Catholic Culture Audiobooks

"If then the intellect is so excellent a portion of us, and its cultivation so excellent, it is not only beautiful, perfect, admirable, and noble in itself, but in a true and high sense it must be useful to the possessor and to all around him; not useful in any low, mechanical, mercantile sense, but as diffusing good, or as a blessing, or a gift, or power, or a treasure, first to the owner, then through him to the world." In 1854, Newman was invited to Dublin by the Catholic Bishops of Ireland to serve as rector for the newly established Catholic University of Ireland, now University College, Dublin. Though he retired after only four years, during this time he composed and delivered the lectures that would become The Idea of a University. In this seventh discourse, Newman answers the utilitarian critics of liberal education. He points out that the cultivation of the intellect is not only a sufficient end in itself, but that it is also to be valued even when considered on utilitarian grounds. He cites extensive excerpts from the writings of two key figures in the reform of Oxford teaching, Edward Copleston and John Davison. Links Cluny Media edition: https://clunymedia.com/collections/john-henry-newman/products/the-idea-of-a-university The Idea of a University full text: https://www.newmanreader.org/works/idea/ Edward Copleston: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Copleston John Davison: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davison_(priest) 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 the world those who aim at a devout life require to be united one with another by a holy friendship, which excites, stimulates, and encourages them in well-doing." Part 3 (00:39) Chapter 11 - Obedience (06:04) Chapter 12 - Purity (09:26) Chapter 13 - How to Maintain Purity (13:09) Chapter 14 - Poverty of Spirit amid Riches  (18:49) Chapter 15 - How to Exercise Real Poverty although Actually Rich (26:29) Chapter 16—How to Possess a Rich Spirit amid Real Poverty (30:11) Chapter 17—Friendship: Evil and Frivolous Friendship (33:52) Chapter 18—Frivolous Attachments (39:09) Chapter 19—Real Friendship (45:01) Chapter 20—The Difference between True and False Friendship (49:18) Chapter 21—Remedies against Evil Friendships (56:08) Chapter 22—Further Advice concerning Intimacies This work will be released in its entirety in episodic format. Links Introduction to the Devout Life full text: https://watch.formed.org/introduction-to-the-devout-life-by-st-francis-de-sales 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.

“While exchanges and conflicts of opinion may constitute normal expressions of public life in a representative democracy, moral teaching certainly cannot depend simply upon respect for a process: indeed, it is in no way established by following the rules and deliberative procedures typical of a democracy... Opposition to the teaching of the Church's Pastors cannot be seen as a legitimate expression either of Christian freedom or of the diversity of the Spirit's gifts.” Veritatis Splendor, or “The Splendor of Truth”, was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II on August 6, 1993. The encyclical addresses fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching, especially in relation to the various ways in which that teaching had been (and continues to be) challenged by modern strains of dissident theology. In this third and final chapter, titled "Lest the Cross of Christ Be Emptied of Its Power", John Paul II emphasizes the profound connection between freedom, moral law, and human flourishing—both for the individual and for society. He further underscores the inseparable link between freedom and truth and stresses the primary role of grace in supporting human freedom and enabling individuals to overcome sin. He ends the encyclical with an appeal to Mary, Mother of Mercy. Links: Full text: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=3459&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=2320723 Sign up for our newsletter at http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio  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.

“If acts are intrinsically evil, a good intention or particular circumstances can diminish their evil, but they cannot remove it. They remain irremediably evil acts; per se and in themselves they are not capable of being ordered to God and to the good of the person... Consequently, circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act subjectively good or defensible as a choice.” Veritatis Splendor, or “The Splendor of Truth”, was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II on August 6, 1993. The encyclical addresses fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching, especially in relation to the various ways in which that teaching had been (and continues to be) challenged by modern strains of dissident theology. In this second chapter, titled "Do Not Be Conformed to this World", John Paul II addresses the relationships between freedom and law, conscience and truth, and fundamental choice and specific kinds of behavior. He concludes the chapter with a careful consideration of the moral act. Links: Full text: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=3459&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=2320723 Sign up for our newsletter at http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio  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.

“No damage must be done to the harmony between faith and life: the unity of the Church is damaged not only by Christians who reject or distort the truths of faith but also by those who disregard the moral obligations to which they are called by the Gospel.” Veritatis Splendor, or “The Splendor of Truth”, was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II on August 6, 1993. The encyclical addresses fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching, especially in relation to the various ways in which that teaching had been (and continues to be) challenged by modern strains of dissident theology. Links: Full text: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=3459&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=2320723 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 helpers of our faith are fear and patience; our allies are long-suffering and self-control." The so-called Letter of Barnabas is neither a letter nor by St. Barnabas. Written by an anonymous author sometime between the years 70 and 150 AD, it is a work of allegorical scriptural interpretation chiefly notable for its early date. Having been composed well before collection of the New Testament into a canon, the Letter of Barnabas attempts to illustrate the Old Testament's fulfillment in Christ and to warn the early Christians against accepting it in a strictly literal sense. Relying on his own imagination and best lights, the author succeeds to a greater and lesser extent throughout, sometimes reading an unhistorical meaning into the sacred texts. The letter ends with an exposition of the "Two Ways" similar to that found in the Didache. Links Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120401/the-apostolic-fathers Alternate translation: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=3840 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 say, a University, taken in its bare idea, and before we view it as an instrument of the Church, has this object and this mission; it contemplates neither moral impression nor mechanical production; it professes to exercise the mind neither in art nor in duty; its function is intellectual culture... It educates the intellect to reason well in all matters, to reach out towards truth, and to grasp it." In 1854, Newman was invited to Dublin by the Catholic Bishops of Ireland to serve as rector for the newly established Catholic University of Ireland, now University College, Dublin. Though he retired after only four years, during this time he composed and delivered the lectures that would become The Idea of a University. In this sixth discourse, Newman argues that the end of a liberal education is not to impart mere knowledge, but to cultivate the intellect. He laments the lack of a word in English to express this idea of intellectual excellence as distinct from the accumulation of learning, and he goes on to illustrate what should be understood as true illumination or enlargement of mind and its implications for university studies. Links Cluny Media edition: https://clunymedia.com/collections/john-henry-newman/products/the-idea-of-a-university The Idea of a University full text: https://www.newmanreader.org/works/idea/ 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.

"Give me thy grace, good Lord, To set the world at naught;" The 16th and 17th centuries produced a number of men whose courageous faith was accompanied by prodigious learning and literary talent. Among these was St. Thomas More, who wrote poems while languishing in the Tower of London, 1534-1535. Read here are "Lewis the Lost Lover" and "Davey the Dicer", titled after the popular tunes of the day to which he wrote the poems. According to his biographer and son-in-law William Roper, More wrote both poems just after Thomas Cromwell departed from his cell, having failed to persuade him to take the Supremacy Oath. The episode concludes with a meditation written in the margins of More’s prayer book while he was imprisoned. Links Lyra Martyrum: The Poetry of the English Martyrs, 1503-1681 https://www.clunymedia.com/product/lyra-martyrum/ Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 69—Poetry of the English Martyrs, w/ Benedict Whalen: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-69-poetry-english-martyrs-benedict-whalen/ 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.

"Anyone who will calmly consider what he has done without God, cannot fail to realize that what he does with God is no merit of his own; and so we may rejoice in that which is good in us, and take pleasure in the fact, but we shall give all the glory to God alone, who alone is its author." Part 3 Chapter 1 - How to Select That Which We Should Chiefly Practice (00:00:38) Chapter 2 - The Same Subject Continued (00:09:33) Chapter 3 - Patience (00:16:32) Chapter 4 - Greater Humility (00:25:45) Chapter 5 - Interior Humility (00:31:39) Chapter 6—Humility Makes Us Rejoice in Our Own Abjection (00:41:05) Chapter 7—How to Combine Due Care for a Good Reputation with Humility (00:47:49) Chapter 8—Gentleness Towards Others and Remedies Against Anger (00:55:18) Chapter 9—Gentleness Towards Ourselves (01:03:43) Chapter 10—We Must Attend to the Business of Life Carefully, but Without Eagerness or Over-Anxiety (01:08:13) This work will be released in its entirety in episodic format. Links Introduction to the Devout Life full text: https://watch.formed.org/introduction-to-the-devout-life-by-st-francis-de-sales 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 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: http://www.CatholicCulture.org/donate  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DZRZRJ5723MLA Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of content, including news, articles, podcasts, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org