This week on Be Not Afraid, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe walk through one of the richest weeks on the Catholic calendar.

The Archangels (September 29) — The hosts break open the identity and mission of each archangel: Michael, "who is like God," protector of humanity and champion against Satan, named four times in Scripture (twice in Daniel, once in Jude, once in Revelation); Gabriel, "strength of God," messenger of the Annunciation and announcer of St. John the Baptist's birth; and Raphael, "God has healed," the companion of Tobias in the Book of Tobit and traditionally the angel who stirred the healing waters at Bethesda. Fr. Fabian shares the worldwide customs of Michaelmas — a harvest and quarter day in England marked by hiring servants and opening legal and university terms, roast goose in the British Isles, waffles in France, St. Michael's Bannock in Scotland, and gnocchi in Italy.

The St. Michael Prayer — Both hosts encourage the growing practice of praying the St. Michael Prayer after every Mass and at the end of the Rosary, a recognition that the spiritual battle is real. Fr. Bruce also notes that in the Eastern Churches, the Synaxis of St. Michael and all the angels is celebrated November 8.

Protection of the Mother of God (October 1) — Fr. Bruce shares the history behind this Slavic Byzantine feast, dating to the 900s under Emperor Constantine VII, when St. Andrew the Fool-for-Christ and his disciple St. Epiphanius saw the Theotokos spread her veil over the faithful at the Blachernae church near Constantinople — and the city was delivered. A second appearance during the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise ended a deadly epidemic. On October 6, 1974, the bishops of the Byzantine Ruthenian Metropolitan Province of Pittsburgh dedicated a Byzantine chapel in honor of the Mother of God at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., consecrating the entire province under her Holy Protection.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux (October 1) — Born Marie Thérèse Martin in France on January 2, 1873, the youngest of five daughters, she entered Carmel at 15 and died of consumption on September 30, 1897, at just 24. No miracles or extraordinary exploits — only perfect fidelity in ordinary daily duties, childlike confidence in God's providence, and deep zeal for the conversion of souls and for priests. Canonized in 1925 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997, her autobiography Story of a Soul continues her promise: "I will spend my heaven doing good on earth."

Sunday Gospel — Matthew 21:33-43 — The Parable of the Wicked Tenants. The hosts explain why this story landed so sharply on the scribes and Pharisees, who knew Isaiah's image of Israel as the Lord's vineyard. The parable reveals God's generosity and trust, His patience and justice, and ultimately points to the rejection of the Son, the cornerstone the builders rejected. Fr. Fabian turns it toward gratitude: we are often indifferent to the blessings of sight, breath, speech, and hearing, and the Christian response is thanksgiving, not entitlement. Fr. Bruce closes the episode with a blessing.

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
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• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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This week on Be Not Afraid, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe cover one of the biggest weeks on the Catholic calendar.

Blessed Fulton Sheen
Archbishop Fulton Sheen is beatified this Thursday, September 24, in St. Louis, with an expected crowd of more than 50,000. Fr. Bruce notes that beatification is a major milestone but still one step short of canonization. The priests trace Sheen's life and legacy: born in 1895 in El Paso, Illinois; ordained September 20, 1919; a pioneer of Lenten radio talks and the Catholic Hour; made a bishop June 11, 1951; host of Life Is Worth Living, the most widely viewed religious program in television history. He won an Emmy for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1953, appeared on the cover of TIME on April 14, 1952, served as Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969, and died December 9, 1979. Fr. Bruce connects Sheen's media apostolate directly to the work of Mother Angelica, EWTN, and Iowa Catholic Radio today.

The Byzantine connection
Fr. Bruce highlights a detail many listeners will miss: in the 1950s, Sheen celebrated the first English Divine Liturgy at the Uniontown, Pennsylvania pilgrimage site before roughly 100,000 people, wearing Byzantine vestments. In commemoration, a Byzantine Catholic Divine Liturgy will be celebrated Saturday, September 26 in Peoria, Illinois, by Bishop Robert Pipta of the Eparchy of Parma.

St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist — September 21
Fr. Fabian reflects on the tax collector who left his table of books and money at two words from Christ: "Follow me." His Hebrew name Levi means addition; his new name in Christ, Matthew, means gift of God. The Gospel of Matthew was written to convince the Jewish people that the awaited Messiah had come. He is depicted as the winged man because his Gospel opens with the human genealogy of Jesus, and he is the patron of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, customs officers, security guards, stockbrokers, and tax collectors. The takeaway: money is transitory, meant to serve others and glorify God, while the focus stays on eternal life.

St. Padre Pio — September 23
Born in southern Italy to a shepherd's family, Padre Pio entered the Capuchin novitiate at 15 and was ordained at 22. On September 20, 1918, he received the stigmata, the first priest ever so blessed. He heard confessions by the hour, reportedly reading the consciences of those who held back. In 1956 he opened the Home for the Relief of Suffering, a hospital that now serves 60,000 people a year. He died September 23, 1968, at age 81. More than 400,000 people worldwide belong to the prayer groups he founded. The fathers also recount his canonization miracle, the healing of seven-year-old Matteo Pio Colella from meningitis after a prayer vigil.

Sunday's Gospel — Matthew 21:28-32
The parable of the two sons: one refuses and then goes, one agrees and never does. Fr. Fabian asks what future we are preparing, and how the choices we make now shape both this life and the life of the age to come.

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• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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This week on Be Not Afraid, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe open the show by noting that September 1st marks the start of the new liturgical year in the Byzantine Catholic tradition, a good reminder of the richness within the universal Church's many rites. The main conversation centers on fraternal correction, prompted by both the upcoming memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Sunday's Gospel reading, Matthew 18:15-20, in which Jesus instructs his disciples on how to address a brother who sins: privately first, then with witnesses, then before the Church.

The hosts trace fraternal correction through the example of John the Baptist, who confronted Herod's immorality and paid with his life, and through Mother Teresa, who confronted world leaders and built bridges between believers and non-believers while never losing her charity and humility. Fr. Bruce shares a personal story of a friend whose attempt at fraternal correction with his adult daughter, over the baptism of her son, went painfully wrong, illustrating how correction offered without a shared foundation of faith can backfire. Fr. Fabian returns throughout to the theme that correction without humility, charity, or love is not true correction, and that reconciliation itself is an act of fraternal charity rooted in seeing the face of Christ in the other person.

The episode closes with a reflection on Mother Teresa's own words to "do small things with great love" and a challenge to listeners to find the "Calcuttas" in their own lives: family, coworkers, and community members in need of compassion and presence.

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• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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On this episode of Be Not Afraid, Fr. Bruce Riebe walks through the biography of St. Augustine, born in Thagaste, North Africa, to a pagan father and his devout mother, St. Monica. From his early years of moral struggle and involvement with the Manichaean sect to his conversion under St. Ambrose in Milan, Augustine's story becomes a powerful reminder that sainthood is born out of frail, sinful human beginnings, not despite them. Fr. Bruce and the host also highlight St. Monica's decades of prayer and perseverance as a model for parents who feel discouraged by a child's spiritual struggles.

The second half of the episode shifts to this Saturday's memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, exploring why his martyrdom is commemorated alongside his birth, a distinction shared only with Jesus and Mary. Fr. Bruce details the Byzantine tradition of the three separate "findings" of St. John the Baptist's head, from the fourth-century discovery on the Mount of Olives to its final transfer to Constantinople around the year 850, and explains the custom of avoiding food served on a platter on this feast day.

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• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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This week on Be Not Afraid, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe reflect on the upcoming Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22), tracing its origins to Pope Pius XII's 1954 encyclical and its beautiful connection to Mary's Assumption. Fr. Bruce offers a Byzantine Catholic perspective, noting how the Eastern Church honors Mary as Queen of Heaven within the Octave of the Dormition of the Theotokos, even without a distinct feast day. The hosts also share a touching reflection on Marian crowning traditions across Hispanic and Holy Family school customs.

Turning to Sunday's readings, the hosts dive into Romans 11:33-36 and St. Paul's meditation on the depth of God's wisdom, drawing a beautiful connection to Mary's total surrender to God's will. In the Gospel from Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus asks the apostles "Who do you say that I am?" — prompting Peter's declaration of faith and the founding of the Church upon him as the Rock. Fr. Bruce also shares a striking pastoral observation from 41 years of priesthood: a growing number of young men in their 20s and 30s are being drawn to Eastern Christian spirituality, and how the Eastern Catholic Church offers them that same ancient liturgical richness while remaining in full communion with Rome.

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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On this Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe open with a look at how men are formed for the priesthood in the Byzantine Catholic Church, from tonsure and the subdiaconate through ordination to the transitional diaconate. Fr. Bruce shares the history behind married Eastern Catholic clergy in North America, including the 1920s shift toward celibate-only ordinations under Bishop Takach and Pope Francis' 2014 decision restoring the ancient practice of ordaining married men to the priesthood. Fr. Bruce also reflects on his own path to ordination, first to the diaconate and then to the priesthood in August 1985.

The hosts then turn to the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15 — a holy day of obligation — walking through Pope Pius XII's 1950 dogmatic definition and what it means for the faithful. Fr. Bruce explains the Byzantine Catholic parallel, the Dormition of the Theotokos, including the tradition of the Apostle Thomas finding Mary's tomb filled with flowers rather than her body, and the custom of blessing flowers on the feast.

The episode closes with a reflection on Matthew 15:21-28, the Canaanite woman who pleads with Jesus to heal her daughter. Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce discuss her bold persistence in faith, what Jesus' initial silence and the "bread for the dogs" saying meant in context, and what her example teaches listeners about trusting God's will even when He seems slow to answer.

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More from Iowa Catholic Radio:

• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

Want to support your favorite show? Click Here

Iowa Catholic Radio - Connecting People to Christ

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