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Not much is known about the life of Saint Joseph, and no words were ever written being attributed to him in scripture, yet our Holy Father Pope Francis has attributed this Jubilee year to this very important, yet obscure, saint. Join Father Andy, Vince, and Father Dan Hoffman as they discuss this saint and this important year in our lives. Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father In the midst of crisis, confusion, and a world at war with the Church, it’s time to come home again to our spiritual father, St. Joseph. In this richly researched and lovingly presented program of consecration to St. Joseph, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, brings to life the wonders, the power, and the ceaseless love of St. Joseph, Universal Patron of the Church and the Terror of Demons. Click here to view this book on Amazon Fr. Dan Hoffman Father Dan Hoffman is the pastor of Our Lady of the Lake parish in Edinboro, PA, and the chaplain to Edinboro University. Our Lady of the Lake Parish Website Our Lady of the Lake Parish Facebook The post Year of St. Joseph appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Saint Thomas Aquinas speaks on virtue and its place in the Christian Life. Join Vince and Father Andy as they discuss virtue with AJ Gedney. The post Virtue appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

As the Jewish people waited for their Messiah, they were expecting a great military leader to descend from the heavens and lead them into war against the occupying forces: the Romans and their empire. What they didn’t expect was a child king to appear to them, yet that is exactly what the prophets had proclaimed for generations before. The prophets also proclaimed that we would enter into warfare, but not the type of warfare that people expected. Rather, Jesus the Christ came to us, leading us in a spiritual warfare. We know how this war ends: the Christ wins; peace will be upon us all; we shall enter into the Heavenly Kingdom. That does not mean that we sit back and watch, rather we must enter into battle. We are not fighting a physical war, but rather one that requires special attention: prayer. Our world is in chaos, and we must respond in LOVE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, PRAYER. Join Father Andy and Vince as they discuss the importance of prayer in this time of our lives. The post Spiritual Warfare appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

What a strange year we have had! Who would have guessed all that we would have to face one year ago? Join the gang as they discuss this past year and look forward to the next! The post Another Year Over and a New One Just Begun appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

“Look Daddy! Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!” In the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” there are many Christian themes hidden, and sometimes blatantly staring at the viewer. For instance, one very obvious theme is that life is sacred and worthy of protection. Join Father Andy and Brother Barnabas as they, with the help of AJ, try to convince Vince of these Christian themes, and enjoy this wonderful Christmas classic! The post Merry Christmas Mr. Potter! appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

We often hear questions like “if the Catholic Church is the one true church, then how is there corruption in it?” or hear statements like “I love the Church and Her liturgies, but I cannot support a church that permits horrible things from happening.” Both of these statements/questions are feelings that people have, but how can one support an institution that is not perfect? Join Father Andy and Vince as they discuss these thoughts. The post The Actions of Men appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

What are those liturgical seasons, and why does the Church have them? Join Father Andy and AJ Gedney as they discuss the Liturgical Seasons of the Church and their purpose. The post Liturgical Seasons appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Entering into Advent can be difficult. Add on the pandemic, and this can just be crazy! In a way, it would be easy just to slip into the secular Christmas season, but there’s so much more that we can do to Encounter Christ this Advent Season. Join Vince, Father Andy, AJ Gedney, Br. Barnabas, and a new guest, Jesse Spanogle as they discuss Advent and how to enter deeper into this season. *We apologize for the beginning of our episode today! Our recording equipment failed and we lost the first ten minutes of the episode! We hope to fix this issue permanently in future episodes! He Leadeth Me: An Extraordinary Testament of Faith Into Your Hands, Father: Abandoning Ourselves to the God Who Loves Us Fr. Mike Schmitz – The True Meaning of Advent The post Advent – A Season of Preparation, a Season of Hope appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Can you believe it? It’s been a year since we started this journey. We could have never guessed where we would be one year later, but we thank God for the opportunity to share our faith with you! Join Vince, Fr. Andy, Br. Barnabas, and A.J. as they look back on this past year and plan for the future. The post Celebrate! appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Entering into contemplative prayer can be difficult, but is an important part of our spiritual journey. This difficult journey can lead to a greater peace in our daily lives, and therefore is something we all should try to tackle. Join Vince and Father Andy as they discuss this journey. The post Entering into Contemplative Prayer appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Recently, a survey was taken of all Christian believers on key points to the Christian Faith. This survey is very misleading for a Catholic, and requires some deep thinking. These 35 questions are basically true or false questions, but they can be very misleading. Join Father Andy and Vince as they go through the 35 questions, found on The State of Theology. Click here to filter to only Roman Catholic responses (RC in gray, all others in orange) The post The State of Theology appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

No, not the awful movie, but rather the reality of angels and their fallen counterparts, demons. What might seem like a scary topic really is an important discussion of our faith. Join Vince, Father Andy, and Father Joe on their discussions of angels, demons, and how it affects our day to day life of faith. The post Angels and Demons appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

We chat often about prayer on this podcast, and there’s good reason for that. Prayer is the most important aspect of our daily life. We need to make sure that we are spending time in prayer each and every day. But how do we do this? Join AJ and Brother Barnabas this week as they discuss forming habits that build a healthy prayer life. The post Forming Habits Around Prayer appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

How does someone become a Saint, and who can become saints? What is their role and why ask their intercession? Join Fr. Andy and Vince as they discuss the Saints today! The post Making a Saint appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Knowing yourself and who you are is important; it allows for each of us to come to a greater understanding of our motives, and what makes us tick. An old phrase often spoken about this topic is self-knowledge leads to self-acceptance, which leads to self-gift. Join Brother Barnabas and AJ this week as they journey along the path of self-knowledge. The post Self-Knowledge appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Our world is currently in turmoil, and the world seems to be falling apart. With that, there have been attacks on our church, both physically and spiritually. What does this mean for us, and what should we do about it? Join Vince, Father Andy and AJ as they discuss these troubling times in our world. The post An Attack on Our Church appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

The Encounter Mercy Podcast with your host… AJ? Brother Barnabas? Wait… What happened? No, no, don’t adjust your device. Join Brother Barnabas and AJ, now new co-hosts, as they take over the podcast this week! Let us know what you think! AJ and Brother Barnabas will be co-hosting from time to time, providing some great banter and discussions. Let us know of any topics you would like to have discussed! The post Welcome Back To… appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Marriage is such an important union, and so taking care of a relationship is number one in our list. But what does that mean? Join Vince and Father Andy as they discuss this very important sacrament. The post Till Death Do Us Part – Part 2 appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Death: a topic we are careful to avoid. Have you ever thought about all the ways we allude to death in our speech without ever saying the word “death?” Passed on, fell asleep, went home, went to their reward, departed this earth, passed away, departed, gone, slipped away, lost the battle, succumbed to life, kicked the bucket, went to be with the Lord, went to Heaven, met his Maker, was called home, is in a better place, the list goes on. But why are we so afraid of saying it? Why are we so afraid of saying people die, and that we all will eventually die? Join Vince and Father Andy as they discuss death in the Christian life, and the importance to discuss death in our lives. The post Till Death Do Us Part – Part 1 appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.

Often we are asked why we are Catholic, or why the Catholic Church. Why not just join a more “hip,” or “up-to-date,” or more “with-the-times” church. Well, lots of good reasons! Join Father Andy, Vince, Brother Barnabas, and AJ Gedney as they discuss the reasons for the Church as they discuss often heard reasons against the Church. And no, don’t adjust your dial! We were experiencing lots of technical difficulties during this recording, so enjoy the random “bloopers” and out-takes. The post Why Catholic? appeared first on Encounter Mercy Podcast.