Kresta in the Afternoon

It’s early summer – the time of weddings, dancing, merriment and celebration. Dancing and merriment appear throughout the Scriptures – we look at some examples with Steve Ray.

The month of May presents American Catholics with mixed martial messages. On May 12, we celebrated the Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Roman soldiers who left the army after their conversion to Christianity. Yesterday, we joined other Americans in celebrating Memorial Day, which honors those who gave their lives defending a country with no established church and no official religion. And on May 13th we celebrated the 1917 apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, in Portugal – a message of peace in the midst of World War I. These mixed messages reflect tensions present in the Church from its beginning. Dr. Christopher Shannon joins us.

Every year in the month of May we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation. Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant, goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Marcus ties this story into the Old Testament.

Al follows up on our discussion with Dr. Mead, looking at the origins of the Western concept of an achieving individual.

There is a truth about Western culture, especially American culture that is often ignored: the US sees itself as an individualist society whose people seek to realize personal goals in the world, while most of the non-West has a more passive, deferential temperament. In other words, the West sees life as a project while many others are simply trying to survive rather than achieve. This serves as a massive obstacle for those trying to assimilate in America and will be a challenge to the country. Dr. Lawrence Mead joins us to examine these cultural differences.

What's it like to be a military chaplain? To travel to all corners of the world, instead of staying in one parish? To witness and serve to people who risk their lives every day? Fr. Daniel Mode is a priest in the Archdiocese of the Military. He joins us to share his experiences. We'll also look at the dramatic story of Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a priest who gave his life on a Vietnam battlefield.

Senator Tom Cotton has served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan – and also as part of The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery, performing military funerals for hundreds of veterans and fallen comrades. He joins us with an inside look of the Army unit whose mission is to honor fallen heroes on the most hallowed ground in America.

This weekend we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Trinity. This mystery is nearly impossible for us to understand or explain without drifting into heresy, but we begin to unpack it with Michael Dauphinais.

The Marian dogmas are deeply rooted in Scripture, not just in the New Testament but in Jewish tradition as well. Andre Villeneuve joins us.

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is considered the central mystery of Christian life. Marcus offers some thoughts.