St. Thérèse of Lisieux embraced a simple spirituality she referred to as the “Little Way.” It encourages believers to see themselves as children of God, to trust in God with child-like simplicity and to do the ordinary things of life with extraordinary love. In our first segment, we speak with Father Michael Orchik, pastor of the Shrine of the Little Flower in Baltimore, about the spirituality of the “Little Way.” In our second segment, we interview GinaMarie Tennant, author of Louis and Zelie: The Holy Parents of St. Thérèse,” a new children’s book about the holy lives of St. Thérèse’s parents.

May 23, 2021 | The Spirituality of the Little Way/Parents of a Saint

Are you making a New Year’s resolution to enhance your spiritual life? Start with sacred Scripture. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty kicks off the new year on Catholic Review Radio talking with two guests about ways to understand and appreciate the Bible better. The first segment features Kassie Manning talking about “Every Sacred Sunday,” a book that contains the Sunday Mass readings with space to write your prayers and reflections. In the second segment, Chris catches up with Mark Hart, known worldwide as the Bible Geek, who talks about how to get into a habit of reading Scripture. Pro tip: Don’t start with the book of Genesis, but with the Gospel of Mark.

Jan. 2, 2022 | Bible in a Year

It seems that the Christmas season just isn’t complete without Christmas carols and other holiday songs. What is it about this particular music that puts many people in a good mood and why does it have such staying power? Dr. Remi Chiu, a musicologist at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and author of “Plague and Music in the Renaissance” talks with George Matysek in this encore episode about Christmas music and the historic power of music in times of plague and pandemic.

Dec. 11, 2022 | Christmas music and the power of song in times of plague

Father Jeffrey Dauses, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baynesville and St. Thomas More in Baltimore, shares pastoral wisdom for those going through difficult times this Christmas season, including family and relational issues, life uncertainties, times of transition and grieving the loss of a loved one.

Dec. 18, 2022 | Surviving a Blue Christmas:  How Faith Lifts Us Up During the Holidays

Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko was one of the most remarkable and heroic figures of the 20th century. A humble priest and prophet of nonviolence, Blessed Jerzy inspired his fellow Poles to stand up for truth and resist Communist oppression in Cold War-era Poland. Judith Kelly, author of “Just Call Me Jerzy,” talks with George Matysek about the life and legacy of this modern martyr.

Feb. 19, 2023 | The inspiring and heroic life of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko

Lent is a penitential season, and a perfect time to discuss confession, penance and the sacrament of reconciliation. This year, the church is implementing a new Order of Penance, including new prayers for the Act of Contrition and the priest’s prayer of absolution. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talks with Monsignor Richard Hilgartner about the changes in the prayers, and what draws people to the sacrament. In the second half of the show, Catholic Review Managing Editor George Matysek Jr. discusses Claudia Cangilla McAdam’s book for children that touches on the themes of reconciliation.

Feb. 26, 2023 | Sacrament of Reconciliation

Cameron J.S. Kuzepski, principal organist at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, discusses being an organist. He also plays a selection that will be featured in an upcoming concert.  Read a feature profile on Kuzepski at https://catholicreview.org/young-organist-at-cathedral-of-mary-our-queen-is-remarkable-talent/

Cameron J.S. Kuzepski

What do you get when you combine classic cars with a need to raise funds for vocations in the Diocese of Gallup in New Mexico? You get V8s for Vocations, a program that has been running several years to raise money for seminarian education in one of the poorest dioceses in the country. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talks with Father Matthew Keller, the car buff who founded the program, about the impetus for the program and this year’s raffle prize car, a 1957 Chevy.

May 7, 2023 | V8s for Vocations

Preachers of the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” have had great success winning followers – including Catholics. What is the Prosperity Gospel and how did it take hold in the United States? How does it conflict with Catholic beliefs?  Thomas Storck, author of “The Prosperity Gospel: How Greed and Bad Philosophy Distorted Christ’s Teaching,” discusses it with George Matysek.

Storck, a convert to the Catholic faith, has been writing on Catholic social teaching, Catholic culture and related topics since the early 1980s.  He received his undergraduate education at Kenyon College in Ohio and has a master’s degree from St. John’s College in Santa Fe.

May 28, 2023 | The Prosperity Gospel

John and Tracy Sullivan are the parents of Russ Sullivan, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Baltimore preparing for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park. The Sullivans, parishioners of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park, share their experience of having a son in the seminary and offer some advice to other parents whose children are interested in the priesthood or religious life.

July 9, 2023 | Parents of a seminarian share their journey

When the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of Apostles, were preparing to reinter the remains of Sister Mary Wilhelmina Lancaster, their foundress, in rural Missouri, they made an amazing discovery.

When the sisters exhumed Sister Wilhelmina’s remains this spring four years after her death, the body didn’t seem at all decayed and her religious habit was also still intact.

The news of what many consider to be a miracle made headlines around the world.

Sister Wilhelmina was a Black Catholic Sister who spent more than 50 years as a member of the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence. She left that religious community to found the Benedictine Sister of Mary, Queen of Apostles.

Sister Wilhelmina’s Benedictine religious community wrote a book on the life of their foundress released by Tan Books. Joining us to talk about the amazing life of Sister Wilhelmina is one of the contributors to that book, Benedictine Sister Mary Josefa Holcomb.

Oct. 1, 2023 | The amazing life of Sister Mary Wilhelmina

Long before war broke out in early October in Israel and Gaza, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association has been serving the needs of people in the region. Founded in 1926 by Pope Pius XI, CNEWA serves in the historic but unstable lands of the ancient Eastern churches. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with Michael La Civita, director of communications for CNEWA, and his colleague Joseph Hazboun, regional director of CNEWA’s Jerusalem office about the impact of the war on those who live in Israel and Gaza and how CNEWA is helping meet the needs on the ground.

Oct. 29, 2023 | Catholic Near East Welfare Association and the Israel-Hamas war

Catholic Charities USA supports a network of more than 160 agencies across the country that provide food, job training, housing and other assistance to those in need. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with Kerry Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, about how Catholic agencies fill the gaps in social services all around the country, all while looking at the people they serve in the image of God.

Feb. 11, 2024 | Catholic Charities USA

In advance of the March 11 Maryland March for Life in Annapolis, the Catholic Review talks with Erin Younkins about the many ways Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore are supporting a culture of life. Younkins shares the latest news on efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Maryland and the upcoming vote on a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to an abortion through nine months of pregnancy in Maryland. She also provides information on how Catholics can participate in the Maryland March for Life. Younkins is the director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace in the archdiocesan Institute for Evangelization.

Mar. 3, 2024 | Pro-life update in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Four groups of pilgrims departed May 18 from the corners of the United States to process with the Eucharist en route to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. The eastern route, named for Maryland’s own St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, passed through Maryland June 5th through 7th. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with two of the permanent pilgrims on the Seton Route, Zoe Dongas and Amayrani Higueldo, to talk about their inspiration to make the 65-day pilgrimage and their experiences along the way.

June 9, 2024 | National Eucharistic Pilgrimage

The Archdiocese of Baltimore will reduce the number of parishes in the City of Baltimore from 61 to 23, and the number of worship sites from 59 to 30. The move reflects the change of demographics in the city over several decades and aims to have vibrant, viable parishes focused on evangelizing their neighborhoods. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., vicar for Baltimore City, about how the plan will be implemented and about its impact on Black and Hispanic communities.

June 16, 2024 | Seek the City Implementation

What is the miracle that we receive in the Eucharist - the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord? A new documentary, “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” looks at the practice of the Catholic faith around the world and devotion to the Real Presence. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty caught up with Jim Wahlberg, one of the producers of the movie, after a screening at the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, just as the production team got news that the film has the largest audience of any documentary this year. Wahlberg talks about his struggles growing up in a large “culturally Catholic” family in Boston, and how he found the love of Jesus for himself while in prison, and turned his life and his family toward God.

July 21, 2024 | “Jesus Thirsts” with Jim Wahlberg

Earlier this year, Archbishop William E. Lori announced that the standard age for receiving the sacrament of Confirmation will be lowered to 9 in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  The previous age had been set at 14-16.

George Matysek discusses the reasons for the change with Stacy Golden, director of the Office of Family, Youth and Young Adult Ministry within the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization, and Kenn deMoll, director of formation and innovation at St. John in Westminster – a parish that has already implemented the lower age for confirmation as part of a pilot program.

Apr. 20, 2025 | Archdiocese of Baltimore embraces lower age for confirmation

As the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis April 21 at age 88, Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talks with people who have experienced the pope personally. Baltimore Archbishop William Lori recalls his encounters with the pope. Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, former archbishop of Baltimore and retired grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, says that the pontiff’s witness to the love of Christ strengthened him, even in illness. Longtime Vatican reporter and editor John Thavis provides some details on how the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will work.

Apr. 27, 2025 | The Death of Pope Francis and the Upcoming Conclave

As the College of Cardinals prepares for the conclave to elect a new pope May 7, Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty gets some inside info from Monsignor Richard Hilgartner, pastor of St. Joseph parish in Cockeysville, Md., and former executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Monsignor Hilgartner talks about what it was like to be in St. Peter’s Square to see the white smoke signaling the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2005. He also provides some details on the process for voting in the Sistine Chapel.

May 4, 2025 | Preparing for the Conclave

May is traditionally celebrated as a month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church — a time for special devotions, prayers and reflection on her role in salvation history.
George Matysek talks with Father Brian Nolan, pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Ijamsville, about why Catholics have such love for Mary and ways for drawing closer to her. Father Nolan also dispels some common misconceptions about Mary and shares some personal stories about his connection to her. 

May 18, 2025 | Grow in your relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary

Youth ministry has been undergoing some critical shifts over the last several years within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. George Matysek talks with Stacy Golden and Rena Black from the archdiocese's Institute for Evangelization about what those shifts have been and why they are necessary.

Golden is the director of the Office of Family, Youth and Young Adults in the Institute for Evangelization. Black is coordinator for missionary discipleship in the same office.

July 20, 2025 | Youth ministry changing with the times

During the Second Vatican Council, a mysterious voice began reporting from inside the closed-door sessions — exposing tensions and calling for reform. That voice belonged to Xavier Rynne, the pseudonym of Father Francis Xavier Murphy, a Redemptorist priest who risked everything to write anonymously about the council’s inner workings.

George Matysek talks with Richard A. Zmuda, author of the new historical novel "The Mole of Vatican Council II," which brings Father Murphy’s remarkable story to life. Zmuda, a parishioner of the Redemptorist parish of St. Mary in Annapolis, draws on personal letters, diaries and secret Vatican files to explore why Father Murphy wrote, what he risked and how his bold reporting still echoes in today’s Church.


July 27, 2025 | The true story of 'Xavier Rynne'

The heavens are full of wonder, and the astronomers who work for the Vatican Observatory probably know that better than most people on earth. In this episode of Catholic Review Radio,  Editor Christopher Gunty talks with Jesuit Father Paul Gabor, vice director of the Vatican Observatory in Tucson, Ariz., about the intersection between faith and science. As a scientist, he is grateful for the gift of understanding the universe, and receiving that as a gift from God. The Vatican Observatory has been around for centuries, studying the cosmos.

Aug. 3, 2025 | The Vatican Observatory

In October 2023, the militant group Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping hundreds. Israel retaliated and now, nearly two years later, the conflict continues. In this episode of Catholic Review Radio, Editor Christopher Gunty talks with Joseph Hazboun, regional director for Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a pontifical mission. Hazboun says the situation in the Gaza Strip is unspeakably tragic. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, while starvation and famine are imminent. He discusses the need for prayer and political pressure to end the conflict, as CNEWA and other aid organizations try to help wherever and however they can.

Aug. 10, 2025 | The situation in Gaza with Catholic Near East Welfare Association

It’s back-to-school time and for School Sister of Notre Dame Patricia McCarron, that means a new job. She stepped down as head of school at Notre Dame Prep in Towson at the end of the school year and now is the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with Sister Patricia about what inspired her to become a School Sister of Notre Dame, why she finds joy in education, and her vision for schools in the archdiocese as she takes the helm.

Aug. 17, 2025 | Back to School with the New Superintendent

A 17th-century Italian orphan finds the long-lost piece of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, missing since Dominican friars cut out a portion of the wall to connect the priory's refectory with its kitchen. That’s the basic premise of “Boy of Heaven,” a novel by Morris Hoffman. As the tale takes us through the trials and tribulations of the story, eternal themes emerge. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with the author, a former judge who has seen his share of good and evil in the courtroom, about how the characters in “Boy of Heaven” reflect the choices we all have to make about which side we are on.

Aug. 24, 2025 | An Orphan Finds a Masterpiece – “Boy of Heaven”

Little Portion Farm, a ministry of the Conventual Franciscans, has been feeding the hungry and caring for creation since 2019. Using sustainable methods, the Ellicott City farm has donated more than 100,000 pounds of fresh produce to those in need.

Father Michael Heine, provincial leader of the Our Lady of the Angels Province, and Matt Jones, manager of Little Portion Farm, talk with George Matysek about Little Portion Farm. 
Father Heine, who became provincial leader in 2022, has also served as vicar provincial, directed the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, ministered in counseling at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore and spent four years as a missionary in Jamaica.

Matt Jones has overseen Little Portion Farm from its start, transforming three empty acres into a thriving ecosystem. He’s organized thousands of volunteers and manages the farm’s daily operations. Before that, he worked in environmental policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Aug. 31, 2025 | Little Portion Farm cares for hungry and creation

Now in his 18th season with the Ravens, head coach John Harbaugh is celebrated for championships and playoff runs. But his Catholic faith and family values shape him even more. Mark Viviano talks with Harbaugh about purpose, prayer, parenting and how faith fuels life on and off the field.

Sept. 7, 2025 | John Harbaugh on faith, family and football

What’s the difference between a faith-based movie and a “faith-adjacent” movie? How do producers and directors ensure they are creating films that inspire and uplift viewers? Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with writer and director Sean McNamara about these topics, and about his new movie, due in theaters Sept. 26, “Bau: Artist at War.” The new film is based on a true story of love that emerged from the concentration camps in Poland. At its heart is the relationship between Joseph, a cartographer who forged passports and other documents that allowed many Jewish Poles to be saved, and Rebecca, whom he met at married in the camp.

Sept. 14, 2025 | Catholic movie director Sean McNamara and “Bau: Artist at War”

In recent years, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has been blessed with a significant increase in the number of men and women stepping forward to answer the call to religious life. Joining us to talk about is Father Stephen Roth, Director of Vocations and Associate Vicar for Clergy for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Father Roth, a former pastor of St. Isaac Jogues in Carney, was ordained to the priesthood in 2012 and has served as vocations director since 2018.

Sept. 21, 2025 | Vocations flourish in Archdiocese of Baltimore

On this week’s episode of Catholic Review Radio, George Matysek interviews Father Thomas Gills about his many years as a military chaplain with the U.S. Air Force. Father Gills first went on active duty right after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and some of his assignments included serving at several military bases in the United States and overseas, including in war zones. Father Gills also spent five years as a chaplain to cadets at the Air Force Academy.  Father Gills currently serves as pastor of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Peter at the Lake in Western Maryland.

Jan. 24, 2021 | Military Chaplaincy

Catholic Review Radio is a weekly radio program and podcast produced by Catholic Review Media, the news operation of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. www.CatholicReview.org/cr-radio

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