Fr. John Riccardo and Sr. Ann Shields start off this very special program on this 4th Sunday of Advent. We do not have to live in fear and unforgiveness. Fr. Riccardo talks about this and more. Sr. Ann encourages us to prepare our hearts for Christ. Anita Houghton gives advice on how to invite our family and friends back to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Closing the program is Kathy Crombie shares talks about painting icons, praying with icons, and shares some epiphany moments.

Fr. John Riccardo

Executive Director, ACTS XXIX

Fr. John Riccardo was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1996. He is the Founder and Executive Director of ACTS XXIX, a non-profit apostolate that exists to help get God’s world back by equipping clergy and lay leaders for the apostolic age in which we live. Fr. John served as a parish pastor for 15 years, most recently at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, Michigan where he was witness to the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that caught the attention of pastors around the country. Having ministered to nearly 600 priests across the nation, leading clergy convocations, priestly retreats and workshops in the first year, He is the host of the podcast, “You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo” and the radio program “Christ is the Answer.” Fr. John is a graduate of the University of Michigan, the Gregorian University in Rome, and the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.

---

Sr. Ann Shields

Host, Food for the Journey

Sr. Ann Shields, SGL, is an internationally known evangelist, noted speaker, and author whose activities have taken her to Eastern Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Central America, Israel, the Philippines, and the British Isles. Based in Ann Arbor, she is a member of the Servants of God’s Love, a Catholic charismatic religious community canonically established in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan. Some of Sister Ann’s works include Deeper Conversion: Extraordinary Grace in Ordinary Times, Hope in the Midst of Suffering, and Yielding to the Power of God, as well as And Their Eyes Were Opened: Encountering Jesus in the Sacraments, co-authored with Father Michael Scanlan, TOR.

---

Anita Houghton

Associate Director, Office of Evangelization, Archdiocese of Detroit

https://www.unleashthegospel.org/

---

Kathy Crombie

 

Kathleen Bordo Crombie is a mother and grandmother, as well as a writer and speaker on her personal Catholic faith testimony, religious iconography, and prolife issues. 

After serving 18 years with Right to Life of Michigan as the Director of Multicultural Outreach and Gift Planning, Kathy retired to spend more time with her family, travel the world, deepen her Catholic faith through study and pilgrimages, and continue commissions and special projects as a working iconographer.  Serving as a volunteer for The Servants of Jesus of the Divine Mercy and The Divine Mercy Center in Clinton Twp, MI, as well as being an active member on the Board of Directors for The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums – Michigan Chapter, she is also a lector and parishioner of The Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn, MI.

Kathy is an accomplished iconographer. Her icons can be found in several private collections, chapels and churches, including the Cathedral of The Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.

dignityoflife@yahoo.com