Skip to main content
Presence: Experiencing the Nearness of God

Presence: Experiencing the Nearness of God

By Rick Kohut

A frequent reflection on how a middle-aged, marginal Catholic sees the MORE, aka God, by looking for the more in the world around. Episodes focused on this light have interspersed ST21 episodes - a modern version of The Screwtape Letters. Listen and see how to recognize the nearness of the MORE and hear how to avoid being distracted away from the deep. May this podcast help you to see and experience deeply.
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Castbox Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
TuneIn Logo
Currently playing episode

Atomic #4 - Christ Through Beryllium

Presence: Experiencing the Nearness of GodJun 12, 2019

00:00
10:33
The MORE in a Time Two Years On From Uncertainty to Amazement

The MORE in a Time Two Years On From Uncertainty to Amazement

Are you, right now, facing a time of change and uncertainty? I was, exactly two years ago. Please listen as I share how I wrote and prayed during June 2021. And how my life has unfolded in amazing ways from then until now. God - The MORE - moved & worked in my story. I believe that The MORE is moving & working in your own story right now too.
Jun 10, 202309:47
The MORE - Helping My Dad Figure Out One Drive

The MORE - Helping My Dad Figure Out One Drive

Do you know how to use Microsoft One Drive? I kind of do. On Memorial Day I Zoomed with my 83 year old dad and showed him how to use this often confusing computer tool. I was surprised to experience The MORE (how I am growing to know God) in this mundane act of service. It got me wondering about the deeper more in a child teaching and/or supporting their aging parent - especially as the child does so in far more expansive ways than how I served my dad and helped him to figure out (at least a bit) the confounding One Drive platform.
May 30, 202305:52
The MORE - Listening to Peter Gabriel's "I/O" Song on May 6th

The MORE - Listening to Peter Gabriel's "I/O" Song on May 6th

I listen to Peter Gabriel - an artist who has inspired me for 35 years now - sing as I walk my pooch on a beautiful Saturday AM. In his new song "I/O" he declares a truth "I'm just a part of everything." So much of the world around us shows this to be true. Listen as I ponder how even one H2O molecule in the saliva in your mouth reveals this truth.
May 07, 202306:11
The MORE in Stephen King's "Fairytale"
May 04, 202306:10
The MORE - Eager Sniffing on May 1st

The MORE - Eager Sniffing on May 1st

I return to a theme which is at the center of hundreds of prior episodes - experiencing God - The MORE. Today I reflect on how my dog Lucy, with her intense focus on a patch of grass as we walked in the rain, reminded me of how I can use my senses to ponder any sliver of the world I encounter as a go about my day. By finding the deep more to everything, I experience The MORE who creates and sustains it all.
May 02, 202305:42
ST21 century - The Spy Wednesday After the Indictment Day

ST21 century - The Spy Wednesday After the Indictment Day

Screwtape celebrates how The Enemy's own self-identified followers are facilitating his Dark Father's cause as these Reds claim that they and their boy Prince Chaos are the actual victims. ST21 is pleased that dark history was again made on April 4th like it was made on January 6th (Epiphany.) Yet, he relishes the irony of how it might have taken place a day later on Spy Wed. - the day Judas' betrayal is remember during Screwtape's "Profane Week."
Apr 06, 202306:16
ST21 century - Indictment During Profane Week

ST21 century - Indictment During Profane Week

Screwtape is excited that the first ever indictment of a former US president will take place as a spectacle and thus distraction for the faithful during what he calls "Profane Week".
Apr 03, 202305:60
ST21 century-7_DANGER - Mission Ahead

ST21 century-7_DANGER - Mission Ahead

It's Code Yellow when Wormwood tells ST21 that Fr. Steven Bell, a thoughtful and authentic priest is coming for a three day mission. ST21 commands that Wormwood must prevent his Patient from attending and being drawn closer to The Enemy and his warm embrace.
Mar 26, 202305:05
ST21 century - Exploit the Madness of March

ST21 century - Exploit the Madness of March

Screwtape encourages Wormwood to guide his Patient to find pleasure and doom in one of the greatest inventions by The Agency of Enticement to Obsession -- online sports betting.
Mar 21, 202305:34
ST21 century - On Thanksgiving and the Danger of Gratitude

ST21 century - On Thanksgiving and the Danger of Gratitude

ST21 explains to Wormwood the risk and potential reward for their Dark Father on the U.S. day of Thanksgiving. While the Seven Slippery Slides - gluttony, greed and envy - are there at the table, so too is the risk that The Patient may feel the vilest of attitudes - that of gratitude. ST shows WW how he can deploy two of their most effective tools - distraction and entitlement to keep the man away from the generosity their Enemy is always showing to His creation. And to lead the man ever closer to the hungry maw of darkness.
Nov 24, 202205:00
ST21 century - Prince of Chaos 2024

ST21 century - Prince of Chaos 2024

ST21 speaks to Wormwood for the first time in the week since the 2022 election. He encouragea WW to "keep his chins up" as The Prince of Chaos has announced that he is running again for president in 2024. ST21 extoles the vices of this remarkable figure and prepares for the decisive chaos ahead on the road to 2024.
Nov 16, 202204:24
ST21 century - Midterm Election Day

ST21 century - Midterm Election Day

ST21 explains to Wormwood what it means that "democracy is on the ballot today." ST21 recounts the dark reality of how some of the same people who fought for democracy 80 years ago and in decades since, will today vote for candidates who boast of how they will ignore the will of the people when votes are cast. This makes ST21 proclaim - "Truly this is Our Dark Father's century!"
Nov 08, 202205:16
ST21 century - Two Days Until the Midterms

ST21 century - Two Days Until the Midterms

Screwtape brings Wormword out of exile and gets his nephew up to speed with smartphones and other aspects of the 21st century. WW's "patient" - a white middle aged American Evangelical Catholic is preparing to vote. ST21 tells Wormword of the delicious hypocrisy this man and others like him show as they hurt those whom Christ identified as "my little ones."
Nov 07, 202208:08
Screwtape Updated. Introducing a new podcast "ST21 century"
Nov 07, 202204:00
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing: Advent Reflections - O Wisdom
Dec 17, 202007:03
Third Sunday of Advent: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing -Advent Reflections
Dec 13, 202008:29
First Monday of Advent - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing: Daily Advent Reflections
Nov 30, 202007:60
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing: First Sunday of Advent
Nov 29, 202011:32
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing: Advent Reflections - Christ the King
Nov 28, 202007:38
Trailer - "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing: Daily Advent Reflections
Nov 27, 202002:20
Words For Now and Later - L is for LOVE
Jul 17, 202013:13
Word For Now and Later - K is for KILLING
Jul 04, 202013:52
Words For Now and Later - J is for JUSTICE
Jul 02, 202012:44
Words For Now and Later - I is for 'I'
Jun 25, 202013:41
#4 - Year 3 - 100 Days of Pandemic
Jun 22, 202021:44
Words For Now and Later - H is for HOPE
Jun 21, 202013:45
Words For Now and Later - G is For GIVING
Jun 17, 202012:30
Words For Now and Later – F is For FAIR

Words For Now and Later – F is For FAIR

Have you ever seen a molten blob of super heated sand ready to be blown and shaped into glass? I have and you can too at my blog - EdTechEmergent.com. In his his chapter on how we acheive greater fairness in our nation John Freeman uses the metaphor of sand turned by great heat into glass. Listen as I reflect on how the current protests and inter–related traumas - health, economic, and white supremacy on display in the murder of George Floyd - have brought us to a moment of rupture through which the melting of structures can lead to a more just reshaping of our nation.
Jun 01, 202016:05
Words For Now and Later – E is for ENVIRONMENT
May 26, 202011:56
Words For Now and Later - D is for DECENCY
May 22, 202012:26
Words For Now and Later - C is for Citizen
Apr 28, 202011:36
The Book of Psalms B - Psalms 149/150, 41 and 17

The Book of Psalms B - Psalms 149/150, 41 and 17

The next in my series of recordings as we remotely learn. Here is a pair of significant Psalms (149 & 150). A Psalm of joy and trust (41) and a Psalm of lament and anger (17). Each Psalm is read from three translations - the Catholic NARB, the scholarly NRSV, and the modern Message Bible.
Apr 22, 202019:54
The Book of Psalms A - Psalms 1, 27, 22

The Book of Psalms A - Psalms 1, 27, 22

The next in my series of recordings as we remotely learn. Here is a significant Psalm (1). A Psalm of joy and trust (27) and a familiar Psalm of lament and anger (22). Each Psalm is read from three translations - the Catholic NARB, the scholarly NRSV, and the modern Message Bible.
Apr 22, 202021:54
Reading The Bible - The Book of Job

Reading The Bible - The Book of Job

Why do good people suffer? This is a foundational question that humans have asked throughout the ages. It is being asked more and more urgently during this time of pandemic. About 2600 years ago, the Israelite author of the Old Testament Book of Job asked this same question in one of the most famous narratives in history. How does Job react when all is taken from him? How does God respond to Job? How does this story answer the perpetual question about the innocent one who suffers? The translation read here is The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson. This recording covers Chapters 1-3; 22-27; 38-42.
Apr 20, 202044:26
Reading the Bible - The Book of Proverbs

Reading the Bible - The Book of Proverbs

In this episode I read from The Book of Proverbs using the NRSV translation. I read 1:7-33. 7:1-27. 11:1-31. 23:19-35. 24:2-22
Apr 15, 202015:33
Reading the Bible - The Song of Solomon

Reading the Bible - The Song of Solomon

This is a brief reading of the NRSV translation of The Song of Solomon. Includes 1.2-8. 1:8-17. 4:1-16. 5:2-16. 7.1-9. 7:10-13.
Apr 15, 202011:56
Reading From The Bible: The Book of The Wisdom of Solomon

Reading From The Bible: The Book of The Wisdom of Solomon

I read parts of the Old Testament Book of The Wisdom of Solomon using the NRSV translation. I read 1:1-11. 3:1-10. 6:12-25. 7:21-30. 8:2-10. 11:1-26.
Apr 15, 202015:36
The Book of Jonah - A Reading
Apr 13, 202013:14
#7 - Values For The Common Good - HOPE
Apr 08, 202009:00
From the Bible - The Book of Tobit

From the Bible - The Book of Tobit

Listen to me read the 14 chapters of The Book of Tobit from the Old Testament. Hear about the honorable Tobit, his spunky son Tobias, the clever archangel Raphel and the kind, young widow Sarah. The translation used is the NRSV Bible.
Apr 06, 202055:56
Words For Now And Later - B is for BODY
Apr 02, 202009:20
#6 - Values For The Common Good - PROTEST
Mar 30, 202009:43
Words For Now and Later - A is for AGITATE
Mar 26, 202010:08
#5 - Values For The Common Good - EFFICIENCY
Mar 25, 202007:36
#4 - Year 3 - Presence in Sunshine By The Water
Mar 25, 202014:43
#4 - Values For The Common Good - EQUALITY

#4 - Values For The Common Good - EQUALITY

By many measures, Denmark has one of the most equal societies on Earth today. And it also ranks at the list with the expressed levels of happiness in its citizens. How will our nation, with high levels of economic inequality, do during this time of COVID-19? Can the social and political changes which will follow this crisis make us a more equal society?
Mar 22, 202009:21
#3 - Values for The Common Good - PROBLEM SOLVING
Mar 20, 202008:36
#2 - Values For the Common Good - Potential
Mar 17, 202008:48
#1 - Values for the Common Good - Pragmatism
Mar 16, 202011:08
#3 - Year 3 - Lent, Covid-19 and The Common Good

#3 - Year 3 - Lent, Covid-19 and The Common Good

The concern about this continually growing pandemic intensifies hourly. And it is unfolding during the Lenten season of praying, fasting and giving. How can we do these in this time of crisis? And how can doing this bring back a commitment to vision of The Common Good at the heart of the great faith traditions?
Mar 12, 202015:15