Today on Kresta - March 17, 2010

Talking about the Things That Matter Most on Mar. 17
LIVE FROM AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY IN AVE MARIA, FL

4:00 – The Irish American Chronicle
The phrase Irish-American brings scores of images to mind: the color green, a Saint Patrick's Day parade, Notre Dame, potatoes, a fisherman's sweater, a boisterous drunk, the Catholic Church, and names that start with "O" or "Mc.” Probably farther down the list would be James Hoban, the man who designed the White House, President Andrew Jackson, Henry Ford, William Randolph Hearst, Henry James, Davy Crockett, Princess Grace, Georgia O'Keeffe, Sam Snead, Bill Bradley, and labor leaders like Mother Jones and George Meany, who championed the rights of working men and women. On this St. Patrick’s Day, Thomas Fleming is here to look at the Irish American experience.

4:20 – St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography
Ireland's patron saint has long been shrouded in legend: he drove the snakes out of Ireland; he triumphed over Druids and their supernatural powers; he used a shamrock to explain the Christian mystery of the Trinity. But his true story is more fascinating than the myths. We have no surviving image of Patrick, but we do have two remarkable letters that he wrote about himself and his beliefs -- letters that tell us more about the heart and soul of this man than we know about almost any of his contemporaries. Philip Freeman is here to tell the story of the historic Patrick and his world.

4:40 – Literary Traditions of the 20th Century

5:00 – Mission Work in Ethiopia
Marcie Erickson was born and raised in Naples, Fl. In her senior year of high school she was discerning a call to religious life as a sister and instead heard God calling her to the missions. She has now been in Ethiopia for more than 5 years and has adopted 4 Ethiopian children. She has forrmed a project called Grace Center for Children and Families, which now serves 850 women and children and provides jobs for 70 Ethiopian employees. This program is “GRACE,” an integrated, holistic approach to meeting the needs of a broad range of very underprivileged children. The Centre, like the whole program, is non-discriminatory. Children of all ethnic and religious backgrounds are accepted, based only upon the recognized need of the family. She is with us in studio to discuss her work in Ethiopia.

5:20 – Supreme Court to decide military funeral protest case
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide on the outer limits of free-speech protection for public protests and to rule on whether the family of a dead Maryland Marine can sue fringe religious protesters who picketed near his funeral with signs that said, "Thank God for dead soldiers." The court's action is the latest twist in a long legal battle that arose out of a funeral for a soldier. The case triggered a multimillion-dollar damage award and attracted national media attention. The Supreme Court will now hear the case and rule on whether the right to free speech includes the right to intrude on a solemn ceremony. The justices will hear arguments in the fall. Pat Gillen of Ave Maria Law School joins us.

5:40 – The Crusades
Dr. Jeff Hass teaches the history of the Crusades at Ave Maria University - a comprehensive history that ranges from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of crusading ideals and imagery that continues today. We look at the ideas of apologists, propagandists, and poets about the Crusades, as well as the perceptions and motives of the crusaders themselves and the means by which they joined the movement.