Good Distinctions

Introduction: The Catholic Church is about two thousand years old. Over those two millenia, different liturgical feasts have come and gone. There are two modern feast days in the Church today which are not well understood and which have an interesting history. That is what we will be looking at today! What is the Epiphany? And what is the Baptism of the Lord? What is the Epiphany? Epiphany comes t...

(January 1 - Maria, Mater Dei ) Introduction There are four Marian Dogmas (Marian as in related to Mary). Dogmas are those doctrines of the Church which have been especially defined by the Pope and the teaching authority of the Church. Dogmas are teachings, or doctrines, of the Church that have been bolded, underlined, and italicized, so to speak. They are proposed for our belief and faithful Cath...

🌐 Join us in this thought-provoking conversation as Will Wright and Simone Rizkallah share their perspectives on the often overlooked aspects of their identities as Catholics, Americans, and immigrants. Delving into the rich history of the Armenian Catholic Church and the various rites within the Catholic Church, they explore the impact of persecution and poverty on the Eastern Church. 🔍 Through...

Bonus Episode: The Incarnation - Guest Appearance on the "The Bishop's Hour" - Diocese of Phoenix Hi all, I was honored to again be a guest on the Bishop’s Hour Podcast and Radio Show with the Diocese of Phoenix! The episode aired today - 12/23/2023. The full episode can be found HERE . The clip I am sharing here is only the section containing the interview on the Incarnation. Also, please note th...

Good Distinctions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In this video, my friend and colleague Sean Maddigan and I dive into the recent document released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressing the misconceptions surrounding its content. There has been a lot of confusion and misquoting regarding...

(Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12) La Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe: Patroness of the Americas You are definitely going to want to read this post all the way to the end. What a crazy ride! In 1946, Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Guadalupe to be the Patroness of the Americas. In 1961, Pope St. John XXIII prayed to Our Lady as the Mother of the Americas, calling her the Mother and Teacher of th...

Good Distinctions is a reader and listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. John’s work with Praying at the Bricks : Summary John Kraemer shares his experience with the Praying at the Bricks project, where he builds a giant church out of Lego every year. He discusses the purpose of the project, which is to show that no ma...

YouTube link at the end of this message —> Hello everyone, Along with this week’s episode, I would like to share an important message with you. I am exceedingly grateful for the financial support of Joanne J. and Anne G. - your support is what allows Good Distinctions to continue. Ways You Can Contribute: Financial Support : Your financial contributions help cover hosting fees, equipment upgrades,...

If you’ve been following the Synod on Synodality, then you will have no doubt seen in the news that female ordination is back on the discussion table… even though a women can no sooner be validly ordained than a man could become pregnant. In this episode, Will and Teresa discuss the topic of female ordination, especially to the diaconate and discuss why this just is not a possibility. It was a gre...

Good Distinctions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In this episode, Teresa and Will explore the topic of self-expression. When does it go too far? We zoom in on the new Doja Cat music video for the song “Paint the Town Red.” There are more than one instances of satanic imagery in the video. Is Doja Cat a sata...

Good Distinctions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Our GUEST today was STEPHANIE SALINAS. To learn more about: * The Well Ministry * To register for the retreat, please click HERE * Blessed is She - - - - SOCIAL MEDIA for Good Distinctions - - - - - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gooddistinctions WHO IS...

The following transcript was generated by Riverside.fm. Please forgive any typos or other mistakes contained therein : Hi everyone, welcome back to Good Distinctions. My name is Teresa Morris. This week we remember the September 11th, 2001 attacks where 19 members of Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes and killed about 3,000 Americans that day. So in light of this anniversary, I just have a couple quick...

Introduction Welcome back to Good Distinctions! Before we begin, I want to invite you to consider contributing financially to Good Distinctions. Good distinctions are the spice of life, and Teresa and I are enjoying producing content, finding good distinctions, igniting conversation, and inviting you all to do likewise! In order to continue, we need your help. Consider becoming a paid subscriber a...

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a paid subscriber here on Substack to help us sustain Good Distinctions! Sins Against the Respect for the Reputation of Persons Statements made about public figures are a dime a dozen. Individuals like Pope Francis who are known throughout the world garner certain reputations. Often, these reputations are an amalgamation of rash judgment, detra...

The Long Nineteenth Century The long nineteenth century really began in 1789 with the French Revolution and ending with World War One. This phrase was coined by the British historian Eric Hogsbawm to describe a series of events that made speaking of 1789 to 1914 make more sense historically speaking than 1800 to 1900. He categorized this long nineteenth century into three connected but distinct er...

In episode 5, Teresa Morris and Will Wright discuss how virtue is the mean between excess and deficiency. They talk about how virtue relates to spiritual life. Teresa explains Plato’s analogy of the Cave, Mumford and Sons, G.K. Chesterton, and Dr. Peter Kreeft are brought up. This conversation has a few tangents, but all of them are worthwhile. Give it a listen! Listen to episode 5 and then join u...

In episode 4, Teresa Morris and Will Wright discuss the new movie Oppenheimer, but, more importantly, get right into the nitty gritty of the morality of atomic weaponry and later developments during the Cold War. This is a significant conversation about a lot of aspects of Catholic teaching that you will not want to miss! Give it a listen! Listen to episode 4 and then come join us as a free or pai...

NOTE: This article from May 2023 was fairly popular, so I decided to record it for YouTube and for the Podcast streams. Enjoy, and please comment, like, and share! Introduction This is not an article refuting various theological points of the Society of St. Pius X. It is not an extensive refutation of the pernicious errors of sedevacantism. What it aims to be is a reiteration of what the Church He...

Introduction Each person has a slightly different perspective, even if the truth remains the same. The reality of the object under observation does not change because someone is viewing it. Instead, we just see it differently. This can result from different individual experiences, genetic predispositions, cultural or religious backgrounds, and even the context of a given moment. Sometimes, making...

Thank you for listening to Good Distinctions. This post is public so feel free to share it. EPISODE 3 - BEING JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF OPEN-MINDED In episode 3, Teresa Morris and Will Wright begin by discussing a quote from G.K. Chesterton: “The object of an open mind is that of an open mouth, to shut it again on something solid.” How can we be open-minded while holding to our convictions? How can...

Introduction If you ask the average American on the street what religious freedom is, you will get all sorts of different ideas. Some places, you will hear: “keep your religion to yourself. Haven’t you heard of the separation of Church and State?” Others might answer: “People are free to believe whatever they want. Who am I to judge if they’re right or not?” Still others might claim that religious...

NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS PUBLISHED BEFORE OUR REBOOT. willwrightcatholic.com is now gooddistinctions.com Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? St. Thomas Aquinas when answering the question of whether God exists brings forward two objections. The second objection says that everything we see in the natural world can be explained by nature or by human reason; therefore, we do not need to suppose Go...

NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS PUBLISHED BEFORE OUR REBOOT. willwrightcatholic.com is now gooddistinctions.com Common Good and Society Solidarity and subsidiarity are two principles of the moral teachings of the Church that are absolutely required for a well-ordered and functioning society. In fact, the common good cannot be served without them. It is from this starting point of the common good that we mu...

NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS PUBLISHED BEFORE OUR REBOOT. willwrightcatholic.com is now gooddistinctions.com Acknowledgement Thank you to my colleague, Mr. Sean Maddigan, M.Ed., for his assistance in the research and formulation of many of the finer points of the atonement of Christ in this episode. Thanks, Sean! Perception of Serious Problems - Selling Indulgences? If you say the word “indulgences” to...

NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS PUBLISHED BEFORE OUR REBOOT. willwrightcatholic.com is now gooddistinctions.com What is the Sacred Triduum? The most important Liturgical Season of the Church year is the Sacred Triduum: three days to change the world! Lent is over and, from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Holy Saturday, we celebrate one long day, the unity of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. On...