Kresta in the Afternoon

The Church has gone through some dark times and it is easy to think that everything is a sign of the end times.  Al explains why this isn't the case and why there is no better (and no harder) time to be Catholic in America.

Mary is arguably history’s most famous woman – the namesake of thousands of schools and churches and the inspiration for thousands of pieces of art. Yet we also call her “the woman wrapped in silence.” What lies between these two extremes? We’ll talk with Fr. David Meconi.

Father David Meconi is the author of many books, most recently 101 Surprising Facts About Mary. He currently directs the Catholic Studies Center at Saint Louis University. His other books include Catherine Doherty: Essential Writings, Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward: Spiritual Writings, and The One Christ: St. Augustine's Theology of Deification. He is the editor of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, and his articles have appeared in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Augustinian Studies, International Philosophical Quarterly, and New Oxford Review.

Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. What better way to celebrate than discussing the Rosary? We’ll look at the historical, theological and devotional elements of the Rosary with Fr. Donald Calloway.

Fr Don Calloway is a member of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Before his conversion to Catholicism he was a high school dropout who had been kicked out of a foreign country, institutionalized twice and thrown in jail multiple times. He has written many academic articles and is the author of many books including “No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy” and “Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon.

On Sunday Pope Francis will travel to Budapest, Hungary to celebrate the closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress. Matthew Bunson joins us live from Budapest to give us a firsthand look at the conference.

Matthew Bunson is Executive Editor and Washington Bureau Chief for EWTN News and a Senior Fellow at St Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He’s the author or co-author of more than 50 books including the first English-language biography of Pope Francis and The Encyclopedia of Catholic History. Follow him on Twitter @MattBunson. Register Radio airs Saturdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 11 am.

Here is the latest news from Ave Maria Radio for Wednesday, 8 September 2021.

Many in Louisiana are still without power as the region recovers from last week's Hurricane Ida. Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux joins us with how Catholics are helping in the relief efforts and how you can join them.

You can support Catholics in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux by going to https://catholiccharitiesht.org/

Bishop Shelton Fabre is the Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana and a native of the state. He served as an Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 2007 until he was appointed to his current position in 2013. Visit htdiocese.org

In recent years atheism has become ever more visible, acceptable, and influential. Atheist apologists have become increasingly vociferous and confident in their claims: that a morality requiring benevolence towards all and universal human rights need not be grounded in religion; that modern science disproves the existence of God; and that there is nothing innately religious about human beings. Christian Smith responds to these arguments.

Christian Smith is the author of Atheist Overreach: What Atheism Can't Deliver and William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. He has taught at Notre Dame, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Gordon College, MA.

 In 1998 CalTech neuroscientist Nirao Shah decided to study sex-based differences in human brains using the latest available technology. At the time, he was basically on his own. The neuroscience community had largely considered any observed sex-associated differences in cognition and behavior in humans to be due to the effects of cultural influences. But in the years since there has been a sea change as new technologies have generated a growing pile of evidence that there are inherent differences in how men's and women's brains are wired and how they work. Dr Greg Popcak joins us with more.

Dr. Gregory Popcak is the director of The Pastoral Solutions Institute, a Catholic tele-counseling practice providing marriage & mental health counseling services to Catholics worldwide. Together with his wife Lisa Popcak, he is the author of over 20 books on relationships and spirituality. You can hear Dr. Greg and Lisa each weekday at 10am E/9C on their radio program More2Life, which is produced by Ave Maria Radio and carried by the EWTN Radio Network.

What should you do when a brother or friend sins against you?  Jesus has given us clear guidance on this.

Most priests are devout men who have sincerely committed their lives to Christ and His Church, but they are also human beings with faults and failings. Some are cranky and stern, and others can be weak or indifferent. Some grapple with sins of the flesh, and others are controlled by money. We’ll talk with Fr Mitch Pacwa about how Christ anticipated these struggles and how to deal with them spiritually emotionally, rationally, and practically.

Fr Mitch Pacwa is the host of EWTN Live and Scripture and Tradition and the founder and president of Ignatius Productions, a Catholic media apostolate. He's the author most recently of Wheat and Tares: Restoring the Moral Vision of a Scandalized Church.