On The Road To Perfection

Fasting during Lent is often not considered until someone asks us what we are giving up.

Then, suddenly, without having thought of it prior, we say something like, "Chocolate" or "My favorite TV show."

In this episode presented a month before having to start fasting, we explore what it all means, to help make the discernment of what to give up more focused and meaningful.

And Beth gives a great prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit to help you out. So inspired, we drop the mic.

What is Lent?

Lent is a liturgical season of fasting, prayer, almsgiving, preparation, and enlightenment.

Okay - what does that mean?

Why do we celebrate and observe it?

How do we do all that?

So many questions - and we give an overview during these short twenty minutes, as an introduction to the next three weeks as we prepare for Lent.

The Gift of Creation is something we might take for granted or not comprehend completely.

Certainly, the latter!

Maybe you think that Pope Francis a couple of years ago came and turned everything upside down with his encyclical about our care of the environment and world around us, Laudato si'.

What does it mean to be caretakers with dominion?

Well, we talk about that, with a good story of dead chickens and a lot of funny confusion - since this was not the topic we had decided to talk about before pressing record...

More fun and laughs!

The Mass dismissal is perhaps the most important part of the Mass after the source and summit, the Eucharist.

It calls us to action, drives us to purpose, and requires of us dedication.

Are we up to that task?

Beth and Kristofer reveal their favorite dismissal - and, more entertaining, their least favorite. As they muddle along as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, they invite you to contemplate the dismissal as more than just an invitation to go to the donut shop!

They also give a tutorial on movie end credits, and an homage to Ferris Buehler...

This was a fun episode to do, and is a funny one to listen to!

What's in a word?

Glory is one of those words that the English language has done a disservice to. It's like "snow" compared to indigenous people in polar regions, or "love" translated from the Greek in the English Bible.

In this episode dedicated to Mary Henriquez, Beth and Kristofer discuss the idea of glory, and the many facets of it, and how it is used for its many different meanings.

Beth shares some history and meanings of words we use that are a part of the meaning of glory, so Kristofer learns a little Hebrew and Greek, despite his uncanny ability to get distracted by everything.

And they do it all in less than 22 minutes!

As a bonus, Kristofer keeps the song references to only those that have "glory" in them. Apparently, there are a lot.

Kerygma?

Most likely this is a term you have not heard. But it is the thread that encapsulates our entire faith. It is what our entire existence and salvation relies upon.

In this episode, we share the Kerygma, define it, and invite you to join us in it. The only gain you get is Heaven.

Kerygma is the biggest secret, but also the most obvious thing...

Beth and Kristofer conflict with each other in this episode. Beth's knowledge and wisdom butts up against Kristofer's ignorance, and the result is a classic pursuit of Perfection!

Who goes to Heaven?

Some say only Catholics. Some say Catholics do not. Some say all sorts of things.

What does the Catholic Church say?

In this episode that we did while driving back from Kristofer's spiritual director, we tackle a question brought up by a friend and actually addressed by the Church.

We go Summa on you, Vatican II on you, and all that in 20 minutes, when we could have answered it in less than a second.

Which we do about six minutes in.

So how do we know we are or have discerned God's Will?

In this episode, Kristofer gives one of many concrete examples while he and Beth challenge us to see the miraculous as merely God's Will that we should expect.

Beth gives great counsel on seeking God's Will while Kristofer accidentally trips over some doctrine, thinking he came up with something The Church might have missed.

We CAN know God's Will.

Here's how...

The Lord's will and how we know it is His will for us and how we can discern his will and what that means, are, as Beth puts it, the topic of this episode.

That's a lot, and though we go deep we barely scratch the surface.

Or pound nails, as Kristofer's inadvertent carpentry analogy gets a lot of air-time and seems to work the further we get into it.

Discerning what God wants us to do is simple.

But difficult.

This is a topic worthy of more than one episode, so this is part one.

What is my role as a lay person in the Church?

As laity we need to recognize how crucial we are to the Church.

This important discussion about the family of The Church - you and we who, without us, there is no Church - edifies all of us little people, and explores what we can and should do as members of the largest family in the history of the universe.

A little Mr. Rogers and some Bobby McFerrin to accompany us on this beautiful day in our neighborhood, Kristofer gets a bit philosophical at the risk of causing you to stop listening, and Beth makes some theological points in layman's terms.

Thanks for joining us, neighbor!