Ave Spotlight

Episode 93: Female Doctors of the Church and Spiritual Direction with Vinita Hampton Wright

May 16th, 2022  |  27 mins 55 secs

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Are you interested in spiritual direction but not sure how to get started? 

Join us this week as Chenele talks with Vinita Hampton Wright about the difference between spiritual direction and therapy, why it is valuable to one's faith journey, and how to find a spiritual director. Wright also introduces us to her new book, Set the World on Fire: A 4-Week Personal Retreat with the Female Doctors of the Church. 

Episode 92: Integrating Work and Faith with John Cannon of SENT Ventures

May 2nd, 2022  |  20 mins 24 secs

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Do you wish your work culture reflected the values of your Catholic faith?

Join Chenele Shaw and John Cannon, founder of SENT Ventures—an organization that supports and mentors Catholic entrepreneurs— as they discuss how change in the workplace begins with one person who wants to grow in holiness. Cannon encourages those he mentors—and you—to be more intentional about scheduling time for prayer, Mass, community involvement, rest, and other practices that will allow God to work through you.

Episode 91: Evangelization, Beatitudes, and Baseball with Fr. Casey Cole, OFM

April 25th, 2022  |  27 mins 8 secs

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What do a priest, baseball, and the beatitudes have in common?

Join Chenele Shaw this week as she talks with popular YouTuber Fr. Casey Cole, OFM, about social media, the priesthood, and this summer's Bleacher Brothers tour. He will visit all thirty MLB parks in eleven weeks with his friend Fr. Roberto "Tito" Serrano, OFM, to share the good news.

Episode 90: Beginning Well with Joel Stepanek

April 18th, 2022  |  23 mins 42 secs

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We only have a few firsts in life, but we have many new beginnings. Do you embrace a fresh start as an exciting opportunity or do you mourn what you left behind?

In this week's episode, Chenele Shaw and Joel Stepanek discuss how to meet new beginnings with grace and as moments to encounter Jesus Christ. Stepanek—vice president of parish services at Life Teen—also offers practical strategies for beginning well that will help you joyfully grow as a Christian.

Episode 89: Faith, Hope, and Love for the Ukrainian Catholic Church with The Very Reverend Mark Morozowich

April 11th, 2022  |  54 mins 6 secs

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The Very Reverend Mark Morozowich joins Katie Prejean McGrady and Chenele Shaw, in a special crossover episode of Ave Explores and Ave Spotlight, to discuss the war in Ukraine and provide historical and spiritual context to the conflict, tell the stories of resilient and holy Ukrainian Catholics, and offer insights into how to pray and fast for peace.

Episode 88: A Source of Renewal—Preparing for Holy Week and Easter with Fr. Michael White

April 4th, 2022  |  21 mins 38 secs

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In this episode, Fr. Michael White of Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland, talks with Chenele about how fully engaging in Holy Week services, the Triduum, and the Easter season can be a powerful source of renewal.

Episode 87: Hope in the Face of Evil with Tom Corcoran

March 28th, 2022  |  22 mins 23 secs

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How can God allow horrible things to happen? In this episode, Chenele talks with Tom Corcoran, coauthor of Seriously God?, about evil and navigating the challenges of life. Corcoran says that difficulties are actually opportunities to rely on the Lord, learn more about him, and deepen our relationship with him.

Episode 86: Take it Easy this Lent with Regina Boyd

March 21st, 2022  |  22 mins 47 secs

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Therapist Regina Boyd joins Chenele this week to talk about Lenten promises, scrupulosity, and not being too hard on yourself.

Episode 85: Radical Evangelization with Santonio Hill of Vagabond Missions

March 14th, 2022  |  28 mins 47 secs

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This week Chenele talks with Santonio Hill about how Vagabond Missions evangelizes to communities on the peripheries. Also, find out how you can answer the call to serve with your unique gifts.

Episode 84: A Devotion Turned Calling with Steve Kerekes from Scapulars.com

March 7th, 2022  |  22 mins 12 secs

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Have you ever wondered what a scapular is and why Catholics wear one? Chenele talks with Steve Kerekes, founder of scapulars.com, about how he came to love the devotion of wearing scapulars and how it has changed his life.

Episode 83: Journey to the Diaconate with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers

February 28th, 2022  |  23 mins 19 secs

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Join us on our last episode for Black History Month where we visit with author and speaker Deacon Harold-Sivers. We talk about his journey to becoming a deacon, serving his community, and his new book Our Life of Service.

Episode 82: Celebrating Black Saints with Meg Hunter-Kilmer

February 21st, 2022  |  28 mins 18 secs

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Chenele and Meg Hunter-Kilmer talk about the blessing and importance of befriending saints whose life experience is much different from our own. Meg also introduces lesser-known Black saints and shares her personal story of becoming friends with saints who are different from her.

Do you ever think of the saints as your friends? What if you befriended a saint who is different from you?

Episode 81: Catholics United for Black Lives with Shannon Wimp Schmidt

February 14th, 2022  |  17 mins 28 secs

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Chenele talks with Shannon Wimp Schmidt, founding member and media director of Catholics United for Black Lives about responding to racism, educating the Church, and faithfully supporting the Black Lives Matter movement while staying true to Church teaching.

Episode 80: Celebrating Black Catholics with Marcia Lane-McGee

February 7th, 2022  |  20 mins 10 secs

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Happy Black History Month! Join Chenele and Marcia Lane-McGee in this special episode to talk about the uniqueness of Black Catholic culture, Marcia's new book "Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s", and her work as cohost of the Plaid Skirts and Basic Black podcast.

Episode 79: Gaming and the Gospel with Jonathan Blevins

January 31st, 2022  |  23 mins 7 secs

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How can we use social media to evangelize? In this episode, Chenele talks with Jon Blevins—AKA "Bearded Blevins"—founder of Little Flower Media, about building a community for Christ through gaming.

Episode 78: Consistently Pro-Life with Sam Povlock from FemCatholic

January 24th, 2022  |  21 mins 6 secs

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What does it mean to be consistently pro-life?

This week Samantha Povlock, founder and CEO of FemCatholic, chats with Chenele Shaw about the pro-life movement and what being pro-life means. They also discuss how best to support women while maintaining ethical consistency.

If you have ever wondered what the Church has to say about these issues, and how to go about living this out in your everyday life, this episode is for you.