What God is Not

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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This week Mother Natalia comes to us with some hot takes fresh off her poustinia. She talks about fear, love, vulnerability, and weakness. She talks about each of those in our relationship with God as well as our relationship with others. This episode is deep!

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This week Fr. Michael talks about how to pray and providing suggestions to friends who ask for help in praying. He talks about how prayer methods (rote prayer, contemplative prayer, etc.) work differently for each person, but ultimately how important prayer is to our daily lives and relationship with God.

References:
The Art of Prayer by Kallistos Ware.
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives by Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

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This week’s episode was recorded live at SEEK24. Fr. Michael and Mother Natalia are joined by Fr. Boniface Hicks. They talk about how our lives would change if we inherently knew that Jesus loved us. They talk about ways this is exhibited in daily life, in prayer, in the confessional. They also talk about a sticker that premiered at SEEK and how it came to be.

Thanks to SEEK for having us and to Spoke Street Media for recording this episode.

References:
Fawn and Flight with Kristin Molitor

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Today we conclude our series of the liturgies for Great and Holy Week. This week’s episode covers Great and Holy Friday, Great and Holy Saturday, and Pascha Sunday.

This is our 200th episode. We're so grateful to our listeners for your prayers and support!

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This week we continue our series of the liturgies for Holy Week. Today's episode covers Presanctified Liturgy on Holy Wednesday, matins for Holy Thursday, and Divine Liturgy on Holy Thursday.

References:
The Year of Grace of the Lord by A Monk of the Eastern Church
Isaiah 61:1-3
Therapy of Spiritual Illnesses by Jean-Claude Larchet


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This week we're kicking off a three part series where we walk through the liturgies for Holy Week. Today's episode covers Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

References:
The Year of Grace of the Lord by A Monk of the Eastern Church
Great Lent by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
Behold the Bridegroom
Useless but not Worthless

Monday Readings: Matt 21:18-43, Ezekiel 1:1-20, Exodus 1: 1-20, Job 1:1-12, Matt 24:3-35

Tuesday Readings: Matt 22:15-23:39, Ezekiel 1:21 - 28, Exodus 2:5-10, Job 1:13-22, Matt 24:36 - 26:2

Wednesday Readings: John 12:17 - 50, Ezekiel 2:3-3:3, Exodus 2:11-22, Job 2:1-10, Matt 26:6-16

Episode 200!
We're celebrating our upcoming episode 200 by hearing from you! Record a 20-30 second video (or audio only) clip talking about how the podcast has impacted your life. Upload to your Google drive and then share with [email protected] so our friend David can compile. Your videos can be vertical or horizontal. We may not be able to use all the submissions but look forward to watching them! Thanks for your support.

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This week Fr. Michael reflects on the encounter of Simeon and Anna with the child Jesus when Jesus was presented in the Temple. Fr. Michael also shares some creative ideas for almsgiving that you can incorporate during the Great Fast and even throughout the year.

Episode 200!
We're celebrating our upcoming episode 200 by hearing from you! Record a 20-30 second video (or audio only) clip talking about how the podcast has impacted your life. Upload to your Google drive and then share with [email protected] so our friend David can compile. Your videos can be vertical or horizontal. We may not be able to use all the submissions but look forward to watching them! Thanks for your support.

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Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
We're on YouTube!
Join our Goodreads Group
Fr. Michael's Twitter
Christ the Bridegroom Monastery
Our Website
Our Nonprofit