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
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Fr. Ben discusses the beauty of being able to laugh at oneself. The great saints were able to do it. Listen to this homily to understand why.
Have a question? Go to 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.
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
What in the world is Babka? Take a listen (hint: our Polish listeners will know). Why is Holy Week so important? Why is the Easter Vigil so long? Why does the mass look a little different during the Triduum? What is the Triduum? All these questions discussed in this episode with Fr. Ben, Silvia, and Khira.
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Listen to this homily as Fr. Ben encourages parishioners to be healthy in mind and spirit so as to be faithful witnesses of the Lord in a world where bad things happen.
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Fr. Ben speaks about cooking author, Michael Pollan, and his book "Cooked". Listen to the interesting points Pollan makes and how Fr. Ben ties them to the cardinal virtue of temperance.
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Fr. Ben gives a homily on fostering a grateful heart, especially by being grateful for the small things in life. That can seem obvious, but most people take everything for granted. Also, do you know where the Grace Before Meals prayer came from? Take a listen.
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
What's the weirdest food in different parts of the world? What's the purpose of Lent? What is mortification? Why do Catholics give something up for Lent? All these questions are discussed on this episode of the Soul Food Priest Podcast.
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Life is full of curveballs. How do we react when that happens? What should our response be? Fr. Ben addresses this topic and how to hold firm to the faith.
Go to 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.
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Some people can really struggle with cooking and definitely baking. There are basic principles that have to be followed in order for a recipe to work. Fr. Ben cooks up a well-prepared tapas and teaches how principles must also be applied to one's faith life.
Go to 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.
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Stubbornness and determination...what's the difference? Fr. Ben explains the difference between the two and applies them to popular figures as examples.
(We apologize for the glitches in this episode.)
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday were on the same day! Once we get into marriage, we start to realize how difficult this relationship can be. We start to realize that love and sacrifice go hand in hand (just like Ash Wednesday and Valentines). Silvia, Khira, and Damon Owens continue their discussion on marriage, cooking, and family life; however, this episode focuses more on trials and suffering.
For more information on Damon Owens, check out his website and ministry at www.joytob.org.
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 let us know what you think of the podcast.
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.