Particular Good

In their final "Particular Good" episode, Charles and Heather Hughes-Huff review most all the episodes they have done over the years - from Zena Hitz and Jordan Wood, to Jason Blakely and Matt Kuhner, among many others . A huge thanks goes out to each guest who joined them to discuss particular topics and goods therein. Stay tuned this fall for more of St. Bernard's podcast!

Charles talks with Grant Kaplan about his new book Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay. Kaplan's book covers an extraordinary breadth with clarity and verve. Each section surfaces the complexities of several crucial thinkers in clear, generous treatments. Kaplan resists imposing any sort of overarching narrative on the scope of his project, but he also resists a bland descriptiveness: his own intellectual judgments are incisive and charitable. External Links: Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (CUA 2022) St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

In this episode, Charles talks with Joseph K. Gordon, Ph.D. about his book Divine Scripture in Human Understanding, which is a systematic theology of Christian Scripture. Joe draws on Henri de Lubac and Bernard Lonergan to propose a theology that accounts for traditional Christian exegesis, modern historical-critical methods, and postmodern concerns. External Links: Divine Scripture in Human Understanding: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Bible by Joseph K. Gordon Certificate in Catholic Biblical Studies at St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

Charles and Heather talk with Fr. Isaac Slater, a Cistercian Monk of the Strict Observance, about his book on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Beyond Measure: The Poetics of the Image in Bernard of Clairvaux. Along the way, they also talk about the monastic life, attention, and Weil and Murdoch. External Links: "Beyond Measure: The Poetics of the Image in Bernard of Clairvaux" by Fr. Isaac Slater, OCSO "The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard" by Etienne Gilson Abbey of the Genesee St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

Danny, Heather, and Charles discuss stories "The Forks" and "Look How the Fish Live" by the 20th-century writer J.F. Powers, whose first novel, Morte d'Urban, won the 1963 National Book Award for fiction. Powers applied his gentle satire to a wide range of fictional worlds, but it best known for his stories about the domestic lives of priests. Flannery O'Connor wrote of Powers "Powers and I are, I suppose, the only two young writers in this country who are well thought of and connected with the Church. We both have the same kind of horns." (23 Dec. 1958, HB 309-310). External Links: The Stories of J.F. Powers St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

In this episode, Charles and Heather discuss Iris Murdoch's philosophy and literature. We talk about her philosophical work The Sovereignty of Good, her novel The Bell, and the relationship between her philosophy and her art. External Links: "The Bell" by Iris Murdoch "The Sovereignty of Good" by Irish Murdoch St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

Charles, Danny, and Heather talk about Alice Munro's extraordinary short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" and Alice Munro's craft. Munro, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2013, writes rich stories that delve deep into human nature. In this episode, we talk about her use of time and structure, the very human tensions in the story itself, and the role small decisions have in shaping lives. External Links: The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro

Charles, Danny, and Heather discuss Flannery O'Connor's short story "Everything That Rises Must Converge" with an eye to O'Connor's role as a between-the-councils Catholic writer, an ear to the story's portrayal of envy and love, and a dash of Hans Urs von Balthasar to taste. External Links: “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor “Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction” written and read by Flannery O’Connor

Charles and Marco interview Jordan Daniel Wood about his forthcoming book The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus Confessor (Notre Dame Press 2022). They talk about Maximus' christo-logic and how it works through his understanding of anthropology, deification, christology, particularly the suffering of Christ, and eschatological creation. 1:30 - Who was Maxmius the Confessor? 13:15 — What is Maximus's christo-logic? 29:40 — How can a hypostasis seems to be a synonym of 'individual' and also what makes an individual an individual? 42:45 — How are Maximus' logoi related to the hypostasis of each person? 1:03:40 — How does Maximus' understanding of logos hypostasis in humans affect his understanding of nature? 1:19:09 — How do you think about grace presupposing nature in light of Maximus? 1:26:26 — How do you understand the analogy of being in light of Maximus? 1:39:09 — But wait, isn't this exactly what Balthasar was saying all along? 1:46:00 — How should this book affect our understanding of creation, eschatology, and salvation?

For Luigi Giussani, Christianity is like being in love. Charles talks with philosopher Marco Stango and theologian Apolonio Latar about Luigi Giussani, Italian priest, theologian, educator, and founder of the Communion and Liberation movement. Marco and Apolonio discuss Giussani's founding of CL, the ways Giussani has formed their own lives, Giussani's trilogy of books on human experience and the encounter of Christ.

Charles talks with Zena Hitz about her beautiful book Lost in Thought: The Hidden Treasures of an Intellectual Life. They cover why and how she chose her vivid examples of particular goods of the intellectual life, the importance of treating the intellect as an end to itself rather than instrumentalizing it for prestige or politics, the role of withdrawal—forced or free, physical or internal—MC Hammer's love of the philosophy of science and Zena's book, and the integration of intellectual life within Christianity.

Charles talks with Evan Kuehn about his book Troeltsch's Eschatological Absolute. Evan covers the importance of eschatology in 19th and 20th century Christianity, Troeltsch's unique approach to both eschatology and Kantian idealism, his critique of monism, and his understanding of the religious a priori in human experience. Evan's work rescues Troeltsch from some early dismissals and shows a path to conversation between Troeltsch and dialectical theology.

Charles talks with Dr. Nancy Hawkins about 20th-century political theologian Dorothee Sölle and her thoughts on christofascism, theories of divine omnipotence, political theology, community organizing, Meister Eckhart, and the mystical journey. Sölle combines mystical and political theology in a critique of early twentieth-century notions of power.

Charles talks with Mahri Leonard-Fleckman about her work on the Hebrew Bible's literary beauty and relationship to material culture and the construction of ancient Israelite identity.

Charles talks with Jason Blakely, Associate Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University, about his 2020 book We Built Reality: How Social Science Infiltrated Culture, Politics, and Power. Jason covers naturalism in social science, interpretive social science, Freakonomics and rational choice theory, naturalistic roots of racial violence, the problems of Adrian Vermeule's integralism, and more.

Heather and Charles discuss George MacDonald, The West Wing, and Turtle Finds a Home by Timothy Chapman with guests. Featuring Megan Fritts, philosopher at Utah State University, Guy Valponi, Medical Ethicist at Franciscan Alliance, Inc., and Molly, splendid child.

Heather and Charles talk with Matthew Kuhner about the life and work of Hans Urs von Balthasar, with a special focus on Matt's research on Balthasar's view of person and mission.

Megan Fritts is a philosopher at Utah State University. In this episode, Megan talks with Charles about her work on moral perfectionism, non-causal action theory, and partial evidentialism. She addresses why beliefs are tricky, theory of knowledge is boring, and her husband is most likely not a serial killer—and how human lives are like chess pieces but not the ones spontaneously melting.

In this episode, we interview Heather Hughes Huff about the Catholic literary imagination in the 20th century, the life and work of Graham Greene, his novel The End of the Affair, and the focus of his work on the loss of self for the love of God.