The Pilgrim Soul

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

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Yesterday · 56 min
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 pilgrimsoulpodcast@gmail.com or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com // Other resources we mention: Bishop Varden’s interview from Lent 2024 The story of Chiara Corbella Petrillo A letter of St Thomas More to his daughter Margaret A homily by Cardinal Pizzaballa on St. Peter // Our media recommendation is Sigrid Undset’s trilogy Olav Audunsson, specifically Tiina Nunnally’s translation. And our monthly challenge is to identify a fear and bring it, in prayer, to Christ at the foot of the Cross. // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
September 1 · 43 min
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 authorities of our tradition? // Our media recommendation is the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and its most recent film adaptation. And our monthly challenge is to both recall someone who has been an authentic authority of the tradition for you, and to consider that you are called to propose this tradition to the freedom of another. // 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. // Other resources we mention: Dei Verbum The Communion and Liberation Christmas poster Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’s third sermon for the vigil of the Nativity of the Lord An audience of Pope Benedict XVI from 2006 Luigi Giussani’s books “The Religious Sense”, “The Risk of Education”, and “Generating Traces in the History of the World” Hans Urs Von Balthasar’s “Movement Toward God” in volume 3 of Explorations in Theology Alberto Savorana’s biography “The Life of Luigi Giussani” Max Weber’s lecture “Science as a Vocation” G.K. Chesterton’s book Orthodoxy John Henry Newman’s “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” Jaroslav Pelikan’s lecture “The Vindication of Tradition" // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
August 1 · 1 hr 9 min
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 invites us into a radically new way of being with others. Many thanks to St. Mary's for the hospitality, and to our listeners both old and new who attended! // Our media recommendation is Bruce Marshall's novel The World, the Flesh, and Fr. Smith. Our monthly challenge is to offer Holy Mass for your parish. // 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.”
July 1 · 29 min
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 reveals Himself in our poverty and in the Eucharist, transforming our hopelessness and monotony into the dawn of Heaven. // You can find out more about Fundación San Rafael on their website. Please consider joining the Friends of San Rafael to support their work; here is the registration form, and opportunity to donate.
June 21 · 1 min
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 there! 6 PM: Mass 7 PM: Dinner & Live Episode Tickets are available at this link, and include dinner, refreshments, and dessert. Free parking is available in the church lot. All proceeds benefit Sofia's parish, St. Mary of Perpetual Help.
June 1 · 30 min
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: Glorious Mysteries Sorrowful Mysteries Joyful Mysteries
May 1 · 52 min
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 is Mike Posner’s song “I Went Back to Ibiza”, with his prior song “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” for context. And our monthly challenge is to reflect, at the start or end of your day, on your encounters and actions, asking the question: “What does this have to do with my identity?” // 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. // Other resources we mention: Quo Vadis, Humanitas? (especially Chapter 3), a document released by the International Theological Commission led by our friend Fr. Javier Prades St. Edith Stein’s “Essays on Woman” then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s collection of homilies ”In the Beginning” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
April 1 · 48 min
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 posture of a beggar? // Our media recommendation is Rembrandt’s painting The Return of the Prodigal Son. And our monthly challenge is to pray with Habbakuk 3:17-18. // 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. // Other resources we mention: - “Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy” of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger - Sofia read Walker Percy’s quote about the sinners in the Church in an excellent essay by John O’Callaghan in First Things // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
March 1 · 52 min
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? // Our media recommendation is the memoir The Shadow of His Wings by Fr. Gereon Goldmann. And our monthly challenge is to visit the cathedral of your diocese, ideally with a tour guide to explain its history and art. // Check out Sofi’s translation of Time and the Temple, published by Slant Books. The book is available for purchase on Bookshop or Amazon. A beautiful presentation of the text by Fr. Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, in dialogue with high school students, is available on YouTube. // 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. // Other resources we mention: - Luigi Giussani’s book “In Search of the Human Face” - The Beginning Day text for 2025, “Christ: The New Principle of Knowledge and Action” - Fr. Julian Carron’s letter at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic - Josef Zverina’s Letter to the Christians of the West - A Christmas homily by Bishop Erik Varden - Our episode on hope with Amanda Achtman // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
February 1 · 53 min
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 recommendation is Vincent Van Gogh’s The Good Samaritan. And our monthly challenge is to give alms, being attentive to spontaneous opportunities to do so. // 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. // Other resources we mention: Fr. Luigi Giussani’s booklet “The Meaning of Charitable Work" The documentary “Outcasts” about the Franciscan Friars of Renewal (trailer here) // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
January 1 · 1 hr
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 needs, desires, and forms of suffering has she discovered in the hearts of others–and her own? Where can any of us derive hope in the face of death? // Our media recommendation is Fr. Alfred Delp’s book of sermons Advent of the Heart. And our monthly challenge is to light a candle and ponder Pope Benedict XVI’s words that “dying is the way a candle gives light.” // 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. Amanda’s website is DyingtoMeetYou.com. You can also find her on X-formerly-known-as-Twitter @AmandaAchtman, and read her writing in a variety of places including Public Discourse. // Other resources we mention: St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’ meditation “The Hidden Life and Epiphany” A talk by Luigi Giussani to a group of students in 1976 Pope Francis’ audience on August 27, 2022 Mother Teresa’s book “Heart of Joy” Amanda’s video vignettes of lives affected by euthanasia Pope Benedict XVI’s homily from the 2009 Easter Vigil Caryll Houselander’s work “The Way of the Cross” Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Introduction to Christianity” // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
Dec 1, 2025 · 52 min
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 of God? This episode was inspired by the 2025 MedConference. You can learn more at theAAMP.org // Our media recommendation is Arthur Kleinman’sThe Soul of Care. And our monthly challenge is to ask God how you are a caretaker for Him and He is a caretaker for you. // 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. // Other resources we mention: Luigi Giussani’s booklet “The Meaning of Charitable Work" Luigi Giussani’s book “In Search of the Human Face” Sigrid Undset’s biography of Catherine of Siena // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
Nov 1, 2025 · 57 min
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? // David’s media recommendations are an essay by Walker Percy called “The Loss of the Creature” and Louis de Wohl’s book “Saint Helena and the True Cross”. And our monthly challenge is to engage in some form of charitable work. // 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. We’d be happy to pass on any questions to David. // Other resources we mention: Pope Leo’s homily from the Jubilee of Youth on August 3 2025 Pope Leo’s Q&A with young people on August 2 2025 Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi Pope Francis’ papal bull for the Jubilee Spes Non Confundit Luigi Giussani’s book, “In Search of the Human Face” The Confessions of Saint Augustine Luigi Giussani’s book “The Religious Sense” A pamphlet on the meaning of charitable work // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
Oct 1, 2025 · 43 min
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 everyone who submitted a question! // 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. // Other resources we mention: Pope Leo’s June 6th 2025 address to lay movements Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Pope Francis’ October 15th 2022 address to Communion & Liberation Alberto Savorana’s biography The Life of Luigi Giussani An excerpt of a dialogue with Fr. Javier Prades called The Rhythm of the Mystery Mother Mary Francis’ book “My Beloved is Mine and I am His” \\ Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
Sep 1, 2025 · 47 min
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 we educated in a true use of our free time? // Our media recommendation is Louis Armstrong’s song What a Wonderful World, which you can find on Spotify or on YouTube. Our monthly challenge is to take a moment one evening to look at the stars. // 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. // Other resources we mention: Josef Pieper’s book “Leisure, the Basis of Culture” Fr. Luigi Giussani’s book “The Religious Sense” The Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska An excerpt from The Portal of the Mystery of Hope, a poem by Charles Peguy \\ Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks."
Aug 1, 2025 · 54 min
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 Catholic Stuff You Should Know. This conversation draws on his excellent book “To Heights and Unto Depths: Letters from the Colorado Trail” which was recently published by Ignatius Press and is also available on Amazon. // Fr. John’s media recommendations are the writing of Wendell Berry, such as the novel Jayber Crow (or Sofi’s favorite is his book of sabbath poems, A Timbered Choir), and the music of Gregory Alan Isakov. His monthly challenge is to reread Chapters 1-2 of Genesis in a place of creation, whether the backcountry or your own backyard. // 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. We’d be happy to pass on any questions to Fr. John. // Other resources we mention: Luigi Giussani’s book The Religious Sense Pope Benedict XVI’s address “The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty” Romano Guardini’s book The Essence of Christianity The testimony of Jone Echarri about her paralysis \\ Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
Jul 1, 2025 · 50 min
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 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 stands at the heart of salvation history as the one through whom God fulfills his promises. Throughout her pilgrimage of faith, from the Annunciation to the Cross to her Assumption, her virginal surrender to the Mystery gives form to His presence in the world and strength to those who believe in Him. In her, each member of the Church discovers a mother who accompanies, educates, and sustains us on our path to our destiny. // 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.”
Jun 1, 2025 · 51 min
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 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). And our monthly challenge is to reflect on the apocryphal story of Jesus and the dead dog (cited on page 117 of this PDF), and to ask, in whatever situation of death or emptiness comes to mind, to recognize and embrace the good present there as Christ does. // 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. // Other resources we mention: An excerpt from Generating Traces in the History of the World on mission and ecumenism The video The Faith of Fr. Giussani A speech by Pope Pius XII cited in Pope St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Christifidelis laici Bishop Erik Varden’s April 27 interview in The Pillar on the conclave Fr. Luigi Giussani’s letters to the first missionaries from Communion & Liberation to Brazil The Ways of the Cross organized by Communion & Liberation throughout the USA Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium Bishop Erik Varden’s recent talk on “Living with Wounds” at the University of Notre Dame The story of Elvira Parravicini’s work in neonatal palliative care Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
May 20, 2025 · 29 min
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.
May 1, 2025 · 47 min
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 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 baptism. // 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. // Other resources we mention: Fr. Luigi Giussani’s book Generating Traces in the History of the World Fr. Luigi Giussani’s book The Religious Sense The Rite of Baptism of the Catholic Church // Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”

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