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Kindness

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

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Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

The launch of another phase

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Hope and Faith

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Openness

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Fear

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To Take Someone Into the Home

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New Kind of Life

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

What Was I Made To Do?

Five Minutes With Joan Chittister

Friends, Companions, and Guides

Five Minutes With Joan Chittister

Fasting

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Stages of the Spiritual Life

Five Minutes With Joan Chittister

Responsibilities

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

A Holy Life or A Pious Life

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Love and Courage

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Silence

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Purity of Heart

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Good Works

Five Minutes With Joan Chittister

What We Seek

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Religion: Life to the Excess

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Obedience is Freeing

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Laughter heals

Joan Chittister

What We Are Meant to Do in Life

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Role Models

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Change

Five Minutes with Joan

Sin is Not What Meets the Eye

Five Minutes with Joan

Play Teaches

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To Become What We Think About

Five Minutes with Joan

Seeing Differently

Five Minutes with Joan

Nurturance

Five Minutes with Joan

Real Friends

Five Minutes with Joan

Who am I?

Five Minutes with Joan

Being Present to Pain

Five Minutes with Joan

Soul Search with Dr Meredith Lake: Joan Chittister on renewing community in a changing world

Soul Search with Dr Meredith Lake: Joan Chittister on renewing community in a changing world

Joan Chittister found her community as a teenager, seventy years ago, when she joined the Benedictine sisters in Pennsylvania. For decades she has devoted herself to renewing community in and beyond the Catholic church. Her fierce advocacy for women has put her at odds with some within the hierarchy, but as a spiritual writer she had brought the insights of her tradition to a wider world.

Even before the pandemic there was an epidemic of loneliness, not only in American but in Australia too. Lockdown or no lockdown, millions live with emotional isolation and a lack of social support. So where do we find the communities of care we all need to flourish?

Joan Chittister says, “If community is showing us anything right now, it’s showing us that individualism has run its course. This was the great American moment, you know – everybody was free, and everybody was autonomous, everybody was self-saving and self-serving – until they weren’t. And then we began to discover what we didn’t have. We’ve been channelling people into isolation and had no idea it was happening.”

Adventure

Five Minutes with Joan

Courage - May 13, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

New Life Comes - April 22, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

Loneliness - April 8. 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

When we try to pray - March 25, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

Failure and Success - March 11, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

Begin Again - February 25, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

Cultivation of Wisdom - February 11, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

Essence of Contemplation - January 28, 2022

Five Minutes with Joan

Something of God in This - January 14, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

The Bottom Line: Sister Joan Chittister: 50 Practices for a Contemplative & Fulfilling Life

The Bottom Line hosted by Roger Marsh: Sister Joan Chittister: 50 Practices for a Contemplative & Fulfilling Life

The Bottom Line hosted by Roger Marsh

Sister Joan Chittister: 50 Practices for a Contemplative & Fulfilling Life

Get your daily dose of current events with a Biblical World View. Host Roger Marsh takes current events and brings them down to the bottom line. No opinionated spins…just the facts with solid focus on truth while staying away from over-sensationalized opinions.

Contemplify with Paul Swanson: The Monastic Heart & Prophetic Imagination with Sr. Joan Chittister

Contemplify with Paul Swanson: The Monastic Heart & Prophetic Imagination with Sr. Joan Chittister

Contemplify: Kindling the Examined Life for Contemplatives in the World

The Monastic Heart & Prophetic Imagination with Sr. Joan Chittister

Sister Joan Chittister is a member of the Benedictine Sisters, played a huge hand in developing the Charter of Compassion, was president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious., director of Benetvision, founder of Monasteries of the Heart, passionately advocated on behalf of peace, human rights, women’s issues, and church renewal, written over 60 books, and has a bird named Lady Hildegard. The focus of our conversation today is Joan’s book, The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life.

Unhurried Living with Alan Fading: The Monastic Heart with Sr. Joan Chittister

Unhurried Living with Alan Fading, Episode #202: The Monastic Heart Sr. Joan Chittister

Welcome Sister Joan Chittister to the Unhurried Living Podcast where we are talking about her latest book, "The Monastic Heart" where she offers simple, practical, deep wisdom. You know when someone has lived truth well when they can make things so very easily understandable. 

The State of Belief: The Monastic Life with Sister Joan

The State of Belief: The Monastic Life with Sister Joan

Joan Chittister returned to the radio show “State of Belief” and joined Rev. Welton Gaddy to discuss her new book, The Monastic Life: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life.

To purchase The Monastic Heart click here.

Contemplation - October 22,2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Joan Chittister on the podcast What Matters Most by Paul Samuel Dolman

Joan Chittister on the podcast What Matters Most by Paul Samuel Dolman

Paul Samuel Dolman, host of “What Matters Most,” interviews Joan Chittister on her book, The Monastic Heart.

Imperfection - October 8, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Compass Podcast: Simple life rhythms for balance and peace with Joan Chittister

Compass Podcast: Simple life rhythms for balance and peace with Joan Chittister

Compass Podcast: Finding the spirituality in the day-to-day by the United Methodist Church.

One of the marks of monastic communities is that they establish a rhythm of life that calls attention to the holy.

Sister Joan Chittister, who is herself part of a Benedictine monastic community, has translated a number of these practices into everyday life for us. You may have heard of Sister Joan–she’s a well-known activist and has made a couple of appearances alongside Oprah Winfrey. She’s also authored 60 books and has won numerous awards. We’re talking with her about her recent release: The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life.

The Ongoing Path - September 24, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Good / True / & Beautiful: The Monastic Heart with Joan Chittister

Good / True / & Beautiful with Ashton Gustafson: The Monastic Heart with Joan Chittister

Good / True / & Beautiful with Ashton Gustafson
The Monastic Heart with Joan Chittister

As an avid student and lover of life, wisdom, art, and creativity, my hope is to bring a new perspective to life, relationships, and business through my podcast, Good / True / & Beautiful. Here you'll find some of my latest thoughts and ideas, interviews with thought leaders from around the country, information on books that have inspired my story, and creativity that has moved me.

Joan Chittister, OSB, is an internationally known writer and lecturer and the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality in Erie, Pennsylvania. A Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, she served as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and of the Conference of American Benedictine Prioresses, and was prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie for twelve years. Sister Joan received her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University in speech communications theory. She has authored sixty books and received numerous awards for her work on behalf of peace, justice, and women in church and in society.

Her latest book, The Monastic Heart, was released September 21, 2021. This book carries the weight and wisdom of the monastic spiritual tradition into the twenty-first century. Sister Joan leans into Saint Benedict, who, as a young man in the sixth century, sought moral integrity in the face of an empire not by conquering or overpowering the empire but by simply living an ordinary life extraordinarily well. This same monastic mindset can help us grow in wisdom, equanimity, and strength of soul as we seek restoration and renewal both at home and in the world. At a time when people around the world are bearing witness to human frailty—and, simultaneously, the endurance of the human spirit—The Monastic Heart invites readers of all walks to welcome this end of certainty and embrace a new beginning of our faith. Without stepping foot in a monastery, we can become, like those before us, a deeper, freer self, a richer soul—and, as a result, a true monastic, so “that in all things God may be glorified.”

This Undivided Life: Joan Chittister on The Monastic Heart

This Undivided Life #74: Joan Chittister on The Monastic Heart

This Undivided Life Podcast will give you real advice to help make life whole again. Join Troy Mclaughlin, co-host Scott Perkins and guests as we talk real life. We bypass simple platitudes and the generic “just love yourself” gibberish, and dive headlong into the challenges pulling us a million different directions. 

The Review - September 10, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Friendship - August 20, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Sample from The Monastic Heart

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The Gift of Weakness - August 6, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Portrait of Humility - July 23, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Time to Weep - July 9, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

The Crucible of Struggle - June 18, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

The Art of Dailiness - June 04, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Being Human - May 23, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Prayer of those who dwell in a Monastery of the Heart

Loving God, You who dwell in our hearts, make for us a cave there in which to hear your voice more distinctly, feel your care more tenderly, understand your will more clearly, and come to know your presence at every moment of our lives with new clarity and new courage, with new faith and new urgency.

++ Enable us to grow in the Benedictine spirit in ways that make us compassionate co-creators of a world in process, creative keepers of the human community, loving listeners to the heartbeat of the world, caring sisters and brothers to its wounded and bringers of peace to a world in distress.

++ Let us sink into your Word, let us nourish it to life, let it lead us beyond the burdens of the day so that we may become the people you desire us to be. Give us hearts where all may enter in, ears to hear your call, hands to do your will, voices to sing your praise and soul enough to recognize You in everything we do. This we ask through the intercession of all the faithful monastics who have gone before us and through the grace of the living God. Amen.

— Joan Chittister

Whose Enlightenment - May 9, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Consciousness Commits - April 25, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Attitudes Toward Life - April 11, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Internal Quiet - March 15, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

To Have No Fear - March 1, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

To Moreness - February 11, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Darkness and Light - January 28, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

Who is God? - January 17, 2021

Five Minutes with Joan

The Unexamined Life - December 31, 2020

Five Minutes with Joan

Relationships - December 10, 2020

Five Minutes with Joan

Self-Acceptance - November 13, 2020

Five Minutes with Joan

Paths of Life - September 8, 2020

Five Minutes with Joan

Laughter - July 19, 2020

Five Minutes with Joan Chittister

Humility - July 5, 2020


Honoring the Other - June 21, 2020


Happiness - June 7, 2020


Goodness - June 24, 2020


God's Presence - June 10, 2020


Freedom - April 26, 2020


Food and Celebration - April 12, 2020


Soul Sister: The Time is Now with Sister Joan Chittister

Soul Sister Episode 24: The Time is Now with Sister Joan Chittister

Joan Chittister’s hour-long interview on Soul Sister Conversations is available now. Click here to listen. The podcast focuses on Sister Joan’s new book, The Time is Now, and on the women’s issue—how do women find their voices, why is it important that they do, what about women in the church?.... “I love her fierceness,” wrote Dana Lloyd when requesting the interview with Sister Joan. Lloyd, along with Elaine Shannon, conduct Soul Sister Conversations, a podcast that inspires and empowers people to connect more soulfully to themselves by sharing insights on topics of spirituality, joy, and leadership.

Joan Chittister on Here & Now: Book Calls For Religious To Put Beliefs Into Action

Joan Chittister on Here & Now: New Book Calls For The Religious To Put Beliefs Into Action

Joan Chittister was interviewed about her book, The Time is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage, by NPR’s award winning radio magazine, Here & Now. Listen here.

Interview with Michel Martin of NPR

Rosaries are sold by a vendor in Mexico City

Sister Joan speaks with Michel Martin of National Public Radio on the subject of Lent.

Best of 2017

Good, True, & Beautiful with Ashton Gustafson

Ashton Gustafson recently listed his conversation with Joan Chittister as one of The Best 2017 Podcast Interviews. Gustafson’s weekly podcast, formerly called "Let the Music Play," “serves as a platform for thought leaders and visionaries from across the country to share their wisdom and insights on making the world a better place.” In 2018, Gustafson changed the name of his podcast series to “Good/ True/ & Beautiful” with Ashton Gustafson.

Sinking into the Heart of God - January 7, 2018

One Minute with Joan Chittister

Joan Chittister reflects one minute on,"We must do whatever justice must be done in our time if we claim to be serious about sinking into the heart of God."

Sounds True Interview

Sounds True Podcast

“Sister Joan Chittister: Lighting a Fire with Faith” is the title of an in-depth interview conducted by Tami Simon, founder of Sounds True, an independent multimedia publishing company that embraces the world's major spiritual traditions, as well as the arts and humanities, embodied by the leading authors, teachers, and visionary artists of our time. The hour-long conversation was part of Simon’s video podcast series, “Insights at the Edge” and covered topics such the relationship between faith and doubt, asking the right questions, what are the right questions, seeing the world as God sees it, growing old gracefully and the last great adventure of death. To listen to the interview, click here.

Drew Marshall Interviews Sister Joan

Radical Spirit by Joan Chittister

An interview with Joan Chittister, entitled Sister Joan Chittister — Award Winning Author of Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life was live-streamed on “The Drew Marshall Show: Canada’s Most Listened to Spiritual Talk Show” on July 22, 2017. Sister Joan did a 20-minute interview on the show which aired from 2 to 4 p.m. Click here to listen.

The Spirit of Joan Chittister

Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life by Joan Chittister

In this podcast, Rabbi Rami talks to Joan Chittister about her book Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life. Click here to listen. 

Interview with Joan Chittister

Joan Chittister Talks to Nancy Fornasiero

Interview with Joan Chittister The Benedictine nun, human rights advocate and co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women talks about her writing, the Catholic church and the current U.S. political climate. Published in UC Observer

Interfaith Voices: The Surprising Relevance of Ancient Desert Monastics

Interfaith Voices: The Surprising Relevance of Ancient Desert Monastics

Surprising Relevance of Ancient Desert Monastics Maureen Feidler of Interfaith Radio interviewed Joan Chittister about her book, In God's Holy Light . What in the world would monks and nuns who lived in the Egyptian desert centuries ago have to teach the modern world? Well, Sister Joan Chittister, herself a beloved Benedictine nun, looked into the writings of these early monastics and found lots of relevant messages--including insights on immigration, racism, and even capitalism.

Judith Valente interviews Joan on new books

Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith by Tom Roberts

NPR correspondent and award-winning author and poet Judith Valente interviewed Joan Chittister recently on her new book, In God’s Holy Light, and on her personal reaction to her new biography by Tom Roberts, Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith. The interview aired on WGLT Radio, the National Public Radio affiliate in central Illinois and went out to other Illinois public radio stations.

More of PSU Interview with Joan

More of PSU Interview with Joan

Hear more of the PSU interview with Joan Chittister. She talks about the future of the Catholic Church and about the sharp decline in the number of American nuns. Click here to listen. 

Penn State interview with Joan Chittister

Penn State interview with Joan Chittister

Penn State Public Broadcasting reporter Patty Satalia interviewed Sister Joan Chittister on a number of topics including her faith journey, the role of women in the church and society, and future issues facing the Roman Catholic Church. Click here to listen.

Publisher's Weekly interview on new book, In God's Holy Light

In God's Holy Light by Joan Chittister

Publisher’s Weekly Radio interviewed Joan Chittister on her new book, In God’s Holy Light: Wisdom from the Desert Monastics. To order this latest addition to Sister Joan’s corpus on contemporary monasticism, click here.

Maureen Fiedler interviews Joan Chittister

Maureen Fiedler interviews Joan Chittister

Maureen Fiedler of Interfaith Voices recently interviewed Joan Chittister regarding the themes of her latest book, Between the Dark and the Daylight. Listen here.

Listen In

Listen In

PBS Boston recently interviewed Joan Chittister on the topic “Nun Hopes for More Gender Equality in the Church.” The January 27, 2015 interview was conducted by award winning journalist Robin Young, cohost of Here & Now, a mid-day radio show of in-depth news, interview and conversation. Listen to the nine-minute interview: