There's a new series on the podcast
...and I made it for you!
Hi friends. This summer on the Raised Catholic podcast, I’ve re-aired the summer contemplation series. I hope you caught an episode or two and it helped you to connect with God who is crazy about you!
As for me, I’ve been contemplating and praying through a new topic for the podcast, but maybe it’s something else*, too? As when I started the podcast, this is an idea that just won’t let me go, so I’m going to launch it first as a podcast series, hope you’ll tell me what you think about it**, and then go from there.
The idea is: how to practice grown-up Catholicism
The need is: apparent, especially here in the American Catholic Church
The series is for: anyone who has or does engage with the Catholic Church in any way
The time is: now
Now, grown-up Catholicism for you will not and should not look just like the way I practice Catholicism, but I do hope to encourage us to dig deep and to look at our ideas and faith practice outside of the kind of tribal thinking that has subsumed our Church and to begin to own our faith for ourselves. We’re taking some practical ideas out, holding them up to the light, and discerning along with the Holy Spirit just why we do what we do in a bunch of areas:
How grown-up Catholics vote and engage with politics
How grown-up Catholics lead and serve
How grown-up Catholics give
How grown-up Catholics engage with people of other faiths
How grown-up Catholics think about death
How grown-up Catholics think about the clergy
How grown-up Catholics engage with media
….and more.
So, you know, just like regular easy-breezy content***. ;)
And in this series, I will not tell you how I as a Catholic do these things, but instead, I will offer a model on how I discern and decide with the help of the Holy Spirit to do these things. I’ll use scripture, contemplation and prayer as I describe my process, and I’ll encourage each one of us to learn and wrestle and form our consciences with the Holy Spirit to come to a clearer understanding of how we want to operate in the world and our faith with this one wild and precious life we’re given by God who longs to accompany us in this process.
My intention for this series is that it be descriptive, not prescriptive. The very last thing I want to do, friend, is to add my voice to the many Catholic leadership voices who will tell you how to vote, or who to love, or what to wear (honestly, can you imagine!), but I do want us to dig in and find out for ourselves how our beliefs align with what we and God together decide is the right thing to do in these areas and more. Not because someone else told us to, not because the group we belong to are all doing it that way, but because we and God worked it out in prayer and contemplation and study and we are willing to stand on that good ground - us and Him – together.
So what do you think, friend? Are you in?
Please listen to Raised Catholic episode 192: Grown-Up Catholicism on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts (or read the transcript), and then meet me back here in the comments to share your thoughts on this series. (Like, I really really would love you to do that, so thanks in advance!)
*If you’re reading this far, I’ll share my dream for this idea: it’s a guided journal. Okay, now don’t tell anyone but I welcome all prayers and ideas!
**No, really, I’d really love your feedback about this. It’s super important that I know whether this is helpful so that I know how/whether to invest this time. Thanks in advance!
***Now, you might be thinking: Kerry, aren’t you terrified to tackle these hot-button topics in such a public way? If you’re thinking that, you just may be right. Again, all prayers are welcome!
