians where Paul describes the relationship of a man and woman in marriage is a stumbling block to modern Catholics. And my thought today is that it ought not be. That was how Christ saved us, by becoming subordinate to His Father and to a situation in which there was to be certain death. How then can we women act as if subordination to our husbands is beneath us. And the fact is that true love, that the man is supposed to provide to his wife, is to be completely about the other, his wife, t...2021-08-3019 minOrdinary Old Catholic MePray Even When You Don't Feel Like ItSome might say I seem to be an energetic, relatively happy person. Sometimes I am. But my core, alas, is more "gloomy Gus", the lifelong pessimist. And in a world that looks like it is going off the rails, I can't even find a spark of optimism of late, and I too often feel like running away, and leaving behind everything, including my faith. I don't even want to pray for everything looks too dark. But there it is. That's the crux. I must pray, especially when it seems impossible. Especially when I do not feel like it. I...2021-08-2228 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeHope Against HopeWhen we get to the. . .ahem. . . latter end of the stages of man, one notices more the reality that we all share. We lose the bloom of youth, and the status quo of middle age and start to decline, some ever so slightly, some more so, but if we live long enough, we see that no one is spared, not even the most successful of stars, or entrepreneurs, believers or non-believers. And no avoidance the material world can provide will distract us any longer. It is either meaningless or Meaning Exists. 2021-08-1524 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeGod Literally WithinWhat happens on the Altar during Mass is beyond profound. And yet, we are so casual in response to it, to Him. What do I see? What should I understand? What do I feel? It is really the key to eternal life. 2021-08-0729 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThoughts While in a Less than Good MoodYou get the idea. But there is a solution. It is the Will of God. Ain't easy to follow it. I wish I were better at it. But we are all human, and fallen. And need God's Grace ever. Particularly in the celebration of the Mass. 2021-07-3134 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Boom Has Been Lowered and I Can't Help Offering My ThoughtsIt was another eventful week in the Catholic Church. As one friend said to me today, "It's exhausting!" That certainly is true, but it is also something we have to reckon with as the faithful whether we like it or not. Pope Francis took a step, which was somewhat expected, regarding the status of the Traditional Latin Mass. It was a bigger step that many had anticipated. It basically erased the actions of two prior Popes and restricted the Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form in a serious, and some feel, draconian way. I add my puny comments to the p...2021-07-2539 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeFinal Thoughts About George Mackay Brown and the Choice of CatholicismI have so much more to learn about this poet extraordinaire who happened, by the Grace of God, to choose Catholicism as his faith on the earthly road to heaven.I am glad I have learned what I have, and he reminds me of the majesty of its universality and the fact that God comes to us daily in the Bread of Life. He IS the Bread of Life. We must remind ourselves always of that. 2021-07-1830 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeGeorge Mackay Brown and the Forces that Formed HimContinuing with a discussion of my discovery of a poet and short story writer, George Mackay Brown and marvelling at how he found his way to Catholicism. I intended that this be the final second part, but I got even more interested in him, and want to do a third part, next week. I am so glad I have "met him". I hope you are too. 2021-07-1030 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeGiving George Mackay Brown His DueI love it when I find something and someone new who intrigues me. Today, is the first part of two on the poet and short story writer from the Orkney Islands (Northeast of Scotland) named George Mackay Brown. Naturally, there is a Catholic connection. And while some might say that Brown lived an ordinary life in a small place, in fact even that place was extraordinary and its impact on him also. And that impact gave us his creative legacy. 2021-07-0423 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeFaith, Understanding and Just Hanging OnSo, I read a really small article related to the scientific method. It reminded me of the phrase, "Faith Precedes Understanding" which brought me to the related phrase "Faith Seeks Understanding" and which led to the various considerations of the next half hour. 2021-06-2624 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeHell is Well Paved, AlasIn part, the decision of the USCCB to create a "teaching document" related to Eucharistic coherence and the teachings of the Church got me thinking about the phrase, "Hell is paved with Good Intentions". Here's my take on things. 2021-06-2027 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeHow My Cat Reminded Me of the Goodness and Love of GodReal life meets faith life. My Tortoise Shell Cat does a really vindictive thing and reminds me of how we behave in relation to the God of the Universe and how He somehow still loves us. 2021-06-1224 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeIf I Could Go Back in TimeNeed Inspiration? Think of a time during the life of Christ, pre and post Resurrection to lighten the load of the world, He who took our sins upon Himself. I have my favorites. Go back in time to your own. 2021-06-0524 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLet Him SpeakFather James Altman of La Crosse, Wisconsin's St. James the Less Parish has become a vocal advocate for the teachings of the Catholic Faith by calling out Catholics in politics who visibly vary from it. However you view him, religious, non-religious, left, right or in no category, why should he be silenced while other clerics so clearly veer in their views from 2000 years of teaching of the Church. Let him Speak!2021-05-2924 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBeware the Atheistic MomentSometimes it feels like things are so difficult, you can't pray. You are not sure you even believe anymore. This is the Atheistic Moment. The Devil is like the Jabberwock, of whom a child might be afraid. Beware the Devil and his temptation of you to despair. 2021-05-2223 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeSin Becomes Sanctity?A few bishops wanted to take Joe Biden's defiance of Catholic Teaching on, but the Vatican wants more "dialogue". This is crazymaking. An Ordinary Catholic gnashes her teeth. 2021-05-1523 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeFido in Heaven?I love cats. I love all animals. I want to see every pet I have ever had, in heaven. Is that a reasonable expectation? Does it accord with Catholic teaching? Is it a matter of clarity? Let's explore. 2021-05-0821 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeOur Hidden HeroesI have been thinking about people in my life who made it better. It didn't have to be perfect, and no one is, nor can anyone make our lives so, but they moved us along. And those interactions were heroic because in some way they saved us. They might not have even known it. I tell you some of mine. I would love to read about some of yours!2021-05-0232 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeEscape is Not an OptionAnd boy, do I wish it were. What appears to so many people to be Progress is to many others of us, including me, a cascade failure that leads directly to the hell a lot of folks don't even believe in. Risky business, I'm thinking. God has been trying to reach us throughout mankind's history. Jesus died to reach us. And yet, we still dismiss Him. A lot of people are seeing the dangers in that dismissal. And the burden of what they see makes them, makes me, for sin makes me weak, want to run away a...2021-04-2427 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeToo Much ChangeThe debates over everything from unchanging dogma to liturgy to the words of a prayer given to us by Jesus Christ Himself are becoming the stuff of spiritual despair. Too many of the Church's leaders, who seem to have the stage and the kleig light advocate that the Church must change with and conform to the culture in which it finds itself. But that culture seems to many to be one of perdition, not of higher things. Many are seeing this and are seeking refuge in a steadfast liturgy which reflects the unchanging truths of the Church--the T...2021-04-1737 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe GiftThis is a bit more of an autobiographical episode than is usual. Though I tend toward a more conservative (which I believe is consistent with the Magisterium) view of my faith, I am occasionally reminded that I enjoy the fruits of the changes wrought by Vatican II in particular the participation of women in the liturgy. I agree. It is a contradiction. But here's what happened. . . .2021-04-1025 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeIt's Now or NeverWhen one thinks about the things we humans do that are sinful, and have always done, it almost seems like the effort that God has made to save us, couldn't possibly be worth it. We are just no good, right? We are not worthy indeed. But God obviously thinks we are worth it. And so He did something that is perfectly unimaginable and our choice? Heaven or Hell. It's now or never.2021-04-0320 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLife REALLY is Meaningless Without God, N'est ce Pas?Just what everyone needs, right? Another musing on the Meaning of Life. But we can't help it. We are thinking, reflective creatures. And as time grows shorter and shorter and we see people just ahead of us struggling with that we will also experience--if we live long enough--it's a reality that we cannot avoid. Ignore it? Yes. But there comes a time where we can no longer ignore it, either. While we are young and healthy and living our daily existences we have a choice, for God, or against Him. Did we come to realize before we could realize nothing a...2021-03-2724 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeGod's Grace Suffices?What is it all about, this statement in 2 Corinthians that "God's Grace is Sufficient for Thee"?Everything in our lives is complicated. We are full of weaknesses. And here is this statement that makes it all sound easy. What does it mean? How is Grace sufficient? And what exactly does that even mean?The harder life gets, the more urgent the need to figure it out, and to find how God's Grace will suffice. 2021-03-2025 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeAre We Happy YetWhat do you say when people ask you if you are happy? I have to admit that happiness has been elusive for me. But first of all we have to know what is happiness, true happiness. Some think religion provides it. Some that, in particular, Catholicism provides it, well, points to it, to HIM. God is the happiness we seek, but it is a struggle because of sin and because the Devil is always working against us. But we must pursue Perfect Happiness. 2021-03-1438 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeSorrowful But Not HopelessThe final of four rosaries said with the intention of the saving and preserving of one nation under God, the Sorrowful Mysteries, interspersed with personal meditations and memories of my own experience at some of the sites reflected in the mysteries in Israel. And, if you would, keep in mind if and when you follow along, my special intention. I would appreciate it. 2021-03-0628 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeHis Glorious Mysteries Will Preserve UsToday we do the Glorious Mysteries with the Intention of Saving and Preserving Our Nation under God. In between, some memories and thoughts about visiting some of the sites in Jerusalem where the Mysteries took place. Viva Christo Rey!2021-02-2729 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Luminous Mysteries With the Intention to Save and Preserve Our NationThis is week two of this Ordinary Catholic's prayer of the Rosary for the intention of Saving and Preserving this Nation Under God. Though I announced last time that I woudl do the Sorrowful Mysteries, since I was recording on a Thursday, I am instead praying the Luminous Mysteries. The meditations in between several relating a connection to my 2018 trip to Israel, I hope will be of some use if you are following along and praying with me. 2021-02-2032 minOrdinary Old Catholic MePraying the Rosary to Save and Preserve Our Nation Under God-the Joyful MysteriesThe world has always seen tough times. We, in the United States, have, comparatively, been spared the worst (though not all) of the ugliness. Americans of the post World War II generations acted as if the rights, endowed by their Creator, and recited in the papers founding the nation, would be secure in generations to come. More than that, we acted as if the fragile foundation could not be dismantled in multiple instances of societal suicide underscored by a rejection of the idea that God had anything to do with the founding or the life of the nation despite...2021-02-1331 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Road to Forgiveness: Dazzled by Jess EcheverrySome people suffer more than others, often at the hands of other human beings, even those who love them. Jess Echeverry had to learn how to rise above years of trauma, and to learn to forgive, but she knew she could not do that alone. She needed help. God, in His Providence, offered her His Suffering and His loving Heart. She joined hers with His.Jess has published her story, and shares where it has led her. She tells "Ordinary Old Catholic Me" a little about it. She has been married to Deacon Carlos Echeverry f...2021-02-0655 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLord, Don't Let Us Be O'ertakenHistory is moving hard at all of us. I suppose it always does. But somehow things seem more dramatic today, particularly as the priorities which are becoming the hallmarks of society seem to be self-destructive, like abortion. To be a Catholic, to be anyone of faith, in these times--perhaps it was always so but we did not expect it to be so with us--is to be under constant mental and political assault. We are asked to hold contradictory thoughts as each equally valid. Doublethink and Doublespeak aren't fictions. They are our daily reality. It seems to get worse every...2021-01-3022 minOrdinary Old Catholic MePassion of Hope For Marriage-Julieanne BartlettWhat is there for a woman who wants to be married, but cannot seem to find someone with whom to share her life? "Prolonged singleness" can leave a woman lonely and ultimately in the shadow of despair. No surprise but that God, and the fullness of the faith in Catholicism, provides an answer. That's what Julieanne Bartlett discovered. She found married love later than most, at age 42, and she shares her story and her ministry for others, of all ages, from 28 to 78, helping them not to give up, if marriage is really that to which God is calling them. 2021-01-2335 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeDon't Mistake This for HomeI suppose I cannot quite get away from the theme of pain and suffering. This last ten months may not be the worst history has ever had, in fact, it isn't, but it is arguably a different kind of tumultuous from that to which we in the United States are used. Not since the Civil War have we been touched with such crises and discord. The world and national events are in such a coalescence as to create a sense of immediate danger of eradicating our material and psychological well being. And then a tweet from a rare professing...2021-01-1626 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeImprov to Improve with Tiffani SierraA marvelous conversation with Tiffani Sierra, the Chief INSPIRATIONAL Officer of her own company, "Improv It Up!" on how improvisation is not just for people who are in the acting business. It provides healing release and confidence to anyone who wants to experience it. The workshops she offers are for anyone, she's even worked with Catholic priests and seminarians have taken her classes to make it more natural and comfortable to bring the Word of God to the people. Tiffani tells us also how her faith brought her through really difficult times in conjunction with her life's work as...2021-01-1035 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Offer It Up Dilemma2021. A New Year. An old dilemma, for this Catholic at least. The news is even worse so the freshness of the New Year seems already gone. What to do? We used to hear the phrase, "Offer it Up" as kids to counter the sense of futility. Join the suffering, the pain and joy of our days, to Christ's suffering which ultimately transformed suffering itself. I am hearing the phrase again in Catholic circles again. Easier said than done, no? Reflections on the difficuilty.2021-01-0222 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWhat Will Put "New" into this New YearThe old year, 2020, has been a bear. There is little to indicate that the new one, 2021, will be much better. That is a different feeling from the usual experience we have of the New Year. I have been as down in the dumps as many of us could be given the pressures from the outside. What, if anything, at least for the Christian, the Catholic Christian, from my perspective of things, might make this transition into 2021 "new" in a way that is healthy and potentially provide peace and happiness and, when you come down to it, the salvation of...2020-12-2724 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThis Ordinary Catholic's Thoughts on Christmas 2020Christmas is next week. It won't look like any that I have, or you have experienced, in the last let's say 70 years. I have been struggling with that. Maybe you have too. So, that's what this episode is about, tussling with the two Christmases, the secular version, the religious version and trying to keep the Babe who broke into Time in focus. 2020-12-2028 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Why Me SyndromeSo if I believe that it was the suffering Christ who redeemed the world, how can I possible ask "Why Me?" But there you are. I do. Thoughts on the subject of pain and suffering. And how "Why Me?" misses the point. 2020-12-1324 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Plain Truth?We are divided in this country, in this world, on pretty much every subject. In a recent episode I questioned the support of Catholic Clerical leaders, even implicitly, of a politician who not only advocates but is manifestly, actively seeking to make or keep abortion as the law of the land. I am certainly not alone in this concern. Far more theologically competent prelates than I have tried to raise the alarm. But they are considered somehow, radical. How can that be given the plain statements by the Church, still purportedly on "paper"? And how can it be that...2020-12-0528 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeMcIntyre House: The Small But Mighty Residential Drug and Alcohol Rehab that Needs Your HelpPart Two of our talk with Brian Hardin, Executive Director of McIntyre House, a Residential Drig and Alcohol Rehabilitation home for men. Keeping a small place like this going is always an effort of love, but especially in these days of Covid 19, when fundraising is even less easy than the norm. Some of its alumni had a great idea. The Twelve Days of McIntyre House, a holiday celebration. Brian and I talk about it. And how you can help. McIntyreHouse.org. 2020-11-2824 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeMcIntyre House: A Small but Mighty Residential Alcohol and Drug Program IThere is a lot of need out there for men afflicted by drug and alcohol addiction. There are some big organizations that tackle the problem, but there are also the small ones, like McIntyre House, co-founded in 1997 by a Catholic Priest, Monsignor Jeremiah Murphy, and his friend, Harley Noel, that have saved lives. The small places don't get a lot of publicity. But they are indispensable to the society, and are created out of the Catholic sense of loving our neighbors and helping those in need. Join me in this first part of a two part episode on McIntyre...2020-11-2225 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeShould I Stay Or Should I Leave. . .ReduxThe world presses on me, on us, from every side, and even the Church leaders seem to be in step with the secular more than with what we have understood to be the Faith. It was bad a few months ago, as the lockdown began, but it seems that with every passing month, it has become more a challenge to remain a Catholic. I need to vent. How 'bout you? But the bottom line is always the same, Jesus Christ is the Church, and how can I leave Him?2020-11-1430 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLord Let Resistance Not Be FutileThese are tough times. Others in our society are not unlike aliens who try to coopt our hearts and souls. We try to resist the false but we are only human and what is true and what is false becomes unclear to us. But we must persevere. We will not be assimilated by the purveyors of falsity. We pray for God's deliverance. 2020-11-0726 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeDirected--to the Rosary Advocated by Venerable Father Patrick PeytonA late priest I knew, Fr. Parnassus, often preached that there were no accidents with God. I have found that to be true. So, during this pandemic, this small podcast was born, and I discovered the Rosary and Fr. Peyton who promoted it back in the day. He is, from heaven I think, still promoting it. And I am doing my small part to help. In this world today, it is ever more important a life line to spiritual life. 2020-10-3124 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Faces of FearDoes fear get in our way of loving God and doing His Will? For you, what is Fear of God? And how do we distinguish it from the more human, dark kinds of fear? And what can we do about it?2020-10-2532 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBlessed Carlo and Friendship with Our LordThe beatification of young Carlo Acutis got me thinking about sainthood and its relationship to you and me. What does a 15 year old boy who died of leukemia have to teach us? A lot, I am thinking. Photo from Angelus.com2020-10-1721 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLord, Give Me PeaceThis episode was suggested by a friend. As with all the others, it is a large subject and how to acquire peace in this life or the next is one of controversy. But here is how I put together in this ever so short and imperfect effort, my thoughts as an Ordinary, very much struggling, Catholic. 2020-09-2734 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWhat the Hell?I read a book, "Dare We Hope" not long ago, and it raised lots of issues regarding hell. The premise, has since the beginning of Catholicism to date, led to a lot of debate. It is whether we can hope that no one is in that place, state, or whatever we conclude it is called "Hell". Dare We Hope opens the possibility that the separation may not be permanent despite our poor exercise of free will. Is that a good thing? I throw it out for us to consider. 2020-09-1927 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeToo Much Petition, Not Enough Adoration?Do we ask too much of God with demanding expectation and not enough understanding of His Plan? Wander with me as I explore whether we need to do less petitioning and more the other forms of prayer, Adoration, Thanksgiving and Repentence. And how does the Rosary turn out to impact my conclusion? Sometimes while I am doing these podcasts I get surprised by the Lord.2020-09-1221 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeA Conversation with Actor/Writer and Catholic Richard AntonioAnother friend from my parish willing to sit down with Ordinary Old Catholic Me and talk about how his life is informed by the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church. Thanks to actor/writer/transplanted New Yorker, Richard Antonio for sitting down with me to talk a bit about the integration of faith with daily life. 2020-09-0532 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeIn Search of An Integrated Spiritual LifeI started this podcast in tough times--are there any other? And tough times they remain. The pressures of the world and our/my activities with the sometimes approach the overwhelming. And the inner spiritual life sometimes seems isolated from the daily, where it is, really most needed. Just some thoughts on the dilemma, for me. And for you?2020-08-3019 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeOn the Galilee with the Lord Who Calms Sea and SoulJesus calmed the Sea of Galilee when the Apostles became overwhelmed by fear. I got a chance to be on a boat on that very water. He was not there in the way the Apostles saw Him, but His Presence was indeed. I am sure I felt it, despite my heart of anxiety. He is with us always especially when we fear. We must pray hard for the Grace to understand that, and to accept it, and to banish the fear we have as we go through our lives. 2020-08-2220 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeMerton and Newman in PrayerTwo very different spiritual thinkers and writers. One, Newman, a declared Saint of the Church. The other a well known modern monk. Both provided and provide to this day, guidance to those in search of God and His Purpose for us. It will be good to spend time with them, and to cherish each of their prayers. 2020-08-1530 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeThe Eucharist, The Awesome God Among UsIn our modern, pseudo-enlightened age, even among those who claim to be believing Catholics, the idea, the REALITY, that in the Daily Mass, God becomes present in the Form of Bread and Wine, is given short shrift. But God will not be dismissed and He continues to be with Us and invite us all in this truly miraculous manner. It is a big subject, way bigger than anything this small program could encompass, but hopefully your interest is piqued and you will explore the Awesome Gift that is God in the Eucharist via the many erudite thinkers, from the...2020-08-0825 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeA Talk with Michael Conley, Creative Partner of Actress Candice Azzara on Work and FaithLos Angeles born Michael Conley has been a writer and publicist for many years and has teamed up with actress Candice Azzara in various projects, including their uplifting humourous book, "God Please Give Me Patience. . . .and Hurry!" They share a mutual love for the entertainment industry but also a profound Catholic Faith. Michael talks about his life-long Catholicism and how it has infused his life and work. 2020-08-0144 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeCandice Azzara talks about being a Successful Actress and a Practicing CatholicCandice Azzara has been an actress of the stage, screen and television for many years. She has written a book, "God, Please Give Me Patience. . . .and Hurry!" with her creative partner, Michael Conley. She is working on a series of which she is the producer, writer and actress. She is also a practicing Catholic which brings her to Ordinary Old Catholic Me for what I hope you will agree is a delightful first interview for this podcast. 2020-07-2556 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWhat Is the Meaning Lord?When history becomes too pressing we often find ourselves asking "What is the Meaning of Life?" History is always pressing in reality. So I guess we are always asking the question. Today, I talk about a book, "Man's Search for Meaning" by the late Dr. Victor Frankl, who asked that question while he was a prisoner in a concentration camp during WWII. He found meaning even there. Surely we can now. 2020-07-1719 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBabel and FacebookThinking about Facebook in which I too much participate made me think of the Tower of Babel. And so follows this musing. 2020-07-0908 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeWhat Are WE Going to Do About It?Catholic laity are demanding of Catholic clerical leaders that they do something about the burgeoning attacks first on statues and then on the faithful themselves. What is the proper response? Ultimately, despite our protestations, we have to look to Jesus and Grace without which we can do nothing. We have to keep our eye on the God-Man who walked the road to Calvary and do what He did, remain faithful to the Word of the Father.2020-07-0119 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeSo How Am I to Evangelize?We are called to proclaim (Kerygma) the Good News of Christ's life, death and resurrection. But it doesn't come easy. Then what does when we follow the Royal Road of the Cross? 2020-06-2317 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeSo Do You Think It's the End of The World and How Do You Feel About That?In every age people think they see signs of the end times. Well, this age is no different and these last months, whew! Sure seems like the signs are there. I will tell you how I am coping, or not, and how I think about it. How about you?2020-06-1607 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeBack in the Pew AgainIt's been a tough few months, but our Churches are open again, and not a minute to soon for us!2020-06-0907 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeNo Pleasure In MeannessFurther considerations on Flannery O'Connors work, this time, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" as it might in part bear on the hard times our society is finding itself in after the George Floyd death during an arrest in Minneapolis. Meanness is evil. We ought not have pleasure in it. 2020-06-0411 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeFlannery O'Connor Teaches Me About Faith and GraceRevisiting Flannery's first published short story, The Geranium, and juxtaposing her exposition on the working of Grace to a few entries in her prayer journal, both written around the same period 1946-1948. We all struggle in the face of the disorder created by the ill exercise of Free Will by Adam and Eve and we have an opportunity to return to God's embrace. 2020-05-3028 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeLet Us PrayWe are exhorted to "pray unceasingly". But how readily do I, or you, pray in times of distress, let alone in times when things are going well. Today, a tip of the iceberg exploration of the tides and eddies of prayer.2020-05-1517 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeShould I Stay Or Should I LeaveA long ago question becomes relevant today, and the answer is. . . .Stay. 2020-05-1007 minOrdinary Old Catholic MeIntroducing Catholic Me to Catholic YouBeginnings. This is a beginning for me in a different forum. I have been blogging for some years--DjinnfromtheBronxChapterThree.blogspot and I will continue to do that. But something about this time in our mutual histories, the world wide quarantine because of the Coronavirus, just tweaked my longstanding interest in establishing a podcast on a subject that occupies much of my world, and sharing it with others for whom that is also true, my Catholic Faith. It won't be anything fancy. I am no Teresa of Avila, though we might be talking about her down the road. You can call...2020-05-0602 min