Kresta in the Afternoon

“Nothing so much presses man’s heart as love,” wrote St. Francis de Sales, whose feast day we celebrate today, in Treatise on the Love of God. “If a man know that he is beloved, be it by whom it may, he is pressed to love in his turn.” We talk about his life with David Bonagura.

Jesus gives his disciples many instructions and their duties as disciples. For example, in the great commission in Matthew 26:19, he instructs them to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” This...

Years ago, a friend asked Regis Martin what he thought was necessary for a successful marriage. Regis answered “prayer and earplugs.” A bit of a silly answer, yes, but it leads us to discuss what does really help a marriage work. Regis joins us.

Since the year 2000, Greg Lukianoff’s Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has tracked instances of free-speech violations on US college campuses. The numbers back up what many of us suspect: since 2014, there has been a massive uptick in campaigns to investigate or punish scholars for “unacceptable” views, resulting in almost 200 firings and hundreds of other sanctions. This is complet...

Next week we will commemorate Catholic Schools Week. Pope Benedict once wrote that “not even the greatest values of the past can simply be inherited; they must be claimed and renewed through an often anguishing personal option.” What is the state of Catholic education in America? Kevin Murphy joins us from the Cardinal Newman Society.

Every one of us is going to die. In all likelihood, within a century of our death few people will know we existed. So if all he work for, learn, and experience simply comes to nothing, does life actually have any meaning? A Christian can answer Yes, citing the Hope of Heaven – but if Heaven is so wonderful, why waste our time on earth? As the Church has written for centuries, death is not a negati...

What did faith mean to Winston Churchill? Unlike many politicians of his day he was not transparent about his beliefs, did not regularly attend services, and once described himself as “not a pillar of the Church but a buttress.” Still, he did have a sense of faith that contributed to his idea that he was “walking with destiny.” January 24 marks the anniversary of his death, and we’ll talk more wit...

Later in today’s program we’ll talk with Randall Smith about the meaning of life and death. All of us are invited by Jesus to accept his gift of Eternal Life. What does the Bible say about this? Al discusses.

Sunday marked three years since Pope Francis declared Jerome Lejune to be venerable. Lejune, a Catholic scientist, is most known for his contributions to the discovery of Downs Syndrome. We get to know him with Mark Bradford.

“Tora! Tora! Tora!” This message from Mitsuo Fuchida on the morning of December 7, 1941 informed Japanese commanders that the attack on Pearl Harbor was about to begin, and the Americans were completely unprepared. Commander Fuchida was the pilot responsible for coordinating the aerial attack and he became a hero in his home country. But due to an extraordinary series of circumstances after the wa...

We’ve talked before about the effects the rise of AI may have on our lives, but one area that is easy to forget is business. Nvidia, a company that produces software and hardware for AI companies, now has one of the top stocks in the US. Chadd Garcia joins us looking at this and other major financial stories from last year and what we should keep an eye on moving forward.

January 21 was the 100th anniversary of the death of Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks and the first head of the government of the Soviet Union. Myths abound about his beliefs, motivations and ideologies. Who was the real Lenin? Paul Kengor joins us.

The Dutch bishops have become the latest conference to collectively reject the new provision by the Vatican for non-liturgical blessings to same-sex couples and those in irregular relationships. Matthew Bunson has more on this and other stories.

It’s been a fun few months for football fans in Michigan. The Detroit Lions have won a playoff game for the first time in more than 30 years, and the University of Michigan Wolverines wrapped up a 15-0 season with a 34-13 victory over Washington in the National Championship game. Throughout the season, many Michigan players – as well as Coach Jim Harbaugh – were outspoken about their faith. We tal...

Fifteen years ago this month, Fr Richard John Neuhaus died. Al shares some thoughts about what the spiritual leader and political commentator would have to say to us today.

Raised in a loving home, Claire Culwell always knew she had been adopted and when she reached adulthood she decided to meet her birth mother. And that’s when she got the shock of her life. Claire learned that she was a survivor of a botched abortion. Not only that, she had an unborn twin whose life was terminated that day. And the story doesn’t end there. She joins us.

Fifty years ago, the feminist movement vowed to “Smash the patriarchy.” Today, we can’t even define what a woman is. Only a rediscovery of true womanhood—and motherhood—can pull our society back from the brink. Carrie Gress explains how.

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." These words of Jesus are directed to the fishermen Simon and Andrew in this Sunday’s Gospel, but they’re really meant for all of us. Would you “Drop your nets” if Jesus called you today? Peggy Stanton joins us.

On Tuesday mornings, a group of men and women meet in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to pray and read Scripture. But there is something different about this Bible study – almost all its attendees are homeless. It’s a ministry that began at Most Blessed Sacrament parish and has expanded into the Day by Day Shelter. Molly Yatso-Butz tells the story.

2023 saw some important victories and defeats for the Pro-Life movement. Most notable was probably the passage of Proposal 1 in Ohio, which was yet another example of voters choosing to support abortion after Dobbs. We review this and other stories with Michael New.

The major biblical archaeology stories of 2023 contain a lot of doom, destruction, and disappointment. They also contain mysteries that may be resolved by future excavations—and perhaps, in one case, the resolution of an ongoing controversy that has dogged New Testament scholars for the past decade. Gordon Govier has more.

For just the second year since his papacy began, Pope Francis did not canonize any new saints in 2023. But there are still plenty of names to know. The pope recognized several new blesseds and announced plans for another canonization early this year. And in the US, bishops advanced the cause of Isaac Hecker and supported plans to name St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. Michael O’Neill jo...

2023 was another year of discovery in the scientific community. Much of the discussion focused on the continued rise of AI and the wild popularity of chatbots like ChatGPT. Elsewhere, the UK approved CRISPR treatment for sickle-cell diseases and researchers began “mapping the brain.” Stacy Trasancos joins us with a review.

Last week we received a letter from a listener asking a question that is on many of our minds – what consideration should we give to a candidate’s personal religion and/or virtue before we cast a vote in their support? It’s an important question, and the answer has been debated for centuries of western political thought. Al shares his thoughts.

December 10, 2023 was the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It's a document that would not have been possible without the remarkable consensus of religious leaders from around the world. We talk more with Dan Philpott about the importance of religion to Human Rights today.