This page contains links to the posts containing podcasts that I create and post from time to time.
Podcast series are listed alphabetically by title of series. Following all of the series podcasts are individual podcasts, also listed alphabetically.
All of these podcasts can be downloaded from here. In addition, you can subscribe to my podcasts through Itunes. (Go to the Itunes store and search Susan Stabile or Creo en Dios!)
Advent Retreat in Daily Living – Preparing a Dwelling for the Lord
These talks are recording of my talks given during the weekly gatherings of a 2008 Advent retreat in daily living given at University of St. Thomas Law School.
The Dwelling Place of the Lord
The Story of the Other Wise Man
Advent Retreat in Daily Living – Preparing for the Birth of Jesus
These talks are recording of my talks given during the weekly gatherings of a 2010 Advent retreat in daily living given at University of St. Thomas Law School.
Preparing Ourselves as a Dwelling of the Lord
Actively Waiting in Joyful Hope
Advent Retreat in Daily Living – Preparing the Way
These talks are recording of my talks given during the weekly gatherings of a 2009 Advent retreat in daily living given at University of St. Thomas Law School.
Our Response to God’s Invitation
Advent Retreat in Daily Living – Preparing the Way of Our God
These podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave during the 2011 Advent Retreat in Daily Living at UST Law School, on the theme of Preparing the Way of Our God.
Participants in the Fulfillment of the Prophesy
Advent Retreat in Daily Living – Voices of Advent
These podcasts are recordings of my talks during the 2013 Advent Retreat in Daily Living at UST Law School on the theme Voices of Advent.
Introduction; Voices of Disbelief and Fear
Voices of Blessing and of Preparation
Advent Retreat in Daily Living – We Wait in Joyful Hope
These podcasts are recordings of the talks from the 2012 Advent Retreat in Daily Living at UST Law School.
The Invitation to be Part of God’s Plan for Redemption
Models of Response to the Invitation (Dan Griffith)
Accepting the Invitation to Transformation
Church and the Modern World
This series of podcasts contains recordings of the talks given during an Adult Faith Formation Series at St. Thomas Apostle in Fall 2012, focusing on some of the major themes arising out of Vatican II. The talks are given jointly by Bill Nolan (pastoral associate at STA) and me.
Major Themes of Vatican II and Faithful Citizenship Part 1
Faithful Citizenship: Human Life and Family Life
Faithful Citizenship: Social Justice and Global Solidarity
Vatican II and the Role of the Laity
Developing the Beatitudes in our Lives
These podcasts are recordings from a retreat on the Beatitudes I have to UST undergraduates in February 2014.
Discerning My Place in the World
This series of podcasts is from a 2014-15 program series at University of St. Thomas law school aimed at helping participants discern their place in God’s plan for the world. Each session addresses a different topic relating to vocational discernment.
Identifying and Prioritizing Values
Getting in Touch with My Deepest Desires
What Happens When Things Don’t Go As I Expected
Embracing Mary
This series of 6 podcasts explores different perspectives on Mary. The talks are based on an 8-day retreat I gave at St. Ignatius Retreat House in June 2007, entitled Embracing Mary.
Mary’s Yes – Mary’s response to God’s invitation is a model for our own response to God’s call to us.
Mary, First Disciple – Mary helps us understand what it means to be a disciple.
Mary, Mother of God – What it means – about Jesus and about Mary – to call Mary the Mother of God.
Mary, Mother of the Church – In giving Mary to John at the foot of the cross, Jesus gave her to us all as our Mother and mother of the Church.
Mary, Prophet of Justice – Mary’s message of faith and hope expressed in the Magnificat, and what it means for our world today.
Marian Apparitions – Tells the story of two of the more famous apparitions and what they mean for us today.
From Creation to Incarnation
These podcasts are recordings of talks I gave during a Fall 2014 Scripture Prayer/Study series at Our Lady of Lourdes.
Annunciations and Responses to Invitation
Introduction to Different Prayer Forms
These podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave during a Fall Prayer Series I offered at both UST and St. Hubert’s in Fall 2009.
Praying with Poetry, Art and Music
Centering Prayer (Jennifer Wright)
Jesus Speaks
These podcasts are recordings of talks I gave during a reflection series at UST and St. Hubert’s in Fall 2010, titled Jesus Speaks, or at a second Jesus Speaks reflection series in Fall 2015 at UST.
The Great Commandment (2015)
“This is how you should pray” – Reflecting on the Lord’s Prayer (2010)
The Lord’s Prayer (2015)
“Blessed are…” – Developing the Beatitudes in Our Lives (2010)
The Eucharist (2015)
“Take and eat…” – Reflections on the Eucharist (Jennifer Wright) (2010)
Take and eat…” – Reflections on the Eucharist (2010)
“Take all you have…” – Giving up What We Cling To (2010)
The Great Commissioning (2015)
“Go Out Into the World…” – Growing in Discipleship (2010)
Learning to Forgive
These podcasts are recordings of talks given during our Fall 2012 Reflection Series, titled “Learning to Forgive.
Introduction to the Series; What Lack of Forgiveness Does to Us
Biblical Models of Forgiveness (Chato Hazelbaker)
Christian Teaching on Forgiveness (Fr. Dan Griffith)
The Process and Challenges of Forgiveness (Mark Osler)
Forgiving Ourselves and Accepting God’s Forgiveness (Jennifer Wright)
Learning to Love Like God
In February 2015 I gave a weekend retreat at the Cenacle Retreat House on the theme Learning to Love Like God. I recorded three of those talks:
What Does it Mean to Love Like God
Challenges to Loving Like God (I have two talks on this topic and the link had both podcasts)
Lent: A Time of Conversion
These three talks are from a weekend women’s Lent retreat I gave at St. Ignatius Retreat House in March 2011. (Two are recordings of the actual retreat talks and one I recorded afterward.)
Lent: A Time of Conversion – a discussion of the meaning of conversion and the Lenten invitation to conversion.
Giving Over and Taking Up – a discussion of the things conversion asks us to give up and to take up.
Lent and Modern-Day Models of Conversion – identifies some women who are models that help us reflect on our own conversion.
Lent as Pilgrimage
These five podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave at a weekend women’s Lent retreat I gave at St. Ignatius Retreat House in March 2012. (All five can be streamed from the same blog post.)
Introduction – Pilgrimage as Metaphor for our Lives
False Steps on the Pilgrim Trail
Pilgrimage in a Post-Resurrection World
Lent Reflection Series
These podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave at the 2015 Lent Reflection Series at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
Session 1: Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer
Session 2: Lent as a Time to Reflect on our Sinfulness
Session 3: Walking With Jesus in His Passion
Session 4: Accepting the Cross as the Consequence of Discipleship
Lent Retreat in Daily Living – A Journey of Conversion
These podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave during the weekly gathering of a 2010 Lent retreat in daily living given at the University of St. Thomas.
Week 1 – Lent and the Format and Prayer Forms of the Retreat
Week 3 – Evaluating Religious Experience and the Movement from Week One to Week Two of the Exercises
Week 4 – Sources of Discouragement and Spiritual Consolation and Desolation
Week 6 – Praying with Jesus’ Passion and a Reminder about Dynamics of Ignatian Prayer
Week 7 – Bringing the Retreat to a Close: Weeks 3 & 4 of the Exercises and the Contemplatio
Lent Retreat in Daily Living – Following in the Footsteps of Jesus (2012)
These podcasts are recordings of the talks given by me and others during the weekly gathering of a 2012 Lent retreat in daily living at UST Law School.
Week 1 – Introduction to the Theme and Getting in Touch with Ourselves as the Beloved of God
Week 2 – The Jesus in Whose Steps We Wish to Follow
Week 3 – Missteps on the Path to Discipleship (Mark Osler)
Week 4 – Models of Faithful Discipleship (Chato Hazelbaker)
Week 6 – Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Coming of the Spirit
Lent Retreat in Daily Living – Following in the Footsteps of Jesus
These podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave during the weekly gathering of a 2011 Lent retreat in daily living given at the University of St. Thomas and at St. Hubert.
Talk 1 – The Lenten Invitation and Getting in Touch with God’s Love
Talk 2 – Getting to Know the Jesus Whose Death and Resurrection We Are Preparing For
Talk 3 – Praying with the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Talk 4 – Stations of the Cross (Part 1)
Talk 5 – Stations of the Cross (Part 2)
Talk 6 – The Sorrowful Mysteries
Lent Retreat in Daily Living – In the Desert with Jesus
These podcasts are recordings of my talks during the weekly gathering of the 2013 Lent Retreat in Daily Living at UST Law School.
Week 1 – The Invitation to Follow Jesus
Week 2 – The Early Days of the Public Ministry
Week 3 – Hints of What is to Come
Week 4 – Moving toward Jerusalem
Week 5 – The Final Hours Before Arrest
Week 6 – Following Jesus from Arrest to Death
Lent Retreat in Daily Living – The Spiritual Exercises
These podcasts are recordings of the talks I gave during the UST 2014 Lent Retreat in Daily Living. Our retreat follows the arc of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
Week 1 – Introduction to Ignatius and the Exercises and Getting in Touch with God’s Love
Week 2 – The Principle and Foundation
Week 6 – Death and Resurrection
Lent Retreat in Daily Living – Walking with Jesus in His Passion
These podcasts are recording of my talks given during the weekly gatherings of a 2009 Lent retreat in daily living given at University of St. Thomas Law School.
Week 1 – Introductory Talk on Ignatius and the Spiritual Exercises and Basic Retreat Instructions
Week 2 – Dynamics of Ignatian Prayer and Praying the Examen
Week 4 – Spiritual Consolation and Spiritual Desolation
Week 5 – Ignatian Decisionmaking
Week 6 – The Movement of Week 3 of the Exercises
Week 7 – Week 3, Tomb Day and Praying with the Resurrected Jesus
Week 8 – The Contemplatio and a Gathering of the Graces
Praying with Jesus’ Parables
These podcasts are recordings of talks I gave during the 2016 Lent reflection series I offered at the University of St. Thomas on the theme Praying with Jesus’ Parables.
Prodigal Son, Lost Sheep, Lost Coin
The Good Samaritan and the Rich Man and Lazarus
The Widow and the Judge and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Praying with the Mystics
In both Fall of 2008 and Fall of 2013, I offered a Reflection Series at the University of St. Thomas School of Law on the theme of Praying with the Mystics. These talks are from one or the other of those series. (While I was on Camino, my colleague Jennifer Wright gave two of the mystics talks.)
Teresa of Avila (2013)
Thomas Merton (2013)
Julian of Norwich (2013)
Author of the Cloud of the Unknowing (2013) (Jennifer Wright)
Margery Kempe (2013) (Jennifer Wright)
Julian of Norwich (2008)
St. John of the Cross (2008)
Catherine of Siena (2008)
RCIA Talks
These podcasts are from RCIA talks I have given at Our Lady of Lourdes parish.
Right Relationship with God: Commandments 1-3
The Moral Life: Commandments 5, 7, 8 and 10
Reclaiming Who I Am
Over the course of our lives, things happen that cause us to lose sight of who we really are. We develop certain myths that hinder our ability our ability to see ourselves as God sees us. This series of five podcasts explores some of the myths that we develop in the course of our lives and how we might lay them down to reclaim who we are. The talks are based on a retreat I gave at St. Ignatius Retreat House in February 2008.
The Myths We Live With as Humans – explores the myths we develop as humans that prevent us from seeing ourselves as God sees us and thus inhibit our ability to fully experience God’s love.
The Myths We Live With as Women – explores myths that women are particularly susceptible to.
Who I am: Beloved of God – addresses an important step in reclaiming who we are, in seeing ourselves as God sees us: recognizing ourselves as the beloved of God.
Who I am: Uniquely Gifted by God – addresses both the giftedness of women and the unique giftedness of each of us.
Who I am: Individually Called by God – addresses the implications of the fact that we are each individually called by God.
Reflections on Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances
These podcasts are recordings of talks given during a 2012 series on Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances sponsored by Christ the King and St. Thomas Apostle parishes and co-presented by me and Bill Nolan (Pastoral Associate at STA).
The Post-Resurrection Appearances in Mark (Bill Nolan)
The Post Resurrection Appearances in John
The Post-Resurrection Appearances in Luke (Bill Nolan)
The Post-Resurrection Appearances in Matthew
Reflections on the Creed
These podcasts are recordings of talks given during a 2011 Fall Reflection Series on the Creed that I offered (in slightly different forms) at UST, St. Hubert, and St. John’s Episcopal.
What Does it Mean to Have a Creed – This first talk in the series introduced the program and talked about what is a creed and why creeds have value.
I Believe in God – In this podcast, I share some thoughts on the first part of the Creed, in which we express our belief in God as Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I Believe in Jesus – You will find two podcasts at this link – one by me and one by Jennifer Wright. Each of us talk about our understanding of the second part of the Creed, in which we express our belief in Jesus Christ.
I Believe in the Holy Spirit – There are two podcasts at this link, one by me and one by Chato Hazelbaker. Each of us reflects on what it means to us to say “I Believe in the Holy Spirit.”
I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church – This is a podcast of the final talk of the creed series, focusing on the final segment of the creed.
Spiritual Exercies of St. Ignatius
I have given a number of weekend retreats designed to introduce people to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Following are recordings of some of the talks from those retreats.
Introduction and Disposition Phase (2011 UST undergraduate overnight)
Week 1 of the Spiritual Exercises (2012 St. Catherine’s MAT student/alum weekend)
Patterns of Sinfulness and Week 1 of the Exercises (2013 UST undergraduate weekend)
Week 2 of the Spiritual Exercises (2012 St. Catherine’s MAT student/alum weekend)
Growing with Jesus in Week 2 of the Spiritual Exercises (2013 UST undergraduate weekend)
Week 3 of the Spiritual Exercises (2011 UST undergraduate overnight)
Week 4 of the Spiritual Exercises (2011 UST undergraduate overnight)
The Gift of an Awakened Heart
An awakened heart is a heart alive to the consonence of its beat with the heartbeat of God. The “gift” of an awakened heart refers both to our opening our heart to receive the gift from God’s heart and how we then gift the world by living out of our awakened heart. This series of five talks explores both of those aspects of the gift of an awakened heart and are drawn from a guided retreat I gave at St. Ignatius Retreat House in Summer 2009.
Living Out of an Awakened Heart – talks about qualities of an awakened heart and what it means to live out of an awakened heart.
Overcoming Misconceptions – talks about three common misconceptions that hinder our ability to open ourselves to the gift of an awakened heart.
Beginning to Heal our Woundedness – focuses on our need to get in touch with the wounded parts of ourself to we can fully open ourself to God’s gift of an awakened heart.
Our Baptism Vows – explores the meaning of our Baptism vows as a way to get in touch with God’s invitation to each of us to gift the world with our awakened hearts.
Getting in Touch with our Desires – explores the role of desire in discerning how we are meant to grace the world with our awakened hearts.
Women of the Bible
Podcasts from a five-part series on Women of the Bible, offered at the University of St. Thomas in Fall 2016. Some of the talks were given by me and others by Jennifer Wright.
Sarah and Hagar (Jennifer Wright)
Lesser Known Women of the Bible (both me and Jennifer Wright)
Mary and Elizabeth (Jennifer Wright)
Individual Podcasts (Not part of a series)
Age of Integrity and Wisdom – a Taize reflection that speaks of the time Erickson calls the “age of integrity” or the “age of wisdom.”
Annunciation Narratives – a reflection offered at an Advent series at St. Thomas Apostle on the annunciation narratives in Luke and Matthew.
Barriers to Living Out of an Awakened Heart – the first talk from a retreat day for St. Catherine MAT students and alumni; explores what is an awakened heart and barriers to living out of that heart.
Becoming All We Can Be – a reflection on the things that operate to block us from fully receiving God’s love and therefore being all we can be for the life of the world.
Being a Place Where God Happens – one of the talks I gave at a Day of Reflection for the Ignatian Associates on the theme of being church in today’s world. Here I talk about what it means for us – individually and communally to be “a place where God happens.”
Being Prophets in Today’s World – a Weekly Manna reflection on our call to be prophets, and not just protesters.
Birth Narratives – Bill Nolan and I discuss the birth narratives in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew at a STA/CTA Advent series session.
Blessed are They Who Mourn – a brief Weekly Manna reflection on this Beatitude in the context of my experience of 9/11.
CST 101 – a talk on the anthropological foundations and basic principles of Catholic Social Thought.
Charity and Evangelization – a parish talk kicking off a three-part adult faith formation series on Catholic Social Thought and Evangelization.
Confession – a mid-day dialogue, in which Mark Osler and I discuss confession from the Catholic and Protestant perspective.
Discerning Religious Experience – a mid-day reflection addressing the question “How do I know it’s God talking?”
Discipleship and Consolation – a reflection on identifying experiences of spiritual consolation.
Examining Our Attitude Toward the “Other” – a reflection on the ways we decide certain people are “not us”, are “other” and where those tendencies come from.
Exploring Common Values Among Faith Traditions– a talk given at a mid-day reflection at UST on spirituality across faith traditions.
Faith and Works – a dialogue between me and Mark Osler on this oft-discussed topic. Part of our Mid-Day Dialogue on Faith series.
Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer – an extended reflection on these three Lenten Practices.
Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer – a short reflection on three fundamental religious practices.
Finding God in All Things – a mid-day reflection to introduce incoming first year law students to the Examen.
Finding Purpose in your Life and Career – a mid-day reflection to first year law students during Orientation week about questions that aid in discerning vocation
God and Mammon – a reflection on the parable of the dishonest steward and our inability to serve both God and mammon.
God Loves Us First – uses the story of Zacchaeus to talk about reconciliation.
Growing in Love and Wisdom – a talk drawn from my forthcoming book of this title, which adapts Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditations for Christians.
Heaven, Hell and Purgatory – a mid-day reflection offering perspectives from three different faith traditions on heaven, hell and purgatory.
How Jesus Sees Us – a reflection on praying with the Hymn to Love in Corinthians as a way of getting in touch with how Jesus sees and loves us.
Humility in Today’s World – a talk for parishioners of St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Bloomington on the meaning of humility and why humility is such an important virtue to cultivate.
I Believe in God: Assessing the Value of Creeds – a conversation about creeds between myself and my colleague Mark Osler (who comes form a non-creedal tradition) on the value of creeds, both for an individual and for a religious community.
Intentional Discipleship and the New Evangelization – a talk I gave for parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes parish as part of a four-week program on the New Evangelization.
Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation – a talk introducing people to mindfulness meditation, followed by a guided meditation.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples – a Mid-Day Reflection talk on two of Jesus post-resurrection appearances: the appearance on the road to Emmaus and the one on the shore of Galilee.
Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Forgiveness – a Mid-Day dialogue exploring forgiveness from the Jewish and Christian perspectives.
Learning from Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters: Atonement – a Weekly Manna reflection given during the period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur on the theme of atonement.
Learning from Ruth and Naomi – two podcasts from a women’s mini-retreat I gave at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Moments in Every Women’s Life as revealed in the Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi.
Learning to Forgive – an lenten evening retreat talk on the theme of growing in our ability to forgive others and in accepting God’s forgiveness of us.
Lenten Invitation to Deepen our Prayer Lives – a talk given to parishioners of St. Edward’s Catholic Church on lenten prayer.
Living with Purpose – a talk given at a mid-day reflection on the theme of reconnecting with our life values.
Loving-Kindness Meditation – a guided loving-kindness meditation with a very brief introduction.
Martha’s Faith – is about Martha’s affirmation of faith in the resurrection, and what that means to Jesus.
Moral Life: Commandments One, Two and Three – talk at Our Lady of Lourdes for RCIA candidates on the first three commandments.
Our Role in Fulfilling the Promise of Advent – reflection during Advent Taize service on the promise of Advent.
Pilgrimage: Lessons from the Camino – talk at UST Law School where I shared some of the lessons of my experience walking the Camino de Santiago in the fall of 2013.
Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel – a talk at Church of Our Lady of Lourdes on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhoratation, Evengelii Gaudium.
Prayer as Relationship – a mid-day reflection on relational prayer.
Praying with the Resurrected Jesus – a reflection at Church of Our Lady of Lourdes on praying with the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.
Reflecting on the Saints – an All-Saints Day reflection on what it means to be a saint and what meaning the saints have in our lives as Christians.
Remembering Vatican II – a Mid-Day reflection by me and Fr. Dan Griffith offered on the anniversary of the opening of Vatican II talking about some of the major themes of the council, including a focus on the role of the laity.
St. Ignatius and Pilgrimage – two podcasts taken from a day of reflection for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps discussing some implications central to Igantian Spirituality that flow from the metaphor of our lives as pilgrimage.
Saints and Saints – a Mid-Day reflection on the meaning of saints (capital and small s) in our lives.
Salvation and Afterlife – a Mid-Day dialogue between Mark Osler and me and the subject of salvation and afterlife in Catholic and Protestant traditions.
Solidarity and Policy– discusses the principle of solidarity and how it ought to affect both our views of public policy and our dealings with each other.
Spirituality Across Faith Traditions – explores some universal dynamics that operates across the major faith traditions.
Standing Firm with Christ – a retreat talk from a weekend retreat on Choosing Christ in the world; this talk focuses on standing firm with Christ in the face of the temptations of the world.
The Cardinal Virtues and our Lives– talks about what are the virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice, and what they mean to our lives.
The Courage to be Prophets – the homily I offered at an ecumenical prayer service on the courage to be prophets.
The Message of John the Baptist – an Advent reflection on John and his message.
The Role of Ritual – a dialogue among Mark Osler, Chato Hazelbaker and me on the role of ritual in religious traditions.
The Sacrament of Baptism – a talk by me and Bill Nolan on baptism, one of a three-part series on the sacraments of Initiation.
The Sacrament of Confirmation – a talk by me and Bill Nolan on confirmation, the last of a three-part series on the sacraments of Initiation.
The Search for God – a talk about my journey from Catholicism through Buddhism to a deeper relationship with God.
Thoughts from a Parable – a reflection prompted by a retelling of the Prodigal Son parable in Peter Rollins’ The Orthodox Heretic.
Transformation – a Taize reflection that speaks to God’s desire for our total conversion and our hesitation to open ourselves fully to transformation.
Two Views on Intercession – a dialogue between Mark Osler and me on the subject of Intercession.
What Does the Lord Ask of You – a Mid-Day Reflection for incoming first year students on Micah 6:8 and what it means for them as law students and future lawyers to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
Why Follow Jesus? – a short Weekly Manna reflection on relationship with God as motivation for discipleship.
Women’s Retreat Day: Celebrating our Giftedness Podcasts – two podcasts taken from a women’s retreat day given at St. Hubert’s on the theme: Recognizing and Celebrating Our Giftedness as Women.
Women’s Retreat Day: The Women who Came Before Us – two podcasts taken from a women’s retreat day given at Church of Christ the King on the women who came before us. One talk addresses Women of the Bible and the other, Latter-Day Women Saints.
World Religions: Buddhism – an introduction to some fundamentals of Buddhism, with an emphasis on comparison between Buddhism and Christianity
You Are a Dwelling Place of God – a Taize reflection that speaks of God’s indwelling.
You Are the Light of the World– a short reflection on what it means for us to be bearers of the spirit of the reseurrected Christ in the World.
Creo en Dios! 
I am glad my sister gave me the link to this podcast.
Have you heard of http://www.sqpn.com ? You may want to get associated with them and get associated wit Itunes for us t to be able to subscribe and download your podcasts. BTW great work !
Thanks, Joe. You can download the podcast from here: http://susanjoan.libsyn.com/. I do plan to get things in place so people can subscribe through ITunes….but that probably won’t happen for a while. (I’m getting ready to go off on retreat in a couple of days.) Susan
Listened to “myths as humans” podcast — twice — and found it deeply-felt, amply and broadly supported with scholarship and carefully-nuanced. 1) We are not our personalities. A wise Jesuit told me how to find the inner “I” — strip away our roles, strip away our attributes, and we are left with the ineffable, incomprehensible simplicity of our being, the divine and irreducible spark. So “I am a lawyer, but ‘I’ am not ‘Lawyer.’ I am a father, but ‘I’ am not ‘Father,'” etc. 2) We do not have to earn God’s love. The greatest obstacle to true faith is believing that God loves us — without surcease, without condition, even when those who loved us no longer love us, even when we no longer love ourselves. Accepting that truth — that we are lovable, always — is the hardest thing to believe. Resurrection of the body, Immaculate Conception — trifles by comparison. The podcast’s most beautiful thought: “God loved us into existence.” 3) I wonder about the myth of self-existence. I understand that we are all connected, that radical “me-ism” is selfish and destructive. But subjugating the self to the collective is what allowed the 20th century’s most lethal authoritarian states. And I thought that God loved “me for me” unconditionally. What does that mean if I’m but a link in the lattice?
Susan, I know it is an imposition on your time and your daughter’s technical skill to produce more of these. But they are awfully good: scholarly, clear and human. I’ll keep looking for additional chapters. If you get them onto I-Tunes, I’ll flog them via review without reservation.
Harry
Mary’s Yes.
This is a wonderful meditation, dense, thoughtful, fresh and engaging. Mary as the first Christian, the first to accept Christ; Mary’s acceptance of God’s will as an assertion of strength and autonomy, not as passivity and weakness; our need to incarnate God every day, in imitation of Mary — these are powerful reflections rendered with a lawyer’s deft turn of phrase.
Listen once, reflect, wait a week, then listen again.
Martha’s Faith
A wonderful reflection on the woman who is — unfairly –remembered as the sister who chafed at doing the housework while Mary sat at Jesus’ knee. The podcast highlights Martha’s remarkable faith amid the loss of her brother, Lazarus, her confession that Jesus is the Christ.
I propose a new designation of Martha, as patron saint of multitaskers. Think about it — she didn’t stop her necessary chores as hostess for Jesus, but she still absorbed enough of what he was saying to utter the profound confession of faith after Lazarus’ death. Mary could only listen or work; Martha wound up doing both!
Harry
P.S. My grandmother and aunt are both named Martha, so this is a third generation apologia for her devoted housework.
Pingback: Immaculate Heart of Mary « Creo en Dios!
Pingback: Rosary Podcasts | Rosary.com | Free Rosary Prayers and the World's Leading Rosaries Shop