Franciscan Media’s “Off the Page” podcast brings listeners insightful conversations with authors, artists, and educators who explore faith, spirituality, and the human experience through a Franciscan lens. Each episode delves into thought-provoking topics, drawing inspiration from the values of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, to inspire a deeper connection with God and the world.
Featuring a diverse range of guests, the podcast offers a blend of storytelling, reflection, and practical wisdom for living a life of harmony, joy, and simplicity.
Margaret Carney, OSF, PhD, on Saint Clare’s Leadership in a Time of Division
Sister Margaret Carney, OSF, is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities. Her education in theology and Franciscan studies took place at Duquesne University, the Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University, and she was the first woman to graduate from the Franciscan University of Rome at the doctoral level. She was the president of St. Bonaventure University from 2004-2016. Her biography on Saint Clare of Assisi, Light of Assisi, is available in the Franciscan Media store, Amazon, or wherever books are sold.
Show notes:
– Read this St. Anthony Messenger article from Carney on St. Clare’s life and legacy.
– Order Carney’s biography on St. Clare, available in print, e-book, or audiobook.
– Enjoy our St. Clare of Assisi playlist on YouTube.
– Explore our hub of content on St. Clare of Assisi.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Elizabeth Bookser-Barkley, PhD, on the Legacies of Helen Prejean and Religious Sisters
Elizabeth Bookser-Barkley, PhD, known by her loved ones and students as “Buffy,” is an English professor and chair of the Department of Liberal Arts at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has her PhD in English and is also the author of four books and numerous articles for St. Anthony Messenger magazine. Barkley has taught the St. Anthony Messenger’s editorial director, Chris Heffron, and its executive editor, Susan Hines-Brigger. Barkley joins Off the Page to discuss her January 2025 cover story, “Dead Man Walking at 30,” and March 2025 feature, “The Nuns Are OK.”
Show notes:
– Read Bookser-Barkley’s January 2025 cover story, “Dead Man Walking at 30.”
– Read Bookser-Barkley’s March 2025 feature story, “The Nuns are OK.”
– What does the Catholic Church teach on capital punishment? See the new revision of 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
– Explore Bookser-Barkley’s Franciscan Media page to read more articles from this author.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
🎥 Watch on YouTube
Daniel P. Horan, PhD, on Listening to God in Times of Transition
Dr. Daniel P. Horan is a Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology and Director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. He is also Affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. A columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, he is the author or editor of more than fourteen books. Three of those books were published by Franciscan Media: God is Not Fair and Other Reasons for Gratitude, Dating God, and The Last Words of Jesus.
Show notes:
– Order God Is Not Fair and Other Reasons for Gratitude, Dating God, or The Last Words of Jesus.
– Check out Horan’s weekly column in the National Catholic Reporter or his podcast “The Francis Effect.”
– Follow Horan on social media.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Thomas Moore, PhD, on How to Have a Mystical Christmas
Thomas Moore is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Care of the Soul. He has written thirty other books about bringing soul to personal life and culture, including The Soul of Christmas, which was published in 2016 by Franciscan Media. In his youth Thomas was a Catholic monk and studied music composition. He has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Syracuse University and was a university professor for a number of years. He is also a psychotherapist influenced mainly by Carl Jung and James Hillman. In his work he brings together spirituality, mythology, depth psychology and the arts, emphasizing the importance of images and imagination.
Show notes:
– Order Moore’s The Soul of Christmas.
– Explore our Advent playlist on YouTube.
– Moore on how to navigate loneliness, sadness, and stress during the holidays.
– Read this excerpt from Moore’s book The Soul of Christmas.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
🎥 Watch on YouTube
Keith Douglass Warner, OFM, PhD, on Caring for Creation and Eco-Spirituality
Keith Douglass Warner, OFM, PhD, is associate professor of ethics and spirituality at the Franciscan School of Theology in San Diego. He is a practical social ethicist in the Franciscan tradition, and teaches eco-spirituality, social entrepreneurship, and moral theology. In 2007, he helped author the award-winning Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth with Ilia Delio, OSF, and Pamela Wood. The expanded edition of Care for Creation includes extensive front and back matter which delve into Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home.”
Show notes:
– Order the expanded edition of Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth.
– Enjoy this free download of worksheets from the expanded edition of Care for Creation that will help guide you and your group through the transformative themes of Laudato Si’, inspiring an ecological awakening in your community.
– Read Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home.”
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
🎥 Watch on YouTube
Susan Saint Sing, OFS, PhD, on Embracing God in Aloneness
Susan Saint Sing, OFS, PhD, is the author of God’s Love Song with Fr. Murray Bodo and Francis and the San Damiano Cross: Meditations on Spiritual Transformation. She received her doctorate in sport history and kinesiology from Penn State University, and she is a Secular Franciscan. She has been a main speaker at national conferences on St. Clare and on spirituality, and she resides in Stuart, Florida.
Show notes:
– Order Saint-Sing’s books God’s Love Song or Francis and the San Damiano Cross.
– What’s at the intersection of sport and spirituality? Read Saint-Sing’s recent blog for Franciscan Spirit.
– Learn about Saint-Sing’s journey and the healing she found in Assisi.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Garrett Galvin, OFM, PhD, on Experiencing Renewal in a Franciscan Key
Garrett Galvin, OFM, PhD, graduated from the University of California, Irvine, and joined the Franciscan Friars in 1992. He began teaching full-time at the Franciscan School of Theology in 2009. He published his first book, Egypt as a Place of Refuge in 2011. David’s Successors: Kingship in the Old Testament was published in 2016.
Show Notes:
– Explore Fr. Garrett’s lectures, one of which is the title of this episode, available on the Franciscan School of Theology’s YouTube channel.
– Learn more about the Franciscan School of Theology.
– Why is the study of theology important? Read this piece in our Study & Theology series on Franciscan Spirit.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
🎥 Watch on YouTube
Richard Rohr, OFM, on Being Eager to Love
Richard Rohr, OFM, is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher whose work is grounded in Christian mysticism, practices of contemplation and self-emptying, and compassion for the marginalized. He is a Franciscan priest and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque. Fr. Richard is the author of many books, including the bestsellers Just This, What Do We Do with Evil?, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe, and The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder. The Center publishes Richard’s Daily Meditations, free reflections emailed to hundreds of thousands around the world.
Show Notes:
– Order the anniversary edition of Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi and its accompanying Companion Guide.
– Explore our Richard Rohr Collection in Franciscan Media’s online store.
– Check out Season 3 of the Everything Belongs Podcast which delves into a new chapter from Eager to Love each episode.
– Learn more about the Center for Action and Contemplation.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Mark Shea on the Dangers of Christian Nationalism
Mark Shea is an author, blogger, and longtime contributor to the St. Anthony Messenger. He often takes on challenging topics that face Catholics today. His September 2024 cover story, “The Dangers of Christian Nationalism,” in the St. Anthony Messenger explores the rise of nationalistic ideology in America and what the Christian response should be. Shea lives in Washington State with his wife, Janet, their sons, and grandkids. His book The Church’s Best-Kept Secret: A Primer on Catholic Social Teaching was published in September 2020 by New City Press.
Show notes:
– Read Shea’s September 2024 cover story in the St. Anthony Messenger, “The Dangers of Christian Nationalism.”
– Explore more articles written by Shea for Franciscan Media.
– What is Christian nationalism? Listen to Shea’s explanation.
– Learn more about Shea by visiting MarkPShea.com.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, on the Humility of God and Awakening to Divine Oneness
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, D.C.,and an American theologian specializing in the area of science and religion. Her work often bridges evolution, physics, and neuroscience with Franciscan theology. She currently holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University and also holds two honorary doctorates, one from St. Francis University in 2015, and one from Sacred Heart University in 2020. She is the founder of the Center for Christogenesis, which seeks to deepen the integration of science and religion by understanding the contribution of each discipline to the whole field of knowing and loving. This conversation revolves around themes from two books of hers that were recently re-published by Franciscan Media: Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective and Franciscan Prayer: Awakening to Oneness with God.
Show notes:
– Order Delio’s books The Humility of God and Franciscan Prayer.
– Learn more about the Center for Christogenesis.
– Read this Minute Meditation from Franciscan Prayer.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Murray Bodo, OFM, on the Intersection of Prayer and Creativity
In part two of his interview, Murray Bodo, OFM, talks about how our God-given creative drive can power a healthy prayer life.
Show notes:
– Was St. Francis of Assisi a poet? Father Murray Bodo explains.
– Learn more about Father Murray’s work here.
– Stay tuned for Father Murray’s upcoming poetry book Brother Wind and Air: A Lifetime in Verse.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Murray Bodo, OFM, on His Approach to Prayer as a Poet
Murray Bodo, OFM, is a Franciscan priest and an award-winning author of numerous books including his bestselling Francis: The Journey and the Dream, Nourishing Love: A Franciscan Celebration of Mary, and God’s Love Song: The Vision of Francis and Clare, which he co-authored with Susan Saint Sing. He resides in the inner city Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he continues to write and minister.
Show notes:
– Check out the anniversary edition of Song of the Sparrow.
– What do we do when prayer feels empty? Bodo uses a poem in Song of the Sparrow as a guide for listeners.
– What is contemplation? Bodo explains.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
Bruce Epperly, PhD, on Why St. Bonaventure Is a Theologian for Our Time
Rev. Dr. Bruce G. Epperly served as a congregational pastor, university chaplain, professor, and seminary administrator for over forty years. He is the author of more than seventy books including Walking with Francis of Assisi, Simplicity, Spirituality, Service, and his new book Head, Heart, and Hands: An Introduction to Saint Bonaventure.
Show notes:
– Read more of Epperly’s articles with Franciscan Media.
– What is downward mobility? Epperly explains.
– Epperly explains Bonaventure’s notion of “fountain fullness” and its importance today.
🔊 Listen on Spotify
🔊 Listen on Apple Podcasts
