You may have heard that the Pope has convoked a synod on synodality…is this just a meeting about church bureaucracy?

As the preparatory document states, “by journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through Her experience which processes can help Her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open Herself to mission.”

Now, let’s allow Fr. Conrad and Fr. Alec break that down a bit more for us and explain why a synod on synodality is actually quite important.

An elderly pope who had to put up with the young Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI.

A push for unity behind the Crusade, return to Rome, and the tragic death of Frederick Barbarossa.

We often say that something was providential or that we were inspired by the Holy Spirit, but is discerning the action of the Holy Spirit that easy? How can we tell when it’s the Spirit prompting us to do something or when it’s more of our own action and impetus? In this episode Fr. Conrad and Fr. Alec Scott (he’s finally back!) discuss how we can discern the Spirit in humility!

Where are you going in your life and where might God be calling you? This phrase is from an apocryphal story about the death of St. Peter. Peter is heading out of Rome to escape persecution when Jesus passes him on the way, heading toward Rome. It’s not uncommon for us to ask the Lord where we are going, but it should be a question we ask of ourselves as well.

A really short papacy and the launch of the Third Crusade.

Fr. Conrad and Fr. Griffin begin this episode by discussing what NOT to do when giving a defense of the Faith. You may have great explanations for the various questions about the Faith, but if you don’t present it in a way that is well received it may not work out so well, or worse, you could turn someone away from the Faith. No worries, we end the episode with some practical tips on how to do apologetics well!

Another brief papacy, and a shocking battle with grave consequences.

The root of the word apologetics is “defense” and the idea of apologetics is that the Faith can be defended. Everything in the Faith can be defended against being called unreasonable, but apologetics isn’t everything, but it is an important piece of evangelization.

Check out Fr. Griffin’s book on dealing with apologetics, Cross-Examined!

A brief papacy and further disputes with Fredrick Barbarossa.