The Good Catholic Podcast

Our Sacred Heart series is now available! We got to talk with your host, Fr. John Eckert, to hear about the program, and get some tips on how to better love Christ's Sacred Heart.

✅ Sign up at Good Catholic:
https://bit.ly/3HuXhZU 

🕒 In this Pod:
0:00 - Welcome
1:00 - Why the Sacred Heart Matters
3:06 - What if I don't feel God's Love?
9:13 - What's been a hard topic to prepare?
11:49 - "The Precepts of the Church are underrated!"
15:09 - The Sacred Heart's symbolism, and how it helps you not be lukewarm
18:37 - "Knowing" God, "Loving" God & Sacred Heart
23:44 - How Christ's Love inflames everything
25:08 - The Old Testament "saints"
25:50 - Praying for Sinners & sharing the Gospel
27:18 - Tips for our Subscribers
31:20 - Sign off & Thank you

We were thrilled to be able to sit down with Fr. John Eckert, Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury, North Carolina. We talked about our recent digital series, The Sacred Heart, and the conversation took us all over, exploring the love of Christ and how it operates in each of our lives.

We talked about how to truly encounter God's love in our hearts, the importance of the Blessed Sacrament, the ways that he Precepts of the Church are underrated, how to pray better when you're busy, how the Sacred Heart stops you from being lukewarm as well as the balance between "the head" and "the heart" in the spiritual life.

What was it like to craft our Overcoming Deadly Sin Series? Take a peak behind the scenes: Fr. Eckert and Peter Gohn sit down to talk about the process of making Overcoming Deadly Sin, go through some things that didn't make it into the series, and share the highs and lows of learning about sin.

You can sign up for Overcoming Deadly Sin here:
https://bit.ly/3yzqdK7

Today we're joined by friend-of-the-show Fr. John Eckert, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury, NC. We had a lot of fun today hearing the story of Father John's vocation, and talking about the beauty of parish life.

Fr. John has joined us for two of our devotional series: Full of Grace, and Overcoming Deadly Sin. It was great getting to know him a bit better in this interview, and we hope you enjoy.

Today we're joined by Noelle Mering, co-author of the incredible book, Theology of Home II. We talk with Noelle about creating the book, and the joy that can be found in having a truly faith-filled house for you and your family. 

Noelle's book was also a great help in creating our series, Catholic at Home, which covered many of the same topics with dynamic videos and practical tips. 

In this episode of Good Catholic Great Stories, we speak with Thomas Savoy, a composer and the Director of the Carolina Catholic Chorale. Join us for a conversation on bringing beautiful music and liturgy back to our churches.

Today we're joined by Andrew Wilson Smith, renowned sculptor and artist. He tells us the fascinating story of how he became a sculptor and his many artistic influences. We learn all about the process of creating sacred art, whether it be standalone works or within the architecture of a church.

See more of Andrew's work here:
https://andrewwilsonsmith.com/

We're joined again by our friend Fr. Joseph Matlak. Today we learn a lot more about the Eastern Catholic tradition, including the similarities and differences between Eastern and Western Catholicism, what it means to be a "Byzantine" Catholic instead of a "Roman" Catholic, and how we got to having 23 different "Churches" within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Today we're joined by our friend Fr. Joseph Matlak; he tells us about one of his favorite hymns: the Akathist of the Inexhaustible Cup. We also learn a bit more about Byzantine Catholic spirituality and how the pain of repentence brings true joy.

Many of you know Fr. Matlak from his work on School of Prayer, Finding Simplicity, and Catholic at Home. Hear more about those series here: https://www.goodcatholic.com/series/

Today we speak to Keaton Douglas, head of the iThirst Initiative, which works to help those struggling with substance abuse disorders, especially the ever-growing opioid addiction. The initiative seeks to give people in recovery the spiritual tools they need to stay sober and close to Christ.

Addiction can be a terrible cross. “Much of the addict’s suffering is spiritual,” Keaton tells us. Despite all the suffering, Keaton lovingly and wholeheartedly believes in the innate dignity of the human person. Listen to our conversation with her and hear first-hand the passion they she and her coworkers have to those suffering.

Learn more here: https://ithirstinitiative.org/about-us/

We're joined again by our friend Fr. Matthew Pawlikowski, and he shares with us the incredible story of Father Emil Kapaun, Servant of God and winner of the Medal of Honor. 

Join us and hear about Fr. Kapaun's heroism and holiness!