Tag: featured

PWJ: S2E2.5 – Bonus – “The language we use…”

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This week is a short episode and Matt and I are not discussing The Great Divorce. Instead I talk about an interaction I recently had on Facebook and how we’d all be better off if we took to heart a little piece of Lewisian wisdom…

Please send any objections, comments or questions, either via email through my website or tweet us @pintswithjack or message us via Instagram!

S2E2.5: “The language we use, and wishing black was a little blacker…” (Download)

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, Stitcher and TuneIn).

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PWJ: S4E86 – AH – “After Hours” with Diana Glyer

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Today a new book about Jack’s “Space Trilogy” is released! Former guest of the show, Dr. Diana Glyer, returns with some of her students to talk about their new book, A Compass For Deep Heaven.

S4E86: “After Hours” with Dr. Diana Glyer (Download)

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast), as well as on YouTube. The roadmap for Season 4 is available here.

More information about us can be found on our website, PintsWithJack.com. If you’d like to support us and get fantastic gifts, please join us on Patreon.

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Story Time!

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While I was in Washington DC for the March For Life last year, I was invited to a party. Honestly, this English accent of mine gets me in everywhere… 🙂

Anyway, each guest was asked to come prepared with a relatively unknown Saint story to share with the everyone else. Clearly this party was organized by my kind of Catholic nerd! Naturally, I told the story of this blog’s patron, St. Drogo.

However, I also came prepared with another story, not about a Saint, but about a Saint’s brother. Since it was recently the ordination anniversary of my former Pastor, Fr. Robert, I thought it would be appropriate to share that story today.

Jerome

Many of you might have heard of St Jerome. He was a great biblical scholar of the Early Church and he was the one who produced the Vulgate, the official translation into Latin of the original Biblical texts. This story is about Jerome’s younger brother Paulinian, sometimes known as Paulinanus.

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Temple of Friendship

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Today I’d like to ramble a little bit about the subject of “friendship” as it has been on my mind recently. In fact, one of my New Year Resolutions this year was as follows:

Resolution #6. Invest more time in friendships
I have some really good friends. I should spend more time with them.

This was inspired by one of my favourite Bible pages from the Deuterocanon:

Let your acquaintances be many, but one in a thousand your confidant.
When you gain a friend, first test him, and be not too ready to trust him.
For one sort is a friend when it suits him, but he will not be with you in time of distress.
…
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.

– Sirach 6:6-17

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Staying Fetus-Focused

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Continuing the series of posts on the subject of abortion, I would like to discuss a strategy which you might consider adopting when talking about abortion with those who are pro-choice.

Types of Objection

I would suggest that, when we’re talking about abortion, the discussion really needs to focus on the unborn themselves. What actually are they? In the process of having an abortion, what exactly is being killed?

Embryo

You see, when pro-choice advocates object to the pro-life position, their objections fall into one of two categories:

1. On-topic Objections
These objections are fetus-focussed. For example, if someone says “It’s just a clump of cells”, their objection is on-topic and allows us to discuss the central issue: the unborn child.

2. Off-topic Objections
These objections relate to some peripheral issue and don’t concern the unborn themselves. For example, these following arguments are sometimes given in favour of abortion:

(a) “The world is overpopulated”

(b) “Raising a child is extremely expensive”

(c) “Not all children will have a stable home life”

(d) …

All of these objections are off-topic.

With regards to the off-topic objections, pro-lifers and pro-choicers will, by and large, agree that the problem being raised does need to be addressed by society. For example, both groups want to see poverty eradicated, vulnerable women protected, children born into stable, nurturing homes. However, the difference is those who are pro-life don’t think that the problem raised is sufficient justification for the killing of a defenseless, innocent life.

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Lectionary Notes Update

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The Past

For the last few weeks I have not been pleased with the quality of the Lectionary Notes I’ve produced. They have seemed terse and inadequate and, even to produce notes of this mediocre quality, have consumed a substantial amount of time during my week.

As you may have noticed, no notes were posted this week…

Empty Book

The Present

Recently I have been trying to cut down on activities in an attempt to get a little bit more balance in my life. I haven’t felt that I’ve been doing justice to all my different responsibilities by spreading myself so thinly.

burn candle at both ends

The Future

I’ve therefore decided to no longer produce Lectionary Notes each week (Don’t worry though, I won’t be Vandapooling!). However, despite this news, I am not planning to give up these notes either completely or permanently…

I originally began producing the notes for whomever was leading Bible study at the JP2 Group. Since most members of this Young Adult group have now led Bible study several times, I will now only produce my notes if the person leading that week is leading for the first time. For those more experienced leaders, I will simply point them to my Lectionary Resources post.

Over the lifetime of this blog I have produced commentary for forty-two different Sundays which, if one includes the vigils and feast days, is approximately 18% of the Lectionary. It would be great to reach 100% coverage, writing a complete commentary for the entire Lectionary. If the Lord grants me the years and the opportunity, I would love to pick it up regularly once again and complete it…

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