Simply Holy with Marge Fenelon

What do you do when someone hits you with a nasty comment or unwarranted accusation? When they make you so mad that you want to hit back? It seems we’re confronted with such situations left and right these days from people and angles we might never have expected. What is the Christian response when someone verbally attacks you either in person or online? You hit back – hard – with the most powerful weapon you have. Learn what that weapon is and five steps for dealing with insults, mud-slinging, fight-picking, and false accusations in a calm, Christian manner that will foster holiness.

 What Will You Give Your Mother on Her Birthday? After a brief sabbatical to recover from the loss of her mother-in-law, Marge is back to bring you more joy, inspiration, and simply everyday spirituality. In this episode Marge asks the question, “What will you give your mother for her birthday?” The mother she’s referring to, however, isn’t your human mother. It’s your heavenly Mother – Mary – and her birthday is September 8. The Nativity of the Blessed Mother is cause for universal rejoicing, as St. John Damascene said. What might that rejoicing look like? How can you celebrate the birthday of a divine rather than human mother? Marge explains how that can be done and gives three great ways to really celebrate your Mother’s birthday. And yes, cake and ice cream is included!

Born and raised in a staunch Norwegian Lutheran family. Paula’s journey led her away from the Lutheran faith and into a long period of spiritual disengagement. A change meeting introduced her to a community of Camaldolese Benedictine monks and the beauty of the Catholic Church was opened up to her. The gentleness and devotion of these holy monks paved the way for her to become a Camaldolese Benedictine Oblate – a decision she not only hasn’t regretted, but whole-heartedly embraces.

In the past several weeks, there have been 50 recorded incidents of churches, parishes, and religious statues being destroyed in the United States and Canada. That list continues to grow. This is a cause for great concern, but not for hopelessness. Buildings, parishes and statues are structures that can be defaced and destroyed, but our faith cannot – as long as we cling to Christ and his Mother. Using the wisdom of St. Paul and the inspiring story of Ireland’s Ballintubber Abbey, “The Abbey That Refused to Die,” Marge offers words of encouragement and four steps to counter persecution and the bad news we’re inundated with day after day.

Sonja Corbitt tells her story of conversion from the Southern Baptist Church and her eventual journey into the Lay Carmelites. She describes what attracted her to the Carmelite spirituality, what it means to be a Lay Carmelite, and how it has helped her in her striving for holiness.

Have your prayers become rote and lifeless? Do you feel as though you are stuck in a rut where prayer is only so many words? In this episode, Marge shares five great and simple ways to get out of the rut and into fruitful communication with God.

This is the third episode in the Simply Holy series, “Springtime in the Church,” which explores the unique and often little-known ways in which lay persons serve the Church through Third Orders, Oblates, Secular Institutes, Prelatures, Associations of the Christian Faithful, Ecclesial Movements, New Communities, Apostolates, and the like. St. John Paul II referred to these men and women as the “Springtime in the Church.” Marge chats with author and blogger Justin Vanlee McClain about his joy in living the life of a Lay Dominican. A husband, father of four (with one on the way), High School Theology and Spanish teacher, Justin tells how his Catholic faith is complemented and his life enriched by his Dominican spirituality.