Considering Catholicism

Along with the decorations, every year the same myths get brought out about how the Catholic Church was corrupted by the ancient pagans, and invented its Christmas celebrations by borrowing pagan festivals. So, it's time for Greg and Cory to swat down this nonsense and tell the truth about why and how the Church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity on December 25.

Greg and Cory explore the differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism, and how the road to Rome differs depending on whether you begin in Germany or Geneva.

Greg has produced four short videos exploring the connections between the Eucharist and Christmas. You can find them on the ConsideringCatholicism.com website and social media. Ed the Protestant sat down with Greg to explore how the Nativity of Christ echoes down through the ages in Holy Communion.

On the last Sunday before the season of Advent begins, the Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. Greg and Cory talk about where this celebration came from, what it means, and how we can apply it in our lives.

Greg and Cory discuss the "Five Solas," the framework that supports the Protestant worldview and keeps Catholicism at a distance…and how cracks can form in that worldview.

In this installment of Book Club, Greg and Cory discuss a novel by Michael O'Brien which, while in the science fiction genre, is a profoundly Catholic story: Voyage to Alpha Centauri.

For Protestants and other non-Catholics, relics are one of, if not the, weirdest things about Catholicism. Why do Catholics have and treasure relics -- bits of bodies and clothing -- of the saints? 

Greg and Cory discuss "sacramentals" (not sacraments), objects and devotional practice which have been blessed by the Church.

Ed asks Greg what Catholicism believes happens to us when we die. Greg explains the "Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell." And that we must always memento mori, "remember our death."

Father Noah Thelan is a new, young Catholic priest. Greg asks him about why and how he became a priest, what it means to him, and what he hopes to accomplish in his priesthood.

In this Book Club episode, Greg and Cory discuss Robert Hugh Benson's 1907 novel Lord of the World, which has been strongly recommended by the last two popes (Benedict XVI and Francis).

On the fall equinox, Greg and Ed venture into deep, piney woods and discuss the present and future hope represented by "the Communion of the Saints."

Greg asks Father John Kartje, the Rector/President of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and Mundelein Seminary, about what a Catholic priest is, how priests are formed in the seminary, and about what qualifies or disqualifies men to advance to ordination.

Paul Kraus, a prosecutor who has spent his career working with family and child abuse cases and is now running to become a family court judge, talks about what he has learned and how his Catholic faith will provide a framework for justly applying the law.

Ed the Protestant has never held or owned a rosary, much less prayed it. So Greg teaches him how.

Ed is curious about the Rosary, and Greg explains where it came from, its purpose, and why Catholics pray it.

I had to overcome my Protestant fear of the Hail Mary, but once I did, I realized that it isn't really about Mary at all.

Ed was deeply moved by Greg's explanation of the significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary back in Episode #29, and wrote an article about how it impacted him. In this follow-up conversation, they explore what "To Jesus Through Mary" really means.

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, in a letter to his son, said, "Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament." Greg and Cory explore what he meant and why.

Protestant theology flat-out rejects Catholic Eucharist doctrines. Why? And how should Catholics respond to the objections of their Protestant friends and family?

In our ongoing series on the Eucharist, Greg and Cory explore why the Eucharist is also called "Holy Communion," and why that communion is a miracle, not just a vague sense of community.

In November, Michigan voters will face a decision. "Proposal 3" would permanently amend the state constitution by enshrining the most extreme pro-abortion laws in the nation. Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has vowed to "fight like hell" for it. In response, a priest in Lansing has launched a 54-day prayer campaign to "fight like heaven" for the protection of life. Greg and Father Gordon Re...

In a series of ongoing conversations about the miracles of the mass and the Eucharist, Greg and Cory try to explain exactly what the Church teaches about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

In this ongoing series on the Eucharist, Greg and Cory talk about miracles, how the priest acts in the person of Christ, and the invocation of the Holy Spirit during the mass.

Every Catholic mass is nothing short of a miracle. As part of our series on the Eucharist, Greg and Cory discuss how the field of "metaphysics" helps us to wrap our minds around how the supernatural intervenes in the natural world during the celebration of the mass.