On Friday 14 February I joined Br. Andre on his show Reconquest, which is on the Crusade Channel to talk about my recent translation of St. Robert Bellarmine on the Sacrifice of the Mass:
Today, Phillip Campbell (aka Boniface) of Unam Sanctam Catholicam joins us to talk about the history of the Middle Ages, and why most people, traditional Catholics in particular, who have romantic notions of medieval life, would positively hate it. Not to dissuade one from study or admiring the Middle Ages, this conversation about medieval life is aimed at painting an accurate picture of it. Join us, as we dig into the nitty gritty of the middle ages.
**Warning**: [insert danger Will Robinson]
There are some points in the podcast where profanities are used demonstratively, as in medievals used the word in a title of this or that and we repeated it. Moreover there will be frank discussion of medieval views about sex and modesty and weird perverted things. There will also be cool medieval music in Latin about bawdy subjects which would could not understand probably. If that offends you, or you thought this would be good for your younger kids, we give fair warning, you will not be happy.
Previous interviews with Phillip/Boniface:
Interview 014 on being a mayor in a small town.
Interview 024 on Pope Boniface VIII
Unam Sanctam Catholicam
Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch
Medieval end times views
Medieval Churches used for theater
The Theatre: Three Thousand Years of Drama, Acting and Stagecraft by Sheldon Cheny
Feast of the Ass
Feast of fools
Humility and State in Life
Golliards
Bacche Bene Venies
De Defectibus
Alphonsus Liguori on whether it is licit to have sex in Church
Instructions for Parish Priests by John Myrc (1400s)
Priests working secular occupations (barber/surgeon, lawyer), so common that Lateran II specifically forbid this in 1139
Jacques Fournier records people had sex inside the church (Béatrice de Planissoles)
-Source: Readings in Medieval History
Apostolic Origins of Clerical Celibacy, Cochini
Francis and Joseph Gies
Life in a Medieval Village
Life in a Medieval City
Limbourg Brothers
Mailoica Plate:
abortion and contraception in the middle ages
Origin of the heart shape is from seed-pod of a Roman contraceptive plant:
(NB: I made a mistake in the podcast, I called if fenellinium, it was actually called silphium, got it all mixed up in my head).
Catullus on Silphium:
“as the number of Libyan sands that lie in silphium-bearing Cyrene.” (Poem 7)
Virgo Lactans, St. Bernard:
Troubador Movement
Liber Facetiarum of Poggio Bracciolini
History of Private Life Part 2
Codpieces
Medieval depictions of walking, sword-wielding genitalia (Danger Will Robinson! Crass, weird, odd, and just— enter at your own risk).
Edward IV
Unfortunate Wives of Philip II
Pope Alexander VI annulled the first marriage of Louis XII.
Pierre Darmon’s 1979 book Trial by Impotence.
For more on Henry VIII, see my own talks on the subject.
Politically active clergy:
Wolsey
Richelieu
Mazarin
Simony
Investiture Controversy
Albrecht of Brandenburg
Fuggers
We are joined today by Fr. Chad Ripperger, PhD, to answer objections to his teachings on the obligations of women to work at home, binding prayers, generational spirits, canon law on his book, etc. We also address objections in favor evolution stemming from modern Thomists, that St. Thomas teaches creation was accomplished with primary causes, as well as the sedi-privationalist argument of infallible security which stems into Amoris Laetitia. We also cover clerical celibacy and the consequences of changing this discipline. Join us for another intellectually stimulating hour.
Pre-order St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Moral Theology vol. 2, save 8 dollars between price-point and our 10% off sale.
Fr. Ripperger’s website
Fr. Ripperger’s press
Feminism, Women & the Natural Order
Prümmer on the obligation of wives to remain at home:
“1. Vir et mulier pares sunt quantum ad substantiam naturae humanae, quantum ad animam, quantum ad substantiam naturae humanae, quantum ad animam, quantum ad gratiam et gloriam obtinendam; idcirco S. Paulus dicit: ‘[In Christo enim] non est masculus, neque femina.’ (Gal. 3:28) Quamobrem Ecclesia Catholica numquam desiit docere, mulierem non esse ancillam, sed sociam viri.
2. Quamvis ordinarie mulier sit debilior viro quantum ad vires corporis et intellectus, tamen haud paucae existunt mulieres vlaentes eadem opera (saltem faciliora) peragere, quae viri praestant. Per se igitur nihil obstat, quominus mulieribus capacibus haec opera et munia committantur. Hinc e.g. nihil obstat, ne mulieribus aptis committatur munus medici, advocati, magistri, etc.
3. Principalis scopus naturalis, propter quem Deus creavit mulierem, est, ut illa sit in adiutorium viri (Gen. 2:18). Ideo Deus prius creavit Adam et deinde Evam, quam fecit ex costa Adae; non autem prius fecit Evam, neque desumpsit Adam ex substantia Evae. Quae quidem videntur esse signa manifesta, mulierem debere subdi viro. Accedit quod Deus tum in Vetere tum in Novo Testamento exclusit mulieres ab officio sacerdotali; quod iterum satis clare demonstrat, Deum nolle concedere mulieri omnimodam aequalitatem cum viro in omnibus muneribus. Ergo emancipatio radicalis mulierum et omnimoda aequiparatio inter virum et mulierem videtur esse contra intentionem Creatoris.
4. Officium principale mulieris est procurare bonum familiae domesticae. Familia enim est fundamentum totius societatis humanae. Iamvero sine efficaci adiutorio mulieris bonum familiae vix est possible. Ergo talis emancipatio mulierum, qualis illas e sinu familiae nimis evellit, aut viris vitam familialem valde difficilem reddit, est moraliter mala, et etiam pro bono sociali nociva. (my emphasis)
Manuale Theologiae Moralis, vol. II; n. 593; translation in the audio.
Donum Vitæ – Children have a right to be raised by both parents
Pope Francis: Children have a right to both parents
CDF document on Exorcism (1995, not ’94)
Manuale Exorcismorum (Mechlen, 1618)
Conference on Generational Spirits part 1 2 3
The 6th Generation
Scripture verses defending binding even by laity:
Revelation 20:2; Tobit 3:17; Mark 3:27; 2 Peter
Gabriel Amorth: An Exorcist tells his story
Deliverance Prayers
Canon 873 §3: Books of prayers for the public or private use of the faithful are not to be published without the permission of the local ordinary.
Minor Exorcisms (which does have an imprimatur)
The Metaphysics of Evolution
Fabian Revol, Le Temps de la Création. Les Éditions du Cerf. Paris. 2015
St. Thomas teaches creation happened by primary sources: De Potentia. q, 3, a. 4. See also ST I, 45, 5; 65, 3; 90, 3; SCg II, 20 & 21; II Sent d.1, q. 1, a3; De Veritate 5, 9.
St. Thomas treated days of creation as 24 hours; I, Q 74 ad 7: The words “one day” are used when day is first instituted, to denote that one day is made up of twenty-four hours. Hence, by mentioning “one,” the measure of a natural day is fixed. Another reason may be to signify that a day is completed by the return of the sun to the point from which it commenced its course. And yet another, because at the completion of a week of seven days, the first day returns which is one with the eighth day.
Lateran IV on period of time of creation:
Deus…creator omnium visibilium et invisibilium, spiritualium et corporalium: qui sua omnipotenti virtute simul ab initio temporis utramque de nihilo condidit creaturam, spiritualem et corporalem, angelicam videlicet et mundanam: ac deinde humanam, quasi communem ex spiritu et corpore constitutam.
God…creator of all visible and invisible things, of the spiritual and of the corporal; who by His own omnipotent power at once from the beginning of time created each creature from nothing, spiritual and corporal, namely, angelic and mundane, and finally the human, constituted as it were, alike of the spirit and the body (D.428).
Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique (DTC) (sous la direction de A.Vacant et E. Mangenot, Paris, Letouzey, 1903, Art. Ange, col 1269,1270): “It seems clear that the text [of Lateran IV] affirms the simultaneity of the two creations—[those of the spiritual and corporeal creatures]—and most theologians interpret it that way. Indeed, many of them, like Suarez in De Angelis and also it would seem Cardinal Mazzella in De Deo Creante regard those who contest this simultaneity of creation as ‘temerarious’. ”
Pontifical Biblical Commission’s 1909 response on the literal sense of Genesis (I misspoke during the interview and had said 1911. That is the year one of the best handguns ever made was manufactured and I confused that venerable date)
Amoris Lætitia
German Bishops on giving communion to the divorce and remarried
Statement of the Bishops of Kazakhstan against Amoris Lætitia
Maltese Bishops promoting communion for the divorced and remarried
Cardinal Franzelin
De Divina Tradition in English (Franzelin)
Monsignor Clifford Fenton
Vatican II on Obsequium Religiosum: Lumen Gentium 25
The Binding Force of Tradition
Magisterial Authority
Letter to the Argentine Bishops’ Conference by Pope Francis confirming communion for the Divorced and Remarried
Protestant clergy abusing children
Rabbis that have abused children
Islamic clergy abusing children
NB: Pointing this out is not to attack Protestants, Jews and Muslims, but to show the problem is not celibacy, but rather that we have a sick culture and sick people get into positions of authority, no only in the Catholic Church, not only in protestant churches, but also in other religions, not to mention government and that you are 14x more likely to be sexually abused by a government worker in a school or hospital, in foster care or in some other government facility than you are either by a Catholic priest or a minister of any religion.
Today we joined Jonathon Ross of Holy Faith TV to speak about St. Robert Bellarmine and his place in the Counter-Reformation, his devotion to St. Thomas, his innovations in teaching theology at that time, the Galileo controversy and some final comments dealing with Sedevacantism.
I apologize for some of the audio; my connection wasn’t the best.
See more from Jonathon Ross on Holy Faith TV
Also see Mediatrix Press for the projects I mentioned:
Bellarmine Project
St. Alphonsus Project
The following is an interview I gave on Reconquest with Br. Andre Marie, on St. Robert Bellarmine’s work on Purgatory which I translated last year. Unfortunately I did not make my own recording so I only have the goo-tube version to share.
The book was too much to cover in a simple interview, thus instead we focused on the apologetic arguments and St. Robert Bellarmine’s Scriptural Exegesis which makes this book one of the best treatises I have seen on the subject anywhere.
While we did not delve into the whole book; the second section which we did not cover moves away from the arguments of Purgatory’s existence to it’s incidental details, some of which are dogmatic and some of which are merely speculative. You can see all of that if you purchase St. Robert Bellarmine’s On Purgatory here.
(These will be updated soon).
Today I was a guest on the Mike Church Show to talk about the myths surrounding Luther and the beginning of the “Reformation” and the Catholic reformers that began before Luther even appeared on the scene; so that Luther’s revolt was not due to abuses in the Church, but errors in theology that he embraced.
While we provide our particular interview free, there are hundreds of hours of great content to hear on the Mike Church Show and the Crusade Channel on the Veritas Radio Network! Please support them by subscribing to their podcasts.
The Spiritual Life and Prayer by Cecile Bruyére
Dom Gueranger
NPR Standard useless history on Luther and the Reformation
For biblical Learning in the middle ages, see the chapter on Wycliffe in St. John Fisher: Reformer, Humanist, Martyr for a scholarly summary.
Luther and the Bible
Erfurt University
Indulgences
Purgatory
***Shameless Plug Alert*** St. Robert Bellarmine’s treatise on Purgatory with copious references to the Greek Father
Tetzel
Myths about the 95 Thesis
For a summary of Luther’s lecture notes on Romans, see Philip Hughes, A Popular History of the Reformation
Exsurge Domine of Leo X
Cardinal Ximenez
Complutensian Polyglot Bible of Ximenez (I made an error when saying this was done 17 years before Luther, although Ximenez was compiling, directing and paying for it as early as that, it was not actually published until 1520; the point still stands as this was not done in reaction to Luther but a project that began before Luther and was carried out before Luther).
Humility of Heart by Gaetano de Bergamo (New complete translation provided by Mike Church)
University of Louvain
Erasmus
BBC In Our Time podcast on Erasmus
James Latomus (I accidentally said “John” in the podcast)
Ruard Tapper
John Collet
St. Thomas More: A Great Man in Hard Times (with summaries of his positions and his contribution to Catholic Reform)
St. John Fisher
Sermons of St. John Fisher
Thomas Vio de Gaetano (Cajetan)
Diet of Worms
Marcello Cervini
Frederick the III (The wise)
St. Gaetano de Thiene
Theatines
Comuneros Revolt
Movie on St. Ignatius of Loyola
Simpsons Henry VIII (warning, crass humour)
Lord Nelson buried in St. Paul’s
Capuchins
A Capuchin Chronicle
Man sentenced to Capuchin monastery begs to go to jail because religious life is too hard
St. Charles Borromeo
St. Philip Neri
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Today we are joined by Chris Ferrara, the president of the Catholic Lawyers Association, a well known Columnist for the Remnant, the author of The Great Façade, The Church and the Libertarian, and his magnum opus: Liberty: The God that Failed. Chris today, comments on where Francis appears to be taking us with Laudato Si. Should we cheer the anti-globalist sentiments and the condemnation of Malthusian approaches? Should we celebrate the few scant references to abortion? Or are there foundational problems with the language in the encyclical that we should be weary of? Should Distributists harken to the condemnations of globalism and abuse of resources? Or is there a radical departure from the tradition of Catholic thought which we should be worried about? Join us for an in depth conversation on the document.
Today is the feast of the twin martyrs, St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. There are books yet to be written on both, for all that have been written, but since so many more have been written on the latter I wish to write more on the former.
Now, in the first place, Fisher was a far greater theologian than St. Thomas More, who was a rhetorician and a lawyer, though no less devout a layman than Fisher was a bishop. Fisher established the seminary system in all but name, and made sure good preaching was the norm. This is rather an interesting thing. In the late Renaissance, patronage, which was designed to move ahead those who were worthy had become instead a way of rewarding friends and picking favorites. Men became pastors and bishops solely due to royal favor, and the Popes tended not to care because they received the first year’s income of that diocese, a sort of Church tax called the Annates. Suffice it to say the whole thing had gone very wrong in the fifteenth century, and now preaching was a rarity. Some Bishops did not preach a sermon in their lives. Many bishops lived elsewhere, and would attempt to have other dioceses consecrated under them, or when those had been exhausted abbeys, so they could live it up in Paris or Rome or some other large city, and appoint a vicar for low pay to administer his diocese. These often did not do so well, particularly since they were not paid for the job. At the time St. Charles Borromeo entered Milan as its Archbishop, there had not been a Bishop who actually resided in Milan for 125 years! Yet that holy reforming bishop had a portrait of two saints in his room, one of St. Ambrose, and the other of St. John Fisher.
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Today we are joined by Fr. Michael Driscoll, a priest of the diocese of Peoria IL, for a frank conversation about the TLM vs. the NO, issues in the liturgy following Vatican II, as well as issues relating to exorcism and his book Demons, Deliverance Discernment: Separating Fact from Fiction about the Spirit World. Continue reading
Just today is a historic day for Bellarmine. Today is the first time his work “On the Roman Pontiff” has been made available in English translation. This is a beautiful and fantastic polemical and apologetic work defending the Papacy from the attacks of 16th century Protestants, many of the arguments of whom are used today, even though Bellarmine actually refuted them quite well.
Now, I have a special offer for readers of this website. This work retails for $20.00 on Mediatrix Press, but I have arranged that readers of this website may purchase the book at a discount using the following link: Athanasius Contra Mundum Discount! That is, with the discount it will be less than the price of On the Marks of the Church even though it is twice the size! This offer won’t last forever.
Thanks again to everyone whose support has made this possible.
Athanasius Contra Mundum 