Event: Philadelphia Choosing Joy: A Manifesto for Artful Living in an Age of Visual Noise

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Event: Philadelphia Choosing Joy: A Manifesto for Artful Living in an Age of Visual Noise

Join the Collegium Institute for it’s spring Ars Vivendi Arts Initiative conversation as we welcome writer, Shemaiah Gonzalez, author of Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight. In this evening conversation we’ll explore how we can carve our space for silence amidst the noise, find rhythm and pattern instead of the chaos of doom scrolling, how we can cultivate joy instead of anxiety? Ultimately we’ll explore how pausing and choosing to craft a life with space for joy and wonder and delight, what we might call an artful life, can do what Picasso claimed was art’s role: to” wash away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

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Podcast Episode: Believe to See

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Podcast Episode: Believe to See

Our world has more material prosperity than ever. So why does everybody seem so dour? And why are so many of our culture's stories devoid of hope? Author Shemaiah Gonzales's latest book is Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight. This collection of essays makes the case that, as Christians, our stories need more joy. But not the naïve or fake kind of joy. The real, brave kind. She joins the pub table to discuss the implications of telling stories that cultivate authentic joy.

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A Catholic Convert's Ecumenical Journey---and prayer for Christian Unity

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A Catholic Convert's Ecumenical Journey---and prayer for Christian Unity

"Often I hear, “We aren’t the same type of Christians as them.” As Madeleine L’Engle said, “We fall into Satan’s trap of assuming that other people are not Christians because they do not belong to our particular brand of Christianity.

Frankly, this is the enemy’s intention—to divide us."

For this week of Prayer for Christian Unity I wrote for America Magazine - The Jesuit Review about the traditions (Jesus Movement, Grace Brethren, and Vineyard) that informed my faith before my conversion to Catholicism.

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Faith, Forgiveness and Fortitude in Jane Eyre

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Faith, Forgiveness and Fortitude in Jane Eyre

Have you always wanted to read this classic novel? Or reread it more deeply? Or simply discuss it thoughtfully with likeminded people?  Join us for this four-part seminar in which we will discuss Charlotte Bronte's pinnacle novel in depth. 


We will divide the novel into four sections and explore topics such as voice, the Self, literary references, a Christian reading and more.  We will find a novel dripping with grace and His Presence amongst its pages.

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A Conversation with Kathryn Jean Lopez from National Review

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A Conversation with Kathryn Jean Lopez from National Review

Living Joy does not mean a life without sorrow or pain. It does mean living in hope. In her new book, Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight, Shemaiah Gonzalez encourages finding joy in the small things in life. It’s a good practice for gratitude and being light in dark and distracting times. Based in Seattle, Gonzalez talks with Kathryn Jean Lopez about finding the joys in Costco, naps, and the much more enduring things.

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