Why do faithful Christians who pray and attend Mass regularly sometimes experience a lack of spiritual joy or consolation? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB, Benedictine monk at New Norcia Abbey in Australia and translator of TAN Books' Thomas à Kempis series (Solitude and Silence: The Cloister of the Heart). Fr. Nixon explains that spiritual dryness often signals an over-reliance on external, worldly consolations. Drawing parallels to sports fandom, politics, careers, and video games, they discuss Thomas à Kempis's practical advice for cultivating holy detachment—reducing our emotional investment in passing worldly affairs to fix our hearts on God alone. Stream now!

Why do faithful Christians who pray and attend Mass regularly sometimes experience a lack of spiritual joy or consolation? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB, Benedictine monk at New Norcia Abbey in Australia and translator of TAN Books' Thomas &agrave; Kempis series (Solitude and Silence: The Cloister of the Heart). Fr. Nixon explains that spiritual dryness often signals an over-reliance on external, worldly consolations. Drawing parallels to sports fandom, politics, careers, and video games, they discuss Thomas &agrave; Kempis's practical advice for cultivating holy detachment&mdash;reducing our emotional investment in passing worldly affairs to fix our hearts on God alone. Stream now!

Son Rise Morning Show The Son Rise Morning Show with Anna Mitchell and Matt Swaim is fast-paced, motivating and informational – always from the Catholic perspective. You’ll hear news, engaging interviews, prayer and more each weekday morning from 6am-8am ET. 

Son Rise Morning Show The Son Rise Morning Show with Anna Mitchell and Matt Swaim is fast-paced, motivating and informational – always from the Catholic perspective. You’ll hear news, engaging interviews, prayer and more each weekday morning from 6am-8am ET. <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/radio/podcasts/son-rise-morning-show-~NZ"></a>

Son Rise Morning Show

Featured Interviews

Spiritual Dryness & Detachment: Fr. Robert Nixon OSB on Thomas à Kempis, Sports, Politics, and Divine Consolation

Why does the Catholic Church celebrate a liturgical feast for a physical building? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Dr. Benjamin Lewis from the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) to break down the Collect (Opening Prayer) for the November 9th Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Dr. Lewis highlights the prayer's unique present-tense imagery, which frames the faithful as "living and chosen stones" currently being built into an eternal dwelling place for God. Drawing connections to St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:19–22) and the vision of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 21), they discuss why honoring the Mother Church of Christendom illuminates our active role in building up the Kingdom of God as the liturgical year draws to its close. Stream now!

Why does the Catholic Church celebrate a liturgical feast for a physical building? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back Dr. Benjamin Lewis from the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) to break down the Collect (Opening Prayer) for the November 9th Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Dr. Lewis highlights the prayer's unique present-tense imagery, which frames the faithful as "living and chosen stones" currently being built into an eternal dwelling place for God. Drawing connections to St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:19&ndash;22) and the vision of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 21), they discuss why honoring the Mother Church of Christendom illuminates our active role in building up the Kingdom of God as the liturgical year draws to its close. Stream now!

Living Stones and Heavenly Jerusalem: Dr. Benjamin Lewis on the Collect for the Dedication of St. John Lateran

How does our Catholic belief in the Communion of Saints transform the way we think about estate planning and leaving a lasting legacy? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell welcomes back Matt Reinkemeyer from the Catholic Community Foundation. Drawing from St. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians and the traditional distinction between the Church Militant (on Earth), Church Suffering (in Purgatory), and Church Triumphant (in Heaven), Reinkemeyer explains how Catholics can extend their material support for the Church beyond their earthly lives. He discusses practical ways to honor loved ones through Mass intentions, estate bequests, life insurance, and perpetual endowments that continue funding parishes, Catholic schools, and ministries until Christ comes again. Stream now!

How does our Catholic belief in the Communion of Saints transform the way we think about estate planning and leaving a lasting legacy? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell welcomes back Matt Reinkemeyer from the Catholic Community Foundation. Drawing from St. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians and the traditional distinction between the Church Militant (on Earth), Church Suffering (in Purgatory), and Church Triumphant (in Heaven), Reinkemeyer explains how Catholics can extend their material support for the Church beyond their earthly lives. He discusses practical ways to honor loved ones through Mass intentions, estate bequests, life insurance, and perpetual endowments that continue funding parishes, Catholic schools, and ministries until Christ comes again. Stream now!

Eternal Investment: Matt Reinkemeyer on Planned Giving and the Communion of Saints

How did the paradoxes and apologetics of G.K. Chesterton shape the spiritual imagination of Norwegian Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset? Continuing their alphabetical exploration of Undset's English Catholic influences on The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back historian and author Stephanie Mann (Supremacy and Survival). Mann explores Undset's profound encounter with Chesterton's 1925 masterwork The Everlasting Man, a book so transformative that she personally lobbied Norwegian publishers to have it translated. Swaim and Mann examine how Chesterton’s unique perspective—contrasting human philosophers with the divine claims of Christ—helped Undset articulate her own journey into the Catholic Church and inspire high school students on the radical reality of the Incarnation. Stream now!

How did the paradoxes and apologetics of G.K. Chesterton shape the spiritual imagination of Norwegian Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset? Continuing their alphabetical exploration of Undset's English Catholic influences on The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back historian and author Stephanie Mann (Supremacy and Survival). Mann explores Undset's profound encounter with Chesterton's 1925 masterwork The Everlasting Man, a book so transformative that she personally lobbied Norwegian publishers to have it translated. Swaim and Mann examine how Chesterton&rsquo;s unique perspective&mdash;contrasting human philosophers with the divine claims of Christ&mdash;helped Undset articulate her own journey into the Catholic Church and inspire high school students on the radical reality of the Incarnation. Stream now!

Spiritual Dryness & Detachment: Fr. Robert Nixon OSB on Thomas à Kempis, Sports, Politics, and Divine Consolation

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