Leah Darrow, Catholic author, speaker, and founder of Lux U, invites you to look to the Cross for comfort, inspiration, and solace in the middle of COVID-19. She tells Katie Prejean McGrady that hope is the virtue we need most while facing this pandemic.

Links:

• Ave Explores Mental Health Series
• Lux U
• Leah Darrow
• Sign Up for the Art and Architecture Series

Andrew Petiprin, fellow of popular culture at the Word on Fire Institute, explains how beauty and Catholic art and architecture can lead us to a deeper faith and understanding of the truth. A convert to Catholicism, Petiprin shares his conversion story, highlighting how the way of beauty ultimately led him to Catholicism and a life committed to evangelization through art, music, film, and pop culture.

Links:

• Sign Up for the Art & Architecture Series
• Andrew Petiprin
• Andrew Petiprin's Articles at Word on Fire
• Andrew Petiprin's Conversion

How can we more fully enter into the celebration of Triduum and Easter, the holiest days of the Church year? Fr. John Burns, author of Lift Up Your Heart, explains the liturgies for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday and offers ways we can experience these sacred days at home, even with public masses suspended because of COVID-19.

6:47 - Holy Thursday

Links:

• Lift Up Your Heart (Special Edition)
• Sign Up for Ave Explores: Art and Architecture
• Mental Health Reboot

Catholic psychotherapist Roy Petitfils talks with Katie Prejean McGrady about how to help teens find structure and rhythm in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty. As schools shift to online learning, colleges close, and teens and young adults are at home, Petitfils will tell you how to help them process what's happening, live with their anxious feelings, and maintain a sense of normalcy.

Links:

• Ave Explores Mental Health Series
• Helping Teens with Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
• Roy's Original Episode

Mary Lenaburg, author of Be Brave in the Scared: How I Learned to Trust God during the Most Difficult Days of My Life, talks with Katie Prejean McGrady about how suffering and joy go hand-in-hand, especially during Lent. With a heart for hospitality, Lenaburg shares how her family joyfully lives life while always celebrating the memory of her daughter Courtney.

Links:

• Be Brave in the Scared
• Mary Lenaburg
• Sign Up for Ave Explores: Art and Architecture
• Mental Health Reboot

Sr. Miriam James Heidland, S.O.L.T., Catholic speaker and author of Loved as I Am, explains that social distancing is an opportunity for us to see that God is inviting us to slow down and be grateful for all the things he has given us. She tells Katie Prejean McGrady that when faced with times of solitude and quiet, we’re called to honestly face our feelings and past hurts.

Links:

• Loved as I Am, by Sr. Miriam James Heidland
• Ave Explores Mental Health Series
• The Power of Healing with Sr. Miriam James Heidland and Fr. John Burns

Let’s face it: We can all probably use a reboot right now.

As the fight against COVID-19 continues around the world, more people are working at home, kids are attending classes online, we’re watching Mass on TV or the internet, and we could be suffering from the disease, quarantined, or sheltering in place. No doubt you’re mentally drained from the ever-changing crisis.

Ave Maria Press wants to help with a new Ave Explores podcast mini-series that focuses on mental health. Host Katie Prejean McGrady revisits some of our panel of stress, anxiety, and mental health experts to help you cope. Leah Darrow, Roy Petitfils, Tommy Tighe, Scott Weeman, and Sr. Miriam James Heidland, S.O.L.T., will help you end up mentally and spiritually stronger on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.

Joyce Rupp, author of Jesus: Friend of My Soul, shares how the season of Lent is an invitation to love other people in more intentional ways, just as Jesus loves us. Rupp also relates how the COVID-19 crisis is a chance to be more aware of our common humanity, seeing Christ in each person we encounter.

Sponsored By:

• Ave Maria Press: Get 25% off your entire order, plus free shipping Promo Code: EXPLORELENT

Links:

• Joyce Rupp
• Jesus, Friend of My Soul
• E-Books from Ave Maria Press

Tommy McGrady and Katie Prejean McGrady, coauthors of Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, discuss how young people can fully invest in the season of Lent. McGrady shares how fasting, prayer, and almsgiving can be the foundation of a fruitful spiritual life for teenagers long after Lent is complete.

Sponsored By:

• Ave Maria Press: Get 25% off your entire order, plus free shipping Promo Code: EXPLORELENT

Links:

• Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens
• The Electric Waffle

Joel Stepanek, author of Chasing Humility: 8 Ways to Shape a Christian Heart, joins Katie Prejean McGrady to discuss how Lent can be fruitful if we pay attention to what God wants us to do with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Humility is the golden thread that ties together these Lenten practices.

Sponsored By:

• Ave Maria Press: Get 25% off your entire order, plus free shipping Promo Code: EXPLORELENT

Links:

• Ave Explores
• Chasing Humility: 8 Ways to Shape a Christian Heart
• Joel's Website