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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 and steadily unpack the most important passages over the coming weeks. Not only can you enjoy their delightful and engaging banter, but their discussion will help you get more out of the text as you follow along.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 06, 2025
Wednesday Aug 06, 2025
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 choice of being powerless before God. They highlight that every character has a choice to obey or disobey authorities that are often imperfect, wrong, or unlikeable.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Wednesday Jul 30, 2025
Wednesday Jul 30, 2025
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 more well-known for her book Song of the Scaffold, The Wedding of Magdeburg is arguably her best work. This historical fiction takes place during the Thirty Years War and touches on three important relationships: (1) the relationship between the city and the Holy Roman Empire, (2) the relationship of a man and woman who are soon to be married, and (3) the relationship of the soul to God.
You can purchase a copy of The Wedding of Magdeburg here: https://ignatius.com/the-wedding-of-madeburg-wedmp/
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Wednesday Jul 16, 2025
Wednesday Jul 16, 2025
In this last episode on Everlasting Man, Father Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss Chesterton’s summary of the entire work. In particular, they highlight Chesterton’s reflections on the uniqueness of humans among God’s creation and how the nature of things reveal not only a final purpose but also a first cause–God.
*Note that there will be a one-week summer hiatus on 7/23/25, but the dynamic trio will return to discuss The Wedding at Magdeburg on 7/30/25.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
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 like Asia if it were not for Christianity. They also reflect on Chesterton’s claim that Christianity is the answer to the problem of evil and superior to philosophy. Then they cover chapter 6, where Chesterton describes the five deaths of the faith where people expected that the Church would die with the culture, but instead it persevered.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Wednesday Jul 02, 2025
Wednesday Jul 02, 2025
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 institution fall into absurd conclusions. Furthermore, Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro reflect on how the Church’s understanding of faith often comes as the result of errors and heresies.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Wednesday Jun 25, 2025
Wednesday Jun 25, 2025
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 a similar argument. Father Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce reflect on Chesterton’s reducing to the absurd all opinions that claim that Jesus is other than what he says he is–God Himself.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
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 the Incarnation. They reflect on how we can become too familiar with the infancy narrative in which the God of cosmic creation now comes to us as a little, local infant. With Chesterton, they remark on the significance of Christ being born into a cave and the importance of myth.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
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Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
After quickly wrapping up chapter seven, Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro jump into the climax of the book–chapter eight–where Chesterton talks about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. They discuss that even the greatest of human societies are bound to fall and that the more decadent one’s life becomes the more one desires to return to natural and simpler life.
SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press: Off the Shelf. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Stay up-to-date with past, current, and future books we will discuss on our website: https://offtheshelf.ignatius.com/
Follow us on social media:
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/IgnatiusPress
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