Ave Maria in the Afternoon

The State of the Union was intended to be an opportunity for the president to address Congress and the Nation about the challenges facing the country and the prospects for overcoming them. But over the course of the last 30 years, it has devolved into little more than a partisan campaign rally, fueled by drama and moments staged to go viral. We’re looking at the state of our divided union, but we...

Late Friday afternoon, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant ruling a case concerning the display of the Ten Commandments in schools, vacating an injunction that had blocked their display. The Court’s decision is welcome news for religious expression in public life, and there is reason for genuine optimism about what comes next. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer joins us. Further Reading A...

Long before he became Catholic, Derek Bingham hungered for the Eucharist. He and his wife Hannah began studying and reading the Church fathers and found their teachings aligned with the Catholic Church’s understanding of the Eucharist. It was the first step in their whirlwind journey to the Catholic Church. They share their story with us. Further Reading ‘It’s All About the Eucharist’: Catholic Fa...

Venerable Fulton Sheen was famous for his love of the Eucharist, and once observed “the greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.” Christianity presents a claim that no other religion would dare to say: the God we worship doesn’t merely send laws or prophets; he takes on our very nature. Marcus has more on how the Eucharist connects us to the divine Love of God. This is a...

Has this ever happened to you? You’re trying to put the kids to bed, or rush them out the door in the morning, and they decide it’s the perfect time to stump you with a question on the faith. Steven Hemler joins us with short answers to life’s biggest questions. Further Reading Book: The Busy Parent’s Guide to the Catholic Faith: Short Answers to the Big Questions Catholic Apologetics Institute of...

Next week Marcus will join a mission trip to Taiwan, where a mere 1% of the population is Catholic. How do you explain complex theological ideas to someone who may have never heard the name of Jesus? Where do you begin with introducing the concept of God to a godless society? Marcus shares some thoughts. Further Reading ‘She Had Never Heard the Name of Jesus’: Eucharistic Evangelization in Taiwan...

Have you ever seen an adult behaving badly and wondered if they were ever disciplined as a kid? Childhood discipline has lifelong effects – and not just on how we behave. It also predicts the way we resolve conflicts as adults. We discuss Discipleship Discipline with Dr Greg Popcak. Further Reading Catholic Households on Mission Guest Info Dr Greg Popcak is the founder and director of CatholicCoun...

With billionaires continuing to pour cash into fertility technology, we are approaching a world where “Big Tech” and “Big Fertility” are intertwined. Eugenics is coming to America wrapped in code words such as “optimization” and “reassurance.” We discuss what this means for society with Patrick T. Brown. Further Reading Big Tech Meets Big Fertility Patrick’s blog Follow Patrick on Twitter Guest In...

Unrest continues in Mexico following the killing of cartel leader Ruben “El Mencho” Cervantes. David Ramos joins us with a report. Guest Info David Ramos writes for ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. He heads the ACI Prensa Office in Mexico and has covered Church news throughout Central and South America. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

On the morning of January 28, 1986, President Reagan was preparing his State of the Union address when the country was shook by a national tragedy – the Challenger spacecraft had exploded just seconds after takeoff. Reagan postponed his planned remarks, setting aside politics for a moment of national unity and grieving. What can we expect from the State of the Union in a time of political divisive...

The Lenten season parallels all of human history. Man began as dust in the Garden, and we begin our Lenten journey with Jesus in the dust of the desert. We discuss this journey from dust to glory with Matt Ramage. Further Reading From the Dust of the Earth Benedict XVI, the Bible, and the Theory of Evolution Guest Info Matthew J. Ramage, Ph. D., is Professor of Theology at Benedictine College wher...

Today’s Gospel foretells the division of the Sheep and the Goats. Jesus praises those who have fed the hungry, doctored the sick, and housed the homeless while condemning those who have not. Some progressives use this passage as a “moral trump card” to argue that doctrine and dogma do not matter, for in the end all that matters is our humanitarian gestures. Marcus breaks it down. This is a public...

Yesterday was the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. Since the Reformation, we have seen what happens when a church “unhooks” itself from the authority of the Church and tries to go on its own. We discuss the feast and the Church’s enduring authority with Doug Keck. Further Reading 9 Things You Need to Know About the ‘Chair of St. Peter’ Why Does the Church Celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Pet...

Whether it be our own lives, our faith, our families, or our Church, God wants us to grow. We look at how this theme is woven throughout the Scriptures with Michael Pakaluk. Further Reading God Is Pro-Growth Guest Info Michael Pakaluk, an Aristotle scholar and Ordinarius of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, is Professor of Political Economy in the Busch School of Business at the Cathol...

One of the latest AI innovations is Waymo, an autonomous taxi service that is gradually being introduced to cities nationwide. As sociologists have warned for decades, every new technology that is intended to make our lives easier has unintended and often unwelcome consequences. Francis Maier joins us. Further Reading Notes on a ‘Great Reset’ Guest Info Francis X. Maier is a senior fellow in Catho...

Our culture tends to speak about death in hushed euphemisms, as if renaming death will remove its power. We hide our decline behind hospital curtains and try to forget that we will all eventually die. Cancer breaks down these boundaries and ignores these so-called etiquettes. Ben Sasse’s reflections on his own impeding death from cancer illustrate how Christians should face death – through the len...

America’s relational landscape is increasingly bleak and barren. Americans are less likely to be married, or even partnered, and they report having less sex. Instead of the happiness, authenticity, and pleasure that the sexual revolution promised, there is a loneliness epidemic as men and women are driven further apart. At the heart of the problem is the prevalence of pornography in our society. F...

This Sunday’s readings present us with two temptations: Adam and Eve in the Garden, and Jesus during His time in the desert. But where Adam failed, Jesus triumphed. We unpack the 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 public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...

Blaise Pascal observed that all people seek happiness, and that all man’s actions ultimately seek this end. But since perfect happiness eludes us in this life, all we can hope is to be “happier.” One aspect of being happier, within reach of us all, is to grow in love. But to grow in love we need practical wisdom. We talk more with Christopher Kaczor. Further Reading Practical Wisdom for a Happier...

In a 6-3 ruling this morning, the Supreme Court struck down many elements of President Trump’s signature tariffs. The Founding Fathers designed our government with a system of checks and balances, so that no one branch could become too powerful. Marcus looks at the deeply Christian foundations of this system. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

February 22 marks the anniversary of one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports – the United States’ victory over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Taking place in the midst of the Cold War just weeks after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the “Miracle on Ice” was much more than a game. It represented a clash between civilizations, cultures, and worldviews...

Why should we bother fasting? Why do those ascetical practices in Lent or any other time? Why bother with this self-discipline, this extra penance, especially if we’re already living fairly moderate lives? Isn’t it better to eat, drink, and be merry, given that we might die tomorrow? We talk with David Deavel. Further Reading Only The Lover Fasts Guest Info David Paul Deavel is Associate Professor...

The Priestly Society of St. Pius X says it will proceed with plans to consecrate new bishops on July 1 without a pontifical mandate, despite a Vatican warning that the move would represent a “decisive rupture” of communion and bring “grave consequences” for the group. Matthew Bunson reports on this and other Church news. Further Reading Society of St. Pius X says it will consecrate bishops without...

Western novels, songs, and films make many assumptions about love and marriage. Yet one underlying expectation continues to shock the non-Western world: dispositive spousal consent, or the belief that a marriage is valid because two individuals freely choose one another, rather than because their families or political authorities approve the match. We talk more about this “free market” of marriage...

Pope Leo has declared the period from January 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027 to be the Year of St. Francis, in commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death. A plenary indulgence can be obtained during this time, one of the conditions for which is a pilgrimage to a Franciscan church. Fr. James Conlon of St. Francis in Ann Arbor joins us. Further Reading Indulgence is an encounter with...