Ave Explores

Diversity of the Saints with Gloria Purvis

November 4th, 2020  |  Season 7  |  43 mins 34 secs

catholicism, communion of saints, diversity, saints

Gloria Purvis explains that learning the stories of black, indigenous, and other diverse saints helps to expand the understanding of holiness in the world. She also shares about the lives of several diverse men and women with open causes for canonization.

Patron Saints for the Family with Karianna Frey

October 30th, 2020  |  Season 7  |  53 mins 6 secs

family, liturgical living, patron saints, prayer

Karianna Frey, author of A Brief Overview of Diversity, discusses how patron saints can bring spiritual depth, personal healing, and comfort to a family. Frey shares which saints have been particularly inspiring to her own family and how she has chosen to entrust each of her four children to a saint.

Broken Saints for Broken People with Meg Hunter-Kilmer

October 28th, 2020  |  Season 7  |  46 mins 13 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, brokenness, faith, family, saints

Meg Hunter-Kilmer, author of the forthcoming Saints Around the World, loves to tell stories of the saints, especially those who are not as well known. She shares how growing close to holy men and women has helped her to love Christ more. Hunter-Kilmer says each saint she’s grown close to has been a unique match during particular challenges in her life.

The Saints in our Lives with Maria Morera Johnson

October 23rd, 2020  |  Season 7  |  34 mins 7 secs

ave explores, cuba, immigration, saints, teresa of avila

Maria Morera Johnson discusses her family’s immigration to the United States from Cuba. Johnson, the author of Our Lady of Charity, shares the journey that led her to a relationship with the saints, especially St. Teresa of Avila, and a deeper prayer life.

Saints 101 with Doug Tooke

October 21st, 2020  |  Season 7  |  44 mins 5 secs

catholicism, holiness, saints

Doug Tooke, vice president of mission at ODB Films and host of the Renovo podcast, explains canonization, the process the Church uses to declare a person a saint. He also discusses how each of us can strive for holiness.

A Family’s Saint with Mary and Jerry Lenaburg

October 16th, 2020  |  Season 7  |  50 mins 28 secs

Mary and Jerry Lenaburg share the story of their daughter, Courtney, who died at the age of 22 after living her whole life with profound disabilities. The Lenaburgs explain how Courtney continues to be part of their life today, and explore how their faith carried them through the challenging years that were also marked with goodness and joy, sharing how in her time on earth, she was a witness to God’s goodness and is a remarkable gift to so many today through her prayers and intercession.

Eyes Fixed to Heaven with Sr. Bethany Davis, F.S.P.

October 14th, 2020  |  Season 7  |  49 mins 45 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholicism, faith, holiness, saints

Sister Bethany Davis of the Daughters of St. Paul sits down with Katie Prejean McGrady to explore what it means to be holy and keep our eyes fixed to heaven, not just because that makes us “a good Catholic,” but because it’s what Jesus wants for our lives. Sister Bethany tells her vocation story, explores the charism and mission of her congregation, and also shares about the new book of saints from the Daughters of St. Paul, In Caelo et in Terra: 365 Saints, and how this project ten years in the making is finally coming to fruition.

Cultivating a Culture of Grace with Danielle Bean

September 11th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  41 mins 34 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholic family life, danielle bean, family culture, grace, motherhood

Danielle Bean, author, speaker podcaster, and the brand manager of CatholicMom.com, talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about the challenges of parenting, and offers advice on how to stay grounded throughout the stages of family life. Bean also shares how cultivating a “God will give me the grace” attitude is the best way to form a healthy and holy family culture.

Welcoming Jesus Into Your Family Life with Emily Jaminet

September 9th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  45 mins 16 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholicism, enthronement, faith, family, family life, sacred heart of jesus

Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, mother of seven, and the executive director of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network. She talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about how family prayer and welcoming Jesus into your home can transform your family dynamic. Jaminet also explains how the ability to pivot in the midst of life’s changes is a mother’s greatest strength. When a mother is centered in prayer, she’s able to change course with grace and patience, Jaminet says.

Fruitfulness & Infertility with Timothy P. O'Malley

September 4th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  39 mins 21 secs

adoption, ave explores, ave maria press, catholic family, catholicism, faith, family life, infertility

Timothy P. O’Malley, director of McGrath Theology Online at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about he and his wife Kara’s struggle with infertility. A professor who also teaches a course on marriage, O’Malley offers insights into discernment and dating for young adults, and ways that we can encourage prayer as a family.

Forming Families & Finding Joy with Marcia Lane McGee

September 2nd, 2020  |  Season 6  |  54 mins 52 secs

adoption, ave explores, ave maria press, catholic family life, catholicism, family, family life, foster family, infertility, single life

Marcia Lane McGee is a birth mother with an open adoption and a foster mom who lives with six teenage boys at the Mooseheart Home near Chicago. She tells host Katie Prejean McGrady that we are all called to creatively foster family life based on our unique state of life and vocation. Lane McGee also explains how we must invest in people, even when they are at their worst, to help them find joy and to lead them to a fullness of love in Christ.

Heroic & Empathetic Fatherood with Brian Greenfield

August 28th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  50 mins 56 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholic family life, catholicism, fatherhood

Catholic speaker Brian Greenfield talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about a father’s role as provider and protector, and as an affirming, empathetic, healing presence in the lives of his wife and children. A theology teacher at an all-boys high school, Greenfield also shares how walking with young people through their wounds and helping them to find peace and love is a key role that all men can play in helping to heal a broken and selfish culture.

Lighting a Fire within your kids with Damon and Melanie Owens

August 26th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  52 mins 40 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholic family life, catholicism, children, faith, kids, marriage

Damon and Melanie Owens, founders of Joyful Ever After Ministries, talk with host Katie Prejean McGrady about finding healing within a marriage, especially when working through resentment and frustration. The couple also shares about raising their eight children in the faith, ultimately entrusting their hearts to the Lord and his will for their lives. The Owenses also offer insights into the ups and downs of married life, homeschooling, and finding balance at home.

A Twitter Romance & a Covid-19 Wedding with Nick & Riley Sciarappa

August 21st, 2020  |  Season 6  |  54 mins 7 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholic, catholicism, covid-19, engagement, faith, family, family life, marriage, pandemic, wedding

Newlyweds Nick and Riley Sciarappa talk with host Katie Prejean McGrady about meeting online and about their lives while dating and discerning marriage and what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown in trust throughout their engagement. The Sciarappas also share what it was like to plan a wedding in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Making Marriage Abundantly Joyful with Jackie Francois Angel & Bobby Angel

August 19th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  59 mins 14 secs

ave explores, ave maria press, catholic family life, family, family life, joy, marriage

Jackie Francois Angel and Bobby Angel, authors, speakers, and parents of four, explain to host Katie Prejean McGrady that marriage must be rooted in friendship, attentiveness to the other’s needs, communication, and a dedication to prayer. The Angels say that marriage is meant to be abundantly joyful, established in a love of Christ that flows into family life.

Regroup and Let it Go with Jeannie Gaffigan

August 14th, 2020  |  Season 6  |  56 mins 25 secs

ave maria press, catholic, catholic family life, coronavirus, covid, covid-19, family, gaffigan, jeannie gaffigan, katie prejean mcgrady, pandemic

Jeannie Gaffigan, author of the bestselling When Life Gives You Pears, wife to comedian Jim Gaffigan, and mother of five, talks candidly with host Katie Prejean McGrady about balancing family life, her Catholic faith, and maintaining a sense of sanity and fun in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City. Gaffigan shares practical tips on how Catholic family life can thrive by lowering your expectations and letting stressful things go so you can focus on your family’s health, happiness, and holiness.