The Pilgrim Soul

#54: Reasonableness: The Religious Sense Join Adrianna and Sofi for a second episode on The Religious Sense. This time we’re discussing Chapter 2, in which Don Giussani introduces the idea of “reasonableness.” You can find the text in PDF form at www.scritti.luigigiussani.org or an audio recording of the chapter at Fr. Mike’s podcast www.tinyurl.com/562pncac. We’ll be back (with Giuli!) next month for Chapter 3. // Our media recommendation is the film The Holdovers. And the monthly challenge is to examine your life, especially in your relationships and your faith, and ask whether you are applying a false standard of logic or rational deduction instead of following the method of moral certainty. // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

#53: Realism: The Religious Sense In this episode, Giuli, Adrianna, and Sofi talk about “realism,” a concept from Luigi Giussani’s book The Religious Sense. We are joined by a special guest, Sofi and Giuli’s father Paolo! If you’re following along with the text, we’re on Chapter 1. // Our media recommendation is the film The Truman Show. And the monthly challenge is to ask yourself why you live the vocation you live. If you are married, why do you stay with your spouse? If you are consecrated, why do you give your life completely to God? For everyone, why do you try to follow Christ? Why do you go to work? Why do you belong to your communities? // Other resources we mention: - David Ramirez’s song “The Bad Days” - Julian of Norwich’s revelations or “Showings” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

We are starting a new miniseries inspired by "The Religious Sense," a book by our spiritual father Don Luigi Giussani. In our next few episodes, we will be discussing Chapters 1, 2, and 3. If you'd like to read with us, you can find a PDF at www.scritti.luigigiussani.org (just make a free account!). Or if you prefer to listen, check out Fr. Mike's recordings here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-go-walk-and-listen/id1702088561?i=1000624264131.

In today’s episode Adrianna, Giuliana and Sofia consider simplicity. What is the simple truth of the Christian life? How can we discover every circumstance as a good for us? Where are we experiencing new life through cultivating simplicity of heart? // Our media recommendation is a page from Julian of Norwich’s Showings: the 10th revelation of the 24th chapter, which you can find here https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Revelations_of_Divine_Love/Chapter_24. In the spirit of accepting the gratuity of salvation, this episode doesn’t have a monthly challenge. // Other resources we mention: - The Life of Saint Catherine of Siena by Raymond of Capua - Luigi Giussani’s address in St. Peter’s Square in 1998: www.english.clonline.org/archive/fr-giussani/in-the-simplicity-of-my-heart-i-have-gladly-given-you-everything - T.S. Eliot’s poem The Four Quartets - "The Beauty Within", an interview series with Trappistine nuns www.podcasts.apple.com/tt/podcast/beauty-within/id1573992790 - The Silence of Mary by Fr. Ignacio Larranaga - “In the Beginning”, a book of homilies by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Bishop Varden’s reflections on St. Anthony from this interview: www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/02/15/the-one-thing-worth-fearing-is-separation-from-him-who-is-a-conversation-with-bishop-varden/ // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

This episode concludes a three-part mini-series in which we put some of you, our listeners, behind the mic. The episode was inspired by our gratitude for the rich friendship and Christian witness that the podcast has brought into our lives. Today’s guest is Kathryn Sheffield, a mother and lawyer based in Virginia. Kathryn shares about her conversion to the Catholic faith and the path of mission that she has walked since, in response to the Lord’s invitation to care for vulnerable children. // Other resources we mention: The USCCB Domestic Policy Office www.usccb.org Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, paragraph 180 The Saint Joseph Ministry www.txcatholic.org/stjosephministry/ // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

This episode continues a three-part mini-series in which we put some of you, our listeners, behind the mic. The episode was inspired by our gratitude for the rich friendship and Christian witness that the podcast has brought into our lives. Today’s guest is Jessica Laenger, a medical student in Pensacola, Florida. Jess tells us about the early experiences that awakened the ultimate questions in her heart, where she has sought and found answers in the years since, and what her desires are for the future. // Jess offered (multiple!) songs as the media recommendations for this episode. Here are the links to each on YouTube: O Salutaris Hostia, Erik Esevalds: www.youtube.com/watch?v=blUTC7zzzRI The Ascension, Phil Wickham: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsp_sOmG-2A Hope, Tom Rosenthal: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaUx7X7iU6A A Little Bit of Everything, Dawes (recently covered by Lizzie McAlpine) www.youtube.com/watch?v=vin0U-ej1L8 You Could Start a Cult, Niall Horan and Lizzie McAlpine: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXy335X5xKs // Other resources we mention: Communion and Liberation’s “Beginning Day” www.english.clonline.org/cl/t218/life-in-the-movement Graham Greene’s novel “The End of the Affair” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Giuli and Sofi are hosting the first-ever Pilgrim Soul gathering on February 18th from 1-2:30 PM. You can find us at the Old Town Bar at 45 East 18th St. New York, NY. We're going to be in town for the New York Encounter, a three-day cultural event. Check out the program here: www.newyorkencounter.org/2024-program. And come listen to Giuli's panel at 4:15 PM!

This episode kicks off a three-part mini-series in which we put some of you, our listeners, behind the mic. The episode was inspired by our gratitude for the rich friendship and Christian witness that the podcast has brought into our lives. Today’s guest is Fr. Matt Henry, a priest of the diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. Fr. Matt shares the story of how he moved from a “notional” to a real faith in Christ, what continues to nourish his path of conversion, and the intensity of life he has discovered through a ministry of accompaniment. // Fr. Matt offered the monthly challenge of praying an Ignatian Examen (an overview can be found here: www.ignatianspirituality.com/examen-prayer-card/). Tune in to part two of the mini-series to discover the media recommendation! // Other resources we mention: - Fr. Matt’s Substack: www.viaexperientiae.substack.com - The new seminary in the Diocese of Phoenix www.saintmarysbasilica.org/historic-new-seminary-to-open - The website and magazine of Communion and Liberation: www.english.clonline.org - The writings of Fr. Luigi Giussani: www.english.clonline.org/books - The poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins: www.hopkinspoetry.com/poems/ // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Join Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna for a conversation about the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life. How does the Eucharist reveal God’s method? What helps us overcome our sense of unworthiness to receive Christ’s love in this intimate way? How has the Eucharist changed us— especially as we face the crosses of life? // Our monthly challenge is to consider how you can participate in the National Eucharistic Revival, which concludes next summer: www.eucharisticrevival.org. And our media recommendation is the film Babette’s Feast. You can also find Sofi’s Advent playlist here: www.tinyurl.com/cbmstfrj or by searching “eternity in the rags of time” on Spotify. // Other resources we mention: - Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” - St. Teresa of Avila’s autobiography - St. Augustine’s “The Confessions” - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s collected writings - St. Angela of Foligno’s collected writings - NEEDTOBREATHE’s song “Who am I?” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Adrianna, Giuli and Sofi discuss the concept of “virginity” as a way of loving others according to their destiny: Christ. How does this account of virginity differ from others in the Church and the world? Where in our lives have we experienced the joy of virginal purity and integrity in our relationships? What helps us live the sacrifices demanded by this kind of love? // Our media recommendation is the song Beyond the Blue by Josh Garrels (music: www.tinyurl.com/k4m2jf2k lyrics: www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/joshgarrels/beyondtheblue.html). And our monthly challenge is to identify a relationship in which you are being invited to greater purity of love, and to join this sacrifice to that of the Lord at the Mass. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - Fr. Paolo Prosperi FSCB’s article on virginity in Communio “Do Not Hold Me: Ascending the Ladder of Love”: www.tinyurl.com/4nvsms9r - Bishop Erik Varden’s interview in The Pillar about his new book on chastity: www.pillarcatholic.com/p/to-be-chaste-is-to-be-whole-bishop - Fr. Luigi Giussani’s trilogy of books “Is It Possible to Live This Way?” - Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter on St. Joseph: www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20201208_patris-corde.html - Titian’s painting “Noli me tangere” www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-noli-me-tangere // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Sofia, in conversation with Michelle Zaleski, explores what it means to be Christian on a college campus. This is a recording from the inaugural Communion & Liberation University Conference, which was hosted at Benedictine College. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Join all three hosts for a conversation about following Christ. How does the drama of this path unfold? What helps us say “yes” to His invitation during seasons of change and challenge? Who are we learning from as we strive to be with Christ instead of remaining with our attachments? // Our media recommendations are the writings of Servant of God Takashi Nagai, including "The Bells of Nagasaki" and "Thoughts from Nyokodo" (or, if you read Italian, "Ciò che non muore mai"). And our monthly challenge is to do lectio divina with Matthew 14:22-33, in which Jesus invites Peter to walk on water. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s autobiography Story of a Soul - Luigi Giussani’s address in St. Peter’s Square in 1998: www.english.clonline.org/archive/fr-giussani/in-the-simplicity-of-my-heart-i-have-gladly-given-you-everything - A homily by Fr. Mike Cairnes, whose preaching you can listen to as a podcast called Church Talk: www.tinyurl.com/3knesu35 // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Adrianna is back! In this episode, she and Sofia have a conversation about pain. How does Christ transform the otherwise meaningless experience of pain? What helps us discover His presence instead of remaining in despair, anger, or apathy? What have we learned from our pain, and whose examples do we want to follow in living it with the Lord? // Our media recommendation is Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion. And our monthly challenge is to meditate on the 9th Station of the Cross, which commemorates Jesus falling a third time on the way to Calvary. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - “Witness to Hope”, a biography of St. John Paul II by George Weigel - Fr. Aldo Trento’s book of letters entitled “Yo Soy Tu Que Me Haces” - Demi Lovato’s song “I Love Me” - The movie “50 First Dates” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

This month, we are sharing with you a talk that Sofi gave to the Catholic Chaplaincy of the University of Cambridge. It was inspired by Pope Francis' urgent and insistent call for Christians to work for peace throughout the world. Drawing on her work as a developmental neuroscientist, she exposes the wounds inflicted by violence and proposes ways for us to collaborate in Christ's victory over sin and death. We’ll be back next month with a regular episode. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Sofia hosts JD Flynn, co-founder of The Pillar, for a conversation about journalism. JD begins by explaining the needs of the Church that led him and Ed Condon to start this news outlet, particularly the need for reform and renewal that is free from ideology. Then he and Sofia talk about journalism as a vocation. Can working with the media be an exercise of the prophetic calling we receive in Baptism? What sustains JD’s hope as he investigates scandals and sins in the life of the Church? How does he experience the unity of his domestic church with the universal Church? // Our media recommendation is the novel Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly. And our monthly challenge is to check out The Pillar at www.pillarcatholic.com, offer a prayer for their work, and consider subscribing. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - “A Place for Life”, a talk that JD gave at the 2020 New York Encounter: www.tinyurl.com/2m8x9e2p - Mario Puzo’s book “The Godfather” - Luigi Giussani’s booklet “The Meaning of Charitable Work” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Sofia is joined by Fr. Mike Cairnes for a guest episode on living the memory of and desire for Christ. Fr. Mike starts by telling the story of how he fell in love twice, a first time that led him to nihilism and a second that definitively led him to the love of God. Then he and Sofia talk about the struggle against moralism, which is the suffocating reduction of morality into a set of rules. Fr. Mike shares what helps him follow the path of discovering that God’s mercy – and not our fight to live up to an ideal – is the center of life. // Our media recommendations are Terrence Malick’s film The Tree of Life, Joseph Roth’s novella “The Legend of the Holy Drinker”, and Walker Percy’s novel “Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book”. And our monthly challenge is to think back through your life year by year and try to identify how God has romanced you. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - Luigi Giussani’s book “Morality: Memory and Desire” - The autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, “Story of a Soul” - Shia LaBeouf’s conversation with Bishop Barron: www.tinyurl.com/ynpf5fb7 - Bruce Marshall’s novel “The World, the Flesh, and Father Smith” - Bishop Erik Varden’s talk at the 2023 New York Encounter: www.tinyurl.com/yc2jp9ac - Fr. Mike’s homilies in podcast form at Church Talk: www.tinyurl.com/4u93p9wa // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Join all three hosts for a conversation about Mary, the Mother of God. What does it mean that Mary is our mother? How does an ordered veneration of Mary lead us to a deeper worship of the Triune God? And personally, how are we trying to follow her in obedience, virginity, and passion for the salvation of the world? // Our media recommendation is Caravaggio’s painting “Madonna di Loreto”, also known as “Pilgrims’ Madonna”. And our monthly challenge is to pray Fr. de Grandmaison’s Prayer to Mary throughout the month of May. You can find that here: www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com/prayer-to-mary. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Sofia's episode with This Whole Life can be found at: www.tinyurl.com/u7f3n7yt // Other resources we mention: - Luigi Giussani’s book “Generating Traces in the History of the World” - Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” - Fulton Sheen’s book “The World's First Love: Mary, Mother of God” - St. Augustine Sermo 293 - Alberto Savorana’s biography of Luigi Giussani - St. Irenaus’ text “Against Heresies” - Mother Mary Francis’ book “Come, Lord Jesus” - Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Adrianna, Sofia, and Giuli talk about the experience of the resurrection. What’s at stake in the Resurrection of Christ? What does the promise of new life have to do with our daily experiences of suffering, boredom, and the search for meaning? Where have we seen, in our own lives and in the world, evidence of the presence of the Risen Lord? // Our media recommendation is the dystopian novel The Children of Men by P.D. James. And our monthly challenge is to pray the Regina Caeli (www.tinyurl.com/uj4f435m). // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - “Awesome Glory” by Abbot Jeremy Driscoll OSB - The homily at the funeral of our friend Silvia: www.tinyurl.com/3effhavu - Chiara Corbella’s biography “A witness to hope” - Romano Guardini’s book “The Lord” - A homily by Fr. Mike Cairnes, whose preaching you can listen to as a podcast called Church Talk: www.tinyurl.com/3knesu35 - The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America: www.https://myfranciscan.org/ - Fr. Kevin Grove’s book “Augustine on Memory” - The Confessions of St. Augustine // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.

Join Sofia and Adrianna in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, guided by reflections from Father Luigi Giussani. We pray this Lent is a deepening into your own encounter with the Lord in the desert. We'll be back with an episode on April 10th for Easter and then resume our normal monthly episodes on May 1st.

Join Sofia, Adrianna, and Giuli for a discussion about the body. What does it mean that, in Romano Guardini’s words, there is no religion as materialistic as Christianity? How does God’s esteem for our embodiment change our gaze on ourselves and others? Can we learn to affirm Christ in our bodies? What do we do when faced with the fallenness or woundedness of our embodied nature? // Our media recommendation is Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture The Ecstasy of St Teresa: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa​​. And our monthly challenge is to pray in gratitude for the gift of your body. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. // Other resources we mention: - Romano Guardini’s 1967 commentary on Dante - Tertullian’s work “De carne Christi” - Alberto Savorana’s biography “The Life of Luigi Giussani” - Emily Stimpson Chapman’s book “The Catholic Table” - Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot” - Hans Holbein’s painting “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.” We are part of the Spoke Street media network: check it out at www.spokestreet.com.