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 Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
February 11 was Worldwide Marriage Day and Lent is on Valentine's Day! Fr. Ben serves up his 10 Commandments for Marriage in this homily. He created this list according to what he's heard in years of counseling married couples. All people need to listen to this homily, whether married or not, because it provides great insight on relationships.
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 08, 2024
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Fr. Ben serves up a small plate packed with flavors and theology. He definitely makes sure this plate is balanced though! Why is that important and how do these topics relate? 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.
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Fr. Ben discusses the importance of our decisions and the weight they carry. He speaks on the realities of Hell and how people get there, especially if God is all loving. Listen to a very intriguing homily on a topic that not many preach on.
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
February 11th is Worldwide Marriage Day! With that said, Silvia and Khira sit down with Damon Owens to discuss marriage, cooking, and family life.
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.
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
The apostles went from living ordinary lives to extraordinary ones. Life with Christ transformed everything! What happened to them? What does this have to do with your life? Take a listen to hear what the Lord has in store for you!
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.
Friday Jan 26, 2024
Friday Jan 26, 2024
Fr. Ben serves a small plate of porridge and teaches us how to be grateful. Not many people would be grateful for porridge! How can we be happy when we're served porridge instead of something else we prefer? 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.
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Fr. Ben talks about the amarone grape found in the northwest region of Italy. What does that grape have to do with the meaning in life? Take a listen as he also discusses life's difficult and biggest questions.
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 Jan 18, 2024
Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Martin Luther is the link between these two topics. He was a German priest and friar who began the Protestant Reformation by posting his 95 Theses on the cathedral door. One of his major teachings was on sola fide (faith alone), which the Catholic Church opposes. Why? What do Protestants and Catholics believe on this topic? 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.
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Fr. Ben gives a State of the Parish Address every Epiphany Sunday. This is a way for parishioners to know what was accomplished the year before and what the vision is for the new year. This podcast is part of it and we want to thank all of you for listening. Please share it with others!
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 Jan 04, 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
How in the world does Fr. Ben link barracuda to marriage prep? Listen to find out!
Some marriage proposals probably happened during the holidays, so Fr. Ben and Khira take the time to discuss marriage prep. What it should and shouldn't look like. What couples can do together as they get ready for such a great sacrament.
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.