Why do Catholics exalt Mary? I don't mean in general. I mean specifically. The answer may surprise you. Is it because she's perfect? Kind of. But there's a deeper reason. So in this "brief" episode, I'll dig in a little to the underlying, foundational reason we venerate Our Lady. In this episode we'll discuss: Why the Immaculate Conception is demanded by Mary's divine maternity The vital role of the Council of Ephesus in 431AD in Marian doctrine Why St. Thomas declared Mary was predestined to be...
Nov 04, 2016•34 min
A lot of passages in Scripture make me uncomfortable. But this one scares the dickens out of me. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus declares "I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter." Uhhh..."every careless word"? (Insert teeth chattering.) Now I don't know about you, but I've said some pretty ridiculous things in my life...things for which I would love to take the eternal Etch A Sketch, turn it upside down, and shake. (By the way, did I ever tell you I...
Oct 21, 2016•44 min
They're the most talked about "secrets" in the world. But they're often misunderstood. In July, 1917, Our Lady appeared to three children and revealed to them several amazing visions and prophecies that all came true. They've become known as the 3 Secrets of Fatima. And while we know what they are, they're not just part of the past. They're relevant now...more than ever. There's no doubt that truly understanding and applying the message of Mary at Fatima can change the world! So in celebration o...
Oct 07, 2016•48 min
It's not a pretty topic. But it has to be addressed. The extreme violence in Sacred Scripture (particularly the Old Testament) understandably causes a lot of people problems. After all, how are we supposed to reconcile this kind of bloodshed with a loving, merciful God? Why did He command it? How could He command it? Didn't Jesus say to love your neighbor and pray for your enemies? Sometimes what we read just doesn't seem to square with who we know Him to be. And you can't, as some do, simply gl...
Sep 23, 2016•56 min
It's no surprise. Mother Teresa is the newest saint of the Catholic Church. I became Catholic the year after she died. I hadn't paid her much attention. And yet along with the rest of the world, I knew she was holy. Sure, there were detractors. There always are. They're nuts. While most people loved and respected Mother Teresa, she also made them uneasy. Let's be honest, she made a lot of Catholics uneasy! Hers might have been the "little way" of her namesake St. Therese of Lisieux, but it wasn'...
Sep 05, 2016•52 min
We've all got questions. None more important then those dealing with our faith. Not long ago, I invited listeners to send me questions or issues with which they're dealing. I got some great responses from all over the world. So in this special episode of The Art of Catholic, we're going to deal with a few of them. (Some of these I deal with in my first book Louder Than Words: The Art of Living as a Catholic...the book which inspired the podcast!) Some of the important issues we'll discuss includ...
Aug 25, 2016•58 min
We've all heard it before - "The Catholic Church is all about violence and power. Just look at the Crusades! They're a perfect example!" The problem (for critics of the Church) is that idea is horse-hockey. That said, most of us have little-to-no understanding of the true heart of the Crusades...which is a complete shame. Because the fact is, the reason and rationale for what Pope Urban II began a thousand years ago is way deeper and more spiritual than what most people ever imagine. So to enlig...
Aug 11, 2016•1 hr 18 min
We say (or drone through) it every week – “I believe…” Do we really? Does the amazing truth of the Creed penetrate the fibers of our being the same way it did early Christians who were willing to die for it? If you aren’t quite there yet, you might soon be. Especially after hearing my latest guest. To help us understand this amazing statement of faith I brought in the Catholic supernova - Dr. Scott Hahn. He has just released an exciting new book from Emmaus Road Publishing titled The Creed: Prof...
Jul 27, 2016•51 min
They are the most infamous of sins. Why? Because they will knock you down, beat you up, and kick you to the curb. To put it bluntly, they can send you to hell. Thankfully, there are remedies for fighting these 7 Deadly Sins (aka the 7 Capital sins...perhaps due to their abundance in Washington D.C.) And in today’s program, we’re going to discuss the problems and solutions both. My guest is Dr. Kevin Vost who has written on this very topic. His book titled The Seven Deadly Sins: A Thomistic Guide...
Jul 14, 2016•52 min
Fasting? Powerful. Prayer? Absolutely necessary. Almsgiving? Can save you from death! In our last episode, we discovered the revolution that occurred in the Old Testament with regard to handling the consequences of sin. We saw how it evolved from something we had to wait and endure, to something akin to a debt we could "pay down" proactively. In other words, we discovered you can actually shave time off of purgatory through almsgiving. It was pretty huge. Now we're going to take it one step furt...
Jun 30, 2016•33 min
If I was to ask you the quickest way out of purgatory, or even perhaps the quickest way into heaven, what would you say? "Be a saint." Good. But what should we do when we fall short? What about when we sin? The book I mention in the podcast. "Get to confession," you reply. Excellent. But then what? Is there a way to make up for what we've done? A way to remedy the damage that we've caused the Body of Christ now, so that we don't suffer later? Absolutely. It's almsgiving. Don't worry, I'm not goi...
Jun 23, 2016•39 min
Pope St. John Paul II is one of the most beloved popes of all time. He touched the lives of millions. But his impact is far from over. JPII was a world-class philosopher. He taught us truths about ourselves, and humanity in general, in a way that made sense. He understood our deepest longings and turmoil. He could explain the inner workings of our heart in relation to God. In a nutshell, he taught us how to be fully human through Jesus Christ. But while most of us learned this from his speeches,...
Jun 16, 2016•1 hr 1 min
God didn't just create you...He thirsts for you! His heart is bursting with love for you! Yes, you! That is the underlying message of the mystics. It's also the underlying message of one of the best spiritual theologians in the United States. Dr. Anthony Lilles, Academic Dean at St. John's Seminary in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles can illuminate and discuss the interior life unlike anyone else I've heard or met. (You might remember him from episode 3.) His new book is Fire From Above: Christian...
Jun 09, 2016•58 min
Ever met someone who can trace their lineage back to some famous people? My dad's family had an ancestor on the Mayflower. My in-laws brag they're related to Stonewall Jackson. I recently discovered one of my relatives actually translated the spiritual masterpiece The Imitation of Christ a few hundred years ago. Family lines are very important and interesting. While not tied through bloodlines, there's a Catholic family that can trace it's lineage for 800 years...the Dominicans. And the offsprin...
Jun 02, 2016•49 min
There are 27 books in the New Testament...19 of them came from just two guys. Sts. Paul and John are two of the most influential men in the history of the world. 14 of the books of the most popular book in the history of the world (the Bible...just in case you were scratching your head) are traditionally ascribed to Paul. Not to be outdone, St. John wrote the "greatest piece of world literature, period" says John Bergsma. (Plus four other New Testament books.) These guys are Bible rock stars. Ev...
May 26, 2016•54 min
If you totally understand the New Testament of Sacred Scripture, then you can ignore this podcast. For the rest of us mortals, this show is a gem. Best-selling author and professor Dr. John Bergsma explains the Bible like nobody else. His Bible Basics for Catholics is a masterpiece. While it focused on the overall story of salvation history, particularly the Old Testament, his sequel, New Testament Basics for Catholics illuminates the second half of the Bible. And it's even better than the first...
May 19, 2016•45 min
The Holy Spirit didn't just fall out of the sky at Pentecost. Well, I mean, he did, but all those tongues of fire, heavy winds and such weren't a random occurrence. Nothing God does ever is. There's a backstory. And once you know it, everything makes more sense. In this episode of The Art of Catholic, we dive into the events of the Old Testament that set up the birth of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Earth(quakes), Wind & Fire wasn't just a nominally successful 70s band. These el...
May 12, 2016•39 min
If you've ever scratched your head after hearing or reading Hebrews (or even if you just scratch your head), this episode is for you. Unless you're Catholic, it's pretty difficult to make heads or tails of the book of Hebrews. And even if you are Catholic it can seem a bit odd at times. But once you view it through the right lens, the teachings of Catholicism jump off the page like a 3D IMAX movie. In fact, it's a mini Catechism. This is the conclusion of my great conversation with author Shane ...
May 05, 2016•44 min
Every book in the Bible is Catholic...but this one's really Catholic. When I was a Protestant missionary in Latin America, one of my fellow missionaries told me that he was trying to read the book of Hebrews, but he found it "just plain weird." He didn't know what to make of it. And it's no wonder. It's totally Catholic! (Uhhh...maybe that's why Martin Luther wanted to unload it from the canon of Scripture.) In this episode of the Art of Catholic we're going to begin our focus on the 7 core Cath...
Apr 28, 2016•47 min
Every so often I get the point where I just can't take it anymore. The Art of Catholic community knows I'm totally into spiritual theology. But every now and then I hit the wall. I just can't read another book on prayer, the 3 stages of the spiritual life, or the virtues. I need something a bit lighter. Enter Fr. Richard Infante, wonderful priest and talented author of Catholic fiction. He's got a new book called “Last Priest Standing” from Lambing Press, which is a collection of short stories a...
Apr 21, 2016•1 hr 11 min
Hands down one of my favorite books of all time. Dr. Ralph Martin's The Fulfillment of All Desire played a huge role in my desire to learn about, and grow in, the spiritual life. It's a classic. (I've got hand-written notes all over the margins in my copy.) 2016 is the tenth anniversary of it's publication and it still sells like crazy. Why? Because it presents the path of spiritual growth from the masters of the spiritual life: Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis d...
Apr 14, 2016•58 min
"For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11). Since the last show was, shall we say, a bit dark, I decided we needed a burst of light. How much more light can you get than angels? And to shed light on an already bright and beautiful topic, I've got author, speaker, EWTN host, and all around terrific human being, Mike Aquilina. Mike has written a ton about the angels. (Check out his beautiful devotional "A Year With the Angels" when you have a chance.) T...
Apr 06, 2016•57 min
Light the blessed candles, grab your crucifix, and find your biggest bottle of holy water. My guest today on the Art of Catholic is author Dr. Paul Thigpen and our topic is spiritual warfare. In particular, we’re discussing his really fascinating book titled “Saints Who Battled Satan: 17 Holy Warriors Who Can Teach You How To Fight The Good Fight and Vanquish Your Ancient Enemy.” And I’m gonna tell you right now, this is no typical saint book. It’s pretty wild. "Who is Paul Thigpen", you ask? He...
Mar 31, 2016•49 min
Perhaps the most dramatic and gut-wrenching moment of the crucifixion is Christ's cry of dereliction: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" But many people have no idea what it actually means. Like so many other converts to Catholicism, I was raised with a misunderstanding of how the Cross of Christ actually saves me. Believe it or not, over the years I've heard some homilies at Mass make the same mistake. (Not in my home parish...just in case my parish priest is reading this:) But it's i...
Mar 24, 2016•29 min
Your eyes were opened...and that's a good thing. If you listened to Part 1 of my discussion with the renowned author and speaker Dr. Brant Pitre (BrantPitre.com), not only were you probably incensed by the attacks of skeptics on the Gospels, you were heartened by Brant's destruction of their arguments. The truth of the matter is that we can trust in the origin of the Gospels. We can trust that Christ is who he says he is. In Part 2 of our interview, our discussion based around his new book The C...
Mar 17, 2016•42 min
Let's start with two simple, yet crucial questions: "Do you trust the Bible?" and "Do you believe Jesus is God?" Many of you are thinking, "Of course, Matt!" Even so, you certainly know a lot of people in our post-Christian world who don't agree. They're skeptics. And there are a lot of people seeking to create more of them. In fact, some people who spend their professional lives studying the Gospels go around making wild claims about Jesus and the Gospels that just don't pass historical muster:...
Mar 10, 2016•54 min
What does the spiritual life of a ninja blackbelt surfer look like? The answer might surprise you. (The dude quotes Aquinas, for crying out loud.) Join me for the conclusion of my conversation with adventurer and EWTN radio host Bear Woznick. We're getting deeper into the practicalities of meditative prayer and the overall trajectory of the spiritual path for Catholics. But that's not all. A big part of the discussion centers around what it means to actually "let go and let God," and what happen...
Mar 02, 2016•41 min
I meet a lot of people in my line of work...none like this guy. Have you ever talked prayer with a guy who is a World Surfing Champ? Ever discussed the spiritual life with a bona fide ninja blackbelt? How about chatting virtue with anyone who rode their bike (i.e. bicycle) from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean? Me, neither. That is, until I met Bear Woznick. (Yes, that's actually his legal name.) Bear Woznick is unlike anyone else I know. I met him recently at a men's conference in Florid...
Feb 25, 2016•42 min
I already know the answer, but I'm going to ask anyway: Have you ever been fully satisfied? How about completely free? For how long? How long until you want a new smartphone? How far into the woods do you need to hike to "get away from it all"? How long before the new car smell wears off? (Approximately 3 1/2 minutes for those with children.) Most of us discovered a long time ago that nothing here can satisfy us for very long. It just can't. And it's not only satisfaction we crave. We want freed...
Feb 17, 2016•32 min
I told you it was good. Part one of my interview with Mike Aquilina about his book Keeping Mary Close: Devotion to Our Lady Through the Ages was awesome. The conclusion is even better. You've got to hear Mike because he really gets fired up showing how even heretics and atheists understood early Christian devotion to the Mother of God, and mocked them for it. He also discusses how love of Mary is channeled to God using a very sweet example from his own life. Our discussion also gets into how the...
Feb 10, 2016•37 min
