Church History Archives - Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

These are indeed good days for book lovers because we are so blessed to have yet another Christian spiritual classic broken open for us Dr. Peter Kreeft! In "I Burned for Your Peace: Augustine's Confessions Unpacked", Dr. Kreeft gives us a guided tour through one of the finest works in all Western literature. In our conversation we discuss how St. Augustine, in many ways, is the everyman and why i...

These are indeed good days for book lovers because we are so blessed to have yet another Christian spiritual classic broken open for us Dr. Peter Kreeft! In "I Burned for Your Peace: Augustine's Confessions Unpacked", Dr. Kreeft gives us a guided tour through one of the finest works in all Western literature. In our conversation we discuss how St. Augustine, in many ways, is the everyman and why i...

St. Jerome - Born: 347 AD, Štrigova, Croatia Died: September 30, 420 AD, Bethlehem What can we learn from St Jerome? It seems to me, this above all; to love the Word of God in Sacred Scripture. St Jerome said: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ". It is therefore important that every Christian live in contact and in personal dialogue with the Word of God given to us in Sacred Scrip...

Episode 12 – Nestorius – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“was In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Nestorius, an archbishop of Constantinople who proclaimed that Mary could not be the “Theotokos”.  Such statements brought about the Council of Ephesus and a declaration throughout the Christian Church that h...

Episode 10 – Arius – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“ In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Arius and the threat of the Arian heresy.  Mike makes suggestions on what the Christian can do to stay true to the faith in times and recognize the Arian ... Read more The post VEC10 – Arius – Villains of the Early...

Why is there so much division in the Church? We begin to approach the question with help of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book “A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen”. It is said during the conversation that * Correction: “A Short Primer” was published in 1989, it was actually published in 1980. *       ... Read more The post Episode 1 – A Short Primer for the...

With Dr. Matthew Bunson, we discuss his book "St. Kateri: Lily of the Mohawks". The humble daughter of a Mohawk chief and a Roman Catholic mother, Kateri (named after St. Catherine of Siena) Tekakwitha lived a short life (she died at the age of 24). She was a powerful witness to her Christian faith, so much so, that even the famed "black robe" Jesuit missionaries were awed "by her perfection of th...

Episode 9 - Diocletian - "Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians" In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Diocletian and the threat of a "police state" to religious freedom.  Mike makes suggestions on what the Christian can do to stay true to the faith in times of religious persecution. The post VEC9 – Diocletian – Villains of the Early Ch...

There's nobody I enjoy spending Ash Wednesday with more than Mike Aquilina. Mike offers us rich insights on the practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving from the perspective of the early church. He also helps us to see how we can concretely live out all three and further enrich our spiritual lives and help those around us to see Christ more fully in us and the Church. We like Mike! He's awesome!...

Episode 8 – Celsus – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“ In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Celsus and responding to his “Case against Christianity.” An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church: The man’s name was Aulus Cornelius Celsus, and he was one of those ... Read more The post VEC8 – Celsus &...