The Catholic Experience cover art

The Catholic Experience

The Catholic Experience

By: Fiat Media
Listen for free

About this listen

 A journey through the highs and lows of living the Catholic faith in the modern world. Hosted by The Catholic Adventurer, this podcast offers a candid and thought-provoking exploration of Catholic spirituality, theology, and culture.Fiat Media Christianity Politics & Government Spirituality
Episodes
  • A True Saint in the Making

    A True Saint in the Making
    Sep 8 2025

    The Church has just canonized young St. Carlo Acutis. A new, young saint who had all the markers of holiness from a young age. Perhaps this is the perfect time to publish this episode about my encounter with another young saint in the making. It’s the reason that I launched The Saint Foundry.
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic Response

    Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic Response
    Aug 16 2025

    Do aliens exist? Drawing from Scripture, theology, and the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas, I take on one of the most intriguing questions in our time. I explore why belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life is not only unlikely but also theologically problematic. But this is also a lesson about angels and demons! It’s a necessary component, not random. I talk about the nature of angels and demons, examine UFO sightings with both logic and faith, and explain why what people often call “aliens” may be better understood as demonic manifestations—or even human technology cloaked in secrecy. BONUS: What if these ARE aliens? They’re not. But as a fun thought experiment, I explain why, if these are aliens, humanity should be very afraid!

    This isn’t just a conversation about outer space—it’s a deep reflection on man’s unique place in creation, God’s order, and the spiritual battles that shape our world.
    Show notes, chapters found below

    📖 Show Notes

    Key Topics Covered:

    • Scripture on Humanity’s Place in Creation: Genesis 1 and Colossians 1 reveal why mankind is God’s highest earthly creation, making other intelligent species unnecessary.
    • The Redundancy Problem: Why God wouldn’t create another race of “men” with free will and intellect on another planet.
    • UFO Sightings Examined: Natural phenomena, government technology, or something spiritual? Why most footage fails the logic test.
    • Theological Issues with Aliens: Would they need a Redeemer? If so, who—and how? Why Christ’s one sacrifice makes alien redemption impossible.
    • Angels and Demons 101: What Aquinas teaches about angelic nature, free will, infused knowledge, and why demons can manifest physically—with limits.
    • Demonic Deception: How alleged ghostly encounters and UFO sightings may be tactics to confuse, terrorize, and pull us away from God.
    • A Thought Experiment: If aliens did exist, could God allow them as punishment for mankind’s global transgressions—similar to Israel’s history in Scripture?

    Takeaway

    Aliens? No. Angels and demons? Yes. Our faith and reason point to humanity’s unique place in creation—and warn us not to be distracted by phenomena that might, in reality, be spiritual deceptions.

    CHAPTERS

    00:00 Introduction and Tonight's Topic

    00:54 Exploring the Existence of Aliens

    02:58 Scriptural Insights and Human Uniqueness

    08:14 Analyzing UFO Sightings and Theological Implications

    25:49 Debating

    39:04 Understanding Angels and Demons

    • (00:00) - Introduction and Tonight's Topic
    • (01:16) - Exploring the Existence of Aliens
    • (03:20) - Scriptural Insights and Human Uniqueness
    • (08:36) - Analyzing UFO Sightings and Theological Implications
    • (26:11) - Debating the Nature of Alien Spacecraft
    • (26:52) - Understanding Angels and Demons
    • (39:30) - Theological Implications of Aliens
    • (48:45) - Engaging with the Community and Final Thoughts
    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
  • You're Not Real (and how you can be!)

    You're Not Real (and how you can be!)
    Aug 11 2025
    In this lively and deeply reflective episode of The Catholic Experience, the Catholic Adventurer tackles the provocative theme: “God is Real. You Are Not.” Drawing from theology, personal testimony, and real-time audience interaction, I unpack what it means to become “real”—the True version of what God envisioned when he "thought you up", before you came into the world.— shedding the distortions of sin and returning to the person God originally envisioned. But I talk about a lot more than that! See show notes below.NOTE: See your player/app for chapters, if supported (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and several other podcast apps support the feature)LINKSCatholicExperience.FM: Episodes, video episodes (when available), articles, exclusives. Subscribe for weekly updates and announcements, and bypass the algorithm! Be part of the tribe, not just a bystander The Live Sessions podcast: Raw, largely unedited, casual live sessions streamed to social media. This link goes to the podcast's page on Substack, with latest episodes, and links to other podcast networks/apps that carry the podcast.The Waypoint Dispatch newsletter: Brief articles or summaries of what I've published to my Substack throughout the week. Subscribing is free!Major Segments & FlowIntro & ContextLighthearted confession about “fraud podcaster” status (episode meant for Live Sessions).Explanation of the difference between Live Sessions and The Catholic Experience.Push for direct listener connection via CatholicExperience.fm.Main Theme: “You Are Not Real”Theological explanation: God’s perfect idea of you vs. what sin and life’s experiences have shaped.How original sin, personal sin, and life’s hardships distort God’s vision.Holiness as the process of “becoming real” — becoming who God originally thought up.Practical Implications of HolinessThe holier you are, the more “real” you feel and the more you experience life differently.How holiness intensifies your joy in good things and sharpens your awareness of what needs to change.Challenges & AnalogiesThe road to sainthood likened to The Lord of the Rings: highs, lows, and being pursued by darkness.The need for perseverance, toughness, and embracing both joy and struggle.Practical Roadmap to HolinessPrayer life, sacraments, Mass attendance, frequent confession.Honest self-assessment of virtues and flaws.Patience with failures while refusing to tolerate sin.Audience Q&ARecognizing and avoiding scrupulosity.How the devil uses both laxity and excess to derail progress.Finding balance between taking yourself too seriously and not seriously enough.Closing ChallengeEmphasizing the dignity of the human person — our nature is compatible with God’s.Persevering through the “sticky” process of peeling away sin and distortion.Final encouragement: take yourself seriously because God does, but stay humble.Brief Show NotesTheme: Becoming the person God intended by growing in holiness.Key Insight: “The holier you are, the more real you are — and you begin to feel it.”Practical Tips:Commit to a prayer life, even if it starts small.Frequent the sacraments, especially confession and the Eucharist.Identify what’s objectively good and bad about yourself; thank God for the good and ask His help to purge the bad.Be patient with failures, but don’t tolerate them.Memorable Analogy: The journey to sainthood is like The Lord of the Rings — peril, pursuit, highs, lows, and ultimate victory if you endure.Special Moment: Audience question on scrupulosity leads to practical, down-to-earth advice on spiritual balance. (00:00) - In troduction of the Episode(02:52) - Episode Begins(03:22) - Why You're Not Real!(06:48) - Being Holy is Being the REAL Y ou(08:28) - Engagement Spreads the Truth(10:23) - How to Become REAL(10:55) - Your "HOLY" Is Unique(13:09) - TikTok is 'Tripping" (14:22) - The Recipe for Real-ness(14:48) - "Lord, Make me Holy"(15:33) - Lord of the Rings is a Saints Story(17:45) - Pursuit is Hard. Surrender is Easy(21:01) - Checking in with the Chat(24:33) - Tips for Your Journey(30:35) - Why is Being a Saint "Easy" but "Hard"?(31:40) - You Have to be TOUGH! We React to Peril(34:00) - Scrupulosity, and Self-Sabotage(37:00) - Devil Tempts to Excess, and Laxity(39:51) - Find Balance, not Extremes(41:00) - Surrender - The Challenge of Catholicism(45:08) - Amazing Value of Humanity: You UNDERESTIMATE Yourself
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.