Almost Good Catholics

“And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling [.…] And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mk 4: 37-41)Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has identified the challenges of our age, “a new pagan society,” he calls it, and “anti-Christian”; others have said “post-Christian” or apostolic. Although the time is difficult, Bishop Schneider is not afraid. He tells us to pray and to have confidence in the power or the Rosary, its importance and efficacy. So, today we are talking about his new book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes (Sophia, 2025); he entreats us to petition God that He give us holy popes in the coming years, that the head may lead the body, as the church sails on into the unknown. He also talks about the traditions and history of the Rosary. We also talk about his remarkable life. Bishop Schneider’s book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes Bishop Schneider’s website, Gloria Dei Bishop Schneider on Wikipedia Another episode of Almost Good Catholics about the Rosary:Annabelle Mosely on Almost Good Catholics, episode 12: Did God Just Wink? Seeing the Numinous All Around Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate scoffed at Jesus (Jn 18:38), and that’s how we think about matters today in our culture—subjectively: my truth, your truth, etc. To make the argument that there is a knowable Truth (with a capital T) that is written in the world and in our bones, theologians Deborah Savage and Robert Fastiggi examine a selection of autobiographical accounts of ‘lived experience.’ They take a number of personal essays written by those who have erred from the path of Catholic social teaching and sexual morality—in the dark forest of the world, to borrow from Dante—and their subsequent disappointments and suffering. They examine these narratives through the anthropology of John Paul II and the authority of the physical and social sciences, including medical doctors. So, there is Good News for all of us: if we find ourselves lost and unhappy in our errant meanderings, the Church can bring us home. We can always choose, as God reminded Cain gently (Gen 4:7), “sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you may overcome it.” Here is the book on the En Route Books website (which includes video links)here is the book on Amazon.com. Deborah Savage’s website. Robert Fastiggi’s website (as a theology professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary). The article we refer to by Leah Fessler, “A Lot of Women Don’t Enjoy Hookup Culture—So Why Do We Force Ourselves to Participate?” Quartz Online, May 17, 2016. Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI on Wikipedia and on the Vatican website. Robert Fastiggi’s previous appearance on Almost Good Catholics, three years ago (recorded in February of 2022, on the eve of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine):Robert Fastiggi on Almost Good Catholics, episode 7: Mother of All Nations: Immaculate Conception, Virgin Birth, Assumption, and Coronation of Mary An episode of Almost Good Catholics on the same theme:Garrett Johnson on Almost Good Catholics, episode 42: Who Do You Think You Are? Thorny Questions about Sex, Identity, and Catholic Doctrine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his most recent book, Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition (Georgetown UP, 2024), Jesuit scholar and Georgetown professor, Fr David Hollenbach explains the Judeo-Christian roots of our concept of human rights and the contributions of secular institutions like the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). He explains further when it is right for a country to intervene in the affairs of its neighbors, codified by the UN in 2005 as the Responsibility to Protect in answer to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that gave lie to the world’s promise of “never again” after the horrors of the Holocaust. He contrasts the doctrine of R2P with the tragic case of a homicide in Kew Gardens in 1964 where 38 witnesses, all law-abiding “good people,” failed to intervene because they assumed someone else would do it. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain asked God (Gen 4:9). “Who is my neighbor?” The lawyer asked Jesus (Lk 10:29), to which Our Lord told the parable of the Good Samaritan. Perhaps these questions are a little more complicated between sovereign nations than they are between travelers on a dangerous road, but Fr. David guides us through the Catholic Church’s moral teachings, the principles of proportionality and of just war, and the ability and desire to do something even when we can’t do everything. Fr David’s book: Human Rights in a Divided World. Fr David’s faculty website at Georgetown. Responsibility to Protect, the R2P doctrine at the UN website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cristofer Pereyra is the founder and CEO of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative (TLI) and was a friend and follower of Bishop Thomas Olmsted (who was instrumental in restoring of Paul Zucarelli from the dead, the subject of our last two episodes). Cristofer talks about his collaboration with Bishop Olmsted, whom he considers a saint, and about the book he wrote about this holy man. He also talks about the Tepeyac Initiative and how we, lay Catholics, should serve Our Lord in our daily lives, how to sanctify our work, and how to approach the altar of our lay vocation. It is an exciting call to adventure and it begins today. Website of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative (TLI) About Cristofer Pereyra at the TLI website About Cristofer’s book on The Catholic Professional website; it is available on Amazon. Our recent episodes about Bishop Olmsted: Paul Zucarelli on Almost Good Catholics, episode 96: Holy, Catholic, Apostolic: A Man who Rose from the Dead Speaks about Christian Paul Zucarelli on Almost Good Catholics, episode 97: Talking with a Man Who Returned from the Dead: His Account of Death, Purgatory, and the Power of Prayer Our Christmas Carol We Three Kings by Josh and Margot The Great Space Coaster Band website Josh’s YouTube Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is my second conversation with Paul Zucarelli who died in 2017 and returned from the dead through the intercessory prayer of Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix and the faith of his family. Since his resurrection, he has been serving God as a lay evangelist. In the earlier interview, we talked about his new book, One Lord, One Faith, One Church: An Inconvenient Truth, in which he made a strong case for the authority of the Roman Catholic church. This time we are talking about his first book, Faith Understood: An Ordinary Man's Journey to the Presence of God. He tells us about his experience of death, purgatory, and the light of the face God; he also describes his return to our breathing world and the power of faith and intercessory prayer. Bishop Olmsted, the doctors, and Paul’s wife, Beth, and his son, Michael, recall his death and return in a short video. Paul’s first book, Faith Understood: An Ordinary Man's Journey to the Presence of God. Paul’s second book, One Lord, One Faith, One Church. Paul’s website, Faith Understood. Here are other videos of Paul telling this story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Zucarelli died in 2017 and returned from the dead through the intercessory prayer of Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix and the faith of his family. Since his resurrection, he has been serving God as a lay evangelist. His new book, One Lord, One Faith, One Church: An Inconvenient Truth, makes a strong apologetic case for the authority of the Roman Catholic church. He goes into supernatural evidence: Eucharistic miracles, Marian apparitions, uncorrupted bodies of the saints, and raising of the dead. He follows the history of the church from its foundation over the centuries with its schisms and fractures, down to this day when we Catholics disagree about the True Way. Can we humans be reconciled and reunited this side of the veil? That’s the question we tackle together. Paul’s book, One Lord, One Faith, One Church: An Inconvenient Truth (Sophia Press, 2024) Paul’s website, Faith Understood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reanne Newquist tells me about her voyage on Mercy Ships bringing healthcare to some of the poorest people in the world, a mission started by Don Stephens in the 1970s and encouraged by Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Reanne, her husband, and her kids left everything behind, sold their home and sailed off to adventure and service. Most people go back to normal life, but Reann stayed on with Mercy Ships as part of the communications staff, spreading the word by talking with people like me (and you). Here is her story. Mercy Ships website. Mercy Minute podcast. Reanne’s website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dann Aungst was pretty far gone in his sexual addiction when Jesus grabbed him (figuratively) by the lapels and sent him (literally) messengers, a letter, and a locution during Adoration. He left the road of destruction and chaos and found himself on the road to purity. He then founded his apostolate (which he called The Road to Purity) after writing his inspired, From One Addict to Another. He talks about his story and also the roots of addiction in the human heart and how he helps seminarians advise us sinners in the confessional where they speak in persona Christi. Dann’s Apostolate, The Road to Purity, and the gala this coming weekend, September 14, 2024. The Road to Purity podcast. Dann retells his story in great detail at the 2021 St. Thomas Aquinas Conference. Dann’s first book, From One Addict to Another. All of Dann’s books on The Road to Purity website and on Amazon.com. The Prayer of Mary of Egypt on the Pappas Institute, an Orthodox Christian website, and about her life on Wikipedia and from the University of Notre Dame. Here is another AGC episode on the same topic:Michael John Cusick on Almost Good Catholics, episode 85: Knocking at the Brothel Door: How Disordered Desires are Actually Divine Desires Here is the pilgrimage with Monique and Joseph González coming up with Inside the Vatican, and the related episodes from Almost Good Catholics: Pilgrimage to Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe & the Flower World Prophecy 2024 Colleen Dulle on Almost Good Catholics, episode 16: Marxists and Mystics: A Vatican Journalist discusses her Biography of Madeleine Delbrêl and the New Papal Constitution Father James Martin, SJ, on Almost Good Catholics, episode 30: What if You’re Gay? Starting Conversations with and about LGBT Catholics. Joseph and Monique González on Almost Good Catholics, episode 74: Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec True Myth: How the Flower World Bloomed into History in 1531. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dale Ahlquist is the founder the of the Society of G. K. Chesterton and Chesterton Schools, of which there are currently 70 and number is rising. He is also the editor of the book we are talking about today, Localism: Coming Home to Catholic Social Teaching, from Sophia Press, which explores the economic and social questions of how we should organize out society. It is a third way, I think, that departs from both the big government solutions offered by our progressive friends and yet also the big business capitalistic model that sometimes alienates us from our labor and communities. Dale’s book brings balance and offers the focus on local community, both family and village, encouraging ownership, solidarity, and neighborly participation. Dale’s book, Localism: Coming Home to Catholic Social Teaching, from Sophia Press. Dale Ahlquist and the Society of G.K. Chesterton and the Chesterton Schools Network. Dale Ahlquist with Matt Fradd on the Pints with Aquinas podcast. Dale Ahlquist on EWTN: The Apostle of Common Sense. Rerum Novarum, encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 1891 Here is the NEXT BOOK that Dale and I will be talking about on a future episode:G. K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man from Word on Fire PressJoseph Pearce, one of the essayists in Dale’s book, has also been a guest on Almost Good Catholics.Joseph Pearce on Almost Good Catholics, episode 10: What about Hell? CS Lewis and Theology of the Afterlife.Other Almost Good Catholics episodes on the subject of Catholic Education: Joseph Nagel and Heather Skinner on Almost Good Catholics, episode 8: It's Elementary! Catholic Education in the 21st Century. Pete Imperial on Almost Good Catholics, episode 90: What Would Jesus Say about Diversity and Inclusion? Rich Meyer on Almost Good Catholics, episode 45: Education in the World not of the World: A School Director and Father Talks about Forming the Whole Child. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would you do in the place of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter in 1943? Mumble your loyalty oath to Hitler like everyone else—or refuse and pay with your life? This martyr is a blessed in the Catholic Church and on the way to being canonized. He is also the subject of a transcendentally beautiful movie A Hidden life by Terrence Mallick in 2019. Pastor Brian Zahnd, author of the Wood Between the Worlds, talks about the man, the movie, and the martyrdom with me on Almost Good Catholics.There’s a moment in our discussion where I say to Brian that, had I been in Franz’s shoes, I think I would have just gone along with the oath so that I could get through my service as a soldier, perhaps as a conscientious objector, driving an ambulance or serving as a medical orderly. This choice seemed to make sense because I would have honored my obligation to my little children, to my wife, to my farm and my village, and not worried about the abstraction of the oath. But by the time our conversation ended, I think I changed my mind. The whole point of our Faith is that we do not believe that death is an end but a beginning, and we believe that those who have gone home to the Lord are still with us—literally a communion of saints. So, I changed my mind over the course of this hour: and I now think, in conclusion, that the red crown of martyrdom is a grace offered to some of tremendous faith, and that God will help us take care of the family we leave behind in the world. Pastor Brian’s webpage. Pastor Brian’s book, The Wood between the Worlds (2024) from IVP, also on Amazon. Bl. Franz Jägerstätter on the Vatican website and on Wikipedia. Director Terrence Malick and The Hidden Life. A Hidden Life (2019) trailer, IMBD, and on Amazon Prime. Go Creative Interview with Jorg Widmer, the director of photography (DOP) of the film. Inverse Podcast Interview about A Hidden Life with Brian Zahnd and Fr John Dear. Here is my first talk with Pastor Brian:Brian Zahnd on Almost Good Catholics, episode 82: The Wood between the Worlds: Why Death on the Cross? Here is the pilgrimage with Monique and Joseph González this coming September with Inside the Vatican, and the related episodes from Almost Good Catholics: Pilgrimage to Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe & the Flower World Prophecy 2024 Colleen Dulle on Almost Good Catholics, episode 16: Marxists and Mystics: A Vatican Journalist discusses her Biography of Madeleine Delbrêl and the New Papal Constitution Father James Martin, SJ, on Almost Good Catholics, episode 30: What if You’re Gay? Starting Conversations with and about LGBT Catholics. Joseph and Monique González on Almost Good Catholics, episode 74: Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec True Myth: How the Flower World Bloomed into History in 1531. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices