Why are Trads So Mean to Each Other?
And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.—Jesus Christ in St. Matthew 24:10-14 Why are traditional Catholics so mean to each other? I don’t mean people like Virginia senator Tim Kaine who described himself as a “traditional Catholic.” By “traditional Catholic” I mean people who actually believe that the doctrine and liturgy of the Catholic Church can change by no man. So, why are trad-Catholics so mean to each other? Of course, the most common [...]
Glad Trad Q/A 3: Leila Miller
In today's podcast Leila Miller and I talk about the complementarity of men and women including headship of family, modesty, transgender issues, male-only priesthood in the Old and New Testament, personal conversions and practical advice to those already married and a bit for those in marriage prep. "Have you noted the measure of obedience? Pay attention to love’s high standard. If you take the premise that your wife should submit to you, as the church submits to Christ, then you should also take the same kind of careful, sacrificial thought for her that Christ takes for the church. Even if you must offer your own life for her, you must not refuse. Even if you must undergo countless struggles on her behalf and have all kinds of things to endure and suffer, you must not refuse. Even if you suffer [...]
Church Structures and Supernatural Faith
About 15 years ago, I went to Colorado Springs to visit both the Focus on the Family Visitor Center and New Life Church. The latter is a Protestant community nearby with nearly 14,000 congregants. I always half-joke that Colorado Springs is the "Protestant Vatican," but I am half-serious: These two centers alone are the engines for countless missions in dozens of countries, not to mention the hundreds of other Protestant communities in Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs, many Catholics might be surprised to see that Protestants have a relatively unabashed approach to "sacramentals." Many Protestant Mega-Church communities now sell "holy water" from the Jordan and "holy oil" made from olives from the Garden outside Jerusalem. You can purchase small bottles with labels of oil from the Holy Land and bring it home for personal anointing. In fact, for all the [...]
Glad Trad Q/A 2: Stefanie Nicholas
Will there be animals in heaven? Is St. Gallen's mafia real? Will the Greek Orthodox unite with Rome? How many Muslims believe in sharia? What about Garabandal? Is there Biblical evidence for Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth?
Glad Trad Q/A #1: Dr. Taylor Marshall
We welcome Dr. Taylor Marshall to the first "Glad Trad Question and Answer" podcast to answer tough questions on ancient and new doctrinal questions on Jesus and Mary and Joseph that come from my listeners and me.
On Sorrow in a Good Confession
The sacrament of penance, also called the sacrament of reconciliation (or confession) has four necessary parts, three of which are on the part of the penitent: 1) contrition (sorrow) 2) confession of sins (to a priest, in person) and satisfaction (also called your penance, done outside the confessional.) The one aspect of a good confession executed by the priest is absolution (provided the priest has judged the penitent worthy of absolution.) Last year during Lent, I gave a sermon called How to Make a Good Confession found on both my podcast and Sensus Fidelium's YouTube on these external parts of confession. Since then, I have started to read the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X (CPX) and I have discovered an overwhelming importance on sorrow for sins while approaching the confessional that I did not include in the above talk. In this very [...]
Salvation Podcast 2
Pace Pelagius, what are the three things that the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X says that we need to get to heaven? Can natural good works get us to the supernatural goal of heaven? Why did Pelagius deny Original Sin? Why is grace needed in the wake of Original Sin? When should babies be baptized? Can any sin be forgiven in confession? Can suicides be saved? Can non-Catholics go to heaven? Can a good-hearted non-practicing Catholic be saved? Do most Catholics go to heaven? Is it hard to be saved? Must we die in sanctifying grace or is ignorance of the Gospel enough to be saved? What about death-bed conversions? What about making extra reparation for sins after confession? Can Ben Shapiro get to heaven by simply following his conscience?
Salvation Podcast 1
Who was Pelagius and what is Pelagianism? How did Pelgianism in the 5th century lead to ecumenism in the 20th century? Has ecumenism led the Vatican to begin an approach to the UN’s Agenda 2030? What is "one world religion”? Is salvation a free-gift or must we work hard for it? What is that 18th century heresy of Quietism? How does free-will come into salvation? What importance does faith, grace and works make in our lives? "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”—Eph 2:8-10
The Simple Gospel
Our Patristics professor in seminary said something that I will never forget. He said: “Don’t read the Scriptures with a higher IQ than who it was written for.” I’m going to keep coming back to this line, “Don’t read the Scriptures with a higher IQ than who it was written for,” so I need to explain first what it does not mean. My professor was a very intellectual man, so he was not saying that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was created to trick peasant-doofuses into becoming Christians or later that Catholicism would become the opium of the illiterate-masses. Nor did he mean that the Deposit of the Faith was transmitted by Christ to a group of shallow fishermen who went forward to find the most deceivable people to baptize. While re-reading Acts of the Apostles, I recently discovered that [...]
The Amazon Synod and Married Priests
Crux reports "When the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon rolls around in October, the long-debated possibility of ordaining mature, married men to the priesthood in areas where there are priest shortages will be brought to the table." Ever notice that when he who St. Ignatius of Loyola calls “the enemy of human nature" floats propositions to men, that proposition always begins under the guise of "safe, rare and legal"? This is not only in matters of human life, but even in liturgical matters. Fr. Heilman shows here in Truth About Communion in the Hand While Standing that Holy Communion in the Hand only started in 1969 by "bestowing an indult – an exception to the law – under certain conditions.” Notice how eerily similar this idea of a rare "indult" is to the deadly phrase of what the US [...]