Missionary To Mars

Graham Landgraff

MISSIONARY TO MARS A story about prayer in a world that feels silent What happens when faithful Catholics do everything right — attend Mass, pray the prayers, follow the forms — and still feel that God is distant? MISSIONARY TO MARS is a contemplative audio drama set on humanity’s first mission to Mars. Through the lives of settlers, priests, and spiritual directors in deep space, the series explores what it means to seek God when certainty fades and silence grows. This podcast is for Catholics who love their faith but long for something more interior, more alive, more personal — a prayer that is not just spoken, but listened to. Using story, dialogue, and reflection, Red Desert gently invites listeners into the ancient Christian practice of attentive, relational prayer — where identity, purpose, and vocation are not discovered through striving, but through listening. Not a program. Not a method. A space to learn how to hear.

Episodes

  1. Mar 11

    Episode - The Silence (Part Two) Three Reflections And Questions

    Missionary to Mars: A Catholic Prayer Drama Part Two of Episode One — "Silence": A Reflection with the Shema Council The spacecraft has gone quiet. The engines have shut down. Marisol Reyes is in Mars orbit — and something she didn't plan for happened during those four minutes of fire. In Part Two of Episode One, we step outside the drama to examine what it just showed us. The Shema Council — a company of voices drawn from Scripture, Church history, and the tradition of conversational prayer — gathers around three moments from Marisol's story: the prayer she whispered without knowing it was one, the silence that felt like abandonment but may have been invitation, and her commander's challenge that set faith against competence as if the two were strangers. Frank Laubach, Madame Guyon, Brother Lawrence, George Müller, John of the Cross, Andrew Murray — these are not names dropped for credibility. They are witnesses. Each of them arrived, by a different road, at the same discovery: that God speaks continuously, that the interior life is simply the discipline of learning to hear what has always been said, and that the stripping away of familiar spiritual supports is not a punishment. It is the gift underneath the gift. The reflections are followed by three questions — not rhetorical ones. Ones with edges. Ones designed to locate, in the ordinary geography of your week, the exact lines Marisol is navigating sixty-three million kilometers from home. This is not commentary on a story. It is the story continuing — in you. For those who recognize the room she is standing in. Support the show Patreon.com/Missionary_To_Mars

    Episode - The Silence (Part Two) Three Reflections And Questions
  2. Feb 6

    Special Introductory Episode - Meet The Creator Of "Missionary To Mars"

    Unlike the audio-drama format making up all the following episodes, we begin with something different, for us at least. Thanks to the realm of technology we feature an interview of the Missionary to Mars series creator by the fictional Spiritual Director of the story, Father Ambrose Pierce. And while we normally do not do talking heads on purpose, it seems appropriate to take a step back and answer some fundamental questions about the project itself.  Why do an audio drama?Why is it set on Mars?How can listeners participate themselves in prayerful exercises as story characters go through the paces themselves?If the following important statement loses your interest, it does so intentionally so get ready: THIS IS NOT A SCIENCE FICTION STORY DRAMA. IT IS HOWEVER A MODERN PARABLE MEANT TO REVEAL THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO A MODERN AUDIENCE. Certainly, some statements or answers may need clarification and we welcome episode feedback. This is the start of a brand new enterprise and it is felt better to actually get product to air than to tinker with constant editing and improvements. We thank you for your grace, your patience and encouraging participation. P.S. A quick note--Some may wonder why the broadcast story and targeted audience is Roman Catholic. Does that mean no one else should listen or can benefit from what you hear? Everyone can either learn or confirm what they already know, to grow in a greater appreciation of what it means to deepen a current existence's meaning through the interactive form of prayer with our Creator. Be you atheist or any other religion, God desires communion with all of His children. That said, there are close to two billion Roman Catholics on the planet this year and despite solid affirmation by the Vatican, Catechism and the writings of the Desert Fathers or Saints, this kind of prayer formation seems lacking in volume despite strong evidence that parishes desire it. Thank you and God richly bless you. Graham Support the show Patreon.com/Missionary_To_Mars

    Special Introductory Episode - Meet The Creator Of "Missionary To Mars"

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

MISSIONARY TO MARS A story about prayer in a world that feels silent What happens when faithful Catholics do everything right — attend Mass, pray the prayers, follow the forms — and still feel that God is distant? MISSIONARY TO MARS is a contemplative audio drama set on humanity’s first mission to Mars. Through the lives of settlers, priests, and spiritual directors in deep space, the series explores what it means to seek God when certainty fades and silence grows. This podcast is for Catholics who love their faith but long for something more interior, more alive, more personal — a prayer that is not just spoken, but listened to. Using story, dialogue, and reflection, Red Desert gently invites listeners into the ancient Christian practice of attentive, relational prayer — where identity, purpose, and vocation are not discovered through striving, but through listening. Not a program. Not a method. A space to learn how to hear.