The Shepherd's Voice with Archbishop George J. Lucas

Episode 38: Standing up for human dignity

Episode  |  October 21st, 2019  |  27 mins 46 secs

abortion, common good, public policy, respect life

In our second Respect Life Month podcast, Archbishop Lucas talks about how Catholics are called to bear public witness to the Church's teachings on the sanctity of human life.

Episode 37: Equipping Parishes for Pro-Life Witness

Episode  |  October 11th, 2019  |  25 mins 37 secs

equipping disciples, living mercy

October is Respect Life Month! For the first of two podcasts on that theme, Archbishop Lucas talks with Whitney Bradley, coordinator of the Archdiocese of Omaha's Respect Life Apostolate.

Episode 36: Living mercy with St. Vincent de Paul

Episode  |  September 16th, 2019  |  33 mins 58 secs

living mercy

The Society of St, Vincent de Paul is dedicated to living mercy by accompanying people in need. In this installment of The Shepherd's Voice, Omaha council president Diane Mead joins Archbishop Lucas to talk about the concrete ways in which the Society shares the love of Christ with thousands of people throughout our archdiocese.

Episode 35: A summer of graces: Archbishop Lucas marks 10th anniversary

Episode  |  July 9th, 2019  |  25 mins 26 secs

In this mid-summer episode, Archbishop Lucas talks about

• the display of faith evident at the ArchOmaha Unite event
• the US Bishops' June meeting in Baltimore
• how he sees the local Church after 10 years in ministry here
• advancing the vision and mission of our Archdiocese, and the key role the laity play in sharing the Gospel

Episode 34: Fostering a culture of vocations

Episode  |  May 23rd, 2019  |  22 mins 48 secs

Spring may be wedding and graduation season, but it’s also the season for ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood. In this episode, Archbishop Lucas takes this opportunity to tackle important questions about fostering a culture of vocations.

Episode 33: Mary, the First Disciple

Episode  |  May 8th, 2019  |  15 mins 55 secs

mary

The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this episode, Archbishop Lucas talks about Mary as the "first, best disciple," and how to relate to her in the here-and-now, not simply as an important historical figure.

Episode 32: Entering into Holy Week

Episode  |  April 16th, 2019  |  22 mins 23 secs

easter, holy week, lent

The Church has great riches to share with us during the celebration of the Triduum, says Archbishop Lucas. In this episode, he unpacks the Paschal Mystery for us and invites us to enter into these high holy days with heightened expectations.

Episode 31: Word of Honor: Our commitment to protecting God's children

Episode  |  April 4th, 2019  |  13 mins 31 secs

During the month of April, communities across the country are encouraged to increase awareness and provide education and support to families through resources and strategies to prevent child abuse and neglect. In this episode, Archbishop Lucas discusses the Archdiocese's widespread efforts to foster safe environments. "I want our entire community of faith to know and understand how we strive to lead the way in protecting children."

Episode 30: Nebraska Flood Relief & Recovery

Episode  |  March 28th, 2019  |  10 mins 38 secs

flood

Archbishop Lucas shares what he's heard and seen in his visits to the flood-damaged communities of our archdiocese.

Episode 29: Lent and the Gospel of Luke

Episode  |  March 16th, 2019  |  20 mins 20 secs

lent, transfiguration

Archbishop George J. Lucas explores the Gospel readings from Luke for the first two Sundays of Lent to help us immerse ourselves into this liturgical season.

Episode 28: Communications & Communion

Episode  |  February 28th, 2019  |  21 mins 45 secs

communion, media, technology

We are flooded with communications. It's increasingly clear that the technology we rely on--social media, the smartphones we carry everywhere--can help us to build up real human communion and can just as readily thwart it.

Episode 27: Nebraska Catholic Conference: Lobbying for the Common Good

Episode  |  February 13th, 2019  |  24 mins 30 secs

abortion, education, politics

As Catholics, we not only have the right to bring the light of the Gospel into the public square, but an obligation to do so. The Nebraska Catholic Conference represents the Church in matters of public policy pertaining to four key areas of concern: human life and dignity, education, marriage and family life, and social and human development.

Episode 26: Planning for Mission, not Maintenance

Episode  |  January 19th, 2019  |  19 mins 38 secs

pastoral planning

In several parts of archdiocese - both metro and rural - populations have shifted or are declining. We also know that the number of active priests will continue to decrease over the coming years. It is easy to fall into a defensive posture: "How will we protect what we have? How are we going to keep our parish open?”

But that isn't the attitude of the Gospel, which is always missionary.

Episode 25: Looking forward in hope: the new year, Epiphany, and more

Episode  |  January 4th, 2019  |  18 mins 58 secs

archomaha unite, epiphany

Happy new year! In this first episode of 2019, Archbishop Lucas talks about the importance of the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6) and what it tells us about our mission as Christians.

Episode 24: Christmas: Jesus Wades into the Human Mess

Episode  |  December 21st, 2018  |  21 mins 3 secs

advent, hope

In the face of challenges - those facing the Church, those facing us personally - it's easy to feel that God is distant from us. What the Church proposes, however, is that the Lord is near and that He enters into our particular circumstances. This time of year, our primary task is to ask for Him to come near, and to be open to how He wants to make Himself known to us.

Episode 23: The shepherd is listening

Episode  |  November 3rd, 2018  |  22 mins 13 secs

In October, Archbishop George J. Lucas conducted listening sessions on the sexual abuse scandals with parishioners across the Archdiocese of Omaha. In this week’s interview, communications manager David Hazen speaks with him about what he learned at those meetings and his commitment to even higher standards of ministerial and personal conduct on the part of bishops and priests.