Ave Maria in the Afternoon Segments

This weekend is Divine Mercy Sunday. We believe in a God who is all-Merciful, but is also perfectly Just. Do these qualities contradict each other? Michael Dauphinais is our guest.Guest InfoDr. Michael Dauphinais serves as the Fr. Matthew Lamb Professor of Catholic Theology and the co-director of the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University. He also hosts The Catholic Theology Show podcast and enjoys teaching C.S. Lewis, the Bible, and anything on Aquinas. A grateful revert to the Catholic Church, he has been married to his beloved wife Nancy for almost thirty years. His newly co-authored book Wisdom from the Word: Biblical Answers to Ten Questions about Catholicism was published by Word on Fire Press. He has authored, co-authored, and co-edited numerous scholarly articles and books in the areas of Thomas Aquinas, the Bible, and the renewal of Catholic theology. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with the story of “Doubting” Thomas. We unpack the readings with Rob Corzine.Guest InfoRob Corzine is the Vice President of Programs for the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

If you attended the Easter Vigil last weekend, you may have noticed the line in the Exsultet that celebrates the “necessary sin of Adam.” We typically think of Jesus’ sacrifice as the necessary response to Adam’s sin, so what about the sin itself was so necessary? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

Zohran Mamdani’s platform centers on New York’s affordability crisis and includes promises to freeze rents for two million rent-stabilized tenants, build two hundred thousand new affordable units, and provide government-run grocery stores and free universal childcare. Dorothy Day was a radical New Yorker as well. Both Mamdani and Day are defined by their commitment to workers and the poor, but only one still stands as a radical in the fight for justice, and it isn’t Mamdani. Thomas Dias has more.Further ReadingZohran Mamdani Is Not Radical EnoughFollow Thomas on SubstackGuest InfoThomas Dias is the Foundation Relations Specialist at the Acton Institute. His writing explores topics spanning political economy, philosphy, and the agentic future. He co-runs Kairos, a Substack at the intersection of philosophy, theology, and classical liberalism. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

This weekend we conclude the octave of Easter with the great Feast of the Divine Mercy. Marcus reflects on the meaning of God’s mercy and justice. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

The Church is celebrating a surge in conversions this Easter. What’s next for our newest brothers and sisters in Christ? JonMarc Grodi joins us.Further ReadingThe Importance of MystagogyGuest InfoJonMarc Grodi is the executive director of the Coming home network and the host of the Journey Home. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

U.S. officials are continuing to defend ongoing military actions in the Middle East amid criticism from top Catholic leaders around the world and after media reports that the Pentagon demanded the Vatican throw its support behind its ongoing military maneuvers. Matthew Bunson has more on this and other Church news.Further ReadingU.S. officials continue to defend Iranian conflict amid criticism from top Catholic leadersPope will address tensions between Christianity and Islam in AfricaBishop expresses solidarity with victims as rebels kill 43 in Democratic Republic of CongoWhy Pakistan’s bishops doubt government will act on minor’s forced marriageGuest InfoMatthew Bunson is Vice President and Editorial Director of EWTN News and a Senior Fellow at St Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He’s the author or co-author of more than 50 books including the first English-language biography of Pope Francis and The Encyclopedia of Catholic History. Follow him on twitter at MattBunson. Register Radio airs Saturdays at 4 pm and Sundays at 11 am on Ave Maria Radio This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

It’s a common error to think of Jesus as a model for our religious and private lives, but not as one for civic and political engagement. This line of thinking, while common today, would have been entirely foreign in New Testament times. We discuss the Political theology of Easter with Dr Paul DeHart.Further ReadingAfter Easter: The Political Theology of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the MessiahGuest InfoPaul R. DeHart is Professor of Political Science of Texas State University in San Marcos. He is author of The Social Contract in the Ruins (University of Missouri Press, 2024) Uncovering the Constitution’s Moral Design (also with the University of Missouri Press, 2007; 2017) and editor (with Carson Holloway) of Reason, Revelation, and the Civic Order: Political Philosophy and the Claims of Faith (Northern Illinois University Press, 2014). He has published articles in journals such as Polity, Critical Review, Locke Studies, Perspectives on Political Science, the Catholic Social Science Review, and National Affairs. He lives in the Texas Hill Country with his wife Robyn, two teenage daughters, two big dogs, and two cats. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

Jason Negri is hosting a panel discussion on physician-assisted suicide and end-of-life options next week at Wayne State University. He joins us with the details. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

The world’s eyes remain fixed on Iran. But outrage will serve nobody well while the events are still unfolding across a region that’s already scarred by ideological fury and retaliatory violence. Therefore, Christians especially should slow our speech, discipline our passions, examine the facts, and pray for wisdom before we baptize any instant conclusion with some level of moral certainty. Marcus has more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

Christ’s glorified body tells us that the promise of eternal life which Jesus’s death and resurrection has opened up for us results not in obliteration or negation, but transformation and glorification. We talk more about it with Randall Smith.Further ReadingThe Relevance of the ResurrectionGuest InfoDr. Randall B. Smith is Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, where he teaches courses on Moral Theology, History of Theology, Faith and Science, and Faith and Culture. His books include Reading the Sermons of Thomas Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide (Emmaus), Aquinas, Bonaventure, and the Scholastic Culture of Medieval Paris (Cambridge), and From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality, and the Resurrection of the Body (Emmaus), due out in October 2022. He is also co-author of Why Believe? Volume 2: Answers to Life’s Questions (Augustine Institute). Prof. Smith is the author of numerous articles in academic journals, but he also publishes a regular bi-weekly column for “The Catholic Thing.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

The Catholics at the Shore Conference is an opportunity to step away from the noise for two and a half days of Catholic formation, inspiring speakers, and real relationships in a beautiful coastal setting. Chris McMahon has the details.Click Here to learn moreGuest InfoChris McMahon is the founder of the Catholics at the Shore Conference. Learn more at catholicsattheshore.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com

America is developing an appetite for killing its elderly. A recent Pew Research poll suggests that comfort is growing: 63 percent of Americans now say physician-assisted death is either morally acceptable or simply not a moral issue at all. Only 35 percent call it morally wrong. The conscience is not yet gone. But it is losing ground fast. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer has more.Further ReadingEven Religious-minded Americans Are Willing To Accept Assisted SuicideFollow Andrea on TwitterGuest InfoAndrea Picciotti-Bayer is a legal analyst for EWTN News. She also directs the Conscience Project. Follow her on Twitter @bayerpicciotti and visit conscience-project.org. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com