Deacons Pod

Paulist Fr. Mark-David Janus joins the Paulist Deacon Affiliates for this special episode of Deacons Pod. They speak about Fr. Mark-David's wonderful new Paulist Press book "Comfort and Joy: Christmas for the Soul."  The book provides a reflection for each day of the season of Advent and the 12 days of Christmas. Ordained a priest in 1979, Fr. Mark-David also is a psychologist. He recently became...

Maggi Van Dorn is our guest on this special episode of Deacons Pod. She is the host of the wonderful podcast “Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols” from America Media. The Paulist Deacon Affiliates ask Maggi about the deep dive she takes into the history, music, and lyrics of one specific Christmas carol or hymn on each installment of "Hark!" released during Advent. As an example...

What is the Church for? Does the Church have a mission? Or, does the mission have a Church? What is your understanding of God? Fr. Stephen Bevans, SVD, raises these questions in this week's edition of Deacons Pod. Fr. Bevens is author of the new book "Community of Missionary Disciples: The Continuing Creation of the Church" from Orbis Books. A professor emeritus at Catholic Theological Union in Ch...

"Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain's Journey," a powerful new documentary film co-produced by Paulist Productions, will be in select theaters around the United States on November 8, 2024. In this episode of Deacons Pod, the deacons speak about the film with Paulist Fr. Tom Gibbons, vice president of Paulist Productions and an executive producer of "Fighting Spirit." The film shares the stories of...

Do today's Catholic leaders have the knowledge and understanding to help people become disciples of Jesus Christ? Do parish leaders have the empathy and relationship-building skills to create a culture of welcome? Those are two of the questions raised in this episode of Deacons Pod featuring an interview with Dan Pierson of Grand Rapids, MI. After decades of work in religious education, Dan establ...

The Paulist Deacon Affiliates speak with Dr. Steven Millies, author of the new Paulist Press book "A Consistent Ethic of Life: Navigating Catholic Engagement with U.S. Politics." Dr. Millies directs The Bernardin Center at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. On September 26, 2024, Dr. Millies gave a presentation on the Consistent Ethic of Life at Old St. Mary's Church, which is served by th...

Is the emotion of fear abused in politics, advertising, and other parts of life? What is the difference between natural fears and unnatural fears? Can fear be narcissistic? Can fear be transformational? Is hope the antidote to fear? These are some of the questions posed by the Paulist Deacon Affiliates to Fr. Dan Horan, OFM, in this fascinating installment of Deacons Pod. Fr. Dan is author of the...

In this rebroadcast of a 2022 episode of Deacons Pod, the deacons speak with Kevin Tuerff, the real-life “Kevin T.” portrayed in the Broadway musical “Come From Away” about the thousands of airplane passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001. Kevin also is author of the book "Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11" and founder of Pay It Forward 9/11, an initiative tha...

It is often in unlikely individuals and places that we discover God's transforming love. That is a premise of "Why God?: Stories to Inspire Faith," the new Paulist Press book from Fr. Richard Leonard, a Jesuit priest, author, and film critic from Australia. Deacon Patrick Murphy-Racey speaks with Fr. Richard in this great new episode of Deacons Pod. ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for eve...

When a Catholic leaves their parish, should we call them and ask "why"? Should departing parishioners be asked to complete marketing-style exit surveys? Is the abuse crisis a factor for those leaving the Church? These are just some questions posed to Diane Blair in this episode of Deacons Pod. Diane recently served as Director of Pastoral Life at Holy Name of Jesus Church in New Orleans. Prior to...

In this special installment of Deacons Pod, five of the Paulist Deacon Affiliates share stories of sacred moments they experienced while traveling. The episode was inspired by this question: "What is the difference between pilgrimage and vacation?" ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for everyone. But, it’s especially created to inspire and give hope to people on the “threshold of faith”: Tho...

Addressing racism in our nation and in our Church is the topic of this installment of Deacons Pod. The deacons speak with Matt Kappadakunnel, author of the Paulist Press book "The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Racial Justice." Matt is a Catholic of South Indian descent and a member of the Syro-Malabar Church. ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for everyone. But, it’s especially create...

Do our thoughts matter? Can we redirect "afflicted" thoughts like anger and dejection? What do the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers have to teach us about managing our thoughts? Those are some of the questions addressed in this episode of Deacons Pod featuring Sr. Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, a Benedictine nun of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, IN. Sr. Meg is author of "The Matters Series...

Meditation and contemplative prayer may help people take a break from the drama in their lives, and be a balm to polarization in our society. Those are just two of several takeaways from this special episode of Deacons Pod featuring Fr. Laurence Freeman, OSB, a Benedictine monk and director of the World Community for Christian Meditation. Their conversation includes details on teaching meditation...

Heidi Busse, editor of the devotional periodical Give Us This Day, has a lively conversation with the Paulist Deacon Affiliates about Benedictine values, addressing polarization, and ministry with Catholics on the threshold. Published by Liturgical Press, Give Us This Day is a monthly booklet in a day-by-day format. It provides readers with the daily Mass readings, morning prayer, evening prayer,...

Helen Osman, a longtime leader in faith-based communications, joins us for a conversation about providing hope for the Catholics at the threshold of the Church door; trends in Church media; and more. Helen is president of SIGNIS, the international association for Catholic communicators. A resident of Austin, TX, she also serves as a consultant to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. She prev...

In this special episode, we compile responses from our several of our pod guests to our regular question: "What words of hope would you give to Catholics at the threshold of the Church door, both those who are thinking about returning to Church and those who are thinking about leaving?" ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for everyone. But, it’s especially created to inspire and give hope to...

In this episode, the deacons have a wonderful conversation with Paulist Deacon Chris Lawton and Paulist Deacon Dan Macalinao. They are both Paulist seminarians and transitional deacons who are slated to be ordained priests on May 18, 2024. Deacon Chris and Deacon Dan both met the Paulist Fathers when they were parishioners at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, where the Ordinatio...

The deacons speak with Heidi Schlumpf, senior correspondent at National Catholic Reporter, about trends in the Church, Catholic publishing, and more. This is a rebroadcast of an episode from October, 2022. ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for everyone. But, it’s especially created to inspire and give hope to people on the “threshold of faith”: Those who are thinking about going to Church a...

The deacons have a great conversation with Jesuit Fr. James Martin, editor-at-large of America magazine, about his new book "Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle." In the book, Fr. Jim takes a deep dive into the Gospel account of Jesus' raising of Lazarus from the dead. The deacons also speak with Fr. Jim about his service as a voting member at the Church's “Synod on Synodality,” th...

The deacons have a great conversation with Paulist Fr. Rich Andre, director of the Paulist Center in Boston, about his faith journey, his call to the priesthood, preaching styles, music, the intersection of faith and science, and ministry in Boston. During their conversation, Fr. Rich shares details about the lectionary guide he helped to create when he served at St. Austin Church in Austin, TX. A...

Deacon Dennis and Deacon Tom share thoughts and tips for navigating the sacred season of Lent. ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for everyone. But, it’s especially created to inspire and give hope to people on the “threshold of faith”: Those who are thinking about going to Church and those who are thinking about leaving Church. Deacons Pod is hosted by the Paulist Deacon affiliates. The pod...

Deacon Dennis and Deacon Tom speak with Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, who served from 2004 to 2021 as executive director of the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and helped to organize the "Nuns on the Bus" lobbying tours around the country. Sr. Simone is a member of the Sisters of Social Service. At the beginning of the episode, Deacon Tom references an early member of the Sisters of Social S...

The deacons speak with Diana Macalintal, co-founder and co-director of TeamRCIA, a resource for parishes and ministers working with adults who are becoming Catholic. She also is an author and speaker on topics related to liturgy, music, prayer, and intercultural ministry. Diana is an alumna of the University Catholic Center at UCLA. ABOUT THE SHOW: Deacons Pod is a podcast for everyone. But, it’s...

The deacons are joined by Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese to discuss his essay "15 Hidden Gems in the Synod on Synodality Report" that appeared November 9, 2023, in the National Catholic Reporter. The essay looks at 15 aspects of the Synthesis Report that was issued after "Synod on Synodality" that was held October 4 to 29 at the Vatican. Fr. Tom is a senior analyst for Religion News Service. From 1998 to...