Viatorian Voices: Conversations on the Way

Fr. Larry Lentz, CSV serves St. Viator Catholic Community as a parochial assistant. Recently, on the Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Fr. Lentz reflected on the Gospel about the laborers and the harvest, and invited us to consider our discipleship in terms of laying the groundwork to help people understand God's invitations to religious life and priesthood. (This homily was recorded on June 16-17...

*NEW* Hobbies and Interests Series: Listen in as Jim Mitchell talks with Viatorians about the things they enjoy beyond our ministries and community life! Fr. John Van Wiel, CSV has done a lot in over six decades of religious life, and one way he has stayed fresh is by having dedicated hobbies. Fr. John loves to fish, whether rod and reel or fly fishing -- but don't expect him to sit on a pier or d...

Associate Julie Lampley has been part of St. George Parish in Bourbonnais, IL. She continues belonging to the parish as an adult, now with her husband and four sons. One constant all along the way? Viatorian leadership. A few years ago, Julie and her husband, Associate Robert Lampley, began formation for Viatorian association and are now committed associates. Julie has also volunteered for religio...

Solidarity is the Catholic Social Teaching that calls us to be mindful of every other person as if they were our own sister or brother. This takes shape through our lives of faith in various ways. In this episode, Fr. Corey Brost, CSV taps into his spirituality and ministry experience. For Corey, much of his Viatorian spirituality in animated by his interfaith ministry and accompaniment of people...

Br. Peter Lamick, CSV is a teacher, a coach, and a pastoral minister -- and he's also a student of Viatorian history and spirituality. In this episode, Peter draws on his love and knowledge of Viatorian tradition to help us more deeply understand how Viatorians have accompanied people who society marginalized, and how we can and should continue to walk closely with people who society accounts of l...

Fr. Dan Hall, CSV concluded his term as Provincial Superior a few months ago, and we thought it was a great moment to tap into his perspective and his religious life thus far. From pre-vows military service to early discernment to teaching and coaching to re-deployment as a military chaplain and then later as Provincial, Fr. Hall has been everywhere, man! And his reflections are as wise and good-h...

*NEW* Hobbies and Interests Series: Listen in as Jim Mitchell talks with Viatorians about the things they enjoy beyond our ministries and community life! Pre-Associate Dan Masterton is a freelance writer and blogger who views writing as a ministry. Dan has blogged since college, and in young adult life, he has become a professional freelancer. Dan has published articles at places like Millennial J...

WORKERS’ RIGHTS AND THE DIGNITY OF WORK For all this theme’s resources in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to uphold the inherent value of work so that a just wage and a just economy can serve the individual and society. Part 1: We learn more about the life of Fr. John WR Maguire, CSV, a Viatorian priest and labor activist. To read more, visit his biography at V...

SOLIDARITY For all this theme’s resources in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to love and be mindful of every single person as our sister or brother. Part 1: Fr. Corey Brost, CSV reflects on living out solidarity in his ministries. To hear the full interview listen to Episode 47 in the podcast feed (coming later this Spring). Part 2: Br. John Eustice, CSV reflec...

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES For all this theme’s resources in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to protect access to the things that everyone needs so as to live justly for others, society, and ourselves. Part 1: Beth Nabors of Journeys The Road Home discusses her organization’s accompaniment of people experiencing homelessness in Chicago’s suburbs. To hear the f...

PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE MARGINALIZED For all this theme’s resources in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to consider people who are marginalized in every decision we make individually, communally, and socially. Part 1: Associates Ken and Michelle Barrie discuss mobilizing young people to help build up an impoverished rural community. To hear the fu...

DIGNITY AND VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE For all this theme’s resources in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to view and treat all human life as inherently and completely valuable in all forms and at all stages. Part 1: Fr. Mark Francis, CSV unpacks the consistent ethic of life. To hear the full interview, listen to Episode 39 in the podcast feed ( Apple Podcasts  |&...

CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION For all this theme’s resources in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to preserve the world by being good stewards of it as God's gift to humanity. Part 1: Associate David Surprenant discusses sustainable agricultural practices on his family farm. To hear the full interview listen to Episode 37 in the podcast feed ( Apple Podcasts  |&nb...

THE CALL TO FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND PARTICIPATION For all this theme’s resources, including reflection questions and handout, in one place, visit its webpage . In this theme of CST, Christ calls us to uphold the domestic church as the basis for fostering belonging and active involvement in society. Part 1: Associate Rosy Hartz and her daughter Abby discuss family life, followed by reflections from...

Preview our new series - A Lively and Enlightened Faith: Catholic Social Teaching in the Viatorian Community Each Monday for seven weeks, starting on Monday, February 20, our podcast feed will feature a theme-by-theme look at CST. Each episode includes familiar Viatorian voices, reflection questions, and connections to further reading, watching, and listening to dig deeper. Keep your eyes on this...

Associates Ken and Michelle Barrie have devoted forty years to work in youth ministry throughout Kankakee County, Illinois. Currently, they lead a multi-parish youth ministry called Hearts of Hope and serve as the leaders of the Office of Catholic Ministry for the Bishop McNamara Catholic Schools. For this episode, we honed in on their decades of work with the residents of Pembroke Township, a sig...

Associate Mary Finks worked for many years as a nurse and then as director of clinical services for a hospice care organization. In this episode, Mary draws on her experience to offer some explanation of the terms and interventions involved in care of the seriously or chronically ill and those nearing the end of their earthly lives. She offers some reflections on her experience caring for the term...

Fr. Greg Jones, CSV is a Michigan native. He professed first vows with the Viatorians in 1990, at the age of 40. Greg studied theology and earned an MDiv from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and then was ordained a priest in 1996. He served in many capacities, including at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, St. Viator Parish in Chicago, and in various campus ministries. Greg is n...

Beth Nabors is the Executive Director of Journeys the Road Home, a social services organization that works with people experiencing homelessness in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Beth is an alumnus of Sacred Heart of Mary, the girls' high school that merged with Saint Viator HS, and she has remained a close friend and collaborator with the Viatorians. In this episode, she explains some of the s...

Cristo Rey St. Martin is a Cristo Rey Network school in Waukegan, Illinois that is endorsed by the Viatorians. This high school has a unique campus: a reformatted former big-box store with a sizeable parking lot right off a busy, main street in town. The Viatorians are proud of the rich service outreach these students do in their community, directed by Mr. Jim Dippold, and two of their projects du...

The Bishop McNamara Catholic Schools community, with its predecessor names and parish schools, celebrates its 100th year of Catholic educational ministry. Viatorians led the school for fifty of those years (1931-1981) and continue to support the school in various ways today. In this episode, Pre-Associate Terry Granger, former elementary school principal and current system president, shares more a...

The consistent ethic of life is an integral Catholic social teaching that life is dignified and valuable from conception to natural death. It was articulated by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death in 1996 from pancreatic cancer. Fr. Mark Francis, CSV had many interactions with Cardinal Bernardin during his time as a professor, as Viatorian Superior G...

As the regional population grew around Las Vegas, residents in the Green Valley area of Henderson saw a need to start a new parish in their area. Early gatherings started in 1984 and were held in a preschool and later a mortuary chapel. In 1986, the Diocese of Las Vegas established St. Thomas More Catholic Community with Viatorian priest Fr. Tom Long, CSV as its first pastor. The parish first buil...

Viatorian Associates David and Susan Surprenant run a family farm in Manteno, Illinois, near many Viatorian ministry sites in Kankakee County, Illinois. After decades of milking Holstein dairy cows, they sold them to start a cow-calf operation with Black Angus livestock. Care for God's Creation is central to their agricultural vocation, mindfully tending the soil and the cows. In this conversation...

Unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the US are initially placed in group homes, but upon turning 18, they are transferred to prisons. In 2017, Br. Michael Gosch, CSV and Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, with the support of the Viatorian Community, founded Viator House of Hospitality. This is a community home that receives young men on or after their 18th birthday and provide hope, healing, and opportuni...