Undusted Texts

 Introduction The little essay below is one I wrote back in 2015, an account of St. Ephraim the Syrian's interpretation of Genesis 3, drawing on his Hymns on Paradise and his Commentary on Genesis .  It is not much more than a synopsis of St. Ephraim's views, but it at least makes those interesting views a little more accessible.   The Battle for Paradise According to St. Ephraim the Syrian “ Joyfully did I embark on the tale of Paradise—a tale that is short to read but rich to explore”: thus did St. Ephraim declare ( Hymns on Paradise 1.3 in Sebastian Brock’s translation), and so it is. In the text of Scripture, men spend little time in the true Paradise (though in Greek a garden like Susannah’s is called “paradise”), yet those few verses are flowing with spiritual milk and honey. Many have explored these passages (as did St. John Paul II in his monumental Theology of the Body ), but here we explain the reading of Ephraim, the Harp of the Holy Spirit. Paradise was ...

I have added a number of old papers to my website.  One of them, "The Marriage Liturgy and the Married Life," is an interesting reflection based on the Byzantine Rite of Crowning; it certainly wasn't for a class, and I don't think I ever attempted publication of it.  (In connection with this essay, one might want to peruse my undergraduate thesis, "The Symbolism of the Mystery of Crowning." )  Most of the rest are old school papers, mostly from my graduate courses: "Θεία νύξ: The Mystical Union as Unknowing in St. Gregory of Nyssa and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite" (2012)  "The History and Legacy of Photios I, Patriarch of Constantinople" (2014) "The Exegetical Principles of Joseph Ratzinger" (2014) "The Spirituality of St. Hildegard of Bingen" (2015) "The Effects of Liturgy on Culture" (2016)  Finally, I have rescued from the abyss of the Internet my very first published writing, "The Best Meani...

  The Clovisiade of Jean-Marie Gabriel Darrodes de Lillebonne  Background By the 1800s, zeal for Christian epics had burned up all its fuel: though long narrative poems were still quite popular (as seen, in English, in Southey, Scott, Tennyson, Longfellow, etc.), the epic style was now outré .  Even by the 1700s, few were hits, besides Klopstock's Der Messias (1748-1773).  The quest to craft a Christian epic was quixotic in the 1800s: even more delusional was the hope that readers would pay for it. Yet such material considerations did not stop Jean-Marie-Gabriel d'Arodes de Lillebonne (1781-1838).  He wrote a few shorter poetic works—some Diverse Little Works (1805), and a book of Odes to the Emperor Napoleon (1806)—but his chief-work was the The Clovisiade, or, The Triumph of Christianity in France .  It was intended as a monumental work of 24 cantos, matching the Iliad or the Odyssey (though still short of Nonnos of Panopolis' 48-canto Dionysiaca );...

  My most recent traditionally-published book is now available for pre-order : Seeking the Heart of Christ: Christian Reflections on the Interior Life , by St. Claude La Colombière (1641-1682).  See the publisher's blurb below: "Discover the wisdom of St. Claude La Colombière (1641–1682), the Jesuit saint who was the confessor to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and championed devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Seeking the Heart of Christ: Christian Reflections on the Interior Life , you will find a treasury of spiritual reflections that inspire deeper faith, encourage virtue, and guide the soul toward holiness. This remarkable collection of sermons explores essential topics of Christian living, including the sweetness of virtue and the humble submission to the will of God. La Colombière also offers profound meditations on the need for repentance, the benefits of frequent Communion, and the transformative power of the Mass. He addresses the practical struggles of li...

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...

  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 ...

 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...

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...

 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...

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:       EDIT: one final interview: 6/05/2025: Radio Maria https://radiomaria.us/meet-the-author-with-ken-huck-june-5-2025-brandon-otto-my-burden-is-light-suffering-and-consolation-in-the-christian-life-by-st-john-of-avila-and-david-bonagura-jr/    

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.  

 This is a digitized VHS copy of the Enthronement of Archbishop Basil M. Schott, OFM, as Metropolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh.  It took place on July 9, 2002, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Munhall, PA.  Basil Schott (1939-2010) served as Bishop of Parma from 1996 to 2002, and then as Metropolitan of Pittsburgh from 2002 until his death from lymphoma in 2010.