Wisconsin Wonder: A Catholic pilgrim seeks a guide

The chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help) is Montreal’s oldest stone church, sitting for hundreds of years as a beacon of hope. It celebrates a special milestone this year, 250 years, having acted as a refuge for residents, pilgrims, sailors and travelers arriving by the St. Lawrence River and Seaway. Today we’ll explore together a fascinating chapter of Catholic history in North America, and learn that key to the story of this chapel, and the Catholic community of Nouvelle France, is St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. She was the first teacher of the colony of Ville Marie, and founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame, and was laid to rest on the site she worked so hard to consecrate for the Lord, with help of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Carole Golding, Pastoral Coordinator of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in Montreal. 

Learn more: https://margueritebourgeoys.org/en/history/ 

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The Blessed Virgin Mary looks over Montreal’s present and future, and stands as a beacon from its past…guiding us to her Son. The original chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours was founded by St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, building a foundation for this chapel and community that has survived war, fire, and the many difficulties of early colonial life. A statue of the Blessed Virgin overlooks the Old Port of Montreal, where sailors and settlers would arrive after facing the grueling path to the New World.

This place represented peace. Refuge.

And it still does, in a way. Montreal is a vibrant city, and the oldest quarter has its share of foot traffic: tourists, locals, pilgrims. The historic port, market, neighborhood, can feel quaint at times, and overwhelming at others. The chapel gives space for a quiet moment with God. You may remember our episode from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, the site of the only Catholic Church-approved Marian apparition in the US. That site has since been renamed the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion to reflect the place where it occurred, but it doesn’t take away I think from the original devotion to Our Lady of Good Help at that site, and the importance of the devotion here in Montreal. 

Christian duty and panhandlers. What’s the right thing to do? For a long time I’ve struggled when approached by panhandlers, people on the street asking for money. I want to help, but I don’t want to be taken advantage of, or feed an addiction, or endanger myself. As a Catholic, as a Christian, I know helping the less fortunate is central to my faith. In one of the most famous passages from Scripture, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says in a parable ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Gary Sole, the CEO of Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the Diocese of Cleveland, learn more at https://svdpcle.org/ 

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 When you really think about the Gospel of Matthew, and what Jesus says about the “least of these”…there’s no waffling here. These are what are called the Corporal Works of Mercy, which the US Conference of Catholic Bishops says are “found in the teachings of Jesus and give us a model for how we should treat all others, as if they were Christ in disguise.” But does this mean if someone walks up to me I need to give money every time? When working in European city centers, or downtown Phoenix or Cleveland, I would try to have some food to offer instead of money, but is that enough? The US Catholic Bishops say giving alms to the poor is best done this way: “Donate money to organizations that have the ability to provide support and services for those in need. Do research and find organizations that put people in need first, rather than profit.” That seems sensible…and yet when I’m approached on the street I feel faced with a flesh and blood person asking me for help. But do they really need help? One reason I’m so torn on this is probably the effect of local TV news...

Just to mention aliens turns some people off, but to a Christian, to a Catholic, thinking about extraterrestrial life can hold tremendous value. If you replace the word “alien” with “the other” then we start down a familiar path. Does “the other” exist in the universe? Would “the other” mean us peace or harm? Should I will the good of “the other?” Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Paul Thigpen. The book is published by TAN Books: https://tanbooks.com/products/books/tan-books/pre-order/extraterrestrial-intelligence-and-the-catholic-faith/

Some of the greatest Catholic thinkers wrestled with this question of “the other.” Whether you’re thinking about so-called aliens, people who live in the center of the earth, or maybe creatures at the end of the world, how we approach our theoretical brothers and sisters of the universe might tell us a lot about what our faith really means to us.  Introduction

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Many Catholic thinkers have explored this question of alien life, from an apologetics standpoint, to the Vatican observatory. And science fiction likes to return to this tension of space and religions every so often. In one classic episode of the original Star Trek series the crew finds a planet with Roman-era government, and a growing following of sun worshipers, thought to be primitive. But the sun SUN, was actually son SON. And we’re left with this question of whether Christ would die again on some distant cross for the same path of salvation for another species. Star Trek’s creator Gene Roddenberry also had a show called Earth Final Conflict, about a race of aliens who came to help out the humans. But in one episode a character blends images of Moses, Jesus Christ, and a few other historical figures and the image looks just like the alien. Have they been here before? Maybe our souls have a unique connection to other beings. God’s grace is certainly abundant enough to spread beyond the stars, isn’t it? In December 2022 Pentagon officials said there was no evidence to affirm the existence of space aliens, but the search continues. So our thinking about our faith and potential alien life continues with Paul Thigpen, author of Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith from TAN Books.

Angels seem mysterious and familiar all at the same time. Angels are by definition different than you and I are—they’re spiritual beings, without bodies, but can be present in our world. St. Augustine says “angel” is the name of their office, or what they do: they are servants and messengers of God.

In this episode we hear about what another saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, thought about angels in his newly translated Meditations on the Holy Angels. Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB. The book is published by TAN Books: https://tanbooks.com/products/books/Meditations-on-the-Holy-Angels/

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In the Gospel of Matthew at one point Jesus tells us that angels that watch over us, the Guardian Angels, also “always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which explains what Catholics believe, says, “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.”

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When think you might die, you tend to lean more heavily on your deepest beliefs, and for me, a Catholic, that means prayer for God’s protection. For years I rode a motor scooter to work, similar to a Vespa. One day, in an instant I’m no longer on my scooter, and I put out my hands to try to catch myself from the fall that I can’t avoid. I roll onto the tree lawn just a short distance from parked cars that I narrowly missed. I didn’t know what was wrong, only that my body wasn’t working right. I had a separated shoulder, a fractured wrist, some road rash on my leg and other soft tissue damage in my arm. The adrenaline and maybe shock began to take over, but I knew that I was alive. I prayed as the EMTs got me into the ambulance, thanking God I was still alive, and had more time with my wife and children. And as I said Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and even portions of Hail Holy Queen, I began contemplating all that led me to that crash. How did it happen? And could it have been worse? Was my Guardian Angel helping me arrive at the point where I would make it out alive?

I spoke about this and many other issues of angels and faith with Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB, who translated St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s Meditations on the Holy Angels.

War and Catholicism. On today’s episode we’ll hear from a Catholic Bishop and a former member of the British armed forces talk about how our duties as Christians, striving to walk the path to Heaven, square with the hell of war? Our conversation is driven by a powerful scene in the movie Kingdom of Heaven. This episode features Bishop Neal Buckon of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, and Catholic and military veteran Rebecca Clemenz.

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This is a big topic, with many twists and turns, so we’ll attempt a somewhat narrow conversation today driven by a single line of movie dialogue: “Your quality will be known among your enemies, before ever you meet them.”

For me there is so much packed into this line from a movie called Kingdom of Heaven. A newly-minted Christian knight during the Crusades named Balian—played by Orlando Bloom—had just released a Saracen, Muslim fighter on account of his quality, when the man, Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani delivers this line.

Balian had inherited his estranged father’s nobility as Baron of Ibelin, and was shipwrecked while journeying to Jerusalem. A lone surviving horse from the wreck runs to an oasis on a desert plot of land owned by what we’re told is al-Isfahani’s master. Balian refuses to give up the horse, and al-Isfahani’s master fights for it…and loses. Balian spares al-Isfahani’s life, and orders him to take him to Jerusalem, and once there he releases him and gives him the horse.

Al-Isfahani is stunned, saying Balian could have made him his slave, which Balian rejects—he had been near to a slave in his life and would never hold someone in bondage. And then we hear it: “Your quality will be known among your enemies, before ever you meet them.”

A Catholic military perspective on quality, honor, and war—on this episode of Faith Full. 

As I record this, we’re still seeing the devastation of the war in Ukraine, just as we’ve seen devastation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, Yemen, the list is as long as the existence of humanity. But really where is humanity in war? What about mercy? Honor? Nobility? This topic is huge, and I want to say at the outset I can’t cover it all. St. Augustine’s thoughts on Just War, and the Catholic Church’s teachings on self defense and preservation of life and peace, cannot be discussed comprehensively, at least by me, in a single session. I’m also not a veteran, but I’ve interviewed many in my years as a journalist, and have friends and family in the service.

You may remember talking through some of these issues in our episode with Fr. Cirilo Nacorda who was held hostage by terrorists in the Philippines at one time, and later began carrying a gun and working to help villagers defend themselves. I’ve always struggled with this tension between being called to love our enemies, and having the armed forces needing to face our enemies. 

This episode is the third connected to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States. Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer.

This episode talks about needing to take mini-pilgrimages in our everyday life, and not just wait for big trips. You can stop for a moment of prayer anywhere, anytime. This episode features again Fr. Edward Looney, Fr. John Broussard, Fr. Carlos Esparza, and Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes.

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Standing on the shore of a mountain lake at sunrise, you may not think you’re necessarily on a pilgrimage, but then you’re drawn toward a prayerful moment. You gaze into the raspberry and amber skies, as the lapping waves try to sing you back to sleep. But you’re called to be present and aware of the awe.

Or maybe you hike toward an Alpine peak when you’re serenaded by birdsong; nature’s hallelujah. Again you’re very present in the moment; thankful and introspective, like a pilgrim. And then on the trail you literally see Christ on the cross. A traveler, a pilgrim, before you thought to install a wayside chapel—a small, wooden structure to draw you even further toward God.

These things are common in Europe, and in Wisconsin chapels created by European immigrants still pepper the countryside.

This brings us to the idea of wayside chapels, or roadside chapels. In Wisconsin, are literally down the road from the Champion apparition site.

This episode is the second about The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States.

This episode features Fr. Edward Looney, and Fr. John Broussard. We also learn about the Peshtigo fire on 1871.

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There’s a crisp hint of Autumn in the air when a young Adele Brise first catches sight of the mysterious figure. It’s October 1859. Adele carries her bag of wheat toward the grist mill, in a wooded patch of Northern Wisconsin, when she freezes, frightened. There, between a hemlock and maple tree stands a beautiful woman clothed in dazzling white, wearing a yellow sash and crown of stars atop her flowing golden hair, until...she’s gone. The vision of the woman fades, and Adele all alone, continues on her way.

A second encounter with the mystery woman a few days later is just as startling, compounded by the fact this figure doesn’t say a word.

On counsel from a priest, Adele is prepared for her next encounter and says to the figure: In God’s name who are you and what do you want from me?

I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, the woman says, and I wish you to do the same.

The Queen of Heaven—the Blessed Virgin Mary—proceeds to explain to Adele what she’s being called to do: teach the children of this wild country what they should know for their salvation, while also encouraging Adele, that she’s not going to have to do it alone.

This episode is the first of three about The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States.

In 1859 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Belgian immigrant, Adele Brise. Mary identified herself as “The Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners,” and told Adele to teach children their catechism, how to make the sign of the cross, and how to approach the sacraments. And then Mary said, “Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”

Our next episode will go a little deeper into the apparition, and the miracles at Champion, but today we’re preparing for that pilgrimage with the help of Jesuit priest, Fr. Carlos Esparza.

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Switzerland is one of the world's wealthiest countries, and poverty doesn’t manifest itself in the same way as in other places. The numbers of people needing food and shelter are exponentially less, even when considering Switzerland’s size.

But there can be another kind of poverty, a spiritual poverty.

In this short episode of the Faith Full Podcast we talk a little about the poor in spirit, and the need for a bit more compassion in our approach to each other.

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When you think of Legos, you no doubt envision the small bricks that ignite children’s imaginations by their possibilities. You sift through a box of tiny pieces looking for one to make that spaceship just right, or house a little more functional.

John Kraemer takes that to a different level.

He doesn’t just build a church, it’s a working model of parish life for a Lego world not unlike our own. You can pray in many ways, and for John, building these Lego parishes and communities are a prayer.

Find pictures and more on the episode page.

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Learn more about John and The Lego Church Project.