Podcasts about Mother church

Laura Remmerde, from Haines, Oregon, USAJoin us at this year's Annual Meeting of the Mother Church. Find out more at christianscience.com/annualmeeting.

The Light Exposes Darkness Expressing gratitude for a place to take burdens and grief to God. "Thank God for a place where I can take my burden. I can take my grief. I can take the things that I've messed up and done wrong." Finding grace and mercy anywhere, not just in church. "You can find grace you can find mercy for your soul today anywhere you're at." Thankfulness for the church and the Holy Spirit's presence. "Thank God the church doors were open that night. Thank God the lights were on. Thank God the saints had gathered. Thank God the Holy Spirit did what He said He would do." Sharing personal testimony of being saved and transformed by Jesus. "He changed my life. Made me a new creature. Brought me out of the darkness I was in. Set my feet on a solid rock." Desire to lift up Christ to the world. "If I live another year, another hundred years, I want to be able to lift up Christ to this world that they might see Him, that they might know there is a Redeemer." Gratitude for earthly mothers who honored God and taught right from wrong. "Thank God for every mother that has tried to stand, take a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ and live their life in the way...That honored God." Acknowledging those without mothers and emphasizing the importance of a mother figure. The Mother Church Finding a family in the church after being saved. "I found a family the day I got saved." Gratitude for the raising received, including discipline and instruction. "I'm grateful for the raising I had. I don't regret not being able to every whipping I caught, every instruction I caught, every meal I ate." The church as a spiritual mother that cares for the soul. "When I got saved, I got laid into a family that loves me worse than all. They care for my soul." Reference to Hebrews 12:22, discussing the church of the firstborn written in heaven. "You are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels." Emphasizing the need to be born again to be part of the true church. "To get into that church I'm talking about this morning, the mother of us all, you're going to have to come through Christ." Importance of being part of the church. "One of the things the Lord Jesus asked you and I to do was to be a part of the church." Appreciation for prayer meetings and houses opened to the gospel. Reference to a prayer meeting at Brother Wayne Black's house with about 30 saints. "We need more houses that are opened up to the gospel, that are opened up to a prayer meeting." The church as everlasting and eternal, the church of the firstborn. "Thank God to be a part of a church, a church, friends, that is everlasting and eternal, of the church of the firstborn, those whose names have been written in heaven." The church nurtures and makes one of its own. "She took me in automatically and made me one of her own. I was turned to the firstborn." The church provides spiritual mentors, Sunday school teachers, and pastors. "Every person that was in the house of God that night...they became my mama and they became my daddy...my spiritual mentors...my Sunday school teachers." The church never leaves, even when the flesh resists. "She ain't never left me...There was a drawing in my soul that said this is your mother." God as the only spiritual father, referencing Matthew 23. "Call no man father on this earth...neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ." The church of the firstborn includes all believers, regardless of race. "White, black. Don't make no difference. If your name was written down in heaven, you're a part of the firstborn." The church cares for the soul. "You've got a mother here and she cares for your soul."

May 7th, 2025:  Holy Mother Church & St Joseph; The Glories of St Joseph; St Joseph - A Father to Us; St Joseph - A Model of Diligence

Kevin Ness, CSB, from Boston, Massachusetts, USAHear more from Kevin on this episode of Sentinel Watch.Are you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Madelon Maupin, from Scottsdale, Arizona, USAHear more from Madelon on this episode of Sentinel Watch. Are you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Sylvia Messner, from Laguna Hills, California, USAAre you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Deuteronomy 26: 16-19; Rs psalm 119: 1-2.4-5.7-8; Matthew 5: 43-48HOLY PEOPLE The theme for our meditation today is: Holy People. InSunday school, the teacher asked the children in this way: "What is thepurpose of God to help and care for His people?" The children's answerswere varied. Some said that the goal is to save more people. Others said thatpeople should be happy and happier. And others said that God should show thatHis love is great. The teacher who was also the catechist of the localparish ultimately concluded that all the answers were correct. The basis forthis teaching certainly because God wants goodness and truth to be on the humanside. For God's own part, there is no longer a need to make Him better and morerighteous. On the contrary, God wants us mortal humans to become better andmore righteous. According to the Gospel of Matthew today, the Lord Jesus wantsus to be a holy people, or to be perfect like the heavenly Father who is everperfect in eternity. In fact, God helps and cares for us from birth untilwe leave this world at the time of death, the purpose is for us to become holy.He entrusts us to live temporarily in this world. While in this world, each ofus with our own age limit, walks and live together under His holy light. Thisexplanation is manifested in various types. The word of God is a sacred Word. We experience theexpression of God's Word through preaching, spiritual reading, spiritual adviceor guidance, sharing the message of the scriptures, and worship. The servicesof the Church both in sacramental and non-sacramental forms and works of loveare also noble and holy deeds. The Church as the body and Jesus Christ as herHead are holy. The callings such as consecrated life, priesthood and marriageare sacred. The holy names that are attached to each of us are holy. In short,God has provided all the holy ways, means, and works to help us become holyjust as He is. The ordination of believers to be one holy people hasbeen done by the Lord God since the time of Moses, because the elect must beset aside so that His great promise of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ,to be realized. The book of Deuteronomy confirms this, to remind us of our dignityas God's holy people, through our Mother Church. However, God's holy people asan institution does not automatically guarantee that every individual member isholy. For everyone has sin, and the Church always provides an instrument forthe remission of everyone's sins. In this Lenten season, let us make use ofthat instrument.Let us pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord, may weremain diligent and faithful in living our respective sacred callings. OurFather who art in heaven ... In the name of the Father...

Norm Bleichman, CS, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, USAAre you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Kate Mullane Robertson, CS, from Buena Vista, Colorado, USAAre you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Send us a messageIn Chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation, we are introduced to the Harlot who ridesthe Beast, and in verses 3-5, we read the description of her as seen through the eyes of John the Apostle. The majority of Prophecy teachers and scholars who have sought the Holy Spirit's wisdom in Truth, believe that this Harlot is the Mother Church of Rome that is drawing every other false way into the Babylon Mystery Religion of the Antichrist - through her ecumenical seductions. In “The Promised Golden Age & The Coming One World Religion,” we take a penetrating look into the many religious interfaith endeavors that serve her in her seductions, and how she is almost ready to take her place next to the Antichrist as his darkened Bride.Support the showVisit our website: https://agapelightministries.com/

Madeline Cassidy, from West Islip, New York, USAAre you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Friends of the Rosary,Today, Friday 21, is the Memorial of St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), Doctor of the Church and one of the greatest reformers of the Middle Ages.In his poem, the Divine Comedy, Dante places Damian in the “seventh heaven.” That was his place for holy people who loved to think about or contemplate God.Men admire Damian, the scholar, for his wealth of wisdom; Damian, the preacher of God's word, for his apostolic zeal; Damian, the monk, for his austerity and self-denial; Damian, the priest, for his piety and zeal for souls; Damian, the cardinal, for his loyalty and submission to the Holy See, his enthusiasm and devotion for the good of Mother Church.He wrote, “Do not stop protecting yourself daily by receiving the Flesh and Blood of the Lord.”  He often prescribed penances and fasting to lax religious people.Jesus, I Trust In You!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!St. Peter Damian, Pray for Us!+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• February 21, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Trevor Yates, CS, from New York, New York, USAAre you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Tony Lobl, CS, from London, EnglandYou can read Tony's editorial in the Christian Science Sentinel.Are you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

Whit Larsen, from Osage Beach, Missouri, USAAre you or someone you know interested in interning at The Mother Church? Go to christianscience.com/internships.

The Angel Gabriel's next stop is an obscure town in Northern Judea to announce the birth of the messiah to a young Jewish Virgin. This scene has shaped the imagination and liturgy of the Church in profoundly positive and harmful ways. Mary, the God-bearer, is a picture of Mother Church and the true Christian; favored of God, thoughtful, obedient, believing, worshipful and a faithful follower of God's word. Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-38

This week Reid and Dan Isbell host Grand Ole Opry Member and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Member, Terri Clark, out in God's Country. Dan immediately dives in on the hot take of how terrible it is to host a kid's birthday party during deer season, even though he's guilty of doing it in September. Terri shares her love of northern pike fishing, bass fishing, and how much more fun touring is when there is a good lake near the venue. They all discuss the current landscape of country music, specific to females on the charts and how much different it was when Terri was coming up in the industry. She harmonizes with the guys singing one of her massive hits and we're still crying with her over her "One That Got Away." God's Country on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Shop God's Country Merch Shop MeatEater Merch More from MeatEaterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems to me that we have a few ways in which we receive revelation from our blessed Trinity: Direct communion, Scripture, & Mother Church. I feel an emphasis on mother church in these days, maybe especially for those of us who haven't valued her as we should. Of course all authentic revelation must come in the sacred heart and Spirit of the testimony of Jesus. Much to discuss! Want to go deeper in this kind of revelation?  Check out our Glory Foundations Class at: www.gloryfoundationsclass.com Order Matt's book 'High On God' at our website: www.thefirehouseprojects.com  Been blessed by this ministry?  Partner with us financially to spread this GOOD NEWS!  Click here TO DONATE: www.thefirehouseprojects.com/donate

Want to go deeper in this kind of revelation?  Check out our Glory Foundations Class at: www.gloryfoundationsclass.com Order Matt's book 'High On God' at our website: www.thefirehouseprojects.com  Been blessed by this ministry?  Partner with us financially to spread this GOOD NEWS!  Click here TO DONATE: www.thefirehouseprojects.com/donate

Fr. Jacob Hsieh is a Norbertine priest of St. Michael's Abbey and rector of Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington. He is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College and was ordained a priest in 2015.  In today's episode, Fr. Jacob discusses the Catholic dogma: "there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church."

Outline:IntroductionImpending DoomConfession of SinsJoseph WeptAssurance of PardonConfessing as LordTheodicy Joseph's ProgenyJoseph's ReposeChargeSaint Athanasius ChurchContra Mundum SwaggerVideo Version

Fana Hues started her career as a musician at two years old. "Moth" shows her expertise, blending serious song craft into pop R&B bangers. We talked to her on the balcony of The Ryman before her performance at the Mother Church.

fWotD Episode 2632: John D. Whitney Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia’s finest articles.The featured article for Friday, 19 July 2024 is John D. Whitney.John Dunning Whitney (July 19, 1850 – November 27, 1917) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Georgetown University in 1898. Born in Massachusetts, he joined the United States Navy at the age of sixteen, where he was introduced to Catholicism by way of a book that accidentally came into his possession and prompted him to become a Catholic. He entered the Society of Jesus and spent the next twenty-five years studying and teaching mathematics at Jesuit institutions around the world, including in Canada, England, Ireland, and around the United States in New York, Maryland, Boston, and Louisiana. He became the vice president of Spring Hill College in Alabama before being appointed the president of Georgetown University.During his three-year tenure, a number of improvements were made to the campus, including the completion of Gaston Hall and the construction of the entrances to Healy Hall. The Georgetown University Hospital and what would become the School of Dentistry were also established. After the end of his term, he went to Boston College for several years as treasurer before doing pastoral work in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Baltimore, where he became the prefect of St. Ignatius Church. He continued to spend time at Boston College, where he died in 1917.John Dunning Whitney was born on July 19, 1850, in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Descending from a prominent family, his father was Thomas G. Whitney and his mother was Esther A. Whitney née Dunning. Esther was a devout Congregationalist and John was raised in that faith. He was sent to several public and private schools, including Nantucket High School, before entering the United States Navy in 1866. While serving as a lieutenant aboard the schoolship USS Mercury, he had a religious conversion experience.Aboard the Mercury, he would often discuss religion with a shipmate, who argued that none of the Protestant churches were the one true church, and that either the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Catholic Church was the true church. Whitney was also able to compare the different practices of the Protestant and Catholic chaplains aboard the ship. His conversations with his shipmate convinced Whitney to consider "the claims of the Catholic church". In August 1870, the Mercury was in Newport, Rhode Island, to attend the America's Cup. The captain invited a newlywed Catholic couple aboard to return to New York City from the yacht races. While sailing through the Long Island Sound, the bride dropped a book overboard, and the executive officer had a dinghy lowered into the water to retrieve it. After disembarking in New York, the bride left the book behind, which Whitney discovered to be The Invitation Heeded: Reasons for a Return to Catholic Unity by James Kent Stone, who later became a Passionist priest known as Father Fidelis; the book was written in response to Pope Pius IX's call for all Christians to return to the Mother Church.Having read the book repeatedly, he approached one of the ship's chaplains, Dominic Duranquet, a Jesuit, and declared that if its contents were true, then he must become a Catholic. After being instructed to pray and study further, he requested to be received into the Catholic Church, with Stone as his godfather. On November 2, 1870 (All Souls' Day), Whitney was conditionally baptized by Duranquet in the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City.Whitney entered the Society of Jesus on August 14, 1872, in the Sault-au-Récollet neighborhood of Montreal, Canada, where he remained for two years. He went to Manresa House in the Roehampton district of London, England, in 1875 to study rhetoric for a year, and then to Stonyhurst College in Lancashire for three years to study philosophy. He taught mathematics for a year before returning to the United States in 1880, where he continued to teach mathematics at St. Francis Xavier College in New York City for four years.In 1884, he went to Woodstock College in Maryland to study theology. The following year, he was sent to Mobile, Alabama, where he was ordained a priest on August 15, 1885. He began teaching mathematics in 1886 at Spring Hill College, and eventually became vice president of the school. After four years at Spring Hill College, he went to Ireland in 1890, where he studied theology at Milltown Park in Dublin, before returning to Roehampton for his tertianship in 1892.Whitney then returned to the United States, and began teaching mathematics at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, from 1893 to 1895. He was transferred to the College of the Immaculate Conception in New Orleans in 1897, and then to St. John's College in The Bronx, later known as Fordham University.Whitney was appointed president of Georgetown University on July 3, 1898, succeeding J. Havens Richards. During his presidency, a number of improvements to the campus were made. The Georgetown University Hospital was opened and the first patient was accepted. Gaston Hall was decorated and completed in 1901. That year, the university also received a donation from Anthony A. Hirst, a wealthy resident of Philadelphia and alumnus of Georgetown College and Law School, to construct Hirst Library inside Healy Hall. The main and center entrances to Healy Hall were completed, walkways were paved, and several campus buildings were renovated, including Dahlgren Chapel.In 1901, Whitney convinced the faculty of the School of Medicine to reconsider the proposal of a local dentist, W. Warrington Evans, to absorb his Washington Dental College as a department of the medical school, a proposal he had been tendering to the university since 1870. The medical faculty accepted the arrangement in May 1901, and the Washington Dental College became a department in late July. It would eventually become the university's School of Dentistry.On May 14, 1901, the university hosted Archbishop Sebastiano Martinelli, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, upon his elevation to the College of Cardinals. The grand reception in Healy Hall was attended by the students and faculty in their academic regalia, as well as many dignitaries, including the Secretary of War Elihu Root, all the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, all the justices of the federal District of Columbia Court of Appeals (later renamed to a circuit court), most of the foreign ambassadors to the United States, many military and naval commanders, and the faculties of other local universities. While Whitney was popular with the students, the Jesuit provincial superior decided not to renew his term as president, believing he had placed too much emphasis on athletics and was spendthrifty. Whitney's tenure as president came to an end on July 11, 1901, and he was succeeded by Jerome Daugherty.Following the end of his presidency at Georgetown, Whitney became the treasurer of Boston College in 1902 and held this post until 1907. While in Massachusetts, he also worked closely with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a female religious order. He then left Boston to take up ministry at St. Joseph's Church in Philadelphia, before becoming the prefect of St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore in August 1909. He succeeded Francis X. Brady, who left to become president of Loyola College in Maryland, and Whitney was stationed at St. Ignatius for the remainder of his life.While at St. Ignatius, he directed the sodality of St. Ignatius Church, which administered the W. G. Read Mullan Scholarship. He spent the year of 1912 in Brooklyn, away from his parish. In May 1916, his health began to deteriorate, and he spent part of 1917 at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where he died on November 27 of that year. His funeral was held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston and he was buried at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:33 UTC on Friday, 19 July 2024.For the full current version of the article, see John D. Whitney on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Joanna.

Looking to Mary, the Mother of God, and Mother Church to help guide us!

Reedy Chapel, located at 20th Street and Broadway in Galveston, is a historic church that played a role in the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas on June 19, 1865, a date now celebrated as Juneteenth. Established in 1848 and known as the "Mother Church of Texas," it became the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the state and hosted the first two annual conferences of the AME Church. Despite being rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1885 and damaged by the 1900 storm, Reedy Chapel remains an active community space and houses one of the oldest pipe organs in Texas.Galveston Unscripted What is Galveston Unscripted?Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!

How does a worldwide religious body stay connected? Explore some of the ways this interaction has worked for the Christian Science church, from its origins up to the present day.

Hour 3 of The Drew Mariani Show on 5-16-24 Father Paul Desmarais joins us for a conversation around increasing virtue through prayer and Our Lady's intercession, and distancing ourselves from mortal sins like lust Bree Solstad tells her story of falling into the clutches of working in the adult entertainment industry, and how a memorable trip to Italy changed her life -- she is now happy in the arms of Mother Church!

As we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Fr. Kirby sheds light on Mother Church's decision to suspend penance, reminding us of the profound hope found in Christ's victory over sin and death.Remember to continue celebrating Easter today! No penances necessary!—Morning Offering with Fr. Kirby, April 5, 2024—————————Every morning, join Father Jeffrey Kirby as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Kirby guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Let us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)

This week, Kelly and John talk to Dr. Nicole Symmonds, who works as an Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics and, it happens, used to work a few cubicles down from John at Beliefnet a decade and a half or so ago. Dr. Symmonds' work sits at the intersection of Christian ethics and women, gender, and sexuality studies. She explores Black women's embodiment, particularly the practices of liberative embodiment they craft as a method of resistance to domination and as a simulation of freedom. Dr. Symmonds identifies as Black Catholic, a religious tradition that follows the rite of the Roman Catholic Church but is driven by the spirit of Blackness in all its forms according to Black people's diasporic origins and heritage. She is a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes, the Mother Church of African-American Catholics in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In this episode, she discusses her work studying evangelicals and anti-sex-trafficking work, becoming a Black Catholic, TikTok, and why she emphasizes the term "womanism" in her studies.` She is on Twitter @nicole_symmonds

Father Deacon Anthony Dragani, a Deacon in the Ukrainian Catholic tradition, joins Justin Hibbard to talk about the history and practices of Eastern Catholicism and specifically the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Fr. Dcn. Anthony, a professor of Religious Studies at Mount Aloysius College, specializes in Eastern Christianity and helping Western Catholics better understand Eastern Catholicism.Watch the video interview on YouTube.Questions & Timestamps:* 2:15 - Where can people find you?* 3:10 - Can you explain the title “Father Deacon?”* 3:55 - What was your Catholic upbringing?* 6:20 - What's the process of changing rites?* 9:09 - Can you provide a broad overview of Eastern Catholicism?* 12:36 - Why are you Eastern Catholic instead of Eastern Orthodox?* 19:14 - What draws people to Eastern Catholicism?* 23:22 - What are some of the challenges being Eastern Catholic in a predominantly Roman Catholic Church?* 28:49 - What are some practical ways the Roman Catholic community can embrace the Eastern Catholic community?* 32:26 - What is the relationship like between the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches?* 37:20 - Does the Ukrainian Catholic Church have a sister Eastern Orthodox Church?* 47:41 - How much of the current war between Russia and Ukraine is related to ecclesiastical history? * 52:50 - What's the relationship with the Mother Church in Kiev since the Russian invasion?* 55:13 - Our of the options in Eastern Catholicism, why did you choose to be Ukrainian Catholic? * 1:00:15 - Are Eastern Catholics separated based on their ethnic roots?* 1:03:50 - What are some of the differences between the Roman and Ukrainian Catholic liturgies?Subscribe to Why Catholic? wherever you get your podcasts.Check out the Why Catholic Etsy shop (all proceeds support this podcast).Become a free subscriber or a patron of Why Catholic? and get the next episode and a discount code to the Why Catholic Etsy shop in your email inbox.Follow Why Catholic on Instagram.Subscribe to Why Catholic on YouTubeSHOW NOTES:* Fr. Dcn. Anthony Dragani's Website - East2West.org* Orientale Lumin - Pope John Paul II* The Other 23 Catholic Churches and Why They Exist - Ascension Press Get full access to Why Catholic? at whycatholic.substack.com/subscribe

Joshua Bronnenberg from the Ryman Auditorium staff stopped by the show to talk about JC Unit 1 - Johnny Cash's famed tour bus - which is now at The Ryman (on loan from the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame) and part of the Mother Church tour for a limited time. Joshua talks about how the bus became part of the Ryman tour, and how you can visit and experience it, during its short time in Nashville. Make the Grand Ole Opry part of YOUR Nashville experience! With at least three shows every week, there are plenty of opportunities to see The Show That Made Country Music Famous -- plus, take the Opry Backstage Tour while you're there, and you'll get to stand in the world-famous circle where so many country greats have performed. Plus, you'll get access to the limited-time "Famous Friends: Guests of the Grand Ole Opry" exhibit at the Acuff House. Thanks for listening to the Coffee, Country & Cody podcast from WSM Radio! Download the official WSM Radio App (for Apple or Android devices) to hear WSM in digital clarity, plus two additional streaming stations -- Opry Nashville and Route 650 -- as well as thousands of hours of archived programming. And now you can hear WSM on iHeartRadio as well!

Lord Jesus Christ, Our God and Saviour, You are the Head of the Church, Your spotless Bride and Mystical Body. Look mercifully upon the profound distress to which Our Holy Mother Church has been subjected. Doctrinal confusion, moral abomination, and liturgical abuse have, in our day, reached an unprecedented height. “The heathens have come into your inheritance, having defiled your holy temple, and laid Jerusalem in ruins” (Ps 79:1). Churchmen who have lost the true Faith and become promoters of a worldly globalist agenda, are intent on changing Your truths and Commandments, the Divine Constitution of the Church, and the Apostolic tradition. O Lord, with humble spirit and contrite heart we beseech You, prevent the enemies of the Church from exulting in a victory over the authentic Catholic Church obtained by imposing a counterfeit church under the guise of “synodality.” Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come to the aid of Your Church with Your almighty strength. For where sin and apostasy in the Church abounds, the victory of Your grace will abound the more. We firmly believe that the gates of Hell will not prevail against Your Church. In this hour, in which our beloved and holy Mother Church is suffering her Golgotha, we promise to remain with her. Graciously accept our interior and exterior sufferings, which we humbly offer in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Church, as a reparation for our own sins and for the sins of sacrilege and apostasy within the Church. O Lord, send forth your Holy Angels under the command of Saint Michael the Archangel, to bring your heavenly light to the Pope and synod participants, and to frustrate the plans of your enemies within the synod assembly. O Lord, look mercifully upon the little ones in the Church, look upon the hidden souls who sacrifice themselves for the Church, look upon all the tears, sighs and supplications of the true children of the Church, and through the merits of the Immaculate Heart of Your Most Holy Mother, arise, O Lord, and by Your intervention grant Your Church holy shepherds who, imitating Your example, will give their lives for You and Your sheep. O Lord, we beseech You: Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us a holy Pope, zealous in promoting and defending the Catholic Faith, we implore You, grant it! Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us holy and intrepid bishops, we implore You, grant it! Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us holy priests, who are men of God, we implore You, grant it! In You, O Lord, we rest our hope: let us never be put to shame. To You, O Lord Jesus Christ, be given all honour and glory in Your Holy Church. You live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit: God, forever and ever. Amen.   September 29, 2023 + Athanasius Schneider

June 29: Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles First Century  Solemnity; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of the city of Rome Like the sun, Peter and Paul rose in the East but set in the West Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. The Pope is the head of the churches. The invisible, heavenly Church, mystically depicted by the Book of Revelation and described by Saint Paul as “our mother,” is the “Jerusalem above” (Ga 4:26). This perfect, inner, Church of God has theological priority over all earthly churches, which are its shadow. The first Christian congregation, in Jerusalem, anticipated and grew into the universal Church. For a short period, the Jerusalem Church was the universal church. And from this original whole, smaller parts formed, until the one Church became present throughout the world. Unity exists, then spreads. The children do not create the parents. The many dioceses throughout the world are not stitched together into a patchwork quilt called the universal Church. Catholicism is not an international federation of dioceses or the end result of its own geographic stretch. The one Church precedes the many churches. It gives them birth. The progression is from God outward, from spirit to flesh, from ontological to historical, from Jerusalem to Rome, and from Rome to the world. All dioceses are sisters to one another. So Manila, Philippines, is a sister diocese to that of Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lagos, Nigeria, is a sister diocese to that of La Paz, Bolivia. But the universal Church is not herself a diocese. She has no sisters, lest her oneness be compromised by having a mirror church. The universal Church is a mother, not a sister. And the Mother Church was established in Rome by Saints Peter and Paul, whose feast  we celebrate today. This feast also implicitly commemorates Rome's position as head of all the churches. Rome's particular vocation is to preserve the unity of God's Church on earth. This vocation is not an accidental historical addition to the Church's original nature. Unity is intrinsic to the Church's theology, and so there must be a practical force or power, internal to the Church, to preserve her unity. God's Son, after all, has only one bride, with whom he celebrates only one heavenly banquet for only one eternal, mystical wedding.  In Matthew's Gospel, Christ states in unmistakably clear language that He will build His Church on Saint Peter (Mt 16:17–19). This was not a claim from Peter but a statement of fact from Christ. For many centuries, this text has been cited in support of both Roman primacy and papal infallibility. Yet an even more fundamental historical, not biblical, fact originally supported Roman primacy. The great Saint Irenaeus in the late second century clarifies that Rome is “the greatest and most ancient Church, founded by the two glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul.” No other city could claim to be the seat of two martyred Apostles. Not Jerusalem, not Antioch, and not Alexandria. Constantinople, the “New Rome,” could not claim to have been built over the bones of even one Apostle. Rome's headship over all the churches is rooted most deeply in the martyrdoms in the eternal city of Saints Peter and Paul, the Christian counterparts of Rome's twin pagan founders Romulus and Remus. Rome, the two-Apostle city, continues to draw pilgrims. If a plumb line were dropped hundreds of feet from the apex of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, it would come to rest directly over the tomb of the Apostle himself in the necropolis below the Basilica's main altar. A few miles away, under the main altar of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, lies the mortal remains of the great Apostle to the Gentiles. The inscription naming Saint Paul on an ancient marble cover for his tomb leaves no doubt whose bones were placed there. The cover even has small holes through which pilgrims could lower ribbons to touch Saint Paul's bones and thus complete their pilgrimage to Rome with a third class relic. It is a recent phenomenon to go to Rome to see the reigning pope. Traditionally, pilgrims went specifically to pray at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul. Our beautiful Church is a miracle. Theologically perfect but humanly flawed. Mystical and historical. All soul and all body. The Church reflects mankind—capable of so much, yet limited by her imperfections. The Church is founded upon a perfect God and two very different, great, and imperfect men whom God chose—Peter and Paul. Saints Peter and Paul, deepen our filial devotion to our Mother the Church, who gives us life through the sacraments and who preserves our hope of attending the eternal banquet of God in heaven. Protect our Mother from corruption to be a more perfect spouse of Christ.

June 28: Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr c. 125–c. 200 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of apologists and catechists The Church was explicitly Catholic from the start The iconic opening words of Julius Caesar's Gallic War are “All Gaul is divided into three parts.” The chieftains of these three regions of Roman Gaul (France) met yearly in the southern city of Lugdunum, known today as Lyon. These rough noblemen and their large retinues trekked to Lyon in 12 B.C. for the dedication of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls on the slope of Lyon's hill of the Croix Rousse. The inauguration ceremony was an elaborate reinforcement of Rome's military, religious, and commercial dominance. Pagan priests performed pagan rites on pagan altars to pagan gods, asking those gods to favor the new sanctuary, the tribes present, and the city. This important sanctuary remained a focal point of Lyon's civic and religious life for centuries. And in the sand and dirt of this Sanctuary of the Three Gauls, in 177 A.D., the blood of the first Christian martyrs of Gaul was spilled. Here they were abused, tortured, and executed. Killed for their faith were about fifty Christians, including the Bishop of Lyon, Pothinus, and a slave woman named Blandine. While they were imprisoned and awaiting their fate, these future martyrs wrote a letter to the Pope and gave it to a priest of Lyon to carry to Rome. That priest was today's saint, Irenaeus. With the dead bishop Pothinus' mutilated remains tossed into the river, Irenaeus was chosen as his replacement. He would remain the Bishop of Lyon until his death. It was in this way that the tragic end of some raised others to prominence. As the first generation of Christians in Gaul retreated from history, the great Saint Irenaeus, the most important theologian of the late second century, emerged. Copies of Saint Irenaeus' most important works survived through the ages, likely due to their fame and importance, and are now irreplaceable texts for understanding the mind of an early Church thinker on a number of matters. Irenaeus was from Asia Minor and a disciple of Saint Polycarp, a martyr-bishop of Smyrna, who was himself a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist. The voice of Saint Irenaeus is, then, the very last, remote echo of the age of the Apostles. Similar to those of Saint Justin Martyr, Irenaeus' writings astonish in proving just how early the Church developed a fully Catholic theology. In keeping with other theologians of the patristic era, Irenaeus focused more on the mystery of the Incarnation, and Christ as the “New Adam,” than on a theology of the Cross. He also called Mary the “New Eve” whose obedience undoes Eve's disobedience. Irenaeus' writings primarily critique Gnosticism, which held that Christianity's truths were a form of secret knowledge confined to a select few. The only true knowledge is knowledge of Christ, Irenaeus argued, and this knowledge is accessible, public, and communicated by the broader Church, not secret societies. Irenaeus fought schismatics and heretics, showing just how early the connection between correct theology and Church unity was understood. His main work is even entitled “Against Heresies.” He promoted apostolic authority as the only true guide to the correct interpretation of Scripture and, in a classic statement of theology, Irenaeus explicitly cited the Bishop of Rome as the primary example of unbroken Church authority. Like Saint Cyprian fifty years after him, Irenaeus described the Church as the mother of all Christians: “...one must cling to the Church, be brought up within her womb and feed there on the Lord's Scripture.” This theology notes a beautiful paradox. While in the physical order, a child leaves his mother's womb and grows ever more apart from her as he matures, the Church's motherhood exercises an opposite pull on her children. Once she gives us new life through baptism, our bonds with Mother Church grow ever stronger and tighter as we mature. We become more dependent on her sacraments, more intimate with her life and knowledge, as we grow into adulthood. The Church becomes more our mother, not less, as we age. On Pope Saint John Paul II's third pastoral visit to France, in October 1986, his very first stop was the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls in Lyon. Excavated and opened to the public in the mid-twentieth century, it rests largely unknown, a ruin, in a residential neighborhood. Before dignitaries and a large crowd, the Pope prostrated himself and kissed the site where the many martyrs of Lyon died so many centuries before. Saint Irenaeus may have been looking on from the stone benches that fateful day in 177 A.D. when his co-religionists were murdered. The blood of those forgotten martyrs watered the seed that later flowered into the great saint we commemorate today. Saint Irenaeus, may your intercession strengthen our wills, enlighten our minds, and deepen our trust. Like you, we want to be loyal sons and daughters of God, and loyal, educated, and faithful members of His Church. Help us to fulfill our loftiest and our most noble goals.

Shannon's still on vacation, so the kids have come to play (and swear, fair warning)! Greg is BACK and fills us in about the Tennessee-ness of it all while Emma tells the story of the haunted Ryman Auditorium. Built by its namesake, ushered through its golden age by a woman determined to make the name memorable, and revived by the city it sits within, the Ryman's history is rich and lyrical. The Mother Church of Country music hosted the Grand Ole Opry and names like Elvis, Hank Williams, Teddy Roosevelt, and Helen Keller. But do the souls of those who shone bright on its stage still linger today? Come find out amidst the chaos this week with these two boneheads! Come follow us on ⁠TikTok⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠!  Visit our ⁠website⁠! ⁠Send us a heart fart⁠!  Sources:  The Mother Source on the Ryman Auditorium The Ryman website US Ghost Adventures Classic Country Music Southern Living

Immaculate Heart of Mary Saturday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Wing to wing, oar to oar, heart to heart The images by which the Church describes Herself are primarily feminine—Bride, Mother, Virgin, Spouse—while masculine terms are used for the Church's ministry— the Office of Saint Peter, Office of Bishop, Holy Orders, etc. The fatherly labor and paternal structure of the Church are an outgrowth of her essentially maternal nature. Ecclesia Mater, Mother Church, loves with a huge heart, while Apostles, bishops, priests, and deacons hold souls together in their common mother's embrace. In the thinking of Pope Saint John Paul II, the “Marian Church,” the Church of discipleship, precedes and makes possible the “Petrine Church,” the Church of office and authority. So authority serves discipleship, and discipleship has preeminence over, and makes sense of, authority. Even the fatherly and authoritative Saint Paul speaks with maternal concern, calling new Christians his “children,” saying he is like a “nurse” to them, and bragging that he has “begotten” them through the Gospel.On today's Feast of Mary's Immaculate Heart, the maternal warmth radiating from the core of Mary bakes the faithful soul. Our hearts glow when we look upon the seven-pierced heart of the mother of Jesus and commiserate with the holy longing in her tender eyes. Our love for Mary also softens our love for our mother the Church. Our minds know that the Church loves us and nourishes us with sanctifying grace. But intellectual convictions need to be felt. In the same way that Christ concretely and historically images the Father, so too Mary images, concretely and historically, the Church. Mary is not a mere symbol of the Church but anticipates and embodies what she gave birth to. Absent Mary, the Church would be just a little bit too hard, too distant, and too austere. It would be like a camping site or a large, cold, house, providing shelter but lacking a woman's touch. Mary converts the dry household of faith into a cozy family home. Without her heartfelt love, the house would simply not be the same. The prophecy of Simeon in the second chapter of Luke's Gospel is the first biblical indication of Mary's interior suffering. Simeon tells Mary that Jesus will be a sign that will be contradicted and that a sword shall pierce her own heart. Years later, Mary and Joseph panic when Jesus stays behind in Jerusalem while they return to Nazareth. When they recover him in the temple and return home, Luke tells us that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:51). At the foot of the cross, Mary's pondering heart is crushed and bewildered when sin closes in on her Son. But just when Christ's life appears to be stillborn, Mary's heart is vivified by the resurrection, and she becomes the first-century Church's indipensable witness and most sturdy anchor. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is not a closed garden. We don't peek in through the window of the family home in Nazareth to spy Mary standing in the kitchen. Mary's life was not as public as her Son's, but it was not as private as her contemporaries. And in the Book of Revelation, her mystical significance is exposed for all to see. She straddles heaven and earth in a duel with the devil. Mary's wounded maternal heart beats strong and fast for the faithful and for the world, then, on a cosmic stage. Her heart is sinless but bruised, slit by seven swords of sorrow and dripping red for love of man. Vatican II's description of Mary as the Temple of the Holy Spirit (Lumen Gentium 52-53) implies that her heart is the red-hot tabernacle of that Temple. Today's feast was first referred to as Mary's “Admirable Heart” or “Most Pure Heart.” Yet all the titles reflect the same truth; just like the love of Jesus's Sacred Heart, Mary's love for Christ and us is a tangible, human love. The Queen and King of Hearts are united in their love of all that is worth loving. Immaculate Heart of Mary, your bruised but beating heart softens our love for you and the Church. Your love is maternal, warm, docile, and concerned. Infuse our hearts with love like yours so we can live like you in this world and the next.

Monday after Pentecost: The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church Memorial; Liturgical Color: White One Mother, two motherhoods Mary mothered Jesus, Jesus then gave life to the Church with water and blood from His side, and the Church then mothers us into existence through baptism. Devotion to Mary goes hand in hand with devotion to the Church because both are mothers. Mother Mary gives the world Christ. Mother Church gives the world Christians. The metaphorical parallels between Mother Mary and Mother Church are spiritually rich and deeply biblical. Mary was understood by many early theologians as both the mother of the Head of the Church, Jesus, and also the symbol of the Church par excellence. Mother Mary is a virgin who conceived the physical body of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation. In a parallel way, Mother Church is the Mystical Body of Christ who gives every Christian rebirth through the power of the Holy Spirit received at Pentecost. Both Mary and the Church conceived through the same Spirit, without the aid of human seed. Mother Mary makes Christ's body physically present in Palestine in the first century. Mother Church, in turn, makes Christ's body mystically present through baptism and sacramentally present in the Eucharist, in every time and place. It was common for a baptismal font in early Christianity to be described as a sacred womb in which Mother Church gave her children life. The theological cross-pollination between Mother Mary and Mother Church has produced a field ripe for spiritual and theological cultivation. Christ is from Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Galilee. But He is most deeply from the Father. He is one Son but lives two sonships. Similarly, all Christians are born from one Mother expressed in two motherhoods: Mary's and the Church's. Mary and the Church, understood most profoundly, form one mother.  Both are the mother of Christ, but each mutually assists the other to bring Christ physically, sacramentally, and mystically into the world in all His fullness. Neither Mary nor the Church can exercise their motherhoods alone. Today's feast, formally integrated into the Church's calendar by the authority of Pope Francis in 2018, specifically commemorates Mary's motherhood of the Church rather than her motherhood of God, a feast celebrated on January 1. Mary likely showed as much tender concern for Christ's mystical body as it slowly matured in its native Palestine as she did for His physical body in Nazareth. Pope Pius XII perceptively noted Mary's dual maternity in his encyclical on the Church: “It was she who was there to tend the mystical body of Christ, born of the Savior's pierced heart, with the same motherly care that she spent on the child Jesus in the crib.” It is possible the Apostles held their first Council in about 49 A.D. in Jerusalem precisely because Mary still dwelled in the holy city. She was likely the young religion's greatest living witness and pillar of unity. We can imagine her presiding over early Christian gatherings with reserved solemnity, nursing primitive Christianity just as she had Christ. Ancient pagans spoke of imperial Rome as a Domina, a divine female master. Rome was praised as a conquering mother who brought vanquished peoples close to her own heart, incorporating them as citizens into her vast, multicultural, polyglot realm. Other empires executed prisoners of war, exiled peoples, imposed a foreign culture, or displaced populations. Not Rome. Rome absorbed them all. The early fathers understood Mother Church as the successor to this Domina. In baptism this Mother does not release her children from her body but absorbs them, making them fully her own unto death. Since the early Middle Ages, feast days and devotions to the Virgin Mary have proliferated in Catholicism. Now Pope Francis has given the Church a feast to compliment that of January 1. The two motherhoods of Mary reflect one profound truth, that Christ approaches us in time and in space, in history and in sacrament, in mysterious and beautiful ways. In the words of Saint Augustine: “What (God) has bestowed on Mary in the flesh, He has bestowed on the Church in the spirit; Mary gave birth to the One, and the Church gives birth to the many, who through the One become one.” This is all cause for deep reflection. Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, God prepared you to be the sacred vessel to replace Mother Synagogue with Mother Church. Eve approaches you like mother to daughter, old Eve to New Eve, two mothers of the living. Help all Chritians to see both the Church and you Mary, as their mother.

May 26: Saint Philip Neri, Priest 1515–1595 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Rome, humor and joy Everyone saw the halo Saint Philip Neri often begged alms from his wealthy friends and acquaintances to redistribute to needy children. On one occasion, he approached a friend, held out his hand, and asked him, once again, for a few coins: “How about some help for the children.” The man slapped him hard across the face. Saint Philip quickly recovered from the shock, extended his cupped hand again, and said, “That was for me, now how about something for the children?” Saint Philip was born into a well-educated, Catholic, middle-class home. He carried himself all his life with the bearing of an amiable, well-read, finely dressed, shrewd individual who knew no enemies. After growing up in Florence, he moved to Rome and spent many years as a layman studying theology and helping the poor in practical ways. While still a layman, Philip founded a group to care for the many impoverished pilgrims who came to Rome. He befriended the great reformer Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who wanted Philip to become a Jesuit. But after encouragement from his confessor, Philip was ordained a secular priest in 1551. Soon afterward, he had to formalize the large following he generated that wanted to live more fully the life he preached and modeled. Saint Philip was so well loved and so well known in Rome that he is sometimes called its “Third Apostle” after Saints Peter and Paul. His personality radiated a natural warmth and cordiality. His priestly ministry could be fairly characterized as “evangelization by walking around.” He walked the streets of Rome from end to end continually throughout his long life. His life was a long conversation with a thousand characters on street corners, in shops, factories, churches, parks—wherever. He reached out to the destitute, prostitutes, poor children, and the uneducated. Saint Philip would often gather a group to visit seven churches in a row. As they went from one church to another, the group would picnic and listen to the musicians whom Saint Philip brought along for entertainment. These outings, understandably, became hugely popular. Leaders, intellectuals, musicians, and scholars were also drawn to him, in addition to common folk, and formed the impressive circle of committed Catholics who first joined his apostolic efforts. Saint Philip and his companions were given charge of a parish where they held evening sessions filled with song, readings from the lives of the martyrs, the praying of the psalms, and rich conversation. Saint Philip called these gatherings the “oratory,” in part because the participants also listened to musical pieces called “oratorios.” So when it came time to formalize his newly founded community in Church law, the name “Oratory” was chosen. The Congregation of the Oratory, which is still thriving today, was recognized by the Holy Father in 1575 and given the magnificent, new parish of Santa Maria in Varicella, known as Chiesa Nuova (The New Church), in the heart of Rome. Oratorians are mostly diocesan priests and some laymen who live together in a loose brotherhood, taking no vows, while pursuing various individual ministries. The many dozens of oratories around the world are joined in an informal confederation, whereas canonical bonds tie the many houses of a religious order together in a far tighter union. Saint Philip is one of the bright lights of the Counter-Reformation. He blazed a new path, like other reformers. But the new path he blazed was really just the old path, walked differently. Saint Philip was the silent observer, the cheerful listener, the priest always there, who spoke hard truths but always bent on the non-essentials. He mortified himself but never talked about it. He was poor but wore nice clothes. He looked like everyone else, yet…there was that intangible something: the sparkle in his eye, his polish, his lively concern, his clever wit, his courtesy, his wide education, his humor, and his constant turning of the conversation back to God. He was like everyone else, but he wasn't, really. He radiated what twentieth-century psychologists would call the “halo effect.” Everyone saw the invisible halo casting a glow over Saint Philip, and people crowded around to stand in his mellow light. Saint Philip did not start a university, reform an institution, write a classic, or formulate a new rule. He changed the world the only way it can truly be changed—one soul at a time. This army of one was canonized in 1622. His body rests in a glass coffin in Chiesa Nuova, the sumptuous Mother Church of the Oratory, where pilgrims come in faith, kneel before him, and seek his powerful intercession. Saint Philip Neri, your good nature and charm, united with your theological orthodoxy and life of deep prayer, made you a powerful apostle for the people of Rome. May all evangelists, especially priests, see in your openness to others a pathway of changing the world.

By the Spirit's motherly nurturing, working in the community of Mother Church through relationships, the rhythm of the liturgy, and Scripture that makes us ready to give a defense of our Christian hope, biological and spiritual mothers and fathers are strengthened in their vocation of guiding their children to remain in the Lord by loving and serving him.

On this Mother's Day, we remember who our True Mother is and how we can love her best. Full notes, video, and archive at https://blog.ctk.cc

Happy belated Mother's Day! We are so delighted that you are listening to our podcast as we move through this Easter season together. This week's sermon is based on Romans 1:1–17. It was a very meaningful sermon as we gathered for the first time together in worship after we received a bomb threat as a congregation about a week ago. Hope it offers you a word of encouragement and reflection, as well. If you have a moment, we'd also love for you to check us out on our website at www.williamsburgbaptist.com, or click to follow us on Instagram or Facebook. Thanks for tuning in!

Insights Into The Sacred Music of Julia Wade. We'll take an in depth look at the making of the songs from Julia's new Album, The Best Of Julia Wade.Julia Wade, President of Watchfire Music, has long been our best selling Recording Artist. Here she scores with yet another winner – the best of 15 plus albums of Inspirational/ Sacred music.Scattershot Symphony is presented by Watchfire Music watchfiremusic.com 

April 24: Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr 1577–1622 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of lawyers & the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples His murderers cut a leg off his dead body in retaliation for his many journeys To understand the historical and religious context for today's saint, consider an event that took place fifty years before he was born. On January 5, 1527, in Zurich, Switzerland, a young man named Felix Mantz was taken hold of by local officials, had his hands and feet bound to a pole, and was rowed out in a boat to the deepest part of the local river. With a large crowd watching from the shores, he was tossed overboard into the dark water and immediately drowned to death. Felix Mantz's crime? He believed only adults should be baptized, not children. Mantz was not killed by the Inquisition, the Pope, the local Bishop, or a Catholic mob. His cruel drowning, which mocked his views on baptism, was perpetrated by dissenting Protestants. The Protestants of Zurich believed in infant baptism while rejecting all other Catholic beliefs. And they allowed absolutely no dissenting from their own dissenting from Catholicism. Felix Mantz was the first Protestant martyred by other Protestants. Heretics killing other heretics for not conforming to their heresy captures the chaos, intellectual dissonance, and cultural confusion in some regions of sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe. This total meltdown is known as the Reformation. Today's saint, Fidelis of Sigmaringen, walked right into this still-raging storm of violence in the early seventeenth century, suffering a fate essentially similar to the Protestant martyr Felix Mantz, though for exactly contrary reasons. Its very existence challenged by Protestantism, Counter-Reformation Catholicism swelled like a great ocean, lifting up a sea of scholars, monks, abbots, nuns, priests, and bishops who overwhelmed Europe with their teaching and witness to the perennial truths of Jesus Christ. Saint Fidelis was just one priest-monk among that great tide of the Counter-Reformation, but he was one who became a martyr. He was born as Mark Roy in the town of Sigmaringen in Prussia, in Northern Germany, and raised in the Faith. He earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1603 and degrees in civil and canon law in 1611, yet he became disillusioned with his career in law. He had always been an exceptionally ardent Catholic, so he entered the Capuchin Order and was ordained a priest in his thirties. He took the religious name of “faithful”—in Latin, “Fidelis.” Fidelis was intelligent, disciplined, and ascetic. His abundant human and spiritual gifts were amplified and sharpened when put in the service of the King of Kings, and he rose to important positions of leadership within the Capuchin Order. Having become locally well known for his fervor and holiness, Father Fidelis was appointed by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome to preach, teach, and write in present day Switzerland, with the goal of exhorting the people to return to the embrace of the Mother Church which had given them birth. Father Fidelis desired martyrdom, and it came for him soon enough. In Switzerland, his zeal and example brought some prominent Calvinists back to the true Faith. This made him an official enemy of the Calvinists who controlled much of that land. One day, when traveling between two towns where he was preaching and saying Mass, Fidelis was confronted along the road by Calvinist soldiers led by a minister. Fidelis had recently caused an uproar in a nearby town and had barely escaped with his life. The soldiers knew exactly who was before them. They demanded that he abandon his Faith. Fidelis answered, "I was sent to rebuke you, not to embrace your heresy. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I do not fear death." His skull was then cracked open with the butt of a sword, his body punctured with stabs, and his left leg hacked off in retribution for the numerous journeys he had made into Protestant territory. Saint Fidelis died at the age of forty-five, ten years after entering religious life. He was canonized in 1746. Over three hundred miracles were attributed to his intercession during his canonization process. Saint Fidelis was faithful in life and continues to intercede faithfully in death. Saint Fidelis, through your intercession before the throne of God, we ask you to fortify all teachers and preachers of the faith to remain faithful to the truth, even to the point of embarrassment, inconvenience, suffering, and death to self.

In this episode, we focus on the ultimate trailblazer for women in production, Lula C. Naff. Join us as we discuss this private, yet fiery high priestess of the Mother Church and how she saved it, by saving herself.

Glimpse what happened at this one-day event for employees of The Mother Church, which showcased some compelling items from the Library's collections.

A beautiful structure looms over the bustling party scene of Broadway in the Music City. A venue like no other, this building's religious beginnings give it a stately elegance. The music that echoed through its halls has made careers and, according to some, started curses. Some restless souls never left the hallowed halls of the Mother Church of Country Music.  Recorded live at Zanies in Nashville, TN Click here for info on our tour and to purchase tickets Please consider supporting the companies that support us! -Head to go.factor75.com/CREEPY120 and use code creepy120 to get $120 off -Helix is offering up to $200 off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at Helixsleep.com/creepy -Head to Outschool.com/CREEPY and use code CREEPY to save $15 on your child's first class  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A beautiful structure looms over the bustling party scene of Broadway in the Music City. A venue like no other, this building's religious beginnings give it a stately elegance. The music that echoed through its halls has made careers and, according to some, started curses. Some restless souls never left the hallowed halls of the Mother Church of Country Music.  Recorded live at Zanies in Nashville, TN Click here for info on our tour and to purchase tickets Please consider supporting the companies that support us! -Head to go.factor75.com/CREEPY120 and use code creepy120 to get $120 off -Helix is offering up to $200 off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at Helixsleep.com/creepy -Head to Outschool.com/CREEPY and use code CREEPY to save $15 on your child's first class  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices