The Ave Maria Hour: Recent Episodes
Vatican In Exile
The Ave Maria Hour first aired on April 26, 1935, on radio station WOR. It was presented by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement to help the humanitarian work of St. Christopher’s Inn, and during that first show, Servant of God Father Paul of Graymoor talked about the charity involved in caring for the men of the Inn. In 1937, it was estimated that nearly 1 million listeners were tuning in each week, which resulted in large pilgrimages coming to Graymoor.
The popular Ave Maria Hour continued until 1969, encouraging and entertaining listeners. It was heard on more than 350 stations as well as on the Armed Forces Radio Service. Recorded in a studio in New York City and on the grounds of Graymoor, these dramatizations of the lives of the saints, stories from the Gospel, and inspiring accounts of faith received many awards for religious radio programs sponsored by the American Exhibition of Educational Radio and Television programs of Ohio State University. It received the Golden Bell Award in 1959, presented by Ed Sullivan on live television.
Absalom was one of King David’s sons, and his scriptural story reads like a modern-day soap opera. Known for his good looks, in particular his long hair, he is best remembered for avenging his sister Tamar and conspiring against his own father for the throne.
At an early age Barry was sent to sea. He arrived at Philadelphia when he was fifteen years old, and made that city his home to the time of his death. He was employed in the West Indian trade and commanded several vessels until December 1774, when he sailed from Philadelphia, as captain of a fine ship "The Black Prince", bound for Bristol, England, returning to Philadelphia 13 October 1775, the day the Continental Congress, then in session there, authorized the purchase of two armed vessels for the beginning of the United States Navy.
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was one of four Marylanders to sign the Declaration of Independence. Carroll was the only Roman Catholic and the last survivor of all 56 signers dying in 1832 in his 96th year. Charles Carroll and his family played a major role in the framing of the governance of Maryland and the emerging United States.
A powerful episode demonstrating the virtue of charity by which we love God above all things.
Brother Eugene Frank – the story of Francis Anthony Frank who became Brother Eugene Frank in 1922. He was sent to New Guinea as a missionary and was later killed there.
In addition to welcoming visitors, Brother Andre served as janitor, launderer, and sacristan, ran errands and provided the students with cheap haircuts. Throughout these years his reputation for humility and kindness grew, as did the numbers of visitors he received. Most of these were poor and sick people, to whom he offered not only his compassion and what material assistance he could provide, but also moral and spiritual advice. Many of his visitors attributed miraculous cures to him, but he would insist, sometimes with annoyance, that any such cures were attributable to the prayers of Saint Joseph.
The lives of Bl. Stephen & Raymond were priests and preachers who fought against the Albigensian heresy centered in Toulouse France, ultimately being martyred by the heretics.
Noted for his preaching skills, especially among the rural poor. Helped found a Vincentian house at Monopoli, Italy. Superior at Lecce, Italy. Worked with the sick in the 1836–1837cholera epidemic in Naples.
Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4.
Dominican tertiary and miracle worker. Albert was a farmer living near Bergamo, Italy, where he became a Dominican Third Order member. Married, he was a champion of the poor in his hometown of Ogna.
The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian pastor and theologian, executed for contributing to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment" Matthew 5:21-22.
The story of Abraham and Isaac involves one of the most agonizing test—a trial both men pass because of their total faith in God.
Faith, the virtue that we firmly believe that all the truths God has revealed. Because He that can not deceive, nor be deceived, revealed them to us.
The Bible Story of the Ascension of Jesus, found in the first chapter of Acts, describes the ascent of Christ from the Earth to the Heavenly realm. According to Acts, the ascension of Jesus takes place 40 days after the resurrection in the presence of his disciples.
Early Sunday morning, the women who loved Jesus went to the tomb to bring spices to put on Jesus' body. Along the way, they asked each other, "Who will roll away the stone from the entrance so we can go into the tomb?"
Jeff Chandler plays the part of a reporter as if he was there almost twenty centuries ago reporting from the streets on the lead up to the crucifixion of Christ the Savior.
Then the soldiers used thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him. They said, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Even though Judas was one of Jesus' disciples, he helped the chief priests arrest Jesus. The priests paid Judas thirty pieces of silver for his help. Later; due to great sense of guilt for betraying Jesus, Judas tried to give back the silver. When he was unable to undo what he had done, he committed suicide.
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to the house of the high priest, Caiaphas, where the teachers of the law and the elders had gathered together. Peter followed from a distance, as far as the courtyard of Caiaphas' house.
The Jewish leaders were looking for false evidence against Jesus to have him put to death, but they could not find any.
After the Last Supper in the Upper Room, Jesus led His remaining disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Once Jesus and the disciples arrived, Jesus drew away Peter, James, and John. He asked them to stay with Him. "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me" He then went a little farther, fell to His face, and, in agony, asked God to find another way. His sweat fell like drops of blood;
The story of the Last Supper on the night before Christ's crucifixion is reported in four books of the New Testament (Matthew 26:17–29; Mark 14:12–25; Luke 22:7–38; and I Corinthians 11:23–25).
Judas goes privately to the chief priests and asked them what they would give him if he delivered Jesus to them. The chief priests gladly promised Judas thirty pieces of silver if he would tell them which man was Jesus.
After cursing the fig tree, Jesus and his disciples re-enter Jerusalem and proceed to the Temple where “money changers” and those selling sacrificial animals are doing a lively business.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey (donkeys signify peace and humility), his followers laid out tree palms among other items in front of his path.
DURING stormy weather, you may hear loud thunder. Has it ever scared you?— Well, Jesus calls two of his followers “Sons of Thunder.”
So, the kingdom of God, in one sense, is the reality that God is King of all things. In this sense, all of us, whether we like it or not, live in the kingdom of God.
But there is another sense in which the kingdom of God has not yet fully come. That’s why Jesus teaches His disciples to pray to God, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Not everyone or everything has yet submitted to His kingly rule.
This is why Jesus calls people to “seek” and “enter” the kingdom of God. “Entering” the kingdom of God in this sense means to willingly submit to His reign, to gladly receive Him as Savior, and to commit to following Him as Lord.
The raising of Lazarus is a miracle of Jesus recounted only in the Gospel of John (John 11:1–44) in the New Testament in which Jesus raises Lazarus of Bethany from the dead four days after his entombment.
The parable begins by introducing three characters: a father and his two sons. To summarize the tale, the youngest of the two sons demands his share of his father’s estate which the father gives him.
If you were asked the question “What is more important? People or animals? What would you answer?” Of course, we would answer people. Jesus Heals a Man With Dropsy deals with this question. However, in Bible times there were very strict rules you had to follow, and you were not allowed to work on the Sabbath. The leaders that were at the synagogue that day said that you couldn’t heal on the Sabbath. Jesus made them think with His questions? Jesus heals the man with dropsy and answered the question with His actions.
The Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, is a Jewish holiday also known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is celebrated during the Hebrew month of Kislev (late November or early December), beginning on day 25 of Kislev and continuing for eight days and nights. Jewish families gather to say prayers and light candles on a special candelabra called a menorah. Typically, special holiday foods are served, songs are sung, games are played, and gifts are exchanged.
The allegory used by the Lord speaks of the light of His Truth, the light of His Word, the light of eternal Life and the light that comes from His body the Church. Those who perceive the true Light will never walk in spiritual darkness
God declared His people remember and celebrate this Feast of the LORD at its appointed time every year on the 15th day of the 7th month of God’s Biblical Calendar for seven days – with a rest on the first day and on the eighth day (Lev 23). The Israelites lived in tents in the wilderness for 40 years. God said, ‘Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them” (Exd25:8). The Tabernacle was to be built, a tent covered with skins, exactly according to the pattern God gave. God came down from heaven to dwell (live) among men. God dwelt among the people and His glory filled the Tabernacle. The people saw His glory. What a picture of things to come…
God declared His people remember and celebrate this Feast of the LORD at its appointed time every year on the 15th day of the 7th month of God’s Biblical Calendar for seven days – with a rest on the first day and on the eighth day (Lev 23). The Israelites lived in tents in the wilderness for 40 years. God said, ‘Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them” (Exd25:8). The Tabernacle was to be built, a tent covered with skins, exactly according to the pattern God gave. God came down from heaven to dwell (live) among men. God dwelt among the people and His glory filled the Tabernacle. The people saw His glory. What a picture of things to come…
Many people followed Jesus. They were called disciples, that is, people who learn from a teacher. Out of his disciples, Jesus chose twelve men and called them apostles.
Jesus was teaching in the region of Caesarea Philippi. On this particular day, as he frequently did, he went off by himself to pray. His disciples found him and he asked them, "Who do men say that I am?" Simon Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
This story, which appears only in Mark and Matthew, is also known as the miracle of the seven loaves and fish, as the Gospel of Matthew refers to seven loaves and a few small fish used by Jesus to feed a multitude.
Jesus has had a long, tiring day. When evening comes, he says to the disciples: “Let us cross to the other shore,” which is across from the area of Capernaum
John the Baptist was a contemporary of Christ who was known for evangelization and his baptizing of Jesus Christ.
John began public ministry around 30 AD, and was known for attracting large crowds across the province of Judaea and around the Jordan River.
John Capistrano was born in 1386. His education was thorough. His talents and success were great. When he was 26 he was made governor of Perugia. Imprisoned after a battle against the Malatestas, he resolved to change his way of life completely. At the age of 30 he entered the Franciscan novitiate and was ordained a priest four years later.
John Capistrano was born in 1386. His education was thorough. His talents and success were great. When he was 26 he was made governor of Perugia. Imprisoned after a battle against the Malatestas, he resolved to change his way of life completely. At the age of 30 he entered the Franciscan novitiate and was ordained a priest four years later.
Are you a leader or a follower? When Jesus met Simon, he recognized his leadership qualities. But he knew that Simon would need help. Jesus began by giving Simon a new name. He called him Peter, which means “rock.” Later, Jesus told Peter that he was to be the rock on which Jesus would build his Church.
Are you a leader or a follower? When Jesus met Simon, he recognized his leadership qualities. But he knew that Simon would need help. Jesus began by giving Simon a new name. He called him Peter, which means “rock.” Later, Jesus told Peter that he was to be the rock on which Jesus would build his Church.
Are you a leader or a follower? When Jesus met Simon, he recognized his leadership qualities. But he knew that Simon would need help. Jesus began by giving Simon a new name. He called him Peter, which means “rock.” Later, Jesus told Peter that he was to be the rock on which Jesus would build his Church.
Are you a leader or a follower? When Jesus met Simon, he recognized his leadership qualities. But he knew that Simon would need help. Jesus began by giving Simon a new name. He called him Peter, which means “rock.” Later, Jesus told Peter that he was to be the rock on which Jesus would build his Church.
He is one of the best loved of all the boy saints in the Catholic Church. Saint Pancratius was martyred at the age of fourteen. By way of a gift, one of the Popes in the seventh century sent one of his relics to England. There, to this very day, English Catholics — who call him Saint Pancras — love and venerate this heroic Christian martyr.
When Saint Norbert was thirty years of age, he was thrown half dead from his horse, and on recovering his senses, resolved upon a new life. After a severe and searching preparation, he was ordained priest, and began to expose the abuses of his Order. Silenced at first by a local council, he obtained the Pope’s sanction and preached penance to listening crowds in France and the Netherlands.
Due to his miraculous life and the testimony of miracles, Saint Nicholas is the patron of children, of travelers, of those seeking husbands, and of many other causes.
Saint Mary Of Egypt was an Egyptian who went to Alexandria when she was twelve and lived as an actress and courtesan for seventeen years. She was brought to the realization of her evil life before an icon of the Blessed Virgin, and at Mary's direction, went to the desert east of Palestine, where she lived as a hermitess for forty-seven years, not seeing a single human being and beset by all kinds of temptations, which were mitigated by her prayers to the Blessed Virgin. She was discovered about 430 by a holy man named Zosimus, who was impressed by her spiritual knowledge and wisdom. He saw her the following Lent, but when he returned, he found her dead and buried her. When he returned to his monastery near the Jordan, he told the brethren what had happened and the story spread.
St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. Martin was the illegitimate son to a Spanish gentlemen and a freed slave from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. At a young age, Martin's father abandoned him, his mother and his younger sister, leaving Martin to grow up in deep poverty. After spending just two years in primary school, Martin was placed with a barber/surgeon where he would learn to cut hair and the medical arts. As Martin grew older, he experienced a great deal of ridicule for being of mixed-race. In Peru, by law, all descendants of African or Indians were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. Martin, who spent long hours in prayer, found his only way into the community he longed for was to ask the Dominicans of Holy Rosary Priory in Lima to accept him as a volunteer who performed the most menial tasks in the monastery. In return, he would be allowed to wear the habit and live within the religious community. When Martin was 15, he asked for admission into the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima and was received as a servant boy and eventually was moved up to the church officer in charge of distributing money to deserving poor.
St Martha of Bethany was a virgin and was born sometime in the 1st century. Her brother, Lazarus, was also a saint. With her sister Mary and brother, Lazarus, Martha often had Jesus as a guest in her home at Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem.
St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his mother Mary was the Virgin Mary's cousin. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.
As a young 17th-century Frenchman, Saint John had everything going for him: scholarly bent, good looks, noble family background, money, refined upbringing. At the early age of 11, he received the tonsure and started preparation for the priesthood, to which he was ordained at 27. He seemed assured then of a life of dignified ease and a high position in the Church.
But God had other plans for him, which were gradually revealed to him in the next several years...
St. Thomas was born a Jew and was called to be one of the twelve Apostles. His birth and death dates are unknown. He lived before the formal establishment of the Catholic Church but is recognized as the patron saint of architects.
St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master. Thomas' unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday earned him the title of "doubting Thomas."
This James is the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. James was one of the favored three who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and the agony in Gethsemani.
The Apostle John is traditionally considered the author also of three New Testament letters and the Book of Revelation.
According to the Gospel, Matthew was working at a collection booth in Capernaum when Christ came to him and asked, "Follow me." With this simple call, Matthew became a disciple of Christ.
Archbishop and "the First Martyr of Canterbury." He was born in 953 and became a monk in the Deerhurst Monastery in Gloucester, England, asking after a few years to become a hermit. He received permission for this vocation and retired to a small hut near Somerset, England. In 984 Elphege assumed the role of abbot of the abbey of Bath, founded by St. Dunstan and by his own efforts. Many of his disciples from Somerset joined him at Bath. In that same year, Elphege succeeded Ethelwold as bishop of Winchester. He served there for two decades, famed for his care of the poor and for his own austere life. King Aethelred the Unready used his abilities in 994, sending him to mediate with invading Danes. The Danish chieftain Anlaf converted to Christianity as a result of his meetings with Elphege, although he and the other chief, Swein, demanded tribute from the Anglo-Saxons of the region. Anlaf vowed never to lead his troops against Britain again. In 1005 Elphege became the successor to Aleric as the archbishop of Canterbury, receiving the pallium in Rome from Pope John XVIII. He returned to England in time to be captured by the Danes pillaging the southern regions. The Danes besieged Canterbury and took Elphege captive. The ransom for his release was about three thousand pounds and went unpaid. Elphege refused to give the Danes that much, an act which infuriated them. He was hit with an ax and then beaten to death. Revered as a martyr, Elphege's remains were placed in St. Paul's Church in London. The body, moved to Canterbury in 1023, was discovered to be incorrupt in 1105. Relics of St. Elphege are also in Bath, Glastonbury, Ramsey, Reading, Durham, Yorkminster and in Westminster Abbey. His emblem is an ax, and he is depicted in his pontifical vestments or as a shepherd defending his flock.
Born wealthy. Studied law but left it for the priesthood. Restored a ruined hospital where he tended the sick and gave legal advice for free. When he discovered that the hospital had fallen into disrepair because its funding had been misappropriated, he successfully sued the bishop of Chiusi, Italy for return of the funds; the bishop had him killed by paid hitmen.
Ivo of Chartres was born in or near Chartres circa 1040 to a family of relatively low social status. He is claimed to have studied first in Paris, then in Abbey of Bec in Normandy where, according to the often unreliable Robert of Torigni, he studied under Lanfranc along with St. Anselm of Canterbury.
Not much is known of him until some time after he was admitted to the Roman Catholic clergy. His first benefice was at Nesle in Picardy. In 1067 Bishop Gui asked him to become the abbot of the new Augustinian house of St. Quentin at Beauvais. Ivo was skeptical of religious excess and always stressed moderation in practice. He remained at St. Quentin for twenty years and established himself as one of the best teachers in France.
St. Gomer was an 8th century Germanic knight who is said to have had infinite patience. While Gomer was meek and pious, his wife was overbearing and ruthless. St. Gomer is the patron saint of henpecked husbands.
When Hortense decided to marry Laurent Cousin in Pibrac, France, it was not out of love for his infant daughter. Germaine was everything Hortense despised. Weak and ill, the girl had also been born with a right hand that was deformed and paralyzed. Hortense replaced the love that Germaine has lost when her mother died with cruelty and abuse.
Laurent, who had a weak character, pretended not to notice that Germaine had been given so little food that she had learned to crawl in order to get to the dog's dish. He wasn't there to protect her when Hortense left Germaine in a drain while she cared for chickens -- and forgot her for three days. He didn't even interfere when Hortense poured boiling water on Germaine's legs...
Saint Francis Borgia grew up in an important family in 16th-century Spain, serving in the imperial court and quickly advancing in his career. But a series of events—including the death of his beloved wife—made Francis Borgia rethink his priorities. He gave up public life, gave away his possessions, and joined the new and little-known Society of Jesus.
The story begins as Jesus and his disciples travel from Jerusalem in the south to Galilee in the north. To make their journey shorter, they take the quickest route, through Samaria. Tired and thirsty, Jesus sat by Jacob's well while his disciples went to to buy food. It was about noon, the hottest part of the day, and a Samaritan woman came to the well at this inconvenient time to draw water.
Blessed Joan of Aza was born around 1140 in the Old Castile region of Spain. She was known for both her beauty and her piety, and she made a fortunate match when she married into the faith-filled family of Felix de Guzman of Calaroga.
Joan had two grown sons a daughter and when she found herself praying for another child to fill her arms. While on retreat, Joan had a dream of a black and white dog carrying a torch in his mouth. When she shared this dream with her spiritual director, he suggested that this meant that the child she carried would grow to become the watchdog of the Church. Domini canes. She named this son Dominic....
Humbert, of Avigliana, Italy, succeeded his father as Count of Savoy, France at an early age, having received his education and spiritual formation from a saint, the bishop Amadeus of Lausanne. While serving as the married sovereign of Savoy, Humbert continued his life of deep piety. Following his wife's death, he withdrew to the Lake Geneva monastery of Aulpes. But his courtiers insisted that for the good of Savoy he should return and re-marry. Humbert acceded to their entreaties, and his second wife gave birth to his first child, Agnes. Tragedy again struck the Savoy household when shortly before Agnes' wedding both she and her mother died. After marrying a third time and having a son, Humbert withdrew to the monastery of Hautecombe, France, living there in great humility and self-denial. Acounts of his final years vary, with some asserting he died at Hautecombe, and others claiming he died at Chambery while defending Savoy from an invading army. Less than three centuries later, the descendants of Humbert, of the Savoy lineage, became the custodians of the Shroud of Turin.
Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew - born Ana García Manzanas - was a Spanish Roman Catholic professed religious and a professed member from the Discalced Carmelites. Manzanas was also known for being a companion to Saint Teresa of Ávila and she led the establishment of new monasteries in France and the Lowlands.
Having refused to marry at 15, Clare was moved by the dynamic preaching of Francis. He became her lifelong friend and spiritual guide.
At 18, Clare escaped from her father’s home one night, was met on the road by friars carrying torches.