Father and Dad

Recorded shortly after Fr. Steven celebrated his final Mass at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Fr. Steven and Dad take time to reflect on transitions, gratitude, and the many graces of the past two years in Merrillville. Looking back on his time at OLQM, Fr. Steven shares memories of the people he encountered, the lessons he learned, and the blessings he both received and was privileged to give in prie...

In this episode of Father & Dad, Fr. Steven shares the news of his new assignment as administrator of Holy Spirit in Winfield, St. Helen in Hebron, and St. Mary in Kouts, beginning July 1st. Sitting down with Dad, the conversation unfolds through a series of thoughtful questions that open a window into this important transition in priestly life. Fr. Steven reflects on the prayer and discernmen...

In this episode of Father & Dad, Fr. Steven and Dad explore the difference between being a “force of nature” and a “force multiplier” in parish life and leadership. Drawing from Fr. Steven’s recent work with parish leadership coach Ron Huntley, they reflect on the intentional effort underway to build a culture of collaboration, shared responsibility, and mutual support within the parish staff....

In this episode of Father & Dad , Fr. Steven and Dad reflect on the major announcements heard across the Diocese of Gary regarding the future pastoral planning process and the restructuring of parishes. With many communities facing change, they speak candidly about both the challenges and the opportunities that come with this moment in the life of the Church. Fr. Steven offers firsthand perspe...

In this episode of Father & Dad, Fr. Steven and Dad talk about an important transition at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs as Fr. Ted begins a five-month priestly sabbatical from January through June 2026. Fr. Steven explains what a sabbatical is, why it exists in the Diocese of Gary, and how it serves as a vital opportunity for spiritual renewal that priests are invited into roughly every fifteen ye...

In this warm and reflective Christmas episode of Father & Dad, Fr. Steven and Dad talk about the joy of celebrating Christmas in the parish, especially the gift of seeing so many people gathered for Mass—some who may only come a few times a year. Rather than judgment, they reflect on this moment as a sign of hope and an open door for deeper connection. The conversation turns to an important re...

In this uplifting episode of Father & Dad , Fr. Steven shares highlights from his recent trip to the National Catholic Youth Conference, where he accompanied a group of Andrean students along with teens connected to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. Over three powerful days, thousands of high schoolers gathered to hear inspiring keynote speakers, worship together, and deepen their commitment as disci...

In this engaging episode of Father & Dad , Fr. Steven and Dad tackle a question many people have wondered about: how do priests go to confession? Do they just confess to themselves? Fr. Steven explains that, just like everyone else, priests confess their sins to another priest and receive God’s mercy through the sacrament. He shares how many priests also have a spiritual director and regular c...

In this thought-provoking episode of Father & Dad , Fr. Steven and Dad explore how priests live out their vocation in ways that go far beyond what people typically expect.  While celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and anointing the sick are central, many priests also engage in ministries like pro-life work, public speaking, and other unique forms of service. Each priest, they reflect, brin...

In this episode of Father & Dad, join Fr. Steven and Dad as they unpack the spiritual richness of their recent pilgrimage to MaryTown, a sacred pause that goes beyond Sunday Mass and breathes life into everyday faith. Discover how stepping out of routine can open your heart to deeper communion with the Lord. Then they recount the highlights of the Emmaus Conference, a vibrant missionary discip...

In this episode, Fr. Steven shares about his latest academic adventure — beginning work toward an STL (Licentiate in Sacred Theology) in the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.  What exactly is an STL? Why go back to school now? And what does the New Evangelization even mean in a world that often seems tired of religion? Fr. Steven unpacks the structure of the program, the classes h...

In this special Father’s Day episode, Fr. Steven sits down with Dad to reflect on his first full year of priesthood. They talk about the joys, challenges, and surprises of this past year—from parish life to school ministry—and share how it’s impacted both of them.  They also discuss attending the recent Ordination Mass for Fr. Alex and Fr. Ivan, newly ordained for the Diocese of Gary.  The episode...

In this episode of Father and Dad , Fr. Steven shares the experience of his first Holy Week as a priest. He and his dad dive into the highs, the surprises, and the sacred moments of those unforgettable days.  Fr. Steven recalls the profound experience of speaking the part of Jesus during the Palm Sunday Passion Gospel and the fraternity of the Chrism Mass where he reaffirmed his priestly promises....

Fr. Steven shares the incredible journey of writing The Bluff, a musical he and some friends have been working on for the past 10 years and is now set to be performed by a Catholic high school in Monroe, MI. He and Dad reflect on the creative process, how faith has shaped his storytelling, and the joy in surrendering all things to God. Join them for a thoughtful discussion on vocation, creativity...

The end of January brings with it Catholic Schools week.    Fr. Steven’s home parish St. Thomas More traditionally holds and open house accompanied by a pancake breakfast on this Sunday. Fr. Steven has been assigned as the chaplain to two local catholic schools.    The first is the grammar school associated with his parish.    While pastor Fr. Ted serves more of an administrative role with the sch...

This was Steven's first Christmas as a priest and it marked his first time attending Christmas mass at a parish other than his childhood parish.   In recent history, midnight mass at our local parish has been a bit of a Caraher family affair with Steven and his brother serving at the altar and his mom playing music. Now that Steven is a priest, the challenge is to integrate that into our fami...

The Prodigal Son has returned! Father Steven was invited to speak at St. Thomas More, his home parish.     Pastor Father Mike of St. Thomas More invited Father Steven to speak during our annual 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration. Though a parish priest's life is filled with many activities, priests must work to constantly strive for spiritual growth. Father Steven's talk preparation flowe...

The past week Father Steven spent 4 days on a convocation of the priests of the Diocese of Gary.    During these convocations Priests of the diocese come together. These convocations occur approximately every 2 years.    One of the greatest blessings of these gatherings is the confraternity among brother priests.     The group celebrated mass and prayed together during the gathering.   In addition...

Father Steven learned that the life of a priest can often be unpredictable.     Days that were once open can quickly fill up. Recently, Fr. Steven found that his open day was immediately filled.   One of these items was a funeral.     Fr. Steven discussed how he prepares for a funeral. The first part of preparation is getting himself ready; praying and deepening his understanding of death.    The...

Father Steven has been at his parish assignment for 2 months and has been settling in to the life of a parish priest. Along with parish life, Father Steven has been assigned as priest for both a pre-K through 8 grammar school and a local Catholic High School.   Father Steven has been doing his best to be available and getting to know everyone. We discussed how these assignments came about and ulti...

Father Steven and Dad both attended the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress the past weekend and shared their experiences. The 2024 National Eucharistic Congress was the first held since 1976.   This gathering was the culmination of several years of work in coordination with the National Eucharistic Revival.     Eucharistic procession pilgrimages from the North, South, East and West all converged o...

The day following his ordination, Steven celebrated his first mass at his home parish.  Numerous brother priests and fellow seminarians celebrated this mass with Steven. Steven found the mass a mixture of both the surreal and natural.   Natural in that he had prepared for this and surreal in the realization that this had all come to fruition. The homily for this first mass was given by Fr. Chris S...

Ordination Day finally arrived! The day Steven has been preparing for these last 6 years - and even his last 28 years - came and with it a full cascade of moments, memories and emotions. Steven and Dad review the Ordination mass itself and various highlights of the day. Also discussed are particular moments that stuck out for each.     Key among these were the anointing of Steven's hands with...

Steven graduated from Sacred Heart Major Seminary and with that, ended 23 consecutive years of schooling! Steven took this time to reflect back on his academic priestly formation which began in 2018 at Mundelein Seminary. The transition from college where he studied Mathematics to the seminary and Philosophy proved more challenging than expected.    Figuring that the logic and mathematical thinkin...

[Production note: apologies for the imbalance of the sound on this episode.] Steven was in town for Easter and got to serve as a deacon during the Triduum at his home parish. Before the Easter break Steven partook in his final Scrutiny with the Bishop.   This was a time to check in and make certain that there was no ambiguity at all. One last set of Final Exams await Steven as he wraps up his semi...