Catholic Theology Show

In a world shaped by individualism, digital distractions, and the pursuit of material success, how can families rediscover the deeper meaning of home?

In this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais sits down with philosopher and Christendom College professor John Cuddeback to discuss his book, The Intentional Household: Living as If People Mattered. Together, they explore the Catholic vision of family life, the importance of putting spiritual goods first, and how ordinary household practices can help us grow in virtue, strengthen relationships, and prepare for our ultimate home with God.

From meaningful work and genuine leisure to the proper use of technology, welcoming children, and caring for the elderly, Cuddeback shares practical wisdom for building a household centered on human flourishing and the common good. Whether you're single, married, raising a family, or seeking to cultivate a more welcoming home, this conversation offers a compelling vision of how intentional household life can renew both the family and the Church.

Resources: 

Books by John Cuddeback, published by Ignatius Press:

The Intentional Household: Living as If People Mattered by John Cuddeback

True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness by John Cuddeback

Related episodes:

The Philosophy of Motherhood with Dr. Janice Chik Breidenbach | Ep. 9

On this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais welcomes Father Kevin O’Reilly, O.P., Dominican priest of the Irish Province, who teaches at the Angelicum in Rome. They discuss his book, In Persona Christi: Priestly Perfection in the Light of Saint Thomas’ Theology, published by Sapientia Press of Ave Maria University. Together, they explore the theology of the priesthood through the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Church’s magisterium, examining why a proper understanding of Christ’s priesthood is essential to the renewal of the Church.

Resources:

⁠In Persona Christi: Priestly Perfection in the Light of St. Thomas’s Theology by Kevin O'Reilly⁠

⁠Unconformed to the Age: Essays in Catholic Ecclesiology by Tracey Rowland⁠

A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist by Dom Anscar Vonier

Related Episodes:

The Summa for Beginners: The Sacraments w/Dr. Roger Nutt | Ep. 166

Restoring the Kingdom: the Catholic Church and the Bible w/ Dr. John Bergsma | Ep. 98

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13

On this episode of the Catholic Theology Show, host Michael Dauphinais welcomes Suzanne Bilodeau, host of Latte and Laundry and editor of She Loved: Resting in the Beauty of Motherhood. They discuss how motherhood can reveal our need for God, loosen the grip of perfectionism, and teach us to trust his providence. Suzanne also shares why she stepped away from social media, how 1 Corinthians 13 shaped her book, and what it means to find peace in your vocation without comparing your life to someone else’s. Whether you’re a parent, discerning your vocation, or longing to love more freely, this conversation offers encouragement to begin again in the knowledge that you are God’s beloved son or daughter.

Resources:

She Loved: Resting in the Beauty of Motherhood (Ascension Press)

Suzzanne’s podcast, Latte and Laundry

Related Episodes:

The Philosophy of Motherhood w/ Dr. Janice Chik Breidenbach | Ep. 9

The Lost Virtue of Manliness w/ Fr. James Mason | Ep. 186

The Feminine Revival: Why the Future of Women Depends on Formation w/ January Donovan | Ep. 196

What can G.K. Chesterton teach us about classical education, the Catholic faith, and the work of C.S. Lewis?

In this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais sits down with Dale Ahlquist, president of the Society of G.K. Chesterton and the Chesterton Schools Network, to explore Chesterton’s enduring influence on Catholic thought, education, and literature.

Ahlquist explains how classical education forms students in truth, goodness, and beauty, integrating the arts, philosophy, virtue, and the Catholic faith. He also discusses Chesterton’s ability to challenge modern assumptions through paradox, his conviction that existence itself is a gift, and why gratitude is essential to a joyful life.

Resources:

Knight of the Holy Ghost: A Short History of G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist

Related Episodes:

America’s 250th & What Chesterton Saw in America w/ Susan Hanssen

An Introduction to Chestertonian Theology with Joseph Pearce | Ep. 21

G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy and God’s Creation w/ Fr. Joseph Fessio 

How can recovering a sense of wonder at creation lead us closer to Jesus Christ?

In this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais sits down with Professor Christopher Thompson, Dean of Saint Paul Seminary, to explore “Green Thomism” and the Catholic vision of creation through the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. They discuss our modern “nature deficit disorder,” the intelligibility and beauty of creation, the effects of original sin, the distinction between human and animal death, and the relationship between ecology and Catholic moral theology.

Professor Thompson also explains how creation can serve as a “window” toward God, why Catholics should not separate care for creation from their relationship with Christ, and how all of this ultimately comes together in the Eucharist, where bread and wine—fruits of creation and human labor—are offered back to the Father in Christ.

Resources:

The Joyful Mystery: Field Notes Toward a Green Thomism

Related Episodes:

Finding God in Nature and in the Church w/ Fr. John Nepil | Ep. 191 

The Summa for Beginners: God and Creation w/ Dr. Daniel Lendman | Ep. 163

What does the Catholic Church actually teach about justification? Why did it become such a major point of division during the Protestant Reformation?

In this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais sits down with Michael Root, Emeritus Professor at The Catholic University of America and a former Lutheran, to explore the Council of Trent’s teaching on justification. They discuss faith, grace, baptism, the sacraments, good works, merit, and the Catholic understanding of how God’s grace transforms us from within.

Dr. Root also shares his own journey from Lutheranism into the Catholic Church and explains how his study of Aquinas, grace, and human cooperation ultimately led him across the Tiber. Together, they explore how Catholics can recover the joy and confidence of justification, not by trusting in our own accomplishments, but by trusting in the grace of Christ, who continually works in us and brings His work to completion.

Resources:

Affirmations and Admonitions: Lutheran Decisions and Dialogue With Reformed, Episcopal, and Roman Catholic Churches 

Justification by Faith: Do Sixteenth-Century Condemnations Still Apply? 

Related Episodes:

Aquinas and the Truth of Faith w/Fr. Michael Sherwin | Ep.141 

The Summa for Beginners: The Sacraments w/ Dr. Roger Nutt | Ep. 166 

What can the ancient Christian tradition of the Middle East teach us about living the Catholic faith today?

In this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais welcomes Bishop Francois Beyrouti, Eparchial Bishop of Newton, to explore the history, beauty, and mission of the Melkite Catholic Church. From the early Christians of Antioch to the challenges facing Christians in a post-secular world, Bishop Beyrouti shares how the Church’s ancient faith remains deeply relevant today.

The conversation explores the relationship between theology and evangelization, the importance of knowing and living the faith, the meaning of suffering, the beauty of the liturgy, and practical ways to grow closer to Jesus Christ. Bishop Beyrouti also shares his personal journey to the priesthood and the lessons he has learned from studying Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the living Tradition of the Church.

Resources: 

Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton

Related Episodes: 

Chastity and Mercy in a Secular World w/ Bishop Erik Varden | Ep. 125

How do we disconnect from distractions and discover intimacy with God?

 In this episode of The Catholic Theology Show, Dr. Michael Dauphinais sits down with Matt Fradd, host of Pints with Aquinas podcast and author of Jesus Our Refuge, for a wide-ranging conversation about encountering Christ, Thomas Aquinas, prayer, spiritual growth, technology, community, and the struggle to live an authentically Christian life in a distracted age. He describes the history of his hugely popular Pints with Aquinas podcast and what it was like to bring it to The Daily Wire. 

Matt shares the story of his conversion, why St. Thomas Aquinas remains so relevant today, they discuss one of the great spiritual challenges of our age: distraction. From smartphones and social media to endless news and digital entertainment, modern technology can fragment our attention and weaken our experience of genuine community. Matt shares his experience of taking an extended break from his phone and computer and offers practical advice for recovering silence, presence, prayer, and attention and more on podcasting, and finding unity with God. 

Resources:

• Be Healed by Matt Fradd
• Shift My Phone
• Pints with Aquinas on the Daily Wire

Related Episodes:

Faith, Politics, and Freedom of Speech w/ Michael Knowles | Ep. 138

The Summa for Beginners Episodes on The Catholic Theology Show

What can the Gospel of Matthew reveal about Jesus, His Kingdom, and the Church He established?

Dr. Edward Sri, author, theologian, Vice President of Formation at FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), and visiting Professor at Ave Maria University, joins Dr. Michael Dauphinais to explore the deeper structure of Matthew's Gospel and the connections it makes between Jesus, David's kingdom, Peter, and the authority Christ gives to His Church.

This conversation also explores what Matthew reveals about the Christian life, including the Father's loving gaze, forgiveness, evangelization, the Sacraments, and Christ's promise to remain with His Church.

Resources:

The Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch & Edward Sri

Dr. Edward Sri’s Website

God With Us: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew by Edward Sri

Related Episodes:

Understanding the Gospel in a Digital World w/ Dr. Edward Sri | Ep. 105

How to Be Overwhelmed by the Gospel w/ Fr. Gabriel Gillen, O.P. | Ep. 199

How does the Shroud of Turin show the risen Christ? Hair falling to the shoulders, facial shadows from overhead light, and an unflattened back all point to a man lifted up, just as Jesus promised in the Gospel of John.

This episode’s guest, Dr. Gilbert Lavoie, is a physician specializing in internal medicine, occupational medicine and public health. For more than forty years he has conducted a forensic study of the Shroud of Turin, focusing on the blood marks, anatomical details of the image, and their alignment with the Crucifixion and the Gospel of John. He is the author of several works on the Shroud, most recently, The Shroud of Jesus and the Sign John Ingeniously Concealed, and has contributed to the Ave Maria University Shroud of Turin exhibit.

From the off-image blood mark that first convinced a skeptical physician to microscopic fibers, first-century dating evidence, and the three-dimensional sculpture now at Ave Maria University, this conversation weaves science, Scripture, and the mystery of the Resurrection. 

Related episodes:

The Life of Christ (Aquinas) w/ Fr. Legge | Ep. 198

I am the Bread of Life w/ Fr. Thomas Weinandy | Ep. 32