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Father Anthony seeks to bring the true Catholic faith into hearts through his words and experiences. The Show points to the negative trends of today’s culture in our world and takes notice.
Episodes
Jul 1, 2026
Jul 1, 2026
1hr 3 min
Father Koys takes us on another “brain wrinkling” walk as his mind turns to the Fourth of July. He sees necessary the need to talk about the United States of America, to talk about what the Catholic faith means to America, to talk about what Christians coming together can accomplish. He recognizes the true need for Christians to actually come together to save our country, pointing out that Christians coming together itself is a catholic thought-it’s what Catholicism is all about. Father Koys being the history buff that he is, revels on the fascinating details from the past as he takes us on the journey back in time to discuss and shed light on some of the Catholic contributions of figures in the revolutionary war, with a particular focus on Charles Carrol of Carrollton who was elected on of the four delegates from Maryland to attend the 2nd Continental Congress and the only catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. Join him on this deep dive into history as we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our Nation. Enjoy a safe and happy Fourth of July.
Jun 29, 2026
Jun 29, 2026
58 min
It’s Monday and Lauretta has as her guest, Deacon Rich Holevoet, Director of the Encounter School of Ministry in Chicago. Lauretta kicks of the show with a shout out to the prayer warriors, calling them up to prayer! She recalls our founding fathers praying for guidance from God in the initiating of the constitution. This leads her to revel in what a great nation America is mentioning all the gifts America is truly blessed with and calling us to celebrate all of that on this 4th of July as we celebrate our 250th Anniversary. She then brings on Deacon Rich to discuss the Encounter School of Ministry. He describes the school, its mission and its programs, encouraging you to join them for the Encounter Summer Intensive at St. James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights this August 6th-8th. After the final break Deacon Rich Holevoet discusses the Encounter School 2-year Program. For more information on the Encounter School of Ministry and the programs they offer, visit their website, see the link below. Remember to Pray and go celebrate America!!!
Jun 26, 2026
Jun 26, 2026
59 min
Father Anthony with Cristina and Tony joined today by Alice Babij (Bobby) gather to discuss the goings on, and people in the Parish. Father Anthony greets everyone, mentioning he’s transitioning from just completing a funeral, he offers prayers for the rest of the soul of the deceased and their family. Father leads us in prayer adding the Litany to the Sacred Heart. After prayer, Father mentions the 4th of July celebrating our nation yet there’s so much polarization in our country and in the church. This leads him to wonder if there is a tipping point where God decides to step in to bring us down in order to build us back up? They discuss this idea as they look to biblical events to help support their ideas. After a break, Father asks Alice to continue her discussion over the book “Clothed in Grace, A Devotional Guide to the Five-Fold Scapular, by Rev Scott Haynes, which they began discussing last week Friday. The book is a devotional guide for the use of the five-fold scapular. The book offers the history along with the meaning of each of the scapular folds. It also shares the saints who wore them, miracles tied to them and the spiritual promises that draw millions to it. Today Alice focuses on sharing the many miracles credited to the various scapular folds. The book is available at priestlypress.com.
priestlypress.com
Jun 25, 2026
Jun 25, 2026
1hr 1 min
Father Anthony with Tony and Cristina gather to discuss the goings on, and people in the Parish. Father greets everyone and the group chats regarding the joys of reuniting with former parishioners and alumni Hector (wife Magdalena) and Lizbeth, on Tuesday’s show. They chat around the changes they see in their visitors from Texas, but more importantly the growth and maturity witnessed and their strong identity in their faith as fostered by their Dad (who was present in the sidelines). After prayer, Father focuses on the readings for this upcoming Sunday in Matthew’s gospel. Father unpacks the readings and point out how it clearly points out that we are not worthy of Him. He discusses the importance of placing God above all. He discusses moments in the church history where this is evident and how it affects the timeline of the church establishment from Jesus’ days with his disciples, the participation of his mother Mary, to his crucifixion and the resurrection. He chats about living a sacrificial life as God calls us to do and a move towards personal metanoia.
Jun 24, 2026
Jun 24, 2026
1hr
Father Koys takes us on another “brain wrinkling” walk as he returns to St. James Parish in Lemont from sabbatical in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Today after sharing with us some of his experiences while away at sabbatical, from shows watched to art projects worked on, Father Koys dives into the Voter ID requirements for voting being discussed and his amazement as to why anyone would be against it. Afterwards he discusses the idea that the “US does not have a strong sense of identity” wondering if this is strictly tied to ethnic identity. He also discusses the war with Iran, the possible implications of its aftermath, expressing hope for the Christians in Iran to have a better outcome and that any US govt. funding be controlled by the Christians in Iran, in efforts to keep that money from possibly funding the nuclear program. He ends the program discussing an interesting article he read on the Catholic population in Iran.
Jun 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
1hr 6 sec
Father Anthony with Cristina and Tony regroup today after the weekend to discuss the goings on, and people in the Parish. Father Anthony welcomes back visitors from Texas, former alumni and parishioner Hector Arroyo with his wife Magdalena and elder sister Lizbeth Villegas (also a former parishioner and alumni). The families now live in Texas and are faithful listeners to the podcast. Father leads us in prayer and after focuses on discussing fatherhood in honor of Father’s Day this past Sunday. He begins by reading the poem, The Lost Boy by William Blake (1789). Father then invites his guest to offer their thoughts on the poem: Hector approaching from a positive perspective while Father and Lizbeth approach from the negative…the poem is actually symbolic of a terrified child abandoned by his father. This leads them into a discussion on fatherhood, the role of the father in the family and as spiritual leader. They discuss impacts as to when this is in place and when it is absent and how family and society as a whole are impacted.
Jun 22, 2026
Jun 22, 2026
59 min
It’s Monday and Lauretta has as her guest, Joyce Duriga, Editor of Chicago Catholic. Today they focus their chat mostly on the June 7 issue of the Chicago Catholic. In particular they discuss Joyce’s article, Catholics express love for Mary through various devotions. As they discuss they address the misconception that many non-Catholics have regarding Mary attempting to clarify that Catholics venerate Mary, holding her in high regard which is not the same as worshipping, which is reserved for God alone. Lauretta mentions the photo of our very own Monstrance pictured in the issue for the story, which is the largest monstrance in the world. They touch on and discuss a couple more stories in this same issue. Joyce reminds listeners that the Chicago Catholic is free to all despite $1 cost printed on the face which is required for publication only and encourages everyone to pick up a copy at your local parish or visit their website at ChicagoCatholic.com.
Jun 19, 2026
Jun 19, 2026
1hr 25 sec
Father Anthony with Cristina and Tony, joined by Alice Babij (Bobby) gather to discuss the goings on, and people in the Parish. Father Anthony is joined by visitors from Texas, former alumni and parishioner Hector Arroyo with his daughter Brianna Arroyo. Father greets everyone and there’s reminiscing around past times and the lost community around the church. After a break, Father welcomes back Alice Babij (Bobby) who introduces the book “Clothed in Grace, A Devotional Guide to the Five Fold Scapular, by Rev Scott Haynes. The book is a devotional guide for the use of the five-fold scapular. The book offers the history along with the meaning of each of the scapular folds. It also shares the saints who wore them, miracles tied to them and the spiritual promises that draw millions to it. The book is available at priestlypress.com. Father ends today’s show with commentary on the presentation of the five-fold scapular.
priestlypress.com
Jun 18, 2026
Jun 18, 2026
59 min
Father Anthony with Tony and Cristina gather to discuss the goings on, and people in the Parish. Today Father Anthony opens with prayer adding the Litany to the Sacred Heart. After prayer the trio discusses the need for energy that leads them into a discussion of parishioners with so much energy that leads them to the dynamic of the African church culture, the overwhelming energy and the beauty in it all. Father touches on the gospel reading for Sunday and elaborates on it to offer the true significance of it to our faith. After a break, Cristina talks about the movie, The Sacred Heart of Jesus: His Reign Has No End. It’s a docudrama that speaks about the Sacred Heart of Jesus as revealed through Sister Margaret Mary in France over 350 years ago. It highlights peoples encounters and conversions by means of the Sacred Heart.
Jun 16, 2026
Jun 16, 2026
59 min
Father Anthony with Cristina and Tony regroup today after the weekend to discuss the goings on, and people in the Parish. Father greets everyone and chats regarding events of the last week, the school closing being one of them. He offers a recap of the life of the school as it went through its enrollment challenges to the large community support providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to support enrollment through scholarships via the Kostka Kids Fund. Despite the huge efforts to maintain the school it succumbed to closure and the community is suffering through a “death” as they mourn the closure. Father Anthony turns to prayer and then to the gospel reading from Sunday to address the “harvest is plenty…the laborers are few”. He unpacks the gospel reading and focuses on drawing attention to the need to focus on growth and renewed ongoing focus on the parish now that the school is closed.