Risking Enchantment

We are delighted to welcome Elizabeth Lev to the podcast. Elizabeth is an acclaimed art historian based in Rome, and author of several books including How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art.

In this episode we have a discussion about how early Christians evangelised to the Romans through art and architecture by highlighting continuity with Roman myth while also showing how Christianity redeemed and transfigured those earlier stories. We also talk about how that is a possible means of evangelising to people today.

Follow Elizabeth Lev:

Twitter: @lizlevrome

Instagram: @lizlevinrome

Website: elizabeth-lev.com

Elizabeth also runs Masters' Gallery Rome where you can join to get great lectures about Roman art.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, 

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson 

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict XVI

Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor

"Myth Became Fact", World Dominion by C.S. Lewis

“Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing."

In our first episode back after the summer Phoebe and Rachel discuss the sense of longing found in The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. 

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Follow Phoebe on Instagram: @phoebe_lucy_watson

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (illus. Inga Moore)

Audiobook: Read by Michael Hordern

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

The Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis

‘Tinturn Abbey’ by William Wordsworth

‘The Buried Life’ by Matthew Arnold

‘The Day is Done’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Not That It Matters by A.A. Milne

Tolkien On Fairy-stories, expanded edition, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

“Tolkien, Lewis, and The Wind in the Willows” by Roy Peachey, The Catholic World Reporter

“God’s Whispers in The Wind in the Willows” by Justin D Lyons, Bereans at the Gate

‘Little Gidding’ by T.S. Eliot

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

“The Longing of the Wind in the Willows” by Chris Wheeler, The Rabbit Room

Beyond the Wild Wood by Alan Jacobs, First Things

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

Rachel: Mount Usher Gardens

'The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called fairy tales. They seem to me to be the entirely reasonable things.' G.K. Chesterton

In this episode Rachel and Phoebe discuss Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, why it's a great example of a fairy story and how fairy stories help us to know and love the world around us.

Upcoming Events: Great and Main Podcast,

Ignite Conference, Dominicans Cork

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @phoebe_lucy_watson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004, Studio Ghibli)

Reflections: On the Magic of Writing by Diana Wynne Jones

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton

‘The Ethics of Elfland’ Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

On Fairy-Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien

Cartoon Saloon: Celtic and Christian Coexistence - Risking Enchantment

‘Fairy Tales’ All Things Considered by G.K. Chesterton

‘Glory and Splendor - part 3: The Beauty of Language’ by Peter Kreeft

‘The Language of Beauty - part 4: Words and Things’ by Peter Kreeft

On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature by C.S. Lewis

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe:  Ad Limina: A Novella of Catholics in Space by Cyril Jones-Kellett

Rachel: Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), Sherlock Holmes (2009 film), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011 film), Sherlock (TV series).

“Somebody, after all, had to make a start.” - Sophie Scholl

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Greg Daly

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Follow Greg on social media: @GregDalyIC, @thirstygargoyle 

http://thethirstygargoyle.blogspot.com/

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts by Clive James

‘The White Rose of Conscience’ Irish Catholic by Greg Daly

At the Heart of the White Rose: Letters and Diaries of Hans and Sophie Scholl

Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason Evert

Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (2005) Review by Steven Greydanus, Decent Films

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

The Great War in Modern Memory by Paul Fussell

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

If This is a Man by Primo Levi

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment:

Greg:

Middlemarch by George Eliot

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Rachel:

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham (audiobook read by Michael Hordern)

"The young warrior awoke, dauntless from the dust, majesty arose, victorious and wise."

-The Descent into Hell

In this episode Chloe and Rachel discuss their love of Old English literature, along with three Old English poems on the theme of Easter: The Dream of the Rood, The Descent into Hell, and Christ II

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Chloe Colla

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson and @ChloeAMDG

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works and Authors mentioned:

Tolkien & the Anglo-Saxon Heritage of Beowulf

He Descended into Hell, Called to More

A Clerk of Oxford

The Healthy Wyrdness of the the Anglo-Saxons

Some Anglo-Saxon Easter Customs

The Dream of the Rood

"The Dream of the Rood" and the Practice of Penitential Meditation

The Institute of Catholic Culture: Dream of the Rood, A Poetic Vision of the Cross of Christ

'Steadfast Cross'

The Descent into Hell

'Open wæs þæt eorðærn': the Harrowing of Hell

Christ II

Christ the Bird and the Play of Hope: An Anglo-Saxon Ascension

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Chloe: The radio plays of Lord Peter Wimsey

Rachel: National Theatre at Home - Treasure Island, Frankenstein

“The music had such an extraordinary force of reality that we realized, no longer by deduction, but by the impact on our hearts, that it could not have originated from nothingness, but could only have come to be through the power of the Truth that became real in the composer's inspiration.”

Pope Benedict XVI

In this episode, Phoebe and Rachel discuss the great works of music that can help us enter into Holy Week, especially as many of us are not currently able to attend the liturgies.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @phoebe_lucy_watson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Square Notes Podcast: Introduction to Gregorian Chant – with Dr. William Mahrt

NPR: Listen: The Sound Of The Hagia Sophia, More Than 500 Years Ago

The Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia by Cappella Romana

Pastoral Letter on Sacred Music in Divine Worship “Sing to the LORD a New Song” by Archbishop Alexander K. Sample

Square Notes Podcast: An Archbishop’s Reflections on Sacred Music – with Archbishop Alexander K. Sample

The Magnificat Online

Why Hollywood Matters - Barbara Nicolosi

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the International Conference on Sacred Music

Pope Benedict’s Words After Receiving Honorary Doctorate in Castel Gandolfo

Benedict and Beethoven: The Outgoing Pope’s Musical Life

Musical Pieces:

Les Rameux (The Palms) by Fauré

(In English)

Requiem Mass by Fauré (Version listened to: Nigel Short, London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble and Tenebrae)

Lamentations of Jeremiah by Palestrina

Lamentations of Jeremiah by Tallis

Miserere mei, Deus by Allegri

Pange Lingua by Thomas Aquinas

Adoramus Te Devote by Thomas Aquinas

St John’s Passion by Bach

St Matthew’s Passion by Bach

Paul Hume, quoted in Music for Lent and Easter: St Matthew Passion by Bach

The Seven Last Words of Christ by Haydn (Version listened to: Conducted by Nicholas Harnoncourt)

Stabat Mater by Vivaldi

The Lament of the Mother of God by John Tavener

O Sacred Head Now Wounded

At the Cross her Station Keeping

Jesus, Remember Me

Behold the Wood of the Cross

Resurrexit by Berlioz

The Messiah by Handel

Thine be the Glory

Westminster Mass by Panufnik

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe:

Embroidery and Home Crafts

The Sleeping Beauty Ballet

Rachel

Escape to the Countryside

Cheers

“Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.”

In this episode, Phoebe and I discuss the wonderful, wacky and sometimes wicked world of Roald Dahl's stories, and we look to Chesterton to see how we should approach humour from a Christian perspective. Many thanks to Fr. Conor McDonough for the advice.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @phoebe_lucy_watson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works mentioned (all by Roald Dahl unless otherwise stated):

Matilda

The BFG

George Marvellous Medicine

The Witches

The Twits

Roald Dahl Audiobook set 1

Roald Dahl Audiobook set 2

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Illustrators: Quentin Blake, Tony Ross

Marget Talbot, The New Yorker, "The Candy Man, Why children love Roald Dahl’s stories—and many adults don’t."

Matilda the Musical

Matilda (1996 film)

G.K. Chesterton on Fairytales: “The Red Angel,” Tremendous Trifles

Chesterton on Vulgar Jokes

G.K. Chesterton "On Mr. McCabe and a Divine Frivolity"

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Jen Campbell, The Importance of Seeing Yourself in Media

Chesterton on Puritanism, Illustrated London News

Joe Sommerlad, The Independent "World Book Day 2019: Roald Dahl's 10 best children's books, from Matilda to The Twits"

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe:

My Neighbour Totoro

Rachel:

Elizabeth Lev talk: Behind the Veil of the Sistine Chapel

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith by Elizabeth Lev

"There will be time, there will be time

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @shanekins

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned

Talk Bhride Podcast

"Influences: The Power of T.S. Eliot" by Seamus Heaney

The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot

The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Theology of Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Word on Fire Institute

Tractatus Logico - Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein

Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein

The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot

A Reader's Guide to T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets"

Burnt Norton by T.S. Eliot

East Coker by T.S. Eliot

The Dry Salvages by T.S. Eliot

Little Gidding by T.S. Eliot

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

The Confessions by St. Augustine

A Preface to Paradise Lost by C.S. Lewis

"G. K. Chesterton & T. S. Eliot: Friends or Enemies?" by Joseph Pearce

Tradition and the Individual Talent by T.S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth by T.S. Eliot

Chorus from the Rock by T.S. Eliot

Things We're Enjoying at the Moment

Shane: Portal of the Mystery of Hope by Charles Peguy

Rachel: The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt, Pushkin Press

"Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. For the winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land." Cant., ii. 10-12.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Maria Connolly

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned

'Why Walking Helps Us Think' by Ferris Jabr

Greetings of John Paul II to the Delegates of the Italian Alpine Club

Saint's Quotes on Flowers

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Theology of Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Word on Fire Institute

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett (illustrated by Inga Moore)

Percy the Park Keeper by Nick Butterworth

St. Patrick's Breastplate

The Deer's Cry

Rose Harrington

'In the countryside, England’s Catholic heritage remains hidden in plain sight' by Charlie Hart

Little Gidding by T.S. Eliot

Pippa's Song by Robert Browning

Spring by Gerard Manley Hopkins

God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins

The Starlight Night by Gerard Manley Hopkins

A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost

A Woodland Glade by William Trost Richards

John Williams Waterhouse

On Hearing the First Cuckoo of Spring by Frederick Delius

Bradi Barth

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Harding

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Emma (2009)

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Mary Poppins (1964)

Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Short Stories of Oscar Wilde

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Well-Cultivated Words Slightly Foxed Podcast

Nature & Story Sightly Foxed Podcast

On Flowers with Amy Merrick Cultivating Place

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Maria: Hallows Yarn, This is Knit

Rachel: Endeavour (TV Series)

"At the touch of Vermeer's brush, the canvas transforms, so to speak, into a spectral, silver-backed

mirror; into a magical retina... we are elevated from the realm of reality into the paradise of essentiality."

Paul Claudel

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Greg Daly

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Follow Greg on social media: @GregDalyIC, @thirstygargoyle 

http://thethirstygargoyle.blogspot.com/

(All are paintings by Vermeer unless otherwise stated)

Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt

Belshazzar's Feast by Rembrandt

Saint Praxedis

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary

The Procuress

Woman with a Pearl Necklace

Woman Holding a Balance

Woman Reading a Letter

The Astronomer

The Geographer

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid

The Lacemaker

Vermeer by Paul Claudel, Salmagundi Magazine

The Allegory of Faith

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith by Elizabeth Lev

Vermeer's Pregnant Women: On Human Generation and Pictorial Representation by Karin Leonhard

The Allegory of Painting

The Little Street

A Hidden Life Review

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Greg: Middlemarch by George Eliot

Rachel: The Sleeping Beauty Ballet, The Gentlemen, Uncut Gems, 1917