Today on Kresta - March 18, 2010

Talking about the Things That Matter Most on Mar. 18
LIVE FROM AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY IN AVE MARIA, FL

4:00 – “Vianney” – The Drama
Pope Benedict XVI opened the “Year for Priests” last June, with the theme “Faithfulness of Christ, faithfulness of priests.” The year also marks the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, known as the “Curé of Ars.” The prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, is encouraging local dioceses and parishes to plan events that will “celebrate and show appreciation for priests.” As a key contribution to the celebration, a new theatrical drama “Vianney” has launched a worldwide tour. The play focuses on the question, “What is a priest?” and tells the story of St. John Vianney, whose exemplary life was so remarkable that the Pope has named him the patron of this jubilee year, and will, at the close of the year, declare him the patron of all the priests of the world. The drama, starring actor and film director Leonardo Defilippis, is playing for packed houses around the country and will be touring SE MI next week. We talk with Leonardo.

4:20 – Scripture and the Mystery of Israel

4:40 – Gray Land: Soldiers on War
No one indicts war more powerfully than experienced professional soldiers, and no one enumerates more eloquently the reasons for serving. Gray Land is a collection of photographic portraits of veterans accompanied by excerpts from candid, unsupervised interviews and images documenting the realities of life in a war zone. The nobility and wisdom of these men and women will change the way we see war. Given extraordinary access by the U.S. Army, Barry Goldstein spent two years photographing and interviewing more than fifty actively serving members of a veteran battalion, including two month-long trips during which he lived and patrolled with the unit. He joins us to share his experiences.

5:00 – St. Augustine and the “City of God”
The City of God is a book written by St. Augustine in the early 5th century, dealing with issues concerning God, martyrdom, Jews, and other aspects of Christian philosophy. Augustine wrote the treatise to explain Christianity's relationship with competing religions and philosophies, and to the Roman government with which it was increasingly intertwined. It was written soon after Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410. This event left Romans in a deep state of shock, and many saw it as punishment for abandoning their Roma religion. It was in this atmosphere that Augustine set out to provide a consolation of Christianity, writing that, even if the earthly rule of the empire was imperilled, it was the City of God that would ultimately triumph — symbolically, Augustine's eyes were fixed on heaven, a theme repeated in many Christian works of Late Antiquity. We talk with Augustinian philosopher Dr. Barry David about The City of God.

5:40 – Ave Maria University Update – Academics, Infrastructure, Pro-Life Activities, and Athletics
As we broadcast this week from the town of Ave Maria and the campus of Ave Maria University, we sit down with Chancellor Thomas Monaghan and hear about the progress of the school. We talk about the new dorms, a new fieldhouse, a new football program, and the many many ways the University is becoming a hotbed for the pro-life movement.