Driving Home the Faith

Today, Ken talks with Rob Corzine about upcoming books from Emmaus Road Publishing; Fr. Lawrence Carney about the once-common practice of making prayers of reparation, and much more — plus traffic and weather! Listen in at http://sacredheartradio.com/listen

Emmaus Road Publishing is at https://stpaulcenter.com/store/

Get “A Year of Reparations: 365 Days of Penance and Prayer” at tanbooks.com

The National Catholic Bioethics Center is at https://www.ncbcenter.org/

Read “Spilling Blood on the Walls of the City” at catholicworldreport.com

“Get A Long-Expected Party: Tolkien’s Life, Works, and Afterlife” at bookstore.wordonfire.com

Find John Henry Folley’s work at https://www.johnfolley.com/

See more about a subscription to “Saints and Seasons” at sophiainstitute.com

Get “Breaking Babel: How a Mysterious Biblical Story Can Help Christians Survive the AI Revolution” at creedandculture.com

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Why is narrative art essential for preserving human truth in a tech-driven culture? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes back Katy Carl, editor of Word on Fire’s Luminor imprint, to conclude their discussion on her Evangelization & Culture essay, Is There a Catholic Literary Renaissance?. Carl explains why mainstream literary giants were shaped by a Catholic imagination and how storytelling alone can reveal the unique dignity of the individual before God. Stream now!

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Is Catholic literature experiencing a powerful modern comeback? On Driving Home the Faith, guest host Dr. Ken Craycraft speaks with Katy Carl—editor of Word on Fire's literary imprint, Luminor, and writer in residence at the University of St. Thomas Houston. Discussing her essay in Evangelization & Culture (Issue 29), Carl outlines the evidence for a contemporary Catholic literary revival, highlighting key turning points, major award-winning authors, and the enduring need for stories infused with the seeds of the Word. Stream now!

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What are the unprecedented implications of a sitting Pope voting in an American election? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft speaks with Christopher Altieri, managing editor of Crux, about Pope Leo XIV (Robert Prevost) casting an absentee ballot in Chicago. Altieri examines the complex questions surrounding papal neutrality, state sovereignty, ballot secrecy, and how exercising civic duty as a private citizen interacts with the universal office of the Vicar of Christ. Stream now!

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How do the lives and intercessions of the saints lead us to deeper conversion and living virtue? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft shares his personal journey to understanding the Communion of Saints. Drawing on the lives of St. Martin of Tours, St. Thomas More, and St. Joseph, Dr. Craycraft illustrates how persistent prayer, silent devotion, and a life of singular virtue outweigh mere rhetoric when bringing others to Christ. Stream now!

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Who are the unknown saints who gave their lives for Christ without an earthly record? On Driving Home the Faith, Dr. Ken Craycraft and author Dawn Beutner (Saints: Becoming an Image of Christ Every Day of the Year) discuss the countless anonymous martyrs across Church history—from early Roman persecutions and the English Reformation to underground Japanese catechists. Though forgotten by history, their secret fidelity is known and crowned by God. Stream now!

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How can visual art help families live the rhythm of the Church's liturgical year inside the home? On Driving Home the Faith, guest host Dr. Ken Craycraft speaks with artist and illustrator John Henry Folley about Saints and Seasons, a new monthly subscription service from Sophia Institute Press. Folley shares how his large, Art Nouveau-style illustrated wall calendars, gospel meditations, and daily saint activities help Catholic families anchor their daily lives in the richness of the liturgical calendar. Stream now!

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Why are global fertility rates collapsing, and what cultural forces actually drive a family's choice to have children? On Driving Home the Faith, guest host Matt Swaim welcomes Grant Bailey from the Institute for Family Studies to break down the new report Baby Nudges: How Social Influences Shape Fertility Choices. Bailey explores how social support, media trends, risk tolerance, and online anxiety impact family size around the globe. Stream now!

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Today Ken talks with Grant Bailey about new IFS studies showing why people have (or don’t have) children and how marriage and family help prevent suicide; Katy Carl of Word on Fire about whether we’re seeing a Catholic literary revival, and m

The Institute for Family Studies is at https://ifstudies.org/

Read the report on having children Grant Bailey referenced at ifstudies.org

Read the IFS article on social support and suicide rates at ifstudies.org

Find John Henry Folley’s work at https://www.johnfolley.com/

See more about a subscription to “Saints and Seasons” at sophiainstitute.com

Find Dawn Beutner at https://dawnbeutner.com/

Read “Forgotten Saints, Faithful to the End” at catholicworldreport.com

Read “I’ve Got All These Saints Around my Neck” at catholicworldreport.com

Aid to the Church in Need is at https://www.churchinneed.org/

Crux is at https://cruxnow.com/

“Evangelization & Culture” is at https://www.wordonfire.org/

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How did the Milwaukee Brewers showcase the power of small-ball discipline to capture the World Series title, and what do personal Catholic faith stories reveal about major league icons? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft, producer Matt Swaim, and Sacred Heart Radio's Paul Lachmann gather for a special post-World Series "Sports Spotlight."

Craycraft, Swaim, and Lachmann reflect on the Milwaukee Brewers' impressive World Series victory, celebrating how a small-market, lower-budget franchise built a championship team around discipline, stellar defense, and situational execution rather than exorbitant payrolls. Craycraft shares a personal story about his son being orientation roommates at Boston College with Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick, highlighting Frelick's humble Catholic faith and decade of service as an altar server.

The trio also connects the Brewers' disciplined style of play—the "little way" of baseball—to legendary Catholic manager Jack McKeon, who famously dedicated his 2003 World Series victory with the Florida Marlins to St. Thérèse of Lisieux (the "Little Flower"). Finally, they critique the Cincinnati Reds' season, analyze why Milwaukee's brand of baseball frustrates opponents, and preview upcoming Major League Baseball labor and salary cap negotiations heading into the offseason. Stream now to listen!

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Can a well-documented 18th-century ghost story reveal spiritual truths about the Church, the communion of saints, and the power of the Mass? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes noted author, Church historian, and speaker Mike Aquilina to uncover the mysterious history behind his essay, "The Wizard Clip of West Virginia," featured in 26 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends and Mysteries (Howling Hills Publishing).

Aquilina recounts how a personal stay at a West Virginia retreat center led him to investigate "the truest ghost story ever told." He details the late 1790s haunting of Adam Livingston's homestead in present-day West Virginia, where the family endured bizarre phenomena including flying crockery, phantom galloping horses, and clothes shredded into pieces (giving rise to the name "Wizard Clip"). After local Methodist ministers, Anglican priests, and folk conjurers failed to resolve the spiritual disturbance, Livingston sought the aid of a Catholic priest.

To investigate the claims, Bishop John Carroll dispatched Father Demetrius Gallitzin—a former Russian prince educated in Enlightenment skepticism and the first priest to receive all minor and major orders in the United States. Gallitzin's exhaustive historical investigation revealed that the phenomena began after an anonymous, dying traveler was denied a Catholic priest and Christian burial. Realizing the soul was seeking suffrages and prayers, Gallitzin arranged for Holy Mass to be offered on the site, instantly ending the hauntings. Aquilina highlights how this thoroughly archived event led to Livingston's conversion and the donation of land still held by the Church today. Stream now to listen!

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How do the three necessary societies—the family, civil society, and the Church—exist and harmonize under the roof of a Catholic household? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft previews his monthly "A Closer Look" column for the November issue of The Catholic Telegraph, the magazine for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Craycraft draws on Pope Pius XI’s landmark 1929 encyclical Divini Illius Magistri (On Christian Education), which outlines the three distinct yet harmoniously combined societies instituted by God: the family and civil society in the natural order, and the Church in the supernatural order. Craycraft reflects on how these earthly human institutions serve as human expressions analogous to the necessary nature of the Triune God.

Unpacking the hierarchical ordering of these societies, Craycraft explains that civil society exists to support the good of the family, the family is ordered toward the spiritual fulfillment of the Church, and all three are ultimately directed toward eternal salvation and rest in God. As the primary educators of their children, Catholic parents create a microcosm of all three necessary societies under their own roof. Stream now to listen!

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Why has contemporary society come to view children as financial burdens and inconveniences rather than gifts from God, and how does restoring an authentic understanding of human dignity transform family life? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes homeschooling mother, writer, and Ruth Institute contributor Faith Hakesley to discuss her Catholic Exchange article, "When Did We Decide That Children Are The Problem?"

Hakesley opens by recounting shocking public encounters where strangers and acquaintances reacted with open hostility toward her family of six children, urging her and her husband to "stop having kids." Drawing on her experience raising six young children—including three with congenital heart conditions—while her husband works night shifts in law enforcement, Hakesley refutes the myth that large families require vast wealth or effortless circumstances.

Craycraft and Hakesley analyze how viewing pregnancy primarily as a "problem" makes abortion easier to justify as a "solution," contrasting modern narcissistic views of self-actualization with true Christian freedom rooted in self-giving love. Hakesley traces this mindset back to the widespread acceptance of contraception, which separates love from procreation and reduces children to obstacles. Emphasizing that human dignity does not depend on financial productivity, independence, or convenience, Hakesley shares how parenthood expands a family's capacity to love, grow in holiness, and witness to the Gospel. Stream now to listen!

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Today, Ken talks with Faith Hakesley about when children became a problem to be solved, Mike Aquilina about one of the best-documented hauntings in American history (and the young priest, a Russian prince who became “Apostle to the Alleghenies,” who investigated it), and much more — plus traffic and weather! Listen in at http://sacredheartradio.com/listen

Faith Hakesley is at https://www.faithhakesley.com/

Read “When Did We Decide that Children are the Problem?” at catholicexchange.com

Get “Kids Discover: The Pope” and “Kids Discover: Mary” at orderosv.com

Find Deacon Tom McDonald’s “Weird Catholic” at https://weirdcatholic.substack.com/ and “An Owl Among the Ruins” at https://thomaslmcdonald.substack.com/

Read “Three Necessary Societies Under One Roof” at thecatholictelegraph.com

Get “26 Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Other Mysteries” at howlinghillspublishing.com

Get “Purgatorian Manual” at tanbooks.com

Get “On the Demonic” at http://stpaulcenter.com/onthedemonic

St. Henry District High School is at https://shdhs.org/

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How does the "divorce ideology" undermine the permanence of marriage, and who suffers most when no-fault divorce laws are enforced? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes back Dr. Jennifer Roback-Morse, economist and founder of the Ruth Institute, to continue their discussion on her book, The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives.

Craycraft and Morse analyze the principal victims of no-fault divorce: children and abandoned spouses. Morse refutes the myth that "kids are resilient," citing overwhelming social science research (such as data from the Institute for Family Studies and sociologist Mark Regnerus) demonstrating the long-term harms of parental separation.

Morse also highlights the second major class of victims—spouses who want to save their marriages but are forced into unwanted divorces. Pointing out that over 70% of divorces are unilateral rather than mutually agreed upon, Morse critiques how family courts automatically side with the party who wants the marriage the least. Craycraft and Morse illustrate how this dynamic turns marriage into a contract with no legal protections for the non-breaching party, forcing state agencies to intrude heavily into domestic life, asset division, and child custody. Stream now to listen!

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What is the essential public purpose of marriage, and how has the breakdown of the natural family structure impacted society, children, and the law? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes back economist and founder of the Ruth Institute, Dr. Jennifer Roback-Morse, for an in-depth conversation on her book, The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives.

Craycraft draws on his background in domestic relations law to describe the tragedy of family court systems where "nobody wins," setting the stage for Morse's analysis of the "divorce ideology." Morse breaks down the foundational question behind natural marriage, defining its essential public purpose: attaching mothers and fathers to their children and to each other in a permanent, stable union.

Responding to common objections regarding childless or infertile couples, Morse emphasizes that while not every marriage produces children, every child has a mother and a father who need to be connected. She critiques modern adult-centric views of marriage, arguing that true marital institutions channel sexual energy constructively, safeguard childhood dependency, and protect the most vulnerable casualties of family dissolution—the children. Stream now to listen!

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How does authentic Catholic art and music draw souls into a deeper encounter with Christ, and how can multimedia devotions enrich our journey through Advent? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes Cincinnati native Andrea Thomas, singer, co-founder, and co-director of The Vigil Project, to celebrate the ministry's 10th anniversary.

Thomas reflects on the humble beginnings of The Vigil Project, which started as a single Lenten devotional music album and has expanded into a global ministry with nearly a dozen studio albums and over 450 community visits. She breaks down the ministry’s "both-and" approach to sacred art—honoring the Church's ancient musical tradition while fostering new artistic creation—and highlights their parish consulting and musician formation work based out of South Bend, Indiana.

Thomas emphasizes that artistic formation requires an interior life grounded in prayer, truth, and human integration, noting that "our senses are the windows to the soul." Finally, Thomas previews The Way of the Star, a new guided Advent journal co-authored with Greg Boudreaux and published by Ave Maria Press. Combining daily scripture, sacred art, reflections, journaling prompts, and integrated music/video QR codes, the resource guides readers through the "stations to the manger" from Advent through the Christmas octave. Stream now to listen!

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How is the Diocese of Covington inspiring new religious vocations, honoring its patron saints through public art, and supporting expectant mothers in need? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes back Maura Baker, staff writer for the Diocese of Covington’s The Messenger, to break down the latest news across Northern Kentucky.

Baker previews the diocese’s special Vocations Awareness Week edition of The Messenger, featuring reflections from Bishop John Iffert, Vocations Director Fr. Conor Kunath, and local seminarians, along with the "Memorare Army" prayer initiative and an interview with a consecrated woman of Regnum Christi. She highlights the newly unveiled seven-foot bronze statue of St. Thomas More at Thomas More University, donated by Dr. Wilbert Ziegler and sculpted by artist Matt Langford to emphasize the saint's steadfast faith. Finally, Baker discusses the Pro-Life Office’s recent Pregnancy Care Network community baby shower in Florence, Kentucky, which provides vital material aid, insurance resources, and educational support to walk with mothers and families. Stream now to listen!

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How can the quirky, three-chord folk songs of John Prine offer profound insights into the Catholic understanding of joy, redemption, and the beatific vision? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes writer, musician, and teacher Eric Cyr to discuss his Word on Fire tribute, "John Prine's Beatific Vision."

Cyr and Craycraft share personal memories of seeing Prine perform live on his final tour behind his 2018 critically acclaimed album, The Tree of Forgiveness. They break down Prine’s unique songwriting genius—balancing clever wordplay and lighthearted humor with deep emotional resonance in classics like "Hello in There" and "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore."

Analyzing the album's standout track, "When I Get to Heaven," Cyr explores how Prine’s raucous, kazoo-filled vision of eternity captures an authentic sense of heavenly communion and the redemption of earthly pleasures. Far from being impious, Cyr argues that Prine's playful imagery reflects a deeply human longing for the ultimate joy, rest, and restoration promised in eternal life. Stream now to listen!

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How widespread is global Christian persecution, and what distinct forces are driving violence against religious minorities worldwide? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes back Ed Clancy, Director of Outreach for Aid to the Church in Need USA, to examine key findings from the organization's report on global anti-Christian persecution.

Clancy outlines the primary drivers of religious persecution: ethno-nationalism, authoritarian government overreach, radical secularism, and religious extremism. He breaks down how ethno-religious nationalism divides communities in places like India and Nigeria, where Christian families face severe social ostracization, physical violence, and property confiscation.

Clancy details why sub-Saharan Africa remains the deadliest arena for Christians, highlighting terror groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and militant Fulani herder factions. He also discusses "polite persecution" and economic marginalization in parts of the Middle East, alongside Latin American religious repression in Nicaragua, where the Ortega regime has expelled bishops, shuttered seminaries, and stripped clergy of citizenship. Stream now to listen!

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