CatholiCity Podcasts

Recorded way back in November of 2020, this episode features Fr John O’Brien SJ calling in from Canada. Father John, son of the Catholic novelist Michael O'Brien, is the Vocations Director for the Jesuits of the “Canada Provence,” and has been a longtime spiritual advisor of the Mary Foundation. Before he became a priest, he worked with the Mary Foundation and notably helped Bud Macfarlane edit his novels. Bud also joins us for the podcast. The three of us discuss Father John’s origin story, from editing novels with Bud during the early days of the Mary Foundation all the up to his own vocational journey into the Jesuits, highlighting Christian obedience and receptivity. We also dive at length into the effects of technology on our lives, springboarding from a book called “the Shallows” by Nicholas Carr. We discuss how television, cell phones, and social media influence our enjoyment of life & culture, our brain & concentration, our silence and prayer, as well as our relationships & connection to reality. We finish off by discussing a few strategies to deal with some of these negative effects. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Dr. Megan Lowes-Bolin, author of the recent book, “Ignite: The Secret to Engaging Young Adults in the Church”. Lettered in Interdisciplinary Leadership in Education, Dr. Lowes-Bolin has worked in and around Catholic ministry for over 12 years. She is also the founder of a consulting firm for parishes and directs the Ignite Scholars Program at John Carroll University. We discuss Megan’s longtime experience in Young Adult ministry, including the boom-bust cycle of these ministries, the danger of repeating history, and the benefits of sharing resources across parishes. We also dive into her book, talking about the three main draws for young adults toward parish life, several ways to encourage involvement, tips to avoid discouraging new young adult leaders, and much more. Links to Dr. Lowes-Bolin's book, consulting firm, and young adult ministry. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features John Michael Talbot, the Founder and General Minister of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a semi-monistic Catholic community based out of the Little Portion Hermitage in Arkansas. He is an award winning author and multi-platinum, Grammy and Dove award winning Contemporary Catholic musician. His autobiography “Late Have I Loved You” was published on Ash Wednesday 2024 along with a new album bearing the same name. We discuss his life as musician, his time in prayer as monk, and the woes of American individualism. We go deep into what monasticism and monastic culture really look like, touching on the human need for community, a few ways to have better community generally, and much more. You can find John Michael Talbot and his book on his website. --- Learn more and order The Warning: https://www.catholicity.com/books/thewarning.html To order more powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Daniel Rosa, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Saint Joseph Catholic Community in Eldersburg, Maryland. CEO of his own management consulting company on the side, Daniel is a former focus missionary and has spent years in ministry with youth, college, and young adults. We discuss Daniel’s journey into ministry, benefits and challenges of working with a mentor, different styles of leadership and talent, and the importance of self-knowledge within a bigger mission. We dive into the Working Genius and DISC personality models, and the importance of “leading where you are.” You can find Daniel on his company website D. T. Rose Management Consulting. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Keith Nester, a former protestant pastor and youth pastor with more than 20 years in full-time ministry. In 2017, Keith converted to the Catholicism. He has since authored two books: The Convert’s Guide to Roman Catholicism: Your First Year in the Church along with Unpacking the Mysteries of the Rosary. He also hosts a daily livestream of the rosary at 5:00pm central, which has occurred without fail since 2020 and is now called the Rosary Crew. He also shares lessons on his YouTube channel and podcast. We discuss how the Mary Foundation ended up helping edit his latest book, the beginnings of the Rosary Crew, why he wrote another book after thinking never again, the power of the Rosary, Mary, and lessons that Catholics could learn from a former protestant pastor. You can find Keith on his website, Down2EarthMinistry.Org, and on the Rosary Crew Youtube Channel. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Gabe Kessler, president of the Cleveland Chapter of Young Catholic Professionals (YCP). Gabe is a graduate of Ave Maria University, where he lived in an intentional catholic “household”, and he is now a husband, a father, and a business development professional. He got involved with YCP as a way to give back and be connected to Catholic community and ministry. We discuss his background and path into ministry, what YCP is and how it’s structured, the human dynamics of social-professional gatherings, Gabe’s mindset on growth and his strategies to achieve it, the future of Young Adult ministry, and more. You can find Young Catholic Professionals online here and on Facebook and Instagram. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Joe Hopkins, the Director of Adult Formation for Mission in the Diocese of Nottingham, England. Joe spent two years in university ministry, then eight years as a high school chaplain before taking on his current position, which includes the Christus Vivat young adult ministry among many other responsibilities. We discuss the challenge of “restarting” after pandemic lockdowns, Joe’s role doing “spade work” as he calls it—that is, the logistical leg work required to make anything happen—the four critical ingredients in the recipe for starting a new Young adult group, the importance of providing community opportunities for people after they "age out” of young adult years, and more. You can find Christus Vivat online here and on Facebook and Instagram. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Robert Wines, leader of The Ark young adult group at St. Ann parish in Washington, DC. He’s been running it for nearly two years while maintaining a full-time 9-5 Job. After college and a year of service with the Saint John Society, Robert and a close friend wanted to get into young adult ministry in a big way. We discuss the founding of the group, how the Ark leverages the Alpha program, the “Call, Form, Send” mantra of the Saint John Society, the benefits of a set repeating curriculum and small groups, and the importance of keeping God as the center no matter what. You can find Ark online at thearkdc.org and on Instagram. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Jose Pulido, professional evangelization coach and founder of At The Service. He has coached at universities, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profits. He received an MBA from Yale University and spent over a decade practicing what he calls “ultra-difficult evangelization”. We discuss how Jose effectively invented a new niche for “coaching” evangelization, the problem of poor execution of the “traditional methods” of evangelization, the importance of practical, learnable skills, Jose’s novel approach of combining modern “behavioral economics” with the beautiful depth of scripture, and more. By the end of this episode, you’ll have an idea of what it means to Talk Like Mary, Dream Like Saint Joseph, and Make Things New Like Jesus. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Kenn Demoll, the director of the Youth and Young Adult ministry at St. John Catholic Church in Westminster, Maryland. He is a convert to the faith, and was called to ministry after college while thinking about becoming a police officer. We discuss the challenge of “restarting” a young adult ministry, drawing in and retaining people, the importance of relationships, the grand vision of young adult ministry, how to help a priest get a ministry going, how to avoid the atmosphere of a desperate social/singles club, and more. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com. --- Time Stamps (00:01:15) Intro and Conversion (00:06:36) Inheriting and Restarting a YA Group (00:08:46) Drawing and Retaining People (00:20:51) Why are Relationships So Important? (00:26:46) The Grand Vision of Young Adult Ministry (00:33:53) How to Help a Priest Start a YA Ministry (00:40:01) Avoiding the Desperate Social/Singles Club (00:51:44) The Hard One-On-One Conversations (00:57:50) “Thank God I Did This” (01:00:53) “I Wish I Hadn’t Done This” (01:08:26) Be Bold

Today’s episode features Marc Lozano, who is currently working on a book tentatively entitled, “The Christian Case Against the Stock Market.” A convert from evangelistic atheism, Marc runs the website Christ Centered Capital dot com, and has spent years giving investment advice based on Biblical Principles, and he believes with strong moral conviction that investment in the stock market constitutes a clear moral evil. We discuss Marc’s conversion, how he arrived at this controversial position, and why he thinks the stock market is a moral evil… along with his ideas for Christian alternatives to the stock market. DISCLAIMER: The Mary Foundation and its representatives are not financial advisors and nothing in the episode is to be construed as financial advice. Please consult a trusted financial and spiritual advisor before making any financial decisions. We strongly emphasize that we are not experts in this area. The Catholic Church has not condemned investment in the stock market, and Catholic teaching generally permits investment, interest, loans, and other such financial interactions. The views expressed in this episode do not represent those of the Mary Foundation—it is rather a conversation exploring a fascinating idea with an interesting person. Due to the constraints of the medium, there are many critical facets of this topic that could not be explored. We leave it to the listener to proceed in prudence according to their own judgement. And lastly, I hope you find this conversation interesting. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com. --- Time Stamps (00:00:42) Disclaimer (00:02:09) How Did You Get Here? (00:08:32) Evangelistic Atheism (00:15:42) Conversion via Relationship (00:23:28) Beginning of Moral Conviction (00:31:21) “Biblically Responsible Investing” (00:41:23) Is the Stock Market Evil? (01:13:38) Real Estate (01:30:02) Stock Market Alternatives (01:37:27) Christian Family (01:43:20) Christian Community (01:48:32) Christian Business (01:49:59) Gold, Crypto, and Land (01:52:51) Next Steps

Today’s episode features Chris Mueller, the second episode in our series with Young Adult Leaders from around the country. Chris is the Coordinator of Adult Discipleship at Holy Family Catholic Church in Jacksonville, Florida, a thriving parish with a strong young adult presence that is, frankly, astounding to hear about in our era. We discuss the ins and outs of the ministry including how Chris developed the ministry, some failures he encountered early on, his approach to leading teams, and his powerful vision for what young adult life can look like in a parish. We also talk about Discipleship Communities, where small, committed groups join together to share the rhythms of Catholic life. Our hope is that this conversation can help anyone, but especially young adult leaders or pastors who want to better serve the young adults in their area with meaning, truth, and a future worth striving for. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Joe Vicario, and is the first of our new series speaking with Young Adult Leaders. In addition to his day job designing hearing aid batteries, Joe is the co-founder of Cleveland’s largest young adult group, called Catching Fire, which meets weekly for discussions and draws anywhere from fifty to ninety people. We discuss the founding of Catching Fire, the challenges of growth and mission, some practicals of managing such a large group, and the danger of pride. Our hope is that this conversation can help anyone, but especially young adult leaders or pastors who want to better serve the young adults in their area with meaningful community and friendships built on Christ. --- Make sure to check out the Daily Rosary Meditations podcast with Dr. Mike Scherschligt, where you learn how to meditate and establish a daily habit of prayer while discovering the truths of the Catholic Faith. Join in every day for Scripture, Meditation, and a Rosary, all in under 20 minutes. The meditations are perfect for your daily commute or morning coffee. You can find them in your favorite podcast app by searching Daily Rosary Meditations or on the web at DailyRosaryMeditations.com. Sign up for their email newsletter here. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Today’s episode features Ed Jozsa. A few years ago, he was in a head-on collision that should have killed him. During and after the accident, Ed experienced profound mystical visions of a place he can only describe as “forever,” along with a pit of vile creatures and a timeless experience with the Holy Spirit. He spent nearly a year trying everything he could to prove his visions weren’t real, but nothing of this world could explain what happened. Get ready for an amazing journey into life, death, suffering, and the awesome power of God. You can order Ed's book to read the full story at PresenceofGodEncounters.com. Ed enjoys the approval of his pastor, who assures to the best of his knowledge that Ed's story does not contradict any Catholic moral and dogmatic teaching. --- Make sure to check out the Daily Rosary Meditations podcast with Dr. Mike Scherschligt, where you learn how to meditate and establish a daily habit of prayer while discovering the truths of the Catholic Faith. Join in every day for Scripture, Meditation, and a Rosary, all in under 20 minutes. The meditations are perfect for your daily commute or morning coffee. You can find them in your favorite podcast app by searching Daily Rosary Meditations or on the web at DailyRosaryMeditations.com. --- To order powerful tools for evangelization for your family, friends, and parish, head to the Mary Foundation website at CatholiCity.com.

Help God Save America Millions of Christians share a profound certainty that something has gone terribly wrong with our nation. An immense war in the spiritual realm is being waged to determine the future of America. You can now do something about it every day by offering the three prayers featured in this book: - The Auxilium Christianorum Prayers (from Father Chad Ripperger, Exorcist) - The Divine Mercy Chaplet (by request of America's Guardian Angel) - The all-new Mantle of Mary Prayer Order the official Prayer Book at Catholicity.com

Help God Save America Millions of Christians share a profound certainty that something has gone terribly wrong with our nation. An immense war in the spiritual realm is being waged to determine the future of America. You can now do something about it every day by offering the three prayers featured in this book: - The Auxilium Christianorum Prayers (from Father Chad Ripperger, Exorcist) - The Divine Mercy Chaplet (by request of America's Guardian Angel) - The all-new Mantle of Mary Prayer Order the official Prayer Book at Catholicity.com

Help God Save America Millions of Christians share a profound certainty that something has gone terribly wrong with our nation. An immense war in the spiritual realm is being waged to determine the future of America. You can now do something about it every day by offering the three prayers featured in this book: - The Auxilium Christianorum Prayers (from Father Chad Ripperger, Exorcist) - The Divine Mercy Chaplet (by request of America's Guardian Angel) - The all-new Mantle of Mary Prayer Order the official Prayer Book at Catholicity.com

Help God Save America Millions of Christians share a profound certainty that something has gone terribly wrong with our nation. An immense war in the spiritual realm is being waged to determine the future of America. You can now do something about it every day by offering the three prayers featured in this book: - The Auxilium Christianorum Prayers (from Father Chad Ripperger, Exorcist) - The Divine Mercy Chaplet (by request of America's Guardian Angel) - The all-new Mantle of Mary Prayer Order the official Prayer Book at Catholicity.com

Help God Save America Millions of Christians share a profound certainty that something has gone terribly wrong with our nation. An immense war in the spiritual realm is being waged to determine the future of America. You can now do something about it every day by offering the three prayers featured in this book: - The Auxilium Christianorum Prayers (from Father Chad Ripperger, Exorcist) - The Divine Mercy Chaplet (by request of America's Guardian Angel) - The all-new Mantle of Mary Prayer Order the official Prayer Book at Catholicity.com

Help God Save America Millions of Christians share a profound certainty that something has gone terribly wrong with our nation. An immense war in the spiritual realm is being waged to determine the future of America. You can now do something about it every day by offering the three prayers featured in this book: - The Auxilium Christianorum Prayers (from Father Chad Ripperger, Exorcist) - The Divine Mercy Chaplet (by request of America's Guardian Angel) - The all-new Mantle of Mary Prayer Order the official Prayer Book at Catholicity.com