A Resounding Yes!

Steve Hemler traded a 33-year engineering career—including 13 years living inside a gated oil compound in Saudi Arabia—for full-time Catholic ministry, and the journey shaped everything he now teaches. In this conversation with Kaylee, he unpacks the apologetics gap in how most Catholics were formed, explains the "stages of faith" research behind his work, and shares how his newest book, The Busy Parent's Guide to the Catholic Faith, gives parents the tools they've been missing.

What We Talk About:

• How Steve went from structural engineering and Saudi Aramco to founding the Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America
• The two stages of faith—"searching faith" and "owned faith"—and why passing through the searching stage is the only path to a personal, committed faith
• Why Catholic parents feel unprepared to answer their children's big questions, and what The Busy Parent's Guide to the Catholic Faith does about it
• Three pieces of scientific evidence for God's existence: the Big Bang, the mathematical laws of nature, and the fine-tuning of the universe
• How the questions young Catholics are asking have shifted—and why "spiritual but not religious" is the new frontier apologetics needs to address

Chapters:

• 00:00: Welcome and Introduction
• 01:00: Steve's Engineering Background and Life in Saudi Arabia
• 04:33: Teaching CCD in Aramco and the Call to Apologetics
• 06:55: Founding CAINA and 600+ Presentations Worldwide
• 07:26: How the Books Came About
• 10:06: The Busy Parent's Guide: Imprimatur, Endorsements, and Who It's For
• 12:11: Searching Faith and Owned Faith—The Stages of Faith
• 14:02: The Saint Monica Problem: Preventing Children from Leaving the Church
• 15:16: Why Catholic Parents Feel Unprepared to Answer Hard Questions
• 17:05: How Faith Questions Have Changed Over the Years
• 19:28: Scientific Evidence for God: Big Bang, Laws of Nature, Fine Tuning
• 20:12: The Role of Grandparents, Godparents, and Catechists
• 22:21: Hope for the Next Generation and Online Evangelization
• 24:13: What Brings Steve the Most Joy

Resources Mentioned:

• The Busy Parent's Guide to the Catholic Faith by Steve Hemler (Scepter Publishers)
• Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America
• Paloma&Fig

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Michael Iskander plays David in Prime Video's House of David—but his real story begins with a restless search for truth that led him, step by step, to a breakfast with a priest and an answer he couldn't give lightly: yes. Christina is joined by co-host Fr. John R. Johnson, STL to walk through Michael's conversion, his calling to play David, and what his journey reveals about the kind of faith this generation is desperately looking for. Together they take up Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, reflecting on how sacred storytelling, silence, and an unfiltered encounter with the Church can become the answer to a world that's lost its footing.

What We Talk About:

• How Michael's conversion began with one question—"how does God want me to worship Him?"—and arrived at a breakfast table where a priest asked him: do you want to be Catholic?
• Why Michael says the Eucharist isn't just the center of his faith—it's the only thing in the world he'd live the rest of his life for, and what that conviction has to offer every truth-seeker
• What it means to approach a calling like David from a place of surrender—giving the gift back to the One who gave it, and why Michael believes the story was never really about David at all
• How Fr. Johnson reads Magnifica Humanitas pastorally: why the Church's claim to speak on all things genuinely human isn't overreach—it's the logic of the Incarnation
• Why both Michael and Fr. Johnson believe this generation doesn't need to be curated to—what they need is silence, unfiltered truth, and an encounter with something that doesn't move

Chapters:

• 00:00: Introduction
• 03:52: Opening Prayer
• 04:46: Michael's Conversion Story
• 08:20: God Opens the Door — Playing David
• 13:07: Storytelling as Vocation — Purpose Beyond the Role
• 18:17: Magnifica Humanitas — The Church Speaks to the Digital Age
• 24:49: What Young People Are Searching For
• 31:58: What the Church Must Offer
• 35:35: Joy, Silence, and Music

Resources Mentioned:

• House of David — Prime Video
• Magnifica Humanitas — Full Text (Vatican)
• A Complete Guide to Magnifica Humanitas — Ascension Press
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis — Catholic Gifts and Books

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E.P. Cowley is a retired homeschooling mother and author living in southern British Columbia whose debut novel, Tales from Wakken Wood, published by Ignatius Press, draws on the folklore of the Isle of Man to tell an enchanted story of courage, virtue, and wonder. In this conversation with Kaylee Stoll—part of the Tolkien and Lewis series—E.P. shares how entering the Catholic Church transformed her writing, how Tolkien's vision of sub-creation shaped every scene of the novel, and how wonder at Marian apparitions quietly shaped the book's spiritual heart.

What We Talk About:

• E.P.'s conversion journey from Protestantism into the Catholic Church and how it unlocked her sacramental imagination
• The origin of Tales from Wakken Wood—writing for her children, asking God for help scene by scene, and how the story surprised even its author
• Tolkien's influence on the novel, from Lord of the Rings to Smith of Wootton Major and his essay on fairy stories
• The unique mythological DNA of Manx folklore from the Isle of Man, and how E.P.'s research shaped the creatures of Wakken Wood
• Marian apparitions—Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and others—and how wonder at Our Lady shaped the spiritual atmosphere of the novel

Chapters:

• 00:00: Introduction and Welcome
• 03:34: E.P.'s Yes to the Lord
• 06:20: The Making of Tales from Wakken Wood
• 09:04: Tolkien, Sub-Creation, and Fantasy
• 11:47: Why Modern Readers Still Need Fairy Tales
• 16:19: Manx Folklore and the Isle of Man
• 18:47: Spiritual Symbolism vs. Allegory
• 20:54: Peter, Pixel, and the Power of Children in Story
• 24:00: Marian Apparitions and the Heart of the Book
• 26:28: Consolation, Wonder, and What Readers Take Away

Resources Mentioned:

• Tales from Wakken Wood by E.P. Cowley (Ignatius Press)
• Tales from Wakken Wood — Review
• Paloma&Fig

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Andrew Swafford, professor of theology at Benedictine College and author of Next Stop: The Afterlife, joins us to explore how C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce illuminates the reality of heaven, hell, and purgatory and why every ordinary choice we make is quietly shaping our eternal destiny. Andrew also shares the pivotal yes that changed his own life: a football scholarship to Benedictine College, an unexpected encounter with Christ, and the discovery that going all in with Jesus never costs you who you are—it makes you more fully yourself.

What We Talk About:

• How a football scholarship became the setting for Andrew's conversion and why he says the risk of faith always produces a deeper, truer version of who you already are
• What makes The Great Divorce such a powerful entry point into thinking about heaven and hell, including Lewis's insight that heaven is more real than earth, and what that means for how we love and live right now
• The unforgettable characters in The Great Divorce—Pam the grieving mother and the man with the lizard—and why even the highest loves in us must be surrendered to God if they are to be transfigured in glory
• Why the small, ordinary choices we make at home—in marriage, parenting, and the hidden moments no one sees—are where eternity is truly won or lost, and why repair matters far more than perfection
• How to stay rooted in Jesus when the culture feels heavy and overwhelming: think local, pray more than you worry, and keep the Eucharist at the center of your life

Chapters:

• 00:00: Welcome and Introduction
• 02:24: Andrew's Journey to Yes: Football, Conversion, and Going All In
• 04:17: Introducing Next Stop: The Afterlife
• 06:39: The Great Divorce, Purgatory's Joy, and the Transformation God Desires
• 07:22: What Makes The Great Divorce Such a Powerful Entry Point
• 09:42: Why C.S. Lewis Chose Story Over Straight Theology
• 11:22: Heaven Is More Real Than Earth
• 14:43: Recognizing Our Own Attachments: Pam and the Man with the Lizard
• 18:38: Small Daily Choices and Eternal Destiny
• 21:29: The Gift of Repair in Family Life
• 25:01: Heaven, Hell, and the Choices We Make Now
• 29:32: Staying Centered on Jesus in a Heavy Culture

Resources Mentioned:

• Next Stop: The Afterlife by Andrew Swafford
• The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• The Swaffords
• Paloma&Fig

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Kaitlyn Facista is the founder of Tea with Tolkien, an online community celebrating the life, writings, and Catholic faith of J.R.R. Tolkien and the author of Into the Heart of Middle-earth, published by Ave Maria Press. In this episode, she shares her journey from Protestant roots to Catholicism, how Tolkien's fiction was woven into her conversion story, and why the spiritual depth of Middle-earth is anything but accidental.

What We Talk About:

• How Kaitlyn's winding path through medical school moves, a search for truth, and life in England led her and her husband into the Catholic Church
• The discovery that Tolkien's Catholic faith is not allegory but something woven into the very fibers of Middle-earth, and what "applicability" means versus allegory
• What characters like Samwise, Aragorn, and the hobbits reveal about humility, discernment, and the power of the small
• How Tolkien's villains warn us against isolation while his heroes model fellowship, counsel, and communal discernment
• The one spiritual insight Kaitlyn hopes readers carry away from her book: that small, daily choices are how we bring ourselves—and the world—closer to goodness

Chapters:

• 00:00: Introduction and Guest Background
• 02:48: Kaitlyn's Yes—Converting to Catholicism
• 07:02: What Drew Her to Tolkien and When the Spiritual Depth Clicked
• 09:30: How Tea with Tolkien Began
• 14:38: Why Now Was the Right Time to Write Into the Heart of Middle-earth
• 16:13: Allegory vs. Applicability: How to Read Tolkien's Faith Without Forcing It
• 17:49: The "Ever-Present Person"—Providence Hidden in Plain Sight
• 19:57: Samwise Gamgee, True Hero? Loyalty and Holiness
• 21:08: Aragorn, Humility, and the Long Road to Kingship
• 24:15: Connecting Tolkien's Characters to the Saints
• 25:21: Fellowship as a Model for Faith, Family, and Parish Life
• 27:02: The One Takeaway from Into the Heart of Middle-earth

Resources Mentioned:

• Tea with Tolkien
• Into the Heart of Middle-earth — Ave Maria Press
• Paloma&Fig

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In this episode of A Resounding Yes!, Christina Sabo and co-host Franci Revel Eckensberger welcome back the internationally acclaimed Catholic author and literary biographer Joseph Pearce for a rich conversation on imagination, conversion, and the Marian threads woven through the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. 

What We Talk About:

• How Joseph Pearce's journey from neo-Nazi politics to Catholicism was shaped by the writings of Chesterton, Belloc, Tolkien, and Lewis—and what his conversion reveals about the slow, grace-filled nature of saying yes
• Why Christ Himself sanctified story through the parables, and how the Christian imagination reaches hearts in ways that argument alone cannot
• The Marian echoes in Tolkien's Galadriel and the surprising complexity of Lewis's relationship with Our Lady
• How Tolkien and Lewis reimagine heroism as humility and inner victory rather than domination, and why that matters for souls striving toward holiness today
• The dangerous "golemization" of the self in a distraction-saturated culture, and how the timeless worlds of Middle-earth and Narnia can reorient us toward wonder, contemplation, and the final victory found only in heaven

Chapters:

• 00:00: Welcome & Opening Prayer
• 05:27: Joseph Pearce's Conversion Story
• 07:37: Mary's Fiat and the Slow Yes
• 08:51: Why Story Reaches Hearts More Deeply Than Argument
• 11:00: Inner Heroism in Tolkien and Lewis
• 12:30: Marian Themes in Tolkien and Lewis
• 18:13: Lewis's Longing and the Marian Path to Heaven
• 20:02: Imagination, Reason, and Lewis's Conversion
• 24:27: The Providential Friendship of Tolkien and Lewis
• 30:00: Wonder, Enchantment, and the Danger of Distraction
• 39:56: Raising Children with Tolkien and Lewis
• 47:06: Humility, Gratitude, and the Power of a Simple Yes

Resources Mentioned:

• Race With the Devil by Joseph Pearce (Tan Books)
• Joseph Pearce's Inner Sanctum
• Paloma&Fig

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In this special Month of Mary episode, Christina Sabo is joined by Jennifer Stavinoha — ministry leader, theologian, and author of Sacred Chaos: Finding Joy and Jesus in the Messiness of Motherhood — to explore what it looks like to say yes to God in the beautiful, exhausting reality of motherhood. Recorded in honor of Our Lady of Fatima and timed for Mother's Day, this conversation is a gift for every mother who has ever wondered where God went when the quiet prayer life disappeared.

What We Talk About:

• Jennifer's conversion moment at Eucharistic Adoration as a teenager and how it set the direction of her entire life
• How motherhood dismantled everything she thought she knew about prayer — and what she discovered on the other side of that
• The structure of Sacred Chaos as a three-week mini-retreat built around desire, encounter, and joy — and why these three themes arise from her own experience as a mom
• Practical tools for praying with small children, including the "basket technique" and the gift of toddler adoration
• How turning to Our Lady of Fatima in the middle of the night became a doorway to deeper intimacy with Mary as both mother and sister

Chapters:

• 00:00: Introduction & Opening Prayer
• 03:50: Jennifer's Yes
• 08:48: Introducing Sacred Chaos
• 10:35: Inside the Book — A Three-Week Mini-Retreat
• 14:44: Finding God in the Chaos of Ordinary Moments
• 20:23: Practical Prayer Tools for Moms
• 25:16: The Structure Behind Desire, Encounter, and Joy
• 34:38: Playlists, Videos, and How They Support Prayer
• 35:00: The Most Surprising Thing Motherhood Has Revealed About God
• 38:24: When a Mom Feels Far from God: Start with Mary

Resources Mentioned:

• Sacred Chaos: Finding Joy and Jesus in the Messiness of Motherhood by Jennifer Stavinoha
• Jennifer Stavinoha's Website
• Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
• Drink the Still Water: Jennifer Stavinoha's Sacred Chaos — Paloma&Fig blog

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Maria Eva Jacobs is a national recording artist, published author, and vocal jazz professor at Kent State University whose yes to God has unfolded over decades of struggle, surrender, and extraordinary fruit. In this episode, Christina and Maria trace the arc of her faith journey—from her Byzantine Melkite roots and a life reshaped by bipolar disorder, to a supernatural encounter with God that set her on a path of ministry through music and writing. 

What We Talk About:

• Maria's background as a cradle Catholic in the Byzantine Melkite Greek Catholic Church and how music became the center of her faith life from childhood
• Her journey through bipolar disorder, the lies the disease told her about God, and the supernatural encounter that planted the seed of her yes
• Why surrender isn't a one-time event—and how learning to love the Giver more than the gift transformed her career and her life
• The interplay between faith and proper medical treatment in her healing journey, and why she's a passionate advocate for both
• Her debut Christian album Perfect Is Your Will and what sets it apart from her nine previous jazz recordings

Chapters:

• 00:00: Welcome and Introduction
• 03:06: Embracing Lent and Easter Through Prayer
• 04:39: Maria's Story: Byzantine Roots and a Musical Beginning
• 07:20: The Slow Yes: Surrender as a Daily Practice
• 11:39: A Musical Upbringing: Her Father's Influence
• 18:55: Perfect Is Your Will: Her First Christian Album
• 26:34: Faith and Mental Health: Why Both Matter
• 32:40: Sustained in the Darkness
• 38:34: What She Hopes Listeners Take Away
• 42:08: Maria's Perfect Day

Resources:

• Maria Eva Jacobs
• Perfect Is Your Will — stream the album
• Tell Them About Me — Amazon | Barnes & Noble
• Paloma&Fig

Follow Maria's Work on Social Media:

• www.Facebook.com/mariaevajacobs
• www.Facebook.com/mariajacobsmusic
• www.Facebook.com/tellthemaboutmeauthor
• www.instagram.com/mariaevajacobs
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaevajacobs/

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Dr. Jennifer Bryson joins Christina to discuss her translation of Bread Grows in Winter, a collection of essays and lectures by the largely forgotten mid-20th-century Catholic writer Ida Görres. Together they explore why Görres's voice—marked by unflinching honesty, poetic depth, and a long view of the Church—speaks with remarkable urgency to Catholics navigating confusion and upheaval today.

What We Talk About:

• Jennifer's journey from a secular upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area to entering the Catholic Church, sparked by an encounter with God in communist East Germany
• Who Ida Görres was—her life, her literary gifts, her marriage, and why her works were swept from prominence after 1971
• How Görres interpreted the post-Vatican II crisis: neither reactionary nor progressivist, but deeply rooted in love for the Church and a clear-eyed view of its problems
• The meaning behind the title Bread Grows in Winter and Görres's image of invisible martyrdom as seeds overwintering in the soil
• Görres's message for women, her fierce critique of feminism, and her effort to present a rich Catholic vision of womanhood through hagiography and literature

Chapters:

• 00:00: Welcome & Introduction
• 01:24: Opening Prayer
• 02:41: Jennifer's Yes: Faith Found in East Germany
• 05:17: Who Was Ida Görres?
• 13:53: Görres and the Post-Vatican II Upheaval
• 15:48: The Meaning of Bread Grows in Winter
• 20:08: Comparing Görres, Hildebrand, and Guardini
• 24:09: Ratzinger's Eulogy and Her Theological Influence
• 30:33: Insights for Catholics Facing Church Challenges
• 34:21: Görres on Women, Our Lady, and the Church

Resources Mentioned:

• Bread Grows in Winter by Ida Görres — Ignatius Press
• The Hidden Face by Ida Görres — Ignatius Press
• Jennifer Bryson's Website
• Paloma&Fig Blog Review

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Jonathan Strate, President and CEO of Ascension, shares the personal yes that led him from aerospace engineering to leading one of Catholic media's most impactful organizations. He opens up about the projects now reshaping how Catholics encounter the faith, including the historic second edition of the Liturgy of the Hours and the new K–8 religious education curriculum, Pillars of Faith.

What We Talk About:

• How Jonathan went from aerospace engineer to CEO of Ascension—and what made him say yes
• What the Liturgy of the Hours is and how laypeople can weave it into daily life
• What's new in the long-awaited second edition, and when it arrives
• How Bible in a Year and the Liturgy of the Hours work together to form understanding and prayer
• Pillars of Faith: Ascension's new K–8 curriculum combining evangelization, catechesis, and Scripture

Chapters:

• 00:00: Introduction
• 01:34: Jonathan's Path to Ascension
• 06:08: What Is the Liturgy of the Hours?
• 08:28: How Laypeople Can Pray the Hours
• 10:01: What's New in the Second Edition
• 12:11: Bible in a Year and the Culture of Daily Prayer
• 13:37: Pre-Orders and Launch Timeline
• 15:16: Introducing Pillars of Faith
• 21:51: Evangelization and Catechesis in Practice
• 28:20: What Brings Jonathan Joy

Resources Mentioned:

• Liturgy of the Hours – Second Edition
• Pillars of Faith Curriculum
• The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz
• The Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz
• Ascension Press

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