15 Minutes with the Bishop: Hell
Is it a place of fire and brimstone, or wailing and gnashing of teeth? Is it a place that is simply an absence of God? Whatever the reality, the Catholic Church continues to hold to the idea of a place called Hell. What is the Church’s understanding of Hell? Has it changed over the years? How does a loving God allow people to end up in Hell? Bishop Patrick talks with Gavin about those questions in the latest episode of 15 Minutes with the Bishop.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: Augustine and Monica
Over the next two days, the Catholic Church honours a couple of great figures in Christian history: St Augustine and his mother, St Monica. St Augustine is often seen as a bit of a prodigal son — someone who strayed but then returned to the Faith. As Bishop Patrick points out in this week’s episode of 15 Minutes with the Bishop, how far Augustine strayed might be at question, but his mark on the early Church is not in dispute. Neither is the faith of his mother, who prayed constantly for her son’s conversion back to the religion she tried to pass on to him.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: Holy Days
Last week, Catholics in New Zealand celebrated the Feast of the Assumption, and last week’s episode of 15 Minutes with the Bishop was on that topic. This week, Bishop Patrick talks about holy days of obligation, of which the Assumption is one in New Zealand and in some other countries around the world. How has the number of holy days changed? Is Sunday a holy day of obligation? And what about the idea in the UK of re-instating holy days of obligation?
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: The Assumption
August 15 marks the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the Church’s great Marian feasts. It is a cause for great celebration throughout the Catholic world, but especially in New Zealand, where it is the patronal feast day. In this episode, Bishop Patrick talks with Gavin about the feast, the different understandings of the Assumption and some of the Catholic doctrines relating to Our Lady.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: World Youth Day
After talking about pilgrimages in general last week, Bishop Patrick talks this week about a specific pilgrimage: World Youth Day. Started by Pope John Paul II and considered one of the late pontiff’s great legacies, this year’s World Youth Day will be held in Madrid later this month. Bishop Patrick talks about the impact of World Youth Day, his own experiences and upcoming events to celebrate World Youth Day in his own Diocese of Auckland.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: Pilgrimages
For centuries, Christians have visited holy sites in an attempt to grow closer to God and to people who lived close to God. From the Holy Land, where Jesus himself walked, talked, taught and performed miracles, to places like Lourdes where Our Lady appeared to a young girl, people have had their lives changed. In this week’s episode, Bishop Patrick talks with Gavin about some of the major pilgrimage sites around the world, and a few here in New Zealand. He also talks about the spiritual benefits of making a pilgrimage.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: Family
July 26 is the Feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, the couple traditionally understood to be the parents of the Virgin Mary. In this week’s episode of 15 Minutes of the Bishop, Bishop Patrick Dunn and Gavin start with a brief discussion on these two saints of the Church, but quickly move on to the Catholic understanding of the family, including the role of parents as providers and as educators for their children.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: New Mass translation
Last month, some parishes in Australia started to introduce the new English translation of the Mass. New Zealand was several months ahead, introducing the people’s parts of the new translation last November. Bishop Patrick Dunn talks about the implementation of the new translation, how it’s been received and when we should expect to hear some of the other parts of the translation. He also talks with Gavin about the decision to return to the use of the “old” Our Father for Masses in New Zealand.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: Tradition
Scripture or Tradition? Tradition or Scripture? In the Catholic Church, it’s a case of both/and. In 15 Minutes with the Bishop this week, Bishop Patrick Dunn and Gavin talk about how Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church have guided her for 20 centuries.
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15 Minutes with the Bishop: One man’s vocation
In previous episodes of 15 Minutes with the Bishop, we;ve covered things happening out in the world. In this week’s show, we get a little more personal, as Gavin talks with Bishop Patrick Dunn about the latter’s priestly vocation. How did his family influence the man who would become Bishop of Auckland? Was there a moment when he knew he had to enter the seminary? Learn answers to those questions and many more in this episode.
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