171 episodes

Voice actor James T. Majewski brings to life classic Catholic works, with a special focus on St. John Henry Newman and the Fathers of the Church.

Over 100 recordings, including sermons, encyclicals, letters, poems, and full books like St. Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana, and St. Athanasius's Life of St. Anthony.

A production of CatholicCulture.org.

Catholic Culture Audiobooks CatholicCulture.org

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 4.9 • 86 Ratings

Voice actor James T. Majewski brings to life classic Catholic works, with a special focus on St. John Henry Newman and the Fathers of the Church.

Over 100 recordings, including sermons, encyclicals, letters, poems, and full books like St. Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana, and St. Athanasius's Life of St. Anthony.

A production of CatholicCulture.org.

    The Shepherd of Hermas | Pt. 1 (Visions)

    The Shepherd of Hermas | Pt. 1 (Visions)

    “So I wrote the commands and parables as he bade me. If you hear them and keep them, and walk in them, and fulfill them in a pure heart, you will receive from the Lord what He promised you. But if you hear them and do not repent, or even add to your sins, you will receive the contrary from the Lord.”
    The Shepherd of Hermas is an apocryphal text written in Rome in the 2nd century. It belongs to the category of "apocalyptic" literature, as it relates a series of revelations given to its titular character, Hermas, who may or may not also have been the work's author.
    The Shepherd of Hermas was widely read and respected in the early Church, with some Church Fathers (such as Irenaeus and Origen) even considering it part of canonical scripture. 
    The text is divided into three main sections: Visions, Mandates, and Parables. Taken together, they serve as an exhortation to repentance.
    Part 1: Visions
    00:00 Intro
    00:42 First Vision
    09:23 Second Vision
    15:57 Third Vision
    43:30 Fourth Vision
    50:44 Fifth Vision
    This work was released in its entirety in episodic format.
    Links
    The Shepherd of Hermas full text: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-grimm/
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    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.

    • 54 min
    St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 5

    St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 5

    “Consider the love with which our dear Lord Jesus Christ bore so much in this world, especially in the Garden of Olives and on Mount Calvary; that love bore you in mind, and through all those pains and toils he obtained your good resolutions for you, as also all that is necessary to maintain, foster, strengthen and consummate those resolutions.
    "How precious must the resolutions be that are the fruits of our Lord’s Passion! And how dear to my heart, since they were dear to that of Jesus! Savior of my soul, You died to win them for me; grant me grace sooner to die than forget them.
    "Be sure, my child, that the heart of our most dear Lord beheld you from the tree of the Cross and loved you, and by that love he won for you all good things that you were ever to have, and amongst them your good resolutions.”
    Part 5
    (00:46) Chapter 1—It Is Well Yearly to Renew Good Resolutions by Means of the Following Exercises
    (03:29) Chapter 2—Meditation on the Benefit Conferred on Us by God in Calling Us to His Service
    (08:26) Chapter 3—Examination of the Soul as to Its Progress in the Devout Life
    (11:44) Chapter 4—Examination of the Soul's Condition as Regards God
    (16:23) Chapter 5—Examination of Your Condition as Regards Yourself
    (18:47) Chapter 6—Examination of the Soul's Condition as Regards Our Neighbor
    (20:15) Chapter 7—Examination as to the Affectations of the Soul
    (22:42) Chapter 8—The Affections to Be Excited After Such Examination
    (24:07) Chapter 9—Reflections Suitable to the Renewal of Good Resolutions
    (24:54) Chapter 10—First Consideration, On the Worth of Souls
    (27:45) Chapter 11—Second Consideration, On the Excellence of Virtue
    (29:33) Chapter 12—The Example of the Saints
    (31:19) Chapter 13—The Love That Jesus Christ Bears to Us
    (34:36) Chapter 14—The Eternal Love of God for Us
    (36:08) Chapter 15—General Affections That Should Result from These Considerations and Conclusion of the Exercise
    (38:48) Chapter 16—The Impressions That Should Remain After This Exercise
    (40:24) Chapter 17—An Answer to Two Objections That May Be Made to This Book
    (43:16) Chapter 18—Three Important and Final Counsels
    This work was 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
    SUBSCRIBE to Catholic Culture Audiobooks https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-audiobooks/id1482214268
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    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.

    • 48 min
    St. Basil the Great - On the Right Use of Greek Literature

    St. Basil the Great - On the Right Use of Greek Literature

    "... it is incumbent upon us, for the present, to trace, as it were, the silhouette of virtue in the pagan authors. For those who carefully gather the useful from each book are wont, like mighty rivers, to gain accessions on every hand."
    Drawing from his deep understanding of both classical Greek literature and Sacred Scripture, St. Basil the Great—a towering figure of the early Church—advocates for the proper integration of the literary treasures of ancient Greece within the broader formation of young Christian men. Basil challenges those whom he addresses to discern the morally enriching elements of Greek literature while guarding against its pitfalls, particularly its indulgence in more decadent and morally ambiguous themes.
    Links
    Address to Young Men on the Right Use of Greek Literature full text: https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/basil_litterature01.htm
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    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.

    • 36 min
    St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 4

    St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 4

    "If anyone strives to be delivered from his troubles out of love of God, he will strive patiently, gently, humbly and calmly, looking for deliverance rather to God's goodness and providence than to his own industry or efforts; but if self-love is the prevailing object, he will grow hot and eager in seeking relief, as though all depended more upon himself than upon God."
    Part 4
    (00:45) Chapter 1—We Must Not Trifle with the Words of Worldly Wisdom
    (06:16) Chapter 2—The Need of Good Courage
    (08:56) Chapter 3—Temptations and the Difference Between Experiencing Them and Consenting to Them
    (14:06) Chapter 4—Two Striking Illustrations of the Same
    (17:43) Chapter 5—Encouragement for the Tempted Soul
    (20:13) Chapter 6—When Temptation and Pleasure are Sin
    (24:10) Chapter 7—Remedies for Great Occasions
    (27:02) Chapter 8—How to Resist Minor Temptations
    (29:13) Chapter 9—How to Remedy Minor Temptations
    (31:49) Chapter 10—How to Strengthen the Heart Against Temptation
    (34:31) Chapter 11—Anxiety of Mind
    (40:18) Chapter 12—Sadness and Sorrow
    (45:31) Chapter 13—Spiritual and Sensible Consolations and How to Receive Them
    (01:00:14) Chapter 14—Dryness and Spiritual Barrenness
    (01:10:40) Chapter 15—An Illustration
    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
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    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.

    • 1 hr 18 min
    St. John Henry Newman - The Idea of a University | Duties of the Church towards Knowledge

    St. John Henry Newman - The Idea of a University | Duties of the Church towards Knowledge

    "If the Catholic Faith is true, a University cannot exist externally to the Catholic pale, for it cannot teach Universal Knowledge if it does not teach Catholic theology. This is certain; but still, though it had ever so many theological Chairs, that would not suffice to make it a Catholic University... a direct and active jurisdiction of the Church over it and in it is necessary, lest it should become the rival of the Church with the community at large in those theological matters which to the Church are exclusively committed."
    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 final discourse, Newman concludes with a reflection upon the central and direct role which the Church must play in the life of a University and upon its pursuits: "She fears no knowledge, but she purifies all; she represses no element of our nature, but cultivates the whole...  her principle is one and the same throughout: not to prohibit truth of any kind, but to see that no doctrines pass under the name of Truth but those which claim it rightfully."
    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/
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    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.

    • 54 min
    St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 3 (Ch.36-41)

    St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 3 (Ch.36-41)

    "No indeed, I would not even have people wish for more wit or better judgment, for such desires are frivolous, and take the place of the wish everyone ought to possess of improving what he has. We ought not to desire ways of serving God that He does not open to us, but rather desire to use what we have rightly."
    Part 3
    (00:38) Chapter 36—A Well-Balanced, Reasonable Mind
    (04:48) Chapter 37—Wishes
    (09:30) Chapter 38—Counsels to Married People
    (23:02) Chapter 39—The Sanctity of the Marriage Bed
    (24:30) Chapter 40—Counsels to Widows
    (33:46) Chapter 41—One Word to Maidens
    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
    SUBSCRIBE to Catholic Culture Audiobooks https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-audiobooks/id1482214268
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    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.

    • 35 min

Customer Reviews

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