Best Fr. Michael Black Podcasts (2025)

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January 23: Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin (U.S.A.) 5:23

4h ago5:23

5:23

January 23: Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin (U.S.A.) 1838–1918 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Hawaiʻi, lepers, outcasts, and sufferers of HIV/AIDS She learned generosity at home and lived it her whole life Today’s saint was a model female Franciscan who emulated Saint Francis’ heroic example of personally caring for the outc…

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189 - St. Boethius, Stoicism and Neoplatonism - Thomas Ward 1:19:26

43m ago1:19:26

1:19:26

St. Anicius Manlius Severius Boethius's book The Consolation of Philosophy, which he wrote in prison while awaiting martyrdom around the year 524, is one of the single most influential works for medieval philosophy and theology. But Boethius also owed much to the pagan philosophy that came before him. Thomas Ward has just written a commentary on Bo…

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January 22: Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr 5:14

2h ago5:14

5:14

January 22: Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr Late Third Century–c. 304 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of vintners, brickmakers, and sailors A Deacon’s bloody witness impresses the Christian world There are a few famous saints who bear the name Vincent. Today’s saint is the first Vincent. He was a deacon from the town of Zaragoza, Spai…

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January 22: Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children (U.S.A.) 6:05

5h ago6:05

6:05

January 22: Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children (U.S.A.) Memorial; Liturgical Color: White or Violet Abortion is a black eye on the handsome face of America At 3:00 a.m. on March 13, 1964, a young woman parked her car next to her apartment building in Queens, New York. She got out and started walking toward the door when, in t…

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January 21: Saint Agnes, Virgin & Martyr 4:14

5h ago4:14

4:14

January 21: Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr c. 291–c. 304 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red or White Patron Saint of young girls, rape victims, and chastity A child knows that God is a person who deserves to be loved The names of only the earliest saints and martyrs are embedded in the Roman Canon, Eucharistic Prayer I. Saint Agnes is among those list…

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January 20: Saint Sebastian, Martyr 4:22

1h ago4:22

4:22

January 20: Saint Sebastian, Martyr Late Third Century Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of athletes, soldiers, and victims of the plague A Roman soldier makes a rugged convert and stoic martyr The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary are the most universally depicted scene…

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January 20: Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr 4:41

2h ago4:41

4:41

January 20: Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr c. 200–250 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of Rome The popes of the third century knew how to die In the present-day suburbs of Rome, tour buses navigate winding, narrow, tree-lined roads to carry modern pilgrims to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. The pilgrims descend a steep staircase…

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January 17: Saint Anthony of the Desert, Abbot 4:42

6h ago4:42

4:42

January 17: Saint Anthony of the Desert, Abbot 251–356 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of butchers, skin diseases, gravediggers, and swine A solitary monk trades the world for the desert sands Many extraordinary people who live heroic, path-breaking lives remain unknown to posterity for one simple reason—no one writes their biography…

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January 13: Saint Hilary, Bishop and Doctor 4:06

1d ago4:06

4:06

January 13: Saint Hilary, Bishop and Doctor c. 310–c. 367 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of lawyers A pagan discovers Christ, converts, and then suffers for Him Today’s saint was born a pagan, to pagans, in a pagan city. But his broad and deep education brought him into contact with Holy Scripture, where he found the truth …

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188 - Christians against AI art - Susannah Black Roberts 1:08:59

12d ago1:08:59

1:08:59

There is increasing speculation and concern about the role of AI in the future of the arts. Surprisingly, many Christians are already embracing the use of AI to produce images of the saints. In this episode, Thomas and Susannah Black Roberts make the argument for why AI art is a contradiction in terms. It is analogous to pornography in that it scra…

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The Baptism of the Lord: Sunday, January 12, 2025 4:00

5d ago4:00

4:00

The Baptism of the Lord First Century; Sunday after January 6 or the Monday after the Epiphany Feast; Liturgical Color: White/Gold He humbly bowed His head as an example, not because He was imperfect Who would not want a doctor who, before he cuts, lifts his shirt a little, shows his own scar, and says to the patient, “I had the same. It’s going to…

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January 7: Saint Raymond of Peñafort, Priest 4:05

9d ago4:05

4:05

January 7: Saint Raymond of Peñafort, Priest c. 1175–1275 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of canon lawyers and medical record librarians He wove scripture and the law into a harmonious tapestry Today’s saint lived numerous lives inside of his one hundred years on earth. He was an intellectual prodigy who was teaching univers…

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January 6: Saint André Bessette, Religious (Canada; U.S.A.) 4:38

10d ago4:38

4:38

January 6: Saint André Bessette, Religious (Canada; U.S.A.) 1845–1937 Optional Memorial (Canada & U.S.A.); Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of family caregivers He loved the Word of God, though he could not read Saint Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans that faith comes by hearing. It’s a good thing it doesn’t come only by reading. Until m…

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The Epiphany of the Lord: January 5, 2025 3:59

12d ago3:59

3:59

January 6: The Epiphany of the Lord January 6 or the first Sunday after January 1 where this feast is not a Holy Day of Obligation Solemnity; Liturgical Color: White/Gold Catholicism did multiculturalism before anyone else The Feast of the Epiphany has traditionally been considered more theologically important than almost any other Feast Day, inclu…

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January 4: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious (U.S.A.) 4:28

13d ago4:28

4:28

January 4: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious (U.S.A.) 1774–1821 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Catholic schools, widows, loss of parents She had it all, lost it all, and then found it all again In late 1803, Elizabeth Ann Seton, with her husband, left the United States for Italy, as a confident, high-born, wealthy, ed…

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January 3: The Most Holy Name of Jesus 5:44

14d ago5:44

5:44

January 3: The Most Holy Name of Jesus Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Names are powerful, and none is more powerful than Jesus Mary and Joseph did not sit across from each other at the kitchen table in the evenings debating a name for their child. They didn’t flip through the pages of a book of saints or bounce ideas off of their friend…

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January 2: Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors 5:11

18d ago5:11

5:11

January 2: Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors St. Basil: 329–379; St. Gregory: c. 329–390 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saints of Russia, monks, hospital administrators, and poets Obvious truths are hard to explain, but smart theologians can explain them The persecution of the Church in the first few centur…

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January 1: Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God 4:45

14d ago4:45

4:45

January 1: Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God Solemnity; Holy Day of Obligation (in USA: unless a Saturday or Monday) Eighth Day of the Octave of Christmas; Liturgical Color: White No one knew Jesus like Mary No one falls in love with a nature. We fall in love with a person. A woman loves a man, not mankind. And a mother pinches the pudgy little …

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December 31: Saint Sylvester I, Pope 6:35

20d ago6:35

6:35

December 31: Saint Sylvester I, Pope c. Late Third century—335 Optional Memorial; Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of the Benedictines A new captain pilots the ship of the Church in calmer seas One thousand four hundred years before Christ, approximately when Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt, a ph…

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Sunday in the Octave of Christmas: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph 5:18

23d ago5:18

5:18

Sunday in the Octave of Christmas: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Or December 30 if there is no such Sunday Feast; Liturgical Color: White Model for Christian families The Holy Trinity is like a family; God’s Son lived family life Language is like currency. There must be a common understanding of its value for it to function as an effec…

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December 28: The Holy Innocents, Martyrs 5:13

26d ago5:13

5:13

December 28: The Holy Innocents, Martyrs c. 1 A.D. Feast; Fourth day in the Octave of Christmas; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of babies  No one is less deserving of death than a baby Herod the Great was not great. He was evil. Herod the Sociopath, or Herod the Devil, would be more accurate titles. Herod murdered his own wife and preserved he…

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December 27: Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist 6:16

24d ago6:16

6:16

December 27: Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist c. Early First Century–c. 100 Feast; Third day in the Octave of Christmas; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of authors, loyalty, and friendship Outside of Christianity, few people believe God is love Saint Jerome, while living in Palestine in the late 300s, relates a touching anecdote still being …

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December 26: Saint Stephen, Martyr 6:02

25d ago6:02

6:02

December 26: Saint Stephen, Martyr c. Early First Century–c. 36 Feast; Second day in the Octave of Christmas; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of deacons, altar servers, stonemasons, and headaches Christ rises in indignation as the first martyr is brutalized The practical explanation for a historical event is normally the most convincing. Psychol…

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December 25: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) 7:08

27d ago7:08

7:08

December 25: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) c. 0 Solemnity Liturgical Color: White God robes Himself in flesh, and mission impossible begins Since the dawn of time the pages of pagan mythology filled men’s imaginations to the brim with wondrous stories. Educated men who could read and write Latin and Greek, broad-minded men trained in philoso…

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December 23: Saint John of Kanty, Priest 5:59

29d ago5:59

5:59

December 23: Saint John of Kanty, Priest 1390–1473 Optional Memorial; Liturgical color: Violet Patron Saint of Poland and Lithuania Humility, austerity, work, and intelligence unite in one man Conquering generals returning home from the rim of the Empire were awarded triumphal parades through Rome’s crowded masses. The booty of war entered the city…

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187 - The Roman Rite, ad orientem worship, and liturgical tradition - Fr. Uwe Michael Lang 1:01:42

29d ago1:01:42

1:01:42

Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, a liturgical historian and priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in London, is the author of the new book A Short History of the Roman Mass, from Ignatius Press. Topics discussed in this episode include: The origins of the Roman Rite and development of the Roman Eucharistic Prayer Problems with liturgical antiquarianism (tr…

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December 21: Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor 5:20

1M ago5:20

5:20

December 21: Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor 1521–1597 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Violet Patron Saint of Germany A zealous Jesuit is the tip of the Counter-Reformation spear The deep impact of today’s saint so shook Germany that the reverberations of his work were still being felt centuries after his death. Saint Peter Canisius co…

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December 14: Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor 6:11

1M ago6:11

6:11

December 14: Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor 1542–1591 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of contemplatives, mystics, and Spanish poets A priest’s love of God is purified by the blue flames of contemplation and mistreatment The Protestant Reformation sparked a purifying fire in the Catholic Church. Like a prairie fire scorche…

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December 13: Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr 5:41

1M ago5:41

5:41

December 13: Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr c. Late third century–304 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of virgins, the blind, and Syracuse, Sicily A garden enclosed, no man would lock her in his embrace Today’s saint is one of only eight women (Mary included) commemorated in Eucharistic Prayer I: “Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes,…

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December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe (U.S.A.) 6:05

1M ago6:05

6:05

December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe (U.S.A.) 1531 Feast; Liturgical Color: White Patroness of the Americas A miracle hangs, frozen in time, in Mexico City The humble Indian Juan Diego and his wife, Maria Lucia, had accepted baptism from the Franciscan missionaries laboring in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), the greatest city of Spain’s most impressive c…

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December 11: Saint Damasus I, Pope 5:53

1M ago5:53

5:53

December 11: Saint Damasus I, Pope c. 305–384 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Archaeologists A dynamic pope mentors Jerome and embellishes catacombs Damasus reigned in the era when the popes died in their beds. The long winter of Roman oppression had ended. The arenas were empty. Christians were still occasionally martyre…

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December 10: Our Lady of Loreto 5:38

1M ago5:38

5:38

December 10: Our Lady of Loreto Optional Memorial; Liturgical color: white Patron Saint of air crews and builders Heaven will reinforce what we know of Christ and Mary When Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” (Mt 7:24), He likely had a specific house in mind—…

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December 8: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 5:47

2M ago5:47

5:47

December 8: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary c. 15 B.C. Solemnity; Liturgical Color: White Patroness of Brazil, Korea, Philippines, Spain, and the United States Only one person ever chose His own mother The Ark of the Covenant was a sumptuously adorned chest housing the Jews’ most sacred objects: the tablets of the Ten Commandme…

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December 7: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor 5:39

2M ago5:39

5:39

December 7: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor c. 337–397 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Milan and beekeepers A mighty bishop guides Augustine, admonishes an emperor, and leads his people If the noble Saint Ambrose had brought Saint Augustine into the Church and done nothing else besides, he would have done enough. Augustine’s conv…

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186 - Is there ever enough of Mary? w/ Fr. Charles Anthony Mary, F.I. 1:35:44

1M ago1:35:44

1:35:44

DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio De Maria numquam satis: Of Mary never enough. This saying of St. Bernard is echoed by many other saints. St. Anselm, for instance, says that it is impossible to determine the limits of God’s grace in elevating Mary’s human nature. St. Alphonsus says that if there is anything…

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December 6: Saint Nicholas, Bishop 6:54

2M ago6:54

6:54

December 6: Saint Nicholas, Bishop c. Third–Fourth Century Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Russia, sailors, merchants, and children Santa Claus signed the Nicene Creed Traditions the world over are so embedded in the rhythms of daily life that their ubiquity goes unnoticed. Why a birthday cake with lighted candles? Why ma…

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December 4: Saint John Damascene, Priest and Doctor 6:08

2M ago6:08

6:08

December 4: Saint John Damascene, Priest and Doctor c. 674–749 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of icon painters and theology students A monk defends images from Christian attack “Christ...did not save us by paintings,” a Synod of Bishops declared in Paris in 825. God, it could be added, did not become an icon. He became a ma…

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December 3: Saint Francis Xavier, Priest 6:08

2M ago6:08

6:08

December 3: Saint Francis Xavier, Priest 1506–1552 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of foreign missions A missionary blazes a path for Christ in India and Japan Today’s great missionary knelt on the floor next to Saint Ignatius Loyola and five other men in a church on Montmartre overlooking Paris in 1534 and took private vows of pover…

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November 30: Saint Andrew, Apostle 5:30

2M ago5:30

5:30

November 30: Saint Andrew, Apostle First Century Feast; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of Scotland, Greece, fishermen, sailors, and spinsters A big-hearted fisherman becomes a daring Apostle Andrew was a fisherman from Bethsaida in Northern Israel. He lived on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which is really a lake, where many of Jesus’ miracl…

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November 28, 2024: Fourth Thursday in November: Thanksgiving Day (U.S.A.) 6:24

2M ago6:24

6:24

Fourth Thursday in November: Thanksgiving Day (U.S.A.) Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Life is a gift replete with countless gifts It’s 1542, and the Spanish Franciscan Juan de Padilla, a rugged ex-soldier, is trekking through the high, waving prairie grasses of the buffalo plains of North America at the head of a small band of explorers…

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November 25: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr 6:08

2M ago6:08

6:08

November 25: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr c. Late third–early fourth centuries Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of philosophers, apologists, and all who work with wheels An obscure Egyptian wins the double crown of virgin-martyr The armies of Alexander the Great swept south and east from Greece three hundred…

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November 24: Saint Andrew Dũng-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs 6:27

2M ago6:27

6:27

November 24: Saint Andrew Dũng-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs 1795–1839; Seventeenth–Nineteenth Centuries Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of Vietnam Thousands of priests and converts are hunted down, tortured, and cruelly murdered The tide of persecution repeatedly swelled, receded, and swelled once more against today’s martyrs …

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November 23: Saint Columban, Abbot 5:56

2M ago5:56

5:56

November 23: Saint Columban, Abbot c.543–615 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of motorcyclists and against floods He led the first wave of Irish monks who stormed Europe Throughout the sixth and seventh centuries, the great gales of Ireland filled the sails of countless boats packed with hardy Irish monks steering toward Fran…

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November 23: Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, Priest and Martyr (U.S.A.) 7:01

2M ago7:01

7:01

November 23: Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, Priest and Martyr (U.S.A.) 1891–1927 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red The proto-martyr of the age of the image The emaciated holocaust survivor behind the barbed wire, gazing out, bewildered, as the Allied soldiers walk up to the camp. Click. The slack body of a black man hanging from a stout limb, a…

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November 23: Saint Clement I, Pope and Martyr 6:02

2M ago6:02

6:02

November 23: Saint Clement I, Pope and Martyr First Century Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of sailors and marble workers Primacy more than infallibility, service more than authority Our loving maternal Church expresses herself through a paternal structure which makes decisions, resolves conflicts, intercedes in disputes, and …

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November 22: Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr 6:15

2M ago6:15

6:15

November 22: Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr c. Third Century Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of Music and Musicians A girl martyr’s mysterious death seizes the imagination The First Eucharistic Prayer, also known as the Roman Canon, is principally a liturgical document. But like so many things liturgical, it also has immense historic…

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