{"id":646,"date":"2021-05-22T02:49:16","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T02:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/?p=646"},"modified":"2021-12-15T22:13:03","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T22:13:03","slug":"max-studios-presents-agape-eros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2021\/featured-stories\/max-studios-presents-agape-eros\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Studios Presents Agape &#038; Eros"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" data-attachment-id=\"647\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2021\/featured-stories\/max-studios-presents-agape-eros\/attachment\/blog_600x300_romanceinageoftech\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"600,300\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech-300x150.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech.jpg\" alt=\"Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech\" class=\"wp-image-647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/Blog_600x300_RomanceinAgeofTech-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Love and relationships in the 21st century can be, well, complicated. Digital courtship, online presence and perceptions about sexual experience have a huge bearing on how we date, how a love relationship begins and how that relationship is nurtured.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The producers at MAX Studios, in collaboration with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rejoicecounseling.com\/houston-tx\/\">Rejoice Counseling<\/a>, piloted a show about romance, relationships and religion \u2013 <em>Agape &amp; Eros<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/C._S._Lewis\">C.S. Lewis<\/a> teaches us that<em> agape<\/em> means charitable and unconditional love, and<em> eros <\/em>means being in love. The <em>Agape &amp; Eros<\/em> show focuses on love and relationships while taking a look at how Catholic Christians live out relational love in our culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>University of St. Thomas alumna Kayla Garza \u201919, is the current Echo Apprentice with Notre Dame University, and knows the ups and downs of online dating in today\u2019s culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy experiences with online dating as a Catholic put me in a position that challenges my faith,\u201d she said. \u201cI have formed connections with people I have met, but more likely than not, they do not practice a faith and think that my faith is just a hobby rather than a way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She is presented with the choice encountered by most single Catholics who are dating \u2013 draw close to your faith or keep a connection with someone you\u2019re interested in.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem like a hard choice (the answer being faith), but when you are looking for a relationship, that\u2019s what you hope to get out of online dating,\u201d Garza said. \u201cOptions seem limited, and it always comes down to me realizing more who I hope God has planned for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Agape &amp; Eros<\/em>, host Bridget Richardson, MAFC \u201917, explores how we engage in relationships in the 21st century just like everyone. We online date, we stress about weddings and marriage, and we struggle to discern what path we\u2019re actually called to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Church needs to recognize what her people are encountering in the secular world to better minister to them,\u201d Garza said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first episode was \u201cHow We First Met,\u201d where married individuals shared the unique ways they met their spouses. The February episode featured Garza describing an unfortunate blind date experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Agape &amp; Eros<\/em> strives to tell a truly 21st century love story with the purity and beauty of God\u2019s love for the world. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interested? Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ustmaxstudios.com\">ustmaxstudios.com<\/a> to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow us on social media, @maxstudiosust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UST MAX Studios explores romance in the age of tech with its new Agape and Eros podcast.  Learn how love, relationships and digital courtship in the 21st century can be complicated. The show explores how Catholic Christians live out relational love in our culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,6,153],"tags":[376,364,361,377,378,357,374,375,428,11,183],"class_list":["post-646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-featured-stories","category-student-stories","tag-agape-eros","tag-bridget-richardson","tag-darnell-miller","tag-digital-dating","tag-kayla-garza-19","tag-max-studios","tag-rejoice-counseling","tag-romance-in-the-age-of-tech","tag-summer-2021-issue","tag-summer-issue","tag-university-of-st-thomas"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Max Studios Presents Agape &amp; 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