Category Archives: Spirituality

#431 – A History of the Catholic Church – Harlots of the Desert

March 9, 2018 – 8:00 pm

The stories of the Harlots of the Desert served to inspire Christians to repent of their sins and trust in the mercy of God. Furthermore, the stories give us insight into the understandings of gender and holiness in the early 5th century Church.

Links:
Etching of Saint Mary of Egypt by Levillain

Rodney Stark on women in the Early Church

The ancient lives of Saints Mary of Egypt, Pelagia, Thaïs, and Mary – Niece of Abraham can be found here

The life of Saint Paesia the Harlot

Chrysostom’s 67th Homily on the Gospel of Matthew seen as inspiration for the story of Saint Pelagia

Linda L. Coon on Saints Pelagia and Mary of Egypt

Ruth Mazo Karras. “Holy Harlots: Prostitute Saints in Medieval Legend”. Journal of the History of Sexuality. Vol. 1, No. 1 (July 1990). pp. 3-32.

Benedicta Ward – Harlots of the Desert

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#431 – A History of the Catholic Church – Harlots of the Desert

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#428 – A History of the Catholic Church – The Father of Mysticism

February 16, 2018 – 2:00 pm

We begin a series of episodes on the spirituality of the early 5th century with a look at Saint Augustine. His works, especially The Confessions and The Trinity show Augustine as a major early Christian mystic – urging all Christians to unite themselves to God in love.

Links:
Painting of Saint Augustine by Phillipe de Champaigne

Augustine’s Confessions – note especially chapters 10 and 27

Augustine’s The Trinity – note especially chapter 15

Augustine Letter 147 on the Vision of God

Augustine Sermon 52 on the incomprehensibility of God and inability to express the ecstatic experience

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#428 – A History of the Catholic Church – The Father of Mysticism

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#405 – A History of the Catholic Church – Evagrius of Pontus

September 1, 2017 – 8:00 pm

Evagrius of Pontus exercised a major influence in the development of Eastern Christian spirituality as well as the Western understanding of the Seven Deadly Sins. In this episode, we examine his advice on avoiding temptation and growing in prayer.

Links:

Image of Evagrius of Pontus.

More information on Evagrius and selections from his writings can be found here, here, and here.

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#405 – A History of the Catholic Church – Evagrius of Pontus

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#404 – A History of the Catholic Church – On Pilgrimage

August 25, 2017 – 8:00 pm

Pilgrimage mania took hold in the 4th century as devotion to the saints increased. Increased pilgrims also led to the development of an infrastructure to support them. However, not everyone felt that increased desire for pilgrimage was a good thing.

Links:

The Burial Place of Jerome in Bethlehem by Bonio.

The feast of the Encaenia

Pilgrimage of Egeria

Map of Egeria’s pilgrimage

Paula’s letter on the Holy Places

On Paula and Eustochium

Jerome’s letter to Eustochium on Paula’s visit to the Holy Land

Gregory of Nyssa On Pilgrimages

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#404 – A History of the Catholic Church – On Pilgrimage

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#402 – A History of the Catholic Church – Patron Saints

August 11, 2017 – 8:00 pm

The continuing growth of the Christian Church in the Roman Empire brought with it increasing attention on the relationship between saint and sinner. This week we look at how the Roman patron/client relationship influenced Christian spirituality.

Links:

Wall painting of Christ and the Martyrs in the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter

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#402 – A History of the Catholic Church – Patron Saints

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#373 – A History of the Catholic Church – Union with God

January 20, 2017 – 8:00 pm

Last week, we heard Basil the Great’s advice for separation from the things of the world. This week, we hear the advice of Pseudo-Macarius and Gregory of Nyssa for praying constantly and entering into deeper union with God.

Links:
Icon of Gregory of Nyssa

The Spiritual Homilies of Pseudo-Macarius

Hieromonk Alexander Golitzin’s presentation A Testimony to Christianity as Transfiguration: The Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality

Comments on Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses

Comments on Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs

John Meyendorff, “St. Basil, Messalianism and Byzantine Christianity,” St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 28 (1980), 219-234.

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#373 – A History of the Catholic Church – Union with God

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#372 – A History of the Catholic Church – Separation from the World

January 13, 2017 – 8:00 pm

Amidst all the problems of the Trinitarian Controversy, we should not lose sight of the desire of all Christians to grow in holiness and closer to Christ. This week, we look at the advice of Basil of Caesarea for separating oneself from sin and joining oneself to Jesus.

Links:
Painting of Saint Basil dictating his rule by Francisco de Herrera

Life of Saint Theodora of Alexandria

Selections from the Rule of Saint Basil

Discussion of the different texts of Basil mentioned in this episode.

Joseph Ballan, “Basil of Caesarea on the Ascetic Craft: The Invention of the Ascetic Community and the Spiritualization of Work in the Asketikon,” The Heythrop Journal, LII (2011), pp. 559-568.

Charles A. Frazee, “Anatolian Asceticism in the Fourth Century,” The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan. 1980), pp. 16-33.

Anna M. Silvas, “Edessa to Cassino: The Passage of Basil’s Asketikon to the West”, Vigiliae Christianae, 56 (2002), 247-259.

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#372 – A History of the Catholic Church – Separation from the World

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#277 – Cenodoxus and the Dangers of Pride

February 25, 2012 – 5:33 am

During the Counter-Reformation, Jesuits used theater to warn of the dangers of Hell and the guide to the glories of Heaven. Performances of Jacob Bidermann, SJ’s Cenodoxus were no exception, causing some audience members to do penance and leading others into religious vocations.

Links:
Websites about Cenodoxus and Jacob Bidermann can be found here and here and here.
Cenodoxus performed by the Augsburger Puppets

Sources:
Best, Thomas W. Jacob Bidermann. Twayne’s World Authors Series ; Germany TWAS 314. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1975.
Bidermann, SJ. Jakob. Cenodoxus. Translated by D. G. Dyer. Edinburgh Bilingual Library 9. Edinburgh: University Press, 1975.
Bloemendal, Jan. “Receptions and Impact: Early Modern Latin Drama, its Effect on the Audience and its Role in Forming Public Opinion.”  Neo-Latin Drama: Forms, Functions, Receptions. Olms, 2008. 7-22.
Dyer, Denys. Jacob Bidermann a Seventeenth Century German Jesuit Dramatist. Cambridge, 1950.
Gorman, Michel John. “Mathematics and Modesty in the Society of Jesus: The Problems of Christoph Grienberger.”  The New Science and Jesuit Science: Seventeenth Century Perspectives. Archimedes. Dordrecht ; Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. 1-120.
Herdt, Jennifer A. Putting on Virtue: The Legacy of the Splendid Vices. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Loyola, SJ. Ignatius. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola: An American Translation from the Final Version of the Exercises, the Latin Vulgate, into Contemporary English. New York: J.F. Wagner, 1968.
Martin, Dennis D. Fifteenth-Century Carthusian Reform: The World of Nicholas Kempf. Studies in the History of Christian Thought v. 49. Leiden ; New York: E.J. Brill, 1992.
Miola, Robert S. “Jesuit drama in early modern England.” Theatre and Religion: Lancastrian Shakespeare. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. 71-86.
Murdoch, Brian. Adam’s Grace: Fall and Redemption in Medieval Literature. Woodbridge, UK ; Rochester, NY: D.S. Brewer, 2000.
Parente, James A. Religious Drama and the Humanist Tradition: Christian Theater in Germany and in the Netherlands, 1500-1680. Studies in the History of Christian Thought v. 39. Leiden ; New York: E.J. Brill, 1987.
Sinn, Christian. “The Figure in the Carpet: Metadramatical Concepts in Jacob Bidermann’s Cenodoxus (1602).” The Play Within the Play: The Performance of Meta-Theatre and Self-Reflection. Internationale Forschungen Zur Allgemeinen Und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft 112. Amsterdam ; New York: Rodopi, 2007. 61-76.
Wild, Christopher J. “Jesuit Theater and the Blindness of Self-Knowledge.” A New History of German Literature. Harvard University Press Reference Library. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004. 270-274.

Image:
Eustache Le Sueur – Raymond Diocres Repond Apres sa Mort

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podcasticon#277 – Cenodoxus and the Dangers of Pride

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#274 – Saint Isaac of Syria and the Love of God

February 4, 2012 – 8:47 pm

The holiness of Saint Isaac of Syria, also known as Saint Isaac of Nineveh, transcends the divisions between the Orthodox, Catholic, Coptic and Assyrian Churches. His words describing the great love that God has for all of His creation have inspired Christians everywhere.

Links:
Selections from the writings of Saint Issac
Prayer in the writings of Saint Issac the Syrian
The theology of Saint Isaac the Syrian
Website devoted to Saint Isaac the Syrian

Sources:
Alfeyev, Hilarion. The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian. Cistercian Studies Series no. 175. Kalamazoo, Mich: Cistercian Publications, 2000.
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian. Boston, Mass: The Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1984.
Hagman, Patrik. The Asceticism of Isaac of Nineveh. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
The Wisdom of St. Isaac of Nineveh. 1st Gorgias Press ed. Texts from Christian Late Antiquity v. 1. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2006.

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Website of the Third Order Franciscans

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podcasticon#274 – Saint Isaac of Syria

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#267 – Sub Tuum Praesidium

December 3, 2011 – 12:01 am

The Sub Tuum Praesidium is the oldest prayer dedicated to the Mother of God we have. It is a prayer that continues to inspire the hearts of Christians today, just as it did over 1,750 years ago.

Links:
Extensive article on the Sub Tuum Praesidium
Another article on the Sub Tuum Praesidium can be found here
An article on the Rylands Parchment can be found here

Various versions of the Sub Tuum Praesidium in Greek [begins at 2:13], Latin, Russian [Bortnianskii], another Russian version, a version by Mozart

Sources:
Johnson, Maxwell E. “Sub Tuum Praesidium: The Theotokos in Christian Life and Worship before Ephesus”. In The Place of Christ in Liturgical Prayer: Christology, Trinity, Liturgical Theology. Eds. Bryan D. Spinks and Martin Jean. Liturgical Press, 2008. 243-267.
Mathewes-Green, Frederica. The Lost Gospel of Mary: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts. Paraclete Press, 2007.

Image – the Rylands Parchment

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podcasticon#267 – Sub Tuum Praesidium

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