The Supreme Gift
I don’t know if you’re like me, but every time I see a baby, I only want to hold and squeeze it because it’s so cute. Maybe that makes me weird. What this is called is the positive feedback loop. When we hold or care for an infant child, it releases oxytocin. It’s written in our biology that babies are cute. The gospel for this Sunday is intense, but it is all about the preciousness of children, and the Catholic…
San Francesco
What’s your experience of St. Francis? You might know St. Francis differently or have a different experience of St. Francis, but in this episode, we’re going to look at the life of St. Francis through the lens of the CFR brothers themselves and highlight what part of St. Francis’ life stands out in their own lives. This episode gives a deeper insight into who St. Francis is, how he lived…
Dump The Garbage
Do you know who the unsung heroes of our society are? Garbage men. They do everything that we do not want to do. Garbage men and women, we salute you. In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus speaks about Gehenna. Gehenna also means hell. But Jesus uses the word Gehenna because Gehenna was the area of Jerusalem that was the garbage dump, and Jews were not allowed to go there. Jesus is…
Discerning God’s Work in You
How does Jesus come alive in you? We are invited to share in the heart of Jesus, who wants to heal the world and do His works even now. There are patterns and consistencies in how He works in our lives that are also personal and particular. These are revelations that are not abstract or different but unique and personal to each one of us. In this episode, we’ll try explaining that…
Keep It Simple
A couple of weeks ago, a student approached me after mass and told me, “Hey, Father, you’re homily today. It has many overly complicated words. Next time, make it simpler.” And then they left, and then I cried myself to sleep. A lot of the time, we overcomplicate things. All we have to do is make things simple. This is precisely what the apostles do in the gospel for this Sunday. Jesus told the…
Discerning God’s Voice
How do I hear and know God’s Voice? God desires to break into our lives and speak with us—to communicate with us. But most of the time, what that looks like can be quite unclear. That is why it’s important that we are able to discern how God speaks. In this episode, we’ll look at some practical ways to hear and know God’s voice and see how we can receive what He speaks to each of us…
Fr. Flanagan
Okay, guys, we are going to the movies. Spirit Juice Studios has created this original content, a film about Father Flanagan, an absolute rockstar priest and up for canonization. Father Flanagan dedicated his life to protecting children and providing for them, especially those who were orphans and disadvantaged from every race and religion, and he gave of himself totally for them. This is a fantastic…
Embracing Shame
Defensiveness, denial, rationalization, avoidance. What do these things have in common? It’s what we do when we avoid shame. None of us like to experience shame. None of us like to experience suffering. And we love to avoid. We love to deny. We love to distract ourselves because shame does not feel good. Here is the gospel, though, where Saint Peter does the same thing. He tells Jesus…