The Only Approved Marian Apparition in the USA (Guest: Fr. Edward Looney)

Fr. Edward Looney was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Green Bay June 6, 2015, and currently serves as Pastor of St. Francis and St. Mary Parish, Brussels and St. Peter/St. Hubert Parish, Lincoln/Rosiere.

At a young age, Fr. Looney fostered a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Marian pilgrimage has been central to Fr. Looney’s life.  During the summer of 2005 Fr. Looney, as a high school sophomore, made a Marian pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help (Champion, WI). This pilgrimage opened the door of his heart to discern more seriously a priestly vocation.  He has visited Marian shrines all across the world, including Lourdes, Fatima, Knock, Beauraing, Banneux, Pontmain, and Rue du Bac.

Fr. Looney’s writings have been featured in numerous Catholic publications. Further, he has traveled across the country delivering various Marian presentations at conferences and parishes. A member of the Mariological Society of America, Fr. Looney has published in theological journals on topics related to Mariology.

He talks to us about the only approved Marian apparition in the United States.

Hallow, a Catholic Meditation App (Guest: Alex Jones)

Alex Jones, an engineering graduate from the University of Notre Dame, is the CEO and co-founder of Hallow, an audio-guided Catholic meditation and prayer app. Hallow aims to help people to combine the peace and stillness of meditation with the spiritual growth of prayer. The app is comparable to the popular mindfulness meditation apps trending today, but was built with a lens of Christian faith. It offers a variety of prayer techniques, a choice in audio guides, sessions organized by theme, and options for session length.

The Spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort (Guest: Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM)

Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM is originally from the town of Jim Thorpe, a small mining and railroad town in the Pennsylvania Coal Region. Following his time at MIT to purse a degree in Physics, he moved to the Midwest to pursue PhD studies at the University of Wisconsin in the field of Materials Science. It was during this time of graduate studies that he was introduced to St. Louis de Montfort’s book,  “The True Devotion to Mary.” This came at a time when he was seeking the ultimate direction of his life. Fr. Gillespie laid aside his doctoral studies after 5 years in the program to test the waters of a missionary vocation at the service of the Church.

In 1993 he entered the U.S. Province of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary, a small community founded by Louis de Montfort himself. The years since have included thirteen mission trips to central Nicaragua, service as the parochial vicar at a bilingual parish, campus ministry, and mission and retreat preaching across the United States and in Mexico. Recently he also had the opportunity to offer a course on devotion to Our Lady and the spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort to clergy in India and to offer a series of programs on devotion to Our Lady to Catholics at several parishes in the United Arab Emirates. Presently Father is serving as the managing editor for Montfort Publications and as the acting director of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island in addition to his itinerant preaching commitments in the service of promoting the spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort.

Entrusting Ourselves to St. Joseph (Guest: Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC)

Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, is the vicar provincial and vocation director for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, as well as the author of a number of books. In the midst of crisis, confusion, and a world at war with the Church, it's time to come home again to our spiritual father, St. Joseph. Drawing on the wealth of the Church's living tradition, Fr. Calloway calls on all of us to turn to St. Joseph, entrust ourselves, our Church, and our world to our spiritual father's loving care, and then watch for wonders when the Universal Patron of the Church opens the floodgates of Heaven to pour out graces into our lives today.

EWTN Religious Catalogue: Consecration to St. Joseph

The Missionary of Wall Street (Guest: Stephen Auth)

Long standing Wall Street executive, frequent guest on CNBC, Fox Business News, and Bloomberg TV, and a chartered financial analyst (CFA), Stephen Auth went from managing money to saving souls on the streets of New York City. For the last 10 years Auth has led missions trips to Wall Street and has written a book about the experience.  We spoke about his street evangelization and his full time work of managing a mutual fund.  He has a lot of interesting things to say about servant leadership, making big decisions and the importance of the free market system.

From Model to Messenger of God’s Love (Guest: Joelle Maryn)

Joelle Maryn is a Catholic Speaker and Evangelist who has been featured on various Christian TV and radio shows. Her message of God's healing love has radiated hope and purpose in life to many around the world.

In her past, she has modeled for well known brands such as Jergens, was on a billboard in Times Square, appeared on numerous book covers, films and news interviews and is the former Host of Trend TV.  She also started her own cosmetics company.

In 2012, she hit a spiritual rock bottom and realized she was completely empty despite these worldly accomplishments.  She had a major encounter with Jesus and in His mercy, was given another chance to love and lead others to Him. After years in ministry, she now speaks full time and works with youth and adults to cultivate spiritual growth in their lives and to have a personal relationship with Jesus through her talks and the healing power of prayer, music and the sacraments. We spoke about various spiritual topics which are close to her heart.