RED-C Presents

Welcome to the final installment of Eucharist 101! If you’ve made it this far, you’re now part of a small, but growing number of individuals who know the truth about the Sacrament of the Eucharist! It’s true. Sadly, as we’ve mentioned throughout the course, some polls estimate that about 69% of Catholics have never been successfully catechized in even the very basic, 101-level facts about the Euch...

It’s a strange time we live in that most people—even professed Christians—don’t really believe in miracles. The majority of civilizations throughout history have believed in miracles. But for some reason, people in the 21st century seem to think they’re too advanced—too enlightened—to believe in miracles. But if miracles do happen… wouldn’t that change everything? Miracles do happen and we can 100...

Possibly the single most important thing we can do as believers is question our faith. Woah, what?! It’s true! Questioning is vital. But we cannot simply question—we must seek answers! God is Truth—this is one of His transcendental qualities (God is not just true, He IS Truth itself, and apart from Him truth does not exist). Whatever questions we may have about God, about the teachings of the Chur...

If some of the previous episodes of Eucharist 101 haven't been controversial enough, today's discussion is on a topic over which wars have been fought and disputes have raged for centuries! Throughout this miniseries, we've learned what the Eucharist is, what a Sacrament is, we've seen that it is Biblical, and we've learned some spiritual words used to explain the deeper theology of what Jesus sai...

How would you feel if someone you really wanted to be friends with said, "Fine, I'll be your friend, but I want you to always be who I think you are now, and I never want to learn anything about who you really are that could change my perspective." What a ridiculous thing to say! No, when we love someone, we desire to get to know them—their past, their hopes, their dreams, the things that make the...

Already on day two, it's time for the make-or-break question—possibly the greatest dispute between Catholics and all other Christians for the past 500+ years: Is the Eucharist Biblical? Or a false teaching that has been handed down and persists within the Catholic Church? In today's video, we'll make the case that Biblical figures prior to Jesus, as well as Jesus himself and his Apostles, very cle...

It was a heavy moment when our Savior spoke up at dinner, catching the attention of the Apostles. He knew he was about to die. He knew he would be betrayed by one of his friends. He knew he would be abandoned by the Apostles and left alone to the judgements and tortures of the Sanhedrin and the Romans. So what did Jesus do? He took bread and broke it—and likewise took the chalice—and gave us the S...

This episode of "The Deacon and the Doc” looks at one of the most important issues of our time as American Catholics—religious freedom—through the lens of the Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, from the Second Vatican Council. The document itself has been a subject of scrutiny and criticism since its publication in 1965. The Deacon and the Doc try to clear away the misconception...

Please note, this episode was recorded prior to the death of Pope Benedict XVI. On this episode, your hosts look at Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's gracious and insightful letter to participants in an October 2022 conference at Franciscan University convened to study and discuss the thought of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI. The Deacon and the Doc especially tried to use this letter to g...

We began the show reviewing the facts of the laicization of Frank Pavone, averring that this incident has a long backstory and has less to do with abortion politics than it does with the integrity of the Catholic Church qua the Catholic Church. To that end, we looked at Chapter III from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, promulgated by the Second Vatican Council in 1964. It is...

On this episode of The Deacon and the Doc we reflected on the incredible life of Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927. We began with sharing when and where we got the news of his death, then how we first learned of him as an intellectual figure. We looked back at his role as as a peritus at the Second Vatican Council and then his work, alongside Pope John Paul II, in securing the legac...

Sacrosanctum Concillium (SC), the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, was the first document produced by the Second Vatican Council; promulgated on December 4, 1963. It is also the first document that Fr. Blake Britton analyzes in his book,  Reclaiming Vatican II . The Deacon and Doc discussed how Fr. Britton's framework of worship, reconciliation, and divinization, bring out the power and majesty...

Dr. Larry Chapp blogs at Gaudium et Spes 22 and has emerged in the last several years as a vigorous apologist for Vatican II. He recently published an essay at Our Sunday Visitor doing just that. The Deacon and the Doc read it, digested it, and had quite a spirited discussion over it—complete with moments of civil disagreement. The episode is a bit longer than usual, but we hope you stick around f...

The RED-C Apostolate offered in-person seminars during the fall of 2022 to study the teachings and legacy of the Second Vatican Council. Fr. Blake Britton's book, Reclaiming Vatican II, formed the basis for the groups that met in Bryan-College Station.  The Deacon and the Doc surveyed some of the participants' reactions to its initial chapters in this episode.

In the months leading up to Second Vatican Council, the French Jesuit, Fr. Henri de Lubac, kept a journal documenting his role as a peritus (theological expert) in the initial deliberations and discussions. De Lubac continued his private commentary during the council itself. The Deacon and the Doc availed themselves of excerpts from De Lubac's journal, which are on offer at Catholic Culture , acco...

RED-C Catholic Radio was honored to bring to our listeners this LIVE broadcast of St. Mary's Catholic Center's Magnify event with special guest speaker, Fr. Mike Schmitz.  This event took place on Thursday, October 27th, 2022 in Rudder Auditorium on the campus of Texas A&M University to an audience of 2000 attendees.

In this episode of "The Deacon and the Doc" offer impressions on their first class sessions over Fr. Blake Britton's book, Reclaiming Vatican II, and they spend some time reviewing a video for the National Eucharistic Revival from the Diocese of Austin called "This Wonderful Sacrament.”  This video is especially good at helping us see how the liturgy unifies us as the People of God around our bish...

We are publishing this most recent installment of The Deacon and the Doc on the sixtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Our subject is the brief pontificate of Pope John Paul I, who was beatified on September 4, 2022. Known as the "Smiling Pope," Albino Luciani made cementing and extending the correct implementation of the council a cornerstone of his pontificate. We del...

On this episode of the Deacon and the Doc, we consider the importance of adoration in helping us be more humble and docile in our relationship with Jesus. We also consider how participation in the devotion of Eucharistic adoration can actually bring us to greater faith in our Eucharistic Lord. 

If you're an American Catholic, you've probably heard about the infamous 2019 Pew Research Study, which purported that 70% of Catholics don't believe in the Real Presence. Well, the Deacon and the Doc have always maintained that said poll doesn't pass the smell test. Listen in as we point out some of the flaws with the study itself, dissect its questions, and offer some countervailing conclusions....

The Deacon and the Doc preview the book, Reclaiming Vatican II, which will serve as the basis for two of our upcoming fall faith formation classes in the Brazos Valley. You can sign up to attend here: redcradio.org/vc260 . Changes in the liturgy, the abuse scandals, the collapse of religious orders, a decline in Mass attendance, just to name a few have all combined to create renewed doubt about an...

The Deacon and the Doc are back for another season of conversations, not only about the teachings and legacy of the Second Vatican Council, but the ongoing Eucharistic Revival in the United States. It's with some of Vatican II's legacy that we start off this season. Only three years after the close of the council, Pope St. Paul VI issued his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. Its promulgation triggere...

The Deacon and the Doc concluded their discussion of Gaudium et Spes(GS) as well as the closing address of Pope St. Paul VI and the afterword to the Word on Fire Vatican II Collection by Dr. Matthew Levering. In many ways, GS encapsulates Pope Paul’s quote: "This council hands over to posterity not only the image of the Church but also the patrimony of her doctrine and of her commandments, the “de...

The Deacon and the Doc continued our discussion of Gaudium et Spes (GS). Its predictive quality in describing the world we live in today continued to impress us. Deacon Mike thinks that Part Two of GS really shines as the council fathers began to speak with clarity and charity about how the Church and her constant teaching is the necessary ingredient for a civilizing humanity. The Doc couldn’t sto...

The Deacon and the Doc dove right into talking about our initial impressions of Gaudium et Spes (GS). We agreed with many of our participants who called the constitution prescient in its analysis of modern society’s situation. That situation arose due to the West’s gradual abandonment of Catholic Christianity as it acquired new technological, cultural, and political forms. Nevertheless, those same...