Son Rise Morning Show

Can artificial intelligence serve a purpose within the quiet walls of a cloistered monastery? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Father Philip Larrey from Humanity 2.0 to discuss his presentation to contemplative nuns on the Church's social doctrine regarding AI and technology. Father Larrey explores how administrative efficiency, communication, and practical tasks can benefit from modern tools without compromising the essential, uninterrupted rhythm of prayer, silence, and community life that makes cloistered religious the spiritual powerhouses of the Church. Stream now!

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What makes a college visit truly transformative for a high school student? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim speaks with Sam Phillips, Director of Admissions at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. Phillips announces the opening of early bird registration for Christendom's popular "Best Week Ever" summer program for rising high school seniors. He outlines how this fully immersive week combines rigorous Catholic liberal arts, outdoor adventures in the Shenandoah Valley, vibrant spiritual life, and joyful community to help students discover what a integrated, Christ-centered education looks like. Stream now!

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What does it mean for a priest to offer himself as both shepherd and sacrifice? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Alan Smith, member of the Advisory Board for the Cause of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen and author of America's Apostle. Smith explores Fulton Sheen's profound writings on the priesthood—from the vital call for priests to unite their lives to Christ as both priest and victim, to discerning a religious vocation, and supporting local shepherds through prayer and hospitality. Stream now!

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How can peaceful prayer and daily witness transform hearts amidst cultural and political tension? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Dina Dwyer Owens—former co-chair of Neighborly and author at DinaDwyerOwens.com. Drawing on nearly two decades of participating in 40 Days for Life campaigns, Owens discusses overcoming fear to pray outside clinics, encountering hurting individuals with Christ-like love, and practical ways to foster a culture of life in family, work, and everyday interactions. Stream now!

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Why do we honor the saints when they are already enjoying the Beatific Vision and need nothing from us? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Kris McGregor from DiscerningHearts.com to reflect on a classic All Saints sermon by St. Bernard of Clairvaux from the Liturgy of the Hours Office of Readings. McGregor explains how remembering holy men and women—like St. Martin de Porres and St. Bernard—serves our spiritual growth, inflames our longing for heaven, and anchors our hearts in eternal communion amidst the noise and toxicity of worldly news. Stream now!

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How does real-world archaeology bring the writings of St. Paul to life? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim catches up with Catholic author and pilgrimage leader Steve Ray live on location near ancient Corinth. Ray breaks down fascinating physical discoveries—including the famous Erastus Stone and the Bema judgment seat—showing how ancient Greek culture, the Temple of Apollo, and pagan traditions directly shaped St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Stream now!

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How can we ground ourselves and find interior peace amid political chaos, hyper-partisanship, and constant media noise? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim speaks with Kathryn Jean Lopez, Senior Fellow at the National Review Institute. Lopez shares her personal routine for election day and stressful cultural moments—visiting holy shrines like the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine in Manhattan, spending quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament, and drawing inspiration from American saints and holy men and women whose causes are underway. Stream now!

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How does a humble Dominican lay brother become one of the most beloved saints in Church history? On The Son Rise Morning Show, hosts Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell celebrate the feast of St. Martin de Porres and the start of Black Catholic History Month. They reflect on St. Martin’s incredible humility, his miraculous multiplication of food for the poor, his kinship with animals, and how his quiet witness mirrors other heroic figures like Servant of God Julia Greeley. Plus, Matt shares his classic personal story of receiving a surprising "rat reminder" on the road! Stream now!

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Why do so many of us hesitate or run away when God calls us into a deeper relationship or a difficult mission? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Annie Mitchell welcomes Marlon de la Torre, Senior Director of Evangelization for the Diocese of Columbus and author at KnowingIsDoing.org. de la Torre breaks down why fear, sin, and reluctance cause us to flee from God—from Adam and Eve in the garden to Jonah and St. Peter—and how following biblical models like Samuel and Gideon can help us say "Yes" to Christ. Stream now!

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How do we balance real grief with resurrection joy during the month of All Souls? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Benedictine Father Boniface Hicks, author of Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father's Love. Father Boniface unpacks the Beatitude "Blessed are those who mourn," discussing how facing loss, honoring deceased loved ones, and praying for the souls in purgatory deepen our pilgrimage toward our heavenly homeland. Stream now!

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Happy feast of St. Martin de Porres! On today’s show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell reflect on the beauty of his life and witness as one of the first saints from the Americas. Other guests include Steve Ray live from Corinth, one of the key places in early Church history, and Fr. Boniface Hicks with more thoughts on personal prayer from the saints. Plus news, weather, sports, and more… listen live!

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Prayer for the Intercession of St. Martin de Porres

Most humble St. Martin, whose burning charity embraces all, but especially those who are sick, afflicted, or in need, we turn to thee for help in our present difficulties and we implore thee to obtain for us from God health of soul and body, and in particular the favour we now ask … (pause to ask favours).

May we, by imitating thy charity and humility, find quiet and contentment all our days, and cheerful submission to God’s holy will in all the trials and difficulties of life. Amen.

*****

Information on Christendom College’s “Best Week Ever visit program can be found at christendom.edu.

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Why does smoothing over every obstacle for our children hinder their long-term maturity, and how can parents distinguish between true needs and privileges? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell welcomes back pediatric psychologist and author Dr. James Schroeder (james-schroeder.com) to continue their discussion on intentional, countercultural Catholic parenting.

Dr. Schroeder explains the trap of "Zamboni parenting"—the tendency to continually clear away friction, awkwardness, or discomfort in a child's path. While born from good intentions, this overprotective approach deprives children of crucial opportunities to develop resilience, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities needed for adulthood. Referencing the principle of "help me do it myself," Dr. Schroeder outlines core diagnostic questions parents should ask when navigating everyday decisions:

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Growth vs. Comfort: Does this situation involve a vital area of growth, and how can I support my child through necessary discomfort rather than taking over?

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Needs vs. Privileges: Is this request a fundamental need or a privilege, and am I helping my child cultivate gratitude rather than entitlement?

Emphasizing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health, Dr. Schroeder encourages parents to embrace a countercultural mindset that prioritizes long-term character formation over short-term ease. Stream now to listen!

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How do Catholic liturgical prayers for All Souls' Day reflect the theological journey of sanctification, and how can neighborhood witness bring the commemoration of the faithful departed to life? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Dr. Benjamin Lewis, Director of Translation Services for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), to discuss the opening of November's month of the Holy Souls.

Dr. Lewis shares a creative evangelization effort from his own Catholic neighborhood on Halloween night, where a parish family invited trick-or-treaters to record the names of deceased loved ones in a prayer book, pledging to offer daily prayers for those souls throughout November.

Turning to the liturgy, Swaim and Dr. Lewis unpack the Collects for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day), focusing on how the Church ties our deepening faith in Christ's resurrection directly to our hope for the resurrection of the dead. Reflecting on their shared backgrounds in evangelical and Wesleyan traditions, Swaim and Dr. Lewis examine how the Catholic doctrine of purgatory aligns with the biblical understanding of sanctification—affirming that God faithfully completes the work of interior holiness He begins in believers (Philippians 1:6) so they may enter fully into the heavenly glory. Stream now to listen!

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How did the writings of Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc help guide Norwegian Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sigrid Undset into the Catholic Church, and why do his arguments against secularism remain vital today? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back historian and author Stephanie Mann (Supremacy and Survival) to continue their multi-part series on Sigrid Undset's journey to sainthood.

Hilaire Belloc, Catholic Historian and Author. Source: Wikipedia

Mann explores Undset’s deep admiration for Belloc’s seminal work, The Catholic Church and History, which Undset personally translated and published at her own expense for Norwegian readers. Emerging from an increasingly secularized Lutheran society, Undset found in Belloc a compelling defense of the Church's divine origin and unique institutional authority against both Protestant accusations of "priestly craft" and secular claims that religion is merely a man-made social construct.

Swaim and Mann analyze Belloc's core apologetic premise: that no other institution or religious system in human history makes the exact claims regarding divine foundation, personality, and authority that the Catholic Church asserts. Drawing parallels to G.K. Chesterton's observations on "conscious versus unconscious dogmatists," they reflect on how modern secular culture replaces religious commitment with political engagement, highlighting the enduring necessity of a clear, reasoned Catholic worldview. Stream now to listen!

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How did the early Christians' care for their dead revolutionize Roman culture, and what can the Roman catacombs teach us about historical belief in purgatory and the resurrection of the body? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes Church historian, author, and speaker Mike Aquilina (fathersofthechurch.com) to discuss the ancient roots of Catholic burial customs and prayers for the faithful departed.

Aquilina contrasts the Roman custom of cremation with Jewish and early Christian burial traditions, explaining that Christian care for mortal remains was grounded in the firm professing of the resurrection of the body. He describes how pagan Romans began imitating Christian burial practices as a visible testimony of love, leading to massive public works such as the excavation of the Roman catacombs. Aquilina highlights unique early liturgical customs—such as burying bodies facing east toward Christ's return—as concrete acts of faith rather than mere superstition.

Turning to the month of November and the Holy Souls in Purgatory, Aquilina reflects on St. Augustine's treatise On Care to Be Had for the Dead and notes how many prominent ancient witnesses to purgatory were holy women, including St. Perpetua, St. Monica, and St. Macrina. Describing ancient graffiti scratched into the plaster of 3rd- and 4th-century catacombs asking for prayers and intercessions for deceased loved ones, Aquilina demonstrates that the Catholic Church's ongoing practice of praying for the dead during Holy Mass directly continues the devotion of the earliest believers. Stream now to listen!

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Did the early Church Fathers believe in purgatory, and why is praying for the faithful departed an essential obligation of Catholic charity? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell welcomes back Fr. John Gavin, S.J., author of Mysteries of the Lord's Prayer and Growing into God, to explore St. Augustine’s profound teachings on prayer for the dead during the month of November.

Fr. Gavin refutes the misconception that belief in purgatory was a medieval invention, highlighting how St. Augustine (354–430 AD) defended prayers, almsgiving, and the Eucharistic sacrifice for the dead as an established apostolic tradition received from earlier Church Fathers. Rooting his analysis in the Communion of Saints, Fr. Gavin explains Augustine’s teaching from The City of God regarding temporal punishment and the cleansing of souls before the final judgment, showing that the deceased remain mystically united with the Church on earth.

Mitchell and Fr. Gavin emphasize the spiritual necessity of offering funeral Masses and daily prayers for the Holy Souls rather than presuming immediate canonization for loved ones. Closing with a moving passage from Book IX of Augustine’s Confessions, Fr. Gavin reads the Saint’s personal, heartbreaking prayer for his mother, St. Monica—begging God's mercy upon her soul after her death—to illustrate how genuine Christian love compels believers to intercede for their departed brothers and sisters. Stream now to listen!

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How did a Jesuit missionary survive a brutal anti-Catholic tar-and-feathering to found Boston College, and why was Prague's famous Marian Column dismantled in 1918 and rebuilt a century later? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Church historian Dr. Kevin Schmiesing to look at two major milestones in "This Week in Catholic History."

Schmiesing recounts the remarkable life of Fr. John Bapst, S.J. (1815–1887), a Swiss-born Jesuit who ministered to the Abenaki Native Americans and Irish and French immigrants in Maine. During the rise of the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing movement in the 1850s, Fr. Bapst defended Catholic school children against forced reading of the Protestant King James Bible. In October 1854, an anti-Catholic mob in Ellsworth, Maine, dragged Fr. Bapst from a home, riding him out of town to tar and feather him. Undeterred, Fr. Bapst celebrated Mass the following morning under the protection of fair-minded Protestant neighbors. He went on to serve as president of the College of the Holy Cross and helped found Boston College before passing away on November 2, 1887.

Moving to 20th-century European history, Schmiesing details the tearing down of Prague's historic 50-foot Marian Column on November 3, 1918. Originally erected in 1650 to commemorate the defense of Prague against Swedish forces at the close of the Thirty Years' War, the column became viewed as a political symbol of the Catholic Austro-Hungarian Empire during the Czech independence movement. Schmiesing explains how the column stood across from a statue of Jan Hus until its destruction by a crowd in 1918, and chronicles its modern resurrection in June 2020 after the fall of Communism as a restored symbol of Czech heritage and Marian devotion. Stream now to listen!

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Happy All Souls Day! On today’s show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell welcome Mike Aquilina and Fr. John Gavin, S.J., to talk about how the early Church talked about and prayed for the dead. Other guests include Stephanie Mann on Sigrid Undset and Hilaire Belloc, and Kevin Schmiesing with This Week in Catholic History. Plus all the latest news, weather, sports, and a whole lot more…

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Prayer for the Dead

God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

*****

John Hale and the 2028 Sailing Grace Catholic Culture Cruise can be found at sailinggracecruise.com.

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How does devotion to the Holy Eucharist transform family life, inspire religious vocations, and fuel a culture of life? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes Sr. Deirdre "DeDe" Byrne, POSC—active-duty military veteran, thoracic surgeon, superior of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts, and author of Sister Soldier Surgeon—to preview her upcoming All Saints Day event at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

Sr. Deirdre reflects on her upbringing in a devout Catholic home where her parents prioritized daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration despite demanding schedules, demonstrating how the Eucharist forms the spiritual foundation for strong families. She addresses the global crisis of religious vocations and the breakdown of marriage, linking these challenges to broader cultural shifts, contraception, and the widespread destruction of life through abortion. Drawing on her experiences serving as a medical first responder at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, Sr. Deirdre compares man's inhumanity to man on that day with the daily reality of abortion mills, calling for a return to the love and power found before the Most Blessed Sacrament. Stream now to listen!

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How do the upcoming solemnities of All Saints and All Souls reframe our understanding of mortality, holiness, and the universality of the Church? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Fr. Duncan, priest of the Diocese of Charleston and host of the Bone Church Revival Podcast, to reflect on the rich Catholic traditions surrounding death, resurrection, and sanctity.

Fr. Duncan explores how the autumn transition into winter serves as a spiritual reminder of mortality, pointing directly to All Souls' Day and the Catholic Church's teaching on purgatory—affirming that Jesus Christ, not sin or death, has the final word on the faithful. Looking ahead to All Saints' Day, he unpacks how the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are first and foremost descriptions of Christ Himself, while the vast cloud of witnesses—from ancient Roman martyrs to the newly beatified Franciscan Georgia Martyrs—proves that living a life subsumed in Christ's grace is genuinely possible for every person.

Swaim and Fr. Duncan also discuss the true, authentic "diversity" of the Catholic Church as envisioned in Revelation 7, where a great multitude from every nation, race, people, and tongue gathers around the throne of God, unified by the transformative power of the sacraments. Stream now to listen!

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