Catholics in Ordinary Time

Fr. Jack interviews Cindy Reopelle, a longtime Catholic educator and Ignatian spiritual leader, about women in the Church, single life, vocation, parish life, prayer, and why she continues to stay Catholic.Cindy shares how her life has been shaped by Jesuit education, Catholic schools, spiritual direction, the Spiritual Exercises, and decades of serving the Church as a lay woman. She also reflects on what the Church sometimes misses about single people, why vocation is bigger than marital status, and why she still has hope for the future of the Church.

In this episode of American Parish, Fr. Jack sits down with Greg T., a high school English teacher, young adult, sports commentator, and recent convert to Catholicism.Greg shares how his journey into the Catholic Church began as an intellectual search for truth and slowly became something deeper. Raised in a high church Episcopalian background, Greg spent years reading, questioning, church shopping, and trying to understand which tradition felt most true. They talk about prayer, the Eucharist, Catholicism’s place in history, why young adults are being drawn toward the Church, the role of beauty and liturgy, and how teaching high school students changed the way Greg understands rules, freedom, and grace.American Parish is a season of Catholics in Ordinary Time, sharing ordinary Catholic life through the people of Saint Aloysius.

Fr. Jack interviews Kathy Finley, an author, teacher, and longtime Catholic, about parish life, marriage, spirituality, women’s gifts in the Church, and why she continues to stay.Cathy reflects on the Church as a big table, the beauty of marriage as a sacrament, the saints, Vatican II, ministry, and the hope that parishes can better recognize and use the gifts of ordinary Catholics.This episode is a thoughtful conversation about loving the Church honestly, seeing both its beauty and its unfinished work.

Fr. Jack interviews Rachel Williams, a young adult at Saint Aloysius, about music ministry, nursing, Ignatian spirituality, prayer, parish life, and what it means to feel known by the Church.Rachel talks about serving as a cantor, finding God in moments of brokenness, praying through the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life, and learning to notice the opportunities to serve that can pass us by. She also reflects on tithing, young adults in the Church, intergenerational community, LGBTQ+ Catholics, and the beauty that can be found beyond simply following the rules.This episode is a conversation about ordinary Catholic faith lived through music, service, prayer, and the grace of paying attention.

Fr. Jack interviews Bob, a longtime Saint Aloysius parishioner, about a lifetime of Catholic faith, parish service, prayer, community, and what it means to call the Church home.Bob reflects on decades of involvement in parish life, including catechesis, the Knights of Columbus, Stations of the Cross, hospitality, tithing, and helping others feel welcomed into the community. He also shares his perspective on younger Catholics, the importance of showing up in person, and the hope he still has for the future of the Church.This episode is a grounded conversation about ordinary Catholic faith lived over time; not perfectly, not loudly, but faithfully.