The 13th Apostle

Miss Sally’s Son by Thomas Curry

Upon the sudden death of his mother, Jack Benton, her only child, returns home to help settle her affairs. Though close to his mother, Jack has been living in Berlin, immersed in his career as an international lawyer, and hasn’t been home in two years. In a long letter his mother left him, Jack learns stunning details about his father for the first time—a famous figure in the Catholic world whom Jack never knew. This sets Jack on a spiritual journey to reclaim his Catholic faith, and in the process he acquires a new family. Listen as the two "Toms", Caffrey and Curry, explore matters of truth, generosity, self-discovery and love in this wonderfully entertaining story: Miss Sally's Son. Our thanks to Ignatius Press for the review copy and to publicist Susan Nutt for arranging the conversation.

Papa Stronsay

Inspired by the father of all monks, Saint Antony of the Desert, a group of Irish Catholic monks set sail more than 1,400 years ago to discover a “desert in the pathless sea.” They sought an island that, while physically set apart could also be made holy—made Catholic—by God working through those willing monks and their life of worship in the language of the ancient Church, through contemplative prayer and by a life of service via the Great Commission, to spread the Gospel to lands far and wide. They found that island: Papa Stronsay, or “Little Priest's Island.” Today, the island is home to the spiritual descendants of those men and of St Alphonsus Liguori: the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Transalpine Redemptorists. This order has been in the news lately because of their "Open Letter," a document published last fall that protests the modernist changes in the Church. Listen as Fr. Anthony Mary, FSSR, Rector of Golgotha Monastery, provides some history of both the order and their controversial "Letter."

Tales of Wakken Wood with E.P. Cowley

In Tales From Wakken Wood, by E.P. Cowley, bullies pick on Peter Thornburg because of his shining silver eyes. Because of that, his dad sent him to live with relatives on the island. But something there does not add up. Strange creatures appear and disappear out of the corner of his eye. Stores are ransacked in the dead of night. As Peter settles into his new life at Wakkenburg House, he learns that his eyes carry a great power—and a great responsibility. Then, an old woman emerges to unveil the truth: the entire island population is in danger. Peter, along with his best friend, Pixel, discovers that Wakken Wood is a borderland where wonders walk and myths unfold. This dramatic and delightful saga of virtue responding to danger and sadness immerses young readers in an enchanted world drawing from the folklore and language of the Isle of Man. In Wakken Wood, the battle between good and evil requires not only bravery, but also careful attention and a love of wonder.

Nyansa Classical Education

Nyansa Classical Community provides classical, Christian curricula and programming designed to connect with and draw students from diverse backgrounds into the beauty of classical literature and the Great Conversation. Their curricula and programming cultivates the poetic and moral imaginations, deepens enjoyment of classical literature, language, and art and encourages students to cultivate truth, goodness, and beauty. For too many children, the only transcendent experience in public school is daydreaming of something more. Nyansa counters this by helping children uncover their virtue, always within an environment of love.

The Shock of Holiness with Michael Pakaluk

In Michael Pakaluk's The Shock of Holiness, moms at Mass are heroes—not unlike the soldiers who landed at Iwo Jima. Children open us up to radical charity—the kind lived by martyrs. Obscure priests in backwoods France can change the world—not by debating, but by loving God. And a little bottle of holy water—available for free at any Catholic church—proves that the most precious things in life have no price. These are just a few of the extraordinary everyday insights from a philosopher who attests that Christian sanctity is much nearer and far more beautiful than we think and that the truths of the Catholic faith are simultaneously simple and profound. Our thanks to Ignatius Press and Publicist Brian O'Neel.