Chris Stefanick Catholic Show

What do you say when someone asks, "Who are you to judge me?" Dr. Cary Dabney, a professor of theology at Walsh University, returns to the show to unpack the simple framework he uses to teach moral theology to students who are devout, on the fence, or completely unchurched. It's the same framework that can help you talk with your kids, your grandkids, or a friend about hard moral choices without sounding judgmental or getting shut down. In this episode: - The four kinds of students in his classroom - The one question he asks before mentioning a single theologian - The three fonts of choice - What Robin Hood can teach us about good intentions - What relativism does to our ability to talk to each other - Why Dr. Cary calls Jesus "the pattern of righteousness" Dr. Cary also shares three things to check before any decision, and why humility and the option of reconciliation are always on the table when we get it wrong. Highlights 04:44 – The question that opens every moral theology class 06:16 – The three fonts of choice 07:32 – Robin Hood and the problem with good intentions 12:10 – Circumstances: same act, different gravity 13:47 – The object of the act 17:55 – Starting with what everyone shares: reason 19:26 – Taking the emotion out of hard conversations 32:12 – Silos, echo chambers, and Benedict XVI on relativism 34:38 – Three things to check before any choice 36:44 – Humility and the door to reconciliation 37:37 – Jesus, "the pattern of righteousness" ....... Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP ........ Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

One of the coolest things about being Catholic? You don't have to feel it to know you're getting it. In this episode, Chris sits down with Fr. Chris Alar — author of Understanding the Sacraments: God's Grace Guaranteed — to unpack why the sacraments are so much more than symbols, and why so many Catholics never learned what they actually do. Fr. Chris explains why infant baptism isn't about "letting a kid choose later," why Confirmation is the underrated "activation code" for the Holy Spirit's gifts, what it really takes for a confession to be valid, and why the Eucharist is literally the body and blood of Christ — not a metaphor. Along the way, Chris and Fr. Chris talk about the difference between true contrition and mere remorse, why evangelization has to come before catechesis, and Fr. Chris's answer to "which sacrament is your favorite to administer?" Highlights [00:01:09] – Why Fr. Chris Alar wrote a book on the sacraments [00:02:27] – The "wait till 18 to get baptized" argument — debunked [00:10:00] – Confirmation: the "activation code" for the Holy Spirit [00:16:39] – Heaven as a wedding feast — and why you need an invitation [00:18:41] – The three conditions for a valid confession [00:23:36] – Contrition vs. remorse: the difference between Peter and Judas [00:47:26] – Fr. Chris Alar's favorite sacrament to administer ....... Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning and be entered for a chance to win a trip for two on our Pilgrimage to Beauty: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP ........ Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0 ........ Order Fr. Chris Alar's book, Understanding the Sacraments: God's Grace Guaranteed (https://shopmercy.org/explaining-the-faith-understanding-the-sacraments.html), Check out his work with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception / Divine Mercy here: https://www.thedivinemercy.org

Fr. Robert Spitzer has spent his life studying the two most well-documented sets of miracles and healings in Church history. Blind since his early thirties from a degenerative eye condition, he joins Chris Stefanick to lay out the evidence behind Fatima and Lourdes like you've never heard it. In this episode: how losing his sight deepened his prayer life, his theory that St. Paul himself may have been going blind, the eyewitness account of the Miracle of the Sun and the staggering odds against a natural explanation, the discovery of the healing spring at Lourdes, a man's leg instantly restored after being severed by a falling tree, and the Nobel Prize-winning doctor who went to disprove a miracle and left converted instead. Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., is President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and President Emeritus of Gonzaga University. Learn more at magiscenter.com Highlights 4:01 – How Fr. Spitzer prays through blindness 5:41 – "How has blindness blessed you?" 8:00 – A theory on St. Paul's "thorn in the flesh" 13:10 – The story of Fatima: what Mary told three children 20:29 – The bloodless miracle behind the Cold War's end 24:12 – The Miracle of the Sun and its 40,000 witnesses 28:25 – The "supernatural lens" theory, explained 38:16 – Bernadette and the apparitions at Lourdes 48:00 – The instantly healed leg of Pierre de Rudder 54:43 – Why the real number of Lourdes miracles is far higher than reported 56:00 – The political battle over the Lourdes grotto 1:01:37 – The Nobel laureate who tried to disprove a miracle 1:09:30 – Why Fr. Spitzer believes he was never healed 1:16:40 – Gabriel Gargam: paralyzed, then instantly healed 1:22:00 – "35,000 miracles... something is going on" ....... Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning and be entered for a chance to win a trip for two on our Pilgrimage to Beauty: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP ........ Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

He's about to be declared a saint, and Dr. Peter Howard has spent nearly 30 years tracing his every word. Founder of the Fulton Sheen Institute, Dr. Howard earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, where he specialized in dogmatic theology and Mariology. Dr. Howard joins Chris Stefanick ahead of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's beatification to talk about the man who shaped his entire life. In this episode: the cassette tape that changed Peter's life at 22, the actual microphone Sheen used on that retreat now sitting in Peter's office, why Sheen called Mary a "spiritual Trojan horse," the one direct appeal Christ ever made of His followers, the falling out with a cardinal that got Sheen's show pulled off air overnight, and what Sheen predicted decades ago about identity, AI, and the "economic savior" the world is waiting for. Peter also opens up about his son Beckett, now 15, who started tagging along to daily Holy Hour... and hasn't stopped. Highlights: 04:42 – When Peter's heart caught fire for Fulton Sheen 08:36 – The retreat tape that became "the genesis of everything" 11:00 – The actual microphone Sheen used, now in Peter's office 22:03 – Mary as the "spiritual Trojan horse" 27:05 – Why Jesus asked for one hour in Gethsemane 34:08 – "You will win the war before the Blessed Sacrament" 38:14 – Peter's son Beckett and his own daily Holy Hour 50:31 – The falling out with Cardinal Spellman 52:54 – John Paul II's words Sheen waited a lifetime to hear 1:02:26 – What Sheen predicted about AI as a false savior ....... Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning and be entered for a chance to win a trip for two on our Pilgrimage to Beauty: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP ........ Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0 ........ Learn more from Dr. Peter Howard: FultonSheenInstitute.com and FultonSheenMovement.com

Is female athletics hiding an identity crisis nobody names out loud? Sam Kelley, founder and president of FIERCE Athlete and a former Division I soccer player at UConn, joins Chris Stefanick to unpack it. A nine-time state champion in high school before a career-ending knee injury forced her to rebuild her sense of self, Sam now leads a national ministry mentoring female athletes toward their identity as daughters of God. In this episode: the toxic pressures nobody talks about in women's sports, how same-sex attraction gets tangled up with team bonding and abuse, why Sam's encounter with the Eucharist changed everything, the theology of the body applied to competition, and why the tide on transgender athletes is finally turning. HILIGHTS 00:00 – Intro: The identity crisis hiding in women's sports02:06 – Sam Kelley joins to talk Fierce Athlete's mission07:09 – Nine state titles, then a career-ending knee injury10:25 – A toxic locker room and an unplanned encounter with Jesus13:18 – Same-sex pressure and coaches in women's sports19:10 – Why sport surfaces so much sexual confusion22:07 – The real fix: Jesus, then deep inner healing42:13 – A closing prayer for identity and healing ....... Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning and be entered for a chance to win a trip for two on our Pilgrimage to Beauty: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP ........ Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0 ........ Head to https://fierce.org for everything Sam and her team are building. Dive deeper with Sam's book, her podcast, and more at https://fierceathlete.org/