Catholic Culture Audiobooks

“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.

“In your bread is hidden the Spirit which cannot be eaten. / In your wine dwells the fire that cannot be drunk. / Spirit in your bread, fire in your wine: / It is a distinct wonder that our lips have received!” Born in the year 306, Ephrem lived in Nisibis (in modern-day Turkey), at what was then the border between the Roman and Persian empires.  Ephrem was a deacon and a prolific writer. To this day, he remains among the most notable hymnographers in Eastern Christianity. He has been called, in fact, the lyre of the Holy Spirit, and in 1920 he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XV. This short hymn is one of Ephrem’s Eucharistic hymns, also containing some resonance with Pentecost. Links St. Ephrem, Hymns on Faith: https://verbum.com/product/169347/the-hymns-on-faith Ep. 28—Ephrem, Symbolist—Way of the Fathers with Mike Aquilina: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/27ephrem-symbolist/ 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.

“Like the new mother, burdened with milk for the child, so the poet with the word within him, addressed to others.” Paul Claudel was born in 1868 in rural northeastern France. He absorbed the poetry of Walt Whitman and Arthur Rimbaud while in his teens, and experienced a religious epiphany at Notre Dame cathedral during Christmas 1886. Claudel was productive in many literary genres. Besides the Odes, his masterpieces include the dramas The Break of Noon, The Tidings Brought to Mary, and The Satin Slipper. The poet served throughout the world in the French diplomatic corps, and died in 1955. Claudel's Five Great Odes constitutes one of the great twentieth-century achievements in lyric poetry. The third Ode, "Magnificat", recalls his conversion, which occurred at Christmas vespers, where the Magnificat was sung, in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Links Buy Five Great Odes, from Angelico Press: https://www.angelicopress.org/five-great-odes-claudel Ep. 92—Claudel’s Cosmic Vision—Jonathan Geltner | Catholic Culture Podcast: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/92-tom-bombadilleau-claudels-cosmic-vision-jonathan-geltner/ 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.

“True, we should esteem the things that make for the glory of God, but we should show the greatest esteem for those that concern the will of God.” This week, we conclude our series of readings from St. Alphonsus’s Uniformity with God’s Will. In these final chapters, St. Alphonsus turns his attention to times of spiritual desolation, when submission to the will of God can sometimes be the most difficult. Alphonsus includes in his considerations: the sudden loss of others, particularly those by whom we are spiritually edified; dryness and difficulty in prayer; unrelenting temptation; as well as the circumstances of our own death. “We should consider everything happening to us in the present," Alphonsus writes, "and everything that will happen to us in the future, as coming from the hands of God.” To hearken back to the very first chapter of this work, uniformity with God’s will means something more than simply obeying God in this or that circumstance — it means, as St. Alphonsus puts it, “that we make one will of God’s will and ours… that God’s will alone, is our will.” Links Uniformity with God's Will Full text: http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/uniformity_with_Gods_will/un3.php 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.

“...at the moment of Joseph's own ‘annunciation’ he said nothing; instead he simply ‘did as the angel of the Lord commanded him’. And this first ‘doing’ became the beginning of ‘Joseph's way’. The Gospels do not record any word ever spoken by Joseph along that way. But the silence of Joseph has its own special eloquence..." On August 15th, 1889, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical letter Quamquam Pluries on devotion to St. Joseph. 100 years later, on August 15th, 1989—and only two years after the release of his great Marian encyclical, Redemptoris Mater, "Mother of the Redeemer"—Pope St. John Paul II gave his apostolic exhortation Redemptoris Custos, "Guardian of the Redeemer", on the person and mission of St. Joseph in the life of Christ and of the Church. “It is my heartfelt wish,” St. John Paul writes, “that these reflections on the person of St. Joseph will renew in us the prayerful devotion which my Predecessor called for a century ago. Our prayers and the very person of Joseph have renewed significance for the Church in our day.” St. Joseph the Worker, Guardian of the Redeemer — pray for us! Links Redemptoris Custos Full text: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_15081989_redemptoris-custos.html 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.

“Sickness is the acid test of spirituality, because it discloses whether our virtue is real or sham.” If with the first three chapters, St. Alphonsus makes the case for obedience to God—the excellence of this virtue, and that man’s ultimate happiness derives from it—in these chapters, St. Alphonsus gets practical, turning his attention to those instances where obedience to God can sometimes be especially difficult. In particular, he focuses on our susceptibility to sickness, and stresses the importance of obedience to God’s will in times of infirmity. That renders these chapters especially relevant to our own day, when it should be apparent that most of our suffering over the past year has come from our attempt to avoid suffering, and certainly not to accept it in the spirit of trust and docility which St. Alphonsus here describes. Indeed, in some places, Alphonsus’ words seem almost prophetic: “It often happens,” St. Alphonsus writes, “that some, on the occasion of a slight illness, or even a slight indisposition, want the whole world to stand still…” Sound familiar? Links Uniformity with God's Will Full text: http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/uniformity_with_Gods_will/un3.php 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.

“Conformity signifies that we join our wills to the will of God. Uniformity means more -- it means that we make one will of God's will and ours, so that we will only what God wills; that God's will alone, is our will.” A few weeks ago, the Church celebrated the 150th anniversary of the proclamation, by Pope Pius IX, of St. Alphonsus Liguori as a Doctor of the Church. St. Alphonsus was an Italian bishop who lived from 1696-1787. He is the patron saint of confessors, and is perhaps one of the most widely read Catholic authors in the world (translations of his works exist in over seventy different languages). St. Alphonsus was a prolific writer who wrote over one hundred works on spirituality and theology. This text, Uniformity with God’s Will, was written in 1755, and represents a topic that was dear to St. Alphonsus’ heart. It is said that, in a similar way to how St. Ignatius stressed “all for the greater glory of God,” St. Alphonsus gave central importance to “the greater good pleasure of God.” After writing this work, St. Alphonsus frequently read it himself, and even had it read to him when his eyesight began to fail. The extraordinary circumstances within which we find ourselves today require a careful consideration of where our obedience is owed. This classic work by a Doctor of the Church can help. Links Uniformity with God's Will Full text: http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/uniformity_with_Gods_will/un3.php 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.

"... as His atoning passion was undergone in the body, so it was undergone in the soul also." Mental Sufferings of Our Lord in His Passion full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/discourses/discourse16.html 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.