Best Thomas A Kempis Podcasts (2024)

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXIV, Part II & XXV, Part I 1:06:40

3h ago1:06:40

1:06:40

Why is it that we engage in the ascetic life and the spiritual life as a whole? How is it that we come to understand the extreme practices of the desert fathers as they entered into the struggle with the passions? Seemingly they were willing to do almost anything to overcome temptation and to suffer extreme disciplines, punishing the body, until th…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXX, Part II 59:59

4h ago59:59

59:59

What does it mean to be drawn into the mystery of Divine Love? Even as beautifully as John writes, it is difficult to wrap our minds around the experience of the living God; the experience of a love that is free of every impediment and passion, a love that makes us sons and daughters of God and so shapes are identity in such a way that it is unshak…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXIII, Part II and XXIV, Part I 1:04:16

5d ago1:04:16

1:04:16

Tonight we read the final sections on the fathers’ reflection on the practice of fasting. Once again the focus is on decorum; how does one eat in the presence of others while not giving himself over to pride. It is ever so easy to think oneself the great ascetic and hold oneself above others within the community. Ego can even distort well-practiced…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXIX, and XXX, Part I 1:02:11

1h ago1:02:11

1:02:11

We are brought to the denouement of the Ladder in these final steps on Dispassion and the “Trinity of Virtues” - Faith, Hope and Love. The words of St. John ring forth as if from the mouth of a poet. It is only one who has experience of and has seen the beauty of Divine love who can then speak of the urgent longing that begins to take over the soul…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXIII, Part I 1:03:26

1d ago1:03:26

1:03:26

We have continued to make our way through the final few hypotheses about fasting and eating in general. What is gradually coming to light is that our relationship with Christ and our identity in Him is to form and fashion every aspect of our lives. This includes what we might consider the most mundane aspects of our life or what we take for granted…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXIX, Part I 1:12:32

7d ago1:12:32

1:12:32

St. John understands that we are out of our depths whenever we try to capture with words what comes through experience. This is true in particular of the heights of prayer, contemplation, and with dispassion. John’s language is poetic and thus a reflection of his straining to present us with the end of the spiritual life and what the heart longs fo…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXII, Part III 1:05:21

7d ago1:05:21

1:05:21

It’s important for us as we read the fathers and consider the discipline that they embraced regarding our appetites and desires that we do not demonize these realities or fall into extreme practices. At the heart of the fathers’ lives and teachings is desire; allowing the love of God and gratitude for his gifts to guide and direct their understandi…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVIII, Part VII 1:05:52

13d ago1:05:52

1:05:52

As St. John draws us more deeply into his understanding of prayer and the experience of intimacy with God, he begins to emphasize the importance of maintaining purity of heart and humility. Either through negligence or through demonic provocation, we can find ourselves being driven not by the Holy Spirit toward God but rather driven by the desires …

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXII, Part II 1:01:47

2M ago1:01:47

1:01:47

It may seem surprising that the fathers spend so much time speaking about food and how we approach eating. Yet the needs of the flesh are very much a part of who we are as human beings. So how we eat and what we eat can affect what goes on internally. We can be subject to disorder or extremes in one fashion or another. What we see in the desert fat…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVIII, Part VI 1:04:01

2M ago1:04:01

1:04:01

Above all St. John’s writing on prayer works to break through the myopic vision that we have of life, of prayer, and of God. Like so many of the fathers, he will hammer away at anything which prevents us from experiencing the fullness of God’s love and mercy. Thus, he both rebukes and encourages. We began this evening with a warning about admitting…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XXI, and XXII, Part I 1:05:30

2M ago1:05:30

1:05:30

We continued this evening to delve more deeply into the fathers’ understanding of the practice of fasting. Once again we see that they learned from experience that it is better to eat once a day but not to the point of satiation. One must be measured and restrained in the practice, so is not to become weak and incapable of work or of fulfilling one…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVIII, Part V 1:00:22

2M ago1:00:22

1:00:22

What is prayer and, more importantly, what do we become by engaging in prayer? So often we take a reductive view of the realities in our life, including the reality of our relationship with God. We reduce our converse with God to a discipline or an afterthought or worse and obligation. And yet as we read the fathers, we begin to see with greater cl…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XIX, and XX 59:42

2M ago59:42

59:42

We continued our reading of the Evergetinos this evening with hypotheses 19 and 20. Once again we find ourselves considering the fathers’ teaching on eating and our use of food. Part of the reason they spend so much time on this subject is because they understand the meaning that food has for us as human beings and that it often goes well beyond th…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVIII, Part IV 57:23

3M ago57:23

57:23

The very words of St. John Climacus seem to carry us up to heights hitherto unknown and unexpected. The experience of this ascent takes place as we feel our hearts begin to burn for love of God and the desire for him in prayer. St. John quickly moves us away from looking at prayer as a mere discipline and rather our being drawn into the depths of M…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XVIII, Part III 58:59

3M ago58:59

58:59

Synopsis of tonight’s group on the Evergetinos- Hypothesis 18 Sections H and I: This evening we concluded hypothesis 18 with the clarity that only St. John Cassian can bring. Cassian, though as western monk, spent many years in Egypt among the desert fathers and was able to distill their thought with great clarity for the western mind as well as th…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVIII, Part III 1:01:11

3M ago1:01:11

1:01:11

Joy! Suddenly, as we read through the Ladder of Dive Ascent every cross, every struggle in the spiritual life, while still present, begins to fade into the background. The costs involved in this struggle pales in comparison to the blessings and the fruits that God bestows upon us, especially prayer . St. John places before us the essentials of pray…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XVIII, Part II 59:24

3M ago59:24

59:24

No one is going to take up the practice of fasting or come to “love fasting” as we have often spoken of unless they are taught by those who have deep and long experience in the practice. As we have seen the desert was very much laboratory. Those who entered into it were driven by the desire for the Lord and to remove any impediment to that desire. …

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVIII, Part II 1:02:57

3M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

There are some things that cannot be learned from books – prayer most of all! However, St. John, as so many of the Saints speaks to us from long experience as one who truly has seen Christ, knows Christ and has conversed with him deeply. Whatever might be lacking in his thought it still stokes the fire of desire within any heart that longs for God.…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XVIII, Part I 56:47

3M ago56:47

56:47

We picked up this evening with the beginning of hypothesis 18. For weeks now we have been reading about the essential practice of fasting. The cultivation of virtue and the overcoming of the passions is impossible without it. Making use of the body to strengthen the soul is a necessity. But we quickly realize from the stories that this practice can…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII, Part IX, and XXVIII, Part I 1:07:06

3M ago1:07:06

1:07:06

As St. John Climacus comes to the end of the step on stillness and segues into the step on prayer, it is as if he is beckoning us with every word to enter into silence and to give ourselves over to prayer; not as a discipline but rather as a response to the gift of God’s love. We are so often filled with a hunger that is inexplicable to us. We seek…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part VIII 1:02:45

3M ago1:02:45

1:02:45

One of the most wonderful things that someone said in the group tonight was: “I am amazed at how simple it all is!” And they are absolutely right in their observation. All that the fathers tell us - about the struggle for purity of heart and overcoming the passions, seeking stillness and constancy in prayer - comes down to one simple reality. God i…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XVII, Part I 1:00:21

4M ago1:00:21

1:00:21

The desert was a laboratory. The monks went into its depths precisely to push the limits of what they needed in order to sustain themselves; whether it be food, water or sleep. Therefore, we must not find ourselves put off by the stories that seem so extreme. Quite simply, they were extreme! The desert being a laboratory, compelled the monks not on…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part VII 1:03:45

4M ago1:03:45

1:03:45

St. John draws us into the experience of stillness and its many fruits. It is a precious gift that comes to us by the grace of God and takes root in a heart prepared through years of asceticism and watchfulness. It is our waiting upon God. In many ways this sums up the vocation of the hermit/monk. But it also captures the essence of our life and th…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XVI, Part II 59:14

4M ago59:14

59:14

We picked up once again with the theme of “loving fasting.” The severity of the desert father’s practice of this discipline reveals that love. They discovered not only how essential the body is in the spiritual struggle to overcome attachment and the order of one’s desires towards God, but also that fasting brings a simplicity to one’s life.We begi…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XV, Part IV and XVI, Part I 1:02:06

4M ago1:02:06

1:02:06

We continued our discussion of the fathers’ love for abstinence and fasting. While their feats seem amazing to us as well as how little food they needed to sustain themselves, the importance is what this love of these disciplines show us. They were not embraced simply as forms of discipline or endurance, but rather that which humbled the mind and t…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XV, Part III 1:02:29

4M ago1:02:29

1:02:29

The fathers often draw us along this mysterious path, the narrow path, that leads to the kingdom. They lead us, as it were, “where angels fear to tread.” They show us in an unvarnished fashion how the path to Godly love and virtue passes through affliction. Yet, even that is too simplistic. It is the suffering heart, the heart crushed by prayer and…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part VI 1:07:39

4M ago1:07:39

1:07:39

St. John Climacus once again gives us powerful images to help us understand the meaning of stillness and how it is to be protected. One such image is that of an eyelash that falls into the eye and creates irritation. The enemy of stillness is agitation; we are often driven to distraction by a concern for our physical and emotional well-being. Fear …

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XV, Part II 1:08:31

4M ago1:08:31

1:08:31

What is it that we are hungry for in this world? So many of the writings of the fathers can be reduced to this very question. What is the deepest desire of our hearts? What have we been created for and what satisfies the sense of incompleteness or the strange feeling of nostalgia within us? Because we have been created for God and find in Him our t…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part V 1:05:08

4M ago1:05:08

1:05:08

There is a beautiful movement created in the heart by St. John’s writing; it is almost a dance. We move back-and-forth with St. John by simultaneously reflecting upon the beauty of silence and stillness and the intimacy that we experience with God through it - while also being shown what the loss of the silence does to us. The silence of which St. …

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XIV, and XV, Part I 1:01:37

5M ago1:01:37

1:01:37

Humility and affliction: Two words that often evoke within us intense fear and anxiety. We are formed by a kind of pathological self-love. The fathers understood our focus upon worldly things as a need to create a sense of security and identity. We desperately want to protect ourselves from hardship and from pain and so we surround ourselves as muc…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part IV 1:01:08

5M ago1:01:08

1:01:08

In pursuing life in Christ, the experience of reality is often turned on its head. Our perception of the world around us and the interior world is shaped and formed by so many forces and influences. In a counterintuitive fashion, we have to move in opposing directions to the things that satisfy our ego or the desires of the flesh. Needless to say t…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XIII, Part II 1:02:15

5M ago1:02:15

1:02:15

Only the most stalwart and patient of souls can follow along with this evening’s readings without being troubled. Once again it is repeated for us that our life is to be one of constant repentance; that is, turning toward God. Systematically the fathers break down every illusion that we might have about ourselves as having no need of such repentanc…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part III 1:06:14

5M ago1:06:14

1:06:14

What possibly could hesychasm or the life of hesychasts - those who live in perpetual stillness and prayer - mean for those who living in the world; for all of those surrounded by a constant stream of noise and distraction?The answer is everything! Though few are called to this manner of life, all are destined to experience the fullness of its joy …

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XIII, Part I 1:00:43

5M ago1:00:43

1:00:43

We picked up this evening with Hypothesis 13 on the subject of keeping Vigil and not giving oneself over to excessive sleep. However, as we immersed ourselves in the reading, we began to see the father guiding us into something much deeper. The teaching on keeping vigil is a bridge to talking about Repentance. We were presented with the most beauti…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part II 1:02:02

5M ago1:02:02

1:02:02

It’s hard to imagine ourselves as being nourished upon stillness and silence. Yet, this is exactly what the fathers and St. John Climacus seek to teach us. Stillness allows us to have an experiential knowledge of intimacy with God - an encounter with Mystery. When we have shut the door to the senses, when we stilled our mouth from constant chatter …

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XII, Part I 58:34

5M ago58:34

58:34

We picked up this evening with Hypothesis 12. The subtitle is on avoiding idle talk. However, this does not do justice to what we are given in the text. It is revealed to us how we are to kindle within our hearts the fire of love for God that then gives rise to a holy sacrifice of praise. Thus, the greatest thing that we can give God is to emulate …

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVII: On Stillness of Mind and Body, Part I 1:03:46

6M ago1:03:46

1:03:46

St. John Climacus brings us now to discuss the fruits of the ascetic life. We picked up this evening with Step 27 on “stillness of mind and body”. John is very hesitant to approach such a subject. He does not want to distract the warrior from the task at hand; that is, those who are engaged in the spiritual warfare against the passions and the prov…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XI, Part III 1:05:16

6M ago1:05:16

1:05:16

As we conclude Hypothesis 11, we are given very solid food to nourish our understanding of the nature of prayer and our demeanor. How is it that we are called to worship God, to pray the psalms, and what is our demeanor to be following that worship? A kind of liturgical asceticism must guide and direct our prayer and piety. Even the way that we pra…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IX 1:05:00

6M ago1:05:00

1:05:00

We come to the end of Step 26 on Discernment and in doing so we begin to see, or at least get a glimpse of, its importance for the spiritual life. So often sin distorts are perception of reality. It prevents us from seeing with clarity both the dignity and the blessings that come from being a son or daughter of God, baptized into Christ - as well a…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis XI, Part II 1:00:19

6M ago1:00:19

1:00:19

All that we do is to be touched by the grace of God, shaped by it, and perfected by it. This includes our virtues, and also the manner in which we pray. Psalmody has always been apart of the prayer tradition of the church and in particular of the monastics. The psalms capture within them both the adversities and the joys that we experience in this …

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XIII 1:01:02

6M ago1:01:02

1:01:02

Every week it is as if we are diving into living waters that renew and refresh the soul. This is particularly true of step 26 on Discernment and St. John’s summary towards its conclusion. So often as is true with the Fathers, St. John makes use of concrete and colorful imagery to capture for us the nature of the spiritual life and in this case disc…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis X, Part III and Hypothesis XI, Part I 1:06:03

6M ago1:06:03

1:06:03

The focus of the Evergetinos this evening was on praying the psalms. However, as always with the writings of the fathers, the focus isn’t simply on the external actions, but the meaning of them. How do we pray as members of the body of Christ? Is there a kind of liturgical asceticism that must match our bodily asceticism? What is the measure of our…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XII 1:00:00

6M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

As St. John draws us forward with these simple sayings about discernment and its fruit, we begin to see the immeasurable beauty of the ascetic life and the action of God’s grace. The life that God calls us to is not one of frenetic activity but rather the cultivation of purity of heart and humility in order that He might act within us. We do not se…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part XI 1:08:19

7M ago1:08:19

1:08:19

We continued with St. John’s summary of discernment and its particular fruit in the spiritual life. However, it does not read like a summary. Each saying opens us up to a divine reality and a participation in the life of Christ that comes to us by grace and the ascetic life. One cannot help but be captivated by the beauty of what St. John describes…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis X, Part II 1:17:55

7M ago1:17:55

1:17:55

We continued our discussion of prayer and the things that often become an obstacle to it. Much of the discussion this evening focused upon the things that make us lazy or weary in prayer or lead us to drowsiness.One of the important things that the fathers teach us is that sleep is an appetite that is to be ordered like any other appetite. Our life…

1
Resistance Podcast #268: Holy Silence vs Noise w/ Fr. Basil Nortz, ORC 53:43

7M ago53:43

53:43

https://sophiainstitute.com/product/holy-silence/ref/41/ For Fr's conferences https://store-opusangelorum-org.3dcartstores.com/On-Holy-Silence--ALL-3-Conferences--MP3_p_207.html 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholicbusinesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a C…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part X 58:53

7M ago58:53

58:53

As we come toward the end of Step 26 on Discernment, St. John begins to offer us a summary of all that we have considered in the previous pages. In doing this, he alters his typical way of writing. One may speculate that he does this because of the importance of the virtue of discernment; both in fostering it and in protecting it. Using brief sayin…

1
The Evergetinos: Book Two - Hypothesis IX, Part II and Hypothesis X, Part I 1:10:38

7M ago1:10:38

1:10:38

Breaking the night for prayer!! The very idea either never comes into the mind of modern Christians or it sends a shudder through the heart. The idea of limiting something like sleep for the sake of prayer, of humbling the mind and body in such a way on purpose and regularly seems to express a type of insanity. Would I not make myself sick or incap…

1
Resistance Podcast #267: The Christian History of Herb Usage & Fr. Kunzle w/ Judson Carroll 49:58

7M ago49:58

49:58

https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/https://judsoncarroll.substack.com/https://www.thepermaculturestudent.com/https://thegrownetwork.com/https://johnjeavons.org/books-and-videos/https://www.amazon.com/New-Self-Sufficient-Gardnr-Illustrated-Preserving/🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴Sensus Fidelium Press - sensusfideliumpress.comSupport Catholic Busine…

1
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXVI: On Discernment, Part IX 1:14:22

7M ago1:14:22

1:14:22

With each passing week, as we read St. John’s thoughts on discernment, we begin to see how it touches every aspect of our life. So often we confuse this gift with intellectually analyzing the circumstances around us or internal experiences and feelings or our perception of others’ actions. Yet discernment is not rooted in our private judgment. Rath…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Thomas A Kempis Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide