Don Promotes Holiday Edition on Radio

Listen to Don Carney's ten-minute guest appearance earlier today on the radio, promoting the premiere of the Holiday Edition of On Assignment Magazine.

On Assignment Magazine is our new on-the-road TV series investigating stories of hope around the country. These are true stories, which both entertain and inspire the audience to take action and do work for God in their own lives. Click below for a trailer for the Holiday Edition, and more information about the new series.

Holiday Edition of On Assignment Magazine Premieres today on EWTN!

We're so excited to let you know  that our new Holiday Edition of On Assignment Magazine airs for the first time tonight on EWTN at 6:30 p.m. ET! More information here. Airdates are: 

• Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 16 at 2:00 a.m. ET
• Dec. 21 at 10:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 23 at 9:00 p.m. ET

Back to School, Back to the Sacred

As students head back to school this month, we at StoryTel are reminded of our quest to always keep learning new ways of restoring the sacred. Through the stories we share, we learn how God is working through ordinary people to make extraordinary things happen. 

One story of hope is our 2009 documentary Salem Christian School: All Things Are Possible. It chronicles one small school's courageous battle to keep bringing Jesus Christ and high-quality education to the children of inner-city Chicago. As you watch the film, you'll be inspired by the faith and dedication of the faculty and students as they pray for a miracle – and receive one. 

This true story reminds us that Christ-centered education is the first step in creating a Christ-centered life. There is perhaps no better way to restore the sacred than by teaching our children to love God and to integrate Him in every learning opportunity. As adults and parents, we can all have an impact on the next generation by providing and supporting authentic Christian education, whether in the classroom, in the home, at our churches, in the suburbs, or in the inner city.

Like an eager child on the first day of school, we at StoryTel are poised and ready to learn new lessons from courageous people across the country who are cooperating with God to restore the sacred, one school day at a time. 

Watch the full film:

Saving America One Soul at a Time

“When I sent the first priests to the United States, I gave them $4000. I told them, 'I have no more.' It was a trust in providence.” —Father Roberto Yannuzzi, Founder of Miles Christi Religious Order

As we celebrate Independence Day, we revisit our 2014 film about the Miles Christi Religious Order, an order dedicated to helping lay Catholics grow in holiness. Miles Christi: Soldiers of Christ in America tells the story of the order's founding in Argentina and how its "soldiers of Christ" were sent to the United States to inspire Americans to fight for holiness in the midst of a secular culture.

“We see a huge thirst around the United States. A thirst for something solid, sound doctrine, a spirituality that really reaches the soul.” —Father Yannuzzi

As highlighted on the film, the priests and brothers of Miles Christi lead silent retreats and other related activities based on the teachings of St. Ignatius all over the United States. By the end of the film, we learn that if we make Jesus first in our lives we will always be home.

“The spiritual exercise and the teaching of the [Ignatian] Spiritual Exercises is at the heart of their work. But clearly that expresses itself in a number of different ways in the work with youth, in individual spiritual direction and family-centered programs.” —Cardinal Raymond Burke

Much like the priests and brothers of the Miles Christi order, we at StoryTel are also trying to restore the sacred and thus restore our country, one viewer at a time. We are trying to bring hope and inspiration to individuals across the country through our films and videos, praying our nation will always be a land of freedom and faith. 

Watch the Miles Christi trailer below, or visit the film's page on our website to watch the whole thing online. 

If you can, please help StoryTel help our country!

Spiritual Fatherhood

Here at StoryTel, we think a lot about fatherhood. Perhaps it's because some of us are fathers, but it's also because we get to work with amazing priests who are spiritual fathers to us. We're grateful for their example of faith and respect for the sacred, which we try to illuminate through our films.

In honor of Father's Day, we'd like to share three short videos with you about the spiritual fatherhood of the priesthood. We produced these with Father Paul Hoesing, former Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Omaha, when working on a past vocations project for the archdiocese. Father Hoesing is currently Dean of Seminarians and Director of Human Formation at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.

Watch and share! You never know who needs to hear this message.

Please consider reviewing more information about this kind of fatherhood, if you think you may be hearing the call. 

Jesus in the Streets: Corpus Christi

This weekend Catholics will celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi with processions all across the country. 

If you happen to be in Omaha, Neb., you won't have to look very far to see Jesus in the streets. Jesus, in His Eucharistic Presence, will leave the confines of several churches in Omaha and be carried into neighborhoods and city streets.

One parish continuing the centuries-old devotion of Eucharistic procession is St. Peter Catholic Church, the subject of StoryTel's documentary Where Heaven Meets Earth: Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter Church. On Sunday May 29, St. Peter will host its 11th annual Corpus Christi procession from Our Lady of Lourdes Church to St. Peter Church, a distance of 1.4 miles.

Decorated altars will provide places for benediction at points along the route, which winds through a historic residential area and park. At the end of the procession, fireworks and flower petal showers will greet the Blessed Sacrament and participants as they climb the steps of St. Peter Church. An ice cream reception will follow final benediction. See their website for more details.

StoryTel Film Inspired New Corpus Christi Devotion
To document this public display of faith, StoryTel filmed the St. Peter Corpus Christi procession and made the video available online, where it could serve as a model of this devotion and an example of faithful people restoring the sacred.

After viewing the video online, members of Holy Infant Parish in Ballwin, Mo., decided to host a Eucharistic procession of their own last year. On June 4 the parish will again bring Jesus into the streets of Ballwin. StoryTel's work formed a direct link between the two parishes and spread a vision of the sacred to another community hundreds of miles away.

See for Yourself
Watch the short video below to preview the St. Peter Corpus Christi procession and prepare to walk with Jesus in the streets this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day from StoryTel

Today we celebrate our mothers, grateful for the love they've shown us and the sacrifices they've made for us. We also celebrate adoptive mothers and spiritual mothers. Finally, we celebrate mothers who have courageously chosen life despite nearly impossible circumstances. 

The film below is our favorite of our five pro-life films from the StoryTel archives. Today we offer you the chance to view the film in its entirety for the first time online. Although filmed 16 years ago, its message of hope is still relevant today. 

As you watch the film, discover the wonderful work being done at The Women's Center in Chicago. Witness the courage of these young women who chose life for their children despite opposition from all involved. And meet the kind and generous staff and volunteers—ordinary people collaborating with God to do something extraordinary for these beautiful mothers and their babies.

We know you will enjoy this film. Happy Mother’s Day.

Don promotes upcoming TV series on Spirit Catholic Radio

Check out this clip from Don's in-studio guest appearance on Spirit Catholic Radio this morning. He talks about StoryTel, working with family members on film shoots, and our upcoming series, On Assignment Magazine.

At around 12 minutes, they play an audio clip of a sample of our in-development story about the annual Thanksgiving feast. Bruce, the co-host, said the clip gave him goosebumps. Check it out.

Sneak peek at our new TV series

Announcing On Assignment Magazine

On Assignment Magazine is an on-the-road TV series investigating true stories of hope around the country. Here at StoryTel Foundation, 2015 has been dedicated to the creative development of Season One, as well as a few side projects God put on our agenda. We're excited to present to you our Season One trailer, which shows what the new series is all about. 

As you travel with us on the series, the StoryTel crew will be your personal detectives, scouring the country for clues that lead to the conclusion that God is present and operating in our world after all. In a culture that often obscures God's work, On Assignment Magazine is a magnifying glass uncovering a true vision of hope to compel all of us to unlock the sacred. 

In each episode we'll investigate several cases of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for God. We'll share their stories with numerous people through various TV and Web channels and inspire more audiences than ever to trace God's footprints on their own roads. 

Please help us bring our new TV series to the airwaves!

But our ongoing investigation will stall without sidekicks. We need financial support to keep the van running and the cameras rolling. Please send us on the road to capture these stories for you, your family, your friends, and, most importantly, for God.