In this episode Chad and Charlotte discuss Charlotte’s experience with COVID-related phantosmia, an olfactory disorder which causes for her the sensation of smelling smoke that is not actually present. Chad then introduces us to various philosophical takes on our perception of reality before inviting us to deeper reflection on how we perceive the Divine and...
This episode is a live recording of a sermon on John 21:1-19 preached by Charlotte Elia at Chester Presbyterian Church on April 7, 2024. “All of those Peter stories reflected in this text, all of those experiences, all of those lessons to be learned and Peter doesn’t know why Jesus keeps asking if he loves...
In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss Requies Divina, a practice of divine rest that Charlotte has been developing. They also speak more broadly about the difficulties of beginning and establishing habits of spiritual practices and the crucial need for the Church to share its wealth of spiritual tools. Charlotte: I had been...
In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia talk some more about spiritual practices in the Christian tradition, but this time they get a bit more practical. They discuss specific practices and their experiences with each, and they make some suggestions for finding space for God in our current context. Chad: One thing I’ve learned...
In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia chat about the purpose and theology of spiritual practices in the Christian tradition and some of the various approaches folks have taken as they sought to enact our faith in the world. Charlotte: Spirituality in the Christian tradition has a goal of union with God through imitation...
In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia celebrate Valentine’s Day by discussing love in the Christian tradition. This episode also serves as something of a preview of the manuscript Chad has written on this topic. Chad: The one thing that always remains the same in our love relationships is constantly we want what is...
In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia talk about the themes and significance of the liturgical season of Lent, share some reasons why it is important to them, and offer guidance on how you might observe this penitential time. Charlotte: These particular spiritual practices are ways in which we enact the faith in the...
In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss Chad’s work with Francisco de Osuna’s Third Spiritual Alphabet. Chad has been posting monthly on our Substack on each letter of the Third Spiritual Alphabet as both a way of introducing Francisco de Osuna’s thought and of exploring the practice and concept of recollection. Chad’s posts...
In this episode Charlotte Elia and Chad Rhodes discuss the tools and perspectives used by Origen, Cassian, and Augustine in the interpretation of scripture. Chad: The thing that impresses me most and has really kind of changed the way I think about the scriptures is this idea that you see in the early church that...
Charlotte Elia offers this sermon on Matthew 22:1-14, commonly referred to as the Parable of the Wedding Feast. “This is a parable that like Jesus’ teachings, a parable that like Jesus’ life, shows the absurdity, the lies, the ultimate ineffectiveness of supposed power. Power seeks only to maintain power, and power is maintained through cruelty,...