St. Anthony's Tongue

This one is different.On the eve of Ash Wednesday, I wanted to offer something slower. More embodied. More strange.We talk about ashes every year.We post the crosses.We quote “Remember you are dust.”But what if we’ve forgotten what dirt actually means?Tonight we descend.From the dirt of Genesisto the dirt of Bethlehemto the dirt beneath Christ’s fingernailsto the dirt of the tombto the ash pressed into our foreheads.This is not a “tips for Lent” video.It’s a meditation.A letter.A theological descent into dust.If you listen carefully, you might find that dirt is not humiliation.It’s incarnation.–––If this video feels heavier or stranger than usual, that’s intentional.Let it ache.

Every year, Catholics prepare for Lent by adding more: more devotions, more fasting plans, more spiritual intensity. But Scripture suggests something deeper. In this episode, we explore five key biblical passages that reveal the true posture of the desert. Lent is not about religious performance or self-improvement. It is about interior conversion, surrender, and allowing God to strip away what keeps us from Him.From Joel’s call to “rend your heart,” to Hosea’s wilderness of divine courtship, to Mary and Martha, Psalm 51, and Christ entering the desert as the Beloved—this is Scripture to recenter your Lent.

Lent Devotional Guide: https://www.stanthonystongue.com/products/p/pdf-a-lenten-devotional-guide Lent is not a performance review. It is not a spiritual productivity challenge. It is the Church leading exhausted people back into the desert, not to crush them, but to strip away the false god of competence and return them to love.In this video, I offer a Lenten guide inspired by the Catholic mystics for those who are tired, burned out, scrupulous, or spiritually numb. We talk about how Lent becomes distorted into proof, how devotion becomes consumption, why rest feels irresponsible to the anxious soul, and how the mystics practiced penance without turning God into an HR manager.This is a Lent for people who still want God, but are tired of trying to earn Him. A Lent for those who want repentance without self-hatred, silence without shame, and prayer without spiritual grinding. We look at practical ways to enter Lent with a mystical posture, rooted in Scripture, the tradition, and the lives of the saints.

Lent is coming. It’s not too close. Not too far. I didn’t want to do a lent prep video. It’s too early. I also didn’t want to do a filler episode. Y’all don’t deserve that.So here is an episode where we linger. No script. No outline. Just seeing where lent takes us. We discuss medieval history, the real meaning of devotion, Christian mysticism and end with a guided meditation on a psalm.Thank you for lingering with me.To support my work please consider joining my Patreon: www.patreon.com/anthonystongue

Matthew 5 calls Christians to be salt and light, not in theory, but in visible mercy. This episode reflects on what happens when Catholics choose silence, excuse inaction, or hide behind “nuance” while suffering remains visible. It’s about sanctification, demonization, and the slow deformation that comes when mercy becomes optional.

In this Gospel reflection for Sunday’s reading from Matthew 5, we linger with the opening line of the Beatitudes. Instead of rushing through the list, we slow down and sit with the atmosphere of the mountain and the first words Jesus speaks.What does it mean to be blessed. What does it mean to be poor in spirit. And what is the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus says already belongs to them.This reflection is not about achieving holiness or spiritual performance, but about making room. About openness, surrender, and the interior posture that allows God to dwell within us.Sometimes Scripture asks us not to move forward, but to stay. To linger long enough for the Word to work.Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Many Catholics feel spiritually dry or burned out, even while praying often, attending Mass, and practicing multiple devotions.In this episode of St. Anthony’s Tongue, we explore what I call spiritual gluttony. This is the subtle habit of consuming prayers, devotions, and spiritual practices in a way that exhausts us instead of transforming us.This is not a rejection of Catholic devotion. It is an invitation to stop performing and start receiving.We talk about why so many Catholics feel they need to earn the love of God, how prayer can quietly become transactional, and why silence and stillness are essential to the Christian life. We also reflect on the difference between spiritual dryness and spiritual exhaustion, and why many people are not distant from God but simply tired.This episode gently introduces the movement of prayer from vocal prayer to meditation and contemplation, and why devotion is meant to lead to union with God rather than accumulation.You are not broken.You may simply be exhausted.And God is not disappointed in you.Peace be with you.

This reflection began as Mass prep for Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 4:12–23), but it quickly became something more interior.In this episode, I linger with the moment Jesus interrupts ordinary lives by the Sea of Galilee—calling fishermen who move before they understand, leaving everything behind. We explore interruption and overwhelm not as problems to fix, but as signs of God’s nearness.Drawing from Scripture, the Psalms, and the lives of the saints—especially Mary—we reflect on how God often calls not through explanation, but through Presence. The fear of the Lord, awe, and holy overwhelm are not obstacles to faith, but often its beginning.This is both a Gospel reflection and a mystical meditation for anyone who feels interrupted, unsettled, or overtaken by God.

In this episode, we examine famous quotes commonly attributed to Catholic saints that they never actually said — and what we lose theologically when spiritual language is flattened, mistranslated, or weaponized.From Jacinta of Fatima and Our Lady, to the “Instrument of Peace” prayer attributed to St. Francis, to Catherine of Siena and the meaning of becoming who God meant you to be, we look at how misquotation, translation drift, devotional culture, and modern social media distort the saints’ actual teachings.This is not about debunking devotion, but about recovering the real spiritual depth of the tradition — and learning to read the saints more carefully.Patreon supporters receive a bonus episode on how saints get misquoted and how translation changes theology.Support my work via Patreon at: patreon.com/anthonystongue

What does it mean when John points to Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God”?In this episode, we enter the quiet mysticism of John 1 and the Baptism of Christ. “Behold” is not a command to analyze or define. It is an invitation to see, to receive, to stand before God rather than explain Him. At the Jordan, Christ is not made divine. He is revealed as the dwelling place of God. The Spirit does not merely appear. He remains. God does not visit. He dwells.This reflection explores how Christ’s baptism reveals the heart of the Incarnation, the removal of separation through self-giving love, the mystery of holy unknowing, and the promise that what dwells fully in Christ is what God longs to share with the human soul. Christianity is not only God with us. It is God within us.

In this episode, I talk about the mystic poets who didn’t just shape my theology—they taught me how to pray. Not the greatest-hits version of Catholic mysticism, but the voices that formed my interior life through poetry, longing, and encounter. We explore why poetry has always been the native language of mysticism, how prayer is shaped more by desire than by technique, and why some of the most transformative saints are remembered for their theology while their poetry is quietly forgotten. Along the way, I reflect on John of the Cross, Jacopone da Todi, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and St. Columba—mystics who wrote about God not as an idea, but as fire, wound, pursuit, exile, and love. This isn’t a how-to on prayer or a list of spiritual habits, rather it's an invitation into a deeper, more contemplative Catholic spirituality, where longing becomes language and love becomes the teacher. For three additional mystics, check out the bonus video on Patreon! patreon.com/anthonystongue

OOPS! This originally only included the final 30 minutes. Here is the full 1hr 45 min version. Yikes. To submit Qs for future Q&As (and get early access and other perks) consider joining our patreon here: www.patreon.com/anthonystongue In this episode, I sit down and respond to a wide range of questions from you all, touching on prayer, confession, Christian mysticism, saints, suffering, hope, conversion, symbolism, and what it actually looks like to live a contemplative life in the middle of ordinary, busy days.Some of these questions are deeply theological. Some are personal. Some are tender and unresolved. All of them are honest.

What does the Nativity reveal about masculinity?In this video, we reflect on St. Joseph and the quiet, contemplative masculinity revealed at the birth of Christ. Against modern ideas of power, dominance, and performance, the Nativity offers something radically different. Strength expressed through tenderness. Authority shown through obedience. Holiness revealed through proximity to a vulnerable God.St. Joseph never speaks in Scripture, yet he stands at the very center of the mystery of the Incarnation. He guards the Child. He listens in the night. He acts without spectacle. In doing so, he shows us a masculinity shaped not by control, but by intimacy with God.This reflection explores the masculine mysticism of Advent and the Nativity, the fear of tenderness in modern Catholic masculinity, and the deeper strength found in silence, vigilance, and mutual gaze with God. We also consider Joseph as an image of the bridal posture of the soul, showing how availability to God can take shape in a man’s life.

In this week’s Gospel reflection we sit with John the Baptist in the darkness of uncertainty and listen to Jesus’ strange response: look again. Instead of offering clarity, Christ invites us to see Him in the quiet places where healing and mercy are already breaking in.And we explore the line that holds the whole passage together: Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.Advent asks whether we can love a God who arrives differently than we expect.

In this Advent reflection we explore three Christian mystics who claimed to witness the Nativity through visionary experience. Saints across the centuries have described seeing Christ born in light, poverty, and humility, not as historical reportage but as a spiritual unveiling of the Incarnation.This video looks at the Nativity visions of St. Bridget of Sweden, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, and St. Francis of Assisi. Their accounts differ in imagery and detail, yet converge on the same mystery of divine nearness. These visions matter not because they correct the Gospel narratives, but because they reveal how the Incarnation is received by the soul.Why do mystical visions of Bethlehem vary? What do light, straw, silence, and tenderness teach us about God taking on flesh? And why does the Church continue to preserve and discern these visions centuries later?Advent is the season when heaven leans close. Through these mystics we are invited not only to remember the birth of Christ, but to contemplate what it means for God to choose proximity over power and humility over spectacle.For patrons, this reflection continues with additional mystics and longer readings from their writings, offering a deeper look into interior Nativity visions and the ongoing birth of Christ in the heart.Three more mystics can be found on patreon: http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue

Why did God choose a body?He could have remained distant. He could have spoken only from heaven. He could have arrived in power and fire. Instead, the infinite God became an infant.In this Advent episode, I explore incarnational mysticism and the heart of the Christian claim that God chose to enter human life fully. God did not come to change His mind about humanity. He came so that we might change our minds about God. The Incarnation reveals a God who draws near, who becomes knowable, touchable, and present within the ordinary realities of human life.This reflection looks at why Christ came as a poor child, why love always moves toward proximity, why mysticism happens in the body rather than outside of it, and why God chose hiddenness, smallness, and vulnerability as the way to reveal Himself. We also reflect on the womb as the first temple of the Incarnation and why Advent is a season of attention rather than spiritual performance.If God feels distant this Advent, this episode offers a different possibility. God may not be absent. God may simply be coming quietly, gently, and close.

Advent shouldn't be a time to "do more stuff" but rather, to go more deeply into the things we're already doing. Here are 5 ways to increase your prayerfulness this advent, in the lineage of the Catholic mystics. These are designed not to overwhelm you, but invigorate you!🔥Additional St. Anthony's Tongue Resources:Enter the Stable: Advent with the Mystics:A 90 Minute Online Retreat, here on YouTube!https://youtu.be/exFRYGPGNHs?si=1Hl3xMUtx0iAuLLzAdvent Devotional Guide (also available on ALL Patreon tiers): Weekly reflections, prayers and more! https://www.stanthonystongue.com/products/p/pdf-advent-devotional-guidePatreon: Over 400 pieces of bonus videos, articles, and for Advent - near daily content reflections and more! www.patreon.com/anthonystongue The Violence of Marian Joy - A reflection on the joyful mysteries, including the nativityhttps://youtu.be/POGPjUCux4c?si=sPtsvk5azRbbwRPq ----🔥 Lectio Divina ResourceLectio Divina Video Episode: https://youtu.be/ibLtCzBlXZs?si=KiSMFADQwCjCs7cF-----🔥 Liturgy of the Hours/Chant Resources: Chanting the Hours Resource: Sing the Hourshttps://www.youtube.com/c/SingtheHours Psalm Tones: Chants and RantsThis is Sing the Hours' "vlog" channel. He has about 70 of the psalms sung, but it has most of the major psalm tones listed. I highly recommend using this playlist as a basis when learning a tone.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTznj9fyCSlDWxCmrBpOfEkXwIeWIe3I0 The Mundelein Psalter (This is available on Amazon as well) https://ltp.org/products/details/HMPSAL/mundelein-psalterThe Universalis App (Highly Recommend!!) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/universalis/id284942719The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (You can find many versions, but this one is highly recommended) https://www.baronius.com/little-office-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary.html

Into the Stable: Advent With the Mystics is a 90-minute mystical retreat for the aching, the tired, the spiritually hungry, and anyone longing to experience Advent beyond sentimentality. This episode invites you into the stable of your own heart. The place where God chooses to draw near with tenderness, poverty, and quiet glory.Across this longform journey, we walk with the great mystics and saints: St. John of the Cross, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Bernard, Thérèse of Lisieux, and more to explore the deeper meaning of Advent as a season of longing, divine hiddenness, and sacred poverty.This is not a countdown to Christmas. It is an invitation to encounter God in the very places you feel unprepared, unfinished, or overwhelmed.If you want to go deeper, I’ve created an Advent devotional guide that follows the same themes: longing, tenderness, hiddenness, and the stable of the heart. It offers daily Scripture, reflections, and practices designed to draw you into a more contemplative, interior Advent.Available Here: https://www.stanthonystongue.com/products/p/pdf-advent-devotional-guideAlso available on Patreon with over 400 pieces of bonus content and more! http://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue

What did it actually feel like when the saints encountered God? For St. Philip Neri, it was a globe of fire bursting in his chest. For St. Teresa of Ávila, it was a burning spear of love that pierced her heart. For others, it was light, fragrance, peace, or the trembling stillness that fills the soul when heaven draws near. In this episode, we explore the sensory mystics of the Church, the saints who felt God in their bodies, and what their experiences reveal about prayer, love, and the incarnational way God reaches us.We’ll look at the Church’s teaching on consolations and mystical experience, and walk through vivid testimonies from saints like Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, Philip Neri, Catherine of Siena, Columba Marmion, Gemma Galgani, and more. Their stories remind us that God is not distant; He moves through every sense, every ache, every silence.If you’ve ever wondered what it means to “feel God,” or whether that moment of warmth, ache, or peace in prayer was real, this episode is for you. Mentioned Videos My “Mystical” Reversion Experience:
https://youtu.be/LM8rudQFBukThe Transverberation of the Heart:
https://youtu.be/2U20bnJ7LN4 When God Veils:https://youtu.be/9_SaZRkhsA8 The Violence of Marian Joy: https://youtu.be/POGPjUCux4c My Other Channels/Support Patreon (400+ bonus articles, videos, prayer guides & more): 
https://www.patreon.com/anthonystongue Substack (weekly essays on Catholic mysticism): 
https://stanthonystongue.substack.com/Personal Substack: 
https://substack.com/@stanthonystongue Instagram (daily reels and reflections): 
http://www.instagram.com/stanthonystongue

Purgatory is not punishment. It’s purification. In this episode, we explore the mystical heart of the Church’s teaching on purgatory through the lens of love, unveiling, and divine transformation. Drawing on the Catechism, the early Fathers, and the voices of the mystics: St. Catherine of Genoa, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Julian of Norwich, and others—this reflection looks beyond fire and fear to reveal purgatory as the soul’s unveiling before God.We’ll uncover what the Catholic Church actually teaches about purgatory, what belongs to private revelation and opinion, and how the saints understood purification as the fire of divine love rather than punishment. Through this lens, purgatory becomes the final movement of theosis, the soul’s slow adaptation to eternal light—the moment the veil begins to fall.