Bad homilies. Scandalous public figures. Awkward teachings, hypocritically taught. Most Catholics have had to face these aspects of being in the Catholic Church, and it has left many wondering why they should stay. We interview one woman, Mallory Smyth, who has written a book devoted to explaining why she stays Catholic when confronted with the same reasons many others have had to leave. 

I had marked many passages that we wanted to discuss with her, but somehow didn't bring up my favorite passage from her new book, Rekindled:  

"They began with the bad news: 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Rom 3:23). Bad news? I remember thinking, this is great news. If everyone has fallen short of the glory of God, if each one of us has gone our own way, then we are all starting from the same place. This truth set me free. I could stop trying to be better than other people. In reality, I was no better than them anyway." (Rekindled p. 7)

The whole book is filled with twists on what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the Catholic Church that breathe new life into teachings that many have found stale, difficult, or confusing. We greatly enjoyed our discussion with her, and only wish that we had time to talk further. We hope you enjoy both the conversation and her book!

Check out a free preview of her book here: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B08G89MBR3&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_SVccGbXZJF3SS 

And order a copy of her book here: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/rekindled

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

Marriage is beautiful, marriage is under attack, and marriage can be remedied. Those are the principle messages of Casti Connubii, and in this episode, we consider the final part of Pope Pius XI's encyclical. 

After all of the problems presented in the last episode, you might expect a specific solution to each particular problem. Instead, Pope Pius XI shows that the solution is a mix of personal, communal, ecclesial, and civil responsibility and cooperation. 

Here's an outline of the whole encyclical, to aid you in your reading!

Casti Connubii

Unofficially and Unmagisterially Outlined by Joseph Gruber

Outline

I. Introduction- paragraphs 1-9

II. The Three Marks of Marriage- paragraph 10

a. Offspring- paragraphs 11-18

b. Conjugal Fidelity- paragraphs 19-30

c. Sacrament- paragraphs 31-43

III. Attacks on Marriage- paragraphs 44-52

a. Specifically on Offspring- paragraphs 53

i. Contraceptive/Sterile Sex- paragraphs 54-62

ii. Abortion- paragraphs 63-67

iii. Eugenics- paragraphs 68-69

iv. Sterilization- paragraphs 70-71

b. Specifically on Conjugal Fidelity- paragraph 72

i. Adultery/Open marriages- paragraph 73

ii. A disordered household/false emancipation of women- paragraphs 74-78

c. Specifically on the Sacrament- paragraphs 79-81

i. Mixed Marriages- paragraphs 82-84

ii. Divorce- paragraphs 85-93

IV. Remedies

a. Return to the Original Plan- paragraphs 94-96

b. Combat Lust- paragraphs 97-101

c. Have the Church Teach the Truth- paragraphs 102-109

d. Each Couple Takes Ownership- paragraphs 110-111

e. Prepare Couples Ahead of Time- paragraphs 112-115

f. Support the Poor and Needy- paragraphs 116-122

g. Church and State Should Cooperate- paragraphs 123-127

V. Conclusion- paragraphs 128-130

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

It might have been when we first pressed record that we realized that all of the attacks on marriage listed by Pope Pius XI's encyclical Casti Connubii are all hot-button issues. Who knew? When people talk about moral problems, 90-95% of the time, they're talking about issues relating to the nature of marriage. So, in some 37 minutes, we try to address: contraception, sterile sex, abortion, eugenics, sterilization, adultery, open marriages, a false understanding of the emancipation of women, disordered households, mixed-faith marriages, and divorce. Clearly, we don't pretend to have addressed them all perfectly, but that wasn't our intent. Our intent is to invite you to consider that maybe, just maybe, it could be possible that the teachings of the Church might lead to better marriages, as the common wisdom of the day just doesn't seem to cut it. These ideas do cut against the grain of the spirit of the world. But maybe we're meant for something grander than the spirit of the world can deliver!

Please find below an outline of Casti Connubii to aid you in your reading!

Casti Connubii

Unofficially and Unmagisterially Outlined by Joseph Gruber

Outline

I. Introduction- paragraphs 1-9

II. The Three Marks of Marriage- paragraph 10

a. Offspring- paragraphs 11-18

b. Conjugal Fidelity- paragraphs 19-30

c. Sacrament- paragraphs 31-43

III. Attacks on Marriage- paragraphs 44-52

a. Specifically on Offspring- paragraphs 53

i. Contraceptive/Sterile Sex- paragraphs 54-62

ii. Abortion- paragraphs 63-67

iii. Eugenics- paragraphs 68-69

iv. Sterilization- paragraphs 70-71

b. Specifically on Conjugal Fidelity- paragraph 72

i. Adultery/Open marriages- paragraph 73

ii. A disordered household/false emancipation of women- paragraphs 74-78

c. Specifically on the Sacrament- paragraphs 79-81

i. Mixed Marriages- paragraphs 82-84

ii. Divorce- paragraphs 85-93

IV. Remedies

a. Return to the Original Plan- paragraphs 94-96

b. Combat Lust- paragraphs 97-101

c. Have the Church Teach the Truth- paragraphs 102-109

d. Each Couple Takes Ownership- paragraphs 110-111

e. Prepare Couples Ahead of Time- paragraphs 112-115

f. Support the Poor and Needy- paragraphs 116-122

g. Church and State Should Cooperate- paragraphs 123-127

V. Conclusion- paragraphs 128-130

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

As we approach a new year, some resolutions we may have could be to be more organized, more disciplined, more routine, more productive, etc. We talk to Lisa Canning about an approach to living more intentionally called the ideal week.

Full disclosure-- we recorded this a while back, so we didn't have New Year's Eve Eve in mind for publication. But it seems fitting!

If you'd like to buy Conquor Your Calendar, you can do so here (full disclosure, this is an affiliate link): https://learn.thepossibilitymom.com/conquer-your-calendar?cd=12

Check out her work here: http://lisacanning.ca/ 

And her book, The Possibility Mom.

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

What's so good about marriage, anyway? Three things, in fact, according to people like St. Augustine, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope Pius XI, the last of whom wrote Casti Connubii, an encyclical on marriage. These three blessings, or marks, of matrimony are offspring, conjugal fidelity, and the sacramental character of marriage (including its indissolubility).

Here's a handy outline of Casti Connubii, if you want to dive into it on your own! We'll be talking about the two other main parts of this encyclical in episodes to come!

Casti Connubii

Unofficially and Unmagisterially Outlined by Joseph Gruber

Outline

I. Introduction- paragraphs 1-9

II. The Three Marks of Marriage- paragraph 10

a. Offspring- paragraphs 11-18

b. Conjugal Fidelity- paragraphs 19-30

c. Sacrament- paragraphs 31-43

III. Attacks on Marriage- paragraphs 44-52

a. Specifically on Offspring- paragraphs 53

i. Contraceptive/Sterile Sex- paragraphs 54-62

ii. Abortion- paragraphs 63-67

iii. Eugenics- paragraphs 68-69

iv. Sterilization- paragraphs 70-71

b. Specifically on Conjugal Fidelity- paragraph 72

i. Adultery/Open marriages- paragraph 73

ii. A disordered household/false emancipation of women- paragraphs 74-78

c. Specifically on the Sacrament- paragraphs 79-81

i. Mixed Marriages- paragraphs 82-84

ii. Divorce- paragraphs 85-93

IV. Remedies

a. Return to the Original Plan- paragraphs 94-96

b. Combat Lust- paragraphs 97-101

c. Have the Church Teach the Truth- paragraphs 102-109

d. Each Couple Takes Ownership- paragraphs 110-111

e. Prepare Couples Ahead of Time- paragraphs 112-115

f. Support the Poor and Needy- paragraphs 116-122

g. Church and State Should Cooperate- paragraphs 123-127

V. Conclusion- paragraphs 128-130

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

Pope Pius XI wrote Casti Connubii in 1930, detailing what marriage is, what attacks it is suffering, and then he discusses remedies for marriage. One of the remedies he proposes is (in the opinion of Joseph, at least) a little cheeky-- do a better job picking a spouse. 

For those of us are married, it's too late for us-- we're stuck. For everyone out there in single-dom, listening to what he has to say may prove fruitful. We're hopeful, at least!

We look specifically at paragraphs 112-115 of Casti Connubii. 

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

There are those who tend to treat the story of Noah as a kid's story. While we don't use explicit language, the content we will be discussing is not child-friendly, and we don't recommend listening to it with children around. Because the end of the story of Noah is not child-friendly. It is filled with drunkenness, rebellion, nakedness, incest, cursing, and a baby born into a very broken family. 

We reference Leviticus 18, Genesis 35, and 2 Samuel 16, and then later we reference Luke 1 and John 19. 

We also reference the movie A Hidden Life, but in large part because it's hard to not think about it after we saw it a few days ago. If you want your heart to hurt, give that movie a watch.

Biggest takeaway: The story of mankind's brokenness is met with the grace of God, which brings light into darkness.

Let us know what you think! You can check our our Facebook page/group, or send us an email at [email protected]. Feel free to also share, rate, review, and talk to others about this!

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

"I'd like to think I'm a good listener. In fact, let me tell you a story about me being a great listener...rather than actually listen to you." It's an oft-experienced phenomenon-- we start to think maybe genuine sharing of selves is about to happen, and then out of nowhere, we throw up a roadblock to real intimacy. 

It's good to know about these roadblocks, and why they hinder real, meaningful conversations, so we share three of them. We referenced another pretty heavily in the third part of the vulnerability series, and that one is the giving of advice (when not asked for). 

They're not always bad, and sometimes even good, but when we habitually turn a conversation into a storytime, or start praising someone evaluatively, or start reassuring them, we're thoughtlessly turning conversations into discussions about ourselves, our opinions, and our convictions, rather than giving the other a chance to share their side. 

If you'd like to hear about more of them, let us know, or check out where we got them from: We're pulling from a book called People Skills, by Robert Bolton: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BFXAS0/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

It's a good book. It's not perfect, but it's ok.

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

It's vulnerable to share with someone. It's also vulnerable to be the one receiving someone, and to avoid that discomfort, we tend to practice poor listening skills. Actually taking the time and energy to hear someone may take practice, but it's effort that is worth it.

Also, we talk at the end about how a certain Catholic practice tells us what receiving people should look like, ideally.

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

We invited our friend and philosopher Josh Taccolini to join us to talk about what it is to be human, and how our emotions are essential to a full human life. A prior episode, episode 37, called A Basic Christian Anthropology, was sadly lacking in an account of the emotions, and we were so glad to have been able to discuss them with Josh!

We reference Dietrich von Hildebrand, who can be wikipedia'd here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_von_Hildebrand

We will get back to the topic of vulnerability in the coming weeks!

As always, 

• check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/
• join our free resource library platform here
• catch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/
• see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/
• send us an email at [email protected]
• and please rate, review, and share!
• If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph