205 episodes

Thomas V. Mirus explores Catholic arts & culture with a variety of notable guests.

A production of CatholicCulture.org.

The Catholic Culture Podcast CatholicCulture.org

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 4.7 • 118 Ratings

Thomas V. Mirus explores Catholic arts & culture with a variety of notable guests.

A production of CatholicCulture.org.

    176 - God and the City - D.C. Schindler

    176 - God and the City - D.C. Schindler

    One of the most brilliant philosophers working today, D.C. Schindler, returns to the Catholic Culture Podcast to discuss his latest book, God and the City: An Essay in Political Metaphysics. In it, he draws an analogy between metaphysics as the most comprehensive science in the theoretical order and politics as the most comprehensive science in the practical order. Examining how in metaphysics, God is necessarily involved, yet without being the direct object of that science, Schindler argues that the same is true of the relationship between God and politics. Just as it is in God that the individual person "lives and moves and has its being", even before revelation and grace enter the picture, God is both the highest good of human community, and intimately present within it.
    Links
    God and the City: An Essay in Political Metaphysics https://www.amazon.com/God-City-D-C-Schindler/dp/1587313286
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    • 1 hr 4 min
    175 - Poetry, Public Service & St. Aldhelm's Riddles - A.M. Juster

    175 - Poetry, Public Service & St. Aldhelm's Riddles - A.M. Juster

    Today’s guest is a man with two names and two careers. For decades he has been a distinguished poet and translator under the name of A.M. Juster. This is an acronym for his Christian name, Michael J. Astrue, who for many years was a lawyer, biotech executive, and public servant, most notably serving as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2007 to 2013. During this time, his political enemies tried to dig up dirt on him – but all they could find was that he wrote poetry on the side!
    Juster has published multiple books of his original poems, most recently Wonder & Wrath in 2020. His work as a translator includes volumes of Petrarch, Horace, Tibullus, and the Latin verse riddles of the Anglo-Saxon bishop St. Aldhelm. Upcoming projects include another volume of Petrarch poems, a children’s book about a female juvenile manatee called Girlatee, and an anthology of poems about the legendary phoenix, from Ovid to Shakespeare.
    In this episode Juster discusses his two careers, his interest in translating early Latin Christian poetry, St. Aldhelm’s riddles, and his own original poetry.
    Links
    A.M. Juster on Twitter https://twitter.com/amjuster
    Saint Aldhelm’s Riddles https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/saint-aldhelms-riddles-aldhelm-juster/
    Wonder & Wrath https://www.pauldrybooks.com/products/wonder-and-wrath
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    • 1 hr 19 min
    174 - Medieval Mystery Plays w/ Gregory Roper

    174 - Medieval Mystery Plays w/ Gregory Roper

    Gregory Roper, a professor of literature at the University of Dallas, joins the podcast to discuss medieval “mystery plays” (also called “miracle plays”). In England these plays, often grouped together in cycles spanning all of salvation history, were performed by town guilds for the festival of Corpus Christi. This tradition, which developed out of the liturgy, could be said to represent the revival of drama in Europe, and was an important influence on the Elizabethan theatre. Shakespeare referenced this tradition a number of times in his plays.
    The plays, which served a partly didactic purpose, are full of theological typology, but also delightful verse, earthy humor, and a thought-provoking use of anachronism.
    Links
    Episode on English carols https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-59-glorious-english-carol/
    A.C. Cawley, Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays https://www.amazon.com/Everyman-Medieval-Miracle-Plays-Cawley/dp/046087280X
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    • 1 hr 11 min
    173 – Chastity, Integrity and the Desert Fathers – Bishop Erik Varden

    173 – Chastity, Integrity and the Desert Fathers – Bishop Erik Varden

    Erik Varden, bishop of Trondheim, Norway as well as Trappist monk, joins the podcast to discuss his new book Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses.
    Topics discussed include:
    Recovering the true meaning of the word “chastity” Continence and chastity are not the same thing What the Desert Fathers can teach us about chastity Why we need to meditate on the original vocation of man before the Fall rather than limiting our options to what our sinful nature is capable of Why having a sense of dignity in one’s masculinity or femininity helps us to be chaste The importance of friendship between men and women The redirection of eros Links
    Erik Varden, Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/chastity-9781399411400/
    Élisabeth-Paule Labat, The Song That I Am: On the Mystery of Music, trans. Erik Varden https://litpress.org/Products/MW040P/The-Song-That-I-Am
    Thomas’s 3-part essay inspired by the Labat book https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/mystery-music-part-i/
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    • 1 hr 6 min
    Fr. John Saward on turning away from von Balthasar, and on the invisible world of angels

    Fr. John Saward on turning away from von Balthasar, and on the invisible world of angels

    The renowned English theologian Fr. John Saward makes his podcast debut to discuss his new book on angels, the role of art and beauty in his theological work, and his turn away from the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar after years of studying and translating his works.
    Fr. Saward’s books named in this episode:
    World Invisible: The Catholic Doctrine of the Angels https://angelicopress.com/products/world-invisible-john-saward
    The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty: Art, Sanctity and the Truth of Catholicism https://angelicopress.com/products/the-beauty-of-holiness-and-the-holiness-of-beauty
    Sweet and Blessed Country: The Christian Hope for Heaven https://global.oup.com/academic/product/sweet-and-blessed-country-9780199543663?cc=us&lang=en&
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    • 55 min
    The Heresies—Judaizers and Ebionites: Denying Christ’s Divinity

    The Heresies—Judaizers and Ebionites: Denying Christ’s Divinity

    Is Jesus Christ God? Is he a man? Is he both? Spoiler alert: the mainstream Church answered with the both/and, but the factions on the fringes tended to choose one or the other. For our first heresy, we take a look at the Ebionites, and their New Testament-era predecessors, the so-called Judaizers. These concluded that Jesus Christ was a mere human. A human who became a prophet perhaps, but just a human.
    This is season 4, episode 2 of Way of the Fathers. Subscribe to the podcast here: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/category/way-fathers/

    • 33 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
118 Ratings

118 Ratings

Aaron Irber ,

Great podcast!

This is a great podcast that has interesting guests and high level discussions on art from a Catholic context. Check it out!

LizJardim ,

Thoughtful and meaningful

I stumbled upon this podcast, and it is such a wonderful show. I am not a catholic and yet I still take away a lot of meaning and wisdom from the conversations happening here. Thank you Thomas!

I recommend the Dana Gioia poetry episode!

Auntintheattic ,

84

I’d like to strongly echo mako_mark. I read a lot, listen to solid and thoughtful podcasts, homilies, etc. This was unusually eye opening and helpful.
meliz.anz

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