Outside the Walls

Michael Patrick Barber, Ph.D is Professor of Sacred Scripture and Theology. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and publications, including The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology, and the Gospel of Matthew (Cambridge University Press) and Paul, A New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology (Eerdmans), co-written with Brant Pitre and John Kincaid.He is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Catholic Biblical Association.Today we talk about his newest book, part of Baker Academic’s series “Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments” entitled, the Bible and the Anointing of the Sick. 

Dr. Victor Carmona serves as Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies and Core Curriculum Director at the University of San Diego. He has spent years applying Catholic Social Teaching to address the fundamental questions of power and justice connected to immigration. He joins us today to discuss those issues and provide a context for how we should meet our current moment.

Fr. Brian Strassburger is the Director of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries and the Co-host of the Jesuit Border Podcast. He joins us to discuss what he is seeing on the border, as well as a Catholic response to the border and the surge in deportations throughout the U.S.

Ansel Augustine, D. Min, is a minister, speaker, and advocate for social justice with over twenty-five years of experience serving marginalized communities. Dr. Augustine has integrated his faith and his expertise on Catholic social teaching with an unstoppable passion for justice by casting the service net wide to BlackCatholics, youth, young adults, campus students, and prisoners.Dr. Augustine serves as the Assistant Director of African American Affairs at the USCCB Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church.He joins us today to talk about his book, Praying with Our Feet: Encountering God in the Margins, available at Loyola Press.

Fr. Matthew Mary Bartow, a priest with the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word and an Assistant Chaplain at EWTN in Alabama joins us to reflect on the election of Pope Leo XIV, and talk about a proper disposition toward the pope. He shares with us his own journey with Pope Francis, and we talk a bit about how to handle all the media fervor surrounding any new pope.

Sonja Corbitt is the “Bible Study Evangelista” and creator of “the best modernization of lectio" divina: the LOVE the Word® Bible study method and journal. She is a best-selling author and Telly Award winning broadcaster whose weekly show Evangelista Bible Study and other high-impact, multi-media Bible study resources create space for busy Christians to hear and experience God through the Scriptures. Sonja’s work appears on CatholicTV, Catholic radio, and podcast. Learn more at SonjaCorbitt.com.Today we’re talking about her book Love Heals, a study of the Great Commandment, published by Ave Maria Press.

Mark Hart is the chief innovation officer at Life Teen International. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Hart is a blogger, podcaster, and international speaker. He is a research fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.He is an award-winning producer of Bible study DVDs and the author of more than twenty books, including the topic of our conversation today One Sunday at a Time: Preparing Your Heart for Weekly Mass for cycles A, B, and C published with Ave Maria Press.

Dr. Matthew J. Ramage is Professor of Theology at Benedictine College where he is co-director of its Center for Integral Ecology. His research and writing concentrates especially on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, the wedding of ancient and modern methods of biblical interpretation, the dialogue between faith and science, and stewardship of creation. In addition to his other scholarly and outreach endeavors, Dr. Ramage is author, co-author, or translator of over fifteen books, including Dark Passages of the Bible (CUA Press, 2013), Jesus, Interpreted (CUA Press, 2017), The Experiment of Faith (CUA Press, 2020), From the Dust of the Earth: Benedict XVI, the Bible, and the Theory of Evolution (CUA Press, 2022). His most recent book, The Essential Guide to Ratzinger: The Man and his Message is available through Our Sunday Visitor.For more information on Dr. Ramage’s work, visit his website, www.matthewramage.com.Today's show was sponsored in part by SockReligious.

Dawn Eden Goldstein, JCL, SThD, is the author of The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times available on LoyolaPress.comBorn in New York City, Dr. Goldstein began her working life as a rock-and-roll historian. She went on to editorial positions at the New York Post and the Daily News before publishing her first book in 2006. She is one of only a few women to hold both a doctorate in theology licensed by the Holy See and a licentiate in canon law. Dr. Goldstein’s books have been translated into ten languages. She lives in Washington, DC, and has taught at universities and seminaries in the United States, England, and India. We discuss the development and practice of the devotion to the Sacred Heart historically, and how the practice, in turn, develops us into mature disciples of Jesus.An extra segment is available on our Patreon page.

Gloria Purvis is an author, commentator, public scholar, and the host and executive producer of The Gloria Purvis Podcast. Through her media presence, she has been a strong Catholic voice for life issues, religious liberty, and racial justice. She was Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic of the Year for 2020.She presented a powerful video series entitled Racism, Human Dignity and The Catholic Church through the Word on Fire Institute. She was part of a groundbreaking, exclusive interview with Pope Francis with a delegation from America Media.Most recently, she delivered one of the keynote speeches at the historic National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the Inaugural Pastoral Fellow at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame University and recently received Honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from the University of Portland in Oregon and Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities USA.  We talked today about our Christian responsibility not only to avoid acting unjustly, but also to actively oppose injustice.Listen to an extra segment on our Patreon page.

Frederick C. Bauerschmidt is Professor of Theology at Loyola University Maryland and a deacon of the Archdiocese of Baltimore; He is the award-winning author of The Love that is God: An Invitation to Christian Faith on Eerdmans press. He has written extensively on St. Thomas Aquinas, and you can find his most recent book Thinking Through Aquinas, through Word on Fire Academic.Maureen A. Sweeney is Law School Professor and founding director of the Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice at Maryland Carey School of Law.They join us to talk about their recent Church Life Journal article, Ordo Amoris: Wisely Extending Love. 

Dr. Thérèse Scarpelli Cory is the Director of the Jacques Maritain Center and its associated History of Philosophy Forum. Her work is on medieval theories of mind, cognition, and personhood, with special focus on the thought of Thomas Aquinas and his thirteenth-century interlocutors.She is the John and Jean Oesterle Associate Professor of Thomistic Studies at the University of Notre Dame and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.Today we’re talking about a piece she published in January of 2024 in the Church Life Journal from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame entitled Migrants and the Unborn: A Culture of Life Versus a Culture of Deterrence.

Colleen Vermeulen is cofounder of CatholicBiblicalSchool.org and a teacher and director with the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, an Adult Faith Formation Ministry.She is a contributing writer to the Living the Word Catholic Women’s Bible, and has written a daily guide to reading the bible called Simply Scripture for Lent and Easter which uses daily readings of the Gospel Mark and the Acts of the Apostles over the course of the two liturgical seasons to help foster good Bible Study tools and establish a habit of daily scipture reading.

Fr. George Smiga is on the Faculty of St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology. He writes regularly at buildingontheword.org/  A resource for Scripture, Culture, and Faith. He has written books with Paul’s Press and with Liturgical Press’ Little Rock Scripture Study. Today we’re discussing his book on The Holy Spirit in the Bible. To go through this study on your own, or with others from your parish, visit LittleRockScripture.org

Amy Ekeh, Director of Little Rock Scripture Study at Liturgical Press, faculty at the New England Catholic Biblical School, and adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University, joins us to talk about her new book Stretch Out Your Hand: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus which is now available from Liturgical Press. (litpress.org)

John Michael serves as a Regional Director for the South Area for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS.org). He joins me to talk about the work of FOCUS on university campuses, his own initial encounter with FOCUS missionaries bringing him to a deeper understanding and commitment to his faith, and the amazing annual SEEK conference hosted by FOCUS.While SEEK is sold out in all three locations this year, you can catch a livestream of the evening sessions on EWTN, or stream more from the app. Learn more at https://seek.focus.org. 

Jill Simons is the Executive Director of Many Parts Ministries which seeks to equip the lay faithful to discern their charism, given by the Holy Spirit at their baptism, to fully engage in sanctifying the world through their lives.She joins me today to talk about her book, The Essential Handbook on Living Your Charisms: A Practical Guide for Catholics, and to explore how our Living our Charisms contributes to the Common Good.For more information about Charisms, read CCC 799-802, and the Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici, particularly paragraph 24.

Jason Kidd serves as the National Director of Alpha in the Catholic Context. He previously served the Marriage and Family Life Office for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. He yearns to share the radical gospel of Jesus and help build His Kingdom. He joins us to talk about how Alpha equips Catholics to be able to effectively proclaim the Gospel of Christ in a post-Christian context.To learn more, or to bring Alpha to your parish, visit alphausa.org 

Heather Khym is the cohost of the internationally popular Abiding Together Podcast. She and her husband, Jake, are the co-founders of Life Restoration Ministries, where she serves as director of vision and ministry of the British Columbia-based apostolate. She has more than twenty-five years of experience as a speaker and retreat leader, offering workshops and conferences in the United States and Canada. She attended Franciscan University of Steubenville, studying theology and catechetics. Heather is passionate about evangelization, discipleship, and creating an environment for people to have a personal encounter with God.Today we talk about her book Encountering Emmanuel: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation available with small group guides and videos through Ave Maria Press. Today's show was sponsored in part by SockReligious; Check out their amazing offerings for Advent and Christmas, they make the perfect stocking stuffer.

Jason Simon is the president of the Evangelical Catholic, which strives to equip Catholic lay leaders to fulfill the Great Commission.Today we’re talking about his book “Mission-Ready Friendship: A Blueprint for Deeper Relationships and Life-Changing Faith” Published by Ave Maria Press.Today's show was sponsored by SockReligious, one of my favorite ways to instigate conversations about the Faith.