Dr. Italy
In this brief video by Sherwood Fellows the key themes of Lent are explored - th...
In this 8 minute video, Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D. (Dr. Italy) shares so...
Saint Andrew of Crete on the nativity of Mary as a turning point between old and new covenant, the frontier where types and symbols give way to realit...
The parable of the merciless servant illustrates the meaning of "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," a petition i...
September 11th is the anniversary of one of most brutal acts of terrorism of all time. Three days later, on September 14, the Catholic and Eastern Or...
In this brief video by Sherwood Fellows the key themes of Lent are explored - the mystery of sin, temptation, and transformation through a journey into the desert, the way of repentance and prayer....
In this 8 minute video, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. (Dr. Italy) shares some inspiring history and some little-known facts about St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Filmed during his Spain & Lourdes pilgrimage, spring 2026. During the ride to the mountaintop shrine of Montserrat in...
Bonaventure reflects on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the meaning of the blood and water flowing from the side of Christ crucified (John 19:34), the living water of sacramental grace coming from the loving heart of the Savior. He reflects especially on several lines...
Gregory the Great comments on the famous passage in Ezekiel 33 in which God calls the prophet to be a watchman for the house of Israel. Saint Gregory reflects on how this applies to himself as bishop of Rome and protests his inadequacy for the...
The concept of Mary as "Mother of the Church" has been around since the time of the early Church Fathers. As the Virgin Mary is the Mother of Christ, the Head of the Church, so also is she Mother of the Church, his Mystical...
Liturgy and Sacraments Video #8. In this session, Dr. Italy discusses the history of the Temporal Cycle of the Catholic Liturgical Year which includes Lent, Easter, Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time and the important weekly commemoration of Christ's passion on Fridays and Resurrection on the Lord's...
Liturgy and Sacraments Video #10. Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) discusses the origins, history and development of the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office, in the daily prayers and temple sacrifices of Ancient Israel. He then goes on to explain how the Liturgy...
Liturgy and Sacraments Video #9. In addition to the special seasons of Advent and Lent, Christmas and Easter, there is in the current Roman Calendar "Ordinary Time" during which saints' days abound. The cycle of memorials, feasts and Solemnities of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin...
February 2 is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple. It is known as Candlemass since it is the day that candles are blessed for use throughout the Church year....
In this video, Dr. Italy discusses Augustine's fight against both Manicheans and Pelagians defending free will on the one hand and the utter necessity of grace on the other in light of original sin....
John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This title, so prominent in the Mass, illumines the meaning of Christ's passion, recalling the first Passover remembered every year during Holy Week and...
December 9, 2025 Dear Friends in Christ, Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I just want to give thanks. 2025 has been one of the most extraordinary years in the 44-year history of Crossroads Productions. And I especially want to thank those of you who responded to our Giving Tuesday...
This short rite of blessing is one of the sacramentals, official liturgical prayer, though it may be led by lay people. It is perfect for the blessing of the Advent wreath in a home. This brief service is a wonderful way to begin a family’s...
The Feast of the Dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome on November 9th raises an important question: "why do Roman Catholics and other Christians spend so much money on Church buildings when it is the people who are the true Church and...
Liturgy and Sacraments Video #11. Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio ("Dr. Italy") discusses the particular Hours in the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office. In this video we continue our conversation about the Liturgy of the Hours, going over the specific Hours in the...
St. Gregory of Agrigentum on God's light as our joy and supreme delight and bathing in the radiance of Christ, the Sun of Justice. This excerpt from his commentary on Ecclesiastes exhorts us to a life of contemplation, since to contemplate his radiant beauty is...
14 minute podcast in which Dr. Italy tells the fuller story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Chaplain of Auschwitz.. Few know the extent of his heroic charity before he volunteered to die in the place of another, or the days after his fateful decision....
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Triumph of the Heart, a feature film on the last days of St. Maximilian Kolbe, releases in theaters on September 12, 2025. This powerful and profoundly moving story of hope and healing in the midst of terrible darkness...
The key penitential practices of Lent-prayer, fasting, and almsgiving or mercy are here explained by one of the greatest preachers of the early Church. Saint Peter Chrysologus shows how Lenten prayer, mercy and fasting are one, and they give life to each other....
St. Bonaventure, known as the Seraphic Doctor, teaches us about mystical or contemplative prayer in the Holy Spirit who enkindles within us a raging fire and carries the soul to God with intense fervor and glowing love....
Here Bonaventure emphasizes faith as the key to Bible interpretation. The goal of Bible study is not academic knowledge, but wisdom -- the experience of God leading to eternal happiness and fulfillment of all our desires....
Print or download the following prayer of St. Bonaventure. It is especially fitting to pray this prayer after sacramental or spiritual communion, but it is a beautiful prayer to pray anytime. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']P[/dropcaps]ierce the depths of my soul, O sweetest Lord Jesus,...
St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated on March 17 for fifteen hundred years since it is the day that Patrick, the missionary bishop who evangelized Ireland, passed from this world to eternity. This excerpt from his autobiographical work called the Confession makes clear that...
St. Henry II was born in Bavaria in 973. He succeeded his father in ruling Bavaria as duke and was later elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1014. He proved extraordinary in his work for Church reform and expanded missionary activity. He died in 1024 and...
The famous parable of the Good Samaritan shows that mercy and compassion are not always convenient, and that love of neighbor can't be limited to those like us...
A 14 minute podcast for the Feast of St. Benedict on July 11. Sonrise Morning show host Anna Mitchell interviews Dr. Italy about the significance that Benedict and the Benedictine life of prayer, work and stability holds for Christians today....
In this 13 minute podcast, Catholic Connection show host Teresa Tomeo interviews Dr. Italy about the election of Pope Leo XIV. Providentially, Dr. Italy was leading a pilgrimage in Rome and was in St. Peter's square on May 8, 2025, when the white smoke rose...
A one-minute trailer for the new video study series from Ascension Press: Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism. Featuring Marcellino D’Ambrosio (“Dr. Italy”) and many other well-known Catholic educators and authors. Filmed across the globe, this 20-session, video-based study program features some of your...
Here Anthony of Padua, one of the greatest preachers of the Middle Ages. interprets the tongues of Pentecost as different "love languages" whereby we witness to Christ by words and, even more importantly, actions. For his feast on June 13th....
In this 14 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell, host of the Sonrise Morning show, interviews Dr. Italy on Why the fact that God is Trinity, one God in three persons, matters for our faith and our everyday lives. The Trinity is the central dogma of the Catholic...
Trinity Sunday celebrates the Church's faith in the triune God, one God in three persons. This doctrine has baffled people for 2,000 years. Given that it is so hard to accept, why bother with it? What difference does the trinitarian dogma really make to how...
Bonaventure reflects on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the meaning of the blood and water flowing from the side of Christ crucified (John 19:34), the living water of sacramental grace coming from the loving heart of the Savior. He reflects especially on several lines...
In this 14 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show interviews Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio on Pentecost and how the Power of the Holy Spirit truly makes the Gospel Good News....
Without Pentecost, the Gospel is not truly Good News. For the Pentecostal gifts and charisms given by the Holy Spirit on this birthday celebration of the Church are essential to its mission and crucial for a joyful, victorious Christian life....
Elected on May 8, 2025, as the 267th successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV's Inaugural Mass took place on Sunday, May 18. Below is the full text of the pope's homily, in which he speaks of love and unity as the central mission of...
Writing in the early 8th century, Bede explains why the Magnificat, Mary's prayer on the occasion of her Visitation of Elizabeth, is used daily in the liturgy of the hours (a.k.a the divine office) for evening prayer....
In this 7 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning show interviews Dr. Italy on the profound meaning of the Magnificat, Mary's canticle uttered on the occasion of the Visitation, and how it manifests her as the Queen of Humility and the Queen of...
The Solemnity of the Ascension celebrates many things, among them hope, charity, and the Great Commission to preach the gospel to all nations. Thus, it is a fitting time to ponder the call of Pope John Paul II to a "new evangelization."...
On May 9, the day after he was elected to the Chair of Peter, Pope Leo XIV gave his first homily as pontiff. Below is the full text of the homily he delivered to the College of Cardinals, in the Sistine Chapel. Source: America Magazine. [dropcaps...
On May 8, 2025, the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV gave his first "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and to the world") Apostolic Blessing. The first public appearance and official blessing by a new successor of Peter is a truly incredible moment, and it was...
San Bernardino of Siena (a.k.a. St. Bernadine of Siena) was a great Franciscan preacher from Tuscany who died in 1444. He was very successful at fostering devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus....
The papacy is an institution of that both Catholics and non-Catholics typically misunderstand. This papal primer provides an overview - What is the true job description of the Pope and what’s the origin and nature of his authority?...
For the proper interpretation of Scripture and to discern God's will, where do we turn for guidance, the teaching authority of the Church, or to the Holy Spirit? The Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 gives us some answers....
THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARY to the third part of the Secret of Fatima By Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI ) Interpretation of the Whole Secret of Fatima Interpretation of the Third Part of the Secret See Picture in My Commentary [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps] careful reading of the text of the so-called third...
Because he was a witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Saint Matthias was chosen by the other apostles to take the place of Judas (Acts 1;15-26). Matthias is remembered by the Church each year on May 14, and reads this reflection on Matthias' call...
If God provides, then why is Murphy's Law a law that seems to apply even to devout Christians? Why to bad things happen to good people? Why so much resistance when we try to do God's will? This article seeks to show how trials...
The Regina Caeli, Latin for "Queen of Heaven," is a hymn and prayer dating back to around the 12th century, by an unknown author. In this jubilant Eastertide hymn of praise, we celebrate with the Blessed Mother the joy of Christ's Resurrection, and ask her...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps] hen Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy (Hansen's disease). By the time he died at the age of...
In John 10, Jesus says that his sheep hear his voice. But clearly, his words provoked controversy and crisis. Some hung on his every word, others rejected them. His words raise many questions about the role of predestination, grace, freedom, confidence and perseverance. For the...
Saint Joseph always appears in Manger scenes during Advent and Easter time and even has a special Solemnity or Feast in his honor, St. Joseph's Day, March 19. This essay makes a case that St. Joseph teaches us some crucial things about the nature...
This excerpt from a Easter letter by St. Athanasius was written around 340 AD to prepare the people of Alexandria, Egypt for the celebration of the Paschal Feast of Easter. It clearly demonstrates the sacramental and liturgical nature of worship in the early church....
St. Catherine of Siena here shares a prophetic message she has received from God that underline's the boundless generosity and providence of God, the giver of all good gifts, and how we, through sin, tragically twist these gifts, designed to be life-giving, so as to...
The origins of the Papacy can be found in the dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter in John 21, a gospel traditionally read during Eastertide. The question,"Peter, do you love me?" is followed by the command "Feed my sheep." The pope,...
Holy Week & Triduum Devotions: Sundown on Holy Thursday during Holy Week marks the beginning of three sacred days (Triduum) that changed the destiny of the human race. Here are some suggestions for prayer and reflection to help you make the most of Holy...
The first 14 minute podcast of a series of three on the events of Holy Week as viewed from the experience of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning shows interviews theologian and Holy Land pilgrimage leader Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio on the...
Holy Thursday, the Lord's Supper, the institution of the Holy Eucharist, Corpus Christi -- What did Jesus mean when he said "This is my body and this is my blood" and "Do this in Memory of Me"? And what does the Catholic mean by...
Bernard of Clairvaux on the martyrdom of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross – her heart is pierced by a sword as Simeon predicted. For the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15....
Cyprian, a north African bishop of the third century, himself eventually died a martyr. Here he exhorts fellow Christians to courage as they face the contest of faith in a hostile pagan society. Following Ephesians 6, he urges Christians to put on the whole armor...
Passion Sunday -- The Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday, is observed by virtually all Christians. But for Roman Catholics it is also Passion Sunday during which all stand for the entire passion account. It's a bittersweet day, beginning with hosanna's, ending in suffering....
Augustine, reflecting on how the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted in the wilderness for forty days, points out that it is only by means of overcoming trials and temptations that we progress in the spiritual life and grow in holiness....
St. John Chrysostom's five paths of repentance show that conversion is a continuous journey of healing and transformation that involves contrition, prayer, forgiveness, almsgiving and humility....
The adulterous woman to whom Jesus said "neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more" was the recipient of the free gift of a grace that was costly, not cheap. The pardon of the adulteress, and all of us, cost Jesus his...
The Solemnity or Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated on March 25. Here, in his typically lyrical language and powerful imagery, Leo the Great ponders the unfathomable mystery of God becoming man in the womb of a Virgin who had the...
Bernard here dramatically celebrates Mary's Fiat, or statement of consent in response to the announcement by the archangel Gabriel, behold the handmaiden of the Lord; "let it me done to me according to your word." Appropriate for Advent or for the Solemnity of the Annunciation...
The story of the Prodigal or wasteful Son is more about the extravagant, loving Father. This story makes clear that God is not a raging tyrant who demands that must be appeased through the suffering of his Son, but rather that the extravagant love...
St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated on March 17 for fifteen hundred years since it is the day that Patrick, the missionary bishop who evangelized Ireland, passed from this world to eternity. This excerpt from his autobiographical work called the Confession makes clear that...
Saint Joseph always appears in Manger scenes during Advent and Easter time and even has a special Solemnity or Feast in his honor, St. Joseph's Day, March 19. This essay makes a case that St. Joseph teaches us some crucial things about the nature...
Is Lent about fasting or feasting? Maybe the two are related, says this commentary on the story of the barren fig tree from the gospel of Luke chapter 13. Prayer. Fasting. Almsgiving. Three inter-related fertilizers which help barren fig trees bear fruit....
This ancient prayer of protection, in the Celtic style of invocation, is attributed to the great evangelizer of Ireland, St. Patrick. A "lorica" is the Latin name for the breastplate worn by a Roman soldier. I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through...
Dr. Italy shares highlights of his book - 40 Days, 40 Ways - A new Look at Lent. This is an abbreviated version, for global Catholic television, of a talk he frequently gives during Lenten Missions in the Lenten Season....
This post examines the relationship between the transfiguration and the passion of Christ, between Mount Tabor and Calvary. It also asks the question of of whether God the Father ever abandoned Jesus on the Cross. Helpful reading either for the Feast of the...
The Passion of Perpetua and Feliciy contains the prison diary of Vibia Perpetua a young woman martyred in Carthage in the third century AD. This is one of the only extant accounts from a Christian martyr shortly before execution and perhaps the earliest surviving Christian...
So why does Lent have forty days? OK Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days, granted. But why not 3, or 7, or 10, or 12, for the twelve tribes?. clue. In this segment of the Sonrise Morning show, Matt...
Why Lent has forty days, the meaning of the number 40 in the Old and New Testaments, and the meaning of the the fasting and three temptations of Jesus Christ in the Desert....
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]HE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS(1) Polycarp, and the presbyters(2) with him, to the Church of God sojourning at Philippi: Mercy to you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, be multiplied. CHAP. I.--PRAISE OF...
An excerpt from the account of the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna on the West Coast of Asia Minor (now Turkey). He was apprehended by the Romans in his eighties, on February 23 around the year 155 AD....
40 fresh, practical Lenten Ideas to make the 40 days of Lent a Season of spiritual progress and personal breakthrough! New ideas for a new experience of this season of transformation!
In this 14 minute podcast, Dr. Italy discusses the inspiring life of the great friend of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Claire. Her name means light or clarity, and the way she lived up to her name shows us the way to illumine our corner...
Dear Friends, Sign up for my WEEKLY SPIRITUAL EMAILS, and as a bonus, you'll receive one of my free downloadable ebooks, only available to our email subscribers! To sign up, you can SCAN THE QR code, which will take you to our Email Sign-Up page, where you...
This post on the Papacy and Peter's unique role seeks to answer commonly asked questions about what Catholics believe about the Pope and why the bishop of Rome is considered to be the successor of Peter, the universal shepherd. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']O[/dropcaps]n many...
Leo the Great on the famous passage from Matthew 16 in which Jesus gives Cephas the new name of Peter, meaning rock, along with the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It is read each year on the Feast of the Chair of...
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel includes such tough such as love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and judge not. How are we to understand such things and put them into practice? The examples of Jesus & St. Thomas More...
Gregory the Great here reccounts a famous story of a very special encounter between Scholastica and her brother, the great abbot Benedict. St. Scholastica was born at Norcia (Nursia) Italy about the year 480. She vowed herself to seek God in religious life and...
On February 11, 1858, a 14 year old girl named Bernadette Soubirous had an encounter with a "beautiful lady" when she was gathering firewood on the French side of the Pyrenees, near a town called Lourdes. Here she tells the story of that encounter with...
The Beatitudes appear in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as part of the Sermon on the Mount. But what actually is the nature of true happiness? Must we be miserable in this world to be happy in the next? Faith and hope...
St. Methodius of Sicily reflects on the witness of St. Agatha, virgin, martyr and bride of Christ....
Eye-witness of the 16th century martyrdom of Japanese Martyrs, the Jesuit Paul Miki and companions. For their feast day on February 6....
Discipleship is about a call to embark upon an epic adventure, not about preserving the safe, comfortable and predictable mediocrity of business as usual. The disciples left behind everything to follow Jesus and journey down a road that would lead them through danger to...
A collection of quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas on the eucharist, the sacrament of sacraments....
Here Don John Bosco provides some guiding principles for youth ministry based on his legendary success at evangelizing and teaching young boys on the streets of Turin Italy during the days of the Industrial Revolution. In a day when harsh corporal punishment was the...
Francis de Sales, one of the great masters of the spiritual life, here makes clear that devotion, his term for the pursuit of holiness, is not something tied to a specific state of life. All people, in a way appropriate to their own calling...
John Chrysostom here gives eloquent praise to the passionate love of Christ that drove St. Paul to face persecution and hardship with joy and leave behind the honors and benefits of the world. It is read each year on January 25, the Feast of the...
Bible study and prayer with Scripture is absolutely necessary for Catholics. As St. Jerome said, ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ...
Sonrise Morning show hostess Anna Mitchell and Dr. Italy discuss a saint whose story caused a sensation in the Roman world of the fourth century - This 14 minute podcast focuses on the first St. Anthony, a hermit and abbot, who was renown for his...
Hilary, commenting on Psalm 133, points out the central importance of Christian unity and fraternal love. He even says that the chief instruction of the apostles is that believers be of one heart and one mind....
Everyone knows the story of the first of the Lord's "signs" -- how Jesus changed water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana at the request of Mary, his mother. But there is more to the story than at first meets the eye....
This excerpt from an Epiphany homily by St. Proclus is a great resource for a better understanding of the sacrament of baptism. It also helps us meditate on the rosary since the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan is the first 1st...
podcast describing the Jordan River by Dr. Italy who has visited numerous times the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist....
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan closes the Christmas Season. This reflection on the scripture readings for the feast also provide us insight into the sacraments of baptism and Confirmation and give us food for meditation as we...
January 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics not because it is New Years, but because it is the octave (8th day) of Christmas, the feast of Mary the Mother of God. This feast helps bring home the reality of the incarnation, that...
This 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,...
The Solemn feast of the Epiphany of the Lord traditionally occurs on January 6 following the twelve days of Christmas. Epiphany commemorates three scriptural events: the visit of the Magi to the stable of Bethlehem following the nativity of Jesus, Christ's Baptism in the Jordan,...
We 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, Emmanuel and the Prince of Peace. But underneath each of these people, places, and things,...