FORMED Book Club

Why churches should always be open. Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue to unpack “The Spirit of the Liturgy” by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Support the show

Should we have lay lectors and altar servers at Mass? Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro address “lay participation” as they unpack chapter 3 of “The Spirit of the Liturgy.” Support the show

What Mass was like at St. Peter's in the 1600s—and why it was so strangely beautiful. Fr. Fessio breaks down chapter 3, section 2, of his teacher Joseph Ratzinger's masterpiece "The Spirit of the Liturgy." Support the show

Why your priest SHOULD be facing away from you. Hint: It's not what you think. Father Fessio explains his teacher Joseph Ratzinger's theology of "liturgical east" in this reading of "The Spirit of the Liturgy". Support the show

Life between heaven and earth: how the liturgy touches eternity.  Father Fessio continues to walk us through "The Spirit of the Liturgy" by his teacher, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Support the show

The real meaning of "sacrifice," according to Pope Benedict. Father Fessio walks us, page by page, through chapter 2 of Joseph Ratzinger's masterpiece "The Spirit of the Liturgy." Support the show

What does the liturgy have to do with human happiness? Everything. Fr. Joseph Fessio, a former student and long-time friend of Pope Benedict XVI, leads an introduction to the pope’s groundbreaking book “The Spirit of the Liturgy”. Support the show

What Vatican II did, and didn’t do, to America. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro conclude their discussion of American Pilgrimage by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

How American Catholics responded to the Sexual Revolution—and Humanae Vitae. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue their discussion of American Pilgrimage by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

Nuclear war—and the Catholic response to it. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue their discussion of “American Pilgrimage” by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

Why this book is TOTALLY WRONG about sex and 1960s. Fr. Fessio takes off the gloves as the Formed Book Club discusses “American Pilgrimage” by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

Did Bing Crosby save the Catholic Church in America? Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss another installment of Christopher Shannon’s book “American Pilgrimage.” Support the show

Did Bing Crosby save the Catholic Church in America? Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss another installment of Christopher Shannon’s book “American Pilgrimage”. Support the show

How did Black, Italian, and Irish Catholics get along in America? Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss the age of mass immigration in their ongoing reading of “American Pilgrimage” by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

The British: what they did in America, and what they thought about the Catholic Church. Father Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue discussing “American Pilgrimage” by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

Misfits and martyrs: how the French handled the New World. Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue their breakdown of “American Pilgrimage” by Christopher Shannon. Support the show

The Spanish Conquistadors: good, evil, or both? Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro begin their discussion of Christopher Shannon’s 2022 book American Pilgrimage: A Historical Journey Through Catholic Life in a New World. Support the show

How clear thinking can lead from the depths of despair to the arms of love. This is our last episode on "Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism", edited by Brian Besong and Jonathan Fuqua. Support the show

What can Protestants teach Catholics about their own faith? Father Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro have a debate about the nature of love in this discussion on “Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism,” edited by Brian Besong and Jonathan Fuqua. Support the show

What is faith, and why does it save us? Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro read about the conversion of Lutheran Robert C. Koons to Catholicism in “Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism.” Support the show

Who decided what books were included in the Bible? The answer may shock you. Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss the conversion of philosopher Logan Paul Gage in this study of Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism. Support the show

The power of a beautiful church: Peter Kreeft walks into a cathedral for the first time—and becomes Catholic. Father Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss chapter 5 of Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism, edited by Brian Besong and Jonathan Fuqua. Support the show

The conversions of Brian Cutter and Neal Judisch. Father Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss chapters 3 and 4 of “Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism.” Support the show

Can it be good to be an atheist for a little while? Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss the conversion of philosopher J. Budzisziewski this week on the Formed Book Club as they move through the book Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism, edited by Brian Besong and Jonathan Fuqua. Support the show

Why would a philosopher—a professional thinker—become Catholic? The better question is, why wouldn’t he? Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro begin reading Brian Besong and Jonathan Fuqua’s collection of conversion stories, Faith and Reason: Philosophers Explain Their Turn to Catholicism. Support the show