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On our last episode, I welcomed two of our Sullivan Undergraduate Saints Fellows to talk about the pilgrimage through France that our cohort completed at the start of summer. The final destination on that pilgrimage was Lourdes. As follow up to that episode, I want to share with all of you a relatively short reflection on thirst. In particular, I want to talk about a pilgrim's thirst. But in the end, I really want to talk about the waters of Lourdes. Follow-up Resources:Read this episode in article form at OSV Magazine under “A thirsty American pilgrim drinks his fill at Lourdes” by Leonard J. DeLorenzoThe Song of Bernadette, by Franz WurfelLearn more about the Sullivan Undergraduate Saints Fellowship“Pilgrimage and the Urgent Question of Faith,” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, essay in the Church Life Journal“A pilgrimage of sacred art,” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, article in Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly“Encountering Christ on Pilgrimage, with Joan Watson,” podcast episode via Church Life TodayChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.
Arising from the McGrath Institute for Church Life, the Sullivan Undergraduate Saints Fellowship forms Notre Dame students as leaders in the study and spirituality of the saints. We launched this fellowship in 2025 with an inaugural cohort of 12 students selected from a pool of many, many applicants. As part of their fellowship, our saints fellows completed a course this past semester (with yours truly) on praying with the saints. Next year they will become leaders of other undergraduate students, as they form groups of students who pray together and serve together in a manner common to a saint each fellow selects. But in between the course they complete and the year of leadership they undertake, the whole cohort of 12 fellows, along with me and a chaplain, make a pilgrimage to immerse ourselves in the cultures that gave rise to particular saints––cultures which, in turn, these saints renewed and enriched. This year's pilgrimage was to France, specifically: Paris, Chartres, Lisieux, LeMans, Tours, and Lourdes. Today, two of our Sullivan Undergraduate Saints Fellows join me to talk about the meaning and significance of this pilgrimage with the saints. Macy Vance is a rising junior and Kate Apelian is a rising senior at Notre Dame, but really I should let them introduce themselves.Follow-up Resources:Learn more about the Sullivan Undergraduate Saints FellowshipCheck out the wildly popular “Saturdays with the Saints” lecture series“Pilgrimage and the Urgent Question of Faith,” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, essay in the Church Life Journal“A pilgrimage of sacred art,” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, article in Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly“Saints who flew, with Carlos Eire,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“Encountering Christ on Pilgrimage, with Joan Watson,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“Saints, for Real, with Meg Hunter-Kilmer,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“The Theology of the Saints, with Katie Cavadini and Leonard DeLorenzo,” podcast episode via Church Life TodayChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.
For years now, modern-day sexual ethics has held that “anything goes” when it comes to sex—as long as everyone says yes, and does so enthusiastically. So why, even when consent has been ascertained, are so many sexual experiences filled with frustration and disappointment, even shame? The truth is that the rules that make up today's consent-only sexual code may actually be the cause of the sexual malaise—not the solution. In Rethinking Sex, reporter Christine Emba shows how consent is a good ethical floor but a terrible ceiling. She spells out the cultural, historical, and psychological forces that have warped the idea of sex, what is permitted, and what is considered “safe.” Reaching back to the wisdom of thinkers like Thomas Aquinas and Andrea Dworkin, and drawing from sociological studies, interviews with college students, and poignant examples from her own life, Emba calls for a more humane philosophy, one that starts with consent but accounts for the very real emotional, mental, social, and spiritual implications of sex. With a target audience that clearly includes sexually active young adults, Emba tries to help us imagine what it means to will the good of others and thereby discover greater affirmation and fulfillment.Follow-up Resources:Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, by Christine Emba“In Search of a Full Life: A Practical and Spiritual Guide,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“Nationwide Study on Faith and Relationships, with J.P. DeGance,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“Letter to a Young Catholic: How to have sex,” article by Leonard J. DeLorenzo in Our Sunday Visitor“The End of Friendship, with Jennifer Senior,” podcast episode via Church Life TodayChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.
Catholic Mom's Lisa Hendey and Barb Szyszkiewicz welcome author and podcaster Dr. Leonard J. DeLorenzo, recorded live at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, California. Leonard J. DeLorenzo, PhD, serves in the McGrath Institute for Church Life and teaches theology at the University of Notre Dame. Two of DeLorenzo's recent publications include "Turn to the Lord: Forming Disciples for Lifelong Conversion" (Liturgical Press) and "Our Faithful Departed: Where They Are and Why It Matters" (Ave Maria). DeLorenzo is the creator and host of the popular radio show and podcast "Church Life Today" and speaks internationally on character formation, discernment, the biblical imagination, and the spiritualities of the saints for dioceses, parishes, schools, and other conferences. Show Note Links: Church Life Today Podcast Turn to the Lord: Forming Disciples for Lifelong Conversion Our Faithful Departed: Where They Are and Why It Matters
“O God, who in your inexpressible providence were pleased to choose Saint Joseph as spouse of the most holy Mother of your Son, grant, we pray, that we, who revere him as our protector on earth, may be worthy of his heavenly intercession. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”So concludes the litany of Saint Joseph. This litany leads us to contemplate the titles and honors of Joseph, husband of Mary and custodian of the Incarnate Word. To contemplate Joseph requires that we contemplate the mysteries of God, because Joseph, from whom Scripture records no words spoken, is directed by and responsive to the Word who speaks our salvation. But it takes time, attention, and a patient, longing devotion to turn a prayer like the litany of Saint Joseph into something that allows us to contemplate such subtle and sweeping beauties. And so, for today's episode, especially in honor of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, I want to offer you some reflections on a few of these titles and honors of Joseph, to help us, together, to marvel at this great saint anew, precisely by marveling at what and who he himself holds most dear and cherishes.This episode of Church Life Today is different than most since this is an episode without a guest, unless you'd like to count Saint Joseph himself as my guest. The reflections I share with you in this episode are drawn from the book I wrote with Our Sunday Visitor under the title Model of Faith: Reflecting on the Litany of Saint Joseph. That book presents some 25 such reflections, but here today I will only share a handful with you, mostly in pairs. Each reflection seeks to open up one of the titles or honors of Saint Joseph from his litany. I am grateful to Our Sunday Visitor for agreeing to allow me to use portions of the book for our podcast today … and I am grateful to Our Sunday Visitor again for producing this podcast. So thanks all around to Our Sunday Visitor, who is helping us to give thanks to God for and through Saint Joseph. Follow up Resources:● Model of Faith: Reflecting on the Litany of Saint Joseph by Leonard J. DeLorenzo● “Finding God in Saint Joseph” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, presenting the first two reflections contained in this episode.● A Report on American Catholic Religious Parenting from the McGrath Institute for Church Life.● Providence College Veritas ConferenceThis episode is supported by Providence College Humanities Program, https://humanities.providence.edu/veritas/Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.
Leonard J. DeLorenzo, Ph.D. (https://www.leonardjdelorenzo.com/about), is the director of undergraduate studies at the McGrath Institute for Church Life where he also serves as academic director for Notre Dame Vision, directs the Sullivan Family Saints Initiative, and hosts the popular radio show and podcast Church Life Today. He holds a concurrent teaching appointment in the Department of Theology. Special Guest: Leonard J. DeLorenzo.
We're live with Dr. Roland Millare, Vice President of Curriculum and Director of Clergy Initiatives with the St. John Paul II Foundation with Converging Roads healthcare conference in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Fr. Casey Cole, OFM with summer update from the Bleacher Brothers and Dr. Leonard J. DeLorenzo, editor of The Chronicles of Transformation: A Spiritual Journey with C. S. Lewis.
In a world grown cold without wonder, how do we reimagine the drama and joy of Christianity? For C.S. Lewis, the answer was to invite us into a different world that would help us see this one with fresh eyes. In this episode, Paul Senz talks with Leonard J. DeLorenzo, editor of “Chronicles of Transformation: A Spiritual Journey with C.S. Lewis,” a unique volume that explores the beloved terrain of Narnia with insightful essays, moving poetry, and original new artwork. The book is now available at Ignatius.com: https://bit.ly/3cz6THK
Dr. Leonard J. DeLorenzo (leonardjdelorenzo.com) from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame joins us to talk about Small Group catechesis for Sacramental Preparation, based on his own experience in helping prepare his oldest child for the sacrament of confirmation. His insights and framework are compiled in the book "Turn to the Lord: Forming Disciples for Lifelong Conversion" available on Liturgical Press.
We explore the outsourcing of catechesis of our children with Dr. Delorenzo of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. Breaking the Habit of Outsourcing the Ongoing Catechesis of Our Children A Eucharistic Culture of Affiliation A New Model for Understanding the Dynamics of Catholic Disaffiliation
Dr. Leonard J. Delorenzo, from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, joins us to talk about his new book on prayer, "Into the Heart of the Father: Learning From and Giving Yourself Through Christ in Prayer." In both the book and the conversation, he suggests simple perspective shifts that have profound implications in our practice and experience of prayer. Patreon supporters get an extra 18 minutes of conversation. Learn more and listen at https://www.patreon.com/posts/51020954.
Dr. Tom Curran is joined by Sacred Heart Book Club Co-hosts Fr. Kurt Nagel, Fr. Jim Northrop, Fr. Jeff Lewis, and Pam Gunderson to discuss A God Who Questions by Leonard J. DeLorenzo. The post November 18 –Sacred Heart Book Club: A God Who Questions appeared first on My Catholic Faith Ministries.