Kresta in the Afternoon

This weekend the Israeli military released videos allegedly showing fortified Hamas tunnels running under the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. David Adesnik tells us what we know.

Despite signs of a crisis in the Church, there are many great things going on. Lay Catholics are expressing new interests in intense forms of prayer and the spiritual life, including contemplative prayer. Fr Donald Haggerty has developed a blueprint for this type of prayer life and he joins us.

Gertrude the Great, also known as Gertrude of Helfta, was one of the great mystics of the 13th century. She practiced a spiritualty called “nuptial mysticism” in which she came to see herself as a Bride of Christ and had a deeply personal union with Jesus and his Sacred Heart. Yesterday was her feast, and we talk about her with Rachel Fulton Brown.

The false notion that man is the measure of all things has permeated the culture and even influenced Christian thought. It reduces the faith to an inordinate concern for “social justice,” radical political change, and an increasingly fanatical egalitarianism, stripping it of its transcendental reference points. Humanitarians, secular or religious, confuse peace with pacifism, equitable social arrangements with socialism, and moral judgment with utopianism and sentimentality. Daniel Mahoney joins a counter to this type of thought.

Last week political cartoonist Michael Ramirez published a cartoon mocking Hamas for using human shields while it accuses Israel of targeting civilians. Like his other work, it was featured in the Washington Post - but after some readers complained the cartoon was racist, it was pulled off the Post's website. Michael shares his story with us.

When Catholics look at the crises and challenges facing the Church today, it’s common to have two reactions: either to assert this is the worst things have ever been, or declare that everything is fine and the Holy Spirit is in charge. Taken from the perspective of history, neither of these reactions is accurate, nor are they helpful. Steve Weidenkopf joins us with more.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us another parable – the man who entrusted three of his servants with a gift of talents, and returned to very mixed results. What is Jesus trying to tell us? We take a look with Peggy Stanton.

The Archbishop of Beijing is visiting Hong Kong this week in a trip that marks the first since the CCP severed relations with the Vatican 70 years ago. Matthew Bunson joins us to discuss this and the latest from the USCCB meetings.

The Catholic Church has always recognized that philosophy is necessary both to understand the faith as well as to defend it. Philosophy helps us to discover the rational principles underlying the intelligible order of reality. James Jacobs joins us with an introduction to Philosophy in the Catholic tradition.

Today we celebrate the feast of Albertus Magnus, also known as Albert the Great. He’s the patron saint of scientists, philosophers and students because he always sought to know more – and he used Reason to seek a deeper knowledge of God. We talk more about the integration of Faith and Reason with Doug Kries.