‘Reason for Hope’

MORRISTOWN  Array of Hope, a far-reaching multimedia evangelization ministry headquartered here, launched a new venture last month: “Reason for Hope,” its first podcast — a series of engaging 40-minute programs that combine serious discussions with prominent Catholic thinkers with upbeat faith-based contemporary songs and fun segments, such as “Man in the Street.”

On March 2, Array of Hope released its first episode in the “Reason for Hope” series, which it describes as an “audio journey that aims to inform, inspire and awaken hearts to faith” and to “explore the Catholic faith and the teachings of their patron St. John Paul II in a way that is fun, relevant, and engaging.” Mario Costabile, its host and Array of Hope founder and executive director, and David Hajduk, Array of Hope’s director of theological programs and director of mission and ministry at Delbarton School in Morristown, created the podcast. In each episode, Hajduk delivers a segment on the Lord’s plan for us related to love, sex, marriage and family.

“We were inspired to create a great quality and entertaining podcast — a new way to promote the message of the Church that hasn’t changed in 2,000 years. Our guests are informative in the teachings of the Church. With the podcast, we hope to find ways to engage people — especially young people — using a type of media that they are familiar with, to touch their hearts and transform them. People are thirsting for God, even if they don’t realize it yet,” said Costabile, who records and edits “Reason for Hope” in Old Tappan at the offices of Array of Hope, which he founded 10 years ago. “The secular media promotes its message — often bad — with technology. We want to show the beauty of the Church and the teachings of Jesus. For many reasons, people have become disenchanted with the Church. People need to begin to trust the Church again. We must point to Christ, who hasn’t failed us. The Church needs us,” he said.

“So far, Array of Hope has released several episodes, including “A Sacramental Life,” The New Evangelization” and “To Love is to Give One’s Self.” Episodes open with the series’ bouncy and danceable theme song, “Hope Can Last Forever,” one of many original songs written by Array of Hope, which are scheduled to be released in the spring. Podcasts include discussions with notable Catholics and included funny segments, such as “Man in the Street.” Later in each show, Costabile conducts an additional surprise interview with another notable Catholic, whom he “cold calls” out of the blue.

“This is an innovative way to get God’s message of life and love to people. The guests in our interviews and discussions are people, who are doing exciting work for the Church. We want to help explain to Catholics the ‘why’ of what we believe in a world that increasingly rejects religion and inspire them to live a life of faith more fully,” said Hajduk, who also is adjunct professor of moral theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in South Orange, and teaches courses in St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and in Sexual Ethics, which he covers on his segment of the podcast. He earned a doctorate in theology from Maryvale Ecclesiastical Institute in 2016. “People are hungering for information. We hope that this podcast provides them with hope in Christ,” he said.

In the first episode, “A Sacramental Life,” Costabile explains the purpose of the podcast. Then the program cuts to his “man in the street” interviews outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. He stumbles upon a few non-believers and fallen-away Catholics. Then, he speaks to an Irishman, who comes out of St. Patrick’s, before answering his question, “Do you believe in God?” The man says, “Sure I do; that’s why I’m here.” Then, Costabile asks him, “Do you believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist?” The Irish man answered, “Sure, I do!”

Costabile engages in a discussion with Hajduk, author of “God’s Plan for You: Life, Love, Marriage, & Sex” (Pauline Books & Media, 2006, 2018), who encourages people to live a sacramental life by seeing God in Creation, including in other people and ourselves and partaking in the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted and administers to “dispense his power, life and love to us.”

Afterward, Costabile “cold calls” Donna Marie O’Boyle, a noted Catholic author, speaker and frequent guest on EWTN, asking her about the importance of the Sacraments — after her laughter in surprise. She tells him that the Eucharist fills her with “the grace of the Lord that speaks to my heart.”

In the final segment of the first episode, Costabile speaks with Scott Hahn, the Father Michael Scanlon Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, about his conversion from being a Presbyterian minister to Catholicism. He had attended a Catholic Mass in a university chapel and realized that the prayers in the Mass coincided with passages in Scripture, such as references to the “Lamb of God,” and that the Eucharist was, in fact, the Real Presence of Jesus.

“Sacraments are what God gives to his kids for all that we lack and empowers us to recognize that his will is superior to ours,” says Hahn, also a noted Catholic author and speaker.

In November, Hajduk started working with Array of Hope, which evangelizes through music, video, multimedia concerts and the Internet, and suggested the podcast. Years before, he and Costabile knew each other in the music scene of Waldwick and then reunited at a pro-life rally at Seton Hall University in South Orange, where Array of Hope was playing and Hajduk served as master of ceremonies. Interviews and discussions are conducted in the studio, by phone call and on video chat for the podcasts, which are designed to be consumed in a short period of time, such as a commute to work, Costabile said.

“In the studio, we have a lot of fun and get along really well, even when we are dealing with meaty topics,” Hajduk said.

Listen to “Reason for Hope” podcasts through the podcast app on your smartphone and other apps such as Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro, Google Podcasts and Breaker or subscribe to receive podcast links at Array of Hope’s web site, www.arrayofhope.net.