Podcast

On this episode of Among The People, we sit down with Father Russ Feldmeier, a Maryknoll missioner who spent 36 years on foreign mission assigned to Korea following his time with the Peace Corps.  He is currently heading the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers formation house in Chicago.Our co-host, Fr. Joe Veneroso and Fr. Russ have a deep history with each other, both serving in the Peace Corps in Korea prior to joining Maryknoll. We will also talk about the Catholic Church’s past and future in Korea.The interview also touches on how the acceptance of international seminarians are shaping the future of Maryknoll and how it can serve a better world.

Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr Jn 12:24-26Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit."

Orbis Publisher, Robert Ellsberg, discusses "I Surrender: A Memoir of Chile's Dictatorship, 1975" with author Kathleen Osberger in this One On One Interview.I Surrender depicts the solidarity of the Chilean people and the transformational role of nuns and priests dedicated to serving the poor, while highlighting the changing and challenged Catholic Church.Get your copy of the book: https://orbisbooks.com/products/9798888660058Check out more One On One podcasts - with Orbis Books ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_I9zTQkaIOvdWF_dm6kbINWCZ-fkjpXt )For more about Orbis Books, visit https://www.orbisbooks.comLearn more about the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, visit https://maryknollsociety.org

Father Mike is an actor. Always has been, always will be. He’s also a missionary with a vast array of experiences in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Turn your dial up and learn about the versatile and spiritually gifted Father Michael Bassano, M.M., who currently works with refugees in a UN-run camp in South Sudan. Follow his exciting and remarkable journey from Chile to Thailand to Tanzania and beyond as a Maryknoll missioner of unshakable faith and calling. In this deeply moving podcast, the ebullient priest gives his testimony as to how God tugs on us until we answer; how He prepares us for our real calling through everything we do beforehand, and how “…all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) From his humble days in the Diocese of Syracuse, the small town pastor felt a nudge—no, a shove—to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). But just how would that happen in the context of his cozy parish?     So, in 1987, he decide to join the ranks of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers—the Catholic Foreign Mission Society—with the understanding that he would return to his duties Stateside after five years. Well, God had other plans. Moved by the sacrifices of the Church martyrs of El Salvador, he mobilized himself for the poor and voiceless, and remains a Maryknoll missioner to this day.     But, let’s go back to “Act One, Scene One” of this real-life play for a moment. Some actors are shy in real life; others have a boldness that crosses over from the stage to the street. Father Mike possesses that boldness. His journey with Maryknoll started out with an unannounced visit to the Maryknoll campus, when he asked to see “a priest” and stated his case for apprenticeship. After securing his bishop’s permission, he was assigned as an associate to Chile. Fear ran through Father Mike’s veins as he disembarked the plane, entering into the dangerous territory of the Pinochet regime. But he wasn’t as afraid for his own safety as much as he was...

Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary TimeMt 13:18-23 "But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

From the streets of Chile, during the protest demonstrations against torture, to caring for HIV/AIDS patients in Thailand and now serving the people of Sudan, Fr. Mike Bassano share his reflections and stories as a Maryknoll missioner.

Memorial of Saint Kateri TekakwithaMt 10:16-23Jesus said to his Apostles: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans."

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary TimeMt 8:1-4When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.”

"Cyprian grounds his theology in the earth, the body, and the feminine, presenting God as a quaternity of Silence, Word, Music, and Dance. In a “divine alchemy,” which should be our normative experience, “the water of our humanity is changed into the wine of divinity.” This complex and profound work challenges us to move beyond our limited Eurocentrism and understand God as Great Mother, Tao-Made-Flesh, and the energy of Shekinah."- Tessa Bielecki, author of Holy Daring and co-director of the Desert FoundationIt appears that an island floats in the water, but actually every island is the tip of a mountain rooted deep in the ocean. Even more rooted in the fathomless are our names for God: they are merely the island we see sticking out of the sea.This work explores ways of understanding the Persons of the Trinity inspired by the thought of Raimon Panikkar and Bruno Barnhart. Cyprian Consiglio presents some of what lies beneath the names as we know them––Father, Son, and Spirit––to the universal energies that each of the Persons represent, as these energies are found in us, and in other spiritual traditions of the world. This includes an opening up of the feminine dimension of each of the Persons. With an emphasis on our participation in divinity, Consiglio explores what it might mean to evolve in our understanding of God and realize untapped potentials of our Christian spirituality. Cyprian Consiglio is a Camaldolese Benedictine monk, musician, composer, author, and teacher. He has shared his time between a hermitage in Big Sur, CA, and traveling in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, studying, teaching, and performing. Currently prior of his community, his other books include Prayer in the Cave of the Heart and Spirit, Soul, Body: Toward an Integral Christian Spirituality.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles Mt 16:13-19Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Once again today we hear Jesus proclaiming that his disciples should not surrender to fear as they carry out their mission. He even tells his followers that they are worth more than an entire flock of sparrows and that every hair on their head has been counted. Jesus assures us that God’s loving, fatherly care accompanies us in all of life’s diverse situations.