Dive Deep

Father Marty Smith joins Dive Deep to discuss what is the number one thing he is seeing that even practicing Catholics are not doing as good of a job as they should be. How should we be taking to youth? What really is the role of Catholic education?

Darren Price of Springfield converted to the Catholic Church in 2019. Just a few months later, he went on a trip to the Holy Land where he almost died. His incredible story of walking the streets of Jerusalem in severe pain, needing the US Embassy to get involved, and money wire transfers needing to happen all sound like a movie script, but it was his reality. How his story gave him a new appreciation for Christ and suffering.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. But, this is a big loss for those who value human life and consider themselves pro-life. The main problem is human embryos are destroyed in the process. Our Father Christopher Trummer, S.T.L, breaks down why IVF is immoral for several reasons. Father Trummer is an associate delegate for Health Care Professionals, associate chaplain of the Springfield Chapter of the Catholic Physicians Guild/Catholic Medical Association, and has a license in Sacred Theology in Moral Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy.

There is more than just sticking out your hand or tongue when receiving our Lord in the holy Eucharist. Father Marty Smith spells out the do's and don'ts when preparing for holy Communion, receiving holy Communion, the time after holy Communion, and even before you even leave for Mass. Are you doing any of these things?

Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange, California was born in Springfield, IL, became a priest there, and then received the call to become an apostle of the Church. On this Dive Deep, he’s back home and we interview him at Blessed Sacrament Church on Sept. 13, 2024, where he first started as a priest, became pastor, and received "the call" to become a bishop. Enjoy this conversation with Bishop Vann.

Father Chris House answers Google’s questions on Catholicism! Is the Catholic Church the one true church? Do Catholic priests still perform exorcisms? Why are Catholics obsessed with Mary? Who do Catholics believe can go to heaven? Why does a priest where a collar? Why does the Catholic Church baptize infants? Do Catholics believe in cremation? Why do Catholics believe in Purgatory? Do Catholics believe in the rapture? Why do Catholics not eat meat on Fridays? Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest? Why are Catholics against birth control? How did Catholics respond to the protestant reformation? Why does the Catholic Church have a Pope? Is the Catholics religion strict? How do Catholics get to heaven? Why are Catholics called Catholic? Why do Catholics exhume bodies? Why do Catholics call priests “father?” Is the Catholic Church dying or growing?

Dive Deep presents 25 not impossible Catholic Trivia questions about Christmas! Take the quiz and let us know how many you get right in the comment section!

Angels, guardian angels, the devil, demons. What can they spiritual powers do and not do? How can they impact our lives for the better or worse? What about being possessed and needing an exorcism? Father Chris House, who has given a presentation on angels and demons breaks it down.

Is speeding a sin? What about white lies? What about lying to protect someone? Father Peter Harman and Father Christopher Trummer, both Moral Theologians, come on Dive Deep to answer those questions and more.

Pope Francis weighed on the American presidential election on Sept. 13 when he said this on board the papal plane saying, “One must choose the lesser of two evils. Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone with a conscience should think on this and do it. To send migrants away, to leave them wherever you want, to leave them … it’s something terrible, there is evil there. To send away a child from the womb of the mother is an assassination, because there is life. We must speak about these things clearly.” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois weighs in.