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"Life, Love, & Light" with Veronica Mary Rolf
In the FIRST SEASON of "Life, Love, & Light" podcasts, we delve into the wisdom of the beloved medieval mystic, JULIAN OF NORWICH, to discover how her "Revelations of Divine Love" may inspire, encourage, and guide us on our own spiritual path. The first episode is entitled "Sheltering in Place" and introduces Julian of Norwich, an enclosed anchorite who received sixteen Revelations of Divine Love and heard Christ tell her: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and thou shalt see thyself that all manner of thing shall be well." The season includes twenty-five episodes with Guided Meditations following each episode. In the SECOND SEASON, we meet a fascinating variety of Old and New Testament BIBLICAL MYSTICS. We discover men and women who faced major challenges and crises in their lives, made some really big mistakes, were forgiven, received mystical revelations, and then dared to act on those revelations. Their stories may become powerful inspirations in our own time of crisis, fear, and uncertainty. In the THIRD SEASON, we discuss THE MYSTICAL PATH and consider what is involved in following such a path – not only through the practice of contemplative prayer – but in every aspect of our daily lives. We explore the three stages of the mystical path and discuss how to deal with distractions, dullness, and agitation in order to focus on silence, stillness, and surrender, toward a deeper union with God. In the Guided Meditations, we practice becoming aware of thoughts, emotions, and memories that arise, without becoming attached to them. In the FOURTH SEASON, we delve into the all-important but rarely discussed topic of Resurrection, based on my recent award winning book, "LIVING RESURRECTED LIVES: WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT MATTERS," co-authored by my daughter, Eva Natanya, PhD. In the first episode -- entitled "What is Resurrection?" -- we consider ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Hebrew ideas about the afterlife: what it was, what it was not. Then we examine biblical references to life after death in the psalms, prophets, apocalyptic literature, and the Book of Wisdom. Following episodes examine the four biblical accounts of Christ's resurrection to discover the bedrock of Christian belief in bodily resurrection. We also consider how we may begin living resurrected lives even now, as sons and daughters of the resurrection. At this time of great disharmony, fear, crisis, and suffering in our world, one thing remains certain: The love of God is everlasting. PLEASE SHARE these "Life, Love, & Light" podcasts. They are available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, and all the major directories as well as on https://lifelovelight.buzzsprout.com/. Podcaster VERONICA MARY ROLF is a medieval scholar, retreat leader, and master teacher of dramatic arts. She is the author of "Living Resurrected Lives: What it Means and Why it Matters" (Cascade Books, 2020), co-authored with Eva Natanya, PhD, which won a 2021 Catholic Media Association Book Award for Spirituality, and "Suddenly There is God: The Story of Our Lives in Sacred Scripture" (Cascade Books, 2019), which won a 2020 Catholic Media Association Book Award for Scripture. She is also the author of "An Explorer's Guide to Julian of Norwich" (IVP Academic, 2018) and "Julian's Gospel: Illuminating the Life and Revelations of Julian of Norwich" (Orbis Books, 2013), which have won numerous awards, including a First Place Catholic Media Association Book Award and the Nautilus Gold Medal for Spirituality. Veronica blogs on two websites: www.VeronicaMaryRolf.com and www.JuliansVoice.com.
"Life, Love, & Light" with Veronica Mary Rolf
Stages of the Path
In this week's "Life, Love, & Light" podcast, we go in depth to examine the three stages on The Mystical Path: the path of purification and recollection; the path of illumination; and the path of divine union. We discuss what "the path of purification and recollection" entails and why a daily practice of meditation is absolutely necessary to our growth in the mystical life. We reflect on the words of mystics like St. Teresa of Avila and Julian of Norwich, Johannes Tauler and St. John of the Cross concerning the value of self-discipline and mortification -- in order to gain our freedom from slavery to the senses. Then we consider "the path of illumination" as the glimpse of the Ground of Reality that is God and realize that it is only by entering into "the prayer of quiet" that we are able to surrender totally to the divine will. We see the need to "discern the spirits" that may arise as either revelation or distraction and acknowledge that while the stage of illumination may be filled with extraordinary graces, it is not yet the stage of perfect union. In "the path of divine union" we understand that the ingrained sense of being a self separate from the Divine Source disappears. Divine Reality is not only perceived and enjoyed as a “beholding,” but the contemplative becomes one with it. Drawing mainly on the Revelations of Julian of Norwich, we hear her description of the unitive prayer "that oneth the soul to God."
The Guided Meditation offers a method of watching the sensations in the body, the thoughts and images in the mind, and the emotions attached to these thoughts and images, so that we may learn to let them go and become more and more focused on the stillness of awareness within the soul. It is in this silence and stillness that we may discover the Divine Awareness that is the ground of our being . . . that never moves.
PLEASE SHARE this podcast with family members and friends who wish to develop a meditation practice in their daily lives, especially during this Lenten time of silence, stillness, and surrender. Blessings to all!