The Catholic Culture Podcast

We all know the secular world opposes the very idea of a person with same-sex attraction seeking any kind of therapy or spiritual counsel that might enable them to reach a state of healthy relations with the opposite sex. But what's odd is that many Catholics seem to have bought into this. Many assume that if someone is not currently attracted to the opposite sex, this is a static, lifelong condition and therefore they must be called to celibacy. But this view involves multiple misunderstandings – of the SSA experience, of anthropology, of the power of God's grace, and of the good of celibacy itself. Today's guests know otherwise because they both have a background with same-sex attraction, and yet are each now married with children. Andrew Comiskey and Marco Casanova run Desert Stream and Living Waters Ministries, which for decades have offered help to Christians seeking healing from sexual disorders (including but not limited to SSA). This conversation offers solid, spiritually and psychologically sound, experience-based answers to some disputed questions about how the Church should be pastoring those with same-sex attraction. It's not about “conversion therapy”. It's about conversion in the Catholic sense – one day at a time. --Can we really put a ceiling on God's ability to heal us psychologically? --Does any attempt at such healing amount to the secular bugbear of “conversion therapy”? --What does life look like for a person with a “gay” past who is now married to the opposite sex? --Is it legitimate for Christians to embrace a gay identity as long as they don't act out sexually? --Is there such a thing as a chaste same-sex romantic relationship? Links Thomas Mirus, “Your sexual pathology doesn't make you special” https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/your-sexual-pathology-doesnt-make-you-special/ Andrew Comiskey, Rediscovering Our Lost Fullness: A Guide to Sexual Integration https://sophiainstitute.com/product/rediscovering-our-lost-fullness/ Desert Stream Ministries http://www.desertstream.org/ Desert Stream on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJVUJQREephvIkJWlTuwXBg DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

Fr. John Nepil, priest and mountaineer, joins the podcast to discuss his book To Heights and Unto Depths: Letters from the Colorado Trail. Topics discussed include: The modern view of "nature" vs. God's creation A morally responsible approach to risk-taking The modern origins of hiking as a secular activity "Wilderness" vs. "garden" - Catholic attitudes toward the wild places To Heights and Unto Depths https://ignatius.com/to-heights-and-unto-depths-thudp/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

The standard textbook of theology in medieval universities was the Sentences by Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris from 1095-1160. This collection systematically arranged the theological judgments of Scripture and the Church Fathers on various topics. For almost four centuries, those seeking higher credentials in theology had to study, teach, and comment on Lombard's Sentences. It was formative for the likes of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure. Over time, the genre of commentaries on the Sentences became its own vehicle for new developments in theology. The Sentences was not replaced by Aquinas's Summa as a standard textbook until the 16th century. Philosopher Philipp Rosemann has written two books on the Sentences and its significance for the development of theology. The first, Peter Lombard (2004), is about Lombard and his book. The second, The Story of a Great Medieval Book: Peter Lombard's “Sentences” (2007), is about the commentary tradition on the Sentences. Rosemann gives fascinating insights into the development as theology as a systematic science, which had profound ramifications for Catholic spiritual life and the history of the West. DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

A great spiritual master of our time, Fr. Donald Haggerty, joins the podcast to discuss his important new book, The Hour of Testing: Spiritual Depth and Insight in a Time of Ecclesial Uncertainty. He offers profound reflections on the ongoing, and perhaps future, crisis within the Church, with an eye to arousing an appetite for the greater spiritual intensity God desires his faithful to live out in this time. It is essential that we see that our Lord Himself is reliving His Passion in His Mystical Body, when the Church suffers betrayal and humiliation at a high institutional level. It is also essential that we see the high stakes in the great loss of souls in this time, so that we may be spurred to a deeper and more sacrificial prayer life. Fr. Haggerty offers spiritual sobriety and counsels for holiness that should not be missed. Buy The Hour of Testing https://ignatius.com/the-hour-of-testing-htp/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

Mimetic desire, scapegoating: if you've been hearing these terms thrown around lately, it's because the French Catholic philosopher René Girard (1923-2015) is having a renaissance, with powerful people like J.D. Vance and Peter Thiel citing his influence on their thought. Trevor Cribben Merrill, producer of the new documentary Things Hidden: The Life and Legacy of René Girard, joins the podcast to discuss Girard's principal ideas, and reflect on aspects of his thought which seem difficult to reconcile with Catholic doctrine. Watch Things Hidden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-vB1HaBsog SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Ryan Hammill of the Ancient Language Institute joins Thomas for a practical discussion about how to learn Latin, as well as the central place of the classical languages (Latin and Greek) in classical Christian education, and the various schools of thought in today's classical Christian education movement. Links Thomas's article about learning Latin https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/dreamt-learning-latin-heres-how-youll-finally-do-it/ Ancient Language Institute https://ancientlanguage.com/ New Humanists Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-humanists/id1570296135 Jonathan Roberts, “Classical Schools Are Not Really Classical” https://ancientlanguage.com/classical-schools-not-classical/ Micah Meadowcroft, “Classical Education's Aristocracy of Anyone” https://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/classical-educations-aristocracy-of-anyone DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio  SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

The Christian West and Its Singers: The First Thousand Years, by the great English musicologist Christopher Page, covers the development of Christian liturgical music from its origins as an elaboration of the role of the lector to its flourishing in the monastic and cathedral singing schools of France, as Roman chant was spread across Europe. One of the most important developments was the gradual development of a system of notation in the late first millennium, culminating in Guido d'Arezzo's invention of the musical staff which allowed singers to learn melodies they had never heard before. Guido was motivated by the desire to reform monastic singing and enable monks to fulfil their duties more easily. This went along with a the development of music theory far beyond anything that could be found in the classical sources. Christopher Page, The Christian West and Its Singers https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300112573/the-christian-west-and-its-singers/ Gothic Voices ensemble https://gothicvoices.co.uk/ Christopher Page playing Renaissance guitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KW34ucTnhI&ab_channel=GreshamCollege DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio  SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

A new biography of Ven. Fulton Sheen gives special attention to his high-profile converts, but reveals many other interesting facets of his life as well. Author Cheryl Hughes joins to discuss Sheen's at times shockingly direct evangelization methods, his outstanding television presence, his lifelong struggle with vanity and ambition, and the mistreatment he suffered from his rival, Cardinal Spellman. Links Cheryl C.D. Hughes, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker https://ignatius.com/archbishop-fulton-j-sheen-afsp/ Thomas's review of Cheryl's biography of St. Katharine Drexel https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-katharine-drexel-shows-how-spiritual-poverty-and-submission-to-providence-go-hand-in-hand/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

St. Anicius Manlius Severius Boethius's book The Consolation of Philosophy, which he wrote in prison while awaiting martyrdom around the year 524, is one of the single most influential works for medieval philosophy and theology. But Boethius also owed much to the pagan philosophy that came before him.  Thomas Ward has just written a commentary on Boethius's dialogue for Word on Fire, entitled After Stoicism: Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher. Topics discussed include: Boethius's debt to Stoic ethics and how he critiques the Stoic view of happiness The influence of neo-Platonist philosophy on Boethius Questions about the account of deification given by Lady Philosophy - is it more Platonist than Christian? Boethius's brilliant arguments about how God's way of knowing differs from ours Links Thomas Ward, After Stoicism: Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/after-stoicism?srsltid=AfmBOopBRfuMW6DMx_iUEH9u2gjSswySJAZ__JrdTznAIpZ3Ptj9mDMJ Way of the Fathers episode on Boethius https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-boethius-church-father-and-medieval-scholar/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

There is increasing speculation and concern about the role of AI in the future of the arts. Surprisingly, many Christians are already embracing the use of AI to produce images of the saints. In this episode, Thomas and Susannah Black Roberts make the argument for why AI art is a contradiction in terms. It is analogous to pornography in that it scratches the itch to “create” without actually achieving the object of the desire in question. We should not use technology to replace the human specialties: “God won't accept worship that we outsource.” Plus, the danger of demonic influence through AI should not be overlooked. Susannah Black Roberts is a senior editor of Plough and has written for publications including First Things, Fare Forward, Front Porch Republic, Mere Orthodoxy, and The American Conservative.  Links Susannah's thread on Twitter https://x.com/suzania/status/1866516737057083862 Plough Quarterly https://www.plough.com/ PloughCast 66: The Technology of Demons w/ Paul Kingsnorth https://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/technology/the-technology-of-demons Robert Cotton, “Augustine, AI, and the Demon Heuristic” https://mereorthodoxy.com/augustine-ai-and-the-demon-heuristic The Anchored Argosy https://argosy.substack.com/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, a liturgical historian and priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in London, is the author of the new book A Short History of the Roman Mass, from Ignatius Press. Topics discussed in this episode include: The origins of the Roman Rite and development of the Roman Eucharistic Prayer Problems with liturgical antiquarianism (trying to revive practices allegedly from the early Church in preference to what has been handed down continuously) The value of ad orientem worship Our current predicament of being cut off from the past/tradition Links Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, A Short History of the Roman Mass https://ignatius.com/a-short-history-of-the-roman-mass-shrmp/ Pope Pius XII against liturgical antiquarianism (par. 61-64) https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_20111947_mediator-dei.html DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio De Maria numquam satis: Of Mary never enough. This saying of St. Bernard is echoed by many other saints. St. Anselm, for instance, says that it is impossible to determine the limits of God's grace in elevating Mary's human nature. St. Alphonsus says that if there is anything good we can say about Mary, not contrary to the teaching of the Church and having some legitimate theological basis, then we ought to say it. But some Catholics, to say nothing of Protestants, would object to this kind of Mariology. Are these mere overflows of sentimental piety, or can they be sustained as a rational approach to theology? Fr. Charles Anthony Mary, a Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate, joins the podcast to argue for why “Marian Maximalism” is a sound theological position. The Franciscan tradition has always been particularly strong on our Lady: St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, Bl. John Duns Scotus, St. Maximilian Kolbe… Fr. Charles makes the case for “Mary-Maxing”, explains some of the doctrinal and ecumenical stakes involved, and takes us through the Franciscan tradition, culminating in the cutting-edge (and controversial) Mariology of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. Links Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, The Theologian of Auschwitz: St. Maximilian M. Kolbe on the Immaculate Conception in the Life of the Church https://www.lectiopublishing.com/books.php?b=16 Video of Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner and Mother Angelica, “Blessed Virgin Mary: Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-p2D8Mfrqg SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

In his new book, The Stigmatists: Their Gifts, Their Revelations, Their Warnings, Paul Kengor gives a historical overview of the phenomenon of the stigmata, focusing especially on one thing many stigmatists have in common: they receive visions, often prophetic ones. The book devotes individual chapters to seven canonized or beatified stigmatists: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, St. Pius of Pietrelcina, St. Faustina, Bl. Elena Aiello, and St. Gemma Galgani. Kengor joins the podcast to discuss the skepticism and attacks many stigmatists (such as Padre Pio) faced from within the Church, the prophecies of Bl. Elena Aiello about Mussolini's fate, whether St. Francis was the first stigmatist in history, and what we ordinary Catholics can learn from the visions and experiences of the stigmatists.  Links Paul Kengor, The Stigmatists: Their Gifts, Their Revelations, Their Warnings https://tanbooks.com/products/books/the-stigmatists-their-gifts-their-revelations-their-warnings/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters 

A collection of highlight clips from past episodes. 82 A Habitual Counterculture - Brandon McGinley https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-82-habitual-counterculture-brandon-mcginley/ 68 What I Learned from Making Music with Mark Christopher Brandt https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-68-what-i-learned-from-making-music-with-mark-christopher-brandt/ Vie et Passion du Christ https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/vie-et-passion-du-christ-1903/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Catholic poet Ryan Wilson rejoins the podcast to read poems from his latest collection, In Ghostlight, which deals with themes of memory in a "haunted" world, encounters with realities beyond us, and reinterpreting ancient myths (Orpheus as a hair metal singer!). He also introduces four Catholic poets from his new anthology co-edited with April Lindner, Contemporary Catholic Poets. Links  Ryan Wilson, In Ghostlight: Poems https://lsupress.org/9780807181478/in-ghostlight/ Contemporary Catholic Poets: An Anthology, ed. Ryan Wilson and April Lindner https://paracletepress.com/collections/coming-soon/products/contemporary-catholic-poetry SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

James Majewski plays guest host in this episode, asking Thomas about his recent essay critiquing the well-known Christian film distributor Angel Studios (associated with The Chosen, Sound of Freedom, and Cabrini). Articles and podcasts mentioned: “Angel Studios: Questioning the hype” https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/angel-studios-hype/ “Cabrini secularizes a saint” https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/cabrini-secularizes-saint/ “Cabrini and the denial that Christ is for everyone” https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/cabrini-and-denial-that-christ-is-for-everyone/ Thomas's article on Padre Pio in Dappled Things https://www.dappledthings.org/deep-down-things/about-that-padre-pio-film Pope Pius XII on the Ideal Film, Pt. 2 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-pius-xii-on-ideal-film-pt-2-church-teaching-on-cinema/ New Catholic Culture columnist Peter Wolfgang https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/authors.cfm?authorid=56 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) was one of the greatest sacred composers of the 20th century, best known for his Requiem and his motet "Ubi caritas". His lush and tranquil choral and organ works combine a deep familiarity with Gregorian chant with the style of impressionism, imbued with a sense of prayer as he was a devout Catholic. Organist and choirmaster Christopher Berry, who studied organ under Duruflé's widow, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, joins the podcast to discuss Maurice Duruflé in his historical context as someone who, from childhood, was schooled in the Church's ancient chant tradition, and as an adult applied Pope St. Pius X's instructions for sacred music which were so influential on that generation. Schooled at the Paris conservatory, Duruflé received rigorous training in improvisation, which was the core skill for French organists at that time. His approach to improvising on chant and hymn melodies can still be heard in Catholic churches today. Links Catholic Institute of Sacred Music https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/ Music heard in this episode: Excerpts from the Requiem - by Voices of Ascension https://www.amazon.com/Durufle-Album-Requiem-Messe-Jubilo/dp/B0000006ZS Prélude et fugue sur le nom d'Alain op. 7 - played by Marie-Madeleine Duruflé Excerpt from Choral varié sur le Veni Creator op.4 - played by Maurice Duruflé himself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SBCDScgqsQ Ubi caritas - by Choir of St. John's Elora Tantum ergo - by St. John's College Choir SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

A collection of highlight clips from past episodes. 77 Gene Wolfe, Catholic Sci-Fi Legend—Sandra Miesel, Fr. Brendon Laroche https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-77-gene-wolfe-catholic-sci-fi-legend-sandra-miesel-fr-brendon-laroche/ Ben-Hur w/ Elizabeth Lev (Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast) https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ben-hur-1959-w-elizabeth-lev/ 80 Bring Out Your Dead - Scott Hahn https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-80-bring-out-your-dead-scott-hahn/ 81 Love Like a Conflagration - Jane Greer https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-81-love-like-conflagration-jane-greer/ 126 How Charlie Parker Changed My Life https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/126-how-charlie-parker-changed-my-life/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

In his new book published by Word on Fire, Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts, philosopher and novelist Daniel McInerny argues for a recovery of the Aristotelian understanding of art as fundamentally imitative or mimetic. More boldly, he claims that this imitation is narrative and moral in nature, even in art forms that are not typically considered storytelling arts. In this episode Daniel introduces this theory of mimesis, after which there is a robust back-and-forth between Daniel and Thomas on whether moral narrative is really the primary purpose of arts like painting and music.  Links Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/beauty-and-imitation SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Poet & philosopher James Matthew Wilson rejoins the show to read poems from his new collection, Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds, published by Word on Fire; and to discuss the tradition of English poetry, especially with regard to meter. Don't miss the title poem, a verse setting of a passage from Aquinas's Summa Theologiae! Links Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/saint-thomas-and-the-forbidden-birds The Fortunes of Poetry in an Age of Unmaking https://www.wisebloodbooks.com/store/p82/The_Fortunes_of_Poetry_in_an_Age_of_Unmaking%2C_by_James_Matthew_Wilson.html SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

On June 29 and 30, in South Bend, Indiana, there will be a major and even unprecedented event in the history of American Catholic art: a new, full-length classical ballet production with a new story, new music, new sets and costumes, and nationally known dancers - with a cast of about fifty. This fairytale ballet, titled Raffaella, was commissioned by Duncan and Ruth Stroik in honor of their daughter Raffaella Maria Stroik, a dancer with the St. Louis Ballet who passed away tragically in 2018 at the age of 23. In the first segment, Thomas Mirus interviews impresario Duncan Stroik about the ballet as a whole and the process of putting together such a huge production. In the second, he interviews composer Michael Kurek and choreographer Claire Kretzschmar about the collaboration between music and dance, and the difference between classical and modern ballet. Links Tickets for Raffaella https://raffaellaballet.org/ See rehearsal footage on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/raffaella.ballet/  Michael Kurek https://michaelkurek.com/ Claire Kretzschmar at Ballet Hartford https://www.ballethartford.com/ Duncan Stroik https://www.stroik.com/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

A new book presenting material from Flannery O'Connor's unfinished third novel shows the great Catholic writer pushing beyond her established fictional territory. Jessica Hooten Wilson returns to the podcast to discuss her book, Flannery O'Connor's Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress. Please consider donating to Catholic Culture's May fundraising campaign so this show can continue! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Links Flannery O'Connor's Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/542827 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

Jan Dismas Zelenka was a Bohemian Catholic baroque composer who has at times been called "The Catholic Bach" because his best compositions are on par with those of J.S. Bach, who indeed knew and esteemed Zelenka. This episode covers Zelenka's career at the Catholic court chapel in Dresden with its grand liturgies inspired by Habsburg piety and Jesuit aspirations to evangelize the Protestants of Saxony. Please consider donating to Catholic Culture's May fundraising campaign so this show can continue! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Links Janice Stockigt, Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745): A Bohemian Musician at the Court of Dresden https://archive.org/details/jandismaszelenka00stoc/ Music heard in this episode: The first movements of the trio sonatas in F major and C minor, ZWV 181/5 and 181/6, found on the album Zelenka: Trio Sonatas Nos. 1-6, performed by Ensemble Zefiro https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8121143--zelenka-trio-sonatas-nos-1-6 Nisi Dominus, ZWV 92, performed by Ensemble Inegal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-3cOwmrorI Miserere in C minor, ZWV 57, performed by Il Fondamento/Paul Dombrecht https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAi_2B3QvAA Missa votiva, ZWV 18, performed by Collegium 1704/Václav Luks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCL2CWQaH4A Litaniae Lauretanae "salus infirmorum", ZWV 152, performed by Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Neue Hofkapelle München/Peter Dijkstra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPRhMBJm6xs SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

One of the most brilliant philosophers working today, D.C. Schindler, returns to the Catholic Culture Podcast to discuss his latest book, God and the City: An Essay in Political Metaphysics. In it, he draws an analogy between metaphysics as the most comprehensive science in the theoretical order and politics as the most comprehensive science in the practical order. Examining how in metaphysics, God is necessarily involved, yet without being the direct object of that science, Schindler argues that the same is true of the relationship between God and politics. Just as it is in God that the individual person "lives and moves and has its being", even before revelation and grace enter the picture, God is both the highest good of human community, and intimately present within it. Links God and the City: An Essay in Political Metaphysics https://www.amazon.com/God-City-D-C-Schindler/dp/1587313286 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Today's guest is a man with two names and two careers. For decades he has been a distinguished poet and translator under the name of A.M. Juster. This is an acronym for his Christian name, Michael J. Astrue, who for many years was a lawyer, biotech executive, and public servant, most notably serving as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2007 to 2013. During this time, his political enemies tried to dig up dirt on him – but all they could find was that he wrote poetry on the side! Juster has published multiple books of his original poems, most recently Wonder & Wrath in 2020. His work as a translator includes volumes of Petrarch, Horace, Tibullus, and the Latin verse riddles of the Anglo-Saxon bishop St. Aldhelm. Upcoming projects include another volume of Petrarch poems, a children's book about a female juvenile manatee called Girlatee, and an anthology of poems about the legendary phoenix, from Ovid to Shakespeare. In this episode Juster discusses his two careers, his interest in translating early Latin Christian poetry, St. Aldhelm's riddles, and his own original poetry. Links A.M. Juster on Twitter https://twitter.com/amjuster Saint Aldhelm's Riddles https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/saint-aldhelms-riddles-aldhelm-juster/ Wonder & Wrath https://www.pauldrybooks.com/products/wonder-and-wrath SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Gregory Roper, a professor of literature at the University of Dallas, joins the podcast to discuss medieval “mystery plays” (also called “miracle plays”). In England these plays, often grouped together in cycles spanning all of salvation history, were performed by town guilds for the festival of Corpus Christi. This tradition, which developed out of the liturgy, could be said to represent the revival of drama in Europe, and was an important influence on the Elizabethan theatre. Shakespeare referenced this tradition a number of times in his plays. The plays, which served a partly didactic purpose, are full of theological typology, but also delightful verse, earthy humor, and a thought-provoking use of anachronism. Links Episode on English carols https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-59-glorious-english-carol/ A.C. Cawley, Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays https://www.amazon.com/Everyman-Medieval-Miracle-Plays-Cawley/dp/046087280X SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter http://www.catholicculture.org/newsletter DONATE at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Erik Varden, bishop of Trondheim, Norway as well as Trappist monk, joins the podcast to discuss his new book Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses. Topics discussed include: Recovering the true meaning of the word “chastity” Continence and chastity are not the same thing What the Desert Fathers can teach us about chastity Why we need to meditate on the original vocation of man before the Fall rather than limiting our options to what our sinful nature is capable of Why having a sense of dignity in one's masculinity or femininity helps us to be chaste The importance of friendship between men and women The redirection of eros Links Erik Varden, Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/chastity-9781399411400/ Élisabeth-Paule Labat, The Song That I Am: On the Mystery of Music, trans. Erik Varden https://litpress.org/Products/MW040P/The-Song-That-I-Am Thomas's 3-part essay inspired by the Labat book https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/mystery-music-part-i/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

The renowned English theologian Fr. John Saward makes his podcast debut to discuss his new book on angels, the role of art and beauty in his theological work, and his turn away from the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar after years of studying and translating his works. Fr. Saward's books named in this episode: World Invisible: The Catholic Doctrine of the Angels https://angelicopress.com/products/world-invisible-john-saward The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty: Art, Sanctity and the Truth of Catholicism https://angelicopress.com/products/the-beauty-of-holiness-and-the-holiness-of-beauty Sweet and Blessed Country: The Christian Hope for Heaven https://global.oup.com/academic/product/sweet-and-blessed-country-9780199543663?cc=us&lang=en& SUBSCRIBE to the Catholic Culture Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-catholic-culture-podcast/id1377089807 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Is Jesus Christ God? Is he a man? Is he both? Spoiler alert: the mainstream Church answered with the both/and, but the factions on the fringes tended to choose one or the other. For our first heresy, we take a look at the Ebionites, and their New Testament-era predecessors, the so-called Judaizers. These concluded that Jesus Christ was a mere human. A human who became a prophet perhaps, but just a human. This is season 4, episode 2 of Way of the Fathers. Subscribe to the podcast here: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/category/way-fathers/

This episode collects highlights from episodes 74-76 of the Catholic Culture Podcast. Links to full episodes: Ep. 74—What Is Classical Christian Education?—Andrew Kern https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-74-what-is-classical-christian-education-andrew-kern/ Ep. 75—Don't Scapegoat the Nouvelle Théologie—Richard DeClue https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-75-dont-scapegoat-nouvelle-thologie-richard-declue/ Ep. 76—Playing Jesus on The Chosen—Jonathan Roumie https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-76-playing-jesus-on-chosen-jonathan-roumie/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

A new collection of letters shows the tender side of St. Jerome, as he writes to console various friends on the death of their loved ones. Translator and editor David G. Bonagura, Jr., joins the podcast to discuss Jerome's Tears: Letters to Friends in Mourning. Topics include: Jerome's Christian twist on the "consolatory epistle" genre practiced by many great pagan writers before him The network of holy friends and disciples (like St. Paula) to whom and about whom he writes in these letters Jerome's tactics for helping someone move out of an excessively long mourning period How the death of a loved one is an opportunity to give ourselves more radically to God Jerome's recommendation of continence to married couples beyond their child-bearing years Buy Jerome's Tears https://sophiainstitute.com/product/jeromes-tears/ SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Fr. Bradley Elliott, a professional drummer turned Dominican friar, joins the podcast to discuss his book, The Shape of the Artistic Mind: A Search for the Metaphysical Link Between Art and Morals in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas. Themes include: Man's capacity to participate in God's creative activity and governance of the world How human artistic activity not only imitates but enhance nature The combination of Aristotelian and neo-Platonic streams in St. Thomas's theory of art How Aristotle redeemed the notion of nature from Plato, and Plotinus redeemed the notion of imitation from Plato Comparing the virtue of art to the mortal and speculative virtues Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHG6YPPG?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Daniel McInerny joins the podcast to discuss his novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair, the modern cult of authenticity, the desire for control that tempts people to euthanasia, and what it truly means to accept your death. Publisher's description for the novel: Kate Montclair is dying. She has arrived at late middle age loveless, childless, and having failed to achieve the career dreams of her youth. Now diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, she sees the next fourteen months of suffering as an intolerable prospect. Kate is desperate—not only for a miracle cure, but for some sense that her life, and life itself, amounts to something more than a catastrophe. When she sees an advertisement for the Washington, DC Death Symposium, Kate investigates and learns that the monthly discussion group is led by none other than the idealistic and inimitable Adele Schraeder, an old friend she has not seen since their teaching days in Rome. On Adele's advice, Kate soon decides to break Virginia law with an assisted suicide. But Adele Schraeder is not the only person Kate reconnects with at the Death Symposium. Also present is Benedict Aquila, another friend from Rome, who has been living in DC while nursing his mother through her final illness. And then there is the strange, mentally ill street woman sitting in the corner, drawing pad in hand. Who is she? She is the Ariadne's thread that will lead Kate on a journey back through the years to her youth, forcing her to come to grips with the love affair she had with a married man and the catastrophe that took his life. Links Daniel McInerny, The Good Death of Kate Montclair https://chrismpress.com/product/the-good-death-of-kate-montclair/ The Comic Muse http://www.danielmcinerny.substack.com SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletter DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

6:51 Franciscan Eyes 14:33 Forbearance 15:52 The Mourners 20:19 Spiritual Combat 25:56 Passage Compositions and piano by Thomas Mirus; recorded spring 2018, Brooklyn. Listen to this music on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/CVqC2ZukI9o Download these tracks as lossless .wav files here: https://www.catholicculture.org/multimedia/thomas_mirus_2018.zip DONATE to help CatholicCulture.org continue its mission! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters

Holly Ordway continues to break new ground in Tolkien scholarship with her latest book, Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography. This work sheds important light on the experience of Catholics like Tolkien and his mother in the hostile Anglican establishment of their time, on the crucial influence of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri on the young Tolkien, and more. Holly returns to the podcast to discuss these and other topics, such as: Should Tolkien be canonized? His practice of his faith in the first world war His struggles with his faith and in his marriage The secret initial in Tolkien's name Was Tolkien a trad? Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/tolkiens-faith SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletter DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Looking back at highlights from past episodes of the Catholic Culture Podcast and Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. Full episodes below: Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 65—Reason with Stories, Philosophize with Your Life (Vision of the Soul Pt. III)—James Matthew Wilson https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-64-reason-with-stories-philosophize-with-your-life-vision-soul-pt-iii-james-matthew-wilson/ Ep. 73—St. John Henry Newman's Aesthetics—Fr. Guy Nicholls, Cong. Orat. https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-73-st-john-henry-newmans-aesthetics-fr-guy-nicholls-cong-orat/ Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast   Robert Bolt's Man for All Seasons: Christian saint or “hero of selfhood”? https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/robert-bolts-man-for-all-seasons-christian-saint-or-hero-selfhood/ Community on the Margins: Stagecoach (1939) w/ Anthony Esolen https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/stagecoach-1939/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Catholic critics of feminism often start with the assumption that the "first wave" of feminism, led by 19th-century figures such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was basically a good thing and compatible with Catholic teachings; only later in the 1960s and 70s, according to this narrative, was the movement "hijacked" by "radical feminists". The only problem is that when one actually looks closely at feminism in its early form, whether that of Stanton and Anthony or even earlier with Mary Wollstonecraft, one finds obvious continuities with so-called "radical feminism". On the level of ideas, we find Enlightenment individualism, rationalism, and egalitarianism attacking as oppressive the natural institutions of marriage and family and the divinely ordained hierarchies of the Church. On the personal level, feminism was from the beginning the brainchild of traumatized, miserable women who had deeply dysfunctional relationships with the men in their lives - their ideas eagerly championed by men like Percy Shelley, who "liberated" women in order to exploit them. Carrie Gress returns to the show to discuss her book The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us, which tells the stories of feminist pioneers from Wollstonecraft, Stanton, and Shelley to Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. Links Carrie Gress, The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us https://www.regnery.com/9781684514182/the-end-of-woman/ Dawn Eden, “Eve of Deconstruction: Feminism and John Paul II” https://www.catholicity.com/commentary/eden/03324.html DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

St. John of the Cross is not only one of the Church's greatest mystics, but also one of the most important figures in the Spanish poetic tradition. A new book of translations of St. John's poems, brought into English by contemporary bilingual poet Rhina Espaillat, gives us a chance to discover or rediscover this singular spiritual and artistic master. Carla Galdo joins the podcast to discuss Espaillat's translations of St. John of the Cross. Comparing them with earlier translations by Roy Campbell (a friend of Tolkien and Lewis) provides opportunity to highlight various approaches and problems in translating poetry. Carla and Thomas also discuss common misconceptions about the dark night of the soul, and John's use of the classic mystical symbolism of bride and bridegroom representing the relationship between the soul and God. Links The Spring that Feeds the Torrent: Poems by St. John of the Cross, Translated by Rhina P. Espaillat https://www.wisebloodbooks.com/store/p135/The_Spring_that_Feeds_the_Torrent%3A_Poems_by_St._John_of_the_Cross%2C_Translated_by_Rhina_P._Espaillat.html St. John of the Cross: Poems, trans. Roy Campbell https://clunymedia.com/products/poems Musical setting of "El pastorcico" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se0fcCvKqzY Well-Read Mom https://wellreadmom.com Donate at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Anyone who went through confirmation prep at some point learned the list of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. But most would struggle to define the gifts, especially the ones that sound a bit similar, like wisdom, knowledge, and understanding? The great 17th-century Thomistic commentator John of St. Thomas discoursed on the gifts of the Holy Spirit with not only technical precision, but spiritual insight and fervor. Since John was not available for a podcast interview, he sent one of his Dominican brothers, Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, to explain his insights to us laypeople. Links John of St. Thomas, The Gifts of the Holy Spirit https://clunymedia.com/products/the-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit Other books mentioned: Cajetan Cuddy and Romanus Cessario, O.P., Thomas and the Thomists: The Achievement of Thomas Aquinas and His Interpreters https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506405957/Thomas-and-the-Thomists Romanus Cessario, O.P., The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church https://tst.bakeracademic.com/p/the-seven-sacraments-of-the-catholic-church-romanus-op-cessario/251501 Luis Martinez, The Sanctifier https://paulinestore.com/sanctifier-rev-3333-116039.html

Today it's taken for granted that we as Christians are called to "engage the culture" in order to evangelize. Often "engaging the culture" means paying an inordinate amount of attention to popular commercial entertainment in order to show unbelievers how hip we are, straining to find a "Christ-figure" in every comic book movie, and making worship music as repetitive, melodically banal, and emotionalistic as possible. Past a certain point, "cultural engagement" begins to seem like a noble-sounding excuse to enjoy mediocrity - and Christians, unfortunately, are as much in love with mediocre entertainment as anyone else. The novel doctrine of "cultural engagement" is just one subject covered in Joshua Gibbs's challenging and entertaining new book, Love What Lasts: How to Save Your Soul from Mediocrity. Joshua joins Thomas Mirus for a wide-ranging conversation about how we choose to spend our free time and why it matters. Topics include: The dangers of artistic mediocrity The importance of boredom Why streaming has been terrible for music The different kinds of Christian "cultural engagers" Uncommon and common good things and how both are threatened by the mediocre How the "special" apes the holy The meme-ification of art Links Gibbs, Love What Lasts: How to Save Your Soul from Mediocrity https://circeinstitute.org/product/love-what-lasts/ Gibbs, "Film As a Metaphysical Coup" https://circeinstitute.org/blog/film-metaphysical-coup/ Thomas's favorite episode of Gibbs's podcast, Proverbial https://shows.acast.com/proverbial/episodes/how-to-buy-a-bottle-of-wine www.GibbsClassical.com SUBSCRIBE to the Catholic Culture Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-catholic-culture-podcast/id1377089807 DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Looking back at highlights from past episodes of the Catholic Culture Podcast and Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. Full episodes below: CCP Ep. 63—Beauty Revealing Being (Vision of the Soul Pt. II)—James Matthew Wilson https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-63-beauty-revealing-being-vision-soul-pt-2-james-matthew-wilson/ CCP Ep. 69 - The Poetry of the English Martyrs - Benedict Whalen https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-69-poetry-english-martyrs-benedict-whalen/ CCP Ep. 70 - The Flannery-Haunted World - Joshua Hren https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-70-reviving-catholic-literary-tradition-joshua-hren-john-emmet-clarke/  Criteria - Dekalog: One (1988) https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/dekalog-one-1988/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Distributism, the social-political-economic philosophy advanced by G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc under the influence of Catholic social teaching, offers intriguing ways of rethinking the modern social-political-economic order. But distributists have often been found lacking in serious practical plans to bring about their ideal social order, and in the economic fallacies they commit when critiquing other schools of thought. Distributists and economists have often seemed to be natural enemies. As an economist, Alexander W. Salter is not willing to embrace many distributists' skepticism that there can such a thing as economic science. But he also believes it would be a mistake to neglect the powerful social vision of Chesterton and Belloc on account of their shortcomings in economic theory. He joins the podcast to discuss his new book, The Political Economy of Distributism, in which he argues that a combination of distributist social philosophy and modern price theory can help us to achieve the much-discussed goal of "common good capitalism". The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good https://www.cuapress.org/9780813236810/the-political-economy-of-distributism/ DONATE at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Kimberly Begg joins the podcast to discuss her new book, Unbreakable: Saints Who Inspired Saints to Moral Courage. The book tells the story of four saints - St. Joan of Arc, St. José Luis Sánchez del Río, Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko, and St. Teresa of Calcutta - and for each of those saints, includes the stories of the saints who influenced him or her. The book is intended in particular to convince parents of the importance of making the lives of the saints a part of family life, so that children will be inspired by those who came before, just as Joan was by St. Catherine of Alexandria, or as José was by Bl. Anacleto González Flores. Links https://tanbooks.com/products/books/unbreakable-saints-who-inspired-saints-to-moral-courage/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. (1844-1889) is one of the poets best loved by Catholics. Immediately accessible in its abundant musical qualities, Hopkins's poetry can still puzzle us with its idiosyncratic syntax, elliptical phrasing, and even invented words. Thus the need for an annotated collection of his poems, which, surprisingly, did not exist until the recent publication (by Word on Fire) of As Kingfishers Catch Fire: Selected and Annotated Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins, edited by Holly Ordway. Holly returns to the podcast to give an introduction to Hopkins; she and Thomas discuss four of his poems: “The Windhover”, “Carrion Comfort”, “Patience”, and “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”. Links As Kingfishers Catch Fire: Selected and Annotated Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/as-kingfishers-catch-fire Holly Ordway, Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography https://www.amazon.com/Tolkiens-Faith-Spiritual-Holly-Ordway/dp/1685789919 Expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0358652987/ DONATE to make these shows possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

This episode features highlights from episodes 61 and 67 of the Catholic Culture Podcast, and from an early episode of Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. Ep. 61—Liberal Anti-Culture vs. the Western Vision of the Soul (Pt I)—James Matthew Wilson https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-61-liberal-anti-culture-vs-western-vision-soul-pt-i-james-matthew-wilson/ Ep. 67—“Why I'm No Longer A Catholic Feminist”—Melody Lyons https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-67-why-im-no-longer-catholic-feminist-melody-lyons/ Robots Don't Matter! 2001: A Space Odyssey https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/2001-space-odyssey-1968/ Donate to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P.'s definitive scholarly biography of St. Thomas Aquinas has recently received its third edition. Translator Matthew Minerd returns to the Catholic Culture Podcast to discuss what we can learn from Fr. Torrell about the life of St. Thomas and the context in which works like the Summa theologiae were written. This episode is a deep dive into Thomas's vocation in a number of senses – his Benedictine formation and eventual decision to become a Dominican instead, his intellectual formation as a student of St. Albert the Great and eventual Bachelor of the Sentences, and his duties in teaching, writing, disputation and preaching as a Master of the Sacred Pages at the University of Paris and elsewhere. Looking into these things can teach us much about Thomas's spirituality, his working methods, and the intellectual climate of the time. Links Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P., Saint Thomas Aquinas: Vol. 1, The Person and His Work https://www.cuapress.org/9780813235608/saint-thomas-aquinas/ Matthew Minerd's essay in defense of Garrigou-Lagrange https://www.academia.edu/97075759/Who_Wasnt_the_Sacred_Monster_of_Thomism_Overcoming_Certain_Narratives_about_Fr_Reginald_Garrigou_Lagrage_OP_in_the_Hope_of_Mutual_Honesty_Among_Faithful_Catholics Ep. 38 with Minerd on Garrigou-Lagrange https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-38-sacred-monster-matthew-k-minerd/ Kirwan and Minerd, The Thomistic Response to the Nouvelle Theologie https://www.amazon.com/Story-Great-Medieval-Book-Rethinking/dp/1551117185 Philipp W. Rosemann, The Story of a Great Medieval Book: Peter Lombard's ‘Sentences' https://www.amazon.com/Story-Great-Medieval-Book-Rethinking/dp/1551117185 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio  Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

In the last of the YouTube livestreams related to Catholic Culture's May fundraising campaign, Jeff Mirus and Phil Lawler discuss their approach to writing responsible, sober commentary during a time of crisis in the Church: that is, when the news is crazy, how can we talk about it sanely? We're a week into CatholicCulture.org's May fundraising campaign. Generous donors have offered a $50,000 matching grant, so any donation you make by May 24 will double in value! You can donate on our website or PayPal (tax-deductible).  Donation links below: http://www.CatholicCulture.org/donate https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DZRZRJ5723MLA Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of content, including news, articles, podcasts, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

In this livestream, James Majewski and Thomas Mirus we discussed errors artists can fall into in pushing back against a moralistic approach to art found within the Church. Rather than reacting away from rigidity to excessive openness, the mature Catholic artist has to get over himself and be a servant. Also discussed: The relation between order and surprise in beauty, morality and culture. Note: the video begins abruptly in the middle of our introductory fundraising campaign pitch - because of some glitched-out audio, we cut the first 6 minutes or so. We're a week into CatholicCulture.org's May fundraising campaign. Generous donors have offered a $50,000 matching grant, so any donation you make by May 24 will double in value! You can donate on our website or PayPal (tax-deductible).  Donation links below: http://www.CatholicCulture.org/donate  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DZRZRJ5723MLA Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of content, including news, articles, podcasts, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

For those who missed the YouTube livestream Q&A with Mike Aquilina on May 8th, 2023, here is the audio. It was a lively conversation where Mike fielded viewer questions about important cities of the early Church, early evidence for papal primacy, the role of charity in the early Church, Origen, the providential role of easy travel for the spread of the Gospel in the first centuries, and more. We're a week into CatholicCulture.org's May fundraising campaign. Generous donors have offered a $50,000 matching grant, so any donation you make by May 24 will double in value! You can donate on our website or PayPal (tax-deductible). Donation links below: http://www.CatholicCulture.org/donate https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DZRZRJ5723MLA We'll be doing more YouTube livestreams where viewers will be able to interact, ask questions and prompt discussion via the live chat box. Upcoming livestreams: 5/15, 8pm ET—Thomas Mirus & James Majewski (hosts,Catholic Culture Podcast, Catholic Culture Audiobooks, Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast) 5/22, 8pm ET—Phil Lawler & Jeff Mirus (CatholicCulture.org writers)

Catholic University of America Press recently launched a major new series: the English Critical Edition of the Works of Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II. The first volume of the series was a new translation of Wojtyła's 1969 book Person and Act, along with related essays. In Person and Act Wojtyła set forth the foundation of his blend of phenomenology, Thomism and personalism, a foundation underlying much of his other philosophical and theological writing. The first English translation is generally considered to be quite inaccurate, and, crucially, removed the Latin terms by which Wojtyła refers to the Thomistic and scholastic tradition, leading to a false impression that Wojtyła was much more of a pure phenomenologist and less of a Thomist than he really was. Thus the new translation by Gregorz Ignatik is a significant moment for the reception of Wojtyła/John Paul II's thought in the Anglosphere. In this episode, Timothy Flanders joins Thomas Mirus to discuss Person and Act as they attempt to boil down some of the key points of this rather challenging book, to set Wojtyła's philosophy in its intellectual, cultural, and religious context, and showing why his insights about human consciousness, the experience of morality, and the person are important for us as well. Points discussed include: How Wojtyła's use of phenomenology and personalism relates to the traditional Aristo-Thomistic anthropology The importance of phenomenological methods for the "healing of experience" and giving an objective account of the subjective Correcting modern errors about consciousness The concept of the person in relation to the traditional concept of human nature The need to integrate cognition with experience and the danger of the "emotionalization of consciousness" The centrality of morality to personhood Links The Meaning of Catholic https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaMoKEEA-KKDNgx3icjA36Q Person and Act and Related Essays https://www.cuapress.org/9780813233666/person-and-act-and-related-essays/ Recommended secondary sources: Accessible: Crosby, The Personalism of John Paul II https://www.amazon.com/Personalism-John-Paul-II/dp/1939773148 Jablonska, A Pope for All Seasons https://www.amazon.com/Pope-All-Seasons-Testimonies-Inspired/dp/1621388840 Less accessible: Buttiglione, Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II https://www.amazon.com/Karol-Wojtyla-Thoughtof-Became-Thought-ebook/dp/B002BWPTOW Weigel, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II https://www.amazon.com/Witness-Hope-Biography-Pope-John/dp/0062996010/ DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org

We'll be doing YouTube livestreams on the next 3 Monday evenings, as part of CatholicCulture.org's May fundraising campaign. In these freewheeling conversations, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions and prompt discussion in the live chat box! 5/8, 8pm ET - Mike Aquilina (host, Way of the Fathers podcast) 5/15, 8pm ET - Thomas Mirus & James Majewski (hosts,Catholic Culture Podcast, Catholic Culture Audiobooks, Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast) 5/22, 8pm ET - Phil Lawler & Jeff Mirus (CatholicCulture.org writers) You can use this link to connect to the Mike Aquilina livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNXvhOJuLZ8 The links to the other two livestreams will go up on the Catholic Culture YouTube channel a few days before each one.