Dr. Italy

Advent is a season of joy & hope.  Paul says to rejoice in hope.  But what is hope, anyway?  How does this theological virtue differ from faith and what does it have to do with rejoicing?

In this 14 minute podcast, Dr. Italy shares some insights into our predicament - we tend to be lulled to sleep spiritually through the constant motion of modern life.  This is especially true in Advent, which is perhaps the busiest time of the year due to how our society prepares for Christmas.  Yet the Lord calls us in Advent to wake up to his presence and to move aside the obstacles that block his path into our lives.  Pride is the chief obstacle, followed by the noise that makes it impossible to hear the still, small voice of the Lord.  The mountains of pride and distractions needs to be made low.

The feast of Jesus Christ the Universal King was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and is observed on the last Sunday of the Roman Catholic Liturgical Year. It causes us to ponder what sort of authority, kingdom and dominion are truly lasting, and what judgment will be truly final.

Podcast discussing the amazing Roman basilica that goes all the way back to the new testament period, San Clemente, dedicated to Clement of Rome, third successor of Peter.

Podcast by Dr. Italy on Florence, the Renaissance city, and what the art of Michelangelo teaches us about Catholic Culture and life.  With images of sites and churches of Florence that he will visit on his upcoming Italy pilgrimage.

Hear O Israel!  Most have heard of the Great Commandment - to love God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself.  But if God is just and salvation depends upon perfect obedience to this command, who can be saved?  For the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B.

A reflection on the Solemnity of All Souls, November 2, touching on the mystery of death and the afterlife including heaven, hell, and purgatory, and the validity of prayers for the dead.

Each November 1st Catholics are obliged to attend Mass to celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.  This feast is more than a dutiful remembrance of the various saints that don't make it into the Roman calendar of feast days.  It is celebrates us - the fact that all of us are destined to attain the heights of holiness, that all of us are called and equipped to become saints, and will do so if we don't get in the way of the Holy Spirit.  Dr. Italy discusses where the feast comes from and why some consider it to be even greater than Easter in a curious way.

In this podcast, historical theologian Marcellino D'Ambrosio ("Dr. Italy") clears up misunderstandings about the holiday that are nearly universally believe by Christians, neo-pagans and secularists a like.  It will be of great help to grandparents and parents trying to decide how to approach this celebration.

The story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who met Jesus on the road to Jericho, is a dramatic event from the Gospel of Mark that illustrates something very important about the true nature of Christian faith.  For the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B.

Brothers John and James, the sons of Zebedee, had ambition. When they make their famous request for places of honor & privilege in Mark's gospel, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them that leadership & true greatness consists in loving and serving, even to the point of sharing with Christ the cup of suffering.

Both the Rich Young Man in Mark's Gospel and King Solomon had a very difficult choice to make. In a similar moment of decision, what would be the desire of your heart? Wisdom and adventure, or comfort and convenience? Where do true riches...and security...lie?  For the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B.

Is annulment just a Catholic Divorce?  This article explains the controversial Roman Catholic position on love, marriage, marital intimacy, divorce, remarriage and celibacy.

Envy, one of the seven deadly sins, is different from mere jealousy - it is darker and much more dangerous.  Yet its cunning can be - and has been - defeated.  For the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B.

The word amen is familiar to all.  But few know its origins and its true meaning, which actually strikes at the very essence of what it means to believe and have rock-solid faith.

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 podcast 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.

"Ephphatha!" The miracles of Jesus, particularly the story of Jesus' healing of the deaf - mute in the Gospel of Mark, raise a big questions -- did Jesus Christ truly work miracles and if so, was his motivation compassion or glory? For the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B.

What does the term Tradition really mean? Is it opposed to the Bible? The sola scriptura principle of the Protestant Reformation assumed it was -- here we examine this assumption in the light of a few key scriptures.  For the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B.

Belief that God exists is not quite what Scripture means by faith.  The faith spoken of by Jesus, Paul, and John is a gift that is like a spiritual muscle - to be strong, it must be exercised.

Some do the minimum in order to survive.  But we are called to seize every opportunity so we can truly thrive.  Proverbs says Wisdom has set a table for us.  Christ, Divine Wisdom incarnate, actually feeds us with two abundant tables - the feast of the Word and the Sacrament.  For the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B.