Advertise on podcast: Sparks of Mercy

The Church beatifies Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026, a saint from Illinois during the pontificate of the first pope from Illinois. A media star, erudite author of many books, and longtime national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a Pontifical Mission Society, Archbishop Fulton Sheen left a rich treasure trove of teaching on the Catholic faith in the modern world. Marian Press author Maria V. Gallagher mined that treasure trove for her new book offering Sheen’s wisdom and perspective on how to live joyfully in this luminous, sorrowful, and glorious world. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

For all that Catholicism has an ancient presence in Ireland, the Knock apparition in 1879 is an outstanding gift from Heaven to the Church in the isle of saints and scholars, and to Catholics around the world. Patrick O’Hearn, coauthor with Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, of The Lamb of God: The Story of Our Lady of Knock talks about the silent message of Knock, the gifts it brought to the people at the time it took place, and the relevance it has for all of us today. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Our Lady’s apparitions have been tremendous sources of hope, grace, and guidance across the centuries of Church history. Now, 14 of the fully Church approved apparitions are gathered into an illustrated book for children by Sara Beth Meyer and Allison Hsu. In this interview, Meyer and Hsu share what Our Lady means to them, why we need to tell our children these sorts of stories, and what Our Lady’s message is for us all today. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Pope St. Paul VI famously said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” The late Marian Helper Therese Tirpak was both a teacher of and a witness to Divine Mercy. Her son, Tom Tirpak, edited together his mom’s stories of graces received, special moments from her years of practicing and promoting the Divine Mercy message and devotion, and her faith-filled wisdom. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

In America 250, what better way to mark our nation’s 250th anniversary than to turn with love and devotion to Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the USA? And how better to invite God’s grace into our national life, heal our divisions, make reparation for our sins and the sins of our neighbors, and transform our country to a community of love of God and neighbor, than to take up the traditional Dominican Rosary? Marian Press author and pro-life champion Maria V. Gallagher discusses all this and more. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Handing on the faith to the next generation is an enormous challenge these days. But why? And what can be done? Experienced catechist and author Mary Josephine shares what has guided her in spreading the faith, how her faith has shaped her life, and more. Author of the charming children’s book My ABC's with Jesus, she shares what’s led her to put her catechetical experience to work in print. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

It’s good to follow Jesus. It’s good to do Marian consecration. And many people are waking up to the value of devotion to St. Joseph. But what happens if you honor the Holy Family as a whole? Explore this and other profound insights into devotion to the Holy Family with Scott L. Smith, co-author with Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, of a new consecration to the Holy Family from Marian Press. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Our Lady is more important than ever in our troubled world. Fatima gives context to our times and prophetic direction; Marian consecration continues to renew the Church; the Immaculate Conception is the Patroness of the United States; and the Immaculate Heart’s Triumph continues to approach. But why does Our Lady have such a special place in the Catholic faith? How do we live this devotion well? Dr. Robert Stackpole explains. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

The Jubilee of Hope has ended, but we need hope now more than ever. Internationally best-selling author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle discusses where we can look for hope in the days and years to come, and how Our Lady, “Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope,” is always ready to assist us in every need. Drawing from the insights and perennially wise counsel in her book Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope: Jubilee Pilgrims of Hope with Mary, Donna-Marie shows us the Marian path before us. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Wherever Catholics live, there will be wine-making, because there will need to be the Eucharist. That truth has given rise to many monasteries and other centers of the Catholic faith with vineyards attached and impressive cellars, some setting the world standard for both holiness and wine-making. In this wide-ranging conversation, Catholic author, homemaker, and wife and mother Emily Stimpson Chapman explores why food and drink are so central to the Catholic faith, as well as to our ordinary lives in this beautiful, wounded world. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

The Mystical Life is, in many ways, the harvest of the soul, the full fruition of every other part of our Catholic life. But what does that mean? Is that really something ordinary Catholics will ever experience? Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle explains in this wide-ranging conversation, sharing insights gleaned from her research into the life of St. Faustina and her friendship with Mother Teresa. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Our Lady at Fatima asked the visionaries and all of us to pray the Rosary daily for peace in the world. But why? What is so relevant to today about a devotion as well-established and traditional as the Rosary? Rosary expert Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, addresses this and much, much more, as we discuss his classic work Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Every Christian needs to be developing their “interior life”--but what is the interior life? Why is it so important? And how do we tend to it, like a garden in midsummer? Best-selling author and EWTN host Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle offers us answers, insights, and more as she discusses the third section of her classic work of Faustinian spirituality 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercy. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

Meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary can offer us healing and hope – how? Maria V. Gallagher speaks from experience, having borne some heavy crosses in her life and found great hope, healing, and strength in our Lord’s Passion and Our Lady’s Sorrows. Here she speaks making our suffering redemptive, a means of grace for ourselves, our neighbors, and the whole world. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!

“Virtue” sounds like such an old-fashioned term, and yet it’s more relevant and necessary than ever. In a hopeful, inspiring conversation, Marian Press author Patrick O'Hearn explains how virtue remains in the core of the Christian life, and demonstrates that the saints want to help us develop the virtues of a Christian, even in this incredibly challenging modern world. Are you enjoying this podcast? I invite you to listen to more shows brought to you by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Join us daily for enriching, spiritual content which will help you on your journey with Jesus Christ. Simply visit DivineMercyPlus.org for a complete list of our shows. That's DivineMercyPlus.org.  Please “follow” or “subscribe” to this podcast to receive the latest episodes and updates. If you have been blessed by this podcast, please consider leaving a review. Reviews greatly improve our podcast ranking, and will help spread this podcast to other people throughout the world. Thank you and God bless you!