As we start the second year of Almost Good Catholics, I asked my old friend David Basile, the theology teacher (and our very first guest last year) to come back and explain the mystery of our redemption in the sacrifice of Christ crucified. What is more central to our Christian faith, and yet – at least for me – what is more difficult to understand?

David Basile is Chair of Theology at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metarie, Louisiana. He explains how Paul’s verdict—“the wages of sin are death” (Roman 6:23)—is not the bad news it sounds like and how the power of sacrifice and redemption—“whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:15)—is good news indeed.

The episode ends with two Christmas carols from Josh and Margot of the Great Space Coaster Band: What Child is This? and Silent Night.

• Bishop Robert Barron’s commentary on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
• Jordan Peterson’s lecture series on Genesis and his anthropological discussion of sacrifice.
• Sermon by Martin Luther King Jr., “Transformed Nonconformist.” (1966)
• Sermon by John Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” (1741)
• David Basile on Almost Good Catholics, episode 01: How Do We Know There is a God? Rational Proofs for a Loving Creator.
• David Basile on Almost Good Catholics, episode 09: From Zen Monastery to Catholic Church: Talking about Buddhist and Christian Mysticism.
• Cathleen Chopra-McGowan on Almost Good Catholics, episode 33: The Mesopotamian Connection: Comparing the Bible to Other Literature of the Ancient Near East.
• Matthew Thomas on Almost Good Catholics, episode 22: Better Call Paul: How Did the Early Jewish Christians “Works of the Law”?

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