Faith Full Catholic Podcast

What does it mean for a baby to be “incompatible with life?” Even before a baby is born, doctors are doing tests, reviewing ultrasounds, and monitoring the mother closely for unexpected results or problems. If the unborn baby has too serious a condition, parents might be told by doctors that their baby is “incompatible with life.” That’s to say, it’s not expected to live long, if at all, and parents can face a choice of life or death for this person they’ve not yet met.

After doctors identified Trisomy 13 in John Paul Hauser, his parents were coached to consider having an abortion. Despite having this major genetic corruption, and a life that might last for minutes if at all, John Paul's parents chose to give him that life. And live he did.

/// Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Tami and Tracy Hauser, and Barb Baxter, the parents and godmother of John Paul Hauser.

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The reflection of John Paul Hauser's joy still radiates from cherished family videos. In one clip, he's sitting on his mom's lap as she claps his hands in tune with "The Hokey Pokey." "The Hokey Pokey" is one of those universal songs to get kids moving, and be silly and joyful. John Paul’s condition meant he experienced the hokey pokey and so many things differently than most kids, but he still enjoyed them. He didn’t speak, but he communicated in his own way. He played. He enjoyed music—Schubert’s Ave Maria was a favorite.

It’s important we start with some details of John Paul Hauser the person, because there was a chance we would never have met him. Tami and her husband Tracy made the choice to give John Paul a chance to live, even though he would face great difficulty.

"They noticed some some things looked abnormal on the ultrasound and then they sent us in for more testing," Tami says. "They told us that he had this condition called Trisomy 13, which is a corruption of all the chromosomes, and it's the most severe corruption, and that they considered it "incompatible with life." They told us that he wasn't probably going to make it to birth and if he did he would most likely only live like a few minutes or maybe at best a few hours after birth." Tami and Tracy faced this news with shock, devastation, and fear. 

"The very next thing out of their mouth is that we should have an abortion. I just remember like thinking, I just I couldn't believe that they were telling us to have, they were coaching us to have an abortion. I was always like, I didn't realize it went like this. I just thought people left these appointments and then discerned and decided to have an abortion, but here were just being advised ... and more than once," Tami continues. "Finally we just said this baby is not going to die at our hands and you know for us it just wasn't even a decision, like it was just like no. This is…that we would never end our child's life."

To hear of a man crushed by a giant crucifix, it should rightly give us pause. Years ago I heard of a man who prayed before a statue of Christ on the cross every day, asking God’s mercy for the man’s wife who was battling cancer. His wife made it through, and after enduring the pain and emotional exhaustion of that fight, the man wanted to clean the statue in appreciation. Except, the statue fell on him, leading to his leg being amputated. The church raised money and donations for the man, but he ended up suing. ///

Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features a news report from 2012, and reflections on what a falling crucifix might mean (if anything at all.)

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Before we get too deep into this wild story, I want to express sympathy for the people involved. To battle cancer, to believe prayers have been answered, to lose a leg in an accident with a falling crucifix—it’s all a bit much and demands some thoughtfulness.

The story from 2012 originally came from local TV station CBS 2 in New York, about David Jimenez. Jimenez’s lawyer reiterates that his client believed his devotion to the crucifix was responsible for his wife being cured, so he asked permission to clean the crucifix since it was seen as having been neglected.

The 600-pound statue was supported only by one screw in its base, the lawyer says. The church gathered donations of goods and money, but Jimenez filed suit to try to expedite a settlement from the archdiocese’s insurance company, looking for 3-million-dollars.

It’s a wild story that not surprisingly attracted naysayers in the comments saying it was clearly a message or a bad omen. For me, it sparked a number of questions: is it accurate to say the man prayed to the crucifix, and that he felt the object had power? Does it mean something if a crucifix falls down? What is this story saying, or not, about faith, and about God?

The headline proclaims Mr. Jimenez as “Deeply religious;” his devotion to the cross is mentioned throughout. Those faith-skeptics might proclaim: Ahh, see what good faith is? See what praying leads to? It did not help you? Where was God? I do not share those skeptical views of faith.

But I did, briefly, go down a rabbit hole. While a crucifix is a holy symbol, it is not to be prayed to directly, similar to statues and icons. The crucifix is an object to remind the believer, or focus the believer’s attention on God. By praying to an object, as the awkward syntax in the news story presents, the crucifix has itself become an idol. There’s also a difference between showing reverence to an image of Christ, for example, and praying to an object—the reverence is shown in respect to Christ, and not because it’s a thing.

The cynical Christian might say, “Well, so the man prayed to an object, and thus was taught a lesson by God.” Despite graphic episodes in the Old Testament, I tend to think God’s new covenant makes clear he is not in the smiting business, and he is a loving God. In the view of Christianity, it is through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection that man is saved, and provided the Holy Spirit to discern manifestations of God within us and others.

If we take the news story at face value, that Mr. Jimenez is a ‘deeply religious’ man, and he has chosen to be devoted to God, then why is his leg crushed? It may not be satisfying, but no one on this side of Heaven can know why this happened as it did. We do not know fully where we are going in life, the lessons we must learn, the spiritual growth we must experience. We do not know if opportunities for charity are at first blurred by pain and what we see as tragedy. And this goes for anyone, facing anything in life.

Do I find it good that this man has lost his leg? No, of course not. But we cannot know why this happened. It is through faith we seek the strength to believe in the plan set out long before we came into existence on this Earth. And it is in faith that we seek strength to stay the course when met with epic sadness, or seemingly insurmountable pain.

At times, I don’t think we know how much we can handle, or how much more we must grow or experience. We do not know everything. Jesus recognized the difficulty of our having true faith in what cannot be known, referencing the power afforded by faith only as big as a mustard seed. It is in those darkest of nights, in the face of the most daunting tasks, that even the slightest bit of faith can give us the strength to push farther than our minds, hearts and souls believed to be possible. 

The chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help) is Montreal’s oldest stone church, sitting for hundreds of years as a beacon of hope. It celebrates a special milestone this year, 250 years, having acted as a refuge for residents, pilgrims, sailors and travelers arriving by the St. Lawrence River and Seaway. Today we’ll explore together a fascinating chapter of Catholic history in North America, and learn that key to the story of this chapel, and the Catholic community of Nouvelle France, is St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. She was the first teacher of the colony of Ville Marie, and founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame, and was laid to rest on the site she worked so hard to consecrate for the Lord, with help of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Carole Golding, Pastoral Coordinator of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in Montreal. 

Learn more: https://margueritebourgeoys.org/en/history/ 

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The Blessed Virgin Mary looks over Montreal’s present and future, and stands as a beacon from its past…guiding us to her Son. The original chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours was founded by St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, building a foundation for this chapel and community that has survived war, fire, and the many difficulties of early colonial life. A statue of the Blessed Virgin overlooks the Old Port of Montreal, where sailors and settlers would arrive after facing the grueling path to the New World.

This place represented peace. Refuge.

And it still does, in a way. Montreal is a vibrant city, and the oldest quarter has its share of foot traffic: tourists, locals, pilgrims. The historic port, market, neighborhood, can feel quaint at times, and overwhelming at others. The chapel gives space for a quiet moment with God. You may remember our episode from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, the site of the only Catholic Church-approved Marian apparition in the US. That site has since been renamed the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion to reflect the place where it occurred, but it doesn’t take away I think from the original devotion to Our Lady of Good Help at that site, and the importance of the devotion here in Montreal. 

Christian duty and panhandlers. What’s the right thing to do? For a long time I’ve struggled when approached by panhandlers, people on the street asking for money. I want to help, but I don’t want to be taken advantage of, or feed an addiction, or endanger myself. As a Catholic, as a Christian, I know helping the less fortunate is central to my faith. In one of the most famous passages from Scripture, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says in a parable ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Gary Sole, the CEO of Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the Diocese of Cleveland, learn more at https://svdpcle.org/ 

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 When you really think about the Gospel of Matthew, and what Jesus says about the “least of these”…there’s no waffling here. These are what are called the Corporal Works of Mercy, which the US Conference of Catholic Bishops says are “found in the teachings of Jesus and give us a model for how we should treat all others, as if they were Christ in disguise.” But does this mean if someone walks up to me I need to give money every time? When working in European city centers, or downtown Phoenix or Cleveland, I would try to have some food to offer instead of money, but is that enough? The US Catholic Bishops say giving alms to the poor is best done this way: “Donate money to organizations that have the ability to provide support and services for those in need. Do research and find organizations that put people in need first, rather than profit.” That seems sensible…and yet when I’m approached on the street I feel faced with a flesh and blood person asking me for help. But do they really need help? One reason I’m so torn on this is probably the effect of local TV news...

Just to mention aliens turns some people off, but to a Christian, to a Catholic, thinking about extraterrestrial life can hold tremendous value. If you replace the word “alien” with “the other” then we start down a familiar path. Does “the other” exist in the universe? Would “the other” mean us peace or harm? Should I will the good of “the other?” Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Paul Thigpen. The book is published by TAN Books: https://tanbooks.com/products/books/tan-books/pre-order/extraterrestrial-intelligence-and-the-catholic-faith/

Some of the greatest Catholic thinkers wrestled with this question of “the other.” Whether you’re thinking about so-called aliens, people who live in the center of the earth, or maybe creatures at the end of the world, how we approach our theoretical brothers and sisters of the universe might tell us a lot about what our faith really means to us.  Introduction

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Many Catholic thinkers have explored this question of alien life, from an apologetics standpoint, to the Vatican observatory. And science fiction likes to return to this tension of space and religions every so often. In one classic episode of the original Star Trek series the crew finds a planet with Roman-era government, and a growing following of sun worshipers, thought to be primitive. But the sun SUN, was actually son SON. And we’re left with this question of whether Christ would die again on some distant cross for the same path of salvation for another species. Star Trek’s creator Gene Roddenberry also had a show called Earth Final Conflict, about a race of aliens who came to help out the humans. But in one episode a character blends images of Moses, Jesus Christ, and a few other historical figures and the image looks just like the alien. Have they been here before? Maybe our souls have a unique connection to other beings. God’s grace is certainly abundant enough to spread beyond the stars, isn’t it? In December 2022 Pentagon officials said there was no evidence to affirm the existence of space aliens, but the search continues. So our thinking about our faith and potential alien life continues with Paul Thigpen, author of Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith from TAN Books.

Angels seem mysterious and familiar all at the same time. Angels are by definition different than you and I are—they’re spiritual beings, without bodies, but can be present in our world. St. Augustine says “angel” is the name of their office, or what they do: they are servants and messengers of God.

In this episode we hear about what another saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, thought about angels in his newly translated Meditations on the Holy Angels. Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB. The book is published by TAN Books: https://tanbooks.com/products/books/Meditations-on-the-Holy-Angels/

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In the Gospel of Matthew at one point Jesus tells us that angels that watch over us, the Guardian Angels, also “always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which explains what Catholics believe, says, “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.”

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When think you might die, you tend to lean more heavily on your deepest beliefs, and for me, a Catholic, that means prayer for God’s protection. For years I rode a motor scooter to work, similar to a Vespa. One day, in an instant I’m no longer on my scooter, and I put out my hands to try to catch myself from the fall that I can’t avoid. I roll onto the tree lawn just a short distance from parked cars that I narrowly missed. I didn’t know what was wrong, only that my body wasn’t working right. I had a separated shoulder, a fractured wrist, some road rash on my leg and other soft tissue damage in my arm. The adrenaline and maybe shock began to take over, but I knew that I was alive. I prayed as the EMTs got me into the ambulance, thanking God I was still alive, and had more time with my wife and children. And as I said Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and even portions of Hail Holy Queen, I began contemplating all that led me to that crash. How did it happen? And could it have been worse? Was my Guardian Angel helping me arrive at the point where I would make it out alive?

I spoke about this and many other issues of angels and faith with Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB, who translated St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s Meditations on the Holy Angels.

War and Catholicism. On today’s episode we’ll hear from a Catholic Bishop and a former member of the British armed forces talk about how our duties as Christians, striving to walk the path to Heaven, square with the hell of war? Our conversation is driven by a powerful scene in the movie Kingdom of Heaven. This episode features Bishop Neal Buckon of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, and Catholic and military veteran Rebecca Clemenz.

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This is a big topic, with many twists and turns, so we’ll attempt a somewhat narrow conversation today driven by a single line of movie dialogue: “Your quality will be known among your enemies, before ever you meet them.”

For me there is so much packed into this line from a movie called Kingdom of Heaven. A newly-minted Christian knight during the Crusades named Balian—played by Orlando Bloom—had just released a Saracen, Muslim fighter on account of his quality, when the man, Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani delivers this line.

Balian had inherited his estranged father’s nobility as Baron of Ibelin, and was shipwrecked while journeying to Jerusalem. A lone surviving horse from the wreck runs to an oasis on a desert plot of land owned by what we’re told is al-Isfahani’s master. Balian refuses to give up the horse, and al-Isfahani’s master fights for it…and loses. Balian spares al-Isfahani’s life, and orders him to take him to Jerusalem, and once there he releases him and gives him the horse.

Al-Isfahani is stunned, saying Balian could have made him his slave, which Balian rejects—he had been near to a slave in his life and would never hold someone in bondage. And then we hear it: “Your quality will be known among your enemies, before ever you meet them.”

A Catholic military perspective on quality, honor, and war—on this episode of Faith Full. 

As I record this, we’re still seeing the devastation of the war in Ukraine, just as we’ve seen devastation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, Yemen, the list is as long as the existence of humanity. But really where is humanity in war? What about mercy? Honor? Nobility? This topic is huge, and I want to say at the outset I can’t cover it all. St. Augustine’s thoughts on Just War, and the Catholic Church’s teachings on self defense and preservation of life and peace, cannot be discussed comprehensively, at least by me, in a single session. I’m also not a veteran, but I’ve interviewed many in my years as a journalist, and have friends and family in the service.

You may remember talking through some of these issues in our episode with Fr. Cirilo Nacorda who was held hostage by terrorists in the Philippines at one time, and later began carrying a gun and working to help villagers defend themselves. I’ve always struggled with this tension between being called to love our enemies, and having the armed forces needing to face our enemies. 

This episode is the third connected to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States. Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer.

This episode talks about needing to take mini-pilgrimages in our everyday life, and not just wait for big trips. You can stop for a moment of prayer anywhere, anytime. This episode features again Fr. Edward Looney, Fr. John Broussard, Fr. Carlos Esparza, and Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes.

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Standing on the shore of a mountain lake at sunrise, you may not think you’re necessarily on a pilgrimage, but then you’re drawn toward a prayerful moment. You gaze into the raspberry and amber skies, as the lapping waves try to sing you back to sleep. But you’re called to be present and aware of the awe.

Or maybe you hike toward an Alpine peak when you’re serenaded by birdsong; nature’s hallelujah. Again you’re very present in the moment; thankful and introspective, like a pilgrim. And then on the trail you literally see Christ on the cross. A traveler, a pilgrim, before you thought to install a wayside chapel—a small, wooden structure to draw you even further toward God.

These things are common in Europe, and in Wisconsin chapels created by European immigrants still pepper the countryside.

This brings us to the idea of wayside chapels, or roadside chapels. In Wisconsin, are literally down the road from the Champion apparition site.

This episode is the second about The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States.

This episode features Fr. Edward Looney, and Fr. John Broussard. We also learn about the Peshtigo fire on 1871.

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There’s a crisp hint of Autumn in the air when a young Adele Brise first catches sight of the mysterious figure. It’s October 1859. Adele carries her bag of wheat toward the grist mill, in a wooded patch of Northern Wisconsin, when she freezes, frightened. There, between a hemlock and maple tree stands a beautiful woman clothed in dazzling white, wearing a yellow sash and crown of stars atop her flowing golden hair, until...she’s gone. The vision of the woman fades, and Adele all alone, continues on her way.

A second encounter with the mystery woman a few days later is just as startling, compounded by the fact this figure doesn’t say a word.

On counsel from a priest, Adele is prepared for her next encounter and says to the figure: In God’s name who are you and what do you want from me?

I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, the woman says, and I wish you to do the same.

The Queen of Heaven—the Blessed Virgin Mary—proceeds to explain to Adele what she’s being called to do: teach the children of this wild country what they should know for their salvation, while also encouraging Adele, that she’s not going to have to do it alone.

This episode is the first of three about The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States.

In 1859 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Belgian immigrant, Adele Brise. Mary identified herself as “The Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners,” and told Adele to teach children their catechism, how to make the sign of the cross, and how to approach the sacraments. And then Mary said, “Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”

Our next episode will go a little deeper into the apparition, and the miracles at Champion, but today we’re preparing for that pilgrimage with the help of Jesuit priest, Fr. Carlos Esparza.

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