On the surface, Jane Austen’s classic novels like Pride and Prejudice and Emma might seem to be about courtship and marriage, manners and the social hierarchies of Regency England. But while weddings and ballrooms abound in her books, so do lessons about how to live a virtuous life. 

This week on Jesuitical, we speak with Haley Stewart, a self-described Jane Austen evangelist and the author of the new book, Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God. We ask Haley how virtues like humility and patience are cultivated in Austen’s fiction; what Jane would say about modern dating and romance; why Catholics (and men) should take her novels seriously.

In Signs of the Times, Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong, was arrested and briefly detained for his involvement in pro-democracy protests. Zac breaks down what this arrest means for the (very complicated) situation of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong and mainland China. 

Links from the show:

Join Jesuitical in Italy

Cardinal Joseph Zen, 90, arrested in Hong Kong

Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be

What’s on tap?

Balcones bourbon, distilled by our guests’s husband!

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