E100 - Giving Glory To God With Excellence

E100 - Giving Glory To God With Excellence

The papal prayer intention for June 2026 is for the value of sports.  In a video [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y67w203p7BM] describing his hopes for the fruits this month's prayers will bear, Pope Leo XIV said that “In times of war and extreme polarization, sport is one of the few things that bring us closer together. (...) Let us pray this June that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations, and that it may promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.” Participation and investment in sports, just as the spiritual life, requires discipline and fortitude.  Sports provide an opportunity to honor and respect fellow competitors, as we ought to do in our regular lives with the people around us.  Fr Pat Conroy SJ joins Nicholas to talk about the dignity of competition, the personal growth that it can inspire, and how we can give glory to God in our pursuit of excellence. From the Vatican's official announcement of June's monthly prayer intention [https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-06/pope-s-june-prayer-intention-for-the-values-of-sports-2026.html]: Founded in 1844 as the Apostleship of Prayer, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network [https://www.popesprayer.va/] is a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus.  In December 2020, Pope Francis established this Pontifical Work as a Vatican Foundation and approved its final statutes in July 2024.  It is present in over 92 countries, forming a spiritual community of more than 22 million people who seek to live each day with availability to God’s mission.  At the center of its mission are the monthly prayer intentions of the Pope, inviting its members to focus on the pressing challenges facing humanity and the Church’s mission.

E99 - Lord, Hear My Cry

Within the Psalms, we find the full expression of the human experience.  Whether it be gladness and joy or despair and anger, anything one might feel we can find in the Psalms.  One of the main themes in this portion of scripture is that of lament.  When we find ourselves in times of lament, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.  As Catholics, we understand that God meets us in our suffering and can provide the healing and grace that we desperately need.  In Fr. Victor's book, "Lord, Hear My Cry", he addresses this universal sensation and shows us a path forward that can make our times of desolation fruitful.

E98 - Mental Health and Faith

Whether due to biology or personal experience, we can feel challenged by the way we process our own thoughts and how they inform our views on how we interact with the world around us.  We must constantly contend with societal and personal expectations and alarm about the future, and our understanding of God's love for us can become fragile.   In this latest installment of our conversations from the 2026 Diocese of Helena Eucharistic Congress, Nicholas talks to Catherine DiNuzzo LPC and Deacon Dave DiNuzzo about their charisms of mental health support awareness rooted in Catholic teaching. For more information on Catherine and Dave's work, visit sacredheartmentalwellness.com [https://www.sacredheartmentalwellness.com].

E97 - For The Common Good

When we build a responsible, responsive world that follows Christ's teachings, how do we ensure that the people He most sought to lift up - the poor, the prisoner, the stranger - have a place and voice in society?  For those who fall through the cracks or find themselves in difficult situations, it can be hard to feel the presence of God or know where to turn.  We hear messages of charity and consolation at Mass, but how do we bring the light of the Eucharist into the chaos of daily life, especially when daily life is complex or bleak? Following our discussion with Fr. Mark Hoelsken about the foundations of Catholic social teaching, Nicholas sits down with Lisa Davey of Common Good Missoula, who shares the work done by Common Good Missoula and other advocacy groups, and explores the work yet to be done in order to create more equitable and compassionate communities.

E96 - Catholic Social Teaching

As Catholics we trust in our priests, bishops, cardinals, and Holy Father to act as our shepherds.  We look to them for guidance when faced with the questions of the world.  How do we live a life based in the Gospel?  In what ways can we, as the children of God, seek to sanctify our lives?  Many of those answers can be found in Holy Scripture, the words of the saints, and the dictums laid out in our Social Teachings.  Fr. Mark Hoelsken joins Nicholas to discuss some of the foundational ideas that make up this vital subject.