Word for Word
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Season 1 • Season 2
Welcome to Word for Word, where we’re pulling the bible off the shelf along with books of prayer, popular culture, and the classics.
Join Gillian Kantor as she explores themes and ideas from Scripture and places them in the context of contemporary and classic literature. With author interviews and suggested readings, Word for Word invites viewers to consider Christian themes in whatever book they are reading – old or new, spiritual or not. Episodes in Season Two of Word for Word:
Episode Description TRINITYA good mystery story – one of those books that you just can’t put down – introduces us to strong, resourceful characters, urges us on with well-thought suspense, and surprises us with the twist of the unexpected. Whatever our genre of choice, a hint of mystery certainly flavours every library. Now in the Catholic faith, we are presented with our very own mystery story that lacks none of the drama of a novel you just can’t put down. And this is the mystery of the Holy Trinity – with, yes, the strong characters, suspense, and surprise that we all come to expect in our mystery stories. The only difference is: a lot fewer people are willing to take on the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity than they are to pick up that mystery novel. In this episode of Word for Word, Fr. Thomas Norris, author of The Trinity: Life of God, Hope for Humanity: Towards a Theology of Communion, joins us in studio to discuss this intriguing mystery of the Most Holy Trinity and to challenge us to understand the Trinity as an example of communion – for us. MEN’S WORK What our Catholic faith is asking us to say is an echo of what Joshua told the people: But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). It is a chance to stand out, to be different. To serve the Lord, to love your neighbour as yourself, to boldly be motivated by and act out of love and nothing else. It is what Pope John Paul II asked of us, to create in this world a “civilization of love.” And in today’s featured book, we receive a practical commentary on how to do this; how to build a civilization of love. Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, authored A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World, and he did so to inspire Christians to live out the vision of Pope John Paul II. As we speak to Mr. Anderson today, head of the world’s largest fraternal organization, we will focus on the role that men in particular play in building the civilization of love. PROVERBS 31 WOMAN In Proverbs 31, we meet an extraordinary woman, a capable wife far more precious than jewels who is praised by her children and husband. By today’s standards, we might be tempted to think of her as the impeccably tidy soccer mom who is always on time with healthy snacks in tow. But she is really so much more than that… we cannot – must not – box her into the idea of perfection that we might sneer at while making excuses for ourselves and our failings. No, the woman in Proverbs 31 has not been written about to highlight our inadequacies. Quite the opposite – she stands, humbly, lovingly, as an example of who we can be as women, as wives, as mothers, as homemakers. In this episode, our feature interview with Kimberly Hahn, author of Graced and Gifted: Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker’s Heart, introduces us to the grace and possibilities of becoming more like the Proverbs 31 Woman. DIVINE FAMILY In the very first point of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read this… that God “calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church… In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.” This is language we hear frequently in the Church, that of the family and our place within it. God the Father, Christ his Son, we as brothers and sisters, and the Church as mother. At the very least, this language should inform us or reassure us that we are not orphans as we journey on this earth. But at it’s greatest potential, this language hints toward our place within a divine family tree, whose roots are firmly planted in the Garden of Eden. In this episode of Word for Word, we take you to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where author Scott Hahn outlines God’s great love in our lineage as he talks to us about his books A Father Who Keeps His Promises and First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity.
Featured Books in the Episode:
What do you believe? In whom do you believe? These are questions that we may think we know the answers to immediately… but these are also questions that should challenge us in our faith. As Catholics, we can say the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles Creed by rote, but does that mean that we are conscious of what we are saying? Does that mean we know exactly what it is that we believe? Sometimes, we may find ourselves wondering – not doubting the faith but perhaps doubting if we truly grasp the powerful concepts behind the concise wording. In this episode of Word for Word, we are joined by Msgr. Peter Vaghi, a priest with the Archdiocese of Washington and author of The Faith We Profess: A Catholic Guide to the Apostles Creed, to help us read between the lines of this great statement of faith. Featured Books in the Episode: The Faith We Profess: A Catholic Guide to the Apostles Creed Peter J. Vaghi Ave Maria Press, 2008 www.avemariapress.com (800) 282-1865 x1 On Earth As It Is In Heaven Josephine Lombardi Novalis, 2010 www.novalis.ca (877) 702-7773 The Creed in Slow Motion Ronald Knox Christian Classics, 2009 www.christianbook.com (800) christian Credo For Today: What Christians Believe Pope Benedict XVI Ignatius Press, 2009 www.ignatius.com (800) 651-1531 New Proof for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy Robert J. Spitzer William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010 www.eerdmans.com (800) 253-7521 I Choose God: Stories from Young Catholics Chris Cuddy and Peter Ericksen Servant Books, 2007 catalog.americancatholic.org (800) 488-0488 MISSION In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, there is a scripture passage that is, perhaps, better known as a hymn, than as a bible verse: We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Now what Paul is writing about in Corinthians is the Christian hope of life after death, of heaven as a dwelling-place where God has prepared good things for those who love him. And without departing too far from that context, in today’s episode of Word for Word we’ll consider this scripture in relation to the call of the missionary. We meet two of these missionaries – Deacon Bill and Molly Callaghan who, in their retirement, began a new life – serving in the Northern missions of Canada. They began their adventures in Sandy Lake, Ontario, with the Oji-Cree Native community of St. Bernadette Mission. And it was these experiences that led to Molly’s book, Walk With Us For a While. The Callaghans join us today from their home in Aurora, Ontario.
Featured Books in the Episode:
Whether we take the time to realize it or not, there is wonderful potential in those few moments between a knock on the door and our answering it. Who stands on the other side? What is the need, the request, the surprise? Maybe it’s just an expected postal delivery; maybe it’s a door-to-door salesman; maybe it’s a friend dropping by; maybe it’s a neighbour in need. But what all of these possibilities have in common is that their potential is not realized until we open the door. Imagine, then the great promise of something to come when there is a knock on the door of your heart. In this episode of Word for Word, we look at how faith enters in, and meet with Diane Schoemperlen, author of Our Lady of the Lost and Found.
Featured Books in the Episode:
As far as dating goes, Adam and Eve had it pretty easy… one man, one woman, God’s intentions for them to be together and populate the earth. How could they mess it up? Well, enter the devil and enter temptation. Today, the dating world is perhaps a bit more difficult to navigate than in the Garden of Eden, and for the most part, that’s really the result of some key similarities: enter the devil and enter temptation. In this episode of Word for Word, we talk to Leah Perrault and Brett Salkeld, authors of How Far Can We Go: A Catholic Guide to Sex and Dating for a little help in traversing through the oversexed culture of today with the guidelines of our faith.
Featured Books in the Episode:
Are you a planner? Do you like to have a schedule, a routine, a plan of attack? Is there a day planner or a pile of notes within reach? And do you climb into bed at night with the satisfaction that all the points on your ‘to do’ list have been checked off? Well, fortunately for us, God already has the plan for each of our lives… the problem is… we’re not always privy to this plan for our lives. And so as the plan unfolds before us on a “need to know” basis, we may find ourselves in situations that we never would imagine, and perhaps even doubting that God really knows what is best for us. In this episode of Word for Word, we are joined by Dorothy Cummings, author of Seraphic Singles: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Single Life. In a very personal, very honest narrative, Dorothy takes us on her own journey of learning to understand and accept God’s plan for her life.
Featured Books in the Episode:
This may not be something that is easy to admit or that we even want to admit… but it is, in fact, one thing that binds us as human beings – and it is this: that we all know moments of darkness. Even as Christian people who KNOW the teachings and scriptures of Hope and Trust – sometimes this doesn’t register and our inner turmoil over issues, anxieties, or past mistakes leads us to believe we are unworthy, unlovable, unfixable. We are impossibly created for a life of misery. Fortunately, our turmoil is where God does some of his best work and, in this episode of Word for Word, Sr. Marie Paul Curley, author of See Yourself Through God’s Eyes: 52 Meditations to Grow in Self-Esteem, helps us discover the treasures of God’s love.
Featured Books in the Episode:
Ecclesiastes tells us to “Fear God and keep his commandments” – now we understand that to mean that we are not afraid of God but that we hold him up in reverence and awe, embracing his teachings out of respect and desire. So that’s the theme we’re looking at today and that is exactly what our author has done: to a tee. A.J. Jacobs is the author of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. He joins us from his home in New York to talk to us about what it means to follow all of God’s rules.
Featured Books in the Episode:
There lies within each of us a story – not one that will necessarily become a book but one that chronicles who we are, where we are, and how we came to be there. Happy or sad, filled with joy or heartache, it remains our story. This is really something to consider – that with six billion people in the world, there are six billion stories, not to mention the billions of people who have come before us. And within (again) billions of these stories lie journeys of our faith – who we are and how we came to be in our relationship with God. These conversion stories are glorious tales moving individuals from a place of pride in self to humility to – ultimately – a new identity. Donna Steichen, editor of Chosen: How Christ Sent Twenty-three Surprised Converts to Replant His Vineyard, joins us from Los Angeles to share the anguish and the glory behind the inspirational conversion stories in her book.
Featured Books in the Episode:
There is, in the book of Judges, a short telling of a story about a man named Micah and a young Levite whom he meets. Just a few verses, this passage might easily be overlooked. But if we did gloss over this page, we would miss out on what seems to be an insightful analysis of the priestly vocation today. Fr. Peter Stravinskas, author of Be To Me a Father and a Priest, joins us in studio to discuss the role, characteristics, and goals of the priest today.
Featured Books in the Episode:
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