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My friend Kale Zelden and I continue our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope (Spe Salvi) -- specifically, we read and discuss paragraphs 4 through 12, covering the concept of faith-based hope in the New Testament and the early Church, and the question about what eternal life is.

Show notes/resources:
The Still Point in the Turning World - T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets, "Burnt Norton"

The "already/not yet" tension of Christian liturgy and life:
"The Sanctification of Time and the Liturgy of the Hours," Fr. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem.

"Demonstrators burn two churches in Chile on anniversary of protests," October 19, 2020

The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston's Catholic Culture, Philip Lawler

Dante's depiction of Judas Iscariot in The Inferno

"I will never lose myself
for that which the senses
can take in here,
nor for all the mind can hold,
no matter how lofty,
nor for grace or beauty,
but only for I-don’t-know-what
which is so gladly found."
Saint John of the Cross, A Gloss (with spiritual meaning)

If you're enjoying this podcast, or wish to send along a question or friendly critique, drop me a note on Twitter @WeightOfGlory or send me an email at weightofglorypodcast@gmail.com. Also, please spread the word via your social channels. Most especially, I'd welcome reviews over at Apple Podcasts: that will help more people discover the show.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett.

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Together, long-time friend Kale Zelden and I read Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope (Spe Salvi) and discuss the idea of faith-based hope. In today's episode, we break open the letter and unpack the first few paragraphs.

Show notes/resources:
Ave Maris Stella (Mary, Star of the Sea)

Angel prayer from Fatima

Jesus of Nazareth trilogy - Benedict XVI

God's performative word: Verbum Domini, Benedict XVI, paragraph 53

God's performative word - Isaiah 55:10-11

Saint Josephine Bakhita

Doubt as an avenue of communication between believer and unbeliever:
Introduction to Christianity, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Testimony of James Grein
Crisis podcast, episode 4
(12:30-14:00 into the episode)

The Heart of Man (film)

If you're enjoying this podcast, or wish to send along a question or friendly critique, drop us a note on Twitter @WeightOfGlory or send us an email at weightofglorypodcast@gmail.com. Also, please spread the word via your social channels. Most especially, I'd welcome reviews over at Apple Podcasts: that will help more people discover us.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett.

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My friend Kale and I discuss a broad range of topics, including: the self-conscious church; the church as an expert in humanity; self-exploitation and social media; and Catholic identity and liturgy.

Kale's interview with Paul VanderKlay (Sept 3, 2020)

Katie Van Schaijik - Theology of the Body: A Cure for Clericalism (2019)

Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises (1926)

Pope Francis - Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), paragraphs 93-97 (2013)

Pope John Paul II - Pastores Dabo Vobis (I Will Give You Shepherds), paragraph 21 (1992)

Theological Integration Paper - from chaplaincy training program (1995)

Pope John Paul II - Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), paragraph 3 (1993)

C.S. Lewis - The Abolition of Man (1943)

Richard John Neuhaus - The Naked Public Square (1988)

Bret Weinstein's Dark Horse podcast with Matt Taibbi, Corruption and Its Consequences (2020)

Eric Weinstein's Portal podcast with James O'Keefe, What Is and Isn't Journalism in the 21st Century (2020)

Ryan T. Anderson interview, Natural Law and Public Affairs (2020)

John Paul II on Love and Responsibility, publication of the Love and Responsibility Foundation (2002)

Tom Holland - Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World (2019)

Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book X

Bishop Robert Barron, Pope Francis and Vatican II, Napa Institute Keynote (2020)

Kilian McDonnell, OSB and George Montague, SM - Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit (1991)

Pope Benedict XVI on the hermeneutic of continuity: Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia (2005)

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In this episode, I offer a reflection on Holy Communion -- the Body and Blood of Christ -- as it relates to life in the Body of Christ... quoting from not only C.S. Lewis, but also Pope Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est.

I also include a rendition of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, as performed by Fernando Ortega.

Additional music for the podcast has been provided through the generosity of Jeremy Casella.

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In 2008, during a Holy Week RCIA retreat, I led a reflection on The Last Things -- death, judgment, heaven and hell. Rather than diving right into a discussion of things ultimate, I decided to provide some context, and some of that context came from C.S. Lewis. In The Weight of Glory, Lewis observes that "we are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Music for the podcast has been provided through the generosity of Dennis Crommett. Check out his music over at DennisCrommett.com.

Resources:

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

the upset of Easter, and the last things

on the passage through life

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 988-1014; 1020-1050

Fundamentals of the Faith: Essays in Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft

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This is my first podcast episode affiliated with my new Substack.

You can read the article and view the associated videos by visiting my Substack here: https://doxaweb.substack.com/

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In this episode, Kale and I discuss the final pages of The Abolition of Man. In a world allegedly without objective values, what conditions the conditioners? Chesterton’s idea of play and rules providing freedom; the reality that a value-free neutrality does not exist; trans-humanism and post-humanism; the dismembering of nature and disenchantment; the magician’s bargain: how the last step toward the abolition of man is unlike every prior step; the common ancestry of science and magic; how seeing through everything is the same as not to see.

The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward

Will the Future Be Human? - Yuval Noah Harari

Faustian bargain, Britannica.com

The Freedom of Boundaries in G.K. Chesterton - Zak Schmoll

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 675-676: "The Church's ultimate trial"

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Today, we begin discussing the final chapter of The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis. Topics include: slavery and freedom; the conquest of man over man; the flight from the reality of death; the world state as a surrogate for the Tao; eugenics, trans-humanism and post-humanism; man as raw material for the post-human project; the impact of World War I on the thinking of Lewis; and what a positive and humane technical progress could look like.

The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward

Learning in War Time - C.S. Lewis

On Living in an Atomic Age - C.S. Lewis
Reprinted in a collection entitled Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays.

Will the Future Be Human? - Yuval Noah Harari

The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

The Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis

"Standing reserves" - Martin Heidegger

Miracles - C.S. Lewis

"Cover stories for a theft" - Eric Weinstein

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