We reflect on why the Church ends the year with hard words about judgment and perseverance, then use Advent as a reset toward courage over comfort. Stories of St. Paul Miki and the hidden Christians of Japan ground the call to public witness, daily habits, and steady hope.

• end times as clarity, not fear
• Advent as wake-up to eternity
• perseverance over comfort in daily discipleship
• Saint Paul’s “work and wait” for Thessalonica
• witness of St. Paul Miki and hidden Christians
• avoiding “stepping on the crucifix” in compromises
• small habits that build courage: Mass, confession, prayer
• public, joyful witness without shame
• perseverance as the Christian superpower

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We explore why the church ends the year with hard words about judgment and hope, and how perseverance anchors us when faith costs something. From the martyrs of Nagasaki to the quiet tests at work and home, we ask whether we truly believe Christ’s promise.

• apocalyptic readings as a call to faithfulness
• Jesus’ warning about persecution and the promise of perseverance
• the courage and joy of the twenty-six martyrs of Nagasaki
• hidden Christians in Japan keeping the faith without priests
• why the gospel demands conversion and change
• modern compromises that erode conviction
• courage over comfort as a daily practice
• Eucharist as strength for witness and mercy

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

Today Fr. Vigoa & Michelle Lopez are joined by guest Pam Giganti-Bunge

We reflect on the Lateran feast to show why the Church lives in people, not stone, and share a vivid Cuba relief story that reveals faith in action. We talk about the domestic church, small groups, Emmaus retreats, and the daily work of repairing cracks with grace.

• meaning of the Lateran dedication for modern believers
• Church as living stones rather than buildings
• Cuba hurricane relief and coordinated parish action
• domestic church habits that anchor faith
• Emmaus retreats as catalysts for service and renewal
• moving from consumer to contributor in parish life
• dealing with scrupulosity, excuses and control
• practical rhythms: confession, adoration, small groups
• adding beauty versus widening the cracks

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

I returned from Santiago de Cuba shaken by the damage of the storm and inspired by the courage we saw, sharing how 43,000 pounds of food became a living sign of the Gospel. A woman with a broom and the feast of the Lateran Basilica teach us that the Church is people who rebuild on Christ.

• scenes of loss in Cuba and lines for water
• 43,000 pounds of aid delivered and distributed
• El Cobre visit and prayer for rebuilding
• the woman sweeping the foundation as witness
• Lateran Basilica feast and living stones
• conversion over complaint and blame
• Christ as the only foundation that holds
• practical calls to rebuild at home and parish

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We reflect on All Souls landing on a Sunday and how facing death changes how we live, grieve, and love. Stories, scripture, and lived experience show why Christians mourn with hope and measure life by love, not length.

• All Souls Day on a Sunday and its penitential lens
• Steve Jobs on mortality meeting the Christian horizon of hope
• Smartphones and distraction versus attention to what lasts
• Grief as experience and mourning as chosen path
• Prayer for the dead as a love language across the grave
• Building faith before crisis to stand when loss hits
• Death as threshold and the promise of resurrection
• Living on mission with an eternal perspective

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We hold grief and hope together on All Souls Day, confronting death with the promise that love outlasts the grave. We explore prayer for the dead, the communion of saints, and how living for eternity reshapes forgiveness, mercy and daily choices.

• why remembering death clarifies what matters
• death as threshold in Christ, not the end
• love made tangible in cross, baptism and Eucharist
• prayer for the dead as love’s language beyond the grave
• communion of saints as living exchange of grace
• grieving with hope, not hiding sorrow
• forgiveness, mercy and sacrifice as urgent choices
• Eucharist as foretaste of the eternal banquet
• practical steps to reconcile and live faithfully

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We read Luke 18:9–14 and confront the gap between outward virtue and interior truth. We share how humility opens space for grace, why comparison starves identity, and how an honest confession heals at the root.

• the parable as a mirror for our prayer and life
• dangers of comparison, pride and image management
• God fills an empty, porous and honest heart
• adult preparation for confession and examen
• pride vs false humility and a balanced path
• integrity in small things shaping daily life
• mercy over perfectionism restoring identity

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We read the Pharisee and the tax collector as a mirror for the inner life, moving from performance to surrender. We share why honest prayer and confession open space for grace, and how humility frees us from comparison and shame.

• The parable as a psychological mirror of prayer
• Vanity in religious clothes versus true holiness
• The tax collector’s simple plea and why it works
• Confession as honesty, not performance
• Clay hearts versus marble hearts as images of grace
• Two faces of pride and the invitation to look up
• Humility as liberation and the promise of reversal
• A practical prayer: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org