IP#150 Vivian Dudro – Jose Luis Olaizola’s “Fire of Love” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

IP#281 Vivian Dudro - Meriol Trevor's "Shadows and Images" on Inside the Pages 1
Vivian Dudro

What a delight to be joined once again by Vivian Dudro to discuss the work of Spanish novelist Jose Luis Olaizola and his book “Fire of Love: A Historical Novel on the Life St. John of the Cross”!  Olaizola is an award-winning Spanish writer, who is known for his acclaimed works on great historical figures such as El Cid, Hernan Cortes, Bartolome de las Casas, and Patricio Escobar.  In this book, he richly offers the life of the great Spanish mystical doctor of the Church, St. John of the Cross.

Jose Luis Olaizola
Jose Luis Olaizola

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You can find the book here

This historical novel paints a striking portrait of one of the most revered saints in history, in a landscape that makes the life and times of John of the Cross relevant to our own age. Here is an extraordinary adventure that explores the thorny challenges that every soul must face: avoiding the trappings of this world that lead to darkness, and embracing the radiance of the fire of Divine Love. Having performed the life of this great saint as an actor, I found Jose Luis Olaizola’s portrayal very true to the passion and dramatic intensity of this great mystic. Fire of Love rekindled in me the fire ignited by Saint John of the Cross in his poetic plea, ‘Love Him intensely, as He deserves to be loved.’ May all who read this literary work examine their own souls profoundly, in order to have the greatest of all adventures – finding God Himself. —Leonardo Defilippis, Film Actor & Director, John of the Cross

IP#1 Kimberly Hahn – “Beloved and Blessed” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor


What a blessing to have my first “Inside the Pages” show be with Kimberly Hahn!  She is an inspiration on Kimberly-Hahnso many levels.  The entire “Life-Nurturing Love” series is wonderful (book and DVD).  When you read Kimberly Hahn, you can’t help but feel you are receiving the best advice from a wise and cherished friend.  With good humor and joy, Kimberly offers Christ-centered teaching from the heart of the Church in her unique maternal-nurturing way. Beloved and Blessed is one of the most important witnesses in recent times on how to truly live out God’s design for marriage.

download (1) Click here to purchase Kimberly’s book online at www.servantbooks.org

The third in a series of Bible studies based on Proverbs 31, Beloved and Blessed offers tools to help you strengthen your marriage and raise your children, creating a civilization of love in your home. Applying Sacred Scripture, Church teaching, and pastoral wisdom, Kimberly Hahn helps you explore:

  • Marital intimacy
  • Responsible parenthood
  • Facing the financial future without fear
  • Strategies for disciplining and instructing children
  • Trusting God when parenting hurts

Discussion questions help you apply the material to your own life and make the book a valuable resource for small group discussion.

 

 

IP#316 Rod Dreher – The Benedict Option on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

We could not be more enthusiastic about bringing forward any book this year than we are with Rod Dreher’s ” The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation”!  Relying on the wisdom of St. Benedict of Nursia, Rod suggests that the answer to the moral chaos that has affected our culture is to embrace the principles of order, hospitality, stability, and prayer.  These core attributes can become solid foundations of all Chris­tians—Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox—and can transform our lives, families and the culture that surrounds us. “Neither false optimism nor fatalistic despair will do” as so well stated in the book description “Only faith, hope, and love, embodied in a renewed church, can sustain believers in the dark age that have overtaken us. These are the days for building strong arks for the long journey across a sea of night.”  Highly recommended!

 

You can find the book here

“A terrific book: provocative in its content, shrewd in its insights, vivid and engaging in its style. The strength of The Benedict Option is not just its analysis of our culture’s developing problems but its outline of practical ways Christians can survive and thrive in a dramatically different America. This is an invaluable tool for understanding our times and acting as faithful believers.”
—Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia

 

IP#246 Devin Schadt – “Joseph’s Way” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Devin Schadt  offers  a tremendous work proclaiming St. Joseph as a model for the authentic expression of manhood and fatherhood.  In ” Joseph’s Way: The Call to Fatherly Greatness: Part I: Prayer of Faith”, he shares his compelling personal witness to the great saint’s role in his life.  He also uses  Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and many other outstanding resources, to fashion a study that helps to deepen the faith of those who walk with good St. Joseph through the perils men, as well as their families, face in our world today.

 

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Among the most serious crises facing our nation and the world is the crisis of fatherhood. Indeed, if the world is to be converted, the Church must be renewed. If the macro-Church is to be renewed, the micro church of the family must be restored. And if the family is to be restored and re-vitalized, the man who is both husband and father must become who God has created him to be – a father on earth like the Father in heaven. Joseph’s Way: The Call to Fatherly Greatness, Part I: Prayer of Faith is the first in a four book series that comprises an in-depth vision of the human father as seen through the lens of St. Joseph and the patriarchs. By comparing Abraham the ‘Father in Faith’, with St. Joseph the just father who lived by faith fathers will discover the power of their vocation and their essential role in rebuilding society. Joseph’s Way: The Call to Fatherly Greatness, Part I: Prayer of Faith helps men become great fathers by re-discovering the hidden greatness of fatherhood.

 

IP#217 Pat Gohn – Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

What a sheer delight to talk with Pat Gohn about “Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious:  Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood”!  This book is a tour de force of insight on the unique gift of the authentic feminine nature.  Pat has an engaging writing ability which richly and warmly blends the teachings of the Church and the Saints with her personal experience and witness.  She is informative, sensitive,  affirming and challenging; in her you will find the best qualities of the maternal nurturing nature.  Pat Gohn can be considered a trusted spiritual mentor for the seeking hearts of women.  After reading this book, if a woman is ever asked “Do you believe you are a beloved daughter of God?” she will more than likely be compelled to answer beautifully and bodaciously, “YES”!

Blessed-BeautfulYou can find the book here

Be sure to visit Pat Gohn’s wonderful website found here

“In a simple and heartfelt manner, Pat Gohn breaks open the meaning of being a woman, offering insights and encouragement from her own experience. In a world filled with messages distorting the real beauty of womanhood, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious is a breath of fresh air. Inspirational, yet very practical!” —Anastasia Northrop, President of Theology of the Body International Alliance, Founder of the National Catholic Single Conference

“Pat Gohn makes a convincing argument that–contrary to most media messaging–the Catholic Church has been sharing a view of the fullness of feminine genius, strength, and beauty that is downright holistic at its well-rounded depths. Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious is such a perfectly-timed (and sanely, gently offered) look at the ‘being’ part of modern womanhood that I cannot help but think the Holy Spirit wants this message out!” —Elizabeth Scalia, Author of Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life

IP#310 Sonja Corbitt – Fearless on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor


No one swings the Sword of Truth quite like Sonja Corbitt; she is amazing! “Fearless: Conquer Your Demons and Love with Abandon” is a Catholic Women’s guide to spiritual warfare!  We cannot recommend this book more highly as a balanced, thorough, and inspiring approach to the subject of “battling the enemy.”

You can find the book here

From the book description:

In Unleashed, Corbitt identified the spiritual wounds that reveal themselves through the harmful patterns and relationships in our lives. In Fearless, she offers scriptural tools that help us understand and conquer the demons of sin, Satan, self, and sloth. She helps us recognize the methods the devil uses to keep us enslaved, and she immerses us in a profound contemplation of love, which is the only possible weapon against the spirit of fear.

In this book, you will come to understand

    • the spiritual roots of fear, depression, and anxiety;
    • ways to “abide” in Christ and find freedom from fear;

signs of negative spiritual suggestion and influence in your daily life;

  • the deep, personal lies we believe that keep us slaves to fear;
  • specific truths about the limitations of Satan’s power and character;
  • the “pieces” of spiritual armor that protect us from fear; and
  • how to rest fully in God’s goodness and love.

Each chapter contains features that will make it a popular resource for personal and group study: review notes, an invitation to prayer, and a series of probing questions (called God Prompts) that encourage you to explore the content in a deeply personal way. Fearless offers encouragement to those who are anxious or fearful about the future and who seek a spiritual solution.

IP#163 Vivian Dudro – Evelyn Waugh’s “Edmund Campion” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

IP#281 Vivian Dudro - Meriol Trevor's "Shadows and Images" on Inside the Pages 1
Vivian Dudro

I love the writing of Evelyn Waugh…his prose are some of the best of our time, if not of all time.  And when that talent is used to pen a biography of the heroic English martyr, Edmund Campion, a tremendous blessing has been given to all who glean it’s pages.  What a story…what a life.  We are joined once again by the wonderful Vivian Dudro to discuss this incredible work, as well as the life and times of this great saint.

edmundcampion-bookYou can find the book here

From the description:

evelyn-waugh
Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh presented his biography of St. Edmund Campion, the Elizabethan poet, scholar, and gentleman who became the haunted, trapped and murdered priest as “a simple, perfectly true story of heroism and holiness.”

 

But it is written with a novelist’s eye for the telling incident and with all the elegance and feeling of a master of English prose. From the years ofsuccess as an Oxford scholar, to entry into the newly founded Society of Jesus and a professorship in Prague, Campion’s life was an inexorable progress towards the doomed mission to England. There followed pursuit, betrayal, a spirited defense of loyalty to the Queen, and a horrifying martyr’s death at Tyburn.edmund-campion-220x300

IP#127 Dale Ahlquist – In Defense of Sanity on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

ahlquist

How can you possibly pick the best of G. K. Chesterton’s essays?  Thank goodness for Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Aidan Mackey!  Leading authorities on all things G. K. they’ve done it for us…and what a feast!  From cheese to Jane Austen, barbarians to “what is right with the world,” G. K. covers it all.  And the beauty is that it is still as relevant today as it was in his day…that’s the mark of genius, or more accurately, authentic wisdom and grace.  It is always a joy to talk with Dale Ahlquist!  He is the “good son” of G. K.  Have fun with the listen and then read “In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton.”

in-defense-of-sanity-196x300You can find the book here

From the book description:

The variety of topics are astounding: barbarians, architects, mystics, ghosts, fireworks, rain, juries, gargoyles and much more. Plus a look at Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen, George MacDonald, T.S. Eliot, and the Bible. All in that inimitable, formidable but always quotable style of GKC. Even more astounding than the variety is the continuity of Chesterton’s thought that ties everything together. A veritable feast for the mind and heart.

While some of the essays in this volume may be familiar, many of them are collected here for the first time, making their first appearance in over a century.

IP#228 Mary Eberstadt – How the West Really Lost God on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

“How the West Really Lost God: A New Theory of Secularization” is a phenomenal book on this subject.web-4  Mary Eberstadt delivers a compelling theory about the decline of the Christian religion in the Western world. By the analysis of data on the family,  from pre-Revolutionary France to contemporary culture in the West, she demonstrates how the natural family is the prime nurturing force for Christianity in society.  When that family structure dissolves, so does the Christian religion in a culture and the rise of secularization is fostered.  While presenting the problem, she also offers hope for the future.   Another fascinating and provocative read by Mary Eberstadt!

How-the-WestYou can find the book here

“An absolutely brilliant and strikingly fresh portrait of the ‘double-helix’ of faith and family, coupled with a potentially game-changing analysis of the why and how of secularization, all written with the sparkle and empathy that characterize the work of one of America’s premier social analysts.” —George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C.
“Mary Eberstadt’s account of the synergistic relationship between the fracturing of the family and declining religiosity is both chilling and utterly convincing. No theorist of secularization has come close to Eberstadt in sociological insight or explanatory power.”

— Mary Ann Glendon, author of The Forum and the Tower: How Scholars and Politicians Have Imagined the World from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt

“A brilliant contribution to the really big question about the future of the West, and a pleasure to read.”—Rodney Stark, author of The Rise of Christianity