John Gaffney: What Color Is Prayer on Your Family Calendar? (+ more) | The Catholic Morning Show - 09/09/2026

Deacon Mark Campbell fills in for Bo Bonner alongside Ayden Pugh on the Memorial of Saint Peter Claver — the Jesuit who met slave ships at Cartagena with food, water, and medicine, and baptized nearly 300,000 souls. Mass today is at noon at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Ames.Overnight storms hammered central Iowa. Walnut Creek is out of its banks and expected to crest near 14.9 feet, closing parts of the Valley Junction area, and roughly 4,000 customers remain without power, leaving traffic signals dark or flashing across the metro. Rain totals: 6.5 inches in West Des Moines, 5.89 inches at the Des Moines airport, 3.25 inches in Ankeny, about 2.5 inches near Guthrie Center, 1.25 inches in Osceola, and three quarters of an inch in Chariton. The storms knocked out the internet feed to 105.3 FM — listeners in that area can still tune in online at IowaCatholicRadio.com or through the Iowa Catholic Radio app while engineers work to restore the signal.John Gaffney, director of evangelization and mission for the Diocese of Des Moines, joins for his monthly segment with a September reset challenge: if you color-coded every activity on your family calendar, where would faith fall? John's answer is to schedule family prayer as priority one, start the day with prayer before the busyness begins, and pay attention to the ordinary witnesses — like his own sponsor couple at the Basilica — who model hospitality that goes beyond a handshake. He closes with the question that shaped 30 years of his ministry: who is Jesus sending you to? Learn more about diocesan evangelization and faith formation at the Diocese of Des Moines.Laura Ducote, FNP-C, a nurse practitioner with the Guiding Star Project, brings hope to a sensitive topic: fertility, miscarriage, and the isolation many women feel when their concerns get brushed aside. Laura explains the organization's four core services — natural fertility and family planning, pregnancy and birth services, breastfeeding and postpartum care, and motherhood and family life — and the new virtual wholistic women's healthcare program now rolling out, with Leah Jacobson adding virtual lactation consults. Iowa listeners can find local restorative reproductive medicine providers and Guiding Star centers at guidingstarproject.com, with center locations at Find Care Near Me.Listen live weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio, or catch up anytime at IowaCatholicRadio.com.#CatholicMorningShow #IowaCatholicRadio #FamilyPrayer #Evangelization #GuidingStarProject #WomensHealth #SaintPeterClaver #DowlingCatholic #CatholicPodcast #CatholicFaith Credits: Produced, Edited, and Mixed by Ayden Pugh, Alexia Baker, and Brady Grimm. ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Catholic Morning Show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you never miss an episode — and if this one was worth your time, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. It takes ten seconds and it's the single best way to help more people find the show. 🎧 LISTEN LIVE Catch The Catholic Morning Show live, weekday mornings on Iowa Catholic Radio. Listen Live · Program Schedule · Our Stations LINKSYou can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok! More on our website.If you would like to support Iowa Catholic Radio you can donate Here! More from Iowa Catholic Radio:Sunday Dive with Katie PatrizioMan Up! with Joe StopulosCatholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie NelsonThe Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud MarrBe Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce RiebeBe Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián MoncadaMaking it Personal with Bishop William JoensenFaith and Family Finance with Gregory WaddleThe Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos Liturgy & DevotionsThe Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick SmithThe Daily Mass from St. Francis of AssisiThe Daily Mass from St. Pius XThe Daily Mass from St. TheresaSunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint JohnWant to support your favorite show? Click Here Iowa Catholic Radio - Connecting People to Christ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.