Today we honor Mary and celebrate one of the best works of literature—Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

Get Your Copy of “Tolkien: Man and Myth” here: https://ignatius.com/tolkien-man-and-myth-tmanp/?searchid=4510931&search_query=tolkien+

March 25th marks the feast of the Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. But this date also marks the destruction of the one ring in Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” So we were joined by a Tolkien scholar, Joseph Pearce, to talk about the author of this great myth and to explain the significance of this date in Middle Earth.

Joseph and Ben Eriksen discuss the major influences on Tolkien as both a man and the author and uncover many themes within Tolkien’s writings such as hope, eucatastophes, and Catholicism. They also talk about the true meaning of a “myth” which is not a flight from reality, but a flight into reality. Finally, Joseph gives his thoughts on the film adaptations of the “Lord of the Rings,” “the Hobbit,” and other recent film adaptations. For those who love Tolkien, this in-depth conversation of Tolkien’s Middle Earth is one that you will truly enjoy!

Visit Joseph Pearce's Website Here: https://jpearce.co/

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0:00 March 25 The Annunciation in Middle Earth

3:20 Reading The Lord of the Rings in Prison

13:05 Critical Response to The Lord of the Rings in its Day

15:41 Purpose of Myth and Fairy Tales

20:55 Friendship with C.S. Lewis

24:28 Hope, Melancholy, and Longing in Tolkien

30:29 Eucatastrophe and the Consolation of the Happy Ending

36:15 Thoughts on The Lord of the Rings Movies

44:12 Middle Earth and Our Earth

49:47 How to be a Tolkien-Approved Fan of Middle Earth

Ask and you shall receive! You wanted a smaller Catholic Study Bible and now it is avaliable in a personal size and on an app.

Personal Sized Bible: https://ignatius.com/ignatius-catholic-study-bible-personal-size-2psh/?searchid=0&search_query=study+bible

App: https://www.catholicstudybible.org/

Bundle Deal: https://ignatius.com/ignatius-personal-size-study-bible-hardcover-bundle-2pshx/

We are overwhelmed with the positive feedback about the Catholic Study Bible! But we realize that while the first edition is suitable for our desks, it is not easy to transport or hold in your hand. So over the past year, we custom milled paper to reduce the size and weight of the Catholic Study Bible without taking out any of the information.

The personal sized Catholic Study Bible is the exact same as the original, except it is two pounds lighter and significantly smaller in height, length, and width. The font size has only been reduced by one point as well so it is still very readable.

We also partner with TruthGuard to come out with the Catholic Study Bible app so that you can take the Study Bible on the go.

We are grateful Mark Brumley could join us to talk about these exciting new products, and we pray that this Bible will help you unpack God’s Word in your life.

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Dr. Peter Kreeft believes that the best argument against God’s existence is the problem of pain, and in today’s episode he provides spiritual insights into this mystery.

Get Your Copy of “Making Sense Out Suffering” here (Book Releases 3/20): https://ignatius.com/making-sense-out-of-suffering-msosp/?searchid=0&search_query=making+sense+of+suffering

Suffering afflicts us all; whether you are suffering now or will experience great suffering in the future. Naturally, suffering causes us to question God’s love, His providence, and even His existence. But suffering must not cause us to reject God; instead we must wrestle with Him and ultimately unite ourselves with Him.

Dr. Peter Kreeft beautifully illustrates this process of wrestling with God in this episode and in his book “Making Sense of Suffering.” Written when he himself was going through great suffering, Dr. Kreeft blends personal experience, spiritual wisdom, and philosophical perspective to reveal the truly Catholic approach to suffering. This book is not written on the mountain top as one who no longer suffers or has all the answers, but from one in the valley of tears who encourages his fellow Christian to look to the Heavens. We highly recommend this book and conversation for all who experience great pain, sadness, or suffering. It will be a true consolation but also a challenge as we place all our trust and hope in God.

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Learn how God’s grace is always active in both patients and doctors by reading Dr. Collin’s new book “You Visited Me” https://ignatius.com/you-visited-me-yvmp/?searchid=0&search_query=you+visited+me

Dr. Robert Collins is a leading oncologist who joins Andrew Petiprin today to talk about his experiences as a Catholic doctor in a major modern medical center. He tells stories about patients who experienced God’s graces of physical and spiritual healing. He also marvels at the Christian witness to the faith within the medical system, which influenced his own conversion from agnosticism to Catholicism. His experiences show us that God’s love is always present even in the most difficult and tragic circumstances.

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Are you a priest or discerning a vocation to the priesthood or know somebody who is discerning? Then this is the book for you—“Distributed Like Bread” (pre-order for release at 3.2.26) https://ignatius.com/distributed-like-bread-dlbp/?searchid=0&search_query=distributed

Hans Urs von Balthasar is well known for his great contributions to theology, but few know of his practical thoughts on priesthood and discernment. Therefore, in today’s episode, Dr. Jonathan Ciraulo and Andrew Petiprin discuss Fr. Balthasar and how he integrated his scholarly life and his priestly vocation. Dr. Ciraulo points out that Fr. Balthasar never received any formal education in theology beyond his time at the seminar and he sought to remain a student chaplain instead of an academic position. This kept him grounded in his theology and uniquely fit to guide priests and those in the process of discernment.

Dr. Ciraulo highlights Fr. Balthasar’s humility, his intellectual curiosity, and his openness to God. They also discuss Balthasar’s thoughts on priestly celibacy and donatism—the heresy that claims that validity of the sacraments depends on the virtue of the priest. This insightful discussion and corresponding book “Distributed Like Bread” will truly help give all people a greater appreciation for this supernatural vocation.

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This Lent seek the face of God to bring about a second conversion.

Get Your Copy of Fr. Haggerty’s book “Conversion” here: https://ignatius.com/conversion-cnvp/?searchid=0&search_query=conversion

In today’s episode, Fr. Haggerty talks with Andrew Petiprin about the importance of continual conversion. They recognize that it is often easy for Christians to get in certain habits and become comfortable where they are at spiritually. Fr. Haggerty encourages us to renew out love for God and provides helpful pastoral guidance to reach a new spiritual depth and integration. He also outlines some of the common attacks made by the evil one and how we can combat them effectively. In particular, he beautifully highlights the necessity of prayer, giving to the poor, and spiritual simplicity. The insights provided by Fr. Haggerty both in this podcast and in his book “Conversion” are sure to help you grow in holiness this Lent.

Get Fr. Haggerty’s “The Hour of Testing: Spiritual Depth and Insight in a Time of Ecclesial Uncertainty” here: https://ignatius.com/the-hour-of-testing-htp/

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On February 11th, we celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes and what better way to celebrate than to pray and watch the official movie of St. Bernadette: https://ignatius.com/bernadette-ber2m/

THE PASSION OF BERNADETTE (movie) https://ignatius.com/the-passion-of-bernadette-pbm/

A HOLY LIFE: The Writings of St. Bernadette https://ignatius.com/a-holy-life-hlp/?searchid=4144692&search_query=patricia+mce

THE SONG OF BERNADETTE https://ignatius.com/the-song-of-bernadette-songp/

LOURDES: Healing and Rebirth https://ignatius.com/lourdes-lhrp/?searchid=4144696&search_query=lourdes

Today, Anthony Ryan, head of marketing at Ignatius Press, sits down with Andrew Petiprin to discuss Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette Soubirous. This conversation is guided by his great love for Mary and St. Bernadette because it is through the Ignatius Press offerings that he came to know more about them.

This conversation not only highlights the many offerings Ignatius Press has about the apparitions at Lourdes, but Andrew and Anthony also discuss the history of Lourdes and how it impacted the actress Sydney Penny, the singer Jennifer Warnes, and the saint Maximilian Kolbe. We hope that you listen to this podcast and purchase one of our many offerings so you too can learn more about these miraculous events and the often-overlooked saint—St. Bernadette.

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Are you saved? Dr. Barber explains that salvation is not just a future event.

Get Your Copy of “Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know”: https://ignatius.com/salvation-swckp/

In today’s episode, Dr. Barber and Ben Eriksen discuss salvation—the reason Christ became man, died, and rose from the dead. Despite the centrality of salvation, Dr. Barber claims that Catholics don’t talk about salvation as much as we should and argues that our understanding of salvation is of great practical importance. He tries to dispel the common misunderstandings of salvation to foster greater conversion and evangelization.

This extremely thoughtful and challenging episode is a must watch for all Catholics!

Dr. Michael Barber’s Social Media:

· https://www.instagram.com/michaelpatrickbarber/

· https://x.com/michaelpbarber

· https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelpbarber

· https://www.youtube.com/@Michael.Patrick.Barber

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