Podcasts about Bob Rice

On this edition of The DOT POD, hosts Josh and Anya hit the road and travel to Mohawk Valley Community College to attend the Annual NYSATE Conference. NYSATE, which stands for the New York State Association of Transportation Engineers, held their annual conference in Utica, NY and The DOT POD was there. Brian Hoffman, NYSDOT Professional Engineer with Region 2's Design Group, and Bob Rice, Regional Manager for NYSDOT's Office of Planning and Program Management, as well as the President of NYSATE's Board of Directors, sit down to talk about the long and fruitful partnership between NYSDOT and NYSATE.

Join us on this inspiring episode of "Catholic Life Every Day" with our special guest, Deacon Bob Rice. A beloved professor, speaker, and musician, Deacon Bob shares his profound insights on the power of partnerships in the Catholic community, the integration of technology in evangelization through tools like the myParish app, and the life-changing impact of the Steubenville Conferences. Whether you're a parish leader or a seeker of faith-filled wisdom, this episode offers a wealth of inspiration and practical advice to enrich your spiritual journey. Tune in to discover how traditional faith meets modern technology to foster a vibrant Catholic community.

Bob Rice manages energy programs at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools. He recently attended a White House Summit on energy issues for schools, and HSE was presented with an award. He talks about that and more in this podcast.

Esther is a well-known name among Christians, yet her story is often overlooked. Nevertheless, there is profound wisdom in Esther's narrative that illuminates how God employs seemingly unlikely individuals to fulfill his purpose. In this insightful conversation, Jeff Cavins and Deacon Bob Rice delve into the story of Esther, highlighting how her demonstration of prudence and courage remains relevant to us today. Thank you to our sponsor for this episode: Christ Medicus Foundation CURO. Discover CURO, the Catholic health and wellness alternative. Receive personalized Catholic wellness coaching, spiritual direction, and Christ-centered health sharing options. Be a part of an uplifting community of individuals and families who share Christ's healing love with one another. Wherever you're at in your health and wellness journey, you can learn more or join today at https://cmfcuro.com/. You can also call them at (800) 840-7471. You can watch the episode here: https://media.ascensionpress.com/category/ascension-presents/bible-timeline-show/

In this episode, Fr. Michael and Molly talk about practical evangelization, Bob Rice, and the need to step out of our comfort zones when it comes to truly loving our neighbor

Zac and Spike talk with Bob Rice of Doc's Fusion Fuel Hot Sauce.

DescriptionHave you ever wondered what it would be like, as a layperson to go from listening to homilies to giving them? I know I have. What if you as a ministry leader, professor, and conference speaker were also called to be a Deacon in the Catholic Church? You've been giving talks, thousands of them, for many years and now you are giving homilies in a local Church on a weekly basis. What would that transition be like? What are the challenges, hiccups, and new lessons to learn?Well, if you've ever wondered what that would be like - you are in for a treat today - actually either way you are in for a treat today, as I sit down with the one and only Deacon Bob Rice to discuss his convictions around teaching and preaching, but also a deep dive on what it's like to begin giving homilies as a Deacon. Bob Rice loves being Catholic. He is a husband, father of seven, permanent deacon for the diocese of Steubenville, and Professor of Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He has a PhD in Theology from Liverpool Hope University where he researched Catholic youth and evangelization. Deacon Bob is a highly sought after presenter, author of many books and articles, and the co-host of a popular weekly podcast called They That Hope with Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR. Bob has recorded numerous CDs (his music can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, and others) and leads worship for over ten thousand people every year, mostly through the Steubenville Adult Conferences. Amazon link to the “Heart of the Diaconate” by Dcn James KeatingConnect with Deacon Bob at his websiteCheck out “They That Hope”, a podcast from Dcn Bob Rice and Fr. Dave PivonkaLinksFor more information about the Better Preach Podcast visit: www.ryanohara.org/betterpreachBetter Preach Podcast is now on YouTube. Here's a link to the channel. Better Preach is a proud member of Spoke Street, a Catholic Podcast Network that amplifies the voice of the Creator through fostering content that invites. Check out Ryan's FREE course on “sharing your faith as a Catholic.”Follow Ryan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook Join the Better Preach email list. I made this podcast with help from Riverside FM. Want to try it out for your podcast? Here's a link to get you started.

“I'm convinced most of our problems in catechesis is we spend more time talking about what God wants of us than who God is.” Deacon Bob Rice, professor of Catechetics at Franciscian University of Steubenville, joins us to dive into the heart of catechesis, what our youth are most hungry for, how we can share the Gospel with those far from God, and how to make the bridge between dogma and everyday life. “They all need Jesus. They just don't know they need Jesus.” Show Notes: (00:12) Edmund kicks off the episode by introducing the guest: Deacon Bob Rice. He's a Catholic deacon, professor, podcaster, speaker, musician, and author at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Edmund starts the conversation by asking Deacon Bob, “How did you first discover the Catechism?” Deacon Bob shares his mystical experience while reading the Catechism for the first time, and emphasizes that it's an expression of the deposit of faith and not the deposit of faith itself.(06:50) The importance of the preparation step: “Catechesis is oftentimes almost presented like an answer to a question no one was asking.” Deacon Bob and Edmund discuss the Ecclesial method and the importance of preparation in catechesis. They stress the need to understand the audience and their struggles instead of focusing solely on programs. Deacon Bob emphasizes that we need to see the goodness in people and treat catechesis as a way to build relationships and understand their needs.(14:55) “How do you know when it's time to talk about Jesus?” Deacon Bob emphasizes that building relationships and understanding people is key to evangelizing effectively. He reminds us that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God and shares the importance of seeing the good in others. “Culture is made up of men and women who are made in the image and likeness of God.“ =(20:33) Formally handing on the faith: advice to parents, teachers, and catechists. Dcn. Rice gives us his insights into how to bring “dogma into everyday life.” He shares, “love how the Catechism is structured. Morality is called Life in Christ. So it's about being like Jesus.” He gives us three things to keep in mind: First, “Always make it about Jesus.”  Second, use the beauty of your own witness and that of the saints. Third, connect everything to the Gospel message.(26:57) “What do you see as the hunger in our youth?” Our guest shares that he sees human contact as the greatest hunger right now with young people. Additionally, he adds “truth and being able to trust the source” are dynamics young people struggle with right now.   An OSV Podcasts partner. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Happy Friday!! Thanks for joining us again as we have a Special Guest in No Prep felons Bob Rice today well talk all about his rise in the No Prep Live Feed World plus what it takes to do one event. Then we dive into all the Sporting and Wrestling news you need to know and all the personal shoutout's we can handle on the Best Breakfast Wrestling & Sports Podcast on your Fridays!!! Follow us @ eeeznbeez.orgSupport the show

On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, host Trey Cashion explained the seven attributes of a Catholic disciple. According to a series on discipleship authored by Catholic theologian Bob Rice, a Catholic disciple: 1. has their IDENTITY rooted in being a son/daughter of the Father, 2. is consistent in daily PRAYER, 3. actively participates in the grace of the SACRAMENTS, 4. lives in OBEDIENCE to the teachings of the Catholic Church, 5. participates in a COMMUNITY to grow in faith and support the growth of others, 6. frequently does acts of SERVICE out of love for God and neighbor and, 7. is enthusiastic about SHARING the Gospel and making disciples. Remember, only God can take the mystery out of parenting. Pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you. He will!

Fr. Michael is joined by the one and only accordion master, Bob Rice!

Pete & Jeremiah are here with all of the news from the weekend including a very wet Pig Iron Day, honoring the late Bob Rice, and a local kid who collected food donations.

The first live-action Star Wars show is arguably also the most compelling Star Wars story ever. We welcome Deacon, Professor, and Star Wars nerd-extrordianire Bob Rice to unpack the Mandoverse as we discuss: - Fundamentalism - the stories of 3 orphans - religious deconstruction & reconstruction - How to question God? Is there a value to doubt? - Celibacy & detachment - Do relationships make you soft and is that a bad thing?Become a PATRON and SUPPORT my show! Go to www.PopCultureCatechism.com Show notes: https://www.awakencatholic.org/pop-culture-catechism/the-mandalorian-and-boba-fett Download the official AWAKEN App: http://theawakenapp.io Listen wherever you find podcasts including: Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.co

Happy Friday!! This week we have a very special guest in No Prep Felons ...Bob Rice! He and I discuss his start in live-feed and Hot Wheel racing, along with some of his favorites and so much more! Also, Super Bowl breakdown our predictions and MVP, Racing talk, Olympic Medal count, College B-ball top 10 and of course some.........RASSLIN!! Make sure to like, share, subscribe, leave a comment and 5-star review. Follow us every Friday wherever you listen to your Podcasts at or follow us over at eeeznbeez.org for all our social media outlets!!  EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=41702239&fan_landing=true)

I got ordained! In this episode I share the experience of my ordination and reflect upon the beauty of that rite. My thanks and prayers to all who have supported me on this journey.

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 800 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more 27:00 Bob Rice is one of the old show's all time favorites and for no main reason he hasn't been on the show  is the Alternative Investment Editor at Bloomberg Television, where he appears daily on “Money Moves with Deirdre Bolton,” the only show on TV solely dedicated to Alternatives. Bob has been involved in Alternatives world for 30 years. He serves on boards of investment management firms with over $2 billion of assets under management, as well as Gust, the leading platform for seed stage companies and investors. After starting his career at the U.S. Justice Department, he worked on the early generations of derivatives as a partner at premiere Wall Street's law firm Milbank, Tweed. He then entered the private equity world via Wexford Capital, where he launched a 3D technology startup that later became the publicly traded Viewpoint, of which he served as CEO. In 2004, he founded merchant bank Tangent Capital, whose principals have raised and invested several billions of dollars for and in alternative funds and transactions. Bob appears regularly on dozens of major media outlets around the world, and frequently keynotes at major financial industry conferences. 1:09 Glenn Kirschner is a former federal prosecutor with 30 years of trial experience.  He served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia for 24 years, rising to the position of Chief of the Homicide Section.  In that capacity, Glenn supervised 30 homicide prosecutors and oversaw all homicide grand jury investigations and prosecutions in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the DC U.S. Attorney's Office, Glenn served more than six years on active duty as an Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) prosecutor, trying court-martial cases and handling criminal appeals, including espionage and death penalty cases. Glenn tried hundreds of cases in his 30 years as a prosecutor, including more than 50 murder trials, multiple lengthy RICO trials and precedent-setting cases.  Glenn's YouTube Channel Glenn's Podcast Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

In this episode, we reconnect after our summer break to discuss the ways God has grown us this summer and our hopes for the season to come. We marvel together at how the Lord continues to heal us, remind us of His truth, and invite us to abide deeper in who He is and who He says we are. We chat about how the maturation that comes with repentance and the willingness to start over again with God. We pray that God will do a new thing in you as you join us on the journey this season! Sister Miriam's one thing - Separate Vocations of Man and Woman - Edith Stein from Essays on Woman (The Collected Works of Edith Stein) - Edith Stein Heather's one thing - Speak the Unspoken Podcast S02 E02: The power of story with Heather Kyhm Michelle's one thing - Fr. Dave Pivonka, Dr. Bob Rice, and the entire orientation team at Franciscan University of Steubenville Discussion questions:     What stood out to you from this week's episode? What areas did you learn you needed to grow over this summer? How did God stretch you, humble you, invite you to abide more? In what ways would you like to begin again today? What must you repent of? What must you turn your eyes away from to be able to see Christ looking at you? Journal Questions: How did you see the Lord using events or memories of your past to grow you, mature you and heal you this summer? What desires would you like to name for the Lord to fulfill as we move into a new season?  How can you let the Lord love you where you are most vulnerable and dependent? Quotes to Ponder: “Always, we begin again.” - St. Benedict  Scripture for Lectio Divina -   “It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,  but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:12-14

America's favorite youth ministry hero joins the podcast IN PERSON this week! Dr. Bob Rice was in town for the Ablaze training week and joined Matt & Chris to discuss youth and young adult ministry. He has been influential in calling for a new USCCB document on youth ministry and is now helping to plan for and guide that document. Bob is hilarious, engaging and a thought leader in Catholic youth ministry. This is a can't miss episode   Follow MLA on Twitter (https://twitter.com/nxtlvlmin) Join the Discussion on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mlapodcast/) Ministry Leaders Anonymous is a production of Ablaze Ministries (ablaze.us)   Subscribe/Rate Never miss out on the craziness of each episode by hitting the subscribe button RIGHT NOW! Help other people find the show and by sharing this episode on your social media. Thanks!   Hosts: Chris Bartlett and Matt Rice Production/Editing by ForteCatholic.com   Thanks to ALOB (http://a-lob.com/) for letting us use his song, Strong God (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/strong-god/1291068295?i=1291068305), from the album No Match for Love (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/no-match-for-love/1291068295)! Email us your thoughts! mlapodcast@ablaze.us (mailto:mlapodcast@ablaze.us)

What are deacons, and why do they matter? That's what Dr. Chris and Dr. Bob Rice discuss on this episode of Ignition.

Singing the Mass is one of the best ways for us to more fully participate in the source and summit of the Church's life, which is what the Mass is. In this episode, Dr. Chris visits with Dr. Bob Rice about why and how to not just sing at Mass, but to sing the Mass.

We heard parts of the Gospel at every Mass, but have you ever read them from beginning to end? In this episode, Dr. Chris and Dr. Bob Rice talk about the importance of reading each of the Gospels so that we might come to know Jesus more deeply.

We heard parts of the Gospel at every Mass, but have you ever read them from beginning to end? In this episode, Dr. Chris and Dr. Bob Rice talk about the importance of reading each of the Gospels so that we might come to know Jesus more deeply.

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Missionary Disciples are called to engage with the culture, not run away from it. But why? And how? That's what Dr. Chris and Dr. Bob Rice discuss in this episode of Ignition.

Missionary Disciples are called to engage with the culture, not run away from it. But why? And how? That's what Dr. Chris and Dr. Bob Rice discuss in this episode of Ignition.

Here are the news items:Greenlanders have voted for a new left-wing parliament that may stop plans to mine rare earth minerals.Topps, the 83-year-old bubble gum and baseball card company, is going public via a SPAC.A Gallup poll shows Democrats have the biggest numerical advantage over Republicans since 2012.Iran is speeding up its production of highly enriched uranium even as the country engages in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.Brazil continues to struggle with a huge surge in Covid-19 deaths.PLUS: Rebecca interviews entrepreneur and best-selling author Bob Rice, who explains the deflationary power of technology. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

They That Hope on SpotifyThey That Hope on YouTube

Gomer intervened again, but this time it seems to have been very costly. There is chaos where there used to be safety. After the 30-minute story time, we go into our interview with Fr. Dave Pivonka and Prof. Bob Rice of the Franciscan University of Steubenville!

1 - I Have News for You - Roy Milton And His Solid Senders – 19512 - Just Break the News to Mother - Carson Robison Trio – 19303 - Headlines in the News - Fats Waller and his Rhythm - 19414 - If It's Any News to You - Clyde Bernhardt and his Blue Blazers – 19475 - Bad News Travels Fast - Tex Atchison with Eddie Hazelwood and his Carolina Woodchoppers - 19516 - Sad News Blues - Original Memphis Five – 19237 - No News Or "What Killed the Dog" - Nat M. Wills – 19088 - Mamma Have You Heard the News - Carl Sandburg – 19479 - Bad News Baby (There'll Be No Rockin' Tonight) - Wynonie Harris – 195210 - Ohne Dich (Stormy Weather) - The Comedian Harmonists – 193311 - Weather Bird Rag - King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band – 192312 - Indoor Sports - Bert Williams – 191513 - (Just An) Error in the News - Betty Allen with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra – 193714 - Good News - Bob Borger, Fran Frey, and Bob Rice with George Olsen and His Music - 192715 - Good News - Dave Kalpan and his Orchestra – 192616 - Let's Break the Good News - Fats Waller, his Rhythm and Orchestra – 193817 - Let's Break the Good News - Fud Candrix mit seinem grossen Tanzorchester – 193818 - Stand By For Further Announcements - Hal Derwin with Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm – 1939

Fr. Dave reflects on the death of his brother, Bob shares about how excited he was to become an acolyte, and they both talk about having hope in the Church, even in the midst of scandal.

Fr. Dave’s older brother passed away last weekend. Fr. Dave and Bob talk about finding hope in the midst of pain and suffering.  About “They That Hope”Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and Dr. Bob Rice are friends who see humor and hope in a crazy world. Whether they are talking about sports, movies, politics, the Catholic Church, or their own lives, Fr. Dave and Bob try to find Christ in all things, even in the messiness of today’s culture. “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Come be refreshed and renewed! Brought to you by Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Fr. Dave and Bob talk about keeping our eyes fixed on heaven (especially when things are crazy on earth) and how important it is for families to pass on the faith to their kids. Regardless of the election result, Jesus is still Lord! About “They That Hope”Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and Dr. Bob Rice are friends who see humor and hope in a crazy world. Whether they are talking about sports, movies, politics, the Catholic Church, or their own lives, Fr. Dave and Bob try to find Christ in all things, even in the messiness of today’s culture. “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Come be refreshed and renewed! Brought to you by Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Fr. Dave and Bob talk about the miracle of life (and how Bob thinks it is gross), the challenges and blessings of families, scary movies, sad movies, and favorite saints. About “They That Hope”Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and Dr. Bob Rice are friends who see humor and hope in a crazy world. Whether they are talking about sports, movies, politics, the Catholic Church, or their own lives, Fr. Dave and Bob try to find Christ in all things, even in the messiness of today’s culture. “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Come be refreshed and renewed! Brought to you by Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Bob shares about how he encountered Jesus, Fr. Dave talks about how St. Francis encountered Jesus in a leper, and they both talk about how to encounter Jesus in others (even in those we don’t agree with). Listen until the end to hear a beautiful song by John Paul Von Arx, “He’s Different,” written about his brother with Down Syndrome. About “They That Hope”Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and Dr. Bob Rice are friends who see humor and hope in a crazy world. Whether they are talking about sports, movies, politics, the Catholic Church, or their own lives, Fr. Dave and Bob try to find Christ in all things, even in the messiness of today’s culture. “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Come be refreshed and renewed! Brought to you by Franciscan University of Steubenville.

In this episode, you learn that Bob knows a lot about movies, Fr. Dave knows a lot about politics, and neither of them know anything about chess. Fr. Dave and Bob discuss the Amy Coney Barrett nomination, high school football, inspirational words from St. Therese of Lisieux, and how Franciscans celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.About “They That Hope”Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and Dr. Bob Rice are friends who see humor and hope in a crazy world. Whether they are talking about sports, movies, politics, the Catholic Church, or their own lives, Fr. Dave and Bob try to find Christ in all things, even in the messiness of today’s culture. “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Come be refreshed and renewed! Brought to you by Franciscan University of Steubenville.

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In this weeks episode, the hosts, Joe McKeown, Matthew McFadden and Dermot Kelly are joined by Irish American musician, comedian, teacher, dad and all-round nice guy Bob Rice from Steubenville, Ohio.Dermot is encouraged by the positive reception from last weeks episode and some of the encouraging comments that made it worthwhile sharing his story. The Holy Joes introduce Prof. Bob Rice and admire his surroundings with perfectly framed photos and a bookshelf which earns him the title Bob the Builder. Joe offers a public apology for inviting Bob to the World Meeting of Families in Ireland during 2018 as he got to play in front of 20,000 chairs instead of people. Bob reflects on the positive encounters he had in Ireland, including almost high fiving Pope Francis.Bob reflects on his Irish Catholic roots, the Korean origin of his name and journey from youth ministry to lecturing in a great Catholic Institution at Franciscan University, Steubenville Ohio. Matthew asks some questions about family life which leads to a good discussion about the challenges and the joys of being a family man.Join us as we explore the challenges and joys of trying to be a great dad. 

In this episode, I share eight laws and lessons to successfully market your business. I discuss the best ideas I've applied in my businesses from Bob Rice's book Three Moves Ahead and Al Ries and Jack Trout's book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. 

the questions: What does Star Wars mean to you? What do you think of the Sequels? What did you think of this movie?

Bob Rice talks about plans to install 3 solar panel projects at HSE Schools

Welcome to the Theology of the Buddy Podcast, Episode 7!Today’s candid conversations include discussion on the very real experience of the so-called man cold, and Dr. Matt shares the science behind it. I’ll be a special guest today, and will share some helpful hints on caring for your man, when he is in throes of man sickness agony. I also take the opportunity to throw Chris under the bus! It’s great! We will also discuss the current book scandal at Franciscan University of Steubenville, hashing out the issue of academic freedom and what that means in a Catholic context, and answer some great listener questions. Authentic Catholic education is a big deal. How should one be properly educated? What is true Academic Freedom and what is so bad about reading a bad book? We hope this podcast helps to clarify that. Thank you also to our listeners for their great questions.  We really want to know your thoughts on the topics discussed during today’s podcast, as well as your questions and topics you’d like us to explore in the future. So, please follow us on Facebook  @Theology of the Buddy, and come talk with us! Please follow and subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play to keep up on the great conversations, with new episodes coming every Wednesday! Next week, the guys will be talking about Fr. Chad Ripperger’s talk, “How to Raise a man”, Check it out in advance of next week’s show. Until then, you Stay Traddy, San Diego. Music used in this podcast: Vibe With Me by Joakim Karud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/-7YDBIGCXsY Dreams by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/VF9_dCo6JT4 Day One by Declan DP Music https://soundcloud.com/declandp Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/W3_fiilYMCs For questions or concerns, please email: theologyofthebuddy@gmail.com Follow us on Facebook @TheologyoftheBuddy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copied from Rail City Oratory, Chris’ Official Blog:Franciscan University, which I lovingly (and still do) refer to as my Alma Mater, although I only studied there for Freshmen Year in 2005, has been rife with scandals in the last couple of years. Among the first was the supposed "Pro-Choice Feminist" on the faculty, spreading confusion and scandal on Twitter. Then, stories of failures to properly handle sexual misconduct on campus, the revelation of the sexual misconduct of the late Fr. Sam Tiesi, TOR, a key-player in the reform of the former top party school, and close confidante of the late Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR. Now, with another strike to the gut, comes the confusion surrounding Dr. Stephen Lewis' upper class reading assignment of "The Kingdom", written by French atheist Emmanul Carrère. The assignment was reported by Church Militant, at which point it exploded in a wave of comments and blog posts responding to it. I am still well connected to friends who studied and completed their degrees at Franciscan University. The response from those students has been incredibly in favor of Dr. Lewis' actions, much to my surprise. The Traditional Catholic side of the internet lost their absolute heads over it. Parents have decided against even visiting the school for college visits and people are stopping their donations. There are also those like blogger Bill Kassel who took a more moderate/passive, "who knows the right thing" approach. A listener of the podcast I am now running with some friends called "Theology of the Buddy" (you should really check it out, it's fun!), reached out to me and suggested that we deal with this question on our podcast. In preparation, I began digging deep into what the Church teaches regarding so-called Academic Freedom and education in light of what the response was from faculty at the University, graduates, and other catholics within my limited purview.  This post is meant more to be a resource for those searching, and for anyone who may be looking for more information than what will be shared on the podcast, because I cannot share all of my findings there. This may be not be a fully comprehensive look at the topic, but I hope that you will follow the logic and train of thought. What's so bad about the book? Church Militant treated on this topic at length here. For the same reason why I wouldn't read or recommend the book, I am not going to write of the nitty-gritty gross details here. I will say that the general issue comes down to the author speaking of things of a highly pornographic nature, including masturbation, while also speaking incredibly blasphemously about Mary, the Mother of God. He describes, in demonic detail, gravely immoral actions taken by her in his mind.   The first response sent to Church Militant from Tom Sofio, Public Relations Manager at Franciscan University, stated the following point: Franciscan students learn through critical comparison to consider multiple sides of an issue or argument, led by professors who always promote Catholic spiritual and moral perspectives. Thus, our students graduate better prepared to solve problems and engage with integrity in a world that desperately needs to hear the truth. Of course at face value, this is an admiral approach for a Catholic University to take. There is, however, something to be said about the nature of the content being examined. In the case of pornographic content, whether literary, audible, or visual, it is always gravely immortal. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: 2354 Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials. No matter what level a person may be at in their academic learning, pornographic material is gravely immoral. Whether you're a 10 year old, or have a Ph.D, we are not immune to the effects of grave moral evil. Whether it is visual, audible, or literary, smut is smut. If it was not so, the President of the school, Fr. Sean Sheridan, TOR would not have openly admitted "again, the professor did not intend to scandalize, but The Kingdom is so directly pornographic and blasphemous that it has no place on a Catholic university campus... I regret that the University's earlier statement did not make this clear." Sadly, the students did not simply have to be told about the book, but they had to purchase it. While they may not have known it at the time, the school and students were indirectly supporting a man who makes his money from blasphemy and pornography. Other faculty members, including the famed Dr. Scott Hahn and Dr. John Bergsma, (both whose Biblical Scholarship I still consider to be some of the best in the Church today) have voiced their concerns and opined about the inappropriate book selection, which Church Militant noted here. There was also an event created on campus wherein, Father Nathan Malavolti, TOR, the Chief Evangelization Officer, lead a Holy Hour in reparation in the main campus chapel, Christ the King, for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary on January 11, 2019, shortly after the proverbial excrement hit the fan. I think doing so is worth applauding. Yet, despite this clear admission from the President, and acts of public reparation, some faculty appear unconvinced that it is actually pornographic, including Dr. Lewis, who seems to have not spoken about the situation publicly. Much to my surprise as well, Dr. Bob Rice, Associate Professor of Theology and Catechetics at FUS, stated in his blog (emphasis mine): In an upperclass elective (with five students in it) that examined the difference in approach between Catholics and non-Catholics in literature, he included a blasphemous and arguably pornographic book as an example of the kind of “bad” literature that was out there. It was a poor choice (that he did once). Rice spent the rest of his time waxing nostalgic about his love for Franciscan and taking aim at Church Militant. I stand quite surprised that such a prominent professor at Franciscan could have such differing views from the Administration on this subject. It is unfathomable to me to think that this man could be in charge of forming the next generation of Catechists. His response is also reminiscent of the crazy protectionist culture in the Church these days, wherein you hold more to the "good" one has done, and seemingly ignore the rest - Hello Cardinal Wuerl! But I digress. Why is it bad to read pornographic and blasphemous books for educational purposes? Let's chat about consequentialism and the Principle of the Integral Good. Wikipedia defines it well stating, "consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct." St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologiae states in First Part of the Second Part, Question 18,  Article 4: "Nothing hinders an action that is good in one of the ways mentioned above, from lacking goodness in another way. And thus it may happen that an action which is good in its species or in its circumstances is ordained to an evil end, or vice versa. However, an action is not good simply, unless it is good in all those ways: since "evil results from any single defect, but good from the complete cause," as Dionysius says (Div. Nom. iv)." Pope Pius XI stated, "For, let human prudence say what it likes and reason as it pleases, it is impossible to produce true temporal peace and tranquility by things repugnant or opposed to the peace and happiness of eternity" (DIVINI ILLIUS MAGISTRI 54) No true good comes from something evil. Yet, Emily Stimpson Chapman, a former FUS teacher, and Catholic author, wrote on Facebook in defense of the actions of Dr. Stephen Lewis stating, "His DESIRE to equip students to respond to virulently anti-Catholic sentiments in literature and the culture is NOT a bad thing. It is quite necessary. At the very least, his intentions are completely defensible." Whether or not his intentions were good does not render the act good. To use porn, which is declared by Holy Mother Church to be a grave moral evil, for a good end, namely education, is indefensible. Stimpson Chapman goes on to say, "I do know that Franciscan is a university, not a seminary, and that its students are adults, not children, and therefore perfectly capable of skimming the racy parts in a book and analyzing the problematic (and even blasphemous) bits, from the perspective of faith and reason." Pope Gregory XVI stated, "Every law condemns deliberately doing evil simply because there is some hope that good may result. Is there any sane man who would say poison ought to be distributed, sold publicly, stored, and even drunk because some antidote is available and those who use it may be snatched from death again and again?" (Mirari Vos 15) Again, consequentialism is fully displayed by Stimpson Chapman. It appears this well-loved author seems to misunderstand our Church's wonderful historical teachings on education in general, when she seemingly separates men in a seminary and men and women in a Catholic university. Also was her comment a little sexist? I hope she'll forgive me now for quoting mostly ordained, sheltered men from the recent and long past. If anything you take away from this article, it should be this: The Catholic Church does not owe her children a secular education, but a Catholic education. There is a difference. Unlike secular education, who is generally regulated by civil government, Catholic Education should truly be regulated by the Church, overseen by the local Ordinary and those clergy who have been charged with the task of education and administration. Pope Pius XI states in Divini Illius Magistri: Again it is the inalienable right as well as the indispensable duty of the Church, to watch over the entire education of her children, in all institutions, public or private, not merely in regard to the religious instruction there given, but in regard to every other branch of learning and every regulation in so far as religion and morality are concerned. But what about "Academic Freedom"? Franciscan loves JPII so much they named the library after him. Let's get his thoughts. Pope St. John Paul II stated at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore - Sunday, 8 October 1995) that "Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." Therefore, Academic Freedom, it would follow, would be to do and teach that which we know is true, good, and beautiful. We can presume, therefore, that much care is to be taken in doing what is right in the realm of education. Pope Pius XII stated, "With regard to new questions, which modern culture and progress have brought to the foreground, let them engage in most careful research, but with the necessary prudence and caution" (Humani Generis 43). Pope St. John Paul II again stated: Because knowledge is meant to serve the human person, research in a Catholic University is always carried out with a concern for the ethical and moral implications both of its methods and of its discoveries...'It is essential that we be convinced of the priority of the ethical over the technical, of the primacy of the person over things, of the superiority of the spirit over matter. The cause of the human person will only be served if knowledge is joined to conscience.'(Ex Corde Ecclesiae 18). So true Academic Freedom is found in searching for the truth, while upholding the dignity due to God and the human person. From the same Encyclical: Every Catholic University, as a university, is an academic community which, in a rigorous and critical fashion, assists in the protection and advancement of human dignity and of a cultural heritage through research, teaching and various services offered to the local, national and international communities. It possesses that institutional autonomy necessary to perform its functions effectively and guarantees its members academic freedom, so long as the rights of the individual person and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good. (12) Pope Leo XIII states in Libertas Praestantissimum: ...Men have a right freely and prudently to propagate throughout the State what things soever are true and honorable, so that as many as possible may possess them; but lying opinions, than which no mental plague is greater, and vices which corrupt the heart and moral life should be diligently repressed by public authority, lest they insidiously work the ruin of the State...If unbridled license of speech and of writing be granted to all, nothing will remain sacred and inviolate; even the highest and truest mandates of natures, justly held to be the common and noblest heritage of the human race, will not be spared. Thus, truth being gradually obscured by darkness, pernicious and manifold error, as too often happens, will easily prevail. Thus, too, license will gain what liberty loses; for liberty will ever be more free and secure in proportion as license is kept in fuller restraint. In regard, however, to all matter of opinion which God leaves to man's free discussion, full liberty of thought and of speech is naturally within the right of everyone; for such liberty never leads men to suppress the truth, but often to discover it and make it known. (23) Should the Church be able to dictate what books are used in centers of Catholic education? Pope Gregory XVI states in Mirari Vos: Thus it is evident that this Holy See has always striven, throughout the ages, to condemn and to remove suspect and harmful books. The teaching of those who reject the censure of books as too heavy and onerous a burden causes immense harm to the Catholic people and to this See. They are even so depraved as to affirm that it is contrary to the principles of law, and they deny the Church the right to decree and to maintain it. (16) Pope John Paul II declared in Ex Corde Ecclesiae (emphasis mine): Article 2§ 4. Catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities, while the freedom of conscience of each person is to be fully respected(46). Article 2 § 5. A Catholic University possesses the autonomy necessary to develop its distinctive identity and pursue its proper mission. Freedom in research and teaching is recognized and respected according to the principles and methods of each individual discipline, so long as the rights of the individual and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good. To make this abundantly clear, from a Catholic viewpoint, Academic Freedom can only be found "within the confines of the truth and the common good". It is self-evident that pornography and blasphemy is an offense against the common good, as it does damage to the dignity of the human person, and blasphemy is an offense against the Truth Himself. How can students formed at a school so very in love with Pope St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body, then turn and defend Dr. Lewis' actions? The uproar the use of this book caused also serves to prove that it was not truly for the common good. An act, as Aquinas makes clear, is rendered immoral if one of its parts is evil, despite the seemingly good intention. Consequentialism is not morally tenable. Bottom line: Was Dr. Lewis' book selection a very poor choice? Yes. Was Franciscan University correct in correcting itself? Yes. Was Dr. Lewis' acts justified? No. Does this change my opinion about Franciscan University? Yeah, kinda. Would I still potentially send my kid to Franciscan University? ... maybe? Do I still love Franciscan University? Yes, in the same way that I love old Coke, Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper,  Zellers, or my years in Life Teen. I loved my time there and will always look fondly upon it. But to expect that it is the same as it once was, is to assume that everyone there is the same as they once were, just like those who went there might be the same. My life and my Facebook feed has determined that is a lie. I know of many students who studied in the hallowed halls of Egan and Cosmas and Damian, only to have abandoned the Faith ten years later, or who have become so incredibly lukewarm that it is scary - this includes currently employed catechists across the globe. Franciscan has changed. It is inevitable. I am also not the same as I once was. Will the school retain Fr. Scanlan's vision? Should it? That's another post for another time. But as Scott Hahn said, "Please pray for our university." For my final comments, I'm going to get a little salty and a little less scholarly. Hold on to your butts (I wrote this at 3:00am)!     1. Thanks for stopping by Facebook, Emily. You can go back to your precious Instagram now, where everything is safe and nothing hurts...I hear it's the USCCB's favurite social media platform. *winky face* Nighty Night! Dr. Bob Rice - if the book is only "arguably" pornographic, would you let a teenage daughter read it? If not, why would you let full blown adults read it, whose education is entrusted to your care? Let's be frank, if it is only "arguably" porn, then your 1999 album "Behold the Lamb" is just "arguably" music. Therefore, I want my $15 American Dollars back, or just give me Bookstore credit. Thankfully I won't have the option to buy "The Kingdom" there anymore. Dr. Bergsma - I love you. Please be my friend. Signed, an anonymous but reliable source. Church Militant and Christine Niles - You need to repent for sharing out the blasphemous, heinous parts of the Kingdom. While calling out the school was good, you are also guilty in part for the scandal. From one group of Trads to another - repent and make reparation. Subscribe to the Theology of the Buddy Podcast, it's way better than this blog.  

Catechesis, evangelization, theology…you've certainly heard these terms, but what’s the relationship between them? And when it comes to catechesis, how can we make sure we lead people to deeper intimacy with Christ instead of just filling their heads with information that doesn’t affect their hearts? In this episode, Dr. Bob Rice shares advice on how to make catechesis come alive, and he reminds us that the most important ministry in our lives is the ministry God does within our hearts.

In this week's episode, Roy explores how the practice of religion, including elements like ritual and community, can enable teenagers to find comfort and encouragement in the ever-changing world in which they are growing up.  Roy explains how the predictability and sameness of ritual can provide a sense of stability for young people, despite their attraction to novelty. Religious practice also offers hope for a better future, a sense of relief in the humble realization that there are things we cannot and do not have to change, and the encouragement that comes from belonging to a community of like-minded believers.  Finally, Roy offers practical suggestions for families looking to introduce or increase ritual and spiritual discipline in their family lives and how certain apps can benefit teens in their spiritual growth. Roy recommends the Pope App, Jesus Calling, Bob Rice's 40 Day Spiritual Workout, The Bible app, and Headspace.  Today's Teenager podcast is produced for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to nor should it be used as a replacement for professional counseling Roy has established Today's Teenager as a non-profit organization dedicated to covering the expenses of therapy sessions and other mental health services for teens and families that would otherwise be unable to afford them. Visit todaysteenager dot com for more information. Dr. Dore and her staff embrace their orthodontic patients like family. In addition to traditional metal and ceramic braces Dr. Dore enjoys using Invisalign clear aligners, and she is an Invisalign “Preferred Provider." Call her today for a free exam and Live Life Smiling at (337) 267-SMILE, or click here to learn more about Dr. Dore and her practice. 

Skip Hall is in with a long-time friend Bob Rice, who has been a life-long diabetic for 55 years, and Julie Walker from the St. Luke's Humphreys Diabetes Center. Read More →

DAR 238 Deep Adventure Radio: Bob Rice

Question: What do adoption, 80s singer El DeBarge, and the spiritual life have in common? Answer: Bob Rice. Any man who plays the accordion (and has an album starring said instrument titled "The Gospel Accordion to Bob Rice") is just a little on the unusual side. But if by "usual" you mean boring and predictable, I'll take unusual any day. And trust me when I say this show was anything but boring and predictable. It goes in a lot of crazy directions, all of which point up to Christ. In addition to the oddities of his instrumentation, Bob is an author, speaker, musician, and theologian. Many of you have experienced his dulcet tones at a summer conference at Franciscan University or another venue. For those of you who have not, you're about to. Five will get you ten that you've never heard some of the things you'll hear on this podcast anywhere else. Grown men aren't supposed to have this much fun. So buckle up, prepare to smile, and click the "play" arrow below for a good time. God bless! Matthew “All who have been lost were lost because they did not pray.” St. Alphonsus Liguori. Don't be lost! 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 summary of the spiritual giants of the Church designed to help you rocket to God! And don't forget to head over to iTunes and leave the show a rating! Doing so helps promote the podcast and gets Catholic material in front of people who may never otherwise be exposed to the faith. Thank you!!

Summary of today's show: The Good Catholic Life is one year old! Scot Landry, Fr. Matt Williams, Susan Abbott, Fr. Chip Hines, and Fr. Mark O'Connell talk about their favorite shows and guests and how the show has affected them and their ministries. Also stories of how the show has affected others they've talked to. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Matt Williams, Fr. Chip Hines Links from today's show: Today's topics: Our one-year anniversary 1st segment: Scot welcomed listeners to our one-year anniversary show. We'll be looking back at some of our favorite shows with our co-hosts, Fr. Matt Williams, Susan Abbott, Fr. Chip Hines, and Fr. Mark O'Connell. Fr. Chris O'Connor is traveling right now. Susan said when Scot asked her to be a co-host, she thought she just wouldn't have the time to take away from her work, but the Lord and her immediate supervisor, Janet Benestad, made it clear she should do it. She had been on CatholicTV a number of times and knew what that was like and had had no idea what it would be like to be on radio, but it turns out is been great fun. Fr. Matt Williams said he remembers discerning a year ago whether to do the show. For the first month, he was nervous before each show, but now it's a normal part of his day. He's developed his own style. Susan said Scot told her that Thursday would be the easiest show because it was just the news, but it turns out that the packets are up to 39 pages of articles from The Pilot and The Anchor. Scot said he gives them at least an hour to prepare for the show. Fr. Mark O'Connell is on the phone. He said his discernment didn't take long. He knew his parents would love to hear their son the priest on the radio. He said they are the show's biggest fans. He said his biggest surprise is that he hasn't been fired from the show. He was apprehensive at first, but really enjoys it. He especially loves when they interview his brother priests and their weekly look at the Sunday readings. Scot said we have tried to invite a lot of our priests on the show and it seems they are most often available on Fridays. Scot said two of his favorite shows included the moving witness of Fr. John Sheridan in leading a parish through the abuse scandal and Reconfiguration. Then Msgr. Frank Strahan is a legend among the priests of the archdiocese. Fr. Mark said he also loved to see the amazing variety of ministries in the Archdiocese of Boston. It is astounding to see the variety here. Scot said Fr. Chip Hines had previous broadcast experience with CatholicTV's Spotlight show. He said TV is uncomfortable because the camera captures everything. He does enjoy coming into help out. Scot said Fr. Chip has filled in quite often at the last minute. Fr. Chip said it's fun to come up with something impromptu. They recalled a show when there were some technical difficulties and after reading a document, Scot turned to Fr. Mark and asked him what he thought. Fr. Mark fumbled for a second, and admitted he wasn't paying attention. Scot said our Wednesday shows have taken place a few times in other locations, including Madrid and Washington, DC. Fr. Matt said it's been fun to be on the road during times where he's been working in youth and young adult ministry. He recalled the great interview from the March for Life with Cardinal Sean and Sister Olga. Most especially when you can get the young people on in their witness. Scot said one of his favorite shows was Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton during Catholic Schools Week. He was almost speechless at their technology program and at their campus ministry, including an amazing Mass that has a waiting list of priests who want to celebrate it. Fr. Matt said the Mass is very lively and the Holy Spirit is strong there. Scot said unlike Fr. Matt, Susan sees the same group every Thursday pretty much to discuss the news, including Fr. Roger Landry and Gregory Tracy. Susan said of the shows she's participated in, the favorite was the Holy Thursday show last year, looking at Holy Week and the Holy Father's Stations of the Cross. She also loved being on the show with the Sisters of Notre Dame. Scot said one of the things he's picked up on the Thursday shows was getting current on Catholic news every week, not just in the local Church, but nationally and internationally, including some of the documents in the news. Susan said as much work as it is, it really is an impetus to read. She can't not read through her weekly packet. She did note how many wonderful positive stories, including local baker Andy LaVallee and last October's series in the Pilot on Project Rachel. Certainly we need to be aware of what we need to act on, but also what's happening that's wonderful and lifts us up. Scot said it also has helped to appreciate the amount of content in our Catholic newspaper. He also said he's also proud of being able to bring clarity to issues that have had erroneous information in the public or in the media. He recalled interviewing Msgr. William Fay on Pastoral Planning to clear up some misconceptions in the Boston Globe. He said recently he and Fr. Chip were able to talk about his practical experiences as a pastor leading two parishes to show the challenges he's been facing. One of the best aspects of the show for Fr. Chip is being able to give that perspective. Fr. Chip talked about how pastoral planning has been such a positive experience. Scot said on Tuesdays and Wednesdays they often get to go in depth in some papal documents and he's glad to be able to share that content with people in their daily lives. Fr. Matt said in the past couple of months they've been able to dive into a couple of the Holy Father's letters and documents which are so rich. one of the most influential was the World Day of Communications message in which the Holy Father talked about Twitter that was the encouragement he needed to get going with it. 2nd segment: Scot said one of the first things he thinks of for our first year is the generosity of Jim and Joanne Wright who brought the Station of the Cross network into Boston and gave us this great time slot on WQOM. Rick talked about the great people in Buffalo that he works with regularly. Scot said there have been 276 guests on the 254 shows, 76 priests and bishops, 20 religious, 10 deacons, and 168 laypersons. We have profiled exactly 100 ministries, including 41 of the 50 or so ministries here in the Pastoral Center so it's been a broad presentation of the Catholic faith. Fr. Chip said one of his favorite shows was when Lino Rulli was on and it was one of the funniest shows we've ever had. Scot said Lino is one of the funniest people in America. He's a pioneer in Catholic radio. Fr. Chip said it was a giggle fest on the show. Scot said there's so much good going on in the Archdiocese and we don't have enough vehicles to get the good news on. Susan said religious education wasn't one of the 100 so she would like to get them on soon. One of her favorite shows was when it was broadcast from Madrid. Scot asked her how often she gets to listen to the show and he favorite co-hosts. She said she listens to the recorded broadcast on her computer several times per week and of course, Fr. Chip and Fr. Matt are her favorites (who are the ones in the studio with her.) One of her favorite shows was the interview with Rocco Palmo, the blogger at Whispers in the Loggia, an expert on Church news. Scot asked Fr. Matt how The Good Catholic Life has affected his outreach to the events he organizes through his office, Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults. Being able to excite the listeners about what's happening: World Youth Day, March for Life, Hunger for Justice, and Eucharistic Congress, for example. It plants seeds and he hopes it inspires people. Fr. Matt noted that we've received emails from people who say the show has helped them come back to the Church. Scot said he often heard from people who said they were concerned about their grandkids' generation, and these shows help people hear about the good things that this generation is doing. Susan and Fr. Matt talked about the Award Ceremony for the Office for the New Evangelization and all the great submissions they've received for awards. Scot said one of Rick's favorite shows was our 100th show. Rick is the one who plans the shows and it was Joe Melendrez, the Rosary rapper. At first, they were unsure, but as soon as they heard it, they saw it was done in a respectful way and then they heard about his burrito ministry. He had won a burrito a day for one year and he eventually started inviting friends to come with him for lunch every day and he would talk about his life. Another of Rick's favorites was Tom Craughwell, author of a book about some interesting and crazy stories in their lives. Of course, another of his favorites was episode #15, which had Rick's mom, Maureen Heil, as a guest as well as Sr. Lisa, talking about the Pontifical Mission Societies and Sr. Lisa's mission trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Sr. Lisa was funny, sarcastic, bombastic and a lot of fun to listen to. One of Scot's favorites was his interview of Jim Stenson, who has done a lot of talking about being a Catholic dad and raising Catholic children. That was our Father's Day show. It's a joy to interview people we've been fans of for so long. Fr. Chip said he'd been interviewed by Lino Rulli before, but meeting him in person was special. Fr. Chip said he also especially enjoyed the two shows interviewing Artie Boyle, who works in the Pastoral Center, who had been healed of a terminal illness after visiting Medjugorje. Scot said it was originally supposed to be one hour, but it was so good that they spontaneously recorded a second hour. Fr. Matt said the story is well worth going into the archives to listen to again. Scot mentioned other guests from the youth ministry area, like Bob Rice. Fr. Matt said last year they had Bob Rice come speak at an event. He's a professor of catechesis at Franciscan University of Steubenville, a gifted musician, and a speaker in demand all over. Susan said Bob was an amazing speaker and she often refers rot the notes she took that day. Fr. Matt said we've also had Randy Rause from Life Teen as well, and it's wonderful to have these people you look up to come and share their stories. Scot said Susan's cross is she has to put up with two Landrys on Thursdays. She said it's lovely to see the interview, but she said (jokingly), that he can be very fresh to Scot. 3rd segment: Talking about how the show gets made and some of the technical details and statistics. after 253 shows and 278 shows we're not rookies anymore.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry Today's guest(s): Cardinal Seán, Fr. Matt Williams, Sr. Olga Yaqob and more Links from today's show: Today's topics: 2012 March for Life Summary of today's show: More than 500 Boston pilgrims have traveled to Washington, DC, for the 39th annual March for Life today. On today's show, Scot Landry was joined by Fr. Matt Williams, Sr. Olga Yaqob, and a number of pilgrims, including Cardinal Seán O'Malley to talk about their experiences so far and what they expect to see when they began marching this afternoon. You will be inspired and energized by the joy and hope in the youth who join us on air today. 1st segment: Scot said we are recording this around lunchtime with pilgrims at the March for Life in Washington, DC. Scot welcomed Sr. Olga and Fr. Matt Williams. Fr. Matt's office at Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults organized this pilgrimage. Fr. Matt said it has gone remarkably well. They tell the pilgrims that this is a pilgrimage, not a vacation, and we never complain about anything on a pilgrimage. The nature of pilgrimage is God calling you out of your home to a place for a specific purpose, in this case to bear witness to the gift of human life. When you're on pilgrimage, you're called to a deeper life of prayer, charity, and sacrifice. There will be moments of inconvenience, including buses breaking down, snow delaying trips, video equipment breaking down. But it teaches that sacrifice and suffering has an intrinsic value and part of life is suffering. He said it's been wonderful with lots of opportunity to offer up. Scot said there are 500 young people on three tracks: Middle School, High School and Young Adults. Sr. Olga said she and her community are traveling with the young adults, including 25 from Boston University, but also from many different parishes and professional careers. Scot said this morning the pilgrims had Mass this morning with Cardinal Seán at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, where the cardinal served when he was first ordained. Fr. Matt said after lunch they will travel to the March where they will walk to the Supreme Court, where they will break down into small groups to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet for our country, asking for God's mercy on our country for not valuing human life and for ourselves for the times we have not spoken out. From there, the middle schoolers will go back to the hotel for dinner and a youth night. The high schoolers will go to a nearby parish in Landover, Maryland, for a pizza gathering (There's about 350 of them), and then a talk, group processing, and Eucharistic adoration and confession. In their experience, this adoration is the most powerful event of the whole weekend, because they have put their faith into action and seen the body of Christ together and are now praying. The young adults will be getting on buses back to Boston. On Tuesday, the youth will gather with Cardinal Seán for Mass. Sr. Olga said the highlight of her trip so far was the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception last night. Just the opening procession was 45 minutes long with all the seminarians, priests, bishops, and cardinals. The young adults were amazed by the youthfulness of our Church and the strength of the Church in America. To see hundreds of young seminarians was inspiring to see that side of the Church. There were thousands of young people sitting everywhere, including on the floor and all the way out the doors into the rain, without any complaining. Sr. Olga said on Saturday, in the snow, it took them 7 hours to get the New York but there were no complaints. Scot said last night more than 22,000 crowded into the upper and lower church of the Basilica. 2nd segment: Joining us are Kevin Ouellette and Darcy Gilbert. Kevin belongs to St. Clements' Young Adult Group. He said the group is called Pure in Heart, which meets for Mass and rosary and a talk every Thursday night, focused on chastity, sanctity of human life and Theology of the Body. Darcy is a member of St. Mary of the Angels Parish. She said the Mass last night was incredible. They had to get there 4 hours ahead of time and even then they did not get a pew to sit in. She repeated that the procession was incredible and as happy as the pilgrims were to see them, you could see the joy in their faces at the immense crowd. She said it's the face of the Church, the hope of the Church. They are John Paul II's generation, a generation of peace and hope, coming back to the Church with joy. Fr. Matt asked Darcy what message seeing all those seminarians and priests gives to the young people? She said it confronts the young people with the whether God is calling them to a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. Fr. Matt said seeing all those seminarians shows how God calls all kinds of men to the priesthood, a cross-section of our society, a bunch of normal men. Sr. Olga said it was beautiful to see the Cardinal Seán saying he was impressed by so many young people, including parents with families, including small children and babies. She said it is a witness to life. Scot said both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict said at World Youth Days that the young are not just the future of the Church, they are the present. Scot said Kevin attended a different Mass last night in the Diocese of Arlington, Va., which included music by Bob Rice and Matt Maher. Kevin said he was struck by how prayerful the huge crowd at the rally was. It was a time for prayer. Hearing them pray drew them deeper into the March for Life and thinking of the weekend not as the pilgrims doing something for the cause, but that God is doing something through them. Scot asked Darcy what sights and sounds have surprised her so far. She has been amazed at the numbers of buses and how far people have traveled: Texas, South Carolina and further. She said the Basilica was beautiful, being her first time there. Kevin said he didn't know what to expect from the March for Life, although the pro-life cause has been important to him. He's loved getting to know more young adults in the Archdiocese who share his beliefs and who he can be himself with, sharing what's been most important to him in his life. 3rd segment: Joining us now is Amy Asher, a senior at Boston University, who is a leader of the pro-life group at the school. Amy said BU is a secular university and their pro-life group is secular, although most of the students are Catholic. They have a Planned Parenthood clinic right in the middle of their urban campus, so on Saturdays many of them pray in front of the clinic. They also raise money through fundraisers for pro-life charities. Scot said this is Amy's fourth March for Life. He asked her how her appreciation for the March has grown each year. She said her first year on the March, she didn't know much about the pro-life movement, so her first exposure to the March was mostly about the size of the movement, and in subsequent years, her understanding of the message has been the real growth for her. Scot asked Amy what she told her fellow BU students to prepare them. She said it's a hard sell to her students because they are missing the first Monday of classes, so it is a real sacrifice to stand up for life. Fr. Matt said it's clear that abortion is a sensitive and volatile issue in society. He asked Amy what it's like to be a leader in the pro-life movement on campus and what motivates her to persevere? Amy said she comes from a Catholic family and went to Catholic schools so being at BU was the first real challenge to her faith. An awakening occurred the first time she wore a pro-life shirt to class and realized people were actually glaring at her. Now she's sees it as an opportunity to have a conversation with others, to educate them about abortion, giving them information they may have never heard. Sr. Olga said BU Right to Life provides resources and help for teenagers in crisis. She said there are girls on campus who choose abortion because they have no other option, so they want to provide that option. They organize baby showers for the young women to show that there are people who love them and support them. Sr. Olga said the Gospel for the Mass was the Good Samaritan reading and Cardinal Sean said pro-lifers must have courage and love like the Good Samaritan. She sees that in students like Amy who are witnesses for life on those college campuses, especially secular campuses. She gives credit to students who come from every campus around the country. 4th segment: Joining us now is Isabella Bushko from St. Mary in Holliston and Jane Richard, a sponsor from the Presentation of Mary Academy. Scot asked Jane about the pilgrims from the school. She said they have 29 students, juniors and seniors. It's been a great experience, especially last night with Matt Maher and she said the fruit spills over to her youth ministry work back home. Scot asked Isabella about her experience. She said the bus ride was very long, but they prayed the whole time. She came on the March for Life because many of her friends back home are all pro-choice, even the Christian ones. Not being able to vote to change society, this is her way to accomplish something. Scot asked Jane about recruiting students to come on the pilgrimage. She said the seniors who came last year talk it up a lot and so they do most of the recruiting. Isabella said her favorite part of the March for Life so far has been the Masses, including the priests and Cardinal and the music. The Cardinal brought a good connection between the Gospel and the March. Jane said her highlights for the pilgrimage is always the Masses. ALso the sincerity, joy, and depth of spirituality with the all the priests and seminarians, plus the camaraderie feeling like a big archdiocesan family. Fr. Matt said last night in Arlington diocese, Bishop Loverde couldn't be there because he's in Rome, but there were 3,500 young people there. One of the Bishop Loverde's priests did the homily and spoke about hope and how the young people bring hope. He talked about how the Berlin Wall came down in his lifetime and yet 10 years before that it would have been inconceivable that the wall would come down so soon. He said when Pope John Paul II went to Poland he brought them hope and inspired them, which ultimately led to the fall of Communism in eastern Europe. Fr. Matt asked Isabella what she will take away from the weekend that stresses the virtue of hope. She said will take away the respect of life with her, because so often there is so little respect for life among her peers. Sr. Olga asked Isabella how she feels coming and seeing 350 high schoolers from her own archdiocese with her. Isabella said it gives her hope and she doesn't feel alone. It's empowering. 5th segment: Joining us now is William Martell on the middle school track. He said is having a lot of fun. He is in eighth grade and attends Msgr. Haddad Middle School in Needham. He said this is the second March for Life, two years ago. William said the concert last night with Matt Maher and the Mass and adoration were the best part of the pilgrimage so far. Scot asked him what it's like to see the young adults and college students there. It's makes him feel better to see all the people just a few years older than him who believe the same thing. He said yesterday they took a tour of some of the sights in Washington, DC, including the monuments and memorials on the Mall. They also took a tour of the Basilica. He said when they were there, it was almost full already. All the Boston pilgrims are wearing the same sweatshirts and they had a lot of people cheer them. Scot welcomed Cardinal Seán to the show. He has a perfect attendance at the March for Life over 39 years. He asked him why it's important for him to go every year. Cardinal Seán said as American Catholics we have an obligation to help undo that tragic decision 39 years ago and one of the ways is to come to the seat of government and witness to the Gospel of Life. He's encouraged to see more young people every year and they aren't going away. They will keep coming until children are protected under the law. Scot asked how the March is different. Cardinal Seán said in the beginning it was virtually a Catholic event and over the years more and more people of goodwill from other faith traditions have joined. The number of young people has grown and grown as well. Cardinal Seán said in his homily this morning that he spoke about the Good Samaritan and how difficult it is to stand up for life. They are there to make God's love and mercy present and listen to the silent scream of that unborn child, like the man half-dead on the road to Jericho. A lot of people don't want to see. The Good Samaritan saw and was moved to see, so we have to see and have God's love and pity in our hearts. Scot said it takes courage to be the Good Samaritan and to be a witness to life. Cardinal Seán said the Good Samaritan could have been accused of being the thief, but overcame that fear for his own safety because of his desire to serve. In a world where political correctness doesn't tolerate being pro-life, we will be criticized and pilloried and so it takes courage to stand up to that criticism. Coming to Washington and being with hundreds of thousands who share the conviction that every human being is precious in God's eyes. Cardinal Seán said St. Paul was converted and repented of his previous hardness of heart and became an apostle who lays down his life in his witness to the faith. He said Dr. Bernard Nathanson who was a prolific abortionist heard the silent scream and converted to pro-life and the Catholic faith. Scot thanked Cardinal Seán for joining us today.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Andrea Alberti, youth minister at St. Thomas Parish in Nahant and St. Mary High School, Lynn; and Chris Carmody, youth minister at Immaculate Conception in Salem and religion teacher at St. Mary High School, Lynn.* [Hunger for Justice on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_134715953259931)* [St. Mary High School, Lynn](http://www.smhlynn.org/)* [St. Thomas Parish, Nahant](http://www.stthomasnahant.com/)* [Immaculate Conception Parish, Salem](http://icsalem.org/)* [The Light Is On For You](http://www.thelightisonforyou.org)**Today's topics:** The Hunger for Justice retreat for 350 youths on Good Friday and Holy Saturday; and a special message from Bishop Robert Hennessey about the Sacrament of Confession**A summary of today's show:** Andrea Alberti and Chris Carmody share the amazing story of 350 youths on the Hunger for Justice Retreat fasting from Good Friday to the Easter Vigil, while serving the poor of their community, experiencing God's love and mercy in the sacraments, and raising tens of thousands of dollars for charity. Thousands of youths have experienced one of the 27 retreats and have borne much fruit in the Church.**1st segment:** Scot said that one of the things he hears so often working for the Church is the concern that we are not doing enough to engage young people in our Catholic faith. Behind this concern is the hope that we can figure out fresh ways to present our faith so that it connects with young people and sparks their interest to make a commitment to it as teenagers and adults.Today's broadcast of The Good Catholic Life will give us all hope. What Andrea Alberti and Chris Carmody are doing up on the North Shore really works.  The [Hunger for Justice](http://www.smhlynn.org/page.cfm?p=1083) retreat they organize on Good Friday and Holy Saturday attracts 350 students, who participate in carrying a cross through the town of Nahant, serving the homeless in Boston, and then experiencing together the joy of the Easter Vigil. Also today, we will hear a special message from Bishop Robert Hennessey about the Sacrament of Confession and its availability each Wednesday evening during The Light Is On For You campaign. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Matt welcome Andrea Alberti and Chris Carmody to the program. This is the 27th time that Andrea and Chris have run the Hunger for Justice retreat. Andrea said it is now celebrated during the Triduum, but it started just as a service project with 6 confirmation students at Immaculate Conception Parish, Newburyport, who wanted to do something about the fact that children are denying every day. Chris was one of those students. They made a difference by fasting from food and any other kind of luxuries and got sponsors for each hour they did this, raising $7,000. Last Good Friday, they had 350 students who raised $25,000 that went to a hospital in Haiti.Scot asked Chris about what attracted him to do this as young person and who are the young people who take part in the Hunger for Justice retreat on Good Friday. Chris said it started when he was a freshman in high school and he remembers the adults in his parish who were so on fire with Christ and invited the kids to understand poverty, especially since they didn't see it growing up in Newburyport. As part of the retreat they walked miles for whatever water they needed because they had seen videos of poor women and children who walked for miles every morning and night for their water. The kids who come now see a need and feel a call from God in their hearts, knowing that they can make a difference, they can do something about it. They are God's hands and feet.What is the experience for the kids on the retreat? Andrea said they always try to begin everything around the sacraments, in an intimate relationship with Jesus. Their axiom is "Rules with Relationship = Rebellion." They could get students who have been in Catholic school for 11 years but can't relate what it means that Christ died on the cross on Good Friday and don't understand the basics of their faith. So on Good Friday, they get to carry the cross literally. They hear the Gospel message that Christ loves them so much He died for them. Fr. Matt last year preached for the kids on the beach during a prayer experience. There are sometimes kids who come because their parents make them because they got in trouble. One part of the experience is that they go into Boston to serve the homeless. Last year, they brought 2,500 pairs of socks into Boston and 2,000 sandwiches and the students were sent out to interact with the homeless. At one point they ran out of socks. This one boy who had been forced to go by his mother because he had got into trouble came up to Andrea to ask for more socks for a homeless man and when she said they didn't--on this freezing, cold Saturday--he gave away his own socks to the man who needed them. It is conversion on every level. Kids who are already in a relationship with Christ can go deeper on this retreat. Kids who have never met Christ can have an encounter with Him.Scot noted that the students fast from food for 35 hours and in the midst of the fast they hand out sandwiches. He remarked that it must be very difficult for them when they're hungry. Andrea noted that this is usually the first fasting experience for most of these students. She thinks that the retreat has grown so successful because the fuel that power it is prayer, fasting, and sacrifice. The kids are amazed that they can do this. When Chris did this, the kids worked in a soup kitchen cooking hot food and serving it. One year, the kids baked cookies and said, "Are you kidding me?" but the youth ministers encouraged them that they could do it. They see the power of fasting and the power of prayer.Scot asked Fr. Matt what it's like to see kids experience this retreat during the Triduum. Fr. Matt said he prays every day that God would raise up men and women who would not be afraid to mentor young men and women in the faith. What makes the Hunger for Justice experience powerful is that there is a core group of people who make young people a priority in their life and they are willing to pour out their lives for them. Kids respond to that. He remembers being on that beach on that Good Friday, just before noon, before the Way of the Cross to the Church for the Good Friday service, seeing those 350 kids and to have the opportunity to preach the Gospel to them.Fr. Matt asked how Chris and Andrea started off the retreat last year in a way that got the kids' attention. Andrea said they look for a way to make it interactive and dynamic, just like the sacraments. There were 400 people all together milling around on the beach. They had coordinated with the Nahant police to come down to the beach, to pull Fr. Matt aside to talk to him, and then the school principal, and then they had one of the dads start calling for his son. The son came out of the crowd and the police "arrested" him, put him in cuffs and in the police car. Another one of the students students stood on the giant cross they have and called out, "No, it wasn't him. It was me. Take me."All of the people present thought this whole drama was real. And then student's dad explained that this is what happened to Christ, that He was falsely accused and crucified on Good Friday. There was a beautiful moment of openness where they were receptive to hearing what Jesus Christ did for them. That's why they are able to fast. When the reality of Christ's sacrifice becomes real to them, they can then endure the 35 hours of fasting.**3rd segment:** Fr. Matt said that last week, they had [Bob Rice on the program](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/04/06/program-0021-for-wednesday-april-6-2011/) and he spoke of the importance of evangelizing young people in the classroom, that when we're catechizing them, we're not giving them dry facts, but we're witnessing to them and they experience Christ through us. He asked what makes Hunger for Justice so effective? What is it about their experience of the way the Gospel is presented that sets young people on fire? Andrea said it comes down to the sacraments of the Church. We often have such low expectations of young people, but really they want the truth. Their hearts are restless, until they rest in the Lord. They want to know about the One True Church and we shy away. This retreat is bold. The leaders of the retreat are challenged to daily Mass in preparation and say a daily Rosary. The kids are challenged to take their faith seriously and when they do their lives are changed. Amazing things happen.Fr. Matt reflects that so often when he celebrates Mass, he sees so few young people and those he sees look bored. But Andrea is saying something different, that when they are challenged and are exposed to the beauty of the Church something powerful happens. If we know of a teen who has an apathy toward the faith, what can a parent do to help them to know Jesus Christ? Andrea said you need to build a relationship with them, but first let your own faith grow. You can't give what you don't have. Your own life has to be rooted in Christ. You have to be a witness. We die to ourselves and Christ lives in us. All of our conversations on whatever topic, all our interactions, will have Christ at their heart. And when they say No to our first overtures, we should say Why not? The world pressures them to fall away from Christ, so we should persevere to give them what they are truly hungering for.Chris said Hunger for Justice makes Christ alive for them. They hear about Christ and they know facts about Him. But the retreat makes Christ a person to them. Like Mother Teresa would say she saw Jesus in the people she served, so too the kids see Jesus in the poor people they encounter on this retreat, as well as the adult leaders, during the Easter Vigil Mass, in the confessional where hundreds of kids all go to confession with 15 different priests.Scot brought the discussion back to the retreat itself. We know it starts on the beach with a moving and attention-grabbing beginning, followed by a procession of the cross to St. Thomas Parish in Nahant. Andrea said it takes 7 students at a time to carry the cross and they rotate in to help carry. Andrea grew up in the parish and last year she said she'd never seen the church more full and had never seen a more reverent congregation. They knew what was happening because they'd just heard the Gospel preached. They are an inspiration to the older people in the pews. They sat quietly for hour after hour.After that service, they head to St. Mary High School for a final meal and fast until Saturday after the Easter Vigil Mass. At the school, Chris said they eat the meal together and then get into small groups for group-building activities. They are not just serving the poor, but also serving one another. The kids come from many different parishes and this helps the teens to overcome shyness and awkwardness to relax and enjoy.Then they watch the movie "The Passion of the Christ". When they survey kids after the retreat on their favorite parts of the weekend they consistently say it is "The Passion of the Christ" and the Easter Vigil Mass. They take time to process what they saw and there is a time of prayer and healing. Taking up the retreat theme of "From Darkness into Light," they have a "glowstick" party and a time of fun. Then students sleep in cardboard "homes" where they sleep for the night. No pillows or anything. The girls are in the school cafeteria, the boys are in the gym.Chris said that on Saturday, they get up early and get on buses to go to Boston. They are broken up into three groups and they split up for three different locations: Boston Common, [St. Anthony's Shrine](http://www.stanthonyshrine.org/), and [Pine Street Inn](http://www.pinestreetinn.org/). They hand out whatever they have to the homeless. But the point is to stop and talk with the people they serve. The kids are amazed to have their preconceptions shaken up. Many of the homeless are educated or from good backgrounds who have fallen on hard times or just struggling. The kids are rotated by group through St. Anthony's Shrine where they hear a talk on God's mercy and confession. They have the opportunity for confession. Chris and Andrea said about 99% of the kids go to confession when given the opportunity, which Scot said it was positive peer pressure. Chris said about 10 or 12 priests available, including many of the Franciscans as well as pastors from the kids' parishes. The kids encourage each other to go to confession and talk about what it means for them.**4th segment:** Their work of service doesn't end here. They return to St. Mary's in Lynn and the leaders explain that after receiving absolution, they can now be filled with Christ to go out and evangelize and serve. They serve locally within Lynn in their small groups of 8 to 10 to homeless shelters, an orphanage, the local YMCA, the St. Vincent de Paul store. They do spring cleaning in every parish church available. Having fasted since the previous day, they continue to work hard with passion. It is rooted in what they see Christ did for them on Good Friday and now they serve others.Then they prepare to go the Easter Vigil Mass. Scot asked for how many is it their first Easter Vigil experience? Chris knows that is the first time for most of them because you can see it on their faces when they encounter the darkened church. They start on the Lynn common outside of St. Mary church for the candle-lighting ceremony and then process into the church singing. They get the kids as involved as possible, so they act as readers and servers. Last year, one of the youths was confirmed at the Vigil. While they're nervous at first at the unfamiliar Mass, they enjoy it immensely.Scot said it is the longest Mass of the year, but so moving. The [Exultet](http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6341) that is sung in the darkness, with just the one candle, is a tremendously moving experience and song. Then it is followed by the 7 Old Testament readings that take us through salvation history, and the New Testament, and the Gospel and any rites of initiation. It's a catechesis of our whole faith in the one Mass. Fr. Matt said that over the previous 35 hours they've heard the Gospel, they've seen the suffering of the poor, they've been invited to give of themselves. There's something about the power of fasting that enables us to empty ourselves and make us think of others and the essentials of others. There's something about everything they experience that tills the heart so that they can experience the Mass anew. Without the relationship with Christ, Mass would be a boring routine, but after this weekend they have a new appreciation for the Mass.Andrea said she knows of three priests who heard their call to their vocation at an Easter Vigil Mass. They hear from some kids  every year how shocking it is to realize that having fasted for so long that the first meal they receive is the Eucharist, that they understand that is truly Jesus. they are empty and they receive Jesus, and they say that this is how they came to the retreat: Empty, but now filled with Christ. when that epiphany happens, it is a beautiful moment and they pray for their openness in that moment so that the Easter Vigil is the pinnacle event.Fr. Matt notes that in their normal lives they are so full--full schedules, they get pretty much anything they want--yet the seem so spiritually empty as well. Andrea said that they see that so many of them "have it all" and it doesn't bring happiness. All these things of the world do not bring contentment and teens will admit that quicker than many adults will. That emptiness that they feel is the heart's longing for God's love. When this is revealed, that hunger for love is obvious on their faces. This is the message that works.This is the 15th year of doing the Hunger for Justice retreat during the Triduum and the 27th overall. Fr. Matt said that he knows that there is a ton of work that goes into making it happen. Andrea said it takes a year of planning. They start meetings with adult leaders 2 months out. They train youth leaders. They start bulletin announcements 3 months early. They put a cross in the back of churches that are participating with requests for supplies such as cases of Gatorade or water or other goods for the poor. The whole parish participates in the evangelization efforts of the youth.Chris said there are many adults who are involved in all the details. For example, there's the cardboard needed for the kids to make their cardboard houses. They need huge piles of cardboard for all 350 kids. They also have to provide lots of juices and other drinks for the kids while they fast. They have a leadership track of 70 high school students who have been on the retreat before. They meet every Wednesday night to help plan the retreat. Last weekend, the peer leaders spent another weekend on retreat to prepare for the Triduum weekend. And as much work as the logistics is, prayer is even bigger need. They get all the adults and all the kids to stay in prayer.One of the many fruits is the 70 high school leaders. Andrea said 21 of the young men among them went to a St. Andrew's Dinner, which is an event held at St. John's Seminary for young men who might be discerning a vocation to the priesthood. These are kids who are going to go deeper in their faith, building on the experience of the retreat. They go out to evangelize their world. 75 of the kids went to the March for Life in Boston. Every Tuesday at 7:15 am, before school, at St. Mary's, they 50 or more kids who come to pray in their chapel. Anytime they have a reconciliation opportunity at the school, they have 99% who show up. Andrea said Chris himself is one of the fruits of the retreats and there are others like him who went on the retreats and who are now students at Franciscan University of Steubenville, and planning to become youth ministers themselves.The retreat is open to all high school-age students. First, check to see if your parish is one of the 12 currently participating as a group, but the St. Mary High School website also has registration information (see link above). There is also a Hunger for Justice group on Facebook (see link above).Chris said that in the week's before the retreat the kids ask family, friends, neighbors, and parishioners to pledge donations. They emphasize that they need to give everyone an opportunity to be generous of whatever amount they can afford. Last year, they sent the funds to [Hospital Albert Schweitzer](http://www.hashaiti.org/), just outside of the capital. It was one of the few hospitals still functioning months after the earthquake. A family from Nahant knew of the hospital and its need for basic medical supplies. This year they will be sending the money to Japan. Anyone who wants to donate can send a check to Andrea Alberti, St. Mary's High School, 35 Tremont Street, Lynn, MA 01905 and make the check payable to "St Mary High School" with "Hunger for Justice" in the memo line.**5th segment:** It's time to announce the winner of this week's **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is a copy of the book [“Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality,”](http://www.dynamiccatholic.org/index.php?page=seven_pillars) a great book by Catholic writer Matthew Kelly.  Kelly describes the pillars of Confession, Daily Prayer, The Mass, The Bible, Fasting, Spiritual Reading and the Rosary in a compelling way. This week's winner is **Theresa Rose Verhault from Stoneham, MA**. Congratulations to Theresa.  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.And now a special message from Bishop Robert Hennessey on the Sacrament of Confession:

**Listen to the show:** *The online streaming and downloadable versions of The Good Catholic Life will be available later this evening.*[Subscribe for free in iTunes](http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-good-catholic-life/id425362545)**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Susan Abbott**Today's guest(s):** Fr. Roger Landry, executive editor of *The Anchor*, the newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of *The Pilot*, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston* [The Anchor](http://www.anchornews.org)* [The Pilot](http://www.pilotcatholicnews.com)**Today's topics:** The Courtyard of the Gentiles; A new director for the Mass. Catholic Conference; Pope John Paul II is being beatified for his personal virtue, not his historic pontificate; and two stories of simple but heroic courage and virtue**A summary of today's show:** Fr. Roger Landry and Gregory Tracy look at the news of the week with Scot Landry and Susan Abbott, including the Courtyard of the Gentiles, a Vatican initiative to engage with atheists, agnostics, and non-believers on an intellectual level; the new director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference and one of the issues he'll be tackling: the Church's response to casino gambling in the state; why the beatification of Pope John Paul II won't be because of his historic pontificate, but instead about his personal virtue; and the heroic virtue of a young man performing a simple act of charity that captured a nation's attention and the heroic courage of an unemployed father to sacrifice a job rather than cooperate with evil.**1st segment:** Susan was at the symposium on adolescent catechesis this morning and it was wonderful. She said Bob Rice's talks were inspiring for the catechists and priests and DREs who were present. She said she was also at the New Roman Missal workshop for laity at the Pastoral Center yesterday where there were hundreds of participants. Scot said the Knights of Malta also had a gathering at the Pastoral Center for their annual pilgrimage to Lourdes.Tonight is both [Carl Anderson](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/04/05/program-0020-for-tuesday-april-5-2011/)'s talk at Fanueil Hall and [Bob Rice](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/04/06/program-0021-for-wednesday-april-6-2011/)'s talk at Theology on Tap. Tomorrow is Bob Rice's mini-retreat day for youth ministers and on Saturday is the [Co-Workers in the Vineyard](http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Events-Calendar/Event-Detail.aspx?id=19836) conference.**2nd segment:** Scot and Susan welcome Fr. Roger Landry and Gregory Tracy. Fr. Landry wrote this week in his editorial about the Courtyard of the Gentiles, the Pope's outreach to atheists, agnostics, and non-believers. A couple of years ago, Pope Benedict spoke about the well-meaning atheists he'd met on a trip to the Czech Republic. Pope Benedict said we needed to recover the sense of the courtyard of the Gentiles from the ancient Jewish temple where Gentiles could come and ask questions and find out what the Jewish faith was about. There have been many outreaches since Vatican II to Jews, to other Christians, and to other non-Judeo/Christian religions, but we haven't had anything for non-believers. So on March 21 in Paris, they held this first Courtyard of the Gentiles, culminating with a live video address by Pope Benedict XVI. The next gathering will be in Chicago.Believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism when we teach error or are deficient in showing the authentic face of God. Gregory said it points to the need for ongoing faith development for ourselves. He recalls meeting someone from Europe who was truly un-churched and literally knew nothing about Christianity. He and his wife took some time to explain the basics. We can never fail to reach out to those who are curious. The first step in conversion is engaging in a dialogue.Just as non-believers have nothing to fear from God, believers should have no fear of those who live in accord with their consciences, Pope Benedict said. It addresses the fear of believers sharing a conversation with those who don't share in the same belief. Susan was impressed by the Pope calling believers to task: "Non-believers challenge believers to live in a way consistent with the faith they profess."Fr. Landry said the Vatican doesn't intend for this to remain a series of itinerant intellectual events sponsored by the Vatican, but hopes that it would become a “fixture of the pastoral activity of every diocese.” It should be a place where non-believers could feel free to come and ask questions. We do a good job caring for the hungry, for those who are seeking faith, who want to enter the Church, but there are so many in our universities, so many immigrants from non-Christian--even Communist-- countries, who could be vigorously engaged.* ["Reconstructing the Courtyard of the Gentiles," Fr. Landry's editorial in the Anchor](http://www.catholicpreaching.com/index.php?content=articles&articles=20110408anchor)* [Pope Benedict's remarks to the Courtyard of the Gentiles](http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=473261)**3rd segment:** On April 5, the bishops of the four dioceses in Massachusetts appointed a new executive director for the Mass. Catholic Conference, James F. Driscoll, a resident of Scituate and parishioner at St. Mary of the Nativity in Scituate. Gregory met Jim Driscoll yesterday when he stopped by the Pilot's office. Gregory had a good impression of him and believes he will serve well as head of the conference, which is the Mass. bishops' voice before the legislators on Beacon Hill. It is the Church's major way to engage in the public square on major issues.Fr. Landry said the MCC spends a lot of time lobbying on Beacon Hill, but it also supports other initiatives such as when parishioners were being mobilized to contact their legislators on the issue of marriage in this state. So their two focuses are on lobbying--offering the Church's wisdom when it would be helpful--but also helping churches to educate and mobilize people. Driscoll has a lot of experience in state government, having worked in the state auditor's office and, before that, in the Lottery Commission.He replaces Gerry D'Avolio, who was interim director after the sudden death of Ed Saunders last year.One of the issues the MCC is advocating is for the state to do a cost-benefit analysis on the proposed legalization of casino gambling. Susan said the Church has always been an advocate for the poor and studies have consistently showed that legalized gambling always affects the poor disproportionately. Cathy Davis at the MCC said there has already been an acknowledgement that there will be a societal cost, but it has not been quantified yet, while proponents have been advancing predictions of the windfalls the casinos will produce. Studies show that 70-90 percent of profits in casinos come from 10 percents of gamblers. They also show that when casinos open, the community sees massive increases in violent crime.There have been several attempts to build casinos in the Fall River area. Fr. Landry said that unfortunately lawmakers approach the subject like gamblers: that even though everyone else loses, the luck will turn this time and they will hit the jackpot. It's often touted as a job creation initiative, but they bring the lowest-level jobs and kill jobs when customers move away from local businesses to the casinos. Casinos are seen as a panacea for what ails us, but they present us with an expensive bill.Gregory said casinos seem to be proposed every few years, and readers of the Pilot often question why the Church is opposed to casinos when many Catholic parishes offer Bingo games. But the Church says that recreational gambling can be legitimate. The difference is that casinos bring about the misery that has been talked about and are much more likely to bring about addiction.* [Executive Director of Massachusetts Catholic Conference named](http://pilotcatholicnews.com/article.asp?ID=13195)* [Mass. Catholic Conference](http://macathconf.org/)* The Anchor will have an article available on Friday about the casino question**4th segment:** The head of the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes said Pope John Paul II is being beatified not for his impact on history or on the Catholic Church, but because of the way he lived the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. Susan said Pope John Paul II is being beatified, not for his pontificate, but for his personal holiness. When we die, we will stand before God without titles, but only as a child of God.Joaquin Navarro-Valls, JP2's spokesman, said the Pope lived and acted and related to everyone he met with the firm belief that each person was created in the image and likeness of God.Gregory said the Pope radiated holiness and even in his final days, the people saw and felt his love for them each. This was one of the reasons the people cried out for his canonization.Three steps for the cause of a saint are the consideration of the vox populi, the voice of the people, declaring his holiness; then the vox Dei, the voice of God, seen in miracles through his intercession; and the vox ecclesiae, the voice of the Church, declaring his Christian virtues and whether he lived a life of heroic faith and love. The Church looks at all his public acts and his public faith and all of his writings. At the end of the process, a report is produced and if they can say this person lived heroic faith, it is passed to the Congregation for Saints. They would send it to the Pope. If he agrees, they then look at miracles that can be attributed to the intercession of the person. There have been 250 miracles submitted for the beatification of John Paul II, but only one is accepted as representing God's certification of his being in heaven. After that, there must be a new miracle that occurs after beatification to declare a canonization.There was a miracle in Fr. Landry's own parish, Joe Amaral, who hadn't walked in decades. His story was shown on ABC's 20/20. He had prayed one day for the grace to accept the will of God for his own condition like John Paul had accepted his own Parkinson's disease. He immediately was cured and was able to walk. He had been previously on able to move about only with great difficulty and now walks with ease. He now walks door to door in New Bedford to tell people that Jesus Christ has the power to heal sins and heal ailments.* ["John Paul II being beatified for holiness, not his papacy, speakers say" (The Pilot)](http://pilotcatholicnews.com/article.asp?ID=13188)* [Joe Amaral's miraculous healing](http://www.saintanthonynewbedford.com/index.php?content=Miracle)**5th segment:** Heartwarming story from the Inner-City Scholarship Fund dinner at the end of March, which raised $2.4 million for scholarships for students from families that couldn't afford tuition at Catholic schools. The keynote was by Rudy Favard, a senior at Malden Catholic, who was profiled in the Boston Globe just before Christmas for his volunteer work helping a local family care for a disabled young boy. He goes to the family's home four days per week. He said at the dinner that through his mother's hard work and generosity of the donors at the ICSF dinner, that God has given him an education and opportunity like he has had.Susan said she likes to think that there are many Rudy's out there. She was struck in the original story by his request to the reporter that story should be more about the young boy he serves than about himself. Susan was also gratified that it seems that all the attention has not gone to his head.Fr. Landry said that what struck him was the nurse at Malden Catholic who had taken the responsibility to ask and Rudy happened to be the first she met and asked. It was the asking and knowing that young people have a lot to give. Pope John Paul II had always said that we should challenge and ask young people to give of themselves. Fr. Landry said he has often seen young people respond to being asked and you see many beautiful stories like Rudy Favard's and we are reinvigorated by the beauty of the youth who serve.This past weekend, the same Globe reporter gave an update this past weekend on Rudy and the Parker family. Rudy is very concerned at what will happen to the Parkers when he leaves. He said he would prefer that rather than receive the $5,000 scholarship he was given, that the Parkers should receive the money to help them get a handicapped-accessible house.* ["A Simple Act Elevates All" (The Boston Globe)](http://www.boston.com/community/stories_to_inspire/articles/2010/12/23/a_teenagers_simple_act_elevates_all/)* ["Families Face Next Hurdles" (The Boston Globe)](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/04/03/families_face_next_hurdles/)In the Anchor this week will be a column by Fr. Tad Paholczyk in which he tells the story of Tim Roach, an unemployed father of two in the Minneapolis area who was finally offered a very good job. But he learned that he was going to be the electrical supervisor on the work being done for a new Planned Parenthood facility being built. He refused to cooperate with the evil that would have happened there. He would have been facilitating that evil. He made a heroic decision not to sell his soul for a $70,000 salary, even with all the difficulties that would result for his family. Susan said the act of courage turning down a job is not just admirable, but is virtuous and heroic.* The Anchor will have Fr. Tad's column on its website on FridayFr. Landry finished the show by relating that his parish now has a new bulletin through [Parish Bulletins](http://www.pilotbulletins.net), part of the Catholic Media Secretariat of the Archdiocese of Boston.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams **Today's guest(s):** Bob Rice, professor of catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville, author, musician, youth minister, worship leader * [Bob Rice's website](http://www.bob-rice.com) * [Franciscan University of Steubenville](http://www.franciscan.edu) * [Bob's music on iTunes](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=152205628) * To learn about any of the events discussed here and to register, go to the website of the Office for the [New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults](http://www.one4boston.org) **Today's topics:** Bob Rice is coming to Boston for training in adolescent catechesis, young adult ministry, and to lead a retreat for youth ministers.  **A summary of today's show:** Bob Rice--professor, speaker, youth leader, musician, and author--talks with Scot and Fr. Matt about the challenge of reaching out to youth, not just to fill them with information, but to form them in a transformation and a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. Bob has also written a new novel that lets us walk with St. Peter through the Gospels.  **1st segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Matt and noted that Fr Matt and his team at Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults have been working very hard. They had the Eucharistic Congress last weekend, the Youth Ministry Awards Dinner last night, and three more events this week. The Congress was fantastic, he said. They had more than 500 participants and they had a huge turnout from colleges. The powerful aspect of this weekend was the focus on Pope John Paul II. All of the talks drew on his teachings. See the photos on [Flickr.com/BostonCatholic](http://www.flickr.com/BostonCatholic). They had the vocation monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II, and the College of St. Mary Magdalene Choir sung during the procession through the streets of the North End. Some people who saw this were moved to tears, some were mocking, but most were awed by what they saw. Some participants were assigned to go up to the people watching and introduce them to what was going on. Last night was the Awards Dinner for Youth. They are trying to tell the story of the good news that is going on among youth in the Archdiocese. The dinner has been going on for more than 50 years, but it was reinvigorated over the past few years. Last night they gave out more than 100 awards to youth and adults. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Matt welcome Bob Rice to the show. Bob will be in Boston this week for three different events. On Thursday, 9am-3:30, a catechesis on adolescent catechesis; on Thursday night, 7 pm, City Side Bar in Brighton, Theology on Tap; and on Friday, a mini-retreat day for anyone who ministers to youth. The symposium will be for those involved in passing on the faith to young teenagers and talk about the keys to catechizing young people today. The goal of catechesis is intimacy with Jesus Christ. Many times we have a classroom stereotype of religious education, but while it can be done in the classroom, the goal of catechesis is transform lives. The heart of catechesis and how we can bring young people to conversion in any setting. He travels around the country about once or twice per month bringing this message of catechesis to people working with youth, as well as doing this as his full-time job at Franciscan University, teaching catechesis to college students who will go out and do the same. On Thursday, he will be giving three talks: Forming a Catholic worldview; dynamic and effective catechesis; and "God doesn't care about your ministry." The first talk will jump off from St. Paul in Romans where he said that the goal is that we need to transform our mind to God's will so we know what it is. So often in catechesis we train them in what to think, not how to think. We often fill them with information but we don't give them formation. Effective catechesis asks how we can gear catechesis that isn't just informational, but transformational and lead to deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ. The last talk is a wake-up call. It isn't all about us. God doesn't care what we do for Him. He cares about what we *are* for Him. Many times, as catechists, we can get caught up in replacing our own spirituality with the ministry we do and we miss the very intimacy that we're trying to lead young people to. The Theology on Tap's theme is "You're going to die and other good news." Bob said that we live in a society that tries to avoid death. We are shocked by it, even though it is the most natural thing in the world. In our faith it is not something to be afraid. God has revealed some pretty good news about it. We should be prepared for it. The everlasting life we should want to live and the everlasting damnation we should want to avoid; what is heaven, what is hell; purgatory: This is what will be covered. Bob and Scot joked that you need one or two beers to understand eschatology. Fr. Matt said the Eucharistic Congress this past weekend promoted the Theology on Tap as a great followup for participants. He said we often hear people say that they are "spiritual, but not religious." He asked Bob how you begin to address that with young adults. The big question is what they mean by "religious"? What he thinks they often mean is a focus on rituals and an experience of God that doesn't speak to their heart, and sadly every major Christian denomination, including Catholics, can be guilty of falling into a ritualism that doesn't invite people into greater intimacy. Of course, what the Church teaches is far from that. Receiving the Eucharist should be one of the most intimate things we can do. Sometimes that not the perception because we haven't reached out to young adults very well. They would rather have the unstructured one-on-one relationship with God. What we need to show, as catechists, is that God dwells among His community. The sacraments are a way to deeper intimacy with God. Theology on Tap is right in line with John Paul II's message that we need to engage the culture where it's at. He will be only speaking about what the Church actually teaches, not his speculation on what heaven is like, and it is amazing. The distinction between spiritual and religious can fade and you can become someone who is spiritually religious. Fr. Matt said he has had good conversations with both a Hindu and a Muslim and when you talk to them about the practice of their faith an how their parents practiced their faith, they have the same line as many of the Catholic young adults: "I'm spiritual, not religious. I don't need to go to a temple to worship God." It's something epidemic in Western culture. Scot asked whether it's becaue of the hyper-individualism in our culture, where people don't want to be part of a larger organization that has rules and tough requirements, as any rigorous religion would ask. Bob said another part of the equation is rampant consumerism. A lot of young people treat community like consumers. Especially with social media, we can block out people we don't like and connect with people we do like to create a false sense of community and become illiterate about communicating with each other. So we walk into a church and if we don't like the priest or we don't like the person sitting next to us, then everything in society would tells us to find a new priest, find a new person to sit next to; You can better on your own; you can customize things to yourself. This is a whole consumer market driven at young people. So it makes sense they see religion that way. They don't want to sit through a homily that's too long or listen to a homily they don't agree with. We've taught them have zero tolerance for anything that doesn't satisfy them, in any kind of relationship. (This is why we have problems getting them to marry each other.) This affects relationships in community and a relationship with God, as in the real God, not God as they would hope Him to be. Scot asked Bob if talking about the End Things helps people to put things into proper focus since our society avoids thinking about death. Bob said the more society avoids talking about death, the more of an unreal life we live. He's had opportunity to do mission work both in Mexico and Haiti, and death is very prevalent. In Haiti, you are confronted with the reality of the shortness of your life. If you think you're immortal, then you have really weird thoughts about heaven and hell. Death is final. You can have an opinion about heaven, but the only opinion that counts is the one from the only Person who died and rose from the dead. Whether you like it or not and no matter what you believe in, there is going to be a reality to heaven, hell, and purgatory. God revealed all these things in His love so we can be prepared for it. Fr. Matt thinks of his parents how were catechists for many years and he was a catechist himself and he struggled with the apathy among the young people he encountered. How does a catechist break through the religious apathy? Bob recalled that Pope Paul VI said in [Evangelii nuntiandi](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html) that "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." Young people need to first encounter someone who has a transformed life because they have encountered Jesus Christ. Sometimes we have people in our parishes who don't feel equipped to share their witness, so they just go by the book and don't open up about what God means in their life. If the young person doesn't see incarnate what it means to follow Jesus Christ, then everything else is just academic. We also need to inculturate the language, to speak in ways that young people understand, to not be afraid of culture. We need to engage and find where God is present in it and build a Church within it. We often speak a churchy language, and don't use the elements of their own culture that points to God's love for us.  **3rd segment:** Scot asked about someone who wants to be the best catechist they can be, but aren't sure how to relate to young people because they're 50 or 60 or 70. How do you equip yourself? Bob said that to start with you should go to the Adolescent Catechesis Symposia sponsored by Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults. There is a bit of training involved though. You can't approach it lightly. The [General Directory for Catechesis](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_17041998_directory-for-catechesis_en.html) says, in terms of working with young people, that we need to have more of a missionary attitude toward young people than a strictly academic one. Sometimes we jump right into catechesis but we never approach them as a missionary. A missionary learns about the culture, lives among the people, speaks their language. That can be difficult, but it needs to be done first. There is no shortcut. Otherwise we read from a book and the teens are bored to tears. You need to be part of the culture: Listen to the music young people listen to, watch TV shows they watch, read the books they're reading. It is part of your homework. You don't need to watch an entire season of a show, but you can watch one episode. If you work with young people, but haven't read "Twilight" or seen the movies, you're missing out on a cultural opportunity to shgow where God can be found in that. Some people want to say that everything in youth culture is evil or wrong, but culture is made by men and women who are made in the image and likeness of God. In the Second Vatican Council document [Ad Gentes](http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651207_ad-gentes_en.html), which was about missionary work, it said we need to live among people so we can "lay bare the seeds of the Word which lie hidden among their fellows." Those seeds are in the culture and we need to help them see that. Fr. Matt said we often look at culture or the world and we say "bad". But a Catholic viewpoint looks at culture and the world and see the things that are good, beautiful and true. Working with young people to be able to see those things, how can we see instead how to use those things for good? Bob said that certainly there are things that are bad in culture, but when we critique culture, we critique the young people because they are intimately connected to it. When we can find what is good in the culture then we can say what it is good *and* bad. We can help them be more literate in understanding the messages that the media is giving them. A young person spends on average about 8.5 hours per day with media. We have to help them understand what kind of messages they're digesting. Rome itself shows how the Church didn't run away from culture, but transformed it, right down to churches that used to be places of pagan sacrifice. Pope John Paul II used to say that we need to impregnate the culture with the Word of God. Scot said he's been amazed while reading Pope Benedict XVI's comments on new media and Bishop Ron Herzog of the US bishops' conference Committee on Communication, who [said](http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2010/11/as-great-challenge-as-reformation.html), Facebook has changed not only the way people receive and share information, but how they communicate. He asked how much of getting to understand young people involve using these new media tools? Bob said it's absolutely essential. When you have media, you have a new language which is limited. Communicating the Gospel through Facebook isn't easy. It's almost easier to communicate Shakespeare with smoke signals. There's a depth to the message that the medium doesn't allow us to connect. So we can use social media in a way that preaches the Word of God through actual relationships. We need to pull them into a place where they can experience real community and authentic teaching. But that's another stage of evangelization. We need to go where they're at first. Pope John Paul II said in [Redemptoris Missio](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio_en.html) that we need to have the media communicate Gospel values, not just merely as a preaching of the Gospel message. We need EWTN, but we also need to find a way to get Catholic values on NBC and Fox and TV shows and novels and music. Not just praise music, but we need to be thinking bigger. **4th segment:** Bob has many talents. He has released 8 albums. He said he has been blessed with music. Currently he leads all the worship music for the Steubenville summer conferences, both adult and youth. It's been a passion of his. He's planning to sing a little at Theology on Tap. Fr. Matt recalls when he was a seminarian and serving an internship at Immaculate Conception in Newburyport that Bob and Bob Lefnesky came in during the youth group's 30 Hour Famine to do a show and some comedy skits. Fr. Matt is always struck by how deeply theological and biblically based his music is, how it gives glory to God, and teaches the listener some aspect of a relationship with God. Bob said that is his aim. He loves the ancient hymns. They were just doctrine put to music and stirred the soul, because doctrine is just something about who Jesus is. Scot asked how he goes about writing songs? Bob said songs usually come to him when he's supposed to be doing something else. They just hit him. They usually start with a phrase or thought that connects to an emotion or a thought about God. He writes a lot of bad songs that no one ever hears. He doesn't sit down to write songs. Recently, Bob took on a project to write a novel about St. Peter's relationship with Jesus, "Between the Savior and the Sea". It's the Gospel story from Peter's point of view. All of the Evangelists spend a lot of time letting us get to know Peter and question is why the Gospels say so much about Peter. In all of Scripture gives us the most detailed version of what it means to follow Christ. Bob did a lot of research and even went to the Holy Land to get everything accurate, right down to the food and buildings. Scot asked how Bob integrated the words of Jesus from the Scriptures into the book? Bob anchors the book on all the Gospel stories. He would write narrative bridges between those Gospel stories. For example, when the disciples were sent out two-by-two, we don't know where they went or did, but in Bob's novel we follow Peter on his journey and see what it was like for him to preach the Gospel and heal someone and cast out a demon. But then they go back to the feeding of the five thousand. The book weaves in and out of what we see in Scripture and the narrative bridges that the Gospels don't care. He did it in a way that's faithful to Catholic doctrine and who Peter was. Ideally, it gives an accurate depiction of the Gospel stories and will inspire someone to read the Gospels themselves. The novel ends at John, Chapter 21, where Jesus calls Peter the second time: "Peter, do you love me?" Fr. Matt asked what inspired Bob to write this novel and who his intended audience is. Bob said he hopes it appeals to all ages. When Bob goes out to speak and preach, he tries to use his theatrical background to bring the Gospel stories to life. These stories tell us who God is. After doing this for a long time, he decided to try his hand at writing the Gospel stories, but in his first attempts he was stunned at how many stories he had to put in between the Gospel stories to make the narrative cohesive because the Gospel was not written in a narrative style. It took about 3 years and he's never worked harder on anything. Scot asked Bob how his devotion to St. Peter was affected by these 3 years of spending so time reflecting on his life. Bob said he was so sad as he wrote the last page because he had been walking the streets of Galilee and Jerusalem with Peter and Jesus and all the apostles. It brought him closer to all the apostles. He tried to flesh out each of the 12 apostles as individuals with all their strengths and flaws of character. It became a community which he got know and walk with. As he walked away from the book, he also had to recognize that these characters were not really the apostles. He couldn't fall in love with his own fictitious version of who he thought they were. It could have been who they were, but there's a greater depth to a person than can be found in a novel. So in his relationship with Jesus he wants Him to be bigger than the book and the words on a page. Bob didn't invent any new flaws for St. Peter beyond what is found in the Gospels. If anything he tried to show what kind of heroic virtue St. Peter had. Sometimes we think of him failing, of sinking in the water as his faith wavered, but we don't reflect on, hey here's a guy who walked on water in the first place. Here's a guy willing to fight to for Jesus in the garden and followed Jesus into the courtyard when everyone else ran away. He's an exceptional man of God who had an exceptional call, but like any of us he struggled between his divine call and his human will.  Bob said he always wondered why Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times and Peter said he would not, then turns around and denies him almost right away. As he was reflecting on the story, Bob realized that when Simon Peter was in the garden and he was swinging his sword at the high priest's servant, he was willing to give his life. It was probably ringing in his mind that he would not deny Jesus, that he would give his life for Him. And he dove in there alone. Maybe he was stunned that Jesus told him to stop and perhaps he considered that he'd already proven himself against the denial. Then in the courtyard, the encounter with the slave girl and others came as surprise: "Wait, this was the test?" We can often be geared up for the big battles in our life, but it's the small things where we fall and fail and where we end up denying Christ. We can be great Christians on retreat or in youth group, but what we do when we're alone on the computer or among friends and things go in the wrong direction? But like Peter, Christ always calls us back with love. On the mini-retreat day on Friday for people who work with youth, it is important know that it is a retreat, not training. It is a time for youth ministers to be refreshed in their own faith, to be with others in similar ministry to encourage each other and strengthen each other.  It's not too late to sign up at the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults website. **5th segment:** It's time to announce the winner of this week's **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is a copy of [“Time for Mercy,”](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0944203841/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=catholicnetrevie&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0944203841) a film narrated by Joseph Campanella. This award-winning video explores signs of God's mercy in our time, and takes an unflinching look at the biblical witness of God's judgement and mercy, the offer of God's mercy in Christ, and the troubles of today's world. This week's winner is **Mary Boudreau from Norwood, MA**. Congratulations Mary! **6th segment:** Tonight is the fourth Wednesday of [The Light Is On For You](http://www.thelightisonforyou.org).  Every Church in the Archdiocese is open from 6:30-8:00pm tonight for Confessions. If you need to locate a church along your commute, please visit [PilotParishFinder.com](http://www.pilotparishfinder.com) or download the PilotParishFinder app for your iPhone or Android device. Since Wednesday evenings during Lent are big Confession evenings, we'll take questions submitted by listeners on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If you have a question, please email LIVE@TheGoodCatholicLife.com, text or call us at 617-410-MASS (6277). * What happens if you forget to confess a mortal sin at confession? First, you have to ask if you just forgot (you were nervous or forgot to make a list) or if it was intentional. If you just forgot, God's mercy covers that sin and you have received absolution. It's still good to talk to the priest next time in confession about it to get advice and direction. If you hold back intentionally, that sin is not forgiven. You have to be ready to let go or be sorry for that sin. You walk away with that sin still on you. You have not experienced a full reconciliation with God. You have not been restored. You still have the stain of mortal sin and you're not supposed to go to confession. The lesson of the Blessed Mother shows us how she was preserved from the stain of Original Sin to prepare her to be an immaculate tabernacle receiving the Lord. In the same way, we need to be purified from mortal sin in order to receive the Lord. Mortal sin kills us and wounds us in our relationship with the Lord.  Scot said that embarassment shouldn't hold you back from confessing a sin. You will not shock the priest with anything he hasn't heard before. And then burden of a sin that you don't confess deliberately grows even greater the longer you hold on to it. God wants to relieve that burden of you and He can through the power he has given to his priests. Tonight the Light Is On For You and it's on because there is a priest waiting to help you be relieved of that burden.

In this edition of the Spirit and Life Podcast, Bob Rice joins host Mark Nehrbas to talk about Catholic and Christian worship and the role it plays in our lives. Bob is a Catechetics professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville, a well-known Catholic recording artist, and the leader of Franciscan University's on-campus Summer Conference worship band. (18:50, 13 MB) Our website:www.franciscanconferences.com Bob Rice's website:www.bobricemusic.com

In this lively edition of Spirit and Life, Prof. Bob Rice and host Mark Nehrbas talk about the true purpose of Catechetics - to pass on the Faith. Bob's background in youth ministry, ongoing ministry through music, and his present faculty position in Catechetics at Franciscan University result in a dynamic understanding, teaching and implementation of Catechetics in the Church today. (17:15; 11.8 MB) Our website:www.franciscanconferences.com Franciscan University of Steubenville:www.franciscan.edu Bob Rice's website:www.bobricemusic.com

Hey everyone!!! This is Theresa!! We have Bob Rice with us again for another incredible podcast!!! He’s talking about Praise and Worship and HAND MOTIONS IN HEAVEN!!!! I miss you all and am praying for you!!!

Hey everyone!!!!! This is SMILEY GIRL, Theresa :) I loved meeting you all at the conference!!!! This podcast has BOB RICE!!! And ALL OF YOU!!!!!!! Keep listening and keep your faith alive!!!!

In this edition of Spirit and Life: The Franciscan Conferences Podcast, Bob Rice and Mark Nehrbas talk about ministry to today's youth, and Bob's call to this area.www.franciscanconferences.com (17:56, 12.3 mb) Bob Rice's website:www.bobricemusic.com

Welcome to the first episode of Spirit and Life: The Franciscan Conferences Podcast. Bob Rice, leader of the Franciscan University of Steubenville Conference Music Ministry shares about his faith history and unusual path to growth as a Catholic. Our host is Mark Nehrbas, Executive Director of the Christian Outreach Office. www.franciscanconferences.com (19:20, 13.2 mb) Bob Rice's website:www.bobricemusic.com

Prof. Bob Rice reflects on the strong relationship between Pope John Paul II and the world's youth. Prof. Rice is Assistant Professor of Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville, speaks internationally about youth, and is the lead singer of a popular Catholic band. (11:18, 5.2 MB)