Ave Spotlight

Episode 22: Finding Faith in Food

January 11th, 2021  |  21 mins 27 secs

Catholic author Emily Stimpson Chapman discusses how cooking and welcoming people with simplicity and joy is the perfect way to build community, share faith, and grow in relationships with others.

Episode 21: Godly Goals for 2021

January 4th, 2021  |  16 mins 37 secs

Karen Barbieri, founder of Pietra Fitness, explains how we can set goals for the new year that focus on faith and fitness. Barbieri helps us recognize that health and holiness go hand in hand.

Episode 20: A Year in Review

December 28th, 2020  |  28 mins 17 secs

Chenele Shaw and Katie Prejean McGrady discuss their favorite Ave Spotlight episodes of the year as they reflect on 2020 through the lens of faith, prayerfulness, and hope.

Episode 19: Looking Forward to 2021

December 21st, 2020  |  19 mins 42 secs

Fr. Joe Laramie, S.J, North American director of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, talks about the Year of St. Joseph recently designated by Pope Francis. Laramie says that praying for the Pope's intentions each month is a good practice to incorporate into your spiritual life.

Episode 18: Catholic Christmas Traditions

December 14th, 2020  |  21 mins 7 secs

advent, catholic, christmas, liturgical living

Elissa Tiprigan, founder of Catholic Family Crate, discusses how she creates activities to make feast days and liturgical seasons fun, family-centered, and life-giving. She also shares ways to celebrate Advent and the twelve days of Christmas.

Episode 17: Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 7th, 2020  |  23 mins 21 secs

Geovanne Garcia, an art teacher and youth minister in Dallas, Texas, discusses the significance of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the Mexican people and how participating in celebrations for the feast day deepened her faith as a teen.

Episode 16: Serving Others at the Holidays

November 30th, 2020  |  20 mins 32 secs

charity, christ child society, giving tuesday, holiday giving, pro-life

Suzanne WiWi, copresident of the Christ Child Society of South Bend, Indiana, discusses how caring for families in need is important during this time of year, and even more so in the midst of the pandemic.

Episode 15: A Day in the Life of a Country Priest

November 23rd, 2020  |  18 mins 59 secs

catholic, catholicism, cover, priest, priesthood

Fr. Edward Looney, a pastor of two parishes in the diocese of Green Bay and author of A Heart Like Mary’s, discusses his daily life as a priest and shares how he makes time for prayer, connecting with family, and writing.

Episode 14: Liturgical Living for Advent

November 16th, 2020  |  21 mins 29 secs

advent, haley stewart, liturgical living

Haley Stewart, author of The Grace of Enough, discusses liturgical living and how orienting family life to the Church calendar is joyful, simple, and will keep you focused on faith.

Episode 13: Forming & Fostering Community

November 9th, 2020  |  20 mins 11 secs

ave maria press, community, faith, family, gathering together

Catherine Fowler Sample, author of Gather Together and creator of The Dating Project documentary, shares how forming community is essential to our faith and valuable for our well-being and happiness. Fowler Sample offers tips on ways we can foster friendships and relationships even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Learning New Saints

November 2nd, 2020  |  16 mins 23 secs

ave spotlight, catholicism, saints

Meg Hunter-Kilmer, a Catholic blogger and speaker who is known as the "Hobo for Christ," discusses how learning the stories of the saints, especially those who are lesser-known, is an opportunity to grow in personal holiness.

Episode 12: Preparing for Advent

October 26th, 2020  |  14 mins 38 secs

Tommy McGrady, a high school teacher and coauthor of Advent and Christmas: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, shares ways to intentionally prepare for Advent and enter into the new liturgical year with purpose and a desire to pray daily.

Episode 11: The Indispensable Role of Women in the Church

October 19th, 2020  |  24 mins 34 secs

ave maria press, catholicism, church, women

Jessica McMillan explores the role of women in ministry and authority in the Church. She also discusses women’s understanding of themselves, what they have to offer, and their unique wisdom and insight.

Episode 10: Christ in the Storm

October 12th, 2020  |  22 mins 32 secs

ave explores, ave spotlight, catholicism, covid-19, faith, pontifex, pope francis, rome, urbi et orbi, vatican

Jaymie Stuart Wolfe, an acquisitions editor at Ave Maria Press, reflects on the extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing from Pope Francis on March 27th, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains that the new book Christ in the Storm is a school of prayer for those who find themselves navigating challenging times.

Episode 9: The Family That Prays Together...

October 5th, 2020  |  31 mins 36 secs

ave maria press, family, family theater company, fr. patrick peyton, pray, prayer

Fr. David Guffey, C.S.C., shares the story of Venerable Patrick Peyton, the founder of Family Rosary who is famous for the phrase “The family that prays together stays together.” The forthcoming documentary Pray tells the story of Peyton’s life and shows how his wisdom can help families navigate media today.

Episode 8: Discerning Truth & Civil Discourse

September 28th, 2020  |  24 mins 10 secs

ave maria press, ave spotlight, civil discourse, conversations, dialogue, political, politics, truth

Ann M. Garrido, professor of homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology and author of Let’s Talk About Truth, explains the definition of “truth,” how we determine what truth is, and how we can use truth to engage in civil discourse and grow in relationship with others.