Respect Life Radio

Matthew Plese: Recapturing the Lost Tradition of the Church

"Lent is an ideal time to make resolutions and go further. As scripture says - now is the beginning, now is the day of salvation," said Matthew Plese, author of Restoring Lost Customs of Christendom. In this informative book, Matthew Plese, who has devoted himself to studying and living the traditional calendar, takes us step by step through some of the most important ‘lost customs of Christendom.’ Restoring them, here and there, one by one, we restore ourselves and our families to all that Catholic life can be. "We want to be part of the heavenly liturgy." 

Matthew is a Third Order Dominican who lives in Chicago. He's a practicing Certified Public Accountant and Catechist. He is the President of CatechismClass.com, an online based organization whose mission is to make the best in Catholic religious education and Sacramental preparation available for those who need it. Matthew writes a monthly piece on apologetics and catechesis for Catholic Family News and a weekly column for the Fatima Center.  He is also the author of a number of books including Catholic Book Summaries: 54 Traditional and Contemporary Classics; Eschatology: The Catholic Study of the Four Last Things; Understanding the Precepts of the Church, and The Roman Catechism Explained for the Modern World as well as The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting & Abstinence. He also blogs at A Catholic Life.

Patrick O'Hearn: Our Lady of Sorrows

"She's able to see our pain," said Patrick O'Hearn of Our Lady. Patrick is a devout Catholic, husband and father. He is an author, literary consultant, speaker and a freelance editor. He spent close to three years in a Benedictine Monastery before discerning the call to marriage. He graduated with a master's in education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a bachelor's in marketing from St. Ambrose University. In his new book, "Our Lady of Sorrows, Patrick helps his young readers enter into the mystery of sorrows. 

Imagine if you were privileged enough to sit beside Our Lady and hear from her very lips the story of Jesus’ birth and suffering. In these short, moving reflections, told from the perspective of the Blessed Mother to a child, readers young and old will experience a depth of love for God and closeness to Mary’s tender heart such as they have never felt before. This book contains a collection of traditional prayers in both English and Latin as well as four original prayers by Fr. Chad Ripperger that children can pray daily in gratitude to grow closer to Our Lady and for their vocation and protection.

Follow Patrick at https://patrickrohearn.com

Anthony Stine: Return to Catholic Tradition

"A lot of people don't want to accept that there's a lack of clarity within the Church today," said Anthony Stine, a Catholic convert from agnosticism whose conversion was influenced by G.K. Chesterton, Fulton Sheen, Hilaire Belloc, and St. Philomena. Anthony received a Ph.D. in Public Affairs and Policy in December 2020 and is Political Scientist in methodological approach. He is a married father of two (so far) and presently resides in central Oklahoma. He is the creator of “Return to Tradition” which covers the crisis in the Catholic Church and its connection to the ongoing degradation of society and preserving the Tradition of the Church. Return to Tradition also dives into current news and history. "There are people that believe morality changes with the time. They're being led astray."

Follow Anthony at https://returntotradition.org/author/returntotradition527909108/

Claire Aalerud: Beauty & Tradition of the Chapel Veil

"To grow stronger in your faith, it first starts with prayer, the most Holy Rosary, goes into meditation and a deep intimacy with Mary and Jesus. The love of knowing God more, of knowing Mary more, will propel you to learn more about the faith, to spread the faith," said Claire Aalerud, a youth minister in Sugarland, Texas.

She has her own YouTube channel called Catholic Rose, has a great devotion to the Virgin Mary and focuses on the beauty of the Mass and chapel veils. "If you're at the post office, you're at the grocery store, you can't help but smile with joy and want to share that love with others. If you give God a little bit of your heart, He will transform it and He will help you become a saint."

Dr. Ray Guarendi: Great Teens in a Troubled Culture

"The culture assaults good parents and essentially says you're out of touch. Your kid needs to think this way," said Dr. Ray Guarendi, author of the new book "Standing Strong - Good Discipline Makes Great Teens. "The kids look around them and see what their peers are allowed to do and they see all the opportunities they want that mom and dad won't let them have and that brings resentment and resistance that the "experts" say is natural. I don't think it's natural at all.

With wit and wisdom, Dr. Ray Guarendi gives parents the tools they need not only to navigate the teen years but also to enjoy them. Teens are "full of life, enthusiasm, energy, and laughter," Dr. Ray asserts, in defiance of a culture that conditions us to expect a far gloomier reality. Too often, the world tells parents to be content with mediocrity instead of the prospect of raising respectful and responsible children with strong character. This book is wise, perceptive, and laugh-out-loud funny. Dr. Ray uses his trademark humor-with-a-dash-of-sarcasm to give those parents who are barely treading water some good, sound, logical advice to change the tone and tenor of their households for the better.

Find Dr. Guarendi's new book at https://www.amazon.com/Standing-Strong-Discipline-Makes-Great/dp/1682782654 and follow all of his work at drray.com.

Dr. R. Jared Staudt: Embracing the Vocation of Marriage

"Marriage is really a decision to love the other, in the sense of putting the other first," said R. Jared Staudt, Catholic father, teacher, writer, speaker and Benedictine oblate dedicated to helping others to experience and embrace the vibrant tradition of Catholic life. "And when you do that, it's fruitful. Marriage is meant to be fruitful and bring us to a deeper sense of who we are in relationship to the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Jared works in formation for men as director of content for Exodus 90 and teaches for the Lay Division of St. John Vianney Seminary. He earned his BA and MA in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and his PhD in Systematic Theology from Ave Maria University.  He teaches, writes and speaks on the intersection of faith and life, including the fundamentals of faith, art, literature, history, philosophy and the principles of education. 

Follow all his work at https://buildingcatholicculture.com

Dr. Regis Martin: Living for Eternity

“The stakes are very high and the choices we have are simple and stark. You’ve got to choose. You can’t maneuver your way in. It’s God or the devil. Light or darkness,” said Regis Martin, Professor of Theology and Faculty Associate with the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He earned a licentiate and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Martin is the author of a number of books, including Still Point: Loss, Longing, and Our Search for God (2012) and The Beggar's Banquet (Emmaus Road). His most recent book, published by Scepter, is called Looking for Lazarus: A Preview of the Resurrection. “I think if we live under the aspect of eternity, we will see things straight on.”

To follow Dr. Martin and learn more, visit https://crisismagazine.com/author/regis-martin

Dr. Randall Smith: Holiness and Prudence

"Holy men and women will often have a clearer vision than the rest of us about our ultimate goal and of the fundamental moral principles that should guide our lives," writes Randall B. Smith, a Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas in his recent article called "Holiness and Prudence" in The Catholic Thing. "These gifts will not, however, always result in prudent decisions about particular matters. Such prudence is usually the result of long experience, trial and error, and good training by someone who already possesses good judgment."

Dr. Smith’s areas of research are moral theology, historical theology, sexual ethics, faith and culture, sacred architecture, and architecture and urbanism. He can speak on sin as a part of the human condition. 

Learn more about his latest book is From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality, and the Resurrection of the Body.

Maria Palma Smith: Powerful Surrender Novena

"We want quick fixes and The Surrender Novena encourages us to let Jesus take care of it,"said Maria Palma Smith, a certified Catholic life coach and Italian translator who recently finished the transition of Father Don Dolindo, the author of the Surrender Novena, which will be published next year. "We need to surrender our will to God and that's the hardest thing. Father Dolindo did that and shows us how to surrender because he lived out struggles, poor health and rejection from the Church he loved."

Follow Maria on her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSk-n4ZvXzmXDuXwIAjwTsg and learn more about Father Dolindo on Catholic Exchange. 

Constance T. Hull: Loving to Heaven

"The whole point of love is to lead people to heaven," says Constance T. Hull, wife, mother, homeschooler, and a graduate with an M.A. in Theology with an emphasis in philosophy. "The way I look at it is that love is expressed most perfectly on the cross. Love is crucified so that means we draw people into that reality and we love them enough to love them towards heaven." Hull's desire is to live the wonder so passionately preached in the works of G.K. Chesterton and to share that with her daughter and others. While you can frequently find her head inside of a great work of theology or philosophy, she considers her husband and daughter to be her greatest teachers. She is passionate about beauty, working towards holiness, the Sacraments and all things Catholic. She is also published at The Federalist, Public Discourse and blogs frequently at Swimming the Depths.

Find more about Constance and read her weekly story at Catholic Exchange.