Leading to Jesus: Interview with Fr. Mark Thibodeaux

"any sincere attempt to reach God is going to be successful, even if we don't necessarily feel it. Even if it doesn't feel like success, we can rest assured through our faith that we've reached God"

Fr. Mark Thibodeaux, SJ has been a spiritual director for many years and he shares his work on bringing others closer to Jesus Christ. What is spiritual direction? Where can you find a spiritual director? Listen as Fr. Thibodeaux explains what it entails, what it's not and how you can also get spiritual direction. Read more

Celebrating Black Catholic History Month: Interview with Deacon Royce Winters

"it did begin this conversation locally of embracing the history, the gift of Blackness in this archdiocese no matter how much it had been suppressed in the past"

Knowing our roots, our church history is very important. Deacon Royce Winters shares his experience creating the 'Celebrating Black Catholic History Month: Tracing Your Catholic Roots' project from the Office of African-American Catholic Ministries in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Deacon Winters talks about how he tried to capture the history and voices of Black Catholics, particularly from priests and parishioners in the Archdiocese. Read more

The Power of Faith: Interview with Liz

"we're not immune to tragic events or to illness or to anything. We just have a different, I guess, we just have a different way of approaching it and that's through the lens of faith."

Faith is stronger than life's struggles if we attend to it. Liz shares how her faith in Jesus Christ has evolved and how that has helped her in her life's journey. Although there have been many challenges what has strengthened her is her growing relationship with Christ. Hear how a Christian can shine God's light in the darkness. Read more

Many Ways to Pray: Interview with Desiré Findlay

"I would say prayer is as diverse as people are"

What is prayer? How can we pray to God? Desiré Findlay shares her voice on what prayer looks like to her through writing, dance, Lectio Divina and more. Listen in on the conversation as Desiré explains how prayer connects her to Jesus, others and the world. Find inspiration in how you can grow in prayer too. Read more

Interview with Erika Jacinto

"And as far as I’m concerned I offer my daily work to our Lord and I abandon myself to him because I know we have our Father, he’s our spiritual father, our Father, our creator and he will look after us no matter what."

Meet Erika Jacinto who works as the Director of Communications and Media Relations, as well as the press secretary for the Archbishop, of the Catholic Church of Montreal. Erika shares how in her role she communicates with various individuals from laity, non-religious, and religious leaders like Archbishop Christian Lépine and Pope Francis. Read more

Christian Mother: Interview with Maria E. Luevano‑Salazar

"…I have good friends that stay at home and they’re stay-at-home moms and I have friends that have amazing professional careers and are also amazing mothers. And so I feel like there’s never, at least in my eyes, there’s never a right or wrong. It’s more like what fits better to you and who you are."

Maria E. Luevano‑Salazar shares her view on motherhood as a working professional. She draws inspiration from her childhood experience of seeing her own mother and other family members raising their children. Maria explains how being a mother has enhanced her appreciation of scripture and how she continues to express her faith in her family and her work place. Read more

Christian Living: Interview with Brother Kyle Mena, F.S.C.

"I think a big part of teaching is developing those relationships not only with students but with your colleagues and fellow staff members, is very important"

Bro. Kyle Mena, F.S.C speaks about joining the De La Salle Brothers, his work as a high school teacher, and the journey of living out his vocation. Read more

Producing a Podcast: Interview with Angela Marquis

"We’ve had some feedback that our podcast is actually keeping women’s voices and women’s preaching in the forefront of the minds of the members of the Plenary Council. So if we can have some impact on that as well, that’s exciting."

Angela Marquis speaks on behalf of the Australian Women Preach podcast team to explain her role, what it takes to assemble preachers weekly, and the importance of this work. Read more

Becoming an Artist: Interview with Lalo Garcia

"...we were all born with gifts. Unfortunately, a lot of people cannot find their gift...if we can gift something to our humanity we could change the world. Forget about taking. I’ll go back to Juan Diego. Juan Diego was a humble person. He was a man of service"

Lalo Garcia talks about his artwork 'Apparitions of Guadalupe' and explains his inspiration, knowledge of the Virgen of Guadalupe, and the many details and techniques he used in this six piece art. The art talked about in this episode can be found at https://www.lalogarcia.com/sacred-art. Read more

Seeing Our Neighbor: Interview with Diego Ramirez

"You cannot preach a God that is willing to feed the people if the people are hungry...We have to work hand by hand with the people so that the Gospel can have a much more clear message to them."

As a Maryknoll seminarian, Diego Ramirez talks about his experience serving and accompanying communities abroad. In this conversation Diego defines or redefines what ‘missionary work’ means and how Christians can connect with our fellow neighbors. Read more

From Prayer to Pen: Interview with Mary Ortwein

"And so I struggle with it every week. How do I, how can I be Ezra letting people know the beauty and the wonder and the glory of Catholic teaching and do it in such a way that people want to listen and they want to respond..."

Mary Ortwein writes Bible reflections for A Catholic Moment and in this episode we discuss her approach, challenges and history in trying to write about God's message in scripture. Read more

Homily, Preaching, and Community: Interview with Fr. Stephen Thorne

"The Word doesn’t change but we change. I change. Community changes. So I always try to apply the eternal Word of God to the circumstance of the people in front of me. And that’s a challenge so I allow the Word to sit with me."

Fr. Stephen Thorne humbly speaks about the process of preparing a homily, his preaching approach, why community is important, and church. Read more

Music in the Church: Interview with Phillip Armstrong

"I loved choir rehearsal. You know, I really did. I mean, I think it just felt very warm. I mean, I enjoyed the fact that it was beautiful hearing people make such gorgeous music. And I think that it really is a spiritual gift that God gives you."

Phillip Armstrong, a parishioner and member of the music ministry at St. Benedict the African in Englewood, Chicago, IL, talks about gospel music, leading a choir, and singing during Sunday Mass. Read more

The role of a Vocations Director: Interview with Sister Katia Chavez, SJS

"I will highly encourage families to pray together. To make sure that you are continually telling your son, your daughter, that they’re loved, that the Lord made them, and the Lord made them with a purpose. And they have a specific vocation that they need to fulfill in which they are going to be happy."

We talk with Sister Katia Chavez, SJS (Sister Servants of the Blessed Sacrament) about vocations. As the Director of Vocations, Sr. Katia speaks about how her work changed with the pandemic, what impact a nurturing environment to religious life and community can have and much more. Read more

Making Baila Baila: Interview with Father Emmanuel Ochigbo

"So I thought about it, I said why do we have to wait for the end of the tunnel? Why do we have to wait for the light at the end of the tunnel? Why can’t we just be light in the tunnel? So I began to think of how I could portray that and then I thought of doing it through music. Music is something I love and it shows in my ministry."

How does a Catholic priest make a multilingual song and music video go viral? Father Emmanuel Ochigbo explains what inspired him to write Baila Baila, how he collaborated with others, and how it took off from there. Read more