I asked Bishop Don Hying of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, about mysticism and evangelization. He describes Christianity as unique among the world’s religions because “the universal, mysterious, all-powerful, invisible God humbled himself to become one of his creatures,” a baby, in fact, shivering in the night; and so, paradoxically, the Christian experience of God as both transcendent and imminent. A mystic must go on the journey from our limited ideas about God to stand before Him in prayer. Bishop Hying draws on the experiences and teachings of mystics from long ago and also from the present day as he explains this idea. He also talks about his own life and vocation. Bishop Hying’s recent letter on violence Bishop Hying’s article on St. Junípero Serra and vandalism of public monuments Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr., “Junípero Serra: Saint or Sinner” from 1989 Chris Odyniec’s article (p. 10) on St. Junípero Serra's canonization by Pope Francis in 2015 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Evangelical voters made up a significant portion of Donald Trump’s base in the 2016 presidential election. Their political agenda may not be peace or prosperity, but instead bringing us closer to the end of time.Guests Matthew Sutton, Graduate Studies Director, Washington State University History Department Katharine Hayhoe, Director, Climate Science Center, Texas Tech University Liya Rechtman, Harvard Divinity School student Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Carlos Eire, author of The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila: A Biography (2019) and professor of medieval and early modern European history and religion at Yale University, discusses the life of St. Teresa and mysticism in sixteenth-century Spain. He also talks a bit about his immigration to the United States as a child refugee from Cuba in the 1960s; his commentary and scholarship has earned him the title of “enemy of the state” in today’s communist Cuba.·      Here is Professor Eire’s faculty webpage at Yale University.·      Here are books by Carlos Eire available from Amazon.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Jesuit Father Greg Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries in East LA, the world’s largest and most successful gang intervention and rehabilitation program. He talks about this ministry and his “therapeutic mysticism” which has trained him to see God and God’s people. Father Greg (“Father G”) has no interest in categories and the games of exclusion that we humans often play; he says, “gang violence is about a lethal absence of hope.” His mission to the homies, therefore, is filled with faith, hope, and love and brings “the God who is tender, the God who is too busy loving us to be disappointed, the God who can’t take His eyes off of us.” That’s why it has been so effective.·      Here is the website of Homeboy Industries.·      Books by Fr. Greg (including New York Times bestseller, Tattoos on the Heart) are available from Amazon.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Vatican journalist Colleen Dulle discusses her biography of the French Mystic Madeleine Delbrêl, author of The Marxist City as Mission Territory (1957), and Catholic evangelist among the urban poor of Ivry. Colleen calls Madeleine the “Dorothy Day of France.” Colleen and I also talk about her career reporting on the Vatican as part of America Media, Pope Francis’s new Apostolic Constitution, and her pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Fr. James Martin. Inside the Vatican podcast The Pope’s Voice podcast Colleen Dulle’s 2018 article, “Who is Madeleine Delbrêl—the “French Dorothy Day” Pope Francis made venerable this weekend?” “Go Rebuild My House” blog Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Keith Berube, professor of Mariology, theology, and literature, explains how the Holy Spirit is at work in the scripture, tradition, and magisterium in the Catholic Church; he also tells the story of his own faith journey and conversion and we talk about miraculous encounters—in our daily lives, in the lives of our friends, and in history (for example, at Lourdes). In addition, Keith discusses the historical context of Pope Francis’s consecration of Russia and Ukraine; along the way, he and I have a lively disagreement about Putin as we try to untangle the spiritual and political problems of the day. Books by Mr. Berube available on Amazon Mr. Berube on EWTN’s At Home with Jim and Joy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

David Bates, Catholic apologist and CS Lewis expert, reflects upon Lewis's conversion (how he was 'surprised by joy'), how his reason confirmed his feelings, how his theology stands on the authority of the Church and the Patristic Fathers) and his own experiences as a 'restless pilgrim.' Pints with Jack (David's podcast about Lewis) is here. Max McClean as CS Lewis in The Most Reluctant Convert is here. David's conversation with Norman Stone, the director of the movie that follows this play (above) is here. David's conversation with Joseph Pearce (who was the guest on Almost Good Catholics, episode 10) is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Anabelle Mosely talks about living sacramentally, finding holiness in little things, and seeing the numinous in our daily lives. The Kingdom of God is at hand, apparent in the little affirmations or “signal graces,” as Anabelle says, and in metaphors which are “even truer” than the thing alone. She discusses her recent book, Sacred Braille (2019), about the Rosary, its history, and its sacramental power.Annabelle Mosely is a theology professor at St. Joseph’s College in New York, an author, a poet (she reads a couple of her poems at my request), a lay Carmelite, as well as a wife and a mother. Also see: Annabelle Mosely, Tour Guide of Wonder Annabelle Mosely, The Bethany Plan Annabelle Mosely, Sacred Braille (2019) CS Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (read by John Cleese) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Professor William A. Thomas explains today's Consecration (March 25, 2022) by Pope Francis of Russia and Ukraine which is part of a century-long story, one that started in the Portuguese village of Fátima in 1917. Fátima, the Ultimate Mystery, which we discuss, is here. Dr. Thomas is a Mariologist, director of the St. John Paul II Institute of Marian Studies, and prolific apologetic writer. He explains Mary’s mediation between humans and God, the meaning of Marian apparitions, and what we can do to help our world and grow in holiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Robin Vose (St. Thomas University) talks about his new monograph, The Index of Prohibited Books: Four Centuries of Struggle over Word and Image for the Greater Glory of God (Reaktion, 2022), censorship, and the Reformation.The first comprehensive history of the Catholic Church’s notorious Index, with resonance for ongoing debates over banned books, censorship, and free speech. For more than four hundred years, the Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum struck terror into the hearts of authors, publishers, and booksellers around the world, while arousing ridicule and contempt from many others, especially those in Protestant and non-Christian circles. Biased, inconsistent, and frequently absurd in its attempt to ban objectionable texts of every conceivable description—with sometimes fatal consequences—the Index also reflected the deep learning and careful consideration of many hundreds of intellectual contributors over the long span of its storied evolution. This book constitutes the first full study of the Index of Prohibited Books to be published in English. It examines the reasons behind the Church’s attempts to censor religious, scientific, and artistic works, and considers not only why this most sustained of campaigns failed, but what lessons can be learned for today’s debates over freedom of expression and cancel culture.Jana Byars is the Academic Director of Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies