Lena Francis Edwards: a remarkable story of a franciscan laywoman

"Lift as you climb"

I wanted to share this biographical sketch of a truly remarkable Secular Franciscan who dedicated herself to those most in need.  A pioneering black catholic laywoman and medical doctor. She is a heroic and modern example of our vocation as a life of determination, service and love.  This will inspire you.

The podcast is by the prolific Catholic podcaster, Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, TOR at catholicunderthehood.com .  It was originally broadcast last November.  The following link will bring you to the shownotes and resources   

Click here to listen to the podcast.  (Approximately 25 minutes)

Catholic Under The Hood

I mentioned at the onset that I wanted to promote 'Catholic new media'. A good place to start is with Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, TOR (a Franciscan friar of the Third Order Regular),who teaches history at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. He has already produced over 250 'podcasts' dealing with Catholic history/spirituality from a Franciscan perspective. I've only discovered him recently but each and every show I've listened to has been fascinating and enriching. There's simply no way that I could begin to research his topics in the way he does and so I feel very fortunate to have discovered him as a spiritual resource. His subjects are both entertaining and enlightening.

He has his own website: Catholic Under The Hood. In addition he is part of a new 'network' of Catholic podcasters that you'll find on SQPN.com (more on that in the future). Finally, here is a directory to scan the titles of his entire lineup of podcasts. I've place a sample of one of his recent podcasts in the post below and plan to highlight some of his earlier podcasts from time to time. I hope you give him a try.

The Family That Prays Together (Podcast)

Picking a single episode of Catholic Under The Hood to highlight is a very difficult task. Should I choose one dealing with recent history or from the medieval period? A topic that focuses on Franciscan spirituality or more general appeal?

Here's a podcast that features Fr. Patrick Payton, the rosary priest, who coined the phrase-"The family that prays together, stays together". I'm sure most of us have some knowledge of his life and mission, but here's some greater insight into how the movement grew…

Here's the link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/sbeshonertor/catholicunderthehood07072010.mp3