Have you heard of Boys Town? Maybe you have seen the award winning 1938 Spencer Tracy movie about Boys Town and Father Edward J. Flanagan?
On this episode of Tripping over the Saints, I am joined by Heart of a Servant producer Victoria McEachern! Heart of a Servant is a feature length documentary, narrated by Jonathan Roumie, about Father Edward J. Flanagan and the story of Boys Town. This movie will be released on October 8th, 2024 for one day only. I hope you jump at the opportunity to learn more about Father Flanagan’s great love for all orphans.
Brian and I celebrated 25 years of marriage this summer.
Have you ever approached a special date and you just weren’t sure how to really celebrate it?
Do you plan a weekend just for you? Do you invite your community to celebrate with you? Do you celebrate with family?
The closer we got to this summer, Brian and I realized that we all just wanted to do a whole lot of little things to renew and revisit our story. Brian and I had been so good about telling Julia, Nate, and Riley all about where we met and how we went from Texas to Arizona and back again. But we realized the younger two didn’t really know our story.
First, I looked up DeGray Lake, Arkansas, where we spent our honeymoon. The state park and hotel became our first stop. In 1999, we didn’t take a camera and it was before cell phones for us, so this would be the first time that Mary Alice and Sebastian.
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I had this memory of a fish place. To get there, you drive over a bridge and then wrapped around and it was just below and snuggled into the side of the bridge on a lake. For the longest time I had decided that I probably conflated a few restaurants that we ate at on our honeymoon. The second afternoon, we drove the kids into Hot Springs and as we drove over Lake Catherine, I gasped – there it was! After all these years it was still there. We planned on returning for dinner and it was just as wonderful as I remembered! Fried shrimp, hush puppies, sweet tea – so much goodness!
On our actual anniversary weekend, we headed down to College Station, Texas. We wanted to return to Saint Mary’s. On a whim, I asked my parents (who live near Houston) if they wanted to meet us. They jumped in the car and met us for Mass and dinner! It was such a fun, last minute celebration and it was perfect for our stage of life right now.
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As always, I was reminded that Brian is a gift. He loves adventuring and he is patient when I want to make memories.
I’m so thankful that the Lord, in His amazing goodness, saw fit for us to become friends and find our vocation in one another.
Patrick was a joy to speak with! His love for the Saints and his passion for knowing about them is a gift!
I am in the process of reading Parents of the Saints: The Hidden Heroes Behind Our Favorite Saints and it is packed full of so many stories of the Saints. As I speak with him on this podcast, you can hear the love and knowledge he has of so many of Jesus’s friends in heaven!
About Patrick:
Patrick O’Hearn is a devout Catholic, husband, and father. He is an author of seven books and counting, literary consultant, speaker, and a freelance editor, previously serving as TAN Books’ acquisitions editor for two years.
He grew up in the Midwest and spent close to three years in a Benedictine Monastery before discerning the call to marriage. He graduated with a master’s in education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a bachelor’s in marketing from St. Ambrose University. You can visit his website at patrickrohearn.com.
Please join me as I speak with the joyful Katie Bogner! I was so encouraged by her personal recount of a miracle. Yes, a miracle! Venerable Fulton Sheen, pray for us!
About Katie:
Katie Bogner is a Catholic school teacher from Central Illinois who is passionate about equipping parents, catechists, and teachers to share the beauty and truth of Christ and His Church with children. She is the author of the books Through the Year with Jesus and Through the Year with Mary, as well as All about Advent & Christmas and We Have a Pope. Visit her website, LookToHimAndBeRadiant.com, for free lesson plans, printables, and other resources for teaching the faith.
After a summer break, I am thrilled to be back with a new episode of Tripping over the Saints! This podcast all began with Saint Dymphna. And now, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing Father Benjamin, another very special friend of Saint Dymphna! I felt as if Saint Dymphna sent this interview as a special gift to remind me to get back to my favorite job of spreading stories of the Saints!
What a joy to meet someone else and hear the similarities of our journey and her persistent friendship with us.
Fr. Benjamin Roberts is a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte and pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe, NC (OurLadyMonroe.org). He holds a DMin in Preaching and is the author of The Voice of the Bridegroom: Preaching as an Expression of Spousal Love. He regularly posts his Sunday homilies on FatherBhomilies.podbean.com and he leads an annual pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Dymphna in Massillon, OH.
(I have to recommend his sermon series on his podcast that begins in June of 2024. It is phenomenal!)
Free Printable:
The beautiful St. Dymphna window at Fr. Benjamin’s parish: