Usccb Clips

Virginia Farris of the USCCB's Office of International Justice & Peace discusses some of current religious freedom challenges around the world.

The marriage crisis in the United States will deepen if we don’t do something to help, and JP DeGance knows how. In honor of National Marriage Week, part 2 of our interview with him dives deeper into concrete ways parishes are helping couples to stay together. Speaking of families in crisis, our second segment (19:45) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the greatest movie ever made: The Godfather. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/02/11/made-for-love-ep-83-marriage-enrichment-part-2-plus-the-godfather/

JP DeGance knows how parishes can help married couples stay together. His organization Communio proved it in Jacksonville, where the divorce rate dropped 28%, largely as a result of their work. As part of our ongoing series leading up to National Marriage Week, JP tells us how to enrich marriages, no matter how stable they are, which in turn strengthens the Church. There was definitely a lot to cover, so this is part one of that interview, with the second part coming in our next episode. After that, Kara (along with her baby daughter!) joins to talk about West Side Story, both the 1961 classic and the 2021 Steven Spielberg-directed remake... which might actually be better? Both versions have a bit to say about the call to love; not all of it's great, but it's definitely worth reflecting on. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/01/28/made-for-love-ep-82-endgame-marriage-enrichment-and-west-side-story/

Joseph Capizzi of the Catholic University of America discusses the importance of religious freedom for the common good.

Marriage prep varies widely from place to place. The marriage catechumenate is changing the way formation works for couples as they prepare to live out their life in Christ together. This responds to a call from Pope Francis, echoing JPII, in reforming sacramental catechesis. Richard Budd from the Diocese of Lansing is here to help explain what that means, how the kerygma plays into it, and how some practical angles usually go overlooked. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2022/01/14/made-for-love-ep-81-the-marriage-catechumenate/

Professor Chris Kaczor discusses what human dignity is and why it matters.

Lucia Luzondo of the Person and Identity Project weighs in on aspects impacting Hispanic/Latino family life. Kara joins to talk about Pixar’s film Coco (28:00) which definitely did not make us cry multiple times. Topics covered include: ideological colonization, machismo vs. manhood, abuelita shoe combat, loving family across generations, rethinking “parents just don’t understand” narratives. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/12/17/made-for-love-ep-80-hispanic-family-life-and-coco/

Struggles with body image don’t get a lot of attention in our culture, but Dr. John Acquaviva is here to help with that. He walks us through the ways which JPII’s Theology of the Body catecheses and scripture can resolve those struggles so they don’t stand in the way of loving relationships. Then, Kara rejoins (29:48) for the second half of our coverage of C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/12/03/made-for-love-ep-79-body-image-plus-the-great-divorce-part-2/

The vaunted birds and the bees talk. April Readlinger of CanaVox offers tips to make it easier to have successful conversations with your son or daughter about sex. Later (29:47), Kara joins for part 1 of our chat about C.S. Lewis’s novel The Great Divorce. Topics covered include: the obliviousness of teenage boys, how the love of neighbor relates to the meaning of all human life, and Sonny Corleone. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/11/19/made-for-love-ep-78-having-the-talk-plus-the-great-divorce-part-1/

Emmanuel Arenas, S.J., joins Mary and Aaron to talk about the martyrdom of Bl. Miguel Pro and how all of us can be witnesses to Christ the king.

Ann Koshute and Kimberly Henkel of Springs in the Desert wrap up our discussion on infertility, then we pit Beauty and the Beast against Shrek (21:10) on the occasion of their 30th and 20th anniversaries respectively. Topics covered include: deep-fried Shrek memes, love and appearances, postmodernism, and surprise weddings. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/11/05/made-for-love-ep-77-infertility-part-2-plus-beauty-and-the-beast-vs-shrek/

Katherine Clifton and Todd Scribner join the podcast to talk about the role of religion and refugee resettlement, and to share stories from refugees about their experiences with religious persecution and settling in the United States.

Kimberly Henkel and Ann Koshute of Springs in the Desert join us to talk about their ministry to those who experience infertility. We had a lot to talk about, so the conversation will pick back up next episode. Later in this episode (21:05) Kara joins to talk about the surprisingly fun and encouraging I'm Your Man, a new German film about a robot husband. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/10/22/made-for-love-ep-76-infertility-and-relationships-part-1/

We're back with lots more Lord of the Rings and its significance for fantasy and family! First, the founder of Tea with Tolkien joins us to share her mission of spreading the author's wisdom and world. Then, Kara joins to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film release of Fellowship of the Ring. Topics covered include: the Immaculate Conception, Frodo paying off his student loans, Tom Bombadil's divisiveness, and trees. Lots of trees. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/10/08/ep-75-fantasy-and-family/

Kara and Andrew go on a journey with Sir Gawain to see if he’s up to the Green Knight’s challenge. Honestly, though, traveling with Bilbo or Frodo would be a more enjoyable experience. Topics include: Memento Mori, humanity’s relationship with nature, talking foxes, and random giants. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/09/24/made-for-love-ep-74-the-green-knight-vs-lord-of-the-rings/

The USCCB's Alexandra Carroll talks with Mary and Aaron about the recent initiative Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics.

Our journey through Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love concludes with the book’s author, Dr. Edward Sri! Join us as he gives the inside scoop on the book’s background and where it leads. Topics covered include: doing it for the gram, the scourge of event maybes, Jesus is enough, and the point of virtue is to give us the freedom to love. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/09/10/made-for-love-ep-73-edward-sri-wraps-up-mwml/

Is religious freedom merely a pretext for Christians to discriminate against persons who identify as LGBT? Dr. Angela Franks works through this question with Mary and Aaron.

We had too much to say about When Harry Met Sally! We’re back with the second part of our chat about this endlessly entertaining, and at least somewhat edifying, look at relationships. Topics include: Gerald Ford, 80’s hair, the disputed nature of “chick flicks”, and the applicable ideas from Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/08/27/made-for-love-ep-72-when-harry-met-sally-part-2/

We finish up our two-part interview with Eden Invitation’s Anna Carter BUT we also start another multi-parter with the first of (at least) two episodes on When Harry Met Sally, the classic romcom from 1989. Seriously, we had way too much to say about this movie, even more than we thought going in. Episode Notes: https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2021/08/13/made-for-love-ep-71-attraction-and-discordance-plus-when-harry-met-sally/