On Music, Art, and the Recovery of the Sacred (Dr. Peter Kwasniewski) | Ep. 552

Pints With Aquinas

Matt Fradd

Stthomasaquinas, Education, Saintthomasaquinas, Mattfradd, Theology, Catholic, Dominican, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy

4.8 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 195 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this interview, Matt is joined again by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski—scholar, author, composer, and book publisher. In this conversation, they discuss the purpose of technology, what makes music beautiful, making time for prayer, the history of liturgical vestments, and good literature, among other topics.
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📖 Jesus Our Refuge book: https://a.co/d/9gKN4eb
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Explore more from Dr. Kwasniewski through the links below:

🔹 Website
https://www.peterkwasniewski.com/

🔹 Tradition & Sanity Substack
https://www.traditionsanity.com/

🔹 Composer Page
https://cantabodomino.com/

🔹 Publishing (Os Justi Press)
https://osjustipress.com

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📚 Get my newest book, Jesus Our Refuge, here: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Our-Refu...

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Intro and Matt's new book
00:02:19 – Technology
00:16:53 – Is LARPing merely pretending?
00:32:56 – Why are people rebelling against modernity?
00:40:14 – Smartphones versus "dumb" phones
00:49:12 – We need to unplug and simply reflect
01:03:38 – The pollution of music
01:36:35 – How to do a distraction detox
01:44:47 – Book recommendations
01:49:51 – Giving up the internet and silent retreats
02:01:31 – Progressing in small steps
02:09:00 – Changes to the breviary
02:22:38 – Cuss words and swearing
02:39:15 – How should priests dress?
02:50:40 – A Church healing from liturgists

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Pines with Aquinas is brought to you by Truthly, which is a groundbreaking Catholic AI app built to help you know, live and defend the Catholic faith.
0:09.3	Start your seven-day free trial today when you download Truthly on the app store.
0:15.2	It seems to me that those who often accuse others of LARPing, it's quite a cynical take, it seems to me, sometimes.
0:20.6	How exactly is it that anybody becomes something except by slowly working towards it through a kind
0:28.2	of imitative process? Pascal on the Ponce says there's something to the effect of all of the,
0:34.8	all of man's ills can be traced back to this, that he does not know how to sit alone in a dark room silent.
0:42.3	Modern people, if they're not Catholics, if they don't have a spiritual life or an intellectual life, for that matter,
0:49.3	they don't want to be left alone in silence with their thoughts.
0:55.0	People who are watching this now who don't have a prayer rule, okay, what's something you could do that you actually would do?
1:00.8	Yes.
1:01.4	And it might just be you have a crucifix by your bed.
1:04.2	And when you wake up, you pick up that crucifix, kiss it, pray in our father.
1:07.7	We need to follow the advice of St. Paul, who says, whatever is good, true,
1:12.4	noble, honorable, beautiful, think on these things, i.e., don't think about the opposites.
1:23.2	Hey, everybody. Before we get into today's interview, I want to tell you about my brand new book.
1:28.5	It's called Jesus Our Refuge. If you, like many people, and like all of us, to one degree or
1:35.1	another, have been seeking refuge in things other than Jesus Christ and have just found yourself
1:40.8	increasingly weary, then this book is for you. This book is about taking Jesus
1:46.0	seriously when he says, come to me, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. It's getting
1:53.6	great reviews, and I know it will be a healing balm to your soul. Check it out, Jesus, our refuge.
2:02.7	You can get it right now on Amazon.
2:06.9	Thanks. Great to have you back on the show. It's wonderful to be here. Thanks for coming.
	...

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