Ave Maria In The Afternoon

Suffocation awaited a young man with Down syndrome when the eroded surface of a toxic sewage tank crumbled beneath his feet. Joseph Vander Woude would have died alone in the cramped tank surrounded by toxic fumes, but his father jumped in, pushing him toward the surface with his last breath. Nearly two decades later, a group of Catholics are working to open the cause for Tom Vander Woude. His son...

Why am I here? Where am I going? How do I get there? Those are the questions we all face as we ponder our place in this world. Fr. John Riccardo has written a new book inviting everyone to rediscover the message of the Gospel – that there is a God, and that He loves them. He joins us.

When he was a Protestant, Steve Ray believed that Marian apparitions were a trick of the devil designed to draw Catholics away from Jesus. Today, he regularly visits places like Lourdes and Fatima. Steve takes us on a deep dive of how he came to understand these mysteries.

Fifty-eight years after its promulgation, Humanae Vitae is still a pivotal document and you see its living heartbeat in numerous nations, including in Poland, where Mark Regnerus recently visited. He shares what he saw there.

Marcus and Paul Kengor discuss the lasting impact of the Church’s newest Blessed!

Preschool is no place to teach three- and four-year-olds to choose their own gender, but in Colorado, families choosing schools that share this belief are denied the state funding that all other families receive. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer has more.

Religious freedom and academic freedom suffered a blow this past summer when Purdue sociologist Fenggang Yang was disinvited from delivering the keynote address at a conference in Texas. Dan Philpott tells the story.

A new form of relationship estrangement is afoot. Whereas, in the past, relationships tended to rupture over issues like abuse, today, people are increasingly estranged because of politics. More than sixty-eight million Americans are currently alienated from close family members. Though going no contact is frequently framed as an act of empowerment and self-care, behind the numbers are millions of...

In this Sunday’s First Reading, Isaiah invites us to seek the Lord and call on His name. We unpack the readings with Rob Corzine.

Matthew Bunson was a seven-year-old boy living in Hawaii the day his family hosted Fulton Sheen for dinner. He shares some memories.

Jack Ludwick is a sophomore at Yale. Over the last two years, he has seen a growing presence of Catholic faith and philosophy on the Ivy League campus. He shares more.

One of the strange ironies of the Christian life is that sorrow and suffering are to be celebrated as a chance for sanctification. Marcus reflects on today’s Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution defines the responsibility of the Church to respond to perennial questions which men ask about the present life. We explore what it means to have a Church in dialogue with Randall Smith.

If there was a silver lining to the horrors of the September 11 terrorist attacks, it was how the nation came together. Americans understood that they shared a brotherhood that went beyond race or political affiliation. Stores sold out of American flags for weeks. Today, such a climate seems like something out a different life. Can we ever recover this? Peter Laffin joins us.

There are now hundreds, if not thousands, of dating apps on the market. About half of American young adults have used them – not just for hookups, but to find a serious relationship. But most of them are unhappy with the entire dating culture. The roots of the problem life far deeper than an app, and no algorithm will solve them. We talk with Dr. Marianna Orlandi.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s clash with the state’s Catholic bishops over vaccine policy in Catholic schools threatens the eligibility of Catholic schools to participate in Florida’s universal school choice program. Andrea Picciotit-Bayer believes this case does not need a winner or a loser - Florida can respect the bishops’ authority over Catholic schools while preserving a workable...

On the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children we visit the burial places of the unborn victims of abortion and other memorial sites dedicated to them. Join us at a prayer vigil near you. Monica Miller has the details.

Our consumption decisions should be focused on the needs of our family members. This requires attention to unglamorous factors such as budgets and nutritional requirements, instead of being up-to-date with the brands and campaigns that purport to solve the world’s problems by selling us products. Clara Piano discusses what this means.

Glowing obituaries are pouring in after the death of feminist icon Gloria Steinem, It is hard to overstate her influence upon Western women. Gloria Steinem wasn’t just one among many feminists; she was the “it” girl who normalized feminism and made it broadly attractive. We talk more about her legacy with Carrie Gress.

Indiaʼs Maharashtra state enacted a sweeping anti-conversion law on Aug. 28, prompting Catholic leaders to call for prayer and a legal challenge. Matthew Bunson has more on this and other Church news.

The modern world and our imprudent use of technology have left many of us isolated and struggling in fruitless cycles. We are often seeking what is right, with a strong desire to be transformed to participate in what is good, but don’t feel that we have the power to get there on our own. Alex Ziolkowski is launching a new app to help people in this fight. He joins us.

On December 16, 2002, Ken Craycraft made an impulsive decision that changed the course of his life. He gathered the liquor bottles from around his house and poured them down the sink – and he has not taken a drink since. Ken and Marcus speak about their experiences as alcoholics, bearing the cross of addiction, and what they want the loved ones of alcoholics to understand.

What does it mean to say that the Lord our God is a jealous God? And how does that relate to the doctrine of the Eucharist? Jared Staudt joins us.

Facing the English justice system and knowing his life was on the line, St. Thomas More refused to back down, insisting he could not set his private judgement against “the general council of Christendom.” He would not sever himself from the living body of the Church in history. Nearly five centuries later, society has forgotten that lesson. The West has not simply drifted from Christianity. It has...

Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish Christian politician who had been barred from entering the United Kingdom to give a talk on free speech at a Northern Ireland church conference last week, was eventually granted a visa to enter the country — but it arrived too late. Matthew Bunson has more on this and other Church news.