Catholic Heritage with Dr. Italy
276 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsDr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Church historian, speaker, and author, delivers highly interesting and engaging reflections on Catholic tradition, teaching, and cultural heritage. Find out more about his ministry and discover countless free Catholic resources at www.dritaly.com.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Portiuncula & San Damiano-Assisi Chapels Rebuilt by St Francis
April 24, 2024 10:00 - 6 minutes - 3.06 MB7 minute podcast by Dr. Italy discussing the two churches rebuilt by St. Francis that still stand in Assisi, his home town. To be visited on his upcoming pilgrimage to Italy.
Why the Trinity Matters
April 22, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutes - 6.9 MBThe Trinity is the central dogma of the Catholic faith and is equally important to Orthodox and most Protestant Christians. Yet it is a mystery, something that we as limited human beings can never understand. So does that mean we can just believe it but basically forget about it and focus on more practical things, like morality? Not at all, says Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) on this episode of the SonRise Morning show. If we fail to make progress in understanding the Trinity, we will...
Is Jesus, the Good Sheperd, the Only Savior?
April 17, 2024 10:00 - 5 minutes - 5.39 MBThe image of Jesus as the Good shepherd is a comforting one in the minds of many. But some of those who first heard Jesus describe himself in this way were deeply disturbed. For it seems that Jesus is setting himself up as the only true Shepherd and savior. People still find this claim disturbing. "What about other religions?," they ask. For the 4th Sunday of Easter, cycle B.
He's no Ghost - Easter and the Gnostic Gospels
April 10, 2024 10:00 - 5 minutes - 4.78 MBOn the first Easter, the Risen Lord makes clear to his frightened disciples he not a ghost or specter and in so doing shows why the gnostic gospels are bogus and did not make it into the Bible.
Feast of the Annunciation, God Becomes Man
April 08, 2024 10:00 - 5 minutes - 2.41 MBThe Solemnity or Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated on March 25. Here, in his typically lyrical language, Leo the Great ponders the unfathomable mystery of God becoming man in the womb of a Virgin, at the moment of conception. Through the Father's love and Mary's faith, the divine Word became flesh and dwelt among us, assuming a full human nature.
Divine Mercy Sunday and the Sacrament of Mercy
April 05, 2024 10:00 - 5 minutes - 2.67 MBDivine Mercy Sunday or the Octave of Easter presents us with one of the most famous of gospel stories -- the story of Doubting Thomas. But it shows us how and when the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, aka "confession," was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ -- and why.
Celebrating Easter - the Octave & the Season
April 02, 2024 10:00 - 5 minutes - 2.72 MBEaster is not a day but a season of 50 days. The octave - eight days of high celebration beginning on Easter Sunday - is followed by 42 more days of rejoicing concluding on Pentecost. Here are some ideas for a fruitful celebration of the joy of Eastertide during this extraordinary time while Churches are closed due to COVID-19.
Easter, the Resurrection, and the Eucharist
March 31, 2024 10:00 - 10 minutes - 4.69 MB6 minute Podcast by Dr. Italy showing the connection between Easter, the resurrection, and the Eucharist through an examination of the road to Emmaus story from Luke 24.
Visiting the Tomb of Christ
March 30, 2024 10:00 - 12 minutes - 5.83 MBThe Gospel of John tells us that, after the body of Jesus was taken from the cross, it was laid in a new tomb, close to the place where he was crucified. Yet, when people visit the Holy Land, they are surprised to find out that the tomb is only a stones throw away from the top of Golgotha. Dr. Italy shares what it is like to visit both places, both inside the same massive Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built in the 12th century by the Crusaders.
Good Friday & the Via Dolorosa
March 29, 2024 10:00 - 14 minutes - 6.82 MBOn Good Friday, Christians remember the passion of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. This podcast is the second in a three part interview of Dr. Italy, theologian, historian and Holy Land pilgrimage leader, on the events of Holy Week. This segment focuses on the events of Good Friday, when Jesus is dragged from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate, most likely the Fortress Antonia located at the Northeast corner of the Temple. Dr. Italy shares what it is like to descend belo...
Passover, Thanksgiving and the Eucharist
March 27, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutes - 7.74 MBBefore thanksgiving was an American holiday, it was a hallmark of the Judeo-Christian tradition. All ancient peoples gave thanks for creation; only Jews and Christians believe that God acted decisively in history to secure our liberation from slavery. Eucharist simply means thanksgiving -- and it is the supreme act of worship and thanks for the sacrifice that won our ultimate liberation.
Holy Week, Holy Land
March 25, 2024 10:00 - 12 minutes - 5.92 MBIn this podcast from the Sonrise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell begins by observing that virtually half the Gospel of Luke is taken up by Jesus and disciples journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Holy Land Pilgrimage host and theologian Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) describes what this journey would have been like for the Lord and his followers and what Jerusalem would have been like in the days before the Passover. He goes on to explain the distinctive location of the Last Supper high ...
Mount of Olives and the Palm Sunday Road
March 22, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutes - 4.12 MB6 minute podcast in which on the journey of Jesus and his disciples from Bethany, over the top of the Mount of Olives to Bethphage, & down the Palm Sunday Road from there into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey amidst cries of hosanna.
Saint Benedict & the Benedictines, Stability Amidst Chaos
March 20, 2024 10:00 - 14 minutes - 6.7 MBIn this 14 minute podcast recorded on the occasion of the Feast of St. Benedict on July 11, host Sonrise Morning show host Anna Mitchell interviews Dr. Italy about the significance that Benedict and the Benedictine way of life holds for Christians today.
St Joseph Model of Faith
March 18, 2024 10:00 - 14 minutes - 6.5 MB14 minute podcast in which Dr. Italy discusses St. Joseph as an often overlooked hero of the Advent – Christmas story. He shows how St. Matthew’s gospel presents him as a model of faith. In the Advent and Christmas season, all eyes turn to the Holy Family. Jesus is the primary, focus, of course, with Mary getting secondary attention. Often, Joseph remains for us a background figure in the Nativity scene, getting less attention than even the Magi.
How Can a God of Love send People to Hell? John 3:16 & Judgment
March 08, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.4 MBIf "God so loved the world." how can he possibly send people to hell? Is he a loving Father or a stern judge? Jesus helps us reconcile love & grace with hell & judgment in perhaps the most famous worlds in the Bible, John 3:16.
Value of Fasting
March 06, 2024 11:00 - 14 minutes - 6.62 MBFasting is what most people first think of when they think about penance in general and Lent in particular. But surprisingly, fasting, as valuable as it is, is probably the least important of the three main groups of Lenten Spiritual Exercises: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (or mercy). In this podcast, Dr. Italy points out that the real value of fasting is when it is combined with either prayer or almsgiving into a sort of one-two punch at sin and spiritual lethargy. Some practical examp...
Cleansing of the Temple - an end to Business as Usual
February 28, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.63 MBReligion is not supposed to be the opposite of spirituality. But sometimes religion becomes a cold routine, even a business. The Lord's cleansing of the Temple spells the end of business as usual. Our religion must be a matter of living faith, zeal and fidelity to the Ten Commandments.
Isaac, Abraham & the Meaning of Lenten Sacrifice - 2nd Sunday of Lent B
February 23, 2024 17:00 - 6 minutes - 2.75 MBOn the Second Sunday of Lent, the church places together the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah with the story of Jesus and three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. Together, these stories teach us the meaning of Lenten sacrifice.
Polycarp, Disciple of Apostles
February 22, 2024 11:00 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MB7 minute interview of Dr. Italy by Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show, on St. Polycarp, one of the most fascinating of the Apostolic Fathers, those who pass on to us what they heard from the apostles of Jesus.
Fresh Ways for the 40 Days - A New Lenten Approach
February 20, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.68 MBIn this Lenten podcast, Matt Swaim asks Dr. Italy about his new book, 40 Days, 40 Ways, A New Look at Lent (Servant Books). In response, Marcellino D’Ambrosio explains the book’s aim to help people break out of "same old" stale Lenten patterns. The book does this by offering forty fresh ideas of how to combine prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The goal is to make us new people by the end of the season.
Lent, Noah's Ark, and Baptism - First Sunday of Lent B
February 16, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.65 MBWe begin the forty days of Lent with the memory of a previous 40 days when sin was cleansed from the face of the earth. This occurred through a flood which spared only 8 people - Noah & his companions on the ark. This gives us a hint about the meaning & purpose of Lent and its mysterious link to baptism. For the first Sunday of Lent, cycle B.
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization: The Monks
February 15, 2024 11:00 - 6 minutes - 2.9 MBIn this 6 minute radio interview with Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show, Dr. Italy begins a discussion on the vast topic of how the Catholic Church built Western civilization. Starting with the indomitable missionary monks of Ireland, he illustrates how they not only saved but helped build Western civilization by preserving and spreading literacy and literature across Europe. He also discusses how his upcoming Rhine pilgrimage will focus on this theme, and how many of the sites to ...
Why Lent has 40 Days - Catholic Connection
February 13, 2024 11:00 - 17 minutes - 4.04 MBThis 18 minute Lenten podcast from the Catholic Connection addresses the forty days of Lent and the hidden symbolism behind the number 40 which reappears in so many places throughout the Sacred Scriptures. Show host Elena Rodriguez, pinch hitting for Teresa Tomeo, asks Dr. Italy to uncover the mystery of why Lent has 40 days and what this tells us about how we are to approach the season.
Lowly Lourdes - Reflections on the Apparitions
February 10, 2024 11:00 - 6 minutes - 9.12 MBPodcast excerpted from radio interview in which Dr. Italy offers some reflections on the apparitions of Mary to lowly shepherd girls in Lourdes in 1858.
Lessons from the Leper - How to Deal with Suffering
February 07, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.37 MBThere is much more to Jesus' healing of the leper in Mark's gospel than first meets the eye. Hidden in the story are lessons on the role of suffering and how to respond to it in our lives and the lives of others.
We're on a Mission from God
February 03, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.66 MBThe Bible is not just for Churches and Synagogues. Portions of it are read as literature, even in secular university classrooms. Invariably, when you look at the syllabus of such courses, you find Job.
The Presentation - Simeon sees the Light
January 31, 2024 11:00 - 14 minutes - 6.76 MBIn this 15 minute podcast, Dr. Italy discusses the meaning of the ancient feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the temple by Joseph and Mary. The righteous Israelite, Simeon, being advanced in years, rejoices to see the child he recognizes to be the one to bring the light of truth & salvation to all people.
Thomas Aquinas, Faith & Reason
January 27, 2024 11:00 - 6 minutes - 9.16 MBIn this 7 minute podcast, Dr. Italy discusses St. Thomas Aquinas and what he teaches us about the roles of faith and reason. For his feast day on January 28.
Authority over Demons - Spiritual Warfare
January 26, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.68 MBDemons. Satan. Beelzebub. Lucifer. The Devil. Known by various names, evil spirits are to be found in the Bible, both New and Old Testaments. Jesus casts them out and has authority over them. What do we now make of this, living as we do in a scientific age?
Conversion of St. Paul
January 24, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 8.16 MB7 minute Podcast on why the Church celebrates the Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, aka St. Paul, with a special feast. Dr. Italy on the Sonrise Morning Show of EWTN.
Detachment - the Cost of Discipleship
January 19, 2024 11:00 - 6 minutes - 2.86 MBThere is a cost of discipleship -- Jesus sometimes calls us to leave behind professions, friends, even family. Does that mean that work and human relationships are at odds with growing in our relationship with God? The concept of detachment can help us understand this problem.
St. Anthony, the Desert & Spiritual Warfare
January 17, 2024 11:00 - 13 minutes - 18.6 MBWhen people today hear "St. Anthony," they usually think of the 13th century miracle-working Franciscan who is best known for finding lost objects. But a thousand years earlier, there lived the first St. Anthony who was also a miracle worker in a most remarkable way. This Anthony, an Egyptian, was a leader in the movement called monasticism. Giving away property and privilege to follow Jesus into poverty, Anthony left the comfort of civilization to go alone into the desert to battle the d...
Be a Saint, not a Prude, a Witness, not a Spectator
January 12, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.66 MBYes, we are called to holiness. But no, vocation is not a matter of a particular state in life. Holiness surely involves purity. Yet it does not include a prudish disdain for the body and the pleasures of ordinary human life.
Jesus, John the Baptist & the River Jordan
January 08, 2024 11:00 - 6 minutes - 2.88 MBEveryone has heard of the river Jordan, where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. But few know much about it or can visualize it. Dr. Italy has taught on the banks of the Jordan upwards of thirty times over the past twenty years. Here he paints a visual picture of the Jordan emerging in far North Israel from the base of the snow-capped Mt. Hermon, and flowing downhill to the Sea of Galilee at the location of the ancient town of Bethsaida and just a short distance from Capernaum.
Epiphany Revealed - Three Magi Kings & Their strange gifts
January 05, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.55 MBThis commentary on the Feast of the Epiphany uncovers the meaning of the term epiphany and explains why the Magi -- Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior, the three kings of Orient riding camels and carrying gold, frankincense, and myrrh -- are found, complete with crowns and camels, in every nativity scene.
Mary, Mother of God?
January 01, 2024 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.55 MBJanuary 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics. Not because it is New Year's day, but because it is the octave (8th day) of Christmas. This feast of Mary, the Mother of God, brings home the reality of the incarnation. In Jesus, the Creator truly became man. And that man had, and still has, a mother. So affirmed the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in AD 431.
Pick up your Mat and Go Home - Healing of the Paralytic
December 31, 2023 17:00 - 5 minutes - 4.85 MBPick up your mat and Go Home -What the healing of the paralytic as recounted in the Gospel of Mark teaches us about the faith of the community and even infant baptism. A reflection on the readings for the seventh (7th) Sunday in Ordinary Time, liturgical cycle B.
Holy Family Feast - Piety in the 21st Century?
December 29, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.58 MBThe Feast of the Holy Family challenges us to grow in the virtues of piety, honor, patience, and forbearance. And to learn to laugh together.
Bethlehem and the Christmas Story
December 25, 2023 11:00 - 12 minutes - 5.68 MB14 minute podcast in which Dr. Italy describes the town of Bethlehem and the field of the Shepherds at the time of the birth of Christ. Helps bring the Christmas story alive as we read of the little town that was the city of David. At Christmas we sing “O little town of Bethlehem.” But what was this town like at the time of Jesus? And how likely is it that the Church of the Nativity, on Manger Square, is built over the actual birth site of Jesus. What is it like to enter and explore th...
The Deeper Meaning of Christmas
December 22, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MBWe all know the elements of the Christmas story: Caesar's census and Herod, shepherds and Magi, ox , swaddling clothes & manger, a stable and not room in the inn, Bethlehem and the Prince of Peace. But underneath each of these people, places, and things, there is deeper meaning that often goes unnoticed.
The Advent Mystery - Annunciation & Incarnation
December 19, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 5.39 MBThe biblical term "mystery" refers to a long thread running through history, hidden under ordinary faces and events. It comes to a climax in an Angel's annunciation to a Virgin that puts together many biblical concepts -king, messiah, emmanuel, son of God - for the fourth Sunday of Advent.
Advent & Hope
December 13, 2023 11:00 - 12 minutes - 5.58 MBIn this 13 minute podcast, Sonrise Morning Show host Anna Mitchell Interviews Dr. Italy on Advent as a season of Hope. What precisely is Scripture talking about when it tells us that hope is one of the most important things a Christian needs? And what does hope have to do with Advent?
Prepare the Way 2nd Sun Advent B
December 09, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.44 MBAdvent’s theme can be summed up in the word’s of Isaiah 40: Prepare the way of the Lord! But what are the mountains that need to be leveled and the valleys that need to be filled in? Here’s a road map through the desert of Advent road construction to the joy of Christmas. Advent is a time of joyful anticipation. For someone even bigger than Santa Claus is coming to town.
Immaculate Conception & Mary as a Model of Faith
December 07, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 5.03 MBThe Gospel of Luke presents Mary, mother of Jesus, as the model of faith, showing us what faith must include to be authentic and effective. And imitating Mary's virtue is key to an authentic Marian devotion and an adequate understanding of the deepest meaning of the Immaculate Conception -- that it's all about grace.
The Immaculate Conception & The Protestant Reformation
December 06, 2023 11:00 - 14 minutes - 6.72 MBFor the past 500 years, devotion to Mary has been a bone of contention between Catholics and Protestants. But the meaning of the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 highlights some amazing common ground between these two groups. Would you believe that on this feast, Catholics actually honor Mary as the perfect example of the greatest Protestant virtue? To understand why true Marian devotion actually should bring us together, listen to this podcast.
How to Prepare the Way in Advent
December 05, 2023 11:00 - 13 minutes - 5.97 MBIn 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 imposs...
Advent Reminds us to Wake Up - You Snooze, You Lose!
December 02, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 4.92 MBHave you ever had one of those days when you just wish God would show up, snap his figures and work miracles? The people of Israel had about 500 years worth days like that, groaning under the oppression of one tyrant after another. The book of Isaiah gives voice to these sentiments: “O that you would rip open the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you!
Awake & Alert - Rouse yourself with this Advent Podcast
November 30, 2023 11:00 - 13 minutes - 6.01 MBThe Season of Advent provides us a rich selection of Scriptures from both New and Old Testaments. One recurring theme of many of these readings is that it is now time to rouse ourselves from sleep and become much more spiritually awake and alert.
Christ The King, Last Judgement & Sins of Omission
November 24, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 2.5 MBThe Feast of Christ the King reminds us that Jesus will judge the living and the dead. Matthew 25 hints that the pious, decent folk may be in for a surprise . . . sins of omission, failing to love, may figure more prominently in the last judgment that we may think.