All Things

Your identity ( noun ) will be shaped by what you identify ( verb ) with. If your actions will play an role in shaping who you are (and they will), this episode tries to help you identify with Christ.

We all know what it's like to feel like we are not being true to who we really are. In this episode we talk about how we attach our identities to things that create a False Self, how we can recognize get in better touch with the parts of ourselves the False Self covers over, and let those hidden parts of ourselves be known and loved.

We wrap up our series on the Shema prayer by reflecting on the call to "love our neighbor as ourlselves."  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org Script by Wilson Ryland Music by Julius Obregon, Jr.

In this episode we talk about the part of the Shema that calls us to love God with all our "strength." How can we love God with all of our strength? Listen to find out as we reflect on how the Shema invites us into loving action through our work, our effort, and our body.  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

This episode we talk about the part of the Shema that calls us to love God with all our "mind." What is the mind, and how can we love God with it?  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

This episode we talk about the part of the Shema that calls us to love God with all our "soul." What is the soul, and how can we love God with it?  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

We continue our series on the "Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) by unpacking the different aspects of our self that are called to love God: the heart, soul, mind, and strength. In this episode, we focus on what it means to love God with all of our heart.  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

In this episode, we continue our series on the "Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) by unpacking what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

In this episode, we continue our series on the "Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) by unpacking what it means for God to be "one" and how this prayer calls us to live in harmony with God and one another. Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

In this series we unpack the Shema prayer and why we find it so central to the gospel that we've named our ministry after it. This conversation focuses on the invitation that begins the prayer– " Hear , O Israel" and how the shema prayer invites us to live attentively.  Support us on Patreon  HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

In this series we explore what's behind the Shema prayer ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength... and your neighbor as yourself") and why it's so central to our identity that we chose to name our ministry after it.  Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org  

We wrap up the series by talking with Zach Wertish, a local creative pastor and one of Shema's apprentices. In our conversation, Zach shares how 1-on-1 mentorship and the practice of silence has allowed him to experience a greater sense of purpose even in his daily task list. Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org  

This time we talk about why we need Christian community to practice habits that align with the Gospel, and how the monastery offers us a fuller picture of what true "community"looks like. Support us on Patreon HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

This episode, we're excited to feature our friend Dr. Brad Kelle, whose recent work on the phenomenon of "moral injury" offers us great insight on how to better identify and repair the erosion of trust between the community and the Church.   Dr. Kelle is a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew in the School of Theology and Christian Ministry at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. You...

In this conversation, we explore how we can imagine a better way forward for the Church to address the problem of misaligned habits undercutting the Gospel. What do our habits tell us about our deepest longings, and how can we re-direct these towards Christ?   Support us on Patreon  HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org

Why are so many people leaving the Church? Why are so many refusing looking to it in the first place? In the following episodes, the Shema team explores this question in depth as a way of opening up the conversation towards what we hope the solution could be.  Support us on Patreon  HERE ! To find more about our ministry and apprenticeship programs, visit https://shemasd.org  

To wrap up our series on the Desert mothers and fathers, we wanted to feature one of Shema's apprentices ( https://shemasd.org/apprenticeship-program ) to tell the story of her own "desert season". Danielle shares about how her experience of healing from burnout led to a deep appreciation for the monastic tradition. Support us on Patreon  HERE ! https://shemasd.org Script by Wilson Ryland and Kevi...

This week we reflect on the following saying from St. Martin of Braga: A brother asked an old man, " What shall I do for my sins?" He replied, " He who desires to be free from his sins shall be freed from them by weeping, and he who wishes to build virtues in himself will build them by weeping. Even the Scriptures are composed of mourning, for our fathers said to their disciples, Wail. There is no...

This week we reflect on the following saying from Amma Syncletica: Amma Syncletica said, "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town, and they are wasting their time. It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of personal thoughts." Support us on Patreon HERE ! https:/...

This week we reflect on the following saying from Abba Lot: "Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, "Abba, as far as I can say, I do my little office, I read my psalms, I fast a little bit, I pray and I meditate, I live in peace with others as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. Tell me, Father, what else, what more can I do?" Then the old man, Abba Joseph, stood up, stretched out his h...

In this conversation, we dwell on the saying of the desert father Amma Poemen– "Abba Poemen said about Abba Pior that every single day he made a fresh beginning." Support us on Patreon HERE! https://shemasd.org Script by Wilson Ryland and Kevin Portillo Original Score by Julius Obregon Jr.

In this conversation, we dwell on the saying of the desert mother Amma Theodora, who says: "Let us strive to enter by the narrow gate. Just as the trees, if they have not stood before the winter's storms cannot bear fruit, so it is with us; this present age is a storm and it is only through many trials and temptations that we can obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven." Support us on Patre...

The Desert Fathers and Mothers were the leaders of the monastic communities that formed in Egypt around the 3rd century. This series, we meditate on the teachings and stories left behind by these "abbas" and "ammas" as a way to glean wisdom from their lives of faith. In this first conversation, we dwell on the saying of Abba Moses where he tells a young monk seeking wisdom, "Go and sit in your cel...

This time we chat with an author named Jay Aedo about his recent children's book series "Conscious Bible Stories" and explore the way stories form and engage our imagination across different backgrounds. To learn more about Jay and his work go to https://consciousbiblestories.com/ . Music by Julius Obregon, Jr.  Support us on Patreon HERE !  https://shemasd.org  

This time we explore what St. Oscar Romero's life and teachings have to tell us about what it means to become a saint ourselves.   Support us on Patreon HERE !  https://shemasd.org Script by Wilson Ryland and Kevin Portillo Original Score by Julius Obregon Jr.