The Art of Catholic with Matthew Leonard – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the Art of Catholic podcast, Matthew Leonard and author and professor Dr. Daniel Keating explore the astonishing Catholic doctrine of Deification.

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The conversation explores what Deification really means, and addresses questions such as:

• How can we possibly become "gods"?
• Is Deification in the Bible or Catechism?
• What the Saints say about Deification
• How Martin Luther & John Calvin believed in Deification
• Does Deification blur the lines between God and man?
• What are the major misunderstandings surrounding Deification?

However you imagine heaven to be, this podcast will open your eyes to an even deeper understanding of God's breath-taking love, and leave you awe-struck at all that he has in store for us.

Chapters:

00:00 Understanding Deification: An Introduction

02:50 The Doctrine of Deification Explained

05:38 The Mechanism of Deification

08:16 Scriptural Foundations of Deification

11:05 The Role of Sacraments in Deification

14:02 Deification in the Old Testament

16:52 Deification in the New Testament

19:47 The Relationship Between Deification and Suffering

22:33 Prayer and Deification

25:22 The Importance of Daily Prayer

28:03 The Role of Participation in Divine Nature

30:58 Eastern vs. Western Perspectives on Deification

33:35 The Transformative Power of Prayer

36:21 Conclusion: Embracing Our Divine Destiny

🔵 Join Matthew on a MARIAN Shrines PILGRIMAGE to Fatima, Lourdes, and more in 2026: https://www.206tours.com/cms/sos/marianshrines/

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🟠 SUPPORT this podcast and Matthew's work to spread the Catholic faith: https://www.scienceofsainthood.com/donate

It's a simple, yet profound question.

Is God a person or an idea to you?

Seriously, take a moment and think about it. 

Do you really see him as a person or is he some kind of ethereal idea floating up in the heavens?

For a lot of us - if we're being honest with ourselves - tend to think of him in non-personal terms. 

He's this force or idea up above. 

Yes, we talk to him on occasion. We ask him for things. We even praise him and receive him in the Eucharist.

But do we know him as a person?

And if not, how can we do that? How can we develop a truly personal, transformative relationship with the Lord?

Well, who better than to ask than a former hermit about how to truly commune with God?

Fr. Wayne Sattler - a former hermit and spiritual director for his entire diocese - is going to help us deepen our relationship with Christ on this powerful episode of the Art of Catholic podcast.

You do NOT want to miss it.

Taking a deep dive into the subject of his new book, Remain in Me and I in You, my wide-ranging conversation with Father Sattler includes:  

• How to know God as a person, not just an idea
• What really happens in contemplative prayer 
• The crucial difference between agape love and eros
• Why some people never attain higher prayer
• What Christ really meant when he said, "Follow me"
• The fundamental requirement for truly serving God
• And much more! 

 

Give it 3 minutes and you won't turn it off. 

This is a truly powerful and moving story of a man, a woman, and bevy of children who live a life totally abandoned to God...even in the midst of gut-wrenching sorrow and suffering.

If you can listen without being inspired in some way, you may need to check your pulse. 

That's all I can say.

Matthew

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00:00 Encountering this Missionary Family 

04:01 Michael Henderson's Journey to Faith

06:54 From Baptist Roots to Catholic Discovery

12:31 The Struggle with Sin and Seeking Truth

20:29 The Eucharist: A Transformative Experience

34:54 Living Out the Faith After Conversion

41:07 The Call to Missionary Life

55:34 A Leap of Faith: Leaving Everything Behind

01:01:16 The Power of Community and Vocation

01:07:38 Miracles in the Mission Field

01:13:20 Facing a Crisis with Faith

01:21:23 Transitioning Back to the States

01:40:28 Living a Life of Mission and Service

About this Episode:

Surrendering to God's will is hard.

For most of us, it's a lifelong struggle to learn to let go of our own plans and embrace God's instead.

But that struggle is crucial - because the more completely you're able to abandon yourself to God's will, the more peace you'll find, no matter what your situation or circumstances.

No one knows this better than my most recent podcast guest, Michael Henderson...(you're gonna love this guy).

About ten years ago, Michael, his wife Veronica, and their (at the time) six, now nine (!!) beautiful children, discerned that God was calling them to a more radical surrender than most of us could ever imagine.

They sold their comfortable house and belongings in the U.S. and moved to Mexico, and later to Taiwan, to spread the Faith, all the while relying solely on God's providence for their livelihood.

And boy, did God ever provide.

Their story is one of miracle after miracle, conversion after conversion, and an ever-deepening, radical trust in God to "take care of everything," as the Surrender Novena puts it.

In this podcast, Michael shares stories like:

• How God used a Taekwondo gym in the middle of Mexico to transform local families
• The day his family arrived in Taiwan with no housing lined up, no money in their pocket, and his wife 2 months postpartum with their 7th child - and how God instantly provided for their every need
• The very serious recent family crisis that has brought them to an even deeper peace and reliance on God.

I have to say, personally, that this episode was an emotional one for me.

In fact, I'll give you just 3 minutes of listening before your jaw hits the ground.

The beauty of this family's joy in every circumstance is undeniable, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to meet and become friends with Michael.

I hope this podcast moves you as deeply as it did me.

 

We've all got questions. None more important then those dealing with our faith. Not long ago, I invited listeners to send me questions or issues with which they're dealing. I got some great responses from all over the world. So in this special episode of The Art of Catholic, we're going to deal with a few of them. (Some of these I deal with in my first book Louder Than Words: The Art of Living as a Catholic...the book which inspired the podcast!) Some of the important issues we'll discuss include: What to do when you really don't feel a relationship with Mary. How Mary makes sense in God's family The underlying reason for contraception in our culture Why contraception isn't even on the radar of most Protestants The insane end result of a contraceptive culture A response to a Protestant's inquiry regarding redemptive suffering including why and how it works The problem with "penal substitution" (a Protestant teaching about the Cross) and its relation to redemptive suffering This is an episode for Catholic and Protestant alike. Share it with friends! God bless! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

We've all heard it before - "The Catholic Church is all about violence and power. Just look at the Crusades! They're a perfect example!" The problem (for critics of the Church) is that idea is horse-hockey. That said, most of us have little-to-no understanding of the true heart of the Crusades...which is a complete shame. Because the fact is, the reason and rationale for what Pope Urban II began a thousand years ago is way deeper and more spiritual than what most people ever imagine. So to enlighten us all, I brought in Dr. Andrew Jones, an expert on the High Middle Ages. We're going to dive into the incredible history and backstory of the Crusades that no one ever talks about. We're going to uncover what the Crusades were really about. Among other things, in this episode we'll explore: Why the crusaders actually did it (when it cost most their fortunes, not to mention their lives) The deep connection between monasticism and the Crusades The little understood connection between Islam and the development of the Eastern Church Why truly understanding the Roman Empire is a necessity to understanding the Crusades The fascinating connection between Columbus and the Crusades Why the Crusades were nothing less than a ridiculously hardcore pilgrimage This is one you don't want to miss. It's going to totally transform the way you look at the history and spirituality of the Catholic Church. God bless! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

We say (or drone through) it every week – "I believe…" Do we really? Does the amazing truth of the Creed penetrate the fibers of our being the same way it did early Christians who were willing to die for it? If you aren't quite there yet, you might soon be. Especially after hearing my latest guest. To help us understand this amazing statement of faith I brought in the Catholic supernova - Dr. Scott Hahn. He has just released an exciting new book from Emmaus Road Publishing titled The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages. And in this barnburner episode he unleashes incredible insights into what we profess to believe. Among other things, Dr. Hahn dives into: Where the Creed comes from Why its placement in the Mass is extremely significant The "rule of faith" The difference between the Apostle's Creed & Nicene Creed The "Discipline of the Secret" The revolutionary notion we profess each time we say the Creed How the Creed actually encourages and fosters science…(what?)! All this and a ton more in this special 50th episode of the Art of Catholic. Nobody can explain and expound the faith like Scott Hahn. So buckle up and enjoy the ride! God bless! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

They are the most infamous of sins. Why? Because they will knock you down, beat you up, and kick you to the curb. To put it bluntly, they can send you to hell. Thankfully, there are remedies for fighting these 7 Deadly Sins (aka the 7 Capital sins...perhaps due to their abundance in Washington D.C.) And in today's program, we're going to discuss the problems and solutions both. My guest is Dr. Kevin Vost who has written on this very topic. His book titled The Seven Deadly Sins: A Thomistic Guide to Vanquishing Vice and Sin is a perfect introduction to this vital topic. In this episode we'll: Learn the history of the development of the list of the 7 Deadly Sins Identify what moral theologians call the "daughters" of these deadly sins Discover how there's an actual pattern of relationship between sins…how one almost necessarily leads to another Learn the difference between sin and vice (they're not the same) Identify the virtues that overcome vice and help us move toward God This is a topic that is absolutely necessary to your spiritual growth. You've got to know your enemy so you can actually fight them. Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

Fasting? Powerful. Prayer? Absolutely necessary. Almsgiving? Can save you from death! In our last episode, we discovered the revolution that occurred in the Old Testament with regard to handling the consequences of sin. We saw how it evolved from something we had to wait and endure, to something akin to a debt we could "pay down" proactively. In other words, we discovered you can actually shave time off of purgatory through almsgiving. It was pretty huge. Now we're going to take it one step further. In today's program we're going to unpack the incredible meaning behind a simple little verse in Proverbs: "The treasuries of wickedness provide no benefit, but almsgiving delivers from death" (10:2).  That's a pretty amazing sentence. And it's not hyperbole. It's not exaggeration. It's the truth...and we'll see it in Scripture. In this powerful episode we'll: Discover the little discussed details in the story of the raising of Tabitha from the dead and how they're all related to almsgiving Understand why almsgiving before all else is a cry for mercy Discuss the rationale for how almsgiving can help not just ourselves, but our beloved deceased Compare the difference between almsgiving and indulgences Get a new perspective on the Our Father and discover why St. Augustine declared that forgiving others is a powerful form of almsgiving It's a pretty powerful episode that will reorder the way you think about how to help your beloved deceased, as well as best prepare for your own departure from this world into the eternal bliss of heaven. God bless! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God!       ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store.   Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

If I was to ask you the quickest way out of purgatory, or even perhaps the quickest way into heaven, what would you say? "Be a saint." Good. But what should we do when we fall short? What about when we sin? The book I mention in the podcast. "Get to confession," you reply. Excellent. But then what? Is there a way to make up for what we've done? A way to remedy the damage that we've caused the Body of Christ now, so that we don't suffer later? Absolutely. It's almsgiving. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to start giving alms. I'm going to tell you why you're nuts if you don't. Trust me. You want to hear this. Because we're going to: Discuss why you want to spend as little time in purgatory as possible (hint: it hurts...a lot!) Show how Scripture describes sin in terms of a debt to be paid Demonstrate the incredible revolution with regard to payment for sin that occurred in the Old Testament between the time of King David and Daniel Examine Scripture passages that demonstrate the concept of purgatory and its miraculous relationship to almsgiving Explain how almsgiving can shortcut the consequences of your sinful actions...now and later! Don't listen if you enjoy suffering. For the rest of you, push "play" now! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.

Pope St. John Paul II is one of the most beloved popes of all time. He touched the lives of millions. But his impact is far from over. JPII was a world-class philosopher. He taught us truths about ourselves, and humanity in general, in a way that made sense. He understood our deepest longings and turmoil. He could explain the inner workings of our heart in relation to God.  In a nutshell, he taught us how to be fully human through Jesus Christ. But while most of us learned this from his speeches, encyclicals, and books, Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard and now Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at Catholic University of Americas' Busch School of Business & Economics, received his instruction in person. This giant of a man swore to protect and serve the Holy Father with his life. And in return, he learned what it means to truly live. In fact, he wrote a book about it called The Pope & the CEO: John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard. In this special episode of the Art of Catholic, we're going to: Hear beautiful stories about what JPII was really like in person Learn about the history and duties of the Swiss Guard Discover the relationship between JPII's famous Theology of the Body and the world of economics Discuss how JPII's view of poverty and the human person is necessary to understand the heart of Pope Francis Hear this modern saint's "simple" rule of life he practiced every day You don't get too many opportunities to hear personal witness about a saint. Andreas Widmer gives us that and much more! Matthew P.S. Don't just listen to us talk about it. Do it! Grab your FREE copy of my quick guide to deeper prayer 8 Ways To Jumpstart Your Prayer Life! It's an easy step-by-step guide to help you rocket to God! Don't miss a show! Subscribe to The Art of Catholic by clicking this link and then clicking "View in iTunes" under the picture and then "Subscribe"!  Love the show and want more people to hear the Catholic faith? Leave a review by clicking here and then the "View in iTunes" button under my picture. This pushes the show up the rankings and puts it in front of more people. Android user? You can listen to The Art of Catholic on the Beyond Pod app from the Google Play Store. Want to tour Catholic Europe's most beautiful holy sites? Join Matthew on a  St. Paul Center pilgrimage to Fatima, Spain, Lourdes, and other amazing holy sites this October 23rd to November 1st. Click here for details.