What God is Not

This week we're joined by special guest Fr. Nathan Symeon. Fr. Nathan and Fr. Michael talk about listening to the Holy Spirit and others. They also talk about their experience as participants in a review of the final document from the synod on synodality. References: Integrated Evangelization by Monsignor Richter Sobornost by Catherine Doherty Save the Date for the Bridegroom's Banquet!...

This week Mother Natalia asks Fr. Michael to reflect on his twenty years of priesthood, one day after his anniversary. She asks him some questions from the podcast team as well as from her. Save the Date for the Bridegroom's Banquet! 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 Mona...

This week Mother Natalia talks about assumptions and how they can hurt others. She talks about sensitivity needed in difficult discussions and the need to listen to people instead of just blathering on to hear ourselves speak. Save the Date for the Bridegroom's Banquet! Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael&apos...

This week Fr. Michael talks about the vocation of priesthood and ways that seminarians could be guided in their discernment towards married or celibate priesthood. He talks about some practicalities of support of priests and their families by the eparchy and the related challenges. He focuses on the mission of priests and how that could be different for married and celibate priests. Save the Date...

This week Fr. Michael talks about the poverty we find ourselves in and how it can be attractive to others. He uses the stories of Photina, St. Moses the Black, and Mary Magdalene to show how each of them embraced some level of poverty, ultimately bringing Jesus to others.  References: John 4:1-42 Luke 16:9 The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander Fr. Michael's Guest Appearances: Connor Gallagher...

This week Fr. Michael talks about the healing of the paralytic at the pool and how his years of longing for healing was fulfilled. He relates that to healing in our own lives and how we can sometimes cling to a solution we've identified instead of relying on the Lord to identify the way we will be healed. References: John 5:1-15 Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We&ap...

This week we're joined by special guest, Fr. Nathan Symeon. Fr. Nathan Symeon talks about apophatic and cataphatic theology, but more specifically the differences between apophatic and cataphatic prayer. He talks about how we can experience apophatic prayer in our lives and the importance of paying attention to the Holy Spirit working in our prayer life. References: Searchers of the Lost - Fr...

This week we're joined by Bishop Erik Varden. Bishop Varden, Mother Natalia, and Fr. Michael talk about recognizing Jesus in others, living a contemplative life, the Syriac fathers, and the beauty of chastity. Be sure to check out Bishop Varden's podcast, Desert Fathers in a Year , in partnership with Exodus 90. Bishop Varden also has a website he posts to regularly. References: Chastity...

This week we're joined by special guest, Fr. Chris Seith. Mother Natalia and Fr. Chris talk about the monastic life and how their constant life of prayer calls us to incorporate God into our lives. They talk about Orientale Lumen and the call to reinvigorate the monastic life around the world. Mother Natalia and Fr. Chris talk about some of the differences in liturgical practices in the Byzan...

This week Mother Natalia talks about a revelation she had about sin and listening to God. She talks about how our thoughts impact the way we act. Mother Natalia talks about the way we need to practice listening to Our Lord so that we can be aware of how the devil is tempting us. References: Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives by Elder Thaddeus Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Faceboo...

This week Fr. Michael talks about a recent discovery he made about rest and preparation. He talks about the importance of both and how they are linked together. Fr. Michael talks about how preparation makes many things go smoothly and give us time for rest. 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 Fr. Michael talks about rules and the gift they can be in our lives. He talks about the difference between checking boxes and fully embracing the Church's teaching. Fr. Michael talks about how structure and order can easily veer into just checking the box instead of seeing the deeper picture. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our...

This week Mother Natalia repurposes a talk she gave recently about relationship and efficiency. She talks about her initial thought that relationship is greater than efficiency and how her thoughts on that changed. Mother Natalia gives some concrete examples of relationship and efficiency in action from her personal life. References: Rekindling Wonder by Fr. Chris Seith Follow and Contact Us! Foll...

This week Fr. Michael talks about life after death, specifically the teaching of the early church Fathers. He uses the book Life After Death as part of his main talking points. We hear a bit about how this teaching helped Mother Natalia realize that her heart was truly Eastern. References: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church A Simple House Life After Death by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos...

This week Mother Natalia talks about intentionally incorporating Jesus into our lives. She gives two examples of this in action in her own life, in embroidery and running, and how she was able to come to a prayerful understanding of that in her own life. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook We're on YouTube ! Join our Goodreads Group Fr. Michael's Twitter Christ the...

This week Fr. Michael talks about prayer, fasting, and alms-giving in relation to the Great Fast and the paradoxes that exist within each  of those. He talks about humility and how we can find a paradox within our humility as well. 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 O...

This week Mother Natalia talks about some of the things she's excited to encounter while on the upcoming pilgrimage. She differentiates between pilgrimage and vacation, reminding us that we're supposed to be uncomfortable on pilgrimage. She connects pilgrimages to the Great Fast, and talks about how pilgrimages ultimately connect us to longing for heaven. References: The Shattering of Lo...

This week Fr. Michael talks about the importance of knowing Jesus and encountering Him in prayer. He talks about the need to encounter Him in our regular devotions like Divine Liturgy, Mass, Rosary, etc., but how we must also seek Him out in one-on-one prayer. Fr. Michael talks about resting in Jesus and the importance of that as we continue our spiritual journey. Follow and Contact Us! Follow us...

This week Fr. Michael reflects on the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. He talks about how each of us can reflect the thoughts and actions of the younger son, the older son, and the father. He talks about the significance of the younger son wanting his inheritance now instead of when his father dies as well as the significance of the younger son working with pigs. References: Luke 15:11 - 32...

This week we're joined by special guest Joni Seith. Joni share with us the many sufferings she's endured over 30+years, and how she has used that suffering as a form of prayer. She talks about how her family has helped her in this, and how she's learned to be grateful despite her suffering. References: Pain of Grace by Joni Seith Eucharistic Prayer read by Joni Joni's blog Cor...

This week's episode was recorded live at SEEK25. Fr. Michael talks about vulnerability in leadership. He references written and spoken vulnerability in leaders from group commitments, prayers said by the priest at baptism, and prayers said by the monastic or liturgical leader at night prayer. Thanks to the team at Max Studios for recording this episode! References: Brene Brown's TED Talk...

This week we're joined by special guest, Mother Iliana. Mother Natalia and Mother Iliana talk about a mistake that was made that impacted their relationship. They give background on all the other things going on in their individual lives before the mistake was made, and how those things made the mistake seem much bigger and smaller. They talk about the repair that was made in their relationsh...

This week Fr. Michael reflects on a sentence in a prayer that the priest prays during Divine Liturgy, "...in the greatness of your mercy you have brought all things out of nonexistence into being..." Fr. Michael talks about what it means for God to be mercy, to give mercy, and why God brought us into being in the first place. He reads some reflections from Archbishop Raya in the Byzantin...

This week Mother Natalia reflects on her recent poustinia, where the Lord placed the idea of rest on her heart. She talks about the ways she can rest in her monastic life allowing God to take charge in her life. She talks about how we are all called to rest, despite labor also being important to the rest of our lives. Mother Natalia also talks about the importance of recognizing beauty in the worl...

This week Mother Natalia talks about ruptured relationships and the hurt that comes in that rupture. She talks about offering up relationships to the Lord, recognizing that healing in the relationship may not come in this life, and the desire to have union with everyone in heaven. She links this to Saints Stephen and Paul, who did not have a great relationship on this life, but now through union w...