about four o'clock

We are blessed to welcome back Bishop Kemme to discuss his own discernment of the Diocesan Capital Campaign.    Also, for the first time, we simultaneously recorded this episode as a video podcast. You can check that out on the diocesan YouTube page ( https://www.youtube.com/user/ dioceseofwichita ). 

We begin by chatting about different trends amongst priests or seminarians, bringing to the surface Fr. Drew's disdain for basically all animals. Then we discuss the importance of "grit" in prayer, discernment and formation. 

We are joined by Fr. Dan Duling to chat about his parish and recent church building project as well as Fr. Drew's hot take about lake trips being too stressful. Then Fr. Dan shares how his vocation grew and flourished, even through a showdown with a nun. 

Seminarians beware: today we come up with some ideas for good, just punishments for guys who break a House rule. Then we jump into a good conversation about the inevitable and often difficult experience of watching someone decide to leave seminary. 

Today we are joined by Fr. Matt McGinness. Before hearing about his journey to the priesthood, we chat about his gift for hospitality, his affection for gin and tonics, and his experience as Vocations Director for 17 years.  

This week we begin by sharing experiences of our ordination weekends and which priests we invited to preach at our first Mass and to vest us as a deacon and priest (while also throwing out some hot takes for the diocesan Office of Worship to consider). Then we discuss what it means to be a mentor to young people discerning their vocation. 

We are joined by Sr. Rosie of the Missionary Catechists of the Poor, a community of religious sisters based in Monterrey, Mexico who serve here in the Wichita diocese. We discuss the beauty and difficulty of learning a second language before hearing how the Lord called Sr. Rosie to give her life to Him as a religious sister.

We chat about our practices of preparing for homilies before sharing our experience of the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily prayer of the Church, which sanctifies the entire day to God. 

We talk with Fr. Jacob Carlin to hear how the Lord brought him to the priesthood through the trials of discernment, four knee surgeries, and, worst of all, living in England for five years. 

Fr. Garett sits down with Fr. Jacob Carlin and Sr. Rosie, MCP to have a discussion in Spanish about the unique reality of promoting vocations in Hispanic immigrant families.    El padre Garett tiene una conversacion importante con el P. Jacob Carlin y la Hna. Rosie, MCP sobre la realidad de promover vocaciones en las familias de inmigrates hispanos. 

How "The Chaz" became a priest. 

The three priests sit down with Fr. Zach Pinaire to share some stories, including the origins of his nickname "The Chaz." Then, he shares how his love and appreciation for marriage led him to the seminary.  

Recording live from a recent meeting of the Catholic Assembly for Business, we chat about what we'd be doing for a living if we were not a priest and then discuss our experience of business administration as a priest and how the laity can support priests in that aspect of life as a pastor. 

We sat down with Fr. Ed Herzog to hear why in the world a New Yorker is a priest in Wichita, KS. He admits that it was mostly due to his love of golf and the favorable cost of living, but the Holy Spirit had a little to do with it as well. 

We continue our conversation with Fr. Ned Blick and Fr. Joe Eckberg that exhibits well the power of priestly friendship. Listen in to hear how Fr. Joe lost part of his finger in a boating accident, when Fr. Ned nearly got shot as a chaplain in the War in Afghanistan, and the world premiere of Fr. Ned's own rendition of Prince's "1999".

We hosted the dynamic duo of Fr. Ned Blick and Fr. Joe Eckberg as they insisted they could not tell one vocation story without the other. A couple highlights from the first half of the conversation: Mother Teresa leading Fr. Joe to leave seminary, Fr. Ned's rosaries on beer trucks, and Fr. Joe running over Fr. Ned with a boat. 

First off we chat about our early memories of computers, video games, and cell phones, mostly to make Fr. Chad feel old. Then we discuss the importance of being intentional in establishing boundaries to maintain a healthy relationship with technology that will allow for deeper thought and prayer. 

A truly historic moment for the podcast: for the first time ever we interview a consecrated virgin, Aubrey Coulter. She explains the unique vocation of consecrated virginity and her experience of being led to give her life as a bride of Christ, living in the world. 

Happy Easter! We begin by talking about some out of the ordinary ways to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord from around the world (and Fr. Chad's wardrobe). We finish up by responding to a question from a listener on our experience of working with the lay faithful in the mission of preaching the Gospel.

We welcome on Fr. Nicholas Ashmore from the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas to swap stories from time in seminary before he shares his vocation story that begins with an angry letter to a priest and ends with leaving behind a future in vocal performance to follow the Lord's call. 

To be spiritually holy, priests also need to be physically healthy. We chat about that, including a recap of January's seminarian basketball tournament and reliving the glory days of our athletic championships during our time in seminary. 

There's only one Fr. Eric Weldon. Enjoy this tale of military service, a broken engagement, and the persistence of the Lord leading to a good and holy priest. Bada bing.

This week we share adventures of our deacon summer assignment before going into a greater explanation of a couple steps that a seminarian takes on the road to ordination: candidacy and the installation in the ministries of acolyte and lector. 

We are so delighted to welcome on Fr. Michael Brungardt, also known as the REAL Fr. Mike, to talk about his feud with Fr. Mike Schmitz and how the Lord's persistence led him to the joy of his priestly vocation.  

In this episode we chat about the sacrament of confession, ranging from a traumatic first confession to humbling and beautiful experiences as confessors. We then offer some advice on what to avoid in order to more fruitfully enter into the sacrament of God's mercy.