Abiding Together

The Father In this episode, we continue with Part 4 of our book study on The Return of the Prodigal Son and talk about God the Father. We discuss the failure of earthly and spiritual fathers and how God wants to restore our understanding of His fatherhood. We also talk about the mercy of the Father, the invitation to receive His blessing, and how the Father's heart burns for us to come home to Him...

The Elder Son In this episode we continue with Part 3 "The Elder Son", from our book study on The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. We discuss how the elder son is also lost and in need of a homecoming because in his heart, he too is far away from the father. The struggles of the elder son are within all of us when we compare, feel like we are owed something, consider ourselves worthy be...

The Younger Son In this episode we continue with Part 2 of our book study on The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. We talk about the places within ourselves that, like the younger son, are living in a distant land, far from the love of God the Father. We discuss how often we search for unconditional love outside of God and are left heartbroken. We long to hear His voice speak healing to...

The Story of Two Sons and Their Father In this episode, we kick off our 6-part Lenten book study on The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen, beginning with the Prologue and Introduction. We chat about our identity as children of God, the mercy of the Father, and how God uses art and beauty to speak to us. We explore the idea of home and a homecoming, which speaks of our deep desire for heav...

The Power of Holy Hour In this episode we have our dear friend Fr. Josh Johnson back on the podcast to discuss how to have a fruitful Holy Hour. Through his humor and reflections, Fr. Josh shares practical tools as well spiritual insights about how to pray in silence and grow in intimacy with Jesus.    Fr. Josh's one thing - The Liturgy of the Hours Sister Miriam's one thing - Calming Christian pl...

Gathering People In this episode we discuss how to gather people and lead a fruitful discussion. We are meant to live in community and have depth and joy in our relationships, but sometimes we don't know where to start or how to go deeper. We chat about how to have meaningful conversations and live in an open-hearted way with others. We also discuss lots of practicals and how to grow in the gift o...

Made For Mission - Recorded Live from FOCUS SLS Conference This week is a special episode of Abiding Together that we recorded in front of a live audience at the FOCUS SLS conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This episode is packed full of wisdom, inspiration, and a challenge to personal holiness. We chat about leadership, mission, making a whole hearted yes, regaining your voice, falling in love with...

The Barrenness of Winter In this episode we talk about the barrenness of winter and how the seasons are often reflected in our spiritual and emotional lives. We explore how to have hope and perspective in times when things are hidden and dormant and how to allow our roots to go deeper into our relationship with Christ.    Sister Miriam's one thing - Trader Joe's Michelle's one thing - If You Want...

Good Soil In this episode we break open the parable of the sower and the seeds. We chat about how we can cultivate good soil in our hearts where seeds can grow and bear good fruit. We also talk about the practicals of what makes up rocky ground that chokes out goodness and what makes up the fertile soil, where God can bring forth life and abundance.   Sister Miriam's one thing - Undone: Freeing Yo...

Repost: Striving vs. Abiding We chose to repost this episode from Season 1 because it is a message at the heart of the Abiding Together Podcast. Many of us live a life of striving and struggle, rather than accepting the invitation of abiding and trust. We take time to reflect on the scripture John 15:4-5, where Jesus invites us to abide in His love. We also chat about how we can recognize the pitf...

Word of the Year In this episode we reveal and discuss our word of the year. A few years ago, we each began the practice of praying and listening for the Lord to give us one word to focus on for the new year. It's an opportunity to dive in to what God is speaking in our individual lives and respond in intentional ways.    Sister Miriam's one thing - Love Come To Life - Melissa Helser & Molly Skagg...

The Good News In this episode, the fourth part of our Advent series, we interview our friend Sarah Kaczmarek. Sarah is the Assistant Director of Alpha Catholic USA , as well as the Pastoral Director of Encounter School of Ministry . We chat about the call we have as Catholics to share the Good News of the Gospel and the stumbling blocks we often run into. We also discuss how essential it is to be...

He's in the Waiting In this episode, the third part of our Advent series, we interview our friend Beth Davis from Blessed is She. We talk about the theme of having hope in seasons of waiting, trusting God when we can't see what He's up to, and being transformed by the renewal of our minds. Beth's one thing - Consecration to Jesus through St. Joseph: An Integrated Look At the Holy Family by Dr. Gre...

Making Room for Others In the second part of our Advent series, we interview Ennie Hickman, our good friend and founder of Del Rey Collective . We talk in depth about what it means to actually love our neighbor and how to make "room at the inn" for strangers and people in the periphery of our lives. We also talk about hospitality and making our hearts ready for guests before making our homes ready...

The Light Shines in the Darkness In this episode we have a fascinating interview with Fr. Justin Brady, priest and exorcist. We talk about the battle between the light and the dark and how the enemy attempts to keep us far from God. We often forget that God has won the battle and has given us all that we need through the sacrifice of Jesus and the ministry of the Church to overcome darkness in our...

Gratitude In this episode we talk about the power of gratitude and how it can dramatically change our perspectives and transform our experience of the world. Gratitude helps us to change the focus from ourselves or the things we don't have to a heart that is thankful, humble and open to all the good things God is blessing us with. The truth is that if we can worship and give thanks to God in the m...

The Gift of Wonder In this episode we discuss the importance of having a sense of wonder in our lives. Too often we get so focused on the tasks and pressures of life that we miss the moments that God is revealing His majesty and beauty to us in personal ways. It is these moments that keep our hearts aware of the greater things, that we are made for heaven and that our lives are held in the capable...

The Holy Spirit - We are Family Series Part 3 In this episode we wrap up our 3-part series on the Trinity with the Holy Spirit. We talk about how the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son and is our Advocate and Comforter. We are invited into a dynamic relationship with the Person of the Holy Spirit, Who desires to empower, strengthen, guide, and comfort us in personal ways. We al...

We Are Family: Jesus the Son In this episode we talk about Jesus Christ as the one who brings us into intimacy with himself. We find in him the one to whom our hearts belong, who brings healing and restores hearts. We talk about who Jesus is to us and how to grow in relationship with him.   Sister Miriam's one thing -  Bible Study on Romans by Dr. Andrew Swafford and Jeff Cavins Holy Land Pilgrima...

We Are Family: God the Father With this episode we start a 3-part series on the persons of the Trinity. This week, we talk about God as Father and what it means that he cares for us as a Father. It is through connecting to how the Father sees us that we will discover the truth of who we are, especially in the profound reality that God sees us through the lens of love.    Sister Miriam's one thing...

The Power of Scripture In this episode we talk about the power of scripture, the Word of God. It is through delving into the Word of God that we encounter the heart of God, we find out who we are, and we proclaim the truth of who He is. We talk about scriptures that have impacted us and new scripture cards you can buy in our new shop .    Sister Miriam's one thing - All of our listeners in Ireland...

Renewal of Religious Life - Interview with Fr. John Burns In this episode we talk with Fr. John Burns about the importance of the renewal of religious life as a huge part of how the Church will heal and be restored. We discuss how important it is for us to have a visible sign of a religious sister who lives her vocation as the bride of Christ and shows us that our hearts are made for God. We also...

Eucharist Amazement: May We Never Lose Our Wonder In this episode we talk about the new pew report that shows only ⅓ of American Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. We share about how we need to renew Eucharistic amazement in tangible ways and share our own experiences of the power of the Eucharist in our lives.  Sister Miriam's one thing - The Homesick Candle   Heath...

How to Accompany Someone Through A Hard Season In this episode we talk about how to journey with each other through hardships and offer the powerful gift of presence. Walking through suffering with each other is sacred ground, so we need to learn how to become a compassionate presence and honor the vulnerability in others, while also being vulnerable ourselves. We talk about how to discern what we...

I Choose You In this episode we talk about the beautiful words of Jesus in John 15:16 where he tells us that He has chosen us and that his desire is that we bear fruit that will last. It's the deepest desires of every heart to be known, to be chosen, and to belong, but often we don't believe the truth of our belovedness in the core of our being. We chat about the difference between fruit that last...