On the Way

Pope Francis released his latest Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad), focused on the call to holiness in today’s world. Co-hosts Beth White, Director of the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, and Jenn Delvaux, Evangelization Coordinator, discussed with guests the role of holiness in evangelization. Fr. Robin Ryan, CP, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Catholic Theological Union (CTU), shared the ways in which this latest teaching is vintage Pope Francis. His focus in the document on “middle class holiness,” importance of community, and evangelization through attraction, are all themes intended for all of us. Fr. Steve Katsouros, SJ, Dean and Executive Director at Arrupe College, Loyola University Chicago, joined the conversation. He shared how the document reflects the Ignatian influences in the Pope and explored the themes of discernment, prayer, and Spiritual Direction.

Host Beth White, Director of Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, and co-host Jennifer Delvaux, Evangelization Coordinator, discussed the role of beauty in our faith. Beth spoke with Wendy Silhavy, Senior Coordinator for Liturgy and Music, about the power and importance of music in our liturgy and faith lives. Wendy shared how music is chosen for liturgies and the ability of music to convey beliefs and theological ideas in a way that people can understand. Jenn Delvaux spoke with Eric Groth, an executive producer of Paul: Apostle of Christ, opening the weekend of March 23-25. Eric shared his belief in the need for high quality, impactful media to support ministry and convey our faith to the broader culture. In addition, Eric shared about the themes and goals of his film making in general, along with the specific messages found in the Paul film. Details on the film can be found at http://www.paulmovie.com.

Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowls are a common part of parish life during Lent. This month’s show focused on CRS, Rice Bowls, and the special events with Fr. James Martin. Host Beth White and co-host Jenn Delvaux spoke with Beth Knobbe from the Midwest office of CRS. Beth Knobbe shared the history and mission of CRS along with the impact the Rice Bowls have on the world and our Archdiocese. All the many resources CRS offers for Lent were highlighted – from prayers to recipes to reflections to videos. Fr. James Martin, S.J., joined the show for the last half hour and shared about his writings and talks on Jesus and The Seven Last Words. He gave an excellent teaser for his two talks on March 22 and 23 at Holy Name Cathedral on Encountering Jesus: Meeting the Christ of Faith and the Jesus of History and Seven Last Words: An Invitation to a Deeper Friendship with Jesus.

On February 10, 2018, Catechists from throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago will gather at Loyola University’s Lakeshore Campus for the Chicago Faith Congress: Reignite the Journey sponsored by the Office for Lifelong Formation. Co-hosts, Beth White and Jennifer Delvaux, interviewed Susan Amann, Associate Director of the Office for Lifelong Formation, about this upcoming opportunity and how to get involved. They also discussed other Lenten opportunities for young adults. Fr. Jason Malave, Cardinal’s Delegate for Renew My Church, joined the program to discuss updates on the Renew My Church process. He shared the three themes that have emerged over the last six months – Making Disciples, Building Communities, Inspiring Witness. He also talked about how our restructuring of our parishes is at the service of the mission to reach outward and evangelize.

The New Year approaches and many of us consider the possibilities for New Year’s Resolutions. This month’s show brought the staff of the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship together to talk about prayer, scripture, and how we can use those New Year’s resolutions to draw closer to Jesus. Co-hosts Beth White and Jenn Delvaux were joined by Fr. Jim McIlhone, Director of Biblical Formation. Jenn and Fr. Jim discussed the up-coming Word Made Clear virtual Bible Study that will begin in January. You can register for the series here. In addition to the virtual study, Fr. Jim and Jenn discussed the events on January 22 and 25 that are opportunities to hear a presentation from Fr. Jim and learn more about the virtual study. They discussed how this is an opportunity to learn more about scripture, about Jesus, and draw closer in your relationship with Jesus. Other tools for prayer and exploring scripture were shared including online resources, apps for your phone, and what different religious communities offer.

Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas, externally and internally. This month’s show focused on the common themes of the season – prayer, gift-giving, music, and traditions – through the lens of evangelization. Co-hosts Beth White and Jenn Delvaux were joined by Beth Knobbe, Midwest Region Relationship Manager for Catholic Relief Services, who shared the various Advent activities and prayer resources available through the CRS website: https://www.crs.org/resource-center/advent-resources-your-parish. In addition to prayer resources and activities, Beth offered ethically produced gift ideas, which offer an opportunity for story-telling and faith conversations this season. The full gift guide and information about how your gift purchase will make a real impact can be found here: http://ethicaltrade.crs.org/guide/holiday-gift-guide/ David Anderson, Vice President of Church Music for GIA Music and Director of Music for Ascension Catholic Church in Oak Park, spoke about music, Taizé prayer, and the power of silence during this season of Advent. He encouraged listeners to use opportunities like Taizé prayer to invite friends, family, and colleagues to an experience of prayer. The final portion of the show was dedicated to the Mexican tradition of the Los Posadas – the ritual re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for a lodging in Bethlehem. Jose Torres from the Office for Human Dignity and Solidarity’s Immigration Ministry gave an overview of this rich tradition. Jose was joined by Cecelia who is part of the planning team for the upcoming 12th annual Posada, which is dedicated to the Dreamers here in the Archdiocese on December 15th. More information can be found here: https://pvm.archchicago.org/documents/87254/685353/Annual+Posada/aee187c6-4e61-4f01-aae2-ae524daab30d

Host Beth White, Director of the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, was joined by three guests to discuss upcoming opportunities in the Archdiocese in which we can invite others and engage in our faith. The first guest was Andrae Goodnight who is starring in Tolton: From Slave to Priest, a riveting new multi-media drama that will take audiences through the life of Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first Black Catholic priest in the United States. Mr. Goodnight shared that the play will journey through the places that were important to Fr. Tolton, starting with the Chicago area, which has a role of honor in his ministry and life. For more information about where the play is being hosted and how to get tickets, visit www.toltondrama.com. Fr. Peter Wojcik, Director of the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission, and Jennifer Delvaux, Evangelization Coordinator for the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, spoke about (re)ENCOUNTER, the young adult gathering that is taking place on Friday, October 20 at UIC Pavilion at 6:00 p.m. The event will have great music, wonderful speakers, and an opportunity to worship. Fr. Peter spoke about how and why Mr. Mark Wahlberg is participating in the evening with Cardinal Cupich and ideas on how you can engage the young adults in your life. For more information on the event and how to get tickets, visit www.reencounterchicago.org. Ms. Delvaux and Fr. Wojcik also spoke about the new online tool that will be introduced at (re)ENCOUNTER – www.belongchicago.org. Here, young adults will be able to find opportunities to engage in the Church and find where they can belong. It is a tool that will grow over time.

Host Beth White, Director of the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, spoke to two people involved in the upcoming (re)ENCOUNTER: Young Adult Faith Night. Sr. Bethany Madonna from the Sisters of Life will be one of two keynote speakers and she shared the hunger that young adults have for God. Fr. Brad Zamora from the University of St. Mary of the Lake also joined the conversation. Fr. Brad is on the Youth and Young Adult Steering Committee of the Archdiocese and will be one of the emcees for (re)ENCOUNTER. He gave the background of the event and who else will be joining him on stage – and made a big announcement about our celebrity guest! Beth White also spoke with Cheryl Haluczek from St. Joseph’s in Libertyville and Jenn Delvaux from the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship about the “Six Weeks with the Word of God” young adult series. In response to a very successful Theology on Tap, a fall opportunity was created to offer young adults a way to engage the Bible and talk about their faith. Cheryl, who will be a facilitator of one of the nine groups around the Archdiocese, shared how important it is to offer these opportunities beyond the city of Chicago. Jenn who is on the organizing team gave an overview of the new six-week faith sharing groups and how to get involved. For those interested in joining or sharing this information with the young adults in your life, visit pvm.archchicago.org or www.reencounterchicago.org.

Host Beth White, Director of the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, was joined by three guests who each talked about how important it is to listen to the needs of those to whom you minister and to find creative ways to respond to those needs. A common theme of the conversation was how important it is to invite people to participate – to find them where they are. Deacon Larry Oskielunas from St. Patrick Parish in Lemont provided information on an important ministry he created, NEXT, to help accompany young married couples in his parish. Michelle Shaffer, the director of evangelization and adult faith formation at Holy Cross in Deerfield, spoke about her successful use of the ALPHA program and how she created follow up opportunities based on participants’ curiosity. Jennifer Delvaux, former director of faith formation at Holy Name Cathedral and new evangelization coordinator for the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, shared the importance of helping to form and provide support for those called into parish leadership roles. For more information on the NEXT program, please contact Deacon Larry directly at [email protected]

Host Beth White, Director of the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, was joined by three guests who talked about summer evangelization activities in the Archdiocese. Tom Collins, a parishioner from St. Paul of the Cross in Park Ridge, spoke about their parish efforts to have a joyful presence in their community through an “evangelization booth” at the Taste of Park Ridge and “Coffee with Catholics” conversations he started this summer at a local coffee shop. Valerie Jennings, Parish Vitality Coordinator for Vicariate 6, shared some experiences from the Black Catholic Congress XII and promoted an upcoming play about the life of Fr. Augustus Tolton. And the final guest was Christina Aranda, Mission Appeals Coordinator, for the Archdiocesan Mission Office. She shared information about the more than 150 missionaries who visit our parishes during the summer and the ways this reminds us to be missionary disciples and to evangelize in our own communities.

As a part of Renew My Church we are called to not only renew our ministries, programs, and structures, but we are also each called to a personal spiritual renewal. Host Beth White was joined by guest Fr. Steve Kanonick, Moderator of the Curia, to discuss how nearly 350 employees of the archdiocesan pastoral center and agencies gathered for a one-day retreat to pray, to build community, and to focus on the mission of the Church, and why that is important. The second half of the show was dedicated to opportunities to go out to meet people where they are this summer – street Masses, block parties, festivals, etc. Fr. Don Nevins, Pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Little Village, shared some of the ways in which his parish uses the summer months to reach out to people in their homes, in particular their long tradition of neighborhood street Masses every Tuesday and Thursday night for five weeks of the summer. Krystle Frey, Senior Events Coordinator for the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission, shared updates on the upcoming Theology On Tap kick-off on July 10th, Theology on Tap in local communities, and information about two events coming us in Fall 2017.

The Chicago-created Theology on Tap summer series for young adults is 35 years old this summer and is undergoing a renewal. Host Beth White was joined by guest co-host Darius Villalobos from the Office for Lifelong Formation to discuss the changes to Theology on Tap in parish communities throughout the Archdiocese. Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, Chief Executive Officer of Canada’s Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation will be the featured speaker at the July 10th Theology on Tap kick-off gathering. He joined Beth and Darius and spoke about his interesting roles at the Vatican, the positive and negative uses of social media today, and how much he has learned from working with young adults. In addition to Fr. Tom, guests included, Christina Bax, Pastoral Associate & Director of Evangelization at St. Clement Parish, and Bryan Fong, Coordinator for Young Adult Ministry in Vicariate 1 and parishioner at St. Hubert Catholic Church. They spoke about the exciting new changes to Theology on Tap and how they have participated in the renewal process locally.

At the Good Friday Walk for Peace 2017, more than 1500 diverse people from throughout the Archdiocese gathered to pray the Stations of Cross in the streets of the Englewood neighborhood. On today’s show, we listened to voices from the day, through recorded audio clips and conversations with live guests. Our guests were Ryan Lents, director for the Office for Human Dignity and Solidarity who also served as a co-host for today’s show. Ryan shared his experience of being on the organizing committee and the meaning of the experience for him. Additional guests included, Mearl Sledge, who grew up in Englewood, is a Chicago bus driver, biological and foster mother, and a parishioner of St. Thomas in Hyde Park; Tyrone Pittman, the Choir Director of the Chicago Black Catholic Choir, also directs the choirs of Holy Angels and St. Phillip Neri Catholic churches; and Laura Field is a business owner and spiritual director at her parish, Old St. Patrick’s, and at St. Benedict Catholic Church on the Northside. Each of these guests shared why they chose to attend the Walk for Peace, the hope they found in the experience, and the power that prayer has to transform each of us and our communities.

On today’s show, we highlighted four upcoming opportunities in our Archdiocese to discover language for sharing our faith. Our first guest, Fr. Don Nevins, pastor of Saint Agnes of Bohemia Parish, discussed how his parish joins with five other parishes in the Little Village neighborhood to bring the re-enactment of the Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) to the streets to more than 5,000 participants on Good Friday (April 14th this year) as a way to pray through movement and share their faith with the larger community. Michael Dopp, president of Redeemer Ministries, joined us to talk about the meaning of evangelization and the upcoming New Evangelization Summit on May 12-13th. The Conference, hosted in Ottawa, Canada, will be broadcast to more than 35 host locations throughout North America, including the Archdiocese of Chicago. Our final guest was Fr. John Kartje, president and rector of Mundelein Seminary/University of Saint Mary of the Lake. Fr. Kartje, who holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics discussed two upcoming events on faith and science, one to be hosted at the Seminary on March 16th & 17th and the other at Adler Planetarium on May 18th. He discussed the ways in which faith and science can dialogue and how both can show us how God is present in the world.

There are 66,000 Black Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago, served by 351 parishes, 38 of which are predominately African American. During February, which is Black History month, Fr. David Jones, the Director of the Black Catholic Initiative of the Archdiocese, spoke about ways in which Black Catholics are reaching out in our communities. Fr. Jones also gave an update on where we are in the process of Fr. Augustus Tolton’s Cause for sainthood. Our second guest was Ms. Kimberly M. Lymore, DMin, the Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union. She shared information about this unique and important graduate theology and ministry formation program for Black Catholics and their upcoming events.

On today’s show, we discuss the newest film by Martin Scorsese, Silence, and why it is important to utilize various forms of communication to evangelize. Fr. James Martin, SJ, who is a Jesuit priest, a writer and editor for America Magazine, and an author of several books, joined us to discuss his role as one of the spiritual and Jesuit advisors for the film. The movie, which depicts 17th century Jesuit missionaries in Japan, is a challenging film on faith that leaves viewers with many deeply thought-provoking questions. We take up some of those questions on our show today. Joining Beth White as a guest co-host is James Erler, SJ, Parish Vitality Coordinator for the Archdiocese.

For our Christmas episode, we focus on the theme of the Christmas story, following Mary and Joseph as they journey in anticipation for welcoming Jesus. We look at how we are called to help those who, like Mary and Joseph, are on the margins of our society, seeking help and shelter. We are joined by Arturo Gonzalez, Coordinator for Pastoral Migratoria to talk about the Immigration Posada; Sr. Stephanie Baliga from the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels to talk about the Mission's outreach to the West Humboldt Park community; and Ray Pingoy from the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity to talk about the March for Life.

On today's show, we to take a moment to reflect on all the things we have to be grateful for, while also looking at the ways that our gratitude to God should move us to give back in loving service to others. Our guests will help us look at ways people and institutions are expressing their thanks to God by serving others. Our guests include Marie Jochum, Director of Volunteer Relations for Catholic Charities of Chicago; Fr. David Kelly, Executive Director of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (a Catholic Campaign for Human Development grantee); Ryan Lents, Director of the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity to talk about the upcoming CCHD collection.

Beth Jennings White speaks with local artist John David Mooney and Amanda Hicks, Executive Director of Public Affairs, and Robby Sexton, Social Media Manager, from the Art Institute of Chicago. Together, they discuss how Marc Chagall’s “White Crucifixion” trip to visit Pope Francis inspired a unique collaboration between the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago to create the Year of Mercy Art Tour. They explore how artists, museums, and the Church working together can help us find the way of beauty and love in our world.

Beth Jennings White and Darius Villalobos speak with John Angotti, Music Missionary and composer of our new theme song, "I Send You Out." We discuss his ministry, how to use music as a way to evangelize, and his musical "Job: the NOW Testament." We also speak with national speaker, Katie Prejean McGrady, and Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Coordinator for Youth And Young Adult Ministry, about the upcoming event, Holy Fire. Katie will be a keynoter at the event and will speak about her ministry to young people as a high school teacher, author, and "theological comedian."

On the inaugural radio show for the Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, hosts Beth Jennings White and Darius Villalobos talk about the 2016 Olympics and "the catholic Olympics", World Youth Day 2016. They spend some time recapping some of the athletes that are sharing their faith on the Olympic stage at Rio. They are also joined by guests Melissa McGlynn from St. Genevieve Parish in Chicago and Kent Liederbach from St. Mary of Vernon parish in Vernon Hills, who were pilgrims that traveled to Poland for WYD 2016. They discuss the significance of the pilgrimage and how they are bringing the WYD experience home to share with their communities.