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Episode 153 - Surrender the Stench (Lent 2023) "Have I told Jesus all of my story?" That's the question that we are going to unpack in this episode. Most of us have confessed and have sought healing in particular places of our lives, but there are still parts of who we are now that we keep in the dark—the stench. The reality of that stench is that it is discouraging and it is despairing, but Jesus comes and He's not afraid of that. This episode is the fifth part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion. An invitation to have the radical vulnerability and trust to say "Jesus here is everything." and let Him see all of the death and stench in our lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Surrender the Stench (Lent 2023)

Fr. Raoul Plus offers practical guidance on maintaining a prayerful spirit amid daily distractions. Drawing from the experiences of saints, he provides techniques to foster interior silence, align one's will with God, and integrate prayer into everyday life. This book serves as a manual for those seeking to live in constant communion with God, even during the busiest moments. ​

How To Pray Always | eBook

In today's episode of Pints With Aquinas we ask Thomas about knowledge and stuff (that sounded smart right? "and stuff"). --- On this point the philosophers held three opinions. For Democritus held that "all knowledge is caused by images issuing from the bodies we think of and entering into our souls," as Augustine says in his letter to Dioscorus (cxviii, 4). And Aristotle says (De Somn. et Vigil.) that Democritus held that knowledge is cause by a "discharge of images." And the reason for this opinion was that both Democritus and the other early philosophers did not distinguish between intellect and sense, as Aristotle relates (De Anima iii, 3). Consequently, since the sense is affected by the sensible, they thought that all our knowledge is affected by this mere impression brought about by sensible things. Which impression Democritus held to be caused by a discharge of images. Plato, on the other hand, held that the intellect is distinct from the senses: and that it is an immaterial power not making use of a corporeal organ for its action. And since the incorporeal cannot be affected by the corporeal, he held that intellectual knowledge is not brought about by sensible things affecting the intellect, but by separate intelligible forms being participated by the intellect, as we have said above (Articles 4 and 5). Moreover he held that sense is a power operating of itself. Consequently neither is sense, since it is a spiritual power, affected by the sensible: but the sensible organs are affected by the sensible, the result being that the soul is in a way roused to form within itself the species of the sensible. Augustine seems to touch on this opinion (Gen. ad lit. xii, 24) where he says that the "body feels not, but the soul through the body, which it makes use of as a kind of messenger, for reproducing within itself what is announced from without." Thus according to Plato, neither does intellectual knowledge proceed from sensible knowledge, nor sensible knowledge exclusively from sensible things; but these rouse the sensible soul to the sentient act, while the senses rouse the intellect to the act of understanding. Aristotle chose a middle course. For with Plato he agreed that intellect and sense are different. But he held that the sense has not its proper operation without the cooperation of the body; so that to feel is not an act of the soul alone, but of the "composite." And he held the same in regard to all the operations of the sensitive part. Since, therefore, it is not unreasonable that the sensible objects which are outside the soul should produce some effect in the "composite," Aristotle agreed with Democritus in this, that the operations of the sensitive part are caused by the impression of the sensible on the sense: not by a discharge, as Democritus said, but by some kind of operation. For Democritus maintained that every operation is by way of a discharge of atoms, as we gather from De Gener. i, 8. But Aristotle held that the intellect has an operation which is independent of the body's cooperation. Now nothing corporeal can make an impression on the incorporeal. And therefore in order to cause the intellectual operation according to Aristotle, the impression caused by the sensible does not suffice, but something more noble is required, for "the agent is more noble than the patient," as he says (De Gener. i, 5). Not, indeed, in the sense that the intellectual operation is effected in us by the mere impression of some superior beings, as Plato held; but that the higher and more noble agent which he calls the active intellect, of which we have spoken above (I:79:4) causes the phantasms received from the senses to be actually intelligible, by a process of abstraction. According to this opinion, then, on the part of the phantasms, intellectual knowledge is caused by the senses. But since the phantasms cannot of themselves affect the passive intellect, and require to be made actually intelligible by the active intellect, it cannot be said that sensible knowledge is the total and perfect cause of intellectual knowledge, but rather that it is in a way the material cause. ST I, Q. 84, A. 6. --- Here's what Thomas said in response to what we now call idealism: This is, however, manifestly false for two reasons. First, because the things we understand are the objects of science; therefore if what we understand is merely the intelligible species in the soul, it would follow that every science would not be concerned with objects outside the soul, but only with the intelligible species within the soul; thus, according to the teaching of the Platonists all science is about ideas, which they held to be actually understood [I:84:1]. Secondly, it is untrue, because it would lead to the opinion of the ancients who maintained that "whatever seems, is true" [Aristotle, Metaph. iii. 5], and that consequently contradictories are true simultaneously. For if the faculty knows its own impression only, it can judge of that only. Now a thing seems according to the impression made on the cognitive faculty. Consequently the cognitive faculty will always judge of its own impression as such; and so every judgment will be true: for instance, if taste perceived only its own impression, when anyone with a healthy taste perceives that honey is sweet, he would judge truly; and if anyone with a corrupt taste perceives that honey is bitter, this would be equally true; for each would judge according to the impression on his taste. Thus every opinion would be equally true; in fact, every sort of apprehension. Therefore it must be said that the intelligible species is related to the intellect as that by which it understands: which is proved thus. There is a twofold action (Metaph. ix, Did. viii, 8), one which remains in the agent; for instance, to see and to understand; and another which passes into an external object; for instance, to heat and to cut; and each of these actions proceeds in virtue of some form. And as the form from which proceeds an act tending to something external is the likeness of the object of the action, as heat in the heater is a likeness of the thing heated; so the form from which proceeds an action remaining in the agent is the likeness of the object. Hence that by which the sight sees is the likeness of the visible thing; and the likeness of the thing understood, that is, the intelligible species, is the form by which the intellect understands. But since the intellect reflects upon itself, by such reflection it understands both its own act of intelligence, and the species by which it understands. Thus the intelligible species is that which is understood secondarily; but that which is primarily understood is the object, of which the species is the likeness. This also appears from the opinion of the ancient philosophers, who said that "like is known by like." For they said that the soul knows the earth outside itself, by the earth within itself; and so of the rest. If, therefore, we take the species of the earth instead of the earth, according to Aristotle (De Anima iii, 8), who says "that a stone is not in the soul, but only the likeness of the stone"; it follows that the soul knows external things by means of its intelligible species. ST I, Q. 86, A. 2. SPONSORS EL Investments: <a href="https://www.elinvestments.net/pints">https://www.elinvestments.net/pints</a> Exodus 90: <a href="https://exodus90.com/mattfradd/">https://exodus90.com/mattfradd/</a> Hallow: <a href="http://hallow.app/mattfradd">http://hallow.app/mattfradd</a> STRIVE: <a href="https://www.strive21.com/">https://www.strive21.com/</a> GIVING Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mattfradd">https://www.patreon.com/mattfradd</a> This show (and all the plans we have in store) wouldn't be possible without you. I can't thank those of you who support me enough. Seriously! Thanks for essentially being a co-producer coproducer of the show. LINKS Website: <a href="https://pintswithaquinas.com/">https://pintswithaquinas.com/</a> Merch: <a href="https://teespring.com/stores/matt-fradd">https://teespring.com/stores/matt-fradd</a> FREE 21 Day Detox From Porn Course: <a href="https://www.strive21.com/">https://www.strive21.com/</a> SOCIAL Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd">https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd</a> Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/mattfradd">https://twitter.com/mattfradd</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd">https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd</a> MY BOOKS Does God Exist: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Does-God-Exist-Socratic-Dialogue-ebook/dp/B081ZGYJW3/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&amp;keywords=fradd&amp;qid=1586377974&amp;sr=8-9">https://www.amazon.com/Does-God-Exist-Socratic-Dialogue-ebook/dp/B081ZGYJW3/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&amp;keywords=fradd&amp;qid=1586377974&amp;sr=8-9</a> Marian Consecration With Aquinas: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Marian-Consecration-Aquinas-Growing-Closer-ebook/dp/B083XRQMTF/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&amp;keywords=fradd&amp;qid=1586379026&amp;sr=8-4">https://www.amazon.com/Marian-Consecration-Aquinas-Growing-Closer-ebook/dp/B083XRQMTF/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&amp;keywords=fradd&amp;qid=1586379026&amp;sr=8-4</a> The Porn Myth: <a href="https://www.ignatius.com/The-Porn-Myth-P1985.aspx">https://www.ignatius.com/The-Porn-Myth-P1985.aspx</a> CONTACT Book me to speak: <a href="https://www.mattfradd.com/speakerrequestform">https://www.mattfradd.com/speakerrequestform</a> Learn more about your ad choices. 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62: How do we know stuff? (an intro to Thomas' epistemology)

Momma always said, &quot;Son, you don&#39;t like something? Well, offer it up!&quot; 

Today, Fr. Mike explores the traditional understanding of offering up your pain, embracing your suffering, and making sacrifices in the spiritual life. <a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

How to Offer It Up

Show Sponsors: <a href="https://hallow.com/matt">https://hallow.com/matt</a> <a href="https://stpaulenter.com/matt">https://stpaulenter.com/matt</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Matt Fradd Makes Jeff Cavins Feel Uncomfortable | Ep. 426

In this thought-provoking work, Vittorio Messori examines humanity’s obsession with distraction and avoidance of mortality, inviting readers to confront life’s ultimate questions through the lens of Pascal’s Wager. Blending history, psychology, culture, and theology, he explores how society’s denial of death fosters spiritual aimlessness, moral confusion, and a culture of escapism. Drawing on philosophy, Scripture, and Christian tradition, Messori highlights the dignity of the human person, the uniqueness of Christian hope, and the necessity of choosing life over despair. These pages challenge, inspire, and equip you to find meaning, embrace faith, and live with purpose now and in eternity.

A Wager on Death | eBook

In our third part of our Advent series we discuss how to find stillness in the busy chaos of life. God speaks in the stillness and its there that we meet him and find the answers to our restless souls. One Thing We Love This Week: <ul> <li>Sr. Miriam's One Thing - <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyIR4N5EFt8">"Song of Solomon" - by Jesus Culture with Martin Smith</a></li> <li>Heather's One Thing - Family Daily Advent Reflections - <a href="http://amzn.to/2jdWna5">Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp</a></li> <li>Michelle's One Thing - <a href= "https://youtu.be/LIODr_RWwEc">Love is Christmas - Sara Bareilles</a> I don't care if the house is packed, Or the strings of light are broken. I don't care if the gifts are wrapped, Or if there's nothing here to open.</li> </ul> Love is not a toy, and no paper will conceal it. Love is simply joy that I'm home. I don't care if the carpet is stained; we have food upon the table. I don't care if it's gonna rain, our room is warm and stable. Love is who we are, and no season can contain it. Love would never fall for that. Let love lead us, love is Christmas. Why so scared that you'll mess it up? Imperfection keeps you haunted. All you need is your best my love, that's all anyone ever wanted. Love is how we do, let no judgment over- rule it. Love I look to you, and I sing. Let love lead us, love is Christmas. Let love lead us, love is Christmas. Discussion Questions: <ol> <li>God wants to give us good things, but often we don't have room. Where can you make room this week for God?</li> <li>When are you going to take time to "pause" this week and hear the whisper of His voice?</li> <li>What is my spiritual and emotional diet looking like right now?</li> </ol> Journal Questions: <ol> <li>What in your life do you need to loosen your grip on so that you can trust God more deeply?</li> <li>Have you stilled my heart to hear God's opinion and wisdom about the things you're concerned and worried about? Quote to Ponder:</li> </ol> "If you can't be still and wait, you can't become what God created you to be." - Sue Monk Kidd

S02 Episode 13: Be Still – Advent Part 3

This book shares the story of St. Carlo Acutis, a joyful and gifted teenager whose deep love for the Eucharist transformed his family and inspired thousands. Through interviews with his parents and reflections from Carlo’s own writings, readers learn about his daily spiritual practices, virtues, and missionary use of modern media. His example reveals how ordinary life, when lived with extraordinary faith, can lead to holiness and draw others to Christ.

God's Influencer | eBook

Why do purgatory and hell exist? The Catechism teaches us today about the existence and the meaning of purgatory and hell. We learn that purgatory is a transitional state of purification while hell is the state of permanent separation from God. Fr. Mike reminds us that nobody drifts into heaven because “we cannot be united to God unless we freely choose to love him.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1030-1037.

This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB.

For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy

Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Day 140: Purgatory and Hell (2024)

Homily from the Mass of the Resurrection of Our Lord. It means that something more is coming. Death is final. The death of Christ was thought to be final. But it wasn't the end...it was just the beginning.<dl style="margin : 0; padding-top:0;"><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Mass Readings from April 4, 2021:</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Acts 10:34, 37-43</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;">Colossians 3:1-4</dt> John 20:1-9

04/04/21 Ellipsis

Welcome to The Saint of the Day Podcast, a service of <a href='https://www.goodcatholic.com/'>Good Catholic</a> and <a href='http://thecatholiccompany.com/'>The Catholic Company</a>.Today&apos;s featured saint is St. John of Egypt. If you like what you heard, share this podcast with someone you know, and make sure to subscribe!🔔Subscribe to Our Channel: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVNrdEJMWl9MMHluX2FYOVExYktxa0xGdGp1d3xBQ3Jtc0tsSmFkN2pqNWFkQkI3NVFFeGZYTno0cmp6b1hJVVI3cW5IbmZ4aWN1Y0FLRUJsWUItZGRJSTRPUW13YWtnQVJLbzBUS041TzlveF9Ec3lwSDd4RWgwaFg3VTJQc2Eyc3lXTkF1WWoyM0MyenV2MTdzbw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3sX4exh&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>https://bit.ly/3sX4exh</a>✅ Visit Good Catholic for more great content: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0RyRnFzSEt0VWptYWlSNTJDR0ZPRDNqZnJiQXxBQ3Jtc0trSG1IR2dtaEduSHB2RGVtQVQ4VFJvNnpPY3NVZ19fcURMa21SdzRHSWlnMWljb3pBNmdSNkV0UDNGblJ3ZmY3WFBoNHh5Z2drSkg1V2puaHhJTkVKcjc5WEN6cHhOTllHOTdCdmlMV2dfcWxwdkxJZw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3rMqLKI&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>https://bit.ly/3rMqLKI</a>

3/27 - St. John of Egypt

Episode 23.   Sinning, God Images, and ResilienceJuly 6, 2020 Intro: Welcome to the podcast Coronavirus Crisis:  Carpe Diem, where you and I rise up and embrace the possibilities and opportunities for spiritual and psychological growth in this time of crisis, all grounded in a Catholic worldview.   We are going beyond mere resilience, to rising up to the challenges of this pandemic and becoming even healthier in the natural and the spiritual realms than we were before.  I’m clinical psychologist Peter Malinoski your host and guide, with Souls and Hearts at soulsandhearts.com.  Thank you for being here with me.  This is episode 23,  released on July 6, 2020 and it’s called Sinning, God Images, and Resilience.I am really excited to be with you today, we have a great episode coming up, where we will be bringing together all the conceptual information from the last three sessions and seeing how it all works together in real life, in real situations, real adversity and real hardship, all from a Catholic worldview.  Let’s start with a brief review, spiraling back to the critical concepts that we have been studying about resilience from a Catholic perspective.  If you are new to the podcast, first of all welcome, I’m glad you’re here.  All you need to know conceptually we will cover in the next few minutes or so.  You can review the last three episodes, episodes 20, 21 and 22 if you want to get into more detail about the concepts in this brief review.  Let’s start with the definition of Catholic resilience – you will see how it is really different from secular understandings of resilience.  For our purposes, I’m defining Catholic resilience as “the process of accepting and embracing adversity, trials, stresses and suffering as crosses.  Catholic resilience sees these crosses as gifts from our loving, attuned God, gifts to transform us, to make us holy, to help us be better able to love and to be loved than we ever were before, and to ultimately bring us into loving union with Him.   That is what I want for you.  For you to transform your suffering into a means of making you holier, more peaceful, and more joyful.   Not to take away any necessary suffering from you – not to take away the crosses God has given you.  I am here to help you reduce, to eliminate your psychological impediments to not only accepting those crosses but embracing them, and transforming your suffering into the means of your salvation.  You have to be resilient to do that, and not as the world sees resilience, but resilience firmly grounded in a Catholic understanding.    Remember how we need a deep and abiding confidence in God, especially in God’s Providence in order to be resilient?  That resilience is an effect – it’s a consequence of the deep, abiding confidence in God, especially in God’s Providential care and love for us.  If you have the deep, abiding confidence in God and His providential love for you, you specifically, you will be resilient.  Repeat. Remember also how the main psychological reason why we don’t have that deep abiding confidence in God is because we don’t know him as He truly is.  We have problematic God images.  Our God images fluctuate, they can be as unstable as water. These are the subjective, emotionally-driven ways we construe God in the moment.  These are automatic, spontaneously emerging, and they are not necessary consented to by the will.  These God images stand in contrast to our God concept, which is the representation of God that we profess, that we intellectually endorse, that we have come to believe intellectually through reading, studying, discerning.  It is the representation of God that we endorse and describe when others ask us who God is. When our problematic, inaccurate, heretical God images get activated, they compromise our whatever confidence have in God, whatever childlike trust we have in God.  So here’s the key causal chain:Bad God images lead to lack of confidence in God, which leads to a loss of resilience.  And psychological factors contribute to these bad God images.  Here’s the idea. Think about al little child.  12 months old or 18 months old, looking at his father.  To that toddler, his father seems like a God – really huge – probably 10 times his weight, more than twice his height, so much stronger than he is, able to do so much more in the world.  That toddler, as he comes into awareness about God, is going to transfer his experience of his parents and other caregivers into his God images.  Here’s an important point for you to know as you wrap your mind around God images.  God images are always formed experientially.  God images flow from our relational experiences and how we construe and make sense of those images when we are very young. And that’s critical – we shape our first God images in the first two years of our lives.  Those first two years of life have huge impact on the formation of our initial God images.  And that makes sense, because our first two years of life have a huge impact on how we experience and understand relationships generally.  Our experience of other important caregivers, especially parents, but also grandparents and others shape our psychological expectations of what God is like.  And often we are not aware of those expectations.  Our assumptions may be unknown to our intellects, to our conscious minds.    Simply put, our God images are often unconscious.  Our God images may be unconscious, but they still affect us, they still impact us and exercise influences on us.  We can choose to accept that we have these problematic God images and deal with them directly, or we can deny that they exist and try to shove them away, ignore them, suppress them, and drive them into the unconscious.  Ok, now for a little speculative Malinoski theology.  Bur first, you need to know that I could be wrong about some of these concepts that I am discussing.  Now I’m really serious about this.  As a professional who has teaches publicly and speculates publicly about the intersection of psychological and Catholicism, I am acutely aware that I can be wrong about things.  If any of you listeners, particularly those who are well formed theologically and philosophically, detect that I am ever teaching anything that contradicts the Faith, I want you to tell me.  This is really pioneering work we are doing together.  For more than a decade, I didn’t teach this kind of thing publically.  I wasn’t sure about getting into God images and God concepts, for example.  What if I was wrong?  What if I started leading people astray?  How can I be sure that don’t make mistakes?  And then I realized I was making the bigger mistake of burying my talent, the mistake of omission.  I needed to become more resilient.  To become more resilient, I needed to have a deeper and more abiding confidence in God.  I need to know at a deep level that whatever public teaching I did wasn’t happening in a vacuum, with God millions of miles away, leaving me to my own devices, letting me persist in my errors.  No.  God is near.  God is minding me, minding this store.  And if I fell down, if I went astray, He would come looking for me, like the shepherd who lost one of 100 sheep and left the 99 behind to find the stray one.  So here’s the thing.  We hear about the First Commandment still from time to time, right? ...

23 Sinning, God Images and Resilience

Everyone bears burdens and faces unseen challenges. Leading a life filled with love is often the simplest path to personal growth. 

In this discussion, Fr. Mike delves into extending grace to strangers. A small gesture of kindness, such as offering a smile or lending a helping hand, can cultivate a community of grace and love. He reminds us that everyone navigates life&#39;s complexities differently. Fr. Mike emphasizes that acts of kindness and compassion pave the way for increased empathy and understanding, even towards those we have yet to encounter.<a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

A Simple Key to Extending Grace

Homily from the Mass of Easter Day. What did he see? John ran to the tomb and looked in. He saw and believed. What did he see?<dl style="margin : 0; padding-top:0;"><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Mass Readings from April 17, 2022:</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Acts 10:34, 37-43</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;">Colossians 3:1-4</dt> John 20:1-9

04/17/22 Nothing

&quot;If no one gets hurt is it still a sin?&quot; &quot;It was just an accident.&quot; 

How can we know if our actions are a sin or just a mistake? Can we be committing sin without knowing it?

Today Fr. Mike details the three elements that must be present for an act to be a sin and he helps us grapple with our own sinfulness and God&#39;s desire for mercy and reconciliation.<a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

Can I Sin on Accident?

There are many different times that we're crazy, overwhelmed, and even scared. In those times, I think of the apostles after Christ died. They were hiding out and scared. They needed the Holy Spirit, and so do we! ---------------------- Don't forget that we have made <a href= "https://www.cameronfradd.com/">https://www.cameronfradd.com/</a> the place where you can find all the things Among The Lilies! Check out our new shop with ATL merchandise, and we will be adding more items soon! Thank you all for your support. I am so grateful, and I love and am praying for y'all! Thank you for being here! If you are interested in supporting Among the Lilies (you will get access to a BUNCH of things including bonus content), please consider supporting us at <a href= "https://www.patreon.com/AmongTheLilies">https://www.patreon.com/AmongTheLilies</a> By supporting us, you will get access to a BUNCH of things, including bonus content. Please join the Among the Lilies community on Instagram and Facebook! ➡️ <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/AmongTheLiliess/">https://www.facebook.com/AmongTheLiliess/</a> ➡️ <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/among_the_lilies">https://www.instagram.com/among_the_lilies</a>

186. Finding PEACE in Chaos

What's the Problem with Rights? | Prof. Nigel Biggar

Welcome to The Saint of the Day Podcast, a service of Good Catholic and The Catholic Company.Today&apos;s featured saint is St. Richard of Chichester. If you like what you heard, share this podcast with someone you know, and make sure to subscribe!🔔Subscribe to Our Channel: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVNrdEJMWl9MMHluX2FYOVExYktxa0xGdGp1d3xBQ3Jtc0tsSmFkN2pqNWFkQkI3NVFFeGZYTno0cmp6b1hJVVI3cW5IbmZ4aWN1Y0FLRUJsWUItZGRJSTRPUW13YWtnQVJLbzBUS041TzlveF9Ec3lwSDd4RWgwaFg3VTJQc2Eyc3lXTkF1WWoyM0MyenV2MTdzbw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3sX4exh&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>https://bit.ly/3sX4exh</a>✅ Visit Good Catholic for more great content: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0RyRnFzSEt0VWptYWlSNTJDR0ZPRDNqZnJiQXxBQ3Jtc0trSG1IR2dtaEduSHB2RGVtQVQ4VFJvNnpPY3NVZ19fcURMa21SdzRHSWlnMWljb3pBNmdSNkV0UDNGblJ3ZmY3WFBoNHh5Z2drSkg1V2puaHhJTkVKcjc5WEN6cHhOTllHOTdCdmlMV2dfcWxwdkxJZw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3rMqLKI&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>https://bit.ly/3rMqLKI</a>

4/3 - St. Richard of Chichester

To love Mary doesn’t mean our hearts belong any less to Jesus. Today, the Catechism explains our Blessed Mother’s role in prayer and why the Catholic Church prays in communion with her. We also explore the origin behind the Hail Mary prayer and other prayers to Mary throughout the Church’s history. Lastly, Fr. Mike reflects on the tenderness and strength of Mary’s motherhood that carries us through the difficulties of our lives. By uniting our prayer to her prayer, we unite our trust with her perfect “Fiat.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2673-2682.

This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB.

For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy

Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Day 343: Praying Through Mary

There are all these sayings, like "Anything that doesn't kill you will make you stronger," "You got this." But in reality, I've been in so many situations where I feel so far outside of my element that I know I can't handle the situation properly and that I do not "have this." But God gives us the grace to pass through those difficult times. We can trust him because he got this! ---------------------- Don't forget that we have made <a href= "https://www.cameronfradd.com/">https://www.cameronfradd.com/</a> the place where you can find all the things Among The Lilies! Check out our new shop with ATL merchandise, and we will be adding more items soon! Thank you all for your support. I am so grateful, and I love and am praying for y'all! Thank you for being here! If you are interested in supporting Among the Lilies (you will get access to a BUNCH of things including bonus content), please consider supporting us at <a href= "https://www.patreon.com/AmongTheLilies">https://www.patreon.com/AmongTheLilies</a> By supporting us, you will get access to a BUNCH of things, including bonus content. Please join the Among the Lilies community on Instagram and Facebook! ➡️ <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/AmongTheLiliess/">https://www.facebook.com/AmongTheLiliess/</a> ➡️ <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/among_the_lilies">https://www.instagram.com/among_the_lilies</a>

185. God's Got This!

Father Pine talks about Aquinas' thoughts on the Gifts of the Spirit and the Virtues. How do they differ? How do they help each other? 🟣 Join Us on Locals (before we get banned on YT): <a href="https://mattfradd.locals.com/">https://mattfradd.locals.com/</a> 📖 Fr. Pine's Book: <a href="https://bit.ly/3lEsP8F">https://bit.ly/3lEsP8F</a> 🖥️ Website: <a href="https://pintswithaquinas.com/">https://pintswithaquinas.com/</a> 🟢 Rumble: <a href="https://rumble.com/c/pintswithaquinas">https://rumble.com/c/pintswithaquinas</a> 👕 Merch: <a href="https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com">https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com</a> 🚫 FREE 21 Day Detox From Porn Course: <a href="https://www.strive21.com/">https://www.strive21.com/</a> 🔵 Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd">https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd</a> 📸 Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd">https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd</a> We get a small kick back from affiliate links Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Should I Be SCARED of God? | Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

Father Mike uses the classic myths involving the Sirens to explain some ways to avoid temptation. He points out the differences between the ways Ulysses, his crew, and Jason of the Argonauts dealt with the monsters and suggests we use some advice St. Paul gave to the Philippians when dealing with temptations.<a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

How To Face Temptation

The Church offers us a consistent ethic of life from the moment of conception until death. In today’s “Nugget Day,” we review the main takeaways from our readings about the fifth commandment. Fr. Mike reiterates that the Church’s teachings on the value of human life stem from the truth that every human life is sacred; God wills each person for his own sake. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2318-2330. 

This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB.

For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy

Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Day 303: Summary of the Fifth Commandment

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The connection between our values and our virtues. We are nothing without the virtue of integrity. As one pastor noted, "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. And if you don't have integrity, nothing else matters." Integrity is the bridge between our desires and our decisions. Without integrity, our lives remain mere piles without purpose.<dl style="margin : 0; padding-top:0;"><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Mass Readings from September 18, 2022:</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Amos 8:4-7</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Psalms 113:1-2, 4-8</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;">1 Timothy 2:1-8</dt> Luke 16:1-13

09/18/22 Eulogy Virtues: Integrity

124: Do we really have guardian angels?

Fr. John uses a classic piece of literature, &quot;The Odyssey&quot;, to give future dating advice to his new goddaughter, Penelope. Fr. John and Dcn. Jacob discuss the restlessness of the human heart found within all of us but specifically found in men.

The Odyssey and The Rule

Homily from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. God gives exactly what is needed for whatever He has called us to. The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady affirms the fact that Mary was preserved from all stain of Original Sin through the merits of her Son’s future life, death, and resurrection.<dl style="margin : 0; padding-top:0;"><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Mass Readings from December 8, 2021:</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Genesis 3:9-15, 20</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Psalms 98:1, 2-4</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;">Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12</dt> Luke 1:26-38

12/08/21 Immaculate Conception

Anxiety and Poverty

The Saint of the Day Podcast

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Meditation for Good Friday

Join Fr. Mike and Fr. John this week as they explore C.S. Lewis' &quot;The Weight of Glory&quot; and the corporal works of mercy.

The Weight of Glory

To celebrate the feast of Thomas Aquinas we're doing two really cool things. First, we're giving away this <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/15539204">FREE audio book</a>, Aeterni Patris: On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy, an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. The aim of the encyclical was to advance the revival of Scholastic philosophy (i.e. Thomas Aquinas). Click <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/15539204">here</a> to get it! (It'll only be available to non-patrons for today only). Secondly, we're selling really really cool Aquinas merch that is bound to get you into many awesome conversations about the angelic doctor. Every sale goes to support the word of Pints With Aquinas. Get your hoodie, tee, mug, baby onesie, here! see the rest <a href="https://teespring.com/aquinas-tee#pid=345&amp;cid=6354&amp;sid=front">here</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

HAPPY (BLOODY) FEAST DAY, THOMISTS!

What is truth?

On this channel, we speak a lot about the teachings of the Church and how our society longs for these truths. But have you ever stopped and asked yourself what truth really is? There can be a lot of long, philosophical, complicated answers to this question, but today we have a simple one: truth can simply be defined as “what is.” In other words, a statement is either true or false depending on how closely it describes reality, or what is. But if truth is centered around reality, are there different truths for different people?

Today, Fr. Mike explains what real truth is.<a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

What Is Real Truth?

Today’s reading is a summation of what we have learned so far. Man is made for God, and we are born with a capacity for knowing God. Using our senses, listening to our consciences, and employing our gift of reason, we can know with certainty that God exists. Fr. Mike explains how we live freely only in communion with our Creator, even if we are limited in our capacity of comprehension. Knowing this compels us to share our faith in God with those who do not yet believe. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 44-49.

This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB.

For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy

Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Day 6: Knowing God With Certainty (2025)

Ancient Rome was a brutal society where the weak were exploited, women were treated as property, and unwanted children were left to die. Within four centuries, Christianity transformed this world, elevating human dignity, protecting the vulnerable, and fostering peace. This book examines seven key areas where Christian principles reshaped civilization and provides a roadmap for reclaiming these values in today’s culture, offering hope for renewal in a world once again hostile to faith.

How Christianity Saved Civilization | eBook

Homily from the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Love requires risk. Risk requires courage. Many of us make plans. And many of those plans don’t end up working out the way that we had expected. Fortunately, God calls us to be courageous even when things don’t work out as we had expected.<dl style="margin : 0; padding-top:0;"><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Mass Readings from June 27, 2021:</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;"> Psalms 30:2, 4-6, 11, 12, 13</dt><dt style="font-weight:normal;">2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15</dt> Mark 5:21-43

06/27/21 Everyday Courage: Plan B

Knowing that our good actions begin and end in Christ, we recognize that man’s merit is due to God. Fr. Mike explains that charity in Christ is the source of all our merits. In this way, merit is pure grace, and we should look to the saints for examples of how to live this truth out. St. Thérèse of Lisieux puts it best when she prays to God: “In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2006-2011.

This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB.

For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy

Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Day 264: Man’s Merit (2024)

Charity dictates who we reveal the truth to. We learn today that the “right to the communication of truth is not unconditional.” Fr. Mike explains that this means we ought to examine what facts we reveal to others prudently. Fr. Mike highlights the role of mass media in disseminating the truth and the importance of guarding ourselves against gossip. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2488-2499. 

If you have found this podcast to be helpful in your faith life and would like to help us continue bringing this Catholic media to as many people as possible, please consider making an ongoing financial gift at ascensionpress.com/support.

This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB.

For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy

Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Day 322: Respect for Truth

Aquinas contends that although we cannot know God's essence, we can meaningfully ask and answer the question of His existence. Professor Doolan employs Aristotelian scientific methodology to reason from observable effects to a first cause, which he identifies as God. This lecture was given on April 5th, 2024, at New York University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at <a href="https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events." target="_blank">thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events</a> About the Speaker: Gregory T. Doolan received his B.A. in political theory from Georgetown University in 1993 and his Ph.D. in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in 2003. He taught philosophy at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. from 2004–05 and joined the faculty of the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America in 2005. Dr. Doolan’s research interest is in the area of Aquinas’s metaphysics; in recent years, his focus has been on Aquinas’s semantic theory and his account of the Aristotelian categories of being.&nbsp; A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Doolan currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and three children.

Aquinas on the Question: 'Whether God Exists?' | Prof. Gregory Doolan

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- Do you wonder about Mary's firsthand memory or experience of God? We can relive Mary's memory and experience of God through the rosary. Rosary is like experiencing God with Mary—in her heart, her hospitality. Mary is the most perfect Christian, the most perfect woman who's all about Jesus, and in this month of the Rosary, we are invited to take time and be with Her more and be able to love Jesus a lot more through her. In this episode, we're gonna dive deep and talk about the Rosary, Mary, and Marian Devotion, and how we can open ourselves up to receive the hospitality of Mary.

Recieving Mary's Hospitality (2023)

Fr. Mike talks about the real reasons Christ tells us to fast. It isn’t just about strengthening our will and showing our love for God through some small sacrifice. Ultimately, it’s about freedom. When we give up something for Lent, by the time Lent is over we may find we never needed that thing in the first place and may never feel we need it again.<a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

Fasting Can Change You Forever

Father Pine, looks at the thought of great minds on curiosity. He asks if it is a vice and how we ought to treat it as christians. 🟣 Join Us on Locals (before we get banned on YT): <a href="https://mattfradd.locals.com/">https://mattfradd.locals.com/</a> 📖 Fr. Pine's Book: <a href="https://bit.ly/3lEsP8F">https://bit.ly/3lEsP8F</a> 🖥️ Website: <a href="https://pintswithaquinas.com/">https://pintswithaquinas.com/</a> 🟢 Rumble: <a href="https://rumble.com/c/pintswithaquinas">https://rumble.com/c/pintswithaquinas</a> 👕 Merch: <a href="https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com">https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com</a> 🚫 FREE 21 Day Detox From Porn Course: <a href="https://www.strive21.com/">https://www.strive21.com/</a> 🔵 Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd">https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd</a> 📸 Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd">https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Curiosity Killed the Christian? | Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

Clinical research continues to confirm what faith has always professed: the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In this gripping book, five Eucharistic miracles undergo extensive scientific scrutiny, revealing heart muscle tissue consistent with extreme trauma, a recurring blood type, and genetic markers that defy natural explanation. The findings, affirmed by leading medical experts, provide compelling evidence that God is speaking to our skeptical age through the very tools modernity trusts most.

A Cardiologist Examines Jesus | eBook

Welcome to The Saint of the Day Podcast, a service of <a href='https://www.goodcatholic.com/'>Good Catholic</a> and <a href='http://thecatholiccompany.com/'>The Catholic Company</a>.Today&apos;s featured saint is Pope St. John XXIII.If you like what you heard, share this podcast with someone you know, and make sure to subscribe!🔔Subscribe to Our Channel: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVNrdEJMWl9MMHluX2FYOVExYktxa0xGdGp1d3xBQ3Jtc0tsSmFkN2pqNWFkQkI3NVFFeGZYTno0cmp6b1hJVVI3cW5IbmZ4aWN1Y0FLRUJsWUItZGRJSTRPUW13YWtnQVJLbzBUS041TzlveF9Ec3lwSDd4RWgwaFg3VTJQc2Eyc3lXTkF1WWoyM0MyenV2MTdzbw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3sX4exh&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>https://bit.ly/3sX4exh</a>✅ Visit Good Catholic for more great content: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0RyRnFzSEt0VWptYWlSNTJDR0ZPRDNqZnJiQXxBQ3Jtc0trSG1IR2dtaEduSHB2RGVtQVQ4VFJvNnpPY3NVZ19fcURMa21SdzRHSWlnMWljb3pBNmdSNkV0UDNGblJ3ZmY3WFBoNHh5Z2drSkg1V2puaHhJTkVKcjc5WEN6cHhOTllHOTdCdmlMV2dfcWxwdkxJZw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3rMqLKI&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>https://bit.ly/3rMqLKI</a><a href='https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFFVVERhWkxqbHpVcmNaYVpIOHJpeUk3ek5od3xBQ3Jtc0ttTzVxRmNFeTRzcGV1R2lvTXJubTZrRVpkTXUtNTRGcU5xZFBCcm1QNlZtNWpXOEhPempUMGhSX3ZFOHkyTjV3WmVjRjI1czdVc0gxNTBGU09DSXBnd1EwaHplVDNBbnlhc3I4S2licC1pUDdzektJNA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgoodcatholicmedia%2F&amp;v=uXS4iQbY-gY'>.</a>

10/11 - Pope St. John XXIII

Episode 284 - Signs of Hope Is it still possible to hope when so much feels heavy, confusing, or broken? In this episode, the friars take an honest look at the state of the Church and the world and refuse to stop at discouragement. They talk about suffering, darkness, and the temptation to despair, but also about the quiet, real ways God is at work bringing renewal, healing, and new life. From families choosing faith in small, daily ways, to renewed hunger for prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments, this conversation names the concrete signs of hope that often go unnoticed. Not flashy movements or quick fixes, but steady, faithful people responding to grace where they are. Join us as we learn to see with hope again and recognize the Holy Spirit already at work, even now. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at <a href= "https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco">https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco</a>. Thank you! Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints <a href= "https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home"> https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home</a> 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at <a href= "https://www.pocomerch.com/">https://www.pocomerch.com/</a>

Signs of Hope

During Holy Week, as we contemplate the last hours of Jesus’ life, we get an intimate look at how Jesus prays to his Father.

Starting with our Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, we hear Jesus talking to God the Father about the upcoming moments of his life. He continues to pray through his Passion all the way until his last breath—a model that we as sons and daughters of God can follow as well. But what does Jesus show us about what it means to truly pray “Abba, Father”?

Ascension is proud to partner with authentically Catholic institutions and organizations committed to spreading the Gospel. Learn more about the sponsor of this episode, <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yc67p3cj" rel="nofollow">Ave Maria University. </a><a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

Pray Like Jesus Prayed This Holy Week

We may be too hard on ourselves when considering how we use the word “should.” Of course, we should go to Mass and pray every day. We should avoid stealing and other sins. However, in the midst of the healthy “shoulds,” there could be unhealthy “shoulds,” like “I should enjoy going to Mass and praying,” or “it shouldn’t be this hard to avoid sin.”

But no one ever said that. No one ever said doing what’s right would be easy. So let’s stop “shoulding” ourselves, and let’s rely on God’s grace to pull us through instead. Our weakness is an opportunity to embrace God’s grace. Fr. Mike says if all the things we should do were easy, we wouldn’t need Jesus.

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).<a rel="payment" href="https://ascensionpress.com/products/support-ascension">Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast</a>

How We Use the Word Should

Episode 24.  God Images and Self ImagesJuly 13, 2020 Intro: Welcome to the podcast Coronavirus Crisis:  Carpe Diem, where you and I rise up and embrace the possibilities and opportunities for spiritual and psychological growth in this time of crisis, all grounded in a Catholic worldview.   We are going beyond mere resilience, to rising up to the challenges of this pandemic and becoming even healthier in the natural and the spiritual realms than we were before.  I’m clinical psychologist Peter Malinoski your host and guide, with Souls and Hearts at soulsandhearts.com.  Thank you for being here with me.  This is episode 24,  released on July 13, 2020 and it’s called God Images and Self Images.  Today we’re going to consolidate some of our learning to date, spiraling back to a few key concepts and then bringing those key concepts to life in a story.  You may remember Richard and Susan from Episodes 17 and 19 when we were doing a three-episode series on grief – you long-time listeners that were with us six to eight weeks ago may remember.  And you may have forgotten.   No worries.  Don’t worry if you don’t remember.  We are going to review all the key concepts briefly here and I’ll catch you all up on the doings of Susan and Richard, as we begin this fifth installment on Catholic resilience.  We’re also going to take a close, in-depth look at the negative God images that Richard and Susan struggle with, and how those God images impact how they feel about themselves and each other.  Now if you are just joining us, Richard and Susan are made up – I created these characters to illustrate the concepts we’re discussing, buy they are realistic, and have issues common in our lives.   I said were going to review what a God image is, so let’s just go over that again briefly. My God image is my emotional and subjective experience of God, who I feel God to be in the moment.  May or may not correspond to who God really is.   Initially my God images are shaped by the relationship that I have with my parents.  This is my experiential sense how my feelings and how my heart interpret God.  My God images are heavily influenced by psychological factors, and different God images can be activated at different times, depending on my emotional states and what psychological mode I am in at a given time.   God images are always formed experientially.  God images flow from our relational experiences and how we construe and make sense of those images when we are very young.  My God images can be and usually are radically different than my God concept. My God concept   What I profess about God.  It is my more intellectual understanding of God, based on what one has been taught, but also based on what I have explored through reading.  I decide to believe in my God concept.  Reflected in the Creed, expanded in the Catechism, formal teaching.   This distinction between God image and God concept is so critical, I really want you to grip onto it, to really understand it a deep level. I hope you can really digest to the difference, not just at a conceptual level, but at a much deeper level in you, and hang onto it for the rest of your lives. I mean that. Remember the causal chain that we discussed last time? Letting ourselves be taken in by our bad God images leads us to lose confidence in God, which in turn causes us to become much less resilient.  Allowing our problematic, heretical God images to dominate us, to exert influence on us in subtle but powerful ways.   In the last episode, Episode 23, we discussed how the greatest sin against the First Commandment among us serious Catholics is defaulting to our negative God images, and letting them rule us, not resisting their pull on us, letting them draw us away from God.  The more we give into our negative, heretical God images, the more they color our God concepts, leading us to entertain doubts in our intellect about God’s love, his power, his mercy, his goodness.  And once we abandon our God concept to the notions of our heretical God images, we are headed for major trouble.  Richard and Susan from Episodes 17 and 19 on Grief.  We’re going to take a close look at Susan’s God images throughout her life to date in more detail, and in order to do that, we have to go back 100 years, and some generations.  Susan’s father Pawel--  Born 1919 in Pittsburgh to Polish immigrant parents, Pawel’s mother died shortly after he was born from Spanish influenza.  Youngest of three brothers.  Grew up in the 1920s  with his father and two older brothers.  No sisters, no experience of mother, no stepmother – some extended family but not really close.   Pawel’s father (Susan’s grandfather)  was a wheelwright, making wagon wheels.  At age 10, Al experienced the stock market crash and the Great Depression, hard times, unemployment, and a rough house, with some alcoholism.  So Pawel grew up in difficult economic circumstances, completed 8th grade, went to work as a printer’s apprentice and then to war in 1942 and fought in the American infantry in France under Pershing.  In 1945, return with some shellshock, not able to talk about war experiences.  In 1951 six years after the war ended, 32 year old Pawel married Maja, an 18 year old Polish immigrant who had US shortly after WWII ended.   He had known Maja’s family.  Maja was devoted to Pawel, very social, very outgoing, but with a history of unresolved war trauma from the German invasion of Poland when she was a little girl in the late 1930’s.  Pawel and Maja had four children, three boys and then Zuzanna – which is Polish for Susan -- Zuzanna was the youngest of the four, born in 1960.  Life was good for the family in the 1950s and 1960s.   Susan:§  Susan’s Father the good days·         Worked in a printing shop, a master printer, first shift·         High school education, funny, affectionate, a great story teller·         Susan was the youngest, and the only girl, three older brothers, everyone said she was her mother’s daughter, similar to Mom Maja  in so many ways, both physically and in her personality  ·         Dad gave her lots of warmth and affection as a baby and toddler and little girl, all through grade school – he read to her and was like the coolest dad, because he would come to her tea parties with her dolls – §  God image – Susan found it easy to pray – first communion, first confession.  Warmth toward God, sunny days.  Felt beloved.  §  Susan’s Father – the difficult days·         But when she turned 14, in 1974, it became a difficult relationship – she and her father did not see eye to eye.o   When Susan reached puberty, Dad withdrew emotionally – seemed to reject her hugs and kisses, told her those were “things little girls did” and “Susan, you’re a big girl now”o   She told him he had always said she’d be his little girl and didn’t understand when he said nothing in responseo   She didn’t understand the tears in his eyes or why he’d turn away, leave her and watch TV alone in his d...