Kresta in the Afternoon

It’s a challenging time to be Catholic. But in his early years, the man who would become John Paul II faced extraordinary challenges as well. And he answered these challenges to build a ‘network of friendship’ that would transform not just Poland but the entire world. We discuss it with Tom Hoopes.

Remember the old workout mantra “no pain, no gain?” The same idea can apply to this weekend’s Gospel or, in other words, No Cross, No Kingdom. But if you know the Cross, you will know the kingdom. We’ll talk about it with Carl Olson.

Lindsay and Chad Gloede were expecting another baby a few years ago when they received some scary news: the baby had cysts on the brain, a sign of Trisomy-18, and problems with the umbilical cord. She reached out to a priest friend, who recommended she ask for St. Gerard Majella intercession. Before long, hundreds of people had joined in on the prayers for Lindsay’s baby. And at the next ultrasound, they found something amazing. Lindsay joins us.

British Member of Parliament David Amess was fatally stabbed on Friday during a meeting with his constituents. Amess was a pro-life Catholic who supported Catholic education and animal welfare. KV Turley tells us more about the case.

After years of lukewarm religious life, St Teresa of Avila finally encountered the Lord who suffered out of love for her. Her spirituality is not about what one experiences, but about what one becomes. She does not promise any achievement of inner peace, but a relationship that this life is too small to contain. Today’s her feast day and we’ll talk with Dr Anthony Lilles

Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh is responsible for translating the complete works of St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila. He joins us on St. Theresa’s feast day to discuss the spirituality and impact that the Spanish mystic continues to have on the Church.

The Gospel is much more than news- it’s good news. It’s extraordinary news. And once we understand that, we’ll never be the same. How can we be transformed by the Gospel to do God’s work? We’ll talk with Fr John Riccardo about this unexpected, extraordinary news of the Gospel.

Fr. Hans Zollner, a top Vatican adviser on sex abuse, is expanding studies of abuse to include both the sexual and the spiritual abuse of adults. He told the Associated Press last night “we cannot look only at individual problems anymore. We need to look at the institutional conditions that promote abuse.“ Matthew Bunson looks at this and other Church news.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. What happened that day? What effects did the events of Fatima have on the greater world? Al discusses.

Detective J. Warner Wallace listened to a pastor talk about Jesus and wondered why anyone would think Jesus was a person of interest. He was skeptical of the Bible, but he’d investigated several no-body homicide cases in which there was no crime scene, no physical evidence, and no victim's body. Could the historical life and actions of Jesus be investigated in the same way? He decided to find out. He joins us.