Soul Food Priest
This is the podcast where culinary and Christianity collide. Each week Fr. Ben Bradshaw will serve up homilies, whip up Teaching Tapas, answer your burning questions, and pass along recipes.
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Episodes
3 days ago
3 days ago
Some people aren't too sure what some of the differences are between Catholicism & other world religions and why those differences exist. Most know less about what there is in common between them. It's important to know and Fr. Ben explains why.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and on YouTube!
7 days ago
7 days ago
Fr. Ben serves up a small lesson on who César Ritz was, what his expectations were, and what parishes can learn from him. Take a listen to learn what it means to make a parish "ritzy".
Got a question you'd like to ask Fr. Ben? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. The questions can be on faith or food!
Follow us on Facebook and YouTube at Soul Food Priest. Thanks for listening!
Monday Nov 11, 2024
Monday Nov 11, 2024
Listening doesn't require much work; however, it can often times be the most difficult thing to do. It is especially difficult to listen to the people you're surrounded by every day because they might repeat what they say. In this homily, Fr. Ben discusses how this is an act of love. Curious about that? Take a listen.
Got a question you'd like to ask Fr. Ben? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. The questions can be on faith or food! You can also follow us on Facebook and YouTube at Soul Food Priest. Thanks for listening!
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
Fr. Ben and Khira sit down with a special guest, Gwen Coffey. She’s the Director of Social Ministries for St. Michael’s parish and her deep love is to serve persons with special needs. In this episode, she talks about the ministries that have been developed for persons with special needs and the importance of ministering to them and their families. This is such a beautiful episode filled with great information for all.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and on YouTube!
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
This episode is a bit different in that Fr. Ben gives a review of the new movie Conclave out in theaters. He also addresses the idea of women's ordination, which is a topic this movie is pushing. Take a listen to have a clearer idea and understanding of Church teaching on this major topic.
(We apologize. This episode was to be released last Thursday. It's being uploaded today because we want you to have this information while this movie is still out in theaters and fresh on people's minds.)
Got a question you'd like to ask Fr. Ben? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. The questions can be on faith or food! You can also follow us on Facebook and YouTube at Soul Food Priest. Thanks for listening!
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Fr. Ben speaks on the harm of negativity and self-pity and provides the way to stop it. This is a great examination for all to practice, especially when examining one's self-talk. Take a listen to receive the great advice of wise people to learn how to stop this cycle of negativity in your own mind and heart.
Got a question you'd like to ask Fr. Ben? Go to Ask Fr. Ben at stmichaelmemphis.org to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. The questions can be on faith or food! You can also follow us on Facebook and YouTube @SoulFoodPriest. Thanks for listening!
Monday Oct 28, 2024
Monday Oct 28, 2024
Sometimes thing happen in life that are very inconvenient and not according to our plans. How do we respond? Could God have allowed it? If so, why would He do that?
Fr. Ben has great advice for these moments in this homily. He also provides great insight on how we can utilize these moments to grow in the spiritual life.
Got a question you'd like to ask Fr. Ben? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. The questions can be on faith or food! You can also follow us on Facebook and YouTube at Soul Food Priest. Thanks for listening!
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
Thursday Oct 24, 2024
Fr. Ben, Silvia, and Khira spend time talking about variations of frostings, dough, and cooking methods. Along with this, they discuss variations in communication styles and how that can cause some conflicts, especially on social media. Fr. Ben gives tips on social media etiquette and how they can also be utilized in everyday conversations.
In this episode too, Khira takes Fr. Ben's advice to be not afraid and gives him her homemade cake to try! What's his reaction?? You'll have to check it out!
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and on YouTube!
Monday Oct 21, 2024
Monday Oct 21, 2024
Living in a fallen world is hard! Whether it's struggling with the sins of the past or present, and/or struggling with the sins of others who have hurt you. How can you truly forgive? Can you make everyone happy? Listen to some of these difficult but redemptive truths from Fr. Ben, and others who have gone before us, to learn how to live a life free from the slavery of sin and resentment.
Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear from you! You can visit Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook at Soul Food Priest and on YouTube!
Thursday Oct 17, 2024
Thursday Oct 17, 2024
Fr. Ben serves up one of Julia Child's favorite desserts and it's made of avocado! So what does the pit of an avocado have to do with our relationship with God?? Fr. Ben makes that connection. Take a listen.
Got a question you'd like to ask Fr. Ben? Go to Ask Fr. Ben | St. Michael Church (stmichaelmemphis.org) to submit questions and topic ideas for the podcast. The questions can be on faith or food! You can also follow us on Facebook and YouTube at Soul Food Priest. Thanks for listening!
Every other week Fr. Ben will be answering your burning questions regarding food and faith. He is joined by two of his friends and staff members, Silvia Vega and Khira Rotty, who will be the moderators for the upcoming Q & A episodes. If you have a question for Fr. Ben go to www.stmichaelmemphis.org/ask-fr--ben or the Soul Food Priest FB page at https://www.facebook.com/soulfoodpriest/.
Fr. Ben Bradshaw S.T.L.
Originally baptized Lutheran, Fr. Ben became Catholic at a young age and attended Catholic schools in Memphis growing up.
He always loved to cook and always considered being a professional chef or a Catholic priest, and so he became both.
At age 17, he began working for a French chef in Memphis and worked in kitchens until age 20. He then entered Johnson & Wales University culinary arts program in Charleston, SC. There he earned an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts.
Fr. Ben then decided to travel to Russia where he lived and worked as a missionary with a religious community. It was there, in a small village, where he began to consider a calling to be a missionary priest. (Since then he has spent time visiting and working in Guatemala, Mexico, Africa, and Eastern and Western Europe.)
He returned home to Memphis and worked as a pastry chef for 5 years. This led him study in Paris, France at the L’Ecôle Lenôtre school of Pastry Arts, where he studied chocolate and pulled sugar artistry. He continued to consider more frequently the call to be a missionary priest.
After returning to the United States he attended The New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Food and Beverage Management. After graduating from NECI, Fr. Ben began considering an option he had not yet considered: Diocesan Priesthood. After much prayerful discernment, he entered the seminary at the age of 27 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Memphis in June of 2006.
Fr. Ben earned a Masters of Arts and a Masters of Divinity in Sacred Theology. He wrote his Master's thesis on Pope Saint John Paul II's understanding of femininity and womanhood as it relates to writings of St. Edith Stein. He also holds a Licentiate degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. The focus on his dissertation was on the response of the Catholic Church to the issue of Same-Sex attraction. Since 2005, his continuing education studies have been at the Theology of the Body Institute in Philadelphia, P.A.
Fr. Ben is currently the pastor of St. Michael's parish in Memphis, TN.