This week we launch a month in the company of the Church’s great Doctor of Prayer, St. Teresa of Avila.  We will begin by reading the famous metaphor of the soul as a garden from her autobiography. With Don Quixote, The Book of Her Life is still considered to be the greatest work of Spanish letters.

You can prepare for the discussion by reading Chapters 11-15 of her autobiography.

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.

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This week, we consider the nature and elements of Catholic prayer from The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), and also a short passage on the four ways to God from the book Psychology and Spirituality by Fr Benedict Groeschel, OFM.

The readings are:
CCC #31-35,  #2623-2643 and #2697-2719
Psychology and Spirituality, pages 6-11

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

To kick off our summer series, we will reflect on some writings that go way back to the third century of Christendom.  While the Church was suffering under the Roman persecutions, hundreds of thousands of Christians fled into the desert first to survive, but then to encounter the Lord in simplicity, silence, Scripture, and prayer.  What they learned in the desert became the foundation for Christian spiritual practice, and the keynotes of the Desert Fathers are still very much the essence of what it means to grow in holiness as a Catholic.

Program syllabus

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

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