Outside the Walls

TJ Bogan is the founder of FindMyCamino.com. He shares with us his experiences as a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago, and the work he does to facilitate pilgrimages for others.

This week, the "socials" have been abuzz in response to a provocative scene in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. There were hot takes by those offended, and hotter takes ridiculing those offended. In this week's conversation, we won't spend much time looking at the inciting events, We won't definitely answer the question of whether blasphemy occurred or not. Rather, I want to take a step back and discern what a holy, and helpful response to Blasphemy and offense might be.

Julianne Stanz is a Storyteller, author, and encourager,  an internationally known speaker and retreat leader. She is the Director of Outreach for Discipleship and Evangelization for Loyola Press and a consultant to the USCCB. Julianne is the author of five books, including the award-winning Braving the Thin Places: Celtic Wisdom to Create a Space for Grace.

Her new book, The Catholic Parent Survival Guide: How to Answer Your Children’s Toughest Questions, is published by Loyola Press. She is married to Wayne, and they have three children.

Mike Aquilina, Co-Founder of The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is a widely recognized Catholic author and lecturer, and popular Church Historian.

He is the host of seasons 1-3 of The Way of the Fathers Podcast at CatholicCulture.org

Together with Adam Lucas, Mike is the co-author of Feasts of our Fathers : Praying the Church Year with the Early Christians published by Catholic Answers. You can learn more about it at Catholic.com.

Chris Padgett is a popular speaker, musician, and author who has traveled around the world doing ministry. He and his wife, Linda, have been married over thirty years and have nine children. 

He joins us to talk about his varied experiences in ministry and the opportunities he's been given, simply by making himself available to the Holy Spirit. We talk about how God uses each of us when we just show up.

To learn more about Chris's parish missions and all things ministry, visit ChrisPadgett.com

To learn more about Chris and Linda's marriage ministry, visit

Dr. Andrew Whitmore, Associate Professor of Theology and academic dean at Christendom College., is the author of Saintly Habits: Aquinas’ 7 Simple Strategies You Can Use to Grow in Virtue, available through Ascension Press.

Dr. Timothy P. O’Malley is the Academic Director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy. He teaches and researches at Notre Dame in the areas of liturgical-sacramental theology, catechesis, and aesthetics.

Today we talked about his new book on Ave Maria Press, Behold Believe Become: Meeting the Hidden Christ in Things We See, Say and Do at Mass. There are also free video resources available to help facility the use of this book in Adult Faith Formation and small group studies.

Joel Stepanek serves as the Vice President of Programming and Administration for the National Eucharistic Congress which will take place from July 17th - 21st in Indianapolis, Indiana.  (EucharisticCongress.org)

He has served in a variety of ministry and leadership roles, including as a parish youth minister, RCIA team member, and Vice President of Parish Services at Life Teen. Joel is an author and speaker who is passionate about helping people encounter Jesus Christ and sending them out on mission. 

Fr. Tim Anastos is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the assistant chaplain at the St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois–Chicago. He serves as a eucharistic preacher for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Constance T. Hull joins us to discuss her recent piece at Catholic Exchange "Is it 'Just' War?" where she shares her experience rethinking her own opinions on the wars we wage through the lens of Just War Theory.