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Free Book Release: "The Social Teachings of Pope Leo XIII: Encyclicals and Excerpts"

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  The Social Teachings of Pope Leo XIII Encyclicals and Excerpts Download EPUB here Download AZW3 (Kindle) here Download on Kobo   [EDIT: It was brought to my attention that there might be copyright issues with the reproduction of these translations.  I am clarifying with the Libraria Editrice Vaticana, and this book is temporarily delisted until I receive a response.] The recently-elected Pope Leo XIV chose his regnal name due to the social teachings of his predecessor, Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878-1903).  To make said teachings more easily available, I have collected Pope Leo XIII's encyclicals on social issues, as well as excerpts from encyclicals that show Pope Leo applying his principles to concrete situations.   This collection includes the entire "Leonine Corpus" canonized by Étienne Gilson in his The Church Speaks to the Modern World: The Social Teachings of Leo XIII , as well as numerous encyclicals not included by Gilson.  Texts are taken from ...

New Options for Book-Buying

Previously, I have only released my self-published books on Amazon, as their self-publishing service is easy to work with, and they are by far the most popular bookstore in the world.  However, for good reasons, many do not like to use Amazon; for anyone without a Kindle, Amazon's eBooks are unusable.  So I am beginning to expand my eBook distribution to other storefronts. The first new storefront is Rakuten Kobo.  My recent free collection of Pope Leo XIII's social encyclicals is available on Kobo , and I have just released my translation of Francis Jammes' The Rosary in the Sun on Kobo as well.  My other books will be added on Kobo as their various Amazon exclusivity deals run out.  (Which means, if you want to read them for free on Kindle Unlimited, do so soon: only Amazon exclusives can be a part of Kindle Unlimited, so they'll be removed from the service when the deals run out.)   In the near future, I am hoping to also offer my books on Apple Bo...

Pope Leo XIV (Robert F. Prevost): Evangelization and Mass Media

 Below is a short reflection then-Fr. Prevost gave on October 11, 2012, during the 2012 Synod on the New Evangelization.  Hat tip to Redditor unconscionable for finding this.  The Vatican source can be found here .  Below is merely an excerpt; audio of the full address can be found here: Part 1 , Part 2 .   Evangelization and Mass Media Fr. Robert F. Prevost, O.S.A.  October 11, 2012 At least in the contemporary western world, if not throughout the entire world, the human imagination concerning both religious faith and ethics is largely shaped by mass media, especially by television and cinema. Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel. However, overt opposition to Christianity by mass media is only part of the problem. The sympathy for anti-Christian lifestyle choices that mass media fosters is so brilliantly and artfully engrained in...

Pope Leo XIV (Robert F. Prevost): "The Servant Leader in the Perspective of Augustinian Spirituality"

Habemus papam! Here is a link to a 2005 address from Pope Leo XIV (then simply Fr. Robert F. Prevost, OSA): "The Servant Leader in the Perspective of Augustinian Spirituality. "  The address was given to the Congress of O.S.A. Educators and Schools in Rome. Thanks to Reddit user u/leibnizean for posting the link to this address.  Below is the full text of the address. The Servant Leader in the Perspective of Augustinian Spirituality Fr. Robert F. Prevost, O.S.A. Prior General 2001-2013 Order of Saint Augustine July 25, 2005 Introduction Early in the year 387, (so after Augustine's “conversion experience” in the garden, but before his baptism), we find Augustine - according to a letter he wrote to his good friend Nebridius - “stretched out on his bed, in the still of the night, holding dialogues with himself.” (Letter 3, 1). These reflections are, in large part, the result of a similar process. It is my hope that such late night “dialogues” will have come tog...

John W. Lynch: "The Cross and the Crib"

 Introduction John W. Lynch, S.M. (1904-1970) was a priest, poet, and author; he lived and served in New York.  His most famous work is a long poem about Mary, A Woman Wrapped in Silence (1941), which I discussed in an article years ago ( "Expanding the Narratives of Scripture" ).  He wrote many other poems, which seem to be mostly scattered in journals and newspapers, or stuffed into his prose books, as well as a long poem on the life of Christ, This Little While , a companion to A Woman Wrapped in Silence .  (A portion of This Little While , "The Crucifixion," can be found here: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 ).   Among his prose works are Bernadette: The Only Witness , The Deed of God , and  Hourglass: Stories of a Measured Year .  This last book is a mixture of short reflections, poems, and stories loosely arranged across the course of the Church year.  Below is one of those reflections, on the connection of the Nativity and the Passion, a th...

Recent Interviews on St. John of Ávila

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To promote my recent book of sermons by St. John of Ávila, My Burden Is Light , I have taken part in some radio interviews.  Below are links to some recent interviews.   2/17/2025: The Catholic Morning Show (Iowa Catholic Radio)   2/23/2025: Wake Up! (Catholic Community Radio) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wake-up-2-24-2025-my-burden-is-light-teens-and-new/id524572403?i=1000695895749   3/05/2025: CFN Live (Catholic Faith Network)         In addition, Mary Harrell at TAN Books interviewed me for a promotional video:    

Episcopal Ordination and Enthronement of John Michael Kudrick as Bishop of Parma (2002)

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This is a digitized VHS copy of the Episcopal Ordination and Enthronement Liturgy of Bishop John Michael Kudrick, TOR, as Bishop of Parma.  The Liturgy was celebrated on July 10, 2002, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma, OH.  Bishop Kudrick served as Bishop of Parma from 2002 until his resignation in 2016.