The Home Front

Show notes:

Enjoy this episode! (Sorry about my sound quality! I have to address my settings going forward.)

If we didn’t get to your question, hang in there. We’ll add this feature to the end of our more “current events” “non-holiday” podcasts as we go forward.

And feel free to comment or ask us anything else!

Keeping the 12 Days of Christmas

Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (affiliate link)

For more on family life, check out Auntie Leila’s books, The Summa Domestica and The Little Oratory.

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Show Notes:

We answer listener’s questions about large families, alternatives to college, girls who might not want careers, how to find a spouse, and old house living!

But first, Phil addresses this “respectful” story:

A Conversation About the Virgin Birth That Maybe Wasn’t — The New York TimesNicholas Kristof: “I want to be respectful of readers who have a deep faith… So, acknowledging that this is uncertainty stacked on uncertainty, if Panthera was involved, was it [the birth of Jesus] probably a case of rape?”

Elaine Pagels: “I used to dismiss such stories as ancient slander. Yet while we do not know what happened, there are too many points of circumstantial evidence to simply ignore them… The discovery of the grave of a Roman soldier named Tiberius Panthera, member of a cohort of Syrian archers stationed in Palestine in the first century, might support those ancient rumors.”

Elaine Pagels is revealed to be a complete academic fraud here: The Pagels Imposture April 26, 2006, by Father Paul Mankowski, SJ

We still have more questions to answer, and welcome yours! Leave a comment here or send an email to [email protected].

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

In the Christmas season we will answer your questions! We’re stockpiling the list… you have a bit more time to add to it!

Please share our podcast with your friends!

Show notes:

Fr Benedict Kiely: Interview with Fr. Kiely on what’s happening in Syria; his organization: Nasarean.org

Jeanne Kirkpatrick: Dictatorships and Double Standards — I (Leila) said it was a book but it’s a long essay, well worth reading.

Slow Medicine by Victoria Sweet (affiliate links)

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

NOW IS THE TIME! To send us your Q’s for our A’s — we’ll do a holiday episode of Ask Us Anything!

We’ve gotten some good questions here and by email! We will answer them during the Christmas season!

Show notes:

The Way of Beauty: Liturgy, Education, and Inspiration for Family, School, and College by David Clayton (affiliate link)

Pattern, Geometry, and Abstract Christian Art by Deacon Lawrence. An explanation of the “eighth day” and why baptismal fonts are most often octaganal.

Baptistry of St. John in Florence

Christmas in Heaven: Stefan Lochner’s ‘Madonna in the Rose Garden’ by Denis McNamara. How symbols in sacred art convey spiritual realities, including the cosmic meaning of nature and femininity.

More seeing what you see: Fr. Mankowski Calculates the Angle

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Show Notes:

The American Republic: Its Constitution, Tendencies, and Destin by Orestes Brownson. Originally published 1865, now in public domain. (Gateway edition, 2003)

We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition by John Courtney Murray, SJ. Sheed and Ward, 1960 (affiliate link)

America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding by Robert Reilly (affiliate link)

Pius XI: On Christian Education

Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay by Dan Mattson (affiliate link)

Thomas Massie on Twitter:

This sheriff ordered the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the COVID panic. He was tapped by Trump to head the DEA. Glad to see him withdraw from consideration. Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution.

During lockdown: “Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is taking a firm stance to push his deputies to get the shot.”

NOW IS THE TIME! To send us your Q’s for our A’s — we’ll do a holiday episode of Ask Us Anything!

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Share with everyone!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Rep. Nancy Mace says Capitol restroom bill targeted 1st transgender member of Congress

Woman beaten by man in women’s prison

Russ Vought ran OMB under Trump the first time, and hopefully will again. Here’s what he learned about how the deep state actually works. (Disclaimer: we don’t necessarily endorse Tucker Carlson’s views. Phil doesn’t listen to his — or anyone else’s — podcasts. Leila agrees with some things Carlson says and disagrees with others, but enjoys hearing the opinions and experiences of those he interviews. This is an interesting episode about how government actually works these days.)

We watched Becket (1964)

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Share with everyone!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Show notes:

The Unspoken Grief of Never Becoming a Grandparent: A growing number of Americans are choosing not to have children. Their parents are grappling with what that means for them. (Here is an app for reading archived paywalled articles.)

Data on birth rates

The Making of a President: 1960, by Theodore White. (affiliate link) White was actively involved in the Kennedy campaign in 1960, and he gives a lively insider’s perspective (admittedly leaving out some of the details that might mar the Camelot legend) on a successful campaign. His later books on other presidential campaigns are not nearly as lively— in part because he was not directly involved, in part because the 1960 race was an unusually lively contest.

The Comeback — the 2004 Red Sox (caution: language)

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Share with everyone!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Show notes:

P’nut the Squirrel’s grieving owner says he was treated like a ‘terrorist’ in 5-hour raid by NY state

Farmageddon —

“The story of a mom whose son was healed from all allergies and asthma after consuming raw milk, and real food from farms. It depicts people all over the country who formed food co-ops and private clubs to get these foods, and how they were raided by state and local governments.

“Farmageddon tells the story of family farms that were providing healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop by agents of misguided government bureaucracies.”

Biden DOJ Slams Peaceful Pro-Life Father with FACE Act Conviction

Biden’s DOJ abuses the FACE act

Thanks for listening to The Home Front! Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so you won’t miss an episode!

Share with everyone!

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Show notes:

Father Radcliffe blames the Russians—not the Bible

Cardinal-designate Radcliffe objects...

The Divine Comedy by Dante, translated by Anthony Esolen

Science at the Doorstep of God by Robert Spitzer, SJ

Don’t wish to subscribe just now? How about this:

Show Notes:

Blessed Charles of Austria: A Holy Emperor and His Legacy by Charles Coulombe*

The music of Paul Jernberg

Leila’s short reflection about Blessed Karl’s manliness and the Empress Zita’s devotion, and the meaning of their marriage for us (voiceover available)

Why the Left lies about Amber Thurman (they don’t want you to know how dangerous the abortion pill is, because it’s their business model now) (voiceover available)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

Joseph Lawler (our son) in The New Atlantis: Mass. Exodus: Massachusetts is one of the richest states in the country — because it’s pricing out its own middle class. Why did the state stop building enough to house them? (Phil and I live in Massachusetts and have experience)

To receive new episodes of The Home Front and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber if you want!

* From the book summary (don’t you want to read this? We do!):

October 3, 2004 saw what appeared to many to be a very strange thing: Emperor-King Charles of Austria-Hungary, last Habsburg to rule in Central Europe and wartime foe of the United States, was raised to the altars of the Church as a Blessed by St. John Paul II. But odd as this appeared, the real story of the “Peace Emperor” and his just as remarkable wife reads like a combination of a suspense thriller, Greek tragedy, and hagiography.

The inheritor of a tradition of Catholic monarchy dating back to the Roman Empire, Bl. Charles struggled to update it sufficiently to survive in the modern world. A brave soldier coming to the throne during a war whose start he had no part in, he risked everything to bring the bloody conflict to an end. Betrayed on all sides by allies, enemies, and subjects, his deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart, and the Virgin Mary helped him to avoid hating those who wronged him.

Devoted to his wife and children, Charles succeeded, with the help of his loving Empress, in leading a good Catholic family life despite everything. In a life filled with signs and miracles before and after his death, Bl. Charles managed to combine a life of deep piety with intense practicality. After his death, his wife and children continued his work—her cause for beatification is now being considered.