Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf
Episodes
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 8
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode of Ida Friederike Görres’s book John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed, as well as the Off the Shelf podcast, Fr. Fessio, Vivia...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 7
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Beginning chapter 7, “Newman Brought Low,” Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro reflect on Newman’s conversion, who is attacked by the En...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 6
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian, Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss Newman’s original hatred for the Catholic Church, caused by many religious and cultural prejudi...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 5
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ida Görres remarks that St. John Henry Newman did not like the use of force or coercion to bring people into the Catholic faith. Joseph, Vivian, and ...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 4
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss how St. John Henry Newman devoted his whole life to lady truth just as a man is devoted to his wif...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 3
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce proceed to chapter three of Ida Friederike Görres’s book John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed. They com...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 2
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ida Görres outlines the Victorian era in which St. John Henry Newman found himself. Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss how this era ...
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed – Episode 1
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce begin Ida Friederike Görres’s book John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed. After briefly summarizing the ...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 10
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Fr. Fessio, Vivian, and Joseph conclude their discussion of the Wedding of Magdeburg. As the battle begins, Von Falkenberg then dies ...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 9
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with part three of the Wedding of Magdeburg, Fr. Fessio, Vivian, and Joseph comment on General Tilly’s reflection on the sword of the sol...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 8
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce reflect on the dynamic depiction of the key characters written by Gertrude Von Le Fort. In particular, the...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 7
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce begin the third part of the Wedding of Magdeburg. They reflect on Von Falkenberg, who has now taken over t...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 6
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After meeting with General Tilly, Willigis has to sneak into the Magdeburg because he is barred from the city. He then discovers that Erdmuth has not ...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 5
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss General Tilly of the Holy Roman Empire’s response to wars of religion. They reflect on Gertrude’...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 4
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Diving into the second part of The Wedding of Magdeburg, Willigis seeks to broker peace between Magdeburg and the Holy Roman Empire. But his bride, Er...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 3
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce continue with part one of The Wedding of Madgeburg by discussing the protestant minister’s wife, whom th...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 2
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Starting with part one of The Wedding of Madgeburg, Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss one of the main themes of Gertrude Von Le Fort...
The Wedding of Magdeburg – Episode 1
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss the first English translation of Gertrude Von Le Fort’s The Wedding of Magdeburg. While she is m...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 10
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this last episode on Everlasting Man, Father Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss Chesterton’s summary of the entire work. In particul...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 9
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the start of the fifth chapter of part two, Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss Chesterton’s claim that Europe would be just li...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 8
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In chapter 4 of the second part, Chesterton moves to a discussion of the Church and argues that those who claim that the Church is a mere human instit...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 7
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
C.S. Lewis famously claimed that Jesus was either a liar, lunatic, or God, and in chapter two of section two of The Everlasting Man, Chesterton makes ...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 6
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro begin the second section of Chesterton’s Everlasting Man and reflect on his words about the mystery of t...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 5
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After quickly wrapping up chapter seven, Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro jump into the climax of the book–chapter eight–where Chestert...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 4
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Having covered monotheism and polytheism, Chesterton begins to cover religions that he calls “the demons” and “the philosophers” in chapter 6....
The Everlasting Man – Episode 3
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In chapter five of Everlasting Man, Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss one of Chesterton’s most poetic chapters where he explain...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 2
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moving to chapters three and four of The Everlasting Man, Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss Chesterton’s response to evolution...
The Everlasting Man – Episode 1
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the second book of Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf! Join the dynamic trio of Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro as they unpack on...
The Confessions – Episode 8
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Father Fessio, Vivian, and Joseph Pearce conclude their reading of Augustine’s Confessions by discussing Augustine’s use of poetry, his descr...
The Confessions – Episode 7
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Father Fessio, Vivian, and Joseph continue to explore the most profound sections of the Confessions in book 11. Father Fessio draws an insightful conn...
The Confessions – Episode 6
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Book 10 of Augustine’s Confessions is a notoriously dense book, and in this episode, Father Fessio, Vivian, and Joseph take the plunge. Join them in...
The Confessions – Episode 5
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moving to book 9, Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro begin by examining Augustine’s views on hymns and singing before discussing St. Mon...
The Confessions – Episode 4
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, the dynamic trio cover Augustine’s conversion and the moments leading up to it in book 8 of the Confessions. Father Fessio highligh...
The Confessions – Episode 3
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Picking up with books 6 and 7 of Augustine’s Confessions, Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss the various sources of St. Augusti...
The Confessions – Episode 2
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with books 4 and 5 of Augustine’s Confessions, Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro take a deep dive into the profundity of mar...
The Confessions – Episode 1
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Want to get more out of reading books? Join Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro every Wednesday as they take an important book off the shelf a...