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Inspired
Inspired is the nation's leading public radio show about faith, ethics and spirituality. Each week we offer you analyses of the big headlines alongside lesser-told stories – those of Orthodox Jewish artists and African-American atheists, Muslim feminists and spiritual seekers. Through these stories, a rough sketch of our country’s religious landscape begins to emerge. It’s a marketplace of beliefs and ideas too complex for sound bites, and too important to ignore.
There is no wrong way to pray according to Jesuit priest Father James Martin. The author of the 2021 book Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone joins host Ambereen Khan for a lively discussion about prayer and much more during the Lenten season. Then, from prayers, we turn to ideas of slowing down and the ritual of fasting, an ancient practice that can be found in many belief systems across time. American University professor Martin Oliver offers some history and then we head to a Bahai family’s home to learn how this multi-generational family observes the annual 19 Days of Fasting which begins in the evening of March 1, 2023. (Both segments originally aired in 2018.)
Father James Martin on Talking to God
In his 2021 book, “Learning to Pray,” Jesuit priest and bestselling author Father James Martin charts an approach to prayer that is not just for Catholics, or even for Christians, but is for everyone. He describes the solace prayer can bring in tough times and acknowledges that prayer, like anything, takes commitment, practice, and perseverance.
Conversation with Father James Martin continued.
Family, Reflection, and Slowing Down
The 19-Day Fast in the Bahá’í tradition begins at sundown on March 1, 2023. The fast marks the last month of the Bahá’í calendar before the new year. It involves abstaining from food or drink from sunrise to sunset. The multigenerational Ewing-Boyd family of Washington DC invites host, Ambereen Khan, to join a breaking of the fast and share how they do their best to use this time of fasting as an opportunity to slow down, gain discipline, and reconnect with each other. (originally broadcast in 2018)
