Practicing Catholic Show

Over the past year, we’ve all become more aware about our Indigenous Catholic sisters and brothers whether here in the Archdiocese or around the country. On the show this past weekend, we checked in with Father Michael Carson, Assistant Director for Native American Affairs from the USCCB, about the work underway and this summer’s Tekakwitha Conference in the Twin Cities.

We’re not the only Archdiocesan podcast on the block anymore! The Catholic Spirit recently launched its first limited podcast series, “ Conversion: Embraced by Love ” - four episodes dedicated to sharing the stories of three local converts to the faith.   Here to share some more about the creation of the podcast and why it’s so important to hear from converts, is Joe Ruff: editor in chief of The C...

Spring is in the air and you know what that means.. Pretty soon we’ll be enjoying warm summer evenings outdoors, perhaps even at the softball fields!   Catholic Softball Group is a co-ed softball league for young adults in our Archdiocese, ranging from experienced players to those playing just for fun. Chatting with us this past weekend to share about how you or the young adults in your life can g...

Looking for a meaningful tradition to your Easter celebrations? For 30 years, supporters around the Twin Cities have hosted Giving Trees around the Christmas season. This spring, Catholic Charities invites you to host your own Giving Basket ! It is a new family-friendly opportunity to collect those highest-need items for the families and individuals within our community. Joining us this past weeke...

Maybe you’ve heard the term before: an outcome of the 2015 settlement agreement between the Archdiocese and the Ramsey County Attorney's office, an Archdiocesan ombudsperson has served as an independent resource for people with questions or concerns about clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese. Julie Craven, who works with restorative justice and healing at the University of St. Thomas Schoo...

Have you or somebody you love ever experienced a season of hard times? Whether it was financial or housing strain, an illness, or perhaps a death in the family, we all are able to relate to the feeling of needing help and support from our neighbors. The folks at Hospitality Houses for Divine Mercy do just that by serving our homeless brothers and sisters who suffer from mental health illnesses.  ...

As Practicing Catholics, we know we’re called to steward our finances well but it’s not always easy to do on our own. The Catholic Community Foundation serves Catholic individuals, families, parishes and institutions seeking to streamline their charitable giving while financially supporting the spiritual, educational, and social needs of our community.   Joining us this past weekend to share about...

In the depths of Lent, there’s still a bit of joy and fellowship to be had if you’re tuned in to the tradition of attending parish fish frys. As Practicing Catholics, we know that Fridays are a day to abstain from meat, particularly during Lent but is also practiced as a penance throughout the liturgical year.   This weekend we chatted with two gentlemen from Our Lady of the Lake parish in Mound a...

While we continue this penitential season of Lent, a lot of folks in the Archdiocese are feverishly working on an episcopal ordination and some celebrations honoring Bishop-elect Michael Izen. It’s all happening under the encouraging and watchful eye of our shepherd, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who joined us this weekend on Practicing Catholic for his monthly visit

Over the past three years of our Archdiocesan Synod process, it’s become rather clear that our parish communities desire more opportunities for evangelization, fellowship, and development of our youth. We can’t help but notice a common theme in these three pillars: that folks are drawn to one another for support, encouragement, and accompaniment. But why is fostering community such an important co...

Lent can be a time to welcome new traditions into our lives, especially ones that are rooted in prayer. This Holy Week, we invite you to reflect on the life of Christ in a unique way: through a series of radio plays first produced by the BBC in the early 1940s focused on bringing the Gospels to life. Joining us today is Kathryn Wehr, managing editor of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Cult...

As we discussed last week on Practicing Catholic, the need to support our young people in their faith journeys is ever-so-important in our changing world. NET Ministries – which stands for National Evangelization Teams - has been helping young people evangelize their peers for the past 40 years; utilizing retreat teams, discipleship teams, and YDisciple - a small group discipleship resource – to h...

The National Eucharistic Congress is coming up in 2024 and you’d better start making your travel plans now! It’s the first Eucharistic Congress to happen in 83 years and you and your families have the opportunity to attend. Joining us this past weekend to share more of the exciting details was Fr. Tim Tran, Parochial Vicar at St. Stephen in Anoka, and Archdiocesan point person for the National Euc...

What’s something that most dads, overworked employees, and monks all have in common? The desire for a little bit of silence! In the midst of everyday busyness and sometimes-chaos, does your heart crave a bit of peace and quiet? Mine too. Especially during this season of Lenten preparation, it’s important to nourish our spiritual lives with quiet as that is where the Lord tends to speak to us. &nbs...

We revisited a chat with Fr. Joseph Johnson of Holy Family in St. Louis Park – spiritual warfare during Lent is very real, and the good father will give us some insight in how we might recognize and combat it.  This segment originally aired in February 2022.

Have you or maybe a friend or family member been asked to be part of your parish’s Synod Evangelization Team? If the answer to that is “yes,” you’re certainly familiar with the Catechetical Institute’s School of Discipleship: the 7-week course our Synod Evangelization Team members are participating in now through March. If you’re not familiar, don’t you worry.. We’re just about at the halfway mark...

We all know that well-developed evangelization and good catechesis are key elements in drawing folks to the faith. But what about our young adults who may be wandering during those tough college years? Young men and women who maybe have an attraction and desire to be faithful but can be pulled in several different ways during those crucial years? Katie Stambrosky and Lauren DeZelar of SPO (St. Pau...

When it comes to drawing people in, we know that the Lord sometimes works in mysterious ways. We may have been living a life outside the faith only to be drawn in at just the right moment, experiencing a radical conversion. Sometimes it’s a bit more simple than that, a change that has happened over time. Regardless of how you came to know and love our Lord, there’s comfort in building a life with...

We’re only a few days into the Holy Season of Lent, so there’s still plenty of time to kick our Lenten disciplines into full swing! To help us make the most of this Lent, Archbishop Hebda joined us to share some reflections.

Catholic author, leader, and executive director of the Fathers of St. Joseph, Devin Schadt joined our very own Deacon Gordon Bird to talk about the return of the Archdiocesan Men’s Conference! Register for the conference at archspm.org/events.

This weekend on Practicing Catholic, we got to know the new President of the University of St. Thomas, Rob Vischer, with the help of our Seminary Rector, Fr. Joseph Taphorn. They chatted all about faith and leadership.

With the Lenten season beginning this week, we’re taking a look at how we might invite this season of penance into our homes. Literally. You may know our first guest from her blog-turned-empire, Catholic All Year : the one-stop-shop for all things liturgical living. Kendra Tierney is a mom of 10 and founder of Catholic All Year and joined us this weekend to share some practical ways to bring the s...

Our Catholic Social teaching is rich with the call to aid those facing humanitarian crisis: the Catechism states  “The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extend they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.” (CCC 2241). But what does that practically look like? This weekend we spoke with two em...

Maybe you’ve heard about the upcoming Tekakwitha Conference : a nationally-renowned summit bringing Native American Catholics together in fellowship and appreciation for their shared faith and cultures. We are fortunate enough to be hosting this year’s gathering within our very own Archdiocese! We were joined by two key Native leaders for the Tekakwitha Conference, Charlene Patton, Board President...

Leading off the show this weekend, His Excellency, our Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams is with us to share some reflections on the first year of his episcopal ministry.