Podcast appearances and mentions of andreas widmer

“Ti voglio bene” = “I want your good." Podcast guest Andreas Widmer challenges leaders to have the courage to ask: “What is the “end” you want for your team?” We're taking some time away from the mics this week, but hope you enjoy this special holiday edition of The Leadership Foundry Podcast. Co-hosts Brandon Smith and Randy Hain talk with Andreas about the leader's responsibility to the team, flourishing in life and business and one thing to do to become a better leader as we revisit Episode 48. 

Andreas Widmer is an Associate Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business. His most recent book is The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value. In this episode, Professor Widmer shares his perspectives on entrepreneurship and offers advice for education entrepreneurs. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

We're broadcasting from Acton University, talking with Andreas Widmer about the 5 Pillars of Principled Entrepreneurship and Fr. Robert Sirico about the foundations of a free society.

We're broadcasting from Acton University, talking with Andreas Widmer about the 5 Pillars of Principled Entrepreneurship and Fr. Robert Sirico about the foundations of a free society.

As the perfect follow-up to our episode last week on expressing gratitude with guest Chester Elton - we're revisiting our conversation with Andreas Widmer. In this episode, Andreas chats with Brandon and Randy on how doing good, from our employees to our customers, can lead to prosperity – both, monetarily and culturally in the workplace.

UD Gupta College of Business Dean J.Lee Whittington, Ph.D., sits down with seasoned business executive Andreas Widmer, a former Swiss Guard for John Paul II, entrepreneur and now director of the Ciocca Center in Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business.The lecture was sponsored by UD's Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business and the St. Rita Business Network.Support the show

Co-hosts Brandon Smith and Randy Hain welcome Andreas Widmer on today's show for an insightful conversation about the entrepreneurial mindset. Andreas Widmer is an author, speaker and the founder and director of the Art & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business. Our overall theme centers around how doing good, from our employees to our customers, can lead to prosperity - both, monetarily and culturally in the workplace. 

Andreas Widmer is an entrepreneur, professor, consultant, business coach, speaker, and author, with 30 years experience in international business strategy, economic development, and entrepreneurship.Website: andreas-widmer.comThe Catholic University of America: https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/widmer-andreas/index.htmlThe Gospel of Work 8 video series: www.cioccacenter.comLinkedin: linkedin.com/in/andreaswidmerFacebook: facebook.com/AndreasWidmerAuthorInstagram: instagram.com/andreaswidmer

Happy Labor Day! Donna Marie Cooper-O'Boyle has advice for reclaiming Sunday as a day of rest and Dan Weingartz discusses incorporating faith and business. Donna David Bahnsen discusses economic truths such as “There's No Free Lunch” and Andreas Widmer presents Five Pillars of Principled Entrepreneurship.

What's the greatest threat to free enterprise? Andreas Widmer has a surprising warning for our economy. An author and professor of business, he says the very people who should embody free enterprise – CEOs and business executives – are undermining our prosperity. Let's see what Andreas believes about the threat we're facing – and how we can unleash a future of opportunity for all. Subscribe to the podcast: Apple: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7eAkovs...⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠https://believepodcast.substack.com/⁠⁠ Follow Believe!:  Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Believe_Pod⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/believe_pod/⁠⁠ Follow Doug DeVos: Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Doug_DeVos⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/doug.devos⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/dougdevosamway/⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-devos⁠⁠ For show notes and more, visit ⁠⁠https://thebelievepodcast.com/⁠⁠.

In Today's broadcast from Acton University, David Bahnsen explains the national debt and Scott Rae takes a deep dive into the Theology of Work. We continue with Fr Roger Landry, who continues our discussion of the National Eucharistic Revival, and Andreas Widmer presents 5 pillars of principled entrepreneurship.

9:23On this week's episode of The Genius Podcast we explore the leadership lessons shared by Andreas Widmer, founder and director of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America. Andreas draws from his unique experiences serving in the Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II and his extensive background in entrepreneurship. We dive into how these lessons can translate to women in different seasons of life and the importance of empathy in effective leadership.Link to Andreas' website here:https://andreas-widmer.com/Andreas WidmerAndreas Widmer - Helping Entrepreneurs create Enduring ValueAndreas Widmer is an entrepreneur, professor, business coach, speaker, author, with 30 years' business experience in business strategy, development, and entrepreneurship

In this episode, The Mentors Radio host Tom Loarie talks again with entrepreneur Andreas Widmer, founder and director of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, to discuss entrepreneurship and what it takes to create enduring value for yourself and society as a “Principled Entrepreneur.” SHOW NOTES: ANDREAS WIDMER: BIO: https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/entrepreneurship-center/about-us/meet-our-team/widmer-andreas/index.html WEBSITE: https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/entrepreneurship-center/index.html BOOKS: The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value, by Andreas Widmer The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, by Andreas Widmer PREVIOUS INTERVIEW ON THE MENTORS RADIO: Principled Entrepreneurship and Pivoting When You Hit the Wall —The Mentors Radio, featuring host Tom Loarie, guest host Lynne Fischer and guest mentor Andreas Widmer

The majority of us are disengaged at work. As Catholics, we understand work to be a collaboration in God's creative power. Andreas Widmer explains what the purpose of work/business is and how to become a more engaged, happy and creative workforce, as well as a more humane economy.OSV Talks is a podcast presenting topics from prominent Catholic leaders to inspire and challenge us in a variety of issues facing the Catholic Church to get the Church talking! Learn more at osvtalks.com. An OSV Podcasts original. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

The majority of us are disengaged at work. As Catholics, we understand work to be a collaboration in God's creative power. Andreas Widmer explains what the purpose of work/business is and how to become a more engaged, happy and creative workforce, as well as a more humane economy.OSV Talks is a podcast presenting topics from prominent Catholic leaders to inspire and challenge us in a variety of issues facing the Catholic Church to get the Church talking! Learn more at osvtalks.com. An OSV Podcasts original. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

How would you like the pope to be your mentor? Imagine applying to be in the Swiss Guard and landing a gig as Pope John Paul II's Bodyguard. That's what happened to Andreas Widmer when he was a teenager. Today, as the founder and director of the Art & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business, he aims to promote a new kind of entrepreneur—one focusing on Principled Entrepreneurship. Andreas is an entrepreneur, associate professor, business coach, speaker, multiple book author, including the acclaimed “The Pope & the CEO”, chock-full of leadership lessons he learned as a Swiss guard protecting the pope. Andreas has recently authored “The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship”, a book that teaches businesses to be both virtuous and profitable. Andreas joined me for an extremely engaging and personal episode of The Reboot Chronicles to unpack his book and uncover what principled entrepreneurship means—and how you can tap into it. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rebootchronicles/message

Andreas is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for helping business professionals find deeper meaning in their work and sustainable success through principled entrepreneurship. In his book, The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship, Andreas shares his philosophy in a practical guide on how to start and do business in a way that's both virtuous and profitable. andreas-widmer.com

Episode 293 is about the diamond in the rough. When we work, we don't just make more. We become more. That's advice from the Pope himself. I got to hang out with Andreas Widmer, who used to work for the Pope and now works for you. For years and years, through his stories and experience, Andrew has helped men declare value for themselves. He's shared how the answers are within you and that change is never done. He offers a ton of wisdom for entrepreneurs and is interested in getting the word out of self-love especially for men. We cover a lot of ground including: choosing yourself, what it's like to work directly with the Pope, dealing with your inner conflict, how to deal with feeling used, the need for validation and overcoming it. Today we'll dig into Andreas's insights of authenticity, facing conflict, and doing conscious work towards finding your purpose. To help you break through and see the diamond inside, we provide support for men in all walks of life, follow us at https://ianlobas.com/podcast/ TIMESTAMPS: 00:07:26 Andrea's story 00:12:01 Working for the Pope 00:14:20 When we work we just don't make more, we become more 00:16:55 Feeling used 00:21:15 Feeling validated 00:24:35 Becoming the best version of yourself 00:26:00 Ian Gold 00:28:06 The miserable state 00:29:00 The birthing process 00:30:03 Making a career change 00:31:10 The answers are with you 00:32:45 No one else can want for you what you must want for you 00:34:40 The change is never done 00:35:30 Francis Michelin Story 00:35:45 You must break the stone to reveal the diamond 00:40:15 Story of the inventor of box wine 00:40:39 2 kinds of people; creators and harvesters 00:49:00 Setting goals and managing yourself 00:49:38 Making decisions now 00:49:45 Declaring value to yourself 00:54:00 Recalibrating schooling 00:59:45 Self-love & self-advocation Connect with Guest ❤️ Website:https://andreas-widmer.com/

1:29 - Pope' Bodyguard/ Swiss Guard3:11 - Leadership lessons from the Pope4:11 - Beacon of Morality5:03 - Transition from Service to Business7:30 - Early mistakes / Love for technology9:22 - Concept of Principle Entrepreneurship10:35 - The Five Pillars15:51 - Win Win Relationships16:57 - Unique Approach to eliminate Poverty20:08 - Rise of Global Gig Economy20:44 - Maintaining the balance on both sides22:08 - The Book Review24:37 - Blame the Management 'Bug'26:22 - 'The People'27:35 - Thoughts on 'Legacy'28:40 - Single Greatest piece of advice  

November 7, 2022 Ben Lytle and Principled Entrepreneur Andreas Widmer

How St. John Paul II has impacted this former Swiss Guard's life

Stories of a Swiss Army Guard & The Good News about Work. https://www.bearschoolofmanliness.com/

Episode 296 features Andreas Widmer, a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for helping business professionals find deeper meaning in their work and sustainable success through principled entrepreneurship.Buy His New Book, The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637740697/Find Andreas Online:Website: https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/widmer-andreas/index.htmlLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaswidmer/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreaswidmer/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/andreaswidmerYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXvQOAHhZ74EJ83kD_O0MxgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreasWidmerAuthorAbout Andreas:Andreas Widmer is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for helping business professionals find deeper meaning in their work and sustainable success through principled entrepreneurship.In 2015, Andreas was appointed Clinical Professor in Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business, and also serves as an advisor to both the Zermatt Summit and Transforming Business. He is the director and founder of The Art & Carlyle Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, where he teaches and mentors students with the kind of entrepreneurship that combines personal virtue and best business practices to grow enterprises that create value for others profitably.Andreas is a dual citizen of Switzerland and America and speaks four languages, English, German, Italian and French. Currently, he resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife and teenage son. For more information, please visit www.andreas-widmer.com.........Thank you for listening! If you wanted to learn more about the host, Brian Ondrako, check out his “Now” Page - https://www.brianondrako.com/now or Sign up for his Weekly Newsletter or 3x a Week Blog - https://brianondrako.com/subscribe/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andreas Widmer joins us on the Passion Struck podcast to discuss principled entrepreneurship and how it creates enduring value for the customer through your own excellence. Thank you InsideTracker (https://insidetracker.com/passionstruck) and Dry Farm Wines (https://www.dryfarmwines.com/passionstruck/) for sponsoring. Principled entrepreneurs unite people to their passion by creating value for their customers through inspired teams. They do this by seeing businesses as being made for people's benefit and not the other way around. For the principled entrepreneur, the company is focused on others even when it is fueled by self-interest.

In this episode of Startup Hustle, Lauren Conaway and Andreas Widmer, Director of The Arthur and Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship talk about building a business out of passion, allowing individuals to feel empowered to make good choices, and how an organization's culture can create amazing teams.   Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://gigb.co/l/YEh5   This episode is sponsored by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/   Learn more about The Catholic University of America: https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/widmer-andreas/index.html   Check out Andreas' book The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value" and download a chapter here: https://andreas-widmer.com/   Learn more about InnovateHER KC: https://www.innovateherkc.com/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donna Marie Cooper-O'Boyle has advice for reclaiming Sunday as a day of rest and Dan Weingartz discusses incorporating faith and business. Donna David Bahnsen discusses economic truths such as “There's No Free Lunch” and Andreas Widmer presents Five Pillars of Principled Entrepreneurship.

As the dollar reaches historic highs against currencies in both emerging and developed markets, the chances of battling inflation rates shrink outside the United States. The Euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen have depreciated at unprecedented this year. Steve Hanke, a professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, explains the global fallout of a soaring dollar. The Premier League's summer transfer window has broken the record for the highest amount ever. We hear more from Tim Bridge, lead partner of Deloitte's Sports Business Group. Protecting the Pope and the Holy See has been the Swiss Guard's job for more than five centuries. Now, the institution is recruiting to grow from 110 to 135 members. While the minimum requirements can be very strict —they include being Swiss, male and Catholic— the position can be a great career move, says Andreas Widmer, a former Swiss guard turned a successful professor and businessman. A Japanese government minister wants to ban outdated technology, starting with the floppy disk. But devices unknown for the youngest still have some enthusiasts, as Kari Paul, a technology reporter for The Guardian US, tells us. Roger Hearing is joined throughout the programme by guests in opposite sides of the world: Paddy Hirsch, contributing editor for NPR in Los Angeles, and Kanwal Malik, a serial entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Karachi, Pakistan. (Picture: US dollar stock picture. Picture credit: Getty.)

The US dollar, a long-time safe haven for investors, is reaching historic highs against emerging markets' currencies but also against big players like the Euro and the British pound. What impact is this having around the globe? We ask Steve Hanke, a professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. Last year, the Premier League's summer transfer window stood at more than $1.7bn. Will this record be beaten this year? We hear more from Tim Bridge, lead partner of Deloitte's Sports Business Group. The Swiss Guard, the elite force in charge of protecting the Pope and the Vatican, is recruiting to expand from 110 to 135 members. Only young Swiss Catholic men can apply, but is it a good career move? Andreas Widmer thinks so. He is a former Swiss guard and now the director of the Arthur & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business. He tells us why. Taro Kono, a government minister in Japan, is pushing for a purge of outdated technology. One of the first to go is the floppy disk. But there are people who think otherwise and want to keep using devices that the younger generations had never seen in their life. We discuss with Kari Paul, a technology reporter for The Guardian US, what the appeal of vintage technology is.

Andreas Widmer shares an excerpt from his book "The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value" Episode 689: An Excerpt From The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value by Andreas Widmer The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship is a prescription for living the American Dream and for finding the fulfilment that comes from helping employees and customers improve their lives. In his 30-year career in international business strategy, economic development, and entrepreneurship, author Andreas Widmer has seen firsthand numerous companies both succeed financially and also build a people-centered venture in the process. He shares his favorite success stories and details five key principles for conducting business in ways that combine personal virtue, the latest entrepreneurial tools, and long-term perspective in order to make business a win-win proposition for everyone. At a time when the number of new business startups is at its lowest point in 50 years and more than half the workforce at existing businesses struggles with motivation, finding a better way to do business is more urgent than ever. More about the book can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Principled-Entrepreneurship-Creating-Enduring-ebook/dp/B09BJ7NP6T  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? Visit https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalStartUpDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andreas Widmer shares an excerpt from his book "The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value" Episode 689: An Excerpt From The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value by Andreas Widmer The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship is a prescription for living the American Dream and for finding the fulfilment that comes from helping employees and customers improve their lives. In his 30-year career in international business strategy, economic development, and entrepreneurship, author Andreas Widmer has seen firsthand numerous companies both succeed financially and also build a people-centered venture in the process. He shares his favorite success stories and details five key principles for conducting business in ways that combine personal virtue, the latest entrepreneurial tools, and long-term perspective in order to make business a win-win proposition for everyone. At a time when the number of new business startups is at its lowest point in 50 years and more than half the workforce at existing businesses struggles with motivation, finding a better way to do business is more urgent than ever. More about the book can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Principled-Entrepreneurship-Creating-Enduring-ebook/dp/B09BJ7NP6T  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? Visit https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalStartUpDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we reflect the image of God in our work, and what are the Kingdom principles for a fruitful life?  In this episode of the Limitless Spirit Podcast, our host Helen Todd talks with Andreas Widmer, who is an entrepreneur, business leader, and the ​Professor of Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business & Economics. Andreas is the author of The Pope & The CEO: Pope Saint John Paul II's Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, a book exploring leadership lessons that Widmer learned serving as a Swiss Guard protecting Pope John Paul II and refined during his career as a successful business executive. His second book, The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value, is an insightful, practical guide to how businesses can be run to be both virtuous and profitable.  In this episode, we'll hear about Andrea's story of radical salvation and what he has learned about bringing the Kingdom of God into the workplace for a more fruitful business and life.To learn more about Andreas Widmer check the following links:The Busch School of Business https://business.catholic.edu/The Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship https://business.catholic.edu/centers-and-initiatives/entrepreneurship-center/index.htmlThe Pope & The CEO book on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Pope-CEO-Leadership-Lessons-Young/dp/1931018766/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Andreas Widmer Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PopeandtheCEO The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LY8ISQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BJ7NP6T/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1 3:45 - How Andreas was deeply impacted by Pope John Paul II9:30 - Andreas' faith tested as a businessman13:28 - Not everyone is called into full-time missionary work17:10 - Creating a business that does more than just make money22:05 - Andreas' thoughts on socialism and helping the poor27:30 - Glorifying God through work Learn more about our upcoming conference at our website: rfwma.org If you would like to learn more about the World Mission Alliance or register for the upcoming conference, visit https://rfwma.org/greaterpurpose/ or email us at podcast@rfwma.org.  After you listen to this episode, go to our host website: www.rfwma.org and find out how World Missions Alliance can help you connect to your greater purpose. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Limitless Spirit Podcast, click below:Support the show (https://rfwma.org/give)            Email us your questions and comments at podcast@rfwma.orgWMA is 501(c)(3), donations are tax deductibleSupport the show (https://rfwma.org/give)

Bereits heute sterben jährlich mehrere Hundert Menschen in der Schweiz, weil Antibiotika ihre Wirkung verlieren. Resistente Keime bedrohen zunehmend die Errungenschaften der modernen Medizin. «Puls» zeigt, wie Keime Resistenzen bilden, was es für Betroffene bedeutet und alternative Therapieformen. Chronische Blasenentzündung – Die Folgen jahrelanger Antibiotikaeinnahme Jacqueline Meerkämper leidet seit 30 Jahren unter wiederkehrenden Blaseninfekten. Wegen unzähliger Antibiotika-Behandlungen bilden die Keime in ihrer Blase immer mehr Resistenzen. Mittlerweile hat sie verschiedene Unverträglichkeiten gegen die Medikamente entwickelt und leidet unter Nebenwirkungen. Zunehmende Resistenzen – Gefahr für die moderne Medizin Jeder zweite Spitalpatient erhält Antibiotika. Nur so können bei vielen Therapien lebensgefährliche Infektionen verhindert werden. Doch je mehr Antibiotika eingesetzt werden, desto häufiger treten Resistenzen auf. «Puls» zeigt, wie Bakterien Resistenzen bilden und welche Konsequenzen drohen. Infizierte Wunden – Mit Maden gegen Bakterien Im Kampf gegen resistente Bakterien greifen Schweizer Ärztinnen und Ärzte auf eine alte Heilmethode zurück: Wundmaden. Die Fliegenlarven helfen, Infekte zu bekämpfen, indem sie Wunden von infiziertem Gewebe befreien. Diese Therapieform entwickelt auch bei resistenten Keimen ihre Wirkung. Schweizer Forschung – Mit designten Viren gegen Bakterien Bakteriophagen sind die natürlichen Feinde von Bakterien. Diese Viren stehen nun im Fokus eines Schweizer Forschungsprojekts. Mittels Gentechnik sollen Bakteriophagen gegen die gängigen Bakterien abgerichtet werden, die Harnwegsinfekte auslösen. Damit wollen die Forschenden eine nachhaltige Alternative zur Antibiotikatherapie entwickeln. «Puls»-Chat – «Antibiotika» Cornelia Betschart Meier, Lorenz Leitner, The Phuoc Truong und Andreas Widmer haben Ihre Fragen im «Puls»-Chat beantwortet.. «Puls kompakt» – Der richtige Umgang mit Antibiotika Im Kampf gegen die zunehmende Resistenzbildung kann jeder seinen Teil beitragen. So hilft ein richtiger Umgang mit Antibiotika. «Puls» nennt die drei wichtigsten Tipps.

Mehr als 10'000 Infektionen an einem Tag. Die besorgniserregende Virusvariante Omikron breitet sich aus. Spitäler verschieben erneut Eingriffe und Intensivstationen kommen an ihre Grenzen. Kann das Virus noch rechtzeitig gebremst werden? Oder kommt es diesen Winter zu einer harten Triage in den Spitälern? Mit Barbara Lüthi diskutieren: – Tanja Krones, Medizinethikerin; – Hans Pargger, Chefarzt und Leiter Intensivstation Universitätsspital Basel; – Pius Meier, Landwirt; – Thomas Weber, Regierungsrat BL/SVP und Gesundheitsdirektor BL; – Andreas Widmer, Infektiologe und Präsident Swissnoso. Ausserdem zugeschaltet: – Marius Brülhart, Ökonom Universität Lausanne.

This entrepreneur defended JPII's life as a Swiss Guard.EP005: Andreas WidmerAndreas Widmer, author of The Pope & The CEO, recalls his time as a Swiss Guard and the impact that Pope St. John Paul II had on him as a young man. Andreas also discusses his current work at The Catholic University of America where he teaches students how to build businesses that succeed through implementing the Church's wisdom on economics and the human person. Andreas Widmer is the founder and director of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America. Please click here for more biographical information on Andreas.If you haven't seen Andreas' EDIFY video, please watch it at EDIFY.usHear more from Andreas on Twitter or at his personal website.Learn more about CUA's Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship:Website - https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/entrepreneurship-center/index.htmlInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/cioccacenter/?hl=enFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/CioccaCenter/

Andreas Widmer gives a sneak peek of what he will be talking about at the Faith and Business Conference.

Coach Gut sits down with Catholic University Professor Andreas Widmer to discuss his experiences that he details in his book, The Pope & The CEO. A former member of the Swiss Guard for Pope John Paull II, he went on to be CEO of the SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic organization promoting enterprise solutions to poverty. A fascinating insight on life and purpose, as well as great stories from Professor Widmer's past.

In the episode, I speak with Andreas Widmer about his work on principled entrepreneurship. Andreas argues that many of the challenges we are seeing in business and commerce today can be addressed by seeing business and entrepreneurship as a moral enterprise focused on the human person. We discuss Widmer's five principles for how businesses should be run, as well as a path to become not just successful, but socially beneficial. Visit https://www.themoralimagination.com/episodes/andreas-widmer for show notes and resources.

Andreas Widmer is a Professor, Entrepreneur, former Swiss Guard, and current mentor to many.  His life is the real story of being successful without losing yourself in the fast pace of startup culture.  Listen to his story here, I think you’ll like it. Don't forget to check out Studio 15 For some amazing map prints!www.juanitas.etsy.comUse Code: LABORDAY2020 and receive 20% off your order! Get all the links in one place:www.solo.to/totsFollow Us on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/totscast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TOTSPodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/TOTscastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4aMcbxB9-ekcoFNsV7ynw Support Us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/join/totspodcast

This episode is Co-Hosted by Tom Loarie and Guest Host Lynne Fischer (an award-winning business woman who herself transitioned from ice cream, to wine, to biotech). They talk with Andreas Widmer, who transitioned from the familiarity of his native homeland to becoming a proud member of the elite Swiss Guard at age 20, to joining a few others on a pioneering software entrepreneur journey that ultimately sold for $600 million... and then crashed to zero, causing financial ruin. From enormous success to financial ruin, Widmer hit the wall. Hard. It was Devastating. Depressing. Mightily Discouraging. --- but in that two-year nightmare roller coaster, Widmer discovered what has become his greatest strength. He went on to a few other entrepreneurial ventures and is now professor and Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at the University of America's Busch School of Business and Economics. Find Show Notes here. Broadcast will be posted below after first airing. Don't miss any of our episodes - Get our FREE PODCAST here.

Andreas Widmer is the Director of the Arthur & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship  at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America.  He is also a former tech executive, but  many of you may familiar with him from his book The Pope and the CEO where he details the lessons he learned in his former life as a bodyguard to St. John Paul II. You read that right. Think about having “Saint Bodyguard”  listed on your resume. This was just such a great conversation, and I walked away with it with about a dozen things I wanted to integrate into my work and  prayer and life and thinking, and I think you'd going to like it a lot. 

Tues. May 26th-Hour 1. Andreas Widmer on the impact of the coronavirus on small businesses. Annabelle Moseley on ways we could honor Mary, during this Month of May. Dave Durand on Components of Influence. Glen’s Story Corner All show notes at Small Businesses and the Pandemic, Honoring Mary, Components of Influence - This podcast produced by Relevant Radio

Thurs. May 21st-Hour 2. The Ascension with Fr. Joe D’Amico. Families returning to the new “Normal” with Rhonda Martin. Impact on Small Businesses with Andreas Widmer. Honoring Mary during the quarantine with Annabelle Moseley. Glen’s Story Corner All show notes at Pandemic Small Business Impact, Families returning to new “Normal, The Ascension, Honoring Mary - This podcast produced by Relevant Radio

Calling in from the heart of Rome, Andreas Widmer joined us for a conversation about vocation, creativity, and faith. As a professor and director of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America, Andreas has the opportunity to coach young students as they embark on the vocation of business. He promotes a perspective called “person-centered entrepreneurship” that establishes the idea that businesses need to be creative, supportive, and rewarding.

„Ornamente der Schwerkraft“ heisst die Ausstellung, die aktuell in der Kapelle der Kirche Veltheim zu sehen ist. Der Winterthurer Künstler Andreas Widmer befasst sich mit Gegensätzen und lässt auch mal Sofas fliegen. Oriana Ziegler hat die Kuratorin der Ausstellung, Anita Bättig, getroffen. Bild: Oriana Ziegler

Andreas Widmer and Luke Burgis work at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America. Andreas founded and directs the Ciocca Center; he is the author of The Pope and the CEO. Luke is the current Entrepreneur in Residence at the Ciocca Center and co-authored the book Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person.Together, they teach the popular “Vocation of Business” course. Luke is now adapting that class for a high school course called the “Catholic Entrepreneurship and Design Experience,” or CEDE.Additional music from this episode provided by Blue Dot Sessions.

In this episode you'll get a unique perspective on the lessons in leadership Pope St. John Paul II has left for the world. Andreas Widmer, an entrepreneur and former Swiss Guard for John Paul II shares his own incredible faith journey guided by the pope he served. Plus... Would you ace a test on Catholic Social Teaching? Andreas shares with us his research that may make you second guess just how well you really understand it. Then in our Classic Catholic Social Teaching segment, we're discussing Octogesima Adveniens - On the Occasion of the Eightieth Anniversary of the Encyclical "Rerum Novarum" an apostolic letter of Pope Paul VI. To round out the podcast episode we have our bricklayer segment where you'll learn practical tips for living out faithful citizenship. You can access Andreas' study, "Faithful Measure: Gauging Awareness of the Catholic Church's Social Doctrine" here: https://business.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/publications/index.html

Allison Sullivan rejoins the show to co-host this episode! We discuss the good, bad & ugly of our week's, including ANOTHER terrible travel experience for Taylor.In the second segment, Taylor releases an interview from last month with former Swiss Guard, Andreas Widmer. He is in the running for most interesting man in the world. He was a Swiss Guard for JPII, once had Christmas Eve Dinner with the Pope, made a fortune in the dot com era, was essential in the creation of the voice recognition tech we now now as Siri or Alexa. He's fascinating! He currently teaches Entrepreneurship and the Catholic University of America where he shares the essential business principles he has learned throughout the years, how it affects our faith & much more!In the final segment, Allison & Taylor pick up where we left off last week in answering questions from YOU, the listener. We spend most of our time discussing the qualities we look for in friends.I hope you enjoy the episode! If you do, please like/rate in your podcasting service of choice AND share a link to the episode with your friends or social media feed. Thanks!catholic christian catholicpodcast travel

Allison Sullivan rejoins the show to co-host this episode! We discuss the good, bad & ugly of our week's, including ANOTHER terrible travel experience for Taylor. In the second segment, Taylor releases an interview from last month with former Swiss Guard, Andreas Widmer. He is in the running for most interesting man in the world. He was a Swiss Guard for JPII, once had Christmas Eve Dinner with the Pope, made a fortune in the dot com era, was essential in the creation of the voice recognition tech we now now as Siri or Alexa. He's fascinating! He currently teaches Entrepreneurship and the Catholic University of America where he shares the essential business principles he has learned throughout the years, how it affects our faith & much more! In the final segment, Allison & Taylor pick up where we left off last week in answering questions from YOU, the listener. We spend most of our time discussing the qualities we look for in friends. I hope you enjoy the episode! If you do, please like/rate in your podcasting service of choice AND share a link to the episode with your friends or social media feed. Thanks!

Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard for Saint John Paul II and Director of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, is interviewed by Catholic entrepreneur and colleague Luke Burgis about his personal story of vocation in business and, now, as a teacher. Andreas and Luke co-teach a course called “The Vocation of Business” at The Busch […] The post The Vocation of Business with Andreas Widmer appeared first on Inscape Vocations.

The vocation of business is a noble vocation where people are called to offer goods that are truly good, and services that truly serve. In this podcast, Catholic entrepreneur and philanthropist Andreas Widmer discusses the journey of his own personal vocation from Swiss Guard to married man to technology entrepreneur and executive, and eventually to teaching at The Catholic University of America. The post The Vocation of Business with Andreas Widmer appeared first on Inscape Vocations.

The vocation of business is a noble vocation where people are called to offer goods that are truly good, and services that truly serve. In this podcast, Catholic entrepreneur and philanthropist Andreas Widmer discusses the journey of his own personal vocation from Swiss Guard to married man to technology entrepreneur and executive, and eventually to teaching at The Catholic University of America. The post The Vocation of Business with Andreas Widmer appeared first on Inscape Vocations.

Andreas is the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at the Catholic University of America and former Swiss Guard for John Paul II. He is a serial entrepreneur that has been involved in several technology startups that were acquired. Previously he co-founded The SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic organization that promoted business solutions to poverty. He is also the author of The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II’s Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard.

Can the modern world put people, instead of economics, at the center of policy? We discuss the Catholic understanding of business profit with former Swiss Guard and renowned CEO, Andreas Widmer. …

Pope St. John Paul II is one of the most beloved popes of all time. He touched the lives of millions. But his impact is far from over. JPII was a world-class philosopher. He taught us truths about ourselves, and humanity in general, in a way that made sense. He understood our deepest longings and turmoil. He could explain the inner workings of our heart in relation to God.  In a nutshell, he taught us how to be fully human through Jesus Christ. But while most of us learned this from his speeches, encyclicals, and books, Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard and now Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at Catholic University of Americas' Busch School of Business & Economics, received his instruction in person. This giant of a man swore to protect and serve the Holy Father with his life. And in return, he learned what it means to truly live. In fact, he wrote a book about it called The Pope & the CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard. In this special episode of the Art of Catholic, we're going to: Hear beautiful stories about what JPII was really like in person Learn about the history and duties of the Swiss Guard Discover the relationship between JPII's famous Theology of the Body and the world of economics Discuss how JPII's view of poverty and the human person is necessary to understand the heart of Pope Francis Hear this modern saint's "simple" rule of life he practiced every day You don't get too many opportunities to hear personal witness about a saint. Andreas Widmer gives us that and much more! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

As the saying goes, money doesn’t buy happiness, and similarly, most people agree that “development” is more than just aggregate economic growth. Instead, many people use the concept of well-being which is convenient as a multi-faceted target, integrating health, education, security, etc. Yet many organizations go further and articulate their mission with an appeal to human dignity. The banner of human dignity can be seen as a slogan, obscuring the variations of meaning and implications in practice. The deep reflections on human dignity and broad experience in the practice of human development from the Catholic tradition are an invaluable resource for this dialogue across sectors, public and private, secular and faith-based. The Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame University, under the leadership of Paolo Carozza, has recently embarked on a multi-year, inter-disciplinary initiative to explore these topics and to seek out examples of genuine experience of human dignity and human development. Through short presentations and moderated Q&A, this event will engage a diverse audience to consider the contribution of the Catholic tradition to this field and to reflect on practical examples from the work of the AVSI foundation globally.

Summary of Today's Show: Scot discusses the future hopes and dreams of WQOM with new General Manager Christopher Kelley and Director of the Advisory Board Andreas Widmer. Today's host(s): Scot Landry Today's guest(s): Christopher Kelley, General Manager of WQOM; Andreas Widmer, Director of the Advisory Board of WQOM Links from today's show: 1st segment:Scot mentioned that for the first time TGCL is live streaming the radio show on Bostoncatholiclive.com! Scot introduced Andreas Widmer and Christopher Kelley, both new to the management team at WQOM in the last few weeks. Chris will serve as the General Manager, handling day to day operations, while Andreas will serve with the Advisory board to create a vision and stable base of supporters for the station. Scot asked Chris about his connection with Catholic radio. Chris said that before he started working for WQOM, he used to work for WNEB Catholic radio in Worcester, his hometown. He was drawn in to it because of the idea of new evangelization through radio which rapidly and strongly expanding. Scot mentioned that one of the reasons for catholic radio expansion in the country is because EWTN provides free programming to radio stations throughout the country. Scot asked Andreas to share a little about his faith. Andreas shared his story from when he was a Swiss Guard in Rome and was blessed to witness the life of Pope John Paul II who inspired him to want to live the Christian faith. Scot noted that the last time Andreas was on the show he talked about his book “The Pope and the CEO.” Andreas said he is very happy with the book and that it has sold over 10,000 copies. He also said that is he is really humbled with the messages he receives from the readers about how much the booked has helped them. 2nd segment: Scot asked Chris about some of the duties he has as the station manager for WQOM here in Boston. Chris said that his first duty is to increase the number of listeners through the website, newsletter social media and word of mouth. He is also engaged with the fundrive, which will happen October 17th-20th. Scot said that the 1060AM bumper sticker he has on his car is a great conversation starter and way to promote WQOM and asked what else can people do to help share about WQOM. Chris encouraged the listeners to write to WQOM by sending an email and this way they will receive information and material, including the bumper sticker, about WQOM that they can use to help share about WQOM. Scot asked Andreas more details about the Facebook page for WQOM Boston. Andreas said that one of the primary focuses is to bring together the catholic community and to engage them and this way they will be able to not only listen to the program but also participate by getting more involved. Chris said that one of the ways people are getting engaged is that Catholic school teachers are asking students to listen to Catholic radio as a homework assignment and that alone is a great way to get the kids to listen and also their parents. Scot asked Andreas about the major gift campaigns and the work he is hoping to do. Andreas shares that there are people who want to make a difference with evangelization and he hopes to find that group that would support with ideas and financially because this is a commercial free radio station. Andreas said that with the vibrant catholic community in the area he doesn't think this will be a problem. Scot asked about the advantages for radio to have tools like an app and podcasts. Andreas said that you can control the program you want to list to and create your own radio schedule. Through the technology you can hear unfiltered catholic information and news and learn about the faith.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry Today's guest(s): Andy LaVallee, Catholic businessman and owner of LaVallee's Bakery Links from today's show: Today's topics: Profile of Catholic businessman Andy LaVallee Summary of today's show: Local Catholic businessman Andy LaVallee llives his faith 24/7, bringing his Catholic values into LaVallee's Bakery Distributors, which provides high-quality breads to feed the poor and homeless; puts employees, customers, and vendors above the bottom line through Gospel values; and has now started a new initiative providing free nutritious bread to anyone who wants to fast for Lent (LiveTheFast.com). In addition, Andy helped found the Massachusetts Catholic Business Association, bringing together Catholics in all fields and walks of life to pray, learn their faith, and join in fellowship on a regular basis. 1st segment: Scot wished all the listeners a happy St. Valentine's Day. He discussed today's topic of living the social gospel in how we conduct all our affairs, including our business life. Our guest is Andy LaVallee, owner of LaVallee's Bakery in Waltham, which gives its first rate bread to many of the food pantries in the area and how he has made the Gospel central to his work. Andy said it's a 35-year-old family-owned business. They bring in products from all over the world, cakes, cookies, breads and distribute them to top hotels and restaurants. Most of the products come from vendor partners all over the world. He grew up in Charlestown in the busing era. He found a job at a bakery to keep himself out of trouble. After about eight years, his wife was pregnant with their first son, so he bought a station wagon for a few hundred dollars and started delivering bread on the way home. LaVallee's had a different vision of who they wanted to be, to have top-level service. Their breakthrough was delivering to the Château and Nocera restaurants. Andy said you have to be totally committed if you're self-employed and through the first 15 years he put in a lot of long hours. The turning point was in 1997, when he was leaving Mass and Fr. Rodney Kopp asked him to teach CCD to confirmation age boys. He promised to do it for one year and ended up doing it for 13 years. He learned a lot about Catholic social values and how to treat people. It transformed how he lead the company and gave him the idea of servant leadership. He said in the beginning, he went to Mass, but had no other faith life. He said he's a Triple type-A personality so he attacked teaching CCD in the same way and wanted to make sure he was teaching these kids the right thing. Andy said the first thing to know is God's love and how his grace and mercy works in us. He used examples from their own lives to explain the Church's teachings. By recognizing how blessed we are by God and we are created with a purpose makes us want to reciprocate for what we have been given and to find out what our mission is. He wanted to be an example of these teachings, not just for the CCD classes, but also for his own family. He had an interview with a young man for a driver's job. They'd had trouble keeping drivers working for them. At the end of the interview, he asked him why he wanted to work there. The man said God had told him he wanted him to go work at LaVallee's. That told Andy that he wanted to run his company that way. Instead of living by the spreadsheet, they wanted to live by the truth of the dignity of every human being. The way that works is that you have to show the love of God through your actions in all your business dealings. Vendors and customers can then trust you. He also continually focuses his people on the values of the dignity of the human being. Be more concerned with the people first and everything else will happen if you live by the rules God gave us. He doesn't call his drivers “drivers”, they call them customer guardians. They set up a special program to teach them that their job is to watch over their customers, be the best teammate they can be, and be a step above everyone else delivering to business in Boston. That has led to double-digit growth in this economy. Not everyone is Catholic. Only about 50% are. But they all understand the Christian values and know they are treated better than any place else. They pay their health insurance. They allow employees to bring their newborns to work with them rather than send them to daycare. When you walk into LaVallee's, you see the LaVallee's logo and an portrait of Pope John Paul II, who is the example of servant leadership. Everyone in business wants to climb to the top of pyramid. But to be a success, you have to invert the pyramid. You have to support everyone who trusts in you and believe in you. How did Christ build the Church we are today? By being a servant-example to all. It's so much easier to do it this way because you just live according to these teachings. When you finish a task, you say you've done the best you can and leave the rest up to God. There is a whole process in forming other managers in the company to this model. Lead by example and walk through the ideas with them on a day by day basis. Scot asked when Andy realized he had a responsibility to provide high-quality breads to the poor and homeless. Andy said in meetings with vendors, there would be cases and cases of product that get thrown out because they don't meet a particular customer's standards. They take that high-quality bread to shelters throughout Boston. On one Thanksgiving day, you would find the same exact bread on the tables at the Ritz Carlton as found on the tables at St. Francis House right out the back door of the hotel. Andy's accountants complain about the cost, but they are building spiritual equity, not to mention gaining a positive response from others who want more of that bread. A few years he founded with some others an organization called the CEO Council on Hunger to provide high-quality foods to the poor and homeless. 2nd segment: Andy has started a website called LivetheFast.com, which discusses breads created for fasting. He said bread and water is the best fast: water is cleansing and bread represents the Eucharist. But 90% of the breads in supermarkets would accelerate your appetite that would prevent you from completing the fast by making you hungry: sugars, preservatives, etc. Jesus fasted and taught his disciples to fast, but no one has tried this commercially. Families used to make their own breads at home to fast. They're doing this commercially all-natural, whole wheat, unbleached, no preservatives, and providing nutrition to maintain the fast all day. He has selected from among 600 products for his best fasting bread. It is an artisan roll, handmade, but with different flavor profiles. The cranberry multi-bread pecan is good for breakfast. The ancient grain bread is a soaked grain so it's easier. They have a nut grain and even a white/whole wheat mix for kids. Once you sign up for the Lenten challenge at the website, they will also provide some great books and other resources to help you live the fast. He learned through this discovery of fasting breads, during all the apparitions of Our Lady, she has recommended we fast and pray. Andy was on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje a few years ago. In the middle of the night he heard some Italian women singing the rosary outside his window so he got up to pray with them. He had been fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays and the idea of fasting breads came to him and the idea stayed with him. He went back to Medjugorje five months later and researched their fasting practices. They use similar breads as he's making. They use a spelt flour that's hard to get in the US, but almost everyone fasts when they are there. Andy intends to provide the breads to anyone who wants to live the fast. Got to LivetheFast.com, sign up for the Lenten challenge, and they will provide the breads throughout Lent. Put them in your freezer, take one out before going to work and heat it up in the oven for a few minutes, take a bottle of water and go. When he's fasting, his focus level is entirely different. He'd read that when you fast, you lose energy and look different, but he wanted to make the breads nutritious and not lose energy. But his prayer life remained focus and he doesn't get too many lows. If someone signs up for the fasting challenge, people will be able to pick up the breads in various places and at different times. There will enough for a few weeks at a time, but you can come back for more for all of Lent. Cardinal Seán recently called us to pray and fast with regard to the Health and Human Services mandate so this can be part of that. Scot asked if Andy has internal projections on how much they're going to be giving out. Andy said they don't have projections, but he's hopeful it will be very popular. 3rd segment: Andy has been asked to speak at St. Mary, Waltham, after Masses about the value of fasting and he's hoping they get a lot of parishioners who want to take the Live the Fast challenge. A few years ago, Andy and some other Catholics formed the Mass. Catholic Business Association. Andreas Widmer is a friend and mentor to Andy and helped him found it. He got the idea while driving home one day from a Legatus meeting. He wrote a whole business plan for it and then presented it to Andreas. He said he'd been thinking of the same thing. The mission is to come together once per month, be centered around the Eucharist, and then have reflections after Mass and silence. They build the reflections around the liturgical calendar. It's a great example of what they're trying to do in the community. Scot said Legatus is also for Catholic businessmen, but it tends to be for CEOs and other's running businesses, while Mass. Catholic Business Association is for everyone. Andy said they get guys in suits from the financial district and landscapers in jeans and boots, all praying together before the Lord. Their tagline is “Where faith and business meet.” They'll be meeting at St. Francis Chapel at the Prudential Center. They had more than 60 present at their last Mass and they meet after Mass at Champions. One of the priests from St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine will celebrate Mass. It was the OMVs who suggested the move from South Boston to the business center of Boston at the Prudential Center. When they moved last month, they had 12 new people. They consistently hear from them that they never thought they'd find an organization like this. Scot said you can feel lonely because you don't know other people at your workplace who share your faith. The next meeting is March 7 at 5:45pm with Mass at 6pm, reflection at 6:30pm, silent meditation and then dinner and fellowship from about 7pm to 9pm. Andy said the reflections are given by one of the members of the group. they give a School of Prayer, taking either the liturgical calendar or readings for the day and bringing into their daily lives, their work or family or community. There is no cost to be a member. It's men and women and the ages range from college age all the way up to their 70s. There are great opportunities to mentor. And it's everyone from the janitor to the CEO.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry Today's guest(s): Bishop Robert F. Hennessey, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston for the Central Region and Fr. David Barnes, Pastor of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Parish in Beverly, MA Links from today's show: Today's topics: Confession and Preparing for Christmas Summary of today's show: Bishop Robert F. Henneseey and Fr. David Barnes discuss with Scot Landry the importance of Confession as a spiritual preparation for Christmas and on this Wednesday, the Archdiocese's The Light Is On For You program makes every church and chapel available for Confessions that evening. Many of the myths and misconceptions of Confession are debunked and the wonderful spiritual benefits are revealed. Also, other ways to use this last week of Advent to make the best preparation for Christmas and the Incarnation of Christ. 1st segment: Scot said we hear a lot in Advent to prepare the way of the Lord. One good way to do that is to make a good holy confession between now and christmas. This Wednesday, every church and chapel in the Archdiocese will be open from 6:30pm to 8pm as part of . The recalled the anniversary of Bishop Hennessey's ordination to the episcopate on last Monday, December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He's been a bishop for five years. Scot said he meets many people as a bishop, but only sees them once. Bishop Hennessey said as a bishop you don't have the same relationship with people as you did when you were a pastor. He loves going out to the parishes and doing confirmations, but he does miss life in a parish. Fr. David was the youngest pastor in the Archdiocese when he became pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea and he was parochial vicar before that and has been there 12 years. Bishop Hennessy said when he was pastor at Most Holy Redeemer in East Boston, he did more than 400 baptism a year and he still has people come up to him and say he baptized them. He said East Boston has been a gateway for newly arriving immigrants. Fr. David said he does about 75 in his own very large parish. Scot said Cardinal Seán launched The Light Is On For You during Lent 2010. It is occurring just one Wednesday this Advent on Wednesday, December 21. Bishop Hennessey said a lot of priests said during Advent that they would spend a lot of time preparing people for the new missal and wouldn't have as much time preaching on confession, plus one of the Wednesday's would be the vigil of the Immaculate Conception. Scot encouraged listeners to go to for resources on preparing for confession. He asked how Fr. David was encouraging people to come to confession. He said he preaches about confession quite a bit and blogs on it and writes in the parish bulletin. The kids at the parish school have also gone to confession and hopefully they're encouraging their parents. He said the more you talk about it and offer it, the more people will come to it. He notices that most of the people who come to confession to him now are under 40. The more you offer it and the more people know you're waiting, the more they will come. He said for a long time people thought you didn't need to come anymore. Bishop Hennessey said he remembers in the second grade, Sr. Marie Patrick asking them why Jesus came as a little baby. She said he did so because nobody is afraid of a baby. During Advent, people who say they are afraid to go to confession, that God won't forgive them, it's important to remember that God doesn't want us to fear him. Scot said we often picture God as a strong judgmental father, but Scot likes to remember the father of the prodigal son who races out to embrace his son and has a celebration to welcome the son home. It's the priest's role to be that loving father. Fr. David said in the parables Jesus said there is more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over 99 who don't need to repentant. Bishop hennessey said when we stand before God, it's natural to be afraid, like Mary before Gabriel and the shepherds before the choir of angels, but Jesus came into the world to save us, not condemn us. Scot said sometimes people forget the prayers and feel like they don't know how to go to confession, but all priests are willing to help someone through the process. Fr. David said that it's music to their ears because that's the person who needs to go the most. Scot said some people might be embarrassed by their sins and voicing their sins is intimidating. Bishop Hennessey said the success of The Light Is On For You is that people can go anywhere and not be recognized. Scot said he also likes the anonymity of the confessional box. He likes that he doesn't have to look someone in the eye so he can pray with his eyes closed. Fr. David said it's nice for people to see others also going to confession at the same time of all sorts and walks of life. Bishop Hennessey said a priest doesn't want to yell at someone and drive them away. Regarding sins that people think are too big, Bishop Hennessey said it is impossible for us to commit a sin God can't forgive. For people who think they will confess something that will shock the priest, Fr. David said anyone who's been a priest more than a week can't be shocked. The confessional is not a place of punishment; it's a place to receive the peace and love of Christ. Bishop Hennessey said when someone says it's been a long time, the priest thinks that's music to his ears. It's a great thing to experience. Bishop Hennessey said when they started the program a couple of priests were reluctant to do it, but after Lent they called him and said it was worth it because they had heard confessions of people who had been away for a long time. Scot said having heard many thousands of confessions in his life for Bishop Hennessy to be a witness to the grace must be one of the joys of the priesthood. Fr. David said it's a privilege. He said the best thing is a long line of confessions. It's exhausting, but this is what being a priest is all about. Bishop Hennessey said when he gives a penance and they say “Is that all?”, he explains no penance can pay back the debt of the sin, we can't make up for our sins. But it is an act that says we are willing to try to make some reparation and to start off on the right path. 2nd segment: Scot said Fr. David wrote about the Sacrament of Confession on his blog last Wednesday and one passage struck him: If you are particularly embarrassed about some sin or another, just say it. Usually, sins of the flesh are the ones that are most embarrassing. What is so amazing is how these sins appear to exercise such power over a person and then, the moment a person confesses them, they realize that the power of these sins evaporates. Sexual sins embarrass people into not confessing. But confessing these sins deprives the sins of all of their imaginary power. To this end, let me say that the priest hearing confessions has heard the words, “adultery, fornication, homosexual activity, pornography, and masturbation” before. Unless you happen to be the first person ever to go to confession to that priest, you are not going to tell him anything he hasn't already heard many times. What struck Scot about this is the power that some sins have over because we feel shame and guilt and we're not willing to ask forgiveness, even if it's a sin that keeps rearing its ugly head with us. Fr. David said he thinks it's St. John Vianney who said first the Devil comes and whispers in one ear that this sin isn't the biggest deal in the world so don't worry, then whispers in the other ear, now yo've done and God will never forgive you. Scot said Fr. Larry Richards often says to men that they should just say “I've been impure with…” and every priest will know what you mean. But the grace you will feel and forgiveness will be multiples of grace over the embarrassment. Bishop Hennessey said a lot of healing comes when you can just voice the sins. That's when people feel that great sense of relief. Scot quoted Fr. David's blog: “Remember, priests go to confession too. We know what it is like to be on the other side of the screen.” Fr. David said the priest is the first to need God's mercy and to be a good minister of mercy he must go to confession too. He says people are often surprised to hear that priests need to go to confession. Bishop Hennessey suggests people go to confession at least once per month. He recalls a retired priest kneeling down next to a young priest going to confession and it was a beautiful image. Scot said his friend Andreas Widmer tells the story of a priest who had fallen on hard times in Rome and became homeless. A priest going into an audience with Pope John Paul II noticed the homeless priest on the streets outside the Vatican and so he told the Holy Father about it. After the audience the Holy Father sought out the homeless priest and had him brought to dinner and at the end of dinner, the Holy Father knelt before the homeless priest and asked him to hear his confession. Bishop Hennessey said a former cardinal of New York would mention going to confession the previous week in almost every homily. When priests remind the people in the pew that priests go to confession, it's good for them. Fr. David said the present archbishop of New York says he slips into a pew at a random church in New York for confession. Scot said every time he goes to confession at St. Anthony Shrine in downtown Boston, he sees a priest waiting already. Scot tends to go at 6:30am at St. Anthony's. It's moving to him that Archbishop Dolan might show up at any church in New York to ask a priest to hear his confession. Bishop Hennessey said there used to be a chapel just for priests to go to confession. Fr. David also wrote: “After you've confessed all of your sins, let the priest know that you are done. A lot of people say something like, “For these and for all of my sins, I am truly sorry.” This helps the priest to know that you have finished confessing.” Scot said he never realized how important this is. Fr. David said often people are holding the hardest sin until the end and he doesn't want to cut them off. Scot said he likes to get the big one out of the way first. Fr. David said people who have been involved with an abortion carry that burden with them for decades. Sometimes they go on living a Catholic on appearances only because they're so ashamed and bothered by the sin. He wants them to know that they should never be afraid. He said you almost always know immediately when someone is coming to confess that sin. Bishop Hennessey said the father of the prodigal son was waiting for his son and Jesus is waiting for people to give them that forgiveness. Scot emphasized that to find a parish in the Archdiocese, go to . 3rd segment: Scot said Bishop Hennessey said he came to the show today in order to tell his Christmas story. He was told a story of girl going home to tell her grandmother that she was in the Christmas pageant. She said she was going to be the star, she would have the most important role. So the grandma told her friends to come see her granddaughter be Mary. But during the pageant, the granddaughter was nowhere to be seen until the star came in wordlessly to lead the shepherds to the manger and then came back to bring in the magi. It turns out she was literally the star of the pageant. The little girl told her grandmother that it was the most important role because she brought everyone to the baby Jesus. Scot said this week is the easiest week to invite people to come back to the Church. Be one of the people that rejoices at the the full pews and that you can't get your regular pew because so many people are there. Bishop Hennessey said he was just a meeting that told him that in the Central Region Mass attendance is going up. Scot about other ways to prepare for Christmas in the last few days of Advent. Bishop Hennessey said it aggravates him to see new stories of people shopping on Christmas Eve as if they didn't know Christmas was coming. If we're not ready when we know the day and time, how will we be ready when we don't know the day and time, either of our own death or the second coming of Christ. He said we tend to wait until the last minute. We can make last preparations this week, but to take a real look at ourselves and not kid ourselves. We need to make ourselves ready. Fr. David said they just set up the rather large nativity set in his parish and you inevitably hear the question of where is Jesus. He said he reflects that without Christ the manger is empty. Now matter how much stuff we have in our life, no matter how many relationships, if Christ isn't there, it is a great emptiness. Bishop Hennessey said in all that preparation, on Christmas God wants to give us a gift, His Son. He pictures the Blessed Mother herself saying, “I have him right here in my arms for you.” He's seen so much charity over the past few weeks, but with all the gifts we want to give to others, and God wants to give us his son. Fr. David said we are born with a great desire for happiness. God tells us his son is the answer to that desire, but everything is competing for that. Stores spend months telling us if we buy these as gifts, we'll be happy, but the lie is exposed when on the day after Christmas the sales start because we're still not happy. Scot asked people to create a list this week of things that will help us to grow closer to Christ this Christmas. He advised people to reflect on the Gospels of the nativity narratives this week before Mass. Christmas isn't just about gifts and isn't just about family or even about the birth of a baby. That baby is God himself. Bishop Hennessey said on the top of that list is to go to Confession this Wednesday at any parish or chapel. Scot asked Fr. David if they always do confessions at the school before Christmas. He said they do it before Christmas and Easter. He said it's so important because he wants the kids to remember the rest of their lives that they can go to confession when they commit sin. They will also remember that the priests didn't yell at them, but offered only forgiveness. Bishop Hennessey will be at St. Peter's in South Boston at the vigil on Christmas. He will be at the cloistered convent at Midnight Mass. Fr. David said he will have Masses at St. Mary's and St. Margaret's in Beverly Farms.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Domenico Bettinelli and Mother Olga Yaqob Today's topics: Our favorite saints; WQOM 1st anniversary Summary of today's show: Who is your favorite saint? On this All Saints' Day, Dom Bettinelli and Mother Olga join Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor to talk about some of their favorite saints, including a saint who died at the hands of the Nazis, a saint who was a mother and wife, saints who were young siblings, and a saint who was a college student who came from a wealthy and influential family. They also discussed the one year anniversary of WQOM in Boston, which began broadcasting with the Mass on Nov. 1, 2010. 1st segment: Scot welcomes Fr. Chris on All Saints Day. Today is also the one-year anniversary of WQOM in Boston. Fr. Chris said he was at Sacred Hearts in Malden at the Cheverus grammar school for the All Saints Day Mass. He went through some of the many saints that the kids are familiar and remind them that we're all called to holiness. Their pastor, Fr. Dan Hickey, has been the pastor there for 26 years. The Cheverus school is an urban school and is very multicultural. It is named for Boston's first bishop. Cheverus is also the name of the award given to lay leaders in the archdiocese by Cardinal Seán on the Feast of Christ the King. Fr. Chris said at the seminary the new tomb marker has been installed for Cardinal O'Connell after his grave was moved. He's sure that the cardinal will receive many new prayers now that he's located right next to the seminary instead of up on the hill and out of the way where he used to be. He was moved in mid-July and the marker has just been installed. Cardinal Seán will lead a formal service marking the move. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Dom and Mother Olga to the show. Scot introduced a recording of Cardinal Seán's remarks during the inaugural Mass for WQOM last All Saints Day at Holy Cross Cathedral. Scot said it was a momentous day. It was appropriate that the first words on air were those of the Mass. Scot said he has heard form many people who tell him how much the station has become a part of their daily life. Fr. Chris said he hears from prisoners in the Massachusetts prison system who listen to WQOM for inspiration and catechesis. Mother Olga said she also heard from a number of people as she travels around the area who say they heard her on this show. A mom told her she sits in the car while doing errands waiting for the last few minutes of the show to finish to hear it all. Dom said he has heard from people who say that WQOM has been an integral part of their conversion to the Catholic faith. Scot sent his thanks to the people of the Station of the Cross network who started WQOM and 24-hour Catholic radio in Boston. 3rd segment: Mother Olga said many of her students at Boston University where she was a campus chaplain had a devotion to Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, especially young men. Scot asked Fr. Chris how many of the men entering seminary have devotions to Bl. Pier Giorgio. Fr. Chris said walking the corridors of the seminary, you see many photos of Bl. Pier Giorgio, as well as St. George and St. Michael. 4th segment: Scot said Mother Olga wanted to offer St. Rita of Cascia as an example for moms. She was a holy wife and holy mother. She had a difficult life with suffering, but she was faithful to the Lord and to her family. She was born in Italy in 1386. She had wanted to become a religious sister, but her parents arranged a marriage for her and she obeyed. It was a difficult marriage because her husband was not devout or faithful. He was violent and mistreated her. They had two boys and she was dedicated to them and taught them to respect their father, to love him and pray for him. She prayed for her husband's conversion everyday. At the end of his life, he was touched by her goodness and charity and had changed his heart. Unfortunately, he was murdered by enemies he had made. Her sons swore vengeance, but St. Rita prayed they would forgive them. After some time, the boys got sick and died. St. Rita approached the Augustinian order and entered the convent at age 36. She lived in the convent for 40 years. She is the patron saint of impossible cases. She was able to bring reconciliation between her husband's enemies and her husband's families. She canonized in 1900. Scot said many saints have difficult lives and people who are having difficulty in life can look to her. St. Rita's shrine in Lowell is dedicated to her and the shrine is known for miracles through her intercession. 5th segment: Mother Olga said St. Rita is depicted as having been pierced by a throne because she asked Christ if she could feel the suffering of just one thorn to console Christ in his suffering. Mother Olga also has saints for children in Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto of Fatima. She said one day she was teaching students at Boston University about various Marian apparitions. Some children talked about Our Lady of Fatima as their favorite apparition because Our Lady talked to children like them. They were two of the three shepherd children, 10 and 11 years old, at Fatima. They are the two youngest non-martyr blessed or saints in the Church. Mother Olga told a story of how Mother Teresa used to say that sainthood is a duty we should pursue so she never demurred when people called her a living saint. When the angel appeared to the children in 1917, he taught the children several prayers that we all continue to pray today. The children at the urging of the angel began to offer small sacrifices for others for the salvation of souls. Francisco, the day before he died, asked the parish priest to bring him his First Communion. After that, Jacinta died a few months later. If children can do that, how much more can we feel responsible for the conversion of souls and sinners? They died of the influenza epidemic. Scot said they never would have known the whole world would know their story, yet they woke each day asking how they could live each day to make it holy. Mother Olga said saints truly live the Gospel where it's no longer about me, but about God and his people. These two children teach us this example: they did it all for God and for our Lady. We are all responsible to be part of God's plan to spread his Gospel. Fr. Chris said to see these two children in their holiness is inspiring. Scot said Fr. Mark O'Connell in his homily at Mass today said when we look in the mirror and see ourselves in all our quirkiness, we see someone called to be a saint. Cardinal Seán said in last year's All Saints' Day Mass that we are all called to be saints, because to be a saint is to be truly human. Andreas Widmer, a friend of the show and frequent guest, called John Paul II one of the most human persons he ever met and someone who is truly real. Fr. Chris said saints come in all shapes and styles and colors and we can find someone who appeals to us and to whom we can pray for intercession at the wedding banquet of the Lamb of God in heaven. 6th segment: Scot said one of Fr. Chris' favorite saints is St. Maximilian Kolbe. The Franciscan church where Kolbe worked for many years is a little bronze marker that reads “Here would pray daily John Paul II” when he was a professor at the university. John Paul canonized him in 1982. He is the patron saint of prisoners, journalists, and people working in the pro-life movement. John Paul called him the patron of our difficult century. He was a missionary in Japan for a while, but he is most known for his work during World War II. He saved many Jews from the concentration camps, but he was himself sent to Auschwitz. In order to discourage prisoners from escaping, they would line up others and would choose one in 10 to kill. During one of these decimations, a father of 10 was pulled from the line and he cried out “My wife, my children.” Maximilian offered to take his place. As soon as he was placed in the starvation bunker, he started to sing hymns to Mary. He would not die, so the Nazis eventually injected him with acid to kill. At his canonization in 1982 in St. Peter's Square, the family of the man whose life he saved were present. Fr. Chris said Kolbe teaches us that if we seek holiness there is no better person to turn to than the Blessed Mother. We pray for her intercession now and at the hour of our death, whenever that will be. Kolbe also teaches us through his sacrifice how essential it is. most of us won't give the ultimate sacrifice as Kolbe did, but the way we sacrifice for our families, we sacrifice to care for the poor, we sacrifice to be with the Lord is an essential part of sanctity. His life is also a source of hope. When you visit Auschwitz and see the organized evil it represents, but visit his cell and see the candle burning brightly there, you realize that evil never wins ultimately. Scot said remembers when Kolbe stepped forward he said, “I am a Catholic priest. I will take his place.” He was a Catholic first, he believes in sacrificing for others. And as a priest, he learned to model his life on Christ, to be in persona Christi. There are times in our lives when we get a chance to sacrifice for us. We should think in our head: “I am a Catholic. Let me….” Mother Olga said the surest way to heaven is to turn to Mary, because no one knows or is as close to Jesus than her. All the great saints have a strong devotion to our Lady which led them closer to Jesus. The saints teach us faithfulness in that present moment and the greater reward waiting for us in heaven. St. Therese of Lisieux said we are called to live ordinary lives with extraordinary love. Scot said it's important we don't see the saints as just historical figures. It's important for parents to introduce them to our saints as heroes to model their lives on. If we don't, they will model their lives after some movie actor or musician or athlete. Fr. Chris is reminded of St. Paul who called us to finish the race. We are all on the race to heave. He said St. Theresa of Avila once prayed, “Lord, save me from those long-faced saints.” If we know Christ, there has got to be some joy in our life. Scot said as we introduce our selves and our kids to saints, we can look at the liturgical calendar and learn a little bit about saints online: NewAdvent.com, even Wikipedia.org.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today's guest(s): Andreas Widmer, CEO of the Seven Fund and author of “The Pope and the CEO” Today's topics: The new book “The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard” Summary of today's show: Andreas Widmer returns to talk with Scot and Fr. Matt about his new book, “The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard,” and its goal of helping people find their three levels of vocation in life and live them with success in a truly integrated way. The book offers practical exercises for discernment as well as anecdotes from John Paul's life that act as a guide to living a life balanced among work, play, prayer, exercise, and all that is good. 1st segment: Scot said Fr. Matt has been participating in a pre-cana workshop and class, including leading the couples in a teaching Mass. Fr. Matt said the program is called Transformed in Love and was created by Kari Colella of the Marriage Office. Last night, there were about 25 couples and they broke open to the Mass to help them appreciate what goes on. The Mass has so many signs and symbols that many people don't know exactly what is going on. He gave the why behind the what. Everything we do in the Mass comes from Scripture and from the Tradition of the Church. So, what's the significance of incense and stained glass and other parts of the Mass. He gave an analogy of going to the Patriots game. People show 3 hours early and they get filled with the “spirits” in preparation. If you go to Mass 15 minutes early, you're guaranteed to get a parking spot and you prepare by getting filed with the Spirit. At the football game, you smell hot dogs and other food. At the Mass, you smell incense. In the stadium, you have retired jerseys of great players of the past. In the Mass, you see pictures and statues of the saints. At Gillette Stadium you see the Lombardi trophies. At Mass, you see the ultimate trophy of the Cross of Jesus Christ. The 50-yard line is the central focus of the stadium and the altar is the central focus of the Church. In football, the fans are the 12th player and actively participating without playing the game. In the Mass, the congregation joins in united with the priest in active participation of the prayer of the Mass. And so on. Scot said the difference is that no one says going to the football game is boring because they understand what's happening, while people say Mass is boring partly because they don't know why we do what we do. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Andreas back to the show. He said Andreas is a two-time CEO, first for a consulting company and now as CEO of the Seven Fund, which seeks to find entrepreneurial solutions to poverty. Andreas said he credits his return to seriously practicing his faith to Pope John Paul II when he was a 20-year-old Swiss Guard. It came about through meeting him as an individual. Andreas said John Paul was the most fully human person he'd ever met in his life. Often people think that Popes or saints are something unachievable. In fact, he was a real down-to-earth human person. He could be joyful, angry, laughing, pensive and he could pray. John Paul had a very manly handshake. Scot said Andreas didn't realize all the lessons of John Paul when he was 20, but only came to realize them as he reflected on them through his life. Andreas said he found his faith as a Swiss Guard, but faith is something that never is, but is always becoming. It's a dynamic process of two steps forward and one step back. As a Swiss Guard he had a lot of time to pray, and then when he went into business and got married, his faith waned a bit and became a sort of Sunday Catholic. His business ethics were separate from his Catholic beliefs. Andreas said if you go through life without being integrated, without being the same person in every situation, it becomes very complicated and it's a downward spiral. Andreas said he's lived a blessed life with a lot of privilege. He grew up in a wonderful family in Switzerland and then became a Swiss Guard, came to the United States, went to school here, and was part of so many great companies. When John Paul died, he was on a business trip to London. He changed his flight and flew to Rome. The next day, he saw John Paul's body in the papal palace with special access to the hall as a former Swiss Guard. As he stood there and prayed for him, Andreas asked the Lord “who am I that I have such privilege.” He sensed the Lord telling him, “Yes, you have this privilege. Now what are you going to do with it?” The Lord gives a gift and then asks what we're going to do with it. So he decided to witness to it. Scot said before writing the book, Andreas has given many speeches on the topic. Andreas said many of the talks were among friends and friendly audiences and people always asked him if he had the talk in writing. He'd always pushed writing away, but after John Paul died he resolved to proclaim it to a wide audience. Fr. Matt asked what contributes to the compartmentalization of faith? Andreas said it's easy to say, “It's just business.” And the lessons of Scripture can be hard for most people to apply them today. This is why Pope John Paul canonized and beatified so many people, to give us examples. Can you be a Christian and run a profitable company? Most of the world says No. But living according to God's law and truth naturally results in fruitfulness and profit in some form. Scot said he spent some time after graduating from Harvard writing case studies and one of them was about Harvard Business School itself. In an interview with Ken Case, he asked him how he could balance being Dean of the Business School with being a father and husband. He said it's much easier if you say you have lines that you draw, that you make particularly important aspects of life top priority. If you're clear on that, people respect you as a person with principles and values in life. Andreas said in our culture there is a latent dualism, which comes from the distinction between physical and spiritual. There shouldn't be a distinction because we are enfleshed spirits. We are as much a body as a spirit. Likewise, there is a dualism about business and charity or that everything is a zero-sum game in which you have to lose in order for me to win. But business can be a win-win situation. 3rd segment: Scot said Andreas' book has been endorsed by Cardinal Peter Turkson and Cardinal Raymond Burke and the foreword has been written by George Weigel. He asked Andreas how a Catholic businessman should understand their three levels of vocation. Andreas said the three levels include the universal vocation of every person to glorify God, do his will, and go to heaven; to become saints. The primary vocation is the rough framework in which you pursue this, such as priesthood, marriage, religious life, the single life, and so on. The there's the secondary vocation, which is what the first half of the book is about, to help you find your secondary vocation. In order to be happy, you must pursue all of these vocations. A hammer can be a doorstop, but it's never going to be what it was made to be. God has created each person to be unique among all other people ever created with opportunities, challenges, skills and talents. Then God asks that person what he will do for God in response. Andreas said the book offers exercises in the book and on his website that will help you both find or fine-tune your vocation. Once you find that out on those three levels, it gives you priorities in your life. One of the difficulties of life is that we are bombarded with other people's priorities, which distracts you from living out your vocation and doing what you were meant to do. Andreas said we are made for holiness, but we are called to do this in our own unique fashion. This comes to you through prayer and by reviewing your life. He guides you through how God is talking to you, sometimes through reading Scripture. In the book there is a whole section on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that helps fine tune. He clarifies that God is not an authoritarian dictator. He's like the coach who chose you for the team because he knows you have all the talents and skills to perform. But he then trains you through difficult practices. Fr. Matt said he borrowed from Andreas' book in his homily last night in telling the couples that they are each a unique unrepeatable gift and their fiancés are the most profound way that God was telling them that He loves them.He encouraged them to see in their vocation to marriage that they have a unique unrepeatable project in that other person in their marriage to journey together. We are meant to make a gift of ourselves to our spouse. Our primary vocation is our path to sainthood. If we want to be as happy as we have been designed to be it will be through your spouse. Andreas in the book proposes some provocative questions, and sometimes the pace of life is such that we don't reflect on those important questions. Andreas said one of the sections encourages writing down an articulated plan for life. Pope John Paul, at every one of his birthdays, he went through his last will and testament by meditating on it. It was a spiritual testament about himself, how he wanted to affect the world, and what he wanted to leave behind. Andreas often says to start by exploring your strengths. For many people it's easier to love their neighbor than themselves and the exercises of the book help you to discover yourself through Truth. Truth doesn't lie to you. A lie is whatever doesn't lead you to heaven. By writing all these things down, he hopes the book will be a small contribution to finding that Truth that leads to heaven. Scot said when people examine themselves, they think the list of flaws would outnumber their strengths. But for everyone listening to the show, the gifts and blessings section would be so much longer than the list of flaws. Fr. Matt said Aristotle said the unexamined life is not worth living. Andreas said people are sometimes wary of finding that truth. Many people's first experience of authority is through flawed parents. But we need to get rid of the shackles of such memory in order to discover the love of God. We have to tease out which of our images of God comes from the examples of our earthly leaders. We sometimes think of God like we remember our parents making us do things we didn't want to do. But God made us for bliss and happiness by living in his truth. 4th segment: It's time to announce the winner of the weekly WQOM Benefactor Raffle. Our prize this week is the “Let's Talk” series of books for teens by Ken Ogorek and “Once Upon a Time - Rosary Activity Set” for children by Holy Cross Family Ministries. This week's winner is Kelly McCormack. Congratulations, Kelly! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 5th segment: Scot said Andreas modeled all these lessons on the life and leadership of John Paul II. The second half of the book could be titled, being a servant-leader, especially in business. Andreas said he covers servant-leadership because when you find your vocation, you become a leader. You lead other people to God and living their lives to the fullest. When you know your goals, you become a leader by fully living who you're meant to be. Being a servant-leader has a lot to do with living a balanced life. You can't give if you haven't received. You can't work if you haven't relaxed. A key aspect is moderation in all things. Andreas said John Paul lived a balance life, like when he would sneak out to go skiing in the mountains in order to relax from work. John Paul would plan his entire day to include work, prayer, exercise, sleep, and pleasure. For example, John Paul loved the circus and heard that a Russian circus was in Rome. He asked them to come to a Wednesday general audience, which was politically problematic because relations with the USSR were poor. He embraced the performers and enjoyed it so much and relations with the USSR were never the same after that. It was his joy and desire for a balanced life that led to this outcome. One day, he received an invitation as a friendly gesture from his primary school class to a class reunion. They received a letter back from him personally, saying he was sorry he couldn't come, so he invited them to have their reunion in his dining room. Some would say it's not important, but it's important to plan your personal life and entertainment with as much earnestness and diligence with goals as with your public life and prayer life. Andreas challenged people to take the time to reach out to God, even if you're angry with God. Make contact with him. That's the first step. Then examine your vocation and within your vocation, your priorities, goals, and achievements. John Paul famously said when you work, you shouldn't just make more, you should become more. How does your work help you become more?

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry  **Today's guest(s):** Andreas Widmer, CEO of the Seven Fund, and Michael Miller, Director of Action Media at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty  * [The Seven Fund](http://www.sevenfund.org/) * [The Acton Institute](http://www.acton.org/) * [Faith and Prosperity blog by Andreas Widmer](http://www.faithandprosperity.com/) * [Encyclical "Centissumus Annus" by John Paul II](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus_en.html) * [Encyclical "Rerum Novarum" by Leo XIII](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html) * ["The Birth of Freedom"](http://www.thebirthoffreedom.com/) * ["The Call of the Entrepreneur"](http://www.calloftheentrepreneur.com/) **Today's topics:** The roots of free markets and entrepreneurship in Catholic culture and teaching **A summary of today's show:** Michael Miller of the Acton Institute and Andreas Widmer of the Seven Fund tell Scot that it is a myth that entrepreneurship and free markets are opposed to Catholic social teaching, but in fact are rooted in Christian tradition and are the most effective tools for approaching poverty. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Andreas Widmer back to the show. Andreas has been on The Good Catholic Life several times talking about his experiences as a Swiss Guard for Pope John Paul II and then his experience at the beatification of Bl. John Paul earlier this month. He also welcomed Michael Miller. Scot said he has know as Acton as an organization that talks about the role of free markets in the creation of a virtuous society. Michael said Acton was founded 20 years ago to look at the intersection of theology and moral philosophy on the one hand and business and economics and entrepreneurship on the other. Most people make their living in business and there's a rich tradition of the Church thinking about these matters. It is an ecumenical organization. Fr. Robert Sirico is a co-founder of the Institute 20 years ago. Father had left the faith as a young man and was very influenced by leftist causes and socialism. He once met a man with whom he had debates about economics and the man at one point remarked, "You know, you're delightfully dumb. You need to read something." And so he gave Fr. Sirico all these books that he began to read and slowly began to have a conversion away from left-wing radicalism to a sense that a free-market that allows people to live out their freedom and responsibility actually helps the poor better than his previous ideas. Then he had a re-conversion to the Catholic faith and entered the seminary where he found a lot of the radical ideas he'd left behind from when he was a leftist. When he was ordained he co-founded an institute to consider these questions. They made the decision to make it broad-based and engage it from a whole Christian perspective. The Institute does many things, including academic articles, books, and films. They are a research and educational institute. They do three main things:  1. Research, including a scholarly journal called "The Journal of Markets and Morality." They have a lot of serious scholarly books, lots of op-eds. 2. Education, including a summer conference of 600 people in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they talk about the moral, economic, and theological foundations of a free society, called Acton University. They also have conferences around the world. 3. Media, including two documentaries, "Call of the Entrepreneur" and "the Birth of Freedom", both of which have been on PBS. They are working on a third documentary now on entrepreneurial solutions to poverty. Andreas said the beauty of the Acton Institute engages reason in such a way as to attract secular groups. Andreas is both a research fellow at Acton and the CEO of Seven Fund. Seven Fund approaches the challenge of dealing with poverty through entrepreneurial solutions primarily from a secular perspective, even though its work is informed by its principals' religious faith. Acton and Seven Fund have collaborated for about five years now. Seven approaches it from a cultural aspect, which includes religion.  Before Scot worked for the Church, in his 20s, he thought he might have a call to the priesthood. A number of his colleagues at a consumer goods company told him that he was going from the devil to God. Scot said both Catholics in ministry and businesspeople think the two areas are opposed to one another, but what Scot has always liked about Acton is that it says we should be integrated people, not compartmentalizing work life from family life, and Acton provides help for this project. Michael said business is a moral enterprise, because it produces goods and services people need. People need consumer goods, like cleaning supplies, which is good. Peter Drucker said the purpose of business is to create a customer. To create and sustain a customer you need to provide a value to them. (Setting aside things that are objectively morally evil) Bl. John Paul said, a business is a community of persons who gather to make a livelihood and provide something people need. It provides opportunities for collaboration, for people to work together. Jobs help you grow up, to mature, to fulfill commitments. These virtues can transfer to your family life and social life. In a job you have to deal with other people and learn to control yourself. Business brings a common good. There is a movement now called corporate social responsibility, which currently includes this idea that corporations have to give back to society as if they took something in the first place. But corporations have given back by creating lots of value already. Just by the fact of being a corporation doesn't make them evil. Business can be an opportunity for moral evil, but it's also an opportunity for moral good. Andreas said there is a subconscious attitude that we seem to talk about business as if it were zero-sum, if I make money, you lose it. This isn't true. We "make" money, because we create new value. But the language of "giving back" implies that companies take something without creating something. That's the point of this movie, which Andreas recommends, called "The Call of the Entrepreneur," whose basic premise is that when you make something from nothing, God is present, because only God can create something good from nothing. So if we make a new business and create a new product, we know that God is with us, which makes us co-creators with God. Michael said the zero-sum fallacy--if I have a piece of the pie, you have less of the pie--is a really bad fallacy and leads to some very bad conclusions, including the myth of overpopulation. It misunderstands that everyone used to be poor 500 years ago, so how do you explain growth? Everyone asks the question, "How do you solve poverty?" but that's not the right question. They should ask, "Ask do you create wealth?" If you have a zero-sum game, it makes you defensive, you don't take risks. This is not the Health and Wealth Gospel. We are called to work. Theologically speaking, work does not come from after the Fall of Adam. We are called to be fruitful and multiply and make dominion. The Fall creates the toil of work. But work is a good thing, which John Paul II wrote about often: The dignity of work. All productive enterprise. **2nd segment:** Michael described some of the principles of a free market society and how they are undergirded by Christian principles. We sometime thinks of markets as guys on Wall Street exploiting the poor. While they do exist, markets are really networks of human relationships. They are people getting together and making exchanges for things that are beneficial for each other. In a competitive free market, people make an exchange if it's mutually beneficial. If it's not, then we trade with someone else or seek a better price. This is why a government can't control a market, because there are billions of transactions with all these individual preferences.  To have a market economy, you need private property, to be able to have title to property in order to live out your freedom and to exchange it freely for goods and services. In Nicaragua, 70% of the land has no title, they don't know who owns it. If you don't have title, you can't use it as a collateral for a loan, people don't have addresses, you can't get credit. You also don't have incentive to improve it. Private property is not a given in most of the world. In the book, "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else", Hernando de Soto makes this point. We think private property is normal, like fish don't realize they're in water. Private property is fundamental. Another condition is rule of law. You know your contracts will be enforced. Opportunities can take place because you know there will be fairness. Free association is the right to join together, whether business or unions or charities. There needs to be a culture of trust, a robust civil society, and human beings raised in families looking out for the long term, not just the short term. These ideas come directly out of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It's in the Ten Commandments, it's in the early Church fathers. In 1256, the first argument for free association was by St. Thomas Aquinas. Pope Leo XIII used this as the basis of his defense of unions. The Spanish scholastics in the 15th century wrote that it is wrong for governments to prevent the free exchange of goods if it benefits the common good. Adam Smith, the founder of modern free-market economics, said almost nothing original because it had all been said by the theological traditions of the middle ages. He just said it in a new way. The reason people don't know this is because most of this was in Confession manuals, guides for priests helping penitents make moral choices. The market economy did not come from the Enlightenment, but from the Christian medieval period. Serious scholars know there were no "dark ages". If those were the "dark ages," explain how the Cathedral of Chartres was so beautiful and so many modern buildings are so ugly. This is why good Christians can be free marketers. The Church doesn't have an economic policy, but it does have a moral orientation. People who support markets can be comfortable this a moral legitimate position to hold. Andreas said as a businessperson, it means he doesn't have to re-invent the wheel. The teaching of the Church is a compass he can use in business dealings. He has a compass with a direction, which is good for business. This is a great way to run a company because it makes you live a centered life, so you are the same person on the weekend as you are during the week. It also helps you to run a profitable company. Scot said free markets provide people with the most freedom, which corresponds with Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person. A free market allows us to exercise our free will in a moral way. With the rule of law, the good actions are positively reinforced and bad actions are negatively reinforced. The Church is primarily concerned with the salvation of souls. She is also concerned with creating the conditions for human flourishing so that people live according to the Gospel. These conditions of human flourishing happen to be the same as that for wealth creation: private property, rule of law, etc. They respect human freedom. One of the problems with Communism was it took away the space for families to live out their responsibility and their freedom.  Modern concepts of freedom are very broken and dangerous. The modern concept is that I will do whatever I want. But freedom separated from reason and truth is not freedom. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict) said it's a diabolical "freedom." The free market is not just about doing whatever I want and consumerism and getting stuff. It must be oriented to reason and truth, so it must be in a framework that recognizes who the human person is. Those countries that allow for human freedom are the wealthiest because God made us free. Andreas quoted Bl. John Paul who said, True freedom allows me to do what I ought to do, not just what I feel like doing. Michael said that this is a famous quote by Lord Acton--"Liberty is not the ability to do what you want, but the right to do what you ought," one of the two quotes most people know. The other is "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He was a Catholic historian in England concerned with the history of liberty. **3rd segment:** "The Birth of Freedom" tells the story of the Judeo-Christian roots of political and economic liberty. It is a myth that it came out of the Enlightenment to free people from the "shackles" or religion and superstition. They told the history of the importance that religion has played in human liberty. Featured in the movie was Rodney Stark, who wrote a book called "The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success", and he makes this case from a sociological pint of view. In the Middle Ages, you begin to see the development of representative government, markets, and capitalism. (Michael doesn't like to use "capitalism" because it's a Marxist term; he prefers "free market".) There was international banking and capitalism in the Eighth Century and in fact the "Dark Ages" were a time of great development for human liberty. It destroys the myth of the "Dark Ages," which unfortunately is perpetuated by some Protestants. The sources of human liberty come from Christian tradition. Scot said the movie answers the question "How is freedom born"? The marketing material for the movie poses the question: >But humans are separated by enormous differences in talent and circumstance. Why would anyone believe that all men are created equal? That all should be free? That all deserve a voice in choosing their leaders? Why would any nation consider this a self-evident truth? In a world that never lived with this maximization of freedom that the United States has over the past 200 years, it seems self-evident, but for most people throughout history it has not been. The Founding Fathers knew they were living off of a deep tradition; it's not a modern invention. Andreas said that while the Founding Fathers may have been Deists, not Christians or Catholic, they were products of their culture. They draw off the cultural wealth at their disposal. Michael said even Nietszche acknowledged that the way we understand a lot of things is influenced by Christianity. But cultural capital doesn't last forever. It needs to be renewed and that's what "Birth of Freedom" is about; to encourage people and teach people to renew these sources of human liberty. It is in the concept of the human person, created in the image of God, with freedom and rights and responsibilities that has been the transforming force in history. "The Call of the Entrepreneur" is based on Fr. Robert Sirico's book "The Entrepreneurial Vocation ". Entrepreneurship is a secondary vocation--after primary vocations like marriage or priesthood--and we are called to respond to our gifts. Our entrepreneurship brings benefits to society. Where societies will go depends on how they view the entrepreneur. They look at three entrepreneurs: a farmer, a banker from New York, and Jimmy Lai, a refugee from Communist China when he was 11 years old. He started working in a factory and learned English and he said for the first time he knew freedom. He came from a land of no opportunity and no freedom to a land of freedom and opportunity and now he's worth $4 billion. He's also a convert to Catholicism. He built not only wealth for himself, but all kinds of jobs and opportunities and better families. A person invests his money in a small enterprise, works hard, sacrifices year after year, struggling to get the business of the ground, hires people along the way, gives them good incomes so they can buy homes and educate their children. After decades of working to build this business, the person is now financially independent and living comfortably and suddenly--to many people-- he's a dirty capitalist exploiter. But what about all the value he's created, all the jobs? Not everyone is an entrepreneur, so we need them to create jobs for others.  Andreas said of course there are people in business who have bad intentions. This is why religion is so important in the marketplace. This is why a public moral culture is important. If you are an entrepreneur, you can be an exploiter or a creator, depending on your mindset. What is your goal? To end life with the most money possible? Or to recognize that you are a steward and there is dignity in work and there is virtue in work. Scot said if you view the people you work with as real human people created by God and not just producers and consumers, then you find a lot more people want to work with you. When you have people who love the environment they're in and they like the people they work with and the sum is greater than the parts, then wealth is created. Michael said in order to have self-governance, you need self-governors. For a free market to be sustainable requires free oral people. Liberty is the delicate fruit of a mature civilization (Lord Acton). Immature people are not fit for self-governance. If we live in a dictatorship of relativism we will lose freedom. **4th segment:** Michael said he and Fr. Sirico have been part of a project called "Doing the Right Thing," organized by Chuck Colson and Prof. Robert George. It is an ethics curriculum that deals with many of these questions of business and ethics. * [Doing the Right Thing](http://www.colsoncenter.org/ethics) Another initiative approaches the problem of poverty through entrepreneurship and is called PovertyCure. Scot reads from the website: "We all are called to a loving and generous concern for the poor. Yet while many of us have a heart for the poor, more than 1 billion people--one sixth of the world population--live on about $1 per day. Every year millions of men, women, and children die from AIDS, malaria, and other preventable diseases. Tens of millions lack clean water and go to bed hungry."  * [PovertyCure](http://www.povertycure.org/) The typical way that developed economies have responded to the challenge haven't produced results over the past decades. Andreas said the questions is now why there is poverty, because we are all born people and we all started out poor. The question is how to create wealth. To approach poverty as a problem is the wrong approach. John Paul said we should stop looking at the poor as a problem, by start looking at them as an opportunity, people with a latent potential.  Scot said it's not about creating big bank accounts, but creating wealth in the form of drinking water and food, clothing. Andreas said we should call it prosperity. It is a complex issue with many aspects to it. We can look at the aspect of the culture, both our own and that of the poor. We as Christians often have a false sense of charity. We see someone who's poor and we say, "I'm going to take care of you," but that's not  how it ought to work. In a crisis, you can take care of someone in the short term, but in the long term, if we're creating prosperity, we can't run their lives. We can create prosperity by doing business with each other, by taking our responsibility, exercising our freedom responsibly.  Michael said PovertyCure doesn't look at what we what they don't have (water, food, etc.), but what we don't see that they don't have that is preventing them from getting what they need (rule of law, private property, etc.) There isn't a single way to solve this, but it's time to change the discussion from looking at people as "consumers" or "burdens" to seeing them as "producers" and "entrepreneurs." Going from the idea as aid as the model to enterprise as the model. Population does not cause poverty. People are wealth creators when given the right conditions. PovertyCure is doing a video curriculum and a documentary. They have over 50 partners and are looking for more. Join them on the website or on their Facebook page. That will conclude today's presentation of The Good Catholic Life. For recordings and photos of today's show and all previous shows, please visit our website: TheGoodCatholicLife.com. You can also download the app for your iPhone or Android device at WQOM.org to listen to the show wherever you may be. We thank our guests, Michael Miller and Andreas Widmer. For our Production team of Rick Heil, Anna Johnson, Justin Bell, Dom Bettinelli, and George Martell, this is Scot Landry saying thank YOU for listening, God bless you and have a wonderful evening!

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Kevin Sepe, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Braintree * [St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Braintree](http://www.sfab.org/) * [Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda](http://www.catholicbermuda.org/) **Today's topics:** Fr. Kevin Sepe shares his path to the priesthood, the wonderful community at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Braintree, how the clergy personnel board assigns priests, and what does a vicar forane do? **1st segment:** Scot welcome Fr. Mark back to the show and Fr. Mark says he was in Bermuda this past week. Boston has been appointed by the Vatican for many years as the tribunal for the Catholic Church in Bermuda and Fr. Mark made a pastoral visit with the priests on the island. He also spoke to laypeople on the topic of annulments. He said Bermuda is at the same latitude as North Carolina and only two hours by plane. Scot was at St. Michael's in Andover, the largest parish in the Archdiocese, for a vicariate meeting on the work of Catholic media. Also tomorrow is the priestly ordination for six men in the Archdiocese of Boston, at the Holy Cross Cathedral at 9am. Fr. Mark taught them canon law in the seminary and said they are a very fine group. They will receive their assignments tonight from Cardinal Sean. Fr. Mark resides at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Braintree, where the pastor is today's guest, Fr. Kevin Sepe. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Mark welcome Fr. Sepe to the show. He is also pastor of the geographic region in which the Pastoral Center resides. The first day the Pastoral Center was open, Fr. Sepe brought collection envelopes to the Chancellor. Fr. Sepe grew up in St. Michael's in Lowell and attended high school. In 1977 there was a graduating class of 17 men, 3 of whom are now pastors in the archdiocese. They never discussed the seminary in high school, but they all came to the seminary later. He believes its the foundations they received from the priests in the parish. Scot said he was stunned to learn that Fr. Kevin grew up in  the same parish Scot grew up in. When Fr. Kevin was in high school, he admired the headmaster of St. Michael's school, who was also his Latin teacher. One day at the end of school, the priest asked him, "Sepe, did you ever think of the priesthood?" He said, "No", and the priest replied, "Start." Fr. Kevin said that seed developed and grew and he couldn't escape it. It wasn't in his brain, so much as his heart. After that, he talked to a parish priest who recommended he talked to someone at the seminary who offered a weekend retreat for college-age men. While he was a little rambunctious on the weekend, it was a foundation. Fr. Kevin's father was a classic WWII vet and while he had a profound faith, he was no theologian. To have a son as a priest was an honor. His mother was a registered nurse and had worked in a psychiatric hospital and seen many difficulties in people's lives so she wanted to make sure he would be happy. Scot said Fr. Kevin is celebrating 25 years in the priesthood this year. His experience is far different from the day of his ordination. At the time, you couldn't expect to be pastor for 25 years, but that quickly changed. His first assignment was St. Joseph, Quincy, where had a wonderful five years with the pastor and a parish school in a city. He stayed friends with the pastor afterward. After that assignment he went to Middleboro and learned how large the archdiocese is. The parish itself is 75 square mile and is the southernmost part of the archdiocese. On a communion call one time he got lost on the back roads and it took him all day to get back home. After that assignment, he was at St. Mary in Randolph with Fr. Richard Harrington. Fr. Kevin has been a pastor for 14 years this coming August. He remembers being on a board that investigated making rectories separate from the church's offices, which has turned out to be a good respite for many priests to enable them to have a place of prayer apart from the work place. It's a relief to leave the office, come home, and rest and have a prayerful place. At St. Francis, the rectory has the parish offices in the building, but there's a clear separation. It's a former convent and it had a cloistered area built into the architecture. **3rd segment:** Scot said St. Francis is known as a busy parish. He said they have a parochial school with 360 students and they provide them with a Mass once per month and he's in the school regularly. Their religious education program has 700 students. They have an active sacramental life, they have about 100 funerals per year and about 120 baptisms. With the school, there is an access to a percentage of parents you would not normally connect with during the week. About 50% of the students live within Braintree and the rest are commuters from other parishes or other towns. Fr. Mark said there is a lot of charitable activity in the parish. There is an active St. Vincent de Paul Society. On Thursdays, there is a food pantry day serving a number of people in the parish. They have a monthly canned food drive to stock the pantry. There is also an agreement with [Panera Bread](http://www.panerabread.com/) where they receive the day-old bread that would normally be thrown away. It allows them to give baked goods to families who not have access to them. They help on the average of about 60 to 120 families and that number has increased in recent years, as well as requests for assistance with rent, fuel, and clothing. The parish has an annual giving tree at Christmas where parishioners supply gifts for specific children. Fr. Mark said they also help parishes overseas. Each week 10% of the parish's offertory is sent to organizations locally and globally. The parish is involved with the [SMA Fathers](http://www.smafathers.org/), where they host a priest for 2 months from Africa, giving them a respite from the missionary labors. At the end of their stay, there is a collection from parishioners. Last year, the provided a roof and a generator for a parish in Northern Nigeria and even a motorcycle for the catechists to reach remote parishioners. After Hurricane Katrina, the parish collected $60,000 for relief efforts to the people of the Gulf region. The parishioners are very aware of their need to give of their time, talent, and treasure. Fr. MArk said this comes from the leadership of a priest like Fr. Sepe who models the behavior and encourages. Scot said the numbers of kids involved in religious ed and the school makes it sound like it's a very young parish. What works to bring them to the parish? Fr. Kevin said they have a weekly family Mass on Sunday at 9am and encourage families to bring them. The kids come up to sit near the altar during the homily and  the homily is geared to the children. At baptisms, they make them prayerful liturgies and they encourage parents to bring the kids even if they make noise. It's how the kids become comfortable in the church. They also have religious education meeting on a Sunday in order to invite them to the 9am Mass and the 10:30 Mass. They do their First Communions at their Sunday Masses, small groups at every Mass over two weekends. It reminds them of the importance of coming to Mass as a family. He wants to draw them back to the Church on Sundays. They have a unique ministry called the prayer shawl ministry. Fr. Kevin said there are many women who gather to pray as they crochet or knit. They do it in silence as they listen to meditative music and pray for people. They then give the shawls to the homebound or people in hospice or to expectant mothers who know they are connected to a parish that cares for them. **4th segment:** Fr. Kevin is also a vicar forane and serves on the clergy personnel board and is a fire and police chaplain. Scot asked Fr. Kevin how Cardinal Sean assigns a priest. For the newly ordained, they are interviewed by the board. They are asked questions and the board gets to know them, their talents, and more mundane matters like allergies to pets or the like. Whether they'd like to be near a school or in a city or if they need to be assigned near a relative who needs their care. Also, their language abilities. Meanwhile, the board has prepared a list of parishes that would be suitable assignments for new priests. Their first assignment is only 3 years. They might become pastors in only 8 years, but recently one priest was made a pastor after his first assignment. They want the priest to be able to learn quickly how to become a pastor. They're thinking of making them only two year assignments. When a pastorate opens, a priest can submit his name for a particular parish. Or one of his friends can nominate him. Or his name can be generated by members of the clergy personnel board. They look at the statistics of the parish: demographics, financials, and the ministerial staffing. They then look at the list of the priests of the archdiocese, their current assignments, and when they were ordained and maybe find a name of a parochial vicar who might be a good fit. They come up with a slate of three names recommended to the Cardinal. they put them in order of who they believe would best fit. Fr. Kevin has been on the board for 6 or 7 years. Today, they consider assignments with pastoral planning in mind and they consider not just the parish, but the whole region and the whole archdiocese. They now use GPS and mapping technology to show the locations of parishes around the open pastorate and see, for example, priests who are close to retirement in nearby parishes and thus affect who they will assign in the currently open assignment. The slate of candidates goes to the cardinal and he can choose one of the names or he can choose anyone he wants. The cardinal usually runs the list by several other priests as well. But he typically goes with the recommendation even if he changes the order of the priests on the list. Fr. Michael Medas of the Clergy Personnel Office calls the priest and meets with him to talk about the parish and to encourage him to accept the assignment. A new wrinkle is that pastors are now being asked to be pastors of more than one parish at a time. They've asked pastors of nearby parishes to take on neighboring parishes as well. Scot said the Archdiocese is divided in 5 regions and each region is divided in vicariates, sub-regions. The vicar forane helps the Cardinal in administering the vicariate. He hosts meetings of the pastors and allows for an avenue of communication from the archbishop to the priests and back. As vicar forane he coordinates that communication. At a vicariate meeting today they had the vicariate's representative the presbyteral council give a report on the recent meeting of the council. The priests give their feedback to the representative and then he brings it back to the cardinal and the council. The vicariate meets about every 4-6 weeks. Fr. Kevin tries to schedule them for just after the presbyteral council meetings. Fr. Mark said the Church works with principle of subsidiarity, pushing all activity to the lowest level applicable. **5th segment:** We look at this coming Sunday's Gospel as we do every Friday. * [Gospel for Sunday, May 22 (John 14:1-12)](http://usccb.org/nab/052211.shtml#gospel) >Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? > >And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” > >Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? > >Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.” Fr. Kevin said many priests would select this Gospel for a funeral Mass. He dwells on the Lord saying, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places." What does he mean? Is this like a giant house at the beach. Scot said his kids are at the stage of asking him what heaven will be like and he tells them we cannot know, but that it will be greater than we can imagine. Fr. Kevin tells them to dream and imagine what they would like to be there. He recalled the graveside ceremony prayer: "Inflame in our hearts a desire for heaven." What does it mean for heaven to be like a banquet? It's a giant feast that we never have t o get up from, we're never full and we move from table to table to be with one another. Scot notes Jesus's response to Philip, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?" He imagines what Jesus might say to himself: Have I been with you in prayer and in Mass and in the people you love, do you still not know Me? We have to make sure to be aware of the ways in which Jesus is present to us every day. Fr. Mark notes that in John's Gospel that Philip is often portrayed as not having a clue and always needs a little reassurance and yet does great things in his life later on. Scot said to imagine being Philip, and how confused Philip must have been to hear these teachings for the first time without the benefit of two thousand years of trinitarian theology to help him. Fr. Mark likes to have a role model in Philip who needs some help and may not be the best student. That will conclude today's presentation of The Good Catholic Life. On Monday, Michael Miller from the Acton Institute and Andreas Widmer from the Seven Fund will talk about entrepreneurial solutions to poverty and on Tuesday, Fr. Robert Reed of CatholicTV will be on the show to tell us about all their great programming. For recordings and photos of today's show and all previous shows, please visit our website: TheGoodCatholicLife.com. You can also download the app for your iPhone or Android device at WQOM.org to listen to the show wherever you may be. We thank our guest, Father Kevin Sepe. For our co-host, Father Mark O'Connell, our Production team of Rick Heil, Anna Johnson, Justin Bell, Dom Bettinelli, and George Martell, this is Scot Landry saying thank YOU for listening, God bless you and have a wonderful evening!

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Cardinal Séan O'Malley, Andreas Widmer, Fr. Daniel Hennessey* [The Vatican's official tribute to Blessed John Paul II](http://www.johnpaulii.va/en/)* [The Diocese of Rome's Bl. John Paul II website](http://www.karol-wojtyla.org/En/Home%20Page.aspx)* **Today's topics:** Reflections on the Beatification of Pope John Paul II; Dedication of the radio studio to Bl. John Paul II**A summary of today's show:** Cardinal Sean, Fr. Dan Hennessey, and Andreas Widmer called in from Rome to give their own unique perspectives on the beatification ceremonies: as a cardinal, a priest, and a former Swiss Guard. They also imparted the flavor of the day, the peace and joy evident in the event even in a crowd numbering close to 2 million. Also, today, we dedicate our radio studio under the patronage of Bl. John Paul II.**1st segment:** Yesterday, on Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI beatified his predecessor, the now Blessed Pope John Paul II.    This holy pope was a spiritual father to all of us and an inspiration. On today's program, we'll receive the reflections of 3 pilgrims who are familiar to listeners here on The Good Catholic Life. Later, we'll hear from Father Dan Hennessey, the director of Vocations for the Archdiocese, and Andreas Widmer a former Swiss Guard who now lives in Boston.  Cardinal Sean now joins Scot. The Cardinal said it was exciting to be there yesterday. The crowds were enormous, and luckily there were many opportunities for people to participate in different ways. With up to 2 million people in the city, it was very challenging to get up close to the ceremony itself. Last night, the Basilica was open until 3am and there was a column of people filing past the casket of Bl. John Paul. Today there was a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Cardinal Bertone. There were pilgrims from all over the world, virtually every continent. Obviously, yhr Holy Father had touched so many people's lives. No one in history had ever been seen by so many people as John Paul. This ceremony gives testimony to the connectedness that people felt with him.Scot asked what it's like to know someone he knew so well become a blessed in the Church. Cardinal Sean never thought he would grow so old that he would know two people who were beatified: John Paul and Mother Theresa. He was with the Holy Father many times as both a priest and a bishop. He was extraordinarily gifted and real grace for the Church. It's wonderful in our lifetime to have the opportunity to celebrate his ministry and his life.Scot said Pope John Paul wasn't beatified for his papacy, but for his holiness and virtues. He asked Cardinal Sean for any reflections on his holiness. Cardinal Sean said he was impressed how, in the midst of a chaos of a papal visit, wherever it was, he had the ability to concentrate and pray and be recollected. He's sure that was the source of his strength. That was evidence of just how profound his spirituality was. Cardinal Sean said it looked like the entire College of Cardinals was present and he was pleased that Pope Benedict asked all the cardinals to concelebrate. Even a number of retired cardinals in poor health came to Rome to be part of it.Scot asked how Rome was different than all the Cardinal's many trips. There were many people from all over: lots of French and Spanish, also many from Africa. Many people slept in the St. Peter's Square and along the Via della Conciliazione. Scot said he followed many of the Catholic bloggers and Twitterers who were writing during the whole night from the vigil and through the Mass. When Cardinal Sean went by the Basilica last night about 11pm and there was still a huge column. Cardinal Sean also ran into some of those attending today's Vatican meeting of Catholic bloggers, including Anna Arco of the *Catholic Herald* in London.**2nd segment:** Now joined by Fr. Daniel Hennessey from the Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls in Rome. He attended the Saturday night vigil at Circus Maximus. He thinks there were several hundred thousand people and it was very peaceful. There was a magnificent of Our Lady and Child. There were several witness interviews, including the religious sister who was cured of Parkinson's and whose miracle was the one that allowed Bl. John Paul to be beatified.On Sunday, he had to get up very early. It wasn't easy to get through the crowds and the security checkpoints, but eventually they got through to sit in the section reserved for priests. He got to sit in front of about 90 percent of the millions who were present. As vocation director, Fr. Dan has talked to a lot of seminarians about the affect John Paul may have had on their lives. To say it was beautiful was an understatement. He believes Bl. John Paul is interceding for us for vocations right now. As a priest himself, he had a total sense of gratitude for the gift of the priesthood. God uses each person, especially priests, as instruments. He was struck how God used John Paul as an instrument to touch so many people. It seemed every person there had a personal connection with John Paul.After the Mass, there was announcement that everyone was welcome to enter the Basilica and venerate the relics. Hundreds of thousands of people started filing in. They closed it at 3am to prepare for today's Thanksgiving Mass. Because of where he was seated, Fr. Dan was able to go in within about an hour. Inside he was struck by the numbers of the infirm who were being brought in and a wide variety of people of all different age groups: families, youth groups, elderly. It was a sign of the universality of his pontificate.Fr. Dan plans to visit the Gesu church, where St. Ignatius' remains are, to celebrate Mass and then go to St. Peter's Mass again before he leaves. He said he prayed for the missionary work of The Good Catholic Life at St. Paul Outside-the-walls.**3rd segment:** Joining Scot now from Rome is Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard now living in Boston. He wanted to go to Rome as a pilgrim. As a former Guard he had many privileges and many opportunities for something extra. But now he wanted to be at the beatification as himself, a pilgrim. He wanted to be with the people and a part of the whole event. He ended up standing in the square behind St. Peter's Square. Being tall, he had a good view. Even though there were 1.5 million people, the experience was one of peace and joy. Even though there was hardly space to put both feet on the crowd, there was a fraternity and peacefulness. No one pushed, no one raised their voice. It is a very deep experience of the universal Church.The weather forecast was for rain on Sunday, but it never rained all day. Instead it was blue sky and sun. In front of Andreas was a very young Franciscan who put up his hood to cover his head from the sun. There some people from Argentina, an elderly Italian couple, some Frenchmen, and of course many Poles.Andreas knew Pope John Paul very well in his life, what was it like to be there. He said that John Paul was present in the crowd. There was a jovial atmosphere. People who loved him came together and lived out his spirit.Pope Benedict has made some interesting and positive changes to the beatification ceremony. First, there was the reading of the proclamation and the Pope's approval. The picture of Bl. John Paul was unveiled and the crowd went wild. After that, they had an announcement in 10 languages asking for a prayerful atmosphere for Mass, no clapping and no banners or flags. There were several times in the Mass when it was so quiet and prayerful that he could hear the doves flying above the street.Scot asked what Communion was like. He was in a non-official section, even though there were no official tickets for the event. So he was afraid they wouldn't receive Communion. They did receive, but it took so long that the Mass was continuing on despite them. He believes there was enough for everyone.Andreas was able to venerate John Paul's casket. He said he admires the pilgrims who stood for the Mass and then stood for another 4 hours waiting to see the casket and they only get a few moments to see as they walked past. Andreas said he used his connections with the Swiss Guard to be able to pray next to the casket for a while. There were a lot of people praying, quietly. It was very reverent and quiet.Andreas is also in Rome for the annual swearing-in of the new Swiss Guards on May 6. His nephew is going to be sworn in for the Guard this year. It's also Andreas' 25th anniversary since he joined the Swiss Guard.**4th segment:** Last Tuesday on The Good Catholic Life, Dr. David Franks from St. John's Seminary asked for our prayers as his wife Dr. Angela Franks was prepared to deliver their 5th child on Tuesday 5/3. Well, David texted me earlier today letting me know that Maximilian Joseph Franks didn't want to wait until Tuesday.  He was born at 2:27am this morning.  6 pounds, 9 ounces and 18 inches. Angela is doing well. Congratulations to David, Angela, Maximilian Joseph and his 4 older siblings in the Franks household.  Pope Benedict is the first pope in 1,000 years to beatify his predecessor and it was a moving day for him yesterday.* [Pope Benedict's homily for the beatification Mass](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110501_beatificazione-gpii_en.html)>Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor's entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God's People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church's canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!Later on he said:>Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today's celebration because, in God's providence, my predecessor died on the vigil of this feast. Today is also the first day of May, Mary's month, and the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. All these elements serve to enrich our prayer, they help us in our pilgrimage through time and space; but in heaven a very different celebration is taking place among the angels and saints! Then he said:>Dear brothers and sisters, today our eyes behold, in the full spiritual light of the risen Christ, the beloved and revered figure of John Paul II. Today his name is added to the host of those whom he proclaimed saints and blesseds during the almost twenty-seven years of his pontificate, thereby forcefully emphasizing the universal vocation to the heights of the Christian life, to holiness, taught by the conciliar Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium. All of us, as members of the people of God – bishops, priests, deacons, laity, men and women religious – are making our pilgrim way to the heavenly homeland where the Virgin Mary has preceded us, associated as she was in a unique and perfect way to the mystery of Christ and the Church. Karol Wojtyla took part in the Second Vatican Council, first as an auxiliary Bishop and then as Archbishop of Kraków. He was fully aware that the Council's decision to devote the last chapter of its Constitution on the Church to Mary meant that the Mother of the Redeemer is held up as an image and model of holiness for every Christian and for the entire Church. This was the theological vision which Blessed John Paul II discovered as a young man and subsequently maintained and deepened throughout his life. A vision which is expressed in the scriptural image of the crucified Christ with Mary, his Mother, at his side. This icon from the Gospel of John (19:25-27) was taken up in the episcopal and later the papal coat-of-arms of Karol Wojtyla: a golden cross with the letter “M” on the lower right and the motto “Totus tuus”, drawn from the well-known words of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort in which Karol Wojtyla found a guiding light for his life: “Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria – I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart” (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 266).>>In his Testament, the new Blessed wrote: “When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, said to me: ‘The task of the new Pope will be to lead the Church into the Third Millennium'”. And the Pope added: “I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of the Second Vatican Council, to which, together with the whole Church – and especially with the whole episcopate – I feel indebted. I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this Council of the twentieth century has lavished upon us. As a Bishop who took part in the Council from the first to the last day, I desire to entrust this great patrimony to all who are and will be called in the future to put it into practice. For my part, I thank the Eternal Shepherd, who has enabled me to serve this very great cause in the course of all the years of my Pontificate”. And what is this “cause”? It is the same one that John Paul II presented during his first solemn Mass in Saint Peter's Square in the unforgettable words: “Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors to Christ!” What the newly-elected Pope asked of everyone, he was himself the first to do: society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan – a strength which came to him from God – a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is Redemptor hominis, the Redeemer of man. This was the theme of his first encyclical, and the thread which runs though all the others.And at the end of his homily:>Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to thank God for the gift of having worked for many years with Blessed Pope John Paul II. I had known him earlier and had esteemed him, but for twenty-three years, beginning in 1982 after he called me to Rome to be Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering: the Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a “rock”, as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Eucharist.>>Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God's people. Amen.**5th segment:** Two weeks ago a benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous, contacted me with the interest of helping to support the expansion and reach of The Good Catholic Life program. The gift was very generous and I asked if there was a favorite saint that the benefactor would want to suggest to dedicate the studio to and the response was “Pope John Paul II.” So how we are pleased to be able to dedicate this radio studio to Blessed John Paul II. Father Matt Williams is here to lead us in the prayer of blessing and dedication.  >God our Father, in your wise and loving providence you raise up men and women, outstanding in holiness, to proclaim the Gospel of your Son, Jesus Christ.>>In our generation, you chose and anointed Blessed John Paul II to be shepherd and father of your pilgrim Church on earth.  >>Ablaze with the radiance of your Son, John Paul traveled to the farthest corners of the earth to bear witness to Jesus Christ, the light of the nations; in season and out of season, whether convenient or inconvenient.>>His example teaches and inspires us to “be not afraid” to walk in justice, to proclaim the Truth that sets us free, and to experience the depths of your love and mercy.>>He encouraged the Church in his address for the 34th World Communications Day in 2000 to proclaim Christ through the Media in the new millennium.  He said: >“The impact of the media in today's world can hardly be exaggerated. The advent of the information society is a real cultural revolution, making the media "the first Areopagus of the modern age" (Redemptoris Missio, 37), where facts and ideas and values are constantly being exchanged. Through the media, people come into contact with other people and events, and form their opinions about the world they live in - indeed, form their understanding of the meaning of life… The proclamation of Christ must be part of this experience.>>…Naturally, in proclaiming the Lord, the Church must make energetic and skilful use of her own means of communication - books, newspapers and periodicals, radio, television, and other means. And Catholic communicators must be bold and creative in developing new media and methods of proclamation.>>…May the media give voice to Jesus himself, clearly and joyously, with faith and hope and love. To proclaim Christ in the media at the dawn of the new millennium is not only a necessary part of the Church's evangelizing mission; it is also a vital, inspiring and hope-filled enrichment of the media's message. May God abundantly bless all those who honour and proclaim his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the vast world of the means of social communication.”>>Now that John Paul has crossed the threshold of hope into the heavenly kingdom, we ask you Father, through his intercession, to pour out your graces upon the Archdiocese's efforts of evangelization, and in a particular way- this Radio Studio for The Good Catholic Life program.  >>Instructed by John Paul's teaching, we pray that we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ, the sole redeemer of humankind, and proclaim HIM with the power, the breath and the fire of the Holy Spirit.  >>May all listeners come to know and discover the truth that they are a unique and unrepeatable gift from the heart of God.  And may they discover in Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church, the answer and remedy to their heart's deepest questions and longings.>>Father, we ask you now to bless this Radio Studio, for your glory.  United under the intercession and maternal care of our Heavenly Mother Mary, we say along with Blessed John Paul II, Totus Tuus Maria.  >>We consecrate this Studio to you dear Father, through the powerful intercession of our Lady, and your servant Blessed John Paul II, and we give to you our “FIAT”-“let it be done unto me according to your Word.”>>And may almighty God bless this Radio Studio, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.>>Mary, Star of the New Evangelization – Pray for us!>Blessed John Paul II – Pray for us!Last night, Fr. Matt Williams preached a Mass on the occasion of the ending Sr. Olga Yaqob's long service in the chaplaincy at Boston University. He noted that several significant events this weekend point us to heaven: the royal wedding points us to the sacrament of marriage and the heavenly marriage banquet of the Lamb of God; the beatification of John Paul; and Sr. Olga's Mass on the feast of Divine Mercy and how that Mercy brings us to heaven.Sr. Olga spoke at the Boston Catholic Women's Conference several years ago, telling her story about coming from Iraq to now being asked by Cardinal Sean to found a new religious order.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard to Pope John Paul II and CEO of Seven Fund* [The Swiss Guard](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/index.htm)* [Seven Fund](http://www.sevenfund.org/)**Today's topics:** Pope John Paul's lessons for how to elevate our work into a vocation.**1st segment:** Fr. Matt joins the program via phone. He's on a planning retreat for his office. He spent the Triduum on the Hunger for Justice retreat for teens. Holy Week is the Super Bowl for priests. About 200 teens from the northern part of the archdiocese came together for the retreat on which they fasted for 30 hours. Their fasting was sponsored, each one raising about $250. They raised about $15,000 total for Japan earthquake relief. They started on the beach in Nahant with a theme that sin leaves us homeless because sin alienates us from the Lord, from each other, and ourselves. We are outside the loving embrace of the Lord. But the cross of Jesus welcomes us home. They had Good Friday service at St. Thomas Aquinas in Nahant, then went back to St. Mary in Lynn where they had a final meal for the fast.On Saturday they served the homeless in Boston. One man in a wheelchair told one of the girls how he sometimes finds himself sleeping in a garage in a sleeping bag. He had only a thin shirt under his jacket and the girl gave him her own sweatshirt she was wearing. It was raining all day, but they didn't have a rain contingency. The homeless get rained on whenever it rains, so the kids took part in solidarity with them. It helped them appreciate the blessing they have and what the homeless go through.Toward the end of today's show, we will answer listener questions about the Holy Father's Beatification. If you have a question, please email [LIVE@TheGoodCatholicLife.com](mailto:LIVE@TheGoodCatholicLife.com), text or call us at 617-410-MASS.**2nd segment:** Andreas Widmer joins Scot and Fr. Matt. Andreas was on the show a few weeks ago and he shared how he became a Swiss Guard and his first encounter with Pope John Paul II. Andreas has since studied John Paul's life and has written a book, "The Pope & The CEO: Nine Lessons in Executive Leadership Learned by a Swiss Guard at the Feet John Paul II" (coming soon from Emmaus Road) on how to apply those lessons to his life. After the Swiss Guard, he entered the high-tech industry and went through the ups and downs of the tech boom. In the downs of life, you can sometimes find God more easily. In one of those downs, he started to think about those lessons of John Paul.Vocation is often talked about a religious vocation, but John Paul made sure to emphasize that vocation is whatever mission we are sent from God. 98% of Christians have a vocation outside of religious life. John Paul said you know that you're working well, you don't just make more, but you become more. Is my job helping me to become more? How do you approach your job? How do you see your job?How did John Paul teach someone to find their specific vocation? Andreas said John Paul would say that God is asking you what you are going to do with all the talents and opportunities He has given you? We present what we are going to do and then God will bless us and help us to excel in life and become a saint.Fr. Matt said Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to young people in 1985, [Dilecti Amici](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_31031985_dilecti-amici_en.html). John Paul saw young people as the hope of the future. In the letter, he identified adolescence as a time of intense discovery where we ask what is our life's project. God has created us in a particular time and place for a purpose that we have to discover. In our culture, we are constantly surrounded by noise and distraction and it keeps the heart and soul from listening. That's why Eucharistic adoration is so powerful. When Fr. Matt was first thinking of a priestly vocation, his dad went to an Oblate priest and asked him about it. The priest asked if Fr. Matt prayed and if not then he didn't have a vocation.Andreas said the second chapter is prayer after the first chapter on vocation. The Church gives us many ways to pray. It is our particular way to have a loving relationship with the Lord. Be careful not to fall into the trap of going before the Lord and "putting in your order." It needs to be a two-way street. It's okay sometimes to just go and sit and listen. Some prayers can help you to calm the mind and then have a period of silence at the feet of Christ.**3rd segment:** Andreas observed John Paul's prayer in his time as a Swiss Guard. One of the key experiences was once during a rosary on Vatican radio with the Pope and about 50 other people. The pope was kneeling and Andreas was standing in front of him looking out at all the people. Andreas suddenly felt different, he had a peace that he hadn't felt before. Andreas thought, "Whatever this guy has, this peace and humanity, that's what I want." Many people would tell Andreas how they would find the Holy Father in his private chapel late at night, sitting with the Lord, often writing in a notebook. Or they would find him prostrate in front of the Eucharist for hours on end. He had a comfort and a sense of being at home in front of the Lord. We can do a physical action that brings our heart along with the body. Fr. Matt said the translator of John Paul's "Theology of the Body" once said that the Holy Father wrote that masterpiece at a desk that was in his chapel. The Holy Father's tremendous love of the Blessed Mother is worthy of emulation. Before he entered the seminary, John Paul was introduced to St. Louis de Montfort and the total consecration to Mary, the prefect disciple and model for being the best disciple we can be. Almost everything he wrote, he turned at the end to the Blessed Mother for her intercession and mediation. The rosary was one of his favorite prayers. When he was praying he felt his prayers. He valued intercessory prayer. When the Holy Father visited the Philippines in 1995, he had an occasion to pray the rosary with a group. As the rosary ended, he took another 30 minutes to pray by name for specific bishops around the world and their intentions.Andreas pointed out that the bishops and priests he prayed for were part of his work. Likewise, we can take that opportunity to pray for those we work with. We are sent from Mass to carry Christ with us to the world. When we go about our daily work, wherever it is, we can take the opportunity for prayer, to offer up our work to God. This is why John Paul is so inspiring, because he left us many ideas and ways to do this.Fr. Matt said our suffering is a kind of prayer, whether it's diseases or difficulties in life and in our work. The Holy Father helped us rediscover the value of redemptive suffering. The Holy Father himself suffered in the years after being shot in the early 80s. The pope's base state in life is prayer. He prayed, went to do his work, and then returned to prayer. The infusion of prayer in his life was n't forced, but an attitude that came naturally. Being a saint is what we're here for. Becoming a saint is a decision we make and continue to make as we stick to the plan. Holiness is a part of life. It's not about being gloomy or pietistic.Andreas said there was always so much laughter in the papal apartments. As a 20-year-old he was drawn to Pope John Paul because he wanted to be just like him.**4th segment:** Discussing the extraordinary virtues of Pope John Paul II and the Church's sense of his holiness. Scot said flowing from Pope John Paul's prayer was how he treated people he encountered. Andreas told us during his last appearance on the show about how Pope John Paul saw how Andreas was hurting inside when others didn't. When you perceive the world as God sees it, then you can see the basic human dignity of the person you encounter and you are present to them. Whenever you met Pope John Paul, you felt like he got out of bed that day just to meet you. He did that with everyone from presidents to the homeless. How he treated others then changed how everyone around him treated those people as well.Fr. Matt said grace builds on nature and John Paul's human nature was so great. He was a healthy and vigorous man who loved so greatly. His humanity was a bridge by which people could encounter Christ. John Paul saw every person as a unique, unrepeatable soul, a masterpiece crafted by the hand of God. In our culture we get caught up with appearances, with what we do, with our education, etc. That didn't matter to John Paul. And this why so many flocked to him from all over the world.Andreas said the model of someone who is beatified shouldn't someone who is on a pedestal above, but that being like him is easy. That's why John Paul made so many saints. We are all called to be saints and it is attainable for us. John Paul was a like a coach who tells us that we are made for greatness and he can't wait to see how far we will go. The coach is tough on you--"You can do better than that". The coach doesn't bend the truth for you in some false Kumbaya sense, dumbing it down for us. No, he says we can do better because we are made in the image and likeness of God.**5th segment:** It's time to announce the winner of this week's **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is the “Messengers of Faith Talking Jesus and Mary Doll Set – Donated by [BibleToys.com](http://www.BibleToys.com).”  Children can learn more about Jesus and Mary as these dolls narrate their lives while children play with these 11" tall dolls. This week's winner is **Jacqueline Bouzan from Abington, MA**.  Congratulations to Jacqueline. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for our weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.**6th segment:** Andreas is going to Rome this week for the beatification of Pope John Paul this Sunday. It's a dream come true for him. Andreas was in Europe when John Paul died and was able to go the funeral, which was one of the most spiritually charged events of his life. It was an experience of the universality of the Church, with people from all over the world praying together in communion and receiving Communion. In other beatifications, people often had a devotion to the beati, but didn't personally know them. But in this case, no other person in the world may have been as exposed to the person of John Paul. Andreas said John Paul's spirit will be present as they celebrate John Paul as the vicar of Christ. It's going to be just as much about being with the people around him at the event as it is about the beatification itself.Fr. Matt said for those who can't be in Rome, keep in mind that it's Divine Mercy Sunday, also May 1 which is usually the Feast of St. Joseph and the beginning of the month of Mary. We can imitate the Holy Father by entering into the Divine Mercy mystery, which was a powerful message promoted by John Paul. St. Faustina was the first saint canonized in the new millennium. Enter into the spirit of the day by embracing Divine Mercy.Andreas said in Europe, May is also Labor Day, and John Paul was himself a laborer. He was a stonecutter in a quarry in his youth. So on Sunday, we can contemplate our work and see how we can elevate our work into a prayer and find a spiritual meaning in it.* [Divine Mercy](http://thedivinemercy.org/)Fr. Matt explained a little about the Divine Mercy devotion and St. Faustina. Jesus wanted us to embrace more deeply the mercy brought to us by the power of the cross. Even the worst sins can be blotted out by the mercy of God. God's mercy is infinite and anyone who turns to Jesus can experience this great mercy. The Divine Mercy chaplet is prayed on the rosary beads. It was the wish if Jesus in those Divine Mercy messages to St. Faustina that the Sunday after Easter would be the feast of Divine Mercy. Andreas pointed out that John Paul died right after celebrating the Divine Mercy Mass in 2005.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard to Pope John Paul II and CEO of Seven Fund* [4th annual Eucharistic Congress](http://www.eucharisticcongress.com)* [The Swiss Guard](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/index.htm)* [Seven Fund](http://www.sevenfund.org/)**Today's topics:** On today's show, Scot and Fr. Matt welcome Andreas Widmer, who will talk about his experiences as a Swiss Guard during the reign of Pope John Paul II, his reflections as a Catholic businessman, and the witness he will give at this weekend's 4th annual Eucharistic Congress for Young Adults in Boston's North End.**A summary of today's show:** Andreas Widmer told Scot and Fr. Matt of his first encounters with Pope John Paul II as a Swiss Guard and how the Pope's holiness and attention to each person he met changed Andreas' life. Scot and Fr. Matt also shared stories of their encounters with the soon-to-be beatified pope. Also, the Eucharistic Congress this weekend is dedicated to John Paul II.**1st segment:** Fr. Matt discussed the awards banquet coming up next Tuesday for the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults that honors both youth and the adults who serve them. There is a selection process in which people are nominated for awarding. There is a high quality of people involved in youth ministry in the archdiocese. He said there will be 120 awards. Cardinal Sean will be there. Our photographer, George Martell, will be receiving an award for the many times he's recorded youth ministry events for our archdiocesan sites, including our [Flickr page](http://www.flickr.com/bostoncatholic). Fr. Matt said he's used many of George's photos advertising youth ministry events.**2nd segment:** Scot andFr. Matt welcome Andreas Widmer. He is the CEO of Seven Fund. It promotes enterprise solutions to opvoerty. Using entrpeneurship and business to help people escape poverty instead of government aid. They work mainly in Africa and Asia. The intersecition of his faith and the work of Seven Fund is encapsulated by John Paul II's statement that with work we don't just make more, we become more. True dignity comes through the pursuit of excellence in whatever we do. All the great saints have said work should be prayer.He will be one of four speakers at the Eucharistic Congress this weekend. Fr. Matt said they more than 200 registrants, which makes them ahead of last year. They encourage pre-registration, but they will still accept people at the door. It will be rain, snow, or shine. On Friday, at Sacred Heart Church in the North End, they will open with prayer and music by [Jon Niven](http://www.jonniven.com/), music minister at Life Teen at St. Mary, Dedham.The theme is "John Paul II: Be Not Afraid, His Life, His Witness, His Challenge." Fr. Roger Landry will speak on Pope John Paul II and the new evangelization. Fr. Matt is a fan of his website [CatholicPreaching.com](http://www.catholicpreaching.com). He did his graduate work in Rome on Pope John Paul's writings.Then Fr. Dan Hennessey will speak about the vocation monstrance, one of several monstrances blessed by Pope John Paul II to be sent around the world for prayer for vocations. April 2 will be the sixth anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death. There will be confessions during Eucharistic Adoration. Then there will be a procession to the downstairs chapel and then adoration all night.On Saturday morning, at 10:15, Andreas will speak on "Be Not Afraid: " and then they will go into service projects all over the city of Boston. Anything from writing letts to confirmation students to visiting with the elderly priests at Regina Cleri to cleaning up a park. After that will be Mass with Cardinal Sean and then dinner provided by the restaurants of the North End. Fr. Matt expects Cardinal Sean's homily will combine Pope John Paul's preaching with the topics of the 4th Sunday of Lent.Scot said he knows Cardinal Sean enjoys meeting with young people especially, as can be seen by his creation of the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults. When he meets with the young people he appears transformed. Saturday evening, Sr. May Ann Toomey of the Sisters of Life will speak on the culture of life as defined by Pope John Paul II. The [Sisters of Life](http://www.sistersoflife.org) were found by Cardinal John O'Connor of New York to be a witness to life and to work for life.At the end of the Eucharistic Congress on Saturday is the very moving Eucharistic procession through the North End after a time of prayer music before the Blessed Sacrament. All the seminarians are there in cassock, priests and deacons and religious in their religious garb. They have bells and candles and a canopy and they're followed by 400 people. They stop at several makeshift altars through the North End and pray. It is moving to see 500 people all kneeling in prayer. People look out from apartments and restaurants to see. Fr,. Matt remembers a woman coming out of a restaurant to see and crying because she is so moved. They have street evangelizers to speak with them, not to convert, but to just invite them to be a part.**3rd segment:** Andreas grew up in Lucerne, Switzerland in a very small German-speaking village. Scot asked him how he came to join the Swiss Guard. Andreas said that from a young age he was very interested in the outdoors, scouting, the military. He heard about the Swiss Guard and decided he would join. He wasn't very religious, but thought it would be cool to become a bodyguard. Looking back, joinging was a symptom of his restlessness, feeling like he wanted an identity, feeling inadequate. He came to Rome as a 20-year-old in 1986. He went through recruit school and one of his first assignments, on Christmas Eve at the apostolic palace. From his background, Christmas Eve was the biggest day of the year and he was devastated that he would have to work. Before his assignment, he stood in line for the one phone for all 115 guardsmen to talk to his family. His father asked him how he was celebrating and he said he had to work. His mom came on the phone and started to cry, which made him cry as well. He said he loved her and hung up. He went to his assignment which was to stand in a small anteroom between the outer door and inner door to the papal apartments. He was all alone and cried for himself for about an hour. Finally he heard from his commander that Pope John Paul II would be coming out his exit to celebrate midnight Mass. He quickly composed himself and opened the door. Pope John Paul was standing there, looked at him and said, "You're new. What's your name?" He held out his hand and as their hands clasped, John Paul looked into his eyes. He knew from his red eyes that he had been upset and noted that he was away from home for the first time. That set Andreas crying again. He pulled Andreas close, thanked him for what he was doing for John Paul that night, and told him that the Pope would pray for him that night. On one of the biggest nights of the year, with one billion Catholics looking to the Pope, he became the focus of his ministry. Pope John Paul was his ultimate boss and right there in his work environment, Andreas was ministered to by his boss.In an indirect sense, John Paul helped Andreas ultimately to find his vocation. During his talk on Saturday, Andreas will get into what that means.Scot mentioned that so many people in this generation can point to John Paul II's example and witness as an inspiration for their own vocations and lives.Andreas says he has met many people over the years who met JPII, even if they were a person in the back of the crowd, that he made them feel as if they were the reason he got out of bed in the morning. This is an example for us, to make the people in our lives feel as if they are the reason we get up in the morning, especially those who are closest to us.Scot recalls going to a Mass with the Pope in 1998 on the Pope's birthday in his private chapel. He remembers asking the Holy Father to pray his aunt who was in the hospital. The Pope said, "Let's pray for her now." He pulled Scot and his brother close and prayed for her right then.Fr. Matt went with a few brother seminarians in 1999 to Rome. They were able to go to the private Mass with the Holy Father. Fr. Matt was asked to do the responsorial psalm. As they entered the chapel, he saw John Paul II on his knees in contemplative prayer preparing for Mass. Fr. Matt experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit and knew he was in the presence of a man whose holiness and love for Christ radiated from his being. The papacy itself awes us as Catholics, but when a bishop is a saint, their presence transcends the normal awe.Scot asked Andreas what he observed of the interactions of John Paul II that most people would not know. Andreas said he treated everyone the same. He would spend time with every single person who he met. Andreas started to realize that he was privileged to be part of that ministry, to experience that same ministry he experienced on Christmas Eve, to see the Pope touch the souls of so many people just like Andreas.Scot said that as a phenomenologist philosopher, John Paul believed that an encounter could change your life and this perhaps motivated his desire to travel everywhere in the world and meet everyone. He kept an intense schedule with long days. Andreas said the Pope's schedule never let up, even towards the end. Many of the very fit and young Swiss Guards said they couldn't keep up with the Pope.As an example of his treating everyone the same, John Paul instituted an audience just for the gypsies (the roma) who were treated with suspicion and disdain by everyone else.Andreas has spoken often on his experiences and has written a book called "The Pope and the CEO" to be published in September by Emmaus Road Publishing. Within a framework of his stories of Pope John Paul are nine lessons on how to order life in business as a Christian.Scot asked what it is like to speak about Pope John Paul II from a perspective that most others have not had. Andreas said it is a responsibility and privilege. Andreas said it was Scot who set him on this path in the first place. But when John Paul died, Andreas providentially in Rome the next day and was able to visit his body in the apostolic palace. He made a vow at that time to never tire of speaking of Pope John Paul II and of Jesus Christ and the message he has been given. Andreas is so excited to perhaps inspire even one person with the example of Pope John Paul II.**4th segment:** Every Wednesday we are happy to announce the winner of the **1060 WQOM Benefactor raffle.** This week the recipient will earn a copy of the [The 2011 Calendar of Indulgences](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601040415/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pilo0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1601040415) from Bridgegroom Press, which is entitled this year “The Beauty of Grace”.  It has great photos of beautiful churches and a lot of helpful information from the Church's liturgical calendar.  This week's winner of the Benefactor Card raffle is **Carmel & John Philippakis from Quincy**. Congratulations to Carmel and John! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit WQOM.org. For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for our weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.**5th segment:** Tonight is the 3rd Wednesday of The Light Is On For You in the Archdiocese, where every parish and chapel is open for confessions from 6:30-8pm. We are taking listener questions.1. Has Andreas ever been to confession with Pope John Paul II.No, but JP2 wanted to stress that every priest is a priest, on Good Fridays he used to go to the confessionals in St. Peter icognito and he hear confessions. Scot said many cardinals and curial officials do the same thing.2. Scot said last week his son asked if he needs to memorize the act of contrition or if he could make it up on his own. Scot told him that if he doesn't use the written prayer, but could say something heartfelt expressing his contrition. So what is necessary for an act of contrition?Fr. Matt said there are numerous formulas for expressing sorrow in the rite of confession. The words should express the sorrow in the heart, asking God for mercy and the grace to go forward and sin no more.3. Has the increase of psychology and therapy led to the drop in the use of confession?Andreas said you see in popular culture--TV shows and movies-- that therapists do occupy that role, as a confessor. whether we go to confession or not, we have an innate need to reconcile with God. So if we don't go to the sacrament, we still seek some way of finding forgiveness. Without downplaying the importance of therapy, when it comes to coming clean with the Lord is confession.Two weeks ago, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York said in his blog that "we have a confessional culture in our country."* [Saint Patrick's Day Pastoral Letter to the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of New York](http://blog.archny.org/?p=1109)>Our culture has an almost perverse delight in detailing the sins and scandals of those in the public eye. And ordinary people are eager to get in on the action! We produce an entire genre of “reality shows” which put on public display much sinful behaviour that people should be embarrassed about, not celebrated for.   Seems as if everybody's “going to confession” except in the sacrament!  There are a parade of talk shows in which the troubled and afflicted share their intimate secrets with a vast television audience. People use social networks to make available to all on the internet what should be treated with utmost discretion.>We have a “confessional culture.” It seems at every moment someone, somewhere is shouting for our attention, eager to confess from the rooftops what Catholics have the opportunity to whisper in the confessional. The “confessional culture” around us shouts itself hoarse for it can confess, but there is no absolution. Sin confessed but unredeemed either leads to despair or is trivialized. We see the despair in the vast anguish that fuels an enormous therapeutic industry. We see the trivialization in the celebrity scandals that become not occasions for averted eyes, but fodder for jokes.>Our culture does not need to be taught how to confess; it needs to discover where forgiveness can be found. Our culture does not need to further expose the stain of its sinfulness; it needs to discover the only One who can wash it away. We Catholics have the blessing of teaching our “confessional culture” about true mercy, but we cannot give what we do not have! I challenge the Catholics of the Archdiocese to make a good confession this Lent and then to tell one other person – perhaps a friend or relative or colleague who has been away from the sacraments for a long time – about the liberating joy of God's mercy!Fr. Matt said that we forget that sin does not make us happy. We go to therapists sometimes to convince ourselves that our sin does not make us unhappy.* [The Light Is On For You](http://www.thelightisonforyou.org)* [Pilot Parish Finder](http://www.pilotparishfinder.com)