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A discussion on beauty in art and culture and its place in the Catholic faith.
Episodes
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Friday Mar 12, 2021
"I will smite Egypt with all my wonders"
- The Prince of Egypt
For this episode of Risking Enchantment, we are joined by animator and friend Robyn Conroy to talk about the 1998 Dreamwork's film The Prince of Egypt. A fantastic film in its own right, it is also an interesting modern example of a biblical story becoming a prestigious entertainment and artistic event. We talk about the incredible visuals and music of the movie, as well as the filmmaker's faithful and accurate adaptation of this sacred story. An excellent family movie for Lent, The Prince of Egypt is a masterful example of both animated and musical storytelling.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Robyn Conroy
Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow Robyn on Instagram: @robynconroyart
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
The Making of The Prince of Egypt (YouTube)
"An Ecumenical ‘Prince of Egypt’" By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times
Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton
What We're Enjoying At the Moment
Robyn: Principium, Album by The Arcadian Wild
Rachel: Dubliners by James Joyce, audiobook read by Andrew Scott
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Friday Feb 26, 2021
"We are not here to triumph by fighting, by stratagem, or by resistance,
Not to fight with beasts as men. We have only to conquer
Now, by suffering. This is the easier victory."
- T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral
In this episode, Rachel and Phoebe delve into two texts, T.S. Eliot's verse drama Murder in the Cathedral about the death of St. Thomas Becket, and the opera Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc, about the execution of a community of nuns towards the end of the French Revolution. Drawing on both of these texts we discuss the moral dilemma of 'doing the right thing for the wrong reason' and how these fictional accounts of martyred saints can help us prepare our soul for martyrdom and a life led in obedience to God's will.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
“A Temple of the Holy Ghost” A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc
Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton
“Patience - Our Share in Your Passion” The Joy of Believing by Ven. Madeleine Delbrêl
Orthodoxy by G.K Chesterton
What we are Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Risking Enchantment: A Pilgrimage in Paintings: Tissot's “Life of Christ"
Rachel: Taskmaster
Friday Feb 12, 2021
Friday Feb 12, 2021
"The joy of the festival, drawing together the memory of both earthly and divine blessings, points to the eternal joy of heaven by giving us a small, imperfect glimpse of the eternal feast.
"Why We Feast: A Matter of Life and Death", R. Jared Staudt
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
Comfort Food by Jamie Oliver
"Why does God care if you give up chocolate?" Called to More, by Rachel Sherlock
"Why We Feast: A Matter of Life and Death", R. Jared Staudt
In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity by Josef Pieper
"Go deeper: Food in children’s books" by Imogen Russell
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Food and Faith by Norman Wirzba
Brambly Hedge: Spring Story by Jill Barklem
Brambly Hedge: Autumn Story by Jill Barklem
The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
"The Lost Art of Feasting" by David Mathis
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
"Lower Sacraments: Theological Eating in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis" by Gregory Philip Hartley
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
"Nourishment, Delight, and Fellowship: The Purpose of Food in The Chronicles of Narnia" by Jonathan Darville
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
What We're Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Alice and Wonderland ballet, Royal Opera House recording
Rachel: High Society (film)
Friday Dec 18, 2020
Friday Dec 18, 2020
"Men reverently doffed their hats; women wept and knelt before the pictures, and some even crawled like penitents through the show."
Jesus, Illustrated: Tissot’s New Testament" by Ken Johnson
In this episode, Rachel is joined by Shane Jenkins, who was previously on our Risking Enchantment episode 'Time and T.S. Eliot: Modern and Eternal Poetry'. In this episode they discuss the life and work of painter James Tissot. Once famous for his paintings of materialistic extravagance, Tissot had a profound and dramatic conversion in the middle of his life, after which he dedicated his life to chronicling the whole of the life of Christ through painting. In the episode Shane and Rachel discuss the various elements of his work that particularly interested him, and also offer a counterpoint to his work in the work of Gustave Dore. Also discussed is the need for art to accompany the Bible's words, and the newly published Word on Fire Bible.
We would like to take this time to thank you for listening to Risking Enchantment this year and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
Shane's blog article on Tissot and the link to his Slideshow of Tissot's paintings:
"The risqué artist who found God" The Catholic Herald by Laura Freeman
"Jesus, Illustrated: Tissot’s New Testament" The New York Times by Ken Johnson
The Blind Leading the Blind by Tissot
Maltreatments in the House Caiaphus by Tissot
Behold the Man, Ecce Homo by Tissot
Let Him be Crucified by Tissot
What Our Lord Saw from the Cross by Tissot
The Annunciation by Tissot
Jesus Ministered to by Angels by Tissot
The Snow Queen by Vladyslav Yerko
Jesus Carried up to a Pinnacle of the Temple by Tissot
The Grotto of the Agony by Tissot
Christ Retreats to the Mountain at Night by Tissot
Inner Voices (Christ Comforting the Wanderers) by Tissot
A Wild Ride Through the Night by Walter Moers
'“From the Smallest Fragment”: The Archaeology of the Doré Bible' Nineteenth Century Art Worldwide by Sarah C. Schaefer
Word on Fire Bible (Volume 1) The Gospel
What We're Enjoying at the Moment:
Shane: How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
Rachel: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (audiobook read by Richard Armitage)
Friday Dec 04, 2020
Friday Dec 04, 2020
"The whole story of her life... It was here waiting for her …
She had never needed to think about it before. It had been quite easy to fill her life with unimportant trivialities that left her no time for self-knowledge."
- Absent in the Spring
In this episode of Risking Enchantment Rachel and Phoebe discuss two books: Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie and Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Both lesser known works by well-known authors, they were nevertheless esteemed by their authors to be among their best work. They also both share several core themes: the quest for truth, the need to know and understand yourself, and the dangers of love without grace.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Follow Phoebe on Instagram: @phoebe_lucy_watson
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
The Habit of Being by Flannery O'Connor
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
What We're Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Pints with Jack Podcast
Rachel: Dialogues des Carmélites, opera by Poulenc shown on Met Opera
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
''Bless that good, good woman who hung the crucifix round my neck! For it is a comfort and a strength to me whenever I touch it. '' - Dracula
In this episode Phoebe and Rachel discuss the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, and delve into the use and misuse of sacraments and sacramentals in the story. Also discussed is Eleanor Bourg Nicholson's novel A Bloody Habit which takes a more Catholic approach to the vampire story.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Follow Phoebe on Instagram: @phoebe_lucy_watson
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Works Mentioned:
Dracula by Bram Stoker
A Bloody Habit by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson
"Oh, the Horror!" by Tom Riley
"Bram Stoker’s Dracula" - Crisis Magazine
"Vampires, demons, and the cross: Catholicism and horror" by Deacon Steven D. Greydanus
"Cinemanemia or Revenge of the Bloodsucked" by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson
Delving into the mind of a catholic novelist with Eleanor Bourg Nicholson - Fountains of Carrots podcast
The Well and the Shallows by G.K. Chesterton
What We're Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Rachel: Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Friday Oct 30, 2020
"This seeming paradox reflects two concurrently pervasive - and strikingly contradictory - perspectives. One is to be engrossed by the past, the other to dispense with it."
The Past is a Foreign Country - Revisited
By David Lowenthal
We are delighted to welcome Catholic author and writer Fiorella de Maria. To find out more about her, and for links to all her titles visit her website:
https://www.fiorellademaria.com/
In this episode we discuss the issues that the modern age has in the ways in interacts with history, from sanitising the past in books and films to tearing down statues.
Works Mentioned:
See No Evil: A Father Gabriel Mystery by Fiorella de Maria
The Abolition of Women by Fiorella de Maria (written under Fiorella Nash)
Poor Banished Children by Fiorella de Maria
"History Versus the Historians" Lunacy and Letters by G.K Chesterton
The Past is a Foreign Country - Revised Edition by David Lowenthal
The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley
The Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
"On The Incarnation" Introduction to Athanasius by C.S. Lewis
Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C.S. Lewis
We'll Never Tell Them by Fiorella de Maria
Things We're Enjoying at the Moment
Fiorella: Spending time with family
Rachel: Vanilla Ice-cream Recipe in the Financial Times
Friday Oct 16, 2020
Friday Oct 16, 2020
“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite"
In this episode Rachel and Phoebe discuss Susanna Clarke's new novel Piranesi. Set in a mysterious world, all contained in one vast house of marble statues and rising tides, the novel gives a wonderful opportunity to examine the way humans interact with the world around them.
Works Mentioned:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, BBC miniseries
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
“This critique of progress was something I borrowed from CS Lewis” - Susanna Clarke, Interview in the Hindustani Times
Laudato Si, by Pope Francis
General Audience 17 January 2001, Pope John Paul II
"The Wobbly Chronology of Disenchantment" Church Life Journal, by Haley Stewart
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
"The House of Asterion" by Jorge Luis Borges
"The Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges
Things We're Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Season of Autumn
Rachel: The Labyrinth of Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Friday Oct 02, 2020
Friday Oct 02, 2020
Often dismissed as 'the Dark Ages' of the Church before the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the Middle Ages was in fact a fascinating era for Christian preaching. Richly textual, highly informed, and even, entertaining, Fr Conor McDonough OP joins us on the podcast to discuss a Dominican perspective on preaching, especially in the Middle Ages, as well as the work of Humbert of Romans in his Treatise on Preaching.
“The Word Eclipsed?: Preaching in the Early Middle Ages” by R Emmet McLaughlin
Dominion by Tom Holland
Confessions by St Augustine
“Eynsham and Ælfric” Clerk of Oxford blog, Eleanor Parker
“Performing the Seven Deadly Sins: How One Late-Medieval English Preacher did it” by Alan J. Fletcher
Treatise on Preaching by Humbert of Romans
What we’re enjoying at the moment:
Fr. Conor: Pearl (poem)
Rachel: Farewell my Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Friday Sep 18, 2020
Friday Sep 18, 2020
We are delighted to welcome Elizabeth Lev to the podcast. Elizabeth is an acclaimed art historian based in Rome, and author of several books including How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art.
In this episode we have a discussion about how early Christians evangelised to the Romans through art and architecture by highlighting continuity with Roman myth while also showing how Christianity redeemed and transfigured those earlier stories. We also talk about how that is a possible means of evangelising to people today.
Follow Elizabeth Lev:
Twitter: @lizlevrome
Instagram: @lizlevinrome
Website: elizabeth-lev.com
Elizabeth also runs Masters' Gallery Rome where you can join to get great lectures about Roman art.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock,
Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Works Mentioned:
The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict XVI
Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor
"Myth Became Fact", World Dominion by C.S. Lewis