Ep 205 - Good News Friday: A Priest Walks Free and Ireland Goes All In on the Rosary

James Caldwell: This is the Manly Catholic, the podcast that calls you out of the shadows and into the fight. Here we forge men into warriors for Christ's husbands, fathers and leaders who refuse to kneel to the modern world's lies. No more passivity, no more excuses, no more lukewarm faith. This is your battle cry, your call to arms. The time for weakness is over. It's time to fight. Welcome to the Manly Catholic. Let's get to work. Hello all, welcome back. to another episode of Manly Catholic. This is James, your host and man, it is Friday. That means it's time for some good news. But I do have some sad news to report. The Anaheim Ducks lost last week in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights. So hopefully the avalanche are up in the series by the time this is recording, but that's okay. It's just only bad news, but we got some good news today. Now, if you are new, to the podcast. this is installment is two weeks old. Every Friday from here on out. We're going to take a step back from the noise of the week. Forget the headlights. They drain you. You take a few minutes to actually look at what God is doing that is good because how often do we hear about good news? It's pretty rare. Unfortunately, because here's the thing. The world will tell you the church is dying. The world tell you that the faith is irrelevant that young people are walking away and that we're on the wrong side of history. But of course, You have heard that enough times and it starts just wearing you. It probably makes a little bit angry. So this segment exists to push back on that narrative. But with actual news, real stories, real people and real evidence that the Holy Spirit is still moving. So let's dive into again five stories to brighten your mood and get you kicked off going into the weekend. Story number one, a kidnapped Nigerian priest is set free in his diocese credits prayer. I want to start with this one because it's heavy. is real and it is beautiful. It starts with bad news, but ends with good news. On February 7th of this year, Nathaniel Asuwe, I apologize if I am butchering that name, the parish priest of Holy Trinity Parish in Karku, Kaduna State in Nigeria, was ripped from his home at 320 in the morning. Armed gunmen stormed his rectory in the middle of the night. They took him. They took 10 of his parishioners alongside of him. And before they left, three people were actually killed in the attack. Let's see. Sorry ten members of socks taken with him already said that and then silence for weeks and for months Nobody knew what happened him father Nathaniel disappeared into what his diocese would later call word for word the den of kidnappers and if you know anything about the news some of the bad news is Nigeria has been dealing with a sustained campaign of violence against Christians particular in the middle belt region in the Catoona state for years ⁓ Boko Haram armed bandits terrorist groups Catholic priests and seminarians, especially have been kidnapped, held for ransom, and in some cases even killed. But yeah, let's get to the good news, all right? So here's where Father Nathaniel's diocese did, ⁓ here's what they did for those three months. They prayed consistently. They called on the faithful to intercede. At the end of April, the diocese dedicated the entire month of May to prayers for his release through their annual Marian devotions, through Holy Mass, through the faithful showing up and lifting his name to heaven day after day. And on May 12th, 12 days into those May devotions, Father Nathaniel was set free. The statement from the Diocesan Chancellor, Father Jacob Chanet was released immediately. And this is what he said. said, God who does not abandon those who bear his name and call upon him, heard our prayers and granted Father Nathaniel's safe return. And now he is safe and stable condition in good spirits and receiving medical care. His diocese asked the faithful to remain united, vigilant and compassionate and to keep praying. Cause at least there, there are at least two other Catholic priests that remain in captivity in Nigeria right now. Father Joseph Iguiago of the Diocese of Aguilera. He was kidnapped in October of 2022, three and a half years ago. And Father Emmanuel Azima of the Diocese of Azaria taken in December of 2025. So please keep them in your prayers. Store number two on the more lighthearted side seminarians place second and win a marathon relay running to the Heights. On May 5th, 21 men in formation for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati put on their running shoes and lined up at the start of the 28th annual Flying Pig Marathon alongside approximately 45,000 other competitors. And the seminarians held their own, would say. Seminarian Emerson Wells, studying for the Archdiocese of Louisville, crossed the finish line in second place overall. He ran two hours, 23 minutes, and 52 seconds. That's a five minute and 30 second mile pace. That is fast. His time would have won in first place outright in nine out of the last 10 years of that same race and the relay team, the seminarian led relay squad, which were four men running together, won first place in the marathon relay and beat the second place team by nearly 20 minutes. We got some fast seminarians coming through the ranks here guys. But here's what I want to really talk about. These men run under the name of Verso Alto track club. Verso all alto is Italian, it means to the heights and it comes directly from a brand new saint. Saint Pierre Giorgio Fersati was a young Italian Catholic who died in 1925 at the age of 24, as you guys know, recently canonized. He was an avid mountain climber, a passionate servant of the poor, a daily communicant, and a man of volcanic joy. When asked why he climbed mountains, he said, Verso all alto, to the heights, and that became the motto of his life. Pope Leo XIV canonized Pierre Giorgio Fersati. Just this past September, he's an athlete, a gentleman and a man's man. And he died serving plague victims in the slums of Turin while refusing to touch his family's wealth for himself. He's everything the world tells young men they can't be. And he was all of it at once. The Verso Alto track club is named in his honor, open to any Catholic man in the area with a qualified in 5k time. Its entire mission is to combine athletic excellence with a virtuous brotherhood. Ordered of course, to the glorification of God. Seminary in Wells was running up to 80 miles a week in training while maintaining the seminary's full schedule of prayer, study, liturgy, and formation. And just before race day, he learned that a group of sisters would be making their perpetual vows on May 3rd, and he ran with that intention on his heart. Verso l'Alto, to the heights, and that's the only direction worth running. Story number three, Ireland is covering the country in rosary billboards. A quick sip of coffee. So let's go across the Atlantic for this one. The 41st All Ireland Rosary Rally is scheduled for June 6th at Nock Shrine in County Mayo, For those who don't know Nock, it's one of the most significant Marian sites in the world. In 1879, during the darkest years of the Irish Famine's aftermath, Our Lady appeared there alongside St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist to 15 witnesses at the gable wall of a parish church. From St. John Paul II's in 1979. and millions have made the pilgrimage to knock Ireland. Last year, over 10,000 people gathered for the rally. This year, the Oregon Air's one to go bigger and their strategy in 2026 was to go completely old school. They put up 50 billboards across the entire country of Ireland, cities, towns, highways and parking lots, north and south, including a dairy in Belfast and Northern Ireland. Every major county was represented 50 sites, all featuring our lady with an invitation. Come to knock on June 6th. and pray. First time in the rallies of 41st year history. Father Marius O'Reilly, one of the organizers, explained the billboard strategy with a great historical reference. We chose billboards because Father Patrick Paton was famous for his billboards and running his rosary rallies around the world, some of which attracted crowds of two million people. Father Patrick Paton was a county male native born just a few miles from Nock, who became one of the most influential evangelists of the 20th century. His famous phrase was the family that prays together stays together. And he used radio, television, film, and 540 Rosary rallies worldwide to spread devotion to Mary. He is currently on the path to beatification. Father O'Reilly also said, at a time when many young people are seeking certainty, identity, and truth, amid a confusing digital landscape, the rally seeks to provide clarity and spiritual grounding. That, that's the whole thing. Young people are drawn in noise and they're starving for something real. Clear with 10,000 of your brothers and sisters this coming June 6th at the Knock Shrine in County Mayo, Ireland. A speaker list includes a Nigerian bishop who has publicly credited the Rosary with protecting his diocese from Boko Haram and an American Muslim converted to Catholicism. The day will include mass, adoration, confessions, anointing of the sick, and a full Rosary procession. Our Lady is not done. with Ireland. Number four, this is a more of a local story for those of you in Michigan and Michigan parish turned 100. So St. Mary's star of the seat in Jackson, Michigan is celebrating its centennial this month. The anniversary mass will be celebrated on May 31st, exactly 100 years to the day from his first mass by Bishop Earl Boyer Boya. Sorry, blank there. They laid the cornerstone in September of 1923. Construction started and almost immediately everything went sideways first a prolonged strike and the limestone quarry industry halted construction The stone they needed to build the church wasn't coming so they waited then 1924 while the walls were still going up one of the largest Ku Klux Klan rallies in American history took place in Jackson, Michigan 100,000 Klan members marched the streets of that city in the KKK in that era as I don't know if you guys knew this obviously they were Anti-black, but they're also viciously anti-catholic. They saw the church as a foreign threat loyal to Rome over America And they were not subtle about it. And here's when parish tradition holds I'm sorry. And here is what parish tradition holds that happened at the construction site during those days the Knights of Columbus stood guard Catholic layman and shifts through the night kept visual over the bones of their church to protect it from vandalism Now just think about that Catholic men stood in the dark protecting the future home and the Eucharist from a mob of a hundred thousand people who wanted to tear it down. And as we know, they finished the church in May 31st, 1926. The cost was $375,000. How incredible is that? The building of course still stands today has three Roman espyres rising 180 feet into the Michigan sky. Inside has stained glass windows imported from Innsbruck, Austria. Carrara marble altars and a communion rail. Bring back those communion rails, bishops, just saying. A mosaic of Our Lady Star of the Sea above the sanctuary and your rose window honoring the fallen of World War I. It has been called one of the most beautiful churches in Michigan. The outgoing pastor, Father Timothy Nelson, has said, church is not a relic, but a dynamic part of the present enriched by a legacy of faith. Congratulations to Our Lady Star of the Sea celebrating their 100th anniversary this coming May, or end of May, I should say. And finally, story number find of Filipino priest launches a 153 day global rosary campaign for souls. This is one of the best stories that I've heard in a while. So on May 13th, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. So actually that already happened. Oh shoot, this is old. That's okay. The anniversary of the first apparition, which was in 1917, a Filipino American priest launched a global invitation. He asked Catholics around the world to pray the full mysteries of the Rosary every day for 153 consecutive days offered specifically for the salvation of souls. And you might be wondering, okay. Why 153 because 153 is the number of fish in the miraculous catch recorded in john 24 on john 21 The beautiful post resurrection scene where the risen christ appears to disciples on the shore of the sea of tiberias After they've been fishing all night catching nothing He tells them to cast the net on the other side Of course they do and the net comes up with 153 large fish and the net does not break Ancient theologians and scripture scholars have long seen this number as a symbol of the universal mission of the church the fullness of all the souls that Christ came to save. Saint Jerome connected to the 153 known species of fish in the ancient world. Augustine saw it as the sum of one through 17, the law plus grace. Every tradition points in the same direction. 153 means all of them, every soul, no exceptions. So this priest is saying pray Rosary a day for 153 days for all the souls Christ came to save. The campaign runs from May 13th, feast day of our Lady of Fatima. through to the end of October, which has always been the church's month of the Rosary. And even if the fraction of the global Catholic church takes it up, if men like you and I just add a rosary to the daily routine and offer it with that intention, we're talking about millions upon millions of prayers being lifted up to heaven for souls. Man, I'll be honest with you. I'm not always great at the Rosary. I pick it up, I put it down, I have good weeks and dry weeks. But this week's good news ends here and I want you to leave you the challenge. Pick up the beads. for 153 days for souls. That is your good news for the week of May 18th, 2026. priest walks free from a terrorist camp because his diocese got on its knees. 21 seminaries line up at the start line and run to the heights, literally. Ireland covers itself in Marian billboards and two bishops prepare to consecrate a nation to Our Lady. A beautiful Michigan church turns 100 and a Filipino priest invites the whole world to pray 153 rosaries for every soul Christ came to save. Men, the church is alive, it is not dying, as Father Dom says, it is a great time to be Catholic. So until next time, men, go out there and be a saint. Brothers, thank you so much for listening to this episode. If the shows add value to your life, I'm going to ask you to do three things. Share with a brother who needs it, leave us a review, and finally support the show so we can keep fighting. Links are in the show notes. We'll see you next week.