What God is Not

This week we're joined by special guest Dr. Gerry Crete. We talk about some of the concepts from his book, Litanies of the Heart. We talk about the studies and prayer he's had over the years which led throughout his work. We talk about the inner self, the different parts that make up ourselves, and how the parts can interact with each other and our inner self.

References:
Litanies of the Heart by Dr. Gerry Crete

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This week Fr. Michael walks through some of the prayers of the church which can be incorporated into your daily prayer life. These are everything from prayers before and after meals to a daily examination of conscience.

A special shoutout to Antonette who took this picture of Fr. Michael!

References:
Publicans Prayer Book from Sophia Press
Carsoslov (The Book of Hours) from Eastern Christian Publications
Prayer Rule of St. Pachomius

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This week Fr. Michael talks about scripture readings in Acts and John, and links them together to talk about division and having an undivided heart. He talks about the need for full attention to be given to God, and how it's hard to live this out sometimes.

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This week Mother Natalia talks about self-reflection on sin, recognizing where we've stumbled, how that has impacted others, and where we've grown. She uses a recent example of something that happened in community life to show us how this works practically.

References:
Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge
Litanies of the Heart by Dr. Gerry Crete

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This week Fr. Michael unpacks a theme he sees in the post-Pascha Sunday readings around people saying yes to Jesus immediately vs qualifying the yes or asking follow-up questions before saying yes. He talks about the reasons why we might not say yes right away, and how our human experience can get in the way of our desire to say yes.

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This week Mother Natalia talks about her recent poustinia, where she reflected on rest. Mother Natalia talks about taking to-do lists to pray while also trying to remember that prayer is relational and not something to fulfill check-boxes.

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This week we’re joined by special guest Brother Simeon Miriam from the CFRs. Brother Simeon was imminently about to start an 8-day poustinia, so in this episode we talk a bit about poustinia, the nights of poustinia he helped start in NYC, a bit about how he became Roman Catholic, and the love of breathing with both lungs.

References:
The Way of a Pilgrim
The Philokalia
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

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This week Mother Natalia talks about imperfection and recognizing that we will always be imperfect, following a retreat she gave at Wyoming Catholic College. She and Fr. Michael talk about the externals of our prayer practice, both personal prayer and prayer during Diving Liturgy or Mass. They talk about how our relationship with Christ should grow and develop over time.

References:
From Christendom to Apostolic Mission by University of Mary
Scrupulosity and the Sacraments
The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander

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This week Mother Natalia talks about attacks of the devil that lead to despair. She vulnerably shares some personal examples, and talks about people in her life who encouraged her during these moments of despair. Mother Natalia shares some writings from St. John Chrysostom related to despair as a way to encourage and strengthen us.

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References:
On Repentance and Defeating Despair: Letters to Theodore by St. John Chrysostom

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This week Fr. Michael reflects on the names of Adam and Noah, how they're linked, and how they reflect the new Adam. Fr. Michael talks about becoming an altar and how we can live that out in our day-to-day lives.

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References:
The Beginning of Desire:  Reflections on Genesis by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

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