Showing results by publisher "Learn25" in Religion & Spirituality

Recorded in May of 1966 at at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, The Christian in the World contemplates the value of life on the premise that Christ died for a world he thought was worth dying for.

Hear Thomas Merton’s spiritually edifying voice. Originally recorded in August of 1965 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Greek Tragedy: Suffering Leads to Wisdom considers the parallels between ancient Greek models of suffering (with Sophocles’s play Antigone as an exponent) and Judeo-Christian ideas about suffering and the creation of meaning. This was among the last classes that Merton ever gave to the novice monks at Gethsemani.

The Gospel of Matthew was written at a tumultuous time: the Romans had just destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem and were slaughtering Christians. The gospel is thus entrenched both in Christianity’s Jewish heritage and the message of Jesus. In this talk, Fr. Just provides you with the necessary tools to interpret the Gospel of Matthew, giving you fascinating insights into its composition, parables, relationship to Mark, and much more.

The shortest and oldest of the four gospels, Mark was written in the earliest days of Christianity, when its adherents faced violent persecution. Against this backdrop, Mark provided a source of hope for the young church. With Fr. Felix Just, SJ (PhD, Yale University), as your guide, you will explore Mark's action-packed gospel, looking at its composition, history, and structure before turning to its salient literary features and key stories.

For 2,000 years, Christians have studied the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps no other individual has had such a wide-ranging and powerful impact on the history of the Western world. But deciphering the person of Jesus requires a firm understanding of history, culture, and language. In these lectures, you will gather and interpret evidence about Jesus’ life, exploring the New Testament, the oral tradition, issues of translation, archaeology, and accounts written during Jesus’ life.

Mark is a gospel of action, calling the first Christians to discipleship and encouraging them to have faith even amidst suffering and oppression. With Fr. Felix Just, SJ (PhD, Yale University), you will explore Mark’s vivid portrayal of Jesus and his disciples. You will also encounter minor Bartimaeus, the Syrophoenician woman, and Jairus - each of whom remains a powerful model of discipleship and faith in our time.

The Bible is not just one book but a whole library of books by different authors. In this lecture, Fr. Just situates the New Testament within its literary, historical, and theological context, helping you understand its mingling of genres and its relationship to the Old Testament. You'll study the formation of the canon, the languages used by the New Testament writers, and the order of the books. By learning how to interpret the key features of the New Testament, you will discover new depths in its ancient pages.

Originally recorded in July of 1968 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Eastern Gurus: Holiness, Discipleship, and the Mystical Heart puts forth a prayerful meditation of gurus and Jesus. Now You Know Media - through our exclusive partnership with the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center - is proud to offer a wide selection of archival recordings of Thomas Merton: a Trappist monk, great 20th-century mystic, and beloved author of the 1948 autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain.

Fr. Dan Crosby, OFM Cap., lived with and learned from Blessed Solanus Casey during the last year of Casey's life. Now Fr. Crosby shares his precious memories with you in this moving portrait of a holy and humble miracle worker.

One of the great works of medieval Europe, Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy translates the thought of the Middle Ages into a thrilling narrative. Seven centuries later it remains the most successful merger of theology and philosophy in epic poetry. In in this audio course, you'll gain a philosophical and literary understanding of Dante's masterpiece.

Let one of America's foremost liturgical scholars lead you to a deeper understanding of Catholic beliefs about mortality. If you are a pastor, or if someone in your life is sick or dying, this powerful course is for you. Over the course of our lives, we all mourn the losses of loved ones. We all, at the end, confront death. Despite its certainty, many regard mortality with fear and try to avoid these events. The Catholic Church instead faces this reality with hope, assuring men and women of their final destiny: to live with God forever.

Although he remains the most famous, Luther was by no means the first or last Christian reformer. Understanding his unique importance means situating him in the context of the larger story of church reform. Why did indulgences become the defining issue of the Protestant Reformation? This masterful nine-lecture audio course introduces you to Luther’s life, late-medieval theology and politics, and the ideas that sparked a revolution.

Life During Jesus' Time transports you to the world that shaped Christianity. In 12 lectures, you will navigate the streets Jesus walked, enter the temples the disciples attended, and explore the sociopolitical context in which they lived. Fr. Collins, a renowned New Testament scholar, leads you on this journey with wisdom and wit.

Although it takes only an hour each week, the Mass is one of the most important ways Catholics profess their beliefs in Christian love and mercy. When Catholics express their faith alongside their brothers and sisters, they are not only participating in powerful traditions, but also deepening their spiritual lives. Now, this powerful audio series lets you take a leading liturgical expert as your personal professor anywhere and anytime.

For much of Western history, belief in God seemed universal. As society has grown more secular, however, people have increasingly expressed disbelief in God. Today, a quarter of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, with many identifying as atheists. As the number of atheists has grown, so too have debates around the legitimacy of religion. Too often, these debates have been marked by misunderstanding on both sides.

Thomas Merton was one of the greatest spiritual writers and social critics of the past century. For thousands of men and women, he remains a guide and model for contemplative living, interreligious dialogue, and intellectual exploration. While many have encountered Merton through his best-selling books on spirituality and contemplation, few are familiar with his powerful - and often prescient - insights about vital social and cultural issues of his day.

This brilliantly taught audio course will ignite your imagination and enrich your mind. In 12 illuminating lectures, award-winning professor and acclaimed historian Prof. Christopher M. Bellitto (PhD, Fordham University) makes medieval history both engaging and enlightening. Throughout history, humans have conjured images to understand their relationships with other Christians, the wider world, and God. For medieval men and women, those images came from Christendom, which was the air they breathed.

The Trinity is the foundation of Christian faith, the lifeblood of its liturgy. In this remarkable course, you will come to understand the Trinitarian theology and history as never before. Your professor is Fr. David Vincent Meconi, SJ (DPhil, the University of Oxford), an expert on early Church history and an award-winning theology professor at Saint Louis University. The idea of one God as three persons cannot be understood through human reason alone. Indeed, the doctrine of the Trinity was not something that early Christians fully grasped.

The Second Vatican II emphasized the necessity of mission; in Ad Gentes we learn that "the Church, driven by inner necessity of her own catholicity, and obeying the mandate of her Founder, strives ever to proclaim the Gospel to all men." Today, all dioceses, parishes, and Christians are called to continue Jesus' mission to make God's love, salvation, and justice a reality on earth.

Recorded by a monk and mystic who changed the world, these newly remastered lectures showcase Thomas Merton's brilliant teaching. Originally delivered at the Abbey of Gethsemani to his fellow monks, Thomas Merton's talks invite you on a journey through monastic and contemplative history. Under his guidance, you will encounter the great figures of the Christian monastic tradition: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Benedict, John Cassian, Basil, and Charlemagne.