Ignatius Press Podcast

How did music shape our civilization, and how was music itself shaped by the Catholic Church? Susan Treacy, Professor of Music Emerita at Ave Maria University, discusses her new book "The Music of Christendom: A History" with Br. Elías Guadalupe Ford, OP.

Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska and author Kevin Wells discuss “In the Eye of the Storm,” the gripping biography of St. Gregory the Great by Sigrid Grabner, available for the first time in English (https://bit.ly/32oRpB4).

Grabner's vivid narrative of the life of a poor monk known now to history as St. Gregory the Great reads like a novel, evoking the landscape of early medieval Italy with humanity and realism. It brings us face to face with a man who, for all his weakness, became an instrument in the hand of God and let himself be made great.

"A Manifesto of the New Traditionalism", published on the Gaudium et Spes 22 blog on December 22 (https://gaudiumetspes22.com/blog/a-manifesto-of-the-new-traditionalism), was co-authored by Sean Domencic, Larry Chapp, and Marc Barnes. Written "Catholic Worker perspective but with an eye toward the broader Church," it addresses four major topics: the nature of the Church, the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas as "a foundation for the valuable 'New Theologies'", how the "natural law and the preferential option for the poor have been united in Catholic Social Teaching", and how the "necessary Liturgical Renewal was begun, betrayed, and left unaccomplished".

Dr. Chapp recently spoke with Catholic World Report editor Carl E. Olson and Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press, about the manifesto.

What does the Bible really say about the birth of Jesus? How did the celebration of Christmas become associated with things like Santa Claus and decorated trees? In "The True Meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season" (https://bit.ly/3De1LjI) biblical scholar Michael Patrick Barber offers an inspiring look at the Bible’s accounts of Jesus’ birth and the development of the Christmas season.

Fr. Simeon (formerly Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis) is the author of the landmark work on the Gospel of Matthew, "Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word," the fourth and final volume of which was released this summer (find it here: https://bit.ly/2U5hqBg). He will be speaking with Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ about the books, praying with Scripture, and more.