Michael Gormley

From the Archives: Spiritual Warfare in Everyday Christian Life

January 15th, 2020  |  40 mins 28 secs

angels, catholic, catholic church, catholic prayer, dave vanvickle, demons, from the archives, gomer, michael gormley, prayer, prayer life, prayer warriors, spiritual warfare, temptation, vanvickle family

First off, I want to thank you all for your pouring of prayers, concern, and even money to the VanVickle family as his wife battles cancer. He wanted me to tell you that he has been uniquely blessed by your love and support and he is praying for you all.

This week’s show is from our archive. Episode 10 of Season 1 of EKSB is our most popular episode so far because it shows the cosmic dimensions of evangelization, that is, spiritual warfare. As Dave reminds us, the ordinary way the Devil attacks us is through temptation and the ordinary means by which we destroy the works of the devil is evangelization.

The Christian Meaning of Generosity

January 8th, 2020  |  11 mins 15 secs

asking for money, catholic, catholic church, catholic giving, christian giving, dave vanvickle, evangelization, evangelize, fundraising, giving, gomer, michael gormley, mike gormley, ministry, parish, tithe, tithing

Dave “Brother from the Blessed Mother” VanVickle is unfortunately not with us today. Just before Christmas, Dave’s wife was diagnosed with stage four cancer, so please storm heaven with your prayers for Amber VanVickle and their family! Today is a short episode about the meaning of generosity in the Christian life. We don’t usually hear about generosity until tithing time, but generosity extends far beyond dollars. We need to practice generosity at all times, especially when it comes to our prayers and participation in the Church.

5 Resolutions for Catholic Evangelizers

January 2nd, 2020  |  2 mins 51 secs

2020, catholic, catholic evangelizers, catholic prayer, evangelization, evangelize, good news, gospel, how to pray, ministry, new year, new years resolutions, pray, prayer, prayer practices

Happy New Year! We’ve got five resolutions for Catholics who want to continue to spread the Good News in 2020.

How the Light of the Christ-Child Conquered Herod’s Darkness

December 25th, 2019  |  11 mins 59 secs

bible history, christmas, jesus, nativity

On this glorious Christmas day, I, Gomer, give an abbreviated recap of King Herod’s dark, violent, and corrupt history. It was in the face of this proud ruler who did anything to secure his worldly power and wealth that God sent the most humble Christ-child. This Christmas, remember that no matter how small and insignificant you might feel, your “yes” to God will allow Christ to be born into this proud and haughty world in which we live.

What Repentance Looks Like

December 18th, 2019  |  43 mins 36 secs

advent, advent 2019, catholic, catholic church, catholicism, confession, dave vanvickle, fasting, forgiveness, forgiving, gomer, penance, repent, repentance, salvation, scripture

Dave “The Wolf of Main Street” VanVickle and I wrap up our Advent series on repentance. We talk about interior repentance and how that shows up through things like fasting, keeping Fridays a day of penance, forgiving others, serving the poor, and constantly reorienting our lives towards Christ. We can’t buy heaven with these acts, (the cross of Christ is our salvation) but true repentance will always show up in our words and deeds.

Repentance Is for Sinners—Just Ask Zacchaeus

December 11th, 2019  |  Season 0  |  31 mins 57 secs

bible, bible study, catholic, catholic church, catholic faith, dave vanvickle, gomer, jesus, jesus christ, penance, repentance, scripture, sinners, zacchaeus

I, (Dave VanVickle), have no nickname today, because sadly Gomer isn’t here. (He’s OK, he’s just been sick.) So I’m continuing our conversation about repentance solo. I want to talk about what repentance looks like in Scripture, especially Zacchaeus’ repentance in Luke 19, and how we can incorporate continual repentance and conversion in our day-to-day lives.

Advent: A Great Time for Repentance

December 4th, 2019  |  45 mins 24 secs

advent, advent 2019, advent season, catholic, confession, dave, dave vanvickle, gomer, liturgical calendar, michael gormley, mike gormley, penance, repent, repentance, season of advent

The repentance aspect of Advent is highly neglected but extremely important. Most people like to focus on the love of God made man (which is huge, don’t get me wrong) but what is the proper response to this great love? Repentance.

The Dangers of Misdefining Evangelization

November 27th, 2019  |  38 mins 10 secs

catholic, catholic evangelization, dave vanvickle, evangelization, evangelize, gomer, gospel, jesus, jesus christ, mike gormley, ministry

You’ve probably heard people say that evangelization is proclaiming the gospel and using words when necessary. Well, Dave “Roaring Lion” VanVickle and myself (Mike “Gomer” Gormley) have a problem with this phrase—it only covers one aspect of evangelization. There’s a whole other big part of evangelization where you use words.

What the Bible Reveals about God's Love

November 20th, 2019  |  36 mins 57 secs

bible, bible quotes, bible study, catholic, catholic church, catholic ministries, catholic parish, christian, god loves you, god's love, good samaritan, gospel, john, ministry, scripture, scripture passages, woman at the well

Dave “The Perpetual Penitent” VanVickle and I (Mike “Gomer” Gormley) are talking about something we all know, but few people truly understand—God’s love. We’ve heard, “God loves you” just enough to make us content with the thought of it, and totally unfamiliar with the radial depth of that reality.

Natural Happiness: A Philosophical Approach to Evangelization

November 13th, 2019  |  43 mins 5 secs

apologetics, aquinas, catholic, catholic church, catholic ministry, catholic philosophy, dave vanvickle, evangelization, evangelize, gomer, happiness, kerygma, michael gormley, mike gormley, ministry, natural happiness, parish, philosophy, theology

Dave “The Dandy” VanVickle and I are talking about a different approach to evangelization: philosophy. A lot of people respond to the kerygma alone, but some really need a rational argument to understand the reason for belief in God. So today we dig into natural happiness. To be brief, the idea is that nothing in the world can completely satisfy us, because we were made for something eternal, which is God. We also talk a bit about parish bureaucracy and the hierarchy of the Church. Let’s just say you should pray for your parish.

Stewardship Parishes, Discipleship Tracks, and Evangelization for Introverts

November 6th, 2019  |  45 mins 32 secs

catholic, dave vanvickle, disciples, discipleship, evangelization, gomer, gospel, introverts, jesus, mike gormley, ministry, parish, stewardship parishes

Dave “He Stole My Eggo” VanVickle and I are coming up with answers faster than your magic 8-ball that’s probably still in your attic somewhere. We’re addressing your quick questions about parish life and evangelization including: What’s the deal with stewardship parishes (parishes where your salary is on record so they’re sure you’re tithing fully)? How can I make discipleship tracks in my parish? How can I talk about Jesus when talking in general is hard enough? And how can I be a good witness when the first contact I have with someone is about sexual morality?

7 Common Evangelization Mistakes

October 30th, 2019  |  49 mins 13 secs

Dave "Skull Crusher" VanVickle and I talk about seven common pitfalls of evangelization that we see at parishes around the country. Recognize any?

How to Develop a Parish Evangelization Plan: 8 Things to Consider

October 23rd, 2019  |  39 mins 57 secs

dave and gomer, dave vanvickle, david vanvickle, director of evangelization, discipleship, intentional disciples, michael gormley, mike gormley, parish evangelization, parish evangelization podcast, spiritual warfare

Dave “The Dutch Shnauzer” VanVickle and I (Michael “Gomer” Gormley), tell you how to start catalyzing parish evangelization and how not to make the kinds of mistakes we made when we were but young, eager, parish evangelization greenhorns.

Inspiring Teens and Training Catholic Lectors: Two Practical Applications

October 16th, 2019  |  42 mins 53 secs

Have you ever wondered how to go about training Catholic lectors or how to inspire teens as they begin preparing for confirmation?

In this special episode of Every Knee Shall Bow, hear two practical applications where Michael Gormley preaches first to Confirmation teens and then to lectors at his parish.

10 Principles of Evangelization

October 9th, 2019  |  34 mins 8 secs

catholic, catholic church, catholicism, dave, dave vanvickle, evangelization, evangelize, gomer, gospel, holy spirit, jesus, mike gormley, ministry

Dave “The Angelic Doctor” VanVickle (he’s really uncomfortable with that one) and I break down ten things you need to know to go out into the world right now and start evangelizing your family, friends, coworkers, and the random people you meet on the street. We’ve made all the evangelization mistakes through our years of talking to people about Jesus and the Church so that you don’t have to.

In Defense of a Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ

October 2nd, 2019  |  38 mins 56 secs

catholic, catholic prayer, catholic spirituality, evangelize, jesus, jesus christ, ministry, personal relationship with jesus, personal relationship with jesus christ, prayer, prayer life

The phrase “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” has become so synonymous with Protestant spirituality that many Catholics seem to think it’s not that important. This is a huge problem. Dave “The Cheddar” VanVickle and I talk about why having a personal relationship with Jesus is absolutely vital for Catholics. It’s not about just having an emotional reaction, it’s about knowing the God we claim to love and allowing that intimacy to draw us ever deeper into the sacraments and mysteries of the Catholic Faith.