City of the Immaculata

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Paid members can access the slides for the podcast on Patreon.

Paid members can access the slides for the podcast on Patreon.

Paid members can access the slides for the podcast on Patreon.

Paid members can access the slides for the podcast on Patreon.

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We continue our series on the Middle Ages with a discussion of the emergence of the knightly class.

Last lecture we discussed a Golden Thread which runs through the history of the Franciscan Order- the cause and promotion of Our Lady as Immaculata. Today we discuss another thread, a darker one which stretches back deep into the annals of time. This dark thread seems to tie together disparate themes, people, and places, and is at work in a unique way in our own time. Join as we discuss the darkness and the Lady.

My name is Brian Keith, and this is the story of my strange journey into the Catholic Church.

O Death, where is thy sting? Some of the hardest hitting words from St Paul. Yet death does have a sting to it and when it hits us, we feel it. Two years ago I lost my best friend to cancer, and it has effected me greatly. Join as we discuss the loss of a good friend, from a Catholic perspective.

Our Lady, Immaculata as the thread which unites the Order of Friars Minor across eight centuries. The significance of this on metaphysics and the course of all human history.

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On the Franciscan Thesis

Tonight I employ 20 years of research into the Russian Revolution and show you how dangerously close we are to the precipice.

Ep 1

In this lecture we'll be looking at the rise of the Medieval university, especially it's relation to the art of disputation and rhetoric. These crucial developments would in turn shape the Catholic Church in such a way that would make her poised to be the world religion she eventually became. Join as we discuss how this came to pass.

A controversial and highly misunderstood Catholic saint, Anselm of Canterbury was a brilliant theologian and a first rate thinker. Because in some ways he straddles the old and new world, many struggle to place his ideas in an orthodox light. Join in this lecture where we discuss both the context of his time and how to read this Doctor of the Church.

In this lecture we discuss the development of marriage as a sacrament in the Middle Ages, and the context from with which these developments occurred.

Many complain that the process of canonization has been undermined since Vatican II and the papacy of St John Paul II. They say by laxing the former restrictions place on the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, we have in effect turned the Vatican into "saint factories." But this is only one side of the story. In this lecture we will discuss the process of canonization specifically through the lens of one mystic whose cause has been stalled long before the modern era due to bureaucratic red tape and a contingent of theologians who felt threatened by her public...

In the early Renaissance a group of intellectuals came on the scene who were determined to rid the Church of her "superstitious ignorant masses", to bring her back to Gospel simplicity. A leader of this elitist vanguard was Desiderius Erasmus. He, along with others, led the way in the attempted overthrow of the medieval Church's glory and magnificence. While they were ultimately unsuccessful, they did manage to unleash a wave of criticism that poisoned the well of medieval studies to this day. Join as we discuss.

Among the greatest hymns to God ever written, the unschooled St. Francis' Canticle of the Creatures soars with the eagles while other more learned theologians crawl with the worms. Join as we discuss the cosmic and anthropological significance of this profound piece of medieval hymnography.

Coming on the heels of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment Revolution, one of our ancient traditions found itself most under attack. In this lecture we make the case that is is only through a monastic revival will we ever hope to see a true renewal of the Church.

Join me in this video as we discuss the immigration of Catholics into the US, their community life in the first decades and subsequent assimilation into American life at the loss of any truly Catholic culture.

Debates rage online:

"Is this strange thing I am witnessing pagan?"

"Why are those people doing that at the altar?" "It must be demonic!"

Catholic inculturation is a tricky thing, a few wrong moves and we are offending God. A few bad optics and people will calumny another's cultural norms which they do not understand. We are going to discuss the challenges in a way that doesn't dismiss either side of the argument to see if there is any good solution to the "problem" of a developing a truly inculturated Church, using history...

So which is it? Do we want multiple national churches, unified under a common creed where the state leaders may not be hostile to the faith, or do we want a Universal Church, unified under a common creed and a visible head? What does the history of the Church teach us? Join as we discuss.

The greatest Satanic evils that threaten the Catholic Church are not what you think they are. Join as we discuss.

I will be discussing the controversies surrounding the Catholic Indian Boarding Schools. These controversial institutions are making headlines in recent years, tempers are flared on all sides, laws are being passed without much reflection or concern for objectivity, and what is being presented as a black and white situation is actually much more complicated. Join as we deep dive into this contentious issue.

Catholics (and many Protestants) are often perplexed by the Anglo-Catholic movement, and for good reason. In this video we begin to unravel the complex history of the Anglican Church by focusing on the early Reformation period in England, and how it complicates the Anglo-Catholic position. Join as we discuss.

In the modern world, many enemies of the Church would love to have her condemned for her position on slavery. But is this just? Was the Catholic Church the harbinger of this evil, or the catalyst for its abolishment? Join as we discus.

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Modern therapeutic practices treat suffering like a malady to be rid of. Catholic spiritual practices by default have become a target for many adherents of this philosophy. They would say that things like self mortification and detachment are unhealthy coping mechanisms, and that to recommend them is sadistic. Is this true? Is Catholic spirituality sadistic? Join as we discuss.

We discuss the effects Christianity has had on men and whether it makes men weaker.

In 2015 Pope Francis released the encyclical "Laudato Si", titled after the first lines of St Francis of Assisi's great hymn to creation. It's a timely exhortation to Catholics of the world to be better stewards, and given that we face a manmade ecological crisis of "biblical" proportions it seeks to base its arguments for why you should be concerned on solid scriptural exegesis.

Practically though, many Catholics struggle with how they can help. Most can't be bothered, it seems overwhelming, something "experts" should be tasked with. As a master naturalist I am well suited to help you...

The real crisis in the Catholic Church is not what you think it is.

The hard truth about traditionalism you haven't heard.

As the humanist movement grew, as the Reformation got underway, in many ways we lost a sense of just how mystical the medieval Church was. Join as we discuss what this tradition was, who the most important mystics were, and what could be gained by a "return" to the great tradition in the Western Church.

Is it possible to be both reviled and beloved by the same people? Or to be a heretic and a saint who is recognized by millions, including many other saints? According to some (I repeat some) Eastern Orthodox it is. In all of Church history there is nothing quite comparable to how the Greeks have both received and refused to receive the man who St Bonaventure refers to as the most authoritative of all the Latin fathers. Of course we mean none other than the great Bishop of Hippo, Augustine. Join as we discuss and attempt to make sense...

The subjects of meditation and yoga are often covered in mystery and misunderstanding, both by those for and against the practices. Join as we discuss the complex history as well as whether or not it is impossible to ever "baptize" either.

Over 100 years ago, Pope Leo XIII called on Catholic intellectuals to rally and recover the wonderful treasure of our medieval schools. At the time, St Thomas Aquinas was the ready made answer to his clarion- he was precise, clear and systematically applicable. Some at the time and since have taken this to mean St Thomas is all that need be retrieved, yet here we will be making the case that this is not only lamentable, as it ignores the other giants of the period, but also possibly dangerous.

From Ss Anselm and Bonaventure, to Thomas...

So much of what we fret over in modern Western Christianity is, to quote Shakespeare, much ado about nothing. The future of Christianity is some entirely different than either Traditionalists or Progressives assume and war with each other about. This.... is the future of Christianity. It's exciting and promising. Join as we discuss what the future holds for the faith.

On January 1, 2019 abortions commenced being performed in Ireland after the passing of a landmark legislation. It's but one sign of just how far the island, known for centuries as the green jewel of Christendom, had fallen from its roots. But what happened? How did Ireland go from a place where monks worked tirelessly to preserve civilization, to a place where secularism and apathy was able to sink in its vicious teeth? Join as we discuss the 20th century, known in Ireland as: the Troubles.