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Episode 126: Catholic Teaching on Judaism - Interview with Gavin D'Costa
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The memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7 in the General Roman Calendar. Moreover, for the last 140 years, the Catholic Church has consecrated October to the Holy Queen of the Rosary. During October, therefore, we might want to do some spiritual reading on praying the Rosary. The most authoritative writings on the subject are the papal bulls and letters on the Rosary. These go back to St. Pius V. In them, the popes exhort the faithful to pray the Rosary on account of its manifold efficacy. They teach that it secures Mary’s intercession, unites us to Christ in his mysteries, strengthens Christian life, builds up the Church, and transforms society.
Episode 24 - Bioethics, Part Two - Interview with Fr. Michael Baggot
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Over the last fifty years, it has become customary to frame moral questions surrounding medicine and the treatment of all forms of life under the rubric of "bioethics". The rapid development of modern technology opens new possibilities and, with them, a whole range of moral issues. At the same time, many in today's increasingly secularized society question or reject traditional Christian teachings on the sanctity of human life. Indeed, Catholics find themselves defending the gospel of life in an often hostile environment. Frequently accused of attempting to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of society, they must also show that the Church's moral teaching on bioethical issues is a matter of right reason and not just Revelation.
In part oneof this interview, Fr. Michael Baggot recommended five books on bioethics. In this second part, he covers some further recommendations.
Fr. Michael Baggot, PhD is currently Assistant Professor of Bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. He is also Research Scholar at the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights in Rome, Italy. He was Adjunct Professor of Theology at the Christendom College Rome program from 2018-2022. His writings have appeared in , and . He is editor of and contributor to the book(Routledge, 2022).
Episode 23: Sacred Liturgy - Interview with Christoper Carstens
Episode 23
Friday, September 22, 2023 • Duration 17:45
Christopher Carsten's recommended books on the liturgy are:
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“The liturgy, "through which the work of our redemption is accomplished," most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 2). The Second Vatican Council also teaches that the liturgy is the source and summit of the Church’s activity. However, Mass attendance is in decline in many parts of the world. Many Catholics must not appreciate what occurs in the Church’s ritual worship and celebration of the sacraments. Even committed Mass-goers may grow weary of humdrum celebrations. It is crucial, therefore, to understand the liturgy and appreciate it. To this end, Christopher Carstens discussesthe five books that he recommends on the nature and significance of the sacred liturgy.
Episode 22: C.S. Lewis - Interview with Fr. Michael Ward
Episode 22
Friday, September 15, 2023 • Duration 26:05
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1863) is a celebrated literary critic, novelist, essayist, and Christian apologist: the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, the Ransom Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters, and numerous essays of apologetics, such as Mere Christianity. An Anglican from Belfast, he spent most of his life in England, teaching medieval and Renaissance literature at Oxford and later Cambridge. Like many of his generation, he served on the front during the First World War, and the experience reinforced his atheism and pessimism. However, as he relates in Surprised by Joy, between 1929 and 1931, he gradually regained his faith, partly thanks to conversations with J.R.R. Tolkien. From then on, his Christian faith increasingly informs his writings.
In this episopde, Fr. Michael Ward explains his pick of five books by Lewis and will take us through the author’s works.
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St. Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) was Bishop of Rome from 590-604. The son of St. Silvia and Gordianus, a Roman patrician, he was appointed urban prefect of Rome in 573 and entered monastic life the following year. Upon his father’s death, he converted the family’s Roman villa on the Caelian Hill into the Monastery of St. Andrew, where today there is still a monastery and the Church of St. Gregory on the Caelian Hill. At that same monastery he set the precedent for the Gregorian series of Masses: the practice of having thirty Masses offered for a deceased person. In 579, Pope Pelagius II made him a deacon and sent him as papal ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople. In 590, a few years after his return to Rome, Gregory was elected Pope. One of his most important actions as Bishop of Rome was to appoint the prior of the Monastery of St. Andrew, Augustine of Canterbury, as the head of a mission to convert the English. Through his writings, he exerted an immense influence of spirituality and ministry in the Latin Church throughout the Middle Ages and was recognised as a Doctor of the Church.
Inpart one of this interview, Dr. Thomas Humphries explained his pick of the five best books by St. Gregory the Great. In this second part, he looks at the best biographies of the saint and discusses his own work.
Episode 20: Gregory the Great - Interview with Dr. Thomas Humphries, Part One
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St. Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) was Bishop of Rome from 590-604. The son of St. Silvia and Gordianus, a Roman patrician, he was appointed urban prefect of Rome in 573 and entered monastic life the following year. Upon his father’s death, he converted the family’s Roman villa on the Caelian Hill into the Monastery of St. Andrew, where today there is still a monastery and the Church of St. Gregory on the Caelian Hill. At that same monastery he set the precedent for the Gregorian series of Masses: the practice of having thirty Masses offered for a deceased person. In 579, Pope Pelagius II made him a deacon and sent him as papal ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople. In 590, a few years after his return to Rome, Gregory was elected Pope. One of his most important actions as Bishop of Rome was to appoint the prior of the Monastery of St. Andrew, Augustine of Canterbury, as the head of a mission to convert the English. Through his writings, he exerted an immense influence of spirituality and ministry in the Latin Church throughout the Middle Ages and was recognised as a Doctor of the Church.
Episode 19: Catholicism and Liberalism in the 19th Century - Interview with Darrick Taylor
Episode 19
Friday, August 25, 2023 • Duration 22:25
The French Revolution ushered in the implementation of a new political philosophy, liberalism, that had been developing for several centuries, particularly during the Enlightenment. The Gospel and the Catholic Church were out as the foundation of the social order; reason, sealed off from Revelation and classical realism, was in. Churches and organised religion would be treated as private associations. Government would purportedly maximize and safeguard the individual’s freedom of conscience and choice. In short, liberalism and Catholicism stood in opposition and were on a collision course. On the one hand, liberal governments and movements in Europe and Latin America set about dismantling the remnants of Christendom, not only removing the Church’s privileges but often suppressing its legitimate freedoms and institutions as well. On the other hand, Catholic political thinkers disagreed about how the Church should respond to these radical social transformations, while the Popes tended to favour monarchies over republics. Studying the nineteenth-century conflict between Catholicism and liberalism is important for understanding the historical background of modern Catholic social teaching and some ongoing debates. In this interview, Dr. Darrick Taylor discusses his pick of the five best books on this area of Church history.
Darrick Taylor teaches Humanities at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. He earned his PhD in British History from the University of Kansas. He also produces a podcast, Controversies in Church History, which dives into important and sensitive issues in the history of the Catholic Church.
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Christopher Carstens is director of the Office for Sacred Worship in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; a visiting faculty member at the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois; and editor of the Adoremus Bulletin. He is author of A Devotional Journey into the Mass(Sophia), as well as Principles of Sacred Liturgy:Forming a Sacramental Vision(Hillenbrand Books). He and his family live in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.
Read the interview at www.fivebooksforcatholics.com/sacred-liturgy/
For more interviews like this, visit www.fivebooksforcatholics.com
Sign up to receive updates on the latest interview.
Become a premium subscriber to listen to the full interview and have access to complete archive on the website.
If you have enjoyed this episode, please give the podcast a top rating.
You can also support this podcast by making a one-off tip or donations....
Sign up to receive updates on the latest interview.
Dr. Thomas Humphries, a native of Arkansas, is Professor in the College of Arts and Science at Saint Leo University, Florida. a native of Arkansas and a life-long Roman Catholic. He holds a mandatum from the diocese of St. Petersburg and enjoys giving regular theological reflections outside of the classroom with student faith communities, parishes, and monasteries. He also volunteers with the local fire department as Chaplain and holds the rank of District Chief. He is a licensed Florida EMT and NREMT. He is the author ofAscetic Pneumatology from John Cassian to Gregory the Great(Oxford University Press) and Who is Chosen?(Wipf and Stock).
For more interviews like this, visit www.fivebooksforcatholics.com
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In this interview, Dr. Thomas Humphries will explain his pick of the five best books by St. Gregory the Great.
Dr. Thomas Humphries, a native of Arkansas, is Professor in the College of Arts and Science at Saint Leo University, Florida. a native of Arkansas and a life-long Roman Catholic. He holds a mandatum from the diocese of St. Petersburg and enjoys giving regular theological reflections outside of the classroom with student faith communities, parishes, and monasteries. He also volunteers with the local fire department as Chaplain and holds the rank of District Chief. He is a licensed Florida EMT and NREMT. He is the author ofAscetic Pneumatology from John Cassian to Gregory the Great(Oxford University Press) and Who is Chosen?(Wipf and Stock).
Read the interview at
Liberalism and Tradition: Aspects of Catholic Thought in Nineteenth Century France
