PODCAST · religion
The Pilgrim Soul
by Sofia, Adrianna, and Giuliana
The Pilgrim Soul is a Catholic podcast about the journey of faith in the modern world. Join us each month for conversations about the presence of God in the Church, the culture, and daily experience. www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com
Episodes
-
Read Time & the Temple with us!
We're excited to announce our December and January episodes will focus on the theme of Christian vocation, taking inspiration from the book Time & the Temple, by Luigi Giussani, translated by our own Sofi. // You can read an excerpt at the Church Life Journal. And you can purchase a copy of the...
-
On Fear
This month’s conversation is on fear. Is our original relationship to reality one of fear or attraction? What do we most fear? What does servile fear reveal about our hearts? How can we instead accept our finitude with reverential fear of God? // We’d love to hear from you. Write to us at...
-
Tradition
Giuli, Adrianna and Sofi dive into the topic of tradition. What do we lose when we instinctively reject authority as a limitation? Can tradition instead be something living that enhances our reason and freedom? How is tradition handed on from one person to the next, and how can we be authentic...
-
The Two Banks of the River: Prayer and Communion
Adrianna joins Sofia in Chicago for our first-ever live episode, on prayer and companionship as the two banks of the river of our relationship with God. Drawing on Fr. Luigi Giussani's definition of prayer as awareness of dependence upon God, we explore how this awareness grows in the heart and...
-
Discovering Life as Vocation in Paraguay
This month, we're sharing a testimony Sofia recently gave about her experience ten years ago at Fundación San Rafael in Asunción, Paraguay, a center for the poor started by Fr. Aldo Trento. Through the story of his life, of the mission, and of her summer in Paraguay, the talk explores how Christ...
-
Join us for our first-ever live podcast!
We are excited to announce our first-ever live recording of The Pilgrim Soul! Join Adrianna and Sofia in Bridgeport, Chicago on July 31st for an episode on "The Two Banks of the River: Prayer and Communion." We are grateful for the hospitality of St. Mary of Perpetual Help, and hope to see you...
-
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary with Luigi Giussani
Join Sofia in praying the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, guided by reflections from Father Luigi Giussani. Please know of our prayers for you—and please pray for Giuli (and baby Luke) and Adrianna (and baby Cecilia) during their maternity leave! You can find the other set of mysteries here:...
-
Identity
Join Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna for a conversation about identity. How is the identity of a Christian both a gift and a task? What falsehoods about identity tempt us away from this reality? Which experiences and relationships have built and revealed our identity to us? // Our media recommendation…
more -
Failure
Adrianna, Sofi, and Giuli have a conversation about failure. How do we, shaped by our modern culture, often face failure reductively? How does God respond to human failure? Is it possible for failures (ours and those of others) to be places of encounter with Christ? What helps us live with the...
-
Culture
This month, we are discussing culture. What is the source of an authentically Christian culture? How does it differ from retreating into exile from the world, on the one hand, or conforming oneself to its mentality, on the other? What helps us judge everything in light of the Christian event? //...
-
Dilexi Te
This month, we are discussing love for the poor—the subject of Pope Leo XVI’s first Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te. What does it mean that God ‘prefers’ the poor? How and why is our faith manifest in caring for those in poverty? Have we experienced such charity as reciprocal? // Our media...
-
Pilgrims of Hope: Amanda Achtman
This month, to celebrate the end of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, we have a conversation with our friend Amanda Achtman about her mission. Amanda is the founder of Dying to Meet You, a project of cultural renewal to prevent euthanasia and encourage hope. How did she arrive at this mission? What…
more -
The Art and Science of Care
Join Adrianna, Giuli and Sofi for a conversation on the art and science of care. Can our power to medically intervene serve, instead of competing with, our task to affirm and accompany those who suffer? What makes Christian care distinctive? How can medicine come closer to its origin in the mercy...
-
Pilgrims of Hope: David Dorsey
In honor of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, we are joined by our friend David Dorsey for a conversation about hope: What does it mean to be a pilgrim of hope? How can the experience of profound loss open the heart to be surprised, daily, by the gift of hope? What educates us in this poverty of spirit?…
more -
Q&A: Charisms, Discernment, and the Love of Christ
This month we’re sharing responses to questions asked by you, our listeners. The questions center around living a charism in the Church, accompanying others in the spiritual life, discerning God’s will for your life, and growing–daily, concretely–in a loving relationship with Christ. Thank you to...
-
Leisure
Join us for the first-ever in-person episode of The Pilgrim Soul! During their vacation together in Idaho, Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna had a conversation about leisure. What is leisure? How are we tempted to distort it? What instead is its right relationship to prayer, work, and community? How are…
more -
To Heights and Unto Depths, with Fr. John Nepil
This month, Adrianna, Sofi, and Giuli are joined by their friend Fr. John Nepil for a conversation on how the encounter with Christ transforms the experience of the wilderness. Fr. John is a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver, a member of the Companions of Christ, and co-host of the podcast...
-
Mary, Certainty of Our Hope
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...
-
Mission
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…
more -
The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary with Luigi Giussani
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.
-
Baptism
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...
-
Healing Wounds, with Bishop Erik Varden
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...
-
The Gift of Sorrow
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…
more -
Work, Reconsidered
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…
more -
Givenness
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…
more -
Invocation
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?…
more -
Remembrance
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…
more -
Suffering, a Trial of Desire
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…
more -
Unity
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…
more -
The Starting Point: The Religious Sense
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...
-
The Impact of Morality on Knowing: The Religious Sense
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...
-
Reasonableness: The Religious Sense
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...
-
Realism: The Religious Sense
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…
more -
Read "The Religious Sense" with us!
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...
-
In the Simplicity of my Heart
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…
more -
Fellow Pilgrims: Katherine Sheffield
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...
-
Fellow Pilgrims: Jessica Laenger
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...
-
Fellow Pilgrims: Fr. Matt Henry
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...
-
The Eucharist
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—…
more -
Ascending the Ladder of Love
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...
-
The Christian Presence on Campus
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...
-
Following Christ
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...
-
Pain
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...
-
The Neuroscience of Ruptured Relationships and Restoring Communion
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...
-
Journalism, featuring JD Flynn
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…
more -
Memory and Desire, featuring Fr. Mike Cairnes
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…
more -
Mary
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...
-
Living the Resurrection
Adrianna, Sofia, and Giuli talk about the experience of the resurrection. What’s at stake in the Resurrection of Christ? What does the promise of new life have to do with our daily experiences of suffering, boredom, and the search for meaning? Where have we seen, in our own lives and in the…
more -
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary with Luigi Giussani
Join Sofia and Adrianna in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, guided by reflections from Father Luigi Giussani. We pray this Lent is a deepening into your own encounter with the Lord in the desert. We'll be back with an episode on April 10th for Easter and then resume our normal…
more -
The Body
Join Sofia, Adrianna, and Giuli for a discussion about the body. What does it mean that, in Romano Guardini’s words, there is no religion as materialistic as Christianity? How does God’s esteem for our embodiment change our gaze on ourselves and others? Can we learn to affirm Christ in our…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Pilgrim Soul is a Catholic podcast about the journey of faith in the modern world. Join us each month for conversations about the presence of God in the Church, the culture, and daily experience. www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com
HOSTED BY
Sofia, Adrianna, and Giuliana
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Pilgrim Soul have?
The Pilgrim Soul currently has 81 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Pilgrim Soul about?
The Pilgrim Soul is a Catholic podcast about the journey of faith in the modern world. Join us each month for conversations about the presence of God in the Church, the culture, and daily experience. www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com
How often does The Pilgrim Soul release new episodes?
The Pilgrim Soul has 81 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Pilgrim Soul?
You can listen to The Pilgrim Soul on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Pilgrim Soul?
The Pilgrim Soul is created and hosted by Sofia, Adrianna, and Giuliana.
URL copied to clipboard!