Today’s Gospel tells us of two dramatic healings. Jesus heals a sick woman simply by virtue of her touching his cloak, and then He raises the daughter of Jairus. Marcus reflects on the covenantal theme of the readings.

The founding of the United States was the greatest political experiment in history. The Founding Fathers stood on the shoulders of the geniuses that came before them, drawing on the wisdom of philosophers, historians, political thinkers and theologians to create the framework of the nation. Dylan Pahman joins us looking at the Christian roots of American liberty.

Further Reading

The Christian Roots of American Liberty

Guest Info

Dylan Pahman, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Acton Institute and founder and president of the St. Nicholas Cabasilas Institute. He is author of The Kingdom of God and the Common Good and Foundations of a Free & Virtuous Society. With John Pinheiro, he is also coeditor of The Christian Roots of American Liberty, a sourcebook charting the prehistory of American founding principles through the ancient, medieval, and early modern worlds.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus promises that we will find rest in Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We unpack the Sunday readings with Rob Corzine.

Guest Info

Rob Corzine is the vice president of programs for the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

As Americans celebrate the 250th birthday of the nation, we should take heed – for historians have observed many great civilizations begin to decline about two and a half centuries after their rise to power. Marcus reflects on how we can celebrate the nation’s birthday and have hope for its future.

Most American children barely touch the Constitution in school―and when they do, they get little more than a checklist of dates and names. Yet our freedom depends on understanding this remarkable document. Tara Ross has written two new books about the American founding and the Constitution that explain these amazing events at a level kids can understand, but with an extraordinary level of detail. She joins us.

Further Reading

Tara’s website

Follow Tara on Substack

Follow Tara on X

We Created a Country: The Story of Our Constitution

Guest Info

Tara Ross is the author of We Created a Country: The Story of Our Constitution and We Fought for Freedom: The Story of Our American Revolution she is a retired lawyer and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Review of Law & Politics. She obtained her B.A. from Rice University and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. She resides in Dallas with her husband and children.

The American experiment was, at its root, a bold political covenant—a sacred pledge under God, in view of posterity, that a free people, guided by divine law, could govern themselves according to justice and truth. Marcus has more in this commentary.

Further Reading

Covenant and Constitution: The Covenantal Worldview of the Founding Fathers

How should we think about the American Revolution on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence? The American revolutionaries themselves can help us answer this question. Christopher Flannery joins us.

Further Reading

How to Think About the American Revolution

Guest Info

Christopher Flannery is a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, a contributing editor of the Claremont Review of Books, and a professor emeritus of the Honors College at Azusa Pacific University, where he taught for more than 30 years.

The Vatican has issued a decree declaring that the SSPX bishops consecrated yesterday are excommunicated and the group is officially in schism. Furthermore, Catholic clergy and lay faithful are not to adhere to the SSPX’s schism under penalty of excommunication. Matthew Bunson has more.

Further Reading

Vatican Formally Notifies SSPX Bishops of Excommunication

The SSPX Again Says No to the Catholic Church

What Is the SSPX? A Look at the Traditionalist Catholic Group in Schism With the Church

Does the First Amendment guarantee us the right to be free from religion in the public square? Does it guarantee religious individuals and institutions the right to be exempt from otherwise valid laws that burden their religious beliefs and practices? Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz joins us with a look at our “first freedom” in light of the thought of America’s founding fathers.

Further Reading

Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses

Great Americans: ‘We’re Going to Take Back the Airplane’

Guest Info

Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz is the Tocqueville Professor of Political Science, Concurrent Professor of Law, and the Founding Director of the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government at the University of Notre Dame. He writes and teaches across the fields of constitutional law, American politics, and political philosophy with a focus on religious liberty and the American Founding. His most recent book is Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses.

America’s 250th birthday has arrived, albeit in a time that is somewhat chaotic. Many have talked about what our Founding Fathers would say about the state of our nation – but what about our authors? Cassandra Nelson believes that Mark Twain would feel right at home. She joins us with a look at “Huck Finn’s America.”

Further Reading

A Singular Dream: Huck Finn’s America Turns 250

Cassandra’s website

Guest Info

Cassandra Nelson is a fellow in literature at the Lumen Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and an associate fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. She is the author of A Theology of Fiction and Who’s Afraid of the Still Small Voice?: Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Faith.