Simply Holy with Marge Fenelon

You may not be able to gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving as you’d hoped, but there’s still much you can do to foster a grateful heart and observe a true Thanks-Giving. Marge outlines seven concrete steps to a grateful heart and a blessed Thanksgiving despite COVID restrictions.

You and your loved one already are divided over Church issues. Now with the upheaval of the 2020 Presidential Election, you’re further divided over political issues. What do you do? How do you approach your loved one amidst these volatile topics? In this episode, Marge gives nine practical steps for re=establishing and affirming your relationship despite your differences.

Are you worried about a loved one who has left the Catholic Church? These days it’s difficult to find someone whose family hasn’t been touched by this sadness in some way. This episode is straight talk about what NOT to do when someone you care about leaves the Church (The Three Don’ts) and how to frame your approach for meaningful dialog (The Three Do’s). Plus, a valuable resource for protection against evil. Parents and grandparents, you’ll want to lock into this powerful way to protect your children and grandchildren against evil influences. A message of hope, joy, and encouragement.

Have you found yourself getting aggravated when dealing with someone of the opposite gender? Perhaps it’s a co-worker, friend, or even your spouse. Most of us experience that from time to time and for good reason. Man and woman aren’t just different physically, but also different in heart, mind and will. Listen as Marge explains the differences between the way males and females think, react, lead, and relate. The differences are God-willed, beautiful, and necessary even though they can be a source of aggravation.

It seems like all we do is talk about freedom these days. Freedom from…freedom for… But did you know that it’s possible to be free on the outside yet bound on the inside? That’s right. Unless you’re interiorly free, exterior freedom doesn’t matter much at all. St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” We all do that from time to time. Why? In this episode Marge looks at Mother Teresa and Amy Coney Barrett as examples of interiorly free individuals who move freely and decisively in the world. Tune in and learn how to become interiorly free and stop doing the things that you hate.

What do you do when someone hits you with a nasty comment or unwarranted accusation? When they make you so mad that you want to hit back? It seems we’re confronted with such situations left and right these days from people and angles we might never have expected. What is the Christian response when someone verbally attacks you either in person or online? You hit back – hard – with the most powerful weapon you have. Learn what that weapon is and five steps for dealing with insults, mud-slinging, fight-picking, and false accusations in a calm, Christian manner that will foster holiness.

 What Will You Give Your Mother on Her Birthday? After a brief sabbatical to recover from the loss of her mother-in-law, Marge is back to bring you more joy, inspiration, and simply everyday spirituality. In this episode Marge asks the question, “What will you give your mother for her birthday?” The mother she’s referring to, however, isn’t your human mother. It’s your heavenly Mother – Mary – and her birthday is September 8. The Nativity of the Blessed Mother is cause for universal rejoicing, as St. John Damascene said. What might that rejoicing look like? How can you celebrate the birthday of a divine rather than human mother? Marge explains how that can be done and gives three great ways to really celebrate your Mother’s birthday. And yes, cake and ice cream is included!

Born and raised in a staunch Norwegian Lutheran family. Paula’s journey led her away from the Lutheran faith and into a long period of spiritual disengagement. A change meeting introduced her to a community of Camaldolese Benedictine monks and the beauty of the Catholic Church was opened up to her. The gentleness and devotion of these holy monks paved the way for her to become a Camaldolese Benedictine Oblate – a decision she not only hasn’t regretted, but whole-heartedly embraces.

In the past several weeks, there have been 50 recorded incidents of churches, parishes, and religious statues being destroyed in the United States and Canada. That list continues to grow. This is a cause for great concern, but not for hopelessness. Buildings, parishes and statues are structures that can be defaced and destroyed, but our faith cannot – as long as we cling to Christ and his Mother. Using the wisdom of St. Paul and the inspiring story of Ireland’s Ballintubber Abbey, “The Abbey That Refused to Die,” Marge offers words of encouragement and four steps to counter persecution and the bad news we’re inundated with day after day.

Sonja Corbitt tells her story of conversion from the Southern Baptist Church and her eventual journey into the Lay Carmelites. She describes what attracted her to the Carmelite spirituality, what it means to be a Lay Carmelite, and how it has helped her in her striving for holiness.