Episode  8 – Handing on the Passover
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss St. Joseph and the role he had in Jesus’ religious formation.  Also, Mike offers a deeper insight on the scene popularly known as “the finding in the Temple.”
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
A father has no idea what his son will make of the lessons of boyhood—the small and large skills passed from one generation to the next. It was Joseph who taught Jesus how to conduct the Passover seder. It was Joseph who showed him how to bless the bread and break it—how to bless the cup and share it. It was Joseph who taught him to make thanksgiving by means of the Haggadah, the ancient story of salvation. It was Joseph who read the poem that predicted the night of the messiah.
It was Joseph who gave Jesus the fundamental form that would later come to be filled by the Eucharist.
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 70). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page

You can find the book on which this series is based here.
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode  7 – Joseph and His Work
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss St. Joseph and his family’s trade as a carpenter and the holiness found in “work.”
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
He was a silent man. And one of his titles in modern devotion draws further attention to his silence: St. Joseph the Worker. The Catholic Church remembers St. John of Antioch as “Golden Mouth” (Chrysostom) and St. Peter of Ravenna for his “Golden Words” (Chrysologus). But we remember Joseph for getting things done. Among all who have labored, in all of human history, he is the one known as “the Worker.”
In the Gospels, Joseph’s identity is bound up with his relationships and his labor. He is the son of Jacob. He is the husband of Mary. He is the earthly father of Jesus. He is the companion of angels.
He is a son, a husband, a father. And he is a tekton—a craftsman, an artisan. An ancient tradition tells us more specifically that his craft was carpentry, a trade in which he apprenticed his son Jesus. When people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, they asked: “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:55).
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 59). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page
 

You can find the book on which this series is based here.
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode  6 – Flight from Herod
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss St. Joseph and the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt.
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
The warning came in a dream: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Mt 2:13). Joseph had been asleep. It was late in the night, and even the roads in town were barely navigable for the darkness. Beyond the town, there was not a glimmer of light.
They had no time to prepare. Packing for maximum speed, they could carry few possessions with them. They would have to make the journey with little more than the clothes they wore and the divine baby in their arms.
This could not be delayed till morning. Mary and Joseph had spent the whole of their lives in a land ruled by Herod. They knew no other world. They had never seen another world. They knew that Herod would act swiftly, decisively, and effectively. Every despot in the Mediterranean region was capable of murderous cruelty. The Persians were notorious for it; and the Romans were every bit their equal. History showed that the Hasmoneans, too, had been inclined to slaughter and exemplary public torture. But Herod was efficient, and he did not allow himself or his forces to fail.
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 53). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page
 

You can find the book on which this series is based here.
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode  5 – Joseph and His Angels
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss St. Joseph and his interactions with the Angels.
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
The great difficulty in sketching the character of Joseph of Nazareth is that Scripture never shows him speaking. He never says yes or no. He never makes a nod or gesture. And not only is he never shown to speak, the Gospels never show a single human being speaking to him—not even his wife or son.
No humans speak to him; but four times, an angel speaks to him.
Christian tradition makes much of Mary’s Annunciation. The Church commemorates it by a feast day and dedicates a daily prayer to it (the Angelus). But Joseph’s “annunciations” are also worthy of scrutiny—certainly for what they reveal about him, but also for what they reveal about angels. The Gospels present almost every episode in Joseph’s life as an encounter with an angel.
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 43). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page
 

You can find the book on which this series is based here.
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode 4 – Marriage Amid the Madness
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Mary and Joseph’s marriage and his challenge with her pregnancy.  They also discuss Mary’s need to visit her cousin Elizabeth, commonly referred to as The Visitation.
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
Commentators down the ages have proposed three approaches to this enigmatic passage:  (1) the suspicion theory, (2) the perplexity theory, and (3) the reverence theory.  Let us examine them briefly.
1. The Suspicion Theory. In this reading of the Gospel passage, Joseph suspects that Mary has been unfaithful. He is devastated, but his love for her remains so great that he cannot bear the thought of her facing public shame—or, worse, the death penalty, since adultery was a capital crime, punishable by stoning. He decides to divorce her, as the Law permitted, until an angel deters him from that course of action.
2. The Perplexity Theory. According to this theory, Joseph cannot understand what has happened. He does not believe Mary could be unfaithful. Yet her pregnancy is undeniable and subject to legal penalties. Since Joseph is a just man, he finds a solution that respects the Law, but protects Mary as well. The angel, in this reading, provides the information that Joseph lacks and helps him to make a plan for going forward.
3. The Reverence Theory. This third theory presents Joseph as a man overwhelmed by awe when he learns of Mary’s miraculous conception. From the beginning, he knows of God’s singular intervention: “she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.” Joseph feels unworthy to be involved, and so he decides he will cooperate just long enough to protect Mary’s secret and then make a quiet exit. In this reading, Joseph’s first impulse is like St. Peter’s when he said to Jesus, “Depart from me!” (Lk 5:8), or the Centurion’s when he said, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” (Lk 7:6). The angel, however, persuades Joseph to put aside his fears.
Each theory has saints and doctors of the church among its proponents. St. Justin Martyr and St. Augustine of Hippo advanced the first; St. Jerome the second; and St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and St. Josemaria Escriva the third.
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 39). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page

You can find the book on which this series is based here.
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Etern...

Episode 3 – Joseph and His King – “Prosperity and It’s Price”
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss in more detail the life and influence of Herod the Great. Then the conversation turns to St. Joseph.  We learn more about his family background.   Who was his father? What was it like to be a carpenter in those days?  How old was St. Joseph at the time of his marriage to the Blessed Virgin Mary?  What was the influence of the Essene community?
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
An increasing number of scholars believe that the family of Jesus had contact with the Essenes. St. John the Baptist spent time in the desert and shared the movement’s emphases on asceticism and the coming age of the messiah. Mary and Joseph, too, approached their marriage in ways that seem to conform to Essene asceticism. Mary’s responses to the angel during the Annunciation make sense only if she had intended to observe lifelong virginity. Reviewing the evidence, the archeologist Bargil Pixner concluded that Joseph’s family “had strong ties with the Essene movement.”22 John Bergsma, in his book Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, arrived at a similar conclusion.23
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 34). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page
 

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode 2 – Joseph and His King – “St. Joseph and His World”
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor explore the various religious and political figures prevalent in Israel at the time of St. Joseph.  Chief among those leaders is the infamous figure of King Herod the Great.
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
In Judea at the time, there were three dominant factions to pit against each other.
The Sadducees, the descendants of Zadok, were the clerical caste, from whom the high priest had formerly been chosen. They were wealthy and largely materialist in their approach to religion. They disbelieved in angels and the afterlife. They recognized only the five books of Moses, the Torah, as Scripture.
The Pharisees were a lay movement that emphasized the meticulous observance of the Law. They supplemented the statutes of Moses with other regulations based on customs and oral tradition. They recognized as authoritative, in addition to the Torah, the Prophets, the Psalms, and sacred writings of Israel.
The Essenes were a group of pious separatists, founded probably when the Seleucids deposed the legitimate high priest and replaced him with his brother. They considered themselves the keepers of the traditional, priestly, sacrificial faith, and they awaited a messiah (or perhaps two messiahs) who would restore the integrity of Israel’s religious institutions. The Essenes had a contemplative community in the Judean desert.
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 22). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page
 

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode 1 – St. Joseph’s World – “St. Joseph and His World”
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor begin this series on the life and times of St. Joseph with a discussion on his ancestry.
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
The family of David was intensely aware of their mission and purpose in history. The residents of Nazareth and Kochba were alive to the possibility—perhaps a probability—that one of them would bear the messiah into the world.
Archeologists estimate that Nazareth had 120–150 inhabitants in the mid-first century before Christ.3 Seventy years after the clan’s arrival, they were surely established in their routines and integrated into the local economy. The households had their trades, which fathers taught their sons, and mothers taught their daughters.
Later in that century, one of the families in Nazareth—a family of artisans—gave birth to a boy and named him Joseph. His name, like the name of his birthplace, reflected the hope of his people. Joseph, in Hebrew, means “God will increase.”
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (pp. 19-20). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church

Episode 12 – Nestorius – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“was
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Nestorius, an archbishop of Constantinople who proclaimed that Mary could not be the “Theotokos”.  Such statements brought about the Council of Ephesus and a declaration throughout the Christian Church that his thought was emphatically wrong.  Mary was, and still is, the “Mother of God.”
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
We’ve been having an argument with these other people, the monks explained. We say that Mary is rightly called Mother of God—in Greek, Theotokos. But these other people say it’s not right to call her anything but Mother of the Man—Anthropotokos. Which of us is right?
Nestorius was delighted with the opportunity to show off his erudition. His answer probably struck him as very clever and evenhanded. In a way, he said, you’re both right. Each of those names can be used for Mary in a loose and imprecise way. But technically the proper term would be Mother of the Christ—Christotokos. If you want to be accurate, you’ll avoid calling her anything else.3
Thus, Constantinople was first introduced to that little word “technically”—in Greek, akribos—which the world would soon learn was one of Nestorius’ very favorite terms when he was arguing with people. It revealed a lot about the way he thought. The problem with most people, Nestorius seemed to believe, was that they didn’t choose their terms carefully enough. When you’re talking about important issues of theology, you need to be very precise in your language.
The problem with Nestorius, thought practically everybody else in Constantinople, was that he had just said Mary wasn’t Mother of God.
The people of the city instantly latched onto that little word “technically” as representing everything they hated about Nestorius. “If Mary is not technically the Mother of God,” they said, “then her Son is not technically God.”4 Mary had always been called Mother of God, as long as anybody could remember. The city—the whole Empire—was devoted to the Blessed Virgin. What was wrong with this new archbishop?
“He seemed afraid of the word Theotokos,” Socrates recalled, “as if it were some frightful ghost.”5 In the opinion of Socrates and many others, the problem wasn’t loose language on the part of the great majority of Christians. The problem was that Nestorius didn’t know what he was talking about. “The baseless fear he showed on this subject merely demonstrated how very ignorant he was. He was naturally a fluent speaker, so people thought he must be well educated. But actually he was disgracefully illiterate.” Socrates thought that Nestorius not only didn’t know what the great Christian writers before him had written on these subjects, but also didn’t care. He was smarter than they were. He could work things out for himself.6
Well, if Nestorius didn’t know what the great Christians of earlier generations had taught, it was about time somebody told him. Enter the Bishop of Alexandria.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians . Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
 
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics,

Episode 11 – Julian the Apostate – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Julian the Apostate, an emperor of Rome who was disillusioned by how his family who claimed to be Christians, yet acted counter to what they professed.  He would embrace paganism and tried to eliminate Christian influence in the Roman Empire.
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
Christians remembered Julian as “the Apostate”—the one emperor who tried to turn back to paganism. There would be no others. From 363 to 1453, when Constantinople finally fell, the Roman Empire would be Christian.
But what can we say about Julian the man? He might have been a very good emperor if he had had better relatives. In spite of his retrograde religious views, he was personally moral—in fact, puritanical—and a competent administrator when the problem was limited and solvable. Perhaps the best tribute to him comes from the Christian poet Prudentius, who neatly summed up Julian in one line:
Faithless he was to God, though not to Rome.7

Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians . Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
 
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com

Episode 10 – Arius – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Arius and the threat of the Arian heresy.  Mike makes suggestions on what the Christian can do to stay true to the faith in times and recognize the Arian tendencies we continue to see today.
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
ARIUS WAS an obscure Egyptian priest who probably had more influence on the history of Christian theology than any Christian thinker since St. Paul. It was all negative influence, but no one can deny the influence. Because of Arius, the Catholic Church had to define the relationship of the Son to the Father in clear and unambiguous terms. Because of Arius, we ended up with the Nicene Creed.
But no one would have guessed for most of his life that this Arius was going to set the world on fire.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians. Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
 
 

Episode 9 – Diocletian – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Diocletian and the threat of a “police state” to religious freedom.  Mike makes suggestions on what the Christian can do to stay true to the faith in times of religious persecution.
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
IN THE 200s, the Roman Empire fell apart. For decades, disaster after disaster rolled across the Mediterranean world. Civil war was the normal state of political affairs. The economy fell to pieces. Plagues ravaged the cities and countryside. Emperors lasted for a few months and then were assassinated by their own guards, who knew that the next emperor would pay them a hefty bonus to get on their good side and that they could repeat the whole process again in a few months’ time and get another hefty bonus.
And then came Diocletian, and suddenly the world worked again. He came very close to being remembered as one of history’s greatest heroes, the man who saved civilization when it was on the brink of collapse.
Instead, he found himself backed into a corner he couldn’t get out of, and the world of the future would remember him as a monster.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians. Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
 
 

There’s nobody I enjoy spending Ash Wednesday with more than Mike Aquilina. Mike offers us rich insights on the practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving from the perspective of the early church.  He also helps us to see how we can concretely live out all three and further enrich our spiritual lives and help those around us to see Christ more fully in us and the Church.  We like Mike!  He’s awesome!
Be sure to visit Mike’s Discerning Hearts page for more from Mike.

Episode 8 – Celsus – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Celsus and responding to his “Case against Christianity.”
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
The man’s name was Aulus Cornelius Celsus, and he was one of those remarkable people who seem to know a little bit about everything. Today we remember him most as a physician, because the main work of his that survives is a treatise on medicine; but that book was actually part of a book on practically all the world knowledge that Celsus had put together. He dealt with law, war, politics, farming, and other subjects as well. And if he knew as much about them as he did about medicine, Celsus must have been a one-man Wikipedia.
The fact that Celsus was so insatiably curious about so many things may be why he bothered to try to learn about the Christians. They were a phenomenon to be studied. But his studies did not go so far as to ask the best authorities on the subject—the bishops and teachers he might have found if he had looked around. Instead, he seems to have relied on what he heard secondhand. That was probably because, although he was a scientist, Celsus was, like any good educated man in the Roman Empire, a snob first and foremost.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians. Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
 
 

Episode 7 – Valentinus – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Valentinus and Gnostic teaching.
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
We know almost nothing about Valentinus the man except that he was well educated. He had much more higher education than the average Christian: he had studied at Alexandria, so he had the ancient equivalent of a Harvard or Oxford degree. He had specialized in Platonic studies, meaning that he knew Plato backwards and forwards, at least as Plato was interpreted by later students who claimed to have understood him. (Like many philosophy students today, Valentinus probably learned about Plato from secondary sources more than from actually reading Plato.)
In about 130, Valentinus came to Rome and he stayed there for about twenty years. Thus, he was in Rome at the same time as Marcion. Valentinus later ended up in Cyprus.1
One thing his opponents gave Valentinus credit for was his brain. Tertullian and, much later, Jerome both considered him to have a formidable mind. But he applied that mind to creating an incredibly convoluted mythology rather than simply understanding the Scriptures. In this Valentinus was just like all the other Gnostics: incredibly convoluted mythologies were their stock in trade. The simple truth was for simple people. Like some academics today, the Gnostic teachers felt a need to prove their intellectual worth by filling their writings with jargon nobody but other Gnostics could understand.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians. Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
 
 

Episode 6 – Marcion – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Marcion and the dangers of money…to the extreme!
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
Marcion was a rich businessman who thought he had figured out the real meaning of the Gospel. He used the power of money to found a kind of parallel church, and he was very successful for a while—which tells you a little about the state of Christianity at the time, and a lot about what you could do with money in the Roman Empire in those days.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians. Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
 
 

Episode 5 – Nero – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Nero and the hallmarks and dangers of an “antichrist.”
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
Pilate was a waffling dupe. Judas was a tortured soul who didn’t have the courage to repent. But perhaps no villain in Christian legend comes out as completely and utterly villainous as Nero. He isn’t just a sinner who made the wrong choice: in much of Christian legend, and even theology, he is literally the Antichrist.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians. Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villians of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
 
 

Episode 4 – Simon the Magician – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Simon the Magician and learning from pride and hubris.
An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:
IF THERE had been supermarket tabloids in Rome of the first century, Simon Magus, or Simon the Magician, would have been on the front pages every week. His story gives us zombies, levitation, a talking dog, a jewel heist, and a prophesying baby, just to name a few of the highlights. But it all begins with a true story in the Acts of the Apostles.
Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians (Kindle Locations 528). Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in the Villians of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
 
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com