Best Thomas V Mirus Podcasts (2025)

1
Leo XIII Against Modern Liberties 59:20

Play Pause

1h ago59:20

59:20

One of the most important encyclicals we need to rediscover is Pope Leo XIII's Libertas (1888), on the true nature of human liberty. This encyclical explains what true liberty consists of, followed by a lengthy exposition of the Church's condemnation of liberalism, in the Enlightenment/classical sense rather than today's narrower use of the word. M…

1
Christian Raab, OSB - In Search of the Masculine Genius 1:06:11

2h ago1:06:11

1:06:11

"When attention to the theological meaning of femininity is not accompanied by reflection on masculinity, men are left without a sense of the existential and sacramental significance of their own sex." A reading of a fascinating essay originally published in the journal Logos, about the work of Walter Ong, SJ. In the wake of an emphasis on the “fem…

1
5.19 St. Bonaventure: The Seraphic Doctor 15:41

4d ago15:41

15:41

St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) was the friend and colleague of St. Thomas Aquinas. What Aquinas was to the Dominicans, Bonaventure was to the Franciscans. St. Bonaventure is known as the second founder of the Franciscans because he was important for the organization of the order, and for bringing forth and expanding upon St. Francis’ spirituality. Lin…

1
The Church and the Jews: Recovering Tradition, w/ Gideon Lazar 1:37:02

9d ago1:37:02

1:37:02

A number of doctrinal ruptures occurred in Catholic life after Vatican II – not in the sense that the Church’s magisterium contradicted its previous teachings, but that the vast majority of Catholics, even conservative ones, tend to get these topics wrong. One of the worst examples is how the Church’s traditional teaching on the Jewish people has b…

1
Triumph of the Heart is a film worthy of its subject, St. Maximilian Kolbe 37:36

18d ago37:36

37:36

James and Thomas review an outstanding and very intense new film about St. Maximilian Kolbe, directed and written by Anthony D'Ambrosio. Triumph of the Heart is set mostly in the starvation cell in Auschwitz as Kolbe and his companions try to find a way to die with hope and dignity. Don't miss it, in theaters Sept. 12. https://www.triumphoftheheart…

1
Soul of the Apostolate | Ep. 3 - Without Interior Life, Active Life Full of Danger 1:19:48

13d ago1:19:48

1:19:48

"These falls can be MOST CERTAINLY avoided when one knows how to use the precious balancing pole of the interior life. It is only the abandonment of this INFALLIBLE instrument that brings dizziness and the fatal false step into space." Part Three of this classic work by the French Trappist monk, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858-1935), warns of the …

1
5.18 St. Albert the Great: The Miracle of His Time 22:30

13d ago22:30

22:30

St. Albert the Great (1206-1280) mastered every field of study available to him, from astronomy to zoology. He was called the “miracle of his time,” not because he performed miracles, but because he was considered an authority - on the level of St. Augustine and Peter Lombard - even within his own lifetime. He was the mentor and teacher of a more f…

1
5.17 St. Albert the Great: Universal Doctor 16:13

27d ago16:13

16:13

St. Albert the Great (1206-1280) was one of the real geniuses of the middle ages, and was the teacher and mentor of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Albert had mastered virtually every field of study available to him, and he is one of the most important bridges between ancient and medieval philosophy. Links For a complete, unbiased, and very accessible over…

1
St. John Henry Newman - The Oxford Sermons | 3. Evangelical Sanctity the Completion of Natural Virtue 29:41

28d ago29:41

29:41

"The true light of the world offends more men than it attracts; and its divine origin is shown, not in its marked effects on the mass of mankind, but in its surprising power of elevating the moral character where it is received in spirit and in truth." St. John Henry Newman's Oxford Sermons, delivered during his time as an Anglican preacher at the …

1
Sister of heroic Vietnamese Cardinal imprisoned by Communists tells his story 1:11:43

1M ago1:11:43

1:11:43

Elisabeth Nguyen Thi Thu Hong joins the podcast to tell the inspiring story of her older brother, Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, the heroic Vietnamese Cardinal who was imprisoned by the Communists for 13 years, 8 of those in solitary confinement. Thuan was descended from a line of Vietnamese martyrs, and his uncle was the devout Catholi…

1
R.I.P. Jane Greer (1953-2025) 1:14:39

2M ago1:14:39

1:14:39

My other interview with Jane: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/147-world-is-falling-away-jane-greer/By Thomas V. Mirus

1
5.16 St. Anthony of Padua: Hammer of Heresy 22:09

2M ago22:09

22:09

St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) is actually called the Hammer of Heretics, but the truth is that even in his uncompromising critiques of heresy, he had compassion for those who were led astray by the heresies, and he refused to engage in the personal attacks and name-calling that are so prevalent in apologetics, even among some other saints. So hi…

1
Soul of the Apostolate | Ep. 2 - Union of Active & Interior Life 42:24

2M ago42:24

42:24

"The life of action ought to flow from the contemplative life, to interpret and extend it, outside oneself, though at the same time being detached from it as little as possible." Part Two of this classic work by the French Trappist monk, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858-1935), further explores the inseparable interdependence of the active and the i…

1
200 - Moral Questions about NFP w/ Eamonn Clark 1:19:36

2M ago1:19:36

1:19:36

Get free PDF of New Questions, Old Answers: Catholic Morals and Natural Family Planning https://profide.io/nfp/ Article on the marital debt https://christianrenaissancemovement.com/2023/02/23/thoughts-on-the-marital-debt/ The way Natural Family Planning is commonly taught does not adequately reflect the Church’s perennial teachings on the purpose o…

1
A hard world for little things: The Night of the Hunter (1955) 52:55

2M ago52:55

52:55

James and Thomas discuss one of their favorite films, The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton. It’s about the sacred innocence of children, and discerning true vs. false prophets. A unique mix of fairy tale, horror, and Southern gothic with expressionist visuals, The Night of the Hunter contains some of the most striking and poetic se…

1
5.15 St. Anthony of Padua: Doctor of the Gospel 12:48

2M ago12:48

12:48

St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) is called the Doctor of the Gospel, or the Evangelical Doctor, because he is known as both an expert in biblical interpretation, as well as one of the greatest preachers the Church has ever produced. Links SIGN UP for Catholic Culture’s Newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters/ DONATE at: http://www.c…

1
Pope Leo XIII on the restoration of Christian philosophy 52:35

2M ago52:35

52:35

This is the first in a series of episodes (accompanied by articles) surveying the most important encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII. His third encyclical, Aeterni Patris (1879), on the restoration of Christian philosophy, famously called for a revival of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. Links Thomas’s article on Aeterni Patris, “Leo XIII and the resto…

1
Soul of the Apostolate | Ep. 1 - Active Works & the Interior Life 1:26:01

2M ago1:26:01

1:26:01

"If God calls me to apply my activity not only to my own sanctification, but also to good works, I must establish this firm conviction, before everything else, in my mind: Jesus has got to be, and wishes to be, the life of these works. My efforts, by themselves, are nothing, absolutely nothing." Part One of this classic work by the French Trappist …

1
198 - The Music of St. Hildegard of Bingen - Margot Fassler 1:01:58

3M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

St. Hildegard of Bingen, 12th-century abbess, mystic, polymath, and Doctor of the Church, is best known to non-Catholics for something else – her music. We have more pieces of music by Hildegard than by any other medieval composer whose name we know. Her chants are beautiful, otherworldly, virtuosic and ahead of their time. Some of them were writte…

1
5.14 The Music of St. Hildegard of Bingen w/ Margot Fassler 1:01:58

3M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

St. Hildegard of Bingen, 12th-century abbess, mystic, polymath, and Doctor of the Church, is best known to non-Catholics for something else – her music. We have more pieces of music by Hildegard than by any other medieval composer whose name we know. Her chants are beautiful, otherworldly, virtuosic and ahead of their time. Some of them were writte…

1
5.13 St. Hildegard of Bingen: Teutonic Prophetess 28:26

3M ago28:26

28:26

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a mystic, an anointed prophet, a reformer, theologian, poet, teacher, and preacher. Over eight centuries ago, she wrote, “Today the Catholic faith is in a state of agitation, on a global scale. The gospel limps its way around the world; the early Church fathers, who wrote so well, are ignored; people are apat…

1
Hitchcock's I Confess and the world's failure to understand priesthood 53:22

3M ago53:22

53:22

In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1953 film I Confess, a young priest in Quebec City is suspected of murder because of his unwillingness to break the seal of confession. A major theme of the film is the incomprehension with which the world sees the priesthood, such that people project their own sins onto the priest, resulting in a kind of white martyrdom. SIGN…

1
5.12 St. Hildegard of Bingen: Multimedia Visionary 20:24

3M ago20:24

20:24

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a visionary, teacher, Abbess, composer, theologian, painter, and the first woman in history to be given papal approval to preach in public. Four centuries before the emergence of the “Renaissance Man,” there was Hildegard of Bingen. Usually known mostly for her music (and rightfully so) there is so much more …

1
197 - Same-Sex Attraction and Conversion w/ Andrew Comiskey & Marco Casanova 1:34:39

3M ago1:34:39

1:34:39

We all know the secular world opposes the very idea of a person with same-sex attraction seeking any kind of therapy or spiritual counsel that might enable them to reach a state of healthy relations with the opposite sex. But what’s odd is that many Catholics seem to have bought into this. Many assume that if someone is not currently attracted to t…

1
St. John Henry Newman - The Indwelling Spirit 30:38

3M ago30:38

30:38

"The Comforter who has come instead of Christ, must have vouchsafed to come in the same sense in which Christ came; I mean, that He has come, not merely in the way of gifts, or of influences, or of operations, as He came to the Prophets, for then Christ's going away would be a loss, and not a gain, and the Spirit's presence would be a mere pledge, …

1
The Ritual portrays exorcism accurately, but is stuck in genre cliches 25:27

3M ago25:27

25:27

The new exorcism film The Ritual, starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, is based on the famous 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt, which also partially inspired The Exorcist. The Ritual is touted as more realistic and meticulously researched than most exorcism films, and it does seem to portray the rite of exorcism accurately (as the title indicates, most…

1
5.11 St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Arbiter of Christendom 21:54

4M ago21:54

21:54

St. Bernard of Claivaux (1090 - 1153 AD) was the founder of the Cistercians, a reform order of the Benedictines, and was one of the Church’s true mystics. He opposed the “intentionalism” of the heretic Peter Abelard with his quip: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” He also opposed an anti-pope, corrected a king, brokered peace in Eur…

1
196 - Theology of Hiking - Fr. John Nepil 45:56

4M ago45:56

45:56

Fr. John Nepil, priest and mountaineer, joins the podcast to discuss his book To Heights and Unto Depths: Letters from the Colorado Trail. Topics discussed include: The modern view of "nature" vs. God's creation A morally responsible approach to risk-taking The modern origins of hiking as a secular activity "Wilderness" vs. "garden" - Catholic atti…

1
Rule of St. Benedict | Ep. 3 - Work, Governance, and Conclusion 55:05

4M ago55:05

55:05

"Prefer nothing whatever to Christ. And may He bring us all together to life everlasting!" The Rule of St. Benedict is a foundational spiritual guide composed by St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism, around 530 AD. In this third episode, covering Chapters 39–73, Benedict details daily routines like meals and work, outlines hosp…

1
Fragmented sexuality in Malick's To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, & Song to Song 2:13:13

4M ago2:13:13

2:13:13

00:00 Introduction 12:44 Form 1:04:15 Themes 1:28:17 Moral problems 1:52:00 Favorite sequences After the artistic triumph of his magnum opus The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick had an unwontedly prolific period, releasing To the Wonder (2012), Knight of Cups (2015), and Song to Song (2017). In these films, known informally as the "Weightless Trilogy"…

1
5.10 St. Bernard of Clairvaux: The Mellifluous Doctor 16:25

4M ago16:25

16:25

St. Bernard of Claivaux (1090 - 1153 AD) was born to be a knight, and grew up in a castle, but he chose to be a different kind of knight - a true prayer warrior - and he supported the invention of the Christian knight by endorsing the Knights Templar. He would be the founder of the Cistercians, a reform order of the Benedictines. He was a strong ad…

1
Rule of St. Benedict | Ep. 2 - Prayer and Community Life 37:22

4M ago37:22

37:22

"We believe that the divine presence is everywhere... But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God." The Rule of St. Benedict is a foundational spiritual guide composed by St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism, around 530 AD. In the chapters comprising this second episode, Bene…

1
195 - The Most Influential Theology Book Nobody Reads - Philipp Rosemann 1:46:56

5M ago1:46:56

1:46:56

The standard textbook of theology in medieval universities was the Sentences by Peter Lombard (1095-1160), bishop of Paris. This collection systematically arranged the theological judgments of Scripture and the Church Fathers on various topics. For almost four centuries, those seeking higher credentials in theology had to study, teach, and comment …