The Foxhole with Father Kapaun

We say it every Sunday in the Creed, but sometimes it takes a tangible reminder to let it sink in: our bodies are destined for resurrection.  We’re joined in The Foxhole today by the chaplain of Kapaun’s Men, Father John Lanzrath, to share his insights into the spiritual meaning of Father Kapaun’s remains returning home and what relics mean in the Church.

Joe is joined by Laura Camacho, corporate strategist and consultant, who gets straight to the point: communication is at the heart of our relationships, our work and our Catholic life, and we need courage to do it well.  So listen up and then speak up!

Trust, fraternity, prayer, joy.  Father Mark-Mary Ames, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, gets to the heart of all these things in today’s episode.  If you’ve ever had the chance to meet one of these brothers, you know that there’s something special about them, and Father Mark-Mary has a ton of spiritual advice and joy to share with you, so make sure you don’t miss this episode!

A former history teacher of the year, Joe Hughes joins Joe Farris in The Foxhole to talk about making an impact on young people and why history is so important to all of us.  And being very knowledgeable about the Korean War, shares his thoughts about Father Kapaun.

Joe is joined in The Foxhole by John Christensen of Loyola Press, who bucks the appearances and gets real about the challenges of middle age, including not feeling like he has everything in order.  Joe and John talk about faith, going through life with others, and about simplifying so that we can see God more clearly.

Do we go through life fighting the things that make us uncomfortable, or do we trust in God's plans for us?  Joe interviews Katherine Plucinsky, a young Catholic author who shares her experience with grief and learning to open her hands to God's love and healing.

Visit her website and find her book "High Tides & Open Hands" at https://www.katherineplucinsky.com/

Charlie Sloan is the Director of Development & Stewardship at Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida.  He joins us in The Foxhole to talk Father Kapaun, the saints, and living the faith as a layman who is faithful to the Church.  

Father Joel Haug of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas has thought a lot about the message he will give as a priest.  He joins us in The Foxhole to discuss repentance and forgiveness, surrender to God's will, and of course, the Father's joy.

Find the Surrender Novena at: https://catholicexchange.com/the-surrender-novena-let-jesus-take-care-of-everything

Listen to more of Fr. Joel at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fathers-joy/id1558873780 

Joe catches up with his friend Jackie Angel in this episode, and they discuss whether or not their spouses would advocate their cause for sainthood.  Then Joe challenges Jackie to identify the troubles facing the Church today, but without using all the current Catholic buzzwords.  Finally, Jackie gets real and talks to us directly as men in a powerful challenge.

Thanks for listening!

He has the best 45 seconds in college basketball history.  He played around the world for the Harlem Globetrotters.  He impressed Pope Francis.

Anthony Atkinson is a stud, but what is most precious to him is his faith.  Joe Farris interviews Anthony about how Jesus has been a part of his life during all these events, but also why he gave it all up to coach at the high school he graduated from.  It's a conversation that will give you gratitude, confidence and a new outlook on life.

Check out the best 45 seconds in college basketball history here: https://youtu.be/0WzmQmz9Kdc 

Father Eric Weldon, pastor of Sacred Hearth Church, in Colwich, KS is the founder of the annual "Father Kapaun Walk".  This journey starts in Wichita, and progresses on foot for over 60 miles, to Father Kapaun's home town of Pilsen, KS.  Over the last decade, thousands of pilgrims have walked the 4 day journey, with hundreds making the pilgrimage each year. Learn the inspiration and origins of the pilgrimage, and how sacred, and sacrificial acts can bring you closer to our Lord. Father Eric shares a very similar back ground to our podcast's name sake, having served in the US Army, as well as being a brother priest to Fr. Kapaun.  He also talks about the significance of the recent news regarding finding Fr. Kapaun, and how this year a record number of pilgrims is expected to lace up their shoes to join on this holy journey.  

Fr. Chad Arnold is the vocations director for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita. His own vocation story is one that teaches us how to never let a moment go by unnoticed, and to always invite God into our story.  While some moments in our journey are heart wrenching, and others are beautiful, intentionally sanctifying moments by acknowledging and thanking God, is a calling we all need to respond to.

We met Dr. J while on the Father Kapaun Pilgrimage- and once you meet him, you can't forget. This week we talk to Dr. John Crotty about his joyful witness to Christ and his spirit of encouragement that he shares with the people around him. Join us for this joyful episode!

He was an Air Force test pilot and a NASA astronaut.  He piloted the space shuttle Endeavor and commanded the Atlantis.  He’s seen views that few people are privileged to ever see, and he has received the Eucharist in space.  In his own words, he has been blessed.

General Kevin Chilton is a retired 4-Star General who joins us in The Foxhole to talk about all of these things through the perspective of faith.  You’ll hear about General Chilton’s trips to space, but also some great advice on leadership, and even a bit about marriage.  Strap in and get ready for the episode that’s out of this world.

Whenever the heart of the Church speaks, we as men ought to be listening!

From faith to vocations, from understanding women to our role as men, Dominican Sister Anne Catherine is here to share her joyful wisdom with us and to encourage us to embrace our vocation as men.

We end our Lenten series in The Foxhole by recognizing that the battle isn't over, yet we are still called to celebrate the triumph of Christ in the Resurrection.  Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend joins us to plot the path to victory from the Passion and Death of Jesus to his glorious Resurrection and victory over sin and death.  He helps us understand how to live united with our victor and move forward as a community of the redeemed.

A big thank you to all who have joined us on this journey of Lent, and stay tuned for more great things to come, including more guests and improved audio quality.

Servant of God Emil Kapaun, pray for us!

Should we be shocked that the Church and followers of Christ are misunderstood and under attack?  St. Peter, and even Jesus himself, tell us that this is part of what it means to be Christian.

As we approach Holy Week and the Passion, Father Curtis Hecker, chaplain at Kapaun-Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita, helps prepare us for this great battle.  In order to help the Church, we don't need power or influence.  Instead, we must be able to see our target clearly and continue to do the small things well- and with joy.  If we do that, we'll be able to keep the darkness at bay.

It's the solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19th), and we're talking the Battle for Families with Bishop Carl Kemme of the Diocese of Wichita.  Even before Pope Francis did it for the whole Church, Bishop Kemme declared a Year of St. Joseph for the Diocese of Wichita to help guide us as a Church, clergy and especially as fathers and families.  He joins us to talk about this, the hope that he sees for families, and and why treating Sundays as sacred is such a game changer.

Weekly Challenge: Make this upcoming Lord's Day holy.

Prayer to St. Joseph, Terror of Demons:
Saint Joseph, Terror of Demons, cast your solemn gaze upon the devil and all his minions, and protect us with your mighty staff.  You fled through the night to avoid the devil’s wicked designs; now with the power of God, smite the demons as they flee from you! Grant special protection, we pray, for children, fathers, families, for priests and religious and the dying.  By God’s grace, no demon dares approach while you are near, so we beg of you, always be near to us! Amen.

There's a battle that's fought in all of our hearts, a battle between light and darkness.  Father John Lanzrath of the Diocese of Wichita joins us to discuss this battle, and how the evil one tries to conquer us by using the weapons of fear and despair.  But Jesus's suffering and resurrection give us hope that we will win this fight.

It's the father of lies, the prince of darkness versus Jesus, who is the way the truth and the life, and the light that dispels the darkness in this episode of The Battle.

Challenge: Pray with Psalm 119 and see what the Lord wants you to bring to his light.

Father Stephen is a former West Point Grad and Artillery Officer in the US Army.  He's now a Catholic Priest, and he joins us today to talk about Jesus' cleansing of the Temple and to encourage us embrace a life of virtue and balance so we can pursue the Lord with an undivided heart. 

"If God is at the center of your life, everything else falls into proper place around that; He’ll perfectly balance you out."

Weekly Challenge: Recall your "why" from Ash Wednesday, and identify what in your life is keeping you from that why.  Make the changes needed to help you reach your goal.

Prayer to St. Michael:
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

The evil one hates communion and harmony.  He wants to divide, and the thing he wants to divide most is the vowed union of marriage.  But God is on our side, and he gives us the weapons to fight for our spouses and the good of society.

Father Daniel Scheidt, Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the perfect person to lead us in the Battle for Marriage, having studied at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family in Washington, DC, as well as having much practical wisdom from his own family and the inspiring men and women he has served as a shepherd of souls.  This is an episode you'll want to listen to over and over again to soak in Father Daniel's great insights.

"The evil one is incapable of emerging from himself: he is totally self-absorbed.  Marriage reverses that.  Marriage is being taken out of one self for the other person. And of course the paradox is the more I allow my life to be given as a gift the more myself I become."  

Weekly Challenge:
Continue to say the Prayer to St. Michael
Think and pray about one way you and your spouse can grow closer together, talk about it, and put a plan into place to do it.

Jesus went into the desert and faced temptation.  The devil attacked his identity.  As long as we're in the Battle, the same will be true for us.  

Father Royce Gregerson from Rekindle the Fire leads us in a meditation on this mystery and how we too can listen to the voice of God over the voice of the enemy.  

This is part 2 of our Lenten series called "The Battle".  If you missed week 1, listen to Father David Lies lay the stage for the spiritual battle we're in.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel:
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

We at Kapaun's Men are teaming up with the men of Rekindle the Fire in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend for an 8-week Lenten Podcast Series called "The Battle".   The devil wants to attack our identity as men, fathers, husbands and friends.  Lent is the perfect time to embrace the tools the Church offers to help us draw closer to God.

Father David Lies of the Diocese of Wichita joins us today to describe the spiritual battle that has been taking place for millennia.  There is no neutral place to hide away, no spiritual Switzerland.  The enemy is real, and Father David helps identify him and point out his tactics, but also gives us the weapons that God has given us to fight on the side of grace.  The lines are drawn; which side will you fight on?

To join us in The Battle:

1. Listen to this podcast these 8 weeks
2. Complete the weekly challenge
3. Pray the Prayer to St. Michael daily for yourself and everyone else joining in the spiritual battle

"We want our students to live the mission while they’re here, but the reason we want them to do it is so they will live the mission after they leave."

Steve Minnis had a successful law career before putting it aside to serve as President of Benedictine College, a Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas.  Thanks to some hard work and incredible intercession from Mother Mary, whom he is convinced watches over the college, Benedictine has become one of the best Catholic Colleges in the country, both academically and more importantly in Catholic identity.  Hear some amazing stories of Mary's aid, President Minnis' thoughts about living the faith in our daily lives, and his thoughts about preparing for the end of the Covid crisis.  This is an episode not to miss!

Don't forget, our Lenten Series "The Battle" begins next week.  Subscribe to participate!

The Memorare:
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

Fr. Isaac Coulter leads an excellent meditation on the wonder of Christmas, the reason why we as Christians can take hold of hope, and how we can respond like St. Joseph with "courageous creativity".  Get ready for a profound entry into the miracle of God becoming man, and a lesson on how to recognize God's Presence in our daily lives this coming year.  Don't let this opportunity go by to reignite your sense of wonder at the Father's goodness to us.

"I hope we never grow out of the wonder that the kids have at Christmas."

"The only thing that’s going to make your marriage alive, your job alive, is the awareness of this Presence that changes everything."

The thoughtful and well-spoken Searl twins join us for an insightful episode about how we can make an impact on the lives of our children and become saints ourselves.  From the importance of witness and accompaniment to the power of suffering and intention; from the joys of the Father Kapaun Walk to the struggles that young women face, they have loads of great nuggets of wisdom for us.

The world tells us to go the easiest route.  These twins are here to remind us that heaven is our goal.

Bishop Spencer, a retired Chaplain and Colonel in the US Army served those who serve us in the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, joins us on this special Veteran's Day episode in the Foxhole.  His duties took him all the world, and he graciously takes our listeners along a journey to better understand the ministry of the Archdiocese, and he reveals his personal story that weaves in brushes with danger, and encounters with Fr. Emil Kapaun, as their common service to others unfolded.  Bishop's remarkable story is a can't miss tribute to not only those who serve us in uniform, but to all of those who serve these very brave men and women.