Bible Study Evangelista Show

Before we can truly become "little," we must confront the Pharisee in ourselves. Pharisaism is religious narcissism. The Bible calls it "insolent pride."  The label "narcissist" is widely deployed to refer to people who appear to be too full of themselves, but the truth is, we all have selfish, narcissistic tendencies to some degree that we must wrestle with. I believe this "spirit of judgment" is the main wound of the Fall. Jesus' most dire warnings and strongest words were for the blind Pharisees. . Clinically, narcissism is a spectrum, and there are three "types" that give us useful information on how to deal with it in ourselves and others. Ultimately, Paul says we must "come out!" and unto our Heavenly Father in order to heal this father wound. . If you've never explored the "father wound," here 's a whole series o healing the father wound.      Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Patricia E; Emily P; Katie R; Nellie K; Carolynn LB; Tina S; Christine C; Stephanie F*; Amber R; Brittany Y; Rebecca M; Bridget McG; Christina C; Phillip B; Laura E; Amelia S; Kevin G; Jean C; Beth L; David C; Deb N; Elizabeth F; Kathleen W; Colleen G; Toni D; Maureen A; Victoria T; Charles F; Amanda P; Heather D; Meghan S; Kathy B; Victoria H; Kellye B; Karen B; Julie B*; Carol E-D; and Shona M, for loving and lifting me! *Extra thank you for your generosity! :) Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is epic! You coming? New Series LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Are you narcissistic? How narcissistic are you? How do you feel about yourself, knowing you have narcissistic tendencies?  Have you identified the projections inherent in your narcissism? What do you want to say to the Holy Spirit about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, The Little Way of the Child. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Narcissistic Personality Inventory; Jordan Peterson's Understand Myself personality quiz; Narcissus Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Traits of narcissism; it's a spectrum; the grandiosity and shame yo-yo   Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Three types of narcissism: 1) abuse and neglect; 2) inter-generational; 3) entitlement Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Appeal to the relationship; narcissism as a worthlessness identity wound, a father wound; worthless and Belial; "Come out!" Transcript Friends of the Show: Protected Content. Click Here to sign in 

The point in "healing the inner child" is illustrated and affirmed by an ancient psychological/mythological idea that the way to full maturity is to find what you lost as a child and regain it. The recovery of the child revivifies the adult by teaching the adult how to play, trust, and wonder without judgment again, but with the added maturity and knowledge of being an adult who knows how to organize and protect oneself in the world. The inner child finally gets to express him/herself from a place of safety rather than fear and danger. In this wrap-up episode, I offer a case study that might help put all the pieces together, and a reminder from St. Thérèse to stay "little," give Jesus your littleness and little sacrifices, and leave the rest to Him.      Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Barney C; Corinne C; Laurie D; and Lee Ann K, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is epic! You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Has this series taught you anything more than you knew about St. Thérèse and being "little"? Are you more comfortable with younger parts of yourself than before? Are there parts that you still have trouble "welcoming"? What do you want to say to the Holy Spirit about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, The Little Way of the Child. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Thérèse of Lisieux sacrifice beads at Vianney beads on Etsy. Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Back to Thérèse and her last year; Sister Marie and the linen room Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Case study on the late-life illumination of a personality projection Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Self-sufficiency and Pharisaism block healing Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Seeing and accepting personality projections (underneath behavior issues) without allowing them to rule; how judgments in our vocations are meant to help us "see" and experience ourselves, God, and others in deeper communion Transcript Friends of the Show: Protected Content. Click Here to sign in

Listen, Pharisee, the reason you're lonely, the reason you don't feel "chosen," the reason God hasn't thrown you a party (Parable of the Prodigal), is because you're full of judgments that block communion within yourself and between you and the Father, so that you can't feel comfortable enough with Him to even ask for a party. And if he threw you one now, in the state of Pharisaism you're in, you'd just condemn yourself for wastefulness and not deserving it. As soon as we turn back to our inner child, as soon as we extend some sympathy, boundaries, and forgiveness - for ourselves and others - the Pharisee steps in to judge: "How dare you let yourself or them get away with that!" Pharisaism is the wound of the world, because while the "sinful" have obvious evidence of their need for healing love, the Pharisee has his shit together, and therefore cannot see the dark, dead judgments inside himself that prevent healing communion.   Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Clement O; Connie V; Jackie B; Gaylene M; Holly R; Carolyn C; and Mary G, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is epic! You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Did the Holy Spirit bring to mind a judgment that you've been projecting onto others or Him in this episode? Can you discern the contradiction underneath with Him? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, The Little Way of the Child. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – How the inner Pharisee steps into the Little Way process Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Unforgiveness and Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes; Catholics and Protestants; Pharisaism as anger at self and God Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Psychology 101 on judgments as projections; fear of God as projection of anger Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Seeing and accepting personality flaws (underneath behavior issues) without allowing them to rule; how judgments in our vocations are meant to help us "see" and experience ourselves, God, and others in communion Transcript Friends of the Show: Protected Content. Click Here to sign in

All of our spiritual and emotional issues stem from an unconscious unwillingness to acknowledge the darkness in ourselves. In order to resist conscious "seeing" and acknowledging and doing something about the ugly truths in ourselves, we project them onto others, we distract ourselves, and in doing so, we disown parts of ourselves and those parts begin their tyranny. When enough of us do this, our world becomes as disordered as we are inside. It's through conflicts and suffering that enough emotion can break through, consciously, to alert us of what we are not seeing. Eden shows us that if we see and acknowledge it - whatever the darkness is - we can take it to the Holy Spirit to help us heal and order it properly. If Adam and Eve had done this, rather than allowing themselves to be distracted by what was easier and more attractive in the moment, they would have had the knowledge of good and evil without the suffering, because the evil was with them in the Garden the whole time; they just didn't notice or acknowledge it as such. Matthew 18, the Beatitudes, and Old Testament Jacob as a case study, help us with proper healing and ordering: working through pop quizzes, "turning back" to acknowledge and rescue the inner child, setting good boundaries for ourselves and others, and forgiveness for all.  Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is tonight! You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)    O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Does looking at the Eden story from a psychological point of view help you understand why working through pop quizzes, "turning back" to the inner child, setting good boundaries, and forgiveness are so important to your growth and health? What do you want to say to the Holy Spirit about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, The Little Way of the Child. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Review of Matthew 18 concepts, addition of the Beatitudes for understanding of the processes Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Adam and Eve; the "shadow" or darkness inside; Jacob and deceit; Jacob's pop quizzes  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – How the processes work for individuals vs. Christian brothers and sisters Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Forgiveness Transcript Friends of the Show: Protected Content. Click Here to sign in

Somehow I suspect you've either recently been in a conflict where you were corrected or have seen a need or opportunity to offer correction to another. If not, perhaps it's just around the corner. How about some guidelines from Jesus about that? Because we are God's children, and He warns us sternly against "despising the little ones." After radical detachment, we have to "turn back" to rescue the lost sheep of our inner child, and the lost sheep in our original and church families when they are also our brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Melanie D; Bruce R; Veronica W; Melinda M; Loren G; Tessa W; Lindsay B; Ann C; Carol S; Christina C; Vicki G; Anita C; Christin L; Emily P; Anne B; and Kevin G, for for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is super deep! You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Does a confrontation with someone loom in your life? Does having some guidance from Scripture help you navigate the issue? What do you want to say to the Holy Spirit about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, The Little Way of the Child. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – "turn back": 1) radical detachment, 2) pursue to the lost sheep, 3) correcting offenders  Minutes 12:01-24:00 – despise = "to think against"; Jesus' promise of His presence in the process of correction Minutes 24:01-36:00 – personal examples of "fraternal correction" Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Church Fathers on fraternal correction Transcript Friends of the Show: Protected Content. Click Here to sign in

Using Matthew 18 as a touch point for discussion of the inner child is what we call using a "spiritual sense" of Scripture. It's fascinating to me that Jesus emphasized His teaching in 18 and part of 19 by placing children before Him (remember that chapter and verse numbers were not in the original writings, but added for our convenience). Like flesh and blood parables, children bookend His teaching on boundaries, and we learn that not only are healthy boundaries necessary to faith in dealing with one another in the family of God, but they're also necessary in human and faith development, too.  Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Melanie D; Bruce R; Veronica W; Melinda M; Loren G; Tessa W; Lindsay B; Ann C; Carol S; Christina C; Vicki G; Anita C; Christin L; Emily P; Anne B; and Kevin G, for for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our next Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is January 22 at 6:30 PM CST! You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)    O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Does learning something about the Stages of Faith development help to ease their inherent tension? What do you want to say to the Holy Spirit about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, The Little Way of the Child. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – holiday review, psychological/mythological idea that the way to full maturity is to recover childhood, shadow parts Minutes 12:01-24:00 – procedural memory in the brain, "the saints were crazy," two senses of scripture and subdivisions Minutes 24:01-36:00 – hierarchy vs. relationships, characteristics of children Minutes 36:01-48:00 – stages of faith, "fasting" from destructive relationships, detachment Transcript Friends of the Show: Protected Content. Click Here to sign in

Separation anxiety is when someone fears being apart from or losing a person or other attachment figure, a place, or even an animal. Adults can experience separation anxiety, although it is more common in children. Learning necessary, healthy detachment from parents, relatives, friends, and trauma bonds provokes "separation anxiety," does it not? Severe SA can manifest in physical symptoms, such as nausea and headaches. But separation anxiety is a normal part of both childhood development and adult relationship development. Although it can be unsettling, Jesus teaches separation is necessary for Christians - at least temporarily - in order to bring about the repentance and reconciliation of an offender. If the offender continues without repentance (changing direction), we must detach from ungodly "Christian" relationships, or else we fall into sin ourselves as enablers. Jesus shows us how.  Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Jaylen M; Rose G; and Monica M, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study in John is epic! You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Tolerance is not patience, it is enabling sin, according to Jesus and interpreted by the Church Fathers. Has the Holy Spirit alerted you through this episode of a relationship with a fellow (professed) Christian in which you need to speak up and erect some boundaries? What do you want to say to Him about that?   V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, the little way. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – the purification of our hearts has to do with paternal and maternal images (CCC 2779); Thérèse of Lisieux's trauma; mother wounds and female physical issues Minutes 12:01-24:00 – self- and interior-abuse; aggressive vs passive temperament; synopsis of Matthew 18; childlikeness, according to Jesus, means boundaries;  the difference between boundaries for Christians and non-Christians; Law as gift; guilt and shame; shame vs contrition; no condemnation for those in Christ (Rom 8:1 and Jn 3) Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the forehead as the seat of shame; Ex 28 HOLINESS TO THE LORD; 3 stages of boundaries; Holy Spirit is our wisdom and discernment as we "wrestle" with boundaries; overview of Matt 18; the Fathers on offenses against children and ourselves Minutes 36:01-48:00 – "cutting them off" or no-contact; eyes, hands, and feet; Jesus seeks out the one who has been separated or "lost" Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Don't all of your issues seem to be exacerbated by the holiday season? We're spending increased amounts of time with people and/or family who may have wounded us or still do. We may feel pressured and obligated by Great Expectations for how things "should" be. Perhaps we labor under the financial burden such expectations add; the sometimes extreme changes in environment, sleep, and schedules at work and with travel that can cause burnout; the many occasions for over-stimulation for us or our kids; the sheer amounts and types of food; stifling grief while feeling forced to put on the happy face; sibling rivalries; inferiority complexes; self-medication and addiction triggers; seasonal depression and lack of sunlight; questions and insinuations from others about "where you are" in life.  If all of that feels overwhelming to you, perhaps you can see why the holiday season causes your inner child to feel distressed and begin "acting out" in order to get your attention?  And why all the guilt for simply wanting to hibernate until the whole season is over, or needing to limit exposure to the entire bit? What if the guilt is driven by a trauma bond?  Here are six Ps for navigating the holidays and making them more peaceful and happy: Predict, Prepare, Plan, Priorities, Peace, Pivot.  Here's the Anxiety Checklist referred to in the episode.  Abusive behavior does not always involve tangible violence. Distinctions must be made between physical violence/abuse—traditionally, the most researched and detectable form—and emotional, or psychological, abuse. Emotional abuse is any nonphysical behavior or attitude that is designed to control, subdue, punish, or isolate another person through the use of humiliation or fear (Engel, 2002). . . . Emotional abuse can include verbal assault, dominance, control, isolation, ridicule, or the use of intimate knowledge for degradation (Follingstad, Coyne, & Gambone, 2005). It targets the emotional and psychological well-being of the victim, and it is often a precursor to physical abuse. . .  . Some types of physical behavior can be considered emotional abuse in that they represent physical violence (Marshall, 1996). Examples include: throwing objects, kicking a wall, shaking a finger or fist at the victim, driving recklessly while the victim is in the car, or threatening to destroy objects the victim values. Property damage is a form of emotional abuse considered “symbolic violence” (Engel, 2002) that results in serious psychological, social, and economic costs. Harm inflicted on victim's pets can be emotionally abusive, causing suffering in both humans and animals (Faver & Strand, 2007). Link to study, above. Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Lidia M; Carl O; Juana N; and Cheryl B (extra thank you!), for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study is tonight at 6:30 PM Central in the Community. You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Where did you identify instances of abuse in your life? Have you been an abuser? Where do you need better boundaries, either as one who has been abused or as an abuser? Spend some time talking with the Holy Spirit about a peace-plan for this holiday season.  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible.

Are you curious? What does your inner child's voice sound like? This episode, perhaps more than any other I've ever done, has the power to change your life. Ask Little Therese for that grace. When we protect and provide love and radical acceptance for our inner child, she glows and warms up inside. We have the inner freedom to breathe more easily and try new things. We know we can tolerate failure or mess ups. We can deal with minor amounts of guilt or shame without getting eaten up with fear. We don't get stuck desperately needing approval from others. Our inner child needs to find safety in the world so she can come out and play and be an active part of our life. It's the child parts that allow us to be creative and wondrous, as the psalmist says. So let's do it. First, we need a few guide bumpers and a grounding technique in case we encounter emotions that threaten to take over. Next, we need to breathe and relax into our inner prayer space. Then we visualize.      Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Cynthia R, Cynthia C, Katy P, Joan R, and Jennifer S, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John is out of this world. You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) As you worked through the relaxation and visualization exercises, what did you notice in your mind, body, emotions, and memory? Were you surprised to realize through this show that your inner child is in distress? What do you want to say to the Holy Spirit about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) Dearest Jesus, my love, in the words of little Therese, "For me to become great is impossible." Help me bear with myself and my many imperfections as I seek to follow her means of getting to heaven by a little way--very short and very straight, the little way. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – What to do if this "little" talk is too weird; importance of healing the inner child; how to know if your inner child is in distress Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Dorothy Day and Therese; the importance of fun and play; how to check in with your body and breathing in preparation for The Little Way Prayer Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Grounding for panic and overwhelm; the need for patience and radical acceptance; preparing your environment for The Little Way Prayer Minutes 36:01-48:00 – 3-2-1 Relaxation technique; The Little Way Prayer/Visualization Exercise; afterward Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Healing the heart is about memory and emotion. Whatever and wherever our painful memories and emotions from the past are, they influence our present and future through our inner child. Learning to love the demanding, controlling little you that still screams for attention and protection in your present and future can be challenging, but it is possible, and Jesus teaches it is necessary.  "Unless you become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt 18:3). Sometimes your hurt is too early to recall, only feel, as in womb experiences or pre-verbal, pre-self-aware implicit memory. Can we reach that deeply? St. Thérèse Lisieux shows us a way, The Little Way. We become little again.   Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Cynthia R, Cynthia C, Katy P, Joan R, and Jennifer S, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John is out of this world. You coming? LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) You have an inner child. I have an inner child. We all do. Your inner child has a super-sensitive "antenna" that has been picking up messages way before it was even self-aware or able to fully understand or process events and emotions, mentally and emotionally. Like little Thérèse, your inner child holds emotions, memories and beliefs from the past as well as hopes and dreams for the future. Does St. Thérèse of Lisieux's Little Way sound attractive to you so far? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to your Word. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Thérèse of Lisieux's early years through the trauma of her mother's death Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Christmas conversion, the "little victory" Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The Little Way and the Little Flower Minutes 36:01-48:00 – the convent and her love of and preference for Scripture Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

I uploaded the wrong audio file. Please try this one. So sorry! Authentic love treats people better than they deserve, when it is in their best interests. God loves us as His children, despite that we do not deserve it, and He heals us through that love in His Son. "For God so loved [agape] the world that He gave [karis/grace] His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him will have eternal life [peace, shalom, living water, wholeness, healing, integration, supernatural-forever-LIFE]" (John 3:16).  Click the pic for details on the next series   Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Jeremy G and Donna H, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) How intensely do you pursue the promises of God, particularly for healing, heart, soul, mind, and body? Have you considered "leveling up" your efforts, perhaps through a 1:1 consultation or the Sacred Healing 12:30 Masterclass? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – review of lectio and/or LOVE the Word, and the who, what, where, when of the Bible Minutes 12:01-24:00 – review of the "how" of the OT, and NT;  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the "why" of the Bible: healing; authentic love and grace Minutes 36:01-48:00 – love heals; God is love; God heals with His love in our hearts, souls, minds, and strength Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Authentic love treats people better than they deserve, when it is in their best interest. God loves us as His children, despite that we do not deserve it, and He heals us through that love in His Son. "For God so loved [agape] the world that He gave [karis/grace] His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him will have eternal life [peace, shalom, living water, wholeness, healing, integration, supernatural-forever-LIFE]" (John 3:16).  Click the pic for details on the next series   Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Jeremy G and Donna H, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) How intensely do you pursue the promises of God, particularly for healing, heart, soul, mind, and body? Have you considered "leveling up" your efforts, perhaps through a 1:1 consultation or the Sacred Healing 12:30 Masterclass? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – review of lectio and/or LOVE the Word, and the who, what, where, when of the Bible Minutes 12:01-24:00 – review of the "how" of the OT, and NT;  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the "why" of the Bible: healing; authentic love and grace Minutes 36:01-48:00 – love heals; God is love; God heals with His love in our hearts, souls, minds, and strength Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Jesus' public ministry is present with us in our time through the sacraments. We hear Him say to us, "Go, your sins are forgiven"; we feel His touch; we taste, hear, smell, and see Him. Now. The sacraments convey specific healing graces to us when our dispositions are open and seeking. They draw us into the closest possible contact and relationship with Christ, the Healer.   Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Kim L and John F for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) How diligently do you go to Jesus in the sacraments for specific healing? Take a look at your disposition. Could a change in your disposition toward their particular graces when receiving the sacraments improve their efficacy in your healing?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + Love Heals. Learn More. Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – 7 covenants, 7 sacraments; new Moses, new people, new Exodus, new Law, new temple, new worship, new priesthood, new sacrifice, new King Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Jesus expands His universal mission and public ministry, now, through the sacraments; inexhaustible grace; what is "grace"; accessing Jesus' touch in the present Minutes 24:01-36:00 – CCC 1131 and the sacraments Minutes 36:01-48:00 – the specific healing graces of the sacraments Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Worship is healing, because when we worship according to God's prescription, it draws us into the closest possible contact and relationship with Christ, the Healer. The "how" of worship in the Old Testament is essential for understanding the "how" of worship prophesied in the Messianic Temple in Ezekiel 44, worship as it was practiced in the early church and is practiced in the Catholic Church now, and the worship occurring in heaven that St. John reveals to us in Revelation. This episode is from my Australian Tour, July 2023, in which I spoke from Chapter 6 of "Ignite, How to Read the Bible Like Never Before." Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Sylvia R; Kathy K; and Karen A-S, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! Next meeting September 25th. You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Does the Mass seem arbitrary to you, as though the Catholic Church "invented" worship liturgy, rites, and ceremonies? What did you learn about how you practice your faith from this episode? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + It's Time for You to Be Loved Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – tabernacle as God's "dwelling place" with men; liturgical year ; priesthood Minutes 12:01-24:00 – brazen altar and cross; daily sacrifices Minutes 24:01-36:00 – laver and baptism; menorah and Magisterium; bread of the presence and Eucharist Minutes 36:01-48:00 – incense altar and prayer; veil and the flesh; ark of the covenant and Mary; every Christian is a tabernacle; all Christians collectively are a tabernacle or temple Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

One of the most-asked questions I get is, "How can I know my purpose"?   Watching current events unfold sometimes causes us to wonder how or if we fit. We might look back at "the good 'ol days," or forward to better days. Why was I born now, at this time in history?, we might ask. And it's a good question. You won't understand your own story and times and current events unless you understand your story and times and current events through His eyes. Because while we often believe sacred history is tangential to the action while secular history is central, the opposite is true from God's point of view. His-story, and our story, revolves around His Messiah, Jesus, and our relationship to Him. You and I are somewhere in the pages of the Grand Book of Life spoken of in the Bible. Although it omits great events in human history which would feature prominently in any world history account written solely by men, the sweep of sacred history is magnificent - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and is preserved for us by the Holy Spirit in the Bible and Tradition. "Those who do not know history are bound to repeat it," so they say, and that's also why we are surveying this sacred biblical history of man from the beginning when "God created the heavens and the earth" to the end when he will create a "new heaven and new earth." Because time is limited for each of us, and knowing why you live at this spot on the timeline could and should help you know your purpose and make all the difference to history for yourself and those you love, in the final analysis.  Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Stuart L, Michaia R, and Lauren H, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! Next meeting September 25th. You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Have you given any thought to why God's providence placed your life in this particular time in human history? What light might that consideration shed on your purpose? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + It's Time for You to Be Loved Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – biblical chronology; challenges to dating events in the Bible; creation of the cosmos; creation of man Minutes 12:01-24:00 – creation to the Flood; "when the land was divided"; the Patriarchs through the OT

"Where" matters, because places make people, and people matter. Where they live tells us many things about who they are. God's purpose to call out from the world a people for himself began to unfold on a particular part of the world's surface during a particular period of the world's history. That purpose continued unto the Incarnation, which happened in that same part of the world. Almost every one of the Bible's human authors lived in the Holy Land for some period of time. Almost all were Jewish. It is not possible to understand the Bible's people, its meaning, or its message without some knowledge of its historical and geographical setting.   God revealed Himself in a particular time, to a particular race of people, at a particular geographical location. Just like He did in the times and people of the Scriptures, God wants to speak to us through our own time, work, relationships, and geographical location. But to understand His ways with us, we must understand His ways with them. For that, we must know something of the when and where and through whom it all happened. We must be able to visualize the places, because the people and time and land constitute the arena in which God chose to uniquely speak, act, and intervene. Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Rachel M, and Renee K, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! Next meeting September 25th. You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) What is your "promised land"? Is it healing? Financial freedom? A restored relationship? Children coming home to the Church? How far have you come? How far is left to go? What can you discern that the Holy Spirit wants you to know about your promised land?   Perhaps you'd like to make a virtual pilgrimage to a site in the Holy Land. Why do you think it's important for people to make such pilgrimages? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + It's Time for You to Be Loved Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group coaching calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Jesus wants you to know His "place" Minutes 12:01-24:00 – overview of the languages of the Bible and its authors; the olive and fig trees Minutes 24:01-36:00 – people of the Land; the belly button of the world; Palestine and Israel Minutes 36:01-48:00 – overview of the geographic locations and some of their familiar...

The word "salvation" is a big, full word, meaning peace, wholeness, (eternal) life, healing, bliss. When we know what salvation is, we understand what Jesus came to do for us, heart, soul, mind, and strength. Full revelation and knowledge of salvation comes from the Word through Scripture and Tradition, according to St. Paul (2 Thess 2:15).  Isn't one of the first issues anyone confronts when beginning to ready, study, and love the Bible some confusion regarding what it's about? Understanding the Bible's purpose explains to us why and how we should read it, because a person's approach and expectations have a lot to do with what he or she gets out of Scripture. Ultimately, salvation is about wholeness and healing - heart, soul, mind, and strength - from eternity past, and for all eternity future, beginning now.  Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Laura E; and Rob S, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! Next meeting September 18. You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Has anything in this episode changed what you believe about what God wants for you, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and/or intellectually?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + It's Time for You to Be Loved Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for our Masterclass and Consultation Group calls, healing prayer livestreams, monthly Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you find help, support, and experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – The Bible contains them all, but is not a book of literature, history, or science.   Minutes 12:01-24:00 – the Bible is a Book of salvation; a Book of love, OT - NT Minutes 24:01-36:00 – defining "salvation"; "His - story Minutes 36:01-48:00 – the seven covenants of love Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

For us the Bible is a single book, but it's really a Book of Books. The Bible is a library of books, from "biblios," meaning books. These books were written at different times that are sometimes separated by millennia; by different authors with various writing styles, proficiencies, and personalities; to different audiences. Is it any wonder that it can be hard to read and understand? This episode tackles the two Testaments, the genres of the Books, and the "who" of the Bible, so we have a basic understanding of how to approach each Book. But more than that, the consistency of the Bible is one of its miracles. Part of its consistency is the "who" of the Bible. Who heals through Scripture, and who is being healed? Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Rodney J; Katherine K; Deb F; Kathleen F; Kristy O; nancy K and Jowella M, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content!  Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John has just begun! You coming? Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Can you already see how a general overview of the Bible helps it make sense and draws one into relationship with the God Who is revealed there? What was the most surprising or impactful thing you learned from this episode?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + It's Time for You to Be Loved Connect Join me (click here) in the Sacred Healing community for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – updates on new name, refresh, and upgrades; how the John Bible study dovetails with Ignite series; Word, logos, shekinah, Moses and Old Testament in John and today's episode Minutes 12:01-24:00 – explanation of many Catholics' view of the Bible; some history of how and why Bibles were once chained to the podium, or ambo Minutes 24:01-36:00 – GELND; Pharisees' and Sadducees' approach to Pentateuch; remaining genres; I AM  Minutes 36:01-48:00 – I AM will be with His people; person to person Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

No matter how well you know the Bible, Ignite will offer you something new, both as a hermeneutic and in its practical, personal approach to Scripture. The first chapter is Lectio Divina (meaning holy reading). It covers the ancient Christian practice of daily prayer with Scripture that we Baptist's called the "daily quiet time." We start with lectio divina in the book, because that's the usual way to learn to hear God speak in and through the Bible. Nothing heals like God's Word, because only love heals, and there is no way to heal fully without an intimate relationship with the Healer, Jesus Christ, in which He pours His love into you and your suffering. He does that, every single day, by speaking to you through the daily readings. The best way to begin healing is to hear God speak, experience His presence, and discern His will for your life through the daily readings of the Church. How? Modeled on the Annunciation, the LOVE the Word® method invites Our Lady to guide each of us in her own personal prayer practice: L – listen, O – observe, V – verbalize, E – entrust. We learn how to LOVE the Word® like Mary, from Mary. She teaches us to interpret the word we hear and read through the landscape of our lives.  Through my own practice of lectio divina, Mary shared with me her own love of and prayer practice with Scripture - an earlier form of lectio divina - and an acronym for her process called LOVE the Word®. In this episode I share it with you, along with Chapter One of Ignite, using the last three years' daily readings as a general guide, and the last week's daily readings as a specific guide.  Click here for more on LOVE the Word®. Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Pat L; Christina N; Suzanne H; Petra K; Julie B*; Patricia H; Rebecca S; Claudia P; Rosanne B; Mary Z; Suzanne JK; Natalie C; Patricia B; Jeannette H; Sarah F; Gabriela M; Rosemary W; Yolanda J; Rebecca M; Kathleen F; Marina S; Erin R; Chloe F; Carolyn McG; Brigitte E; and Michael W, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content! *Extra thank you! Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John for monthly Friends of the Show begins August 21st! Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)    O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) What have you been receiving from God over the last three years - since, during, and after Covid and the election - in your LOVE the Word® practice? Come share it with us in the community, here. If you do not have a LOVE the Word® practice, have you been plagued with anxiety and fear over the last three years and all the political and social upheaval? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (Rest in the Word.) May it be done to me according to  your Word. Amen + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me, here, in the Sacred Healing community for healing prayer live...

Months ago, while thinking of what my next Friend of the Show Monthly Meetup study might be, I realized we really need a primer on how to study and interpret the Bible before we dive into a writing as rich as the Gospel of John. I suggested Ignite, then, and John's Gospel prevailed in the group vote. Returning from my July tour in Australia, I was also thinking of how to share the trip and all that Parousia Media, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, and I shared there, while also gearing up for my next podcast series (I had not definitively decided what the subject of the next series should be). I got to digging backward in my archives, and I HAVE NEVER DONE AN IGNITE SERIES.   I have never done a hermeneutic study; never taught people how to approach the Bible; never given you a map for how to study and interpret the Bible! I was stunned; I cannot believe it; I feel like a terrible daughter of the King! SO! This next series will be on Ignite. Get your signed copy here, or buy it on Amazon (unsigned, because I can't sign what doesn't ship from me), or if you're in Australia, get it at Parousia Media. I'll be sharing my whole trip, and how to study and interpret the Bible. Whether you're a beginner or student, this will be your hermeneutic - a Catholic standard for how to study and interpret what you read with the mind and heart of the historical Church - so you don't get lost in the genres or history timeline or geography or idioms or incomplete interpretations while reading and studying.   Thank you with all my heart to my newest Friends of the Show, Christina N; Suzanne H; Petra K; Julie B*; Patricia H; Rebecca S; Claudia P; Rosanne B; Mary Z; Suzanne JK; Natalie C; Patricia B; Jeannette H; Sarah F; Gabriela M; Rosemary W; Yolanda J; Rebecca M; Kathleen F; Marina S; Erin R; Chloe F; Carolyn McG; Brigitte E; and Michael W, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content! *Extra thank you! Our new Monthly Meetup Bible study series on the Gospel of John for monthly Friends of the Show begins August 21st!  Click here for Charbel Raish of Parousia Media's Australian Tour highlight video, including Deacon Harold's events and a brief overview of Parousia's ministry. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers - Dynamic Deacon https://deaconharold.com/ Parousia https://www.parousiamedia.com/ Join the Parousia mailing list at https://www.parousiamedia.com/mailing-list/ Parousia is committed to proclaiming the fullness of truth! If you wish to help us in our mission with a donation please visit our website here https://www.parousiamedia.com/donate/ to learn ways that you can contribute. LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.) O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Minutes 12:01-24:00 –  Minutes 24:01-36:00 –  Minutes 36:01-48:00 –  Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Koinonia is a transliterated form of the Greek word, meaning fellowship, solidarity, partnership, fullness of love, sharing all things in common, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, or a contribution. Koinonia is the state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ. It includes spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit who embraces and empowers you to do all things. The Eucharist is the sacrament of communion with one another in the one Body of Christ. This was the full meaning of eucharistic koinonia in the early Catholic Church. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "the Eucharist is the sacrament of the unity of the Church, which results from the fact that many are one in Christ."   Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Dianne S; Jim & Bella O'H; Bonnie C; Mary McG; Dawn M; Jeanne F; Gae C; Carlene G; Allison K; Madison T; Eileen N; Sarah R; Katie R, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in a monthly Bible study on the Book of John!  LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Is there a Christian brother or sister with whom you need to make an attempt at reconciliation? Are you being called to full communion with the Catholic Church in the Eucharist?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – HS makes alive the "dead" abstracts of the Creed and the Bible: they become personal, Jesus becomes present; they have power; LOVE as flame, living water; dead OT vs alive NT Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Trinity as unity; no divisions; koinonia = fellowship, reciprocity and mutuality, solidarity, sharing all things in common, fullness of love; spiritual gifts; what unity looks like Minutes 24:01-36:00 – unity in the Eucharist, liturgy, communal life; Protestant vs Catholic community  Minutes 36:01-48:00 – HS moves us to respect diversity and differences, not erase them; forgiveness and reconciliation; a current "difference of opinion" in the Church; unity + community = koinonia = HS Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Discernment of spirits used to solely mean "diagnosing" whether someone was led by the Holy Spirit or the enemy. But it's more complicated than that, isn't it? The same person, even holy people, can be influenced by both the Holy Spirit and the enemy. Ignatius of Loyola compiled and systematized the Desert Fathers' tradition of discernment, so that now we understand "discernment of spirits" to mean deciding for oneself or another what must be attributed to the Holy Spirit, and what comes from one's own imagination or the suggestion of the enemy. Because St. Ignatius of Loyola's rules for discernment are so substantial, I have included a simplified version specific to discerning whether we are hearing from the Holy Spirit or not. (Copy, paste, print, and share!) Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Sarah S; Michael T*; Sheila I; and Roger L, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in a monthly Bible study on the Book of Romans! *Whoa, thank you! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) What decision are you trying to make right now for which you can use the Rules for Discernment to determine how the Holy Spirit is leading you? Are you also looking for His answer in your circumstances and in the daily readings? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – what it means to pray "in Jesus' Name"; rules of life and faith in religious communities and for each of us; how the Holy Spirit reveals Himself in Scripture and teaches through the Church Minutes 12:01-24:00 – the Church as the "pillar and foundation of truth," not the Bible (1Tim 3:15); "no Scripture is of private interpretation" (2Pet 1:20); the HS preserves the Church and us from error Minutes 24:01-36:00 – love and obedience first: 1) Choose, 2) Deny Him nothing, 3) Remember the seasons; two types of HS inspirations; good and bad vs good and best  Minutes 36:01-48:00 – rules for discerning the HS's voice Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

When attempting to discern what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives and in the lives of those around us, it's important to know the things that only He can do. Jesus and Mary model for us that when we see any of these things happening, we know it is an invitation to cooperate with Him.  I mentioned in this episode that Jesus searched for fruit in the Jewish faith, and found none. But HE IS the fruit. Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Savior, is the fruit on the vine of Judaism. And we are the fruit of the tree of His Cross, through the Holy Spirit.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Lori K; Janice S; and Erin B, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in a monthly Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) One of the most helpful tools in our arsenal against discouragement and despair in the spiritual life is "fruit searching." Where do you see fruit from the Holy Spirit's work in your life and the lives of those around you? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the fruit of His activity, remembering that as He reveals the fruit, it is also His invitation to cooperate with Him there.  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – conviction of sin; not accusation but invitation Minutes 12:01-24:00 – conviction of righteousness and judgment; judgment falls on the enemy, not the people Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the suffering of God with man Minutes 36:01-48:00 – things only the Holy Spirit can do Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

The heaviest burden of man is not things and circumstances, it is himself. Man, himself, is a burden, because he does not want to be who he is before God and others. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate [Counselor, Helper, Comforter, Intercessor, Paraclete] that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16).  The Advocate or Comforter is "another" - one like Jesus - but one Who abides forever, rather than temporarily as in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit advocates and comforts in three primary ways: 1) poverty, 2) presence, and 3) pleasure. When we have been comforted in our poverty with His presence, He becomes our pleasure. Then, and only then, we are able to also bear the burden of others' poverty with our presence, which becomes our pleasure. Ruth Burrows was quoted as saying, "It is a sacrifice to let others be who they are." When I have been fully and clearly received by God in my weakness, and He stays present to me, I am able to pass on that pleasure to others: the mercy sandwich.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Claire M; Gina K; Missy McK; and Michele R, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in a monthly Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) The story of Jacob wrestling with the Angel of God is in Genesis 32:22-32. You can read a reflection on it here. When you are confronted with and wrestling with your own weakness, do you confess it to God and to others readily? What if that's the necessary element to receiving His blessing in your weakness?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  servant versus Son; the promise of the HS as a new Genesis, a new creation; existence versus love Minutes 12:01-24:00 – the HS comforts us in our weakness (poverty) and teaches us to love it Minutes 24:01-36:00 – humility and false humility; Jacob wrestles with the Angel, confesses his weakness, and receives a blessing (new name/identity) Minutes 36:01-48:00 – a new presence of Jesus, not a substitute; "you're my pleasure" Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

The Holy Spirit is the intelligent love that connects everything in the universe. He is always active, always creating, always revealing, always incarnating in us, and always resurrecting. Where is he? “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3: 8). Mysterious. Unpredictable. You only “see” him by his effects. So, then, how do we see and hear the Holy Spirit? Jesus tells us there are two conditions. Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Karen C; Margaret J; Glen McD; Arlene R, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in a monthly Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Obedience in love is the requirement for hearing the Holy Spirit speak to us and to seeing His activity in and around us. Where has He spoken to you about obedience through this episode? What do you want to say to Him about that?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Jesus models how to hear and see God working; how not to hear the HS; God takes the initiative Minutes 12:01-24:00 – "If you love me, keep my commandments"; an obedience problem is a love problem is a hearing problem Minutes 24:01-36:00 – love relationship is the key; unforgiveness as a block to hearing and seeing the HS Minutes 36:01-48:00 – authority issues as a block to hearing and seeing the HS Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

In this hour of all-but-universal darkness, we need a spiritual deepening that makes us really dare to live out the power of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Nothing less will save us or our world. This series is an invitation to step into the fire of the Burning Bush, a fire that burns without consuming, without scorching, without singeing; a fire that arrives on the wind, is fed by the wind, and rests upon the crown of each disciple, sending him out to light flames of love and light in our world. This fire and wind is the Holy Spirit. O souls, created for these grandeurs and called to them! What are you doing? How are you spending your time? . . . You are blind to so brilliant a light and deaf to such loud voices. -John of the Cross This series is not about the Charismatic Movement; it's not about tongues and miracles and healing. It's about a "still more excellent way" (1 Cor 13). Love, the POWER. The Mystery. First, we'll explore the mystery. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God is mystery. The Son is God revealed, no longer hidden. The Spirit is God who is still concealed, the unfathomable depths of God, unreachable and incomprehensible. “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10). And "you know Him, because He dwells in you" (John 14:17). Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Jessica S; Savana A; Katherine P; Yolanda J; Celeste C; Carmen L; Lynne A; Anna B; and Angelica A, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: Our Bible study on the Book of Romans meets tonight! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.) O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Our Mass, the highest form of prayer, begins with, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" from 2 Corinthians 2:13. What do you know about "fellowship" after this episode? What is the Holy Spirit inviting you to? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  dogma concerning the HS; wind and breath; the one who acts, but the act Himself; the Person of the HS Minutes 12:01-24:00 – HS in OT and NT; creating power, revealing power, incarnation power, resurrection power Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the Person gift Minutes 36:01-48:00 – the gift of love; fruit of the Spirit, agape and eros; koinonia Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

For this last, summary episode in the Angels series, I am offering the best concise 48-minute synopsis on angels and spiritual warfare I know of. Ha! The Bible shows us that the spiritual battle we are all engaged in is centered on fear versus faith. So please enjoy the first chapter of my book Fearless, without interruption. Technical note: the podcast hosting service I use has not been working for over a week; this is why you did not get this podcast last week. I couldn't get it fixed between Holy Week, Easter, and Monday when my silent retreat began. As a work-around (it's still not working), I added the audio through the native player on my site, so it looks different. I should have it fixed by the next series in a few weeks.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Morgan J; Monica H*; Savana A; Jessica S; and Elysia G, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans!*A special "thank you"! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.) O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) I learned so much through researching and offering this series for you! What was your main takeaway? How about sharing it with us in community, here? I'll share mine with you too! V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108 Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Fearless, Conquer Your Demons and Love with Abandon, Chapter 1, Sonja Corbitt Minutes 12:01-24:00 –  continued Minutes 24:01-36:00 – continued Minutes 36:01-48:00 – continued Transcript Get the Fearless book and/or audio book here. 

For this last, summary episode in the Angels series, I am offering the best concise 48-minute synopsis on angels and spiritual warfare I know of. Ha! The Bible shows us that the spiritual battle we are all engaged in is centered on fear versus faith. So please enjoy the first chapter of my book Fearless, without interruption. Technical note: the podcast hosting service I use has not been working for over a week; this is why you did not get this podcast last week. I couldn't get it fixed between Holy Week, Easter, and Monday when my silent retreat began. As a work-around (it's still not working), I added the audio through the native player on my site, so it looks different. I should have it fixed by the next series in a few weeks.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Morgan J; Monica H*; Savana A; Jessica S; and Elysia G, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans!*A special "thank you"! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.) O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) I learned so much through researching and offering this series for you! What was your main takeaway? How about sharing it with us in community, here? I'll share mine with you too! V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108 Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Fearless, Conquer Your Demons and Love with Abandon, Chapter 1, Sonja Corbitt Minutes 12:01-24:00 –  continued Minutes 24:01-36:00 – continued Minutes 36:01-48:00 – continued Transcript Get the Fearless book and/or audio book here. 

'Spiritual combat' is another element of life which needs to be taught anew and proposed once more to all Christians today. It is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle in which [we] engage every day against the temptations, the evil suggestions that the demon tries to plant in [our] hearts" (St. JPII, Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria).  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Cynthia C; Samantha L; Jill E; and Jennifer H, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Aquinas once said that since no man can live without joy, one who is deprived of spiritual delight goes over to carnal pleasures. What does that say about your sins of the flesh, of desire? St. Gregory said, "We crush the serpent's head when we extirpate from our heart the beginnings of temptation." How is this related to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 in which the Woman's Seed will crush the serpent's head? What about, also, Romans 16:19-20: "For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you wise as to what is good and guileless as to what is evil; then the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108 Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Acknowledging that the enemy is both within and without; 2/3 of sin is not directly related to demons, it's the "desire" within us Minutes 12:01-24:00 –  The world, the flesh, and the devil; the answer to the world - secular and sacred - and the flesh (carnality, concupiscence) is detachment  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The Four D's of the demons' strategy: deceive, divide, distract, discourage; authority as the #1 issue for demons; temptation as a 'good thing' Minutes 36:01-48:00 – St. Augustine's Three Stages in the Pattern of Sin Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

As the very first sentence of Fr. Ripperger's book Dominion, states, "Since the very nature of the spiritual battle is to engage fallen angels, it is necessary to discuss the nature of angels, their attributes, etc., since the fallen angels are still angels."   Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Laura B; Dana G; Mandy W; Karen P; and Barbara C, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) How do you feel about discussions regarding demons, or fallen angels? How do you feel about spiritual warfare and deliverance? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108 Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  What it means that the fallen angels fell out of envy and pride (Wis 2:24, Job 41). Minutes 12:01-24:00 –  Evil is not a matter of dualism or yin and yang; the demons are inferior creatures and entirely subject to the will of God; the progression of a theology of evil in the Scriptures Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Scriptural names and characteristics of evil; Leviathan, Rahab, and Babylonian and extra-biblical mythologies Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Tolkein's view of mythology and Scripture; John of Damascus "Concerning the Devil and Demons" Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

I finished last week's episode a little bit unsettled, because with all the detailed information St. Thomas, Dionysius, Augustine, and John of Damascus give us about angels throughout Church history, I wondered how they came up with such detail and what it all means. This episode is an "aha!" moment I had the night I finished last week's show (that I also found confirmed in Aquinas), about the angelic hierarchy and the choirs' roles; but more than that, the meaning behind the angelic hierarchy.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Clara S; Kelly M; Ed & Pat P; Anne B; Linda P; Raquel P; and Heather D, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) When you have a question about the faith, something you've learned or wondered about, do you ask God directly for the answer? Why or why not? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108 Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  a leftover burning question of why: what> how> do Minutes 12:01-24:00 – how the angelic hierarchy fits into Providence; the Angel of the Lord in Scripture; review of angelic names indicate divisions and tasks  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – (cont.) review of the angelic hierarchical names and tasks; Dionysius Minutes 36:01-48:00 – nature and grace in the hierarchy; the strangeness in how the Scriptures sometimes portray the angels Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

We know from the Bible that angels are a heavenly army called the "heavenly hosts" (host means army), and are organized into ranks, choirs or divisions, that make up the angelic hierarchy. In this episode we learn the names and tasks of each division and probe what the Bible says about each division.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Mary C; Nicole G; Verna S; Sheila S; Gabriela C; Trese G; and Kathryn D'A, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) St. Thomas Aquinas says that humans can be equal to angels by grace and can ascend the angelic hierarchy according to the merits we receive in cooperating with grace (see link below in show notes). Our Lady, Queen of Angels (Rev 12:1 ff), is an example of such a grace. If that's true, does it inspire you to sin less and sacrifice more? What are your thoughts about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108 Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  angelic governance of the world's elements and weather; biblical examples; humans can be equal to angels by grace (Aquinas, ST. I. q. 108 a. 8) Minutes 12:01-24:00 – three hierarchies and nine choirs of angels; divisions or hierarchy as a topic; hierarchy of angels and their inequality; what inequality means for angels and us; first division or hierarchy: seraphim, cherubim Minutes 24:01-36:00 – (cont.) first division or hierarchy: seraphim, cherubim, thrones; second hierarchy: dominions, virtues, powers Minutes 36:01-48:00 – third or lowest hierarchy: principalities, archangels, and angels (guardian angels); can we name our guardian angels and/or know their names? Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Angels are messengers from God to humans. What does it mean that "angel is the name of the office"? If each angel is its own species according to its task, what do angels do? How many are there? How do we know that each of us has a guardian angel?  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Amy H; Kialee B; Melissa B; Anne K; and Tiffany H, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Particular angels have responsibilities toward specific nations and geographical locations. Have you thought to add your prayers to the prayers and works of the angels guarding and protecting America, and the state, town, and parish in which you live?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  angel communication; the aevum as the "dwelling place" of the angels according to St. Thomas Aquinas; knowledge of our secret thoughts Minutes 12:01-24:00 – defining "office"; offices of angels  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – biblical examples of angel messengers to mankind; angel worship forbidden in Canon Law and Scripture Minutes 36:01-48:00 – the Scriptures and Fathers on guardian angels; biblical examples of angels guardianship of the earth and nations Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

This series probes what the Bible, the Catechism, Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and contemporary exorcists reveal about angels, their relationship to God, one another, and the human race. Episode 1 explores what it means to say angels are "spiritual and incorporeal beings" and the extraordinary powers and abilities they employ in their tasks.   Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Laura H; Alisa K; Robin N; Deborah B; Robin D; Carrie JH; Joanna C*; Silvia F; Dorothy G; Clara G; Jane M; Kim R; Christine Y; Genevieve M; Jamie R*; Marcie C; Jean A; MJO; Monica M; Gabriela M; Jill S; Kate H; Mary W; Michele Van W; and Norma C, for loving and lifting me! *A special “thank you” for your generosity! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Have you ever experienced angelic visitation or intervention? How do you know? If you've never said "hello" to your guardian angel, do so now, since he is with you this very moment. What more do you want to know about angels? You might ask the Holy Spirit, directly, to teach you what you want to know throughout this series.   V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4 Catholic Encyclopedia, Angels Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  The Catechism and Catholic Encyclopedia as the structural context for our exploration of angels; what the Catechism says about angels Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Biblical languages and their nuances for the word "angel;" messengers of God; when the angels were created; Genesis 1 Minutes 24:01-36:00 – John of Damascus on angels  Minutes 36:01-48:00 – St. Thomas Aquinas on the angels' nature; what it means that they are "spiritual" and "incorporeal," or bodiless  Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

New around here? Welcome! Woops! I just tripped myself trying to curtsy for you in my schlepping boots (seriously, the html keeps kicking out my left arrow, curtsy, right arrow). No problem. I'm more flaming Bible teacher than Southern belle anyway, hence the “evangelista” moniker. Yes, I made up a word, but it's entirely applicable, since by definition an evangelist simply shares the good news of the Gospel from his own point of view. And honey I'm no “him,” but I always have a point of view, so I'm your evangelistaaaah. Speaking of good news, isn't holiness more domestic than cosmic (right?) — in the trenches of dirty bathrooms, fighting children, irritable spouses, the struggle to stop raging or overeating, crazy schedules, and overwhelming workloads? We're all sweating and dirty with the effort to love and lift all He's given to us (John 17) – those people, duties, callings, and longings that break our hearts and make them sing, sometimes at the same time. But most times, we need to be loved and lifted ourselves. So my Bible study media resources are created with you in mind, always with an emphasis on healing and rest. Bites of spinach that taste like cake, to help you make a space in your busy heart and schedule for God to love and lift you all the all the way up into His great lap, where all you've been given is loved and lifted too. My message is simple: Jesus literally loves you to death; let Him. I found that impossible once, myself – due to a deep, raw father wound – but I can't wait to show you what the Lord taught me in the Scriptures in the times I was hurting, guilty, enraged, lonely, discouraged, and exhausted. How about we get started? Take a listen, below, and let's find out where God wants to begin loving and lifting you through the Scriptures!   Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Deborah B; Robin D; Carrie JH; Joanna C*; Silvia F; Dorothy G; Clara G; Jane M; Kim R; Christine Y; Genevieve M; Jamie R*; Marcie C; Jean A; MJO; Monica M; Gabriela M; Jill S; Kate H; Mary W; Michele Van W; and Norma C, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans!  *A special "thank you" for your generosity!  LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.)   V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)   E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Next Series It's Lent. It's time for you to be healed. Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.   

Gratitude is the only thing that has been found to actually increase your baseline happiness, called dispositional happiness. Other things, such as self-medication, will cause a temporary increase in happiness, but then you return to the baseline. But over time gratitude increases dispositional well-being, or happiness, permanently! Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Jennifer M; Deborah W; and Maureen G, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Which of the strategies for practicing gratitude do you feel most drawn to? Can you implement each one? Is it surprising that God made thanksgiving good for us? What do you want to say to Him about that?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for all of the graces and blessings You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage; our food and shelter; our health; the loves we have for one another, our families and friends. Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessings throughout the coming year. This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior, through Whom all blessing from You is possible. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Links to 198 studies on gratitude. Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  reviewing the difference between gratitude and thanksgiving; understanding dispositional gratitude and dispositional happiness  Minutes 12:01-24:00 – research findings on how and why gratitude affects happiness  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – more studies and their findings; strategies for practicing gratitude: saying "thank you," writing letters, gratitude journal Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Ignatius Examen, counting the steps, smile, reframing, random acts of kindness (love bombs); the meaning of charity; creation thanks God Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

According to the Scriptures, complaining and thanksgiving are both multipliers. Complaining multiplies scarcity, fear, futility, and purposelessness; while thanksgiving multiplies a few loaves and fishes to feed all who are present, with plenty left over.   Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Jannifer S, and Carolyn McK, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Have you thought about how thanksgiving for what "little" you might have could actually be the catalyst for receiving more from God as a gift? What has the Lord said to you about that through this episode?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for all of the graces and blessings You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage; our food and shelter; our health; the loves we have for one another, our families and friends. Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessings throughout the coming year. This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior, through Whom all blessing from You is possible. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  overview of NT prayers of thanksgiving in the Gospels and Paul  Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Jesus' prayers of thanksgiving and what they brought forth Minutes 24:01-36:00 – thanksgiving is not for God; what God desires from us in thanksgiving, and what happens when we are properly thankful, especially in suffering Minutes 36:01-48:00 – an overview of "thanksgiving" in the Catechism Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Once, when wallowing in suffering and complaining to God, "Why me?", He answered me with, "Why not you?" It was a sobering question that re-ordered my negative thinking toward thankfulness for all the terrible things I didn't have that I could. That was when I realized it can always be worse, a reality I remind myself of every time something "bad" happens.  The Jewish practice of praying the Eighteen Benedictions, or The Amidah, taught them that everything in life is ultimately a gift - undeserved and unmerited - from the great Benefactor, Who is gift Himself. Such a practice of constant thanksgiving centers one's life on eternity and prevents the faith-killing entitlement that leads to futility, purposelessness, negativity, and finally hell. Because the truth is, everything is gift, and we don't deserve any gift whatsoever.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Ashley L; Tina S; Holly A; Amanda S; Beth W; Peggy H; Glora C; G&H E; Mary S*, Mary P; Jennifer A*; Anita C; Elizabeth P*; Diana R*; Debby F; Dawn M; Maria H; Theresa H; Stella V; Kerry K; and Christina S, for loving and lifting me! *A special "thank you" for your generosity! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: Our Bible study on the Book of Romans meets January 9! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.) O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) The familiar Mass prayer, "Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation, through Your goodness we have received this bread to offer..." is a traditional prayer of blessing over a meal. Do you say a blessing over your meals? Always? In public? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for all of the graces and blessings You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage; our food and shelter; our health; the loves we have for one another, our families and friends. Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessings throughout the coming year. This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior, through Whom all blessing from You is possible. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Previous episode on the Our Father Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Jewish prayers of thanksgiving, or blessing; The Amidah, or Eighteen Benedictions Minutes 12:01-24:00 – life is all blessing Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the biblical connections between gratitude and humility, ingratitude and futility and purposelessness Minutes 36:01-48:00 – the biblical connection between gratitude and wisdom and rest Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Gratitude is a worldview, but is it a secular worldview or a sacred one? If gratitude is so obviously good for us, emotionally and physically, why are we so ungrateful? And why are Christians who have so much to be grateful for as negative and as physically unhealthy as the godless? Biblical gratitude helps us return our hearts to the eternal. Living in the midst of so many evils, temptations, and sins, the problem becomes losing sight of the eternal, of becoming distracted. Gratitude helps us focus properly, and that's why it heals. In this episode, we look at the etymology of the word gratitude, "the three benes," the differences between the secular and sacred views of gratitude, and the number one reason why we should be grateful.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Cheri M, Sheila H, and Frances P, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: Our Bible study on the Book of Romans meets January 9! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Do you seek the Lord "diligently"? Do God's words to Abram, "I am your exceedingly great reward" fall flat for you in the face of your suffering? What do you want to say to Him about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for all of the graces and blessings You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage; our food and shelter; our health; the loves we have for one another, our family and friends. Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessing throughout the coming year. This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community  for healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  secular and sacred views of gratitude; the problem with Cain's offering Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Old Testament and New Testament evolution of the concept of thanksgiving; the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin language roots of the term "gratitude" Minutes 24:01-36:00 – the three benes Minutes 36:01-48:00 – God's "goodness" to Abram; the number one reason to be grateful Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Just in time for the All Hallow's Eve and All Saints feasts: the resurrection of the dead "in their own proper bodies which they now bear" is an infallible dogma, necessary to the Christian faith and handed down to us and confirmed repeatedly in the Scriptures, the Councils, the Creeds, and the Fathers. At the second coming, Jesus “will judge the living and the dead, to render to every person according to his works, both to the reprobate and to the elect. All of them will rise with their own bodies, which they now wear, so as to receive according to their deeds, whether these be good or bad [Rom. 2:6–11]” (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215, constitution 1). All men will rise again with the same body they had on earth as the supernatural fulfillment of the natural state of man as a soul-body. What might this mean for us physically, now?   Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Jerilyn M (whoa! thank you!); Ruth F; Abby C; and Trish W, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: Our Bible study on the Book of Romans meets tonight! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Have you ever thought about the fact that your resurrected body will be the same one you are now? Does that change the way you think about your body and the way you take care of it or treat it, and allow others to treat it? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Sts. Peter and Paul in Acts and 1 Corinthians on the resurrection of the body. Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Powers of Jesus' resurrected body; what the Ascension and Assumption tell us about resurrection.  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – Church Councils and Fathers on the resurrection of the body; what about cremation, decay, etc.? Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Implications for good stewardship of the body, since the resurrection of the body will be the same bodies we bear now. Step-By-Step Guide to Working thru Pop Quizzes Click here for the step-by-step guide that includes the updated STOP tool with physical symptoms and the Your Identity in Christ document (Sign up first, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu). Adapted from JPII Healing Center's In-Depth Ministry Prayer and Encounter School of Ministry's Ministering to Wounded Memories.  Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

You will need the Step-By-Step Guide to Working through Pop Quizzes (updated STOP Tool) to work through the content of this episode. Animals do not hold and store trauma. They do not have the capacity, because they do not have a soul (emotion, intellect, will). Because the human person is a soul-body, humans often hold on to the emotion, lies, and self-medication of memories and their stored trauma in our brains and therefore our bodies, whether consciously or unconsciously. Conversely, because the human person is soul-body, we can also choose to release the emotion, lies, and self-medication of memories and stored trauma and go on to experience "post traumatic growth."    Link to Working through Pop Quizzes (updated STOP Tool).  Sign up, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Mary M; Joan H; and Gary K, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: Our Bible study on the Book of Romans meets tonight! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Can you see how and where the Holy Spirit has been working through the patterns of your pop quizzes to heal you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? Have you identified your "vomit" and the typical trigger(s) for those emotional eruptions? Have you also identified your usual stress response and how that manifests physically for you? Where do you still need insight?   V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + It's Time for You to Be Healed Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Link to the updated STOP tool that includes physical symptoms (Sign up first, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu; where to begin working on trauma? pop quizzes!; pop quizzes and their pattern Minutes 12:01-24:00 – soul-body unity; why humans often hold onto stress emotion, lies, and self-medication of memories and their stored trauma in our brains and bodies, while animals don't Minutes 24:01-36:00 – post traumatic growth; step-by-step guide to working thru pop quizzes for physical healing, step one: S-STOP the automatic cycle Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Step-by-step guide to working thru pop quizzes for physical healing, steps two - four; T-Tell God - search with the HS for self-knowledge: emotion and behavior, images and memories, self-defense actions and discharge; lies, vows, judgments, truth; O-Offer the right sacrifice; P-Put your trust in God; Link to the updated STOP tool that includes physical symptoms and the Your Identity in Christ document (Sign up first, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu. Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Now that we know physical symptoms are information -- that they are the body's way of communicating a need for healing and what needs to be healed -- we can proceed to the how of the actual healing of physical memories. To heal the body's physical memories (compacted stress/traumas responses), we listen to and follow the physical symptom in our pop quizzes to 1) the theme emotion, 2) the memory/image(s), and 3) the lie(s) associated with the symptom; and finally to 4) the behavior that the body seems to want to complete from that memory.  This is part one of Healing Physical Memories, Physically Working through Pop Quizzes in which I offer my own case study to show you how each of these steps, 1-4 above, show up in a real-life unhealed physical memory many, many years afterward.  Link to Working through Pop Quizzes (updated STOP Tool).  Sign up, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Nellie K; Ruth F; Mary Z; Jessica M; Sheila W; Michele Van W; Theresa T; Luke M; Paige B, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Were you able to see yourself in my situation? Have you identified some physical symptoms associated with your pop quizzes? Can you discern the physical behavior your body seems drawn to in the memory? Do you need more light and understanding from the Holy Spirit here?  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + Get Healed Already! Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Fighting the Right Battle show for help in closing spiritual doors; physical symptoms in pop quizzes are information; physical reactions are automatic and may cause momentary panic for that reason; physical memory is from the past; using the STOP tool to work through physical memory.  Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Link to the updated STOP tool that includes physical symptoms (Sign up first, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu; probing for the memory under the memory; physical memory is stress memory, also called historical emotion; your body remembers, your body knows. Minutes 24:01-36:00 – stress is not "just stress" - do not discount your physical symptoms as "just stress" - instead, probe for the message in them; your body is not your enemy; your body knows how to heal. Minutes 36:01-48:00 – we cannot be in constant stress response and grow, too; somatic markers; healing the physical memory discharges the energy; the goal is to remember without an emotional or physical response; "dimming the switch" with the Emmanuel Moment; Link to the updated STOP tool that incl...

Physical symptoms are information; they are the body's way of communicating a need for healing, what needs to be healed, and even how to heal. Much of the automatic physical reaction we experience in stressful situations is ultimately ignored because we mark it down to "stress" (unavoidable!) without actually listening to what it's trying to tell us. But dismissing physical symptoms because they are "stress" causes a build-up of stress-emotion-energy -- fight or flight energy that was never discharged. Over time, this build-up is extremely unhealthy and destructive to the body, as it can never relax, heal, and grow. Listening to our bodies is the first step to healing them! Working through Pop Quizzes (updated STOP Tool)  Sign up, then click Working Through Pop Quizzes on the menu.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Erin B; Leigh P; and Deborah W, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Is it surprising to you that your overwhelming automatic physical responses to stress, conflict, mistreatment, or abuse are likely symptoms of trauma? As you listened through the four stress responses, did you recognize yourself and the ways you deal with stress? Were you able to make connections between your stress responses and earlier coping mechanisms that became unhealthy and permanent?   V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + Get Healed Already! Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Review of series so far; Emmanuel Moment (phrase coined by Dr. Carl Lahmen) Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Transforming picture or peaceful visualization as an limbic/emotional anchor; e>motion; biology of stress and trauma Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The Four Fs - four types of stress or trauma responses: fight and flight Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Flee and fawn stress responses Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Perhaps a negative view of the human body has been construed from St. Paul's remarks about "crucifying the flesh." But Paul is simply pointing out that the flesh fell with the soul in the Garden, must be restored, and will be elevated even higher to the image of Christ. Jesus reveals the Gospel of the Body.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Steve P; Gail P; Sylvia C; Carolyn McG; Leah P; Denise S; and Natalie K, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Can you visualize what your body would look and feel like if it were completely healthy at your current age and as you continue to age? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + Get Healed Already! Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:00-12:00 –  Minutes 12:01-24:00 –  Minutes 24:01-36:00 –  Minutes 36:01-48:00 –  Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Perhaps we think back to the Garden of Eden and imagine how glorious it would be to live like Adam and Eve in Paradise before the fall, with our souls clear and free and full of light, and in full and immediate control of the appetites of the body. Or we try to imagine our lives without the darkness and difficulties of the suffering we have personally endured? What kind of healthy, happy person "might have been"? What if the elevation of the human person in Christ is actually BETTER than it would have been if sin and suffering had never entered the human picture? What if you, yourself, are becoming BETTER through the healing of your personal suffering, in Christ, than you would have been if you had never experienced that suffering? Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Chloe F; Noreen C; and Ester L, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Is the Holy Spirit inviting you to consider your personal suffering differently? Is it too hard to even imagine that He could elevate you ABOVE what your potential would have been without that suffering? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + Get Healed Already! Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – Suffering, its meaning and purpose as personal and apostolic purification in John Paul II's Salvifici Doloris  Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Creation, angels, the Garden and sinlessness, the soul's full, immediate control of the body Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The disorder of soul and body at the Fall, and loss of control of the body; restoration and elevation in Christ and proper hierarchy of the human person Minutes 36:01-48:00 – O happy fault!, "grace builds on nature," "where sin abounds, grace superabounds," and the implications Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

The Church Fathers teach that the body is not the "container" for the soul, but the soul is the "container" of the body, and is everywhere throughout the body. This view is reflected in Jesus' statements, "The eye [the soul, according to the Fathers] is the light of the body. So, if your eye is sound [integrated, one], your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" When the soul, which is everywhere in the body, is suffering and sick, the body is suffering and sick. But in Christ, man is the subject and co-creator of the salvation and redemption of both his body and soul (Theology of the Body, JPII), so that the whole human person, soul and body, becomes "full of light." Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Rhonda S; Priya P-H; and Jody C, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! September's Monthly Bible Study Meet-up for Friends of the Show is tonight, September 19 at 7:00 PM CDT.  LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Several things in this episode blew my mind when studying for it. Did anything jump out at you? What is the Holy Spirit inviting you to? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Precious Blood of Jesus, flow through me. Mary, Mother of Divine Love, take the Precious Blood of Jesus to the throne of God, the Father, and offer it in sweet humble adoration, then send it back flowing by the Holy Spirit as a healing of body, mind, heart, and soul. Grant me complete and total healing as I cooperate with you, Lord Jesus, in the healing of my soul and body as you direct. Amen. + Get Healed Already! Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – The body reveals the Trinitarian God and is healed by love; we are both the subject and co-creators of suffering and salvation Minutes 12:01-24:00 – The human soul is created with the body at conception; the soul as everywhere in the body as the body's "container" Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The disorder of soul and body at the fall, and loss of control of the body; restoration and elevation in Christ and proper hierarchy of the human person Minutes 36:01-48:00 – Suffering, its meaning and purpose as personal and apostolic purification in JPII's Salvifici Doloris  Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

It's hard to impossible to be physically healthy when you hate your body. Media, trauma, disease, pregnancies, abuse, ageing, bullying - how a person perceives her appearance and feels in his body directly impacts his or her physical health. What is the truth about your body? "The human body shares in the dignity of "the image of God": it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit . . . For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honour since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day" (CCC 364-365).  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Patty K; Michele F; Donna H; Mary L; Carlene G; Kathy B; Elaina C; Christine D; Suzette S; Deb F; Katrina H; Leslie A; Barbara S; John P; Casey M; and Linda P, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! September's Monthly Bible Study Meet-up for Friends of the Show is September 19 at 7:00 PM CDT.  LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) What events or relationships in your life affected your body image? Have you talked to God about that? Do you see your body at all differently after this episode? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love, and there shall be a new creation, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + Go Deeper in Your Healing Connect Join me in the Sacred Healing community, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – Outline of the new series, biblical emphasis on the body for salvation Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Christian view on human person as spirit and matter, "woven veil" in the OT tabernacle and the body as a veil for the Spirit of God in the Holy of Holies of the soul Minutes 24:01-36:00 – heresies from church history regarding the body; Gospel of the Body; Incarnation, Assumption, and Resurrection Minutes 36:01-48:00 – physical healing in the Bible and throughout church history, Veritatis Splendor on what one does in the body affects the soul and vice versa Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Unity, permanence, holiness, reverence, glory: "For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church" (Eph 5:29-32). This is where I get to tell you some wonderful news from here on the home front about the Catholic Evangelista apostolate. The next series, Somata, on physical healing begins September 12! Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Norma C; Natalie C; and Chris G, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.) O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Has the Holy Spirit brought to mind a way you are thankful for your spouse or community? What can you do to show them your appreciation and gratitude? What do you want to say to Him about that? V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love, and there shall be a new creation, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + Connect Take the next step in your healing journey. Join me in Sacred Healing, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – Catholic Encyclopedia on Ephesians 5:22-33 Minutes 12:01-24:00 – final thoughts on cherishing one another in marriage and other vocations Minutes 24:01-36:00 – next series is on physical healing Minutes 36:01-48:00 – news from home and ministry Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

I've hit "wives submit to your husbands" pretty hard, but now it's time for "the rest of the story," "husbands, love your wives." Love is the center of everything, after all, and the wife's submission is only rational and only makes sense if her husband submits to her in love, by love, for love, and with love - the love of Christ Himself.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Jean I; Anita W; Karen K; Phyllis T; Allison D; Sarah H; Ally B; Kelsey W; Tara D, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) In what practical way can you deliberately communicate respect to your husband or love to your wife today? Put a plan in place with Jesus, and deliberately practice that habit this week.  V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now. Take the risk, and ask Him to help you with ways to actively respect your husband or love your wife, no matter what your relationship looks like right now.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love, and there shall be a new creation, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + Connect Take the next step in your healing journey. Join me in Sacred Healing, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – love as beginning and end of everything Minutes 12:01-24:00 – sin and defenses as "protecting love" Minutes 24:01-36:00 – mutual submission, St. Augustine's Sermon on Marriage Minutes 36:01-48:00 – what is mutual submission in vocations and marriage Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show. 

Relationships (especially in our vocations) are Providentially meant to teach us authentic love - how to give it, and how to receive it. As a matter of charity, aggressive personalities must learn to respect others' proper boundaries, and passive personalities must learn to erect proper boundaries. And all of us must learn authentic forgiveness.  Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Julie M; Denise S; and Amanda W, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja: We're studying the Book of Romans! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.   L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)  O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Hold a crucifix in your hand, and meditate on the differences it teaches you between forgiveness, reconciliation, and relationship, and where repentance is required. V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Tell Him everything in your heart right now. Take the risk, and ask Him to help you discern His message under the anger and hurt.  Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of Your love, and there shall be a new creation, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. + Connect Take the next step in your healing journey. Join me in Sacred Healing, where I'm offering healing prayer livestreams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.  What We Discussed | Show Notes Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – pop quizzes; back to the Garden; the New Adam and the New Eve Minutes 12:01-24:00 – what is authentic love?; 1 Cor 13 and Eph 5:22-33 Minutes 24:01-36:00 – all vocations are married to God; Ephesians 5:22-33 as model for authentic marriage relationships Minutes 36:01-48:00 – what is forgiveness?; erecting proper boundaries, especially in abusive relationships Transcript Click here for a transcript of the show.