Living Catholic with Monsignor Don Wolf

The year handed us a headline few expected: an American chosen as Pope. From the first moments of white smoke and Latin announcements to the weight of global expectations, we explore what this means for a church that must listen beyond its borders. I share why international experience matters in a leader who represents the message of Jesus to the world, and how the name Leo XIV quietly nods to the...

What does Christmas look like when you’re 15 million miles from home with no space for gifts and no time for tinsel? ************ Father Don Wolf is a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Living Catholic also broadcasts on Oklahoma Catholic Radio several times per week, with new episodes airing every Sunday.

A forgotten herald stands at the water’s edge, and his voice still changes how we hear the Gospel. In this episode, we revisit John the Baptist not as a narrative warm-up but as a towering witness whose movement endured for centuries, whose courage confronted power, and whose finger pointed a generation to the Lamb of God. Along the way, we wrestle with why modern preaching sidelined him, how an o...

A cloak without brushstrokes. Roses blooming out of season. A bishop on the brink of giving up. In this episode, we follow the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe from the hill of Tepeyac into the charged world of 16th‑century New Spain, where evangelization faltered, questions about human dignity raged, and a simple message—build the church—carried a meaning far larger than a construction site. Along...

Advent begins where few expect it: not with soft lights and carols, but with an unveiling. In this episode, we open the new liturgical year by facing the word apocalypse in its original sense—revelation—and asking what it discloses about our time, our communities, and our hearts. From a journalist who tried to expose church hypocrisy and instead found ordinary generosity, to a parish in Soweto tha...

Start with the paradox that changes everything: the same Jesus who hangs condemned on a cross is the one who reigns as King of the universe. In this episode, Monsignor Wolf traces how that tension—cross and crown—does not dilute faith but sharpens it, turning the liturgical year into a slow, bright unveiling of love that actually orders a chaotic world. From Advent’s apocalyptic readings to the st...

In this episode, Monsignor Wolf reflects on his 70th birthday and uses small annoyances to open a larger reflection on civility, hidden suffering, and the danger of loose talk about civil war. History, media literacy, and prayer guide us toward mercy, truth, and peace, with a closing poem on the gifts of age. • loud noise and fraying civility as signals of respect • hats in church as a cultural pr...

A minute of silence on November 11, 1918 did not end the world’s turmoil—it exposed it. In this episode, Monsignor Wolf opens with the Armistice and follow the shockwaves: empires dissolving, borders reshaped in Central Europe and the Middle East, and a fragile “peace” that many leaders privately admitted would last only twenty years. From Austria-Hungary’s collapse to the reassembling of the Otto...

In this episode, Monsignor Don Wolf explores All Souls Day through the lens of communion across time and the hope of purgatory as purifying love. A hospital story, Scripture, and the saints help illustrate why praying for the dead is not empty sentiment but solidarity in Christ. • one Church that includes the living and the dead • universality of grace from Adam to the apostles and to us • communi...

In this episode, Monsignor Wolf pushes past the noise around Halloween and returns to its heart: All Hallows’ Eve as preparation for All Saints. He explores the communion of saints, how their lives shape ours, and how holiness takes root in real times and places. • reclaiming Halloween as the vigil of All Saints • communion with the saints as living friendship • Stephen’s witness and Paul’s awaken...

In this episode, Monsignor Wolf explores why original sin remains a clear, useful lens for understanding human rivalry and broken freedom, and how grace in Christ offers a real path of rescue. Along the way, he tests rival answers, from detachment to law to social engineering, and find their limits. • asking better questions in faith as in science • defining original sin as foundational disorder •...

In this episode, we mourn two Oklahoma priests and reckon with what brotherhood, death, and the promise of resurrection demand of our vocation. We reflect on last rites, family grief, priestly identity, and the quiet discipline of presence at the edge of life. • priestly life lived near death and dying • last rites as reconciliation, anointing, commendation • stories of peaceful deaths and hard de...

A single question can bend the arc of a life: Will many be saved—or only a few? In this episode, Msgr. Wolf explores how generations shifted from “heaven is promised but not presumed” to “heaven is assumed if we’re decent,” and why both comfort and terror can miss the heart of grace. We unpack the old struggle over predestination and assurance, and how Sunday worship takes shape from those assumpt...

In this episode Father Wolf reflects on Erica Kirk's public forgiveness of her husband's murderer and explores how this fundamental Christian teaching continues to surprise our culture despite being central to our faith. We examine why such a basic element of Christianity stunned observers and what it reveals about our disconnect between religious teaching and practice. • The memorial ra...

In this episode Father Wolf examines recent high-profile killings and their spiritual implications, providing historical context and theological insight into how Christians should respond to cultural violence. He explores how ordinary people can be drawn to commit horrific acts and how faith offers protection against the pervasive evil of our time. • Recent school shootings and assassinations capt...

In this episode, Father Wolf takes us on a fascinating journey through the missionary work of Oklahoma priests in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, revealing profound lessons about faith, culture, and effective evangelization. The story begins with a penetrating question about how missionaries addressed the syncretistic blend of Catholic and Mayan beliefs among the Tzʼutujil people. This launches an ex...

In this episode, Father Wolf explores Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" to uncover spiritual truths about life's meaning and the emptiness of immortality without God. Through this unexpected vacation read, he examines how even horror literature reveals our deepest spiritual hungers and the universal quest for salvation. • Reading Anne Rice's vampire novel after her...

What happens when magnificent churches become beautiful but empty shells? In this episode, Father Wolf takes us on a personal journey through Germany, weaving together family history, cultural observations, and spiritual reflections that resonate far beyond European borders. Father Wolf recently took a vacation to Germany and shares his thoughts and experiences in a changing country.  The heart of...

In this episode, Father Wolf continues his "Tales from the Rectory" series, offering rare insights into the unique living arrangements of Catholic priests. Drawing inspiration from Bishop Francis Clement Kelly's work, he shares personal stories revealing how priests navigate sharing their homes with colleagues they didn't choose. • Priest rectories in the US typically house mul...

In this episode, Father Wolf takes listeners on a profound journey through the life and martyrdom of Blessed Stanley Rother as the 44th anniversary of his death approaches. The Oklahoma farm boy turned Guatemalan missionary exemplifies how ordinary faithfulness can lead to extraordinary holiness. When Father Ramon Carlin recruited Stanley Rother to join the Guatemala mission in 1968, he recognized...

In this episode, Father Wolf shares memorable encounters from parish ministry, reflecting on how these experiences taught him valuable lessons about pastoral care. Following in the tradition of Bishop Francis Clement Kelly's "Tales from the Rectory," these stories reveal the complex nature of living Catholic faith in today's world. • A couple returning to the Church after 20 ye...

What does a pope actually do? Beyond the ceremonial trappings and media spotlight, how should we measure the effectiveness of the Church's supreme leader? In this episode, Father Wolf takes us on a thought-provoking journey into the heart of papal leadership, offering seven essential dimensions that define authentic spiritual governance. The pope must first be a genuine Christian whose life c...

In this episode, Father Wolf explores how the Catholic Church is both universal and completely present in each local parish community, challenging us to reclaim our missionary identity for spiritual renewal and growth. • The Church isn't just a compilation of individual churches functioning like organs in a body • Each local parish is the complete Church in itself while simultaneously being p...

In this episode, Father Wolf explores the rich history and profound meaning behind the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, explaining how this spiritual practice emerged during the Scientific Revolution as a counterbalance to an increasingly mechanical view of God and the universe. • The Sacred Heart devotion originated in northern Europe during the mid-17th century when scientific advancement...

Imagine going to confession, only to discover that what you whisper through that screen might be reported to the authorities. That's the reality Catholic priests and penitents now face in Washington State, which recently passed legislation requiring priests to report confessions of child abuse to police. In this episode, Father Wolf examines Washington State's recently passed bill requir...