Sacramental Living

Епизоде

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  The Strange Gift: When Rock Bottom Becomes a New Beginning 10.09.2026

  There are moments in life when we find ourselves descending through suffering, loss, failure, grief, or circumstances beyond our control. In this episode, Michael explores the Christian idea of katabasis, the descent into the depths, and its surprising connection to what we call “rock bottom.” What if reaching the bottom is not necessarily the end of the story? Through reflections on faith, suffering, and the people God sends into our lives at difficult moments, Michael considers how a descent can become the place where surrender, transformation, and eventually a new ascent in our lives begin.
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  Let us Be Attentive…So Why Aren’t We? 13.08.2026

  What if attention is far more than a mental skill? What if it is one of the deepest expressions of love and one of the primary ways God transforms us? In this episode, Michael explores the spiritual significance of attention, From interruptions and distractions to self-obsession, prayer, multitasking, and the modern attention economy, he examines why our inability to be fully present has profound consequences for our relationships with God and others. By recovering the discipline of attentiveness, we begin to see interruptions as opportunities for grace, discover God’s timing within our own plans, and learn how even the ordinary moments of daily life can become encounters with Christ.
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  Does Artificial Intelligence Have a Silicon Soul? 14.07.2026

  Join Michael in an in-depth discussion about artificial intelligence, its history, what secular and Orthodox Christian thought leaders are saying about it and, most importantly, what is the potential danger of AI to our formational growth as human beings.
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  From Consumption to Communion: Choosing Spiritual Sickness or Spiritual Health 18.06.2026

  Join Michael as he discusses the consumer culture and how consuming has become a spiritual sickness with many comorbidities. Drawing on Scripture, Orthodox theology, and observations of modern life, he explores how choosing consumerism can give rise to materialism, hedonism, narcissism, individualism, and even nihilism, shaping the way we view ourselves, others, and God, versus seeking Christ who offers the way from endless consumption to authentic communion, spiritual growth, and true human flourishing.
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  When Anxiety Lies: Overcoming Existential Crisis 28.05.2026

  Join Michael in a discussion about the debilitating type of anxiety based on lies that can lead to hopelessness, and what we need to do to overcome it.
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  Life, Death, and Beauty in Our Last Breath: A Testimony 21.04.2026

  Join Michael as he tells the story of a loved one’s final forty-eight hours and explores death as both sorrowful and strangely beautiful, revealing God’s grace, the power of love, and the hope of resurrection, even in life’s most painful moments.
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  Facing Uncomfortable Truths 17.03.2026

  Join Michael as he shares a personal experience and discusses the challenge of facing uncomfortable truths about ourselves that are necessary for our spiritual growth.
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  Pragmatism That Kills 03.03.2026

  Join Michael in a discussion about how the culture we live in deeply effects our spirituality, and how the pragmatism of American culture, in general, can kill our spirit and what we need to do to maintain our connection with God.
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  Blessings in Brokenness 11.02.2026

  Join Michael for an in-depth discussion of brokenness in our lives, how it can be either transformative or debilitating, and how to make sense of what the Gospels and Epistles say about having peace and joy within our suffering.
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  Lessons From the ‘Corporate World’ 19.08.2025

  Join Michael as he compares the corporate world of business to what goes on in the Church, but also how a lack of corporate appreciation and understanding as an underpinning of reality at home, the arts, and in other aspects of life, is pervasive in its negative effects.
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  Living the Abundant Life 18.07.2025

  Join Michael in a discussion about what the abundant life is that Christ wants to give us; what is the experience of this life now amidst all of the daily worries, stresses and anxieties; and how learning to see and experience all of life as liturgical and Eucharistic is key to living how God wants us to live
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  Ego and Our Propensity to Choose Delusion 10.06.2025

  Join Michael in a discussion about how we easily succumb to delusional thinking due to our egos, how this is a great detriment to ourselves and others, and what we can do to overcome it and move toward salvation and not destruction.
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  The Prison of Esteem 20.05.2025

  Join Michael in a discussion of how the quest for high self-esteem, and even having low self-esteem, often take us in the opposite direction of God, and what we need to do to break free of this self-made prison and become who we are meant to be in Christ.
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  Defeating the True Enemy 23.04.2025

  Join Michael as he discusses what combat with the true enemy looks like, the weapons and strategies we should employ, and the trap we can fall into if we don’t learn how to see deeper spiritually.
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  Alone but not Alone 21.01.2025

  Join Michael as he explores the difference between loneliness and being alone, and how we can be more aware and supportive to anyone struggling with debilitating loneliness.
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  Living as Pilgrims in a Restless World 28.11.2024

  Join Michael in a discussion of what is means to live as a pilgrim of Christ and how to understand and address our deep yearning and longing of unmet desire in a world of restlessness, noise, and distraction.
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  Confusing Our Goodness with God’s Goodness 08.11.2024

  Join Michael in a discussion of God’s goodness versus our own goodness, and why the prevalent cultural belief of many that all you have to be is a good person is results in so many unintended consequences.
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  Serving the Angel of Contentment or the Demon of Desire 04.09.2024

  Join Michael in a discussion of our desires, how they get in the away of the elusive peace we seek, and what we need to do to find true contentment.
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  Haunted by Religion 29.07.2024

  Join Michael in a discussion about how many people are haunted by a spiritual reality they consciously or unconsciously acknowledge, especially during times of tragedy and loss, and how to minister to them through relationship and storytelling.
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  God in a Disfigured Face 28.06.2024

  Join Michael in a discussion about an encounter he had with man with severe facial injuries, and what it caused him to reflect on concerning the face of Christ and the theological understanding of our faces that should guide our daily encounters with everyone.