Podcast appearances and mentions of joseph parish

In this week's episode of St. Joseph's Workshop, Fr. Stephen welcomes Fr. Tim Donovan, a priest from the Diocese of Orange in California and the president and founder of Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries. Together, they explore Fr. Tim's innovative program, "Pathways," delving into its development and primary focus. St. Joseph Parish has successfully integrated this program into their family formation efforts over the past year, supporting families in teaching the faith at home. Join us for an inspiring discussion on how "Pathways" is transforming family faith education.

“The priesthood is beautiful. Keep thinking about it. Keep praying about it. It's worth it.” Fr. Pieter vanRooyen, pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Ypsilanti and an assistant professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, joins Men of the Hearts hosts Fr. Craig Giera and Fr. Drew Mabee to talk about his journey to the priesthood. Having been raised in a nominally Catholic household, it wasn't until he was in college at Michigan State University that Fr. Pieter first began thinking about the priesthood. He shares how his devout grandmother, a high school friend, and a campus Christian group influenced his growing faith and helped open his eyes to his priestly vocation.(0:27) Hosts Fr. Craig Giera and Fr. Drew Mabee introduce their guest this month, Fr. Pieter vanRooyen, pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Ypsilanti and an assistant professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He shares some recent blessings, like participating in Exodus 90 with the men of his parish. Fr. Drew shares his own experiences with Exodus 90. Our hosts and their guest then talk about Fr. Pieter's interest in motorcycles.(8:53) Fr. Craig, who serves as Director of Priestly Vocations for the Archdiocese of Detroit, talks about a recent dinner and evening prayer with Archbishop Vigneron, attended by more than 200 young men discerning the priesthood. Fr. Drew pauses to express gratitude for Archbishop Vigneron's years of ministry and slips in an invitation for Archbishop-designate Weisenburger to be a guest on the podcast after he's installed as Archbishop of Detroit on March 18. (10:22) Fr. Pieter begins sharing his vocation story. He grew up in a nominally Catholic household—he was baptized and received First Communion and Reconciliation, but attended Mass mostly on holidays and was not confirmed as a young teen. When he was in high school, his family moved closer to his devoutly Catholic grandmother, who taught him about the faith and arranged for him to be confirmed. (18:37) Fr. Pieter talks about breaking up with a steady girlfriend and feeling “crushed” by the loss, but ultimately asking himself whether he had “made an idol” of the relationship. He explores the difference between preparing for marriage and casually dating. Even married couples should look to God, not their spouse, as their ultimate source of satisfaction.(22:59) Fr. Pieter enrolled at Michigan State University in the fall of 2001 on a scholarship from the Air Force through ROTC. Within weeks of the semester starting, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred and Fr. Pieter considered dropping out and enlisting. After some thought, he decided to stay in school. He began attending Mass periodically with a suitemate as well as a Bible study. (30:26) Fr. Pieter recalls spending spring break in Panama City, Florida to attend a Campus Crusade for Christ conference, during which students were sent out “two-by-two” to share the Gospel with beach-goers. One fruit of this trip was Fr. Pieter began praying every day: “Jesus, I give this day to you.” He also began to seek answers about his Catholic faith and returned to Reconciliation for the first time since second grade.(42:12) During the summer before his sophomore year, Fr. Pieter lived with his grandmother in Chicago. It was during this time, while at Adoration with his grandmother, that he first asked God what he should do with his life. In response, the thought unexpectedly came into his head to be a priest. Fr. Pieter shares how he initially dismissed the thought but later told his grandmother, who helped connect him with a priest to explore the vocation.(54:07) After a few years of discernment and living in accordance with Church teachings, Fr. Pieter graduated from MSU and entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 2004. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lansing six years later. The group spends some time talking about how a...

The Avon Lake Matters Podcast is taking a summer break and there will be no new episode this week.  Please enjoy this re-airing of last November's interview with Terry and Diana Wyrock as they discuss ways to help Monarch butterflies in your own backyard. Upcoming events happening in Avon Lake: August 1-3, 5:00-10:00 PM: St. Joseph Parish's Lake Breeze Festival August 3, 8:30 AM: Vitalant Blood Drive at the Old Firehouse Community Center August 6, 7:00 PM: Environmentally Speaking: Bee Keepning 101 at the Avon Lake Public Library August 11, 1:00-4:00 PM: Open House and Tours at the Peter Miller House Museum August 11, 6:00 PM: Avon Lake Summer Concert Series - Rumours at Miller Road Park August 12, 9:30 PM: Star Party with astronomer Suzie Dills at Walker Road Park August 15, 4:00 PM: CLE MARKET & Avon Lake Summer Concert Series - Stamper Starr at Veterans' Memorial Park For information about these and future events/meetings in Avon Lake, please visit www.AvonLake.org/Events.

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 07-11-24 Nikki Biese from Biking For Babies talks about the conclusion of their national fundraiser which is coming into St. Louis this Saturday, July 13. They're raising money for pregnancy centers across the country and Thrive St. Louis will be at the concluding event on Saturday at St. Joseph Parish, 567 St. Joseph Lane in Manchester, MO 63021. More info on the St. Louis event here: https://www.bikingforbabies.com/col-mo/ More info on Biking For Babies here: https://www.bikingforbabies.com/ NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Livestream 24/7: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 07-11-24 Nikki Biese from Biking For Babies talks about the conclusion of their national fundraiser which is coming into St. Louis this Saturday, July 13. They're raising money for pregnancy centers across the country and Thrive St. Louis will be at the concluding event on Saturday at St. Joseph Parish, 567 St. Joseph Lane in Manchester, MO 63021. More info on the St. Louis event here: https://www.bikingforbabies.com/col-mo/ More info on Biking For Babies here: https://www.bikingforbabies.com/ MORNING NEWS DUMP: The US House passes a bill that says state must make sure only US citizens are voting in our elections, and the Democrats are upset about that. Biden says prices are high and it's all because of corporate greed. Window World is raising money for a great non-profit and your home could get a complete makeover! They're auctioning off a $45K home renovation that includes 15 windows, insulated siding, gutters and oversized downspouts, and a front entry door system. Bidding is open to anyone in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, IL, and Peoria. Proceeds will benefit Action for Autism, which supports children with autism and their families. Learn more about it at WindowWorldKansasCity.com. Bids will be accepted through next Thursday, July 18.  Cardinals dropped a doubleheader to the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium, losing 6-4 and 8-5. Day off today. The Cubs come into town for a 4-game series that includes a day/night doubleheader on Saturday with Game 1 at 1:15pm and Game 2 (postponed from earlier in the season) at 7:15pm. Window World is raising money for a great non-profit and your home could get a complete makeover! They're auctioning off a $45K home renovation that includes 15 windows, insulated siding, gutters and oversized downspouts, and a front entry door system. Bidding is open to anyone in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, IL, and Peoria. Proceeds will benefit Action for Autism, which supports children with autism and their families. Learn more about it at WindowWorldKansasCity.com. Bids will be accepted through next Thursday, July 18.  Mike's wife, Rachel Ferguson, is being interviewed today by Vivek Ramaswamy on his weekly podcast. We'll let you know about the airdate for the podcast whenever we find out! NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Livestream 24/7: http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstreamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A catholic school's ability to operate in accordance with its faith is in jeopardy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard oral arguments in St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel on Tuesday, June 11. The case involves a Catholic school in Michigan that is asking the court to protect its ability to hire staff who align with its faith.The Michigan Supreme Court reinterpreted a state civil rights statute's definition of sex in July 2022 to include sexual orientation without any exemption for religious organizations. In March 2023, the Michigan legislature wrote this into state law, expressly prohibiting discrimination on sexual orientation or gender identity. The school's right to hire staff who hold its views on marriage and gender is at risk. St. Joseph's asks all staff to be practicing Catholics and uphold the faith. Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Will Haun argued the case before the Sixth Circuit Court on June 11. He joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss what the case means for Christian institutions nationwide. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A catholic school's ability to operate in accordance with its faith is in jeopardy.   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard oral arguments in St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel on Tuesday, June 11. The case involves a Catholic school in Michigan that is asking the court to protect its ability to hire staff […]

Religious Liberty: May a religious organization mount a pre-enforcement challenge to an anti-discrimination law that protects transgender individuals? - Argued: Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:44:23 EDT

Check us out at: https://www.intheredeemer.com https://www.intheredeemer.com/donate Prayer Intentions: https://www.intheredeemer.com/blog/prayer You can phone us at: 1-844-340-5001

Check us out at: https://www.intheredeemer.com https://www.intheredeemer.com/donate Prayer Intentions: https://www.intheredeemer.com/blog/prayer You can phone us at: 1-844-340-5001

Check us out at: https://www.intheredeemer.com https://www.intheredeemer.com/donate Prayer Intentions: https://www.intheredeemer.com/blog/prayer You can phone us at: 1-844-340-5001

Part 1: St. Joseph Parish in north suburban Libertyville is a vibrant faith community whose stated vision is: “Through Our Baptism and Eucharist, we are called to love as Christ loves and serve as Christ serves.” On our program today, we have 2 groups of parishioners to tell us about 2 of the many wonderful ministries offered by St. Joseph parish. Up first we have Renee Zorc, Liz Kennedy, and Abby Daniels to tell us about SOUP FOR THE SOUL. Part 2: The Bed Ministry of St. Joseph parish in north suburban Libertyville is dedicated to building, assembling and delivering beds to children in need in the community. Joining us for this segment to talk about the Bed Ministry is Dan Palmieri, Dan Harris, and Anna Roeser.

For the month of August our guest is Fr. David Kidd, the Priest-Leader at Central Catholic High School in Toledo, and also the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in downtown. In this episode Fr. Kidd explains that he sees his role as helping create an encounter with the grace of God. We learn about his upbringing in Lima, Ohio and his time spent serving in the Ohio National Guard.Fr. Kidd also has the reputation of gesturing with his hands while he speaks, so throughout the podcast you'll hear him thwacking the table with his hands. He learned the hand thing in Italy.

Published: June 15, 2021 Join Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend and cohost Anna Vallez for a panel discussion with three pastors who share their experiences of adapting to a virtual environment over the past year. What lessons have they learned? What new parish practices have brought their communities closer together, and what will they carry forward into a post-pandemic Church? As parishioners begin to return home to Mass, how do these pastors think about returning to the real presence of the Eucharist, and what steps will they take to welcome parishioners home? Hear how they have creatively engaged parishioners over the past year and how they are welcoming them home to the Lord's Table. Our panel includes… Fr. Joseph Scolaro, Pastor, Notre Dame Church in New Hyde Park, New York Fr. Mike Murphy, Pastor, Sacred Heart Parish in Coronado, California Fr. Allen Hoffa, Pastor, St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley in Summitt Hill, Pennsylvania. As of June 20, 2021, Fr. Hoffa will be Pastor of Holy Guardian Angels Parish in Reading, Pennsylvania Watch the video presentation of this discussion https://youtu.be/OEQV-fQKGI0 Recorded on June 9, 2021 Don't miss Changing Our World's FORGING FORWARDDon't miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you nonprofit experts from around the country who are leading through the COVID-19 crisis. Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin's Crosses” Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin's Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today's Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin's Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, West Catholic High School celebrated the Class of 2023 with a commencement ceremony at West. After leading Mass earlier in the day at Holy Spirit, Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese Bishop David Walkowiak was on hand to confer diplomas.In his speech, co-chaplin Fr. Andrew Ayers talked about how he loves West Catholic's mission to form disciples of Christ. "It's one of the best things about West Catholic High School."Fr. Andrew has been co-chaplin at West Catholic since 2019. Although his time at West Catholic will be ending this June, Fr. Andrew will continue to serve as pastor at St. Catherine Parish in Ravenna, St. Francis Xavier Parish in Conklin and St. Joseph Parish in Wright.West Catholic Live is a show that airs every Wednesday on West Catholic's Facebook page and YouTube Channel during the school year.Look for updates and more content on the school's social media channels.West Catholic Live is a production of West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our Mission: To form disciples of Christ through a dynamic, excellence-driven Catholic educationLearn more at grwestcatholic.org.

In this episode we meet Monsignor Michael Billian, the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Sylvania, Ohio.  Msgr. Billian is a true servant-leader who has given over his life in service of the Church. In the episode we learn about his love of cooking, singing, travel, and more cooking. 

SONS OF MELCHIZEDEK – On this episode of Sons of Melchizedek, a show highlighting priests in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, we talk with Father Mike Keucher, Pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Shelbyville, Indiana.

Hosts: Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi. Fr. Vic Ivers, a priest from the Archdiocese of Chicago who was deeply rooted in the faith, passed away on Jan. 18, 2014, at the age of 95. At St. Joseph Parish in Libertyville, as his final Mass was coming to a conclusion, he stopped, took off his shoes, laid them in front of the altar and said, “so now who will fill these shoes?” Then he processed out, leaving the shoes behind with a question that remains for today. The Who Will Fill These Shoes? event has then been celebrated in our archdiocese ever since. Guest: Vocations Director, Fr. Tim Monahan

“Never be afraid to accept your vocation. Because God will supply what we need.” Fr. Craig Giera and Fr. David Pellican are joined by Fr. Matthew Hood. Together they discuss Fr. Matt's journey from asking big questions about the Faith in high school to being ordained a priest. After spending eight years in seminary, Fr. Matt has served the Archdiocese of Detroit in parish and school ministry. He offers advice for men discerning: “If God has given you even the smallest desire for the priesthood, pursue it. That doesn't happen often.” Show Notes: (00:03) Fr. Craig Giera and Fr. David Pellican welcome us to this episode of Men of the Hearts. This month's guest is Fr. Matthew Hood, the chaplain for Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry which serves Wayne State University and the University of Michigan – Dearborn as well as the surrounding campuses. He shares about his summer abroad in Brazil on a mission trip with FOCUS, Fellowship of Catholic University Students. (10:40) The Costco King: the hosts and Fr. Matt play a game related to opinions about Costco. Fr. Craig announces the winner of the competition will be announced at the end of the episode. (16:33) Fr. Matt's vocation story: In high school, Fr. Matt found himself asking many big questions about faith while attending St. Joseph Parish in Lake Orion. He found that the Catholic Church offered the answers to every question he proposed in a more profound manner, allowing him to trust and surrender. He began to desire not just to know God but also to develop a relationship with Him. Spending time in the local Eucharistic Adoration chapel is where he first felt a desire for the priesthood. (20:15) While before the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration, Fr. Matt began praying with Scripture, particularly the passage of Jesus calling the disciples on the Sea of Galilee in which he felt the Lord telling him “To follow Him, throw down my nets, put out into the deep” as a priest. But he pushed the thought to the side. (25:51) From questions to his vocation: Fr. Matt explains in more detail the journey from asking questions to considering the priesthood. In encountering Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, he felt the Lord kept placing the call to the priesthood on his heart. Fr. Matt enrolled at Central Michigan University his freshmen year and participated in Catholic Campus Ministry which helped to further confirm his vocation to the priesthood. (31:34) The process of entering seminary: joy, friendship, and fraternity played a pivotal role for Fr. Matt. He applied and was accepted to the seminary, where he found the first year challenging. He was tempted to feel “I'm not holy enough, I'm not worthy enough.” He was challenged by doubts and an experience of feeling undeserving of the priesthood. (43:25) Life as a priest: The priests talk about Fr. Matt's experience of working at Divine Child parish and school. He then describes how he lives out his priesthood walking with college students, including hosting events for exploring the Faith and deepening one's conversion. Fr. Matt recommends finding a priest as a spiritual director to help guide a man considering a vocation to the priesthood. “What might be the next step?” They discuss key advice for how to discern if God is calling a man to the priesthood. “God speaks to us in silence. If there is a small desire for priesthood, pay attention to it, have courage, don't be afraid, and seek it.” Fr. Matt closes the episode in prayer.

This homily was given at St. Joseph Parish, Roseburg, OR on Thursday, August 11, 2022, the memorial of St. Clare.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/in-your-embrace/message

This homily was given at St. Joseph Parish, Roseburg, OR on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, the feast of St. Lawrence. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/in-your-embrace/message

SONS OF MELCHIZEDEK –FATHER MICHAEL KEUCHER - On this premier episode of Sons of Melchizedek, a show highlighting priests in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, we talk with Fr. Michael Keucher, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Shelbyville, dean of the Batesville Deanery and sacramental minister, St. Vincent De Paul Parish, Shelby County. He also serves as vocation director for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/30?22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/29/22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/28/22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/27/22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/26/22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/25/22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/24/22 from Fr. Kevin Klonowski from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/23/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/22/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/21/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/20/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/19/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/18/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Daily Mass Readings and reflection for 04/17/22 from Fr. Joseph Mamich from St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

Father Ronald J. Wearsch, Pastor of St. Joseph Parish talks about their one-of-a-kind Lenten fish fry, other community programs of the church, and what it was like growing up in Avon Lake. Upcoming events happening in Avon Lake: March 18, 2022, 4:30 PM: Deadline for Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator and Water Filtration Plant Operator Applications March 21, 2022, 1:00 PM: Avon Lake Historical Society Presents "Significant Trees of Ohio's Settlement,” Avon Lake Public Library March 21, 2022, 7:00 PM: Collective Committee Meeting, Council Chamber - City Hall March 24, 2022, 1:00 PM: Sunshine Laws Certified Training, Avon Lake Public Library March 27, 2022, 1:00 PM: Hooks for Hunger "Chili Cook-Off”, Game On Avon Lake March 28, 2022, 7:00 PM: City Council Meeting, Council Chamber - City Hall March 29, 2022, 7:00 PM: Ted Esborn, Economic Development Director, Discusses Future Plan in Avon Lake, Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church April 1, 2022: Nomination Deadline for Avon Lake Citizen of the Year and Project of the Year Awards April 2, 2022, 6:30 PM: CRS 33rd Annual Charity Ball "Caring Hearts," The Shipyard Event Center For more information on future events/meetings, please visit www.AvonLake.org

Bishop Parkes celebrates with the parishioners and staff of St. Joseph Parish their 100th anniversary.  

On this episode of Catholic Forum, after news from The Dialog, we will talk with Father Glenn Evers, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmington, Delaware, and Ms. Arlene Doseman, Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Church of the Holy Cross in Dover, Delaware. In October, Bishop William Koenig appointed Father and Arlene as the Diocese of Wilmington's co-contacts for the diocesan phase of Synod 2021 - 2023, that begins on Feb. 12, 2022. @CatholicForum

Homesteading 101. Want to learn about herbal remedies, raised beds and rearing goats? Well, Joseph Parish and Demmarest Haney of Feywood Grove Farm on Hills Road can help you. Reporter Holly Conners visited them to learn about their Feywood Grove Folk School in Albert Bridge.

This week Jerry sits down with Bob Ferretti, Youth Minister at St. Joseph Parish in Millstone, NJ. Their discussion highlights the ongoing fruits of Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Discernment and how to respond to a changing world in youth ministry amidst a pandemic. 

Coming Back to the Catholic Faith – A Reversion Story - On this segment of Faith in Action, Host, Brigid Ayer talks with Michele Amoroso, St. Joseph Parish, Palm Bay, FL, to talk about her reversion story to the Catholic Faith and how her journey has led her to embrace the many gifts found in our faith.

Our first-ever live show was a success! Thank you to the fine folks (dare we say “fans”?) who joined us for the live recording and viewing party. And thank you to St. Joseph Parish for allowing us to take over the parish center for the evening. As Cousin Eddie might say, it was just “a […]

Indivisible co-founder and co-executive director Ezra Levin joins us this week to talk about the release of Indivisible's new document, "A Practical Guide for Winning Elections." Broken into three chapters, it details how Indivisible members and groups can take the tactics and strategies they've used to pressure elected officials and focus it toward electoral wins in November. The guide: https://indivisible435.org/a-practical-guide-for-winning-elections/ We also have our weekly calls to action with Stephen Wilhelm, and activist calendar of events with Erin Albanese. Links: Sign up for Turbovote: https://indivisible.turbovote.org/name Calls to Action Links: Indivisible CD-8/FUSE Voter Registration Sign-up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSZItGhzEvgbdEcTGl6aspIThZVohXJ1JxHVxo1wQ1_zdEjQ/viewform?fbzx=-4367492515999822300 Canvass with the WA Democrats: https://www.wa-democrats.org/event/index Phonebank to Save SCOTUS: https://www.indivisible.org/save-scotus/ Text-bank with Moveon: https://front.moveon.org/join-moveon-text-team/ NARAL Kavanaugh Rally: https://act.moveon.org/event/unite-for-justice/search/?source=eventsnav&utm_source=front&utm_content=nav Activist Calendar of Events Links: Fundraiser for Tana Senn & My-Lihn Thai Featuring WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson Aegis Gardens 13056 SE 76th St, Newcastle, WA Thursday, August 23rd, 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM *Please RSVP to katherine@katherinebobman.com or call 206-486-5913 Pilgrimage & Mass at NW Detention Center (Hosted by St. Joseph Parish, Seattle and St. Leo Parish in Tacoma) Saturday, August 25th 9:00 am Carpool/Bus from St. Joseph Parking Lot at 732 18th Ave E, Seattle or meet at NWDC at 710 S. 13th St., Tacoma Please RSVP to rleet@stjosephparish.org or call 206-324-2522 to reserve a seat on the bus. Space is limited. https://www.facebook.com/events/259362591543260/ Solidarity Day at SeaTac Prison (sponsored by the NWDC Resistance) Federal Detention Center, SeaTac 2425 S 200th St, SeaTac, Washington 98198 Sunday, August 26th, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/235412893812232/ Hungry4Justice Seattle // Families Belong Together & Free (Hosted by Hungry4Justice - Families Belong Together & Free) ICE Offices 1002 2nd Ave. Seattle, WA https://www.facebook.com/events/344487639423368/ 55th Anniversary of the MLK March On Washington Tuesday, August 28th, 5:15 pm - 8:30 pm Mount Zion Baptist Church 1634 19th Ave Seattle, WA https://mountzion.net/event/55th-anniversary-of-the-march-on-washington/

Today's topics: Pastor Profile: Fr. John Currie Summary of today's show: Fr. John Currie is pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Holbrook in addition to being the pastor of our Wednesday co-host Fr. Matt Williams and our producer Domenico Bettinelli and he joins Scot Landry and Fr. Matt to talk about the parish, its school, his own vocational journey, and the upcoming March for Life in Washington, DC, next week. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today's guest(s): Fr. John Currie, Pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Holbrook Links from today's show: Like to get updates when live photos and live videos are happening Follow on Twitter and and watch the hashtag #bos4life

Today's topics: Cheverus Awards; US bishops meeting; American cardinals; HHS mandate; Philippines typhoon Summary of today's show: Our Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, and Gregory Tracy look at the headlines of the week, including the announcement of awardees of the 2013 Cheverus Awards in the Archdiocese of Boston—among whom is our own Susan Abbott; the election of a new leader of the US bishops conference and decisions on a statement on pornography and on the HHS mandate; and the local Catholic response to the typhoon in the Philippines. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston Links from today's show: 2013 Cheverus Award winners Susan Abbott, St. Theresa of Avila Parish, West Roxbury Laura Albaladejo, St. Patick Parish, Brockton Josephine and Charles Anastasia, St. John Chrysostom Parish, West Roxbury Ruth Andrews, St. Katherine Drexel Parish, Boston Mother Teresa Benedicta, OCD, North Region William Bibeau, St. John the Baptist Parish, Haverhill Madelyn Brown, The Catholic TV Network, Watertown (2012) Judy Burton, St. Mary/St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Charlestown Jacquelyn Butterfield, St. Anne Parish, Littleton James Buxton, Holy Trinity Parish, Lowell John Carter, Sacred Heart Parish, Waltham Everett Casey, Sacred Heart Parish, Middleborough John Cheboryot and Mercy Anampiu, St. Michael Parish, Lowell, Kenyan Apostolate Antonio Jr. and Gracita Chiefe, St. Mary Parish, Randolph, Filipino Apostolate Deacon Charles Clough, West Region William Corrigan, St. Anthony Parish, Allston Marileia Costa, St. Anthony Parish, Everett, Brazilian Apostolate Paul Daly, Sacred Heart Parish, Quincy Joan DeGuglielmo, St. Francis Parish, Cambridge Sister Thomasita Delaney, RMS, Merrimack Region Samuel E. DeMerit, St. Paul Parish, Cambridge Jose DePina, St. Peter Parish, Dorchester Barbara Devita, St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, Wilmington Linda Devoll, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Canton Rose DiMare, Immaculate Conception Parish, Revere Anne Doherty, St. Camillus Parish, Arlington M.J. Doherty, Archdiocese of Boston Kevin Dolan, Sts. Martha and Mary Parish, Lakeville Thomas Dwyer, Esq., Archdiocese of Boston Joanne Eagan, Sacred Heart Parish, Lynn Stephen Fair, St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Brookline Walter Faria, St. Mary of the Nativity Parish, Scituate George and Linda Furtado, Immaculate Conception Parish, Everett Rosa Garcia, St. James Parish, Haverhill Deacon Alfred Geneus, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Cambridge, Haitian Apostolate Deacon Thomas Hanlon, South Region Anne Hanning, St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Waltham John Hennigan, St. Dennis Parish, Westwood Sister Magdalene Ikeda, PDDM, Regina Cleri, Boston, Japanese Apostolate George Jackson, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Braintree Marie Jutkiewicz, St. Tarcisius Parish, Framingham Sonete Kammer, St. Tarcisus Parish, Framingham, Brazilian Apostolate Anne B. Kelly, St. Francis de Sales Parish, Charlestown Mary Kiesinger, St. Dorothy Parish, Wilmington Richard Kimball, St. Cecilia Parish, Boston J. Timothy Looney, St. Joseph Parish, Wakefield Dr. Aloysius Lugira, St. Mary Parish, Waltham, Ugandan Community (2012) Eleanor Mackin, St. Mary Parish, Lynn Judie Mahan, St. Gerard Majella Parish, Canton Constance Malloy, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Sharon Deacon Leo Martin, St. John the Baptist Parish, Peabody Jeanne Masterman, St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish, Westford Janice Mathias, St. Mary Parish, Billerica Robert Matson, St. Joseph Parish, Holbrook Elinor McFarland, St. Ann by the Sea Parish, Marshfield Darice McIntire, Sacred Heart Parish, Manchester Altagracia Mena, St. Patrick Parish, Lowell Helen Monteiro, St. Patrick Parish, Roxbury Deacon Pablo Morel, North Region Kevin Muldoon, Immaculate Conception Parish, Weymouth Sheila Murphy, St. Andrew Parish, North Billerica Sylvia Murphy, St. Helen Parish, Norwell Joseph R. Nolan, St. Francis Chapel, Boston (Prudential Center) Roberta Oles, St. Mary Parish, Wrentham John Olquist, Holy Family Parish, Dorchester Lawrence and Sally O'Maley, St. John the Baptist Parish, Essex Sister Mary O'Rourke, CSJ, West Region Eduardo Pascua, Holy Trinity Parish, Quincy Mary Peck, St. Margaret Parish, Burlington Michael Pietkiewicz, St. Stanislaus Parish, Chelsea Rita Pizzi, St. Blaise Parish, Bellingham Nancy Pouliot, Holy Family Parish, Amesbury Brother Thomas Puccio, C.F.X., North Region Lucille Ratte, Star of the Sea Parish, Salisbury Pat Riley, St. Michael Parish, North Andover Martha Roberts, St. Malchy Parish, Burlington Sister Florita Rodman, CDP, South Region Ellen Greene Romikitis, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Dorchester John Scanlon, Sacred Heart Parish Margaret Scollins, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Green Harbor Patricia Shafto, St. Christine Parish, Marshfield Deacon Richard Siebert, Merrimack Region Joan Silta, St. Pius X Parish, Milton Stella Simione, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Winthrop Celia Sirois, Archdiocese of Boston Marguerite Small, St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish, Melrose Jean Soucy, St. Magdalen Parish, Tyngsborough Antonio and Delminda Sousa, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Peabody Claudia Suarez, Madonna Queen Shrine, East Boston M. Doris Thompson, St. John the Evangelist Parish, East Bridgewater Joseph Tuan Thong, St. Bernadette Parish, Randolph, Vietnamese Apostolate Paule Verdet, Sacred Heart Parish, Newton Judy Vivien, St. Mary of the Assumption/St. Ann Parish, Hull Ann C. White, St. Ann Parish, Quincy Magda E. Zabala, Holy Family Parish, Dorchester

Today's topics: Missionary Bishop from Boston in Honduras Summary of today's show: Bishop Maurus Muldoon, OFM, the retired bishop of Juticalpa, Honduras, joins Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams to talk about growing up in Dorchester, becoming a Franciscan, and then being sent to Central America in 1966 where he served until retiring as bishop in 2012. Bishop Muldoon tells our listeners about traveling with Pope John Paul II on his first pastoral visit around Central America soon after the bishop's episcopal ordination and thereafter always being known to the Pope as “the Franciscan bishop from Boston in Honduras”; the tense political and social conditions in Honduras and El Salvador that several times required he leave an assignment for his own safety; and the development of the Church in Juticalpa from near non-existence to relatively thriving with priests and seminarians, religious orders, a hospital, schools, and other institutions when he left. Along the way, we also hear some anecdotes about Christopher Columbus High School in Boston and Pope John Paul II's pastoral opinion on a dispute over First Communions at St. Joseph Parish in Holbrook. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today's guest(s): Bishop Maurus Muldoon OFM, retired bishop of Juticalpa, Honduras Links from today's show:

Today's topics: Ecumenism as the Obligation of all Catholics Summary of today's show: The work of ecumenism is the work of fulfilling Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper that all Christians would be unified, despite millennia of divisions among them. Dr. Vito Nicastro joins Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor to talk about the divisions among Christians through history, the renewal of the work of ecumenism at Vatican II, and the work that goes on in Boston to rebuild the ties between Orthodox and Catholics, including an event on the evening of June 28, the Vigil of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, at St. Joseph Parish in Needham, where Cardinal Seán and Metropolitan Methodius of the Greek Orthodox Church will pray together. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Dr. Vito Nicastro, associate director of the Office for Ecumenims and Interreligious Affairs Links from today's show:

Summary of today's show: Live from Jerusalem! Fr. Mark O'Connell joined the show by phone from the Holy Land where he's on pilgrimage with Cardinal Seán and brother priests to give a taste of the amazing experience, including renewing baptismal vows in the Jordan and celebrating Mass in the Lord's Empty Tomb as well as riding a camel. Then Fr. John Sheridan joined Scot Landry and Fr. Chip Hines to talk about his experience as a pastor of a parish that's joining one of the new Disciples in Mission collaborative even as he takes a new assignment as pastor of another of the collaboratives. Listen to the show: Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chip Hines Today's guest(s): Fr. John Sheridan, Pastor of St. James Parish in Salem Links from today's show: Today's topics: Fr. Mark from the Holy Land; Fr. John Sheridan on beginnings and endings in parish collaboratives 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show, including Fr. Chip Hines and Fr. John Sheridan. Also joining us is Fr. Mark O'Connell calling in from Jerusalem. He talked about the photos of him from yesterday of him riding a camel. Scot asked Fr. Mark about his highlights of visiting the Holy Land. Fr. Mark said it far exceeds his expectations to be on this trip with 29 priests and Cardinal Seán. It's a holy trip. He put his feet in the Sea of Galilee and they prayed at the Wailing Wall for the beginning of the Sabbath. Tomorrow, they're going to the Holy Sepulchre early tomorrow morning. They discussed the the experience of riding the windy, choppy seas on the Sea of Galilee, but he was told that it's usually even more choppy and so he imagined what it must have been like for Jesus to walk across the water. He added that the guide pointed out so many areas all around, little things like the hill which was the reference to a “light on the hill”. Fr. Mark said that celebrating the Mass of the Annunciation in the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, right where the Angel Gabriel came, was the first “oh my goodness” moment of the trip, but those come every hour. Tomorrow, he expects to be the peak as they go to Bethlehem after the Holy Sepulchre and then later to the Upper Room. He said that even the men who have been to the Holy Land before recognize this is a special trip. They didn't have their cardinal renew their baptismal vows in the Jordan River or celebrate Mass literally in the Tomb of Jesus tomorrow. Scot asked Fr. Mark what is it about the trip that is exceeding his expectations. Fr. Mark said what he's read in the Bible clicks into place when you've been there. Reading the Bible passage while you're looking at it, all the little things click into place. Walking up from the Kidron Valley, through the gate of the city, and to the Holy of Holies like Jesus makes it so real. Scot then asked Fr. Mark about the photo of Fr. Mark, Fr. Paul Soper and Cardinal Seán wearing headgear in the desert. Fr. Mark said they got out on an overlook to Jerusalem and some men were selling some Bedouin headdresses. He ignored them at first, but then he saw the cardinal wearing one and they didn't want the cardinal to be all alone. Truth be told, they got snookered. Fr. Paul negotiated them down from $20 to $15, but they found out later that the Cardinal paid only $5. He said Fr. Stephen Zukas not only rode the camel but also a donkey and as he's 6-foot-5, that was quite a sight. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Chip discussed the tangible joy in Fr. Mark's voice even though it's after 11pm in Jerusalem. Fr. John said this has lit the fire under him to go sometime. Scot asked Fr. Chip how it's been going at St. Joseph in Medford. Fr. Chip talked about going through the Triduum for the first time with the new parish, how exciting it is each time. He's settling into a good rhythm and they're working in collaboration with St. Francis in Medford. Scot also noted that Fr. Chip is on the cover of CatholicTV's monthly magazine advertising the movie review show Spotlight. Fr. Chip said they've recorded 114 shows so far. He encouraged people to send ideas for the show to Scot now welcomes Fr. John Sheridan, currently pastor in Salem, but soon to be pastor in Middleboro, Lakeville, and Rochester. Fr. John said he's looking forward to Fr. Chip's review of “42”, about the legendary Jackie Robinson. Scot said the Salem collaborative under the Disciples in Mission pastoral plan will be the only four-parish collaborative. He will be moving to the extreme southern end of the Archdiocese. Fr. John said there couldn't be a better pick to become pastor in Salem than Fr. Dan Riley. He said they've been working for two years in Salem to bring together the lay leadership and see how the parishes can work together. Scot noted Fr. Riley helped Sacred Heart in Weymouth a few years ago to bring the community together to rebuild the church after it burned down and now the parish is thriving. He said it was no small accomplishment by the leadership in Salem to get four parishes to agree to be part of Phase 1 of the Disciples in Mission. Fr. John talked about the now-closed St. Joseph Parish, which was his first assignment, and how the people of Salem have grown after that parish closed. Fr. Chip asked about the diverse community in Salem. Fr. John said there's a Polish community and a Hispanic community and there's even a Ukrainian Catholic church, which isn't part of the archdiocese, but they wanted to work with. They determined to work on what everyone has to bring to the table and what they all have in common. Each parish has it's unique skills and gifts and they build on what's there. Fr. John was at St. Joseph's from 1990 to 1996 and then came back to St. James in 2004 and has been pastor there since, about 14 years total. Scot asked him about his discernment in offering his resignation to go where the cardinal determines he would best serve the archdiocese. Fr. John said he's walked through a lot of emotions. When he announced there would be a new pastor in Salem, there were gasps. He's been there long enough to have seen children grow from baptism to communion. Fr. John said the Willows in Salem has a store called Hobbs that sells the best popcorn anywhere. They have a hundred-year-old corn popper there that makes amazing popcorn. But he said as much as he'll miss Salem, he's spent his last Holy Week and Easter focusing on the Resurrection. The chaos of the last few weeks is a jumble of excitement, loss, and a sense the Lord is calling him to do this. He got into this knowing he serves at the pleasure of the Archbishop. On holy Thursday, he used Pope Francis' Chrism Mass homily as the basis of his homily and he's felt that over the last 8 years he's given himself in that way to the parish. All the good work they've done never ends. Fr. Chip said it's testimony to Fr. John that he was asked to be a pastor in a Phase 1 collaborative to continue this work. Fr. John said Fr. Aveni, who is the current pastor, has done a great job. Fr. John said it's three towns, three churches, two parishes, and one pastor. He said it's perfect in happening between Easter and Pentecost, in the middle of the now and not yet. He said he's been down to the parishes to visit and he said it's a lively community with lots going on. Scot noted He's going from city life in Salem to some of the most rural parishes in the Archdiocese. Fr. John said he's always served in cities, but he's the son of a farmer and the first time visiting St. Rose of Lima he looked out over dairy farms and took in a deep breath. Scot noted that that these two parishes might be the largest in combined land area. Fr. John said the people there have a great sense of humor about being on the fringe. He said Middleboro is the second biggest town in the Archdiocese in land area, second only to Plymouth. He noted that the churches are in three different environments, in town, by a lake, and out by farms. In Middleboro, they have five buildings including a large hall which he thought would be great for youth ministry. In Salem, he stressed that the archdiocese wants to work with the parishes and provide everything they need to do what they have to do. Fr. John said his motto for this 2013 on New Year's Day was “Behold I make all things news” and this was before he knew what was going to happen. Scot asked him about his custom of taking a motto from Scripture for the year. Scot said the parishes will be surrounded on three side by the Diocese of Fall River. He said most dioceses in the US fall along county lines, but because they didn't want to have Cape Cod separated from Fall River/New Bedford went they created the diocese, Fall River was given five communities in southern Plymouth County. Fr. John he tells people that he'll be out by Edaville Railroad and they say, “Oh yeah!” Scot asked what aspects about the Disciples in Mission training that Fr. John is looking forward to. Fr. John said he has been told that people will be trained to build the youth ministry with him, to figure out what is needed by the people in the mission. He said he has been in some of the most difficult situations before and now he's got a new blank slate with a lot of potential. Scot asked Fr. Chip as a member of the archdiocesan clergy personnel board about what it takes to assign priests under the new pastoral plan. Fr. Chip said they know that they are affecting people's lives in very big ways and the board has reached out to priests who are being affected by this heavily. Some are upset and others are joyful. But the internal process he can speak about has always been about who is the best person for the job. There's a lot of information to take in regarding the collaboratives and they use it to find the best person. Since only 12 pastors are chosen for the 28 parishes, there's a lot of displaced priests and they're working to transition them. It's been challenging, fun, and even heartbreaking as people are leaving places they like. Scot said anger happens when people's expectations get violated. We're in a new chapter in our archdiocese in how we staff our parishes. He noted that at one time it was said every pastor would move, but now the policy is to look at each situation and find the best guy whether the current pastor or a new one. But that opens it up subjectivity where people say, “Who could be better for the job than the priest we've had so long?” Part of the process is to clarify expectations. Fr. John talked about how he plans to spend his last couple of months before June 4 when he shows up at this new assignment. It will be tough to leave the rectory where he lives with some senior priests in residence. Scot and Fr. John discussed how people don't travel from North to South through the archdiocese and how they treat the other side of the archdiocese as a distant country.

Summary of today's show: Our usual Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Gregory Tracy consider the news headlines of the week, including the latest examples of humility and simplicity from Pope Francis; how he chose his papal name; his decision to celebrate Holy Thursday in a juvenile prison; the appointment of five more pastors for pastoral collaboratives as part of the Disciples in Mission pastoral plan; the obituaries of two senior priests; and remarkable pro-life essays from grade school contest winners. Listen to the show: Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: Pope Francis' humility; choosing his name; new pastors for pastoral collaboratives 1st segment: Scot Landry caught up with Susan Abbott after not being together on the show for three weeks. Scot asked Susan how she watched the events here at the Pastoral Center. Susan said the days all blur together because every day there's a new story about Pope Francis that captures our attention. She said it was a busy time for everyone in the building on Disciples in Mission and Lent, but when the white smoke came out, there were yells in the halls and everyone stood around a computer watching a webcam of St. Peter's Square. Everyone gathered in the lobby of the Pastoral Center to watch it on TV. Scot said there's been a lot to cover since the election a week ago last Wednesday. The Pilot this week has a lot in a special issue this week. Gregory Tracy said they had a 16-page special edition in the center of the Pilot, which makes it almost two papers this week. The focus of the special edition is giving a perspective on Pope Francis and re-capping his first days. Greg said he learned a lot about Pope Francis because Cardinal Bergoglio wasn't among the most talked-about names. His impression is of his humility and that he is a bit of a free spirit. Scot welcomed Fr. Roger Landry and said his column in the Anchor this week gives his first impressions. Fr. Roger said he's a pastor more than a professor. He's obviously intelligent, but brings his experience of being archbishop of Buenos Aires for so many years. One thing that touched Fr. Roger was seeing a boy in the Vatican choir school singing the responsory psalm during the inauguration Mass, which shows how young the Church is. He also notes how serious Pope Francis is in begging for our prayers. At the end of every talk, he asks for our prayers. He shows us what type of reform he's planning for the Church. When you hear all the talk of reform in the Vatican, people meant administrative and finance and governance issues, but Pope Francis is launching a reform at the root of who he is as a disciple and apostle. He's set an example of the reform of the priesthood to go out and meet the people where they're at. He's going to challenge us by his actions even more than John Paul and Benedict. Scot said he recalled yesterday's show about the book “Rebuilt” about a parish that went looking for the lost sheep. It's been clear to Scot that Pope Francis thinks about going out seeking the lost. Scot said it's clear to him that many people are taking a new look at the Church because of Pope Francis and he's reaching a much broader audience. Greg said it's obvious Pope Francis is one who feels the need to reach out and be with the people. He recalled a story in Argentina where he told his parish priests to go out and find those who weren't coming to church, maybe even opening storefront chapels. His priority is finding souls, not necessarily following all the ways that things have been done. He's much more concerned with practicality. We had this flow from John Paul, with a great media presence, to Benedict, a great theologian, to Francis who isn't as great with media or as great a theologian, but is good with both and with bringing those things to the people. Scot said Pope Francis is about making a Church that prays for one another. Susan said that first moment when the Pope came on the balcony and just stood there. But once he got started, he captivated the entire square of 100,000 people and they fell silent. He reminds us to whom we pray and for whom we pray. Scot asked Fr. Roger what he's learned reading about Pope Francis in Spanish materials. Fr. Roger said he sees how intelligent he is, able to talk about many different issues with deeply Catholic vision. He also struggled with his celibacy in the seminary, falling in love with a girl and deciding to that he loved God more. It's a beautiful and sincere admission and it allows him to relate to a lot of young people. In another interview, he gives a very strong statement on dealing with priests who abuse children, saying that such priests should be removed because they can't be reformed and you can't take chances. As for failures with men or women or alcohol, he is very firm that you can't serve two masters. His embrace of poverty shows how committed he is personally to this vision even when it was inconvenient. He not only wanted to relate to the poor in material poverty, but also show it's not an obstacle to following the Lord. While many are focusing on Pope Francis' tenderness to the overlooked of society, it is a fruit of a lifetime of love for the least, but at the same time he is able to teach with great clarity and firmness. Scot noted in Dwight Duncan's column in the Pilot in which he related that when Cardinal Bergoglio was named a cardinal, he didn't want to pay the usual $6,000 for the complete set of vestments, so he bought cheap cloth and asked a religious sister to sew them. Greg said at the conclave he had been telling other cardinals about how much of a deal he got on his airfare and then told Argentinians not to come to his inauguration, but instead to the give the money to the poor. It's his legitimate way of being, not putting on airs of false humility. People like this, that he's not so attached to the material things of the world. It's not a media strategy, but it has a great effect on people. So much of the western world measures us by what we can buy and what we can consume. We trade our dignity for our consumer goods. But this is a sign that you can be the Supreme Pontiff and yet you can be simple. Scot said he's proven himself to be a pope of gestures. Today it was announced that on Holy Thursday, rather than in St. Peter's, the Mass of the Lord's Supper will be held at a youth prison where he will wash the feet of inmates. It was Cardinal Bergoglio's custom to celebrate Holy Thursday in hospitals and prisons. Susan said she celebrated with Deacon Jim Greer, head of hospital and chaplain ministries, at the symbolism of this act. She said Pope Francis has also called the owner of the newsstand in Buenos Aires where he used to get his daily paper to thank him for his prayers and tell him he won't be coming. But Susan said what disturbs her is when this is used to compare him to what came before. This is not either-or, but both-and. Fr. Roger said yesterday it was said announced he had given out 3,000 tickets for the poor of Rome to come to the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass at St. Peter's Basilica earlier in the day and then going to the prison later. Pope Francis is shining a laser beam on this subset of people of whom Jesus said “I was in prison and you visited me.” There are millions across the globe who will not have Mass on Holy Thursday and this is an extraordinary gesture to them. Scot said on Saturday in the meeting with journalists, Pope Francis revealed how he picked the name Francis. Scot said he had assumed most cardinals went into the conclave with a name in the back of their minds. He was surprised that Pope Francis only picked the name at the last minute. Greg said he had asked Cardinal Seán that very question, comparing it to young couples who marry thinking about names for their children. Cardinal Seán said he's never given it any thought. Greg finds it reassuring that they didn't go with a name picked. Scot said before there was a lot of buzz about Cardinal Seán, he joked with Cardinal Seán that there was a pool about whether he would pick Pope Patrick or Pope Francis. He thinks it unfathomable that it wouldn't come up at all somewhere in the back of your mind. This is a name that will define him for eternity and he picked a momentous one. Susan claims that she had predicted the next pope would be Pope Francis, although she had a different cardinal in mind. Scot said a number of cardinals have talked about their awareness of the Holy Spirit's presence with them as they voted. Fr. Roger said Cardinal O'Brien was on EWTN with him the day after and admitted he'd never really known Cardinal Bergoglio before the conclave and what was remarkable how everyone in the conclave came to know that this was the pope for the Church at this time. Many cardinals said it's very much like a retreat and they're not kibbitzing between votes. 2nd segment: This week's benefactor card raffle winner is Patricia Noone from Stow, MA She wins the booklet “Way of the Cross at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy” and the audio CD “The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality” by Matthew Kelly. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 3rd segment: Scot said locally in the archdiocese, five appointments are announced in today's Pilot of priests being appointed pastors of new pastoral collaboratives as part of Disciples in Mission Phase one. Fr. Paul E. Ritt has been appointed Pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish and St. Maria Goretti Parish in Lynnfield, effective June 4. He was Pastor of St. John the Evangelist, Chelmsford. Fr. Thomas A. Mahoney has been appointed Pastor of St. Joseph Parish and St. Luke Parish in Belmont, effective June 4. He was Pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Belmont. Fr. Daniel L. Riley has been appointed as Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, St. Anne Parish, St. James Parish, and St. John the Baptist Parish, all in Salem, effective June 4. He was Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Weymouth. Fr. John E. Sheridan has been appointed Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Middleboro-Rochester and Pastor of Sts. Martha and Mary Parish in Lakeville, effective June 4. He was Pastor of St. James Parish in Salem. Fr. Brian L. Flynn has been appointed Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and St. Mary Parish in Lynn, effective June 4. He was previously Pastor of St. Mary in Lynn. Three more appointments related to Phase 1 are still to be made. Greg said we're in the initial stages and this is exactly what the archdiocese said would happen: In some cases the pastors would come from within the collaborative and others from outside. Scot said one of the patterns is that a priest who's been in the parish only a couple years, they will stay, whereas pastors who've been there a long time will be moved to new assignments. Susan said everyone in the Pastoral Center are working daily to support the new pastors and their collaboratives. Greg said when you're connecting parishes that are near each other, people in recent years have tended to gravitate to the parish they prefer based on how they like the pastor or the music or religious education. When you have someone who's been in the parish for many years, people become used to him and his style. Meanwhile someone who is new to the area is able to adjust himself to the needs of the area and how they do things. Scot said it can be difficult on a human level to say goodbye to parishioners when you don't know what your next assignment will be. Fr. Roger said every priest is supposed to be a missionary at heart. At the same time, canon law gives pastors rights in that they don't have to move except in extreme circumstances, so it shows great obedience and openness to the needs of the Church in offering their resignations. Fr. Roger noted that people wanted to keep Jesus for themselves, but he told them that he needed to go out and preach to others as well. Also in the Pilot are the obituaries of two 90-year-old priests, Fr. Joseph Lukas and Fr. William B. O'Connor. In the Anchor this week were the 2013 Pro-Life Essay Content winners, themed “Faith opens our eyes to human life in all its grandeur and beauty”. The contest is open to all students enrolled in diocesan schools and religious education programs. There are winners in the high school and junior high school categories and they are read aloud at the annual diocesan Pro-Life Mass and printed in the Anchor. Susan said the high school is extraordinary. Scot said a week from today it won't be Lent and so Scot asked everyone how they did on their Lenten resolutions.

Summary of today's show: Our usual thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Gregory Tracy, and Fr. Roger Landry consider the news headlines of the week, including the Catholic response to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut; the beginning of a new online faith formation course for the Year of Faith called Catholic Faith Essentials; local children winning a national artwork competition for the Missionary Childhood Association; Catholic Voices USA training in Boston for media evangelization; Women Affirming Life Advent breakfast; an award for My Brother's Keeper; restoring a 100-year-old organ; and preparing for Christmas. Listen to the show: Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: Newtown, CT; Catholic Faith Essentials; Missionary Childhood Association; Catholic Voices USA; Preparing for Christmas 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and announced that next week we'll be running “best of” shows next week while the staff takes some time off. This afternoon, Cardinal Seán is celebrating a Mass for the staff of the Pastoral Center. The Pilot is taking a hiatus next week as well, but also preparing for the ordination of Bishop Deeley as they come back with a 50-page special edition. The ordination Mass is Friday, January 4 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Fr. Roger Landry said there's a new venerable in the Church that many will know. Pope Paul VI has been declared venerable, meaning that after a lengthy study of his entire life, he has been declared to have lived Christian virtues to a high degree. Pope Paul led the Church through a very difficult time in society and in the life of the Church with all the upheaval of the Sixties and Seventies. In 500 or 1,000 years, what Paul VI wrote in Humanae Vitae will continue to be revered as preaching an important truth that was proclaimed heroically out of season. Scot said his primary memory of Pope Paul VI was hearing of his death from his parents. Susan said she has more memories of the Pope, of traveling to Rome during a Holy Year and going to an audience with the Pope. As the Pope came in, her son was lifted up to the Pope who blessed and kissed the child. Her son later wrote about the sense of importance attached to that moment for the rest of his life. After the audience, people crowded around to kiss the boy's head. Scot said if miracles are attributed to the intercessory prayers to Paul VI he could be then beatified and canonized. One miracle is already being evaluated for his beatification. Fr. Roger encouraged listeners to ask the Lord specifically through the intercession of Venerable Paul VI for any needs they might have. Scot said the big news across the country is the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, last Friday. The coverage in Catholic news is slightly different, with focus on the Church's response. Scot said this could have been any community near us. It was not at all unusual. Cardinal Seán preached about this at all of his Masses last weekend. Greg said it reminded him a little of 9/11 in how it shocked and shook people. Like 9/11 people are turning to their faith for answers to this senseless violence. The story in the Pilot was about the Mass at 11:30 that was scheduled for the Rite of Blessing of the Child in the Womb. He tied together the horror people felt, calling for a ban on assault weapons, calling for improved mental health care. He recalled the Feast of the Holy Innocents and how in this time of joy of Christmas there was also a great sadness of the loss of the innocents in Bethlehem. Scot said in the face of this madness, everyone wants to do something. One of our young Catholics in this Archdiocese, a young woman who was just confirmed in Needham, organized one of the largest candlelight vigils in the area. Jackie Arrondo, 16, of St. Joseph Parish wanted to do something. She rallied support from everywhere in town and 70 people came despite the cold rain that evening. Susan also said she heard from a friend who sent out emails to her friends, asking everyone to pray daily for one of the victims and their family. Scot said one of the faces of the Church's response has been Msgr. Bob Weiss, pastor of St. Rose of Lima parish in Newtown. Fr. Roger said you could see the graces of his priestly ordination working through him. No one is ever trained for this as a priest. He had been clear that there are no magic words in a time like this. Just being present to someone, they show that God is with those in pain. Only God can give the definitive answer. The second thing way he proclaimed was by his tears. He broke down on national television and its important for everyone to see that we Christians grieve, but we grieve differently. We don't grieve as if there is no hope. We had tremendous confidence in the salvation of these first-graders. Many of the parents have also given witness to their Christian faith. Fr. Roger said he changed his own homilies this past weekend to confront this reality because it's on everyone's mind. He tried to say that the one who mourns most is the One who lost 28 children that day, but that's not where God the Father stops. He had sent His own Son into a world that was even worse than ours, even more violent. A man could kill his own family or his slaves for any reason. Herod could slaughter all the children legally. But Jesus came into that world and redeemed and over the course of time, we have built a culture on the Prince of Peace, a culture that respects other human beings. the most important thing we need to recognize that our culture needs God and that's the biggest thing we need to change. Fr. Roger said he was happy at the interfaith prayer service that President Obama spoke at that no one was ashamed to turn to God. Scot said most of the opinion pieces in the Pilot deal with this and Scot said John Garvey's is one of the best. Greg said Garvey says that we've devalued human life and in the end we're reaping what we've sown. He writes about what all these recent mass murderers have in common including a lack of love and hope. Jesus gives us love and hope. It's not inconsequential then when people tell us to keep our faith out of the public square. I think we won't make real headway with the problem unless we change the culture, and that is a job for us, not for the government or the psychiatric profession. The culture that young men grow up in is one where violence is not just present but glamorized. At the national and corporate levels we see unjust wars and the arms trade. At the state level, capital punishment. At the individual level we give constitutional protection to abortion, to video games that simulate assault and murder, and in some places to assisted suicide. We teach our children that they are autonomous moral actors, responsible for defining their values. This produces a culture where the strong decide the fate of the weak. Then when something like this happens we want the government to protect us from the natural consequences of our own folly. When Cain killed Abel, he tried to deflect the Lord's inquiry by suggesting that we are each in charge of our own affairs: “Am I my brother's keeper?” We have to relearn Cain's lesson. Yes, I am my brother's keeper. All life is sacred. We must teach our children habits of virtue, not leave them to chart their own course through the moral life. 2nd segment: In the Pilot this week, we learn that the Archdiocese of Boston is beginning an online faith formation course starting on January 7 and continuing for 30 Monday nights in total. People can participate in their own homes or as groups in parishes. They will be webcast live at 7pm on Mondays or viewers can watch the recordings at their convenience. r. Roger said online learning is becoming more popular and he's thrilled that the Archdiocese of Boston is piloting a program like this. Especially in this year of Faith when we're all called to live our faith better. Fr. Roger hopes to encourage his own parishioners to participate. It's not just for Catholics in the Archdiocese or Massachusetts or even the US. We could have people throughout the English-speaking parts of the world because there aren't similar offerings. Scot said this is free and he hopes that people from everywhere will participate. Also in the Pilot, the Women Affirming Life Advent breakfast took place on December 15. Susan said it was right after the Newtown shooting and it affected all those there. More than 300 people attended. She said it was good for them to be together for Mass and breakfast, especially in the busy-ness of Advent. The Cardinal spoke about it in his homily and also spoke about a woman in the Midwest who'd had quintuplets in the early 1960s and gained some fame for her openness to life who recently died. She said Msgr. James Moroney also addressed the group and offered a gentle wit and great insight and comforting words. Another story in the Pilot is a story about two local grade-school students who won a national artwork contest for Christmas. They do this contest every year and the winners go to Washington, DC, for a Mass in the Basilica. There are 24 winners nationwide and having two from Boston is a big deal. Dominic Udoakang, grade 4, from Cathedral Elementary School in Boston and Jacinta Jaranja, grade 4, from St. Patrick School in Lowell, were the winners. Also in the Pilot, Catholic Voices USA will hold training for laypeople in the Pastoral Center at the beginning of March. Fr. Roger said it prepares bright, young Catholics to be defenders of the Church and her teachings in the media in particular. The group has already had an impact during the HHS mandate debates. Young people throughout New England will be trained to become good evangelizers. It's not just goodwill and knowledge, but technique is also important for being effective. The training isn't just for TV and radio appearances, but also for people engaging family members, friends, and local newspapers. They will learn how to frame issues and help people according to their own categories to come to the truth. Scot said they've already done trainings in Washington, DC, and New York. They've had hundreds of applications for the limited number of spots so Scot encouraged people to apply early. Also in the Pilot are two groups advancing toward ordination as Permanent Deacons. Greg said Cardinal Seán has been supportive of the ministry of permanent deacons in the Archdiocese. In recent years, ordinations have increased from every two years to annual. He said the Pilot is working with the Office of Permanent Deacons to give more visibility to the ministry of deacons. The 11 men who became acolytes are John D. Barry; John H. Beagan. Jr.; John J. Burkly; Paul G. Coletti; Richard J. Cussen; Timothy F. Donohue; Joseph R. Flocco; Joseph P. Harrington; William M. Jackson: Kevin P. Martin, Jr.; and William R. Proulx. The 10 men entering formation, and their home parishes, are: Timothy Booker, St. Bridget Parish (Abington); Paul Carroll, St. Theresa of Lisieux Parish (Sherborn); Joseph Dorlus, St. Angela Parish (Mattapan); James Kearney, St. Mary Parish (Wrentham); Kelley McCormick, St. Mary of the Assumption Parish (Dedham); Jonathan Mosely. St. Bernadette Parish (Randolph); Charles Rossignol, Immaculate Conception Parish (Marlborough); Jose Torres, St. Benedict Parish (Somerville); Roger Vierra, St. Helen Parish (Norwell): and Thomas Walsh, St. William Parish (Tewksbury). Scot said our friends from My Brother's Keeper, Jim and Terry Orcutt, have won a national award from Holy Cross Family Ministries. Also in the Anchor is a great story from St. Anthony in New Bedford about efforts to raise funds for their 100-year-old organ. Fr. Roger said some of the greatest organists in the country have given concerts there on this organ which is a masterpiece. Restoring an organ means all the wooden and leather parts which corrode over time need to be replaced. He said we can't depend only on the poor people who live in inner-city New Bedford to pick up the whole cost. Also in both newspapers is a lot of information about preparing for the last week of Advent and Christmas. Scot asked Susan about her preparations for Christmas. She said she tells herself that Jesus will come whether we are ready or not. Susan said she was in a store recently and was appalled at what is being sold for Christmas cards. She wishes we could all remember the reason for the season. She couldn't find a single box of Christmas cards with a religious theme. Scot said he's noticed a lot of his Catholic friends have started sending cards that said Season's Greetings or Happy Holidays, but this year almost all of the cards he's received from Catholics have said Merry Christmas. Fr. Roger wrote in his column this week that the great scandal of Christmas is that there was no room at the inn and that we have to get right what the innkeepers got wrong. Too often we make those who come to Mass only on Christmas and Easter unwelcome. The New Evangelization is about making people welcome to come back again and again. We have to make these people feel welcome by our actions, by helping them feel comfortable being there and showing our love to them. Scot said the Pilot has a section each week called Faith Alive, which is a response to Cardinal Seán's desire to have more faith formation material. The last few weeks it has focused on Advent and this week on Christmas.

Summary of today's show: Fr. Rick Martignetti grew up in the North End of Boston before becoming a Franciscan priest of the Order of Friars Minor. The Lord has returned him to his old neighborhood where he serves at St. Leonard's Parish among the people he grew up with. Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams talk with Fr. Rick, who was at St. Joseph's in Wakefield where he was preparing to speak on the third night of the 2012 God of This City Tour. They discussed how to discern God's call in our lives and how we can best respond in love and faithfulness. Listen to the show: Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today's guest(s): Fr. Rick Martignetti, OFM Links from today's show: Today's topics: Fr. Rick Martignetti, OFM 1st segment: Scot Landry wished everyone a happy feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Scot welcomed Fr. Matt from St. Joseph Parish in Wakefield where they're preparing for the third night of the God of This City Tour. He said they will be having Mass at St. Joseph's for the feast tonight. For him, Our Lady reminds him of the dignity and humanity of the unborn. He noted that in that miraculous image, Our Lady is pregnant with Jesus. He said Our Lady has been the protagonist for his priestly ministry. Scot noted that Cardinal Sean published a rare non-Friday message on his blog today about this feast and also gave a major address in Spanish in Rome today at a conference on the Church in the Americas. 12-12-12 is an interesting date, as it represents the last time in this century that the month, day and year will all match. But December 12 for Catholics, during this Year of Faith, is also a very important day. First, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI (@pontifex), begins his tweeting ministry, symbolizing in a new way the Church's embrace of technology and tools of communication as a way to share the eternal and saving Truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The other reason for the day's importance, and one of the factors in Pope Benedict's choosing of this day to launch his newest communication initiative, is that it is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who we revere as the Mother of the New Evangelization and the Patroness of all the Americas (North, South and Central). After Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego 481 years ago, one of the most rapid periods of evangelization in the history of the Church began. During this Year of Faith, I ask all Catholics to study the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego. Our Catholic brothers and sisters from Mexico and in Central and South American countries are devoted to her motherly care, but many Catholics raised in the United States are not as aware of what happened in December of 1531 as I hope they soon will be. Now is a great time for this connection with Our Lady of Guadalupe to be established, renewed or deepened. We can begin by attending Mass and praying a family Rosary on December 12. Scot asked Fr. Matt how the first two nights of the tour have gone. Fr. Matt said the first two nights were in Framingham and Marshfield. The focus of the first night was the meaning of the word “revelation”, which literally means lifting the veil. He used as an example a scene from the movie Elf where the main character meets a fake Santa and is able to tell the difference between the real Santa and the fake because he knows him. The second night featured Jason Deramo speaking on being called. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Rick to the show. He posed to him and Fr. Matt the questions that Pope Benedict have answered on his twitter account today. First was How we can celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives. Fr. Rick said anything that moves us closer to Jesus is good. For some it might be going to Mass more than Sundays. It's a way to say the Lord that I'm here not just for obligation, but because I love you. Scot posed this one to Fr. Matt: “How can faith in Jesus be lived in a world without hope?” Fr. Matt quoted the Holy Father's response: “We can be certain that a believer is never alone. God is the solid rock upon which we build our lives and his love is always faithful.” The third question was “Any suggestions on how to be more prayerful when we are so busy with the demands of work, families and the world?” Fr. Rick said we're all so busy, but we don't have to run 24/7. Sometimes we need to push back for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Slowing down is an art which takes practice. Scot's sense that the questions the Holy Father will answer from the hashtag #askpontifex will be the bigger questions of life. Scot asked Fr. Rick about his background. Fr. Rick said he's from Boston originally and it's been 16 years since he's lived here. For the last four years he was at Franciscan University of Steubenville, which has about 2,500 students all on fire for their faith. He said he grew up knowing the friars at his home parish of St. Leonard's Parish and Christopher COlumbus high School in the North End. He got away from the faith in college and a pilgrimage got him back into his faith and the friars were there for him at 23 years old when he was asking the big questions of life. It was an experience of coming home in coming back to the friars. Fr. Rick said he is with the Order of Friars Minor and he is in the Immaculate Conception Province. St. Leonard's is their formation house for young men discerning whether they are called to the order. From there, they could become novices with the order. Fr. Rick was struck by the friars as men of prayer, who made Our Lady part of their lives and spent time in daily prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Daily prayer has become more important than food or oxygen. The Holy Spirit does the real work. All we have to do is lead people to Christ and set up a structure for them to hear him daily. In time, Jesus will reveal to the young men and young women where they are called to be. Fr. Matt asked how he responds to the question, How do I know? Fr. Rick said young people often want to know everything immediately. He encourages them to go slowly and begin a life of discernment, not just a program of discernment. We start to take steps based on hunches. He was drawn to the Franciscans and spent time with them and the Lord confirmed this as the months went by as he felt more and more at home with these men. He was surprised and excited to be back in Boston at this time. He loves what Fr. Matt and Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults are doing. He thinks the faith is taking root in Boston again among young people looking for Christ. This wasn't going on when he left 16 years ago. Scot said it's uncommon for a priest, religious or diocesan, to be given the task of pastoral care of the community that nurtured him. He said it's been fun coming back to his roots. He could have ended up anywhere but it's a beautiful gift to be called back to Boston and the Italian community in the North End with the festivals. He grew up doing that. Scot said the Church looks to Franciscan University for the way it conducts ministry for young people. He asked what Fr. Rick has learned. He said the summer conferences get the most attention. They are based on the belief that young people can meet Jesus, have fun, and receive fulfilment. They have wonderful speakers, great music, and the sacraments. They lead them to Jesus and let Him do the rest. To speak to young people today, you have to be into modern technology and music. Fr. Matt agreed that music plays a huge role. We were created to worship God and that includes singing. It's how God has wired us. It's important for people to learn the Church's music, from chant to modern hymns and even Christian music in popular genres. He's also learned that large event gatherings—like conferences, World Youth Day, the March for Life—they learn they are not alone and they see the Church on the national or international level. In those gatherings you see priests in habits and collars and religious in their habits. All of this is meant to help young people come to a personal encounter with Jesus in his Church. Franciscan University packages these dynamic practices together and offer them in a weekend format. Scot asked about people who don't see how Christian rap or heavy metal can lead young people to God. Fr. Rick said the Lord transcends culture and taste. The Lord is everywhere; how do we express our love for him best. The trouble comes from trying to put Jesus in a box. Jesus is for everyone an he came to set us free. When we take our need to worship and bring it to Jesus, we discover our purpose. 3rd segment: This week's benefactor card raffle winner is Denise Sherman from Lakeville She wins two CD's from Michael John Poirier: “The Voice of A Child: Advent” and “The Voice of a Child: Christmas”. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Scot asked why Fr. Rick is speaking on the third night of the tour. He noted that it's Prince Spaghetti Day (a reference for older folks who remember the old TV commercials). He said he will talk to tonight about how God equips those he calls. They will look at the story of Jonah who finds himself in the belly of a fish, realizing he needs to rethink his life. He is a model for going in the right direction and having the courage to be a voice for God. Fr. Rick said St. Francis has a beautiful story with some key turning points. One is when he encounters a man suffering from leprosy. He'd avoided people like that his whole life, but he feels the movement of God in his life so much he embraces and holds the man. He later said that's when everything in his life changed. The Lord led him to the people with leprosy and everything changed. What he'd been avoiding his whole life was actually the means of salvation. From then on, he lived among them. Fr. Rick said his experience is that ministry is called out of him; other people sometimes call you to something. He feels more comfortable that something is of God when others ask him to do it. He used to be terrified of public speaking and being called to the priesthood, he tried it and met God there. When Fr. Rick thought of teaching he was terrified, but when he thought of it as faith sharing that became do-able. Before he preaches he looks for the personal message in the Scripture and then share it with others, inviting them to a space where they can hear something. Once the focus shifted from him to Jesus, it got a lot easier. Scot said beyond the music and speaker, at God of This City, people take concerns on their minds and bring them to the Lord. Fr. Rick said where the Church is alive and being renewed you find Eucharistic adoration. People don't know the power of just being in the presence of Jesus. Scot asked him why Eucharistic adoration is so important to him. Fr. Rick said the vows he takes of poverty, chastity and obedience only make sense when he meets Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus offered his body on the cross, but it makes offering of the body for celibacy seems a natural response. Scot said another aspect of tonight will be confessions. When people pray in an intense way before the Eucharist, they feel the call to the sacrament of confession. Fr. Rick said he was away from the sacraments in college and when he finally back after 7 years. He found receiving Christ through his priest felt welcoming and an experience of coming home. He said the Lord stands with his arms wide open waiting to embrace you. Of St. Anthony Shrine, he said it's a beautiful ministry and it's beautiful to see people stop in all day long to hear confessions. He talked about taking people on pilgrimages to Assisi and how permeated by the spirit of St. Francis it is. Fr. Rick said they try to keep St. Leonard's open all night long for the sake of the people visiting the North End. He said about once per month the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults also does Jesus in the North End for college students and young adults. He said it's a haven for those in a busy neighborhood needing a place to be quiet for a few moments, which is just as important as finding a good cannoli. Scot said you can see the amazing photos from the God of This City events at or at the Archdiocese of Boston's Facebook page at .

Summary of today's show: Our Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Antonio Enrique look at the news headlines of the week, including Cardinal Dolan's declaration of the US as a mission territory; a survey that shows falling confidence in the Church and all organized religion; a slew of new priest assignments; a ministry that cares for ailing priests; new leadership for the Sisters of St. Joseph; and vocations retreats and pro-life boot camps in the Fall River diocese. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Antonio Enrique, editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: US mission territory; low confidence in religion; ministry to priests; pro-life boot camp 1st segment: Scot Landry and Susan Abbott caught up on their week. Scot noted that his young sons, Christian and Dominic, are in the studio today. Dominic is six years old today. The Pilot has returned from its two-week hiatus and there's a lot of news to catch up on plus a provocative piece by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. 2nd segment: Scot and Susan welcomed Fr. Roger and Antonio to the show. Scot said Cardinal Dolan wrote a column that called the Archdiocese of New York and all of the United States is a mission territory. “I was raised – as were most of you – to think of the missions as ‘way far away' – and, to be sure, we can never forget our sacred duty to the foreign missions,” the New York archbishop wrote on his “Gospel in the Digital Age” blog. “But, we are a mission territory, too. Every diocese is. And every committed Catholic is a missionary. This is at the heart of what Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI call the New Evangelization.” Susan said she was reminded of a conversation with an Irish Holy Ghost Father 15 years ago who had just come from Africa. He told her that the US is a mission country needing a second evangelization, which is harder than the first. Susan noted how Cardinal Dolan spoke from the heart and warned that we've taken our Catholic faith for granted. He said we all need the Year of Faith. Cardinal Dolan was referencing a speech by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia that his archdiocese is a mission territory. Antonio said many Catholics live their faith as if they just happen to be Catholic. He said the religious understanding of life doesn't go very deep anymore and hopefully we renew our focus on passing the faith onto the next generation. Scot quoted from the Cardinal's blog: Because, guess where we're at: We're with the apostles on Pentecost Sunday as we embrace the New Evangelization. No more taking our Catholic faith for granted! No more relaxing in the great things the church has accomplished in the past! Cynicism is replaced by confidence … Hand-wringing by hand-folding … Dullness by dare … Waiting for people to come back replaced by going out to get them … Presuming that people know the richness of their Catholic faith replaced by a realistic admission that they do not … From taking the Church for granted as a “big corporation,” to a tender care for a Church as small and fragile as a tiny mustard seed Jesus spoke about… Keeping our faith to ourselves to letting it shine to others! This is the New Evangelization! The Archdiocese of New York is a mission territory! The whole Church is! Our parishes are! Culture is! The world is! You and I are missionaries! No longer can we coast on the former fame, clout, buildings, numbers, size, money, and accomplishments of the past. As a matter of fact, all of this may have dulled us into taking our faith for granted. No more! We are missionaries. And, it starts inside. Fr. Roger said at the same time as there will be a Synod of Bishops from around the world on the new evangelization in the Vatican in October we'll be launching the Year of Faith for us to re-examine our own faith and re-found it in Christ in our daily life. He said he often talks about the New Evangelization in retreats and talks about the methods of the New Evangelization. Pope Benedict said in a Jubilee Year address that the first method of the New Evangelization is prayer. We need to be praying far more for people to come and experience the fullness of the Lord's love as we have in our own lives. Then we need to be docile to the Holy Spirit, who makes the converts to the faith. We must become more and more united to God. Pope Benedict is asking us to reflect more on our faith. Scot said the Holy Father has called the Year of Faith because of a crisis of faith in the West, as seen in a recent Gallup survey that shows a low in confidence in the Church by Catholics and in organized religion in general. Forty-six percent of Catholics express “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence” in the church and organized religion, compared to 56 percent of Protestants. Overall, 44 percent of Americans expressed that same level of confidence in church/organized religion. The percentage is slightly lower than what Gallup has found in recent years; in 2002, it was 45 percent and in 2007, 46 percent. “This follows a long-term decline in Americans' confidence in religion since the 1970s,” Gallup said. In 1973, 66 percent said they had a high level of confidence in religion. Antonio said it's not very surprising, given all the social unrest in the Sixties and movements to separate people from organized religion. He said maybe it's time to start the New Evangelization because we can see the effects of the last four decades which haven't been fulfilling to people. All the societal decline goes together with this decline in religion and so we can go out and announce the beauty of Christianity and the fulfillment found in God. Scot said a related finding is that American's confidence in other important societal institutions is also at an all-time low, so it's not just the church, but all institutions. Susan said it seems the whole country is in a funk. She said Scripture tells us we must always be ready to give reasons for our hope. (1 Peter 3:15) If we have no hope, where do we go? How do we more forward? The whole spiritual/not religious dichotomy shows the emptiness and loneliness when their is faith without community. She said we see it in our own Archdiocese when the pastoral planning proposal was made and was met by fear and suspicion. Scot said Cardinal Dolan said that cynicism needs to be replaced by confidence. Scot said when he sees that 46% of American Catholics have great confidence in the Church, he would have expected it to be a lot less. Fr. Roger said that number is about double weekly Mass attendance, so we have great reason to hope that there are a lot of people who could be ready to be invited back to Mass. He also noted that many institutions are much lower than the Church (like Congress which was in single digits), even though we really do want 100% to have total confidence in the Church. We are living in an anti-institutional, anti-authoritarian age. Confidence from top to bottom: military, small business, police, church/organized religion, banks, US Supreme Court, public schools, medical system, presidency, television news, newspapers, criminal justice system, organized labor, big business, HMOs, and Congress at the bottom. 3rd segment: This week's benefactor card raffle winner is Fr. Thomas Bouton of Dorchester, MA He wins a “Praying for our Priests” 3 Pack: “Praying for Our Priests” - A Book of prayers for the priesthood An audio CD of the Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy Chaplet with meditations on the priesthood An audio CD of the Rosary with meditations on the priesthood If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Scot announced all the recent priestly assignments made in recent weeks: Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Rodney J. Copp from pastor at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Waltham, to pastor at St. Gerard Majella Parish in Canton. The effective date of this action is Aug. 28, 2012. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has accepted the request of Father Robert R. Kennedy to resign as pastor at St. Monica-St. Augustine Parish in South Boston. The cardinal has also granted Father Kennedy senior pries/retirement status. The effective date of these actions is July 31,2012. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Thomas J. Powers as pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Lynnfield. This appointment is in addition to Father Powers' assignment as pastor at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Lynnfield. The effective date of this action is Aug. 1,2012. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father George C. Hines from pastor at St. Mary Parish in Wrentham and from pastor at St. Martha Parish in Plainville, to pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Medford. The effective date of this action is Aug. 1, 2012. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Frank J. Silva from pastor at Corpus Christi-St. Bernard Parish in Newton, to pastor at St. Margaret Parish in Burlington. The effective date of this action is Sept. 4, 2012. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Robert J. Carr from pastor at St. Benedict Parish in Somerville, to pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Quincy. The effective date of this action is Oct. 1,2012. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Very Reverend Thomas F. Nestor, V.F., from pastor at St. Eulalia Parish in Winchester, to pastor at St. Paul Parish in Hingham. The effective date of this action is Aug. 26, 2012. Scot, Susan, and Antonio discussed the priests they know and the affect it will have. Fr. Roger said anytime there's a change in pastors, it's a time for people in those parishes to bond themselves even more to Christ who sends the priests to serve in His name. Scot noted an article in the Pilot this week profiling Fr. Jim Flavin, a priest of the Archdiocese, who has been sent by Cardinal Seán to work at the St. John Vianney Center in Pennsylvania that provides pastoral care to priests and others in religious ministry who require spiritual and psychological care. He said the work he undertakes can restore a priest or a nun to ministry serving thousands of others in some cases. “If I get a priest healthy, that's a thousand people that get a priest, get the Eucharist, and get God in their lives. So, it's good work,” he said. Antonio liked Fr. Flavin's quote on the foolishness of youth which is also the gift of youth, that is that they think they can change the world. Scot thinks another quote relates to pastoral planning in the archdiocese: “We are getting to a point where we just give priests more work. Where there was one parish with four or five priests, now we are giving one priest four or five parishes,” he said. Scot mentioned Fr. Flavin's relationship with Dorchester native and movie actor Mark Wahlberg. Fr. Roger said the work of the Vianney Center is important because of the work they do for clergy who receive unique stresses in their work. How can a priest deal with the stress of hearing upsetting things in confession when they can't reveal it. So having a talented priest can minister to his brother priests, he can understand better than anyone else who isn't a priest. Fr. Roger said there are several centers like St. John Vianney Center around the country. Also in the Pilot is the 20th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Boston Black Catholic Choir. They had a Mass and gala dinner on June 30 at Boston College High School. Susan said it was pointed out in the article that their work is really a ministry of prayer. Scot said it can be difficult to start ministries but it's even harder to keep them going year after year. He said the choir does more than just sing in some churches, but travel all over to sing at conferences and other events as well. The Diocese of Fall River had its Quo Vadis high school vocation retreats days for young men to consider the call to the priesthood or to just be better formed as Catholic men whatever their vocation. They've had one of their largest gatherings this year and already some of the men entering the seminary now have been on previous Quo Vadis Days. Scot referred to another local story about the Sisters of St. Joseph, a local religious order, who have elected a new leadership team. Susan said Sr. Margaret Sullivan, one of the new leaders, used to work in the Pastoral Center and misses her terribly but wishes her well. In her reflections at the end of the liturgy, Sister Rosemary Brennan said, “Each transition of leadership dares us to dream we can co-create a future which ‘moves always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction.' The passion and enthusiasm we have for being Sisters of St. Joseph and Associates is what impels us to live - knowing that relationship is always at the heart of who we are; and when we find ourselves in situations which test our relationships we will always seek to live in and through our charism - a charism that is our unique gift to our Church and our world.” Also in the Anchor this week is a story about the pro-life boot camp taking place on the campus of Stonehill College in Easton. Fr. Roger said it was founded last year to help young pro-life Catholics to receive real training to be effective agents in the culture of life. Several years ago some members of the youth group wanted to set up a training program for them so they could then train others. The diocesan pro-life apostolate took on the program, sent a couple of young people to a boot camp in Texas, and then set up the first sold-out boot camp in Easton last year. Fr. Roger said he will be participating and a number of other pro-life leaders will be coming from around the country to help. Scot said Jaymie Wolfe has a great column on what she learned from her time serving three months on a grand jury, especially 16 particular findings.

Summary of today's show: Our regular Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Gregory Tracy discussed the week's headlines including the annual Co-Workers in the Vineyard conference; Emily Stimpson's new book that gives hope to single Catholic women; keeping your kids Catholic during vacation; Clergy assignments; and concrete steps that parishes can take to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Listen to the show: 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 Fall River diocese; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: 1st segment: Scot and Susan caught up on their week and Susan said it's been a difficult week for her as she's been to the funerals of three people close to her. She talked about the hope and consolation of her faith. They also talked about the Co-Workers in the Vineyard Conference and spoke about encountering listeners to the show. Scot also discussed his recent work preparing for the next phase of the educational campaign for the effort against legalized physician-assisted suicide in the Commonwealth. He recorded some talks that will be posted on the campaign's website . 2nd segment: Scot said the there is an annual conference in the spring for clergy and the laity called Co-Workers in the Vineyard. Susan said what's impressive is that whole parish staffs come to the conference together. She said the theme was excellence in pastoral leadership. The keynote speaker was Fr. Michael Keating and Msgr William Fay gave an update on the pastoral planning process. Cardinal Seán began the day with Mass. Janet Benestad gave a talk on physician-assisted suicide. Scot said that presentation will be available in a different format on the assisted suicide education website. Susan said there was a panel discussion as well with a number of pastors. They discussed what it was like to enter a parish as a new pastor and to bring parishes together. Scot said a number of ministries support and sponsor this event. Greg tracy said they put this story on the front page because they want to raise awareness of the event and increase attendance at these types of events. It can be easy to get focused on your day to day work. Scot mentioned that there are two seminars next week on the same topic, one for clergy and the other for laity. The topic is the book Women, Sex, and the Church: The Case for Catholic Teaching. Fr. Roger said they have a large article in The Anchor about the book “The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years” because he often hears from young faithful Catholic women on their despair at finding a good husband and remaining single in those years. He found the book to be a great book and he said Emily is a tremendous writer. Fr. Roger said any young woman listening to the show and is in this situation would find this book to be a great help. He said parents, friends, and priests could also read the book to understand how to help support women in these circumstances because a lot of the time we inadvertently cause pain to those in these circumstances by what we say, even when well meaning. While working on a story featuring vocations, Stimpson had spent some time talking to nuns, priests and married couples. She listened to them say, “The vocation fills the desires of your hear!.” Well. she would counter, “God never drags you kicking and screaming into any vocation you don't wont to go into, so why would being single be called a vocation?” “We don't want to be single; this isn't filling the desires of my heart,” said Stimpson. Few ever cry about becoming a nun or priest or being married, she added. It wasn't until she talked to a priest who was the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Denver that she got her answer. “He said there is no single vocation,” said Stimpson, meaning there is no vocation that does not involve the consecration of one's self as a gift to God and others. “That was helpful in that I'm not imagining things - that makes sense to me. There's not a lot out there explaining why it's not a vocation.” ”There are millions of single people around going, ‘Hey! What about us?'” continued Stimpson. “So even though it's been made clear that there is no single vocation, no one had really developed why that was the case. That's when I realized how there was so much imprecision in how people talked about vocation. Sometimes they're talking about vocations to holiness, or how my job is a vocation - all are using these words but not in the same way. We need to sit down and take 3 step back and define our terms, so that's what I try to do in the first chapter.” “Women want a faithful spouse who won't ask us to commit a mortal sin before or after marriage, and those guys are not easy to come by. We have to own the situation,” she said. “that we've made this choice and made the decision to shop from this very small pool of eligible men. So when you see it and own it, and there's an explanation, that's what helps. Being told to console ourselves for this made-up primary vocation doesn't help women.” Susan thought the distinction that there is no vocation to the single life to be very interesting. She said she sympathizes with how difficult it is to me someone today. Fr. Roger said there will be another article next week in which she talks about practical ways women can deal with this situation and can continue to enjoy life and take advantage of their free time to do good, to focus on what they have, and make themselves attractive to potential suitors. In the Pilot, this week, Susan has a column writing about Faith Formation during vocation. The primary place for faith development is in the family where parents are their children's first and most long-lasting religious education teachers. Parents are not alone in this work - parishes partner with parents in the faith formation of youngsters. During the summer months, when children and teenagers are not in school, families have a special opportunity to nurture the faith in family life. She had six concrete suggestions for families. She said first that we continue to go to Mass every Sunday. We don't take a vacation from worshipping God. They can also take time to pray with their children, even if they begin with something simple like asking God to bless the dinner. They can share books on the faith and she suggested people could go to the Daughters of St. Paul store in Dedham or the Carmelite book shop in Peabody. They can go to confession together as a family. On long car rides, have a time when the electronics are off and have a conversation. She also said there are great feast days for saints in the summer. Find out the saint of the day online and talk about it. Scot further suggested taking a family day trip to a beautiful church or shrine or retreat center. Greg concurred that some of the best conversations he's had with his kids have been on car rides, whether long or short. Susan said it's a captive audience and Greg said it's often one of the few times that you can be alone with the child and speak heart to heart. Fr. Roger said Susan has all the main thoughts there. He added that people might want to attend daily Mass when they can as well. He added that as families travel that they should enjoy the beauty of God's creation because it reminds us of the Creator who has done all this for us and to thank Him for it. Scot said in the Pilot this week also was a new official announcement that Fr. John L. Sullivan was leaving as Pastor of St. Gerard Majella in Canton as of June 5 and will be accepting a new pastoral assignment. There was also the official announcement that Fr. Kevin Sepe will leave St. Francis in Braintree to become Secretary for Pastoral Life and Leadership. Also in the newspaper are four profiles of priests who will be accepting senior priest/retirement status: Fr. Richard Crowley, Fr. Henry Jennings, Fr. James Rafferty, and Fr. Francis Daley. Fr. Jennings has been at St. Joseph Parish in Somerville for 45 years, since 1966. They also note that Fr. James Rafferty was ordained in his home parish of Holy Name in Roxbury because there were 5 men from the same parish being ordained together. 3rd segment: Scot said Fr. Roger's editorial this week is on how parishes can help promote vocations as we look forward to Good Shepherd Sunday. Fr. Roger said we need to pray for vocations first. One of the reasons for the shortage of priestly vocations is because we haven't been praying as insistently as we ought to for the gift of new priests. The second thing we need to do is invite young people to consider it. He remembers at his home parish of St. Michael's in Lowell, how women would approach him at 5 years old and encourage him to consider it. The third stage is to encourage our own families. There's a tremendous example of this type of vocational soil in a superb prayer booklet published in 2007 by the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy. Entitled “Adoration, Reparation and Spiritual Motherhood for Priests,” it lifted up as a model of the type of prayer to the Lord of the harvest that was done in the tiny village of Lu Monferrato in northern Italy. In 1881, when secularism and virulent anti-clericalism were becoming increasingly pronounced, the mothers of this tiny village of a few thousand inhabitants, conscious of the need for priestly vocations, began to gather each Tuesday afternoon for eucharistic adoration to ask the Harvest Master to send priestly laborers. They would together make the following prayer: “O God, grant that one of my sons may become a priest! I myself want to live as a good Christian and want to guide my children always to do what is right, so that I may receive the grace, O God, to be allowed to give You a holy priest!” That prayer, their fervent desire for vocations, and their home's and parish's great awareness of the love of God in the blessing of priestly vocations, bore more fruit than any of them could have ever imagined. In the span of a few decades, this one village parish smaller than many parishes in the Diocese of Fall River - produced 152 priestly vocations and 171 religious women to 41 different congregations. Then Fr. Roger said we'd never have a shortage of priests in any diocese if one young man from each parish entered the seminary every eight years. Many of the seminarians who start don't get ordained so we'd have a new priest from each parish every 12 years. If a parish has 100 boys, then you'd have one vocation to the priesthood out of every 100. Scot said he has advocated in the pastoral planning process that if a parish produces regular vocations to the priesthood or religious life that should be part of the weighting of the vibrancy and strength of the parish. Scot said there's been a lot of coverage of the Vatican's decision on a leading leadership of women's religious. Fr. Roger said the mainstream media has framed the story as old men clamping down on all religious sisters. He said he hopes it will eventually become clear that this is about ensuring the Catholicity of certain groups of religious sisters. He said this isn't about all women religious, but the leadership of the LCWR, which has done some things in recent decades that leads many bishops wondering whether they support the Church's teachings, including abortion, priestly ordination, healthcare, moral theology, and more. He said the great sisters who have served us over the course of time will eventually be heard and will say that this reform is what they want too. Scot said his sense is that you have the typical liberal newspapers talking a story narrative for this which is “Conservative organization continuing the ‘War on Women'”. The Church is the most pro-woman organization there is, but part of this the normal election cycle of 2012 where pro-Obama columnists stirring up sentiment against the Church. Scot believes that the request for reform probably came from women within the orders being led by the women who've been saying these questionable things. Greg said it's true that this is being driven by an election year agenda framing it as a wedge issue. One way or the other, many of these pundits see the Church as anti-woman and oppressive. He said the secular press comes to the issue without a full understanding and this shows why we need a diocesan newspaper. The Pilot's slogan is “Read the Pilot and be fully informed.” You're not going to get the full perspective on the Church from the secular media. Similarly Greg could write an article about Wall Street, but he's not an expert. Scot then mentioned an article in the Pilot about the rise in the number of people saying that they are atheists or nonbelievers. Under the age of 29, 25% believe themselves atheist, agnostic, or nonbeliever. Susan said she just wants to ask them how they can live without the hope that faith gives them. Scot said it's his experience that your life won't be fulfilled without acknowledging the fuller life of faith that extends from this world to the next.

Summary of today's show: Scot, Susan, Fr. Roger, and Gregory catch up on this week's headlines, including updates on the religious freedom fight with 7 lessons we've learned so far and a great ministry threatened by the new rules; pastor appointments and parish mergers; and how priests are using new media to enrich their faith lives, including something half of priests under 40 are doing; encouraging statistics about the Church; plus much more. Listen to the show: 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 Fall River diocese; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: HHS mandate, appointments and mergers, priests using new media, encouraging stats on the Church 1st segment: Scot welcomed Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Gregory Tracy back to the show. Scot said Fr. Roger on Saturday received Scot's daughter Ali for her First Communion. They discussed how beautiful and wonderful it is to celebrate the Sacraments for everyone, especially for those he knows are taking their sacrament seriously. Susan talked about how First Communions are a wonderful moment in the life of the Church. She said it may be their First Communion, it should only be the first of thousands of Communions. Greg Tracy then talked about his experience as the father of 10 to celebrate the First Communions of his first six children. 2nd segment: Scot said the editorial in the Anchor is the second of two parts dealing with the battle for religious liberty in the US, especially what we've been learning in the interplay between the Obama administration and the US bishops. The first thing Fr. Roger wrote is that we learned about this process is that the administration and many of its friends in the media are trying to make this about contraception, instead of religious freedom. Scot said they hope to make this a wedge issue to bring support from women who would be made to believe that their “right” to birth control is threatened. Fr. Roger discussed the real issue of Sandra Fluke, the 30-year-old political operative attending Georgetown Law, aside from Rush Limbaugh's ill-considered insults, is that someone spending tens of thousands of dollars to attend school can compel religious believers to act against their conscience to provide her with birth control. Greg said the Obama administration claims to want to resolve this in a way that respects religious freedom, but in reality they show no evidence of wanting to have a real discussion with the US bishops. There is no compromise possible that continues to abrogate religious freedom. Greg said it's like the administration is promising to say “please” but we're not allowed to say No in any case. The third point in the editorial is that there doesn't seem to be the will in Congress to protect religious freedom, so it will be up to the Courts to protect our rights. The Senate failed to pass the Blunt Amendment. The voting on that amendment also show us that Democrats voted against conscience rights 48-3 and Republicans favored it 45-1, so Republicans on Capitol Hill seem to be supportive of religious freedom. Fr. Roger said we have to confront the Democratic Party straight on. There's something in the party trumping their respect for religious conscience. Scot said the claim can be made that the Democrat Party is being a shill for the special interest of Planned Parenthood. He noted that Planned Parenthood was a big part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services consultation on the services that would be covered under universal health care. The fate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation about a month ago shows that people have a right o be fearful of the political backlash from Planned Parenthood. Fr. Roger noted that 13 Catholic Senators voted against the Rights of Conscience Act, including Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Scot noted that Democrats often supported the Church's service to the poor, but they aren't even on board with the Church when this issue threatens the services that the Church provides. When faced with a situation in which every single U.S. bishop wrote a letter decrying the consequences of the HHS mandate on Catholic and other religious institutions, these CatholiC senators - many of whom who have routinely cited their “conscience” to vote for bills in favor of abortion -still voted against the Church's being compelled, as the legislation stipulated, to “provide, participate in, or refer for a specific item or service contrary to the provider's religious beliefs or moral convictions.” Such a betrayal would probably even make Judas blush. Scot said another point is that it's amazing how much power the Secretary of Health and human Services has been given over religious groups. Those who have examined the text of the PPACA have noted that it contains 700 references to the secretary “shall,” another 200 to the secretary “may” and 139 to the secretary “determines.” The HHS secretary has not only been given unprecedented power over what amounts to be one-sixth of the U.S. economy, but the authority to determine all sorts of things that no unelected official should have. Susan said she found this paragraph frightening. Greg said there are just so many problems we've encountered already, what will happen when it's in full effect? How much more damage will it do? Fr. Roger's last point is that people need to ask themselves and their legislators whether we want to elect the sort of people who do not respect religious freedom and who believe that free contraception trumps religious freedom. Fr. Roger said in a free country we get the leaders we deserve. We should never elect people who would use their office to take our rights away and get us to fund other's newly-invented secularist pseudo-rights. As citizens, we have the power to correct these abuses, but we need to rise up and use that power. These are all lessons that, unfortunately, we've been learning the hard way. We need to ask candidates completely and substantively about these specific problems with specific answers, not vague assurances. Our votes have become enormously consequential. Scot said the bishops came out a wonderful new statement on this issue that he will discuss on the show with Fr. Mark O'Connell tomorrow. There's an article in this week's Anchor about the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order that cares for people at the end of their lives who have no one else to care for them. Now they are having to reconsider whether they will still be able to serve people of all faiths and employ people of all faiths because of the onerous restrictions of HHS mandate. Greg said the Little Sisters of the Poor have a sense of vocation and service and it is a concrete example of the game of chicken that the administration is playing to see whether we're really going to end our ministry. Greg said what we need to do is march a group of the Little Sisters down to Washington and have them confront some Senators to ask them why they won't be allowed to continue their ministry. “Because the Little Sisters of the Poor cannot in conscience directly provide or collaborate in the provision of services that conflict with Church reaching, we find ourselves in the irreconcilable situation of being forced to either stop serving and employing people of all faiths in our ministry - so that we will fall under the narrow exemption - or to stop providing health care coverage to our employees,” the order said. “Either path threatens to end our service to the elderly in America. The Little Sisters are fervently praying that this issue will be resolved before we are forced to take concrete action in response to this unjust mandate.” … “If the federal government succeeds in enforcing this rule, what is to stop it from rationing health care to seniors or including euthanizing procedures on the list of required ‘preventive services' as a way of eliminating the costs associated with caring for our aging population?” they asked. “Would health care providers like the Little Sisters of the Poor then be forced to cooperate in such practices?” “We wish to affirm that the HHS mandate is an unjust and dangerous infringement upon the natural and constitutional rights of Americans and that the only just solution is to rescind it. The Little Sisters of the Poor call upon Congress and the Executive Branch to reverse this decision as soon as possible and we pledge our prayers and sacrifices for the true good of our beloved country,” the order said. Susan said this statement comes from a group not prone to speaking out on politics or public policy. Scot said columnist George Weigel also wrote this week titled “Religious freedom: It's not just Pakistan and China.” The need to defend religious freedom comes to the US. Scot turned to local news. Father Brian J. McHugh has been appointed as Pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Somerville. This appointment is in addition to his present assignments as Pastor at St. Ann Parish in Somerville and Pastor at St. Catherine of Genoa Parish in Somerville. He becomes the third pastor overseeing three parishes in the Archdiocese. He takes over for Fr. Henry Jennings who is retiring. Fr. Roger said a decision has been made in the Diocese of Fall River to close the oldest Portuguese parish in the country, St. John's in New Bedford, and merge it with another parish. They had been slated to close in 2009, but the bishop gave them a chance to raise money to keep themselves open. Unfortunately they fell short in their efforts with support only from 17% of parishioners. Fr. Roger said it helps that the pastor of the welcoming parish has been pastor of the closing parish. It's sad to see the church close. Scot said the Pilot also has a nice story on the one-year anniversary of The Good Catholic Life. Greg said they wanted to make the story a little more personal rather than a straight just-the-facts story. They wanted to give a little bit of insight for those who may not have heard it before. In the Anchor this week is a story about priests using new media tools to enrich their faith, including smartphone apps, Facebook, Twitter, and Skype. There was a quote from a priest who noted how many young priests at a diocesan priests' retreat praying on their smart phones. Fr. Roger said he thinks at least half of priests under 40 now pray the Liturgy of the Hours using apps on their phones rather than in a book. It makes it simpler because it's always with them, they no longer have to worry about the ribbons and flipping back and forth, or switching books between seasons. They can concentrate on their prayer. Fr. Roger said he has his entire priestly library on his iPhone or iPad, including books in his Kindle app. He no longer has to break his back carrying a suitcase of books. He hopes the article helps to inspire laypeople to start taking advantage of the high tech means to keep the presence of the Lord throughout the day. Scot said the iMissal app reads the readings to you, which he likes to do on his way to work. The Anchor also profiles the Pro-Life Office of the Fall River diocese, including stories of how they have helped women considering abortion, not just telling them of the Church's teaching, but treating them with compassion and giving them alternatives. He told one particularly touching story of lives changed by their work. Scot said another column by Msgr. James Moroney on the Collects of Lent is in the Pilot. He is writing each week on the opening prayers for Mass on the Sundays of Lent. Susan said he writes that we are halfway on the journey through Lent. He quotes Pope Gregory: Pope Gregory begins by talking about Lent itself, noting that no matter how much we are fasting, we should hunger more for the Word of God than for food! He then says later in his column: When Christ kneels to wash the feet of his Apostles and tells them to love others as he has loved them, we will remember those whom we have fed and clothed and loved in their poverty. Susan said Cardinal Sean often preaches on Holy Thursday on how we need to remember to love as God loves us, which is a high bar. His columns give us some good insight into the Sunday Mass. Scot said there is a column in the Pilot today giving the status of all the divisions in the Archdiocesan CYO March Madness basketball tournaments. He also noted a story giving a statistics on the worldwide Church. The Church's total population has grown by 1.3%, which outpaces overall population growth. The number of bishops and priests and seminarians grew in the past year as well. There were 412,236 priests as of December 31, 2010 and 118,990 seminarians. The major increases were in Africa, Asia, and Oceania, while Europe saw the greatest decrease. Other headlines this week include:

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell Today's guest(s): Fr. John Currie, Pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Holbrook Links from today's show: Today's topics: Reflections on 10th anniversary of the sexual abuse crisis Summary of today's show: Today, the feast of the Epiphany, marks the 10th anniversary of the the first major new stories of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in Boston that started a process of coming to terms, of seeking forgiveness, and of rebuilding trust. Scot Landry sits down with Cardinal Seán O'Malley to discuss the somber anniversary and reflect on the past and future. The Scot talks with Fr. Mark O'Connell and Fr. John Currie their thoughts on the Cardinal's remarks, their own reflections on the anniversary, how the crisis has affected them as priests over the past decade, how it has affected other Catholics, and the path forward for the Church and society. 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Mark discussed that January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany, although we celebrate it liturgically on Sunday. Scot welcomed Fr. John Currie. Scot today marks the 10th anniversary of the breaking of the clergy sex-abuse crisis in Boston when the Globe published the first accounts of predatory priests who had been moved around after accusations. Cardinal Sean has marked this anniversary by re-committing the Church to providing a safe environment for in the Church. He has done many media interviews. He also sat down with Scot for a pre-recorded interview which we will hear now. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Cardinal Sean O'Malley to the show. Ten years ago the sexual abuse scandal became the dominant topic in the Church and society for 2002. He marked it with a letter to the community. Cardinal Seán said it was important to remember these events so we don't ever go back in the future. We need to express contrition and sorrow, and assure people that going forward we will do everything we can to make our churches and schools as safe as possible for children. Scot said one of the messages was to survivors. Cardinal Seán said if it had not been for the victims who'd been willing to come forward and tell the stories and the media that publicized it so much, we might still have been in a state of denial. Their courage was an important part of the change that was initiated. We are grateful to them and hope they have found some healing and reconciliation. Scot noted the Cardinal came to Boston in 2003 and prioritized our resources for protection of children. Since then 300,000 children have received safe environment training and because of that, 575 children came forward to trusted persons to disclose abuse by someone in their life. the Church has tried to respond in a way not only that we are doing everything possible, but that there is a good that people now know the signs of abuse and come forward. The Cardinal said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The archdiocese does 60,000 background checks per year which also contributes to a safer environment. But this wouldn't be possible without the support and work and volunteered time of thousands of people who have helped put these policies in place. In his letters this week, Cardinal Sean acknowledged the difficulties faced by priests and one of the reasons we have such safe environments now is because of the leadership of priests. Cardinal Sean added that parishioners have also been leaders too. In his reflections document, he noted that the media helped us to deal with this problem, but going forward he asked media and other institutions to help contextualize the abuse. The John Jay Report noted that most of the abuse took place decades ago, where the media coverage often presented it as new allegations from the present or that it was a particularly Catholic problem. Cardinal Seán said he does believe that clerical sexual abuse is worse than other kids of abuse, because of the spiritual wound it inflicts beyond the psychological or emotional damage that is done. In society, most sexual abuse happens within families. We've always said we stand ready to work with other organizations and institutions to make our society in general a safer place because sexual abuse is rampant in our society. There's a certain amount of denial because it's so unpleasant but unless we do talk about we won't be able to overcome it. He finished his reflections by saying that we can never conclude that the crisis is solved. Our commitment is to continue the screening and education and every year we bring in outside auditors who study what we're doing and tell us how well we're doing in implementing our policies of child protection. It's important to continue to monitor how we're doing so we don't become complacent. He wants to assure those most affected that we want to help them to find their way home for those who have been alienated by these horrible mistakes of the past. We renew our prayers for healing and renew our commitment to work with all people of good will to make society safe for everyone, especially our children. 3rd segment: Back in the studio, Scot asked Fr. Mark his reaction to the interview. Fr. Mark said ever since Cardinal Seán has come to Boston, we've been on a path of healing. He remembers in Cardinal Sean's installation homily in which he said the victims of abuse are the wounds in the side of Christ. Fr. Currie said he wanted to begin speaking on behalf of priests and bishops to say he's sorry for the abuse they suffered. His intention is to join our God in making all things new for everyone. The Spirit has brought us to a new moment in the life of the Church. Referencing the wounds in the body of Christ, he's been talking with people recently about the last 10 years and they characterize it as a time of opening old wounds. But they're not old wounds; they're still new wounds. But we can heal them with hope. What he has seen in many ways over the last 10 years, soon after the revelations and the undeniable truth of children by priests was evident, he began meeting victims and survivors and family members. The horror they were discussing and reading about was incarnate before him. It motivated him at the time to reach out to the newly created office that serves victims to volunteer. He continues to work with them. He wanted to be the face of the Church to people, to sit and listen. Scot said some people have wondered whether it's appropriate to mark this anniversary the way Cardinal Seán has, by sitting down with the media to talk about the way forward. Some think it's just reopening old wounds. Fr. John said that for some it's so painful. Many people lived a lifetime never believing the Church would cross this boundary and to admit it to themselves, it really rattled their faith, what they were taught and led to believe. At 50, 60, 70 years old, it's hard to comprehend and it's quite natural for them not to want to talk about it any more. But for others, we need to continue pondering and contemplating what happened and how it happened. This is the point we're at now in the crisis. The Church should be commended for policies and procedures, but we are moving into a new period of contemplation. Scot said in his conversations with people, there's a recognition of how difficult it is to talk about. He believes this will be with us the rest of our lives. But there has been some good that has come out of this, like he mentioned in the interview with Cardinal Seán. Fr. Mark said another quote that helped him came from Bishop Irwin who said, “This is not the darkest hour. The darkest hour was when these things were hidden. Now is a better day. It's still horrible, but it's better.” Fr. Mark was working in the chancery during those days as a canon lawyer and for 10 years has been working to clean up the mess and fix the problems. A time like this makes you reflect on the wider issues. He's been working so hard on the problem that he hadn't had time to pause and think about the long term. Scot said the compelling argument for marking this anniversary is to make sure the awareness of this is still high. Anyone who read the papers over the past couple of months know that this is a problem in many places. His prayer for the next decade is that the program we developed in the Church get better and get implemented in dioceses around the world and in all sectors of society. So many Catholics have said the media was out to get the Church, but the media was out to expose hypocrisy and mismanagement in order to protect the children. The fight was that we would walk to the talk as a Church. Fr. John said he liked the way the Cardinal characterized the spiritual dimension of the sexual abuse of children by priests. HE doesn't think that most people understand the depth of the pain of the survivors and their families. The priest violated the one thing they were supposed to respect, nurture, and cherish: the soul's relationship with God. Many nights he's sat up thinking about it, crying. Most priests are committed to correcting this egregious wrong. The spiritual hurts and pains violated that innocence and purity. Fr. Mark said every priest has the experience of an altar server or child approaching him and there's so much trust, and you think to yourself that some sick priest violated this. It's horrifying. Maybe doctors or other professions experience the same thing. Families trust the priest and the kids look up to them and to violate that is a disgusting thing. Scot said the Cardinal in his letter did speak to priests. A large part of the healing has been by faithful priests, who themselves are struggling to make sense of it. Besides survivors and their families, the next most affected group was the priests. Fr. John said 10 years later, the experience particularly though meeting many victims and families, have stripped away from his thoughts a lot of hindrances to faithful priesthood. The whole culture of clericalism was rampant. It was such an enabling factor. Many abusers knew how to manipulate it. The Church took refuge in it. But it was one of the most damaging contributive factors. So 10 years later, after praying and wrestling with it, it's one thing he hopes and prays that he's not contributing to, but instead lifting up a faithful, humble, kind, Christ-like priesthood, rooted in the Eucharist and the command of Jesus when he washed the feet of his disciples. He hopes that's what he's demonstrating. Scot said many priests have responded by trying to be the holiest, most caring, most generous priest they can be. That's the only response they can make. You can't take away the pain or memories of the survivors. He said it's been tough for all Catholics, but the response has been to just be the best Catholic you can be and that's the only way you can deal with it. Fr. Mark said every priest and layperson dealt with it in their own way. Many priest felt they were tainted unfairly. But sharing in the priesthood of Christ means your brother did this to a child. However, he is not someone who won't wear his clerical collar. If someone expresses their anger and pain, he takes it the best he can. Scot quoted Cardinal Seán's letter about the Roman collar as a sign of suspicion. Fr. John said he's felt that suspicion, but he said he always felt that the right thing to do was to always remain present among the people. He's taken the shouts and anger and even had people spit on him. His response was to offer remorse and love and to beg people to join in healing the Church and most of all those who were most abused. Fr. Mark said he's also had mockery and screaming. What also hurts is not just those who were abused, but also the many who left the Church because of it. For some it was just an excuse, others will come back, but for many they lost their faith. It's the mission of every Catholic to make invitations ask them to come back. To tell them that we're less without you and better with you. Fr. John said the number of people even in the worst of time who came up to him to assure him that they trust was touching. It led to many honest conversations with people about what was going on. Fr. Mark said it surprised him that the Holy Father's Year of the Priest was so very healing. They needed that. Scot said Cardinal Seán's letter ended with acknowledgment of people who walked away from the Church out of disgust. The Church didn't live up to the standard. Cardinal Seán wrote: God made us to know, love and serve him and wants us to love and care for each other. As Catholics we do this best when we are united around the altar for Mass each Sunday. It is our prayer that by seeing the response of the Church, and by viewing the issue in its proper context, all those who have been away will return to join with us, to make the Church stronger and always a safe place for all people. This past decade has been difficult for the Church. Yet, we are transformed by the experience and the mission endures. Please pray for continued healing for all those impacted and join with us as we strive to bring the light of Christ's healing, love and hope to the world. Fr. Mark said he's trying to clean up many of these cases and working on healing is as much a part of his job as it was 10 years ago. He's still personally committed as much as he ever was. Fr. John said he hopes the Church continues to do what she has been doing and he will continue to work with Barbara Thorp's office. He's learned the lesson of humility in the face of difficulty and challenges and wants to help the Church insert that into healing for the future. 4th segment: Now as we do every week at this time, we will consider the Mass readings for this Sunday, specifically the Gospel reading. Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. Scot noted that the Magi were not Jews and that this was one way that God signaled that Jesus was coming to save all people. Fr. John said Herod completely missed it. He was threatened in a political sense. Fr. John remembered a Carmelite nun telling him that anyone who meets Jesus with an open heart never leaves unchanged for the better. The Magi went with an open heart, but Herod's heart was closed and that's why he was troubled. Scot said some scholars speculate that it took two years for the Magi to travel to Bethlehem and this is why Herod ordered the massacre of all boys under the age of two. Fr. Mark said the Magi may have had an original plan to go back and tell Herod, but they went home by another way and were perhaps changed in that way. Fr. Mark commented on the word epiphany, where you think one thing and your mind and life is changed. Scot said it's not lost on him that the revelations of the Boston Globe started on Epiphany. God brought good out of this bad news by exposing the sickness. Fr. Mark said anyone listening who is in a dark place, the epiphany they should hear is that Christ can change your life. If you approach Christ with an open heart, you can go home by another way. Scot said while the Magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, our gift is ourselves. Fr. John said God's gift he gives us the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Scot noted that the stars that guide us today are the tabernacle lamp and the light on top of the confessional box, both of which lead us to healing.

**Listen to the show:** [Subscribe for free in iTunes](http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-good-catholic-life/id425362545) **Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor **Today's guest(s):** Kevin Winn and Jim Leo * [Permanent Diaconate Office](http://bostondiaconate.org/) * [What is a deacon?](http://bostondiaconate.org/Resources/what_is_a_deacon.html) **Today's topics:** Candidates for ordination to the permanent diaconate **Summary of today's show:** Kevin Winn and Jim, two of the 13 candidates for the permanent diaconate in the Archdiocese of Boston due to be ordained next month discuss with Scot and Fr. Chris their vocational journeys, how they discerned the call, how important their wives were to their decisions and their formation, and what they expect from their future ministries. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Chris O'Connor back to the show. He recalled that in May they had seminarians on the show just before their priestly ordinaiton and today are two men just a few weeks before their ordination to the permanent diaconate. Fr. Chris said it will let them draw distinctions between the transitional diaconate for the road to priesthood and the permanent diaconate. Scot and Fr. Chris commented on the earthquake that was felt along the East Coast. Some people outside the building felt it. They saw that news says that there have been no casualties. Scot also noted that there have been problems with the WQOM signal over the past day or so, but those problems have been repaired. Scot outlined the five ways to listen to the show live or recorded: streaming live at WQOM.org, on the radio at 1060AM, through the iPhone or Android app iCatholicRadio, through The Good Catholic Life podcast at the iTunes Store, or on our website at TheGoodCatholicLife.com Scot was also guest blogger on Cardinal Sean's Blog last Friday describing the work of the Archdiocese of Boston's Catholic Media Secretariate, including The Good Catholic Life. * [Evangelization through the media, Cardinal Sean's Blog](http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/2011/08/19/evangelization-through-the-media/) Fr. Chris is preparing for the academic year at St. John's Seminary. On Sunday night, 26 new men will arrive at the seminary, one of the largest classes he's seen in the 8 years he's been at the seminary. Bishop Kennedy will celebrate Mass for them and friends and family, then orientation will begin. They will look at the four pillars of the seminary life: the academic, pastoral, human, and spiritual. A new diocese is joining the seminary: Hartford, Connecticut. There Redemptorist religious order is also sending its seminarians to St. John's. Two men from another Vietnamese diocese will also train at St. John's. After these messages, we will meet two of the 13 men to be ordained in September for the Permanent Diaconate. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Kevin Winn and Jim Leo. They are within 3 weeks of ordination. Kevin said it's an exciting time for him. He's going through the gamut of emotions. He's preparing to serve God in a different way, in a vocation he's felt called to. Jim said he's nervously excited. With Christ at the center of his life, he's grounded in prayer and knows that this is the right thing. He can't wait for September 17. Fr. Chris asked Kevin about the signs that God was calling him to the diaconate, especially for those who might be wondering if they are called. Kevin said he doesn't think there's a single moment. As he grew as a Catholic, he was welcomed to St. Joseph Parish in Kingston and they became involved in parish life. One day at Mass, he asked the pastor why there were no altar servers. He said there was no one to train them and "thank you very much." That was the beginning of his involvement in parish life, religious education which turned into youth ministry and retreat work. All the while God was converting and transforming Kevin, unbeknownst to him.God has healed Kevin in so many ways as a person and shown him who's he's been created to be. Kevin said he also grew in his prayer life. Eucharistic adoration as well as Our Lady and the Rosary were important for him, helping to realize what God has done for us. A deacon and other priests he'd worked with had asked him if he was interested in the diaconate. He felt a gnawing that turned out to be a calling and throught prayer it became a sense to look into it. Fr. Chris said wives are an important part of the formation, including the classes. How did they break the news? Kevin said his wife is his best friend and she's the one who has taught him about God's love in her patience and kindness and willingness to do for others. She's been the quiet steady rock and confidant. When the idea of diaconate came, they talked about and she thought it would be a great idea for him because of his love for the Lord and his heart and passion.  The wives are irreplaceable part of the formation. They are present in all the classes, some more than others, depending on what's going on in the family life. When the candidates talk about formation, it's not just the candidates, but it's also as much about the wives. When they begin formation, they are told their first vocation is to their marriage.  Jim said he's been married 36 years and his wife Vivian is his best friend. He grew up in East Boston, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, he felt Christ calling him then. He went to Catholic school and met Vivian and she wanted him to go on a Cursillo retreat. ALthough he balked at first, it was a great experience and he wanted more. He then went deeper in his faith and the low fire grew higher and higher in him. A deacon of his acquaintance encouraged him to explore becoming a deacon and his spiritual director reinforced the idea. The minute Jim mentioned it to Vivian, she said go for it.  Scot said the diaconate program is a rigorous 4-year program that studies the faith both broadly and richly. Jim said his wife went to every single class. For the first year, the wives need to go to every single class, but after that they don't need to go to every class, as Kevin said. Jim said he would ask his wife how they could get through this, but Vivian encouraged him and was his strength every step of the way. Jim said Fr. Bill Palardy taught a class on Patristics, the study of the Church Fathers, and it was truly eye-opening with a tremendous amount of learning. Kevin concurred and said it was one of the hardest classes he took. He loved it very much. He agrees with Jim that he used to think he had a fair handle on his faith, but learned how much more he had to learn and has to learn. This relationship with Christ is ongoing and ever-deepening. Fr. Chris asked what sort of skills from being an air traffic controller he brings to the diaconate. He said communication will be a gift. He loves people and to communicate with them. The reality of the job is that they communicate with people and provide a service to the pilots and passengers. He noted St. Josemaria Escriva's philosophy of finding holiness in what we do. Jim is a civil engineer by trade. He worked for the City of Boston for 41 years and dealt with the public every day. How he dealt with the public, he will deal with the people of his parish: a sincere heart, listening to people. Listening is the number one skill to help people and settle problems. In his job, he had to settle people down when they had problems and reassure them. That skill will help in his ministry. **3rd segment:** Scot said there are 213 permanent deacons in Boston and 13 more will be added in September. Kevin said the difference between transitional and permanent is t hat the transitional diaconate is a step on the way for men called to the priesthood, and the permanent deacon is a man called to service in the Church as a secondary vocation. Sometimes the primary vocation is a vocation to the single life and sometimes to marriage. They are called to the threefold ministry of sacrament, Word, and charity. They have a unique place in the Church in that they have a secular job as well as an office within the Church and it's a blessing to the Church to be able to be that bridge. Fr. Chris asked what ministries the deacon does. Jim said he and his wife are on the baptismal coordinating team at his parish and in one month he will be baptizing children with his wife as part of that ministry. Deacons also proclaim and preach the Gospel at Mass. Scot said earlier this week at the Pastoral Center where all the deacon candidates professed the faith and took the oath of fidelity in a ceremony with Fr. Tom Foley. Kevin said every step closer to ordination brings with it more joy and emotion and excitement. They represented their letters of request to Cardinal Sean through his representatives that were present. The letters were handwritten and their wives wrote letters as well. While their formation was four years, their discernment was even five more years than that. Then they took an Oath of Fidelity on the Book of Gospels which was was held by their wives. Jim said that having his wife alongside him at the moment made him feel so lucky to have her by his side in this very emotional and spectacular moment. The Oath of Fidelity: > I, N., on assuming the office __________ promise that I shall always preserve communion with the Catholic Church whether in the words I speak or in the way I act. > With great care and fidelity I shall carry out the responsibilities by which I am bound in relation both to the universal church and to the particular church in which I am called to exercise my service according to the requirements of the law. > In carrying out my charge, which is committed to me in the name of the church, I shall preserve the deposit of faith in its entirety, hand it on faithfully and make it shine forth. As a result, whatsoever teachings are contrary I shall shun. > I shall follow and foster the common discipline of the whole church and shall look after the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, especially those which are contained in the Code of Canon Law. > With Christian obedience I shall associate myself with what is expressed by the holy shepherds as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith or established by them as the church's rulers. And I shall faithfully assist diocesan bishops so that apostolic activity, to be exercised by the mandate and in the name of the church, is carried out in the communion of the same church. > May God help me in this way and the holy Gospels of God which I touch with my hands. > I shall foster the common discipline of the whole church and urge the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, especially those which are contained in the Code of Canon Law. > With Christian obedience I shall associate myself with what is expressed by the holy shepherds as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith or established by them as rulers of the church. And with diocesan bishops I shall gladly devote my energy so that apostolic activity, to be exercised by the mandate and in the name of the church, is -- with provision made for the character and goal of my institute -- carried out in the communion of the church. Kevin said being a deacon is not something you do, not something you put on on Sunday. It's who they are, who God calls them to be as his servant. God reveals to them in their lives the people he's forming them into. You are a deacon 24/7. Fr. Chris said it's the life of every Christian. It's not just something you do on Sunday. The Christian receives the Word of God and the Eucharist and then is sent back into the world to live the Eucharist that was celebrated. Jim said on the day of ordination, they will make a Profession of Obedience. They also make a promise of prayer. They pledge to pray the Divine Office every day  at morning and evening. Kevin said it's been awesome for him. While it's required, he loves it. Like we are required to attend Eucharist on Sunday, but it's something we should love and desire. The Liturgy of the Hours has been feeding him every day already. The Word of God is alive in the Divine Office. Scot said you don't have to be ordained or a religious to pray the Divine Office. Some people also pray a form of the Office in the [Magnificat](http://www.magnificat.net). Kevin said the Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the Church. It is a reminder that God is the center of our lives and everything we extends from that center. Fr. Chris said it's a reminder to us never to wander too far from the Lord, called back every few hours to contemplate the Lord. **4th segment:** Scot said Deacons are ordained to a ministry of Word, sacrament, and charity. They serve at the altar, baptize, witness marriages. They serve the poor and marginalized, sick and dying, the imprisoned. Jim has been helping at Mass. General Hospital as part of his service. He started five years ago as a Eucharistic minister. They saw the hospital chaplain was looking for Eucharistic ministers for the patients. Then he served his internship as a deacon at the hospital as a pastoral visitor to the sick. He was bale to talk about Christ to people in their lowest moments. He saw how deep the faith of people were. Kevin said his primary assignment will be at his parish, St. Joseph's, and his secondary assignment will be in the office of marriage ministry at the Pastoral Center. Jim said his first homily at his first Mass will be on the Gospel of the laborers in the vineyard, which is wonderful. Christ is there even at the 11th hour. Kevin said he is intrigued by God's persistence in that Gospel, how he doesn't give up on his, to continue to heal us and restore us, continuing the work he began in us at baptism. To a man who might be thinking about the permanent diaconate, Jim said he should ask for the application and pray on it. If it's the right thing, you will feel the burning in your heart. Kevin said his other 11 classmates including all sizes, shapes, and colors, a great snapshot of the diversity of God's people. You could clearly see the growth of their faith over the past year, especially in the homilies they gave in their homiletics class. Jim said the other men include doctors, a professor, an academic doctor, teachers, retired men, and more. It's a cross-section. 

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chip Hines **Today's guest(s):** Fr. George Evans, Pastor of St. Julia Parish, Weston * [St. Julia Parish, Weston](http://www.stjulia.org/) **Today's topics:** Pastor Profile: Fr. George Evans **Summary of today's show:** Fr. George Evans joins Scot and guest co-host Fr. Chip Hines to discuss his journey to the priesthood and his assignments within the archdiocese with specific focus on his time at St. Julia, Weston, working with a parish merger, and on a pastoral planning commission for the archdiocese. Also, a discussion of this Sunday's first reading and Gospel from Mass. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Chip back to show. He is coming in on the tail end of his vacation. He was able to take in a Cape Cod League baseball game and spend time with family. It's a high level of baseball from Division 1 college players. It's also a wonderful family experience. Many of the players will end up in the Major Leagues. Fr. George Evans is today's guest. He's been involved in archdiocesan pastoral planning efforts in recent years and looks forward to where the archdiocese is going in the next 10 to 15 years. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Chip welcome Fr. George Evans to the show.He's been pastor at St. Julia's since 2003. Before that he worked for many years at the seminary. He was ordained in 1977 and was assigned to St. James in Wellesley for 4 years, which was a foundation for his priesthood. After that he went to Catholic University of America for 4 years to earn a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. He returned to St. John Seminary as a spiritual director. He helped seminarians to integrate the spiritual life with all areas of their life, but also to be a confidante for the men. He spent 18 years at the seminary and served as interim rector at the seminary for a brief time after Bishop Richard Lennon was reassigned. It was at the time that the college seminary was closed and he worked in 2003 to streamline the seminary's programs. It readied him to be a pastor. He spent 22 years of his priesthood in academia of one sort or another. His own parish growing up was a key part of his desire to be a priest and he tried to always keep parish ministry at the forefront of his mind. He was also very eager to return to parish ministry after the seminary. Fr. Chip said he thinks he would have gleaned a lot of practical experience at the seminary. He came from St. Catherine of Somerville. Scot said it's one of the most beautiful parishes we have. Fr. George went to the grammar school there and Matignon High School. He went to Boston College after that. While there he saw the parish adapt to the call of the Church to advance into the modern age. He took the best aspects of that attitude with him to the seminary and then to his own parish. There was a real sense of planning and reflecting among the faculty of the seminary. There was also a lot of newness as new seminarians came in; as they heard many great homilies from other priests; and as he adapted his seminars and courses on a regular basis to keep them new.  Fr. Chip said Fr. George's great strength is the ability to see both sides of an issue, which is why the Cardinal trusts him so and why so many priests go to him as a spiritual director still. Some of his favorite spiritual writers are St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Jean-pierre de Cassaude, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Francis de Sales. The latter has a special appeal as a diocesan priest who was working in the Counter-Reformation. He has a love of Church history. It started in grammar school with the Land of Our Lady series, and he became a history major at Boston College. HE taught a history of the Church in Boston at the seminary. It helps him as he works in pastoral planning. A good history of Boston is by Thomas H. O'Connor. More in-depth is the three-volume series by Robert Lord, John Sexton, and Edward Harrington, which goes up to 1944. This gives a good grounding for anyone who wants to talk about the challenges facing the Archdiocese, including discussions of territorial parishes and ethnic parishes. **3rd segment:** There are two churches that make up St. Julia's in Weston. In 2004, during Reconfiguration, St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln would cease to be a parish, but its church building and its territory and parishioners would become part of St. Julia's Parish. They are one community of people in two church buildings. St. julia was founded in 1919 and the church was built in 1921. St. Joseph was founded in 1900 and the church was built in 1904. It was a mission of St. Bernard in Concord until 1944. Merging parishes is a sacrifice across the board, but it results in a greater good for all.  Scot said this is going to become more common across the country, where one priest serves one or more parishes with multiple church buildings. Fr. George said the priest and the parish need to keep their eyes on the parish mission: Word, worship, pastoral care, community building. The parish has to consider its own giftedness or lack of gifts that specify how they need to be right now. In his own parish, people are asked to join commissions in the parish to keep alive various areas like evangelization, religious education, liturgy, communications and others. It's hard to get all of those commissions strong, but he tries to bring people in from both towns to keep everyone unified. He does his best to make it inclusive. Fr. Chip said when he was in the seminary and remembers visiting St. Julia's at Christmas time to collect gifts for inner-city kids and the parishes have a long history of charitable works. Both parishes had a long list of charities they contributed to and bringing them all together was sometimes difficult. Scot is struck by how many commissions that St. Julia's has, more than a dozen, and each one has a unique group of people in it, which is different from many other parishes where the same people are involved in everything. Fr. George said people are very busy and when he gathers people together, they're gathering busy people. The challenge is to reach out to young families. Back in 2005, Cardinal Seán formed three big commissions: Youth and young adult formation, pastoral planning, and marriage. Fr. George was chair of the pastoral planning commission, whose mission was to understand all the models bishops across the country use to staff parishes. Fr. George said he was not called to consult very much within the archdiocese, but to look outside at the whole United States. They looked at the situation of many dioceses facing demographic shifts, fewer priests, decaying infrastructure, and falling revenues. They looked at all the people in the parish who are so committed to the Church and making parishes strong.  Their report to cardinal suggested what we need to be aware of and what needs to be done, including looking at the data and determining how to proceed. Now there is a fuller commission that is looking at more details and consulting more widely about what we need to do here. They are learning from our own experiences in 2004, what was learned in the 2007 report, and what other dioceses have learned. Scot said the first commission put facts into the normal way we think about things in the Archdiocese: How many priests, deacons, religious, etc. will we have in 2020? They introduced the idea of a culture of planning in the archdiocese. Fr. George said the Church as to be a planning Church. We have to be very reflective, not just in the sense of logistical planning, but planning in the sense that the call that we've received has to take very definite root amidst resources and lack of them and the realities, including the needs of people and the talents that need to be engendered. The culture of plan has to fill the whole Church from the parish level to the inter-parish level, which is somewhat new, to the diocesan level to the universal level. Fr. Chip said the church isn't IBM or UPS. We're dealing with people and their emotions, so when we're planning we have to account for the emotions, and people's attachments to particular places. Fr. George said it can't be just statistics. It has to be about what will help people know, love, and serve God and to do that in a way that will be mission-oriented, in the sense of carrying out Christ's mission. Scot said parishes need to lead us to heaven and it's not the buildings that do that. It's the community of people we sit with in the church or work together with on commissions. It's much easier when you're not sitting in an empty church alone. It takes time to plan, which is why we're looking five to ten years ahead. The title of the 2007 study was "A Church Continually Being Reborn," in the sense that the Holy Spirit is always creating the Church anew. Christ's message touches us in ways that help us deal with a changing world. People tend to get interested in the structural side, but the real heart of it is the mission of Christ. **4th segment:** Now, as we do every week, we look forward to this coming Sunday's Mass readings to help us prepare to celebrate together. * [First Reading for Sunday, July 24, 2011, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time(1 Kings 3:5, 7-12)](http://www.usccb.org/nab/072411.shtml#reading1) >The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night.  God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”  Solomon answered: “O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.  I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.  Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.  For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?” >The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.  So God said to him: “Because you have asked for this— not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches,  nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right— I do as you requested.  I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now,  and after you there will come no one to equal you.” * [Gospel for Sunday, July 24, 2011, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 13:44-52)](http://www.usccb.org/nab/072411.shtml#gospel) >Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.  When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.  When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets.  What is bad they throw away.  Thus it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. >“Do you understand all these things?”  They answered, “Yes.”  And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” Scot said this is the third week in a row that Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God in parables. Fr. George said the kingdom of God is our truest treasure. Sometimes it's a buried treasure, because we overlook it since we set up other kingdoms. The kingdom is where God's will for justice, love, peace, morality, commitment, and kindness flow. If we set up the kingdom at the center, then it leads to other decisions that lead to righteousness. Scot loves the questions that are asked by God. He poses a question to Solomon and tells him to ask for something. What would we ask for? Would it be the pearl of great price which is the kingdom or Jesus himself, or would we ask for something more material and limited? Fr. Chip said it's a good question to pray about. If we ask for what is good from God, which is to be more conformed to his will, then all these other good things flow from that. We have the opportunity to be like Solomon who was able to deal with enemies, with being wealthy or not, and all the rest. Scot said God does ask us to make a choice every day: whether to put his will first in our lives. Fr. George said the contemplative is the one who sees as God sees and loves as God loves. Being holy is seeing with God's own vision and loving with God's own heart. The kingdom is a way of approaching life that doesn't just take like the way it seems to roll along, but lives life differently. Because of Jesus I see this a little bit differently from how I would see or act if I went with my own instinct or went with the crowd. In the parables we see someone who finds a treasure, who sells their possessions to get what they're looking for. It says to Scot that sometimes we have to give something up in order to get what we really desire, Christ. Maybe it's to pray more, to give up time or leisure, or shed other parts of ourselves along the way. Fr. Chip said sometimes following Christ means giving up a good thing like marriage for priests. Families make sacrifices all the time for children or spouse. The Christian life mirrors that and following Christ means giving up a good thing and taking on something that might be more of a struggle. Yet Christ is there with us through that struggle. Scot said this Gospel tells him that this is an unfair trade where these people think they're getting the bargain of the century even giving up everything. You can't outdo God's generosity. God gave to Solomon more than Solomon asked. Scot said it also tells him that we also have to understand the road map to bring Jesus into our heart. That's probably more prayer and receiving Sacraments more frequently and reading the Scriptures more frequently. We need to place our trust in Christ. Fr. Chip said it's a risk and a leap of faith to trust that Jesus is leading us in the right direction. That's when we better understand what Christ is calling us to do and be. Fr. George said when we pray we need to make sure our prayer is not just a gift of ourselves to God, but also God being seen as who he is: the one who says I love you or console you or challenge you. When we pray we see Jesus who travels with us.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell **Today's guest(s):** Jennifer Schiller and Najat Whalen from Women in God's Spirit (WINGS) ministry * [WINGS](http://catholicwings.com/) **Today's topics:** Women in God's Spirit (WINGS), Sunday Mass readings **A summary of today's show:** Scot and Fr. Mark talk to Jen Schiller and Najat Whalen about Women in God's Spirit (WINGS), a parish-based ministry for Catholic women of all ages that helps them deepen their faith and become more connected to their community. Also, considering the Gospel for Good Shepherd Sunday. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Mark to the program. Scot said he was the lector at the noon Mass at the Pastoral Center. Today is also the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Bl. John Paul II, on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Twenty-nine years ago today, Pope John Paul went to Fatima to have the bullets removed from his chest placed in the crown of the statue of our Lady of Fatima because he credited her with saving his life. Cardinal Seán has been celebrating the Mass and leading the international pilgrimage in Fatima at the request of the Holy Father. Back at the Pastoral Center, after Mass, there was the May crowning of the statue of Mary. Also, today is the last day for a colleague of Scot's, Patrick Gispon, the Catholic Appeal manager, who is returning to Chicago, where his family is from. Fr. Mark said he was impressed to see the number of people who turned out to say goodbye to Patrick and the spirit of the people Scot affected. The "Why Catholic?" program, discussed on The Good Catholic Life earlier this week, also had one of its informational sessions. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Mark welcome Jennifer Schiller and Najat Whalen. Scot asked Jen about WINGS. She said she participated in WINGS when she lived in Southern California as a young mom. She'd been invited to attend in her parish and found about 75 to 100 women who gathered weekly to learn about and grown in their faith. It was a ministry for all ages. They had childcare. It was an opportunity to learn more about her faith.  When they relocated to Massachusetts, she was looking for something like WINGS so she approached her pastor who encouraged her to start it, about 11 years ago. There are now 11 groups in the Archdiocese. She started at her parish of St. Mary in Holliston. The other groups grew organically from women who came to their group and then wanted to do the same at their parish. Fr. Mark said he sees a pattern of people who have a great idea or experience and who don't wait for others to do something, but take initiative. Jen said she had lots of help. She had good encouragement from the pastor and after a couple of months they had about 8 to 10 women who were committed. They are all volunteers who want to help other women and grow in their faith. Najat said she became involed in 2005 when she was a CCD teacher and had a 5-year-old son entering school. She saw bulletin announcements and was attracted to the idea of deepening her faith and learning more. Eventually she became more involved because she was asked to become childcare coordinator and then program coordinator. Scot asked Jen if it's truly women of all ages or is it primarily one age group. She said it's truly all of them. When she started in 1995, she found herself in small groups with grandmothers and others. She found that meeting with women of all different perspectives helps them all in whatever place in their faith journey they find themselves. Jen said WINGS is not a national organization, but it is growing as women move from Southern California to other places. Each group is independent. They are made up women from the parish, but they have a spiritual adviser in the parish that helps them keep the ministry focused and on track. The suggested program is three seasons of six weeks each during the school year. They focus on areas of spiritual growth. In the fall, they focus on some area of the Catholic they want to learn about. In the winter, they focus on learning more about Scripture. In the spring, they have a series of speakers who come in to tell them how they are living out their faith. The whole year falls under a theme that the coordinating group puts together with the spiritual adviser. Najat said they begin the fall season in September and go through November. They have 7 speakers. The winter season starts after the holidays and the spring season ends in May. The typical meeting starts with a social time and coffee, followed by opening prayer and a song, then a speaker. After that they break into small groups to discuss three questions provided by the speaker. They end about 11:15 with a closing prayer. Fr. Mark said every parish has a core group of women who do everything in the parish. Does this attract those women or does it bring in women who aren't involved in many things? Jen said she does find it brings in both kinds of women. Consistency is the key. Women are welcome to attend one or all sessions. They are inviting women whenever they are ready and once they come, they come back because they find something that fulfills them. Women who are very involved in the church and always giving find in WINGS that they are receiving a lot from it. **3rd segment:** Scot asked Jen how WINGS has helped her to grow in her faith. She said it helped her to appreciate the gift of her faith. Many of the talks and presentations in the years since 1995 have opened her eyes and heart. Especially receiving a fuller understanding of the Real PResence and the gift that is Adoration. She didn't really understand that prior to experiencing it one of the WINGS talks. Also, the great saints of the church, stories of whom she now shares with her children. Scot asked the same of Najat. She said that she knows she's not alone in her faith. Being with a community of 60 women on a weekly basis helps her to know they are together, as they share their joys and sufferings. It's a safe, warm, and welcoming environment where you feel surrounded by friends. Being asked to speak at an event helped her to learn how to bring her faith out to the world. Fr. Mark asked what is the benefit in being only women. Jen said as a community of women, it is women coming together with different life experiences where you can feel you can share and grown and be who you are. There are good things that come from women gathering as women. He asked if other women have inspired Najat in her journey. She said everyone has inspired her, including the older women who are so wise while younger women share the same struggles and joys. Scot said the Gallup organization has surveyed religious groups and they have found that the most engaged people in religious communities are those who can say they have a best friend in the same group. Jen said she thinks WINGS has strengthened her parish. It nourishes women in their faith and builds them up. When the women leave those meetings, they bring that back to their families, other friends, to their work. And many find after participating in WINGS that they are inspired to get more involved in the parishes. Parish life is built up because women come together in their faith. Fr. Mark asked the experience of a new woman coming to an established group. Jen said it is absolutely not a clique. WINGS is a group that is constantly changing as women come and go, depending on their life situations. There is no prerequisite to joining. They can be a woman who is confident in her faith or someone who has many questions. Najat said that a big component of the ministry os the prayerful atmosphere so someone who is looking to experience prayer and to hear an inspiring prayer, then WINGS would fit them.  Najat said they recently had three wonderful speakers on three saints. They had a series of speakers on the women doctors of the Church. In the winter Bible study, they looked at relating to others as Jesus would: relating to families, to seekers, to sinners, to people he met along the way, to people who rejected Him, to his friends. They had outside speakers as well as women-members who spoke on their own reflections on the Scripture. **4th segment:** Scot asked how many groups are in the Archdiocese. Najat said there are 11: * Amesbury MA, Holy Family Parish  (meets Sunday evenings at 7:15 pm in lower hall of Sacred Heart Church)  [www.hfamesbury.com](http://www.hfamesbury.com)  * Holliston MA, St. Mary's Parish  (meets Wednesday mornings at 9:30 am in the church hall)  [www.stmarysholliston.com](http://www.stmarysholliston.com)  * Hopkinton MA, St. John the Evangelist Parish  (meets Tuesday mornings in the parish hall)  [stjohntheevangelisthopkinton.parishesonline.com](http://stjohntheevangelisthopkinton.parishesonline.com)  * Lexington MA, St. Brigid Parish  (meets Thursday mornings at 9:30 am)  [www.lexingtoncatholic.org](http://www.lexingtoncatholic.org)  * Marshfield MA, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish  (meets Tuesday mornings at 9:15 am)  * Middleborough MA, Sacred Heart Parish  Rochester MA, St. Rose of Lima  Lakeville MA, Saint Martha and Mary  (meets Tuesday mornings at Fr. Shea Center, Sacred Heart Parish)  [www.sacredheart-middleboro.org](http://www.sacredheart-middleboro.org)  * Milton/Quincy MA, St. Agatha Parish  (meets Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm in the school hall)  * Natick MA, St. Patrick Parish  (meets Wednesday mornings at 9:30 am)  [www.stpatsnatick.org](http://www.stpatsnatick.org)  * Needham MA, St. Joseph Parish  (meets Wednesday mornings at 9:45 am in the Linse room , lower church)  [www.saintjoesparish.com](http://www.saintjoesparish.com)  * North Andover MA, St. Michael Parish  (meets Sunday evenings at 7 pm in church hall)  [www.saint-michael.org](http://www.saint-michael.org)  * Wellesley MA, St.Paul Parish  (meets Monday evenings in the church hall)  [www.stpaulwellesley.com](http://www.stpaulwellesley.com)  Scot asked Jen what's involved in starting a WINGS ministry. She said the first step is prayer, to pray about whether you are called to start. Then talk to friends who might also be interested in starting the group. Then get in touch ([info@catholicwings.com](mailto:info@catholicwings.com)) with the main group at CatholicWings.com to help plan and put a proposal together for the pastor. Ideally it should be 8-10 women who start it and then planning for 6 months up to 1 year. They will also come out to the parish to provide training as well as resources for finding speakers that have spoken at other groups. She said they have an archive of 10 years of seasons and speakers that new groups can use to build on. The women will want to choose a time that works for the parish, whether a day or evening. Ideally they would have a parish hall available, plus another room for childcare. At night, it's usually the same minus the babysitting. Most evening groups don't use babysitting, but that's not a rule. Fr. Mark asked about expenses. Jen said there are suggested annual membership dues, about $40. Those dues pay for the speakers who come in from outside the parish community. Jen said the relationship with the parish is getting the pastor's approval obviously and then a staff member who would be a spiritual adviser, like a DRE or pastoral associate who could meet with them a couple of times per year to give advice on topics, resources, and speakers. **5th segment:** As we do every week, Scot and Fr. Mark will consider this Sunday's Mass readings along with our guests to prepare for Sunday. * Gospel ([John 10:1-10](http://www.usccb.org/nab/051511.shtml#gospel)) >Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. > >So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Jen said she found herself drawn to the line where it says a shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them. Many of us might not know that God is calling us in our lives and we have to take time to listen in our busy lives to hear Him. Where it says "they will not follow a stranger," it says to her that we have to build a relationship with Jesus to know Him and recognize His voice when He calls us. We need to find time every day to listen to His voice. Najat said she is reminded that the door is always open and Jesus is always there. Jesus always walks before us and we always know who to follow. Fr. Mark said it brings back an image from his first assignment. A previous pastor came back for the 40th anniversary of the parish. When he began to speak during the Eucharistic Prayer, the people started to smile because they recognized his voice from so many Masses said in that parish. Scot said at the end of the Gospel, Jesus says, "*I* came..." Jesus wants us  to be happy in this life and the next which comes by following Him through that gate into heaven. He's always calling us. He doesn't call just once, but every day. We need to hear Him despite the noise of our everyday life.  Jen said the thieves and robbers are the obstacles and false promises that come to us every day and the distractions that can lead us away from Christ. Don't get discouraged. When life gets difficult, Christ is even closer to us. Fr. Mark said we know the authentic voice in our heart of Christ despite all the other voices in the world.  The voice of our conscience is the voice of Christ with us. This Sunday is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which is tied to this Sunday as Good Shepherd Sunday. Scot encourages all to thank their priests this Sunday for being a shepherd. That will conclude today's presentation of The Good Catholic Life. For recordings and photos of today's show and all previous shows, please visit our website: TheGoodCatholicLife.com. You can also download the app for your iPhone or Android device at WQOM.org to listen to the show wherever you may be. We thank our guests, Jennifer Schiller and Najat Whalen. For our co-host, Father Mark O'Connell, our Production team of Rick Heil, Anna Johnson, Justin Bell, Dom Bettinelli, and George Martell, this is Scot Landry saying thank YOU for listening, God bless you and have a wonderful weekend!