Thinking Faith With Eric Gurash And Dr. Brett Salkeld

This week Deacon Eric discusses how Catholic spiritual practice and positive psychology can work together to create a healthy and sustainable approach to well-being while cultivating a deeper connection to our God and others. Show Snippet: "Without stating it expressly, Positive psychology recognizes a fundamental Christian truth; that human beings are indeed “fearfully and wonderfully made” and that the human person is a beautiful mystery with an inherent purpose, meaning, and dignity." Links: The Gospel of Happiness by Christopher Kaczor - https://amzn.to/3RFJF2O Finding Joy in the Gospel; Positive Psychology and the Spiritual Life - http://bit.ly/3ln86X2

This week Deacon Eric discusses a recent trip to the Yorkton area where he spoke about Evangelization and parish renewal with a focus on evangelization as the core mission of the Church and how the Word of God provides a key starting point. Show Snippet: "In 2019 Pope Francis gave us a key starting point by declaring the third Sunday in Ordinary Time "Word of God Sunday". As the new Liturgical season begins, and at the start of every year moving forward, Pope Francis issues this clear encouragement to the whole People of God, to get to know the Word. I offer three reasons for this wisdom..."

During this Week of Christian Unity Thinking Faith, through the sponsorship of St. Thomas More College, the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, the Archdiocese of Regina, and Campion College presents the first of two lectures featuring Bishop Bruce Myers. Drawing on decades of reflection on ecumenical reception and formation, Bishop Myers presents an approach to teaching the practical and theological aspects of ecumenism in a way that is both holistic and pragmatic and offers the potential to raise up a new generation of church leaders who are also agents of reconciliation and Christian unity. Watch here; https://youtu.be/g_c_cm1RHc0

This week Brett continues his conversation with Mark Hornbacher of the St. Paul Street Evangelization Apostolate to discuss Hornbacher's critiques of Brett's Church Life Journal article "Hell is Good News." Show Snippet: "It's at least possible that we've bought into a kind of even more subtle log-in-the-eye kind of thing. And so we, we just always have to be on the lookout for that, that we never think we finally got it (and) now we're not in danger of the log in our eye, because we're now the tolerant, open-minded, non-judgmental ones. And look at those terrible judgmental closed-minded people..." Articles discussed in this podcast: https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/is-hell-good-news/ https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2022/12/01/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-a-legitimate-motivation-for-evangelization/ https://theologyforevangelists.com/2022/02/11/how-many-will-be-saved-luke-1323-25/

This week Brett sits down with Mark Hornbacher of the St. Paul Street Evangelization Apostolate to discuss Hornbacher's critiques of Brett's Church Life Journal article "Hell is Good News." Show Snippet: "This is, in response to, some debates in popular Catholicism around the efforts of people like Bishop Baron and the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, and at least some people say this idea that hell is relatively empty, or even potentially completely empty needs to be gotten rid of, not primarily because it's not true, which we can't actually know whether it's true or not. But because it will diminish our motivation for evangelization." Articles discussed in this podcast: https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/is-hell-good-news/ https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2022/12/01/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-a-legitimate-motivation-for-evangelization/ https://theologyforevangelists.com/2022/02/11/how-many-will-be-saved-luke-1323-25/

With the Christmas season continuing in full swing, we invite you to take a few minutes to reflect on Bishop Donald Bolen's Christmas Message to the faithful of the archdiocese of Regina. From all of us at the Archdiocese of Regina and the Thinking Faith Catholic Podcast, we pray that your Christmas has been filled with grace and that 2023 brings a richness of blessings to you and those you love. Watch Bishop Don's Christmas Message at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynICqg9Tl20

In this part two of two, Deacon Eric and Dr. Brett discuss pastoral accompaniment; what it is, what it is not, and what it looks like in the messy reality of real life. Show Snippet: "If you lead with winning an argument, you'll lose them...the first thing they need to do is talk it out for themselves, and you are a listener."

In this part one of two, Deacon Eric and Dr. Brett discuss pastoral accompaniment; what it is, what it is not, and what it looks like in the messy reality of real life. Show Snippet: "It seems to me that good accompaniment isn't necessarily even looking for an alleviation of that tension...the simplest way for us to erase whatever tension there might be."

As the Advent season moves quickly into Christmas, we invite you to take a few moments to step out of the frantic pace of the holidays and discover the hidden gifts and graces that only a contemplative attitude can reveal.

Keep awake and stay alert. These advent themes invite us to foster and develop what is known as a Contemplative Attitude - a particular way of being within the world that is 'highly tuned' to the presence of Christ in our midst. In this part one of a two-part Advent retreat, Deacon Eric reflects on this call to keep watch and how we might foster a contemplative attitude this Advent this week on Thinking Faith!

We continue our conversation with returning guest Brett Fawcett as we discuss what has been called the "Crowning Glory of the liturgical year"; the Feast of Christ the King. Show Snippet "Christ is both present and coming...so there's that eschatological aspect to it that (Pope Paul VI) was drawing our attention to. And I also think it's because it leads into Advent, which is where we recapitulate that; we remember what it was like to wait for the first coming of Christ." This podcast is made possible by your generous donations to our Archbishop's Annual Appeal. Thank you for your support! https://archregina.sk.ca/giving-how-to-donate-2/donate-archbishops-appeal/

Thinking Faith welcomes returning guest Brett Fawcett to discuss what has been called the "Crowning Glory of the liturgical year"; the Feast of Christ the King. Show Snippet "When he (Pope Pius XI) talks about nations and societies and peoples recognizing the Kingship of Christ, it's really important to know what he meant by that and what he didn't mean by that, and one of the things we can see he meant by it is some of the things he recommends for the economy..." This podcast is made possible by your generous donations to our Archbishop's Annual Appeal. Thank you for your support! https://archregina.sk.ca/giving-how-to-donate-2/donate-archbishops-appeal/

TF322: Reading For Consolation with Dr. Susan Johnston - Part 2 Deacon Eric and Dr. Brett visit with University of Regina English Department head Dr. Susan Johnston as we discuss reading for consolation in difficult times. Show Snippet: "Our faith is a faith for grownups, and we do ourselves, and we do the Church, and we do the faithful a disservice when we want to stay with; and we began talking about that comfort and the restoration of the social order, but we really do betray things if that's where we stay because that is not the way grownups encounter the world." This podcast is made possible by your generous donations to our Archbishop's Annual Appeal. Thank you for your support! https://archregina.sk.ca/giving-how-to-donate-2/donate-archbishops-appeal/

Deacon Eric and Dr. Brett visit with University of Regina English Department head, Dr. Susan Johnston, as we discuss reading for consolation in difficult times. Show Snippet: "There is the genuine need for comfort that we all do experience; and what we find comforting should be teaching us something if we are ready to learn it." This podcast is made possible by your generous donations to our Archbishop's Annual Appeal. Thank you for your support! https://archregina.sk.ca/giving-how-to-donate-2/donate-archbishops-appeal/

November is traditionally a month dedicated to remembering and praying for our dearly departed loved ones and friends. It can also be a time when we experience a deepening or resurgence of grief over losses, whether they have been recent or some time ago. Deacon Eric takes time this week to examine ways we might approach the experience of grief from a faith perspective. "The Church Fathers, many of them, really picked up on this idea of St. Paul's and really discouraged lamenting and grieving publically in Christians as a sign of a lack of faith in the Resurrection...BUT I did find one notable and quite profound exception that really hits on healthy ways to grieve..." This podcast is made possible through generous donations to our Archbishop's Appeal. Donations can be made at https://archregina.sk.ca/giving.

Deacon Eric reflects on October as Mental Health Awareness Month and how Moses' habits, when faced with daunting burdens, can provide a lesson for all of us. Show Snippet: "In Exodus 17, Moses begins with the assumption that he alone will stand at the top of the hill with God’s staff to pray for success in battle; it is those around him, Aaron and Hur, who insist on helping him when the burden becomes too great."

Deacon Eric and Dr. Brett continue their discussion on a Catholic approach to horror movies and the role of discernment in engaging in any kind of entertainment. Show Snippet: "If we're starting off asking, "How do Catholics approach horror films?"; I think that's a great summary of what we've been talking about...with discernment; good, interior discernment." This podcast is made possible through generous donations to our Archbishop's Appeal. Donations can be made at https://archregina.sk.ca/giving.

October is not only a time for pumpkin spiced lattes and crunch leaves. It is also the time we see Halloween decore fill store aisles and horror flicks in the theaters. How should Catholics approach horror movies? Deacon Eric and Dr. Brett talk memento mori, the reality of evil, the Conjuring, the Book of Revelation, and more. Show Snippet: "You know, a lot of the same people who would say "I would never watch a horror movie," are the same people who would say, "I would never read the Book of Revelation," or "I read it once and, no thanks, it's not for me..." This podcast is made possible through generous donations to our Archbishop's Appeal. Donations can be made at https://archregina.sk.ca/giving.

Our Archbishop's Annual Appeal kicked off in September with our 2022 Congress featuring a Keynote address by Bishop Jim Weisgerber on "Growing in Hope". This week on Thinking Faith, we invite you to enjoy Bishop Jim's address and to prayerfully consider how you might contribute to this year's Archbishop's Appeal. For more information and to donate, visit https://archregina.sk.ca/archbishops-appeal  Show Snippet: "In English, hope means 'wishing'. "I hope the Roughriders will get a playoff spot..." and, I mean, that's nice, that's part of hope. But not by far the strength, the core, the heart of what hope means...in Latin 'expectare', in French 'esperance', same word. And it means, expectare, it means 'to wait for, and expect...'"

Deacon Eric continues the discussion about what it was like to preside at the marriage of his daughter over the summer and how the vocation of marriage impacts not just married couples, but the world. Show Snippet: "That's one of the reasons I chose to speak not just to my daughter and my new son-in-law about this vocational calling, this missionary nature of marriage, but I specifically addressed all couples that were gathered there to remember that there's a mission, there's a purpose for you being together..."