Catholic Culture Audiobooks

"What a wonderful rule of God's providence is herein displayed which occurs daily!—the Church sanctities, yet suffers with, the world—sharing its sufferings, yet lightening them." In this third of four lectures on The Patristical Idea of Antichrist, Newman closely examines the role which the Roman Empire—and, perhaps, even the city of Rome itself—will play in the coming of Antichrist. As with the first two lectures on the Times and Religion of Antichrist, what’s refreshing about Newman’s analysis in this lecture is the seriousness with which he takes the Old and New Testament prophecies about the Antichrist. Through a careful consideration of which aspects of prophecy have been fulfilled and which unfulfilled, Newman demonstrates how these prophecies do more than simply arouse our curiosity in a future event, but in fact edify us in the present. Links The City of Antichrist Full text: https://www.newmanreader.org/works/arguments/antichrist/lecture3.html Pt. 2, The Religion of Antichrist on Catholic Culture Audiobooks: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-john-henry-newman-patristical-idea-antichrist-pt-2-religion-antichrist/ Pt. 1, The Times of Antichrist on Catholic Culture Audiobooks: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-john-henry-newman-patristical-idea-antichrist-pt-1-times-antichrist/ SUBSCRIBE to Catholic Culture Audiobooks https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-audiobooks/id1482214268 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter http://www.catholicculture.org/newsletter DONATE at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: "2 Part Invention", composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

“Whoever, then, appears in his own opinion to have comprehended the Sacred Scriptures, or even some part of them, yet does not build up with that knowledge the two-fold love of God and his neighbor, has not yet known as he ought to know.” De Doctrina Christiana, or "On Christian Instruction", is listed among Augustine’s contributions to the Great Books of the Western World, alongside the Confessions and City of God. It is considered to be the most important early Latin treatise on scriptural interpretation and a foundational work for the field of Biblical hermeneutics. It ranks among the most important works of classical rhetoric, along with works by Cicero and Quintillian. Its fourth and final book was one of the very first works to be printed, only about one decade after the Gutenberg Bible. De Doctrina Christiana is composed of four books. According to St. Augustine, the first three books “help to an understanding of the Scriptures, while the fourth instructs us how to present the facts which we have comprehended.” 00:39 Part 1 (Book 1 with Prologue) 1:15:19 Part 2 (Book 2, Ch.1-18) 2:02:56 Part 3 (Book 2, Ch.19-42)  2:56:03 Part 4 (Book 3, Ch.1-23) 3:41:37 Part 5 (Book 3, Ch.24-37) 4:21:01 Part 6 (Book 4, Ch.1-16) 5:19:34 Part 7 (Book 4. Ch.17-31) Links Christian Instruction: https://verbum.com/product/120407/saint-augustine-christian-instruction-admonition-and-grace-the-christian-combat-faith-hope-and-charity De Doctrina Christiana Full Text: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3275 Donate at: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

Dive into the heartfelt fatherly advice of St. Louis IX, who emphasizes unwavering faith and love for God as essential for true worth. Discover his insights on leadership, highlighting justice, compassion, and integrity. St. Louis' unique blend of saintly piety and royal responsibility offers a compelling look at how a king should govern. This reflection on moral principles showcases timeless values that resonate in both personal and public life.

“We beg, O Augustus, we do not battle. We are not afraid, but we are begging. It befits Christians to hope for the tranquility of peace and not to check the steadfastness of faith and truth when faced with danger of death.” Ambrose of Milan is considered among the four great Doctors of the Church, alongside Gregory the Great, Augustine of Hippo, and Jerome. Ambrose is particularly remembered for having set the model for the Church’s relationship to the state. He is famous for having said, “The emperor is within the Church, not above the Church.” In this letter to his sister, St. Ambrose relates events at Milan connected the Empress Justina's demand of a basilica for use by the Arians, and how the people rose up in opposition. It includes sketches of two addresses given by Ambrose: the first, comparing the Christian people's trials to those of Job; and the second, adapting the story of Jonah to the present circumstances and relating the joy of the people at recovering their church. Throughout the letter, Ambrose makes clear the limits of the emperor's authority: "You have been given authority over public edifices, not over sacred ones." Links Way of the Fathers, Ep. 33—Ambrose of Milan, How the Church Regards the State: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/33ambrose-milan-how-church-regards-state/ Letters, by St. Ambrose: https://verbum.com/product/120426/saint-ambrose-letters Letter to His Sister full text at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2073 Donate at: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

“The expense is reckoned, the enterprise is begun; it is of God; it cannot be withstood. So the faith was planted: So it must be restored.” Edmund Campion was born on January 25, 1540, into an England awash with religious turmoil. Though he had been expected to become an apologist for the Church of England, Campion instead fled to France where he was reconciled with the Church and accepted into the Society of Jesus. After he was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1578, Campion was chosen by his superiors to lead a mission back to England. Shortly after his clandestine arrival in London in 1580, Campion quickly set about composing the statement that would later become known as "Campion's Brag". According to some scholars, it is the earliest defense of the faith to appear in the English language during the Reformation. Campion was eventually captured in 1581 and brought to the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned and tortured for four months. After a farce trial of bribed witnesses and false evidence, Campion was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. On December 1, 1581, Campion was hanged, drawn, and quartered. Links Campion's Brag Full text: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/campions-brag-5297 Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 69—Poetry of the English Martyrs | Benedict Whalen https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-69-poetry-english-martyrs-benedict-whalen/ SUBSCRIBE to Catholic Culture Audiobooks https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-audiobooks/id1482214268 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter http://www.catholicculture.org/newsletter DONATE at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio  Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

“Surely the world is impregnated with the elements of preternatural evil, which ever and anon, in unhealthy seasons, give lowering and muttering tokens of the wrath to come!” This is the second in a series of four lectures by Newman on The Patristical Idea of Antichrist, the first lecture of which we released back in January. Whereas the first lecture considered "The Times of Antichrist", this second lecture addresses the question of whether the Antichrist will profess any particular religion at all. On the one hand, Antichrist will not only reject Christ — he will oppose all religion, all worship, and all that is called God. On the other hand, the Antichrist will be mistaken for the Christ. He will impersonate the Messiah, and therefore will have some connection to Jewish custom, ritual, and the Temple. Further, he will usher in a novel form of false worship, and will do so even as he restores the old Roman Empire. Newman recalls some remarkable features of the French Revolution to illustrate that "there are ways of fulfilling sacred announcements that seem at first sight contradictory.” As with the first lecture, this present installment is an exhortation to take seriously the prophecies concerning the Antichrist, and to a renewed confidence in God’s providence through history. Links The Religion of Antichrist Full text: https://www.newmanreader.org/works/arguments/antichrist/lecture2.html The Times of Antichrist on Catholic Culture Audiobooks: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-john-henry-newman-patristical-idea-antichrist-pt-1-times-antichrist/ Way of the Fathers w/ Mike Aquilina, Ep. 32—Julian, the Apostate Who Aped the Church: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/32julian-apostate-who-aped-church/ Go to http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio to register for FREE access to the full archive of audiobooks beyond the most recent 15 episodes. Donate at: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

“One that lives by other's breath, / Dieth also by his death.” This poem by the English Jesuit martyr St. Robert Southwell is a meditation upon Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross. As an eventual martyr himself, Southwell’s reflections on death in the poem are prescient. The poem is prefaced by a brief letter on the nature and purpose of poetry, written separately by Southwell to his cousin, who seems also to have been a poet. The letter played a large role in the significant influence Southwell had upon later writers of the English Renaissance, with even William Shakespeare seeming to have included a response to this letter in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In fact, some scholars have argued that the "cousin" to whom Southwell writes in this letter is none other than Shakespeare himself. Learn more about St. Robert Southwell, his poetry, and the poetry of other English Martyrs, in episode 69 of the Catholic Culture Podcast. Links St. Robert Southwell—Love & Suffering: 3 Poems | Catholic Culture Audiobooks: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/love-suffering-3-poems-by-st-robert-southwell/ Ep. 69—Poetry of the English Martyrs—Benedict Whalen | Catholic Culture Podcast: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-69-poetry-english-martyrs-benedict-whalen/ "Mary Magdalene's Complaint at Christ's Death" full text: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalen%27s_Complaint_at_Christ%27s_Death Lyra Martyrum: The Poetry of the English Martyrs https://www.clunymedia.com/product/lyra-martyrum/ Follow this link to join the Online Great Books VIP waiting list and get 25% off your first 3 months: https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/ SUBSCRIBE to Catholic Culture Audiobooks https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-audiobooks/id1482214268 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter http://www.catholicculture.org/newsletter DONATE at http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: "2 Part Invention", composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

“The axe of the Gospel must now be laid at the roots of the barren tree and the tree must be delivered to the flames with its unfruitful leaves, so that he who has never learned to speak might learn at length to hold his tongue.” Despite little training in eloquence or theology, Helvidius had gained some notoriety as an opponent of monasticism and of virginity as a way of life. This led Helvidius also to deny the perpetual virginity of Mary. Helvidius’ book on the subject became a major source of scandal in Rome. And this St. Jerome could not abide. In his response, Jerome maintains three propositions against Helvidius: that Joseph was considered the husband of Mary as he was considered the father of Jesus, more by repute than by biological fact; that the “brethren” of the Lord referenced in the Gospels were Jesus’ cousins, not his brothers; and that virginity is indeed a higher state in life than the married state. Links Dogmatic and Polemical Works, by St. Jerome: https://verbum.com/product/120412/dogmatic-and-polemical-works Against Helvidius full text at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2314 Donate at: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.

In this bonus episode originally from the Catholic Culture Podcast, CatholicCulture.org’s director of podcasts, Thomas V. Mirus, interviews voice actor James T. Majewski (Catholic Culture Audiobooks) and author Mike Aquilina (Way of the Fathers) about how they make their shows and the effect reading and studying the Church Fathers has had on them personally. If you are a lector at Mass, you will find James’s comments on how he approaches reading the writings of the Saints inspiring and helpful. Contents [2:15] James’s training in philosophy and acting as preparation for narrating the Fathers [7:00] How Mike meandered into a career writing about the Fathers [9:27] The original idea for audiobooks and podcasts at The Catholic Culture [15:33] How Mike distills scholarship into an accessible and edifying presentation of early Church history [21:20] The accessibility and affordability of creating a good-sounding podcast [24:16] James’s process for preparing nuanced readings of the Fathers at a rapid pace [33:03] Mike’s and James’s recourse to the intercession of the holy authors they study [37:38] St. John Henry Newman and the early Fathers as masters of media [42:40] The mastery of the Fathers’ work and its relevance today [45:55] The spiritual effects of narrating the writings of saints Links Support CatholicCulture.org’s podcasting efforts https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Catholic Culture Podcast https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/category/catholic-culture-podcast/ Way of the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/category/way-fathers/ James T. Majewski https://www.jamestmajewski.com/ Mike Aquilina https://fathersofthechurch.com/

“What is up to us is to plead without ceasing for discernment and love, for justice and patience—and for unshakable love for the Church. Because only the lover discerns. And what people who do not love her, maybe secretly hate her, tell us about her need not frighten us.” Born in 1901, Ida Friederike Görres was an historically significant figure in the early twentieth-century German Catholic Renewal movement. The eulogy at her funeral in 1971 was given by none other than a certain Fr. Joseph Ratzinger. Today, over fifty years after her death, there is renewed interest in her works. A student of political science, history, church history, theology, and philosophy, Görres worked for the diocese of Dresden-Meissen as “Diocesan Secretary for Young Women’s Ministry”. After her marriage, Görres devoted herself increasingly to her work as a writer and theologian in service to the Church. She published many lengthy works, as well as lectures and shorter writings on current issues in the Church. She lived through the Second Vatican Council, and though she welcomed the Council with joy, she tracked later developments within the Church with concern—as evidenced by this lecture given in 1970, only one year before her death. Narrated by Karina Majewski. Links Learn more about Ida Friederike Görres: https://www.idagoerres.org/ Donate at: http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.