Today I am posting the first of a new podcast series called Stories of the Unexpected.

In this series of short podcasts I’ll be sharing a story of the paranormal, the supernatural and the miraculous that has happened to me, my family members or friends. I’ll also share some stories from the lives of the saints. In addition I’ll be sharing theological reflections on each particular story. What do we make of the supernatural events and how to we process them? Where do they fit into our Catholic faith?

Why am I doing this? Because I believe the faith is best passed on by faith stories. The Bible and the history of the church are full of faith stories–stories about real people in real time who have some sort of encounter with the other side. The stories of these experiences cause us to look again at life and look again at our faith.

I like these stories because real life is never quite so neat and tidy as all of our theological, dogmatic and approved answers. Real life is messy, wonderful and confusing. There are more things in the world than we can explain and this bewilderment and open ended ness causes us to remain open minded, full of wonder and curiosity–and that’s a good thing.

I’m also aware that some people are very gullible about the miraculous and supernatural while others are cynical and doubting. Both extremes are to be avoided, and a rational discussion of paranormal happenings is the best way forward–a discussion that is believing while not gullible, skeptical but not cynical.

I’m also doing this to produce some extra content for my Donor Subscribers. That’s why when you click on the link, if you are not a Donor Subscriber you’ll be invited to join.

Donor Subscribers support my work on this blog–keeping it free from all ads, and helping me to keep blogging and podcasting. If you would like to listen to Stories of the Unexpected then I encourage you to sign up as a Donor Subscriber. This will open up the rest of my archived material to you including the developing section Ordinary Hero, and my channel on Benedictine spirituality – The Suburban Hermit.

It works like this: the more Donor Subscribers and readers and listeners I gather, the more content I produce. I like adding new  features to the blog like my twenty part podcast on church history, and so I encourage you to sign up. The price is just $8.95 per month. That works out to less than $2.25 per week.

It is time for you to sign up as a Donor Subscriber? Go here to check out all the benefits and sign up today.

To listen to the first podcast in Stories of the Unexpected  go here.