Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Mystagogy
To kick off our summer series, we will reflect on some writings that go way back to the third century of Christendom. While the Church was suffering under the Roman persecutions, hundreds of thousands of Christians fled into the desert first to survive, but then to encounter the Lord in simplicity, silence, Scripture, and prayer. What they learned in the desert became the foundation for Christian spiritual practice, and the keynotes of the Desert Fathers are still very much the es...
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Religion & Spirituality • Christianity
About Podcast
In a tradition that dates back to the first centuries of Christianity, many newly initiated Christians were prepared for lives of faith through a formation with spiritual, liturgical, and communitarian dimensions. This period of formation was called mystagogy, a word which, in Greek, means "leading through the mysteries." Our program of mystagogy will have four primary goals: 1) To break open Magisterial teaching on the lay state (selections from Vatican II as well as letters/encyclicals from recent popes) as well as classic spiritual texts to build a thoughtful, practical devotional life; 2) To introduce the various spiritual charisms in the Church (i.e. Dominican, Carmelite, Franciscan, Salesian, etc.) so that they may develop a personal program of spirituality rooted in the uniquely Catholic legacy; 3) To deepen the prayer life through study, communal prayer, the practice of meditation, Mass, and the Liturgy of the Hours; and 4) To establish a fully Catholic life and mission, including a formation in the art of the Church, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and the commitment to a specific personal work of service.