For College Catholics

05 - Does God exist - How to prove it

In this episode we discuss the existence of God, what obstacles one could find in accepting His existence, and what rational ways we have of showing that God exists.

We welcome a guest, Fr. Paul De Soza, who is a priest of Miles Christi living in San Diego.

After addressing the different reasons why many Catholic young people tend to doubt—and sometimes deny—the existence of God, we take a bird's-eye view of the different ways of demonstrating (not in the sense of natural sciences) the existence of God, using as starting points the world and the human person.

You may want to read the section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which talks about this (numbers 31-38).

Regarding the proof of God’s existence starting from the world around us, if you like a more philosophical explanation, you can read the section of a book by Etienne Gilson, The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Part 1, Chapter 3; Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1956. There he addresses the “Five Ways” of demonstrating the existence of God of St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Thomas addresses the first of these “ways” to prove God’s existence in the Summa Contra Gentiles 1,13. You can find it here: https://isidore.co/aquinas/english/ContraGentiles1.htm#13 . There is his own summarized version of all the five ways in the Summa Theologica, 1P^stP Part, q.2, a.3.

Fr. Paul then shares some of his life experiences and how he was able to discern that God was calling him to the Priesthood in Miles Christi.

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Check out our upcoming silent retreats in our website: www.mileschristi.org

Gear used:

• ATR 2100 USB dynamic microphone
• SHURE MV7 dynamic microphone
• ZOOM h6 portable recorder
• Adobe Audition software

04 We Are Created By God And For God

In this episode I discuss how every human being is created by God with an inherent capacity to know and love God. This gives all men their GREATEST DIGNITY. Our Creator instilled in us that capacity and a desire to know and love Him, which cannot be fulfilled by any other created being except by God. This is why, as St. Augustine said in his Confessions (book 1, chapter 1) that “You have created us, oh God, for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

And while we can know and love God, and therefore think and speak about God, we should always remember that He is infinitely greater than any thought, concept or image that we can form in our minds about Him. What we know about Him is much less than what we do not know about Him.

St. Thomas says that “concerning God, we cannot grasp what he is, but only what he is not, and how other beings stand in relation to him.” (Summa Contra Gentiles Bk.I, ch.30. You can find more online here: Thomas Aquinas: Contra Gentiles: English (isidore.co))

In this episode I share a vision of God that St. Thomas Aquinas had toward the end of his life, after which he could not continue writing. (Source: Santiago Ramirez, Introducción a Tomás de Aquino, Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, Madrid, 1975.)

As St. Paul says: “eye has not seen, and ear has not heard (…) what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9-10).

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The intro and outro music is from www.pond5.com

03 Faith Impact - Blessed Carlo Acutis Example

In this episode we are joined by my good friend, Colton Duncan, who is a college student. We talk about the impact that knowing about you faith will have in your life. Colton shares with us the example of the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a young man who died at 15 years of age, and was beatified by Pope Francis.

Born in England, he lived between 1991 and 2006. He lived most of his life in Italy. He was quite tech-savvy, and set up a website to promote the different Eucharistic Miracles that occurred in the history of the Church throughout the world. You can see that website at www.miracolieucaristici.org

He had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist, had a great heart to help those in need, especially the poor. He was diagnosed with leukemia, and died soon afterward. He embraced his death with great peace and hope in eternal life and in God’s help.

You can read more about the Eucharist, the Holy Mass and the blessed Sacrament, in numbers 271, 273, 280, 282 through 286. You can find it online here: https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

If you Google “Carlo Acutis” you will see many pictures of him!

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02 Why learn about your Faith - Purpose in life

In this episode we discuss the importance of knowing your Catholic Faith, and understanding the purpose of your life.

The knowledge that St. Joseph received from the angel (Mt 1:18), about God’s plan over the Child to be born (Jesus), the virgin Mary and himself made him CHANGE THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE entirely.

There is no doubt that understanding why you were created by God, that is, the PURPOSE why you were created, will make a huge difference in your life.

During the episode I discuss a great example of the life of St. Philip Neri, called the "apostle of Rome", who lived between 1551 and 1595. The source is: Mauricio Rufino, Vademecum de ejemplos predicables, Barcelona 1962, 1870.)

Most of us, at some point our lives ask the most fundamental questions about our existence. Why are we here? What is our purpose in life?

I discuss point #1 of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (What is the plan of God for man?), which you can find here: https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

You can read more about the life of Jacques Fesch here: https://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/final-hours-jacques-fesch

01 Introduction - About "For College Catholics"

Welcome to our podcast "For College Catholics"! In this episode we discuss the purpose of this Podcast, the general content and format for future episodes, and a great example from the life of St. John of God!