The Catholic Culture Podcast

This is the second half of an interview with G.C. Dilsaver on his book The Three Marks of Manhood: How to be Priest, Prophet and King of Your Family. Dr. Dilsaver discusses how the Christian husband and father must wield three staves: the scepter of authority, the crosier of co-episcopacy, and the cross of redemption. This last is most important, as the Christian patriarch's mandate is to lead in self-abnegation so that he may decrease and Christ may increase. The measure of his success is not in providing materially for his family but in teaching them by example to love God above all else and to suffer well for His sake. Contents The Scepter of Authority [3:30] Exercising one’s authority delegated by God is a duty in obedience and humility—but that means authority is not based on superiority in intelligence, goodness, etc. [7:06] Humiliation in the exercise of authority [10:06] Why modern men run away from their authority [14:10] Christian patriarchy as the greatest bastion against the overreaching State The Crosier of Co-Episcopacy [18:10] A father is his family’s spiritual leader and representative/intercessor before God [21:08] The need for an intense prayer life to be a truly engaged and militant Catholic man [23:49] The cloistered home—not to escape the world, but to enter the depth of reality [26:45] The father too must be devoted to the home [28:15] The prophetic role; practical ways of being the priest of the domestic church The Cross of Redemption [36:07] Rebirth in Christ through the experience of weakness and failure [37:58] Danger of father seeing himself mainly as material provider, not teaching family to suffer well [45:15] Critique of “suburban secular Christianity”, the problem with “coping” with reality [49:12] Familial asceticism: poverty, chastity and obedience in the home [57:51] Setting an example in obedience to the Church and, at times, defiance of the State [1:02:38] How the Cross transforms and fulfills romantic love Links The Three Marks of Manhood https://www.tanbooks.com/three-marks-of-manhood-how-to-be-priest-prophet-and-king-of-your-family-2.html Psychomoralitics website http://www.souldeepscience.com/ Psychomoralitics book https://www.amazon.com/Psychomoralitics-Soul-Deep-Alternative-Failed-Professions/dp/099936071X Celebrating God-Given Gender https://www.amazon.com/Celebrating-God-Given-Gender-Masculinity-Femininity/dp/0999360701 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

There is a great need for Catholics to acknowledge the timeless Biblical and Magisterial teachings about the headship of fathers over their families. Yet St. Paul’s simultaneous call for husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the Church - that is, to the point of death - is sometimes treated as an addendum when in fact it is the very essence of Christian patriarchy. In his 2010 book The Three Marks of Manhood: How to Be Priest, Prophet, and King of Your Family, the “father of Christian psychology” G.C. Dilsaver upholds the natural and supernatural basis of male headship while describing how it must be purified of pagan, dominating and selfish elements. The path to true Christian manhood is through the crucible of humiliation. Against the notion of the rigidly masculine and “active” man, Dilsaver also insists that receptivity is the basic condition of the creature regardless of sex—hence the maxim of Catholic mysticism that the soul is feminine in relation to Christ. This is the first part of a two-part interview. Contents [2:48] Christian patriarchy is about devotion to the feminine as something sacred [4:29] Self-sacrificial love as the essence of headship [10:25] The need to purify male headship in an exclusively Christian spirit rather than returning to a historical model from past Christian civilization which retained pagan elements [13:35] Inseparability of the hierarchy and sacramentality of marriage [17:37] Magnanimity—greatness of soul, greatness of cause, tempered with humility [21:43] Receptivity, not fatherhood, intrinsic to all creatures; the soul is feminine in relation to Christ; woman as pure distillation of creatureliness [28:32] Men need to learn from the specifically feminine aspects of Mary’s greatness [33:02] The problem with stoicism and machismo [37:37] The scepter of self-discipline and the insufficiency of acquired virtue; necessity of humiliation and love in the present moment [44:40] Initiation of young men vs. young women [50:33] Dangers of getting married young just to get married, without self-knowledge Links The Three Marks of Manhood https://www.tanbooks.com/three-marks-of-manhood-how-to-be-priest-prophet-and-king-of-your-family-2.html Psychomoralitics website http://www.souldeepscience.com/ Psychomoralitics book https://www.amazon.com/Psychomoralitics-Soul-Deep-Alternative-Failed-Professions/dp/099936071X Celebrating God-Given Gender https://www.amazon.com/Celebrating-God-Given-Gender-Masculinity-Femininity/dp/0999360701 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

After much popular demand, Thomas pays tribute to legendary Catholic sci-fi writer Gene Wolfe, who passed away last year. Though not known to the general public, Wolfe is a sci-fi author’s sci-fi author—a number of his contemporaries considered him not only the best in the genre, but in American fiction at the time (Ursula Le Guin said “Wolfe is our Melville”). Among today’s writers, one of his biggest fans is Neil Gaiman. One critic described Wolfe’s magnum opus, The Book of the New Sun, as “a Star Wars–style space opera penned by G. K. Chesterton in the throes of a religious conversion.” Wolfe also held the patent on the machine that makes Pringles. That’s his face on the can. In this episode, Fr. Brendon Laroche comments on Wolfe’s works, while Wolfe’s friend, Catholic historian and sci-fi expert Sandra Miesel, shares personal reminiscences. Contents [2:48] Why Fr. Brendon likes Gene Wolfe [4:14] Cryptic yet entertaining, evocations of memory, comparisons to Bradbury and Chesterton [13:23] Wolfe’s status in the world of sci-fi and speculative fiction [16:50] Sci-fi treatments of medieval characters, discussion of “Under Hill” [22:57] The nature and possibilities of “genre” fiction [32:03] Sandra Miesel’s involvement in the sci-fi world, friendship with Gene Wolfe [35:21] Wolfe’s unique and strange mind, wide reading and vocabulary, writing Sandra into his magnum opus [38:01] Wolfe’s conversion to Catholicism and devotion to his wife, Catholics in the sci-fi world [40:04] Wolfe’s magnum opus as Augustinian confession; the spiritual function of fantasy [46:00] Premise and themes of The Book of the New Sun [52:26] Sacramentality and treatment of symbols [spoilers here] [1:02:38] Sandra’s work as a master costumer, its influence on Wolfe’s invention of Severian [1:06:11] Sandra on Catholicism in Wolfe’s writings, his esotericism [1:10:05] Wolfe’s subtle allusions and puzzles [1:20:44] Wolfe’s treatment of sexuality; torture and illicit pleasure as two sides of the same coin [1:27:58] Opening paragraph of “The Fifth Head of Cerberus” [1:30:52] Colorful anecdotes about Wolfe and other sci-fi legends; reflections on how the scene has changed Links Recommended starting point: The Best of Gene Wolfe https://www.amazon.com/Best-Gene-Wolfe-Definitive-Retrospective/dp/076532136X The Book of the New Sun in two volumes: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Claw-First-Half-Book/dp/0312890176/ https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Citadel-Second-Half-Book/dp/0312890184/ Read the short story “Under Hill” http://www.infinitematrix.net/stories/shorts/under_hill.html   Wolfe’s essay on Tolkien, “The Best Introduction to the Mountains” http://www.scifiwright.com/2011/05/gene-wolfe-on-jrr-tolkien-the-best-introduction-to-the-mountains/ Tolkien’s letter to Gene Wolfe http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Letter_to_Gene_Wolfe#:~:text=On%207%20November%201966%2C%20J.R.R.,the%20footnote%20is%20in%20script. Interview with Wolfe dealing with his Catholicism https://www.gwern.net/docs/fiction/1992-jordan.pdf Sandra Miesel’s “A Conversation with Catholic SF Writers” https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2009/08/10/a-conversation-with-catholic-sf-writers/ Two different (non-Catholic) podcasts which are quite helpful in exploring Wolfe's many and varied works: The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast (https://www.claytemplemedia.com/the-gene-wolfe-literary-podcast) and Alzabo Soup (https://alzabosoup.libsyn.com/).   Follow-up comments from Sandra Miesel: “A recent book to learn how the field operated in the Good Old Days is ASTOUNDING by Alec Nevla Lee. My novel was DREAMRIDER, later expanded as SHAMAN published by Baen Books in paperback (1989). I co-edited with Paul Kerry an academic book, LIGHT BEYOND ALL SHADOW on religion in JRR Tolkien's works. I co-edited with David Drake two anthologies about sf writers influenced by Kipling, HEADS TO THE STORM and A SEPARATE STAR. I edited or packaged books by Poul Anderson, Gordon R. Dickson, and Andre Norton. And how did I forget to mention my most successful publication, THE DA VINCI HOAX coauthored with Carl Olson?”   Some other novels mentioned: By Gene Wolfe: Latro (series), The Urth of the New Sun, The Book of the Long Sun (series) Poul Anderson, The High Crusade James Blish, A Case of Conscience Frank Herbert, Dune This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie plays Jesus in The Chosen, the first multi-season TV series about the life of our Lord. He joins the podcast to discuss his approach to playing the God-Man, the spiritual impact of the series, its groundbreaking approach to funding and distribution—and his devotion to the Divine Mercy. Contents [1:10] The unique production, financing and distribution of The Chosen [10:01] Filming locations and research for the first season of the show [13:48] How Jonathan was cast, his preparation process [23:00] Story behind Jonathan's connection to the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy [32:23] Portraying the mundane physical actions of Jesus [38:27] Humor in The Chosen and depicting Jesus' sense of fun [41:40] Portraying Jesus’ relationship with His Father [49:20] The show’s use of flashbacks and Scriptural typology [56:52] The cast’s religious diversity; the spiritual impact on the show on its makers and viewers [1:00:40] The forthcoming second season and growth of VidAngel Studios [1:03:55] Jonathan's work as an illustrator and his ideas for future pursuits Links The Chosen app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-chosen/id1473663873 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vidangel.thechosen&hl=en_US Follow Jonathan Roumie here: https://www.facebook.com/JonathanRoumieOfficial/ https://www.instagram.com/jonathanroumieofficial/ https://www.jonathanroumie.com/ VidAngel Studios https://studios.vidangel.com/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

It has become fashionable in traditionalist circles to blame all problems in modern theology on the so-called nouvelle théologie, including a range of thinkers such as Henri de Lubac, Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Hans Küng and Josef Ratzinger. But this is based on a number of misconceptions: about the nature of the nouvelle théologie itself, and about the views held by some of these theologians. Nouvelle théologie is not a unified movement in which everyone held the same views. Some of the “new theologians” were radicals and modernists who wanted the Church to bow to the modern world. Some were orthodox men who wanted to revitalize theology by a return to the sources: the Fathers, Scripture, and St. Thomas (in his own words, not as filtered through the commentators). Others were harder to pin down. A broad-brush approach to the nouvelle théologie has resulted in injustices, perhaps as much to theology itself as to some good Churchmen whose reputations have been tarnished. Even Ratzinger has been dubbed a modernist by a certain trigger-happy trad celebrity. It’s time for an intervention, and theologian Richard DeClue is here to bring some sobriety. Links DeClue’s Views https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq3P-y0YV1V6owHdCRw4I3A Richard DeClue’s blog, Sapientia Nulliformis https://declubac.wixsite.com/sapientianulliformis Episode 38: The Sacred Monster, on Garrigou-Lagrange https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-38-sacred-monster-matthew-k-minerd/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

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Modern education treats the child as a blank slate, a malleable object to be formed according to the will of whoever has power over educational policy. Classical Christian education treats the child as a person made in the image of God, a mystery to be held in awe, and tends to the flowering of his already-given nature by leading him to wisdom and virtue. Andrew Kern, founder of the CiRCE Institute (Center for Independent Research on Classical Education), is one of the best guests Thomas has ever interviewed. In this episode he leads us through the profound basics of classical Christian education—offering a radically different view of the human person and of reality itself from that which predominates today. Contents [5:31] What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? [10:31] What is a classical education? It is simply a list of great books one must study? [15:58] Teaching “subjects” vs. the seven liberal arts [21:18] Using music to illustrate a number of ideas about classical education [28:20] The need for the art of rhetoric in a sophisticated political system like ours [31:04] The generative power of form [37:35] Respecting the “Holy of Holies” within the child—an image of God and a mystery [42:38] Each of the seven liberal arts has a form and skill, tending to wisdom and virtue [55:14] How mastering the liberal arts glorifies God [59:35] Classical education has no ‘method’ [1:09:39] The seven stages of a lesson [1:15:13] Services offered by the CiRCE Institute [1:23:09] How would a classical school teach “practical” skills like finance? [1:30:19] Practical concerns of parents hoping to educate their children classically Links Ask Andrew your own questions, live—Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 ET in May https://www.circeinstitute.org/ask-andrew-live Older Ask Andrew podcast feed https://www.circeinstitute.org/podcasts/ask-andrew CiRCE Institute https://www.circeinstitute.org/ Books recommended by Andrew: The best book on classical Christian education: Norms and Nobility by David Hicks https://classicalconversationsbooks.com/products/3s032 CiRCE’s upcoming book edited by David Kern, including essays by past Catholic Culture Podcast guests James Matthew Wilson and Anthony Esolen (and a poem by past guest Dana Gioia): 30 Poems to Memorize (Before It’s Too Late) https://www.circeinstitute.org/30poems C.S. Lewis, The Discarded Image https://www.amazon.com/Discarded-Image-Introduction-Renaissance-Literature/dp/1107604702 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

St. John Henry Newman was involved in several art forms throughout his life. In literature, he was perhaps the greatest English prose writer of his time, and a highly skilled poet. In music, he was an accomplished amateur violinist, taught music to the boys at his school in Littlemore, and oversaw liturgical music as the head of an Oratorian community. In architecture, he commissioned a number of church buildings and was involved in controversies over the role of the Gothic in contemporary English Catholic church architecture. Though Newman never wrote a book on the topic of beauty, comments on beauty and the arts are sprinkled throughout his writings, sometimes in surprising contexts. In Unearthly Beauty: The Aesthetic of St. John Henry Newman, Fr. Guy Nicholls of the Birmingham Oratory draws these comments together for an overview of the role of beauty in Newman’s life and thought. For Newman, the true purpose of earthly beauty is to draw us beyond itself to the higher and more real beauty of God. Contents [4:02] Synthesizing Newman’s various comments on beauty into a coherent whole [4:57] Unearthly vs. earthly beauty, and the dangers of the latter according to Newman [10:49] Real vs unreal [14:46] A danger of art: severing noble sentiments from action [20:43] The problem with making morality a matter of good taste [23:18] How people were struck by Newman’s personal beauty [31:00] Two formative experiences of beauty which Newman connected with Paradise: his sister Mary’s holiness, and the Sicilian landscape [39:09] Newman’s involvement with and views on church architecture [46:36] Newman the amateur musician; his views on the power of music [57:45] The importance of primitive music and art vs. “scientific” music and realistic art, especially in liturgy [1:03:43] The importance of music in the Rule of the Oratory; St. Philip Neri’s practice of using entertainments to “allure” people to God [1:06:55] Difference between devotional and liturgical music; Newman’s use of popular song and chant [1:12:58] Music in the Little Oratory under Newman; adapting to the needs of the local community (esp. the poor) [1:19:25] The origins of the musical genre “oratorio” with St. Philip’s Oratory and other oratories of the time [1:23:13] Comparison and contrast between the experience of conscience and that of beauty Links Unearthly Beauty: The Aesthetic of St. John Henry Newman http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page190.html Fr. Guy Nicholls https://www.bfriars.ox.ac.uk/people/rev-fr-guy-nicholls-cong-orat/ Newman’s sermon on “The Danger of Accomplishments”: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume2/sermon30.html Image of Newman University Church in Dublin, founded by Newman for the Catholic University of Ireland and designed by John Hungerford Pollen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newman_University_Church#/media/File:Newman_University_Church_Interior,_Dublin,_Ireland_-_Diliff.jpg This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

A look back through the Catholic Culture Podcast archive. This episode contains highlights from: Ep. 11 - Music and Morals - Basil Cole, O.P. https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-11-music-and-morals-fr-basil-cole-op/ Ep. 14 - Priest & Actor - George Drance, S.J. https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-14-priest-actor-george-drance-sj/ Ep. 15 - Online Education with the Tolkien Professor - Corey Olsen https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-15-online-education-with-tolkien-professor-corey-olsen/ Ep. 16 - Extremly Specific Middle-Earth Q&A with the Tolkien Professor - Corey Olsen https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-16-extremely-specific-middle-earth-qa-with-tolkien-professor-corey-olsen/ Ep. 17 - A Civics Lesson for Catholics - Bob Marshall https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-17-civics-lesson-for-catholics-bob-marshall/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Stabat Mater, a medieval hymn that was long used as the sequence for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is now commonly sung between each Station of the Cross. This prayer, in which we ask Our Lady to help us experience the same sorrow and love with which she participated in her Son’s Passion, has been set to music by many great composers. This episode explores the most famous and influential setting of Stabat Mater, completed by the 26-year-old Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736) as he was dying of tuberculosis. An interview with leading Pergolesi scholar Francesco Cotticelli is combined with excerpts from the piece as recorded by La Nuova Musica (used with permission). Contents [2:11] The Stabat Mater text in the context of liturgy and Marian devotion [6:30] Pergolesi’s bio and career [9:30] Aria from L’Olimpiade (used with permission from Lyubov Petrova) [17:37] Deathbed composition of the Stabat Mater [18:52] Pergolesi’s place and innovations in sacred music of the time [23:07] First movement, Stabat Mater dolorosa [35:04] Second movement, Cuius animan gementem [40:32] Pergolesi’s approach to text-setting: alternating between contemplation and action [43:20] Sixth movement, Vidit suum dulcem natum [50:35] Seventh movement, Eia, Mater, fons amoris [56:45] Musical characteristics of the baroque and galant styles [58:27] Ninth movement, Sancta mater, istud agas [1:11:44] Popular settings of the Stabat Mater before Pergolesi [1:12:49] Twelfth movement, Quando corpus morietur [1:17:20] The somber ending to the piece: hope amidst sorrow [1:20:30] Contemporary and later criticism of the piece for being too theatrical [1:23:11] Other interesting settings of the Stabat Mater Links Recording by La Nuova Musica (featured in this episode) http://www.harmoniamundi.com/#!/albums/2239 Also recommended: Recording by Concerto Italiano https://www.amazon.com/Pergolesi-Scarlatti-Stabat-Mater-Alessandrini/dp/B00CMSP1HU/ Website devoted to settings of the Stabat Mater https://www.stabatmater.info/ The text https://www.stabatmater.info/english-translation/ Lyubov Petrova sings Aristea's aria from Pergolesi's opera L'Olimpiade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_SsVAXMMqo La Nuova Musica http://lanuovamusica.co.uk/ Lyubov Petrova https://imgartists.com/roster/29757/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio