Wednesday, June 27, 2012

TSP 24: Mike Aquilina on the Early Church "Mothers"

Best-selling author and patristics expert, Mike Aquilina, comes on the show to discuss a new book he recently co-wrote with Christopher Bailey, The Mothers of the Church: The Witness of Early Christian Women (Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor, 2012).

This is a tremendously good book and it fills an important lacuna in books on the early Church--here we have a book that focuses on the influence of important Christian women.
  • How did ancients view the role of women? How did Christianity bring about a revolution?
  • Did you know one of the Capadocian fathers described a woman as "the Teacher"? 
  • Who are Felicity and Perpetua? The two saints are mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer #1 and are therefore probably familiar to most Catholics--but most do not know much about them!
Mike is a great guest. . . I'm sure you'll agree!

Listen on iTunes or click the link below.

Feel free to leave your comments below.




Here's a bit more about our guest from the St. Paul Center website:
Mike Aquilina, Executive Vice President and Trustee of The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is a widely recognized Catholic author and lecturer. Aquilina’s books include the best-selling, The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers (2nd ed 2006); Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians (2003) co-written with Dr. Scott Hahn; The Mass of the Early Christians (2001); What Catholics Believe: A Pocket Catechism (2000); The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions (2000); and A Pocket Catechism for Kids (2001). He is also the author of Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with St. Thomas Aquinas (2002), The Way of the Fathers: Praying with the Early Christians (2000), Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life (2007), Signs and Mysteries (2008) and is co-author of Weapons of the Spirit: Selected Writings of Father John Hugo, along with St. Paul Center colleague, David Scott. His most recent book is Take 5: On the Job Meditations With St. Ignatius (2008). All of Aquilina’s books are published by Our Sunday Visitor Books. 
His ongoing research is concerned with early Christian community and worship. He is past Associate Editor of Scripture Matters, the bulletin of The Institute of Applied Biblical Studies and past Editor of New Covenant, a Catholic spirituality magazine, and The Pittsburgh Catholic, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. His reviews, essays and journalism have appeared in First Things, Touchstone, Crisis, National Catholic Register, Child and Family and elsewhere. 
Aquilina has also co-hosted, along with Dr. Hahn, several popular series on scripture and theology airing on the Eternal Word Television Network. He and his wife Terri live in the Pittsburgh area with their six children.

Friday, June 22, 2012

TSP 23: John the Baptist: In the Spirit and Power of Elijah

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of John the Baptist. Why was he so important? Here we talk about his role in the New Testament.

A full write up with all of the primary sources cited here can be found over at The Sacred Page blog here.

Listen on iTunes or click the link below. 

Feel free to leave your comments below.





TSP 23: John the Baptist: In the Spirit and Power of Elijah

Sunday, June 17, 2012

TSP 22: Origen and His Influence on Christian Theology

With the big discovery of some of his lost homilies on the Psalms in the news, I decided to focus on Origen in this week's episode of The Sacred Page Podcast.

Below is a .pdf containing an outline and notes of this presentation, with references to primary sources cited.

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 22: Origen and His Influence on Christian Theology

The Sacred Page Podcast on Origen

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

TSP 21: What does it mean to be "saved"? What is the role of works in salvation?

"Are you saved?"

Many popular Christian descriptions of "salvation" amount to little more than "fire insurance"--i.e., getting out of the fires of hell. A closer look however reveals that New Testament soteriology however is far more involved than that. Here I look at the way the New Testament describes "salvation". I also look at the role of "works" in "salvation".

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 21: What does it mean to be "saved"? What is the role of works in salvation?

Monday, June 4, 2012

TSP 20: Matthew Salisbury and Co. on Catholic Social Teaching

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

Friday, June 1, 2012

Scripture and the Trinity: The Biblical Roots of the Dogma (Podcast for Trinity Sunday 2012)


This Sunday is one of my favorite feasts of the year: Trinity Sunday. Here I go through Thomas Aquinas' exegetical arguments for the Trinity in his Summa Contra Gentiles. I'd appreciate your comments and feedback!

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.





Scripture and the Trinity: The Biblical Roots of the Dogma (Podcast for Trinity Sunday 2012)(Right click to download)

As always, I'd like to express my gratitude to Saint Joseph's Communications, who generously support this podcast. They are also offering our listeners a free copy of the first CD from Scott Hahn's audio set "Justification: Becoming a Child of God". Call 1-800-526-2151. (And don't forget to thank them for supporting the show!)