Synopsis: Meet Michael Zoghby Junior. He comes from a big Lebanese Catholic family that has been in the Mobile area for several generations. Today he shares how the faith of his family was modeled for him to not just follow but truly except and live. He also gives us an honest word about being a young parent and the challenges that come to pass the faith along and also try to find faithful connections with peers at the Parish level.Dig In Further:How was faith shared and your family? What thi...

Synopsis: Meet Sarah Hirschfeldt Schmidt. Newly married. A native of Spanish Fort. First really evangelized by a Methodist Youth Group. Revived in her sense of being “Catholic” by a summer working with Capuchin Friars of the Renewal in the Bronx. Enlightened about what a “godly man” is by her father and her fiancé. Still trying to figure out her role in a parish. Join us as she takes us along her faith journey as a young adult in our pews. Dig In Further:So many young people like Sarah g...

Synopsis: Meet Chris Valencia, Brittany Eccles & Zachary Vincent. They hail from the three big universities in our Archdiocese that feature campus ministry—Troy, South Alabama & Auburn. See what the realities of “Eucharist,” “Parish” and “St. Joseph” mean to them. Consider more deeply what they mean to you.Dig In Further:How has your relationship to the Eucharist evolved over the years? How can it more and more be the center of your life? How can the Eucharist serve as a stable a...

Synopsis: Meet Jude Evans, Gracie Barranco and Edward Cowles—three seniors from our three Catholic high schools. See what the realities of “Eucharist,” “Parish” and “St. Joseph” mean to them. Consider more deeply what they mean to you.Dig In Further:What did the Eucharist mean to you in high school? What about now?How have you felt the love and support of your parish community? How is the Lord calling you to share that same love and support to others in your parish today?How can St. Jose...

Synopsis:As this series has show, the roots of our Native Place…our Native Soil go deep! Learning where our roots are helps us understand how we are being called to grow today. In God’s Providence, the Lord has brought many people to plant seeds of faith into the ground upon which we now stand—Michael Portier, Thomas Judge, the Visitation sisters, Harold Purcell, the many Vincentians and the list goes on and on. Now is our time! Consider how God wants to weave you into the next chapter of the...

Synopsis:In 1624, St. Vincent de Paul started the Congregation of the Mission dedicated to the religious instruction of the poor, the training of the clergy, and foreign missions. This very same mission found its way to our Native Soil in 1896. Fr. Bruce Krause, the pastor of St. Mary’s in Opelika—the first Vincentian mission in our Archdiocese and the last remaining parish still staffed by Vincentian priests—helps us explore the Vincentian roots in our Native Soil. Then Charlie Moore, the cu...

Synopsis:Father Harold Purcell, the founder of the City of St. Jude, came to Montgomery, Alabama in 1934. His dream was to create a “center for the religious, charitable, educational and industrial advancement of the Negro people.” And amazingly…despite being a Yankee…despite being white…and despite being a Catholic priest, he was able to do just that! In this episode, Roberta James, a long-time parishioner of St. Jude, helps us to explore this rich history. Then we sit down with a current le...

Synopsis:How important is prayer? How powerful is it? How much does it affect us here on our Native Soil? Our first bishop Michael Portier really believed in prayer. So much so, at the onset of his ministry, he worked hard to bring the Visitation Sisters to Mobile—cloistered nuns who would dedicate themselves above all to saturate our Native Soil with prayer. Meet Sr. Rosemarie as she walks us through the rich history of the Visitation here in Mobile, their mission, and how the Lord brought h...

Synopsis:Did you know that a religious order started right here on our Native Soil? Have you ever heard of Fr. Thomas Judge? If not, now is the time! The Lord called Fr. Judge to come to our Archdiocese and minister to the poor, both spiritually and physically. He discipled the people of our area and empowered them to do the same with his conviction “Every Catholic, An Apostle.” This is a cry that Lauren Alley, a teacher at McGill-Toolen, has heard echoing in her heart today. Be amazed at how...

Synopsis:In his latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis challenged us with these words— “We need to sink our roots deeper into the fertile soil and history of our native place, which is a gift of God” (145). In this series, we intend to do just that! And the roots here on our Native Soil go deep! Studying our local church history, we will better understand how Christ and his Church came to our Native Soil. Then we will better understand how we are called to carry-on that same mission t...