The Catholic Culture Podcast
Thomas V. Mirus explores Catholic arts & culture with a variety of notable guests. A production of CatholicCulture.org.
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176 - God and the City - D.C. Schindler
03/25/2024
176 - God and the City - D.C. Schindler
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 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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175 - St. Aldhelm's Riddles, Poetry & Public Service - A.M. Juster
03/11/2024
175 - St. Aldhelm's Riddles, Poetry & Public Service - A.M. Juster
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 Saint Aldhelm’s Riddles Wonder & Wrath SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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174 - Medieval Mystery Plays w/ Gregory Roper
02/22/2024
174 - Medieval Mystery Plays w/ Gregory Roper
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 A.C. Cawley, Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter DONATE at
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173 – Chastity, Integrity and the Desert Fathers – Bishop Erik Varden
02/15/2024
173 – Chastity, Integrity and the Desert Fathers – Bishop Erik Varden
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 Élisabeth-Paule Labat, The Song That I Am: On the Mystery of Music, trans. Erik Varden Thomas’s 3-part essay inspired by the Labat book SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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172 - Fr. John Saward on turning away from von Balthasar, and on the invisible world of angels
02/08/2024
172 - Fr. John Saward on turning away from von Balthasar, and on the invisible world of angels
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 The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty: Art, Sanctity and the Truth of Catholicism Sweet and Blessed Country: The Christian Hope for Heaven SUBSCRIBE to the Catholic Culture Podcast SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio
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The Heresies—Judaizers and Ebionites: Denying Christ’s Divinity
01/26/2024
The Heresies—Judaizers and Ebionites: Denying Christ’s Divinity
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:
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Highlights: Jonathan Roumie, classical Christian education, Nouvelle théologie
01/10/2024
Highlights: Jonathan Roumie, classical Christian education, Nouvelle théologie
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 Ep. 75—Don’t Scapegoat the Nouvelle Théologie—Richard DeClue Ep. 76—Playing Jesus on The Chosen—Jonathan Roumie SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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171 - St. Jerome's Letters to Friends in Mourning - David G. Bonagura, Jr.
12/15/2023
171 - St. Jerome's Letters to Friends in Mourning - David G. Bonagura, Jr.
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 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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170 - Art Participates in God's Governance - Bradley Elliott, O.P.
11/30/2023
170 - Art Participates in God's Governance - Bradley Elliott, O.P.
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: SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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169 - The Good Death of Kate Montclair - Daniel McInerny
11/20/2023
169 - The Good Death of Kate Montclair - Daniel McInerny
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 The Comic Muse SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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The Catholic Culture Podcast Soundtrack
11/14/2023
The Catholic Culture Podcast Soundtrack
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: Download these tracks as lossless .wav files here: DONATE to help CatholicCulture.org continue its mission! SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter:
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168 - Tolkien's Hard-Won Faith - Holly Ordway
11/01/2023
168 - Tolkien's Hard-Won Faith - Holly Ordway
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 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: DONATE to make this show possible!
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Highlights: Esolen in the Wild West, Thomas More’s conscience, and more
10/17/2023
Highlights: Esolen in the Wild West, Thomas More’s conscience, and more
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 Ep. 73—St. John Henry Newman’s Aesthetics—Fr. Guy Nicholls, Cong. Orat. Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast Robert Bolt’s Man for All Seasons: Christian saint or “hero of selfhood”? Community on the Margins: Stagecoach (1939) w/ Anthony Esolen DONATE to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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167 - Early Feminism Was Worse Than You Think - Carrie Gress
09/15/2023
167 - Early Feminism Was Worse Than You Think - Carrie Gress
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 Dawn Eden, “Eve of Deconstruction: Feminism and John Paul II” DONATE to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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166 - Poetry of St. John of the Cross w/ Carla Galdo
09/05/2023
166 - Poetry of St. John of the Cross w/ Carla Galdo
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 St. John of the Cross: Poems, trans. Roy Campbell Musical setting of "El pastorcico" Well-Read Mom Donate at Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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165 - Gifts of the Holy Spirit w/ John of St. Thomas & Cajetan Cuddy, O.P.
08/24/2023
165 - Gifts of the Holy Spirit w/ John of St. Thomas & Cajetan Cuddy, O.P.
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 Other books mentioned: Cajetan Cuddy and Romanus Cessario, O.P., Thomas and the Thomists: The Achievement of Thomas Aquinas and His Interpreters Romanus Cessario, O.P., The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church Luis Martinez, The Sanctifier
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164 - When "engaging the culture" means loving mediocrity - Joshua Gibbs
08/17/2023
164 - When "engaging the culture" means loving mediocrity - Joshua Gibbs
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 Gibbs, "Film As a Metaphysical Coup" Thomas's favorite episode of Gibbs's podcast, Proverbial SUBSCRIBE to the Catholic Culture Podcast DONATE to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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Highlights: Cultural appropriation, ugly beauty, English poet-martyrs, Polish cinema
08/09/2023
Highlights: Cultural appropriation, ugly beauty, English poet-martyrs, Polish cinema
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 CCP Ep. 69 - The Poetry of the English Martyrs - Benedict Whalen CCP Ep. 70 - The Flannery-Haunted World - Joshua Hren Criteria - Dekalog: One (1988) DONATE to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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163 - Reconciling Distributism and Economics - Alexander W. Salter
07/24/2023
163 - Reconciling Distributism and Economics - Alexander W. Salter
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 DONATE at Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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162 - Saints Who Inspired Saints - Kimberly Begg
07/13/2023
162 - Saints Who Inspired Saints - Kimberly Begg
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 DONATE to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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161 - Making Gerard Manley Hopkins Accessible - Holly Ordway
07/07/2023
161 - Making Gerard Manley Hopkins Accessible - Holly Ordway
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 Holly Ordway, Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography Expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien DONATE to make these shows possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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Highlights: AI is boring; liberal anti-culture; misguided Catholic feminism
06/12/2023
Highlights: AI is boring; liberal anti-culture; misguided Catholic feminism
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 Ep. 67—“Why I’m No Longer A Catholic Feminist”—Melody Lyons Robots Don’t Matter! 2001: A Space Odyssey Donate to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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160 - The Vocation of Thomas Aquinas - Matthew Minerd
06/05/2023
160 - The Vocation of Thomas Aquinas - Matthew Minerd
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 Matthew Minerd’s essay in defense of Garrigou-Lagrange Ep. 38 with Minerd on Garrigou-Lagrange Kirwan and Minerd, The Thomistic Response to the Nouvelle Theologie Philipp W. Rosemann, The Story of a Great Medieval Book: Peter Lombard’s ‘Sentences’ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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The Catholic sobriety test w/ Phil Lawler and Jeff Mirus
05/23/2023
The Catholic sobriety test w/ Phil Lawler and Jeff Mirus
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: Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of content, including news, articles, podcasts, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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When artists feel lonely in the Church (Livestream)
05/16/2023
When artists feel lonely in the Church (Livestream)
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: Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of content, including news, articles, podcasts, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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Mike Aquilina Q&A on early Christianity
05/09/2023
Mike Aquilina Q&A on early Christianity
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: 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)
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159 - Person and Act: John Paul II's Philosophy w/ Timothy Flanders
05/05/2023
159 - Person and Act: John Paul II's Philosophy w/ Timothy Flanders
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 Person and Act and Related Essays Recommended secondary sources: Accessible: Crosby, The Personalism of John Paul II Jablonska, A Pope for All Seasons Less accessible: Buttiglione, Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II Weigel, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II DONATE to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
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Livestream announcement
05/04/2023
Livestream announcement
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: The links to the other two livestreams will go up on the Catholic Culture YouTube channel a few days before each one.
/episode/index/show/catholicculturepodcast/id/26741721
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Highlights: Christopher Tolkien, William Byrd, A Hidden Life, poetry-painting collaboration
04/28/2023
Highlights: Christopher Tolkien, William Byrd, A Hidden Life, poetry-painting collaboration
This episode features highlight clips from episodes 50, 58, 60, and 66 of the Catholic Culture Podcast. 50: A Catholic Composer in Queen Elizabeth’s Court, Pt. II – Kerry McCarthy 58: A Hidden Life Film Review w/ James Majewski 60: Princeton Hosts Event Dedicated to St. Cecilia 66: Christopher Tolkien, 1924-2020 – John Garth Donate to make this show possible! Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
/episode/index/show/catholicculturepodcast/id/26680410
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158 - City of God vs. City of Man - Timothy Flanders
04/20/2023
158 - City of God vs. City of Man - Timothy Flanders
It's time for a big-picture look at Church history! Timothy S. Flanders joins the podcast to discuss his book City of God vs. City of Man: The Battles of the Church from Antiquity to the Present. The book is a synthesis of the approaches of St. Augustine and Christopher Dawson, whom Timothy calls the two greatest Catholic historians. Themes discussed include: The Hebrew (Old Testament) view of history The need for alliance between the "strict" and "moderate" parties of Catholic orthodoxy Ethnic pluralism in Christendom The Grand Coalition of the Status Quo The ideology of Roma and its role in the Eastern schism The love of money as a key factor in the breakdown of Christendom Links City of God vs. City of Man: The Battles of the Church from Antiquity to the Present The Meaning of Catholic Please consider donating at Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents:
/episode/index/show/catholicculturepodcast/id/26594529