We reflect on Jesus’ warning that words and titles do not prove discipleship and look to Stephen and Paul to show how grace can turn a persecutor into an apostle. We ask for the courage to let conversion become a lifestyle so our lives match the gospel we proclaim.

• the gospel call to do the Father’s will
• Saint Stephen’s witness as seed of the Church
• Saul’s complicity and Paul’s radical conversion
• Christ as judge bringing honesty and freedom
• the danger of nominal Christianity and spiritual resumes
• three truths for authentic discipleship and integrity
• praying for grace to align words and life

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We set up in rainy Rome to begin Advent with a call to holy interruption: slow down, prepare your heart, and let God change your pace. From parish pilgrims and basilicas to Mary’s quiet power, we share practical ways to live a countercultural Advent and arrive at Christmas ready.

• being in Rome with parish pilgrims for the Jubilee year
• why Advent should interrupt rushing to Christmas
• keeping the season distinct with patience and prayer
• parish Advent challenge on the Hallow app
• building God’s kingdom over our own attachments
• practical home practices: wreaths, an “Advent bush,” confession
• putting on Christ as armor, not jewelry
• Mary’s silent presence and a Roman conversion story
• expectant hope with Mary and Joseph toward Bethlehem

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We begin Advent in Rome with a call to wakefulness, not fear: cast off the works of darkness, put on Christ, and let Mary lead us into active hope. Isaiah’s peace, Paul’s urgency, and Jesus’ command to stay awake shape a practical path toward confession, conversion, and joy.

• grace of Advent as interruption and awakening
• tension between our small kingdoms and God’s kingdom
• joyful hope for judgment as fulfillment not dread
• Isaiah’s vision of peace as our true destiny
• readiness defined as love, vigilance and joy
• casting off sin, resentment and distraction now
• putting on Christ as identity not ornament
• Mary’s role in preparing hearts for her son
• confession as essential preparation before Christmas
• letting Christ reorder desires and heal wounds
• pilgrimage as conversion toward deeper hope and joy
• returning home with a firmer longing for God’s house

Prepare your hearts for the gaze of God, the loving, healing, searchable gaze of Christ who comes to save you

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We reflect on the Miraculous Medal, the Eucharist, and the roots of Thanksgiving to show why gratitude is a daily choice anchored in God’s faithfulness. From the pilgrims’ losses to Washington’s proclamation, we trace a lineage of thanks that leads us back to the altar.

• meaning of the Miraculous Medal and Mary’s intercession
• Eucharist as the original thanksgiving
• pilgrims’ suffering and the practice of gratitude
• gratitude as a discipline, not an emotion
• abundance flowing from gratitude, not the reverse
• America’s founding and the link between thanks and liberty
• concrete encouragement for grief, worry, and hope
• blessing over families and the nation

Happy thanksgiving to you and to all whom you love, and may God guide, bless, and protect these United States of America

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We trace why Christ the King was established, how secular ideologies crumble, and why a crucified king still reigns over history and the human heart. We challenge listeners to move from comfort to conversion with courage, surrender, and daily acts of witness.

• origins of Christ the King in Quas Primas
• contrast between worldly power and the cross
• Christ as center versus accessory in life
• symptoms of divided allegiance and anxiety
• practical discernment and examen habits
• holiness as quiet resistance in small acts
• courage at work, at home, and in public
• self-gift over individualism and ego
• the Good Thief and the gospel paradox
• end-of-year reflection and Advent readiness
• invitation to freedom through surrender

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We proclaim Christ’s kingship amid a world that forgets, tracing how empires fall while a crucified King reigns through mercy, service, and conversion. The call is personal and urgent: let Jesus rule your heart, habits, and public witness today.

• the feast of Christ the King born in crisis
• ideologies that rise when Christ is forgotten
• the cross as the true throne of the King
• mercy as the scepter and law of the kingdom
• the beatitudes as the kingdom’s constitution
• history’s empires falling while the Church endures
• Christ must be king of every part of life
• resistance to a partial Christ and easy religion
• practical witness through holiness, courage, and charity
• a summons to bold, public discipleship

Praise be Jesus Christ the King, now and forever. Viva Christo Rey. Amen.

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We reflect on why the Church ends the year with hard words about judgment and perseverance, then use Advent as a reset toward courage over comfort. Stories of St. Paul Miki and the hidden Christians of Japan ground the call to public witness, daily habits, and steady hope.

• end times as clarity, not fear
• Advent as wake-up to eternity
• perseverance over comfort in daily discipleship
• Saint Paul’s “work and wait” for Thessalonica
• witness of St. Paul Miki and hidden Christians
• avoiding “stepping on the crucifix” in compromises
• small habits that build courage: Mass, confession, prayer
• public, joyful witness without shame
• perseverance as the Christian superpower

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We explore why the church ends the year with hard words about judgment and hope, and how perseverance anchors us when faith costs something. From the martyrs of Nagasaki to the quiet tests at work and home, we ask whether we truly believe Christ’s promise.

• apocalyptic readings as a call to faithfulness
• Jesus’ warning about persecution and the promise of perseverance
• the courage and joy of the twenty-six martyrs of Nagasaki
• hidden Christians in Japan keeping the faith without priests
• why the gospel demands conversion and change
• modern compromises that erode conviction
• courage over comfort as a daily practice
• Eucharist as strength for witness and mercy

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org