Mystagogy

We begin the summer with the brief but seminal encyclical by Pope St. Paul VI, Of Human Life (Humanae Vitae).  Promulgated in July 1968, the work has proven to be prophetic in so many realms as to modernity’s assault on the family and the true nature of sexuality.  We will discuss why the work shook the Church and the world  and explore the amazing “why” behind the most ignored and vilified, yet central Catholic Church teaching for our time. We will also consider keynotes of Pope St. John Paul II’s follow-up to Humanae Vitae in his lifelong reflection called “The Theology of the Body.”

Sr. Helena Raphael Burns, fsp is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of Roman Catholic Sisters founded to communicate God’s Word through the media. She has an  M.A. in Media Literacy Education; a B.A. in theology and philosophy from St. John’s University, NYC; studied screenwriting at UCLA and Act One-Hollywood; and holds a Certificate in Pastoral Youth Ministry. Sr. Helena wrote and directed a documentary on the life of the Church’s new media saint, Blessed Father James Alberione: MediaApostle.com and is a co-producer on The40Film.com.  She has written a Theology of the Body curriculum used in her online TOB Certificate Course through Sacred Heart College, Peterborough, ON, Canada. Sr. Helena gives Media Literacy & Theology of the Body workshops and courses to youth & adults all over Canada and the U.S.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

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In this episode, we complete The Paradiso, and then have time for a bit of a debrief and discussion about our individual take-aways from the whole journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

Support the show

Mystagogy finally makes it to heaven! And it’s literally out of this world. Our consideration of the last of the three parts of Dante’s epic poem covers Cantos I-VIII.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

Support the show

Our consideration of Dante’s Purgatorio concludes with his remedies for the sins of the flesh, and then moves onto the ascent into the earthly paradise which kicks off the greatest parade in the history of, well, history.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

Support the show

A reflection on our Lenten day of recollection covered Dante's Purgatorio, Cantos X-XII, examining the sin of pride and proposing remedies to do battle with this devastating sin.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

Support the show

In this session, we cover Cantos XIII, XV, XIII, XX, and XXI of The Purgatorio.  (Please note that we will skip the sin of pride in Cantos  X-XII as we will be covering that in another session). These cantos will consider healing remedies for the sins of envy, anger, sloth, and greed.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the show

We enter the second phase of our journey through the afterlife as we begin Dante’s Purgatorio.  This book is the heart of The Divine Comedy in fact and in spirit as it offers real and profound suggestions for reordering our spiritual lives.  

To begin we will be considering Cantos I-VII of The Purgatorio, much of which is dedicated to considering those souls who just make it to salvation, whom Dante calls “the Late-Repentant.”  If you want a little help following the text, there is a very nice animated summary here.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the show

This episode is a discussion of the three temptations of Christ through the lens of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the show

In this session, we complete our journey through Dante's Inferno, looking specifically at Cantos XVIII, XX, and XXIII-XXVIII.  Imagining the darkest paces in hell, Dante will compel us to consider sins of deceit, disloyalty, betrayal, deceit, and treachery. Our journey concludes with the encounter with Lucifer himself in the deepest circle of hell.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the show

We continue our tour through Dante’s Inferno  by examining the levels of hell reserved to sins of violence. Specifically, we discuss Cantos IX-XV. 

To supplement your reading, there are a myriad of dramatic versions of the Inferno online.  If you would like to hear the actual text of Canto X in the original Italian with some great Medieval graphics, click here.  There is also a very helpful presentation on Canto X with English subheadings here.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the show