Research reveals that people who lose weight using GLP-1 medications like Ozempic face more social judgment than those who lose weight through diet and exercise or those who don't lose weight at all, creating a 'double bind' where individuals are judged both for their weight and for how they choose to manage it. This hidden social cost is often overlooked in discussions about these medications' medical benefits.
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Why the Truth About Weight Loss Drugs is Surprising Scientists | Morning Joy (Portrait)
Added:It's time for Morning Joy, where truth matters. Produced by the Guadalupe Radio Network with headlines from the Catholic World, prayer and Bible meditations, fascinating and informative guests, and even a Catholic trivia game for you to play. We're traveling with you together on the road to holiness today. Now, here's the host of Morning Joy, Nick Deator.
>> Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator.
And good morning. Good morning indeed.
Let's make it a good morning by choice, by choosing joy, by choosing uh to be instruments of the Lord today. And let's let's find new ways to do that and to discover joy. this morning together.
Special welcome if you're joining across terrestrial radio uh in our nation or uh or perhaps digitally online. Maybe you're watching Morning Joy this morning. And uh the the beautiful and loving efforts of producer Tim are not going to waste because they are falling upon your eyes. Uh it is so good that you are here, that we are here, regardless of how it is you found yourself here. This is Wednesday, July 15th, the memorial of St. Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the church. I want to invite you this morning to to pray the evangelist with me. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
>> Amen.
>> The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, >> and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
>> Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
>> Behold the handmade of the Lord, >> be it done unto me according to thy word.
>> Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
>> Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
>> And the word was made flesh, >> and dwelt among us. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
>> Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
>> Pray for us, oh holy mother of God, >> that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
>> Let us pray.
Forth we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ thy son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross be brought to the glory of his resurrection through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
>> In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. This is going to be a very interesting morning of morning joy. Of course, they all are, but today is going to be really cool. In the second hour of Morning Joy, uh we're going to talk about why audio dramas are great generally and why there's one in particular that you might enjoy. Uh Madison VanFrank from the Augustine Institute will be joining us in the second hour for this discussion. later this hour on Sunday to Sunday featuring Stephanie Aquilla. We'll be preparing for Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Brown Scapular. Her feast day is coming up soon and Stephanie's going to be helping us to prepare for it. And then at 15 minutes after the hour, Debbie Georgiani and Sai Kelllet will be pulling the inside file on the dark side of weight loss drugs like Ompic.
Yeah, it's not exactly what you would think. So this is going to be as I said now you understand why a very interesting morning of morning joy.
Let's go now to Dave Vasher as the president of Annunciation Radio and his word of the day. Dave, what's today's word of the day?
>> Our word for today is reveal taken from the Gospel of Matthewap 11. At that time Jesus exclaimed. I want to stop before I even go any further. This is a conversation that we are privy to between Jesus and his father.
The intimacy, the love between the two, the great respect and admiration between the two is made so clear here and our invitation to be a part of that is also made clear. So as I read this very short passage from the gospel of Matthew, see and sense the love between the son and the father. At that time Jesus exclaimed, "I give to you, I give praise to you, father, lord of heaven and earth. For although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my father. No one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son and anyone to whom the son wishes to reveal him.
one, we see this great revelation of the love that the son has for the father and the intimacy of the father to the son and through him to us, right? But there's also something else that's shown us in this scripture verse as well. For although Jesus says, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. What is the Lord Jesus saying to us? An academic study is not going to do it. Not that a collection of information is a bad thing. No, a collection of good information is a very good thing. But it is the moving of the spirit, brothers and sisters. It is the movement of God within us that brings about this true revelation of the father through the son through the indwelling of the holy spirit living within us who has come to reveal both the father and the son to us. That isn't an academic study. That is an encounter. When we encounter the Lord God, that's when we truly get to know him. We can know all kinds of things about him. I can know all kinds of things about a lot of people, but it doesn't mean that I know them. I must encounter them first.
That's how I learn about my wife. That's how I learn about my children. That's how I learn about my neighbor is through encounter, through conversation, through a dialogue, right? So that I can uncover, they can uncover their hearts to me. I can uncover my heart to them.
It's such a a wonderful gift that we have as human beings that we can participate in this with one another.
But what a high calling that the Lord God has called us to participate in this with him. He's already said, "I know everything about you. I know your thoughts before you even have them. I know you better than you know yourself."
And then this one who created us says to us, "Now, let me reveal myself to you. I want you to know me. And Jesus says it is a gift that the Lord God gives us out of his desire for us. The heavenly father out of his desire to be in relationship with us reveals himself to us. We see some of it in the language that is used between Jesus and his father while he was here on earth with us. And so much more of that revelation comes through as the Holy Spirit stirs this revelation up in our hearts and minds as we give him permission to do and as we give our ascent to him to please let us know more about the father. Let us know more about the son. Our simple yes to that opens that door so that we may become more intimate with the go with God our father through the death of his son Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the holy spirit through our baptism reveal our word for today.
>> Thank you so much Dave for bringing us that beautiful word of the day. You're listening to morning joy where truth matters. I'm your host Nick Deator.
Let's go now to Bailey Garland and the Guadalupe Radio Network News Brief for the latest headlines. Bailey, over to you.
>> This is your Guadalupe radio network news brief for Wednesday, July 15th.
The Society of St. Pius I 10th or the SPX has filed an appeal with the Vatican against the decree that declared the traditionalist group in schism with the Catholic Church for consecrating four bishops without papal authorization.
According to a statement from the society whose members are known as the Lefveris, the appeal was submitted to the Diccastaster for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 11th, just nine days after the group was declared to be in schism.
According to the National Catholic Register, the appeal follows a letter that the Lefveris addressed to Pope Leo I 14th published on July 3rd in which they reject the excommunications decreed by the Vatican after the illicit consecration of the four new bishops, measures they called objectively unjust and invalid. The SSPX statement published on July 13th says that through this appeal, the society wishes to exercise the right that the church recognizes for any person who considers himself harmed by an administrative act to request its rectification in a spirit of respect toward ecclesiastical authority and of the faithful adherence to justice, truth, and the good of the church.
David Willie, a Catholic BBC correspondent, died from heart failure on July 11th in Italy at the age of 93.
During his over 50-year career, Willie witnessed dramatic technological changes both to journalism and to the Vatican's own operations and communication. The journalist told EWTN news in February that through the five papacies during his life, he witnessed a complete revolution so that the people saw the pope much more as a personality rather than in a hierarchical sense. During the pontificate of St. John Paul II, Willie joined the Polish Pope on at least 40 of his international trips, nearly half of the jet setting pope's total apostolic journeys. Willie continued to be active into his 90s, including writing a final reflection on the Vatican following Pope Francis's death in April of 2025.
Judges around the country have seen a rise in threats of violence and intimidation. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barren told lawmakers Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. During a rare appearance by justices before Congress, she and Justice Elena Kagan testified before a House Appropriations Panel in support of a request to increase security funding for members of the nation's highest court, marking the first time justices have testified before Congress since 2019.
The Supreme Court requested a total of $228 million for next fiscal year, a roughly 10% increase over the year before. Much of the requested increase would go to expanding personal protection for justices.
As of Tuesday, July 14th, over 1,600 lab confirmed cases linked to a US outbreak of cycllosporasis have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC. The number is up by more than 800 cases from its last update a week ago. But the CDC said it is also aware of more than 5,100 additional cases that require further analysis and confirmation.
Cycllosporiasis is an intestinal infection that can be contracted by consuming food, typically raw fruits and vegetables, or water contaminated with feces. US health officials have not identified the source of contamination, and are tracing foods linked to cases through the supply chain, potentially to the farm level, using genetic sequencing where needed. According to Reuters, cases have now been reported across 34 states and have resulted in 141 hospitalizations as of July 13th. No deaths have been reported. This has been your Guadalupe Radio Network daily news brief. I'm Bailey Garland.
Thank you, Bailey, for bringing us those headlines. And you can catch more of Bailey this afternoon at 400 p.m.
Central, 5:00 p. p.m. Eastern on The Quest, our sister show. Uh and today uh she's going to be joined by Father Sam Medley of the Sultts community for a discussion about what it's uh what does it mean if we're too far away from the church? Are we too far from healing? Well, the answer would be no. But they're going to they're going to dive into all of that this afternoon at 400 p.m. Central, 5:00 p.m.
Eastern. Have your phones at the ready.
Uh and actually don't have your phone at the ready. Just kidding. It's pre-recorded. Uh, but it's going to be a very, very good conversation between Bailey and Father Sam Medley. 400 p.m.
Central, 5:00 p.m. Eastern on The Quest.
And let's go now to our morning joy Catholic trivia.
The Benedicting Order was founded centuries before the Franciscan, Dominican, and Jesuit orders. So, that's the answer to yesterday's question. It was the Benedicting Order. The prize this week is a limited edition Guadalupa Radio Network 25th anniversary t-shirt and hat. And if you want that t-shirt, that hat to be yours. All you got to do is answer the trivia question today and tomorrow and the day after. Every single day that you answer the trivia question, you get entered to win the prizes. So the question you need to answer today is the following.
What is called the source and summit of the Christian life? What is called the source and summit of the Christian life?
The options are prayer, the blessed virgin Mary, the book of Genesis, the eukarist.
Which of those is the source and summit of the Christian life? Prayer, the blessed virgin Mary, the book of Genesis, or the Eucharist? Submit your answer by visiting grnonline.com/joy.
Again, that's grnonline.com/joy.
And you know, right now you're actually listening to MorningJoy, where truth matters. And I'm your host, Nick Deator.
We're going now to a short radio break, but on the other side, it's going to be time for today's Inside File with Debbie Georgiani and Sai. Kelly about the uh well, you you'll see. It's going to be good.
This is Franciscan media's saint of the day for July 15th. Today we celebrate St. Bonaventure. As a boy, today's saint was cured of a serious illness through the prayers of Francis of Aisi.
Bonaventure went on to become a doctor of the church. One of the greatest theologians in church history and one of the most important and most beloved of Francis followers. Born in Italy in 1221, Bonaventure joined the Franciscans at age 22. His gift for learning was immediately evident. Sent to Paris for studies, within a decade he'd become master of the Franciscan school there.
Elected Franciscan minister general in 1257, Bonaventure guided the order back to a deeper love of the way of St. Francis by upholding the founders's ideals and spirit. Considered a second founder of the Franciscans, his official biography of St. Francis also became a unifying force. St. St. Bonaventure so united holiness and theological knowledge that he rose to the heights of mysticism while still functioning as an active preacher and teacher. To know him was to love him. To read him today enables us to meet a true Franciscan and a true gentleman. Bonaventure died in 1274 and was canonized in 1482.
There's more about the saints along with inspiration and Catholic resources at our website of theday.org.
from Franciscan Media. This has been Saint of the Day.
Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator.
And unless you've been living under a rock, you know that uh in society as of late in recent years, there's a new there's a new very exciting kind of instant gratification way to uh get that beach bod before or now during the summer. But it doesn't just have to be that. It could also be about health. But there are some downsides and some of them would be less obvious. Let's get into this now on today's Inside File with Debbie Georgiani and Sai Kelllet.
>> Well, thank you so much for joining us on the Inside File, where faith meets the facts. I'm Debbie Georgiani with Sai Kelllet. And Sai brought this Science Daily article to us. It's posted in the show notes. And oh boy oh boy, does it get my blood pressure going. Sai, I'm going to let you lead so I can just h just calm down a bit.
>> Well, this article from the headline, have you ever you ever get an article where you're like that? Well, the headline made me think it was going to go one direction and then I read it. It went a different direction. Uh, from Science Daily, uh, the dark side of weight loss drugs, ompic's surprising hidden cost. Okay.
Where I thought this was going was they were going to be like, uh, it has some kind of side effect that nobody has talked about. Like I thought, okay, what's the dark side of this? Everybody keeps talking about how health how these drugs are miracle drugs. Oh, I'm gonna want to know the dark side of it. No, this is this is what it says. GLP1 weight loss drugs like Ompic and WGOI are often celebrated as gamechanging solutions, but new research reveals a surprising social twist. People who lose weight using these medications may actually face more judgment than those who lose weight through diet and exercise or even those who don't lose weight at all. The stigma seems rooted in a perception that these drugs are quote an easy way out end quote creating a double bind where individuals are judged both for their weight and for how they choose to manage it. So the hidden cost is people judge you if you take uh ozic.
>> Wow. Okay. So that's why my blood pressure is skyhigh. Okay. I can see I can always see it when you're Let me take a breath. Take a breath, Debbie. I can see it on your face.
>> Yeah. Go ahead.
>> Okay. So, why are we Listen, first of all, there's a lot of side effects to these drugs, right? They've come out and said that they they have some residual effects that can be very damaging to certain organs, certain things in the body. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Ompic and everything. I just I just read a whole whole thing on it. And and so if if somebody is willing to take that chance to lose the weight, maybe they've struggled their whole life. They were what you call a yo-yo diet or whatever.
You know, I'll give you a great example.
Oprah Winfrey, okay? She went up and down, you know, you know, 50, 100 pounds up and down her whole entire life. And so then once somebody loses the weight and keeps it off, they think, "Oh, they must have had surgery, you know, um they must had some kind of surgery or they went on one of these fast weight loss drugs, which by the way, Ompic and and these other ones are you the some of the side effects is you can because you're losing so quickly the weight, you can uh deplete yourself of a lot of minerals in your body. So you could start losing um you know your hair could start falling out, it could start thinning, all sorts of things that that happen as a as a result of taking these these quick uh weight loss drugs. But if somebody has tried everything and they are and and knowing that all the side effects and they are still willing to do it and they have accomplished it and they've lost the weight, why are we being so jealous and envious of their weight loss? I mean, that is absurd. How cruel to do to people. And I'll tell you why I say this.
>> When I went through div uh my divorce, I I t Okay, I tend to be a very uh small framed person. So, my my normal my normal fighting weight is about 120 lbs.
Okay, that's where I I sit well at that for my my particular 5'3 frame. Okay.
But when I went through a divorce, I lost about 15 lbs from the stress.
Okay. And I had friends who were so jealous that I lost weight after a divorce and and they were and they were and the envious tone to their to their conversations with me, they would say, "You're getting too thin. You're going to be anorexic. you're get. I mean, and to this day, it still rings in my head how instead of just making sure I looked healthy, I felt good, I was trying to cope through a very serious situation, they were picking on the way I looked.
Now, let's flip that to today to today.
I have been through serious health issues and a lot of of of drugs and treatment that I have to go through. I am carrying way more weight than my body can handle because of all of this. And I have people all the time say, "Wow, can't you get back to the way you used to look?" And I What do I have to do?
Give a whole entire, you know, dissertation that I've been through seven years. Yeah.
It's It's crazy. Why can't people accept people for where they're at or where they're trying to to to be at and and and support them and try to learn what made them do that? Like I wouldn't advise Ozic or any of these other quick weight loss drugs because of the side effects. But if somebody's going to do it and they've gotten through it and they're they're still, you know, healthy, I'd be like, you know, kudos to you. You tried everything. You did this.
You know, well done. You're at a place where you can feel like you can do more.
You can get you can function. You have more energy. Why can't we support one another rather than tear each other apart? It drives me crazy. Okay, there you go. I said it.
>> Yeah. Well, I'm going to make your blood boil even more because as you >> No, because here's the deal. People judge people that take OMIC or Wiggoia or these other things and like just as we just said. But here's where it gets even worse. If the person gains the weight back, >> oh yeah, >> people then uh uh people are mean about the weight coming back. Like I knew it wasn't going to work. Like they they are mean to people like >> Yeah.
>> Uh the researchers also examine a common situation among people who stop using GLP1 medication. Many discontinue treatment due to cost, insurance limits or side effects. And when they stop, weight regain is common. And the study found that this scenario also carries social consequence. Participants viewed individuals who regained weight more negatively than those who lost weight and maintained it. You cannot win in this situation like th this is a hopeless situation. Um there's a lot of stigma tied to weight regain one of the study uh authors said and that doesn't seem to depend much on how the weight was lost in the first place. So I I this is infuriating. I gotta say I also had an an argument with a good Catholic, a very good Catholic about this is um that to take these weight loss drugs is not virtuous because virtue is when we learn to control our passions and because this is a shortcut this is not virtuous. I think that that is a crazy argument. Like that is a total misunderstanding of virtue. Uh the idea that that the if you ever take the easy way on anything >> that that's a lack of virtue on your part, especially when maybe this is something that's a real struggle for you. And you know, nobody knows what it's like to be in somebody else's body, what their metabolism is like, what their uh upbringing was like, their health, their health situation.
>> The Exactly. They they don't know you don't know anything about what it's like to be another person.
>> So, but to say, well, you know what, the virtuous path is to just struggle through and learn to control your passions.
>> Okay.
>> Go. Sorry. Go.
>> So, then yes. No, this same person that you were talking to who's a Catholic, a faithful Catholic, I think you said, um, they would have a problem with weight loss surgery then too.
>> I think that I my feeling is Okay. So, what do you think of the person who has chronic depression and takes an anti-depressant?
What do you think of the person who has psychosis and takes an antiscychotic?
What do you think like you you can not everybody can I mean sometimes depression is is is deadly but um but if you know a certain level of depression you can muscle through it you can uh control your p you does the fact that the person is living in anguish not mean anything to you like I like at what point do you go >> no there's different like I I think if someone's taking cocaine to feel better about the fact that they're they've you know they're having you know they they've done bad things. Okay, clearly there's a virtue problem here. That's a that's a lack of virtue. But if if if weight loss is an unbearable especially like I I think of the person who's like okay here's the mom who just had her second or third kid or something and she's actually extremely busy and under a tremendous amount of stress and everything is stacked against her as far as and you know maybe the spouse isn't helpful. the spouse keeps a lot of ice cream and cookies in the house and and this so let me uh get into the the experience of this person. You could go, you know what, control your passions.
Learn to control your passions. Or you could go, this is a crazy hard situation that this mom is in. Leave her alone.
>> She she just leave her alone. Nobody needs your judgment on this. Well, you're you're so spot on because I've read a lot about this because I actually had a few friends go through um a weight loss surgery um where where they really struggled their whole life. They came from a a a family that had this issue um many generations, okay? And so they struggled with it. Um and and they would go up and down, up and down. And as they got older and they went through change of life and you know menopause and things of that nature, it was harder and harder and they were losing their ability to function well. And so their kids were noticing that their grandkids.
So they opted for a weight loss surgery and their life came back. They were able to be at the soccer games and to be there as a as a grandparent. It was beautiful. But a but they but they fell under a lot of crit criticism because people said, "Oh, you just had the money to do it, so you you took the easy way out." but they struggled, you know, they they had this in their family their whole life. And and so I think you've got to really walk with that particular person. You can't just throw everybody in the same bucket. You see people that are overweight or obese and you just say, "Oh, they are they lack discipline.
Oh, they believe me when I tell you I have a lot of discipline in eating. I'm a clean eater. I've been a vegetarian my whole life." But when you have health situations that are the underlying factor of things, it's really tough. And so, right, um, you know, you don't want somebody to to criticize you if you opt for some kind of medication or or a medical, uh, supervised medically supervised weight loss program. You don't want people to criticize. I'd love to hear what what people in our in our chats, the the Morning Joy listeners in the chats, what they have to say. You can always email us morningjoy grnonline.com, but put your opinions in the chats about this because I think this is really cruel. I just do because I don't think we take the time to really to really um and yeah and let's try to find some joy in this situation. Let's try to boost people up, encourage people to be the best they can be. S I've got you and I have so much more to say on this, but we're going to run out of time for this segment. So, let's hold it there and we'll come back for part two of this OMIC surprising hidden cost.
>> You're listening to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host Nick Deator and this uh this conversation on the inside file. It's very timely. The the use of a of GLP1s is very common today and a lot of what we talk about here on Morning Joy is precisely like that. It's relevant in your life. We're looking for reasons for joy in the midst of it and we're finding them every single morning.
And the reason for our joy is the truth with a capital T. It's our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. I want to invite you to tell one friend about morning joy today.
Invite them to listen or watch. We'll see you on the other side of this break.
>> This is Levvenia Spiritto for Catholic way Bible study. In the Gospel of John, Jesus accompanies his mother to a wedding at Kaa in Galilee. At that time and place, a wedding celebration lasted several days. But early in the celebration, disaster strikes. They run out of wine. Mary, ever sensitive to others needs, sees the problem and asks her son to do something. Confident that he will do what is needed, she tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
And is proved right. Jesus performs his first public miracle and turns water into wine. Not just any wine, but an excellent vintage, bringing honor to his hosts and saving the day. Even now, Mary is telling us to do whatever Jesus tells you. Even now, she points and directs us to her son. Even now, we have a mother in heaven who watches over us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
>> Catholic Way Bible Study, peace, power, purpose. Find out more at cwbs.org.
>> This is John Ho with Corporate Travel, a proud sponsor of the amazing content on the Guadalupe Radio Network. The Good News Conference is in Nashville, Tennessee this Labor Day on September 4th through the 6th. There will be talks by Bishop Robert Baron of Word on Fire, Father Mike Schmidz from Bible in a Year, Sister Miriam James Hyland of the Salt Order, and actor Mark Wahlberg.
We'll also enjoy a concert with Michael W. Smith. You can visit our website at goodnewsconference.com or grnonline.com.
Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator. This morning on today's Inside File, we're in the middle of this conversation between Debbie Georgiani and Sai Kelllet about the dark side of weight loss drugs like Osmpic, GLP-1s. And uh it's it's not what you would assume. It's really not about uh you know medical dark side. It's it's about the social influence, the impacts that it has on your social life. And Debbie was sharing very beautifully, very vulnerably uh her own story uh coming out of her divorce and some of the ways that she was judged or critiqued. Uh and I really appreciate you being so vulnerable, Debbie. Let's get back into this story uh between Debbie and Sai. We are back on the inside file where faith meets the facts and this is the uh the dark side of weight loss drugs ompic surprising hidden costs and it actually talks about how people can just really be awful to one another and criticize and just just super judgmental on where how a person got to that place of weight loss and I think it's terrible and actually s I have to tell you and you don't have to mention the person's name and I wouldn't want you to but it kind of bothers me that this person had that kind of attitude that you that you were talking to. I'm just curious. I'm just curious about this. Was this person a male or female in the Catholic faith?
>> I don't want to say Debbie, but it wasn't a female.
>> Okay. Because because well, because women tend to be very cruel to other women and they can be very jealous and they can be very critical. But see, that bothers me that a Catholic, a strong Catholic who's probably a leader in ministry and things of that nature would have that kind of come from when they don't understand. I'm a life coach, okay? And when we work with people, you get to learn their whole history, their come from, and you can really tailor a plan and help them with to live their best life with with passion and purpose.
But if you just throw everybody into the same bucket, oh, they're undisiplined, they don't have the the virtues, they they're not they're not doing the the right path, that's really not fair to do. You can't do that in this day and age. And I'm living proof of it. I'm living proof of it because I've been through a health situation and everybody thought, "Oh, she must have just gained weight through going through menopause or something." No, I gained weight because I was on heavy doses of steroids for many years.
>> Yeah.
>> So, it's it's it's really it's it's very it's very hurtful because life is hard enough. You don't need >> Exactly.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Life is hard enough. Leave people alone. That's what like stop stop with all that like I I one of the great things about Jesus Debbie is you've almost never and I think it comes close to never I I have to would have to go through the gospels read them again with this in mind but expresses an opinion he tell he gives you commands he gives instructions he tells you how things are because he's God but he never goes you know I really like u uh fish better than lamb you know you never get and I think he's giving us an example of that that most of the time your opinion is valuable to exactly one person and that's where it should stay with that person like just stop with all the opinions >> and uh as I give my opinion uh on on this I I have heard >> let me can I tell you another side effect of this on people who don't take these drugs two years ago >> I lost 35 pounds on weight watchers and I because >> you shouldn't have gone to watchers you should have done it all by yourself and you should have had to do it all by yourself.
>> It It was It wasn't uh I don't I Weight Watchers was great for me. It worked really well.
>> I I think Weight Watchers is fabulous.
>> Eat this, don't eat that. I needed somebody to do that. So, I lost 35 pounds on it. And my my goal was like 50. So, I missed the goal by like 15 pounds. But before I But uh well, I had to have then I had you know what happened, Debbie? had a life situation that was very stressful to me and I took a break and I never I never went back from the break. So I got to now I'm like next time don't take a break no matter what. Don't but here's a consequence >> but it doesn't make you weak or you're not holy enough or that is such >> I am weak but I that's that's I don't I I'm not in in the business of of judging myself about these things either as as as if I can avoid it. But this is what I did Deb. I'm going to confess to you something I've never confessed to anybody.
>> Uh >> oh.
>> While I'm losing the weight, I know people were looking at me and going, "I wonder how he's losing the weight."
>> So, I talked about Weight Watchers constantly. I was constantly like, "I'm on Weight Watchers." Like, because I I didn't want people judging me like I was like I was doing methamphetamine or something. So, I now I look back on them, I'm like, "What are you doing, you Who cares what people think?" And I that is how I speak to myself a lot. A lot of times my my morning conversation is what are you doing you And I I don't know if that's healthy or not. But I don't think there is even the slightest thing wrong with people who really struggle in this area. Uh if uh if they do it in a now now people have to make judgments like you said about other side effects and all that. Um, but I I just don't think there's any pro there's no moral problem with this.
There's no virtue problem with this. Um, I think it's just a normal There's been an advance in medicine. We live in a time of incredible plenty that most people can't handle properly.
>> Um, eating is one of the ways we can't handle the plenty that we live in, you know. Uh, and these help people get over it.
>> Yeah. Well, you know, I I I gained a a just a new appreciation for people that really struggle with morbid obesity when you see these um real um these programs on TV um where they where they journey with somebody who has gotten to a place of like 300 400 lb and you know and then the doctors come in and try to do the surgeries on them and you know my heart breaks for them because you can if you hear their story they've tried they've worked they've gone to Weight Watchers they've done all that stuff. They get to a point either what by age or by their um by their life circumstances or the isolation that they feel from being so heavy or something of that nature that pushes them deeper into eating as comfort. And so they're in this cycle that is my heart just breaks. And you can see these on these programs. Um and and and it's and yeah, there are times that people are just maybe a little bit undisiplined or lazy where they, you know, they could cook a a good meal, instead they go through through the fast food and that's not healthy. But for the most part, I think people really want to be in a good place physically for the most part because we're not, you know, who who wants to be confined to your bed all day long and can't get out of your bed, you know, because you you're, you know, 500 lb overweight or or whatever.
>> But I will I will just say this though.
You know what concerns me is that you know when you have a health situation and you go to the doctors and they give you a treatment plan and the first thing they say to you is just expect to gain a lot of weight because that's a side effect of how we have to treat this. So do you either want to have this you know autoimmune disease get out of control or this cancer be a problem or you know the weight gain. You have to struggle with that. You come out of there really saying well what do I want to do? I mean, it's and you try your hardest, but often times often times it's out of your control, especially if there's a health situation or a thyroid issue or something of that nature. I just think we have to be we have to be kind with one another and just and really look at the circumstances for that particular individual and just stop putting everybody in the same category. Oh, they must be, you know, they're they're overweight because they just let themselves go. I I I don't I don't like that at all. Final comments, Sai.
>> Um I I don't I I I don't I don't know what to say except stop.
>> Stop.
>> Stop it. Stop it.
>> Stop it.
>> You know, that's like that's like our our classic conclusion to everything, me and Debbie. Stop it.
>> Stop doing that. So I it, you know, there's there's it's a time of tremendous change as far as biotechnology and all that. we're gonna have to make very clear distinctions because some of stuff is tremendously immoral. So when you come across one that you just don't like or you want you feel just let it go that we save the energy for the things that are truly immoral. Uh and we'll fight those and we'll all be on the same side then.
>> And don't be jealous, don't be envious, you know, just be happy for somebody else if they're trying trying to live their best life in a good way. Right. I I think I think that's Yeah. Okay. This was um I'm glad you brought it to the table and I'm sure that our our listeners of Morning Joy are going to have a lot to say in the show notes. So, I can't wait to jump on over to YouTube and Facebook and we'll catch the rest of Morning Joy.
>> Thank you so much Debbie and Sai for today's inside file. Very important stuff. And uh you know uh Ozmpic may melt away the pounds, but the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the only prescription that guarantees you'll never lose your soul. And uh you know, coming up after this next break, we're we're going to be join I can't believe I just did that. I'm sorry.
We're we're going to be talking to Stephanie Aquilla uh about the preparing for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Uh and she's going to share with us about the brown scapular. So be looking forward to that. on the other side of this break. I'll tell you what, I sure am. Uh I I think I think the be the brown scapular devotion is a beautiful devotion that more people should know about. And so uh we're gonna get into this with Stephanie Aquilla on today's edition of Sunday to Sunday for Wellness Wednesday. Stick around for more morning joy.
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>> Hi, I'm Father Mike Driscoll and I am excited to be co-hosting this spirit world along with Debbie Georgiani. Every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Central, 11:00 a.m. Eastern, we are exploring the strange and wonderful world of angels, demons, saints, mystical experiences, miracles, sacraments, and even our own souls and relationships. Call in, ask us your questions, and tell us your stories. I'm Father Mike Driscoll, and I can't wait to hear from you on the spirit world.
>> Do you have some major decisions to make in your life? Are you feeling lost and alone? Not sure what path to take? Life coaching just may be the right option for you. Whether it's to practice accountability or create a better plan that works for you in life, we are here to serve with Christ always at the center.
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Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator. One of the many ways that the Catholic faith can make you a more joyful person is if you're living lurggically. If you're following the lurggical calendar, if you're allowing it to be the rhythm of your life, blessed be God. What a gift. And uh speaking of gifts and speaking of lurggical living today on wellness Wednesday, we are blessed to have with us uh this morning Stephanie Aquilla for Sunday to Sunday. Stephanie, welcome to Morning Joy. How are you today?
>> Good morning. I'm doing great. How are you guys doing?
>> Incredible. Absolutely amazing. And uh even better now that you've joined us because I want to learn more about the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. and I want to learn more about the brown scapular. So, Stephanie, please help us out. What's what's what's all this about?
>> Okay, I am so excited about this because it's been a longstanding tradition in my life personally. I picked it up when I was in my 20s and I think that it is a great hidden tradition of the church because you really aren't seeing people do it, right? It's one of those silent devotions that you pick up. Um, I remember, like I said, in my early 20s, um, I fell in love with St. Terz of Lassou, like many young women do. And I think it was because she was a Carmelite. And that Carmelaite spirituality was so attractive to me.
And I remember thinking, what can I do as a young woman in college to be more like her to really kind of set myself apart and give myself to Christ in a way that I hadn't before?
And when I stumbled upon the brown scapular, which is uh stems from our lady of Mount Carmel and and her that Marian apparition of her giving that to St. Simon Stalk. I thought this is this is the way this is the physical reminder that I need to feel like I'm offering myself daily to our Lord in a way that no one would know, right? Like just between me and him.
>> Wow. That that's that's really beautiful. So let can we go a little bit even even deeper and even more basic level? Like when you talk about being attracted to Carmelite spirituality, do can you build that out for us a little bit? Like what is Carmelaite spirituality? I'm I'm trying to stand in here for the viewer or listener out there that's like, I don't know what any of this means.
>> Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the Order of Caramel is is totally not my personality, which is a little more talkative and kind of outgoing and a little more like up in the up at the front, right? But it's really this spirituality that is just rooted in silent prayer in the hidden life. Um in a in a way of offering God our work and our day, our prayer, everything that we can, like I said, in a more in a more silent way. A lot of you don't meet a lot of Carmealites. A lot of them are cloistered. Um St. Terz of Lassou, you never really saw her out in the community, right? like some of the other religious orders, Dominicans, some Franciscans. And so in that way, we're kind of offering Mary, we're imitating them, right, as lay faithful in our ordinary day by offering God um through our lady's intercession, our works, our sufferings, our prayers, our efforts, and making all of those things holy, right? Like that le the ley we can be holy and we can be saints. And I think sometimes we forget that.
>> Well, it's really easy to forget that, isn't it? So, I I think what you're talking about is so important because we can so readily forget that. We so often do forget that. I forget that sometimes.
So, uh Stephanie, this is this is some beautiful stuff. Can you give us like a practical example of of making the work you're doing holy?
>> Yeah. So, you know, when I started wearing the scapular, you feel it on your body, right? and it's worn under your clothes. And to me, that was the physical itch, that physical reminder that hey, this this moment, whether I'm doing the dishes or if you're a parent and and parenting is hard and it's exhausting and you wonder if you're doing it right, you know, that physical reminder that's laying on your chest is that that call, right? that this moment can be used for my holiness, for the holiness of my family, um, and for the glory of God. Right? That even a small act like I said like doing the dishes can be an act of praise towards our Lord. Not every lurggical living thing has to be an exterior event or experience to partake in. Like the the devotional life of the church is a way into that as well.
>> Wow. Okay. So, talk to us a little bit about the scapular. What what's the you were talking about? Okay. It's there. I feel it on my chest. It's itchy, but but what is it that it's reminding us of?
And you know, and and I'll share with you from from my perspective. I I think it's it's easy to maybe do the brown scapular wrong. Uh because because I think it can also create some superstition uh or or not that not that it can, but like people might have a propensity to.
So to share with us a little bit more about the scapular, >> right? Okay. So, and I totally agree. I was going to bring that up as well cuz I've seen this happen this kind of superstitious talisman like I don't know me mentality right so just really short like in 1251 our lady appeared to St. Simon Sttock who was a Carmelite prior general and she handed him the brown scapular and said this shall be a privilege for you and all Carmelites that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire. And that line so the the the scapular gets opened up to the ley and that line really gets misinterpreted by some Catholics, right?
That all I have to do is put this on, it's like my lucky charm and I will not go to hell. But that's not at all, it's not this like spiritual insurance, right, that like just put it on and you're good to go. It's like any other sacramental. It's an invitation to dispose your heart to God, right? So that the scapular becomes a means of you growing in holiness. It's just like a wedding ring. The wedding ring doesn't make me married.
>> It's the vows that I took that make me married. Right? And the wedding ring is a great comparison.
>> Yeah. A symbol of that. So similar similar idea.
>> That's beautiful. Okay. So, uh maybe somebody's hearing this and and they're like, "Okay, this I can get on board with that." Is there is there any kind of a right of passage or ritual you need to go through to start wearing a brown scapular?
>> Absolutely. Yeah. So, if you say you want to start doing this, um go buy one, take it to your local priest. All right.
U and tell him that you want to be invested in the brown scapular. Now again, this is a commitment. It's not something to be worn lightly. It's a devotion that you are desiring to choose. And so when he's available, you'll go. They'll there will be a very simple ceremony with prayers and blessings. But the obligation is that you will wear it continuously.
um that you will observe a life of chastity according to your state, married or single, and that you will recite one of the following, either the little office or you will say a rosary once a day or you will um abstain from meat apart from Friday again on Wednesday and Saturday. So there are and it's kind of one or the other, but you will take on some sort of obligation that this is becoming going to become a way of life. Beautiful.
Uh when you when you mentioned there passingly the little office, say more about that.
>> So the little office, I'm not going to lie, that is not one of the prayers that I have chosen. So you're putting me to the test. I I say a rosary every day.
That's and the little office is is not something that was personally like introduced to me. And so when I went and when I got invested in the brown scapular, I asked the priest cuz you you can ask them for permission to do one or the other. I asked for permission to say the rosary. That was like a close devotion to my heart and something that I felt was like attainable to me. And so, um, yeah, I would recommend that like you kind of look into those when you go into wearing the brown scapular so that you can really discern like what is going to be the best path of prayer and like commitment to wearing this.
>> Okay. Beautiful. So, as we're approaching the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, uh, what are some things that we can be doing to prepare for it?
Uh, and then to to live it out and celebrate it well.
>> Yeah. So it's tomorrow and that's why I wanted to get you ready for this so that you can consider this right that um I would first recommend the brown scapular. I think that it has done so much in my life personally just as a reminder to as you know a lay woman to be holy but also praying the rosary. I think it's also great to read about some of the Carmelite saints like St. Terz of Lassu or John of the Cross um you know asking our lady to imitate her. Yes.
Like some of these are just daily reminders in just our ordinary life that um we can belong to Christ, right? That these devotional uh traditions are prompts like I'm saying like these questions or these small acts that they're worth doing. You know, sometimes like the lurggical year can be written off as something like for kids, but really it's there to enhance your walk, your daily walk with Christ. and taking that moment to not doom scroll on your phone. You know that 30 minutes to be like, okay, I'm going to look into the scapular or I'm going to look into that Carmelite saint or man, I really need to do this thing in my house that I haven't done and maybe I can offer that up as like an act of suffering for God, right?
>> Yeah, that that's really beautiful. I love the idea cuz I actually uh often will go on a walk when I'm at the office and and I do find myself kind of sucked into the phone screen and scrolling and it's like that's a beautiful occasion for prayer. Uh and and so I think that that's a powerful encouragement. And so, uh, between today and tomorrow, your your invitation is to get a brown scapular. Um, find a priest, be invested into the order of the brown scapular, and uh, and you know, we have 24 hours, so what if what if that feels overwhelming? What do we do?
>> I was going to say the clock is ticking.
>> I'm just kidding. But no, no. I mean, this is something that like with many lurggical things like that are not specifically something to be done on that exact day. This is a prompt. It's an invitation, right? That the feast day is tomorrow. And what you can do is open your phone and look into this tradition a little bit more. Spend some time in prayer and discern like, is this good for me? Because look, there are a lot of devotions in the church and we're not in any way obligated to do even more than one of them, right? Like we can really pick one and lock into it. This is another option. And so over the next week or so, perhaps that's something if you feel called to it that you can arrange or that you can invite someone else into if you're already wearing it.
like maybe this is an opportunity to share that with somebody that you think might benefit from it and then take those steps.
>> Excellent, Stephanie. Really appreciate you bringing this to us today and and alerting us to tomorrow's feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and uh and the encouragement and and kind of the explanation of the brown scapular. It's been really helpful, really fruitful.
I've I've benefited from from hearing what you had to say today. I really appreciate it. Uh, and uh, let's let's follow up on on Stephanie's encouragement to to make those little moments throughout the day occasions of prayer instead of doom scrolling or or just laborious work can can become occasions of holiness. So, thank you Stephanie so much.
>> Absolutely. Thanks so much.
>> And uh, today is a great opportunity to to try something new. Try something new on this on this day of of a wellness Wednesday. Stephanie's encouragement can help us to be more well by by connecting to our Lord. And so let's do that with our lady's help leading into tomorrow's feast day. You're listening to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator. Stick with us because after the break, we're going to have a great second hour lined up for you, >> spreading the splendor of truth.
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>> Hi, Julie Carrick here, host of We Sing Our Faith, sharing the music and ministry of many of today's Catholic recording artists. I am delighted to be the host of this weekly program on Saturday mornings at 9:00 Central time.
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Saturday mornings at 9:00 Central here on the Guadalupe Radio Network.
God's word is so different kinds of soil. And as Christians, we want to be the rich soil. And I think rich soil means being really open to receive God's word in our hearts. I think it means turning often to uh that word in order to guide us and comfort us and strengthen us. I think that it means being disciplined to turn to God's word on a regular basis in prayer. St. Francis of Aizi found God's word to be absolutely transformative. At one point in the midst of his conversion uh he heard on the feast of St. Matias the gospel of Matthew challenging the apostles to go out into the world proclaiming the kingdom and to do so really simply without extra tunics and walking sticks and so forth. Francis felt like this set the course of his life and set the course for his community. And he desired that his men would wander out into the world proclaiming God's kingdom and inviting the world to come to the healing and mercy of of Christ. So my brothers and sisters, um are you striving to be good soil, rich soil?
Are you willing to pray with the scriptures every day? Do you believe that God the father wants to say a word to you every day as his beloved child through the sacred scriptures 2 minutes to virtue is a production of the Catholic Dascese of Arlington Virginia.
For more information visit their website arlingtonascese.org.
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It's time for Morning Joy, where truth matters. Produced by the Guadalupe Radio Network with headlines from the Catholic world, prayer and Bible meditations, fascinating and informative guests, and even a Catholic trivia game for you to play. We're traveling with you together on the road to holiness today. Now, here's the host of Morning Joy, Nick Deator.
>> Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator. In the first hour of Morning Joy, which we just concluded, uh we had a fantastic inside file with Debbie Georgiani and Sai Kelllet where they discussed uh the dark side of weight loss drugs like Ozmpic GLP1s and the dark side is is not exactly what you would think. they got into uh some of the social attacks, some of the the ways in which people can be uh uncharitably critical of of people as they are navigating their weight loss journeys. And uh it was a really important conversation that went even beyond just the topic of Ozempic and things like that, but even just charity generally and and being less critical of the people around us. Uh you never know what it is that they are suffering or not. So it was very valuable, I think.
And and then on the Sunday to Sunday segment, uh Stephanie Aquilla uh prepared us for tomorrow's feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. And she shared with us about the brown scapular, which maybe you've heard of, maybe you even wear one. Uh but if you don't and you've never heard of it, it was a great conversation that a lot of people even in the live chat were saying was very beneficial to understand uh the brown scapular. And so I thought the way that Stephanie prepared us for tomorrow's feast day and explained the Brown Scapular was really helpful. It was a great first hour. Really good stuff. And uh here in the second hour, we're not finished yet. It's going to be good. We we're going to talk about why audio dramas are great generally and and why there's one in particular that you might enjoy. And we're going to be bringing on for that discussion Madison VanFrank from the Augustine Institute. Uh she so she'll be joining us for that conversation. Before we get into all of the goodness, truth, and beauty, all of the joy that awaits us here in the second hour, I want to invite you on this Wednesday, July 15th, memorial of St. Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the church, I want to invite you to pray with me this morning. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Oh Jesus, through the immaculate heart of Mary, we offer you our prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this in union with the holy sacrifice of the mass throughout the world. We offer them for all the intentions of your sacred heart, the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin, the reunion of Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month. And we pray all of this in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Keeping us informed every morning, we turn to the Guadalupe radio network news brief with Bailey Garland. Bailey, catch us up to speed. What's been going on in the world?
>> This is your Guadalupe radio network news brief for Wednesday, July 15th.
The Society of St. Pas I the 10th or the SSPX has filed an appeal with the Vatican against the decree that declared the traditionalist group in schism with the Catholic Church for consecrating four bishops without papal authorization.
According to a statement from the society whose members are known as the lefris. The appeal was submitted to the diccastry for the doctrine of the faith on July 11th just 9 days after the group was declared to be in schism. According to the National Catholic Register, the appeal follows a letter that the Lefveris addressed to Pope Leo I 14th published on July 3rd in which they reject the excommunications decreed by the Vatican after the illicit consecration of the four new bishops, measures they called objectively unjust and invalid. The SSPX statement published on July 13th says that through this appeal, the society wishes to exercise the right that the church recognizes for any person who considers himself harmed by an administrative act to request its rectification in a spirit of respect toward ecclesiastical authority and of the faithful adherence to justice, truth, and the good of the church.
David Willie, a Catholic BBC correspondent, died from heart failure on July 11th in Italy at the age of 93.
During his over 50-year career, Willie witnessed dramatic technological changes both to journalism and to the Vatican's own operations and communication. The journalist told EWTN news in February that through the five papacies during his life, he witnessed a complete revolution so that the people saw the pope much more as a personality rather than in a hierarchical sense. During the pontificate of St. John Paul II, Willie joined the Polish Pope on at least 40 of his international trips, nearly half of the jet setting pope's total apostolic journeys. Willie continued to be active into his 90s, including writing a final reflection on the Vatican following Pope Francis's death in April of 2025.
Judges around the country have seen a rise in threats of violence and intimidation. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barren told lawmakers Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. During a rare appearance by justices before Congress, she and Justice Elena Kagan testified before a House Appropriations Panel in support of a request to increase security funding for members of the nation's highest court, marking the first time justices have testified before Congress since 2019.
The Supreme Court requested a total of $228 million for next fiscal year, a roughly 10% increase over the year before. Much of the requested increase would go to expanding personal protection for justices.
As of Tuesday, July 14th, over 1,600 lab confirmed cases linked to a US outbreak of cycllosporasis have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC. The number is up by more than 800 cases from its last update a week ago. But the CDC said it is also aware of more than 5,100 additional cases that require further analysis and confirmation.
Cycllosporasis is an intestinal infection that can be contracted by consuming food, typically raw fruits and vegetables, or water contaminated with feces. US health officials have not identified the source of contamination and are tracing foods linked to cases through the supply chain potentially to the farm level using genetic sequencing where needed. According to Reuters, cases have now been reported across 34 states and have resulted in 141 hospitalizations as of July 13th. No deaths have been reported. This has been your Guadalupe radio network daily news brief. I'm Bailey Garland.
>> Thank you, Bailey, for bringing us those headlines. And uh Bailey is also going to be joining us today for the online roundt um after our time on terrestrial radio. So looking forward to bringing Bailey on to Morning Joy today in just a little bit. Additionally, she'll be back in the afternoon for our sister show, The Quest, which airs at 400 p.m.
Central, 5:00 p.m. Eastern on the Guadalupe radio network. She'll be discussing with Father Sam Medley. Uh are you too far away from the church?
Are you too far from healing? Uh on the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene today, actually interesting. Um, you can join Bailey Garland and Father Sam Medley of the Salt Community for this uh, special pre-recorded episode as they discuss the truth of Christ's rejoining in our healing and conversion. Very important stuff. And again, she'll also be on here later on morning joy for the round table. Speaking of which, right now in this very moment, you're listening to or watching Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host Nick Deator and let's turn now to Dave Vashz, the president of Annunciation Radio for a reflection on the sacred scriptures of the day from the Holy Mass with his word of the day.
>> Our word for today is revealed taken from the Gospel of Matthew 11. At that time, Jesus exclaimed. I want to stop before I even go any further. This is a conversation that we are privy to between Jesus and his father.
The intimacy, the love between the two, the great respect and admiration between the two is made so clear here and our invitation to be a part of that is also made clear. So as I read this very short passage from the gospel of Matthew, see and sense the love between the son and the father. At that time Jesus exclaimed, I give to you, I give praise to you, father, lord of heaven and earth. For although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my father. No one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son and anyone to whom the son wishes to reveal him.
one, we see this great revelation of the love that the son has for the father and the intimacy of the father to the son and through him to us, right? But there's also something else that's shown us in this scripture verse as well. For although Jesus says, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. What is the Lord Jesus saying to us? An academic study is not going to do it. Not that a collection of information is a bad thing. No, a collection of good information is a very good thing. But it is the moving of the spirit, brothers and sisters. It is the movement of God within us that brings about this true revelation of the father through the son through the indwelling of the holy spirit living within us who has come to reveal both the father and the son to us. That isn't an academic study. That is an encounter. When we encounter the Lord God, that's when we truly get to know him. We can know all kinds of things about him. I can know all kinds of things about a lot of people, but it doesn't mean that I know them. I must encounter them first.
That's how I learn about my wife. That's how I learn about my children. That's how I learn about my neighbor is through encounter, through conversation, through a dialogue, right? So that I can uncover, they can uncover their hearts to me. I can uncover my heart to them.
It's such a a wonderful gift that we have as human beings that we can participate in this with one another.
But what a high calling that the Lord God has called us to participate in this with him. He's already said, "I know everything about you. I know your thoughts before you even have them. I know you better than you know yourself."
And then this one who created us says to us now let me reveal myself to you. I want you to know me. And Jesus says it is a gift that the Lord God gives us out of his desire for us. The heavenly father out of his desire to be in relationship with us reveals himself to us. We see some of it in the language that is used between Jesus and his father while he was here on earth with us. And so much more of that revelation comes through as the Holy Spirit stirs this revelation up in our hearts and minds as we give him permission to do and as we give our ascent to him to please let us know more about the father. Let us know more about the son. Our simple yes to that opens that door so that we may become more intimate with the go with God our father through the death of his son Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through our baptism reveal our word for today.
>> Thank you so much Dave for bringing us that beautiful word of the day today.
You're listening to Morning Joy where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator, and I think I'm gonna be nice.
I'm gonna be nice and I'm gonna give you another chance to win this week's Morning Joy Catholic Trivia Prize.
Every single time, every day rather, that you submit an answer to uh the Morning Joy Catholic Trivia, which you can do for free, by the way, uh you get another opportunity to get uh to become the winner of the prize this week. And so today I want to share with you that yesterday's answer to the trivia question is that St. Benedict, excuse me, the Benedicting Order was founded centuries before the Franciscan Dominican or Jesuit orders. So the answer to yesterday's question is the Benedicting Order. The prize this week is a limited edition Guadalupe Radio Network 25th anniversary t-shirt and hat. Now the question you need to answer today to have your chance uh at being uh becoming this triumphant winner this week is the following. What is called the source and summit of the Christian life? The options are prayer, the blessed virgin Mary, the book of Genesis or the Eucharist. Again, what is it that we refer to as the source and the summit of Christian life? prayer, blessed Virgin Mary, Book of Genesis, or the Eucharist. Submit your answer by visiting grnonline.com/joy.
Again, grnonline.com/joy to find th this morning's Catholic trivia question and be entered to win this week's Guadalupia Radio Network 25th anniversary t-shirt and hat, the prize for Catholic trivia this week.
You're listening to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host Nick Deator and uh we're going now to a short break, but on the other side we're going to be joined by Madison VanFrank, producer and talent coordinator for the Augustine Institute audio drama called Welcome to Hope Springs. Stick around with us for more joy this morning.
A popular objection to Jesus's resurrection is that it's merely a ripoff of pagan myths about resurrected deities. Should this be a cause of alarm? I don't think so. for a couple of reasons. First, Christians couldn't have copied from pagan myths because the idea of resurrection as a new embodied life after death was foreign to the pagan worldview. Recall how the Athenians scoffed at Paul's preaching on the resurrection in Acts 17. Second, the majority of the alleged parallels are bogus. The deities never really rise from the dead. The spirit of the Greek god Addis entered into a pine tree after his death. And the Egyptian god Osiris merely reigned as king of the underworld. So to my Christian friends, no need to fret. Our belief in Jesus's resurrection didn't come from pagan myths. I'm Carlo Brussard with a ready reason for Catholic Answers.
Catholic.com.
>> Do you know that there are 1.8 8 million Catholic US military service members and 330,000 are deployed. They need priests to father them wherever they're stationed worldwide. Yet, there are only a few hundred Catholic chaplain. Can you say a Hail Mary for military chapency vocations? Visit marc.org to learn about ministry to US service members, veterans, their families, and to this nation. God bless you and may God bless America.
Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator. And in this day and age with 4K televisions and 4K phone screens and the Doom scroll and all of the different sources of video and visual stimulation generally, it's easy to forget that there are other ways to enjoy entertainment and to be uh imaginative. Um, and I I really appreciate that we are as a as a Catholic faith uh we are still uh leveraging some of these different mediums uh to to reach people in different ways. And that's why I'm excited this morning to bring on Madison VanFrank, producer and talent coordinator for the Augustine Institute audio drama. Welcome to Hope Springs.
Madison, welcome to Morning Joy. How are you today?
>> I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really really excited to be here.
>> Absolutely. And uh you know I I think it's it's pretty fun to me. Uh you know you might expect for audio drama stuff that uh you might get someone that's like I don't know older involved in in you know the production of that. And you know you look like you're freshly minted out of college. Uh and so you know share with us what what got you in your youth uh in your youthfulness like what got you into this type of entertainment production?
>> Yeah, thanks so much for asking. That's a really great question. Um growing up I was involved in theater from a really young age. Uh my parents put me in my first theater camp when I was I think six years old. Um, and I just really fell in love with um, theatricality and the power of storytelling. And I just loved uh, being on stage and being a part of different productions. And fast forward through my life, I do theater all through high school and college. I graduate right before um, the CO 19 pandemic. Um, and I enter kind of my first job at a professional theater. the pandemic happens and um to long story short, I ended up sort of taking a step back from theater and immersing myself in the world of Catholic content. So I was watching um productions on formed and that's kind of how I stumbled onto the Augustine Institute and um the different video productions there. But I also discovered audio drama productions on formed and I was like what is this? I had heard of audio drama before. I had listened to some probably growing up and I always loved hearing stories out loud when my parents would read to me or um those kinds of things, but I started listening to these Catholic audio dramas and I just fell in love with the with this art form with this mode of storytelling and I was like, "Wow, this is um helping to make my faith come alive by immersing myself in these dramas about St. Francis and Jonavar and um St. Patrick. Um this whole library that's written by Paul McCusker. Um fast forward again, I applied to the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology and I'm working part-time for the Augustine Institute Studios while I'm getting my MERS. Um, and then after I graduate, I'm asked to stay on full-time and help produce um, Welcome to Hope Springs, which is adding on to this already existing library of audio drama content um, that Paul has written for the Augustine Institute. And now we're doing this really exciting thing and creating um, this audio drama series with multiple episodes for children and their families. Um so that's I think the very condensed version. There's you know lots of different um aspects to my journey but I first and foremost fell in love with theater and then yeah just wound up by the grace of God um working on this amazing um project.
>> That is a really cool story. Uh, and uh, I'm curious when you when you say that you stumbled upon the audio dramas uh, that you did early on in this progression, what was it that drew you into that? You mentioned that that it was really interesting to you that that it kind of grabbed you, but what what about it was grabbing to you?
I think just the fact that I could listen to this story and hear all of these different voices of actors and the music and the sound effects. It just created this um this movie in my mind and I loved that I got to like actively participate in imagining the story. Um I mean the production value of these dramas was just so high quality. Um, the actors were amazing and it was so well written. Um, and I don't know, I just was I was drawn into all of the different elements that are involved in audio drama that really help a story come to life. But I loved that I could close my eyes and like lay down and listen or I could be going on a walk and listening or I could be driving around and just having this story take place in my mind and through my ears. Um I just think it's a really unique art form. Um and especially in this day day and age like you mentioned we are constantly looking at screens. Like I'm at I'm at my laptop all day at work. So, you know, it's just a really nice way to take a break from screens, but still be entertained, have your mind um actively engaged in in a story. Um yeah, it's just a great unique form of entertainment that I I just fell in love with.
>> Yeah. And and in this era, one thing that people are doing more is listening to audio books. And what you're talking about with these audio dramas, uh, it takes the whole principle of what an audio book is kind of achieving and it takes it even further because you get the musical score, you get the sound effects, you get these different elements that actually create a whole uh, you know, soundsscape for you and and it and it does kind of like pull you into this and and you get to visualize it as you're saying. I've only listened to one audio drama. That's not true. Two audio dramas and they they were both phenomenal experiences. Uh one of which was one of the ones that that you uh mentioned earlier, the St. Patrick one is is absolutely phenomenal. Um and can be kind of intense actually. Uh so um I remember I was in the car with someone that we were listening to it on a road trip and they got legitimately a little bit shaken by it because it was so well done. So I I definitely agree with you.
Um so your role on uh this project, Welcome to Hope Springs, what what are your what are your kind of specific tasks and what are you trying to achieve with it?
>> Um great question. Yeah, I I am very involved with this project in a lot of different capacities. Um I am associate producer of the show and I'm also responsible for casting the show. Um, so I oversee the talent search and I I'm I've been finding all of the actors. Um, I help schedule the production. I work closely with Paul McCusker and just um supporting him as he writes the scripts and develops the show. Um, I also am honored to be one of the cast members myself. I voice um the role of Maddie Lee. She's the show host and your tour guide through Hope Springs, Colorado.
She kind of takes you through each and every episode um right at the top just recapping what happened before, teasing what's to come. Um so I kind of have my hand in a lot of different aspects of the production which is really fun. I've been learning a lot. Um Paul McCusker has been you know writing in this art form for decades. Um he's perhaps best well known for writing um Adventures and Odyssey and being a part of that children's radio program through Focus on the Family for many many years. Um he eventually converted to Catholicism and then came over to the Augustine Institute where he's been writing the featurelength dramas and now um this is sort of um this huge passion project that he's been developing and um working on um for many years. Um, so I've been working very closely with him and learning a lot just about audio drama production. Um, and then I also collaborate with our team of sound designers. Um, Dream Audio is our sound design team that helps bring this show to life. And then we have an original com like score composed by Jared D.
Pasqual who has just created this amazing lush soundsscape for the show.
Um, so I am involved in a lot of different ways and just working with all of those collaborators and it's been a true joy.
>> That's beautiful. That it's a it's a really special thing to get so many human beings in this in this era of artificial intelligence to get so many human beings contributing to the creation of this art is is refreshing to say the least. Uh, you know, we're living in a time right now, as you know, Madison, that it is just harder and harder to find wholesome family entertainment, wholesome Catholic entertainment. And so, I very much, as a father and a husband, like I very much appreciate when um groups of of good, solid Catholics are are banding together to create great stuff. Not just like, oh, it's Catholic, so you should support it. It's like legitimately good stuff.
And so, I appreciate what you're doing, Madison. Um, and uh, where can people learn more about uh, this project?
>> Yeah. So, I'll just say Welcome to Hope Springs is first and foremost about families coming together and using their imaginations to encounter the wonders of the Catholic faith. So, it's a, like I've mentioned, a family audio drama series. It was created for kids ages 10 to 12. It follows their lives and adventures. Um, follows the lives and adventures of a few Colorado kids on an unforgettable journey of friendship and faith. Um, you can listen to this show pretty much anywhere you get your podcasts. Um, so we're on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. We're also on YouTube, Amazon Music, and Formed, which is the Catholic streaming platform. Um, brought to you by the Augustine Institute. Um, so you can find the show in all of those places. We released season one earlier this year in January. We just came out with season two in May and then we are hoping to release season three later this year in the fall. Um yeah, if you love just like good quality Catholic entertainment, um it's really a show about kids just being kids. Um and this group of kids, they get into a lot of a lot of different things. There's there's mystery, there's adventure, um there's slice of life, there's unexpected twists and turns and um lots of things about trains. If you love trains, it kind of centers around this old renovated train depot at the heart of the town. So, um yeah, it's just a really >> Yeah, it sounds amazing. I want to encourage people to learn more. You can visit hopes.org uh and uh all of those different platforms that Madison mentioned. Uh seems like you can find it there, but you can also find Morning Joy there, which we're actually broadcasting right now to almost all of those platforms.
You might even be watching right now on one of those platforms. Madison, I want to thank you for being with us. And uh the Holy Mass is coming up next on the radio, but if you join us for the online roundt, you'll find more great recommendations for Catholic stories uh to enjoy and share with your family. And we'll be joined by Bailey Garland uh for that roundt discussion. You can uh join us on those platforms. YouTube for example. Just type into the search bar GRN online. That's where you will find today's roundt discussion with Madison VanFrank and Bailey Garland and myself.
And I want to remind you my friends that today is the only day that's guaranteed to us. It's very well worth making it the best day ever. So before you go, I need you to know Jesus loves you. Peace.
>> This has been Morning Joy, where truth matters. Hosted by Nick Deator and produced by the Guadalupe Radio Network.
Take some joy with you today. Visit grnonline.com/joy to listen again. That's grnonline.com/joy.
Good morning, my friend. Welcome back to Morning Joy, where truth matters. I'm your host, Nick Deator, and uh what a phenomenal morning of Morning Joy. I mean, it's it's been great. It's been great. But I also value how excited you all get for the round table. And in the words of Sarah from Caris on YouTube, the online roundt where the magic really happens. And so this morning it is my truly thrilling to me to welcome on Bailey Garland and Madison VanFrank uh for today's round table discussion. Very excited about today's topic. It's I I think audio dramas are these types of productions are so unique and they're so special and I feel like they do not get enough attention. So I I love uh you know I know producer Tim just loves all things audio and so he's he's doing back flips backstage. Not literally he's you know that would be dangerous for the audio equipment but like it's it's really an important thing for us to navigate and I'm saying this having only experienced personally two audio dramas in my life. One was the St. Patrick one.
The other one was uh my sister-in-law actually was in an audio drama. It was like a murder mystery series. Uh and um that came out a few years ago. Um and so she she's an actress and so she was on there uh as one of the characters. But it it's a phenomenal medium uh for storytelling and and really experiencing stories in a powerful way. Uh so yeah, Bailey, I don't know how much of the segment you were able to listen to, but if you wanted to comment, I know you guys go back. You ladies go back. You were friends in college. Is that right?
>> We actually Yes. Madison, go ahead. You go ahead.
>> Actually, we weren't. We um >> Oh, >> you were you were fremies.
>> No, we we had um one of my classmates from graduate school at the Augustine Institute knew Bailey in college. Is that correct? Yeah.
>> And he reached out to both of us one day and was just like >> I I felt the Lord like telling me to connect to you too. Um, and so he connected us and we had this Zoom call and we just met and at the time Bailey was working for JP Catholic University and we just started having these conversations about Catholicism and the arts and um, I feel like we've developed this kind of friendship from afar even though we've never like met each other in person. Um, but yeah, I think yeah, just really been blessed to be asked to be on the show by her and yeah, it's it's been really fun.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
>> Sorry. Go ahead, Bailey.
>> That's okay. No, it's it was funny because we haven't really we we've never met in person. uh praise God for virtual uh you know means of communication and um yeah we've just been able to to connect on so many of the wonders of the faith and the richness of I think the new evangelization being able to share our faith through digital media. So that's been a super fun part of our connection points.
>> Yeah, that is really cool. I I have one friendship that manifested in a similar way. It was purely online. And it was during the COVID pandemic.
>> And uh we started I think we met on a a Facebook group for Catholic creatives and then we started marco poloing each other. Um >> Oh my gosh. Yes.
>> And we just like built up like this super deep friendship and we just like marco poloed each other all day every day during the pandemic and um we ended up collaborating on on uh on different like podcasting work and stuff that we were doing at the time. So it was really really cool and and you know obviously pandemic was awful but like >> thanks to technology you know some some cool things came out of it I think and and I think relationships is not the least of that. Um oh uh producer Tim wants me to identify it. What does Marco poloing mean? Well it's when you're in a swimming pool and you yell out Marco and the other person's like polo. Uh, no.
It's a it's an uh it's a platform like an it's an app that is kind of it works a little bit like texting, but you just send each other uh quick little videos.
Uh, and so I might send my wife a Marco Polo that's like, "Hey babe, I'm I'm on my way home from work. Do you want me to grab anything from the grocery store?"
And then she'll she'll Marco Polo me.
Hey, you're so handsome, Nick. I love you so much. And that's, you know, oh, and by the way, yeah, we need bread. You know, like it's so that's Marco Polo. Uh she I don't know I think that was a direct quote. So anyway uh so audio dramas. So you Bailey um in your time in in college you were an actress. You are an actress. You you're a voice talent as well here on the Guadalupa Radio Network. Have you had experience uh contributing to uh those types of projects? And um are you available now for Welcome to Hope Springs?
Um, yes, absolutely.
But, um, yes. So, it's funny because it's funny that you you say that because as I was listening to Madison's segment, I was like, "Oh my gosh." Yes. I just I I really was introduced late into the world of audio dramas. And truly, um, I don't think I've listened to many except for Hope Springs. I I love listening to it. And, um, I've listened to a few, uh, here and there. I've participated in some. Absolutely. I I was in college and um when we were in our voice class as part of our acting curriculum, I just loved it. Particularly, we would pull advertisements just right off. We just Google advertisement and read it. And I loved doing that. It was such a fun way that I felt like there was low pressure because I I had to deliver strictly with my my voice. And there might be some manipulations of the face. There might be some body movement, but I felt such a freedom and in the fun of being behind a microphone, just being able to play with my voice, my facials, and and certain things. And >> the the when you strip um the viewer of the image of the person, >> how I can be like the voice of a dog or I can be the voice of like, I don't know, some old lady cooking in a kitchen. It's like you can play with different um vocal patterns and inflections and I find it so fun. So when I was in college, um honestly probably illegally, I I took a script from uh of A Christmas Carol and well, I think that's in the public domain, but I you know, I don't know how I didn't know how rights worked and I took it and I just um asked my friends because I wanted to do something in in COVID to to practice my acting. And so I just really asked my friends who weren't even involved in acting um to blend their voices into an audio drama of A Christmas Carol. And I of course voiced a handful of the characters because I wanted to play um with my vocal patterns. I wanted to play with I wanted to be Scrooge. I wanted to be the ghost.
I wanted to be different of the main characters just for my own practice. But then I wanted to collaborate with my friends and get them involved because I so see the value of um theater and drama and using it as a a tool for growth as well and even spiritual formation and they were so excited. So I had people who had never done acting. one of my very best friends who's never stepped foot on the stage except maybe when we were in grade school and she voices the little Martha the daughter of the crumps or or the um what are the Cratchets and she's like I I did it. I'm so excited.
And so um I've done that. I've done um some other audio dramas at at JP Catholic um that I don't think have been published yet. Um I was Lois Lane I remember for my friend's Lego Superman.
cool >> thing that I don't even think I ever saw either. So, a lot of times with acting, you don't see like the fruit of your labor. Sometimes it's like, okay, they take it and and run with it. But, um, yeah, it's such a fun way to express yourself creatively.
It truly is. So, um, Madison, I'm sure you've done, have you done other works in in audio drama, or is Hope Springs like the cream of the crop for you?
>> Yeah, Hope Springs is the cream of the crop. It's really my first time performing in one, producing one, um, casting for one. So, I'm really in the school of audio drama right now. I like to say like I'm just constantly learning and there's a lot that like my background in theater has informed and like helped me in working on an audio drama, but they really are. There's so many differences that I've learned and casting for audio drama is completely different from casting for anything that's visual. Um because it's all in the voice and I've learned so much about like what does this actor's voice evoke?
What kind of character do you get the sense that they are just from their natural sound? And um yeah, so this is this has been my first and it's been um quite a journey and I've learned a ton.
Um, but now I just I mean it's all I want to do. I love it so much.
>> Okay. So, being that you're involved in casting, um, I'm curious, have you encountered anyone like I just had this image of, >> uh, there there are these clips on on YouTube that you can find of like Robin Williams when he was uh, recording for the Genie on Aladdin. Um, and and you see like these like they realized with him like we just need to let this guy do his thing, you know. Um, and I think the story with that was that like initially they were offput by it and then they were like no this this is kind of gold so like let's let it roll. Have you encountered any talents that are not yet like known uh out in the world as you've been doing your casting and stuff that you're kind of like it's in your back pocket like I have a secret weapon and I cannot wait to unleash this person into the world like have you encountered anyone that's been like man that person's going to do some stuff?
>> I mean yes. So our cast is mostly local to St. Louis. Um, when the Augustine Institute moved from Denver to um, St. Louis, we had to cast um, here in Missouri and I was like, I know nothing about the actors in Missouri. So, I I've learned a lot about the talent here and we've found some really amazing people.
I wouldn't say any of them are some of them might be fairly wellknown, especially in like the local theater scene here. Um, a lot of them do have really great credits out there, but I do think there's one or two of our kids that just have something special and I'm excited to see where their careers go someday. Um, I feel like they since we've recorded season 1 to now with three seasons under their belt, it's just been amazing to like watch them grow and come into their characters and learn how to voice act. And um yeah, there's one or two that I'm I'm thinking of who are who are pretty incredible.
And then we do have one of our adult actors I do think is kind of our secret weapon. He's um he plays uh Art Jameson um which is kind of this fun divisive character. People either love him or they can't stand him. but he um he's this incredible um comedic actor and just I think is the only actor in the studio that Paul allows to improv a little bit um and change up the lines from time to time and he sometimes just gives us some really fun variations that were totally unexpected. Um so that's been really fun. Um just working with new actors that I've only met because we moved out here and yeah, they've all been really great.
That's really cool. That's exactly the kind of answer I was wondering for.
Okay. But you're not So, what was what?
Uh, he plays Art.
>> Art Jameson.
>> Art Jameson. What's that actor's name?
>> Uh, Michael Shepard Jordan.
>> Okay.
>> It's okay that I I mentioned him. He's out there in the world. I mean, he's >> Yeah, the credits are out there, you know.
>> Um, but yeah, I do think it's no secret that um, yeah, our team really loves working with him and he's he's just really fun.
>> That's awesome. There's a one of my favorite depictions of creating audio drama because I just don't have a ton of experience in the world. I just have enjoyed the two that I mentioned. Uh and I want to I want to expand on that. Um maybe with the stuff that you guys are producing, of course. Um but other than like those two actual audio dramas, the only other exposure I have to audio drama is I think it's an old Gene Wilder movie maybe. Uh it's called Haunted Honeymoon and it's black and white. I think uh producer Tim is looking it up and basically like it's it's like this setup where it's an actor, a voice actor or whatever for an audio drama that like has to go on a honeymoon and it turns out to be a werewolf or something and and by the end of the movie you realize that the whole movie was an audio drama.
But um and so but like it's this whole studio like massive studio where every all of the sound effects everything's being produced in real time. So like as soon as there's thunder, you know that they're like moving this big metal sheet so that it creates like a thunderous sound and and just watching all of that happen in real time in those scenes that you see that it's super interesting.
Came out in 1986.
>> Wow. Year before I was born, which for the two of you means I'm really old.
>> Um There's some really retro like old audio drama radio theater productions out there on YouTube, but yeah, the Foley artist work like just making the sound effects. I have learned so much about that. I just thought it was like a plug and drop from like a library of pre-recorded sound effects, but really it's that's an art form in and of itself. Yeah. my first stepping in a um a Foley room with our um lead sound designer Nate Jones. He showed me all the different floor textures that they have, all the different sized shoes that they have, the sand, the doors, like he like listens to the show and like goes through each scene acting out what the characters are doing and recording the steps, recording the door slams, recording the doororknob twists. It's so detailed and so cool. And if you're like listening along and you're really paying attention, you can notice those like subtle details, but they're also supposed to be seamless and just part of the world. So they're not supposed to stick out in like a negative way or be like too jarring. Like they they become part of the actions of the characters.
And that's also something that makes it really immersive and like allows you to picture things in your mind. So it's super cool. I mean Foley is amazing. It is and there are there are YouTube videos uh where you can watch people do that work whether it's for audio drama or for movie productions. They do the same thing for movies. Um when you're watching a movie and you and you hear someone's footsteps, you're probably not hearing their real footsteps. You're probably hearing >> footsteps that were produced in one of these folly rooms. Um and uh I'm being scoffed at by Timote on YouTube for calling myself old, but then uh Sarah from Caris is affirming, no, Nick is indeed ancient. Um, Nick is my favorite boomer. I'm not a boomer. I am not a boomer. What in the world?
Anyway, uh um Okay, very good. So, what are you what are Tim is telling me backstage? Okay, boomer.
>> Literally.
>> Um >> well, I can jump in here, Nick, really quick.
>> Please. It's interesting because, you know, as I'm listening to this, I I remember I did a Foley roll back in like high school and I was actually an introduction into audio drama. We did like little radio productions at Christmas time and it was so fun because now looking back at it, not to like pull things out of thin air and be like this is how everything is Catholic, but just hitting the nail on the head, it's like there's such a pro-life element to Foley, I feel like, because you have to take into consideration the smallest intentional movements of the human person and the ripple effect of their action. It's like, okay, I what is the literal physical effect of this human being in this room? I mean, even um gosh, I being right here, it's it's um escaping me right now, but maybe one of you two can remember. Remember when you'd have to quiet the room and they would just everybody's in the room, but they have to uh with the boom mic, you have to pick up the what is that called?
>> Ambience. Room tone.
>> Room tone. Room tone. Yeah, room teeone.
That's what I'm thinking of. even that it's like the the presence of the people adds to the like in in a in a very legitimate way like the energy of the space not in like a hookie cookookie kind of way because we all carry that right and and so it's like okay our presence impacts this physical environment that we're in even to the slightest touch I mean I move my microphone and you hear it jive a little bit and so I just I find that really beautiful um and very pro-life I I just I do because it's like we have to really study the human person and honor them in order to get that right.
>> That's that's really interesting. I mean, maybe pro-human is what I would say. Uh and and to the fullest extent, >> well, I mean truly like if you think about the culture of death, it's like antihuman. So, um uh but I think what you're getting at is a really interesting insight. Madison, do you have some thoughts on that?
>> I do. I've also additionally been thinking about just the power of like the spoken word um particularly like like just how important it is that we like communicate with our voices and even in scripture like in the beginning was the word like and God's word is effective God's word is powerful um like everything is brought forth from God's voice saying like, "Let there be light." Like there's just something that feels so Catholic about the human voice.
Um, and just how we as creatives are really like as Catholic creatives and artists like are so deeply connected to God as creator, God as um yeah, God as creator. Like I just I don't know. I've kind of been meditating and mulling over that as well. I don't know if there's like fully formed thoughts or conclusions, but just how like special and like sacred the human voice is too and how unique it is each of us as individuals like no two voices even though you can find like sound alikesish. Like >> I don't know. I've really been just thinking about that a lot especially as I'm listening to like people's voices all the time as I'm casting. It's like, yeah, people just have we have this like uniqueness in our voice and it's so cool and like such a mystery. So I Yeah, I don't know. There's there's a lot there's a lot here, I think. Um, but that's just what that was making >> think about.
>> No, that's that's really interesting.
There's almost like a fingerprint quality to everyone's voice. And even even uh I I saw recently Tom Hanks for his role as Woody in Toy Story. Um, apparently a ton of Woody stuff in the world uh that is not the movie proper or the movies proper is actually not Tom Hanks. It's his brother. And >> wow.
>> His brother is used for all of like the toys and when you when you hear like Woody featured in a commercial or something like it's all Tom Hanks brother. But he had to really work hard at training his voice to sound more like Tom's. And um even then now that I know it, I don't hear the same Woody. Like as soon as you know it's not actually Tom, it's like the suspension of disbelief is gone and you actually hear that it's a different person. Even though he's his brother, genetically it's similar and even though he's working hard to sound like his brother, it doesn't it's not Tom and every voice is very very unique.
Uh so that that's super super interesting um as an insight. And you also made me think about like storytelling >> like through all of human history how did we how did we hear sto how did we receive stories until techn the advent of technology it was hearing them.
>> Yeah.
>> And so it's almost like more natural to our construct as human beings to experience audio dramas than it is to watch movies.
>> I mean maybe if Go ahead.
>> Oh no. And I I was even going to take that a step further and be like even like there's so much power uh that like uh the Oh my gosh, I just lost my train of thought. Anyway, I was going to talk about movie soundtracks and how those are so powerful. Like you can start to feel things through your ears.
Like if if the move if the music's replaced with a different >> sound clip, oh my gosh, the entire scene changes. you can be looking at something scary and and not be half as frightening because you don't hear the or something, you know? So, like there there is such a power in that um that the the the art of listening to something. It it truly can change the whole feel of of something.
>> Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Uh, the only exception to what I was saying I was going to point out is like I guess movies are kind of an evolution of theater, which we've also had for a lot of human history. But, um, but yeah, I I think that there's some something so special about just listening to someone tell you a story, you know, like my kids love when I tell them spooky stories around the bonfire, you know, and it's like that is and I make a different voice for every character and my wife is like, "Nick, you really don't have to do that." And I'm like, "No, no, no. I'm going all in."
>> True. it must be done.
>> And storytelling is such an effective teaching tool. Um, producer Tim was reminding me in the chat during my segment that, you know, Jesus was a storyteller and I feel like he modeled >> how to teach through story with his parables um, and to help like his audience come to a deeper understanding of truths and of the faith through story. And that's one thing that we're really trying to do with Welcome to Hope Springs in particular is it's not really it's not outright a teaching show or like we're not preaching at families and kids. We're entertaining and through like what the characters are encountering and the obstacles they're facing and the lessons that they're learning. That's where like the moral lessons come into play. That's where the teaching is. um they're engaging with different topics in the Catholic faith, different themes, but you're being entertained and through that families can talk about episodes together.
Parents can use that as a tool. Um we've had teachers tell us that they've been using it in the classroom, you know, have their kids like listen to a story and then um talk about it, discuss it, and that's where that's where the learning comes in. But first and foremost, like it's story. Um, but yeah, I just feel like Jesus modeled that so well um with how he teaches his apostles and his audiences um through his different parables and stories.
>> Wow. So cool. What are some uh before we wrap up here, what are some other things that the Augustine Institute is up to uh related to these audio dramas?
>> Um this is our main audio drama production right now. Um, like I mentioned earlier, we have the existing library of like the five featurelength dramas. Um, St. Cecilia, Jon of Arc, um, we have a Robin Hood one. Um, >> St. Patrick, Brother Francis, um, we haven't Paul hasn't written um, any of those featurelength ones in a while because we've all been very dedicated to getting Welcome to Hope Springs off the ground. But um I'm hoping as we continue to build an audience and remind people of the audio dramas that we already have that um there will be this desire for more and I'm excited to see what we can do in the future. I'm hoping that we can produce many many more either in London like the other ones or right here in the States. Um yeah, we we're working on a bunch of different projects all all the time, but as far as audio drama, um this is the main one right now. So cool. So cool. Well, Bailey and I are so excited to be featured in upcoming episodes and uh future productions.
>> No, I'll reach out to you guys. Yes.
>> You have your people talk to our people.
Uh >> slide a little piece of paper across the table.
>> That's hilarious, Nick. Oh my gosh.
>> Yeah. Bailey's like, you know, no, don't. But dude, uh >> why don't we uh this has been really awesome, Madison. Seriously, thank you so much for being here, Bailey. Thank you so much for joining us. I I really do value I I think that these topics are so important to help people understand like there are more ways to spend your time than just like eyes glued to a screen, you know, and and I think honestly like this is magical stuff for road trips. This is magical stuff for mowing the lawn. This is like this is really really good um ways to just kind of like set your heart on fire in in in new ways throughout your day. you know, get inspired by new things, new approaches to uh consuming uh stories. I think it's just so valuable. It's so valuable. Uh it allows the imagination to get kind of sparked in in in a in a way that other stuff doesn't. So, >> um >> absolutely.
>> Thanks for the work you're doing, Madison. Truly.
>> Uh >> let's pray.
>> Piggy back off you. Oh, I'm sorry. Can I have one little >> Let's not close in prayer. Let's turn to Bailey once more.
Well, I think also the value in um these audio dramas is also of course um we don't want you to turn off the beautiful formation you're receiving from the Guadalupe radio network, but we're also built for times for recreation, not just consistent formation. And in the need that, you know, we really do because I've even had a spiritual director tell me like, pick up a book, like a book that you want to read, not for prayer, not to aid your prayer life, not to learn something new about a saint, just immerse yourself in a story. And we need that part of our like God has uh endowed each of us with a little bit of his creative spirit. and and we need to feed that part of our our soul in order to thrive in this world of play and and rest and just really enjoy um his creation. And so I I think that is a really profound um >> way to experience audio dramas is to just say, "Okay, I just want to to to receive the goodness of the Lord through this this work."
>> Amen. Yeah. When you're not watching or listening to Morning Joy or the Quest or the Spirit World or any of the other great programming here on the Guadalupa Radio Network, >> spend some audio leisure time with these with great productions like this.
>> Um, this is great stuff.
>> Shameless plug. Shameless plug one more time. Go to hopespr.org if you want to learn more. Um, that's the best place to find out information about when new seasons are coming out.
There's a contact form at the bottom of the page. go there um and listen to the show.
>> Yep. Yeah. I'm glad you mentioned it.
I'm still gonna mention it one more time before we close the show. Uh so, no, but I'm glad I the more times people hear it, the better. Uh so, why don't we uh wrap with a prayer, ladies, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
>> Lord, thank you so much for the gift of this day, this morning of morning joy, the great conversations with our various contributors and guests, and uh thank you for all that you're doing in our lives. Help us to be your light and your love to everyone that we encounter so that when they encounter us, they are encountering you. And uh Lord, help us to to experience beauty in new ways today like with audio dramas uh like Hope Springs and uh and for all the good work that Madison and Bailey are doing. I ask you to bless them richly and their families and uh all of us here at the Guadalupa Radio Network and all of our audience members, everyone listening, all you joyful pilgrim warriors. Lord, I ask you to bless them richly today in all of their needs. We love you Lord and we pray all of this in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
>> Amen.
>> Bailey, thanks for being with us. You do a lot here at the Guadalupa Radio Network. You were you were like omniresent today bringing us the Guadalupa radio network news brief. You're going to be on the quest later. You just you just don't stop. You're a machine, Bailey. Thank you. And uh I don't you know what, sorry, I don't mean to dehumanize you.
You're not a machine, okay? You are a person. You are a person. U >> and Madison, thank you for all you do. I want to encourage everyone to check out.
Welcome to Hope Springs. Visit hopes.org to learn more and uh enjoy the good work that they are doing. And um yeah, Madison, really awesome to have you.
You're welcome back anytime. Appreciate it very much.
>> Thank you so much. It was so nice to meet you, Nick. Thank you. Thank you all. This is great.
>> Absolutely. My friends, we've reached the end of our time together. And what a time it's been. Glory to God. H It's just great. It's just great. It's been It's been beautiful. Very joyful, you might say, here on Morning Joy, where truth matters. I've been your host, Nick Deator. And uh remember our blessed Lord Jesus, he really really loves you. Peace.
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