Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted."  Matthew 5:4.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the first beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."  Matthew 5:3.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."  Matthew 5:3.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Bernardino was born in 1530 in Capri, Italy.  At the age of 34, he became acquainted with priests of the Society of Jesus and made an eight-day retreat with them. During this retreat, he felt a strong call to religious life and asked to be admitted to the Jesuits. He was accepted and ordained a priest in 1567. For ten years he served in...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org In the Acts of the Apostles, the Bible says that the apostles of Jesus needed helpers to care for widows and the poor. They ordained seven deacons to that task, and St. Stephen is the most famous of these. He is described as a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, who worked great miracles among the people. Stephen preached forcefully and...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Julia was a pious Carthaginian girl who, after being captured from her city, was sold as a slave to a pagan merchant. She accepted her slavery without complaint and remained fervent in her devotion to God. One day while accompanying her master on a trip to France, Julia refused to attend a pagan festival, saying she wanted nothing to do...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org This week’s broadcast is the story of Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy, a pious and charitable ruler. Amadeus was the son of Duke Louis I of Savoy. He was born in 1435 in Thonon, Savoy and betrothed as an infant to Princess Yolanda, the daughter of Charles VII of France. They were married in 1451, and Amadeus succeeded his father as Duke of...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Born into a peasant family at Riva, Italy, young Dominic joined St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians, as a student at the Oratory in Turin at the age of 12. He impressed John Bosco with his desire to be a priest and to help him in his work with neglected boys. A peacemaker and an organizer, young Dominic founded a group he called the...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Rose Hawthorne was born on May 20, 1851, in Lenox, Massachusetts, to American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia. Rose married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1871. In 1876, they had a son, Francis, who lived only until the age of 5. The couple eventually separated. George Lathrop died in 1898. Rose’s search for meaning in life...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Sebastian de Aparicio y del Pardo, OFM (1502 – 1600) was born in Spain and moved to Mexico in 1533. His background in ranching led him to work rounding up wild cattle, and he became known as the first Mexican cowboy, or charro. His experience moving cattle made him realize that Mexico needed a road system. He constructed highways from Veracruz...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Valentine is a third-century Roman saint. Few facts about his life are known, but one of the legends attributed to him involves a miraculous healing. Valentine was a priest arrested for trying to convert people to Christianity, a crime punishable by death. While under house arrest in the home of a local judge, Valentine was introduced to...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Born to a noble and wealthy family in the town of Piacenza, Italy, Conrad’s early life was marked by privilege and leisure but also a deep faith in the Lord. Having married quite young, both he and his wife were recognized for their piety and charity.  During a hunting outing, Conrad ordered his attendants to scatter some brush and light it...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org A powerful episode demonstrating the virtue of charity by which we love God above all things.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome in 1795 and began studies for the priesthood very early in life. He was ordained at 23 years of age and earned a doctorate in theology soon afterward. He was given an assistant professorship at the Sapienza University but resigned it soon after to devote himself to pastoral work. Pallotti organized...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org The story of a young girl who is in conflict with her mother over whether she should return to a convent school after her holiday visit home.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Blandina Segale, S.C., more commonly known as Sister Blandina, was an Italian-born American religious sister and missionary who became widely known through her service on the American frontier in the late 19th century. Born in Italy in 1850, Sr. Blandina came to America at the age of 4 and grew up to become a Sister of Charity of Cincinatti....

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org "As Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is now called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him." (Matthew 4:18-20)  Andrew and Simon were the first...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org This episode illustrates the biblical Book of Job. In the scriptures, Job is described as a blessed man who lives righteously in the Land of Uz. The Lord's praise of Job prompts Satan to suggest that Job serves God simply because God has been generous with him. God removes Job's protection and gives permission to Satan to take his wealth, his...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Daniel, Franciscan provincial of Calabria, Italy, led a contingent of Franciscan friars who were inspired by the example of St. Berard to preach the Gospel in North Africa in 1227. The six other friars were Angelo, Domnus, Hugolino, Leo, Nicholas, and Samuel. They came to Ceuta, Morocco, where the Christian merchants warned them against...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Paola Elisabetta was born Costanza Cerioli in 1816 in Soncino, Italy, the last of 16 children born into a noble family. A frail child, she lived at home until she was 11 years old, when she was sent off to school in Bergamo, where she learned to depend on God and to find her comfort in him. At age 19, she married a 59-year-old widower,...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada was born in Avila, Spain in 1515. Her parents were pious Catholics and in some ways inspired their daughter to take up a life of prayer. As a young child, Teresa showed signs of a deeply religious nature; she would often retreat into silence for prayer and would enjoy giving alms to the poor. At the age of 16,...

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Roman Catholics and Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England. According to legend, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Lady Richeldis and transported...