What God is Not
A Byzantine Catholic Podcast about Divine Mystery WhatGodIsNotPodcast@gmail.com
Episodes
239 episodes
A Zealous Penance
This week Fr. Michael reflects on Psalm 63, which he has felt the Lord calling him to give as a penance in confession. Fr. Michael walks through some of the verses in the Psalm and contemplates some ways we can link the passages to our daily li...
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43:20
Have Yourself a Maddie Little Christmas
This week Mother Natalia and Fr. Michael reflect on the entrance of their friend and spiritual daughter, Maddie, into Christ the Bridegroom Monastery. Mother Natalia then reflects on one of her favorite stichera that we sing during the Nativity...
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53:30
Untwisting Legion
This week Fr. Michael reflects on a passage in Luke where Jesus encounters the man living with the legion of demons, which he then casts out. He talks about how the devil twists the truth and beauty and the world, perverting it which leads to s...
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1:00:08
Don't Trust the First Mile
This Mother Natalia talks about her recent experience on a long run and how that compares to the spiritual life. She breaks down her run into three parts, each of them equating to us persevering in holiness.References:
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1:05:51
Jealousy in the Household
This week Fr. Michael takes inspiration from Matthew's gospel to talk about Jesus not being accepted as a prophet in his own home. Fr. Michael takes this further to talk about the ways we can be jealous of others, even of the good that they're ...
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1:01:03
Bride for the Day
This week Mother Natalia shares something that she asked for in prayer. She shares how that impacted her as she tried to remember that as she went about her day. Mother Natalia makes a suggestion to us on how to incorporate this into our lives ...
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46:49
Ever Increasing Hope
This week Fr. Michael unpacks two scripture passages that many find hard to receive, especially with our knowledge that God is good and loving.References:
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59:30
Why I Love Mother Natalia with Bree Solstad
This week we're joined by special guest, Bree Solstad. Bree is a new member of the podcast team and works as our video editor.In today's episode, Bree surprises Mother Natalia by telling her why she loves her. This conversation expands ...
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1:13:05
What Tragedy is Not with Bree Solstad
This week we're joined by special guest, Bree Solstad. Bree recently joined the podcast team as our video editor. Thanks Bree!Mother Natalia, Bree, and Fr. Michael talk about responding to loss. This can be as the person who experiences...
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1:16:45
#SEEK and Follow Me
This week Fr. Michael and Mother Natalia talk about SEEK and their theme "Follow Me." They reflect on their experience at SEEK last year as well as the patron saint for SEEK25, St. Joan of Arc.Follow and Contact Us!Follow us ...
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1:10:56
We Bought an Outreach
This week we're joined by special guests Sandy and Therese. Sandy and Fr. Michael talk a little about Humanality, a group that Sandy helps run. Then Fr. Michael, Sandy, and Therese share about the forming of the outreach from the Proto-Cathedra...
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1:05:22
Accepting the Mess You Are
This week Mother Natalia uses this episode to prepare for a talk she's giving. She talks about accepting the state in which you find yourself. She uses some quotes from St. Faustina to help illustrate the point of keeping close to God in the mi...
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58:01
God's Work in Others
This week Fr. Michael talks about some of the hidden sacrifices of parents. Fr. Michael talks about the hermeneutics of moms and dads with two separate stories of parents he knows who are living out their ordinary vocation.There's also ...
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1:05:38
Picard and Parts Work: Make it So with Dr. Gerry Crete
This week we're joined by special guest Dr. Gerry Crete. Dr. Gerry and Mother Natalia talk about some of their favorite Star Trek episodes and how they relate to parts work.References:
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1:24:51
Impoverished and Insecure Freedom
This week Mother Natalia reflects on two listener emails. One talks about welcoming people at church and the ways we can be stretched. Another talks about recognizing the humanity in Fr. Michael and Mother Natalia in the beginning episode bante...
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59:05
How Jesus Heals, Judges and Teaches
This week Fr. Michael talks about the various aspects of Jesus we can encounter in confession. He highlights Jesus as healer, teacher, and judge. Fr. Michael talks about how we can naturally limit our understanding of Jesus to just those three ...
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59:06
What are You Worth?
This week Mother Natalia reflects on self-worth despite no visible evidence of contribution to the greater good. This comes after she got COVID and struggled with fatigue, which impacted her day-to-day operations at the monastery.Ref...
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29:03
Truly Helping
This week Fr. Michael takes inspiration from a parishioner who asked for grace from his family as he was going to have a difficult week. Fr. Michael talks about the need for patience and grace that we all should be giving to our family members,...
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30:50
Attachment and Identity
This week Mother Natalia takes a mini-topic suggestion from one of our Patreon supporters and talks about it for a full episode! She talks about attachments to people, including family and celebrities, and how those can be wrongly ordered. She ...
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54:45
Authenticity and Feeling Safe with Ivy Gates
Today we're joined by special guest Ivy Gates. Ivy and Fr. Michael met each other on the #redbusbestbus during a Holy Land pilgrimage.Ivy talks about authenticity and it's importance in her life. Fr. Michael shares some examples of Ivy ...
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1:07:07
Weakness as Wisdom or Weapon
This week Fr. Michael talks about an encounter he had in Rome, and how that encounter led him to consider his weaknesses and other people's wisdom. He talks about how we sometimes weaponize other people's weaknesses instead of recognizing their...
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1:02:20
Signs of the Resurrection
This week Mother Natalia continues her topic on discernment, talking about what not to do but also what to do. She also talks about ways that we see the resurrection in our lives, and the way that St. John saw it, not with the physical presence...
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1:14:01
What Discernment is Not
This week Mother Natalia uses this episode to prep for a recording she's doing over at Pints! She talks about discernment and what not to do as you're discerning.Follow and Contact Us!Follow us on
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1:04:03
Co-Authoring My Life
This week Fr. Michael responds to a correction from a listener, and uses that as inspiration for this week's topic. We talk about letting God work through us and using the gifts He's given us. We talk about how the authors of scripture were so ...
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1:06:58
Rupture and Relationship with Fr. Boniface Hicks
This week we're joined by special guest Fr. Boniface Hicks. Mother Natalia talks about the importance of repairing relationships which have suffered a rupture, regardless of the type of relationship. They give some examples of where ruptures ha...
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1:04:28