Thinking Faith With Eric Gurash And Dr. Brett Salkeld

The movie the Shack hit theaters mid-Lent and with it arose much discussion surrounding some of the feminine imagery - for God and the Holy Spirit - used in both the film and the book. Following on the tails of last week's 'Heresy' episode, this week Eric and Brett take a look at the kinds of language and images that can be used in reference to God. We regularly call God 'Father', can God be 'Mother' too? And what can we say about the Holy Spirit? We're playing the "Is it heresy?" game once again on Thinking Faith!    And don't forget to like, share and comment on our podcast Facebook post over at https://www.facebook.com/Archdiocese-of-Regina-174067602644767/ for a chance to win copies of Brett's books "How Far Can We Go: A Catholic Guide to Dating" (written with our friend Leah Perrault!) and "Can Catholics and Evangelicals Agree about Purgatory and the Last Judgment?". Contest ends June 30th!

This week on Thinking Faith! Eric and Brett are trying their darndest to NOT be heretics. We'll look at what heresy is (and isn't) we'll talk about some common examples and share some tips on what to do if you think you've encountered a heretic in your midst! From Dominican video games to St. Nicholas punching Arius in the face, we'll see if our hapless hosts can avoid getting fired over this one!

Eric and Brett return to the Mailbag to answer a listener question surrounding our February podcast on Transubstantiation. This week Sam wonders about our relationship with our Lutheran and Anglican brothers and sisters in faith who often also express similar beliefs about their Eucharist celebrations as being more than merely symbolic. We'll talk about what kinds of things we hold in common, what still separates us and dig a bit deeper into our own understanding of this mystery that is for Catholic "The Source and Summit of the whole Christian life". It's one of our most shared topics so far - we just can't get enough of Transubstantiation!

This week on Thinking Faith we're honoring Catholic Education week with our special guest Miles Meyers Coordinator Catholic Education Services for the Regina Catholic School Division. We'll be talking about Catholic Identity in our Catholic Schools and specifically about what is known as Curriculum Permeation which has the potential of being a complete 'game-changer' in faith-based education. Join us as we ponder the plethora of prolific potential in permeation! AND if you're a Catholic teacher looking for resources check these out;   Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association - Faith Permeation Saskatchewan Bishops Letter For Catholic Education Week

Welcome to another week of Thinking Faith! Brett and Eric are continuing with last week's Marian theme (In keeping with this Marian month of May) and ripping into the mailbag to answer some listener questions about Marian Apparitions. This week we address questions from James and Elaine who find themselves wondering about the propensity of Mary to appear from time, the tradition of the Church to mark some of these places as special pilgrimage sites, and just how we, as Catholics, ought to approach the testimonies and experiences of the witnesses, seers, and pilgrims associated with them. As we prepare to honor the 100th Anniversary of the Fatima Apparitions which began on May 13, 1917, we invite you to join us as we ask "What's A Catholic To Believe About Marian Apparitions?"

This week on Thinking Faith, in keeping with the Marian theme of this Month of May Eric and Brett discuss our Church's Marian Dogmas. We'll look at what the Church has to say about Mary's role as Theotokos (God Bearer), her Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity and Assumption into heaven all through the lens of a very exciting dialog document produced by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) seeking common ground on Mary between Anglican's and Catholics. AND if this piques your interest, you can even read ARCIC's "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ" document for free right here; http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/angl-comm-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20050516_mary-grace-hope-christ_en.html - and really, what could be better than free things and Mary?

In preparation for World Day of Prayer for Vocations on Sunday, May 7th, we've got a very special treat for this week's Thinking Faith! Chris Juchacz is a seminarian studying to be a priest for the Archdiocese of Regina. In this interview, featuring guest host William Sinclair of “The Real Truth About You Podcast”, Chris speaks openly and candidly about his own journey to the priesthood.

This week on Thinking Faith Eric and Brett step out onto shaky ground as they approach Paul's Letter to the Ephesians chapter 5 and try to get to the bottom of just what Paul means when he says "Wives, submit to your husbands". We're jumping in with both feet and eyes closed. Pray for us!

This week the Christian world rejoices in our Risen Lord! What better time to sit down and do some serious thinking about the fact of the Resurrection. All four Gospels assert it, our Creeds profess it, and Saint Paul boldly declares  that “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” (1 Cor 15:14). This week on Thinking Faith Brett and Eric discuss what happened in the tomb on that Easter Sunday 2000 years ago and what the Resurrection means for us today.

This week on a special Holy Week Edition of Thinking Faith! We'd like to invite you to join us in a few moments of retreat. In preparation for the Triduum celebrations to come this Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday we're going to take some time to reflect on Christ's call to be the face of mercy that this world so desperately needs. Now, this is a few segments of a Lenten Retreat on the theme of Mercy that I delivered just a few weeks ago for the folks at St. Aloysius parish in Filmore Saskatchewan. We'll take some time to deepen our understanding of the merciful love of God and discover the importance of experiencing the merciful love of God ourselves before we can be the face of Christ's mercy for others.

Over the past several months and years Pope Francis has often been heard speaking about the devil and the reality of the spiritual battle we find ourselves in. This week on Thinking Faith, Eric and Brett discuss the reality of the devil. Do we really still believe in some creature called Satan? Is this just a symbol of evil and sin?  And what would his place be in the spiritual life and in our Catholic tradition? Throw some salt over your shoulder and join us in this episode we're calling "Speaking of Satan..."

This week on Thinking Faith! We are continuing our two-part series on Euthanasia and Physician-assisted dying begun last week. This is part two of a talk Brett gave to the Unitarian Fellowship here in Regina. As mentioned last week, if you find the prospect of speaking to friends, neighbors and family members who may not agree with you about these issues intimidating, these episodes will be a great help! This one starts off with a great tip...when in doubt, look for an appropriate Star Trek reference!

This week on 'Thinking Faith!' we present part 1 of a two-part series on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Dying.  You might recall that we had our friend Leah Perrault in studio as Lent began discussing the recently released documents from the Saskatchewan Bishops on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted dying.  Today we begin a two part series based off of a talk Brett gave on this very subject back in February to the Regina Unitarian Community. If you find the prospect of speaking to friends, neighbors and family members who may not agree with you about these issues intimidating, these next two episodes will be a great help!

This week on Thinking Faith we have Michelle Braden and Braden Kuntz joining us once again fro our Youth Ministry Office. These two have SO MUCH going on that it was hard to pin them down for an episode but we finally did it! They'll be telling us all about the amazing things they have planned in the diocese this Spring from the My Gen Rally to Youth Ministry workshops...and a party bus? Tune in and find out what's going on and how you can get involved.

This week on 'Thinking Faith!' both Brett and Eric are down for the count with nasty colds! Not to be discouraged, and in keeping with this week's theme, they've called their good friend Leah Perrault to join in discussing the latest documents released by our Saskatchewan Bishops on physician-assisted suicide. We'll look at the challenges we face today in speaking about the issues sounding illness, dying and death and the invitation our bishops place before us to not be willing to enter into those difficult conversations, but to live now with our own deaths in mind. Are you ready to take up the challenge this Lent?   You can find these very important documents at the link below; Sask. Bishops Respond to Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide

Have you heard the Good News? We've all been baptized as priests! But wait you say, don't we already have ordained priests? If your head is spinning with all this priest-y stuff tune in and Eric and Brett will try to clear up the connection between the Sacrament of Holy Orders and what is sometimes called the "Priesthood of the Baptized". The world is our altar and we're filling it with sanctifying grace!  

Transubstantiation - as fun to say as it is to talk about! This week, Eric and Brett try to get to the bottom of this mystery that is central to our understanding of the Eucharist - how it is that through the prayers of the Mass and the actions of our priests, bread, and wine can become for us the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. If you've ever wondered about how this all works, or how to talk about what happens at the Mass with non-Catholic friends, you'll love this one!  

This week we're talking scripture once again as Eric and Brett discuss some valuable tools for reading and understanding God's sacred Word. We'll look at how knowing what genre of writing we're reading can make all the difference. We'll also talk about the difference between a literal (as in literary) reading of scripture and a literalistic one and we'll take all these ideas for a test drive with one of Eric's all-time favorite books - the book of Revelation. The four horsemen are saddled and ready, so let's roll!

Recent exhortations from Pope Francis against proselytizing persons and cultures have resulted in what Brett terms 'calumny and slander!' as media outlets make the mistake of coupling this with the Church's evangelizing mission. The good news for our listeners? We get to have another 'Smackdown' episode where we pit proselytism and evangelization in a toe-to-toe cage match and see who comes out on top. It's the Eye of the Tiger baby, and it's right here on Thinking Faith!

It seems as though every other newscast about the Church speaks about how Church teaching has been changed, is changing or ought to be changed. This week Eric and Brett discuss this phenomenon and whether making changes is possible and if so, in what areas and how. This is sure to fuel more interesting and animated discussion than your last family Monopoly night!