What God is Not

This week Fr. Michael and Mother Natalia reflect on another prayer by the lake. They talk about the wisdom in the poem and how our enemies cause us to turn back to Christ. References: Prayers by the Lake Poem 75 Follow and Contact Us! 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 Nonpr...

This week Fr. Michael and Mother Natalia reflect on the first prayer from the Prayers by the Lake by St. Nikolai of Ochrid. References: Prayers by the Lake Prayer 1 - the one reflected on in today's episode Follow and Contact Us! 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 Nonpr...

This week Mother Natalia reflects on a talk she gave and a talk she heard at that same conference. She reflects on a passage from the Gospel of John, where Jesus talks about peace and forgiveness in seemingly rapid fire fashion. She then shares how interior peace and forgiveness help us rest in the Father. References: Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagra...

This week we're joined by special guest, Mother Gabriella. Mother Natalia and Mother Gabriella reflect on the recent tonsure of Sister Marta and Sister Thekla.  References: The Journey of Monastic Life Episodes on Mother Natalia's Life Profession Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter Christ t...

This week Mother Natalia takes inspiration from spiritual direction she's given and talks about the importance of silence and looking for God throughout the day. She gives practical examples of incorporating silence into the day, whether it's 5 minutes in the car or while you're working. She talks about looking for God in the things that bring you joy, like hikes, fall leaves, or bo...

This week Fr. Michael talks about examples of barrenness in scripture and how the Lord fulfilled people's requests. He talks about wanting to get to the cross without suffering, but how it is through the suffering that we grow with Christ. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter Christ the Bridegroo...

This week we're joined by special guest, Fr. Nathanael. Fr. Nathanael and Mother Natalia share how they received their names, their love of scripture, and then talk briefly about the scripture passage in John where Jesus asks Peter "Do you love me?" Unfortunately Fr. Nathanael's audio and video cut out during this section, so we don't get to hear his thoughts on this passa...

This week Fr. Michael talks about how he thinks about putting together a homily. He uses a recent Sunday Gospel and Epistle to show how he thinks about homilies and how we can link passages to our daily lives. Fr. Michael talks about the importance of reading the readings ahead of Divine Liturgy, especially if you are cantoring them. References: The Hidden Power of Silence in the Mass: A Guide for...

This week Fr. Michael walks through the Thanksgiving Prayers the congregation is invited to pray after Divine Liturgy. References: The Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great - Responses and Hymns - the prayers start on Page 95 Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter Christ the Br...

This week Fr. Michael picks up where he left off on last week's episode and continues walking through some of the prayers that the congregation are invited to say before Divine Liturgy begins. This week we start on Prayer 3 which begins on Page 9 of the book. References: Preparing for the Diving Liturgy Part I The Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great - Responses and...

This week Fr. Michael walks through some of the prayers that the congregation are invited to say before Divine Liturgy begins.  References: The Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great - Responses and Hymns - the prayers start on Page 4 Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter Chris...

This week Fr. Michael reflects on a passage from 1 Corinthians. He considers what it means to be scum of the earth, the world's refuse, and to be holy fools. He talks about what it means to be imitators of St. Paul, who in turn is aiming to be an imitator of Christ. References: 1 Cor 4:9-16 Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads G...

This week Mother Natalia reflects on a talk she recently gave at the Byzantine Young Adult convocation on the monastic heart of Mary. She specifically reflects on how Mary lived out the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She also gives examples of how these counsels can be lived out by priests, monastics, and lay people. References: Orientale Lumen by St. Pope John Pau...

This week Mother Natalia uses a quote from Elder Porphyrios as a jumping off point to talk about relinquishing control that evil has over us and to allow God to work through us. She then talks about recognizing the truth and gently and compassionately proclaiming the truth to others. References: Wounded by Love by Elder Porphyrios Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We'...

This week Fr. Michael talks about a conversation he had with a pilot about the beauty of nature that is seen as the pilot flies the plane. Fr. Michael then connects the beauty of nature with seeing the True Light that is God. References: Theodochos The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Wounded by Love by Elder Porphyrios Reflection on the We Have Seen the True Light prayer A Simple Byzanti...

This week we're joined by special guests Jess Allen and Fr. Chris Seith. Jess talks about intentionally practicing liturgical living. She gives examples of what that looks like practically and how it could be different in your family life vs her family life. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter C...

This week Mother Natalia gives some examples of how to go to confession, specifically in the Byzantine tradition. Fr. Michael outlines some practicalities from the priest's point of view and what you will hear the priest say in confession. Mother Natalia gives an example of what it might look like to go to confession when it's the parish confession time and so you don't have tons of...

This week Fr. Michael takes us through homilies he gave on Matthew 11 while on a recent retreat. He pulls out themes of childlikeness, reflecting on Jesus' teaching of aspects that are good and bad of being a child that we should and should not imitate. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter Christ...

This week we're joined by special guests, Adam and Noelle Mering. They talk about their work counseling families and doing concert and bar ministries. They talk about how they learned to be intentional in the way they interact with their children as their children are in various points in their life. Adam and Noelle talk about their accidental and now intentional ministry they do at concerts...

This week we're joined by special guests Nick and Lorena Towle, parishioners at Fr. Michael's outreach. Nick recently discerned a call to priesthood and they talk about their vocation story leading up to marriage and to priesthood. References: Aim Higher!: Spiritual and Marian Reflections of Maximilian Kolbe Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube...

This week Mother Natalia shares a story of personal growth and also ways that she can improve. She connects that story to our daily need to persevere in holiness, recognizing that the times during the weeks after Pentecost are when the "real work" is done. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitte...

This week Fr. Michael reflects on themes found in the scripture passages leading up to Pentecost. He talks about the meaning of fire and water, how they can both be destructive but cleansing. He talks about the need for community and diving in with reckless abandon. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitte...

This week we're joined by special guest, Dr. Gerry Crete. Dr. Gerry talks about Parts Work and how we see it played out in Lord of the Rings. He talks about how we see the characters grow and change, and the different parts we see represented in the characters. References: Litanies of the Heart by Dr. Gerry Crete The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Inst...

This week Mother Natalia reflects on scripture readings from the book of James which recently convicted her. She talks about holding her tongue, being slow to anger, and quick to listen. She talks about the beauty of answering a question directly, as opposed to answering something which was not asked in order to make any excuse. She talks about silence and how silence can help us in our lives. Fol...

This week Fr. Michael reflects on the scripture passage from Acts where Tabitha is raised from the dead. He contrasts that with the healing of Jairus' daughter in the synoptic Gospels.  Follow and Contact Us! 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 Send us Fan Mail...