Hi, my name is Bennett. I’m a Roman Catholic learning about my Faith every day. I love to talk about things that I learn, so I decided (with God’s grace) to try and do so on the Internet. Hopefully both you and I will learn and grow in the Faith as we make this journey.
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Saturday Aug 26, 2023
Saturday Aug 26, 2023
There is a debate raging throughout the world about whether or not Faith and Science can coexist, and if not, which will triumph. This debate is silly, though, for reasons that I explain in this episode.
Released August 26, 2023.
Saturday Jul 22, 2023
Saturday Jul 22, 2023
Last month, I talked about the first four Beatitudes. This month, I finish what I started by talking about the latter four Beatitudes. You don't need to listen to Part One first to understand this one.
If you are interested in requesting a topic about the Faith, check out my Patreon page: patreon.com/youngcatholic
Released July 22, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
The word "beatitude" sounds like a shortening of the words "beautiful" and "attitude", right? The words really have nothing to do with each other, but in this episode I interpret the first four Beatitudes as beautiful attitudes that we can have in our lives. Be sure to be on the lookout for part two, where I will talk about the remaining four Beatitudes.
Released June 24, 2023.
Saturday May 27, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
Recently, I've found myself being distracted. By distracted, I mean completely forgetting about or ignoring God for short periods of time. It's caused me to lose hope and to be all around miserable. Being distracted like this is not fun, but it's also not hard. This episode is about noticing distractions in your life and how to fight them. I'm pretty new to the subject myself, but I hope this episode helps.
Released May 26, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
This month I talk about Eucharistic Adoration. Adoration is awesome. It's brought me plenty of joy, and so now I hope to share that joy with you.
My Patreon page is patreon.com/youngcatholic if you feel called to support me in that way, want to submit a question, or, hopefully, both!
Released April 22, 2023
Saturday Mar 25, 2023
Saturday Mar 25, 2023
Have you ever wondered why obedience is preached about so much? I for one have always thought that obedience is over preached and, honestly, quite boring. But now that I've looked into it, I've found that it's a pretty interesting topic. Here's my brief analysis on the virtue of obedience and why it is so important.
Released March 25, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
This is a dangerous one. It is true that God wants you to be happy, but what does that mean? In this episode, I explain my thoughts on what happiness is, and how God wants to give it to us.
Released February 25, 2023.
Saturday Jan 28, 2023
Saturday Jan 28, 2023
To clarify, this episode is a response to the TED Talk '"Everything Happens for a Reason" -- and Other Lies I've Loved' by Kate Bowler. In it she explains that she had been lied to by a Christian mentality called the "Prosperity Gospel". This episode explains how the Prosperity Gospel is wrong, and what the truth about suffering is.
Released January 28, 2023
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
So, I read the entire Bible. In this episode, I talk about a few things that I noticed about it. There isn't a main point to the episode, it's just a few things that I found interesting. I also try to be a little funny.
Released December 24, 2022. Merry Christmas!
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
In this episode, I try to prove that Jesus is really God. Hopefully, this is a faith-booster or maybe another argument for your Christian toolbelt. In fact, I hope that all of these episodes bless you in some way. Please keep vocations in your prayers - an increased response to all vocations or maybe even to know your own vocation. What God wants is always what is best for us.
Released November 26, 2022
Thanks to the support of some generous patrons, the earliest episodes of Young Catholic Speaks are still available for you to listen to. You see, running this podcast isn't free, and I have to have a subscription to keep more than 20 episodes available at a time.
You can help, though! I am using a service called Patreon to allow y'all to essentially subscribe to Young Catholic Speaks. By supporting me with money, I can make sure that all of my episodes are available for everyone to listen to. I understand that a paid subscription might seem fishy. After all, I'm trying to preach the Gospel, not sell the Gospel. Therefore, I'm not locking any content behind the subscription. Instead, the benefit of being a patron on Patreon is that you can submit questions about the Faith that I might answer on a future episode.
Please pray about beoming a patron and thank you for listening to Young Catholic Speaks. My Patreon page is patreon.com/youngcatholic
This is the website for the podcast Young Catholic Speaks. I publish a new episode every 4th Saturday of the month (God willing).
In this podcast, I talk about various religious subjects from my young, Catholic perspective. I usually encourage listeners (hopefully you!) to take an action outside of listening to my episode. Sometimes this requires you to go outside of your comfort zone. For example, in my first episode, "What You Can Do To Help End Abortion", I encourage my listeners to write a letter to President Biden asking him to reconsider his stance on the legality of abortion. I challenge you to carry out these suggestions.
"The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort.
You were made for greatness."
-Pope Benedict XVI
In the episode "Holydays", I talk about a way to grow in our relationship with God. This method of looking at our Faith Life is just a way that I've discovered that works for me. It might not work for everybody. Also, be sure to remember that I am young, and not a clergyman. These are my amateur thoughts.
I like to resolve to do good works, such as prayer of acts of love to my neighbor (by loving our neighbor, we love God as well). By making resolutions, I make a firm commitment to at least try a new good work for a while and see if it is a good fit for my life. These resolutions are not permanent and can be removed if I find it too difficult; I can always try again later. If they are a good fit, I just keep doing it. One can use these questions to evaluate what they are doing in their lives to try to be close to God:
1. What good works have I resolved to do to be close to God? The good works can be anything from prayer to sacrifices to volunteering. As an example, let's suppose that somebody has resolved to read the Bible every day and park away from the building in parking lots.
2. Have I been consistent in fulfilling these resolutions? By consistent, I mean have I performed my good work as often as I resolved to do it? If the resolutions are not being fulfilled consistently, then it is important to ask why. If a resolution is too difficult for any reason, then it can be removed or reduced. In the case of our example, that would mean reading the Bible every day and parking in the inferior parking spots every time that person can. If this person doesn't park in the back of the parking lot every time, then they should ask why. Maybe they have knee trouble, so extra walking isn't good for them, and another good work would be better for them.
3. Am I comfortable with my resolutions or are they still challenging? This is best explained with our example. If the person parks in the front of the parking lot, realizes that they had resolved to park in the back of the parking lot, and then repark, then they are not comfortable with their resolutions. If they habitually park in the back of the parking lot and read the Bible every day, then they are comfortable with their resolutions, and a new resolution can be added. If not, that's OK, because it takes plenty of time to get into a habit.
4. What is a good work that I eventually want to incorporate into my life? This can be a big goal (like a daily Rosary or praying the Liturgy of the Hours), or a small goal (like going to Confession once a month). In the case of our example, this person eventually wants to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every day.
5. What small step can I take to get closer to, or reach, that goal when I am comfortable with my resolutions? In our example, the next step might be to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy once a week (on Fridays would probably be preferable). It is crucial that one is comfortable with their resolutions before they add another one. Trying to do too much can cause us to overload ourselves and dislike doing good works. God wants us to joyfully serve Him, so make sure that what you are doing is something that you enjoy doing for God.
And remember that rest is also important. These resolutions are not supposed to be burdens. A good resolution could be to take time every day and just do nothing. Spend time with God in silence. Do not think that your love for God is measured only by what you resolve to do. It really is not measured at all. If this method of making resolutions is burdening you and not bringing you closer to God, then stop using it, and ask God how you can get closer to Him. The only thing that is certain about everybody's relationship with God is that is needs to constantly be growing. Other than that, we are all different.
Bennett is the writer, host, and editor of Young Catholic Speaks. Although he is an introvert, he has enjoyed public speaking since his mom got him into theater when he was in kindergarten. He believes that language is one of the greatest gifts God has given to us and that we must use it to spread the Gospel. In his free time, Bennett enjoys praying, playing video/board/card games, acting, helping at his youth group, telling jokes, laughing at them, and overthinking everything.