Joseph Pearce has narrated 4 audiobooks on Listento.it by 1 author. The most-rated is Literature: What Every Catholic Should Know.
The Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings
Summary
Join Joseph Pearce as he explores the great theological depth of the most popular work of literature in the 20th century, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Despite the absence of any direct mention of Christ or the Catholic Church, Tolkien described his work as "fundamentally religious and Catholic." He was able to infuse his fictional world with theological orthodoxy through his creation of myth and a world order. Endowing his protagonists with Christian virtues, he also incorporated themes of grace and mercy. Tolkien's deep faith and creative philosophy emerge from the narrative as an unmistakable Catholic presence. The very foundation of Tolkien's Middle-earth, from its creation by Iluvatar, the one God, to angel-like Melkor's sinful rebellion, to the menacing presence of Sauron, the dark lord, supports Professor Pearce's argument for the Catholicity of the work. You'll learn of the symbolic greatness of the One Ring, understand the significance of Tolkien’s choice of dates, notice the rich similarities between the Elvish waybread, lembas, and the Catholic Eucharist, and see how Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf act as Christ-figures. Over the eight lectures in the course, Professor Pearce highlights connections, symbols, and insights which will expand your reading of The Lord of the Rings. It is said that art holds the mirror up to life. This is the reason that art is "real" and fiction is "true." The Lord of the Rings has continued to endure as a masterpiece of literary genius because it puts human nature on display, revealing both man’s greatest temptations, and his most glorious victories. Learn more and discover the wisdom of The Lord of the Rings with Professor Joseph Pearce. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2011 Saint Benedict Press (P)2011 Saint Benedict Press
The Hobbit: Discovering Grace and Providence in Bilbo's Adventures
Summary
In this course, Professor Joseph Pearce shows that Tolkien's own words about The Lord of the Rings being a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work" also apply to The Hobbit. Some readers mistakenly believe that The Hobbit is simply a children's story with little significance. While Tolkien indeed wrote the book for his children's entertainment, the narrative simplicity only serves its great moral and theological profundity. Professor Pearce guides you through various life lessons discovered through an in-depth reading of The Hobbit: Bilbo grows in maturity, wisdom, compassion, self-sacrifice, and heroism over the course of his journey to the Lonely Mountain. At the end of the novel, Gandalf proclaims that Bilbo is no longer the hobbit he was, and we know that he is changed for the better. The meaning of life is to grow in virtue and holiness by learning the lessons of our adventures so that we can return "home" to God in Heaven. In The Hobbit, Bilbo is time and again protected and rewarded by "luck" or "good fortune." The "luck" present in The Hobbit is nothing other than the hand of providence and grace. In order to survive our life's journey like Bilbo, we need the supernatural assistance of grace and providence. Over and over again in the book, Tolkien presents characters who have fallen prey to dragon-sickness: pride and lust for gold or other material possessions. The Hobbit serves as a cautionary meditation on Matthew 6:21: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Tolkien's profoundly Catholic worldview allows us to transcend a simply literal reading of the story and discover its theological richness. Bilbo Baggins and his adventures can serve as a mirror for our journey through life. Even though we won't find ourselves travelling through goblin-infested mountains, chased by spiders, or threatened by trolls, we can see that virtue is only attained through grace by slaying the monsters and demons which try to prevent our passage into eternal glory. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2012 Saint Benedict Press (P)2012 Saint Benedict Press
Race with the Devil
Summary
Before he was the world's foremost Catholic biographer, Joseph Pearce was a leader of the National Front, a British nationalist, white supremacist group. Before he published books highlighting and celebrating the great Catholic cultural tradition, he disseminated literature extolling the virtues of the white race, and calling for the banishment of all non-whites from Britain. Pearce and his cohorts were at the center of the racial and nationalist tensions - often violent - that swirled around London in the late 1970s and early '80s. Eventually Pearce became a top member of the National Front and the editor of its newspaper, The Bulldog. He was a full-time revolutionary. In 1982, he was imprisoned for six months for hate speech, but he came out with more anger and more resolve. Several years later, he was imprisoned again, this time for a year, and it spurred a change in his life. In Race with the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love, Pearce himself takes the listener through his journey from racist revolutionary to Christian, including: The youthful influences that led him to embrace the National Front and their racist platform His dark, angry, exhilarating, but ultimately empty days as a revolutionary on the front lines His imprisonment and subsequent dark night of the soul The role that Catholic luminaries such as G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, and C. S. Lewis played in his conversion from racist radical to joyful Christian And his eventual reception in the Catholic Church Race with the Devil is one man's incredible journey to Christ, but it also much more. It is a testament to God's hand active among us and the infinite grace that Christ pours out on his people, showing that we can all turn - or return - to Christ and his church.
©2013 Joseph Pearce (P)2020 Saint Benedict Press
Literature: What Every Catholic Should Know
Summary
In Literature: What Every Catholic Should Know, Joseph Pearce provides a survey of literary works of which all Catholics should be aware of. Beginning with Homer and Virgil, the book progresses chronologically through the greatest works of all time, including Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Dickens, Chesterton, Eliot, Tolkien, and Lewis. The What Every Catholic Should Know series is intended for the average faithful Catholic who wants to know more about Catholic faith and culture. The authors in this series take a panoramic approach to the topic of each book, aimed at a non-specialist but enthusiastic listener. Forthcoming topics planned for this series include: mercy, history, art, music, and philosophy.
©2019 Augustine Institute and Ignatius Press (P)2020 Ignatius Press