A 'check in' hello episode from Katie - with some life things she's really enjoying - including discovering a smartphone middle ground that allows you to disconnect (without giving up all the smartphone conveniences - it's not airplane mode!). Discussions on embracing eccentricities, the things that bring you joy (and how that brings joy to others), and how to get a 'new house' feeling without the new house. Beautiful music (straight from the vinyl!) to close us out! Happy Spring!

Recommendation: Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony

Stay tuned for upcoming episode with Grace E. Kelley!

Find her on substack: https://substack.com/@graceekelley

Get her book!

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Les Miserables is one of those profound stories that somehow encompasses the full depth of human experience. We have birth, death, falling in love, disappointment, justice, despair, young revolutionary zeal, forgiveness, and heavenly hope.

From Valjean’s first encounter with the Bishop - who forgives him, undeservedly so - to Valjean’s own forgiveness of Javert (and Javert’s inability to accept his mercy) - this a story of love offered, received, and sometimes (tragically) rejected. It is a story that promises the often miserable human condition always has the hope of redemption, if not in this life, “somewhere beyond the barricade.”

Today on the podcast I am joined by The Lord of the Rings and Catholicism, was published in December 2023 with En Route Books and Media. You can also find her writing on Substack (Love of Literature), where she shares essays on finding goodness, truth, and beauty in literature and art.

Her two essays on Les Miserables:

“The Economy of Love”

“He is not Here. He Has Risen.”

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The Lord of the Rings and Catholicism

Recommendation: Irish Wonders by D.R. McAnally, Jr.

When you first encounter the liturgical year, it can be completely overwhelming. There is a saint's feast day every day! What season are we in again? Is it Eastertide? Ordinary Time? Who can keep track?

Here to help us make sense of all this - and inspire us to live a rooted, embodied, seasonal, in-tune, life - is Hearthstone Fables. Kristin is a beautiful writer, rooted in story and history, and she beautifully weaves the rhythms of the agrarian year with the rhythms of the Church. She makes connections we may never have thought of (stay tuned for the discussion on the nativities of Christ and St. John the Baptist!) and brings a genuine joy to the liturgical year that makes the discovery of feast days and ancient traditions seem not overwhelming, but exciting, - delightful! A treasure trove to be explored.

On the podcast, Kristin discusses how to feel rooted, both in place and in faith, in a modern age opposed to both. Also discussions on how to find community, make the liturgical year a living reality, and how to celebrate with presence and tradition no matter whether you’re in an urban or agricultural setting.

An inspiring and convicting conversation to ground us in story, celebration, tradition, and art.

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