Ask a Catholic Dude

Coming off of his talk at the Young Adult Liturgical Conference in Mundelein, the auxiliary bishop of Chicago, the Most reverend Joseph Perry, sits down and talks to That Catholic Dude. We talk about Bishop Perry's devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as why she is so important in directing us towards her Son. We also discuss the rich patrimony found in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, specifically how it has impacted young people in recent years.

In this episode, we find ourselves celebrating the great Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. There aren't too many people in the liturgical calendar who get a commemoration on the day of our birth (the greatest obviously being Jesus), so why are we commemorating John the Baptist today? Well, if we look and see what the Christians of the early Church did, we'll see that they regarded this a day to "not be passed over in silence". We dig into the Scriptural foundation of this feast, and delve in into the writings of the early Church Fathers to see what reasons the first Christians had to celebrate this occasion.

Coming off of the 2nd Annual Transfigured Young Adult Liturgy Conference at The University of Saint Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary, I had the chance to interview Dr. Denis McNamara. He's an associate professor at the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, and we chatted a bit about the theology behind the architectural wonders found in many churches across the world. If you want to know more about why churches look the way they do, look no further!

We're at the 2nd annual Young Adult Liturgical Conference at the Liturgical Institute, where we've been "transfigured". Several young adults from all around the country join me as we talk about our experiences and what we learned during the weekend at this beautiful campus in Northern Illinois.

Today (Friday, June 8th) is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Catholics around the world celebrate the love Jesus had for humanity as He gave His life on the cross. But what's the story behind this devotion to the Sacred Heart? Why do we focus on just one aspect of our Lor'ds Body? What were the promises that Jesus made to Christians who would be devoted to the love present in His Sacred Heart? We talk about all that and more today.

Today I sit down with Byzantine Catholic priest, Fr. Tom Loya, and discuss the wonderful things that have happened in the life of the Church since the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima occurred 101 years ago. We talk about how Our Lady of Fatima has helped with ecumenism, and how both Byzantine and Roman Catholics share quite a bit in their devotions to the Mother of God.

It seems that many Catholics, and other Christians, live a very comfortable life in the Western world. Often, we forget that we were called to take up our own cross in following Jesus. How can we get back to a spirit of penitence? We take a look at penitential observances in the life of the Church, and how we as Christians in the modern world can "toughen up" and stop being lax in our religious practices.

The Church just recently celebrated Pentecost, and today, the day after the commemoration of this wonderful day, Catholics are celebrating the newly instituted feast of Mary, Mother of the Church! That Catholic Dude takes a look at how these two feasts are linked, the ancient origin of both, and why we need to take our faith out into the world, even if that means into the streets! Info on St. Paul's Street Evangelization is also included. Visit them at StreetEvangelization.com

After a short hiatus, that Catholic Dude is back with one last interview from the FOCUS SLS 2018 Conference in Chicago. This time it's with author Dr. Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries. We talk about the new evangelization, a bit about the afterlife, and more!

Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska sits down with That Catholic Dude to talk about the success with vocations and the passing down of the faith that is occurring in his jurisdiction. We also talk at length about the importance of retaining the traditions of the Latin Rite.

At the 2018 FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Conference in Chicago, I was able to find some time to speak with Fr. Mike Schmitz, who also runs a podcast on Ascension Presents. We talk a bit about how he got started with social media, and delve into his new book, "Made for Love".

Today I sit down and talk with Byzantine Catholic priest, Fr. Thomas Loya. He briefly tells us about the importance of the Eastern Catholic Churches and expresses what he wants people to know about them.

I sit down with millennial nun Sister Bethany Madonna. We talk about how young people today can still be called to the spiritual life, and how they should go about pursuing it.

That Catholic Dude sits down with Fr. Larry Richards at the 2018 FOCUS Conference. Fr. Larry exhorts young men to grow up and act like men, and also tells us how we can deepen that relationship we have with Christ despite the pressure we feel from those around us to embrace worldly things.

Who can we look to when we make our "new year's resolutions"? Today's feast on the liturgical calendar gives us a clue. Look no further than to the Holy Family.

That Catholic Dude was asked why we have to go to church on Sunday. Is it really that important? A lot of Catholic Christians today don't think it is. Let's talk about why such thinking is incorrect.

People seem to think Pope Francis is calling for the Our Father, or Lord's Prayer, to be changed. Once again, the media gets it wrong and takes His Holiness out of context. Let's back things up and see what's actually happening...

What is the Immaculate Conception. What is it NOT? We also look into why this day is so important not only for Catholics, but for all people, especially young people, in our culture.

A caller asks whether or not purgatory is a painful place and if it is like hell. Clearly, the answer is that purgatory is fundamentally different from hell. We unpack what exactly Catholics believe about purgatory, providing references from Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of the Church.

Today, Nov. 21st is the feast of our Lady's entrance into the Temple. What significance does this feast day have for Christians today? It turns out, a lot.