St. Joseph, Protector of the Unborn

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This podcast is dedicated to honoring and to venerating St. Joseph. And, to seeking his help to save the lives of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Episodes

  1. Jul 15

    Why Saint Joseph Gives Me Courage To Defend Life

    Send us Fan Mail A single sentence in a medical chart can feel like a verdict, especially when a prenatal diagnosis points to Down syndrome. I’m Lori, Stacy’s sister, and I’m inviting you into a deeply personal and prayerful conversation about what gets lost when children like Stacy are treated as problems to solve instead of persons to love. We begin by turning to Saint Joseph with prayer, because this topic isn’t just political or theoretical for me, it’s spiritual and painfully real. I share how grief after Stacy’s death pushed me to become more intentional about my Catholic faith, from focused prayer to deeper formation, and why Saint Joseph’s humility and steady perseverance have become a source of comfort. We also draw from Saint Pope John Paul II’s Redemptoris Custos to understand Joseph’s role as foster father of Jesus, the meaning of Mary and Joseph’s marriage bond, and the Holy Family as a model for Christian families.  Then we face hard facts about disability-selective abortion and modern prenatal screening. We discuss the real-world consequences of trisomy 21 testing, the pressure placed on mothers, and the United Kingdom’s abortion law that allows abortion for Down syndrome up to birth. To end with hope instead of despair, I remember Stacy’s contagious joy and share a story from Mass that still makes me smile, followed by A Litany for Life rooted in 1 Corinthians that asks for patience, courage, mercy, and steadfast . If this moved you, please subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find this conversation about Saint Joseph, Down syndrome, and protecting unborn life. Credits: A Prayer to St. Joseph, Defender of Life. Used with permission. Copyright © 2021, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. A Litany for Life. Used with permission. Copyright © 2010, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos                                                            Of The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II                                                                        On The Person And Mission Of Saint Joseph                                                           In The Life of Christ And Of The Church

  2. Jul 1

    Iceland And The Down Syndrome Abortion Rate

    Send us Fan Mail   I’m Lori, “Stacy’s sister,” and I open with prayer because this mission is spiritual and painfully concrete at the same time. We ask Saint Joseph, Protector of the Unborn, to defend babies diagnosed with Down syndrome and to guide us toward courage and clarity. Along the way, I share why Saint Joseph didn’t always feel prominent in my own Catholic life, and what changed as I learned more through Redemptoris Custos and the Church’s growing emphasis on Joseph as guardian, father, and protector. Then we turn to the real-world impact of prenatal screening and abortion policy, spotlighting Iceland’s near-total termination rate after a positive Down syndrome diagnosis and the cultural language used to justify it. We also look at the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, where Iceland’s treatment of people with Down syndrome was challenged, and we pray for a change of heart and policy. To end on truth instead of stereotypes, I return to Stacy. Her life was not an argument on paper but a daily reality full of personality, friends, laughter, and one unforgettable baseball story that says more than statistics ever can. If you care about Down syndrome awareness, prenatal testing ethics, disability rights, and Catholic pro-life witness, listen, share, and subscribe and if this moved you, please leave a review so more people can find it. Credits: A Prayer to St. Joseph, Defender of Life. Used with permission. Copyright © 2021, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Apostolic Exhortation  Redemptoris Custos Of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II   On the Mission of St. Joseph In The Life of Christ and of The Church

  3. Jun 15

    Faith, Grief, And A Pro-Life Prayer For Babies With Down Syndrome

    Send us Fan Mail A prenatal diagnosis can feel like a verdict, but it is still a human life and a family being asked to hope. I’m Lori, Stacy’s sister, and I built this podcast around one intention: honoring Saint Joseph while begging his protection for unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, especially when fear and pressure are loud. After spending 60 years with my baby sister Stacy, I can’t ignore what’s at stake when children who look like her are targeted in the womb.  We begin with the traditional prayer to Saint Joseph, then I share how my devotion deepened after Stacy passed and why Father Donald Calloway’s consecration to Saint Joseph helped me see Joseph’s strength in a new way. From there I explore Saint Joseph as Patron of the Unborn, drawing on Saint Pope John Paul II’s Redemptoris Custos to show Joseph as the humble guardian entrusted with the earliest beginnings of our redemption. I also recite the "Prayer to Saint Joseph, Defender of Life,” asking for the grace to welcome, cherish, and safeguard life where it is most vulnerable.  The episode revisits the remarkable story of Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the geneticist who discovered trisomy 21 and then paid a professional price for opposing abortion. And, I want to credit Francois Lespes, Jerome Lejeune, to the least of these my brothers and sisters (Ignatius Press, 2026) for much of the information regarding Dr. Lejeune. Dr. Lejeune's friendship with John Paul II, his work connected to the Pontifical Academy for Life, and his cause for sainthood reveal what it looks like when science, conscience, and the dignity of the human person collide. To keep everything grounded, I share a joyful memory of Stacy at a Kenny Rogers concert, a small moment that says more about dignity than any debate ever could. We close with "A Litany for Life" based on First Corinthians, praying for patience, mercy, courage, and hope in a culture that often forgets the unborn.  If this mattered to you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these prayers and these stories. What part stayed with you most? Credits:  A Prayer to St. Joseph, Defender of Life. Used with permission. Copyright © 2021, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. A Litany for Life. Used with permission. Copyright © 2010, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Apostolic Exhortation  Redemptoris Custos    Of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II  On the Person and Mission of  St. Joseph In The Life of Christ and of The Church

  4. Jun 1

    A Quiet Saint Takes On A Loud Culture

    Send us Fan Mail Most people think of Saint Joseph as silent background in the Nativity, but I keep coming back to one urgent question: what does his quiet courage look like when unborn babies with Down syndrome are being targeted for abortion? I’m Lori, and this first chapter of Saint Joseph, Protector of the Unborn is both personal and prayerful, rooted in my sister Stacy’s life and the ache of knowing how many children who look like her never get the chance to be born. I share how my devotion to Saint Joseph deepened after Stacy’s death, shaped by Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year community and Father Donald Calloway’s consecration to Saint Joseph. We pray together, and we reflect on Saint Joseph’s role as foster father and legal father of Jesus, a man entrusted with protecting a child the world did not understand. That’s why I talk about Saint Joseph as patron of the unborn, especially for babies diagnosed with Trisomy 21 and labeled as disposable. We also start tracing the road that led from genetics to eugenics through the story of Dr. Jérôme Lejeune, the French Catholic doctor who first published findings about the extra chromosome 21. His work affirmed that people with Down syndrome have something extra, not something less, yet he later watched that knowledge become a tool for elimination. To ground all of this in real life, I share a joyful story from Stacy’s adulthood: her journey to Confirmation and the way her faith lit up an entire parish. If you care about Down syndrome awareness, Catholic pro-life witness, prenatal diagnosis ethics, and the power of prayer, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find this conversation. What part of the story stays with you most? Credits: Francois Lespes, Jerome Lejeune, to the least of these my brothers and sisters (Ignatius Press, 2026) Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos  Of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II  On the Person and Mission of St. Joseph in The Life of Christ and of The Church

  • 4 Episodes

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This podcast is dedicated to honoring and to venerating St. Joseph. And, to seeking his help to save the lives of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome.

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