Ave Spotlight
with Oscar Rivera
Displaying 6 items of Ave Spotlight with the tag "catholic faith".
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Episode 187: Prayer That Changes Everything Fr. Josh Johnson
March 16th, 2026 | 31 mins 6 secs
ave maria press, ave spotlight, call to holiness, catholic church, catholic faith, fr josh johnson, free podcast for catholics, oscar rivera, prayer, scripture
Fr. Josh Johnson shares his journey from spiritual searching to the priesthood and how prayer became the anchor of his life. In this episode of Ave Spotlight, he reflects on the universal call to holiness and the power of scripture to help us hear God’s voice. Slow down, listen, and rediscover how prayer can draw you into deeper relationship with God.
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Episode 172: More Than Optimism: How to Live with Unshakable Hope featuring Brian Greenfield
August 18th, 2025 | 40 mins 15 secs
ave maria press, ave spotlight, brian greenfield, catholic faith, free catholic podcast, hope, optimism, oscar rivera, practical wisdom for young people
Catholic speaker Brian Greenfield joins Oscar to explore the raw, grace-filled reality of true hope—far deeper than mere optimism. Drawing on the image of childbirth, we unpack how God calls us to push through life’s trials toward holiness, even when comfort tempts us to stop short. Brian shares his powerful conversion story during Eucharistic adoration and offers practical wisdom for young people and parents to enter the back-to-school season with a mindset rooted in faith and perseverance.
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Episode 169: The Universal Church and Urban Roots with Brandon Morel
July 7th, 2025 | 34 mins 19 secs
ave maria press, ave spotlight, brandon morel, catholic faith, catholicism, cultural evangelization, evangelization, gospel rooted in justice and joy, ministry in new york city, oscar rivera, pierre toussaint, the catholic church and hip hop, the symbol, youth ministry
Ministry in New York City isn’t for the faint of heart but it's full of grace. Oscar and Brandon Morel talk about the power of cultural evangelization, the immigrant roots of Catholic New York, and how figures like Pierre Toussaint still inspire a gospel rooted in justice and joy. Plus, they explore the surprising harmony between the Church and hip hop, and what it means to become saints in the middle of the city.
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Episode 99: Host Chenele Shares Her Story of Reversion to the Faith
August 8th, 2022 | 12 mins 57 secs
ave maria press, ave spotlight, catholic faith, chenele shaw, conversion stories
In the final episode of the Ave Spotlights ummer conversion story series, host Chenele Shaw shares her own inspiring story of hope--from getting kicked out of high school to managing a Philly cheesesteak restaurant to becoming director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Orlando.
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Episode 97: Eve Tushnet on How the Truth and Beauty of Catholicism Led to Her Conversion
July 11th, 2022 | 22 mins 55 secs
ave maria press, ave spotlight, catholic faith, chenele shaw, conversion from judaism to catholicism, eve tushnet, gay and catholic, tenderness, truth and beauty
Chenele chats with Eve Tushnet about her conversion to Catholicism. After being deeply inspired by the reliquaries of the Church, Tushnet explored the faith more intentionally and was moved by the beauty and truth of Catholicism. She also shares some insight on how to discuss the topic of conversion with others.
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Episode 95: Gloria Purvis on Her Conversion to the Catholic Faith
June 13th, 2022 | 30 mins 6 secs
ave maria press, ave spotlight, catholic faith, catholic podcast, chenele shaw, conversion story, gloria purvis, pro-life, sacredness and dignity of black lives
In this episode, Chenele Shaw chats with Gloria Purvis about her conversion to Catholicism when she was twelve years old after encountering the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration. Although her parents were not Catholic, they supported her passion to witness to the faith as an advocate for the sacredness and dignity of the unborn, and Black lives.