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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
Presence of God
In this final episode of Season Three of "Life, Love, & Light" podcasts, we examine the goal of The Mystical Path, which is union with God as sons and daughters of the resurrection. Too often, we are so consumed with our sufferings, our fears, and our worries, that we come into the dark tomb of our hearts in meditation expecting to find a corpse. We don't expect to experience the resurrection. The Lord asks us: "Why are you weeping?" Yet, like Mary Magdalene, we don't recognize him until he calls our name. We don't anticipate being filled with the Presence of God! In our practice of contemplative prayer, we have to become silent and still so as to allow Christ to rise within us -- out of the darkness of our inner tomb, our pain, our sadness. Then we may become ablaze with divine joy, the joy that no one can take away from us.
We consider what happens in Eucharist, when we bring our simple gifts of bread and wine, the offerings and sufferings of our whole life, to be transformed by the living Presence of Christ. We don’t have to realize a state of ecstasy to be in mystical union with Christ. The kingdom of God is already rising up within us! And if we could taste it when we celebrate Eucharist, it is the most sublime state of mystical union possible on earth. In fact, the whole contemplative path is about realizing more fully what happens in Eucharistic liturgy.
We ask: "How do we learn to live in Divine Presence, not just in meditation, but in everything we do all day long?" In answer, we reflect on the writings of a seventeenth century monk and mystic, Br. Lawrence, as he describes his own simple and yet sublime practice of the Presence of God. We see again that the whole focus of the mystical path is to become aware of Divine Presence. We discover that the continual practice of the Presence of God in our daily lives, seamlessly interwoven with our morning and evening contemplative prayer, is the best possible description of The Mystical Path -- of living right now as sons and daughters of the resurrection.
PLEASE SHARE these "Life, Love & Light" podcasts with family members and friends who may be seeking a practice of contemplative prayer and a deeper realization of the presence of God in their own lives. Blessings to all!