Ave Maria in the Afternoon

The Rising from the Ashes Revival, taking place this summer in Detroit, seeks to root the faithful in the Eucharist and empower them to bring the Good News to the world. It will feature keynote speakers like Fr. John Riccardo and Jeff Cavins, with performances by Matt Maher and Sarah Kroger. Fr. Joe Mallia tells us more. Further Reading Pray, praise and serve: Rising from the Ashes Revival will be...

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day. As more and more countries in the developed world march toward “eradicating” Down Syndrome by abortion babies with the condition, we talk with Mark Bradford. Further Reading Catholics Fight ‘Together Against Loneliness’ on World Down Syndrome Day Indispensable: A Catholic Guide to Welcoming Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Let Us Pray: C...

Holy Week is upon us, and on Monday St. Michael’s Church in Livonia will feature a special exhibit of relics from our Lord’s passion, including a fragment of the True Cross, a thorn from Christ’s crown, and replicas of the nails. Fr. Joseph Marquis has more. The relics will be on display at 7:00 pm on Monday, March 30 St. Michael the Archangel Church 11441 Hubbard, Livonia, MI 48150 Guest Info Fr...

Jesus famously tells Peter that he must forgive not just seven times, but seventy-seven times. But what does it really mean to forgive? Dr Greg Popcak joins us. Further Reading Catholic Households on Mission Guest Info Dr Greg Popcak is the founder and director of CatholicCounselors.com, a group pastoral telecounseling practice providing faithful help to Catholics dealing with personal, emotional...

Notorious abortionist Kermit Gosnell has died in prison at the age of 85. For 30 years, Gosnell operated out of an abortion clinic with conditions so disturbing it was nicknamed the “house of horrors” after law enforcement raided the clinic that had gone unchecked. But his life is simply the product of a sexualized culture gone awry. Marcus has more. This is a public episode. If you would like to...

Among St. Thomas Aquinas’ most important contributions is his discourse on faith and reason. For Aquinas, the foundation of all human intellect is the presence of a rational soul – so what would he say about a soulless AI program’s ability to reason? Mike Schramm joins us. Further Reading Aquinas Articulates Artificial Intelligence Follow Mike on Substack Guest Info Mike Schramm lives in southeast...

A British appeals court has ruled against a hospital that withdrew life-sustaining treatment from a patient without family approval. Andrew Kubick has the details. Further Reading Hospital broke the law in withdrawing patient’s life support over family’s objections, court rules Book: Transplanting the Womb: A Catholic Bioethical Analysis Guest Info Andrew Kubick is Senior Research Fellow for Publi...

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is confronted with the woman caught in adultery. He tells the crowds about to stone her that anyone who is without sin may cast the first stone, then invites the women to go and sin no more. We talk more about the reading with Doug Keck. Guest Info Doug Keck is the emeritus President and COO of EWTN and the host of EWTN Bookmark. This is a public episode. If you would like...

We live in a time of astounding scientific breakthroughs and unprecedented medical marvels. Yet modern man has not yet found a way to overcome the one thing that is inevitable for every person, regardless of their social status, income, or lifestyle: death. We discuss the inevitability of death and the hope of the Resurrection with Carl Olson. Further Reading The reality of death and the Trinitari...

The UK’s House of Lords has approved an amendment to British law that effectively allows for abortion up to birth. Joanna Bogle joins us from London with more. Further Reading UK bishops, pro-life leaders react to vote decriminalizing women who end their own pregnancies ‘A Tragic Moment for Our Nation’: UK Catholic Leaders Condemn Up-to-Birth Abortion Vote Guest Info Joanna Bogle is a journalist i...

The last week has seen the deaths of two men who represented two very different forms of masculinity. Chuck Norris was the archetype of the “man’s man” whose characters defended the weak and stood up for justice. Meanwhile, OnlyFans owner Leo Radvinsky raked in nearly $2 million each day from his website, which was largely driven by pornographic content – a drop in the bucket of the mutli-billion...

The best movies are the ones that, in some way or another, draw us closer to God – and there are many that make for great Lenten viewing. Monica Miller has some suggestions. Further Reading Four Great Films for Your Lenten Journey Guest Info Dr Monica Miller is the Director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and the author of many books including “The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church,” “A...

Biblical scholars often point to the Gospel of John as the one that most clearly portrays Jesus’ divinity. But in his recounting of the raising of Lazarus, John portrays Jesus in some of the most deeply human moments of His ministry. We unpack the Sunday readings with Rob Corzine. Guest Info Rob Corzine is the Vice-president of Programs for the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. This is a publ...

Religion and Violence are often cited as going hand-in-hand. But in the twentieth century alone we saw example after example of violence perpetrated by governments committed to extreme forms of secularism. We review the history of secularist violence with Thomas Howard. Further Reading Broken Altars Secularist Violence in Modern History Guest Info Dr. Thomas “Tal” Howard is the author of Broken Al...

Thinking is good, but overthinking is not. It warps our sense of “what is” and it perseverates when we should let go. We talk more with Tod Worner. Further Reading The hell of overthinking Guest Info Tod Worner is a practicing internal medicine physician, serves as Managing Editor of Evangelization & Culture , the Journal of the Word on Fire Institute, and hosts The Evangelization & Culture Podcas...

GK Chesterton once observed that we are perishing not from want of wonders, but from want of wonder. Scientism, the claim that empirical science is the only real form of knowledge, has led to a deeply dehumanized worldview. Marcus has more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

The original vision of the civil rights revolution was to ensure all Americans were protected from illegal discrimination. Unfortunately, it was derailed by the left’s misbegotten “disparate impact” approach. Are we trending back towards an era of civil rights sanity? Thomas Powers joins us. Further Reading A New Era of Civil Rights Sanity? American Multiculturalism and the Anti-Discrimination Reg...

Nearly six months after publicly criticizing Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plan to give a “lifetime achievement” award to a pro-abortion-rights senator, a long-serving lay member of the Catholic Conference of Illinois board of directors is being involuntarily phased out of his role. Matthew Bunson has more on this and other church news. Further Reading Lay Leader Who Criticized Cardinal Cupich Phased Ou...

What does it mean to be a man of faith? The Lord has gifted us with hundreds of saints that exemplify true Catholic masculinity. We look at some of their lives with Paul George. Further Reading Holy Grit: A Saintly Guide to Becoming a Man of Virtue Paul’s website Guest Info This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ave...

Although no direct words of Joseph’s are recorded in Scripture, it is from Joseph’s own lips that the name of Jesus is first announced publicly among the people of Israel. The fatherhood of Joseph, though not natural fatherhood, is an imitation of the fatherhood of God. Stephen White joins us with more. Further Reading Fatherhood and St. Joseph Guest Info Stephen P. White is executive director of...

On March 19th, 1859, Charles Grenoad's Faust received its premiere at the Théâtre Le Cric in Paris. It tells the story of a man who makes a pact with a demon; his soul in exchange for unlimited worldly knowledge and pleasure. It’s the mirror opposite of the “Terror of Demons,” St. Joseph, who we celebrate today. Marcus has more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with othe...

There is an assumption commonly shared on both sides of the theistic and atheistic debate that is a major obstacle to dialogue – the misconception that all theists believe in “basically the same thing” and that all atheists believe (or don’t believe) in “basically the same thing.” What do the terms actually tell us? Pat Flynn joins us. Further Reading Not All Theists, Not All Atheists The Best Arg...

Paul R. Ehrlich, the biologist and author whose “Population Bomb” book sparked a hysteria about overpopulation, died last week. His philosophy is part of a greater movement that manifests itself in various ways that devalue the human person. In many countries today, we see nearly all children with genetic deficiencies aborted in the womb. As today is Trisomy-18 Awareness Day, Marcus ties it all to...

Critical Theory has become firmly entrenched among modern political and social thinkers. The greatest challenge we have as Christians in confronting this philosophy is the social sins of the past and CT’s seductive promise to eradicate all injustice by destroying hierarchies of dependency. Michel Therrien has more. Further Reading Critical Theory and the Politics of Divine Love, Part 1 Critical Th...

Studies are showing that gratitude is on the decline in the developed world. We have lost our sense that good things come from something beyond ourselves. Marcus discusses the effects of gratitude on society. Further Reading The Death of Gratitude in the American Classroom This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avem...