This week on Be Not Afraid, Fr. Fabian and Fr. Bruce Riebe cover one of the biggest weeks on the Catholic calendar. Blessed Fulton SheenArchbishop Fulton Sheen is beatified this Thursday, September 24, in St. Louis, with an expected crowd of more than 50,000. Fr. Bruce notes that beatification is a major milestone but still one step short of canonization. The priests trace Sheen's life and legacy: born in 1895 in El Paso, Illinois; ordained September 20, 1919; a pioneer of Lenten radio talks and the Catholic Hour; made a bishop June 11, 1951; host of Life Is Worth Living, the most widely viewed religious program in television history. He won an Emmy for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1953, appeared on the cover of TIME on April 14, 1952, served as Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969, and died December 9, 1979. Fr. Bruce connects Sheen's media apostolate directly to the work of Mother Angelica, EWTN, and Iowa Catholic Radio today. The Byzantine connectionFr. Bruce highlights a detail many listeners will miss: in the 1950s, Sheen celebrated the first English Divine Liturgy at the Uniontown, Pennsylvania pilgrimage site before roughly 100,000 people, wearing Byzantine vestments. In commemoration, a Byzantine Catholic Divine Liturgy will be celebrated Saturday, September 26 in Peoria, Illinois, by Bishop Robert Pipta of the Eparchy of Parma. St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist — September 21Fr. Fabian reflects on the tax collector who left his table of books and money at two words from Christ: "Follow me." His Hebrew name Levi means addition; his new name in Christ, Matthew, means gift of God. The Gospel of Matthew was written to convince the Jewish people that the awaited Messiah had come. He is depicted as the winged man because his Gospel opens with the human genealogy of Jesus, and he is the patron of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, customs officers, security guards, stockbrokers, and tax collectors. The takeaway: money is transitory, meant to serve others and glorify God, while the focus stays on eternal life. St. Padre Pio — September 23Born in southern Italy to a shepherd's family, Padre Pio entered the Capuchin novitiate at 15 and was ordained at 22. On September 20, 1918, he received the stigmata, the first priest ever so blessed. He heard confessions by the hour, reportedly reading the consciences of those who held back. In 1956 he opened the Home for the Relief of Suffering, a hospital that now serves 60,000 people a year. He died September 23, 1968, at age 81. More than 400,000 people worldwide belong to the prayer groups he founded. The fathers also recount his canonization miracle, the healing of seven-year-old Matteo Pio Colella from meningitis after a prayer vigil. Sunday's Gospel — Matthew 21:28-32The parable of the two sons: one refuses and then goes, one agrees and never does. Fr. Fabian asks what future we are preparing, and how the choices we make now shape both this life and the life of the age to come. Learn more and listen live at IowaCatholicRadio.com Support for Be Not Afraid comes from Ball Team, your builder of all faith-based construction needs: BuildWithBall.com #FultonSheen #BlessedFultonSheen #PadrePio #StMatthew #Catholic #CatholicPodcast #CatholicRadio #BeNotAfraid #IowaCatholicRadio #Beatification #CatholicSaints #SundayGospel #OrdinaryTime #CatholicFaith #Homily #LifeIsWorthLiving #Stigmata #ByzantineCatholic #CatholicChurch #DailyMassReadings Listen Live · Program Schedule · Our Stations LINKS You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok! More on our website. If you would like to support Iowa Catholic Radio you can donate Here! More from Iowa Catholic Radio: Sunday Dive with Katie PatrizioMan Up! with Joe StopulosCatholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie NelsonThe Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud MarrBe Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce RiebeBe Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián MoncadaMaking it Personal with Bishop William JoensenFaith and Family Finance with Gregory WaddleThe Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos Liturgy & Devotions The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick SmithThe Daily Mass from St. Francis of AssisiThe Daily Mass from St. Pius XThe Daily Mass from St. TheresaSunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint JohnWant to support your favorite show? Click Here Iowa Catholic Radio - Connecting People to Christ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
