The King's Wedding Feast - Invitation Declined
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
Why would people decline a royal invitation to a wedding feast, a banquet fit for a king? This parable of Jesus describes a situation we see around us everyday – pervasive apathy in the face of the offer of salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. The cause? A sneaky but deadly sin called sloth.
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Unlocking the Power of the Rosary
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
A 16 minute podcast in which Sonrise Morning show host Matt Swaim asks Dr. Italy some insightful questions about the rosary, Mary, the misteries, and the power of praying the rosary. The Rosary has been the most honored and best known devotional prayer in the Roman Catholic tradition for the last five hundred years. Yet few, even those very devoted to it, understand its meaning and unlock its full power. We know that it is a Marian prayer, and associate it with the simplest and best known Marian prayer, the Hail Mary.
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Sour Grapes & Tumbling Walls - Parable of the Vineyard
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
The parable of the vineyard and the wicked tenants or husbandmen is a warning to peoples and nations that no wall will protect a society that is abundantly blessed yet continues to bear bad fruit and sour grapes, refusing to give God his due. Security and the peace that passes understanding are the rewards only of those who return thanks in response to God’s blessings.
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St. Jerome, Father, Doctor, and Warrior
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
14 minute podcast in which Sonrise Morning show guest host Ryan Lopez quizzes Dr. Italy about the life and impact of Jerome, bible scholar, father and Doctor of the Church and warrior for Christ. On the occasion of his feast day, September 30.
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Talk is Cheap - Parable of the Two Sons 26th Sun A
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
The parable of the two Sons makes clear that saying yes to Jesus Christ is much more a matter of deeds and actions than words and promises. Talk is cheap but body language never lies. There will never be a shortage of words. Words are plentiful because talk is cheap. It’s easy to make a promise. Keeping a promise is an entirely different matter, as the parable of the two sons in Matthew’s Gospel makes abundantly clear.
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Spiritual Warfare and the Sword of the Spirit
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
Podcast in which Dr. Italy identifies spiritual warfare as underlying the current malaise in the world and America. A spiritual battle can only be fought effectively with spiritual weapons, first and foremost being the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
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Padre Pio & the Power of Weakness
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
Dr. Italy discusses the Capuchin friar Padre Pio who in his lifetime was first famous in Italy and then the whole world for his stigmata and miracles worked through his intercession.
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Generosity of God - The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
The parable of the workers in the vineyard is a shock to our sensibilities – some laborers work longer than others but at the end of the day, all get the same pay from their generous employer. Jesus is teaching us something about justice and generosity and why the last are usually first in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Hildegard of Bingen - an Introduction
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
In this 5 minute interview on the Sonrise Morning show, Dr. Italy discusses the amazing life and talents of St. Hildegard of Bingen, the medieval Benedictine abbess renowned for her visions, compositions, and prolific body of written work. Pilgrims on Dr. Italy’s 2023 Rhine Cruise will be visiting her relics and some of her monasteries.
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Terrorism and the Victory of the Cross
Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
September 11 is the anniversary of one of most brutal acts of terrorism of all time. Three days later, on September 14, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation, and triumph of the cross of Jesus Christ. This reflection brings out the link between 9/11 and the victory of the cross and helps us understand why the cross, an instrument of torture in the hands of brutes, becomes a tree of life in the hands of the Savior.
info_outlineAs the civilization in the West was dissolving into the Dark Ages, a man named Gregory was elected to fill the chair of St. Peter. First prefect or mayor of Rome, then monk, then the Pope's ambassador to Constantinople, then finally bishop of Rome, Gregory rocked the church and the civilized world. He was a man who could walk with kings and yet with whom the poor of Rome felt right at home. In this 20 minute podcast, Dr. Italy discusses just a few of Gregory's strengths as diplomat, disciple, preacher, teacher of bishops and master story-teller. The impact of Gregory's writings and example upon the Western Church in the Middles Ages is hard to overestimate.