Segment 1: Bishop's Opening Monologue
Bishop Joensen shares diocesan news and reflections as August unfolds:

Preparing to join the diocese's permanent deacons — both ordained and in formation — for their annual gathering at Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri
Congratulations to Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB, elected the 11th Abbot of Conception Abbey on July 11, succeeding Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB. Abbot Sheller will be formally installed by Bishop James Vann Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph on August 31
A reflection on Elise Ann Allen's new book, Pope Leo XIV: The Biography
A rundown of August's feast days: St. John Vianney (patron of parish priests), St. Dominic (Aug. 8), St. Clare (Aug. 11), St. Maximilian Kolbe (Aug. 14), and the Feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15)
A preview of the annual convocation of Catholic educators in Des Moines and Council Bluffs ahead of the new school year

Segment 2 & 3: Interview with Michael Paul Hart
Bishop Joensen and Jean Thille welcome Michael Paul Heart, retired CNA and author of Could You Push Me in the Toilet? Stories from Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Personal Home Care.

Heart shares how he mentored Fr. Stan Asjes, now at St. Patrick Parish in Council Bluffs, in the years before his seminary formation, including a formative conversation on the meaning and purpose of life
A recommendation of Arthur C. Brooks' The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness
Heart recounts his upbringing as a Protestant, his time in the New Age movement, and his eventual conversion — informed in part by Fr. Mitch Pacwa's Catholics and the New Age
The turning point: a vivid, profound vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus while bicycling home late one night, and the middle-of-the-night phone call to Fr. Gordon Gittins that followed
Over 40 years of experience as a CNA, including his approach to physical strength training to safely lift and care for patients
A reflection on the difference between evangelization and proselytization, illustrated through stories from his caregiving career
The story behind the book's memorable title

Learn more about Serra Vocations Ministry at JoinSerra.org, and find more episodes at IowaCatholicRadio.com.

MakingItPersonal #BishopJoensen #IowaCatholicRadio #CatholicPodcast #CatholicConversion #SacredHeartOfJesus #CatholicFaith #CNA #Caregiving #NursingHomeStories #CatholicMemoir #NewAgeToCatholicism #ConceptionAbbey #SerraVocations #CatholicAuthors #FaithStory #CatholicWitness #HealthCareMinistry #EvangelizationNotProselytization #CatholicBookClub

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