CNA Newsroom

Epiphany is more than just the the three kings visiting the child Jesus. It also celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana. This week, we talk with a Trappist monk who helps young monks create incense; we learn about conditional baptisms from a priest who once performed one; and a Catholic retiree who now helps run a winery near Fort Worth, Texas. Show notes: https://www.holyroodguild.com/ https://www.rlv.wine/

For centuries, Catholics celebrated the Circumcision of the Lord on January 1. That practice ended in 1960. But, what was the significance of Jesus' circumcision, and of circumcision in general? We talk to priests, theologians and an art historian to find these answers. Then, we talk with a journalist who went on a years-long quest to find what some believe to be the Church's most unusual relic: the foreskin of Jesus. Shownotes: https://www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/spiritual_exercises_muzianos_circumcision_altarpiece https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/how-catholic-art-saved-the-faith https://nds.edu/staff-members/gregory-vall-ph-d/ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/bible/introduction-to-the-new-testament/galatians https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Siena-Spiritual-Development-Teaching/dp/0809145472 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-irreverent-curiosity-david-farley/1112035537?ean=9781101104972&st=PLA&sid=BNB_ADL+EBooks+Generic+Desktop+Medium&sourceId=PLAGoNA&dpid=tdtve346c&2sid=Google_c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAovfvBRCRARIsADEmbRJ16aaG20vqRzEWlLlNU68Te1DVh9m5Kp-G5laZFP1mPNyPt9rWuqMaAt4sEALw_wcB

This week on the podcast: two unlikely friendships…and one friendship so unlikely, it probably wasn’t a friendship at all. We bring you the stories of two college professors with very different viewpoints— Robert George and Cornel West— who became best friends; two heroes of the American political left and right, Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who were friends for 30 years; and the somewhat odd correspondence between Blessed Pius IX and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Shownotes: https://jmp.princeton.edu/statement https://www.amazon.com/Pope-Who-Would-King-Emergence/dp/0812989910 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/for-antonin-scalia-faith-and-work-did-not-conflict-50816 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/podcast/cna-editors-desk

JD Flynn interviews Santa Claus; we examine the life of St. Nicholas; and CNA Deutch Editor Christoph Wimmer shares the legend of St. Nicholas’ sinister counterpart, Krampus. Shownotes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-nicholas-of-myra-75 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11044a.htm Anchor.fm/CNAdeutsch

A Trappist monk named Emmanuel shares his vocation story and gives us a look at how his community celebrates Advent; the Vatican’s lead astronomer gives the real story of the Star of Bethlehem; and we visit the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. https://www.spencerabbey.org/ https://spencerbrewery.com/ http://www.morinelliphotography.com/ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/tags/brother-guy-consolmagno https://philosproject.org/ https://benedictinesofmary.org/

Happy Thanksgiving! This year, we talk to EWTN’s Father Mitch Pacwa about his annual Thanksgiving hunting trip. Later in this episode, the founder of Whiffletree Farm in Virginia shares the story of his conversion and talks about the Thanksgiving rush; we tell the story of Squanto and Nicholas Black Elk; a retiree in the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens donates and distributes hundreds of turkeys each Thanksgiving, in honor of his dad; and a counselor talks about the relationship between grief and gratitude. https://www.whiffletreefarmva.com/ https://www.ccbq.org/ http://mindspirit.com/author/abbykowitz/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLjuKg1Oic8 Special thanks to Deacon Ben Black Bear, Jr. and Mark G. Thiel for the use of the audio of Nicholas Black Elk’s Thanksgiving prayer.

What does it mean to have a good death? We tell the story of Paul Coakley, a 34-year-old Catholic who died after a short battle with cancer. We talk to hospice care workers and a Catholic bioethicist about what a good death looks like, amid efforts around the world to push for euthanasia and assisted suicide. We also tell the story of a group of Carmelite nuns who were executed during the French Revolution, each one asking first for permission to die. Shownotes: https://sjhospicelondon.com/about-us/ https://www.epcc.ca/ https://www.ccbi-utoronto.ca/ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/canadian-bishops-keep-palliative-care-distinct-from-assisted-suicide-37915 http://supremacyandsurvival.blogspot.com/

Military chaplains dedicate their lives to serve the men and women in the Armed Forces. This Veteran’s Day, we look at the life of one military chaplain who could one day be named a saint. We ask what it looks like to discern a vocation to be a military chaplain. Shownotes: https://watch.formed.org/kapaun-s-men/season:1/videos/the-story-of-father-kapaun https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/father-kapaun/ https://www.kapaunsmen.com/ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/father_emil_kapauns_cause_for_sainthood_to_be_officially_opened https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/fr.-emil-kapaun-beatification-cause-heads-to-rome https://www.theupperroomptsd.org/about-us https://shrinestjude.org/

The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine will be elevated as a National Shrine next year. This week on CNA Newsroom, editor Carl Bunderson shares the story of the shrine, its recent elevation, and one woman who credits her most recent pregnancy to Our Lady of La Leche’s intercession. Shownotes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/historic-marian-shrine-in-florida-elevated-to-national-shrine-54052 https://missionandshrine.org/

Catholic teaching on the “cleansing fire” of purgatory is perhaps one of the Church’s spookier beliefs. This week, we visit the world-famous “Purgatory Museum” in Rome and talk to theologians and experts about what the Church teaches about purgatory and how it applies to our lives. Shownotes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/apologetics/purgatory/purgatory-the-purifying-fire https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/have-souls-in-purgatory-visited-people-on-earth-67916 St. Gertrude Prayer for Souls in Purgatory: “Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”

The number of Central American and Mexican migrants crossing the southern border into the United States has slowed to a trickle, but in terms of helping families in need, Catholic groups at the border know there is still much to be done. This week on CNA Newsroom, we visit the US-Mexico border in El Paso and talk to bishops, priests, laypeople, non-Catholics and everyone in between about what the need is and what people of faith are doing to help. And stick around, because we also cover a side of the immigration debate not often acknowledged: what happens when undocumented immigrants feel a call to the priesthood? Shownotes: https://seminariohispano.org/ https://www.augustineinstitute.org/ http://www.usccb.org/about/financial-reporting/upload/financial-statements-2017-2018.pdf https://www.dhs.gov/news/2019/01/24/migrant-protection-protocols https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/at-us-mexico-border-bishops-emphasize-bonds-of-faith-and-family-85864 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/border-bishops-filled-with-mourning-over-deaths-of-migrants-36435 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-life-women-deliver-semi-truck-full-of-supplies-72000-to-the-border-79366 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/border-bishops-filled-with-mourning-over-deaths-of-migrants-36435

The number of people in prison in the U.S. has grown by a factor of five since the 1970s. An estimated 5 million children have a parent in prison. This week on the podcast: stories of former inmates who found God, and men who have given over their lives to minister to inmates— the modern-day “untouchables." Shownotes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/ive-encountered-him---how-one-inmate-lost-everything-and-found-christ-20265 https://soundcloud.com/cnanewsroom/ep-21-when-ryan-met-jesus https://www.kolbeprisonministries.com/ http://www.sconews.co.uk/opinion/54388/christs-mercy-touches-societys-untouchables/ http://www.layevangelist.com/journal/2018/to-the-corrections-officers-of-the-ferguson-unit-prison-texas https://www.myfathershousedenver.org/

From 2015-2017, the divorce rate in one Florida county dropped by nearly one-third. This week on CNA Newsroom, writer Mary Farrow tells the story of how a coalition of churches helped to make that happen— and whether the rest of the country can follow suit.

Cardinal John Henry Newman will be canonized October 13. This week on CNA Newsroom, we talk about Newman’s life and witness; and the miracle that secured his canonization. Show notes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-approves-second-miracle-for-blessed-john-henry-newman-87278 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/blessed-john-henry-newman-to-be-canonized-in-october-13-80392 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/look-to-newman-for-an-education-in-friendship-catholic-students-told-81728

The population of Americans aged 65 and older will more than double by the year 2060. In this second part of our two-part series on loneliness, we look at why seniors are lonely and how we can help. Show notes: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/our-elders-are-lonely-do-we-care-45567 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-old-still-have-a-lot-to-give-young-people-pope-francis-says-70928 https://washington.providence.org/locations-directory/m/mount-st-vincent Park sound effect from https://www.zapsplat.com