S18 E21 - Friendship in the Lord: Appreciation and Reconciliation (Chapters 5 & 6)
Release Date: 07/27/2026
S18 E22 - Friendship in the Lord: Intimacy in Friendship (Chapters 7 & 8)
Abiding Together
In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and discuss how friendship with others leads us into deeper intimacy with God. We talk about our longing for both human and divine communion, how healthy friendships free us from self-preoccupation, and why learning to receive feedback is essential to our growth. We also reflect on how unmet desires in friendship are signs of our longing for the Trinity and the importance of releasing lesser goods so that we can be free to receive God’s greater gifts. Announcement: You can buy your copy of Friendship in the...
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S18 E21 - Friendship in the Lord: Appreciation and Reconciliation (Chapters 5 & 6)
Abiding Together
In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on how loving appreciation and reconciliation are the places where friendship matures. We talk about why healthy adult friendships draw us closer to the Lord, how the unique gifts of women and men reveal different facets of God's love, and how learning to behold another's beauty without trying to grasp or possess it calls forth our true identity. We also discuss the importance of recognizing how we've hurt others, expressing sincere sorrow, and allowing others to do the same. As we bring our wounds, suffering,...
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S18 E20 - Friendship in the Lord: Friendship is Two People Growing (Chapters 3 & 4)
Abiding Together
In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on the ways God invites us to grow through the relationships He has entrusted to us. We talk about the importance of rightly ordered love, why true friendship always draws our gaze toward Christ, and the beauty of virtuous friendships between men and women. We also talk honestly about the fears, wounds, and misunderstandings that can arise in friendship, and the importance of repair in deepening a friendship. Friendship is not about finding someone to complete us, but about walking together toward holiness while...
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S18 E19 - Friendship in the Lord: What Friendship Means (Chapters 1 & 2)
Abiding Together
In this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on what it means to be truly known, deeply loved, and fully at home with another. We talk about why we must first learn to abide in the love of God, how appreciation helps others become who they were created to be, and what it looks like to grow in friendship over time. Whether friendship feels life-giving or challenging in this season of your life, we invite you to bring every desire, wound, and longing before the Lord, who first calls you His friend. Announcement: You can buy your copy of...
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S18 E18 - Friendship in the Lord: Foreword and Prologue
Abiding Together
In this episode, we begin our summer book study on Friendship in the Lord by Fr. Paul Hinnebusch, OP. We focus on the foreword and prologue and reflect on the difference between prudence and fear, the ways we self-protect in relationships, and our longing for authentic communion. We also talk about what it means to love without possessing, how to receive others as a gift, and why friendship is a foretaste of heaven. Other Resources Mentioned: Announcement: If you’d like a copy of Friendship in the Lord, you can buy your copy from (or ). Journal Questions: How...
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S18 E17 - The End of A Season
Abiding Together
In this episode, we conclude season 18 by reflecting on the grace-filled moments this past season and the quiet ways the Lord continues to invite us into deeper communion with Him. We share who our favorite guests were, which episodes deeply ministered to us, and what we are hoping for in this next season. Thank you for spending this season with us, friends. It has been such a gift to walk alongside you in every conversation, prayer, and story shared. We’ll be holding you close in prayer over the summer and look forward to gathering with you again on July 6th, 2026 for our summer book...
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S18 E16 - Preparing for Pentecost
Abiding Together
In this episode, we reflect on how Pentecost is more than just an event of the past, but can be an ongoing outpouring of God’s love and grace in our lives today. We discuss how the Holy Spirit helps heal our wounds, restores communion with God, and teaches us how to live with power and boldness, even in the places where we feel unable to love the Lord. As we prepare our hearts for Pentecost, we talk practically about cultivating a posture of receptivity, learning to invite the Holy Spirit more deeply into our hearts, and how to allow His fire to illuminate our identity and transform us from...
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S18 E15 - Sacred Wounds
Abiding Together
In this episode, we reflect on the sacred wounds of Jesus, the reality of our own woundedness, and Jesus’ invitation to make us well. We talk about how our wounds, so often hidden in shame or self-protection, when transformed, can actually become places of communion and grace. We also share about our personal experiences of facing fear or disappointment and how the slow, often painful, process of healing reminds us that God’s ways are not our own. Jesus tenderly meets us in every broken place within our hearts and ardently desires to make all things new. Heather’s One Thing - ...
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S18 E14 - Prophetic Motherhood
Abiding Together
In this episode, we reflect on the beautiful call of women to prophetic motherhood. We talk about how Our Lady models for us a motherhood that speaks life and calls forth goodness to all those she encounters. We also ponder what it means to be a spiritual mother, how Mary can help heal our wounded experiences of motherhood, and the difference between affirmations and prophetic words. As Pentecost draws near, we invite you to ask for Our Lady’s intercession to prepare your heart for a fresh outpouring of grace and to help you become a woman who brings life wherever she goes. ...
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S18 E13 - Marriage and Meaning with Special Guests Arthur and Ester Brooks
Abiding Together
In this episode, we welcome Arthur and Ester Brooks to talk about marriage, suffering, and the path to lasting love. Arthur and Ester share what it’s like to minister together, revealing both the grace needed and the hard work it takes to love each other faithfully over decades. We also reflect on suffering as an invitation for growth, why pain is fruitful, and how the hardest places in life are where love is purified. Whether you are married, single, or in religious life, intimacy with God is our source of strength for every situation we encounter in life. Heather’s One Thing...
info_outlineIn this episode, we continue our book study on Friendship in the Lord and reflect on how loving appreciation and reconciliation are the places where friendship matures. We talk about why healthy adult friendships draw us closer to the Lord, how the unique gifts of women and men reveal different facets of God's love, and how learning to behold another's beauty without trying to grasp or possess it calls forth our true identity. We also discuss the importance of recognizing how we've hurt others, expressing sincere sorrow, and allowing others to do the same. As we bring our wounds, suffering, and sin into the love of Christ, we discover that the very places we fear most can become the biggest places of resurrection.
Other Resources Mentioned:
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Restore the Glory Podcast on Confession (Parts 1-3)
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S18 Forgiveness Meditation (with questions from the book Forgiving as Unity with Christ)
Announcement:
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You can buy your copy of Friendship in the Lord from Ave Maria Press (or Amazon).
Journal Questions:
- Am I maturing as a friend?
- What does the Holy Spirit want to teach me through my friendships?
- Am I currently experiencing conflict or frustration in a relationship? What is the pain or trigger I feel beneath the conflict?
- Can I receive the gift of beauty without trying to grasp or possess it?
- How have I failed to uphold the dignity of my friends?
- Am I experiencing the fullness of who I am?
- What parts of myself am I hiding from my relationships?
Discussion Questions:
- When have you experienced your own uniqueness in a friendship? Did you experience your uniqueness as a gift to give or as an insecurity to hide?
- How is the Lord inviting you to more freely receive your friends rather than possessing them?
- How have you participated in belittling or sarcasm in your relationships?
- How have you participated in or been on the receiving end of judgment within friendships?
- Where does the Lord want to love you into a place of freedom?
Quote to Ponder:
“The intimacy of adult friendship in the Spirit can teach us to aspire to the fullest possible intimacy with the Lord himself. The tenderness of one friend toward another is the image of God’s own tenderness, when the friends truly love each other in the Spirit.” (Friendship in the Lord, Page 62)
Scripture for Lectio:
“Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:10 Scripture Verse and Quote to Ponder
02:03 Am I Maturing as A Friend?
07:57 Our Different Gifts Reveal Facets of God
11:45 Appreciating Beauty Without Grasping
14:28 Upholding the Dignity of Another
16:03 Receiving Ourselves as A Gift
18:37 Judgement Makes Us Blind
20:30 Exposing Our Weaknesses to the Light
22:00 Remaining Faithful to Our Friends
25:50 Reconciling with God and Others