Today the Church remembers the slaughter of the innocents, Herod's savage massacre of all the children two years and younger in the region of Bethlehem after Jesus' birth. The story is recounted in Matthew 2. Who was Herod? How did he become king? How were the Romans involved in Palestinian political affairs? Understanding the historical backdrop of first-century Judea helps us put the story in perspective. It also reveals its historical plausibility. This podcast will give you the complete run down. I hope you enjoy it! As always, you can listen on iTunes or click the link below and, as always, your comments are welcome in the comment box below. TSP 30: TSP 30: Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents: The Rest of the StoryThis week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

Today our focus--as it should be--is on Christmas. Tomorrow we continue to celebrate the Christmas season, but, as we do that, we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. Why is he so important that he is the follow-up to Christmas Day? I've always had a fascination with St. Stephen. Over on the right you can see a picture of me standing at the traditional site of his burial site in Rome. So I couldn't let December 26th go by without posting some thoughts on this great figure from the Acts of the Apostles. Learn more in this special podcast. Listen on iTunes or click the link below. As always, we welcome your comments below. Merry Christmas! St. Stephen: Deacon, Martyr, Theological Genius (Podcast for 12/26/12)St. Stephen TSP PodcastThis week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

This Sunday we turn to the story of the widow's mite. Notably, we read this story against the backdrop of a miracle worked by Elijah and the Epistle to the Hebrews. [Readings here] Who was Elijah? Why was he important? How do the Gospels portray Jesus as a New Elijah? How does the reading from the Gospel relate to the first and second readings? Learn about all that in more in this brief podcast. Listen on iTunes or click the link below. As always, we welcome your comments below. "Widows, Miracles and Sacrifice" (Sunday Readings Podcast for 11/11/12)This week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

This Sunday's Gospel has Jesus explain the greatest commandment. The first reading is taken from Deuteronomy and the second is from Hebrews. Find out how they all fit together. We also talk about how Jesus slightly alters the "greatest commandment" in Deuteronomy, emphasizing the importance of loving the Lord with all one's mind. What does this mean? Listen on iTunes or click the link below. As always, we welcome your comments below. "The Greatest Commandment" (Sunday Readings Podcast for 11/4/12)This week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

The Sacred Page Podcast is back! Due to some illness in late September, I fell way behind on a number of things. Getting this podcast up was just not possible. But now we're back. . . with our spookiest podcast ever! Halloween and All Saints Day is right around the corner. With that in mind I thought I'd cover a topic that doesn't get much attention: "ghosts" in Sacred Scripture. Scripture in fact says that we have already come to "the spirits of just men made perfect". Where does that happen? When? How? What did Augustine, Jerome and Aquinas say about Scripture's teaching? Listen here and you'll learn all about it. Oh yes. . . and please tell your friends that we're back! Next week we'll also be back to our Sunday Readings Podcast. Listen on iTunes or click the link below. Feel free to leave your comments below. I'm also including a .pdf below including some of the primary sources cited, i.e., biblical references, an excerpt from Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae where he draws from Jerome and Augustine, etc. . .  TSP 28: Ghosts and Saints in Scripture and Catholic Teaching (Halloween / All Saints Days Podcast)Ghosts and Saints Podcasts.pdfThis week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

This week I did something a little different on The Sacred Page Podcast. Here we look at the historical and religious roots of the Olympics. The topic was discussed in a recent USA Today article. Here we expand on this, asking, What makes the Olympics so popular? Did you know that the Olympic motto, "citius, altius, fortius," is attributed to a Roman Catholic priest? Did you know that Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, was educated by Jesuits and said, "The first essential characteristic of the Olympics, both ancient as well as modern, is to be a religion . . . above and outside the churches." Learn much more in this podcast. Listen on iTunes or click the link below. Feel free to leave your comments below. TSP 27: The Religious Roots of the OlympicsThis week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

Now for something a little different. . . The recent Facebook IPO and other business headlines are the topic of this recent podcast. Here I discuss Catholic Social Teaching and Scripture with the guys from Solidarity With Salisbury. The blog belongs to Matthew Salisbury, a graduate of JP Catholic's MBA program. Justin Wilga and Stephen Flemings, also JP Catholic almuni, also contribute posts as guest bloggers. These guys are engaged in some very thoughtful analysis. Check out, e.g., Matt's new post on On the Cynicism and Hollywood Night Clubs. I really enjoyed having these guys on the show. Listen on iTunes or click the link below. Look for more information on this podcast over at the corresponding post at TheSacredPage.com  Feel free to leave your comments below. TSP 20: Matthew Salisbury and Co. on Catholic Social Teaching This week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".

In this Sunday's Gospel Jesus tells us what true love looks like: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)." Here we look at how this part of the Last Supper discourse is related to Jesus' act of washing the disciples feet (John 13) and his sacrificial death as the Suffering Servant (Isa 52-53)--something also alluded to in the second reading.  Listen on iTunes or click the link below. Look for more information on this podcast over at the corresponding post at TheSacredPage.com  Feel free to leave your comments below. Jesus, the Servant, and His Sacrificial Love in John (Podcast on the Sunday Readings: 6th Sunday of Easter) This week on "The Sacred Page with Michael Barber".