Respect Life Radio

RLR Interview with David Deavel - Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West

"If you don't know what you're talking about, you won't be able to convince anyone to take you seriously, no matter how pious you seem or how good your works are. If people can see that you lack understanding, they won't listen," asserts David Paul Deavel, an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas-Houston. Prof. Deavel is a prolific and widely published writer.

In addition to his book Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West, his academic work has appeared in journals such as Chesterton Review, Chicago Studies, and Faith and Reason. In his new article, which he discusses with Deacon Geoff, "Theology is Not Trivial Pursuit," Deavel argues that "Simply knowing doctrines is not the same as living them. Even believing them to be true isn’t enough. 'You believe that God is one,' St. James writes in his Epistle; 'you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder' (James 2:19). But knowing that 'God is one' is not a mere obscure factoid for a trivia game."

Deavel was recently named Chair of the Theology Department. He assumes this leadership role at a time when the department is pioneering a new curriculum for its M.A. program in Historical Theology and continues its collaboration with St. Mary’s Seminary to form priests, deacons, and laypeople equipped to serve Christ and His Church with both head and heart.

Read his latest article at https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/08/01/theology-is-not-a-trivial-pursuit/

RLR Interview with Patrick O'Hearn: The Holy Eucharist is Not Loved

“It's like the more we worship ourselves, and we certainly see this on social media, the less we worship God,” says Patrick O'Hearn, a devout Catholic, husband and father. "Most of the time I'm just telling Jesus what I think, even complaining to him. How often do I say to the Lord "What do you want from me? What do you need from me?" In his new new article in Catholic Exchange, How the Eucharist is Not Loved, Patrick confronts the reality that most Catholics fail to spend enough time adoring and revering our Lord. Patrick is an author, literary consultant, speaker and a freelance editor, previously serving as TAN Books' acquisitions editor for two years. He grew up in the Midwest and spent close to three years in a Benedictine Monastery before discerning the call to marriage. He graduated with a master's in education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a bachelor's in marketing from St. Ambrose University. "

To learn more, visit https://patrickrohearn.com.

RLR Interview with Leila Miller: It’s Good to Preach to the Choir

“Then finally I started to realize that the Catholics that I interact with are dying to know more about the faith. We have so many Catholics in America that if we simply get them on fire for the truth, we’d win the whole rest of the world because we really have a gold mine just with the people who are Catholic in in in sitting in the pews,”  said Leila Miller, a Catholic writer and author whose passion is Church teaching on marriage, family, human sexuality. In her new article https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/its-good-to-preach-to-the-choir in Crisis Magazine. Leila is a prolific author and loves to discuss culture, society, and politics, and generally from a conservative perspective. She has published four books: Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak; Raising Chaste Catholic Men: Practical Advice, Mom to Mom; Made This Way: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today’s Tough Moral Issues (co-authored with Trent Horn of Catholic Answers); and her latest, “Impossible” Marriages Redeemed: They Didn’t End the Story in the Middle.

Learn more and read all of her articles at https://www.leilamiller.net

It’s Good to Preach to the Choir

Do not let anyone discourage us or tell us that it’s redundant, unnecessary, or foolish to speak the truth among our fellow Catholics.

RLR Interview with Suellen Brewster: Does People Pleasing Lead to Holiness?

"The Lord put it on my heart to write this article after He showed it to me and revealed it to my heart that this was a fault that I have and that it's something that's keeping me from being closer to Him and doing His will in my life," said Suellen Brewster, author of the new article "Does People Pleasing Lead to Holiness at catholicexchange.com. "It (constant people pleasing) is a way that doesn't work in the long run because the frame is constantly changing and shifting and you are continually trying to figure out another person's mind and that's never a good place to go. It's much better to figure out what God wants me to do." Suellen is a wife, mother and happy revert to the Catholic faith. She helps lead the local Ignatian Exercises and is a member of the Dominican laity. Suellen writes from her home outside of Buffalo, New York, where the long winters invite souls into quiet prayer and reflection.

Read her latest article here: https://catholicexchange.com/does-people-pleasing-lead-to-holiness/

RLR interview with Doug Mainwaring: LifeSiteNews.com

"I think if more and more people could argue these issues from a child's perspective, we might be able to change some hearts," said Doug Mainwaring, author of a new article at LifeSiteNews.com about Scholastic's new "pride" guide calling on children as young as kindergarten to become involved in the LGBTQA+ effort. "Timeless truths are being discarded by media, by politicians, by corporations and instead we're being fed under the guise of tolerance a whole array of new understandings that we're supposed to embrace about marriage, family and humanity. This is a huge battle." Doug Mainwaring is a journalist for LifeSiteNews, an author and a marriage, family and children's rights activist. He has testified before the United States Congress and state legislative bodies, originated and co-authored amicus briefs for the United States Supreme Court and has been a guest on numerous TV and radio programs. Doug and his family live in the Washington, DC suburbs.

 

Read his articles at https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/author/doug-mainwaring/

RLR interview with Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Flee from Heresy

"Society is lost and confused about God, morality, and eternity," said Bishop Schneider in his new book Flee from Heresy. "Catholics face persecution, from outside and inside the Church, for living their Faith. In his newest book, Bishop Athanasius Schneider — raised among persecuted Catholics in the Soviet Union — offers a systematic treatment of more than 130 doctrinal errors, from ancient times down to our own day, along with English translations of the Church’s major anti-heresy documents of the past two centuries. In this fascinating book, readers will discover the ideological roots of our own unsteady times and be better equipped to “test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). 
 
To learn more about Bishop Schneider and his new book, visit https://sophiainstitute.com/product/flee-from-heresy/

Patti Maguire Armstrong: Nine Points of Advice to Fight the Devil

"If you're worried about everyone liking you so you don't say anything, then it's yourself you are worried about and caring about. It takes courage to speak up," says Patti (Maguire) Armstrong in this week's podcast. "Leave it to God and pray to the Holy Spirit. I don't know where to begin. I don't know who I'm supposed to sit next to but God does. And He can put us into the right places and, if we give Him permission to use us, He will." Patti and Deacon Geoff were talking about her article in the National Catholic Register "Nine Points of Advice to Fight the Devil."

Patti is an award-winning journalist and was managing editor and co-author of the bestselling Amazing Grace Series. Her latest books are the humorous and inspirational second-edition Dear God, I Don't Get It, Dear God, You Can't Be Serious!, What Would Monica Do? and Holy Hacks. Patti worked in social work and public administration before staying home as a freelance writer while she and Mark raised their 10 children in North Dakota. Follow her on Twitter (X) at @PattiArmstrong and read her blog at PattiMaguireArmstrong.com.

Michael Warren Davis: After Christendom

"There is no political, cultural or economic solution to the crisis we're facing because the crisis is not political, cultural or economic because it's spiritual. We're losing a spiritual battle. We're losing a war for the soul of the West. Everything else flows from that," says Michael Warren Davis, author of the upcoming book After Christendom. "Everything that flows from that the economic injustice, the cultural depravity, the moral decadence, the political corruption… all of that comes because we collectively as western civilization have rejected Jesus Christ. Until we commit our whole lives to the service of heaven, then nothing will change, nothing will get better." Davis is a contributing editor of The American Conservative and the author of The Reactionary Mind (Regnery, 2021). He previously served as editor of Crisis Magazine and U.S. editor of the Catholic Herald of London. His next book, After Christendom, will be published by Sophia Institute Press. Follow his Substack newsletter, The Common Man.

Robert Trussel: The Logic that God Exists, a handbook on belief in God through simple reason to bring you peace

"As you get older, if you believe in a God who has promised us a life everlasting, it changes everything. It changes your anxiety level," said Robert Trussel, author of the new book The Logic that God Exists, a handbook on belief in God through simple reason to bring you peace. "If you believe that you're on a path toward eternal bliss and everlasting salvation with your Creator, it takes a lot of worry out and makes decision making much more clear."

Mr. Trussell is the Founder and retired Chief Executive Officer of Tempur-Pedic International Inc. of which he is currently Vice Chairman. Tempur-Pedic was a start up company in 1992, and recently reached a billion dollar a year in worldwide sales. Mr. Trussell successfully employed advertising media and public relations to spread the Tempur–Pedic story. He took the company public in 2003, where it trades on the NYSE as “TPX”. In 2006, he retired as CEO of Tempur-Pedic to serve Christ full-time by using the media for evangelization. He is also Chairman of VirtueMedia (a Catholic, pro-life media apostolate), and Chairman of 1380 Real Life Catholic Radio in Lexington, KY.

To learn more and find information about his book, visit https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-logic-that-god-exists/

Bill Donohue - Cultural Meltdown: The Secular Roots of our Moral Crisis

"The Catholic Church talks about the complementarity of men and women, the extent to which men and women compliment each other. Neither one is better than the other but they're different," says Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization. "But we live in a society that's radically egalitarian - everyone has to be exactly equal all the time. That is against human nature. We have different abilities, different talents, different strengths that we bring to the fore and we should praise people and develop them rather than trying to obliterate them."

Bill is the author of eleven books and thousands of articles. His latest book, Cultural Meltdown: The Secular Roots of our Moral Crisis, was published in 2024. Bill also serves on the advisory boards of many organizations, including the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and the Christian Film & Television Commission. Winner of several teaching awards, and many awards from the Catholic community, Bill has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows speaking on civil liberties, social issues, and religion. The publisher of the Catholic League journal, Catalyst, Bill served for two decades on the board of directors of the National Association of Scholars. He writes regular columns for Newsmax.com.

Learn more about the Catholic League and Bill Donohue by visiting https://www.catholicleague.org/.