The Family Room (The Quest)

Join co-hosts Mari Cleveland from St. Jude the Apostle and John Gordon and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel as they speak with authors, theologians, and local priests and lay leaders to provide your family encouragement, resources, and hope. Enjoy heartfelt stories and engaging conversations with Catholics who are excited to share their life experiences and acquired wisdom to help your family continue to live out your faith with joy.

Carolyn and Sean Loub


It’s not unusual for Catholic moms to consider the priesthood for their boys, but Carolyn Loub admits she didn’t pray for a priestly vocation. As a matter of fact, when their third son left a note for his parents saying he’d discerned a call to the priesthood, they were shocked. Carolyn felt they hadn’t done anything special to encourage his vocation, saying, “I didn’t think I was a mom who raised a future priest. It’s a God thing.”

Their son, Sean, candidly shares how his first nudge came while he was a young altar server watching the gestures of the priest. His prayer life was nominal until high school when he felt the Holy Spirit drawing him into a deeper relationship. Close friends invited him to a Latin Mass and, although reluctant, he fell in love with the reverent liturgy, eventually asking God to give him clear signs if the priesthood was his vocation. God gave Sean the assurances he needed, and he applied to and was accepted by the Institute of Christ The King Sovereign Priest. Sean graduates high school in the spring of 2024 and will begin his candidacy as an Oblate with the Institute in the fall of 2024.

Sean is an incredibly gifted young man, serving as the President of both his school’s Student Council and Students for Life. He is also captain of the school’s tennis team and enjoys playing pickleball.
Sean is also a member of the “Men of St. Joseph” as well as the “Knights of the Holy Temple” at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish. He is also an altar server.

Carolyn Loub has sung in the choir since she was a child and is a former home blogger and interior designer who has taken her life up a notch since becoming a “pickleball fanatic” – designing a line of pickleball apparel under the name “The Pickle Chicks.”

Resources

Sister Mary Ann Fatula, author


As one of eight children, Sister Mary Ann Fatula felt drawn to the Mass at a young age, never missing a day since receiving her First Holy Communion at age seven. Now 81 and retired, Sister Fatula declares herself a mere youth among the other Dominican nuns she cares for at their nursing home.

A prolific writer, Sister Fatula’s book, The Wonders of the Mass and the Eucharist: Insights of the Saints, will give you a greater understanding of the Communion of Saints through the profound and tender writings of 10 saints who also loved the Mass. These saints will teach you about the immeasurable graces the Lord gives you at Mass and through the Eucharist. You will hear that when Jesus comes down onto the altar, He brings all of heaven with Him, opening up to us the many profound mysteries invisibly taking place at each Mass. Through Sister Fatula’s eyes of faith, you will never experience Mass the same way again.

Sr. Mary Ann Fatula, O.P., received her PhD in Systematic Theology at Catholic University of America and then was a professor of theology at Ohio Dominican for over 30 years.

Resources

Books by Sister Mary Ann Fatula:

Co-hosts of The Family Room, Mari Cleveland from St. Jude and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel, talk with Marci Nunnery from the Cathedral of Christ the King who shares about the beauty of the rosary.

Dr. Paul Chaloux, moral theologian and author


Dr. Paul Chaloux just completed the third book in his trilogy on the three great mysteries of life: suffering, death, and love. His latest, called Heaven’s Currency: A Study of Love, builds upon the first two: Why All People Suffer and Dying Without Fear. Combined, all three show us how love is Heaven’s true currency.

Listen as Dr. Chaloux explains how understanding eternity relies on our ability to stop focusing on the here and-now by understanding that God permits suffering and even death as gateways to love. Suffering is not a punishment, but a vehicle.

With a PhD in Moral Theology, Dr. Chaloux draws on not only textbook knowledge but from first-person suffering, including his own diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s disease. Theologically rich and emotionally powerful, Dr. Chaloux can help you understand why Heaven’s currency really is love.

Dr. Paul Chaloux earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and worked for IBM as an engineer, manager, and strategist for over 33 years. In 2014, Dr. Chaloux earned an MA in Religious Education from Fordham University and in 2020 earned a PhD in Moral Theology from the Catholic University of America. Dr. Chaloux has been married for more than 35 years and has four grown children and three grandchildren. He teaches theology at Catholic University as well as religion classes at his parish in suburban D.C.

Resources

Mary Jane Zuzolo, author


Most Catholics would recognize the sixth Station of the Cross, Christ’s face imprinted on Veronica’s veil. This sacred relic is kept safely in the Vatican, but few know about the Holy Face Devotion which was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1895. Mary Jane Zuzolo shares from her book, Unveiling the Sixth Station of the Cross: Reparation to the Holy Face, Mother of All Devotions, about many miracles attributed to Veronica’s veil, which has generated more miracles than the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Hear Mary Jane’s engaging recount of her family’s deeper faith journey and discovery of her ancestor, a Carmelite nun from the 1800s to whom Christ shared messages of the Holy Face Devotion. The devotion makes reparation for the rejection of God, particularly against the first three Commandments. Reparation through this Devotion is meant to help alleviate the real suffering these sacrileges present against God, thereby renewing the Image of God on the souls of those who make reparation.

Resources

Clarence Burkholder and Brian Lee from St. Paul Street Evangelization


The word evangelization often evokes negative emotions in people, but St. Paul Street Evangelization offers a friendly and safe approach to sharing the Gospel and planting seeds which can have lasting effects on people. Hear how two experienced evangelists trained in this approach, Clarence Burkholder, the Atlanta Team Leader covering colleges and universities in a 4-state area, and Brian Lee, the National Director of Evangelization Teams, share heartwarming stories of how God has used them to bring total strangers into the Catholic Church — often years later.

Clarence and Brian also share four steps - listen, befriend, proclaim, and invite - that are sure to help would-be evangelists be successful. Discover how to evangelize by focusing on the other person’s story first in order to understand them, building a bridge that leads to answering questions to clarify misunderstandings and encouraging them to investigate Catholicism further.

Resources

  • St. Paul Street Evangelization - Their mission is to train, equip, and mobilize Catholic evangelists to become a bridge between the streets and the parish, offering dialogue which helps strangers move past their roadblocks to Catholicism.
  • Learn the art of evangelization at your own pace
  • To receive Clarence Burkholder’s daily bulletin, contact him at cnkburk@gmail.com with your name and email address.

Dr. Patrick Fagan, director of MARRI at The Catholic University of America


As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Patrick Fagan likened his role to that of a priest due to the personal access he has to peoples’ deepest secrets. Early in his career, his life was forever changed when he learned that federally-funded programs often worked to undermine family stability rather than strengthen it. Hear how Dr. Fagan, determined to help shed light on the problem, pursued his doctorate and transitioned his career over to Public Policy, hoping to influence legislation on Capitol Hill by showing that strong families are critical to a thriving country.

Resources

  • MARRI: Marriage and Religion Research Institute
  • Marripedia: An online social science encyclopedia that synthesizes and translates the work of social scientists into concise, issue-specific entries that are intelligible to the lay reader.
  • FORGE – The Fight for Family. Course: “Fathers and Sons: Conversations on Sex Ed, Marriage, and Masculinity.” The course has an emphasis on fathers and sons but is valuable for parents of both sexes. First module is FREE.

Beth Von Arx, former teacher and homeschooling mother of nine


After interviewing John Paul Von Arx about his wildly successful song,”He’s Different,” which aired on our December 27, 2023, episode, it became clear that there was another celebrity in the family, John Paul’s mother, Beth Von Arx.

Beth and her husband, Joe, raised their nine children with the primary goal to help each member get to Heaven, and, initially, homeschooling was not part of their plan. As a former teacher, Beth remembers sitting in the teacher’s lounge echoing the common opinion that homeschooled kids were destined to be socially backward. Nine homeschooled children later, Beth shares that it’s the best decision they ever made because homeschooling gave them – and not the culture – the joy of becoming their children’s biggest influencers.

Beth stresses how homeschooling gives parents the pleasure of discovering each child’s gifts in a natural way and allows each child to blossom into the person they were always meant to be without the overwhelming peer pressure to conform to the culture. Beth’s humor as she describes the controlled chaos while simultaneously homeschooling nine children will give you hope. Her creativity will put wind in your sails, giving you the encouragement you need to step into the crazy but eternally-rewarding world of homeschooling.

Resources

Joelle Maryn, writer, producer, speaker, actress


Joelle Maryn’s adult life seemed like a dream, but being a successful model, actress and the creator of a high-end cosmetic line didn’t compensate for the fact that her whole life burned to the ground when she was only six. Her family home was destroyed in a fire which killed her only sibling and destroyed the emotional stability of her parents, who couldn’t cope with their own grief. Joelle literally lost everything that night.

Joelle felt abandoned by God and pursued a life which would bring her glamour and fame in Hollywood. She succeeded beyond her wildest dreams, but a mountaintop moment on Rodeo Drive drove home how empty her life was. God captured Joelle’s heart in a very personal way in 2012. She responded by devoting herself to ministry. Her book, Master of the Pieces, is not simply an autobiography but a roadmap to healing for those struggling to overcome the pain of their past.

Resources

  • Master of the Pieces - a #1 new release and the #2 best seller on Amazon for “self-help” books
  • Joelle’s website which offers an inspirational monthly newsletter.

Joe and Nicole McGivney


Just days after Christmas in 2020, Joe McGivney’s mind became trapped in the hallucinations of alcohol-induced Korsakoff psychosis, also called “wet brain.” After decades of chronic drinking and being a high-functioning alcoholic, Joe had hit rock bottom after COVID-19 provided the perfect storm to take his drinking to the next dangerous level. Within weeks of Joe’s diagnosis, his family was shaken to their core as Joe, incapacitated and violent, had to be monitored 24/7 in a locked psych ward. Joe’s family was told that he would never recover and would need to be institutionalized for the rest of his life. Hear the amazing story as Joe and his wife, Nicole, share how their journey took them from the pits of despair over a life of addiction to the miracle that brought Joe back to his family and, ultimately, to God. Joe’s experience includes an interesting link between his healing and many intercessory prayers, including those to his distant relative, Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. Joe’s story of redemption has been chronicled in You’re A Miracle: My Story of Alcoholism, Miraculous Healing and God’s Infinite Power and Love, a book that The Family Room host John Gordon admits finishing in one sitting, unable to put it down.

Resources

For Dr. Bill Thierfelder, the warmth, affection, and love of his family of 12 bears fruit for God’s Kingdom here and now. We learn about the founding of the only Catholic college between Virginia and Florida, Belmont Abbey College (near Charlotte, North Carolina), and Dr. Thierfelder recounts how the Holy Spirit called him to become President of the college. He also reveals his personal love for the Blessed Mother, explains three, unchanging pillars of our Catholic faith (in a way that is easy to share), and gives a memorable example of peak performance on both human and spiritual levels.

Above all, Dr. Thierfelder shares an inspiring glimpse into married life with his wife, Mary.

Resources

Key Scripture

Vince Frese, author, creator of the Recovering from Divorce Program


Vince Frese, co-author of Divorced. Catholic. Now What? and creator of DivorcedCatholic.com, shares about his journey to truth and healing amid his recovery from a divorce. Vince describes a key moment when, once he learned how he needed to give himself totally (not just a piece) to God and surrender, the doors were thrown open and opportunities for healing and growth resulted. A key he shares to recovering from divorce: get as much Jesus in your life as possible. Vince stresses that, as Catholics, we have a great direct route through Mass and the Eucharist, which is foundational to the healing process. Vince also shares practical tips such as focusing on things you can control to help move forward on the road to recovery. He describes tools and resources he provides to share what he has learned with others and guide divorced Catholics to recovery and abundant life by helping them more fully learn and live their faith.

Resources

  • DivorcedCatholic.com - online and in-person programs and workshops, books, blogs, daily inspirations

Co-hosts Mari, John, and Craig and Production Manager Dave Savage

In this 100th episode of The Family Room, co-hosts Mari, John, and Craig field questions from The Quest’s Production Manager, Dave Savage, to reminisce about how the show started and where it has been plus look ahead with excitement to shows in the new year.

John Paul Von Arx, musician, Coordinator of Worship at Franciscan University


John Paul Von Arx is passionate about raising awareness of people with Down Syndrome and showing the beauty of their lives. John Paul’s music video for his original song “He’s Different” is about his youngest brother, Sam, who has Down Syndrome, and tells the story of how Sam is different than he is in all the best ways – in how he sees life with joy and simplicity and loves people unconditionally. John Paul wants to bring hope to parents expecting a baby with Down Syndrome and express his solidarity with families of people with special needs. Far too often, there is a stigma surrounding people with special needs, and John Paul wants to combat and eliminate it and show their dignity to the world.

John Paul Von Arx started playing guitar when he was 11 and writing his own music at 15, which was also when he and his siblings started a family band. To this day, he has a love for performing covers of oldies that his family used to play. After high school, he traveled the country on tour with two bands as their lead guitar player and made lifelong friends and gained valuable live performance experience. After being on the road for four years, he decided to finish his undergraduate studies and raised the funds to finance his debut album, “Break Through,” via a Kickstarter campaign. Soon after beginning the recording process, however, tragedy struck his family with the passing of his brother Max. Above all else, this loss forced him to find answers for purpose in the midst of pain. With the grace of God and the support of his community, he began to fully embrace pursuing a music career without reservation. Since the release of his first album, he has played acoustic and full-band shows for a variety of audiences all over the United States and Europe. He also leads worship for conferences and parish events and serves as the Coordinator of Worship at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, and their daughter.

Resources

Dr. Ray Guarendi, father of ten, clinical psychologist, author, TV/radio show host


With wit and wisdom, Dr. Ray Guarendi shares from his book, Standing Strong: Good Discipline Makes Great Teens, which gives parents the tools they need not only to navigate the teen years but also to enjoy them. Dr. Ray offers practical approaches such as simple house rules that lead to success, consequences to curb nasty talk, ways to monitor your child’s use of technology, and a strategy to motivate underachievers. Dr. Ray provides parents with strategies to becoming stronger parents with calm, loving resolve while learning how to foster quality time with your teens and have real fun together.

Dr. Ray is a Catholic father of ten, clinical psychologist, author, professional speaker, and host of the radio show, “The Dr. Is In,” and the EWTN television series, “Living Right With Dr. Ray.” Dr. Ray has given over 3,000 talks on various topics including parenting, marriage, family, and the Catholic faith. He captivates audiences with his compelling humor-laced presentations providing practical advice and proven techniques.

Resources

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