In Your Embrace

19 September 2022 | St. Januarius | Menlo Park, Calif.

This week, I’m excited to welcome Rachel from the Dickens Chronological Reading Club to talk about Dickens’s high-contrast fiction and that Pickwickian light that shines all the more brightly in darkness. We also consider the Prophet Elijah, leader and father of Carmelites, and what it means to go up the mountain to meet God. Plus, one simple lesson I learned about vocal technique can have a positive impact on every area of our lives!

Send me a message at inyourembrace.com/contact to let me know you’re listening!

Opening music: “Caritas abundavit in omnia,” composed by St. Hildegard of Bingen, sung by Gregoriana Amsterdam, 2010. All rights reserved.

12 September 2022 | The Most Holy Name of Mary | Menlo Park, Calif.

This week on the podcast, I share more about what its’s like ministering as a deacon in the seminary, then take a first look at Barnaby Rudge and the Gothic mood. What one spiritual truth can we learn from Gothic horror? Last but not least, friend of the podcast Daniel Murphy and I share our personal testimonies of encountering St. Thérèse and our different lay and clerical styles of living out her little way.

Send me a message at inyourembrace.com/contact to let me know you’re listening!

Opening music: Psalm 91, sung by Harpa Dei, 2022. All rights reserved.

This homily was given at St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, CA on Sunday, September 11, 2022, the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

5 September 2022 | St. Teresa of Calcutta | Menlo Park, Calif. 

This week, I share some initial experiences from my new pastoral assignment in South San Francisco, where I am learning to breathe with both lungs! We take a look at the character of Galadriel in Amazon’s newly-released Rings of Power series, asking: is she in continuity with Galadriel as we know her from the books? Finally, I am joined by my friend Daniel Murphy for the first of many Carmelite conversations to come. We discuss St. Thérèse, an unlikely hero, through the rubric of the Hero’s Journey, and try to glimpse the summit of Mount Carmel through the prism of her unique life. 

Send me a message at inyourembrace.com/contact to let me know you’re listening! 

Opening music: “The angel cried,” megalynarion of Great and Holy Pascha from the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, sung by Archangel Voices, 2010. All rights reserved.

29 August 2022 | Passion of St. John the Baptist | Menlo Park, Calif.

Welcome to a new season of In Your Embrace Podcast! In this episode, I share some very brief thoughts about my ordination this summer and what it’s like to be back in seminary as a deacon, as well as what new kinds of conversations you can expect on the podcast this year.

Send me a message at inyourembrace.com/contact to let me know you’re listening!

See the new schedule of the Dickens Chronological Reading Club at https://wreninkpaper.com/2022/05/13/updated-schedule-the-dickens-chronological-reading-club-2022-24/

And see you back here next week for further conversations.

Opening music: “Beatitudes - Ancient Chant,” arr. P. Kappanadze, sung by St. Tikhon's Seminary & Monastery Choirs, South Canaan, PA, 2018. All rights reserved.