Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church

Many feel God’s presence while spending time outdoors, and Father Dave welcomes Father John Nepil to discuss his faith connection to hiking the Colorado Trail. Father John is an avid hiker and mountaineer, and he has celebrated Mass atop all 54 of Colorado’s highest peaks. His new book is called “To Heights and Unto Depths: Letters from the Colorado Trail.”

Father Dave answers a question from a listener named Steven about how the Church elects a new pope. Steven asks, “I'm praying for Pope Francis' health every day, but if he passes away, what are the next steps for electing a new pope?”

Many grew up watching the Christian animated series “VeggieTales,” and Father Dave welcomes the show’s co-creator Mike Nawrocki to discuss sharing faith with kids. Mike wrote and directed episodes of the hit show as well as both theatrical-release films, and he served as the voice of Larry the Cucumber. Mike’s latest project is a new kids show called, “The Dead Sea Squirrels,” based on his own book series. 

A listener named Jim asks Father Dave about Sunday Mass readings during Lent. Jim says, “At Mass [on the Third Sunday of Lent], I was expecting the Gospel to be from Luke about the fig tree, but the actual Gospel that was read was from John about [the woman at the well.] Why would that change?”

A listener named Marty asks Father Dave about the presence of Holy Water in churches during Lent. “I was a parishioner at a church that took Holy Water out of the church for Lent and replaced it in the fonts with sand,” Marty says. “I strongly questioned it, and they relented and returned it. It's not right to take Holy Water out of a Catholic church for Lent, correct?”

Fasting is a pillar of Lent, and Father Dave welcomes Sister Nancy Usselmann to discuss how fasting from the digital world can impact our faith. Sister Nancy is a Daughter of Saint Paul, the Director of Pauline Media Studies, and the author of “Media Fasting: Six Weeks to Recharge in Christ.”

A listener named Dan asks Father Dave for advice on current struggles in his spiritual life due to politics. Dan says, “I am at a point where my faith is barely hanging by a thread, because so many people I know support political policies that fly in the face of the teachings of Jesus and are based in hate and fear.”

March celebrates Women’s History Month, and Father Dave welcomes Taryn DeLong and Elise Crawford Gallagher to examine work-life balance from the viewpoint of Catholic women. Taryn and Elise are the co-presidents of the online community Catholic Women in Business and the authors of “Holy Ambition: Thriving as a Catholic Woman at Work and at Home.”

As division and polarization continue to plague our world, Father Dave welcomes Bob Bordone to discuss how conflict can be an opportunity to forge stronger relationships. Bob is Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School as well as the founder and former director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program. His latest book, co-authored with neurologist Dr. Joel Salinas, is called, “Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In.”

A caller named Samuel asks Father Dave about the wording in the Our Father. “I don't know if maybe I'm overthinking this, but in the Lord's Prayer, there's that part we say, ‘lead us not into temptation.’ Why do we say that?” Samuel asks. “I just took it as a given that there's no circumstance in which God would deliberately tempt us to sin, and I was just wondering what the significance was of asking God to not lead us into temptation.”