Sister Bethany Davis of the Daughters of St. Paul sits down with Katie Prejean McGrady to explore what it means to be holy and keep our eyes fixed to heaven, not just because that makes us “a good Catholic,” but because it’s what Jesus wants for our lives. Sister Bethany tells her vocation story, explores the charism and mission of her congregation, and also shares about the new book of saints from the Daughters of St. Paul, In Caelo et in Terra: 365 Saints, and how this project ten years in the making is finally coming to fruition.

Links:

• Ave Explores: The Saints
• Sign Up for Ave Explores
• Follow Sister Bethany on Twitter
• Follow Sister Bethany on Instagram
• Daughters of St. Paul Saint Book

Danielle Bean, author, speaker, podcaster, and the brand manager of CatholicMom.com, talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about the challenges of parenting, and offers advice on how to stay grounded throughout the stages of family life. Bean also shares how cultivating a “God will give me the grace” attitude is the best way to form a healthy and holy family culture.

Links:

• Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• The Catholic Moms Summit 2020
• Meet Danielle Bean

Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, mother of seven, and the executive director of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network. She talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about how family prayer and welcoming Jesus into your home can transform your family dynamic. Jaminet also explains how the ability to pivot in the midst of life’s changes is a mother’s greatest strength, sharing how when a mother is centered in prayer, she’s able to change course with grace and patience.

Links:

• Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• Meet Emily
• Learn More about Enthronement to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Timothy P. O’Malley, director of McGrath Theology Online at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about he and his wife Kara’s struggle with infertility. A professor who also teaches a course on marriage, O’Malley offers insights into discernment and dating for young adults, and ways that we can encourage prayer as a family.

Links:

• Week 3 of Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• "Off the Hook: God, Love, Marriage, and Dating in a Hookup World"
• Follow Tim on Twitter
• Learn More about the McGrath Institute for Church Life

Marcia Lane McGee is a birth mother with an open adoption and a foster mom who lives with six teenage boys at the Mooseheart Home near Chicago. She tells host Katie Prejean McGrady that we are all called to creatively foster family life based on our unique state of life and vocation. Lane McGee also explains how we must invest in people, even when they are at their worst, to help them find joy and to lead them to a fullness of love in Christ.

Links:

• See all the Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life content
• Follow Marcia on Instagram
• Plaid Skirts & Basic Black Podcast

Catholic speaker Brian Greenfield talks with host Katie Prejean McGrady about a father’s role as provider and protector, and as an affirming, empathetic, healing presence in the lives of his wife and children. A theology teacher at an all-boys high school, Greenfield also shares how walking with young people through their wounds and helping them to find peace and love is a key role that all men can play in helping to heal a broken and selfish culture.

Links:

• Sign Up for Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• Meet Brian Greenfield

Damon and Melanie Owens, founders of Joyful Ever After Ministries, talk with host Katie Prejean McGrady about finding healing within a marriage, especially when working through resentment and frustration. The couple also shares about raising their eight children in the faith, ultimately entrusting their hearts to the Lord and his will for their lives. The Owenses also offer insights into the ups and downs of married life, homeschooling, and finding balance at home.

Links:

• Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• The Catholic Marriage Summit 2020
• Listen to Ave Spotlight — A new podcast from Ave Maria Press with Fr. Dennis Strach, C.S.C. and Katie Prejean McGrady

Newlyweds Nick and Riley Sciarappa talk with host Katie Prejean McGrady about meeting online and about their lives while dating and discerning marriage and what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown in trust throughout their engagement. The Sciarappas also share what it was like to plan a wedding in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Links:

• Sign Up for Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• Week 1: What is the Catholic Family?
• Meet Nick & Riley
• Follow Nick on Twitter
• Follow Riley on Twitter

Jackie Francois Angel and Bobby Angel, authors, speakers, and parents of four, explain to host Katie Prejean McGrady that marriage must be rooted in friendship, attentiveness to the other’s needs, communication, and a dedication to prayer. The Angels say that marriage is meant to be abundantly joyful, established in a love of Christ that flows into family life.

Links:

• Sign Up for Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life — Get the weekly content emails right to your inbox! Sign up for free.
• Learn More about Jackie & Bobby Angel
• "Forever" by Jackie & Bobby Angel

Jeannie Gaffigan, author of the bestselling When Life Gives You Pears, wife to comedian Jim Gaffigan, and mother of five, talks candidly with host Katie Prejean McGrady about balancing family life, her Catholic faith, and maintaining a sense of sanity and fun in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City. Gaffigan shares practical tips on how Catholic family life can thrive by lowering your expectations and letting stressful things go so you can focus on your family’s health, happiness, and holiness.

Links:

• Sign up for Ave Explores: Catholic Family Life
• Subscribe to Ave Spotlight — Our new Ave Maria Press weekly podcast with Fr. Dennis Strach, C.S.C. and Katie Prejean McGrady. Monday mornings, with short interviews, commentary on current events, and a word of hope for each week.
• Jeannie Gaffigan
• Follow Jeannie on Twitter
• Have Dinner with the Gaffigans
• The Imagine Society