Cigars and Apologetics is a St. Mark monthly event. In January we discussed why the Catholic Liturgical Year looks different from the Jewish Liturgical year. We also discussed the confusion surrounding Catholic marriage law, Matthew 19 and Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia. Hold on to your seats!

What is a Holy Family? There is prayer, charity, love of others and everything else, good and bad. To be able to see your family as a holy family is to have some sense of God's presence in the midst of chaos. 

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122825.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

Is having better than wanting? It depends how well you are prepared for having. We probably all have received opportunities, gifts, relationships that we just weren't prepared for. God is preparing us for his greatest gift - His Son. Would we rather be in control or can we trust in Him. 

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122125.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

This week on OVC, I discuss Faith and Skepticism. Not everyone will come to faith through the Gospel. Skeptics may require a different pathway. Nonetheless, to understand God, you must first believe. Faith and Skepticism exist side by side - skepticism with no openness to the possibility of faith is an empty intellectual endeavor. Faith without a critical eye leads the soul down some empty paths. Trusting in God, the Gospel and the Church is the one trustworthy path back to God. 

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/113025.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

The final Sunday of the Liturgical Year is the The Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. Proclaimed by Pope Benedict XV after the massively destructive First World War it was meant Europe that violence without boundaries would insure constant destruction. What does the feast have to do with the founding of Christian Europe and the occult nature of the Nazi Reich. This week on OVC.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112325.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

The end of the liturgical year approaches and Jesus turns to teaching about the end times. With Jesus death and the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, an old world ended and a new one began. What can it mean? This week on OVC.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111625.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

St. John Lateran is the seat of the Bishop of Rome. Pope Leo XIV is the Bishop of Rome. Learn the story of the arch-basilica and why it is a symbol of the unity and authoritative teaching of His Church this week on OVC.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110925.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

Purgatory? Keep following Christ, you are almost there, heaven that is! This week on OVC I discuss the scriptural basis for prayers for the dead and the doctrine of Purgatory. Our prayers for the dead are rooted deeply in scripture and tradition. 

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110225.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

Art: Carving "Soul in Purgatory," 1938 Ethel Dougan

This week Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one returns to give thanks and worship. Worship of God in spirit and in truth makes us fully human. Learn about Luke's story of the ten lepers, this week on OVC.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101225.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294

Every new technology provides challenges. The presence of Artificial Intelligence is another example. What good can come of it? What should we be wary of? What role does transhumanist thinking play? This week on OVC along with Lazarus and the rich man. 

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092825.cfm

Music by St. Mark Choir pursuant to One License Annual License w/Podcasting # A-726294