about four o'clock

We sat down with Fr. Ed Herzog to hear why in the world a New Yorker is a priest in Wichita, KS. He admits that it was mostly due to his love of golf and the favorable cost of living, but the Holy Spirit had a little to do with it as well.

We continue our conversation with Fr. Ned Blick and Fr. Joe Eckberg that exhibits well the power of priestly friendship. Listen in to hear how Fr. Joe lost part of his finger in a boating accident, when Fr. Ned nearly got shot as a chaplain in the War in Afghanistan, and the world premiere of Fr. Ned's own rendition of Prince's "1999".

We hosted the dynamic duo of Fr. Ned Blick and Fr. Joe Eckberg as they insisted they could not tell one vocation story without the other. A couple highlights from the first half of the conversation: Mother Teresa leading Fr. Joe to leave seminary, Fr. Ned's rosaries on beer trucks, and Fr. Joe running over Fr. Ned with a boat.

First off we chat about our early memories of computers, video games, and cell phones, mostly to make Fr. Chad feel old. Then we discuss the importance of being intentional in establishing boundaries to maintain a healthy relationship with technology that will allow for deeper thought and prayer.

A truly historic moment for the podcast: for the first time ever we interview a consecrated virgin, Aubrey Coulter. She explains the unique vocation of consecrated virginity and her experience of being led to give her life as a bride of Christ, living in the world.

Happy Easter! We begin by talking about some out of the ordinary ways to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord from around the world (and Fr. Chad's wardrobe). We finish up by responding to a question from a listener on our experience of working with the lay faithful in the mission of preaching the Gospel.

We welcome on Fr. Nicholas Ashmore from the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas to swap stories from time in seminary before he shares his vocation story that begins with an angry letter to a priest and ends with leaving behind a future in vocal performance to follow the Lord's call.

To be spiritually holy, priests also need to be physically healthy. We chat about that, including a recap of January's seminarian basketball tournament and reliving the glory days of our athletic championships during our time in seminary.

There's only one Fr. Eric Weldon. Enjoy this tale of military service, a broken engagement, and the persistence of the Lord leading to a good and holy priest. Bada bing.

This week we share adventures of our deacon summer assignment before going into a greater explanation of a couple steps that a seminarian takes on the road to ordination: candidacy and the installation in the ministries of acolyte and lector.