Kresta in the Afternoon

On August 4, 2020, a warehouse of improperly-stored fertilizer exploded in the port of Beirut, Lebanon. At least 218 people were killed with thousands more injured, and the estimated damage was more than $15 Billion. Two years later, the city is still struggling to recover. Fr. John Tayar live there and is back in the US for a visit. He lets us know what has happened.

You may have heard about Matt Walsh’s film “What is a Woman,” in which he challenges people to define the meaning of female. This question of gender – who we are as men and women – has never been more pressing or more misunderstood. Abigail Favale joins us to trace the roots of the issue and how gender is reshaping our language, our society, and our own self-perceptions.

Three New York pro-lifers will spend the next three months in jail for participating in a Red Rose Rescue at a local abortion clinic. Judge John Collins found them guilty of trespass and said their offering of help to pregnant mothers was nothing but a ruse. Chris Bell shares their story.

It’s been just over a month since the Dobbsdecision, and we’re already seeing the media focus on stories of women who have suffered from lack of access to care in states where abortion is restricted. But many of these stories are linked to a flawed, or misrepresented, understanding of the meaning of words like miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. We take a closer look with Clare Kosmalski.

Michelle Paine was raised in a devout Christian home, and outside of the Christmas season she didn’t give Mary much thought. That began to change when she spent a year studying Art History in Italy, where Marian imagery was everywhere. She shares how encountering Mary through art helped her find her way to the Church.

A new survey finds that just 37% of Christian pastors in the US profess a “Biblical Worldview.” What does it mean to have a Biblical worldview and why is it so essential for the Christian message? Al discusses.

On July 30 we celebrate the Feast of Solanus Casey. He’s taken on a special meaning for Nolan Ostrowski, who contracted COVID-19 last summer and was admitted to a hospital in Lansing, Michigan. As he lay in bed a few nights later, a figure appeared next to him – it appeared to be Solanus Casey. His condition soon downgraded and he was taken to another hospital for special treatment. But now, he’s doing better. He joins us to tell the story.

Yesterday Jackie Walorski, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Indiana, was killed in a car crash. During his own time in Congress, Dan Lipinski was able to reach across the aisle and work with her. He joins us today to remember her.

In his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, Pope St. John Paul II claims that the Holy Eucharist in its “full magnitude and its essential meaning” is “at one and the same time a Sacrifice-Sacrament, a Communion-Sacrament, and a Presence-Sacrament” What does this mean? We'll talk with Dr. Lawrence Feingold.

Do you feel like God is calling you to…something, but you don’t know what? Don’t know where to start? Do you find it hard to clear away the noise of life, and apps, and phones and really listen to God? If you said yes to any of these, you aren't alone. Fr George Elliott joins us with practical tips for discernment.