This month, we’re sharing a talk Sofi gave to the Word on Fire Institute on Our Lady as “The Certainty of Our Hope”. You can find a PDF of the paintings Sofi references on our website . // The great desire of the human heart is for perfect happiness, total love, lasting fulfillment—for union with God. This destiny is possible in Jesus Christ. But we can lose hope, stumbling or growing discouraged over the ordinary challenges of life. Mary, the Mother of God, gives certainty to our hope. Mary sta...
Jul 01, 2025•50 min
Adrianna, Sofi, and Giuli have a conversation about mission. What is the communal task entrusted to the baptized? What does it look like to live our individual responsibility for the glory of Christ? How does God’s initiative of mercy enable us to embrace the slightest fragment of truth or goodness wherever we find it? // Our media recommendation is The Universal Call to Holiness , a relief in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC ( virtual tour ). An...
Jun 01, 2025•51 min
Join Sofia and Adrianna in praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, guided by reflections from Father Luigi Giussani. We pray this Easter finds you "overcome with Paschal joy" at the presence of the Risen One.
May 20, 2025•29 min
Join Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna for an episode on baptism. Is it true that this is the defining event of our lives? How is baptism relevant to our every day? What are the marks of the new creature created in baptism, the one who belongs to the body of Christ? How can we grow in awareness of our baptism? // Our media recommendation is Brideshead Revisited , a novel by Evelyn Waugh. And our monthly challenge is to renew your baptismal promises , and reflecting on what has been given to you in your b...
May 01, 2025•47 min
This month Giuli, Adrianna, and Sofia had the pleasure of interviewing Bishop Erik Varden. Bishop Varden is a Cistercian monk and, since 2019, the bishop of Trondheim in Norway. We met with him to discuss his latest book, Healing Wounds , which is a prayerful exploration of the wounds of the crucified Christ. Bishop Varden invites a contemplation of the vulnerability of God in Christ—which leads to growth in compassion for Christ’s suffering, the wounds of others, and our own wounds. Through rev...
Apr 01, 2025•48 min
This month, Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna discuss compunction–a state of abiding sorrow for our sins. How can we distinguish compunction from what St. Paul calls “worldly grief”? What role does compunction play in our relationship with Christ? Have we seen this bear fruit, especially in hope and joy, in our lives? What practices help us beg for this gift from God? // Our media recommendation is Antonín Dvořák’s arrangement of the Stabat Mater, as conducted by Philippe Herreweghe. The verse we highlig...
Mar 01, 2025•49 min
Join Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna for an episode on work. What is work, beyond our 9-to-5 job? How do instinctive and cultural approaches to work enslave us to our circumstances? Is it possible to instead start from friendship with Christ and obedience to the Father? What helps us approach work in this way? And what are the fruits? // Our media recommendation is an excerpt of Charles Peguy’s poem The Portal of the Mystery of Hope , entitled ‘ Finding the Eternal in Our Daily Toil ’. And our monthly ...
Feb 01, 2025•46 min
Adrianna, Giuli, and Sofi discuss givenness, or God’s gift and entrustment of men and women to each other. What profound truth about God and the cosmos does this givenness reveal? How can a loving preference, or predilection, for one person help us discover the givenness of all others? In the face of the fallenness of our hearts, why does Pope St. John Paul II exhort us not to be afraid to receive this gift? // This episode draws on a meditation by Pope St. John Paul II. You can find the text at...
Jan 01, 2025•43 min
Join all three hosts for a discussion of the invocation of the Holy Spirit, which takes place at Mass through the prayer called “epiclesis.” What does the Church beg of God at this moment, and why do we need this? Have we seen the epiclesis transform the way we live the rest of our daily lives? Who are models for us of living in the posture of a beggar? // Our media recommendation is the film The Taste of Things (or ‘La passion de Dodin Bouffant’ in the original French). And our monthly challeng...
Dec 01, 2024•46 min
Sofi, Adrianna, and Giuli have a conversation about Christian memory–or anamnesis. What is the difference between the secular and Christian conceptions of memory? How does the prayer of anamnesis in the Eucharistic liturgy take up the whole of the Christian life? What changes about our days when we are given the grace to live in the awareness of the continued presence of Christ? // Our media recommendation is Arvo Pärt’s setting of St. Patrick’s Breastplate, “The Deer’s Cry”: www.youtube.com/wat...
Nov 01, 2024•42 min
Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna have a conversation about the relationship between suffering and desire. The central claim we discuss is that suffering presents us with an alternative: either my desire is for something impossible and thus life is meaningless, or my desire is undergoing a positive test of its meaning. The Christian proposal is that suffering can be a privileged place of encounter with God. This episode was based on an article by Francesco Botturi in the magazine Traces. You can find a P...
Oct 01, 2024•51 min
Join all three hosts for an episode on unity. What does it look like to experience unity in our selves, our lives, our families, and the Church? What can generate and sustain unity? How are we tempted to reduce it to a work of our own hands—and what is our calling instead? // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast . Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com . // Our media recommendation is Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrecti...
Sep 01, 2024•47 min
Adrianna, Giuli, and Sofi are joined by Paolo again for a final conversation about The Religious Sense. What does it mean to observe the “I” in action? Why does Giussani exhort us to live in the present moment as we seek answers to our ultimate questions? And how does this follow from his methodological premises about reason? If you’re following along with the text, we’re on Chapter 4. You can find the text in PDF form at www.scritti.luigigiussani.org or an audio recording of the chapter at Fr. ...
Aug 01, 2024•49 min
We’re back with a third episode on The Religious Sense. This time, we are covering “the impact of morality on the dynamic of knowing.” By this phrase, Don Giussani means that the embodied feelings that objects provoke in us condition our reason’s access to the truth. He suggests that the proper response is not to eliminate our feelings, but to order them to a love of truth. You can find the text in PDF form at www.scritti.luigigiussani.org or an audio recording of the chapter at Fr. Mike’s podca...
Jul 01, 2024•46 min
Join Adrianna and Sofi for a second episode on The Religious Sense. This time we’re discussing Chapter 2, in which Don Giussani introduces the idea of “reasonableness.” You can find the text in PDF form at www.scritti.luigigiussani.org or an audio recording of the chapter at Fr. Mike’s podcast www.tinyurl.com/562pncac . We’ll be back (with Giuli!) next month for Chapter 3. // Our media recommendation is the film The Holdovers. And the monthly challenge is to examine your life, especially in your...
Jun 01, 2024•46 min
In this episode, Giuli, Adrianna, and Sofi talk about “realism,” a concept from Luigi Giussani’s book The Religious Sense. We are joined by a special guest, Sofi and Giuli’s father Paolo! If you’re following along with the text, we’re on Chapter 1. // Our media recommendation is the film The Truman Show. And the monthly challenge is to ask yourself why you live the vocation you live. If you are married, why do you stay with your spouse? If you are consecrated, why do you give your life completel...
May 01, 2024•48 min
We are starting a new mini-series inspired by "The Religious Sense," a book by our spiritual father Don Luigi Giussani. In our next few episodes, we will be discussing Chapters 1, 2, and 3. If you'd like to read with us, you can find a PDF at www.scritti.luigigiussani.org (just make a free account!). Or if you prefer to listen, check out Fr. Mike's recordings on his podcast here ....
Apr 24, 2024•1 min
In today’s episode Adrianna, Giuliana and Sofia consider simplicity. What is the simple truth of the Christian life? How can we discover every circumstance as a good for us? Where are we experiencing new life through cultivating simplicity of heart? // Our media recommendation is a page from Julian of Norwich’s Showings: the 10th revelation of the 24th chapter . In the spirit of accepting the gratuity of salvation, this episode doesn’t have a monthly challenge. // We’d love to hear from you! Wri...
Apr 01, 2024•44 min
This episode concludes a three-part mini-series in which we put some of you, our listeners, behind the mic. The episode was inspired by our gratitude for the rich friendship and Christian witness that the podcast has brought into our lives. Today’s guest is Kathryn Sheffield, a mother and lawyer based in Virginia. Kathryn shares about her conversion to the Catholic faith and the path of mission that she has walked since, in response to the Lord’s invitation to care for vulnerable children. // We...
Mar 01, 2024•32 min
This episode continues a three-part mini-series in which we put some of you, our listeners, behind the mic. The episode was inspired by our gratitude for the rich friendship and Christian witness that the podcast has brought into our lives. Today’s guest is Jessica Laenger, a medical student in Pensacola, Florida. Jess tells us about the early experiences that awakened the ultimate questions in her heart, where she has sought and found answers in the years since, and what her desires are for the...
Feb 01, 2024•31 min
This episode kicks off a three-part mini-series in which we put some of you, our listeners, behind the mic. The episode was inspired by our gratitude for the rich friendship and Christian witness that the podcast has brought into our lives. Today’s guest is Fr. Matt Henry, a priest of the diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. Fr. Matt shares the story of how he moved from a “notional” to a real faith in Christ, what continues to nourish his path of conversion, and the intensity of life he has discovered ...
Jan 01, 2024•38 min
Join Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna for a conversation about the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life. How does the Eucharist reveal God’s method? What helps us overcome our sense of unworthiness to receive Christ’s love in this intimate way? How has the Eucharist changed us— especially as we face the crosses of life? // Our monthly challenge is to consider how you can participate in the National Eucharistic Revival, which concludes next summer: www.eucharisticrevival.org . And our m...
Dec 01, 2023•39 min
Adrianna, Giuli and Sofi discuss the concept of “virginity” as a way of loving others according to their destiny: Christ. How does this account of virginity differ from others in the Church and the world? Where in our lives have we experienced the joy of virginal purity and integrity in our relationships? What helps us live the sacrifices demanded by this kind of love? // Our media recommendation is the song Beyond the Blue by Josh Garrels (music: www.tinyurl.com/k4m2jf2k lyrics: www.azlyrics.co...
Nov 01, 2023•51 min
Sofia, in conversation with Michelle Zaleski, explores what it means to be Christian on a college campus. This is a recording from the inaugural Communion & Liberation University Conference, which was hosted at Benedictine College. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast . Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com . // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”...
Oct 05, 2023•51 min
Join all three hosts for a conversation about following Christ. How does the drama of this path unfold? What helps us say “yes” to His invitation during seasons of change and challenge? Who are we learning from as we strive to be with Christ instead of remaining with our attachments? // Our media recommendations are the writings of Servant of God Takashi Nagai, including "The Bells of Nagasaki" and "Thoughts from Nyokodo" (or, if you read Italian, "Ciò che non muore mai"). And our monthly challe...
Oct 02, 2023•41 min
Adrianna is back! In this episode, she and Sofia have a conversation about pain. How does Christ transform the otherwise meaningless experience of pain? What helps us discover His presence instead of remaining in despair, anger, or apathy? What have we learned from our pain, and whose examples do we want to follow in living it with the Lord? // Our media recommendation is Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion. And our monthly challenge is to meditate on the 9th Station of the Cross, which commemorate...
Sep 01, 2023•43 min
This month, we are sharing with you a talk that Sofi gave to the Catholic Chaplaincy of the University of Cambridge. It was inspired by Pope Francis' urgent and insistent call for Christians to work for peace throughout the world. Drawing on her work as a developmental neuroscientist, she exposes the wounds inflicted by violence and proposes ways for us to collaborate in Christ's victory over sin and death. We’ll be back next month with a regular episode. // We’d love to hear from you! Write to ...
Aug 01, 2023•37 min
Sofia hosts JD Flynn, co-founder of The Pillar, for a conversation about journalism. JD begins by explaining the needs of the Church that led him and Ed Condon to start this news outlet, particularly the need for reform and renewal that is free from ideology. Then he and Sofia talk about journalism as a vocation. Can working with the media be an exercise of the prophetic calling we receive in Baptism? What sustains JD’s hope as he investigates scandals and sins in the life of the Church? How doe...
Jul 01, 2023•45 min
Sofia is joined by Fr. Mike Cairnes for a guest episode on living the memory of and desire for Christ. Fr. Mike starts by telling the story of how he fell in love twice, a first time that led him to nihilism and a second that definitively led him to the love of God. Then he and Sofia talk about the struggle against moralism, which is the suffocating reduction of morality into a set of rules. Fr. Mike shares what helps him follow the path of discovering that God’s mercy – and not our fight to liv...
Jun 01, 2023•51 min
Join all three hosts for a conversation about Mary, the Mother of God. What does it mean that Mary is our mother? How does an ordered veneration of Mary lead us to a deeper worship of the Triune God? And personally, how are we trying to follow her in obedience, virginity, and passion for the salvation of the world? // Our media recommendation is Caravaggio’s painting “Madonna di Loreto”, also known as “Pilgrims’ Madonna”. And our monthly challenge is to pray Fr. de Grandmaison’s Prayer to Mary t...
May 01, 2023•48 min
