Kresta in the Afternoon

Bryant Schoenle has served as Al's executive producer since Nick Thomm's retirement in 2018. Bryant shares what he learned from Nick and Al about Christian suffering.

Michael Warsaw of EWTN discusses Al's contributions to the world of Catholic radio.

Al hired Matthew Handley as a producer right out of college. Matthew shares how Al helped him develop a Catholic view of the world.

Kathy Schiffer was Al's first producer when he was at WMUZ in Detroit. She shares her memories.

Marcus and Matthew Bunson talk about recent church news.

Marcus and Peggy Stanton read and break down the upcoming Sunday Gospel.

As we celebrate St Anthony of Padua feast day, Marcus examines who St Anthony of Padua the man was.

Amid a pagan culture that regarded their faith with suspicion, early Christians founded a religious movement that transformed the ancient world. Stephen Presley shows us how we can sanctify our secular society by following in their footsteps.

Al Kresta’s health has taken a turn for the worse. Dr. Monica Miller is the director of Citizens for a prolife society. She has been a friend of Al Kresta and Ave Maria Radio for many years now. She joins us today to talk about her friendship with Al and the great benefit his program has had on the Church and in her own apostolate.

Today, St. Thomas Aquinas is best known for his Summa Theologiae and is regarded as a great exemplar of systematic theology. But if you traveled back in time and told him that, he would probably be surprised, for he likely saw himself more as a teacher of Sacred Scripture. Studying his Scriptural work can be a daunting task, and we take a crack at it with Dr. John Boyle.

Marcus explores the legacy of St. Barnabas the Apostle.

Just as Job was tried, all of us are tested by suffering. It comes in many different forms: grief about the past, pain in the present, and sadness about what might have been. We explore personal dimensions of suffering with Mark Giszczak.

Catholics dedicate June to the Sacred Heart. Is there a Biblical basis for this? Steve Ray has the answer.

When John Paul II visited Poland in June 1979, the New York Times declared that the visit “does not threaten the political order of the nation or of Eastern Europe.” Needless to say, the take hasn’t aged well. How did the pope do it? George Weigel joins us.

Marcus explores the Catholic Undertones of Lord of the Rings.

Everywhere you look, the culture is twisting truth into lies and lies into truth. How did we get to this bizarre point in history? More importantly, how can we fight the tide of insanity and win reality back? Gary Michuta joins us.

Shortly after the turn of the century, a new style of Atheism started to gain popularity. Dubbed the “New Atheism” and championed by figures like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, this position asserted that religion was actually harmful to society and was not to be merely tolerated – it should be eradicated. But this New Atheism cannot answer the basic questions about why we are here. We talk more...

What can modern and postmodern seekers learn from an epic journey to hell written seven hundred years ago by an Italian poet who was as influenced by Homer, Plato, Aristotle, and Virgil as he was by the Bible? A great deal! Louis Markos tells us why.

In his commentary Marcus examines what God's love means in all its forms.

What did faith mean to Winston Churchill? Churchill was far from transparent about his religious beliefs and never regularly attended church services as an adult, even considering himself “not a pillar of the church but a buttress,” in the sense that he supported it “from the outside.”

Catholics in India have expressed optimism following the Supreme Court’s recent comments that a draconian anti-conversion law may be found to violate the Indian Constitution. Ed Clancy has the details.

This Sunday’s Gospel encompasses, some of the Lord Jesus ‘most famous teachings, such as “a house divided against itself, cannot stand.” And some that are puzzling, as is “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” Peggy Stanton joins us with more.

It’s the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. Later in the day, President Roosevelt addressed the nation via radio, asking them to join him in prayer. We’ll play his address, and Marcus shares some additional thoughts.