Respect Life Radio

Mary Beth Bracy is a consecrated virgin of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York. She is a writer who is blessed to research, publish and speak extensively on various aspects of Catholic spirituality. Her books include Behold the Lamb, Bread of Life and The Little Way of Healing Love Through the Passion of Jesus: The Stations of the Cross with St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Mary Beth has written articles for numerous Catholic publications and recorded some Catholic talks.  Recently, she helped launch Friendship Groups, a place to bring people together, read a book and ask questions of fellow participants and guest speakers.The response in people signing up for the Friendship Group has been wonderful and demonstrated that there is a real hunger for this type of spiritual enrichment opportunity. Monthly meetings will follow with opportunities to read other life-changing literature through November and, based on the response, the Friendship Group may continue into the future. An Oblate priest will present at each meeting and answer participants’ questions. Discussion questions will be sent out prior to the meeting to help members further glean from the experience. Information on joining the group is available here. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at mbracy@sophiainstitute.com I look forward to welcoming you and growing together in this exciting spiritual adventure!

"God is still with us. He hasn't abandoned us and we're going to be imitating Him on some level by going into the Garden with him at Gethsemane," said Father Donald Calloway, Vocation Director of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Father Calloway is author of 15 books, including a new one called Consecration to St. Joseph, the Wonders of Our Spiritual Father. 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. In this richly researched and lovingly presented program of consecration to St. Joseph, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, brings to life the wonders, the power, and the ceaseless love of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church and the Terror of Demons. "We have to resemble our Lord and it seems like right now he's offering that chalice to drink it to the last drop because these are crazy times we're living in." Follow Father Calloway at https://fathercalloway.com

"If you really want people to stop making excuses and help them to do things right for a change and get back on track and do something radical like change their lives for the better, then you have to be a straight shooter. You've got to use tough love. I think that as long as they know that you're really, really trying to help them and maybe even on some level you love them, they yearn for tough talk. They want hear from people who have certitude," said Andrew DeStefano, returning guest and author of the new book 30 Days to Your New Life: A Guide to Transforming Yourself from Head to Soul. "One of the chapters is to get off your pity party and stop complaining. We all have to complain once in a while, but there comes a time when you really want turn things around and complaining paralyzes us and stops us from taking any productive action." To learn more about DeStafano's other books, both for adults and children, visit anthonydestafano.com. 

"There really isn't a middle ground. The world makes us think you can have it all. But, you can't ...and ultimately, what you want to have is God. You have to pick a side and, if you pick the side of truth and love, you can help yourself and help others," said Danielle Heckenkamp, wife, mother of six and author of many articles related to motherhood, modernity and Catholicism. "We need to help children understand what talents God gave them and what he wants them to do with those talents. And, ultimately, those talents need to lead you and other souls to heaven. By focusing on all talents, all of which are graces from God, we need to find what he wants us to do with them for His glory, not for our glory.  Read more pieces from Danielle at Catholic Mom, OnePeterFIve, and Catholic Exchange. 

"Living out the faith and passing it on is more an action of something that is caught rather than taught," says David G. Bonagura, Jr., an adjunct professor of classical languages at St. Joseph's Seminary, New York, and adjunct professor of theology at Catholic Distance University. In his new article in the Catholic World Report: "Can Catholicism be passed along without Catholic Culture?" Bonagura argues that faith needs to be cultivated by more than "simply" going to Mass. It needs to be passed along through tradition and action. "Fast forward to today when we don't have those things. It's much more difficult for faith to take root because there's nothing supporting the supernatural element." Bonagura continues, "What did Christ promise us? He didn't promise us roses and victories in this life. He promised us the cross. The cross is the means to the Resurrection and fighting things like this difficult culture - that's part of the cross. It's not easy to do but it's how our Lord chooses to sanctify us. That's His means of crucifying us to the world so that we can share in the glory of Easter. There's no Easter without Good Friday, as unpleasant as Good Friday may be, nevertheless, we have to do it. That's what He asks. Just like He did it. We do it in imitation of Him." Learn more about Bonagura's writings and work at https://www.davidgbonagurajr.com

"(In my new book) I analyze the crisis of the self, that as our Christian patrimony has been lost, many of our contemporaries have become slavishly obedient to political or ideological or sexual doctrines which make the parting of the Red Sea or the Resurrection of Christ seem perfectly logical by comparison," said Gil Bailie, Founder of the Cornerstone Forum and author of the forthcoming book, The Apocalypse of the Sovereign Self: Recovering the Christian Mystery of Personhood, (2023). "We're in a civilizational crisis because our culture depends entirely on the health and vitality of our Christian patrimony and today Western Civilization is hanging by a thread." Bailie continues, "I'm not an optimist by any means but I am hopeful and I do have confidence in the power of our religious tradition to revive and begin the reconstitution of our culture." Find other works by Gil Bailie at https://cornerstoneforum.org/gil-bailie/

"We have to ask questions. You've got to make a nuisance of yourself. You've got to start with your kids. That's the only way we can take this back," said Sarah Parshall Perry, Senior Legal Fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Reflecting on the situation facing parents now she reflects, "This is not a game any of us can afford to sit out. We've got to do our homework. You've got to ask questions of your elected representative, of your school board, of your local and state and federal politicians. This is a time to be as active as possible."  Parshall Perry continues, "We still trust that corporations, medical providers, educators and politicians might still have our best interest at mind and we're learning, painfully, that's not the case and so it's time for us to be the advocate top to bottom." Follow Parshall Perry on twitter @sarahpperry and at the Heritage Foundation at heritage.org.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic of conversation across the globe right now but who is standing up to make sure that it's in the best interests of humans? In this week's Respect Life Radio, Deacon Geoff tackles the topic. "Think about artificial intelligence (AI) as social media on steroids - 10 times the impact that social media had on our society is what AI does. It will truly redefine the way that we live. There is nothing we can do at this point to go away from AI. It's arrived and it's here and we have to do everything we can to make sure it's in service of us and it doesn't do things that are against the best human interest for us," posits Jake Denton, Research Associate in the Tech Policy Center at the Heritage Foundation. "Ultimately, our regulators need to understand that and they need to be proactive. The question really becomes - who is going to be willing to do something about it?"  Follow The Heritage Foundation https://www.heritage.org for more information about the future of AI and big tech and follow Jake directly on Twitter at @RealJDenton

"The living of the Divine Law, the living of the mystery of the marriage requires grace and requires God's help. It's not something that humans can do on their own," said Peter A. Kwasniewski, who holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College and an MA and PhD in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America. After teaching at the International Theological Institute in Austria, he joined the founding team of Wyoming Catholic College. Today, he is a full-time writer and public speaker whose work is seen at websites and in periodicals such as New Liturgical Movement, OnePeterFive, Rorate Caeli, Catholic Family News, and Latin Mass Magazine. "One of the insights that John Paul II helped us see was that through the sexual act, they are giving themselves in a symbolic way to other people. When they give themselves to multiple people, they're shattering themselves. Frankly, there is no successful relationship that doesn't require a certain amount of self-sacrifice. We need to work on another's behalf and sometimes that hurts."   Visit his websites at www.peterkwasniewski.com and www.cantabodomino.com.   Dr. Kwasniewski also runs a publishing house, Os Justi Press (www.osjustipress.com).

"There is a connection between some of the things we're seeing in the culture today and contraception because that's where a lot of confusion set in. As a culture, we shifted our priorities. Sex became about personal pleasure and no longer about relationships and marriage and welcoming children," said Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., the Kate O’Beirne Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. She directs the Catholic Women’s Forum, a network of Catholic professional women and scholars, and co-founded the Person and Identity Project, a new initiative that equips parents and faith-based institutions to counter gender ideology and promote the truth of the human person. "That attitude has really permeated so much of our culture in ways that are tremendously damaging to children." More information about Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., can be found at  https://catholicwomensforum.org/staff/mary-rice-hasson/