The Weight of Glory

a church for our children, or no church at all?

A younger version of myself confronts pre-synodal synodality in a suburban parish, In this episode (which I am reproducing here from my Substack feed), I describe a letter I wrote to an ex-priest who came to my home parish back in 1994 to offer an adult education series titled "A Church for Our Children." Works Cited: Flannery, Austin, ed. Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/vatican-council-ii-the-conciliar-and-post-conciliar-documents_austin-flannery/289216/item/30738378/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pmax_high_vol_scarce_%2410_%2450_17400876848&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17400878123&gbraid=0AAAAADwY45i0LyRVmBk5W9myxNwSmzz4b&gclid=CjwKCAjwt7XQBhBkEiwAtStpp_kQUdlGW4LCDaiONt5-l7hQezrzQxDDg1yZUzmi92uZSNR3kS53JBoCpfYQAvD_BwE#idiq=30738378&edition=5137992]. 1975. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1980. Hildebrand, Dietrich von. Image of Christ: Saint Francis of Assisi [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/image-of-christ-saint-francis-of-assisi_dietrich-von-hildebrand/979688/?srsltid=AfmBOoqcPpXJZBSK3Ld3LXV6wwnEzMC3E3JmwkzLVVFepjYw2VBzgNNB#edition=6827288]. 1963. Steubenville: Franciscan University Press, 1993. John Paul II, Pope. Veritatis Splendor: The Splendor of Truth [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-splendor-of-truth-encyclical-letter-of-john-paul-ii_pope-john-paul-ii/325436/item/1724923/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=high_vol_midlist_standard_shopping_customer_acquisition_20381777654&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=666157863328&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20381777654&gbraid=0AAAAADwY45gsDf6XAYjcUb2advuqpxZck&gclid=CjwKCAjwt7XQBhBkEiwAtStpp_8m0lIcO6ACgWatQ91gt0RnEjhclFzL7cBKJ0NlOwhzrqdytqQ83BoCqBwQAvD_BwE#idiq=1724923&edition=1819339]. Boston: Saint Paul Books & Media, 1993. Closing song: "Do You Really Want to Know? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaw_8ssCeCk]" by Peter Mayer, from the album Heaven Below, copyright 2010.  Support the show [https://doxaweb.com/blog/donate/]

The Shroud of Turin: What Scientists Discovered

Jack Sacco [https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Sacco/e/B001HMQRSO], an engineer and writer by trade, interviewed a multi-disciplinary group of scientists who were given access to study the Shroud in 1978. This two-hour presentation summarizes the remarkable findings of that scientific research. The venue for the talk was Saint Monica's Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California, and the speaker was introduced by Father Willy Raymond, CSC [https://blog.familyrosary.org/author/father-willy-raymond-c-s-c]. If you're enjoying this podcast, or wish to send along a question or friendly critique, drop me a note on Twitter @WeightOfGlory [https://twitter.com/weightglory] or send me an email at weightofglorypodcast@gmail.com [weightofglorypodcast@gmail.com]. Also, please spread the word via your social channels. Most especially, I'd welcome reviews over at Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weight-of-glory/id1507188195]: that will help more people discover the show. Music for this episode was provided by 3brass [https://www.thebash.com/brass-ensemble/3brass]. https://doxaweb.com/blog/2026/04/08/the-shroud-of-turin-2/ [https://doxaweb.com/blog/2026/04/08/the-shroud-of-turin-2/] Support the show [https://doxaweb.com/blog/donate/]

Stations of the Cross

For Holy Week, I'm posting a special episode on The Stations of the Cross.  What follows is a Stations of the Cross text I wrote in 2004, reflecting on the images Mel Gibson provided in his movie The Passion of The Christ. Each mediation also includes a quote from one of my favorite spiritual writers. In the show notes, you'll find links to learn more about the Stations of the Cross,  sources for the quotes used in the meditations, and a link to learn more about the album Via Crucis by Dick Le Mair. Many thanks to Le Mair for granting me the rights to include his music in this episode. How Did the Stations of the Cross Begin? [https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/how-did-the-stations-of-the-cross-begin-1155] - Fr. William Saunders “For God So Loved”: C.S. Lewis’s Four Loves and the Doctrine of Christ’s Atonement [https://cct.biola.edu/god-so-loved-cs-lewiss-four-loves-and-doctrine-christs-atonement/] - Adam J. Johnson The Four Loves [https://www.cslewis.com/us/books/paperback/the-four-loves/9780062565396/] - C.S. Lewis Text of the meditations [https://doxaweb.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/stations_of_cross.pdf] inspired by [https://doxaweb.com/blog/2023/02/21/via-crucis-2/] The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson Quotation sources: I - Into Your Hands, Father [https://ignatius.com/into-your-hands-father-iyhp/] - Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen II, IX, XII - Via Crucis [https://scepterpublishers.org/collections/st-josemaria-escriva-1/products/via-crucis-2?ref=stjosemariainstitute] - Saint Josemaría Escrivá III - De Interpellatione David [https://www.ambrosehive.com/documents/de-interpellatione-david] - Saint Ambrose of Milan IV - Salt of the Earth [https://ignatius.com/salt-of-the-earth-digital-soee/] - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger V, VIII - Transformation in Christ [https://ignatius.com/transformation-in-christ-ticp/] - Dietrich von Hildebrand VI - De pauperum [https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/serve-christ-in-the-poor/] - Saint Gregory of Nazianzen VII - The Jeweler's Shop [https://ignatius.com/the-jewelers-shop-jshh/] - Karol Wojtyla X - Interior Freedom [https://scepterpublishers.org/collections/interior-freedom] - Fr. Jacques Philippe XI - The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae) [https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html] - Saint Pope John Paul II XIII - The Splendor of Truth (Veritatis Splendor) [https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor.html] - Saint Pope John Paul II XIV - The Lord's descent into hell [https://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010414_omelia-sabato-santo_en.html] - ancient homily for Holy Saturday Closing prayer - Meditations on the Stations of the Cross [https://www.newmanreader.org/works/meditations/meditations5.html] - Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman Music: Via Crucis [https://dicklemair.bandcamp.com/album/via-crucis] by Dick Le Mair Support the show [https://doxaweb.com/blog/donate/]

Judgment as a setting for learning and practicing hope

In today's episode, Kale Zelden and I complete our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. In the last major section of the letter, Benedict XVI speaks of the experience of judgment as a setting for hope. We pick up our reading at paragraph 39. This episode concludes the first season of the podcast. I'd really appreciate your feedback on the first season of this podcast -- what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd like to see in season two -- by taking a moment to complete a survey [https://doxaweb.com/blog/survey/].  Podcast Survey: doxaweb.com/survey [https://doxaweb.com/blog/survey/] Until next season, be well and God bless. Support the show [https://doxaweb.com/blog/donate/]

Prayer and suffering as schools of hope

In today's episode, Kale Zelden and I resume our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. Specifically, we read and reflect on paragraphs 32 through 38: Settings for learning and practicing hope. Benedict XVI speaks in these paragraphs of prayer and suffering as two "schools of hope." The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett. Learn more about Dennis at DennisCrommett.Bandcamp.com [https://denniscrommett.bandcamp.com/] or in the show notes.  If you're enjoying this podcast, or wish to send along a question or friendly critique, drop me a note on Twitter @WeightOfGlory [https://twitter.com/weightglory] or send me an email at weightofglorypodcast@gmail.com [weightofglorypodcast@gmail.com]. Also, I'd appreciate it if you'd spread the word via your social channels. Most especially, I'd welcome reviews over at Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weight-of-glory/id1507188195]. There are links in the show notes to make it easier to contact me or to spread the word. Support the show [https://doxaweb.com/blog/donate/]