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 an…

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.

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, c…

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 Exaltati…

"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…

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 fe…

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…

Somehow, we can all relate to the discouragement and exhaustion of Elijah.  So we need to learn from the solution proposed by God to revitalize and energize him for the long journey he needed to make…

The multiplication of the loaves and fishes is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels.  John calls it a sign, a symbolic event with many hidden meanings.  It points beyond itself back…

The story of the feeding of the 5,000 teaches us much about leadership in the Kingdom of God.  The King is a shepherd who puts the sheep's needs before his own, and feeds them with truth, the nourish…

Christianity is about receiving a free gift of salvation -- that's true. But it is also about passing it forward. But don't you need a degree and extensive training first?  God doesn't so much call t…

The story about Jesus' disappointing reception in his hometown of Nazareth addresses a question asked by many - if God is omnipotent, can it be said that there are some miracles that he cannot perfor…

Did Jesus really raise the daughter of Jairus and perform other miracles? The Deists, including several American founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson, said no, and their Enlightenment skepticism st…

Dr. Italy and Matt Swaim in this podcast point out that anyone who is interested in the Bible or Christianity needs to know about the early Christian bishop remembered on June 28 by the Catholic Chur…

One of the most famous bible stories of all time is Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.  Mark, the evangelist, uses the story to ask the reader a question that elicits a clear answer on th…

In the Roman liturgical calendar, St. Thomas More shares his feast of June 22 with St. Paulinus of Nola and St. John Fisher.  Often, he is overlooked or forgotten.  But he is one of the most inspirin…