Deacons Pod

The recent death of legendary musical artist and humanitarian Dolly Parton, as well as this week's 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, inspired this episode of Deacons Pod about the experience of collective grief.

"It's just a different kind of grief that sort of spills over into the lives of us all," says Deacon Mike Hayes, who co-hosts the episode with Deacon Mike Berstene.

Both deacons are Paulist Deacon Affiliates.

Earlier this summer, the Paulist Deacon Affiliates' group chat came alive with a discussion of a thought-provoking essay in Commonweal magazine called "From Summit to Source: On a Eucharistic Dialogue With the World" by Kathryn Muensterman.

In her essay, Muensterman, a PhD student in systematic theology at the University of Notre Dame, considers the statement "the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life" and asks what it means for the work of Christian discipleship.

Deacon Mark Asselin and Deacon Drew Dickson continue the conversation with Muensterman in this episode of Deacons Pod.

How should Christians respond when Scripture verses are used as tools (and as weapons) in political debates?

That question is raised in this episode of Deacons Pod featuring Thomas Bolin, author of the Liturgical Press book "An Inspired Word in Season: Reading the Bible Responsibly in a Polarized World," which received a first-place honor in the Catholic Media Association's 2026 Book Awards in the "Religion in the Public Square" category.

Dr. Bolin joins Deacon Mark Asselin and Deacon Patrick Ouellette (both of whom are Paulist Deacon Affiliates) for this timely conversation.

Jen Sawyer, Editor-in-Chief of the Paulist Fathers' media ministry Busted Halo, is the guest on this episode of Deacons Pod.

She shares details about "Voices From the Back Pew," Busted Halo's new series that features "honest stories of curiosity, struggle, or tension with the Church."

"A great story is an honest one. It's when someone isn't afraid to be authentic and share about their lives – the good, the bad, and the ugly," says Jen. "When I work with writers, I always tell them to think narrow and deep instead of wide and shallow."

In her conversation with Deacon Mike Hayes and Deacon Mike Berstene (both of whom are Paulist Deacon Affiliates), Jen also details her career path from the secular media in New York City to a Catholic media ministry.

In addition to her work with Busted Halo, you can find Jen at Substack.

Paul McMahon, the President and Publisher of Paulist Press, is our guest on this special episode of Deacons Pod.

Deacon Mike Hayes and Deacon Drew Dickson (both of whom are Paulist Deacon Affiliates) ask Paul about his unique career path from his native Australia to service as the first lay President and Publisher in the 160-year history of the Catholic publishing company.

During their conversation, Paul speaks about several Paulist Press books, including:

The Paulist Biblical Commentary

"Coming to Our Senses: Embodying the Soul" by Gunilla Norris

"101 Questions & Answers on Deacons: Revised Second Edition" by Deacon Bill Ditewig

"A Human Portrait of Jesus" by Fr. Vincenzo Anselmo, SJ

"The Legacies of Sr. Madeleva Wolff, CSC" by Jessica Coblentz and Susan Mancino

Deacon Mike also asks Paul what he learned from his predecessors at Paulist Press: Paulist Fr. Kevin Lynch (1925 - 2022), Paulist Fr. Larry Boadt (1942 - 2010), and Paulist Fr. Mark-David Janus, who now serves as Publisher Emeritus.