Death and Donuts

From bikies to baptism: Early on in life Connor experienced family breakup, became skeptical of authority, and was deeply anti-Catholic. He spent decades searching for something to believe in and discovered Christ had been waiting for him.

Daniel Erasmus has been searching for truth, beauty and goodness, his entire life. He’s tried almost everything under the sun, from partying hard, hooking up with women, to traveling. Not satisfied, and looking for something deeper, he turned to religion, from nominal protestant Christianity, he became a religious Jew, is now married to an Iranian Muslim, and has two young children. More recently he discovered Catholic Christianity and is digging into the likes of St Thomas Aquinas. A warning: this interview contains adult themes.

My mum, Julie James, was a very troubled teenager. One night some of her friends forced the drug LSD into her mouth and she began to have hallucinations of hell. The next morning she wanted to end her life but a prayer said in desperation was her first step in a 50 year journey filled with sacrificial love, joy and peace. "

Bill West stopped practising his Catholic Faith as he moved from school to full-time work. While backpacking through Asia, as a young man, he got terribly sick, and with the prospect of death, in desperation, he asked God for help. He got better and when he returned home to Australia, he re-connected with his Catholic Faith. Decades later, still working as a journalist, he decided to do a deep dive into what he believed was a medieval forgery, the Shroud of Turin.

Desmond Kon was dead for close to 30 minutes before being resuscitated. During this short period of bodily death, Desmond had a ‘Near Death Experience’ where he endured a long period of purification and was then invited by some souls to go with them to ‘another place’. He also talks about his time in the military, his conversion to Catholicism and shares some wisdom on beauty.

Rohan Viswalingham has appeared twice on the podcast, in Season 1, Episode 9 and 12. He is a close friend from ABC News and I had the good fortune of becoming his Godfather a few years ago. In a crazy turn of events, Rohan recently resigned from the ABC and has started a novitiate with a community of Benedictine monks! After his vision of Christ, explained in S1 E12, Rohan went to Lisieux, in France, and had an epic encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary! He's now living in a monastery in Western Australia!

Michelle and Michael Punch are in their early 30s, are happily married and have three children. But not so long ago, while they were at university and dating, Michelle considered herself an atheist who found happiness in things like clubbing and drinking while Michael, apart from his sexual relationship with Michelle, didn't mind dabbling with porn. But a trip overseas revealed to them that authentic joy is more than fleeting pleasures.

James Tran hails from the south-west of Sydney. He lost his way in his teens with wild parties, philandering, and the like. One night, after another crazy time, James entered the darkness of his bedroom with a gnawing sense of inner emptiness. He pondered, 'what if there's no God, no love, and this sinking feeling continues to grow forever?' After a plea from the bottom of his heart, he quickly encountered Mercy.

Atheist turned Catholic priest, Fr Sam Fancourt, shares some observations he's made in his first five years as a Catholic cleric. He also touches on his dealings with Jessica Van Leeuwen, a young mother of six, who sadly lost her life after battling brain cancer.

Notes:

More on Jessica Van Leeuwen -

https://opusdei.org/en-nz/article/embracing-the-cross-of-cancer-jessica-ven-leeuwen/

Margaret has ten children. Tragically three have died, two from abortion and one from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Heartache led her to gambling on poker machines. Due to her addiction she and her family had to sell their home. Her gambling continued and they lost a second home. In desperation she turned to the Logos, to Christ, in the Eucharist. After persistent prayer, in tears, things began to change.