Outside the Walls

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. 

In this rerun from 2020, Deacon Charles Beard, from St. Pius X in Tulsa and the Blessed Stanley Rother Catholic Worker, joins us to talk about the Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. We often imagine this Cosmic Kingship with the implication of his rule over the nations; today we explore the implications of his rule on a personal level.In the Patreon segment, I discuss my recent airplane conversation with a Buddhist. Learn more at patreon.com/outsidethewalls. 

It seems like only yesterday that Outside the Walls launched on St. Michael radio in Broken Arrow, but here we are nine years in and still going strong. It seemed fitting to take this week and look back over the past nine years and reflect. My wife Kristin joins me to talk about our experiences with the show, and to discuss the idea of looking back as a means to prepare for moving forward. This idea is borne out in scripture, in liturgy, and in sacrament and gives us a method for preparing for our own futures.

Dr. Holly Taylor Coolman teaches theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. Her areas of specialty include Christian accounts of Judaism, as well as the family, especially adoption. She and her husband are parents to five children, ages 25 to 15.
We discuss her forthcoming book on Baker Academic Press, Parenting: The Complex and Beautiful Vocation of Raising Children.

My wife, Kristin, and I recently spent a week in Rome, Italy. We talk about our experiences and reflect on the Communion of Saints.

Father Jeffrey Kirby, STD, is a Papal Missionary of Mercy, the Pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Indian Land, South Carolina, and an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Belmont Abbey College. Father Kirby is a Senior Contributor to the Crux news site, the Host of the daily devotional, The Morning Offering with Father Kirby, and the Host of the podcast, Truth Be Bold.
Father Kirby has authored several books, including Understanding the Bible: A Catholic Guide to Applying God's Word to Your Life Today on OSV.
 
More information on Father Kirby can be found at frkirby.com. He can be followed on X @fatherkirby

I'm in Rome this week, so we're revising a conversation we had in June of 2022 with Fr. Josh Johnson.Be sure to visit patreon.com/outsidethewalls to see highlights from Rome!What picture pops into your head when you envision "the Church?" Whose faces are situated next to yours in the family portrait above God's mantle? The answer to this question has implications on how we live out our faith, practice evangelization, and make disciples. It's the fundamental question of "Who Belongs?"
Fr. Josh Johnson joins us to discuss his new book, On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Restoring God’s Vision for Race and Discipleship.
This book follows Fr. Josh’s journey of serving as the only Black priest in the diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Fr. Josh draws from the riches of Scripture, personal experience as a Catholic of color, his priestly ministry, and the wisdom of the Church to encourage Catholics to understand more deeply the call of Christ to make disciples of “all peoples and nations (Matt. 28:19).”

I'm in Rome this week, so we're revisting a conversation from last April with Dr. Ann Garrido, an associate professor of homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, where she previously directed the school’s Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching program. Dr. Garrido has served as the Marten Faculty Fellow in Homiletics at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning Redeeming Administration, Redeeming Conflict, and Let’s Talk About Truth. She travels nationally and internationally helping communities discuss the topics they find toughest to talk about—conversations that always involve questions of truth.Make sure to visit patreon.com/outsidethewalls to see highlights from Rome.