To kick off our summer series, we will reflect on some writings that go way back to the third century of Christendom. While the Church was suffering under the Roman persecutions, hundreds of thousands of Christians fled into the desert first to survive, but then to encounter the Lord in simplicity, silence, Scripture, and prayer. What they learned in the desert became the foundation for Christian spiritual practice, and the keynotes of the Desert Fathers are still very much the essence of what it means to grow in holiness as a Catholic.

Program syllabus

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

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This week, we consider the nature and elements of Catholic prayer from The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), and also a short passage on the four ways to God from the book Psychology and Spirituality by Fr Benedict Groeschel, OFM.

The readings are:
CCC #31-35, #2623-2643 and #2697-2719
Psychology and Spirituality, pages 6-11

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.

This week we launch a month in the company of the Church’s great Doctor of Prayer, St. Teresa of Avila. We will begin by reading the famous metaphor of the soul as a garden from her autobiography. With Don Quixote, The Book of Her Life is still considered to be the greatest work of Spanish letters.

You can prepare for the discussion by reading Chapters 11-15 of her autobiography.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.

We continue our consideration of the spiritual metaphors of Saint Teresa of Avila, the Church’s Doctor of Prayer. We turn to her most famous spiritual work, The Interior Castle, and discuss the levels of prayer. In this session, we look at the first three rooms of the castle.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.

We complete our brief introduction to Saint Teresa of Avila's writings on prayer, picking up with the Third Mansion in The Interior Castle and continuing on to the Seventh Mansion.

The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.

This session provides a consideration of Catholic spirituality in the contemporary moment by discussing chapters 6, 7 and 8 of the book Spiritual Passages by Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.

This talk is the first part of a two-part consideration of the spirituality of the Mass and Holy Eucharist. Our primary text for discussion of the Mass is the 20th century classic Meditations Before Mass by Father Romano Guardini, servant of God. Guardini is a favorite author of both Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, among many others. This talk focuses especially on the following sections:

2. I - Stillness

2.XVIII - The Congregation and the Church

3. XXIV - The Memorial of the New Covenant

3.XXVIII - Christ's Offering of Self

3.XXXI - The Mass of the New Covenant

By way of a catechetical refresher on the Mass, here is a video to watch: https://www.goodcatholic.com/catholic-mass-described-by-st-justin-martyr/

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.

We continue our spiritual tour through the Holy Mass and give particular emphasis to Jesus’ gift of Himself in the Blessed Sacrament.

Our primary text for discussion is a work by the wonderful 19th-century saint of the Eucharist, Saint Peter Julian Eymard. You can find the work here.

We also consider some ideas from Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist: Sacramentum Caritatis. Specifically, we cover Part III, “The Eucharist: a Mystery to Be Lived,” sections 70, 77, 84, 85, 89 and 90.

The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by George Sarah.

This program of mystagogy is hosted by the Adult Faith Programs at Saint Stephen Martyr Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Support the Show.