Outside the Walls

Dr. Mark Giszczak, who received his Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America, is a professor of Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute just outside Denver, Colorado.

He is the author of “Bible Translation and the Making of the ESV Catholic Edition (Augustine Institute), ”Light on the Dark Passages of Scripture (OSV), What Every Catholic Should Know about Suffering (Augustine Institute, Ignatius Press), and He is one of the Series editors for Baker Academic’s Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. He has written the first Old Testament volume for that series on the Wisdom of Solomon.

He joins us today to talk about the new commentary volume and the benefit of using biblical commentaries in your own spiritual reading.

Dr. John W. Martens is professor of theology and director of the Centre for Christian Engagement at St. Mark's College at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. For four years he wrote the Scripture column "The Word" at America Magazine. He has also written extensively on children in early Christianity, including ‘Let the Little Children Come to Me’: Children and Childhood in Early Christianity (2009), and Children and Methods: Listening To and Learning From Children in the Biblical World (2020).

He is an Editor of the amazing new Liturgy and Life Bible from Liturgical Press.

He joins us today to talk about Pope Francis use of Scripture around the theme of Mercy, and why Mercy often makes us uncomfortable.

Fr. Patrick Gilger, S.J. is assistant professor of sociology at Loyola University Chicago and contributing editor for culture at America Media. Fr. Gilger’s research lies at the intersection of the sociology of religion, political theory, and the study of the secular.

Fr. Gilger is an award-winning author and frequent public speaker. His writing has appeared in publications such as Vox, Church Life Journal, La Civiltà Cattolica, America, and Public Seminar.

We talk today about what it looks like to live out our faith in the secular world.

Dr. Joseph Vukov is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at Loyola University Chicago. He is also Associate Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola, and an Affiliate Faculty Member in Catholic Studies and Psychology. Nationally, Vukov also serves as the Vice President of Philosophers in Jesuit Education. His research explores questions at the intersection of ethics, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, and at the intersection of science and religion.

He is a prolific author of articles and monographs including Navigating Faith and Science, and the topic of today’s conversation The Perils of Perfection: On the Limits and Possibilities of Human Enhancement, Part of the Magenta Series at New City Press.

This week found me severely under the weather instead of enjoying SEEK 2024. Unable to record a new show, I opted to revisit my conversation from this time last year with Fr. Sean Hagerty, SJ.

Fr. Hagerty is the vocation promoter for the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. That means that Fr. Hagerty is responsible for accompanying men who are discerning a life in the Society of Jesus. He joined the Jesuits in 2012, after having served in the U.S. army. He has ministered in prisons, campus ministries, and hospitals, and conducted research into just war, moral injury, and the reintegration of soldiers into the Catholic community. He was just ordained a priest in 2022.

We spoke with him about the process of discernment live from St. Louis at SEEK23 put on by FOCUS. 

Ann has been a catechist of the Good Shepherd since 1996. She is a member of the faculty at Aquinas Institute of Theology where she founded the MAPS-CGS program, a pastoral studies degree program with a concentration in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  She now serves as spiritual formation director for the program.  Ann is a member of the formation committee of the U.S. national association of CGS and offers formation courses at all three levels. She is the author of Mustard Seed Preaching (LTP, 2004), A Year with Sofia Cavalletti (LTP, 2017), and Preaching with Children (LTP, 2022). 

Katie McGrady is a speaker, author, podcast host, and host of The Katie McGrady Show on The Catholic Channel on Sirius XM 129 that talks about pop culture, current events, Catholic news, and how to live a life of abundant joy. She is a frequent guest on CNN whenever there is a big story on a Catholic topic.

Joe Heschmeyer is a Staff Apologist at Catholic Answers. When not on-air, he is writing exceptionally thorough apologetic treatises, books, or hosting the Shameless Popery Podcast.

Dcn. Fritz C. Bauerschmidt Is professor of theology at Loyola University Maryland and a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, assigned to the Cathedral of Mary our Queen. He is a prolific author with over a dozen books on multiple publishers.

Greg Metzger is the Associate Publisher at New City Press, part of Focalare Media, the communications arm of the Focolare movement. He's written for a variety of publications, including Christianity Today, Commonweal, and Christian Century. He lives with his wife in Pasadena, CA. He joins us to talk about the new book of Pope Francis's meditations on the Nativity entitled Christmas at the Nativity available from New City Press.

We also spoke about the Focolare Movement's way of corporate formation for Christian Living, and their charism of pursuing unity.