The Catholic Cafe

So are you a Catholic parent or student getting ready for the college experience? Are you wondering who, what, when, where and why as it relates to ensuring a robust Catholic faith on a college campus? Join Deacon Jeff and Tom as they welcome Fr. Mike Schmitz, well-known podcaster and chaplain of the Catholic campus Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth, to the Luxurious Corner Booth to discuss Catholic life on college campuses today.

Do you believe the Devil is at work in the world? Many people don't. And, those that do can easily mistake just HOW the Devil might be involved and what that looks like. Join Deacon Jeff and Tom in the Luxurious Corner Booth of The Catholic Cafe as they welcome Deacon Dominic Cerrato, PhD, a Permanent Deacon from Steubenville, Ohio and Director of Diaconal Ministries, to discuss diabolical activity in the Church and what we can do about it.

Did you ever wonder if all the various people, places, situations and events you've experienced in your lifetime (good and bad) might actually be drawn together to reveal some great master plan God has for you? Has God been preparing you for some great and divinely inspired task? Join Deacon Jeff and Tom in the Luxurious Corner Booth as they ponder the plans and preparations God leads us through as we endeavor to seek His eternal and divine will in our lives. We all have a story...what's yours?

We've all heard of (and maybe have had first-hand experience with) gangs and those men and women who live and die in that difficult and tragic lifestyle. How are we to understand them and so minister to them? Join Deacon Jeff and Tom as they welcome the Founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries, Fr. Greg Boyle, to the Luxurious Corner Booth to discuss how his unique ministry brings hope and healing to a truly lost and forgotten subset of humanity.

Have you ever wanted to grow your prayer life, but thought it was going to be complicated and challenging? Are you already living a complicated and challenging life and you don't know how you can carve any more time out of your life to devote to prayer? The Jesus Prayer may be just what you need! Join Deacon Jeff and Fra Tom as they welcome Fr Michael to the Luxurious Corner Booth of the FRENCH Catholic Cafe to discuss this ancient, powerful but simple prayer.

How do we best minister to the people in the Holy Land who are caught up in a land torn apart by religious conflict, land disputes and governmental instability? Join Deacon Jeff in the Luxurious Corner Booth of the French Catholic Cafe as he welcomes his guest, Stefania Gudrunerdottir, a volunteer for the Order of Malta's Representative Office for the Holy Land, to discuss a unique and effective way to lift the spirits, the financial well-being and the dignity of the people in the Holy Land.

Are you confused at all about the Catholic teaching about Mary? Where in the Scriptures and in Church history do we find this teaching? What about all the different devotions? Well, you've tuned in to the right show! Join Deacon Jeff in the Luxurious Corner Booth of the French Catholic Cafe as he welcomes his guest, Fr. Andrew Fisher, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia, to discuss Marian theology, history and devotion in the Catholic Church.

Did you ever wonder when and where the concept of thehospital was developed? You may be surprised to learn that our modern healthcare system owes a great debt of gratitude to the Knights of Malta who made it their charism to care for the sick who were making pilgrimage nearly a thousand years ago. Join Deacon Jeff and Fra Tom as they welcome Dane Munro, a Knight of Malta from the Island of Malta, and a visiting history professor from the University of Malta, to the Luxurious Corner Booth to discuss the history of hospitals and the Order's charism of hospitality.

Did you know that there was an approved Marian apparition site in the United States? Many people are unaware that The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Adele in Champion, Wisconsin, only a year after Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes. Join Deacon Jeff and Fra Tom as they welcome the Most Reverend David Ricken, Bishop of Green Bay, to the Luxurious Corner Booth as they discuss the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help - and how it came to be.

Suffering is never fun. In fact, by definition, suffering is awful. And, the only thing that makes it worse, is when the suffering we experience seems meaningless. But, is suffering supposed to be meaningless? Can there ever be a good purpose to suffering? Jesus seemed to think so. Join Deacon Jeff and Fra Tom in the Luxurious Corner Booth of the FRENCH Catholic Cafe as they welcome their guest, Fr Pat Brennan, a Passionist priest, to discuss a very meaningful homily he gave to the many suffering souls gathered for a time of healing while on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France.