The Tangent on Veritas Catholic Network

How To Pray with Your Spouse, feat. Deacon Jim Keating, PhD

When you pray with another you open yourself before them and before God. The real intimacy & vulnerability that requires makes it one of the most worthwhile acts spouses can do together. It can also make it really difficult. That’s why Fr. Sam and I sat down with Deacon James Keating PhD to discuss his new book Spousal Prayer: A Way to Marital Happiness. 
Deacon James answered plenty of our questions, 
How should spouses pray together? 
What if one spouse doesn’t want to pray with the other? 
How does personal healing affect spousal prayer? 
How can Spouses practically mimic Christ’s spousal love for the Church? 
All this plus a story about my son wanting to bring balloons to Mass (don’t worry, we didn’t). 
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of the Tangent! 
In Christ, 
Matt Sperrazza 
Co-Host of the Tangent 

Humility vs Vainglory: the Sacred Heart & The Wisdom of St. Claude La Colombière

Most Catholics know the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Far fewer know the quiet 17th-century Jesuit Saint who helped who helped to popularize it.
In this episode, translator Brandon Otto walks us through the life of St. Claude La Colombière, the French Jesuit and confessor to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque who helped spread devotion to the Sacred Heart.  Brandon shares the saint's own words so we might grow in humility, mercy, and perseverance.
We get into St. Claude's interior struggle with vainglory, a true practical lesson for anyone trying to stay engaged with the world without being owned by it. In an age that runs on fame, image, and more stuff, his case for detachment and quiet, hands-on charity is powerful.
We also discuss two miracle stories. First a story about Blessed Solanus Casey and second a healing miracle Matt's mother received through the intercession of St. Joseph.  
St. Claude's advice can help you live in the world without losing your soul! 
Brandon Otto is the translator of Not of the World by St. Claude LaColombière 
 
Notes
Email List 
Support Veritas
Other Veritas Shows
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
 

How Saint Michael Defends Us From the Devil

Why would Satan — one of the most brilliant creatures God ever made — choose hell? Matt sits down with Norbertine priest Fr. Frederick Schmit, O.Praem., author of St. Michael the Archangel Through the Ages (TAN BOOKS), to unpack the fall of the angels, St. Michael's mission from Genesis to Revelation, and the surprising story of St. Norbert.
Along the way: Tolkien's Silmarillion, why you can't save yourself, sacred art and vestments, Zwingli's whitewashed walls, and the abbey's first abbot election in 30 years.
Notes
Email List 
Support Veritas
Other Veritas Shows
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
.
.
.
(disclaimer: AI used for SEO purposes)
 

The Pope’s First Encyclical on AI, Explained — Magnifica Humanitas

Pope Leo XIV just released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on artificial intelligence and human dignity — and in this episode of The Tangent, Matt Sperrazza and Fr. Sam explain what it actually says and why it matters.
Released in May 2026 and presented by the Pope himself alongside Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, Magnifica Humanitas is the most significant Catholic teaching document on AI to date. But what does the Church really teach about technology, and why would an atheist AI leader ask the Vatican for ethical guidance?
We walk through the whole thing in plain language. In this episode you’ll learn:
• What a papal encyclical is — and what it is not (it doesn’t change Church law)
• Why the tech industry is turning to the Catholic Church for an ethical framework
• How “the medium is the message” applies to AI — and the danger of treating people like data
• Why Pope Leo told parents to think twice about giving kids smartphones
• What Catholic social teaching (Rerum Novarum, the common good, subsidiarity, solidarity) has to do with AI
• Whether technology is morally neutral
• The Pope’s warning about transhumanism, suffering, and what makes us human
• Why AI can’t replace real art, real creativity, or real human connection
• The “hermeneutic of continuity” — and how Leo is teaching us to read Pope Francis Whether you’re Catholic, curious, a parent, or someone working in tech, this is a clear, faithful, and surprisingly funny guide to the questions AI is forcing all of us to ask.
Notes
The Pillar
 Mythologist Tells Matt Fradd a Story
Email List 
Support Veritas
Church Docs
Magnifica Humanitas (Pope Leo XIV)
Rerum Novarum (Pope Leo XIII)
Gravissimum Educationis (Vatican II, on Christian education): Second Vatican Council
Laudato Si’ (Pope Francis)
Pascendi Dominici Gregis: (Pope St. Pius X)
Other Veritas Shows 
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
.
.
.
(disclaimer: AI used to help compile notes & write description)
 

The Prophecies of the Messiah with Gary Michuta

Matt is joined by Gary Michuta to discuss his new book Messiah: Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled in Christ.
Gary is a returning guest to the show you can listen to his previous episode here. 
Notes
Email List 
Support Veritas
Other Veritas Shows
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)

Pray Like a Saint - 10 Weeks to Spiritual Advancement with Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Fr. Ed Broom joins Fr. Sam Kachuba and Matt Sperrazza in order to discuss his newest book, 10 Weeks to Spiritual Advancement. The book is not just an explanation of Saint Ignatius of Loyola's spiritual exercises, it is a 10 week, at home retreat through those exercises. 
Fr. Broom explains different types of prayer (vocal, contemplation, mediation, etc.), the importance of a spiritual director, the key to fruitful Marian prayer, and the value of a general confession. Plus so much more!
Resources & Links
10 Weeks to Spiritual Advancement by Father Ed Broom
Ignatian Spiritual Exercises (Poole translation)
Sophia Institute Press
Notes
Email List 
Support Veritas
Other Veritas Shows
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
 

[BONUS] - Fr. Sam’s Presentation to the Chesterton Academy of Blessed Michael McGivney

Fr. Sam Kachuba was invited to give a presentation to the new Chesterton Academy of Blessed Michael McGivney in New Haven, CT. 
Links
Chesterton Schools Network 
Chesterton Academy of Bl. Michael McGivney
Dr. Dale Ahlquist on the Tangent
Notes
Email List 
Support Veritas
Other Veritas Shows
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
 

Modernism vs Catholicism, with Dr. Dan Schneider

Matt & Fr. Sam sit down with friend of the show Dr. Dan Schneider to discuss Modernism. They defined the heresy and connected it to past and present events in the life of the Church, this includes everything from:
the error of Magisterialism
The DDF's recent document on referring to Our Lady as "Mediatrix of all Grace"
the German Synodal way
Benedict XVI's hermeneutic of faith over hermeneutic of suspicion
Process theology
Sr. Lucia's message regarding the last battle between Christ and the devil,
and ordering your life with a rule of prayer...
Enjoy this week's episode!
Notes
Dr. Dan Schneider 
Email List 
Support Veritas
Other Veritas Shows
The Tangent (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Let Me Be Frank with Bishop Frank Caggiano (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
The Frontline With Joe & Joe (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)
White Collars (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify) 
Restless Catholic Young Adults: (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)  
Daily Gospel Reflections (Podbean) (Apple) (Spotify)