Episode 54: The Best Version of Yourself (Is Jesus Living In You)

Ida Görres on the Saints and Sanctity, by Dr. Jennifer Bryson

Dr. Jennifer Bryson, Ethics and Public Policy Center Fellow [https://eppc.org/author/jennifer_bryson/] in Catholic Women's Forum presented at the Little Way Café on Thursday April 23, 2026 on the profound insights on the saints and sanctity according to the writings and life of Ida Görres. An adult Catholic convert, she shared her own conversion story on The Journey Home [https://chnetwork.org/journey-home/jennifer-bryson-former-agnostic/].  Currently, she is translating the works of Ida Friederike Görres (1901-1971) from German to English, and via the Sports Policy Initiative, she researches and advocates for sound sports governance.  Dr. Bryson has studied and worked in Egypt and Yemen, been an intelligence agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency, including two years as an interrogator at Guantanamo, and worked at several research institutes, including the Witherspoon Institute and Religious Freedom Institute. Her articles are at jenniferbryson.net.  Dr. Bryson earned her B.A. from Stanford in Political Science, her M.A. in medieval European intellectual History from Yale, and her Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Yale, with a focus on Greco-Arabic and Islamic studies. She learned German in high school in Austria and while studying Marxism-Leninism for a year in former East Germany as an undergraduate. Bryson was an Earhart Fellow, a Richard M. Weaver Fellow of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and a Fulbright Scholar. Her Ph.D. work included the study of translation theory.  From 2021–2023 she was a Visiting Researcher at the Pope Benedict XVI Philosophical-Theological Institute, known as Hochschule Heiligenkreuz, in Austria, while translating several works by Ida Görres. Her translations include the German government’s report, “Anti-Semitism among Islamists in Germany,” Görres’ 1970 lecture “Trusting the Church,” and Görres’ book The Church in the Flesh [https://www.amazon.com/Church-Flesh-Ida-Friederike-G%C3%B6rres/dp/B0CJHP5DTY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1TSQU7MA29006&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.19BMJTdh_ohciq8EA3-qIlXbw5MLJtppk2eJn2_ZGU2WjA-OG1H_DBPjma_huVouhNkr49GhLJnbH_qbxDA-LxM14LBF4lc-D13Mn0MygwMygGXiNLmmMCP2zdLjNy6SrzycwPTDSUTlOGqtgLqJy1Hmda9wPAx2T0Ln7D1tmUH1YS90f9bD6Z25xobVQrfWORRJTGTJ25eokmhOZHF5x7LYsIN2WgZ5gYZVr9iEVDA.4ok2p8-Rpa7xASfhoqIVdAjrFq2mHah3XyFdNwGYDL8&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+church+in+the+flesh&qid=1776994948&sprefix=the+church+in+the+flesh%2Caps%2C238&sr=8-1] (2023), John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed [https://www.amazon.com/John-Henry-Newman-Life-Sacrificed/dp/162164698X/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_aufs_ap_sc_dsk_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=wfBlU&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c9a049f-252a-49d9-a8c2-e300a1663200&pf_rd_p=9c9a049f-252a-49d9-a8c2-e300a1663200&pf_rd_r=134-1825049-8542528&pd_rd_wg=7K5R0&pd_rd_r=ba1ad174-fd38-46f4-bce9-f18a9d50d25c] (2024), Bread Grows in Winter [https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Grows-Winter-Friederike-G%C3%B6rres/dp/1621647382/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_aufs_ap_sc_dsk_0?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=wfBlU&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c9a049f-252a-49d9-a8c2-e300a1663200&pf_rd_p=9c9a049f-252a-49d9-a8c2-e300a1663200&pf_rd_r=134-1825049-8542528&pd_rd_wg=7K5R0&pd_rd_r=ba1ad174-fd38-46f4-bce9-f18a9d50d25c] (2025) with a foreword by Bishop Varden who recently preached to Pope Leo for his 2026 Lenten retreat, and most recently What Binds Marriage Forever [https://www.amazon.com/Binds-Marriage-Forever-Friederike-G%C3%B6rres/dp/0813240395/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_aufs_ap_sc_dsk_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=wfBlU&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c9a049f-252a-49d9-a8c2-e300a1663200&pf_rd_p=9c9a049f-252a-49d9-a8c2-e300a1663200&pf_rd_r=134-1825049-8542528&pd_rd_wg=7K5R0&pd_rd_r=ba1ad174-fd38-46f4-bce9-f18a9d50d25c] (2026).

Episode 54: The Best Version of Yourself (Is Jesus Living In You)

We often hear the phrase "Be the best version of yourself," but through a Catholic lens, this means letting Jesus live through you fully.  Listen to Fr. O'Hare delve into this topic, and how it relates to the vertical and horizontal union we promote here at St. Louis Parish.

Episode 53: Domestic Church Series - Catechists of the Home and Church

Tune in to hear Sam and Zoe Massey,  a father-daughter duo who have experienced our St. Louis Confirmation Program as both student and teacher. Listen to their unique perspectives on teaching, learning, and living the Faith.

Episode 52: Leading Others to Jesus Through Music feat. John Finch

Listen to singer, songwriter, and worship leader John Finch speak about his musical journey from learning piano at an early age, to writing his own music, to leading large worship events all across the country.  John's mission is to give others the opportunity to have an encounter with Jesus through his music.

Episode 51: How Music Moves the Soul

Fr. O'Hare and Andrew Lane discuss the role music plays in the liturgy, as well as how it can prime our emotions in a way that can lead us into deep prayer.