The Gospel of Matthew is more than the first book of the New Testament – it is the key that unlocks everything that Jesus would fulfill. We take a deep dive into the Gospel with Dr. Scott Hahn.

Further Reading

Scott’s Gospel of Matthew series

Guest Info

Dr. Scott Hahn is a renowned speaker, professor, and author, as well as the Founder and President of the St. Paul Center, an apostolate dedicated to teaching Catholics to read Scripture from the heart of the Church. He is the Fr. Michael Scanlan Professor of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at Franciscan University where he has taught since 1990. Dr. Hahn has been married to Kimberly for forty years, and together they have six children and eighteen grandchildren. Two of their sons are currently in priestly formation with the Diocese of Steubenville. Dr. Hahn's works include best-selling titles Rome Sweet Home, The Lamb's Supper, and Hail Holy Queen.

2025 Ave Maria in the Afternoon Year in Review

Recently unsealed court documents show employees at Facebook’s parent company Meta were aware of the adverse effects social media has on kids’ mental health, calling Instagram a “drug” and referring to themselves as “pushers.” Marcus has some thoughts.

Further Reading

Meta employees compared themselves to drug ‘pushers’ as company buried mental health harms to kids

Scrolling ourselves to death

Book: Amusing Ourselves to Death (Read online)

In the grand scheme of Scripture, the Book of Sirach is often overlooked. But it is a treasure trove of enduring wisdom that continues to speak to every age. Andre Villeneuve helps us unpack it.

Further Reading

Book: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Sirach

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series

Guest Info

André Villeneuve (PhD, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) is associate professor of Old Testament and biblical languages at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. He received his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Commission in Rome. He is the author of Divine Marriage from Eden to the End of Days and the director of Catholics for Israel.

2025 Ave Maria in the Afternoon year in review

Charlie Kirk’s assassination will go down as one of the biggest stories of 2025. It did not happen in a vacuum - he died because he stood for truths that our culture increasingly rejects. Marcus has more.

Further Reading

Why Charlie Kirk’s Death Feels Personal

What Charlie Kirk ACTUALLY said

The Assassination of the Truthful

Addiction is a sickness that touches us all. Whether it be alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, or sometime else, we all know someone who is bearing this cross. What can parents do to help their children in this situation? Dr. Ray Guarendi joins us.

Guest Info

Dr Ray Guarendi is the father of 10, clinical psychologist, public speaker and nationally syndicated TV and radio host. He’s the host of The Dr is In and “Living Right with Dr Ray.” He’s also the author of many books, including “Thinking Like Jesus: The Psychology of a Faithful Disciple”

Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo has released a document that will help teachers and parents understand and respond to the issue of gender ideology. He joins us to discuss it.

Further Reading

Bishop Thomas’ letter

Guest Info

Bishop Daniel Thomas has served as Bishop of Toledo, Ohio since 2014. He is also the chairman of the USCCB’s Pro-Life Activities Committee. His Bishop’s Corner program can be heard Thursdays at 4:30 pm, Fridays at 11 am, and Saturdays at noon on Annunciation Radio.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a landmark event in Midwestern heritage that Gordon Lightfoot famously memorialized in his classic ballad. John U Bacon takes us deep inside the story of that fateful night and the Storm of the Century that sank America’s most famous freighter.

Further Reading

Book: The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Book: The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism

Follow John on X

Guest Info

John U Bacon is the author of several critically-acclaimed books, most recently The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The Jews are history’s most unlikely survivors. For centuries, different empires have tried to eradicate the Jewish people – but to no avail. Marcus looks at the story through the lens of accusations of Genocide in Gaza.

2025 Ave Maria in the Afternoon year in review

In February 2024, Megan Garcia’s son Sewell took his own life after he fell “in love” with an AI Chatbot, which encouraged him to join “her” in an artificial world. It’s a harrowing example of the dangers of this technology. She shares her story.

Further Reading

A Grieving Mother’s Call to Action

Pope Leo XIV Meets Catholic Mother Who Lost Son to AI Chatbot Suicide

Guest Info

Megan Garcia is an attorney and mother from Orlando, Fla. Her Blessed Mother Family Foundation raises awareness around the dangers of AI chatbots.

2025 Ave Maria in the Afternoon Year in Review

The Taliban have set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and prevention of vice” in Afghanistan. The rules include dozens of standards for dress code and how women may conduct themselves in public, with severe punishments for violating the rules. Luma Simms joins us to discuss the Catholic and Islamic views of the nature of the human person and the role religion can play in supporting democracy.

Further Reading

On the Taliban and the dehumanizing “regulations” of radical Islam

Democracy without Religion Is Dead

Democracy without Religion Is Dead: Part II

Guest Info

Luma Simms, a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies the life and thought of immigrants. Her essays, articles, and book reviews have appeared in a variety of publications including National Affairs, Law and Liberty, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, the Institute for Family Studies, and others. She was born in Baghdad, Iraq; her parents and ancestors are from Mosul, and she speaks Arabic with a Moslawi dialect.