Ave Spotlight

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, beginning well, chasing humility, chenele shaw, joel stepanek, life teen, new beginnings

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, church of the nativity timonium, easter, fr. michael white, holy week, maryland, the triduum

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, church of the nativity, fr. michael white, god?, maryland, rebuilt parish series, seriously, timonium, tom corcoran, when god allows bad things to happen

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, lent, lenten promises, regina boyd, scrupulosity

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, discipleship, evangelization, santonio hill, vagabond missions

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, devotion to our lady, jmj pilgrimages, praying the rosary, rosary, scapulars.com, steve kerekes

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, deacon burke-sivers, diaconate, our life of service, service tot he church

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, black history month, black saints, chenele shaw, meg hunter-kilmer, pray for us, saints

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

anti-racism, ave maria press, ave spotlight, black history month, catholic social teaching, catholics united for black lives, chenele shaw, shannon wimp schmidt

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, black history month, chenele shaw, fat luther, marcia lane-mcgee, plaid skirts and basic black podcast, slim pickin's

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

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, consistent life ethic, femcatholic, from womb to tomb, pro-life, samantha povlock

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. 

Episode 77: Gay and Christian with Eve Tushnet

January 17th, 2022  |  18 mins 53 secs

ave maria press, ave spotlight, chenele shaw, eve tushnet, gay and catholic, gay and christian

What would happen if gay Christians began to believe the truth about God—that he loves all people unconditionally?

Join Chenele this week as she talks with Eve Tushnet about navigating rejection and embracing God's love as a gay Christian. She'll discuss her new book Tenderness and what drew her to the Catholic Church.

Episode 76: Welcoming People of ALL Abilities with Christy Wilkens

January 10th, 2022  |  28 mins 37 secs

ave maria press, ave spotlight, awakening at lourdes, chenele shaw, christy wilkens, disabilities, disability catholic ministry, raising disabled children

How can parish communities best love and support those with visible disabilities, as well as those with disabilities we cannot see? Join Chenele and author Christy Wilkens as they talk about Christy's experience with family members who have disabilities. They also discuss how members of a parish can create a more welcoming community for those with disabilities.