On this show, I consider a standard objection to Catholic devotion: the charge of idolatrous worship of the Blessed Virgin, the saints, and the angels. I call the show Giving God His Due. The question boils down to this: What is it that Catholics offer to the Virgin Mary, the other saints, or the angels that is due to God alone? What is God's due that we are rendering to a […]
For this Reconquest, I am joined by Charles Coulombe to discuss "Saint Robert Southwell: The Truth, the Beauty, and the Gore." Topics include a brief biological sketch of the missionary-martyr-poet, the purpose of his poetry, and some of that poetry itself. His was an amazing career as a hunted missionary who not only exercised a priestly, sacramental mission among the persecuted faithful of Elizabethan England, but who also engaged in an extraordinary apostolate of the […]
My good friend C.J. Doyle joins me in this Reconquest. C.J. is the Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, a frequent speaker at Saint Benedict Center Conferences, and an informed and erudite Catholic culture warrior, who has done a great deal for many years to defend faith and family in the Bay State. Our subject is "Contracepting Heaven and Earth," which makes reference to the twofold tragedy of […]
Sister Maria Philomena joins me for Reconquest, Episode 26. We are discussing the topic, "Corpus Christi, Feast and Mystery." Subjects include general Catholic notions of sacramentality and liturgical piety, Saint Thomas Aquinas' explanation of past, present, and future aspects of the sacraments in general and the Blessed Eucharist in specific, the history of the Feast of Corpus Christi, some of the music inspired by the feast, the Biblical basis for […]
In this Reconquest, we consider the Catholic concept of Tradition, both in the general sense (embracing both Holy Scripture and Oral or Apostolic Tradition), and in the more specific sense of those Apostolic Traditions that were not written down. We consider also the related Catholic concept — much abused in our day — of development of doctrine. I talk about the meaning of Revelation, the Deposit of Faith, and the Church’s Magisterium — among […]
Below is a two-minute and eighteen second YouTube commercial for Episode 20. My guest for the show is Charles Coulombe, Catholic historian and author of Vicars of Christ: A History of the Popes (also available in a Kindle edition). The subject is "The Papacy: Divine and Limited." The publication of Amoris Laetitia and the backlash against its more novel sections serves as a backdrop to a catechetical and historical discussion of the […]
In Episode 21, we consider the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in type and prophecy in the Old Testament. Topics include Abraham's sacrifice, the sacrifice of Melchisedech, and the prophecy of Malachias (Malachi), and how the Church Fathers — especially Saint Ambrose — employed some of these. Please look at the video and then give the show a listen! See below the video for the audio files. Also, please Help Expand […]
