What makes a movie Catholic? What makes a movie great? And why, so often, are movies that call themselves Catholic, not great? Those are the questions on the table today, on Visitation Sessions.

Also, a special thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Select International Tours. For 38 years, Select has been arranging group pilgrimages for Catholics to some of the holiest sites in Christendom and beyond. To learn more about the pilgrimages mentioned on today’s episode—a pilgrimage to Poland, next August, with Anthony D’Ambrosio and his parents, Marcellino and Susan D’Ambrosio, and a trip to Catholic France, next April, with Chicago radio legend Kevin Williams—visit SelectInternational.com

Show Notes

I Confess

On the Waterfront

Cabrini

Wildcat

Baahubali

The Passion of the Christ

Paul, Apostle of Christ

Therese

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We kept the conversation on Catholic movies going to ask the question: Is Nudity in films ever okay?

Show Notes

Amelie

Akiru

Lives of Others

Schindler’s List

Father Thomas Loya on Porn Versus Art

Today, we’re talking all things Sacred Scripture, from how the Historical Critical Method of Scripture Scholarship destroyed Scripture study to how Catholic parents can raise kids who know their Bibles better than the Protestants down the street.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Select International Tours, the only Catholic tour company that offers a comprehensive online pilgrim formation program. Just as Bible stories prepare your children for a deeper dive into their faith as they grow, Select’s pilgrim program, called Stella Peregrin (“the pilgrim star”), will help you better prepare spiritually and practically for your next pilgrimage. Learn more about this program and all the great pilgrimages Select offers at www.selectinternationaltours.com.

Show Notes:

The Story of All Stories: A Children’s Bible for Young Catholics

The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

The Word on Fire Bible

Return to the Heart: The Biblical Spirituality of Saint Augustine’s Confessions by Shane Owens

Valerie Lueth

Kate and Casey are up in Wisconsin this week, making a documentary about a Catholic doctor who rides on horseback to serve the Amish (I think that’s how it goes), but before they left we chatted about all God’s creatures, great and small. Not the books. Not the tv shows. The actual animals: pigs, cows, chickens, dogs, cats. Does a love of animals make you happier and holier? Or can it sometimes make you crazier?

Show Notes:

The Business of Being Born

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

The Wolf of Gubio

Saintly Creatures: 14 Tales of Animals and Their Holy Companions by Alexi Sargeant

Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Joseph Pieper

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Are any of us professional poets? No. Are any of us poetry professors? No. Are any of us poetry publishers? One more time, no. But who cares. Poetry is part of our human patrimony. It’s the language of love, the language of war, the language of fear, despair, and human longing. Writing poems is what humans do—all humans, in every age—and this week, in perhaps our most favorite conversation ever, we’re talking about why that matters … and why poetry isn’t something to be scared of or left to the “experts” but rather something that can make us more deeply human in an increasingly less human age.

Show Notes:

“Can Poetry Matter,” Dana Gioia

Mike Aquilina

Jane Greer

Beatrice Institute

The Always Broken Plates of Mountains by Rose McClarney (Poem: “Gather”)

“Dichoso el corazón enamorado” by Saint Teresa of Avila

City Nave by Betsy Brown ( Poem: “To a Ripe June Strawberry”)

“All the World” by Liz Garton Scanlon

Emily’s Children’s Books

Mary, Mother of All

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This week, we’re talking about one of the most glorious teachings of Catholicism: the saints! We also explore the Church’s teachings on relics, how grace transforms the material world, and how a relationship with the saints is meant to strengthen your relationship with Christ, not be a substitute for it.

Show Notes:

Saints:

* Saint Gabriel Possenti

* Saint Jude

* Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

* Saint Helena

* Saint Padre Pio

* Saint Brigid of Ireland

* Saint Therese of Lisieux

* Saint Edith Stein

* Saint Hildegard of Bingen

* Saint John Paul II

* Saint Philip Neri

* Saint John Henry Newman

* Saint Bernadette Soubirous

Books:

* Essays on Woman by Edith Stein

* Parochial & Plain Sermons by John Henry Newman

* Theology of the Body by John Paul II

* Saint Hildegard of Bingen: Discovering the Doctors by Emily Stimpson Chapman

* Story of a Soul by Therese Martin

Rosary Bracelets: Humble Mission Beads

Thin Places

“Making Christianity Weird Again” by Tracy Rowland

Therese (1986 French movie)

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In this month’s bonus episode for full subscribers, we reflect on the events of last week, including the tragic death of Charlie Kirk, the initial responses in the culture, and how Christians should respond to chaos and hatred in the world.

Note: This conversation was recorded prior to the arrest of Tyler Robinson.

Show Notes:

The Last Battle: On Hatred, …

What are some practical ways men (and women) can overcome the habit of using pornography? Why is doing penance for pornography use so helpful? How can grace, over time heal our hearts and minds? And why is it so important for single people to take action now, before they are married, to begin that healing process. That’s what we are having a conversation about this week, on Visitation Sessions.

Show Notes:

Spiritual Passages: The Psychology of Spiritual Development By Father Benedict Groeschel

The Family Man

Three Colors Trilogy: Blue

The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography by Matt Fradd

Covenant Eyes

Saint Mark Ji Tianxiang

“The Porn Habit: How Porn Effects Marriage” (a podcast) with Sheila Gregoire

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The Stapletons convinced the Chapmans to go to their first ever Renaissance Fair in Pittsburgh and the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly of it all sparked quite the conversation about community and Catholicism. Also, Emily has a new cookbook out. It’s called Around the Catholic Table, and if you like good food, Catholicism, and community, you should buy it.

Show Notes:

The Surprisingly Radical Roots of the Renaissance Fair

Saint Conrad

Blessed Solanus Casey

Brideshead Revisisted

Saint Andre Bessette

The Catholic Table (Not a cookbook)

Around the Catholic Table (the cookbook)

Today, we’re talking about California, the Chapman’s adventures there, the reason Kate is sharing her story as a birth mother in her documentary The Inner Sea, and why the conversation around adoption and abortion in pro-life circles needs to deepen.

Show Notes:

The Inner Sea

Springs of Love

Building Belonging: Six Steps for Fostering and Adopting in Faith (An Adoption Education Curriculum)

The Chapman’s Adoption Story (produced by Springs of Love)

Leah Outten (birth mom support from a Protestant perspective)

Cradled in Grace (ethical adoption consultants)

Abiding Love Adoptions (birth mom centered adoption agency)

M Train: A Memoir by Patti Smith

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