What God is Not Father Michael O'Loughlin and Mother Natalia

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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