Catholic Minute

Send us Fan Mail In this Lenten conversation, we explore why so many people begin Lent with good intentions but end up giving up their penances, fasting, or spiritual commitments along the way. Why does this happen so often? And what spiritual lie might be behind that discouragement? In this episode we talk about the real purpose of Catholic self-denial, the meaning of penance, and why the Church...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we share a striking story from Catholic tradition connected to St. Basil the Great , bishop of Caesarea and one of the great Doctors of the Church. A servant desperate to marry his master's daughter turns to an enchanter and writes a pact renouncing Christ and his baptism. But when the truth comes to light, the man seeks help from St. Basil, believing the wri...

Send us Fan Mail In this Lent Daily reflection, Ken and Janelle share a sobering story from Catholic tradition about confession, hidden sin, and the danger of deceiving ourselves. A monk known for his holiness dies and is buried by his brothers in the monastery. But soon after his burial, something happens that shocks the entire community and reveals a hidden truth about the soul. This powerful st...

Send us Fan Mail In this Catholic Lent reflection, we share a powerful story from Catholic tradition about conversion, repentance, and the surprising ways God calls a soul back to Him. This Lenten meditation from early Christian history tells how a bishop, after seeing a woman celebrated for her beauty and wealth, suddenly collapsed to the ground in repentance before God. Support the show Support...

Send us Fan Mail In the early fourth century, during a time when Christians still faced persecution under Roman authority, a young queen named Catherine stood before the rulers of Alexandria and refused to worship the pagan gods of the empire. When Roman authorities summoned fifty of their greatest philosophers to defeat her in debate, they expected the young Christian woman to be humiliated. Inst...

Send us Fan Mail An angel appeared in her prison cell… offering freedom. But St. Juliana of Nicomedia, a Catholic martyr of the early Church, recognized the deception: the visitor was not an angel at all—it was the devil. This powerful Catholic saint story from ancient Christian tradition reveals a dramatic moment of spiritual warfare during the persecutions of the early Church. Support the show S...

Send us Fan Mail Two Russian generals mocked the Catholic teaching on Hell and made a pact: whichever died first would return and reveal the truth about the afterlife. One of them kept his word. In this episode, we explore a powerful story from Catholic tradition that confronts the reality of Hell, final judgment, and the urgency of repentance. Drawing from Scripture and the writings of St. Alphon...

Send us Fan Mail A condemned man refused the Sacrament of Confession before his execution.  Thirty days after death, he returned with a terrifying declaration: “I am eternally damned.” In this episode, we examine a sobering account preserved in Catholic tradition that confronts the reality of hell, the danger of despair, and the urgency of repentance before death. What is the sin of despair?  Can...

Send us Fan Mail This Catholic Lenten reflection explores the true story of St. Agnes, a 13-year-old virgin martyr and early Christian saint of the Catholic Church during the Roman persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire. Her miracle, martyrdom, and total consecration to Jesus Christ remain a powerful witness to Catholic faith, repentance, conversion, purity, and holiness during Lent. Sup...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.kenandjanelle.com

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a man signs away his soul in blood? In Episode 6 of our Lent Daily series, we explore one of the most terrifying yet hopeful miracles in Church history: The miraculous fall and rise of Saint Theophilus the Penitent. Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.kenandjanelle.com

Send us Fan Mail In this Lenten reflection, we share a powerful Catholic story of repentance, mortal sin, and Marian mercy. One night, a young man was shown hell. His companion was damned — but through a few Hail Marys to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was spared. That moment of mercy led to total conversion… and eventually to martyrdom by fire for Jesus Christ. This episode explores the power of the...

Send us Fan Mail Lent calls us to the Holy Cross — but can mortal sin block our return? St. Mary of Egypt’s dramatic conversion reveals how repentance restores us to grace and opens the way back to Holy Communion. Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.kenandjanelle.com

Send us Fan Mail St. Lucy of Syracuse lived in 3rd-century Sicily during the Roman persecutions of Christians. When ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, she refused. Ancient Christian tradition recounts that soldiers attempted to drag her away, yet she stood unmoved. Her body could be bound, but her will remained free. Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.k...

Send us Fan Mail This video explains the purpose of Lent in the Catholic Church, including Catholic teaching on the 40 days in the desert, Lent fasting rules, abstinence from meat, prayer during Lent, penance, and preparation for Easter. Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.kenandjanelle.com

Send us Fan Mail This Catholic Lent reflection shares a powerful true story of a condemned prisoner who faced the Devil on the night before his execution. In this 1700s Catholic account, Satan demands that he renounce Jesus Christ, the Sacraments, and the Virgin Mary — in exchange for his life. Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.kenandjanelle.com

Send us Fan Mail Ash Wednesday begins the Catholic season of Lent — a time when the Church calls us to remember death, judgment, and eternity. In this true Catholic account from Naples in 1707, St. Francis of Jerome warns a woman who mocked the reality of hell. Eight days later, the warning was fulfilled. This sobering episode reminds us of the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell —...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes . Did you know Pope Pius XII was the only pope to write an encyclical on a Marian apparition — and on what Heaven asked for at Lourdes? Today, we (Ken & Janelle) walk through some of the key points. Support the show Support this show and get all future episodes by email at www.kenandjanelle.com

Send us Fan Mail This is the second conversation with Fr Penna on this topic. Angelic Warfare Confraternity, a powerful devotion rooted in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas and entrusted to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These prayers address every dimension of the human person—not only external behavior, but the senses, imagination, memory, intellect, will, and conscience. They show why th...

Send us Fan Mail The struggle for purity is not new — but the world our children, families, and communities are facing today is unlike anything before it. In our latest video, we sit down with Fr. Penna to discuss a powerful and largely forgotten Catholic devotion: the Angelic Warfare Confraternity — a prayerful response the Church has relied on for centuries in the battle for purity of heart. Thi...

Send us Fan Mail Do land acknowledgements go too far in Catholic churches and Catholic prayer settings? In this video, Fr. Cristino — a Catholic priest with Indigenous heritage — offers a clear Catholic response to land acknowledgements, reconciliation, and prayer in Canada. Land acknowledgements are now common across Canada — in schools, public events, and increasingly in Catholic settings. Many...

Send us Fan Mail Is Canada on the verge of banning public prayer? A Catholic priest explains what’s at stake for religious freedom, faith, and culture. As Quebec moves toward legislation restricting public prayer, Catholics are asking a serious question: can prayer be pushed out of public life? A proposed bill in Quebec would ban public prayer in streets, parks, and other public spaces. In this in...

Send us Fan Mail Christmas Eve Catholic message of hope and gratitude. On this holy night, the Yasinski family shares a heartfelt Christmas blessing and thanks you for journeying with us through Advent as we await the coming of Christ. Merry Christmas from the Yasinski family to all of you who have journeyed with us this Advent. We are deeply grateful for your prayers, your time, and your support....

Send us Fan Mail Why does the Blessed Virgin Mary keep appearing — across centuries, cultures, and continents? From Fatima and Lourdes to Akita, Kibeho, Aokpe, and Champion, Heaven repeats the same call again and again. In this episode of Catholic Minute, Ken and Janelle explore why Mary appears in times of crisis — and what Heaven is asking of us today. Support the show Support this show and get...

Send us Fan Mail More than 70,000 people witnessed the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima — but Heaven was not putting on a spectacle. According to Sister Lucia, Fatima was a warning: a call to repentance, conversion, and prayer meant for the world today. On October 13, 1917, believers, skeptics, journalists, and government officials gathered at Cova da Iria in Portugal. In pouring rain, they witnessed...