Catholic Conversations with Deacon Dance Deacon Dance Farrell

Here in the midst of Lent, we are called to all sorts of penances. Are they the right penances? Are we really doing what God has called us to do this Lent, or are we doing Lent for ourselves? In this session, Deacon Dance talks about finding the true penance we need, and why that is so important in our growth towards God, and the fulfillment of our human purpose.

Time is something we all take for granted, a reality we think must be exactly as we experience it. Modern science and our understanding of the nature of God may tell us a very different story!

As we end our liturgical year this week, I thought it a good time to reflect on one of God’s great gifts to us, the gift of time. Think of this, the angels were not given this same reality, and the way we see time now is not a permanent one. In heaven, time works very differently indeed!

Sharing a bit on our understanding of time with Einstein, we try to get a grasp on what time really is, and see how that relates to how the Church celebrates sacred time.

As a fun aside, I share with you this video on understanding time after Einstein!

Phew, finally a happy topic! Heaven is our ultimate goal, the end for which we are made that fills our hearts with every true desire. The things we think we want are nothing in comparison to the things God has in store for us!

Before we can really talk about heaven though, we need to chat a bit about purgatory too. Purgatory can be a confusing topic, so we’ll break it down in to some easy to understand ideas to help you get a good general picture.

Also, I wanted to drop a link to some of St Faustina’s writing, as I have used it a great deal in this short series. You can find it here if you like. In fact, expect me to use her again later on when I start talking about Divine Mercy! Sr. Maria Faustina Kowalska – “Diary: Divine Mercy in my Soul”

Blessings of Christ to all of you!

Hell is a topic that none of us ever want to talk about, but it is an important meditation for us all. This second episode in our “Last Things” series goes in depth on the dangers of Hell, talks about how the modern world has ignored or disregards Hell, and walks through visions of Hell had by the Saints.

In this Podcast, I reference an article by Carol Meyer on National Catholic Reporter titled, “Debunking the myth of hell”.

As a postscript, some of you may notice there is no CCDD 002…

This is an accident, I mislabeled it 003. My OCD is going nuts, but it makes more sense to just leave it alone!

In the month of November, we especially remember the end of time, and those things leading up to it. For us, this means looking towards our own death. What exactly happens when we die? We all know this will happen to us, but we seldom take the time to really look at how our life will impact this single most important moment.

In this episode, Deacon Dance walks through the nitty gritty of death, what we can expect will happen, and how to prepare for the end we all will have to face. May we all face this moment with joy instead of fear!

Deacon Craig and I talk about our formation class, the use of latin, the role of a deacon, and the growing rift in the Church surrounding traditional liturgy.

Deacon Brown has been a religion teacher for 26 years at Saint Bernard’s Academy, and is a deacon for St. Joseph’s Parish in Fortuna, California, as well as a Vietnam Veteran for the Coast Guard. He is a founding member of the local order of Secular Franciscans, and has dedicated his life to serving youth and his community. He also has a great beard, and only wears sandals. (with socks!)