Brian Holdsworth

Join Fishers Network at: https://www.fishersnetwork.com/ Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca As many of you know now, I recently had the privilege of being a guest on Matt Fradd’s Pints with Aquinas Podcast/YouTube channel and I finally have been able to listen to it all the ay through. As I did so, I was a little bothered by something – which is that Matt kept asking a question that I would start to answer and then, maybe the conversation would head in another direction or maybe I just didn’t feel confident in answering it to the extent that it required. But whatever the reason, I don’t feel like I answered it very well. So I wanted to take some time to answer it now after having given it a little more thought. So, the question was, “What do we do now?” What he specifically meant was, in examining all the discouraging and distressing news in the world and especially in the Church, with the synod, with corruption scandals, with the rehabilitation of known serial abusers in the Church – if you’re in the habit of paying attention to Church news, which I am to a certain degree, there’s just so much that could cause one someone to lose their faith or their hope, and so what should we do about that? What should our response as lay people be? And I don’t think he meant, what should people with a platform do about it. I think he just meant what should your average, pew sitting faithful Catholic layperson do? Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca I recently read an article in which a prominent bishop in the Church of England said that the opening words of the Our Father may be problematic because of their association with patriarchy. And of course, the takeaway here, is that when two things are different and somehow need to work together, one or both must change. In this case, we’re talking about a fundamental, defining characteristic in Christianity, the Lord’s Prayer, and it’s incompatibility with modern assumptions about morality informed by creeds like feminism, liberalism, and egalitarianism. And in this case, it isn’t that they both need to change, it’s that Christianity is the one that needs to change, because it’s the problematic one. Patriarchy is assumed to be an evil that must be suppressed, and since it may be associated with titles like Father, for God, then that’s problematic. And this way of thinking isn’t exclusive to the Church of England. I could take a survey among mass going Catholics at the parish closest to my house and I guarantee more than a few would sympathize with this criticism of the Lord’s Prayer – so called because it’s the one that Jesus taught us. What this reveals, is where a person’s fundamental loyalty lies. When they consider some moral dilemma, where do they turn first for inspiration. Is it to what the Christian creed says, or some foreign and incompatible creed? Because modern liberalism and feminism are incompatible with Christianity – if they weren’t, then neither would have to change. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Find out more by visiting: https://www.fishersnetwork.com Over the past few years, I’ve watched people that I care about lose their jobs, their homes, and their good name because of the way that society treats people with Catholic views. And as a member of their community, I felt helpless to do anything about it because we aren’t mobilized as a community to respond in a collective way, which is what is needed. And minorities are great at doing this kind of thing. You seem them mitigating these kinds of vulnerabilities because they recognize that, as a minority, they are vulnerable. But Catholics seem to take pride in being as exposed to the world as possible or perhaps it’s because we’re the largest religion in the world, so we don’t need to protect our community at all. Well, the fact is, especially for faithful Catholics, we are a minority and if we want to ensure the vitality of our communities, we need to be more deliberate about adopting measures that will strengthen those communities. What the current trends in our culture and professional sphere have taught me is that our indifference and lack of action on something that the Popes have been calling for, for a long time, has consequences and those consequences reveal themselves in times like what we have been living through more recently. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Just wanted to quickly make an announcement that is going to dramatically change things for me and could make a significant positive change in the life of the Church. Stay connected to the development and future announcements for Fishers Network by joining the waiting list: https://www.fishersnetwork.com Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca When I first visited the Vatican, I expected to hear someone make this remark: "Look at how much money the Church has. They should use this to help the poor instead of horde it all to themselves." But honestly, the immediate irony of the person saying that was astonishing to me. Let’s start by admitting something. St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the most laudable achievements of human art, design, engineering, and frankly, guts. It’s one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and it’s overwhelming when you stand in there. So, yes, it required a significant investment of resources and time to complete. But when people make this criticism, I can’t help but question the sincerity of it, especially when it’s someone who stood in line to get in to see it. If you’re so indignant about the moral compromises required to create that masterpiece, then why are you there viewing and enjoying it? The fact that he was there, touring it, shows that he has some measure of appreciation for the fact that it exists. And this was no small effort on his part. He flew halfway around the world to see it, like I did. You wouldn’t catch me, or most people, doing that to see Oprah’s house. And for the person who made this vocal complaint to the rest of the tour group, as someone who is positioning himself as a champion of the poor, so thoroughly invested in their cause, I find it surprising that in his labouring for their benefit, he somehow escaped being confronted with the fact that the Catholic Church, does more to care for the needs of the poor than any other organization on the planet. And yet, this is the first complaint made when visiting the landmark that sits at the heart of the Catholic Church? Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/jEDp0WV_DHA?si=S8tQajkWFJQ-w0Dm Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Watch the whole video here: https://youtu.be/ATz2kDYBAUk Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca The things you choose to do, more than anything else, will shape who and what you become. For example, if I choose to exercise and eat healthy every day, I will become a fit person. Those choices will shape who I am and form part of my identity. If instead, I give into my appetite and emotions which will inevitably compete with whatever resolution I might make to get in shape – like sleep in instead of going to the gym or start making poor eating choices, then I won’t achieve the goal of getting in shape. What we do with our intellect and our will is what determines who and what we are and it should be the basis for any identifying indicators for other people to assess us by. #identity #freewill #choice Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/8PkmJzFB5MI Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca This week I interviewed Dr. Peter Kwasniewski (https://www.peterkwasniewski.com/) about #sacred #music for Sunday mass and #Liturgy drawing from his new book Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence. In light of the fact that a recent Pew survey ranked Catholic music as the worst of any denomination, I think we need to to be more willing to talk about why, especially in light of the fact that this wasn't always the case. 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:00 - Why do we have music at Mass? 00:03:40 - Music can communicate more than speech can 00:09:27 - Music can make me a better person? 00:18:18 - Music doesn't lie 00:28:31 - What would Jesus prefer? 00:40:44 - Sacred v Profane 00:28:31 - What about Vatican II? 00:52:49 - Why Gregorian Chant? Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Today, nominalism is the prevailing philosophy in whatever is left of the Western tradition. According to a few statistics I read, most philosophers surveyed described themselves as nominalists. Nominalism holds that Universals, like woman, don’t exist, that these are just names that we give particulars. Like banana doesn’t exist, Banana is just a name we give to particular yellow things that are tricky to open but oh so rewarding if you can figure out how. Nominalism denies that the essence of a particular thing exists and says that when you say dog, or tree, or banana, you aren’t really saying anything about objective reality, just your own mind’s way of organizing things into categories and articulating them with names. But if we’re being honest, I don’t think anyone actually believes what they say about nominalism because it refutes itself in practice if not also in principle. It refutes the utility of using names to describe things. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com I think the ill effects of our current usage of technology as a method of escape are already becoming wildly apparent. As it tempts us to escape the real world more and more, you may notice that the real life you’ve been given is one that competes with your distractions and becomes something that you might resent instead of love as you ought to. There’s an old phrase that poses a dilemma about the nature of the good that goes like this: “Did men love Rome because she was great, or was she great because men loved her?”   And I would argue it’s the latter. A thing becomes great because it is well loved. A person can take an empty and infertile plot of land and then love the heck out of it and turn it into something great, something worthy of that love. And love in this sense, doesn’t mean like a strong affection, but to will the good of someone or something else and find that in so doing, the object of the lover becomes more lovable. A good parent, does this with a child every day. They take an ignorant and helpless human being, and they care for it’s good. They sacrifice their time, their energy, their bodies, and their resources, to turn that human into the best version of their potential. Love makes someone or something unremarkable into something great. This is true of all aspects of our lives – our education, our careers, our homes, our relationships. We can make them better by our willingness to embrace and love them. But we can also neglect them because of the sacrifices and the struggle that love requires, and instead choose to escape those responsibilities for our own selfish and fleeting amusement. And that’s how the real world and the real things that compete for our attention fall into decline and dilapidation Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca According to modern theories of #biology and #evolution, it is the fittest who survive – it is those who are best adapted to and integrated into their environment and who have been most conditioned by the world or reality and therefore best conformed to what is true and real. It is those who are most incompatible with the world and with reality that struggle to survive. They are, according to the theory, the weakest. And the surest sign of vitality and strength, is the ability to successfully reproduce. Furthermore, the adaptations that species have are evidence of something that is external to them. For example, a bird with a long beak, like a hummingbird, directs our attention to something external to it in the real world, like nectar hidden in small and hard to reach places which can only be retrieved with that long beak. A giraffe’s long neck directs our attention to the kinds of vegetation which makes them uniquely adapted for certain environments. The blubber of a seal points to the extremely cold climate and conditions that they inhabit. It tells us something, not just about the organism who lives, survives, and reproduces, but about the nature of reality that they inhabit. So what do we make of the fact that the samples of human beings that are most invigorated in their existence, most enthusiastic about being alive, and most enthusiastic about reproducing are religious? Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca My guest this week is involved in an insanely innovative and interesting project with wide reaching implications in which they are training an #AI system on the #magisterial teachings of the #Catholic Church. We discuss some of the liabilities and opportunities that such a tool can offer the #Church in enabling her mission. Matthew Sanders is the CEO of Longbeard, a digital technology and marketing agency, who is the force behind Magisterium AI. He has spent the last seven years in Rome and then Malta working with the Holy See and Pontifical universities to help them more effectively leverage digital technologies to promote the faith. He's also the CEO of the Humanity 2.0 Foundation, which is leading a consortium of public, private, and faith leaders working to identify and remove impediments to human flourishing. 00:00:00 - Title intro 00:00:40 - Intro to Magisterium AI 00:06:17 - What is the end goal? 00:11:01 - Dangers/Risks 00:15:41 - Effects on polarization 00:28:06 - How much does it know? 00:36:29 - Concerns about AI in general 00:43:55 - Why Can't you do this with the Bible? 00:48:48 - What's next? 00:49:48 - Departing message Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca Before I became a Catholic, I spent a lot of time in #Evangelical churches trying to find my fit and a popular platitude in those circles, at the time – and possibly still is, was, it’s not about #religion, it’s about #relationship. The takeaway being that religion, with its duties, practices, and disciplines is a negative distraction and that all you really need is a relationship with #Jesus. And It’s cathartic for me to say, all these years later, that this is really, really, badly, wrong. It’s illogical and it’s #unbiblical. Because this term “relationship” is a really nebulous and empty term. It just means that two or more things interact with one another, usually by proximity to each other. So, the sea has a relationship with the seashore. A tree has a relationship with the air. I have a relationship with my wife, but I also have a relationship with carpenter ants in the wall of my house. Everyone has a relationship with #God by virtue of the fact that he is the source of our being. We are derived from his being. He sustains us and allows us to be. Even the #devil has a relationship with God. There’s nothing special or notable about that. The key is that we ought to have the right kind of relationship with God and this is determined by HOW we interact with God – because there’s a right way and a wrong way. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca I recently read about a high-ranking prelate who remarked to the media that he wants to see clergy who fit in, who focus more attention on doing the kinds of things that lay people do like dressing casually and going bowling, rather than fixating on tradition and dogma. And frankly, I find this kind of opining from those with real authority a bit frustrating. As a Catholic, I’m not interested in what Steve, the private citizen’s opinions are. I want to know what Archbishop Stephen teaches by virtue of his apostolic authority – that wasn’t this particular prelates name by the way. When someone has an office with legitimate authority, it’s negligent if they avoid actually exercising that authority, instead, preferring to give interviews or make public remarks that have no authoritative content in them. And this is especially frustrating when the actually authoritative teachings of the Church stand in contrast to some of these remarks. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/ #WYD #worldyouthday #worldyouthday2023

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca While I was still exploring the Catholic Church, I was introduced to the accusation that Catholics are cannibals because of their belief about the bread and wine transforming into the literal body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. I actually had someone I worked with, who was Protestant, say this exact thing. And for the protestants that make this accusation, they come by it honestly. Martin Luther used this kind of rhetoric in “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church” and in John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, he describes the Catholic mass as “detestable cannibalism”. It draws an interesting parallel with the historical events of the very earliest Christians who were persecuted by pagan Romans under this exact same allegation. A Roman rhetorician named Minucius Felix made this claim to anyone who would listen prompting responses and explanations about what Christians actually believed and performed in their eucharistic celebrations by Hippolytus and St. Justin Martyr: namely that a prayer of blessing is prayed over the gifts of bread and wine which become the body and blood of Jesus. Which reveals two things to me: that Protestants who made and make this accusation have more in common with the Roman pagans who were bent on murdering Christians than they do with the early Christians, and secondly, that the early Christians practiced something that was just as easily confused with cannibalism as the Catholic mass. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca The particular kind of atheism I’m addressing here is the kind that says that only what can be materially observed and empirically measured is real and that if you want to assert anything as true, that is the kind of evidence you have to provide. And it is on such ground that they accuse religious believers of being superstitious because we cannot provide empirical evidence for our religious claims. So it is to this kind of atheist that I pose a question I don’t believe they can answer. The question is: is slavery wrong? And the reason I ask that question is because all respectable people will frantically trip over themselves to be the first to affirm that it is indeed wrong and I hear many atheists accuse the Bible of being morally inferior for not going far enough to condemn slavery. But I don’t believe that the atheist of the variety I described earlier can answer this question sufficiently. By that, I don’t mean that they don’t have answers, just that their answers are illogical and expose the inconsistency in the kinds of evidence that they demand of others to account for their beliefs. Because if you’re going to logically account for the truth of a statement, you have to be able to define the terms of that statement. Slavery is easiest enough to define so I won’t bother doing so here, but the word, “wrong” is one that I’ve never heard defined in a way that is consistent with atheism. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca it seems to be a given among most people that a globalized world facilitated by travel and communications technology is a larger, more diverse, and more expansive one. But I’d argue that the opposite is true. To whatever degree you embrace this notion of a global community, I think your experience and understanding of yourself and the world, will actually become narrower, more closed-in, and more homogenous. What that expansion of our horizons actually does, is it gives us an unhealthy ability to pick and choose what aligns best to our preexisting preferences. Think about a huge supermarket where I can find the most eclectic arrangement of foods and goods that perfectly suit my temperament, mood, and preferences so that there is hardly a limit on the specificity of my wants and desires. I can be as self-centered in that process of selection as I might like. What I end up with isn’t a greater diversity of goods which challenge my selfish preferences and forces me to be more open to new experiences, but instead only those things which reflect back to me the person I already am. Whereas a small local corner store, with a limited selection, is one that isn’t going to have everything that is exactly calibrated to my selfish tendencies. Instead, it’s going to have a selection that forces me to choose things that I wouldn’t otherwise if there was more variety. I’m going to have to buy the only kind of apples they carry, rather than my favourite from a selection of 5 different kinds. I’m going to have to take whatever kind of coffee they carry, rather than choose my very special preference from a selection of dozens – and so on. And so I’m forced to experience true variety and diversity by having my range of options limited to those things that I otherwise wouldn’t choose if I didn’t have to. The small and the local is actually the most varied, exotic, and diverse experience of the world you can have because it is filled with a variety that you wouldn’t choose for yourself, forcing you to stretch and grow in maturity. I'm becoming more and more convinced that something of this principle applies to the temptation to shop around for different churches that suit our preferences just right. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca My original video: https://youtu.be/0I05643Pbxo Dr. Ortlund's Response: https://youtu.be/Zf3EnFfIspk Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/

Support the channel by visiting https://brianholdsworth.ca by Protestant, I mean anyone affiliated with a church tradition that is descended from Luther’s break with the Catholic Church. If you’re someone who looks back at that historical controversy, like I did when I first became a Christian, and sides with Luther on it, then you’re Protestant. If you don’t agree with Luther’s reasoning, then you should be Catholic. So, in examining Protestant theology, that’s where I look. What were the contentions of Luther and the people that rallied around him which is documented for us in statements like the Augsburg confession. With that said, the question that I don’t believe Protestant theology, as described by Luther and the Augsburg confession is: Can God commit injustice? If you say yes to that, then you depart company with the vast majority of apostolic and creedal Christianity which held that God is the Logos as described by St. John in his Gospel which means it is his nature to be reasonable and coherent. God cannot be incoherent for it would violate his very nature and unity. And God, as scripture routinely reminds us is just and therefore incapable of injustice without being akin to the demonic divided house which Jesus says cannot stand in Matthew 12. So, if you’re a Christian, I hope we agree that God cannot commit injustice, but what then are we to make of God’s mercy and forgiveness for our sins? Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/