Catholic Culture Audiobooks

"Is my gloom, after all, / Shade of his hand, outstretched caressingly?" Francis Thompson was an English Catholic poet who died at the age of 47, stricken with poor health that followed him from hard experiences he had had as a young man living on the streets of London. "The Hound of Heaven" was written when Thompson was living at Our Lady of England Priory and recovering from opium addiction. In the poem, one hears echos of Psalm 139 (which Thompson no doubt would have prayed often at the priory): "Where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your face? … even darkness is not dark for you and the night is as clear as the day." Links "The Hound of Heaven" full text at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=10546 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.

“This is the faith by which the Catholic Church lives and progresses, namely, that humanity is believed to exist in Jesus Christ not without real divinity, and divinity, not without real humanity.” The papacy of Pope Leo I  saw the convening of the Catholic Church’s fourth ecumenical council: the Council of Chalcedon.  The Tome of Leo was a central document debated during the Church's fourth ecumenical council, the Council of Chalcedon, at which the hypostatic union of Christ’s twofold nature—human and divine—was definitively set forth. This council took place during the papacy of Pope Leo I, described by Pope Benedict XVI as “undoubtedly one of the most important in Church history.” Written in the form of a letter, the Tome is addressed to Flavian, the Patriarch of Constantinople. Flavian had recently excommunicated a certain presbyter by the name of Eutyches, who had taught what would come to be known as the heresy of Monophysitism: the denial of Christ’s twofold nature and the insistence that in Christ there is only one nature, wholly divine. Leo invokes the text of the Nicene Creed and references Scripture throughout. He illustrates that humanity and divinity both truly exist in the Person of Christ, the Incarnate Word, and that other mysteries of the faith—notably, Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary and our Redemption—depend upon this mystery. The Tome was eventually accepted as doctrinal. To this day it remains a foundational text of Christology, and it is perhaps the theological contribution for which St. Leo the Great is most remembered. Links Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120407/saint-augustine-christian-instruction-admonition-and-grace-the-christian-combat-faith-hope-and-charity Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2133 Donate at http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio to support this podcast! 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.

"Since, then, no one is allowed to be remiss in the service due to God, and since the chief duty of all men is to cling to religion in both its reaching and practice—not such religion as they may have a preference for, but the religion which God enjoins, and which certain and most clear marks show to be the only one true religion —it is a public crime to act as though there were no God." In this encyclical, issued on November 1, 1885, Pope Leo XIII urges Catholics to give particular attention to national politics and to make use of popular institutions for the advancement of truth and goodness. He warns that, were Catholics to abdicate the field of politics, it would “allow those whose principles offer but small guarantee for the welfare of the State to more readily seize the reins of government.” Leo condemns the politically expedient side-lining of Catholic teaching, warning that it is unlawful for Catholics "to follow one line of conduct in private life and another in public, respecting privately the authority of the Church but publicly rejecting it.” He especially cautions those who hold positions of authority, writing: “they must remember that the Almighty will one day bring them to account, the more strictly in proportion to the sacredness of their office and preeminence of their dignity.” Indeed, the right exercise of authority—and in particular, the right relationship between the authority of the Church and that of the State— is at the heart of Leo’s concern in Immortale Dei, and the encyclical can be seen as a correction to the defective view of authority that arises from a false notion of liberty. In fact, less than three years after issuing Immortale Dei, Pope Leo XIII issued another encyclical letter entitled Libertas, on the Nature of Human Liberty. Links Full text of Immortale Dei: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4916 The Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 90—Leo XIII on the State’s Duties Toward the Church—Thomas Pink: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/90-leo-xiii-on-states-duties-toward-church-thomas-pink/ Audiobook of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-leo-xiii-rerum-novarum-pt-1/ 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.

“Reflect for a long time upon what is being read, until the interpretation is drawn over to the sway of charity.” We’re picking up where we last left off in St. Augustine’s great treatise On Christian Doctrine, beginning Book 3 and finally diving into Augustine’s primary concern with this work: the correct interpretation of Holy Scripture.  In the initial chapters, Augustine closely considers the textual minutia of everything from punctuation to conjugation and declension, to pronunciation and inflection. (Lectors, take note!) Of particular concern for Augustine, however, is the correct discernment between literal and figurative expressions. It’s with respect to the latter that some of Augustine’s most salient insights shine through. His multi-faceted consideration of signs and symbols finds application in a wide range of concerns, including the sacraments, inculturation of the faith, and even morality. Augustine is particularly helpful in his discussion, toward the end of the reading, of the Old Testament and of certain anomalous—or even vicious—behavior of Old Testament figures. Any correct reading of Scripture will ultimately conduce to a love of God for his own sake, and of neighbor for God’s sake. Notes Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120407/saint-augustine-christian-instruction-admonition-and-grace-the-christian-combat-faith-hope-and-charity Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3275 Previous De Doctrina Christiana episodes: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/audiobook_authors_titles.cfm  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://catholicculture.org/donate/audio to support this podcast! 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.

“It is better to say nothing and be a Christian, than to speak and not to be one.” St. Ignatius’ letters express a clear view of the Church as hierarchical and monarchical, and his Letter to the Ephesians is no exception. In it, Ignatius emphasizes respect and obedience to the bishop and the priests and deacons in union with him.  For Ignatius, the formula is simple: Jesus is the mind of the Father, and the appointed bishops are of one mind with Christ. If the prayer of two or three gathered in Christ’s name is so efficacious, how much greater is that prayer in union with the bishop and the whole Church? Ignatius also issues stern warnings to those who would compromise the Church’s unity and pollute her teaching. In particular, those who would corrupt the family. Ignatius warns that those who bear the name of Christian while behaving in a way unworthy of God cannot be listened to. Again, for Ignatius the formula is simple: faith can no more do the things of infidelity, than infidelity can do the things of faith. Are we to abandon such people? Of course not, Ignatius says. “Do not cease to pray, for there is hope of their conversion and of their finding God. Give them the chance to be instructed, at least by the way you behave.” Yet another simple formula. Links Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/ Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1628 Other readings of Ignatius’ Letters: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/audiobook_authors_titles.cfm Way of the Fathers, Ep. 4—Ignatius of Antioch: To Know “Jesus Christ Our God” https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-4-ignatius-antioch-to-know-jesus-christ-our-god/ 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.

“I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.” This lecture was given against the backdrop of a resurgent anti-Catholicism throughout England, marked by anti-Catholic hysteria and government overstep. Although Newman is responding to an institutional prejudice born specifically of establishment Protestantism, his words for the most part can be applied equally as well to prejudice born of secularized liberalism. Newman puts so-called “public opinion” into its place. Newman exhorts Catholics to be straightforward, generous, and forbearing in spite of provocation. “Interpret the actions of all,” he says, “in the best sense that you possibly can.” Links Duties of Catholics Towards the Protestant View Full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/england/lecture9.html 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.

“Among this ever so numerous throng of pure spirits, the highest of hierarchies is that of the great contemplative angels… Next comes those who are ministers of the Most High… and finally there are the angels who simply execute the orders of God, as are the invisible guardians of men, communities, and nations.” An excerpt from The Sense of Mystery: Clarity and Obscurity in the Intellectual Life, by French Dominican theologian Garrigou-Lagrange. In this chapter, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes from the perspective of an angel. In the angel's own words, he describes the nature, knowledge, and limits of the created pure spirit, and by way of contrast elucidates the limits of our own human intellect.  Links Translation courtesy of Emmaus Academic: https://www.emmausacademic.com/publications/2018/5/18/sense-of-mystery The Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 38—Garrigou-Lagrange, The Sacred Monster of Thomism—w/ Matthew K. Minerd: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-38-sacred-monster-matthew-k-minerd/ Donate at http://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 does not refer everything to the praise and love of the one God... may seem to be erudite, but he can by no means be considered wise.” Where we last left off, Augustine had just finished vindicating some "pagan" forms of knowledge—such as music— as useful in the study of Sacred Scripture. He’ll go into further detail concerning what should be avoided and what embraced from among the so-called pagan disciplines.  Rejection of superstition is a major theme contained in these chapters, and Augustine provides some helpful criteria for the Christian in discerning what is superstitious from what is not. While all superstitious human conventions must be rejected as worthless and sinful, human conventions not arranged with demons, but arranged among men themselves, can sometimes be useful—even essential. It’s here that Augustine discusses principles of logic and rhetoric—a subject he’ll return to later in Book IV.  Though much of what he discusses in these chapters may strike some as academic, Augustine is far from advocating an esoteric approach to the Scriptures. "Knowledge puffs up," Augustine quotes St. Paul, "but charity edifies." What Augustine accomplishes, rather, is a robust defense of the fundamentally catholic character of the truth. In so far as anything is true, it is Christ’s. Thus all knowledge must, in the end, be put to the service and love of God. Notes Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120407/saint-augustine-christian-instruction-admonition-and-grace-the-christian-combat-faith-hope-and-charity Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3275 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://catholicculture.org/donate/audio to support this podcast! 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.

“While I was lying in darkness and in the obscure night, and while, ignorant of my real life, I was tossing about on the sea of a restless world wavering and doubtful in my wandering steps… I thought it indeed difficult and hard to believe... that divine mercy was promised for my salvation.” Born at the beginning of the 3rd century to a wealthy, pagan family in Carthage, Cyprian initially rose to prominence as an orator. After a youth spent in dissipation, Cyprian converted and was baptized at around 35 years old. His bishop became so impressed with him that after only one year, Cyprian was made first a deacon, and then a priest. When that same bishop died only one year later, Cyprian was chosen to succeed him! As bishop, Cyprian would shepherd the church in Carthage through many storms—including persecution, a pandemic, and schism. The Letter to Donatus came before all of that. It is the earliest of Cyprian's treatises, written very shortly after his conversion. In it, Cyprian writes to his friend, Donatus, who is also a recent Christian initiate. Cyprian describes elements of his own conversion, including details about the misery to which his sins had reduced him. Cyprian writes with eloquence and power, and he concludes his letter with a rousing exhortation to Christian life. The Letter to Donatus remains as compelling today as it was in 246 A.D. Notes Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/46612/st-cyprian-treatises  Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1733  Way of the Fathers, Ep. 18 - The Short, Happy Life of Cyprian of Carthage: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-18-short-happy-life-cyprian-carthage/#  Donate at http://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.

"Deviant sexual assault has accomplished what liturgical abuse never could: it has generated secular media pressure and secular legal constraints so overwhelming that the apparat was forced to make its files public." Fr. Paul Mankowski was a Jesuit of the Midwest province and a former contributor to CatholicCulture.org. For years, he spearheaded CatholicCulture.org’s old "Off the Record" column, writing under the pseudonym of Diogenes. A brilliant priest who worked tirelessly for Catholic renewal, Fr. Mankowski was unfortunately stymied by his superiors. "What Went Wrong?", a 2003 address to the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, first appeared in written form on CatholicCulture.org; in it, Fr. Mankowski traces an excellent analysis of how the Catholic clerical sexual abuse crisis came about. Notes Full text at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=5915  Phil Lawler Tribute to Fr. Mankowski: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/farewell-uncle-di-father-paul-mankowski-rip/  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.