St. Thérèse of Lisieux died at the age of 24, a cloistered nun who by her own account had done nothing remarkable – and yet she became one of the most beloved saints in the history of the Church. In this episode, Bishop Donald Hying reflects on his favorite female saint: her "little way" of doing small things with great love, the spiritual darkness she endured at the end of her life, and the extraordinary power of her intercession. Along the way he shares why Thérèse, who promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth, remains a beloved friend to so many, himself included.

Bishop Donald Hying sits down with renowned Catholic speaker and author Jason Evert for a conversation about love, the human person, and the Theology of the Body. Evert makes the case that the Church's message is good news, not a list of rules: chastity, he says, is the virtue that frees us to love and to know when we are truly loved. Together, he and the Bishop explore why so many young people are turning to the Church for something lasting, and how the Gospel speaks with both clarity and compassion to the deepest questions about who we are.

Show Notes
Jason Evert comes to St. Bernard Church in Watertown on Monday, October 27, 2026, at 6 p.m. for a special event for teens and adults (ages 13+), hosted by St. Therese of Lisieux Parish. The evening pairs two of his talks – Purified and Gender and the Theology of the Body – with Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, plus free resources for all attendees.

• Early Bird Pricing = $22 (Ends October 6, 2026)
• Regular Ticket = $25
• Order Tickets: https://chastityproject.ticketspice.com/watertown

In the second of a two-part conversation, Bishop Donald Hying continues his conversation with Karen Paschke, a consecrated virgin living in the world in the Diocese of Madison, as she shares her conversion and discernment story. Raised Lutheran, Karen spent 15 years away from God before waking one morning in 2009 knowing she had to come home. She entered the Catholic Church in 2010, and not long after, an unexpected question set her on the path to a vocation she didn't know existed. Karen recounts the surprise, resistance, and eventual joy of that discernment, the deeply personal formation process that followed, and the beauty of the consecration itself – a rite that, as she describes it, radiates a joy even her agnostic and atheist friends could see.

What does it mean to give your life entirely to God while living an ordinary life in the world? In the first of a two-part conversation, Bishop Donald Hying speaks with Karen Paschke, a consecrated virgin living in the world and a high school math teacher here in the Diocese of Madison. Unlike a religious sister who steps away from the world into community, a consecrated virgin gives herself completely to Christ in the midst of everyday life. Karen reflects on the interior consecration at the heart of her vocation, her spousal relationship with Christ, and the three identities that shape her life – virgin, bride, and mother.

In the fourth and final episode of his series on the Four Holy Habits, Bishop Donald Hying reflects on Friday penance, offering some small act of sacrifice or mortification on the day the Church remembers the Lord's passion and death. Drawing on Jesus' words about fasting when the bridegroom is taken away, Bishop Hying explores why self-denial has always been part of the spiritual life. Anything worthwhile requires sacrifice, and when there is less of us – less ego and less excess – there is more room for Christ to abide. He considers the many forms penance can take beyond abstaining from meat, and reminds us that spirituality is sometimes a matter not of adding but of subtracting, clearing away distractions so that God can fill the space.

Continuing his series on the Four Holy Habits, Bishop Donald Hying turns to the third habit: monthly confession. Drawing on the account in John's Gospel of the risen Christ appearing to the apostles on Easter night – breathing the Holy Spirit on them and commissioning them to forgive sins – Bishop Hying reflects on why the sacrament of reconciliation is Christ's own gift to the Church, and why we confess to a priest. He explores the social nature of sin and forgiveness, the grace the sacrament gives us to overcome our faults, and the four steps of a good confession. His encouragement for anyone who has been away: try going once a month for a year, and see for yourself the peace it brings.

Continuing his series on the Four Holy Habits, Bishop Donald Hying turns to the second habit: daily prayer. At its heart, prayer is communion with God. Bishop Hying looks to the prayer life of Jesus himself, who spent whole nights absorbed in prayer to the Father, as the model for our own prayers. He explores the many forms prayer can take, from the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours to the Rosary, Lectio Divina, meditation, and contemplation, and offers honest encouragement for anyone who struggles to focus or feels they don't know how to pray. His practical advice for beginning: start small, start with the Gospel of Mark, and trust that the Lord will do the rest.

Bishop Donald Hying opens a four-part series on the Four Holy Habits – the simple spiritual practices he has invited every Catholic in the Diocese of Madison to embrace since launching the Go Make Disciples initiative. He begins with the first and most important: keeping holy the Sabbath. Bishop Hying reflects on why each Sunday is a "mini Easter," why the Eucharist stands at the very center of Catholic life, and what it would mean to reclaim Sunday not only as a day for Mass but as a true day of rest, worship, and time with those we love.

Show Notes
In this episode, Bishop Hying references Dies Domini ("The Lord's Day"), St. John Paul II's 1998 apostolic letter on keeping the Lord's Day holy. Read the full text at the Vatican website: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini.html