The Spirit & The Bride

Dr. Schreck  explores how the spirit is an attribute of the servant of God in the messianic texts of the prophet Isaiah, where people can even “grieve” the spirit by rejecting his work.  The Psalms also speak of the work of God’s spirit and appeal to God not to hide his face nor remove his spirit but to send forth the spirit to “renew the face of the earth” ( Ps. 104 ) and to restore “the joy of…s...

Dr. Schreck introduces the ethical and moral work of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament, purifying or cleansing God’s people of sin in the images of fire and water. After this purification, the restorative, life-giving action of the Spirit follows.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at  Faith and Reason . 

God raised up leaders for the Hebrew people who were equipped and empowered for this task through an outpouring or anointing of God’s spirit.  Dr. Schreck  talks about the  prophet Isaiah and how he foresaw the Messiah , the greatest ruler who would possess the full charisms of leadership: the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord.   Listen to...

To restore the broken relationship between God and humanity, God selected individuals from among the Chosen People to speak and act through his spirit.  Dr. Schreck  introduces these Old Testament prophets and highlights the importance of what they did and said through the spirit of God.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources...

Dr. Schreck discusses Genesis chapter 2 and the second creation account where God breathes life into the first human.  The Old Testament reveals how God gives humanity both natural life and spiritual life.   Listen to more The Spirit & The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at  Faith and Reason . 

Dr. Schreck  starts a new season focused on the Holy Spirit. Although the reality of God as the Blessed Trinity is not yet fully revealed in the Old Testament, Dr. Schreck looks at references to God’s “spirit” in the very beginning of the Bible, the  Book of Genesis .   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at  Faith and Reason...

Dr. Alan Schreck  welcomes listeners to a new weekly podcast series on the Holy Spirit. Why learn about the Holy Spirit?   Because he is God, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, and we hope to spend eternity with him. Jesus also reveals the Holy Spirit as the “gift of God” and “the promise of the Father.”   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts,...

Pope St. John Paul II called the Second Vatican Council " the great grace God bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century " and " a sure compass to guide us in the century now beginning ." Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed this view, and Pope Francis continued to carry it out. This episode focuses on three themes: the Council's mission to promote a three-fold unity (unity within the Church, with ot...

Dr. Schreck  talks about one of the Second Vatican Council’s landmark documents: Declaration on Religious Liberty, or  Dignitatis Humanae . This document upholds the Gospel principle that faith in religious matters, either by individuals or groups, cannot be coerced and that public practice of worship and acts motivated by religious beliefs should be permitted, as long as “just requirements of the...

Dr. Schreck  talks about two brief documents from the Second Vatican Council. First,  Orientalium Ecclesiarum  explores the rites and churches that emerged in the East and how these liturgical and spiritual traditions show the richness of the Catholic Church. Then,  Gravissimum Educationis  illuminates how Christian education helps each person reach his or her full potential—and, ultimately, etern...

Part of the Second Vatican Council’s overarching concern in presenting the Catholic Church’s nature and mission in our times was its teaching on religious and consecrated life. Dr. Schreck  talks about the council’s decree on  “The Appropriate Renewal of Religious Life,” or in Latin called “Perfectae Caritatis,”  the perfection of charity.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and dis...

Some have said the Second Vatican Council was the “Council of the Laity.”  Dr. Schreck  talks about  Apostolicam Actuositatem , the council’s document that activated and broadened lay people’s participation in the life of the Catholic Church and in her mission to make Jesus Christ present in the world.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos,...

Dr. Schreck  talks about the Second Vatican Council’s decrees on Priestly Formation ( Optatam Totius ) and on the Ministry and Life of Priests ( Presbyterorum Ordinis ). The former emphasized the centrality of spiritual and pastoral formation of priesthood candidates, while the latter was a ground-breaking document that addressed the life of priests and their particular path to holiness. Dr. Schre...

The role of the bishop in the Catholic Church was one of the important topics taken up by the Council Fathers (who were bishops themselves) at the Second Vatican Council. Dr. Schreck  talks about their “Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops,” or  Christus Dominus , and its emphasis on bishops as carrying out the mission of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, and the apostles in the life of the Chu...

Dr. Schreck  explores the Council’s decrees on the Church’s relationship to non-Christian religions ( Nostra Aetate ) and on the Church’s missionary activity ( Ad gentes divinitus ). He talks about how the Catholic Church respects all that is true and holy in non-Christian religions and condemns persecution while also following Jesus’ command to make disciples and evangelize. He also address commo...

Dr. Schreck  talks about how the restoration of unity among Christians, or ecumenism, was a priority for Pope St. John XXIII in calling the Second Vatican Council. As a result, Pope St. Paul VI and the Council’s bishops published the  Decree on Ecumenism, or Unitatis Redintegratio . Dr. Schreck shares about this topic in light of the annual  Week of Prayer for Christian Unity  in January.   Listen...

Dr. Schreck  presents the teaching of the Second Vatican Council on the means of social communication, or the media. He talks about the moral principles of the media’s production, transmission, and reception. He also shares how the Church is responsible for using media to promote truth, goodness, and beauty and to spread the Gospel.   Listen to more The Spirit & The Bride episodes and discover...

Dr. Schreck highlights the second part of Vatican II's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, or Gaudium et Spes , and discusses the Church's teaching on marriage and family life (part 2, chapter 1). He also discusses the promotion of peace and cooperation among nations in light of modern challenges (part 2, chapter 5). Start at the beginning of this series here.   Listen to more...

What does the Church offer to individuals and society? And what does the modern world contribute to the Church? Dr. Schreck  discusses chapter 4 of  Gaudium et Spes  and how Jesus Christ is both the author and goal of the Church’s mission. Start at the beginning of this series here.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at  F...

What is a Christian’s role in promoting the common good? Dr. Schreck  continues discussing  Gaudium et Spes  and people’s role and responsibility in promoting the true welfare of society, as well as the relationship between faith and science. Start at the beginning of this series here.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at...

Dr. Schreck  talks about the first chapter of  Gaudium et Spes  and how it presents God’s plan for promoting the dignity of each human person. He highlights how the document shows the sources and signs of this dignity, condemns evils, and explores the Church’s response to atheism. Start at the beginning of this series here.     Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Ca...

How does the Catholic Church view our culture? What is the Church’s mission in the modern world? Dr. Schreck  explores the preface and intro of Vatican II’s  Gaudium et Spes , or the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.  Listen to part 2 of this series here.     Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at  Fait...

Dr. Schreck  explores the last two chapters of Vatican II’s  Dogmatic Constitution on the Church . He shows how the Church extends from now into the eschaton, or end time, and includes all alive in Christ, especially the communion of saints and  Blessed Virgin Mary as mediatrix . Start at part 1 here.     Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos...

Dr. Schreck  discusses the Catholic Church’s understanding of God’s plan for the leadership and hierarchy of his Church, based on chapter three of  Lumen Gentium . Start at part 1 here.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at  Faith and Reason . 

Dr. Alan Schreck  continues to reflect on  Lumen Gentium  and addresses the question, “Who belongs to the Church?” He explores the Catholic Church’s relationship to other Christians and non-Christians. He also highlights the different vocations—the ordained, laity, and religious—as well as the universal call to holiness. Start at part 1 here.   Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and...