Thinking Faith With Eric Gurash And Dr. Brett Salkeld

Wherein we discuss stealing pens and pinching faces, collectively confront our innate 'John Wayne-ness', and realize our call to greatness with guest Kevin Philip. Somewhere in the midst of all of this, we'll even take some time to talk about the new "Made for Greatness" men's ministry Kevin is involved with and tell you when and where you can check it out. If we've piqued your interest you can join the next event on Friday, April 6. For details on time and location, head over to their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rcmadeforgreatness   

Wherein Eric and Brett's ability to pull off these podcast things is brought into question, they ponder what episode 100 might look like, and face the challenge of the Church's credibility in the 21st Century head-on. Do they actually know what they're doing? You be the judge on this week's Thinking Faith! 

This week on Thinking Faith, we wrap up our Lenten retreat on Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving with a look at Prayer and it's role in off-setting our tendency towards an unhealthy personal pride that displaces our trust and reliance on God. As we bring things to a close you will once again have the opportunity to create a concrete prayer plan that will not only carry you through the Lenten season but, as with all of these practices, serve you well throughout the year!

Our Lenten Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving retreat continues! This week we'll examine almsgiving as an antidote to our propensity to grasp at and possess those things of this world which are intended to be gifts freely given and freely received. As with last week, near the end, we'll take some time to fashion a concrete plan for incorporating this spiritual antidote into our daily lives. 

Last week we realized that, just as our bodies immune systems are locked into a daily physical battle to keep us well, so too are our Spiritual Lives caught up in a daily struggle to keep us well. This week we look at how fasting provides an essential balance to our propensity to 'overconsume' the things of this world. As todays segment comes to a close we'll even take some time to put together a concrete fasting plan that can carry us through Lent.

With Lent beginning February 14 - which in relation to this podcast's release is tomorrow, we thought we'd invite you to join in a little 'At home Retreat' series for Lent. Over the next few weeks, we'll share segments of this retreat where we take a closer look at the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving through the lens of their ability to serve as spiritual 'antidotes' to particular, spiritual ills.

Once upon a time, a group of CWL women asked Brett to come speak about women being inspired by the Holy Spirit. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Brett gritted his teeth, said his prayer and set out into the deep. This is his story...

He came, we saw, we were completely overwhelmed by the unexpected graces! Of course, we're talking about the once-in-a-lifetime visit of the First Class Relic of one of our Church's greatest evangelists, St. Francis Xavier. Eric and Brett, along with guests Mary Polk and Anastasia Symchych take some time this week to sit down and discuss their experiences and the surprising graces experienced during and after their visit. St. FX returns and we need some group therapy on this week's Thinking Faith! If you missed the event itself we've even got some video links for you; St. Francis Xavier Relic Mass - Resurrection Parish St. Francis Xavier Relic Evening Event - Resurrection Parish

Eric and Brett conclude their series on teaching the Eucharist to parents and children with a look at Remembrance and Anticipation. They'll discuss practical ways to engage families in these very human, almost daily activities of recalling, re-living, and looking forward to current and future life events and how the mass itself invites us to actively participate in these kinds of activities on a practical and a spiritual level. We know you've been eagerly awaiting this conclusion as much as we have this week on Thinking Faith! 

They've talked about the theology and deep, spiritual insights surrounding meals and sacrifice in the Eucharist. Now Eric and Brett discuss how to actually teach these things to parents and kids in your sacrament's or religion class. They'll discuss the importance of family meals and how to draw those intimate connections between meals and sacrifices in our daily lives to the sacrament itself. Hope you're hungry this week on Thinking Faith!

Brett and Eric pick up their Sacraments series for parents and Catechists right where they left off looking now at how we might practically teach the key features of this central sacrament of our faith 'on the ground'. This week they discuss practical approaches to transformation and presence - teaching parents and kids about the Real Presence of Christ and the kind of transformations we are talking about in the Eucharist.

We're extremely excited by the visit of the relic of St. Francis Xavier (known as the 'Madman' Evangelist) coming to the city of Regina, Saskatchewan on January 19 and 20, 2018. As this New Year kicks off, we've asked our good friends Pierre and Laura O'Reilly, who are heading up the local relic event organizing team to stop by and talk a bit about St. Francis Xavier, the relic event itself, and how the weirdness, the intrigue of our Catholic Faith, and the model given by St. Francis can be a source of evangelization for our Church today! It's all Madmen, mummies, and evangelization on this week's Thinking Faith! Links to Stuff We Talk About; CCO's St. Francis Xavier Relic Page - https://cco.ca/relic/ CBC "As It Happens" Interview with Angèle Regnier Bishop Barron on Catholic Relics - https://youtu.be/9aHqa43Piik  

From Archbishop Donald Bolen, Eric, Brett and all of the Archdiocese of Regina staff and our families we'd like to wish all of our faithful listeners a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Eric and Brett continue the Christmas table-talk around the topic of being "spiritual but not religious".  Part one looked at the spiritual part of that statement and asking what is really meant by the term 'spiritual'. This week they take it to the next level, looking at whether it is possible to live as a spiritual person without being in any way religious.  Who says you can't talk about religion over Christmas dinner? That's what we're doing this week on Thinking Faith!

So you're sitting around the table at your up-coming Christmas Family Feast and right after grace, in between "pass the turkey" and "where's the cranberries?" your cousin Rene comments on how spiritual you are closing with "I'm spiritual, but not religious".  How do you respond? Don't let fear and trepidation seal your lips. On this part 1 of 2 episodes of Thinking Faith, Eric and Brett will begin discussing what those words mean, and what they don't. We'll see just how much common ground you share with your beloved cousin (or uncle, or sibling), and the opportunity for some interesting conversation around the plum pudding!

Mailbag episodes are one of our favorites to do. There's something really engaging and relational about engaging topics that an active listener has sent in. This week Eric and Brett take a look at a few of the emails they've received, answer a couple of quick ones, plan for future shows and then jump into one listener's questions about the last days and what the heck is up with Final Judgement?

There's something unique and mysterious that happens whenever we remember anything. Our brains and our bodies have been gifted with this remarkable ability to radically return to the past and make it present to us right here and now.  This week Eric and Brett conclude their three-part look at the theology of the Eucharist for Catechists and parents by discussing this very phenomenon and how God uses it as the centerpiece of this ultimate encounter with Jesus Christ. Everything old is new again on this week's Thinking Faith!

This week Eric and Brett continue the discussion of the theology of the sacrament of the Eucharist for Catechists and parents. They'll look that the Eucharist as a meal and as a sacrifice and talk about why it's important not to emphasize one over the other and how each can actually help us understand the Eucharist in new ways. Hope you're hungry because we've got a feast for you on this week's Thinking Faith!

Continuing their series on Sacramental Preparation, Eric and Brett begin taking a look at the 'Source and Sumit of the whole Christian life' - the Eucharist. They examine the theme of Presence and Transformation discussing what we mean when we're speaking about the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the kinds of changes that do and do not happen. get your climbing gear on 'cuz we're headed right to the top of this one this week on Thinking Faith!

Continuing their Sacramental preparation series Eric and Brett discuss some practical approaches to Baptism preparation with parents. They'll look at ways to introduce parents to the core story of our faith, and connect it to their daily lives and discuss the importance of fostering on-going, transformative encounters with Jesus Christ. Take the plunge and join the discussion on this week's Thinking Faith! Links we promised to give you this week; 90-Day Bible Reading Plan The Action Bible