Stay ConnectedPromoting the virtuous life.
Adam and David have been best friends for 30 years and love being Catholic, husbands, and fathers. They enjoy whisky, beer, bacon, flamethrowers, St. Thomas Aquinas, virtue, true leisure, and authentic friendship.
The show is typically broken down into 3 segments – A drink, a gear, and a topic.
We are on the Lord’s team. The winning side. So raise your glass. #CheerstoJesus
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It has been the lightest recording stretch the show has had in almost ten years. Adam owns the delay and explains why. Since the last episode, baby Mary arrived very early at around 27 weeks and about two pounds. She was baptized immediately, and there is a question about whether she was also confirmed due to the use of holy oils and the circumstances.
A few days after birth, Mary underwent an intense and invasive surgery that lasted more than six hours. The surgeon later said it was the hardest operation he had ever performed. The procedure connected her esophagus to her stomach, and the family is now living the day to day reality of the NICU: small adjustments, constant monitoring, and a careful balance with oxygen, blood pressure, heart rate, and long term risks.
A theme that keeps surfacing is gratitude, and how hard it can be to receive help when you want to be in control. Adam and David thank listeners for prayers, meals, transportation help, and the quiet generosity that shows up when you least expect it.
They give a major shoutout to the Ronald McDonald House, which provided a place for the family to stay near the hospital, along with meals and support that would have been financially impossible otherwise. Adam also mentions friends and patrons who opened their homes and brought food. It is a reminder that “village” is not a cliché when your world turns upside down.
Also, in the middle of all this, Adam’s son Leo drops a classic kid moment at Mass: during a serious homily he leans over and asks when he will get to meet J.B. Mooney, the professional bull rider. Fatherhood keeps you humble.
David brings a bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society featuring Royal Brackla. The tasting notes are ridiculous in the best way, described like “dessert in the workshop,” with custard, toffee chunks, marshmallow, and an unexpected “carpenter’s shop” vibe. It even has a hint of iodine that makes David think of Islay, without the heavy peat and smoke.
A priest from the diocese drops off a first class relic of St. Gemma, telling Adam to keep it while the family walks through this trial. Adam and David talk about the reality of having the body of a saint in the room with you, and the comfort that brings, especially when the road ahead is long.
The episode’s main topic is temperance, framed as the Lenten virtue that touches everything. The simple kid definition they love is: temperance is having a healthy amount of everything. Not perfect, but memorable.
They push back against the idea that temperance is just restriction. Temperance is not merely refusing the extra piece of cake. It is also the positive ordering of your life so you can say yes to the right things at the right time in the right way: exercise, prayer, rest, work, family presence, joy, celebration.
The key theme: virtue is always a yes. The “no” exists to protect the “yes.”
One of the most interesting turns comes from St. John Cassian’s Institutes. Cassian argues that Sodom’s first sin was not the obvious sin people associate with Sodom and Gomorrah. He points to Ezekiel and emphasizes surplus, abundance, and gluttony. Cassian’s logic is that the disorder starts low and spreads upward: feed the appetite, then the passions grow louder, the will weakens, and eventually the mind rationalizes what it should never have chosen.
They connect this to the common sense link between food appetites and sexual appetites. If you cannot curb the basic, you will struggle to curb the higher.
A line that lands: If you can’t say no, your yes means nothing.
Adam shares a sharp thought: pleasure clouds judgment faster than pain. Suffering, especially voluntary suffering, tends to focus the mind. It wakes you up and forces clarity. That is why fasting can sharpen spiritual vision. It reveals attachments you thought you did not have.
They bring in Father Anselm Stolz’s point: ascetic practices are not the end. The end is contemplation, union with God, and becoming more like Christ. The danger for men is turning Lent into an achievement badge, turning penance into pride, and making the self the center.
They outline a hierarchy: God, reason, will, passions, body. Temperance helps keep the order intact, so the higher rules the lower and the lower serves the higher. When the passions take the driver’s seat, the will becomes a servant, reason gets distorted, and you can rationalize sin quickly or slowly over years.
They also emphasize something many men miss: the temperate man feasts. Feasting well matters. If you do not fast, you will not feast well. If you cannot feast temperately, your fasting might be more about control than freedom.
One of the best “take this home” moments is teaching kids delayed gratification. The classic M&M test becomes a simple, memorable way to form a child in temperance. Kids have wildly different reactions, and that is the point. You are building the muscle of waiting for the greater good.
They also offer a gut check for adults: a good test of temperance is how you feast, not only how you fast. If Sundays turn into chaos, bingeing, and excuses, something is off. The goal is freedom.
Lent is a season of no so you can say yes. Mastery before glory. The Christian life is not an empty handed life. It is abundance in the right order.
What does it actually mean to persevere?
In this episode, Adam and David unpack the Catholic understanding of perseverance—not as white-knuckled suffering, but as faithfully enduring in the pursuit of the good over time.
Using insights from St. Thomas Aquinas, they explain why perseverance is less about dramatic hardship and more about showing up day after day in prayer, marriage, fatherhood, and work—even when there is no immediate payoff.
From the slow labor of a sow giving birth, to the monotony of daily prayer, to the demands of being present as a father, this episode reframes perseverance as one of the most essential virtues for the modern man.
Topics include:
In this episode of The Catholic Man Show, Adam and David discuss the essential role of fathers in catechizing their children... not just by teaching information, but by forming habits, traditions, and a lived love for the Catholic faith.
Adam shares a personal update about his family and the power of prayer and community during a time of serious medical uncertainty. From there, the conversation turns to what real catechesis looks like in the home: modeling prayer, creating a culture of beauty, building liturgical traditions, and making the Eucharist the center of family life.
The guys explore why passing on the faith is less about producing kids who can pass a religion test, and more about raising children who know God is real and worth ordering their entire life around.
Topics include:
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This episode moves from a lighthearted family practice of setting “New Year’s disciplines” into a serious, practical conversation on Josef Pieper’s The Concept of Sin. Adam and David argue that modern culture often avoids the word “sin” not because sin disappeared, but because the concept of sin has been replaced with softer language: mistakes, weakness, psychological explanations, or vague “bad choices.” Pieper’s central claim, they explain, is that sin is not merely a moral misstep but a rejection of reality itself.
The conversation ties sin directly to freedom. Only a truly free person can sin, because sin requires knowledge, responsibility, and the willful refusal of the good. Drawing on the Catechism, they frame sin as an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience, as well as a failure in love caused by disordered attachment to lesser goods. Sin is not “missing the mark” in the sense of trying hard and falling short; it is a refusal, a “no” to what is.
They also explore how every sin involves untruthfulness and self-deception. To commit sin, a person constructs a false account of reality that makes the act seem reasonable. This helps explain why rationalization demands constant outside validation and why modern life often tries to remove guilt without removing sin. Against that, the hosts emphasize that forgiveness presupposes guilt, and sin can only be understood alongside grace.
Practical takeaways include building a daily examination of conscience, paying attention to patterns and triggers, naming both sins of commission and omission, and running to confession with regularity. The episode closes with a fatherly focus: how to speak about sin with children truthfully without crushing them, holding together mercy and clarity so that kids learn both the seriousness of sin and the permanence of love.
Key topics covered
Notable references mentioned
Practical takeaways
Sponsors, community, and announcements
Aquinas method: name the end (happiness), then rule out false ends.
Three filters for any resolution:
Cy Kellett, host of Catholic Answers Live, joins the Catholic Man Show for a wide-ranging and surprisingly practical conversation on evangelization. If the idea of “sharing your faith” makes you uncomfortable, intimidated, or quietly guilty, this episode is for you.
The guys talk about why evangelization feels scary for normal Catholics in the pews, why it is not optional, and why God never asked you to be effective. He only asked you to be faithful. Cy explains why pressure to “get results” is misplaced, how discouragement is the devil’s favorite weapon against evangelists, and why introverts might actually be better at sharing the Gospel than extroverts.
They also dig into what the Gospel actually is, why “God loves you” is true but incomplete, and how the full Christian story speaks directly to the modern world’s confusion about meaning, identity, and purpose. From street evangelization to talking with adult children who have drifted from the faith, Cy offers clarity, encouragement, and concrete advice rooted in real experience.
This is an episode about integrity, prayer, the sacraments, and learning how to talk about Jesus in a way that is honest, human, and real.
In this episode:
Guest:
Cy Kellett, host of Catholic Answers Live and co-author of How to Talk About Jesus with Anybody
Book mentioned:
How to Talk About Jesus with Anybody by Steve Dawson with Cy Kellett
Ever wake up with that “today is the day” feeling, like you are ready to conquer the world? The guys start there, take a hard left into Pinky and the Brain, and somehow end up pondering what it was like when Christ rose from the dead.
From there, it turns into a practical, tradition-packed episode on celebrating Christmas well. Not the Hallmark version, and not the American “Christmas ends on December 26” version either. The kind that actually follows the liturgical calendar, keeps Advent as Advent, and treats Christmas as a season, not a day.
Along the way, they review a Taiwanese whiskey from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, talk family customs that make the day feel grounded, and make a strong case for grandfathers and fathers to be the custodians of tradition. One of the best parts is a simple, doable challenge: take the 12 Days of Christmas seriously and mark the feast days with small, intentional practices your family will actually remember.
In this episode:
Whiskey for the episode: Taiwanese whiskey (Scotch Malt Whisky Society pick), “Dunker’s Delight” style notes, 107 proof, with flavors like caramel and apple pie crust.
Challenge for the week: Pick two feast days during the 12 Days of Christmas and do something small but real. Bless your kids, bless wine, invite someone over, go to Mass, or start a tradition worth keeping.
In this episode, Adam and David welcome back longtime friend and mentor Matthew Christoff of EveryCatholicMan.com to talk about what it really means to become a happier Catholic man.
Matthew shares the story behind his new devotional, “Becoming a Happier Catholic Man 2026,” and why he believes every man can be happier by drawing closer to Jesus, embracing suffering, and living a zealous Catholic life.
Topics discussed:
Resources mentioned:
Learn more and get the book:
Visit EveryCatholicMan.com or search “Becoming a Happier Catholic Man 2026” on Amazon.
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TheCatholicManShow.com
This episode is packed — saints, miracles, Marian devotion, vocations, fatherhood, fasting, silence, and the rise of a new generation of men hungry for God.
Fr. Charbel, a Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate, joins Adam and David in Tulsa along with first-class relics of St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Charbel, sharing powerful stories of faith, mission, intercession, and what young Catholic men are longing for today.
Fr. Charbel introduces the Franciscans of the Immaculate, an order founded to continue the Marian mission of St. Maximilian Kolbe:
He explains how Our Lady’s presence has shaped every major moment in salvation history — from Nazareth to the Cross — and why consecration gives Mary “permission” to form us the way she formed Christ.
As the newly appointed vocations director, Fr. Charbel reveals something astonishing:
40+ serious vocation inquiries in just two months.
Why the sudden surge?
“It’s inspiring,” he says. “Young men want authenticity.”
The guys talk about:
Religious life, he says, is more adventurous than most men realize.
St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese hermit, is becoming one of the most beloved saints of the century.
Father explains why:
One stunning story:
A Muslim sheikh publicly visited St. Charbel’s shrine to thank him for healing his mother of cancer.
“Why would God confirm the life of a hermit who spent his life before the Eucharist,” Father asks, “unless the Eucharist is truly what the Church says it is?”
What does a hermit from Lebanon have to teach us? A lot.
Fr. Charbel lays out practical takeaways:
As he says: “God doesn’t call you to be successful. He calls you to be faithful.”
The guys discuss:
Fr. Charbel emphasizes “You can never love her as much as Jesus already does.”
Fr. Charbel’s order publishes incredibly practical Marian books:
Visit: AcademyOfTheImmaculate.com
Learn about the order: MaryMediatrix.com
This episode starts with an apology and an update. It’s been a wild stretch—hospital visits, birthday mishaps, broken teeth, truck trouble, cows and pigs headed to the processor—but also a lot of grace and gratitude.
Adam shares about Lady Haylee's recent medical scare during pregnancy, the prayers from patrons, and what it’s like to walk through real uncertainty as a husband and father. The guys reflect on how quickly life can tilt from “normal” to “barely holding it together,” and yet how God can still anchor everything in hope and gratitude.
Over whiskey (a Pseudo Sue malt from Iowa), Adam and David shift into the main topic: spiritual blindness—how easy it is for men to be convinced we’re right, standing for the truth, and yet be totally off the mark.
Drawing from Scripture, the lives of the apostles, St. John of the Cross, Aquinas, and even Dante, they explore:
Along the way, you’ll also hear:
This episode is an invitation to ask hard questions:
If you’ve ever looked back on a season of life and thought, “How did I not see that?”—this conversation is for you.
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