Overview

Originally commissioned by Exodus 90, the pioneering men's app, these brief but stirring reflections by acclaimed writer Joseph Pearce show how great literature--including poetry--can help every Catholic man striving for virtue and holiness. Drawing on luminaries such as Homer, Dante, St. John Henry Newman, Chesterton, Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis, Pearce shows that literature, far from being a dead relic of the past, tackles crucial questions which are directly relevant to modern men. Among the many great books he reflects on for the benefit of men include The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Beowulf, The Divine Comedy, Hamlet, Brideshead Revisited, The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, The Ball and Cross. Some of the classic works of poetry he comments on for men's inspiration include The Hound of Heaven, God's Grandeur, Twelfth Night, The Tiger and If. What does Shakespeare say about the dangers of lust? How does God pursue the sinner like a ""Hound of Heaven""? What does it mean to be soldiers of Christ on active duty in the Church Militant? What sort of men do we want our sons to become? What does a great poet-saint teach us about the power of the sign of the cross to exorcise demons? How can we nurture a faith which is fearless? In a culture that fosters toxic masculinity on the one hand and effeminacy on the other, the literary giants of the past offer an inspiring alternative vision of true manhood, one that Catholic men are called to embrace as they ""work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling"" (Phil 2:12).

Full Product Details

9781621647409

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Catholic men who truly desire to be Catholic men should pick up and, with all due reflection, make their way through Joseph Pearce's masterfully curated collection of the best poetry and literature for men. Those who do answer Pearce's challenge will come to understand--as the Master taught and showed--that manliness has nothing to do with self-indulgence. Manliness is about total self-giving."" --Christopher Check, President, Catholic Answers ""Great stories help to make men good. Sadly, many men today wrongly think 'great books' are for academics alone, or think they aren't worth the time. Joseph Pearce remedies those errors as he not only makes these books accessible, but his reflections show why good men should always seek the wisdom of great books."" --Jason Craig, Co-founder, Fraternus: Author, Leaving Boyhood Behind: Reclaiming the Gift of Manhood ""A refreshingly masculine perspective on some of the greatest literary works of all time. No stone is left unturned: spiritual fatherhood, virtue, suffering, holiness, and relativism are treated with deftness and skill. Insightful and intelligent, this book is a creative tour de force that adeptly weds the Church's love of literary classics to the heart of the spiritual man."" --Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Author, Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality

Author Information

Joseph Pearce is the author of numerous literary studies, including Literary Converts, The Quest for Shakespeare, and Catholic Literary Giants, as well as biographies of Oscar Wilde, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. He is the general editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions series.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available