REVIEW #22: The Wild Goose

At Pentecost, we celebrate the birth of the Church. That beginning happened when the Holy Spirit came as tongues of fire and rested on the heads of the disciples and they were motivated to spread the good news of the gospel to the whole world. Awesome. 

(I know, I said Pentecost...and we just started the season of Lent, right?  Trust me, this is a perfect way to begin Lent.)

Yet many of us don’t know much about the Holy Spirit and what the Church teaches about the third person of the Trinity. The series I review today is a crash course in the Holy Spirit from the perspective of the modern Catholic’s experience of the Holy Spirit. Why is it called “The Wild Goose”? You’ll have to watch to find out.

Note Bene: This is one of my absolute favorite video series. When I told my wife, Beth, that I was reviewing it for today, she said, “Ohhh, I really liked that one. So good. Tell people to at least try it.” ...Oh yeah The author, Fr. Dave Pivonka the Franciscan priest is an old friend of mine.  We were born on the the same day of the same year.

Title

The Wild Goose

https://watch.formed.org/the-wild-goose-with-fr-dave-pivonka

Presenter

Fr. Dave Pivonka is a Franciscan priest with a humble but inspiring presentation style.   Fr Dave is the President of Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Length 

14 Episodes each about 20-30  minutes long. This seems like a lot of content, but it goes quickly. 

Each episode contains a presentation of the main topic by Fr. Dave with both instruction and personal witness from his life. We will also see interviews by many others both regular Catholics and religious sisters and priests. 

TBH - Okay. This series is gorgeous and almost poetic in its use of imagery and video to convey meaning. 

Content

The Wild Goose series is all about the Holy Spirit. Expect to hear about the Catholic understanding of the third person of the Trinity. You will also hear a great deal of personal witness from some really impressive people about their varied and inspiring experiences of the Holy Spirit. Some of these stories might even be called miraculous. 

Scripture

Acts 2 as well as other scriptures. 

BONUS

A great, simple study guide that helps the view hone in on the most important information from each episode. 

Why You Should Watch this Video

If you’ve always wanted to know more about the Holy Spirit or improve your prayer life in the spirit, then this series is what you are looking for. If you like instruction in the faith that is beautiful and maybe a little different than what you’ve experienced, then you should check this out. 

Why Skip It

Hearing other people’s powerful experiences of the Holy Spirit may elicit strong emotions in you. If this is your first exposure to how powerful the Holy Spirit can and does work in the lives of Catholics and you’re aren’t looking for that kind of religious education, you may want to try something else on formed first.

I think this series is so good, I think everyone should try at least one episode. If you do try it and have some questions don’t hesitate to reach out and ask me your questions about the series or the Holy Spirit. Greg’s Email.