The Weight of Glory: Recent Episodes
Clayton Emmer
Centered around the themes of the essay The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis, this podcast seeks to highlight ways in which our every encounter leads another person toward beatitude or away from it
A younger version of myself confronts pre-synodal synodality in a suburban parish, In this episode (which I am reproducing here from my Substack feed), I describe a letter I wrote to an ex-priest who came to my home parish back in 1994 to offer an adult education series titled "A Church for Our Children."
Works Cited:
Flannery, Austin, ed. Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents. 1975. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1980.
Hildebrand, Dietrich von. Image of Christ: Saint Francis of Assisi. 1963. Steubenville: Franciscan University Press, 1993.
John Paul II, Pope. Veritatis Splendor: The Splendor of Truth. Boston: Saint Paul Books & Media, 1993.
Closing song: "Do You Really Want to Know?" by Peter Mayer, from the album Heaven Below, copyright 2010.
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In this episode, Kale and I discuss the final pages of The Abolition of Man.
The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 675-676: "The Church's ultimate trial"
Faustian bargain, Britannica.com
Today, in honor of the season of Lent, I'm posting a special episode on The Stations of the Cross.
What follows is a Stations of the Cross text I wrote in 2004, reflecting on the images Mel Gibson provided in his movie The Passion of The Christ. Each mediation also includes a quote from one of my favorite spiritual writers.
In the show notes, you'll find links to learn more about the Stations of the Cross, sources for the quotes used in the meditations, and a link to learn more about the album Via Crucis by Dick Le Mair. Many thanks to Le Mair for granting me the rights to include his music in this episode.
How Did the Stations of the Cross Begin? - Fr. William Saunders
“For God So Loved”: C.S. Lewis’s Four Loves and the Doctrine of Christ’s Atonement - Adam J. Johnson
The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
Text of the meditations inspired by The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson
Quotation sources:
I - Into Your Hands, Father - Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen
II, IX, XII - Via Crucis - Saint Josemaría Escrivá
III - De Interpellatione David - Saint Ambrose of Milan
IV - Salt of the Earth - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
V, VIII - Transformation in Christ - Dietrich von Hildebrand
VI - De pauperum - Saint Gregory of Nazianzen
VII - The Jeweler's Shop - Karol Wojtyla
X - Interior Freedom - Fr. Jacques Philippe
XI - The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae) - Saint Pope John Paul II
XIII - The Splendor of Truth (Veritatis Splendor) - Saint Pope John Paul II
XIV - The Lord's descent into hell - ancient homily for Holy Saturday
Closing prayer - Meditations on the Stations of the Cross - Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman
Music: Via Crucis by Dick Le Mair
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
C.S. Lewis, “Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus,,” God in the Dock (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), pp. 301-303.
Barbara Nicolosi Harrington’s Mystagogy podcast (see mystagogy.net for supporting materials)
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, by Storyhill, from the album Bethlehem
The music in the introduction of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett.
My friend Kale Zelden and I finish discussing the second chapter of The Abolition of Man: “The Way.” We discuss the rebellion of the branch against the tree; whether authority can be interrogated from within or without the Tao; addressing moral relativity before making an apologia for faith; and how the end of this chapter of The Abolition of Man echoes the tower of Babel and The Screwtape Letters.
Click here for the show notes.
My friend Kale Zelden and I begin discussing the second chapter of The Abolition of Man: "The Way." We discuss Innovators and Debunkers, the limits of instinct, and the indispensable role of the Tao.
The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward
Bishop Barron's conversation with evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein
Macbeth - William Shakespeare
Plato's Allegory of the Cave
My friend Kale Zelden and I complete our conversation about the first chapter of The Abolition of Man: "Men Without Chests." We discuss debunking, the cultivation of just sentiments, the Tao, the poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, and the chest as essential mediator between the head and the belly.
The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward
Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - John Vervaeke
Shadowlands
Theology after Wittgenstein - Fergus Kerr
Dulce et Decorum Est - Wilfred Owen
My friend Kale Zelden returns to the podcast to discuss with me The Abolition of Man, a collection of lectures on ethics that C.S. Lewis first delivered in 1943 at the University of Durham. Today's episode contains our opening conversation about The Abolition of Man.
The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward
The Stranger - Albert Camus
A Critical Look at The Stranger: The Culpability of Moral Estrangement
That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis
The Inner Ring - C.S. Lewis
Mis, Dis, Malinformation (MDM) - CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency)
Prebunking - August 28, 2021 issue of WIRED magazine
The second season of this podcast will be focused on the theme of humanity: Specifically, the topic of how to ground our humanity within a truly ethical framework. It's something to which C.S. Lewis gave close attention in a book titled The Abolition of Man, first published in 1943. My friend Kale Zelden will return to discuss the book with me, as we have both appreciated the book for a long time and are eager to revisit it.
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
After Humanity by Father Michael Ward
In today's episode, Kale Zelden and I complete our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. In the last major section of the letter, Benedict XVI speaks of the experience of judgment as a setting for hope. We pick up our reading at paragraph 39.
This episode concludes the first season of the podcast. I'd really appreciate your feedback on the first season of this podcast -- what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd like to see in season two -- by taking a moment to complete a survey.
Podcast Survey: doxaweb.com/survey
Until next season, be well and God bless.
In today's episode, Kale Zelden and I resume our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. Specifically, we read and reflect on paragraphs 32 through 38: Settings for learning and practicing hope. Benedict XVI speaks in these paragraphs of prayer and suffering as two "schools of hope."
The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett. Learn more about Dennis at DennisCrommett.Bandcamp.com or in the show notes.
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, I'd appreciate it if you'd spread the word via your social channels. Most especially, I'd welcome reviews over at Apple Podcasts. There are links in the show notes to make it easier to contact me or to spread the word.
In honor of the approaching solemnity of Pentecost, I'm posting a special episode today on the grace of Pentecost and loving the Church. It's a presentation I recorded in Los Angeles back in 2008, when I had the chance to hear then-Father (and now Cardinal) Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap give a talk sponsored by the Southern California Renewal Conference (SCRC).
Cantalamessa's words about divisions in the body of Christ, the importance of each person seeking the good of the other, and the value of loving the Church and sharing her shame, seem as timely now as they did a dozen years ago.
The music in the introduction and close of this episode is provided by Harmath Dénes Izidor.
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, I'd appreciate it if you'd 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. There are links in the show notes to make it easier to contact me and to spread the word.
Today's episode will cover paragraphs 24 through 31 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: what is the true shape of Christian hope?
I had recorded a conversation about these paragraphs with my friend Kale Zelden, but the audio somehow didn't survive the recording process, so today's episode will be a simple reading of these paragraphs. But more than any other part of the letter, this section is the culmination of everything that has been discussed before, so it really needs no additional commentary. At the midpoint of the letter, with characteristically clear prose and depth of insight, Pope Benedict XVI brings to light the contours of Christian hope.
Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope) by Pope Benedict XVI, 2007
In today's episode, my friend Kale and I reflect on paragraphs 16 through 23 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: how has the concept of Christian hope been transformed in the modern age? More specifically, how has modernity reappropriated the concepts of faith and hope in the service of secular goals?
My friend Kale Zelden and I reflect on paragraphs 13 through 15 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: Is Christian Hope Individualistic? This question leads to a wide-ranging conversation about the role of Christian community, and its importance in our initiation and reconciliation with God in the Church.
Show notes/resources:
Confession and General Absolution
"Party of Christ... or Church of Jesus Christ?" in Called to Communion, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 1996
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.
Jack Sacco, an engineer and writer by trade, interviewed a multi-disciplinary group of scientists who were given access to study the Shroud in 1978. This two-hour presentation summarizes the remarkable findings of that scientific research. The venue for the talk was Saint Monica's Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California, and the speaker was introduced by Father Willy Raymond, CSC.
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.
Music for this episode was provided by 3brass.
https://doxaweb.com/blog/2021/03/30/the-shroud-of-turin/
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.
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 Movie
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.
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 (September 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)
Victor Turner,
Beginning this month (January 2021), I'll be releasing several episodes that I recently recorded with a longtime friend of mine, Kale Zelden, as we engage in a close reading of a letter by Pope Benedict XVI on the theme of hope. This letter, entitled Spe Salvi or "The Hope that Saves," has several points of convergence with the work of C.S. Lewis.
In the current pandemic, nothing is more evident than our diverse attitudes toward our vulnerability and the ephemeral quality of life in this world. The aversion to risk and the obsession with surviving at any cost have been thrown into very sharp relief.
In this context, I think that an essay by C.S. Lewis entitled On Living in an Atomic Age, first published in 1948, is incredibly relevant to the current hour.
To illustrate the point, I have adapted the essay to speak not about the atomic age, but about the age of COVID.
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
Present Concerns: Journalistic EssaysOn Living in a COVID AgeOxymorons and the science of being human9 Ways Catholics Should Respond to the Threat of COVID-19 Church Shutdowns
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
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.
Welcome to the Weight of Glory Podcast, an audio podcast designed to explore themes related to a sermon preached by C.S. Lewis seventy-eight years ago this week. The inaugural episode of the podcast is a reading of Lewis' essay.
Music for the podcast (Let It All Go from the acoustic album Already/Not Yet) has been provided through the generosity of Jeremy Casella (https://jeremycasella.com)