The movie the Shack hit theaters mid-Lent and with it arose much discussion surrounding some of the feminine imagery - for God and the Holy Spirit - used in both the film and the book. Following on the tails of last week's 'Heresy' episode, this week Eric and Brett take a look at the kinds of language and images that can be used in reference to God. We regularly call God 'Father', can God be 'Mother' too? And what can we say about the Holy Spirit? We're playing the "Is it heresy?" game once agai...
Jun 13, 2017•39 min
This week on Thinking Faith! Eric and Brett are trying their darndest to NOT be heretics. We'll look at what heresy is (and isn't) we'll talk about some common examples and share some tips on what to do if you think you've encountered a heretic in your midst! From Dominican video games to St. Nicholas punching Arius in the face, we'll see if our hapless hosts can avoid getting fired over this one!
Jun 06, 2017•33 min
Eric and Brett return to the Mailbag to answer a listener question surrounding our February podcast on Transubstantiation. This week Sam wonders about our relationship with our Lutheran and Anglican brothers and sisters in faith who often also express similar beliefs about their Eucharist celebrations as being more than merely symbolic. We'll talk about what kinds of things we hold in common, what still separates us and dig a bit deeper into our own understanding of this mystery that is for Cath...
May 30, 2017•34 min
This week on Thinking Faith we're honoring Catholic Education week with our special guest Miles Meyers Coordinator Catholic Education Services for the Regina Catholic School Division. We'll be talking about Catholic Identity in our Catholic Schools and specifically about what is known as Curriculum Permeation which has the potential of being a complete 'game-changer' in faith-based education. Join us as we ponder the plethora of prolific potential in permeation! AND if you're a Catholic teacher ...
May 23, 2017•34 min
Welcome to another week of Thinking Faith! Brett and Eric are continuing with last week's Marian theme (In keeping with this Marian month of May) and ripping into the mailbag to answer some listener questions about Marian Apparitions. This week we address questions from James and Elaine who find themselves wondering about the propensity of Mary to appear from time, the tradition of the Church to mark some of these places as special pilgrimage sites, and just how we, as Catholics, ought to approa...
May 16, 2017•40 min
This week on Thinking Faith, in keeping with the Marian theme of this Month of May Eric and Brett discuss our Church's Marian Dogmas. We'll look at what the Church has to say about Mary's role as Theotokos (God Bearer), her Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity and Assumption into heaven all through the lens of a very exciting dialog document produced by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) seeking common ground on Mary between Anglican's and Catholics. AND if this p...
May 09, 2017•44 min
In preparation for World Day of Prayer for Vocations on Sunday, May 7th, we've got a very special treat for this week's Thinking Faith! Chris Juchacz is a seminarian studying to be a priest for the Archdiocese of Regina. In this interview, featuring guest host William Sinclair of “The Real Truth About You Podcast”, Chris speaks openly and candidly about his own journey to the priesthood.
May 02, 2017•28 min
This week on Thinking Faith Eric and Brett step out onto shaky ground as they approach Paul's Letter to the Ephesians chapter 5 and try to get to the bottom of just what Paul means when he says "Wives, submit to your husbands". We're jumping in with both feet and eyes closed. Pray for us!
Apr 25, 2017•39 min
This week the Christian world rejoices in our Risen Lord! What better time to sit down and do some serious thinking about the fact of the Resurrection. All four Gospels assert it, our Creeds profess it, and Saint Paul boldly declares that “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” (1 Cor 15:14). This week on Thinking Faith Brett and Eric discuss what happened in the tomb on that Easter Sunday 2000 years ago and what the Resurrection m...
Apr 18, 2017•44 min
This week on a special Holy Week Edition of Thinking Faith! We'd like to invite you to join us in a few moments of retreat. In preparation for the Triduum celebrations to come this Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday we're going to take some time to reflect on Christ's call to be the face of mercy that this world so desperately needs. Now, this is a few segments of a Lenten Retreat on the theme of Mercy that I delivered just a few weeks ago for the folks at St. Aloysius parish in Filmor...
Apr 10, 2017•27 min
Over the past several months and years Pope Francis has often been heard speaking about the devil and the reality of the spiritual battle we find ourselves in. This week on Thinking Faith, Eric and Brett discuss the reality of the devil. Do we really still believe in some creature called Satan? Is this just a symbol of evil and sin? And what would his place be in the spiritual life and in our Catholic tradition? Throw some salt over your shoulder and join us in this episode we're calling "Speaki...
Apr 04, 2017•44 min
This week on Thinking Faith! We are continuing our two-part series on Euthanasia and Physician-assisted dying begun last week. This is part two of a talk Brett gave to the Unitarian Fellowship here in Regina. As mentioned last week, if you find the prospect of speaking to friends, neighbors and family members who may not agree with you about these issues intimidating, these episodes will be a great help! This one starts off with a great tip...when in doubt, look for an appropriate Star Trek refe...
Mar 28, 2017•30 min
This week on 'Thinking Faith!' we present part 1 of a two-part series on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Dying. You might recall that we had our friend Leah Perrault in studio as Lent began discussing the recently released documents from the Saskatchewan Bishops on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted dying. Today we begin a two part series based off of a talk Brett gave on this very subject back in February to the Regina Unitarian Community. If you find the prospect of speaking to friends, neigh...
Mar 21, 2017•28 min
This week on Thinking Faith we have Michelle Braden and Braden Kuntz joining us once again fro our Youth Ministry Office. These two have SO MUCH going on that it was hard to pin them down for an episode but we finally did it! They'll be telling us all about the amazing things they have planned in the diocese this Spring from the My Gen Rally to Youth Ministry workshops...and a party bus? Tune in and find out what's going on and how you can get involved.
Mar 14, 2017•49 min
This week on 'Thinking Faith!' both Brett and Eric are down for the count with nasty colds! Not to be discouraged, and in keeping with this week's theme, they've called their good friend Leah Perrault to join in discussing the latest documents released by our Saskatchewan Bishops on physician-assisted suicide. We'll look at the challenges we face today in speaking about the issues sounding illness, dying and death and the invitation our bishops place before us to not be willing to enter into tho...
Mar 07, 2017•31 min
Have you heard the Good News? We've all been baptized as priests! But wait you say, don't we already have ordained priests? If your head is spinning with all this priest-y stuff tune in and Eric and Brett will try to clear up the connection between the Sacrament of Holy Orders and what is sometimes called the "Priesthood of the Baptized". The world is our altar and we're filling it with sanctifying grace!
Feb 28, 2017•35 min
Transubstantiation - as fun to say as it is to talk about! This week, Eric and Brett try to get to the bottom of this mystery that is central to our understanding of the Eucharist - how it is that through the prayers of the Mass and the actions of our priests, bread, and wine can become for us the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. If you've ever wondered about how this all works, or how to talk about what happens at the Mass with non-Catholic friends, you'll love this one!...
Feb 21, 2017•21 min
This week we're talking scripture once again as Eric and Brett discuss some valuable tools for reading and understanding God's sacred Word. We'll look at how knowing what genre of writing we're reading can make all the difference. We'll also talk about the difference between a literal (as in literary) reading of scripture and a literalistic one and we'll take all these ideas for a test drive with one of Eric's all-time favorite books - the book of Revelation. The four horsemen are saddled and re...
Feb 14, 2017•34 min
Recent exhortations from Pope Francis against proselytizing persons and cultures have resulted in what Brett terms 'calumny and slander!' as media outlets make the mistake of coupling this with the Church's evangelizing mission. The good news for our listeners? We get to have another 'Smackdown' episode where we pit proselytism and evangelization in a toe-to-toe cage match and see who comes out on top. It's the Eye of the Tiger baby, and it's right here on Thinking Faith!
Feb 07, 2017•33 min
It seems as though every other newscast about the Church speaks about how Church teaching has been changed, is changing or ought to be changed. This week Eric and Brett discuss this phenomenon and whether making changes is possible and if so, in what areas and how. This is sure to fuel more interesting and animated discussion than your last family Monopoly night!
Jan 31, 2017•31 min
We've been getting a number of really cool questions coming in via email so this week we're dedicating an entire episode to you, our faithful listeners. We're gonna dump it all on the floor and see what stands out in this, our first Mail Bag episode of Thinking Faith!
Jan 24, 2017•41 min
This week on Thinking Faith we continue a discussion that Brett and I began a couple of weeks ago on how we got the Bible. We'll be looking at the New Testament in particular, and talk about how it was formed, it's connection to the Hebrew Scriptures and how we got to the New Testament we have today. We're totally geeking out on God's Word and would love for you to join the ride!
Jan 17, 2017•23 min
This week Eric and Brett are very blessed to have newly appointed Archbishop Donald Bolen in studio! We'll take some time to get to know our new Archbishop a little better, discuss a couple of interesting anecdotes from his installation Homily and get a better sense of his particular vision for the Church in the Archdiocese of Regina.
Jan 10, 2017•28 min
This week we're pleased to offer you a special, bonus, Christmas episode of Thinking Faith! We know you're all getting back to work and trying to find your way into some sort of routine in these first dark, cold days of January and with the Christmas liturgical season wrapping up soon, we thought we would offer you one, final Christmas present in the form of our Archbishop's Don Bolen's Christmas Homily delivered at Midnight Mass on December 24, 2016, at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Regina. We hope ...
Jan 04, 2017•19 min
This week on Thinking Faith! Eric and Brett break open that dusty tome on the coffee table and discuss how we ended up with this collection of stories and chronologies we call the Bible. In this first of two episodes, we'll look at the development of the Hebrew Scriptures, what we commonly term the 'Old Testament'. If you've ever wondered where these stories came from, who decided which books would be in the Bible, and why we'd invite you to listen in and find out!
Jan 03, 2017•31 min
This week on "Thinking Faith!" Brett and Eric discuss the counter-cultural character of Catholic Liturgy. They'll discuss how the liturgy stands as both a critique of the cultural status quo and how it can help to uphold all that is true, beautiful and good about the cultures in which we live. They're rebels with a cause and you're invited to hop on and enjoy the ride!
Dec 27, 2016•25 min
With Christmas fast approaching Eric and Brett take some time to discuss the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. They'll talk about what exactly the Incarnation is and how this one aspect of our Christian faith provides an invaluable lens that helps us to see and understand nearly everything else about our Church and our faith. Pour a glass of eggnog, cozy up by the fire and enjoy!
Dec 20, 2016•31 min
This week on "Thinking Faith!" Eric and Brett discuss praying boldly. This is something which we can be very nervous to do and yet it is a challenge placed directly at our feet by Jesus Christ who assures us that "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13). But how bold should we really be in prayer and how do we find that balance between boldness in prayer, and accepting God's will?
Dec 13, 2016•29 min
Bert Pitzel has been coordinating things for the Office of Social Justice in the Archdiocese of Regina for more than 20 years. With the 17th Annual Archbishop's Appeal campaign drawing to a close, Eric and Brett thought it would be great to sit down with Bert and discuss what brought him to the Office of Social Justice and some of the key initiatives his office and your support of the Annual Appeal are making happen in our Archdiocese.
Dec 06, 2016•36 min
Let the smack-down begin! This week Eric and Brett place pastoral care and Orthodoxy in a head-to-head fight to the finish cage match as they examine how Catholics are to hold together these two seemingly opposite responses to faith. Do we really have to choose between staying true to the faith and being compassionate?
Nov 29, 2016•40 min
