Story Secrets

Story Secrets

Hosted by: Fr. Roderick Vonhögen

Fr. Roderick Vonhögen explores the deeper layers of the stories that you love.

All Episodes

Episodes

Story Secrets - Nothing's Supposed To Live Forever

There’s a moment in The Ballad of Phil and Phyllis—a TikTok song about an immortal groundhog and his mortal love—when the music quiets, and Phil sings of watching everything fade while he stays the same. The fame, the...
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Story Secrets - The Boy Who Cried Dragon

He Feared the Worst. The Worst Listened. What if your imagination had power? Not metaphorical power—the real kind. The kind that calls lightning when you expect rain. That conjures monsters when you picture danger....
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Story Secrets - The Mouse Who Wanted to Be a Saint

What does it take to become a saint? That’s the question at the heart of today’s story—and one very small mouse is determined to find out. Born behind a cabinet in the sacristy of Saint Peter’s Basilica, Topolino has...
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Story Secrets - Saint Brendan's First Voyage

This week, on May 16, we celebrated the feast of Saint Brendan the Navigator, the Irish monk whose sea voyages became the stuff of both Christian devotion and mythic imagination. He’s often remembered for his...
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Story Secrets - The Hollow Game

Why I came up with this story. I worry about what we’re handing our children. Not just phones and tablets, but the digital realms they open: worlds that begin by adding to life, but slowly start to replace it....
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Story Secrets - Bello and the Colossus

Remember Pico, the fluffy seagull chick who crash-landed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel during the Conclave? This story takes us back in time—way back—to ancient Rome, during the reign of Emperor Nero. Meet Bello,...
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Story Secrets - The Druid and the Fogmaker

Two rival druids. One village. A battle between enchantment and healing. This week’s story takes us deep into a misty glen in early medieval Ireland, where a kind old druid brews gentle potions to help the sick and...
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Story Secrets - Bob's Roman Holiday

In times of transition, it's often the smallest voices that carry the clearest songs. I created this short story in the days following the election of Pope Leo XIV, inspired by the quiet courage and gentle presence of...
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Story Secrets - The Sisters of the Forbidden Fruit

What happens when faith becomes a hunger strike? In today’s story, we follow the journey of a young nun who enters a monastery dreaming of a different life—one rooted in silence, simplicity, and God. But as she rises...
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Story Secrets - The Hunter and the Angel

What would you do if you stumbled on a sign warning you not to pass? Not a flimsy warning—but one carved in stone, written in Latin, perched above a crumbling gate that leads deep into a dark and ancient forest. Would...
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Story Secrets - The Magician’s Cat

In today’s story, a quiet monastery hides a restless hunter—and a secret dream of claws, courage, and transformation. “The Magician’s Cat” follows a feisty orange tabby named Magnus who’s not content with the peaceful...
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Story Secrets - The Lion, the Bridge and the Wardrobe

What happens when the Room of Tears hides more than just vestments—and opens into a world of snow, silence, and saints? In this magical and deeply symbolic short story, “The Lion, the Bridge, and the Wardrobe,” I...
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