St. Anthony's Tongue

For Those Still Haunted by God.

Catholicism for tired souls, strange hearts, wounded people, and anyone who suspects there might still be something holy here.

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Wednesday · 37 min
From the Crypt: A Catholic's Guide to Werewolves
🐺 FROM THE CRYPT: I'm resurrecting a few of my favorite spooky episodes this October. Starting with werewolves. Werewolves have haunted folklore for centuries, but they also have a surprisingly strange history within Christianity. So what happens when Catholicism, saints, theology, and the legend of the werewolf collide? Welcome back to A Catholic's Guide to Werewolves. And stay tuned, here's plenty of brand-new strange and spooky Catholicism coming this October. Resources: Grab a Copy of Issue 6 - Strange Catholicism here: https://www.stanthonystongue.com/margins/p/issue-vi-strange-catholicism Buy My Book, A Catechism of the Strange, here: https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683 Join my Patreon here: http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue
Saturday · 27 min
Mass Prep | God Keeps Coming Close - Matthew 21:33-43
In Matthew 21, the tenants reject servant after servant—and somehow, the owner keeps sending more. In this Mass Prep, we look at the strange persistence of God, the Bridegroom who keeps coming closer, and what it means that divine love ultimately takes on flesh.
October 1 · 29 min
The Grandpa With the Stigmata: The Strange Story of Irving Houle
Grab a Copy of Issue 6 - Strange Catholicism here: https://www.stanthonystongue.com/margins/p/issue-vi-strange-catholicism Buy My Book, A Catechism of the Strange, here: https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683 Join my Patreon here: http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue Episode on the Mysticism of the Stigmata: https://youtu.be/Apc3Ifl1n5o Irving Houle was a husband, father, grandfather—and a reported stigmatist who experienced the wounds and Passion of Christ nightly for nearly sixteen years. In this episode, we explore Irving’s strange story, the mysticism behind the stigmata, his reported healing ministry, and what these wounds might reveal about becoming more like Christ. Featured in The Margins: Strange Catholicism and explored alongside the strange phenomena of the saints in A Catechism of the Strange.
September 29 · 42 min
From the Margins: Strange Catholicism!
Check out Issue 6 here: https://www.stanthonystongue.com/margins/p/issue-vi-strange-catholicism A grandpa with the stigmata. A mystic who healed a future Catholic icon. Glowing saints, strange relics, visions, miracles, and more. Welcome to Strange Catholicism, Issue 6 of The Margins — an exploration of the strange, beautiful, and sometimes downright weird corners of the Catholic faith.
September 25 · 13 min
Mass Prep | Put Your Body Where Your Yes Is
Jesus tells a story about two sons: one says yes and never moves, the other says no — then gets up and goes. In Matthew 21:28–32, we look at a faith that has to become physical: feet in the vineyard, hands in the dirt, sweat on the body. Because God doesn’t just want the yes on your lips. He wants your body where your yes is.
September 23 · 37 min
Why Catholics Keep Bones
🕊️Resources 🕊️ Episode on Theosis: https://youtu.be/TRbknjxcA5U My Catholic Zine, The Margins: ⁠www.stanthonystongue.com/margins⁠ My Book, A Catechism of the Strange: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683⁠ My Patreon: ⁠http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue⁠ Why do Catholics keep bones? In this episode, we look at relics, the Bible, theosis, resurrection, and what all of this says about the human body. Relics aren’t just strange Catholic objects—they’re a reminder that grace reaches deeper than we think. Based on the relics chapter of A Catechism of the Strange.
September 15 · 41 min
Our Lady of Sorrows: The Bride with Blood on her Hands
🕊️Resources 🕊️ My Catholic Zine, The Margins: ⁠www.stanthonystongue.com/margins⁠ My Book, A Catechism of the Strange: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683⁠ My Patreon: ⁠http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue⁠ Absolutely — keep it simple, searchable, and not stuffed: Description: On the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, we sit with Mary as the wounded Bride: the woman whose heart was pierced, who stayed near the wounds of Christ, and whose love became something bodily, tangible, and costly. This episode explores Our Lady of Sorrows, the wound of love, bridal mysticism, compassion, the Crucifixion, and what it means to remain open to love in the presence of suffering.
September 11 · 11 min
Moved in the Guts: Why Christianity Should Make Us More Tender
In this episode, we look at Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant, the Greek phrase splagchnistheis—to be moved in the guts—and the way Scripture repeatedly connects holiness with a heart that can still be affected by suffering. Compassion is not the enemy of truth. The question is whether the mercy we receive from Christ actually makes us more merciful.
September 8 · 25 min
Why Did Some Saints Glow?
Some saints were said to literally glow. In this episode, we look at the strange stories of luminous saints, the Transfiguration, theosis, and what it might mean for a human life to become radiant with Christ. --- 🕊️Resources 🕊️ Mysticism, Word By Word -- Theosis: https://youtu.be/TRbknjxcA5U?si=BzlYg2gZhzG9V8xz My Catholic Zine, The Margins: www.stanthonystongue.com/margins My Book, A Catechism of the Strange: https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683 My Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue
September 4 · 7 min
Mass Prep | The Christ Between Us
What if heaven is closer than we think? In this Mass Prep, we explore Matthew 18:15–20, communal prayer, the Bride of Christ, and Jesus’ strange promise to be in the midst of us.
August 31 · 34 min
Against Silicon Valley Catholicism
What happens when Silicon Valley’s values start shaping the Catholic imagination?In this episode, I’m talking about optimization, branding, algorithms, prayer streaks, Catholic AI, “frictionless faith,” and the danger of treating holiness like something that can be measured on a dashboard.This isn’t an anti-tech rant. It’s a plea for a messier, more embodied, more human Church — one where people still have faces, names, wounds, and time for one another.I just want to see her face. 🤖Resources 🕊️ Essay - Against Silicon Valley Catholicism: https://stanthonystongue.substack.com/p/against-silicon-valley-catholicism Issue V - Beware of Catholic Robots: https://www.stanthonystongue.com/margins/p/issue-v-beware-of-catholic-robots My Book, A Catechism of the Strange: https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683 My Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue
August 28 · 18 min
Mass Prep | The Jesus We Try to Edit (Matthew 16:21–27)
Join my Patreon Check Out my Zine Order my Book In this week’s Mass Prep, we look at Matthew 16:21–27: Peter trying to correct Jesus, what it means to actually follow Christ, and the strange call to lose your life in order to find it.
August 26 · 28 min
God Hunts You Like a Dog
What if the spiritual life is less about finding God, and more about realizing that God has been chasing you the whole time? In this episode, we look at Francis Thompson’s The Hound of Heaven, the conversion of Jacques Fesch, Jonah, the lost sheep, and the strange, relentless mercy of a God who refuses to stop coming after us. God Chases You Like a Dog (Essay) The Margins: A Catholic Zine Buy My Book, A Catechism of the Strange
August 21 · 10 min
[Early/Ad-Free] Mass Prep | WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? (Matthew 16:13–20)
Order my book here. Buy a zine here. In Matthew 16:13–20, Jesus asks Peter one of the most important questions in the Gospel: “Who do you say that I am?” This week, we’re reflecting on faith becoming personal, learning to recognize Christ, and the beautiful moment when Peter names Jesus—and Jesus names Peter.
August 17 · 32 min
Mysticism, Word by Word: THEOSIS — Becoming Like God
Order my book, A Catechism of the Strange here: https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683 In this episode of Mysticism, Word by Word, we explore the Christian idea of becoming more like God through grace, where it appears in Scripture, how the mystics understood it, and what it looks like in everyday spiritual life.
August 14 · 30 min
Beware of Catholic Robots: The Catholic Tech Industry Has a Problem
In this episode of From the Margins, I’m talking about why I wrote Beware of Catholic Robots — my new manifesto on Catholic AI, prayer apps, digital spirituality, human dignity, work, and what happens when faith becomes optimized, monetized, and frictionless. We’ll get into Catholic AI companies, spiritual formation, AI and pastoral care, the gamification of prayer, ethical labor, and why the Church should remain stubbornly human. Get Issue V: Beware of Catholic Robots https://www.stanthonystongue.com/margins/p/issue-v-beware-of-catholic-robots
August 12 · 34 min
Stigmata: Why Do Saints Bear the Wounds of Christ?
Order My Book, A Catechism of the Strange What is the stigmata — and more importantly, what does it mean?In this episode, we explore the strange Catholic phenomenon of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ appearing on the bodies of saints and mystics. We’ll talk about St. Francis of Assisi, redemptive suffering, victim souls, “offering it up,” and why these mysterious wounds reveal something deeper about suffering, sacrifice, and union with Christ.This is also one of the central ideas behind my new book, *A Catechism of the Strange*: strange Catholic phenomena aren’t just curiosities — they teach us something about God, holiness, and the human soul.
July 31 · 18 min
Mass Prep | Two Banquets, Two Kingdoms: Herod’s Feast vs. Jesus on the Grass
Matthew 14 gives us two banquets, and two very different kinds of kings. Herod feasts inside a palace, surrounded by wealth, spectacle, and powerful guests. By the end of the night, John the Baptist’s head is carried into the room on a platter. Then Jesus gathers the hungry in the wilderness. No palace. No guest list. No VIP section. Just grass, hunger, compassion, and bread placed into the hands of God. In this Mass Prep, we explore what these two feasts reveal about power, Catholic leadership, luxury spiritual experiences, and the uncomfortable question of whether we sometimes look more like Herod at the banquet than Christ among the hungry. Every kingdom eventually sets a table. The question is what it eats.
July 29 · 25 min
I Wrote a Book on Strange Catholicism
Pre-order A Catechism of the Strange here: https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Strange-Stigmata-Relics-Miracles/dp/0829460683 Catholicism is full of wounds, bones, dreams, incorrupt bodies, visions, relics, and saints who seemed to glow with the presence of God. But these strange things are not merely spooky trivia. They reveal something essential about the Christian life: grace does not simply forgive us from a distance. It enters us, transforms us, and conforms us to Christ. In this episode, I talk about why I wrote A Catechism of the Strange, how wonder helped lead me back to the faith, and what the strangest corners of Catholic tradition reveal about what every human person was created to become.
July 24 · 23 min
Mass Prep | Stop Shopping for God: The Pearl Cannot Be Mass-Produced
We live in a world that constantly tells us we need one more thing. One more book. One more devotion. One more answer. So on and so on. But in Sunday's Gospel, Jesus tells a different story. The merchant finds one pearl—and stops searching. In this week's mass prep, let's talk about what it means to stop shopping for God, why the Kingdom can't be mass-produced, and how Christ is the treasure that changes everything.

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