Let us give you fair warning ahead of time, because this is going to be quite the episode as we discuss two of our greatest heroes, G.K. Chesterton and Pope Benedict XVI. Prophets of their age who spoke truth with wisdom and clarity, these two holy men radiate a rare innocence and purity to all who read them. Discover why we love them so much and our recommendations on where to get started with each thinker.
Links
- G.K. CHESTERTON
- General
- Chesterton.org (Society of G.K. Chesterton)
- G.K. Chesterton Reading Plan for Beginners
- Bishop Barron’s “Pivotal Players” episode on G.K. Chesterton
- Favorite Books by Chesterton
- Orthodoxy (paperback)
- Orthodoxy (Word on Fire Classics hardcover)
- The Everlasting Man
- Lepanto (w/ explanatory notes)
- Ballad of the White Horse (w/ explanatory notes)
- The Man Who Was Thursday
- The Ball and the Cross
- Napoleon of Notting Hill
- Father Brown Mystery Stories
- What’s Wrong with the World
- In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton
- Books About Chesterton
- Knight of the Holy Ghost: A Short History of G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist
- G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense by Dale Ahlquist
- Common Sense 101: Lessons From G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist
- General
- POPE BENEDICT XVI
- Favorite Books by Benedict XVI
- Interview Books with Benedict XVI
I am not speaking as a learned theologian but from the point of view of a lay person that is hungry for truth that ignites my soul and spirit. Whenever a quote of Benedict XVI is used, I have full confidence in his words of wisdom as he leads me like a magnet to truth. I love your podcasts and the same magnet leads me to your love of truth and light that is so needed to cut through the confusion that has clouded our world today. Keep up the phenomenal work that I so clearly see in both of your presentations and your desire to speak truth as God continues to present it to His people that does not change. Shirley Bachmeier
Thank you so much for diving in and starting this podcast -I understand this is #20, I have a little catching up to do. Truly one of the best available for consumption right now! Intellectual, spiritual, theological, entertaining, human and divine! Well done, young men!
Thank you for being great men of God and pointing the way back to God for this generation.
I certainly learned more about these two great men. Thank you
Dear Brandon and Father,
Loved the podcast.
I fell in love with GKChesterton in grade school. I just couldn’t get caught up in the materials at school. I “won” an anthology of the Father Brown Mysteries. It opened the world to me. Thanks for your presentation.
Father I’m so glad you have enjoyed and learned so much from Pope Benedict XVI. The clarity of his writing coupled with the gentleness of spirit you mentioned drew me to him as well. I was so glad when I read his remarks to his students who gathered the lectures into a book (thanks Ignacius(?sp)Press) got me hooked. A book club that allowed slow reading for better understanding and discussion was great we pondered the first two and read the Infancy Narratives independently. Thanks
I’m very “low on the bell curve, maybe up to two percent, on use of contemporary media. I’m going to try to dive into YouTube for your app, pray hard!
Happy first day of the Christmas novena, your sister in Christ,
Joanie Lukavsky
jo.lukavsky@gmail.com
So nice to have formation take place in such a joyful manner.
Thank you again for another mind opening and heart fills episode. God bless you.
Great podcast, as always!! So many great books, so little time!! But you both do a great job of giving us a taste of it all!! Blessings!! And Merry Christmas!!
Suggestion for future topic:
Since you covered Chesterton, why not cover the Catholic back to the land movement? What are the links and truths Catholicism shares with the agricultural vocation? You yourself own a farm! Surely you’ve felt the call to the land. And was it not Pope Benedict XVI who said “the Rural Family must regain its place at the heart of the social order”?
Catholic Rural Life, Dorothy Day, what is it about this faith that seems so tied to the land? In an era of ever increasing alienation, technological servitude, and anti-life kultur, is the proper place for a Catholic family among the things God makes grow?
BTW Brandon, not sure if you’re familiar with Catholic Rural Life but they have a wonderful selection of prayers and celebrations for rural families. (https://catholicrurallife.org/resources/spiritual/calendar-of-blessings/)
Fr. Blake Britton, I have a movie you may enjoy! Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” a poetic vision of the life of Franz Jägerstätter, a Catholic and an Austrian farmer who was executed for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to Hitler. Certainly speaks to the hearts of many Catholics I know in this era.
“The time will come when we will know what all this was for. And there will be no mysteries—we will know why we live. We’ll come together. We’ll plant orchards, fields. We’ll build the land back up. Franz, I’ll meet you there… in the mountains.”
Well the short answer as to why we didn’t cover GKC’s distributism or “back to the land” contributions is because…we didn’t have enough time! You can only do so much in 30min. But his social economical philosophy, along with Belloc, McNabb, Gill, Day (Catholic Worker farms), Maurin, etc. were all pivotal in our family deciding to homestead. Tthat’s a good idea for a future podcast discussion!
Can you provide a guide to reading Pope Benedict XVI? I’ve only read his three encyclicals, and the last volume of “Jesus of Nazareth”. Thanks!