Catholic Commons: Recent Episodes
Lauren Montgomery
No matter where you're at in your walk of faith, the Catholic Commons will help you dive deeper in learning the rich teachings and tradition of the Catholic Faith!
The fourth key feature of the moral life is something that is often overlooked or ignored in our secular world, and that's sin.
We are all sinners in need of a Savior, but to confront the problem of sin in our lives, it's important to know what sin is.
In today's episode, find out why sin is so destructive to our lives, and learn the important distinction between lesser (venial) and grave (mortal) sin.
When it comes to living life well, what does choice have to do with it?
EVERYTHING!
Choice is one of the essential elements in the Catholic Moral life, because it is our choices that shape the people that we become; in other words, we become what we choose.
As rational, willful human beings, we have the freedom to choose between right and wrong. In this episode, learn how it is in choosing what is good and just that truly leads us to an authentically free and fulfilled life.
What does it take to make your life truly beautiful for God and to be free in life?
It takes virtue! Virtue is about excellence--about being disposed towards the GOOD.
In this episode, learn how virtue is a skill that we build--that takes practice, care, effort, and discipline. Learn also how it is the virtuous person, who by habit of living an upright and ordered life, is the person free to truly live life well.
We are all called to beatitude (communion with God in heaven)...but what does it take to get there?
It's not always easy for us to choose the Good in life and to pursue it--since we are all broken and wounded by sin.
In this episode, you'll learn about one of the key features of the Catholic Moral Life, Moral Law. Through God's moral law, divine help comes to us in Christ who gives us the grace to live life well. In this episode, Lauren breaks down the basics about moral law, and shows how all moral law ultimately finds its fullness and unity in Christ.
Find Lauren on Instagram @thecatholiccommons
or on her website at thecatholiccommons.com
All of us have a common longing within us: we all desire to be seen, known, appreciated, and loved for who we are.
This desire fuels so much of what we do in life and the choices that we make, but it's important to realize that this desire is within all of us precisely because we were created for union with God!
The story of the woman at the well (John 4:7) is a good reminder of this. It shows us that all of us have a deep thirst within us, and that our thirst can only be satisfied when we draw from the Living Well, Jesus Christ.
So often we turn to the well of the world, seeking to fulfill ourselves with worldly goods, but the problem is that our needs go well beyond this universe.
Again, we were created for union with God, so unless we draw from Him in prayer, we're never going to be satisfied or experience life the way we should. It's in prayer that the Lord draws near to us!
In this episode, host Lauren Montgomery will offer some tips for beginning in prayer. These tips come from her personal experience, but are also rooted in teachings of the Church. For more Church teachings on prayer, see the section on prayer in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, beginning with paragraph 2558!
Check out The Catholic Commons website: thecatholiccommons.com
Find Lauren on Instagram @thecatholiccommons
To contact Lauren, email her at thecatholiccommons@yahoo.com
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Saint Paul exhorts Christians to "pray without ceasing."
Why is it so important for Christians to develop a life of prayer and to pray without end? Find out in todays episode!
For more, check out Lauren's website thecatholiccommons.com or find her on Instagram @thecatholiccommons
Scripture says that faith "is the realization of what is hoped for, and evidence of things unseen," (Hebrews 11:1) but how do we square that away in our secular world, which values reason above all? Is it reasonable to believe in God? Is faith contrary to reason? In this episode, find out how faith is not only reasonable, but gives insight into the reality of things that go beyond reason--the things which we cannot see on our own, apart from the revelation of God Himself. Learn how faith is a virtue, and how surrendering ourselves to God in faith helps us better understand who we are and live how we were created to live.
Check out thecatholiccommons.com for more!
Find me on Instagram @thecatholiccommons
References to books in the show:
"Something Other Than God" by Jen Fulwiler
"Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Father Jacques Philippe
In our modern world, it is common to hear people say that they are “spiritual” but not “religious,” but Scripture and Tradition reveal to us that the Catholic Church was established by Jesus Christ Himself, so that we might all be a family of God and a communion of believers united in Him.
We were not created to be in a relationship with God as isolated individuals, and Jesus did not come to abolish religion!
Many people view religion as a bad thing, but, depending on the collection of beliefs, basic worldview, history, symbols and morality of the faith, religion can in fact speak to the heart of man, who is a religious being.
Humanity expresses their quest for God through their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so on. The desire for God is written on the human heart, and it is through one’s religion that man pursues God.
The Christian belief centers primarily on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. From the time of the early Church, Christianity has centered around these three things:
- Common worship of God in the celebration of the Eucharist
- Common following of the teachings of Christ
- Common following of the teachers under the succession of the apostle
These three things are important to the Christian life of faith because they establish unity among believers, can be transmitted from place to place (to promote the spread of the Gospel), and can be passed on faithfully from generation to generation through the guidance of the Holy Spirit (so that the teachings might be preserved in truth).
Though the idea of religion is rejected today, it’s important to recognize how Christianity would not have survived for thousands of years without a collective set of worship, practice, and succession! These three things are fundamental to the faith, because it’s through the Catholic Church that we have full access to Christ today.
The Church is also characterized by four main things that set it apart from all other Christian Denominations. These are the “marks” of the Church: The Church is ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, and APOSTOLIC. For more: https://thecatholiccommons.com/read/
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Taking a quick break from regular TCC content to offer my thoughts on the crisis we face in our world right now.
For more, read:
Matthew 8:23-27
https://thecatholiccommons.com/portfolio-item/finding-peace-in-the-storm/
https://www.instagram.com/thecatholiccommons/
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Bible”?
This is a very important question because, as St. Jerome once said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
Many people know of the Bible and acknowledge its centrality to Christianity, but nevertheless struggle with seeing the importance of it today. The Bible is often seen as a compilation of fable-like stories which evoke mere cartoonish visions and provide good “moral stories.” It’s also often seen as merely a book of regulations that anyone can choose (or choose not) to live by.
However, the Bible is much more than a child’s fairy tale story, a family heirloom, or merely a resource for helping us become “good” people. .
The Bible is the way God communicates His will for our lives! This is why it’s so important for us to be regularly reading the Bible!
In this episode, learn how:
- The Bible is different from any other religious text ever written, because it is the only sacred book of God’s revelation to us
- God communicates to us in a human way through Sacred Scripture
- The Bible is composed
- The Bible should be read!
The first paragraph in the Catechism of the Catholic Church says,
“God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.”
If this is true—if God created us to know Him and live in Him—then there must be a concrete way that we can do this, otherwise life just doesn’t make sense.
Throughout history, God gradually revealed himself to man and this Revelation culminated in the coming of His only Son: the 2nd Person of the Trinity, God made flesh. Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s revelation, and He shows how deeply personal God’s love for us is.
Christ chose to hand on the Revelation of Himself to the Church in three distinct, but interrelated ways.
Through: Sacred Tradition
- The teaching given to the Apostles by Christ and is that which is handed down from generation to generation through Apostolic Succession, traced back from pope to pope—bishop to bishop—all the way back to the time of Christ.
- Helps us know with certainty what it means to live in the family of God
- Handed on in two ways:
- Through the oral teachings of the faith
- In writing, by the Apostles and other men who were closely associated with the Apostles, who communicated the message of salvation in writing
Tradition is distinct from Sacred Scripture, but closely connected to it. Through Sacred Tradition, “The Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she is herself and all that she believes.”—Dei Verbum 8
Sacred Scripture
- Tells us about the way the family of God is to live
- Teaches us how to live life and how to live it well
- The speech of God, as put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit
The Magisterium of the Catholic Church
- The teaching office of the Church (the Bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the pope and bishop of Rome)
- Charged by Christ (under the power of the Holy Spirit) with the task of authentically interpreting the Word of God (whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition)
- Teaches only what has been handed on to it, no more, no less
- Tasked with the duty of listening devotedly to God, guarding His Revelation with dedication, and to expounding it faithfully.
As Christians, we are called to embrace the fullness of Divine Revelation, as revealed through the teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and all that is handed on through the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
It is through these three means that Christ chose to preserve and safeguard the fullness of His Revelation of Himself to us. We cannot remove, forget, or ignore any one of these three things because to do so would mean diminishing the fullness of God’s Divine Revelation.
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In the first episode, Lauren Montgomery shares the main points of the Gospel message. The Gospel is the Good News of our Catholic faith. It is the story that reveals to us why God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation.
Lauren breaks down the Good News into four main points:
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How God Created the World and He Created it Good
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Sin and the Consequences of Sin
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How God Responds to Sin
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How We Are Called to Respond to God
Before diving in to the rich and beautiful tradition of the faith, it's important to know the Good News well. This is the greatest love story that has ever been told, and it is our story. It is the story of God's great love for us, and it is the heart of our Catholic faith.
Looking to be encouraged in your walk with the Lord and supported in learning more about your Catholic faith? This is the podcast for you! My name is Lauren Montgomery, and with each episode of The Catholic Common's podcast, I will be breaking down and explaining some of the fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith. With my Masters of Arts in Theology and passion for the beautiful and theological tradition of our faith, I hope to help you in your walk with Jesus. I believe that no matter where you're at in your journey of faith, we are all seeking understanding--and the pursuit that leads to understanding only brings us closer to the Lord Jesus. I also firmly believe that He gave us the Catholic Church so that we might come to know Him better and love Him more deeply. This podcast is just the introduction...I hope you'll come back for more! In the meantime, let's connect @thecatholiccommons on Instagram, or find me on my website: thecatholiccommons.com