The biblical term "mystery" refers to a long thread running through history, hidden under ordinary faces and events. It comes to a climax in an Angel's annunciation to a Virgin that puts together many biblical concepts -king, messiah, emmanuel, son of God - for the fourth Sunday of Advent.

The gospel story of the raising of Lazarus found in John 11 shows us why Jesus can love some friends and disciples more than others, why death is not natural and beautiful, the difference between resurrection and resuscitation, and the deeper meaning of Jesus' miracles or "signs" as they are called in the John's gospel.

14 minute podcast in which Dr. Italy discusses St. Joseph as an often overlooked hero of the Advent – Christmas story. He shows how St. Matthew's gospel presents him as a model of faith.

In the Advent and Christmas season, all eyes turn to the Holy Family. Jesus is the primary, focus, of course, with Mary getting secondary attention. Often, Joseph remains for us a background figure in the Nativity scene, getting less attention than even the Magi.

In this 6 minute radio interview with Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show, Dr. Italy begins a discussion on the vast topic of how the Catholic Church built Western civilization. Starting with the indomitable missionary monks of Ireland, he illustrates how they not only saved but helped build Western civilization by preserving and spreading literacy and literature across Europe. He also discusses how his upcoming Rhine pilgrimage will focus on this theme, and how many of the sites to be visited are crucial examples of it.

The gospel story of the healing of the man born blind is notable for the method Jesus used to work this miracle - he made mud with spittle and clay and rubbed it on the man's eyes. This is a figure of the sacraments in which the Lion of Judah communicates his healing power through earthy realities like water, oil, wine and bread.

Fasting is what most people first think of when they think about penance in general and Lent in particular. But surprisingly, fasting, as valuable as it is, is probably the least important of the three main groups of Lenten Spiritual Exercises: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (or mercy). In this podcast, Dr. Italy points out that the real value of fasting is when it is combined with either prayer or almsgiving into a sort of one-two punch at sin and spiritual lethargy. Some practical examples and tips are offered in the course of the discussion.

In them, we recognize ourselves. For many of us, then, Lent is time for the spiritual equivalent of New Year's resolutions. We set aside forty days to work on ourselves so we don't end up wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years. We do things to burn off the excess fat that's weighing us down, try to improve our spiritual diet, and do some meaningful spiritual exercises to strengthen the spiritual muscles we call "virtues."

Saint Joseph always appears in Manger scenes during Advent and Christmas time and even has a special Solemnity or Feast in his honor, St. Joseph's Day, March 19. But he is so often neglected that St. John Paul II decided to write a special teaching about his role as foster-father of Jesus. This essay makes a case that St. Joseph teaches us some crucial things about the nature of faith that we can't afford to forget.

Imagine: you are ten years past customary retirement age. It's time finally to kick back and relax. You live in a great city where everything is at your fingertips – shopping opportunities, cultural events, all your relatives and lifelong friends. Suddenly an unknown God appears and tells you to pack up, uproot your life, and march into an uncivilized wilderness.

In this Lenten podcast, Matt Swaim asks Dr. Italy about his new book, 40 Days, 40 Ways, A New Look at Lent (Servant Books). In response, Marcellino D'Ambrosio explains the book's aim to help people break out of "same old" stale Lenten patterns. The book does this by offering forty fresh ideas of how to combine prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The goal is to make us new people by the end of the season.