During the Easter season, we’re invited to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord; but to respond also to the corresponding call to evangelize the world, since evangelization amounts fundamentally to spreading the Good News of the Jesus’ triumph over sin and death.  Fr. Eric draws upon the writings of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2013 on the occasion of World Communications Day to offer some helpful tips as  to how to evangelize over social networks, mindful that the Internet has become one of the predominant means to communicate and spread the Gospel during these challenging times.   

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While today’s Good Friday liturgy is meant to “simulate” the absence of the Lord’s presence as a means to commemorate His suffering and death for the salvation of the world, there is a precious opportunity for us now in light of various restrictions stemming from the current world pandemic to have an “extended” Good Friday experience in the sense of really feeling the absence of the Lord’s Eucharistic presence for a prolonged period of time.  As such, perhaps we might see this experience as a chance for us to resolve never to take for granted again God’s many graces and blessings in the context of our ordinary lives, particularly the Lord’s presence in the Eucharistic species.

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There is a recurring tendency to reduce Christianity to a mere concept, which reduces the spiritual life to a series of burdensome duties and obligations, as opposed to a life of love and freedom to which the Lord ultimately calls us.  Fr. Eric discusses how the primacy of being as opposed to doing, particularly the sense of responding to Christ’s invitation to simply be with Him, can have massive implications for how we approach the moral life and the call to discipleship, in general.

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At a time when priests around the world will be celebrating this year’s Holy Week liturgies in the absence of the physical presence of the People of God, Fr. Eric draws upon the writings of St. Paul, the liturgy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Book of Exodus to illustrate how we’re called always to remember that we are united truly and mystically through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, particularly whenever the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated.

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Many times, we feel like we’re trying our best to do the right thing and do right by the Lord, yet our lives can still seem to be quite challenging and difficult.  Fr. Eric reflects on the example of St. Joseph to give some insight as to how to reconcile the messiness of human existence with the reality of Divine Providence, and how to navigate through the spiritual struggles that might arise in the midst of these challenges.

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Sometimes, we struggle to believe that God is truly present and active in our lives; whereas the reality is that, while God will certainly “[make] all things new” (Rev. 21:5) in the fullness of time, He is also fully present to us here and now.  In today’s episode, Fr. Eric discusses this theological principle in terms of “the already but the not yet,” particularly as a way to better understand God’s providential designs, and the manner in which He seeks typically to bring about a sense of deep healing in the hearts of His people.

One of the most relevant theological problems of our time is the so-called “problem of evil” which seeks to reconcile the reality of God with the existence of evil and suffering in this world.  In this episode, we explore the helpful distinction between mysteries and problems, the Christian response to the problem of evil, advice for how to journey with others as they go through the mystery of suffering, and how to think through the reality of evil and suffering in our own lives.

Here's a link to the letter on human suffering by Pope John Paul II, as referenced in the podcast: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1984/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris.html.

Check out the first episode of our new podcast! We've been working on this for months now, but we really stepped up our game in the recent days and weeks in light of the current COVID-19 crisis. Feel free to share with your family and friends.

To watch the full video versions of future episodes of our podcast, subscribe free of charge to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDKAPmUqXX4SWlC0jKZYyvA?sub_confirmation=1. #CatholicLattePodcast