Abiding Together

In this episode, we talk about what it means to live an authentically human life in an increasingly digital world. Technology is reshaping the way we live and it affects more than just how we work and play. We reflect on how our thoughts, relationships, and emotions are being influenced, and why we need to be intentional about making space for real, human connection. We share how beauty, creativity, and wonder draw us out of an artificial reality and remind us of the goodness of being human. We also offer practical ideas for finding balance with technology, learning to savor rather than simply consume, and allowing the Lord to rightly order our lives.

Heather's One Thing - Humanality's Digital Detox Program

Heather's Other One Thing - Ave Maria Press and Spoonful of Comfort

Sister Miriam's One Thing - Therese of Lisieux: Secrets of Joy by Fr Pierre Descouvemont

Michelle's One Thing - Ella Langley Shirt from her friends in Auburn and Farmers Markets

Journal Questions:

• What am I giving my attention to?
• Where do I need more human formation?
• How can I create more separation from my phone?
• What boundaries do I need with technology?

Discussion Questions:

• What does it look like to interact with technology and not be dominated by it?
• How is the Lord inviting you to engage your humanity?
• How have you given into fear about the state of the world?
• How is God inviting you to live more intentionally?

Quote to Ponder:

"The deeper a soul is bound to God, the more completely surrendered to grace, the stronger will be its influence on the form of the Church. Conversely, the more an era is engulfed in the night of sin and estrangement from God the more it needs souls united to God. And God does not permit a deficiency. The greatest figures of prophecy and sanctity step forth out of the darkest night." (Edith Stein)

Scripture for Lectio:

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (Ephesians 1:17)

Sponsor - Camp Wojtyla:

Are you looking for a transformative experience for your middle school or high school student? Camp Wojtyla helps young people fall more in love with Jesus Christ and His Church through epic adventures in the Colorado mountains, awesome community, and huge fun. Camp Wojtyla helps kids learn they are stronger than they thought, and that God is bigger than they could ever have imagined.

Camp Wojtyla is nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado on a beautiful, 1200-acre wilderness property, and offers fourteen different single gender programs, giving campers a unique opportunity to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL!

We have a God of adventure. He has a story and a plan for each of us. Camp Wojtyla teaches about God and the Catholic Church through authentic and life-changing adventures in creation. In a culture that inundates us with noise, unplugged time on the mountain helps us understand who God is and who He has made us to be. While at Camp Wojtyla, campers experience expertly designed and sequenced programming that helps them understand that they are called to sainthood...and how they can achieve it! Our carefully selected, and highly trained team of staff and counselors are joyful and faithful role models who can't wait to help give your camper their best summer ever!

Come check us out at www.camp-w.com. We can't wait to offer you or your child a transformative adventure! The lottery for 2027 programming is open now through October 26th. Sign up today for a chance to experience Life to the Full at Camp Wojtyla this summer!

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Timestamps: 00:00 Camp Wojtyla

01:31 Intro

02:13 Welcome

03:37 What Does it Mean to Embrace Our Humanity?

07:14 AI Will Change the Way We Live

10:40 Embodied Living

15:38 Experiencing Community in Person

20:13 Beauty is an Antidote to Artificiality

23:16 Making Time for Human Experiences

25:40 Recapping Practical Ways to Live Humanly

27:33 One Things

In this episode, we reflect on how to integrate the rhythms of the liturgical year into our everyday lives. We talk about the different graces available to us in each liturgical season, and how by living these seasons year after year, we are slowly being taught how to thrive. We also reflect on the value of our attention, what it means to be human, and how sacramentals can help call our attention back to God. Living liturgically is not simply another thing to do, but an invitation to become the women God created us to be.

Heather's One Thing - Catholic Artists

Sister Miriam's One Thing - All Our Abiding Together Sponsors

Michelle's One Thing - Brie and Cheddar Beer Soup

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Ascension 2027 Planner

Journal Questions:

• How is the Lord inviting me to embrace liturgical living?
• Who is the Mother Church inviting you to become in our season of Ordinary Time?
• What have I been meditating on in daily life and how can I savor the Gospel?
• Is there somebody or something that has taken God's place at the center of my life?

Discussion Questions:

• How do the Church's liturgical rhythms and practices differ from how you live your life?
• What holds your attention throughout the day?
• What would it look like to embody the rhythms of the Church?
• What's one way you'd like to embrace liturgical living in this season?

Quotes to Ponder:

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)

"Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." (J. R. R. Tolkien, Hobbit Movie)

"The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the people." In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God." Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church." (CCC 1069)

Scripture for Lectio:

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Sponsor - Rooted for Good:

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Timestamps: 00:00 Rooted for Good

01:17 Intro

02:18 Welcome

05:36 The Circular Rhythm of Life

09:07 We Need Holy Order

13:04 What Does it Mean to Be Human?

15:32 God is Meant to Be at the Center

19:15 The Gift of Attention

23:17 Sacramentals to Help Us Remember the Divine

26:58 Where is the Holy Spirit Calling Us?

28:11 One Things

In this episode, we continue our reflection on the mysteries of our lives by exploring our luminous and glorious mysteries. We talk about how God has been inviting us to trust His plans, especially when they look different from our own. We also share how God has been restoring relationships in our lives, reminding us that He is faithful even when we cannot see the full picture of what He is doing. Through these reflections, we are reminded that when God brings something to light, He is inviting us into a deeper relationship with Him. And that His glory is often revealed through quiet moments of restoration and redemption.

Luminous - Something the Lord brought to the light to and an area of pruning, a longing, and ache

Glorious - Something you see the Lord redeeming and restoring (it can still be in process)

Heather's One Thing - The Good Life Hallow Series on Hallow

Sister Miriam's One Thing - Oremoose

Michelle's One Thing - Dolly Parton and Wendell Berry

Journal Questions:

• What is a Luminous Mystery of your life in this season?
• What is a Glorious Mystery of your life in this season?
• Where in my life am I seeking restoration and God's glory?
• Which of your relationships are in need of repair?

Discussion Questions:

• How have the Luminous Mysteries of your life invited you to greater clarity & freedom?
• How is the Lord bringing deeper integration through your Glorious Mysteries?
• How have you seen God's glory in the midst of suffering?
• What's one way that you can tangibly depend more on God this week?

Quote to Ponder:

"I often think that the ideal of our perfection that we set up, and often go through torture to achieve, may not be God's idea of how He wants us to be at all. That may be something quite different that we never would have thought of, and what seems like a failure to us may really be something bringing us closer to His will for us." (Caryll Houselander)

Scripture for Lectio:

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." (Psalm 34: 4-5)

Sponsor - The Abiding Together Shop:

Sweater season is here, and the holidays will be here before we know it! The Abiding Together shop is officially back, and we're celebrating with a special shop sale. Whether you're shopping for yourself or getting a head start on your Christmas list, there's something for every Abiding Together listener—from cozy sweatshirts and long- or short-sleeved shirts to saint story cards, mugs, and leather keychains.

We have so many new styles making their debut in the shop, along with some of your favorite products that are finally back in stock. And for a limited time, you can get free shipping on orders over $75!

One of the best ways you can support Abiding Together is simply by spreading the word. Wearing your Abiding Together merch out and about is a fun way to share the podcast with the people around you and let others know about the community we're building together.

And with free shipping on orders over $75, this is the perfect time to place a group order for your sisters, friends, or small group!

Head over to the shop (abidingtogetherpodcast.com), find something you love, and get ready to show off your Abiding Together spirit. We can't wait to see you out there in your Abiding Together merch!

Timestamps: 00:00 The Abiding Together Shop

01:37 Intro

03:00 Luminous Mysteries

12:53 Glorious Mysteries

19:02 One Things

Welcome to Season 19! In this episode, we continue our tradition of reflecting on the mysteries of our lives through the mysteries of the Rosary. In every season of our lives, God invites us to grow in charity, receive His grace, and allow Him to work more deeply in our hearts. It's important to pause from time to time and reflect on how God has been moving in and through our lives. We model what this reflection can look like and share about our joyful and sorrowful mysteries.

Joyful - A delight, an area of gratitude

Sorrowful - A hurt or obstacle

Heather's One Thing - Abiding Together and Ascension 2027 Planner

Sister Miriam's One Thing - The Good News Conference and everyone who plans events

Michelle's One Thing - College Football and Summer Camps

Journal Questions:

• What has God been doing in my life?
• What are the Joyful Mysteries of my life in this season?
• What are the Sorrowful Mysteries of my life in this season?
• How is the Lord inviting me to surrender the pain of my Sorrowful Mysteries?

Discussion Questions:

• How is the Lord inviting you to be more awake to Him?
• How have you experienced deeper integration in your life through your Joyful Mysteries?
• How is the Lord accompanying you through the Sorrowful Mysteries?
• How is the Lord transforming your bitter memories into sweetness?

Quote to Ponder:

"I often think that the ideal of our perfection that we set up, and often go through torture to achieve, may not be God's idea of how He wants us to be at all. That may be something quite different that we never would have thought of, and what seems like a failure to us may really be something bringing us closer to His will for us." (Caryll Houselander)

Scripture for Lectio:

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." (Psalm 34: 4-5)

Sponsor - CORDA:

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Timestamps: 00:00 CORDA

01:21 Intro

02:03 Welcome

05:00 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder

09:53 Joyful Mysteries

20:38 Sorrowful Mysteries

37:44 One Things

40:32 Closing Prayer

To read Sr. Miriam's Letter, visit the Friends of the Bridegroom's website.

In this episode, we conclude our book study on Friendship in the Lord and welcome Fr. John Burns, Founder of Friends of the Bridegroom, to the podcast. We reflect on our deep longing to be known and loved and the ways fear can cause us to cling to others or settle for lesser goods. We talk about hoping for the possibility of beautiful friendship, even when our own experience has been marked by loneliness, disappointment, or suffering. We also discuss the beauty of celibate friendship as a witness to the primacy of God's love, the role of feedback in relationships, and how the limitations we encounter in friendship ultimately reveal the deeper truth that we were made for God.

Friends, we feel so blessed to have been able to journey with you this summer. We will see you on September 28th for the start of Season 19! Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Instagram to receive updates!

Announcement:

• You can buy your copy of Friendship in the Lord from Ave Maria Press (or Amazon).

Journal Questions:

• How has God moved my heart through this book study?
• Where in my heart am I longing for more hope in my relationships?
• How has this book study given me more hope for more friendships?
• How am I avoiding suffering?
• What are my relational patterns when I experience joy? Shame? Suffering?
• How have I been tempted to idolize friendship by seeing a friend as my savior?

Discussion Questions:

• What has resonated with you in the book?
• How do you want to show up to your friendships differently?
• What would it look like to have hope in difficult or painful relationships?
• How are you seeking to grow in maturity in your friendships?

Quote to Ponder:

"There is no true love without reverence. And reverence is always tender." (Friendship in the Lord, Page 115)

Scripture for Lectio:

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled." (John 3:29)

Sponsor - Ave Maria Press:

Enjoyed reading Friendship in the Lord this summer? Ave Maria Press has even more spiritual titles you'll love. Explore more Christian classics, find your next small group book study or daily Advent companion, and discover guides to deeper healing and spiritual confidence. Ave Maria Press has curated a collection specifically for Abiding Together listeners—encounter your next meaningful read at avemariapress.com.

Timestamps: 00:00 Ave Maria Press

01:24 Intro

03:03 Scripture Verse and Guiding Quote

06:10 Appreciation and the Fear of Being Alone

10:19 Hope for What Friendship Can Be

14:01 The Fear of Suffering

20:14 Becoming Who We Are Meant to Be

28:05 Self-Knowledge in Friendship

30:24 The Beauty of Celibate Friendships

38:47 Encountering Loneliness

43:52 Seeing Another's Potential

48:17 Closing Prayer

In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on the gift of friendship as a foretaste of heaven and a living image of God's love. We talk about how we are meant to journey through life with each other, how God bonds us together along the way, and how these friendships are meant to last forever. We also discuss the gift of praising God for our friends, what it means to behold and not possess beauty, and how focusing on gratitude allows us to hold joy and sorrow in tension.

Announcement:

• You can buy your copy of Friendship in the Lord from Ave Maria Press (or Amazon).

Journal Questions:

• Who has accompanied you through the valleys and mountaintops of your life?
• When do I show up to my friendships from a place of woundedness, deficiency, or insecurity? How is the Lord inviting me into deeper security?
• What is the Lord inviting me to delight in?
• How have I turned my unmet expectations into demands in my friendships?

Discussion Questions:

• What are you grateful for?
• Where in your life are you experiencing the Lord's presence in the midst of suffering?
• When have unmet expectations turned into demands on a relationship?
• How do you cultivate delight and gratitude in your life?

Quote to Ponder:

"Friends in the Lord always turn one another toward the Lord. They are not forever gazing at each other, but together they look to the Lord and to their brothers and sisters in the Lord." (Friendship in the Lord, Page 101)

Scripture for Lectio:

"We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love." (Ephesians 4:14-17)

Sponsor - Word on Fire's new film, Heaven in Stone and Glass, produced in partnership with Spirit Juice Studios:

Beauty has the power to draw us beyond ourselves and point us toward something more.

One of our favorite places in the United States is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. When we are there, beauty has a way of speaking to the ache that we can't name. It is as though our soul knows where it belongs. It feels like a homecoming.

Word on Fire's Heaven in Stone and Glass is a new film exploring the beauty, meaning, and evangelizing power of sacred architecture.

Journey across France with Bishop Barron as he explores five of the world's most iconic Gothic cathedrals: Chartres, Notre-Dame, Reims, Amiens, and Saint-Denis. Through soaring arches, stained glass, sacred imagery, and centuries of history, Bishop Barron reveals the theological meaning embedded within these extraordinary spaces and explores why their beauty continues to stir something deep within the human soul.

Heaven in Stone and Glass invites believers and skeptics alike on a cinematic pilgrimage and asks us to consider what these sacred spaces have proclaimed for centuries: that beauty can reveal something about God and awaken us to the transcendent.

Word on Fire's Heaven in Stone and Glass, a production of Spirit Juice Studios, is coming to theaters nationwide on September 20th and 23rd.

Get tickets for yourself or a group here: https://heaveninstoneandglass.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Heaven in Stone and Glass

01:38 Intro

02:42 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder

05:07 Friendship is Meant to Last Forever

10:13 Faith as the Foundation of Friendship

12:05 Mature Love Gives Deepened Life to Others

13:39 Praising God for Your Friendships

17:20 Beholding Beauty in Others

20:11 Asking God for Gratitude

24:28 Closing Prayer

In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and discuss how friendship with others leads us into deeper intimacy with God. We talk about our longing for both human and divine communion, how healthy friendships free us from self-preoccupation, and why learning to receive feedback is essential to our growth. We also reflect on how unmet desires in friendship are signs of our longing for the Trinity and the importance of releasing lesser goods so that we can be free to receive God's greater gifts.

Announcement:

• You can buy your copy of Friendship in the Lord from Ave Maria Press (or Amazon).

Journal Questions:

• What makes me feel at home with the Trinity?
• How has God invited me to be a more faithful friend?
• Where do I need to grow in self-awareness and be freed from self-preoccupation?
• What is my disposition when someone lovingly reveals my own weaknesses and shortcomings to me?
• How have I refused to grow?

Discussion Questions:

• What makes you feel at home with other people?
• How is God inviting you into deeper communion with others?
• How has the Lord revealed to you your weaknesses and shortcomings? How did you receive that truth from Him?
• How have you given into sloth by seeking God's lesser gifts and ignoring His greater gifts?

Quote to Ponder:

"In a special way, Christian friendship is meant to help us grow in our relationship with the Lord, as one intimately loved by him. It is meant to give us some small experience of what it means to be at home in communion with the Holy Trinity. Only in intimacy with the Lord are we the deepest "who we are." Only in communion with him are we our truest selves." (Friendship in the Lord, Page 77)

Scripture for Lectio:

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

Timestamps: 00:00 Intro

01:00 Scripture Verse

02:37 Human Friendship Helps Us Grow In Relationship with God

05:06 Freedom from Self-Preoccupation

07:47 Cultivating Self Awareness

10:15 Giving and Receiving Honest Feedback

14:36 Pain in Friendship is a Symbol of Our Longing for God

19:12 What Should We Do with Our Ache?

22:48 Resting in the Enjoyment of Lesser Gifts

25:05 A Call to Make Room

27:22 Closing Prayer

In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on how loving appreciation and reconciliation are the places where friendship matures. We talk about why healthy adult friendships draw us closer to the Lord, how the unique gifts of women and men reveal different facets of God's love, and how learning to behold another's beauty without trying to grasp or possess it calls forth our true identity. We also discuss the importance of recognizing how we've hurt others, expressing sincere sorrow, and allowing others to do the same. As we bring our wounds, suffering, and sin into the love of Christ, we discover that the very places we fear most can become the biggest places of resurrection.

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Restore the Glory Podcast on Confession (Parts 1-3)

• S18 Forgiveness Meditation (with questions from the book Forgiving as Unity with Christ)

• S11 Forgiveness Meditation with Sister Miriam

Announcement:

• You can buy your copy of Friendship in the Lord from Ave Maria Press (or Amazon).

Journal Questions:

• Am I maturing as a friend?
• What does the Holy Spirit want to teach me through my friendships?
• Am I currently experiencing conflict or frustration in a relationship? What is the pain or trigger I feel beneath the conflict?
• Can I receive the gift of beauty without trying to grasp or possess it?
• How have I failed to uphold the dignity of my friends?
• Am I experiencing the fullness of who I am?
• What parts of myself am I hiding from my relationships?

Discussion Questions:

• When have you experienced your own uniqueness in a friendship? Did you experience your uniqueness as a gift to give or as an insecurity to hide?
• How is the Lord inviting you to more freely receive your friends rather than possessing them?
• How have you participated in belittling or sarcasm in your relationships?
• How have you participated in or been on the receiving end of judgment within friendships?
• Where does the Lord want to love you into a place of freedom?

Quote to Ponder:

"The intimacy of adult friendship in the Spirit can teach us to aspire to the fullest possible intimacy with the Lord himself. The tenderness of one friend toward another is the image of God's own tenderness, when the friends truly love each other in the Spirit." (Friendship in the Lord, Page 62)

Scripture for Lectio:

"Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Colossians 3:12-14)

Timestamps: 00:00 Intro

01:10 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder

02:03 Am I Maturing as A Friend?

07:57 Our Different Gifts Reveal Facets of God

11:45 Appreciating Beauty Without Grasping

14:28 Upholding the Dignity of Another

16:03 Receiving Ourselves as A Gift

18:37 Judgement Makes Us Blind

20:30 Exposing Our Weaknesses to the Light

22:00 Remaining Faithful to Our Friends

25:50 Reconciling with God and Others

In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on the ways God invites us to grow through the relationships He has entrusted to us. We talk about the importance of rightly ordered love, why true friendship always draws our gaze toward Christ, and the beauty of virtuous friendships between men and women. We also talk honestly about the fears, wounds, and misunderstandings that can arise in friendship, and the importance of repair in deepening a friendship. Friendship is not about finding someone to complete us, but about walking together toward holiness while helping one another become who God created us to be.

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Restore the Glory Podcast on Confession

Announcement:

• You can buy your copy from Ave Maria Press (or Amazon).

Journal Questions:

• When have I experienced healthy and holy friendship between men and women?
• Where is my gaze within my friendships?
• Do any of my friendships serve a higher purpose than just the friendship itself?
• When have I experienced enmeshment or avoidance within friendships?
• Do I prioritize my most important relationships? Who has the Lord especially entrusted to me?

Discussion Questions:

• How are you pursuing a friendship with the Lord?
• Do you think that men and women can have virtuous friendships?
• When have you unhealthily looked to a friendship to satisfy all your needs?
• Have you ever felt spread too thin in your friendships?
• Which example of holy friendship from the book resonates with you?

Quote to Ponder:

"Just as love for neighbor proceeds from love for God, so does faith concerning creatures proceed from this love, whether it be general faith or special faith. As there's a general faith corresponding to the love which we ought to feel in general to every creature, so there is a special faith belonging to those who love one another more intimately, like the faith which has established a close particular love between us two." (St. Catherine of Siena)

Scripture for Lectio:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Timestamps: 00:00 Intro

03:35 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder

05:11 The Friendship of St. Catherine and Bl. Raymond

08:57 The Order of Friendship

11:40 Can Men and Women Have Virtuous Friendships?

16:43 Friendship Ordered Towards Christ

19:24 Why Friendship with God Comes First

23:51 Growing Through Different Stages of Friendship

28:02 Rupture and Repair in Friendship

31:48 Closing Prayer