Catholic Culture Audiobooks

"Dearest brethren, how great the delight, how great the pleasure, how great the sweetness that is in the heavenly words of wisdom!"

Known as the "Angelic Doctor", St. Thomas Aquinas is arguably the most influential theologian and philosopher that the Church has ever seen. His sermons exhibit everything one would expect from Aquinas: references throughout to Aristotle, careful enumeration and categorization, and nearly every point substantiated with a direct scriptural quotation. In this sermon, Aquinas demonstrates just how much can be unpacked from five simple words: "Heaven and earth will pass."

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-academic-sermons-aquinas-hoogland/

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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.

These three poems, composed within a few days of one another by St. John Henry Newman in 1833, all reflect on the efficacy of prayer. In this special episode originally published in January 2020, Catholic Culture Audiobooks host James T. Majewski recites and provides brief commentary on each of the poems.

Links

Full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/verses/index.html

The Daily Poem podcast: https://shows.acast.com/the-daily-poem

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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.

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.

"Do not hesitate to believe what you have heard from those who have brought you accounts of him; believe, rather, that they have told but little... for it is probable that, when each one has told what he knows, the account will not do Anthony justice."

Happy Feast of St. Anthony, Abbot!

You may know him from the countless recurrences, across art and literature, of "The Temptation of St. Anthony."

Well, The Life of St. Anthony - of which the temptations are only part - is, perhaps, one of the most influential works in the history of Christian literature.

Setting aside the unique authority and influence of the biographer (the great Church father, St. Athanasius of Alexandria), the work itself describes the life of a singularly holy man. In fact, it is the earliest biographical account of a saint who had become such without having had to suffer martyrdom.

Though St. Anthony was not the first Christian hermit, he was the most popular: this account of his life did much to spread his ascetic and monastic ideals throughout the East and West. Anthony has been called not only the father of Christian monasticism, but even the founder of the religious life.

Needless to say, we are very excited to be bringing you, over the course of several episodes, The Life of St. Anthony in its entirety. If you've not done so, now is the time to register with us at http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio to ensure that you don't miss a minute of this exhilarating Christian classic.

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120446/early-christian-biographies

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3080

Go to http://www.catholicculture.org/getaudio to register for FREE access to the full archive of audiobooks beyond the most recent 15 episodes.

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 any of these customs is common to the whole Church throughout the world, it is the most unheard of madness to doubt that such custom is to be followed."

Also known as "Letter 54", Augustine's Letter to Januarius was written in response to a question posed by Januarius in a previous letter: at what time of day should the Holy Sacrifice on Holy Thursday be celebrated?

The letter contains a clear affirmation of the twofold authority of Scripture and Tradition, careful articulation of the distinction between that which is essential to the faith and that which is not, and a hint at some of the early Church's procedural disputes... a humbling reminder that disagreements regarding accidental aspects to liturgy are as old as the Church itself!

Links

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://verbum.com/product/120434/saint-augustine-letters-vol-1

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3202

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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.

"We are now entering on a fresh stage of our life's journey; we know well how it will end, and we see where we shall stop in the evening, though we do not see the road."

Ring in the New Year with this New Year's Day sermon by St. John Henry Newman.

Full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume7/sermon1.html

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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.

Merry Christmas!

This episode features sermon notes jotted down by St. John Henry Newman in 1851.

Before his conversion, Newman had always read his sermons from a prepared manuscript, according to Anglican custom at the time. As a Catholic priest, he instead preached his homilies in a manner to which Catholics were more accustomed, with a more extemporaneous feel.

Interestingly, his sermon notes were for the most part written down after the sermon, not before - an indication that Newman continued to develop his thoughts even as he preached.

Full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/sermonnotes/file3.html#sermon15

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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.

"This faith, if only you desire it, you can have."

This letter, written by an anonymous author and addressed to a pagan named Diognetus, is not only a sublime example of Christian apologetics but also one of the most beautiful and exquisite works within all of early Christian literature.

The translator describes its author as "an unnamed master of Greek style, a fervent Christian filled with Pauline convictions, a humanist who has achieved a remarkable harmony of supernatural faith and charity, with a highly cultivated intelligence, literary taste, conscience, and social sense. The calm and clarity of his thought reveal a master of logic, the deep convictions of a serious thinker, the eloquence of a trained rhetorician, the breadth of mind and warmth of heart, the poise of an educated gentleman."

Mike Aquilina on the Letter to Diognetus: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-8-letter-to-diognetus-intro-to-apologists/

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1620

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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.

"And let us not merely seem to pay attention and to believe now, while being admonished by the presbyters, but also, when we have gone home, let us remember the commandments of the Lord..."

The Second Letter of St. Clement is neither a letter nor by St. Clement. It is, instead, a homily—and the oldest example of Christian preaching aside from Scripture itself. Its appearance alongside St. Clement's Letter to the Corinthians in many early manuscripts earns it its title.

Highlights include affirmation of Christ's divinity, emphasis placed upon the resurrection of the body, and some moving words on penance. Among the numerous Scriptural references, there are a few instances of quotation from unknown sources (likely one or more apocryphal gospels).

Translation courtesy of Catholic University of America Press: https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/the-apostolic-fathers-walsh-grimm-marique/

Alternate Translation at CatholicCulture.org: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1990

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.

"It was fitting, for His honor and glory, that she, who was the instrument of His bodily presence, should first be a miracle of His grace."

The work from which this reading is taken was published in 1849. The Immaculate Conception was defined solemnly as dogma in 1854. Here Newman evidences the excitement, anticipation, and awe at Mary's Immaculate Conception that was already universally held among the faithful.

Full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/discourses/discourse17.html

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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.

"The season is chill and dark, and the breath of the morning is damp, and worshipers are few, but all this befits those who are by profession penitents and mourners, watchers and pilgrims."

A sermon given by Newman while he was still an Anglican priest. Newman identifies Advent as an opportunity to reflect on and prepare for the particular judgment to occur at the end of each person's life.

Full text: http://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume5/sermon1.html

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.