In this episode of the Rhythms of Faith podcast, host Carolyn Pirtle—program director at the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy—discusses her original Eucharistic musical, Behold God's Love, a triptych-structured work tracing salvation history from Old Testament prefigurations through the Last Supper and into the early Church at Corinth. She reflects on the creative process, describing how she overcame intimidation and perfectionism by embracing the discipline of daily early-morning writing and the liberating realization that \"all writing is revision.\" Carolyn also details the Eucharistic Culture Project, a cohort-based initiative of the Center for Liturgy that forms ecclesial leaders—including a prison chaplain, a public policy attorney, and church property stewards—in building a Eucharistic culture through shared work, intellectual pilgrimage, and aesthetic experience. She shares her favorite liturgical music (a Magnificat set to the hymn tune Jerusalem) and reflects on what makes good liturgy: receiving it as a gift and offering it back with humility and simplicity. The episode closes with a lighthearted discussion about what animal Carolyn would be—she picks a lamb, for its playfulness, utility, and theological resonance.
0:00 - \"Introduction & Carolyn's Background\"
1:54 - \"Behold God's Love: A Eucharistic Musical\"
3:51 - \"The Story Structure: Root, Vine, and Branches\"
8:20 - \"The Creative Process\"
12:20 - \"Embracing Revision\"
16:31 - \"Musical Theater and Scripture\"
18:44 - \"Just Make Something: Creativity for Everyone\"
20:55 - \"Art and the Christian Vocation\"
22:13 - \"The Eucharistic Culture Project\"
26:58 - \"Building Community Through Shared Experience\"
29:04 - \"Church Properties Initiative\"
30:27 - \"Contours of Wonder Program\"
31:19 - \"Favorite Liturgical Music\"
33:21 - \"What Makes Good Liturgy Good\"
35:50 - \"Fun Question: What Animal Would You Be?\"
38:55 - \"Closing & Thanks\"
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