The Poco a Poco Podcast with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Episode 293 - Older Son (Spiritual Sense) Have you ever been hurt by someone and struggled with what forgiveness is supposed to look like? In this episode, the friars revisit the older son in the Prodigal Son story, but now through a deeper, spiritual lens. Not just what he did, but what he felt. The loss, the frustration, the sense of being overlooked, and the real difficulty of being invited into forgiveness before you're ready. They explore the complexity of the human heart, how joy and pain can exist at the same time, how past wounds resurface in present moments, and how God meets us not with pressure, but with presence. This conversation is an honest look at what it means to carry hurt, to wrestle with forgiveness, and to let the Father meet you in the middle of it. Join us as we enter the older son's story and discover a God who doesn't rush healing, but walks with us through it. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 292 - Older Son (Literal Sense) Have you ever felt frustrated, overlooked, or distant, even though you find yourself doing the "right" things? In this episode, the friars dive into the older son in the Prodigal Son story, not symbolically at first, but simply as he is. His words, his reactions, his position in the family. And what starts to emerge is something deeply human: a struggle with comparison, entitlement, and not fully receiving the Father's love. They unpack how easy it is to stay close in proximity but far in relationship and how the older son's experience can quietly mirror our own spiritual lives. Join us as we take an honest look at the older son and allow the Father to meet us right where we are. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Ever feel like God is inviting you back to something, but you're not quite sure how to step into it? After time away, Fr. Angelus returns, and the conversation picks up right where grace has been quietly at work. There's a sense of homecoming here, but also a deeper invitation to listen, to trust, and to respond to what the Lord is doing beneath the surface. In this episode, the friars reflect on what it means to return, not just physically, but spiritually. They talk about the movements of the heart, the subtle ways God calls us forward, and how renewal often begins in places we didn't expect. Join us as we welcome Fr. Angelus back and lean into the quiet, steady work of God who is always drawing us deeper. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 290 - The Father's Banquet Have you ever struggled to receive love that you feel you don't deserve? As the Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son continues, the friars turn to one of the most striking moments in the parable, the Father's banquet. What should be a moment of pure joy is, for the son, also deeply uncomfortable. After everything he's done, he's not just welcomed back, he was celebrated. In this episode, the friars reflect on the tension between shame and mercy. What does it feel like to be fully seen, fully known, and still fully loved? Why can receiving God's love sometimes feel harder than earning it? And how do we begin to live as sons and daughters again after we've fallen? Join us as we enter into the mystery of the Father's banquet, and discover a love that doesn't just forgive, but restores, celebrates, and calls us back to life. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 289 - An Unfading Mercy Do you ever feel stuck confessing the same sins over and over again? Continuing their reflection on the Prodigal Son, the friars explore a powerful truth: God's mercy isn't a one-time moment, it's something we encounter again and again. Like a path worn into the ground, the Father continually goes out to meet His children, never tiring, never holding back. In this episode, they reflect on what it means that God's mercy is "new every morning", and how His love doesn't diminish, no matter how many times we return. For those who struggle with discouragement, shame, or the feeling of "starting over," this is a reminder that the Father's embrace is always full, always real, and always waiting. Join us as we rediscover a mercy that never fades and a Father who never stops coming to meet us. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 288 - The Father's Embrace What do you expect to find when you finally turn back toward God? Continuing their Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son, the friars arrive at the turning point of the story, the moment the son returns home. Expecting rejection, punishment, or distance, he instead finds something completely unexpected: the Father running toward him with compassion. In this episode, the friars reflect on the heart of the Gospel. The Father doesn't wait for perfection, explanations, or repayment. He runs, he embraces, and he restores dignity before a single word of apology is finished. Join us as we rediscover the mercy of a Father who never stops watching the road and who runs to meet us the moment we begin to come home. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 287 - The Necessary Consequence of Sin Have you ever looked at your life and quietly thought, "How did I end up here?"? Continuing their Lenten reflection on the Prodigal Son, the friars look at the hard truth: sin always leads somewhere. What begins as freedom and excitement ends in isolation, shame, and a loss of dignity. The son who demanded his inheritance finds himself alone in the pigsty, cut off from communion and facing the reality of his choices. In this episode, the friars invite us into a sober, honest look at our own lives. Not to condemn, but to see clearly. Because when we face the real consequences of sin, we also begin to rediscover hope. Join us as we name the cost of going our own way, and remember that the Father's mercy is always waiting. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi:  https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 286 - Give Me My Inheritance Have you ever wanted God's gifts, but not the relationship that comes with them? Continuing their Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son, the friars reflect on the bold and painful demand: "Father, give me my inheritance." They explore the deeper movement beneath those words, the desire to take control, to live on our own terms, and to separate blessing from belonging. This episode looks honestly at the nature of sin: how we grasp at what was meant to be received, how freedom can be misused, and how chasing independence often leaves us isolated and burdened. What looks flashy and exciting on the surface can quietly bend the heart inward, cutting us off from the very love we were made for. Join us as we ask the Lord to reveal where we've chosen autonomy over intimacy, and to lead us back to the freedom of being sons and daughters in His house. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 285 - From Son to Orphan How does a beloved son end up living like an orphan? As Lent begins, the friars enter deeply into the parable of the Prodigal Son, not starting with the return, but with the rupture. What happens in a heart that makes someone walk away from home? What wounds, doubts, shame, or disappointments lead us to take our inheritance and try to live without the Father? In this episode, they reflect on the subtle shift that happens long before the son leaves: the movement from trust to self-reliance, from intimacy to isolation, from sonship to an orphan spirit. They explore how sin and shame distort our vision of God's goodness, and how easy it is to believe we're better off on our own. This conversation isn't about condemnation, it's about awareness. Because before we become "prodigal," we often become wounded. Join us as we begin Lent by asking the Lord to reveal where we've chosen distance and to restore us to the truth of being sons and daughters again. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 284 - Signs of Hope Is it still possible to hope when so much feels heavy, confusing, or broken? In this episode, the friars take an honest look at the state of the Church and the world and refuse to stop at discouragement. They talk about suffering, darkness, and the temptation to despair, but also about the quiet, real ways God is at work bringing renewal, healing, and new life. From families choosing faith in small, daily ways, to renewed hunger for prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments, this conversation names the concrete signs of hope that often go unnoticed. Not flashy movements or quick fixes, but steady, faithful people responding to grace where they are. Join us as we learn to see with hope again and recognize the Holy Spirit already at work, even now. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 283 - Franciscan Jubilee What do we do when the Church invites us to slow down and then calls us to go deeper? In this episode, the friars reflect on the newly announced Jubilee Year of St. Francis and what it means not just for Franciscans, but for the whole Church. They share why this moment feels like a continuation of grace rather than a reset, an invitation to keep living the Jubilee spirit of holiness, simplicity, and trust. They talk about St. Francis not as an unreachable saint, but as a brother who shows us how to follow Jesus with clarity and freedom. This conversation explores holiness as something concrete and lived: simplifying our lives, returning to prayer, falling in love with the Eucharist, and letting ourselves be captivated by Christ again. Join us as we begin this Jubilee year together, learning, little by little, how to follow Jesus more simply and more fully. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 282 - Human Stuff Why are the most ordinary parts of life often the hardest to navigate? In this episode, the friars lean into the everyday realities we all deal with: conflict, communication, expectations, and the awkward moments we'd rather avoid. From navigating tough conversations to managing unspoken expectations and misunderstandings, they talk honestly about how "human stuff" can quietly shape our relationships for better or worse. Rather than offering quick fixes, the conversation invites us to grow in maturity, courage, and clarity to stop avoiding discomfort and start choosing honesty, vulnerability, and charity in the messiness of real life. Join us as we laugh, reflect, and learn how God meets us right in the middle of our very human stuff. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 281 - A Pro-Life Examen Have you ever felt overwhelmed or unsure about what being "pro-life" actually looks like in your everyday life? Rather than focusing on politics or arguments, this conversation centers on discipleship: prayer, sacrifice, courage, and small, concrete steps that flow from the Gospel. It's an invitation to examine our hearts with humility and let God show us where He's calling us to deeper faithfulness. In this episode, the friars invite us into a yearly pro-life examen. A prayerful pause to notice where indifference, distraction, or fatigue may have crept in, and to remember why the dignity of human life matters so deeply to our faith. They speak honestly about how easy it is to grow numb and why staying awake to this reality is an act of love. Join us as we ask the Lord to renew our hearts and teach us how to love and defend life more intentionally. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 280 - How Do We Celebrate? Why is it so hard to celebrate what's good, especially when it's happening in ourselves or others? Drawing from Scripture, the lives of the saints, and everyday experiences of community and brotherhood, this conversation invites us to see celebration not as competition or self-focus, but as a way of rejoicing in what God is doing. To bless another is to acknowledge grace at work and to receive blessing is often an act of humility itself In this episode, the friars wrestle with a surprisingly tender question: how do Christians celebrate well without fear, pride, or false humility? They talk about affirmation, gratitude, and the discomfort many of us feel when blessings are named out loud, whether it's a gift, an accomplishment, or simply being seen. Join us as we learn how celebrating well can heal shame, strengthen relationships, and help us rejoice more freely in God's goodness. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 279 - A New Year's Resolution What if this year's resolution isn't about fixing your life, but about trusting God in the middle of it? As a new year begins, the friars talk honestly about goals, growth, and the tension between good intentions and real life. But the conversation quickly turns deeper. Drawing from the Gospel scene of the storm at sea, they reflect on the haunting question the disciples ask Jesus: "Do you not care that we are perishing?" This episode invites us to start the year not by avoiding the storms we're in, but by naming them and discovering that Jesus is already in the boat with us. His silence isn't indifference. His meekness isn't distance. It's the quiet confidence of a God who cares deeply, stays close, and is already at work. Join us as we begin the year by seeking the one resolution that changes everything: learning to trust that He truly cares. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 278 - The Blessed Mother Have you ever struggled to believe that God could really work through your weakness? In this episode, the friars turn their gaze to the Blessed Mother and the quiet, radical way she lived the Beatitudes. They reflect on Mary's poverty of spirit, her meekness, and her total availability to God, not as something distant or unattainable, but as a lived posture of trust, openness, and surrender. They explore how Mary's emptiness became the space where God did His greatest work, how her confidence came from knowing who she was before the Father, and how her motherhood continues to draw close to us in our own poverty and need. Join us as we entrust ourselves again to our Mother and learn how her "yes" teaches us how to receive God more fully in our own lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 277 - Meekness: The Manger and the Storm Have you ever felt frustrated when Jesus seems quiet while everything around you is falling apart? In this episode, the friars continue reflecting on "Blessed are the meek," turning to two striking images: Jesus asleep in the manger and Jesus asleep in the boat during the storm. Both reveal a confidence rooted not in control, but in trust. Trust in the Father, trust in victory, even when chaos is loud and fear feels close. They talk honestly about the frustration we feel when Jesus seems distant or inactive while we're struggling. And they invite us to see that His silence isn't absence, it's the patience of love at work. Join us as we learn to trust Jesus in the storm and discover the peace that comes from knowing He is already with us. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 276 - Jesus, Meekness, and Fighting Satan What if meekness isn't weakness but the strongest way Jesus fights? In this episode, the friars turn to "Blessed are the meek" and uncover how meekness is not passivity or timidity, but the fruit of deep confidence and identity as sons of the Father. They explore how Jesus enters the ultimate battle, not with force or armor, but with humility, vulnerability, and unwavering trust in who He is. This is how He confronts temptation, resists Satan, and claims victory. They reflect on how our own battles are often fought in the same place: our identity. When we're rooted in the Father's love, insecurity loses its power, and we're free to stand firm without grasping, proving, or defending ourselves. Join us as we learn how meekness becomes strength, identity becomes armor, and Christ's victory becomes our own. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 275 - Peace, Mercy, and Vulnerability What if real peace only grows where we're willing to be vulnerable? In this episode, the friars reflect on "Blessed are the peacemakers" and "Blessed are the merciful", showing how both Beatitudes invite us to step toward others with honesty and humility. Making peace means entering hard conversations without defenses. Mercy means letting go of the "high ground" we hold over those who've hurt us. Both require lowering ourselves, just as Jesus does. They explore how vulnerability isn't weakness but the place where reconciliation becomes possible, where forgiveness takes root, and where the heart of Christ is revealed. Join us as we learn the courage to be vulnerable and the freedom that comes from choosing mercy and peace. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 274 - Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit What if the places you feel most empty are the places God is closest? In this episode, the friars explore what it really means to be poor in spirit, not as an idea, but as the lived experience of feeling powerless, stretched, or unable to fix what hurts. They speak into the poverty we feel in our families, our vocations, our emotions, and our prayer, and how these very places become the doorway for God's coming. Advent reveals that poverty isn't a flaw to overcome but an invitation to trust, surrender, and let God be the one who fills what we cannot. It's the space where the Kingdom breaks in. Join us as we learn to stop resisting our poverty and discover God waiting for us there. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 273 - Feeling Good vs. Being Good What if the things we use to "feel better" are the very things keeping us from becoming good? In this episode, the friars continue exploring the Beatitude "Blessed are the pure of heart" looking at the quiet ways we avoid honesty with ourselves, through distraction, self-soothing, numbing, or chasing comfort.  They unpack why it's so hard to face what's really going on inside us, and how purity of heart begins with the courage to stop running and let Jesus meet us in our reality. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 272 - They Will See God What if seeing God isn't about trying harder, but desiring Him more simply? For this week, the friars turn to the Beatitude: "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God." In this episode, they explore what purity of heart really means, not moral perfection, but a heart that looks to Jesus without distraction, without divided desires, without constantly turning back toward the world. They talk about intimacy with God, the battle against distraction, how sin clouds our vision, and how purity isn't about hating yourself but forgetting yourself so you can finally fix your gaze on the One who loves you. Through the lens of St. Francis, the saints, and our own daily struggles, this conversation invites us to reorient our hearts toward the Father and receive again the joy that comes from seeing Him clearly. Walk with us as we learn to desire what He desires and see God in a new and life-changing way. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 271 - Fire, Desire, Theosis What do you really hunger and thirst for? As the friars continue through the Franciscan Lent, they dive deep into the Beatitude: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied." This conversation is about holy desire, the kind that burns, refines, and draws us closer to God Himself. They unpack what it means to let go of lesser hungers, to purify our desires, and to rediscover the fire that leads to union with God. From St. Francis' radical poverty to our own longing for holiness, the friars remind us that this journey isn't about doing more, but actually about becoming more like Him. Join us as we learn to hunger for what truly satisfies, the very life of God alive within us. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudesa

Episode 270 - Franciscan Lent After a season of Jubilee rest, the friars return with fresh hearts and a new invitation: to enter the "Franciscan Lent", a hidden season of simplicity, detachment, and joyful expectation. Drawing from the life of St. Francis and the Beatitudes, they explore what it really means to become small, to depend completely on God, and to let Him provide what we cannot. This episode isn't about doing more, it's about letting go, trusting deeply, and rediscovering the joy that comes from poverty of spirit. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

After a time of rest and renewal during the Jubilee Year, Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT are returning on November 5th. As we look forward to their return, enjoy re-listening to this previously released episode and join us in gratitude for the ways God has been at work during their time away. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- God wants to go back into our lives and our stories—and start speaking light, redemption and truth over that. There's the need for us to have a radical opening of our hearts and honesty to what really is happening in our lives. We have to be searching and fearless to admit what's inside our "junk room" and bring that to the Lord. Whatever makes our lives unmanageable is just a symptom of something else. We not only need to look at the things that make our lives unmanageable but also we look at the things that drive them and the ripple effect that it had caused. This episode focuses on the gift and highlights of the remaining step.

After a time of rest and renewal during the Jubilee Year, Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT are returning on November 5th. As we look forward to their return, enjoy re-listening to this previously released episode and join us in gratitude for the ways God has been at work during their time away. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- When we struggle it can be really difficult, and sometimes we even face impossible situations that may feel like there's no answer. In our poverty, there's the need to admit we're powerless—that life is not okay anymore and figure out what do we do with that. And as we are brought to our kness—utterly defeated. We can let go of ourselves as our own authority and give ourselves to a greater power, to Christ. Only then can we make a daily decision to turn our will to the care of God—say Yes to the connection we have with Him every day, even with all the craziness that's going on. This episode talks about the first three steps of The Twelve Steps that allow the foundation of our lives and our hearts to be set in experiencing renewal and recovery. And it is a reminder that tells us when we can't, Jesus can. We just have to let him.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- At some point, our lives are unmanageable and we need help. When we want to turn away from sin and our struggles, we turn to God to save and heal us. We are given clarity to open our eyes and see our life in a new or different way. And while we're accepting reality as it is, we recognize what we can and cannot control, we realize what is asked of us everyday. When we live that reality one moment at a time, that's the time we can accept life in a particular way and enjoy it! This episode talks about the Serenity Prayer and what it means to be in recovery and seek healing and conversion.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- Do you wonder about Mary's firsthand memory or experience of God?  We can relive Mary's memory and experience of God through the rosary. Rosary is like experiencing God with Mary—in her heart, her hospitality. Mary is the most perfect Christian, the most perfect woman who's all about Jesus, and in this month of the Rosary, we are invited to take time and be with Her more and be able to love Jesus a lot more through her. In this episode, we're gonna dive deep and talk about the Rosary, Mary, and Marian Devotion, and how we can open ourselves up to receive the hospitality of Mary.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- What makes us most free, is this submitting to God and this dependence on Him.  Yes, freedom is actually dependent on obedience rather than kind of doing whatever I want. When we fall in love with God and we experience that love, this deep interior freedom takes place and it becomes the most important thing of our lives—even to a point that is greater than our circumstances. This episode is the first part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about what it means to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God and how this freedom can become greater than the circumstances of our lives.The first of the nine beatitudes of Matthew said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The world is constantly trying to define us—it tries to tell us who we are. Our successes, belongings, talents, people in our lives, our jobs, culture and technology, all these things tends make us who we are. We beclothed ourselves with these things and we are tempted to find our identity in them. But again, "Who Is God and Who Am I?". To understand what it means to be truly free and live in freedom as sons and daughters of God, we have to keep this question before us. We have to let go of other worldly things and not be afraid of staying in the place of spiritual poverty before the Lord. This episode is the fourth and last part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about freedom in spiritual poverty. An invitation for us to remain in this place of poverty and let God define us, give us everything and ultimately lead us to the kingdom of heaven.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- What makes us most free, is this submitting to God and this dependence on Him.  Yes, freedom is actually dependent on obedience rather than kind of doing whatever I want. When we fall in love with God and we experience that love, this deep interior freedom takes place and it becomes the most important thing of our lives—even to a point that is greater than our circumstances. This episode is the first part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about what it means to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God and how this freedom can become greater than the circumstances of our lives.We cannot grow in freedom unless we grow in faith, hope and love—that's the recipe for freedom. Faith, hope and love are the three theological virtues that connect us to God. As Christians, we are people who believe in God, hope everything from Him, and want to love Him with all their hearts and to love their neighbors. This episode is the third part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about the key role of theological virtues in acquiring internal freedom with a particular focus on the importance of Hope. An invitation to freedom for those who feel defeated and those who might've lost a sense of hope in the Lord.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- What makes us most free, is this submitting to God and this dependence on Him.  Yes, freedom is actually dependent on obedience rather than kind of doing whatever I want. When we fall in love with God and we experience that love, this deep interior freedom takes place and it becomes the most important thing of our lives—even to a point that is greater than our circumstances. This episode is the first part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about what it means to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God and how this freedom can become greater than the circumstances of our lives. We think we're most free when we can kind of be in control.  "I'm free when I get to get up every day and just have control over my life and my circumstances."  That's not a Catholic freedom according to Jacque Philippe, but it is actually being able to accept reality as it is. We struggle with freedom because it's hard to accept our weakness. It's quite difficult to accept our sinfulness—it's hard to accept these different parts of our lives. But if we don't accept ourselves, our realities, we either live in memories or fantasies where Jesus can't reach us. This episode is the second part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about and the importance of acceptance towards being truly free.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- What makes us most free, is this submitting to God and this dependence on Him.  Yes, freedom is actually dependent on obedience rather than kind of doing whatever I want. When we fall in love with God and we experience that love, this deep interior freedom takes place and it becomes the most important thing of our lives—even to a point that is greater than our circumstances. This episode is the first part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about what it means to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God and how this freedom can become greater than the circumstances of our lives.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- What's the most prevalent voice that you hear in your life? Is it God's or someone's/something else? We long to teach people how to pray and contemplative silence, inner recollection, and interior stillness are ways we can live in a relationship with God. But, there's a silver bullet to make people live in chaos and noise whether exteriorly or interiorly.  Every single day through general media we are bombarded with chaos and noise and there's this turmoil all the time both internal and external that's a direct attack on how God speaks and how He wants to give Himself. Today, in the next part of this mini-series, we'll dive deeper into the importance and experience of silence and attempt to stir people's hearts to recognize that this silence is against under direct attack and identify ways to defend against these attacks. DISCLAIMER: We apologize in advance that you can't see Br. Kolbe video like you usually do in some parts of this episode. Unfortunately, we've had some technical difficulties with his camera during the recording session that rendered some of Br. Kolbe's footage unusable.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- How are you able to receive and communicate with God? Silence is the divine language. God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love and communicate in eternal silence and if we want to look at and learn about God, we have to let ourselves be moved by that. However, the world has become a place of radical noise, trying to rob us of the experience of God and there's always been an inner battle to stay in contemplative silence. Today, we'll talk about the realities and dynamics of silence as God's language and how we can win the battle and be able to stay in this silence with Him.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- "I haven't believed enough that he is enough." That's what Br Angelo says as a guest on this episode, and how true is it for each of us? Even when we experience God's goodness, repeatedly and in big and small ways, it can be a struggle to keep believing that God is enough. He is LORD. He is enough, and we only have to give him permission to work. It sounds simple, but it can be tough when we've faced rejection in other areas of our lives. How do we believe? How do we find the courage and take the risk—to learn he always shows up? Surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. It can be a struggle, but while we might have many struggles, this is the right one.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- Trust is hard for everybody. The grace to trust—especially for the long haul—is always given to us by the Lord. There's always human effort in the spiritual life, but it's all gift; all grace.  It can feel like we're never going to be able to trust; that we're so "bad" at trusting, particularly in the beginning, that we're just never going to be able to let go, no matter how badly we long to do exactly that. We think to ourselves, "I'm powerless." But here's the thing: he is not. There is someone looking back at us at every moment of the day. And through concrete experiences, sometimes very little ones, he invites us to trust. We've got to lean into those little moments of trust.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- There are some sins that we just can't seem to shake—habitual sins that keep us coming back to the confessional over and over (and over) again. But no matter how consistent this sin seems, there's one who is more consistent: the Lord. His mercy and grace are greater than our sins and failings. Maybe you're discouraged. Frustrated. Worn down. That experience is real, but it's not who you are; it's not your identity. The truest, most real thing about your experience is his mercy. So don't settle for your sin. Don't believe that well, this is the way it's going to be. No! Return to the confessional, where the grace that's poured out is restorative to that specific wound, and begin again.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- Grace is in the present; there is no grace in the past or in the future. The challenge, though, is that we're all professional escape artists. We can get antsy and we don't know how to be present, which means we don't know how to receive God's grace. We've got to give up the hope of a better past—it has happened and there's nothing we can do about it. We also have to stop living in a fantasy future that doesn't exist—there's no grace there, either. Jesus is Lord of our lives; the past, the present, the future. Trust him, and allow yourself to embrace today and all the grace he is waiting to give you here.

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- There are some virtues we can work on and grow in—but trust isn't like that. It's not your own project. You don't work on it directly, because it's the fruit of relationship with the Lord. If you want to develop more trust, focus first on that relationship; on conversion, on healing, on experiencing his goodness alive in you. Because the more you get to know God, the more you find that he is good and worthy of your trust. When you have a chance to trust him (you know the kind of moment), hear him speak gently to you through this line from Sr Faustina: "I don't want you to give you 'yes' to a set of circumstances, but to me."

As Fr. Mark-Mary mentioned, the friars will be taking a meaningful break to embrace the rest and the joy of the Jubilee Year. While they are away, please enjoy listening (or re-listening) to this previously released episode, and join us in continuing to pray for Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT as they follow God's will and heed the call of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! --- It is easy to fall into the temptation and believe that we can't do it, that we can't live a holy life. Although the ordinary life is simple, hidden, and seems kind of normal, there's so much sanctity in our vocations that are being lived faithfully. It might not be flashy or spectacular, but it's one of the most real ways we can grow in holiness. We may not be in the chapel or church making a eucharistic holy hour, but no matter what our day-to-day experiences look like or what daily lives we are accustomed to, God is there.  There's something extraordinary in our ordinary experiences. It is possible to be in relationship with God, amidst everything that we do. We just need to make the space and time, no matter how small, and let Him enter into our lives

Episode 269 - End of the Season What would the Jubilee rest look like on your end? After 269 episodes, the friars are stepping away for a season of Jubilee, renewal, and obedience.  In this heartfelt season finale, they share honest life updates, reflect on God's invitation to deeper trust, and remind us that real rest isn't about burnout. It's about surrender. This one's full of laughter, brotherhood, and real discernment.  Thank you so much! See you in Season 2! The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 268 - The Beatitudes Is following Jesus just another self-help plan? The Beatitudes flip that idea upside down. This isn't about fixing yourself, it's about letting God meet you in your need. In this episode, the friars unpack how the Beatitudes aren't a checklist for spiritual success, but an invitation to deep dependence on God. They explore how true blessings often look like weakness, surrender, and a poverty of spirit because that's where grace breaks in.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 267 - Intentional and Wanted by God Were you just a surprise, or were you really wanted by God? In this episode, the friars speak into the quiet questions many carry, especially those born outside traditional circumstances.  They unpack the pain, confusion, and identity struggles that can come with that and speak truth into it all that no matter how you came into the world, whether your story includes surprise, brokenness, or uncertainty, one truth stands firm: Your life is not an accident. You are intentionally created, deeply known, and unconditionally loved by God. Let's talk about what that really means. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 266 - Joy and the Valley of Tears - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 14)  Ever feel too tired, too broken, or too behind to be joyful? You're not alone. But the gift of Paschal Joy isn't about having it all together—it's about Jesus coming to you right where you are. This joy isn't manufactured; it's a gift rooted in the Resurrection. Even in our weakness, Jesus says: "It's not about you—it's about Me." In this episode, the friars talk about joy in the midst of suffering and how the Jubilee year reminds us that joy is something to receive, not achieve. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 265 - The Fullness of God - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 13)  Can we let God be the one who provides, who carries us, who fills us with His presence and love? This week, the friars reflect on the heart of the Jubilee rest. True rest isn't just doing less or stopping work—it's a radical shift in mindset and posture from striving to receiving. The invitation is clear—come home to the Father and let Him be enough. This podcast episode invites you into the deep rest your heart's been craving—not just a pause from work, but a return to the Father's arms. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 264 - Jubilee and the Good Samaritan Why do we leave what's good and go searching for answers in places that break us? This week, the friars unpack the story of the Good Samaritan through the lens of the Jubilee year. What draws us away from the peace and identity we have in God—toward places that leave us wounded and empty? Whether it's the orphan mindset, performance pressure, or endless distractions, we all carry brokenness. But Jesus meets us there, not with judgment, but healing. He carries us home, restoring what's been lost. This episode talks about the Good Samaritan and how it relates to the heart of the Jubilee. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 263 - Freed by the Cross How can the wounds of Jesus at the cross set us free? Could the cross be more than a symbol—could it be an exorcism, a place of real freedom and healing? His open heart invites us to lay down our disordered loves and be delivered from the false attachments that enslave us. Could the cross be where we find freedom, not just from sin, but from the Egypt still within us? This is the freedom Jesus offers: deep, lasting, and born from love. Join us as we explore how the heart of Christ transforms and frees us at the deepest level. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 262 - Jubilee and Prophets - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 11)  What does our identity as prophets really mean?  We are baptized in Jesus and called to be prophets as well, meaning that we are called to reveal the Father in everything we do. In our words, our actions, our personalities, our vocations, our mission, in everything we are and everything God has given us, we are called to reveal God. In this podcast episode, we're talking about living the Jubilee and restoring our identities as prophets. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 Check out Jesus and the Jubilee by Dr. Bergsma https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 261 - Jubilee and Kingship - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 10)  What makes a king in the Kingdom of God? Looking to Jesus, the Son who reigns with mercy and strength, we reflect on how true kingship flows from sonship. As we journey through this Jubilee, we continue uncovering the identities we're meant to live. Today, we explore what it means to live out our kingly identity This episode dives into what it means to have a kingly heart—what it means to lead, heal, and restore like Jesus. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 As we dive into this Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 260 - Jubilee and Christ the High Priest - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 9)  What if your true identity is more sacred than you ever imagined? Jesus is the High Priest, the one mediator who intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father, offering not just prayers but our wounds, our brokenness, and all of humanity's sins back to God. As His followers, we are invited to imitate and be conformed to this sacred role—offering spiritual sacrifices and living lives marked by worship, intercession, and transformation. In this episode, we dive deep into our priestly identity—a calling not reserved for a few, but extended to all who follow Christ. We explore what it means to be guardians of worship, to beautify the liturgy, and to walk with a priestly heart, especially as we enter into the profound moments of Holy Week. Join us in this episode as we talk about the characteristics of a priestly heart and how, through Jesus, we are called to reclaim our identity, not just as believers, but as guardians of what is holy. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 As we dive into this Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 259 - Jubilee and Christ the Bridegroom - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 8)  Who do we belong to? God shows us that from the beginning, Adam and Eve were bride and bridegroom. There's an original identity that God holds, which is super important for the meaning of our lives as men and women, for the meaning of our lives as sons and daughters. The covenant of marriage is established in the garden as something deeply meaningful. It's like it's a commentary on what we're made for. We belong to God and to each other. As a part of our journey to restore our identities during this Jubilee year, we're diving deep into the identity of Christ as the bridegroom. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 As we dive into this Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 258 - Jubilee and Identity - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 7)  Have you ever felt disconnected from your true purpose, your true identity? If you never felt security and safety in your sonship or daughterhood, or never felt at home anywhere in the world, or never experienced the truest form of love from The Father. We want to let you know that Jesus has a personal, unique desire to restore you back to the relationship with the Father. Jesus is the person of Jubilee, and he ushers us back to restoration to the Garden, where Adam and Eve lived in perfect communion with The Father, where people knew who they were and who God was.  The real invitation for the gift of this Jubilee year is to put Jesus and his heart in front of us and to live in our deepest identity as sons and daughters of the Father. In this episode, we're gonna talk about the Jubilee and our identity.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 257 - Jesus and Jubilee ft. Dr. John Bergsma - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 6) What does Jesus want for us this Jubilee? This Jubilee year, Jesus extends a heartfelt invitation to us all to experience His boundless mercy, forgiveness, and love—to share in His life. Join us as we reflect on His call to renewal, reconciliation, and deeper faith. Let this sacred time be a journey of spiritual transformation and a reminder of God's grace in our lives. In this episode, together with our special guest, Dr. John Bergsma, we will bring it home and discuss Jesus and the Jubilee and what He invites us to in this consecrated time.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 256 - Patriarchs, Prophets and Jubilee ft. Dr. John Bergsma - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 5) What role do the prophets play in this Jubilee? The heart of the Jubilee is spiritual freedom and spiritual reconciliation, and the prophets saw that. They saw that the Jubilee is a year to recall ourselves to our fundamental relationship with God.  Once again, this year, we are invited to reconcile with God and dive into this virtuous circle of reconciliation, forgiveness, and freedom so that we can be relieved of our sins and internal struggles that enslave us and ultimately express the same circle with others. God continues to send prophets to try and keep calling us back to relationship with Him. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 255 - The Exodus and Jubilee ft. Dr. John Bergsma - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 4) What does true freedom look like, and how can we restore what was lost? In the Book of Exodus, the Israelites' journey from slavery to freedom is a profound story of spiritual liberation. Led by Moses, they confront the oppressive forces of Egypt and experience God's miraculous intervention through the plagues, ultimately leading to their escape and journey toward the Promised Land.  This story is not just about historical events but also about humanity's ongoing struggle for freedom, forgiveness, and a deeper relationship with God. The Exodus story reminds us that liberation is possible and that through God, we can reclaim what was lost—freedom, family, and fullness. In this episode, together with our special guest, Dr. John Bergsma, we will reflect on the importance of the Exodus story in relation to this Jubilee year. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 254 - The Garden and Jubilee ft. Dr. John Bergsma - Series on Jesus and the Jubilee (Part 3) What is restored during the Jubilee? The Jubilee reminds us that hope is available to us, a hope that we can be restored to our original state and roles as it was in the Garden of Eden before sin came into the world. In this episode, together with our special guest, Dr. John Bergsma, we will discuss the Jubilee's gift and invitation and how it relates to the reality of the Garden of Eden. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Check out the 24-hour adoration chapel in New York https://perpetualadoration.nyc 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 253 - Lent Prep: Desert Spirituality Why does the desert during Lent matter?  Why do we journey there every year for three weeks, alongside our brothers in faith? The desert isn't just a place of physical challenge or adventure—it's a biblical invitation to encounter God in a profound way. It's a place where we can strip away distractions, face our vulnerabilities, and open ourselves to God's transformative presence. The desert is both a terrifying and purifying place, just as it is for Jesus. In this episode, we dive deep into the spiritual significance of the desert during the Lenten season. Join us as we explore the desert's deep spiritual meaning, and how this sacred journey is not just for the body but also for the spirit. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 252 - Lent Prep: On Fasting What does fasting in Lent mean to you and to Jesus? Fasting from food for the sake of health benefits is good, however fasting to bring us closer in relationship with Jesus, now that's something else entirely. Fasting is also an opportunity to feel the hunger in our bodies so that God can come and fulfill our hunger in the deepest ways. In this episode, we'll dive deeper into what fasting truly means and how we can say No to ourselves, through simple sacrifices and say Yes to create more space for intimacy with Jesus. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 251 - Jesus's Favorite Things: Seeing the Unseen, Series on Jesus's Favorite Things (Part 6) How do you think Jesus sees us? Jesus's heart desires to see us, to have the unseen be seen. But he doesn't just want us to be seen as collected and consumed. Jesus likes us for us and sees us for who we are and how we want to be truly seen. This episode talks about how Jesus sees us, particularly the person or parts of our lives that are overlooked and the unseen. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 In preparation for Lent, check out Jesus and the Jubilee https://stpaulcenter.com/jubilee/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 250 - Jesus's Favorite Things: Faith, Series on Jesus's Favorite Things (Part 5) Why is Faith so important to Jesus? Faith is the proof of our belief in God's goodness. It's seeing that God is all-seeing, all-powerful, and all-good. Ultimately, faith shows that we have complete trust and confidence in Him and that He matters more to us than anything else. These are some of the reasons why Faith means so much to Jesus. In this episode, we'll dive deep into the definition of Faith, learn what it truly means, and why it's one of Jesus's favorite things. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 249 - Jesus's Favorite Things: Repentance, Series on Jesus's Favorite Things (Part 4) What does repentance truly look like? A good way to look at repentance is that it brings us back to love. It's one of Jesus's favorite things because he sees our hearts and desires change so that we do not live sinfully anymore. Repentance is not just about wanting to change our behaviors, it's about wanting to change because we love God, it's being sorry because we love God and that we don't want to live our old lives with sin because we love God. We repent because we love God and we want to be with him.  In this episode, we'll dive deep into what the true meaning of repentance looks like and learn why it's one of Jesus's favorite things. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 248 - Jesus's Favorite Things: Quality Time, Series on Jesus's Favorite Things (Part 3) Do you also spend quality time with Jesus? We believe part of Jesus's favorite thing is to be with us. He desires to be with us and wants to spend time with us. He chooses people to be with Him as He's with His Father. Jesus has given himself to us in the most holy Eucharist. It's a true testament that He chooses to give himself, his love and that he desires to spend quality time with us and a way in which we can love Him is by receiving him, coming to him, and spending quality time with Him in prayer. In this episode, we'll talk about another part of Jesus's favorite things, quality time, and how we can be renewed on receiving Jesus's presence in our lives and desire to spend time with Him. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 247 - Jesus's Favorite Things: Lowliness, Series on Jesus's Favorite Things (Part 2) What does lowliness mean to you and to God? The experience of lowliness can sometimes be what we dislike about ourselves. These are times when we're not doing great, or when we're not rich or not attractive—these are usually the parts that we reject about ourselves.  But part of the mystery is that in this lowliness is where God mostly manifests His love for us and where he reveals His heart for us and Jesus embodies this kind of lowliness. In this episode, we're gonna talk about Jesus's next favorite thing which is lowliness, and how we can have a different meaning to our lowliness. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 246 - Jesus's Favorite Things: The Father, Series on Jesus's Favorite Things (Part 1) Have you ever wondered how Jesus experienced The Father? What was it like for Him to be in His Father's presence in the temple? What was it like to offer himself and suffer for the Father? What was it like for Him as he loved the Father with his every being? The Father was the center of everything for Jesus—He is most likely His most favorite thing, His most favorite person. Jesus deeply desires to actually give us a share of His Father's heart. Ultimately, we are invited to have Jesus's favorite things be our own favorite things.  In this episode, we're gonna dive into the depth of Jesus's love, offering and suffering by leaning into his experiences with the Father and see how we can grow in relationship with The Father too. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ 🛒 Check out some rosaries we made in collaboration with Chews Life https://bit.ly/chewslife-poco

Episode 245 - Jubilee Year Where is your focus set on this new year, 2025? This year we begin a jubilee year in the church. It is a consecrated time, a special year to stop and take a step back—it's a year of rest to reset while inviting the Lord into it. It is also a year to make a breakthrough or a major shift in our lives with an invitation to a greater intensity of prayer and hope.  In this episode, we're going to talk about the principles of the jubilee year and how they can be a good starting point to focus on as we go into this new year. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 244 - Merry Christmas What does Christmas offer to the reality of our lives? The reality of holidays and people's lives is not always as happy or merry as we've hoped. But amidst all that, the invitation is to be with Jesus and go through whatever the reality of Christmas is with Him. The Lord desires to be born even in the mess of our lives or our hearts and during Christmas, we are invited to come closer to Jesus. This is why Christmas can be a good source of grace and connection-it's a reason for hope in the darkness. In this episode, we dive a little bit deeper into the reality of Christmas. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 243 - Hot Takes 7 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem. As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses, and even sins.  In our Catholic life, there will be a lot of questions that will come our way and in this episode, we'll try to answer a few of them. Here is another one of our Hot Takes episodes that talks about some essential topics that most of us can relate to. In this episode we'll be going through the following topics:  1️⃣ An Individual Who Lives In a Society 2️⃣ Can Men and Women Be Friends? 3️⃣ Jesus' 5 Favorite Things The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 242 - Marian Consecration, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 7) What does it mean to be consecrated to Our Lady and what do we do after that? We've been on this journey of restoration in preparation for this consecration, so what should we expect during this consecration and the days after that? What happens next doesn't have to be super unreachable, but in the simpleness of our lives, it's having Our Lady be part of our days whether it's good or bad. It's learning to reference her more, make room for her in our hearts, and welcome her into our lives. In today's episode, we're gonna dive deeper into what Marian consecration looks like. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco Get a copy of the Sons in the Son, a 40-day Meditation Resource https://shopcatholicinfo.com/products/sons-in-the-son The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 241 - Mary As Mother, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 6) What does your relationship with Mary look like? As we draw closer to the consecration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we believe it's a good time to reflect and look at our relationship, journey, and encounter with Mary. We are invited to dive deeper into our relationship with her, our personal love for her, and some moments of grace along the way. Today, we'll go in a slightly different and more personal direction and talk about how we encountered and grew in our personal relationship with Mary. We'll dive deeper into how Mary is with us and wants to be a mother to all of us. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco Get a copy of the Sons in the Son, a 40-day Meditation Resource https://shopcatholicinfo.com/products/sons-in-the-son The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 240 - Restoring Our Mission, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 5) What's the mission that Jesus is calling you to do?  We all have a mission that we are picked to do and that mission should be something that we share with Jesus. We are invited to love like Jesus and ultimately, love like The Father-we are invited to live in greatness and give our lives to something that matters.  In this episode, we look into what it means to be restored as sons and daughters who are given a mission in life towards fulfillment and fullness and how we can remain faithful to that mission. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco Get a copy of the Sons in the Son, a 40-day Meditation Resource https://shopcatholicinfo.com/products/sons-in-the-son The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 239 - Restoring Our Actions and Attitudes, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 4) How do we act? What are our attitudes toward our relationships, our lives, and our vocations? The invitation to restoration this week is to start to live like Jesus, and we present the Beatitudes as a way to make this happen in our lives. Beatitudes are the actions and attitudes of Jesus. It's a reflection of His own heart—a reflection of living in relationship with Him and being ultimately transformed into Him.  The hope for this week's episode is that we could receive a new grace in our lives where we can look at the beatitudes in a new way as an invitation to restoration and conversion in being sons and daughters of God. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco Get a copy of the Sons in the Son, a 40-day Meditation Resource https://shopcatholicinfo.com/products/sons-in-the-son The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 238 - True Masculinity and Femininity, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 3) What does it mean to be sons and daughters who are living true masculinity and femininity? In a world that has kind of a broken understanding of masculinity and femininity, it seems that our identities as sons and daughters of God—the idea of masculinity and femininity, have been hijacked and somehow misunderstood. This is why it's just so important to understand our hearts and reorient ourselves to what we are supposed to be doing as a man or a woman. This episode was originally meant for men and masculinity but some of the topics also apply to women and femininity. With that said, today we are going through the different facets of what it means to have a redeemed masculinity or femininity and how that aids in the restoration of our sonship or daughtership. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 237 - Restoring Communion, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 2) What does it mean to be restored, sons and daughters? How do we begin? Jesus was always in prayer, and we are invited to do the same. This is why restoration should begin with the gift of prayer and communion with God. We would also need to create a space for restoration and have the sensitivity and receptivity to be in a deeper communion with God. In this episode, we continue our 40-day journey to the reconsecration of Our Lady of Guadalupe and try to learn how we can listen to God more deeply and restore our realities as sons and daughters of God. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 236 - Rebuild to Reconsecrate, Series on the Sons in the Son (Part 1) What does restoration or reconsecration look like, why do we need it? Restoration and reconsecration mean finding our lives once again in Christ and putting Jesus right at the center of our lives. It means to desire to grow, go deeper, and learn again that God is our Father and that Jesus can lead us to a deeper way of being sons and daughters. If you're currently facing the reality of your brokenness, waywardness, or exile, wherever you find yourself right now—that's okay. The gift of our baptism can be restored and renewed through Jesus and Our Lady is gonna help us to do that. Just as Our Lady of Guadalupe restored Juan Diego's hope, she can help you restore your sonship or daughtershhip in God the Father. In this episode, we're gonna look into how we can rebuild and reconsecrate the chapel of our hearts as we start a 40-day journey to the reconsecration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Check out the Sons in the Son at https://www.kofc.org/poco The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 235 - How to Go to Spiritual Direction What is spiritual direction really about and how do we do it? Nowadays it seems that there is an increasing trend of people who are seeking spiritual direction however there aren't a lot of spiritual directors to help us with that. In today's episode, we're gonna try and explain what spiritual direction is, who needs it, and what would be the best way to do it, to try and bridge that gap. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 234 - On Beauty How do you experience beauty and how are you moved by it? God presents to us the gift of the beauty of the world. Beauty is usually in the eye of the beholder, and we all experience and see beauty differently. But at the same time, it is commonly an experience of awe and wonder before the other or before the world. We are invited to be more open to the beautiful things in our lives, be moved by different expressions of beauty, and allow our hearts to be expanded to acknowledge what's truly beautiful through our own lenses and others as well. In this episode, we will talk about the gift of beauty, how we can see it differently, and how we can be more open to how beauty calls us to love and communion. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 233 - Know Your Heart If you don't value something, does it mean it's not really valuable to others or to the world? Our life experiences form us and our hearts respond in different ways particularly where there are areas of something that we didn't experience or something that we grew up without in our life.  We can have a coping mechanism or a defense mechanism of numbing and closing that part of our hearts so that it doesn't become an open lifelong wound, which then becomes somewhat naturally, a value. A value that tells us which is important and which is not important, and which we can project onto other people as well.  So we want to be open to discerning those realities at play, in this episode, we are invited to know our own hearts through a healthy self-awareness and self-doubt along with the openness to receive what others value. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 232 - San Francesco What's your experience of St. Francis? You might know St. Francis differently or may have a different experience of St. Francis, but in this episode, we're gonna 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 and followed Jesus, and what his interior life looked like. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! Purchase tickets for Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story here: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/heart-of-a-servant/ Watch the Heart of the Servant: The Father Flanagan Story trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoftAcHYQVI

Episode 231 - 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. And there are patterns and consistencies in how He works in our lives that are also personal and particular. These are revelations that are not something abstract or different but unique and personal to each one of us.  In this episode, we're gonna try explaining that concept, share what it looks like, and see what we can do with it to be instruments of God's work in the world.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! Purchase tickets for Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story here: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/heart-of-a-servant/ Watch the Heart of the Servant: The Father Flanagan Story trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoftAcHYQVI

Episode 230 - 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're gonna look at some practical ways to hear and know the voice of God and see how we can receive what He speaks to each of us. You can get a copy of the Monk Manual x CFR Collaboration Resourse and the Mysteries & Medicine Prayer Journal at: https://monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 229 - Learning God's Voice How can we bring our feelings to the Lord? Once we have a sense of what we are feeling and why we are feeling that way, this would be the next step that we're invited to do—to turn to Jesus in prayer in great faith and trust then relate and bring these feelings to him and let him respond to it. In this episode, we'll talk about how we can relate our emotions to the Lord and what it would look like to let Him speak His words into those feelings. You can get a copy of the Monk Manual x CFR Collaboration Resourse and the Mysteries & Medicine Prayer Journal at: https://monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 228 - Building on Rock Why do we feel a certain way? This would be a great question to ask ourselves once we identify and name what we feel.  It's good to learn what's ultimately at stake in every emotion, test, or situation we encounter and understand why it's so important to us. This episode talks about some practical examples and applications of how we can dive deeper into that and how we can use that to grow and build our lives on rock of what it means to be beloved children of God. You can get a copy of the Monk Manual x CFR Collaboration Resourse and the Mysteries & Medicine Prayer Journal at: https://monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 227 - Emotions and Jesus How do you feel? And why do emotions matter?  Valuing the emotional life as important, they are an intrinsic part of us. Emotions are neutral in nature but how we respond to them can be both fruitful and dangerous, this is why knowing how to navigate them is vital in our human life. In this episode, we'll talk about the importance of emotions, the right word and place for them, and how they integrate with the spiritual life. You can get a copy of the Monk Manual x CFR Collaboration Resourse and the Mysteries & Medicine Prayer Journal at: https://monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 226 - Know Thyself How much do you know about yourself? This might be a good starting point to ask ourselves in our interior life pilgrimage. From self-protection to self-acceptance, to self-possession, and ultimately to self-gift, it's a journey to know oneself. And the beauty of being in prayer with the Lord is that we're growing in self-knowledge and self-acceptance, self-possession with Jesus.  In this episode, we'll talk about the importance of self-knowledge and self-acceptance and how we can identify what we need to grow and/or accept throughout our interior life pilgrimage. You can get a copy of the Monk Manual x CFR Collaboration Resourse and the Mysteries & Medicine Prayer Journal at: https://monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 225 - SEEK 2024 What do you do when God comes to you in mystery? If we are willing to search for God in the mysteries of suffering, the ordinary, and the sacraments, hidden somewhere in there, we can find medicines. God uses these mysteries to communicate medicines, for our transformation, our holiness, the things we most deeply need to grow, change, heal, and become the children of God he made us to be. In this special episode with Spoke Street at SEEK 24, we'll talk about, reflect, and dive deeper into Fr. Isaiah's "Mysteries & Medicine" album by Fr. Isaiah and what it means to find God through the mysteries. You can get a physical CD copy of Mysteries & Medicine and the prayer journal at https://monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 224 - He Knows Your Name, Series on "Mysteries & Medicine" by Fr. Isaiah, CFR (Part 4) Are you able to see the goodness of God? We are invited to trust and surrender that God is good and is always with us, to be rooted in the truth that God is Father, that He knows us, that He is good, and that He loves us. This is the fourth and last episode on the Mysteries & Medicine album which teaches us how we can call out to Him and ask for the grace to trust Him and to be reunited in our identity, but most importantly, first and foremost, His identity—a deeper dive into our life journey, our pilgrimage with the one who is always with us, loves us and knows us by name. You can get a physical CD copy of Mysteries & Medicine and the prayer journal at https;//monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 223 - From Me to You, Series on "Mysteries & Medicine" by Fr. Isaiah, CFR (Part 3) Have you experienced being confined in self-centeredness? Sometimes we can have a pretty self-focused approach to our lives where it's all about what we need or what we want. But the invitation for us in this Exodus is to always move towards someone else, towards relationship, towards God—to be totally out of ourselves and make a self-gift back to God and to other people. This episode is the third part of our series on Fr. Isaiah's Mysteries & Medicine which talks about the nature of our desires and how we can transform them from being self-centered to being outer-centered. You can get a physical CD copy of Mysteries & Medicine and the prayer journal at https;//monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 222 - Desire as a Pathway, Series on "Mysteries & Medicine" by Fr. Isaiah, CFR (Part 2) What do you desire and how do you respond to it? One reality of our humanity is that we can forever be dissatisfied and expect a different answer to our desires. But we are invited to let this desire, this hunger, become a pathway that brings the Lord closer to us, to offer Him the desire and just to be with Him in it. This episode is the second part of our series on Fr. Isaiah's Mysteries & Medicine which talks about our desires—the holy, the unmet, and the sinful desires and how we should respond to them. You can get a physical CD copy of Mysteries & Medicine and the prayer journal at https;//monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 221 - Life and Mystery, Series on "Mysteries & Medicine" by Fr. Isaiah, CFR (Part 1) Would you agree that life is a journey or a pilgrimage? The journey to say yes to what God wants for our life, it's not just this thing that happens like a contract and we say, "Yes,", it's a journey. The holiness, the sanctification, the healing, it takes time.  The pilgrimage of life is tough, blindness, poverty and suffering are often a part of it, but Jesus is with us in this pilgrimage and he desires to not just walk along with us but to be the way that we walk to the Father's heart.  This episode is the first part of our series on Fr. Isaiah's Mysteries & Medicine, which talks about life as a pilgrimage, the experience of mystery, and the response of Jesus to this experience. You can get a physical CD copy of Mysteries & Medicine and the prayer journal at https;//monkmanual.com/friars The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 220 - Hot Takes 6 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses, and even sins.  In our Catholic life, there will be a lot of questions that will come our way and in this episode, we'll try to answer a few of them. Here is another one of our Hot Takes episodes that talks about some essential topics that most of us can relate to. In this episode we'll be going through the following topics:  1️⃣ A Perspective on Differences Between Men and Women 2️⃣ Free People, Free People 3️⃣ Stuff Matters The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 219 - Hot Takes 5 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses, and even sins.  In our Catholic life, there will be a lot of questions that will come our way and in this episode, we'll try to answer a few of them. Here is another one of our Hot Takes episodes that talks about some essential topics that most of us can relate to. In this episode we'll be going through the following topics:  1️⃣ The Experience of Saul: Aging and Transition 2️⃣ Our Love for Home Through the Quirky and the Positive and How It Relates to God 3️⃣ The Confusion About What Is Sin or Not The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 218 - For Those Not Accepted to Seminary or Religious Life Have you ever felt rejected by God or the church, as you try to get into religious life? This can be an utterly heartbreaking experience.  When faced with "No" as a response to the desire to get into religious life, one might feel that they are being rejected by God or the church, that they're undesirable, or too broken for religious life. But in reality, that is not the case. This decision is actually a culmination of careful assessment of one's discernment, capacity, and the call they felt into religious life. This episode speaks more about that in hopes of explaining the reasons behind those decisions and encountering the hurt and vulnerable in these situations. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 217 - Hot Takes 4 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses, and even sins.  In our Catholic life, there will be a lot of questions that will come our way and in this episode, we'll try to answer a few of them. Here is another one of our Hot Takes episodes that talks about some essential topics that most of us can relate to. In this episode we'll be going through the following topics:  1️⃣ The burden of learning new rules and prohibitions 2️⃣ A healthy consumption of media 3️⃣ The experience of priesthood The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 216 - The Good Shepherd, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 11) As a shepherd, what are you willing to lay down for your sheep? For shepherds nowadays, and even in the times of the Apostle, the sheep are for the shepherd's sake, they serve him. It's not like vice versa, sheep are the product and we get them to pasture so they can grow, so we can slaughter them.  But this wasn't the case for Jesus, He said that "I am the good shepherd "and I lay down my life for my sheep." Jesus loves us this way. He wants to be so close and hold us so intimately and he doesn't want us to be lost. He doesn't want us to be far away, but he wants to feed, protect, clothe, and hold us.  In this episode, as we bring our series on the book The Father to a close, we will be reflecting upon Jesus as the Good Shepherd and what this reveals to us of the heart of God as we talk about a story of a Father who freely lays down his life to save his son, and in doing so, loses his own life. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 215 - That None Would Be Lost, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 10) Can you imagine how it feels for a parent when their child dies? A father and a mother don't want to lose any of their children and this is an icon of understanding how God doesn't want any of his children to be lost—how passionate God is about our salvation. God desires none to be lost. Today we'll talk about how we can walk towards life and away from death as a fruit of sin. We'll dive deeper into how we can keep the life of grace and the heart of God fully alive in our souls. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 214 - Father of Mercies, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 9) Do you trust God's mercy? We are invited to bring to light those things that we are keeping in the dark, things that are tough, and trust that God in his mercy will love and care for us there. When we bring something to the Lord, it's forgiven and it's gone, He no longer sees us with that. He doesn't define us as a son or daughter who did this bad thing. To the Father's eyes, we are not defined by our sin and our weakness but by His love and our capacity to live like His son or daughter. But at the same time, sin still can seriously hurt us and the Father is also zealous to crush it and the things that lead us to them. Today we're looking at God and His Mercy and try to understand that a little bit. We'll take a look at both the merciful God and the God who is indifferent to sin. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 213 - Love and the Cross, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 8) What's your initial response to difficulty? Difficulty and suffering is something that's part of the world we live in and to move forward with the Lord we have to live in this reality, even though it's hard.  God is with us in it! One of the things a father also has to do is to teach their children and equip their children to do hard things. God the Father equips us and prepares us for what we need to have fulfillment and happiness in salvation, which includes learning how to carry and share in the suffering on the cross.  In this episode, we'll talk about how to persevere in doing hard things for an extended period of time and how to stay steady with the Lord amidst the difficulty. Here's the link to the graph that we referenced in the video: https://bit.ly/pocofreedomgraph The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 212 - Law and the Father, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 7) What's the role that rules and laws play? Rules create boundaries and usually define the best way to do things. However, following rules can also NOT lead to freedom, this is why we need to learn to find the right balance in following the rules. In this episode, we will talk about the spirituality of laws and rules and how we can find balance to be safe, secure, and free in following them.  We are also invited to look at some of these rules that we have established, these etiquettes or cultures that we've put on ourselves, our neighbors, or our pastors.  Let's do some discernment of whether or not these are from God or not. And to also, go deeper and see what's at the heart of why we do that and ultimately, bring that to the Lord. Here's the link to the graph that we referenced in the video: https://bit.ly/pocofreedomgraph The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 211 - On Being Safe, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 6) What does it mean to be safe? Safety is not the absence of suffering, it's not like we're not going to struggle with anything but it's the recognition that when we are vulnerable, we don't have to escape it, because someone wants to be with us and provide for us and that is our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is the safety that we are proposing. In this episode, we're focusing on the necessity of having sufficient resources and true expectations as we unpack what it really means to be truly safe. Here's the link to the graph that we referenced in the video: https://bit.ly/pocofreedomgraph The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 210 - Loved and Celebrated, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 5) What does it mean to be loved and celebrated? We are favored sons and daughters worthy of celebration—of being served. We are worthy and loved by God and this episode talks about a step in the right direction on what it means to be loved and celebrated. This is a gentle call to conversion and repentance, an invitation to allow ourselves to be loved sacrificially and give God and others permission to love and celebrate us. Here's the link to the graph that we referenced in the video: https://bit.ly/pocofreedomgraph The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 209 - Made for Freedom, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 4) What does it mean to be made for freedom? We are all called to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God. The reality is we are seen, loved, and chosen by God the Father and there's freedom when we experience that. In this episode, we're going through the mechanics of freedom and learn more about how the experience of home and trust can help us understand that a little bit deeper. Here's the link to the graph that we referenced in the video: https://bit.ly/pocofreedomgraph The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 208 - The Father's Gaze, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 3) Can you imagine how you would gaze upon your newborn baby for the first time? This is the way the Father loves everyone. He's constantly looking at us and is constantly delighting in us. The Father always looks at us with the same delight, love, and rejoicing as a father looks at his newborn for the first time. This is how our Heavenly Father looks at us, delights in us, rejoices in us and contemplates us right now. When we feel things that we feel far away, or we think we feel that there's such darkness or separation or walls, it's an illusion, it's not true. We are always gazed upon with love and intimacy. In this episode, we're discussing the intimacy the Father wants to invite us into. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 207 - The Father's Delight, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 2) Do you know how much your heavenly Father delights in you? The part of the heart of the Father is to care for his children in whatever shape or form that would take. It might feel a lot or even tiresome but because of the uncalculated love of the father, the time when he gets to take care of and be with his children in this special way can be the best part of the father's day. In his children's poverty, in this exchange, and despite the challenges, there are still many things about them that allow the father's heart to well up with delight. The inabilities and imperfections that we have, delight the Father because they are occasions of intimacy and closeness to Him. This is the purity of the delight we're talking about in today's episode. This is a reminder that God delights in all of us even more than an earthly father delights in his earthly children. The heavenly Father is not burdened by you, but He profoundly delights.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 206 - The Father and The Father Wound, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 1) How are you affected by the wounds you had from your earthly father? The life of St. Francis is a good example of how the wounds we have from our earthly father can be an access point to the heart of God. His wounds led him to embrace the heart of the Father through Jesus Christ.  It is a good reminder for all of us that Jesus is the way to the fatherhood of God, He is the interesession between the Father and our wounds and He wants us to know the presence of the Father, save us, and heal us from those wounds. This episode is an invitation to hope that we can all experience the goodness of the fatherhood of God. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 205 - Holy Week and Total Gift (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 7) This holy week, how do you intend to receive Jesus' total gift for you? The fast during Lent is not to show Jesus how tough we are, it's to show him how poor we are. It's to be in the space of utter poverty and to trust that receptivity, that He will come. And what we are celebrating in this holy Triduum, this Holy Week, is Christ, giving himself to us as the bridegroom and espousing himself to us, His bride. We are celebrating Jesus' love and total gift of self that is given to each of us in his passion. This episode is all about receptivity. As we go through this last week of Lent, we continue to dive into how Jesus is the bridegroom to us and talk about being open to receiving Jesus' love and His total gift. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get your copy of The Father (by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR) at  https://ascensionpress.com/thefather

Episode 203 - The Rich Man and Lazarus (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 5) Does it have to end in just being able to receive God's unconditional love?  Like Lazarus, the guy beat up on the side of the road. We who have been loved in such messiness are also invited to go into the mess, and love. This is a sign that God is alive in us. We now have the dignity of His beloved sons and daughters, of not just being the recipients of His unconditional love, but now being able to love, not only from our own strength but in response to God being alive in us. In this episode, we'll talk about the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and its relation to the other parables discussed in the previous episodes. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can get a copy of The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups from the link below: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/the-ascension-lenten-companion 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 204 - Resurrection and the Reproaches (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 6) Our expectations and what God is doing can be totally different, so how should we respond to that? In the raising of Lazarus, the response of the Pharisees was to have Jesus killed. This was the tragic response of the heart when they were not open and unable to receive the mysterious and unconditional love of God. We can sometimes share the same humanity as the Pharisees too. We sometimes prefer to have Jesus out of our lives completely because of the changes, experiences, and difficult things that are happening in our lives that weren't what we expected them to be. We want it to be a certain way but then it's not that way. But despite all that, we are invited to stay in relationship with Jesus through any difficulty, change, or experience. In this episode we're gonna do a recap on the raising of Lazarus and dive into its mysterious reality and our response to that. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can get a copy of The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups from the link below: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/the-ascension-lenten-companion 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 202 - The Prodigal Son (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 4) If you were the prodigal son would you receive the Father's unconditional love? The conversion that the Father wants us to have is to move on from a conditional, perfectionistic way of experiencing God to a place of just being unconditionally loved by Him. But we can sometimes hold onto shame for security, what is asked of us is to leave behind that shame—let the shame and self-contempt crumble. We don't need to "pay rent" to be loved by the heavenly Father. Our sonship/daughterhip is not to be paid but is freely given to us. The invitation for all of us is to remain in the forgiveness and mercy of the Father. Let the relationship we have with Him restore and heal us from the place of shame and insecurity that we put ourselves into. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can get a copy of The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups from the link below: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/the-ascension-lenten-companion 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 201 - The Good Samaritan (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 3) Are you familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan? When we're beat up, when we're in this place of difficulty and shame, He's there, at the side of the road looking at us, desiring to pick us up and saying, "Come with me.". That's Jesus for all of us. The invitation of this episode is to allow the Lord to get close into our deepest places of darkness and shame so he can help us and love us there. Jesus actually comes into our messiness and He loves us unconditionally. This Lent, let Jesus unconditionally love you, and let the healing begin. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can get a copy of The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups from the link below: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/the-ascension-lenten-companion 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 200 - Christ the Bridegroom (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 2) How does a bridegroom love his bride? That is how Jesus loves each one of us. He meets us wherever we are in our life to be our beloved and for us to be His. The Lord meets us in the desert-our place of poverty where He betroths us to Him and He betroths Himself to us. In this way, Jesus as the bridegroom reveals to us a quality of love, the way that God loves. In this episode, our aim is for us to better understand what it means to have Jesus as the bridegroom and the desert as the place of betrothal.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can get a copy of The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups from the link below: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/the-ascension-lenten-companion 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 199 - Lent is About Jesus (Ash Wednesday), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 1) What does Jesus desire for you and Him this Lent?  The temptation during Lent is to make the Lenten journey about us, we can do hard things during Lent that are fueled by our own desires and distractions but Lent isn't supposed to be about ourselves. Lent is also not simply about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Those disciplines help us to focus on what we need to focus on. This season is about a person and that person is Jesus. In this episode, we'll talk about the reality of Lent and how we can orient ourselves to our relationship with Jesus as we enter this year's Lenten season. Happy Ash Wednesday everyone! The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can get a copy of The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups from the link below: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/the-ascension-lenten-companion 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 198 - Remember Like Mary, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 3) Do you remember Jesus and what he did?  The most consistent word Mary had spoken to Fr. Jeremiah, was "remember". When we don't know what to do or how to act, Mary tells us to remember her son, Jesus' actions, that was the case for Fr. Jeremiah and this is an invitation that extends to all of us. There is a richness and importance that Mary plays, for us not to have her be a part of our spiritual life.  We are invited to remember Jesus' constant presence, love, and grace in this episode. Let's allow Mary to teach us to remember Jesus and what he did—to remember Him as Mary did. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 197 - Marian Posture, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 2) Is your prayer and your life two separate realities?  Mary gives us a ton of hope that the grace of God and the Holy Spirit meet us in reality.  The Marian posture at the core of it is about the reality of the fullness of God. Mary teaches us that The best place to live your spiritual life is in reality—in where you are right now in this moment. It's about living one reality in the presence of God. This episode is an invitation for us to have confidence in the daily bread and the grace given to us here and now. Let's not spend our time fantasizing about the change out there but try and respond as best as possible to what's currently there. Let's engage every part of our reality with the Lord while having a deep sense of his love and attentiveness as we respond in those moments.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 196 - Mary: A Real Mom, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 1) How important is Mary, Our Lady, in your spiritual life?  Our Lady is a real woman, a real mother to all of us and Mary's intercession is actually more real than we realize.  The gift of Our Lady is that she looks upon us, she knows our hearts, and her gaze can be the first safe and secure place in a world of filled insecurity. At this same moment, Mary wants us to look upon her and it is in this exchange where we find safety and security in our lives through a contemplative experience with her. In this episode, as we start our mini-series on Fr. Jeremiah's book, we are going to talk about Mary—a real mom, an invitation to gain a different understanding of Mary and learn about the importance of viewing the world through her eyes. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 195 - Hope is Personal Do you actually believe and have hope that prayer does something?  Doing things over and over again can lose the awe and wonder of what's going on in our prayer life. There can come a point when we're no longer coming to prayer expecting to hear God's voice or expecting anything at all.  This results in boredom or discouragement—a loss of hope. In this episode, we're gonna talk about how we can pray for a supernatural hope as the remedy for discouragement and boredom. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 194 - The Sweet Way of Love How much focused are you toward yourself? There can be times when we struggle with perfectionism, control, and activism, and this can sometimes rub off on our spiritual life.  Jesus does not demand great actions from us; rather, the invitation is simply to live in surrender and gratitude to Him. At times, we can take a more Pelagian approach where more emphasis is given to our efforts, initiatives, and self-improvement—our achievement of holiness rather than the primacy being given to God and it being His work. This gift of grace is the sweet way of love that Jesus sets before the little and the poor and that's what we're gonna talk about in this episode. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 193 - C'est la confiance Are you worried for 2024?  Worry is a lack of confidence and we can be worried about a lot of stuff. The invitation from St. Therese and from our Lord is to have confidence in Him. We who run in the way of love shouldn't be thinking of suffering that can take place in the future. That's a lack of confidence. The complete confidence that becomes an abandonment in love sets us free from obsessive calculations, constant worry about the future, and fears that take away our peace.  If we are in the hands of a Father who loves us without limits, this will be the case come what may. We will be able to move beyond whatever may happen to us. And in one way or another, his plan of love and fullness will come to fulfillment in our lives. This episode talks about how we can go into the year 2024 with confidence. And with's God grace, return to the present moment, and be in relationship with Him, with confidence and hope of what he will do in the time to come.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 192 - End of Year Identity Check What was Jesus like for you this year? As we end the year, let's do a poverty and identity check and put Jesus in the center as we look back to this past year and look forward to the coming year For this episode, a proposal to reflect on where Jesus has been, how He has been with you, how He loved you, and how He is loving you into this year. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 191 - Little Like Mary (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 4) How often do you say Yes, without understanding or knowing the outcome?  Sometimes we have to see and understand the plan before we say Yes, that's not our Lady's experience. She didn't understand but she knew what was proposed to him by God, and despite that, she said Yes. She trusts; she surrenders in this whole experience of her life without knowing what's gonna happen. This is the fourth part of this year's Advent series where we talk about Mary and her radical littleness and dependence on grace and God. An invitation to how we can become more and more dependent, more and more empty but with the confidence that we can be more and more full of God's grace.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

Episode 190 - Good St. Joseph (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 3) What's the best thing you learned from St. Joseph?  Advent teaches us that God has a different way of doing things and St. Joseph is an amazing example and witness of that. Throughout his life, St. Joseph should've had the opportunity to grasp human comfort or control, but instead, he chose to enter into humility, into silence, he didn't overthink, he didn't overtalk, but rather he trusted and was obedient to God while being completely attentive to Mary and Jesus.  This Advent, just like St. Joseph, we are invited to be radically open to what God wants us to do. Advent is not about evaluating everything but being with those who are most important and anchoring ourselves to God like St. Joseph did. This is the third part of this year's Advent series where we continue to look into the lives of different saints of Advent and for this episode, we're talking about the heart and experience of St. Joseph. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

Episode 189 - God is Working (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 2) With what's currently happening in the world, can you believe that God is working?? As exemplified by St. Juan Diego, during this Advent and throughout the year, we are invited to live in relationship with the Lord through Mary, our Mother, our Lady. We can do that by beginning with a humble Yes. Let's say Yes and allow ourselves to be interrupted by her intercession and have confidence in the love and trust she has for all of us—to trust that she is here and very much alive. For as Mary comes, she is with Jesus. Despite the discouragements in various parts of the world, there's also the truth that in the humblest places, God is working and we are always invited to keep crying out to Him. This episode is the second part of this year's Advent series, where we begin to look into the lives of different saints of Advent. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

Episode 188 - Learning from Nazareth (Advent 2023), Series on "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR. (Part 1) What does Nazareth look like for you and how does it compare to how you encounter Advent?  Nazareth is a place where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived—a place of beauty, simplicity, and stillness. Meanwhile, Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus; For most of us, it is usually one of the busiest times of the year. So how can Advent be an experience of Nazareth during this busy time? For this first part of this year's Advent series, we will talk about Nazareth and what we can learn from this place as we celebrate the Advent season. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! You can get a copy of "Prepare Your Heart" by Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR from Ave Maria Press through this link: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/prepare-your-heart

Episode 187 - Living Life Not Checking Boxes What is driving your life? What's the reason you do what you do? Life can sometimes become a series of boxes to check-we can tend to do things because we should or we have to as opposed to actually living life and doing things because our hearts want to.  What we are proposing in this episode is for us to be more present in the moment and to particularly live from the Trinity dwelling within our hearts. Today, we're gonna talk about how much are we supposed to live from "the outside-in" vs. "the inside-out". The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 186 - Guidance for the Prophet Have you encountered prophets in your life?  Prophets are people who have a profound conviction and clarity about a particular component of the faith and those who practice it. Being a prophet is not about opinions, it is an experience or power that you have, given by God to be a prophetic witness in the world. It's about communicating something about who God is through ourselves. In this episode, we will talk more about what a prophet is. We're gonna dive into how we can take this gift from God—this prophetic call and use it to build up the Kingdom as opposed to something that is a source of division, judgment, and conflict. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 185 - Hunger for God Are you HUNGRY for God?  One of the foundational struggles that we have is that we're just not hungry for Him. Part of the path, if not the path, is we're going to have to experience this hunger. A "stepping away" from the noise, distractions, and self-reliance and entering into a place of vulnerability and a sort of dependence on God, and being able to live and pray from that place.  Today we're going to talk about the change of passions and desires and dive into how we can develop a taste for silence and ultimately grow in hunger and thirst for God. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 184 - (Contemplative) Gains Don't Sleep How can we live and create a space for contemplation, for silence, to be able to hear the voice of God in our lives? God is always there. He's always giving himself to us and always longing to speak to us, but living in the constant influx of noise and immediate gratification profoundly affects our contemplative experience—our ability to sit in prayer for long periods to wait and sit for God. That is why it's so important to retrain our hearts and our minds to receive Him. This episode talks about strengthening the will and how we can create a lifestyle that actually supports and strengthens the will to grow in discipline, freedom, and our ability to make a free and total Yes to the Lord and his invitation. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 183 - Contemplative Spaces What stands in your way to go deeper with the Lord?  We believe that growing in silence and our ability to contemplate is of supreme importance, but to actually respond to that is undoubtedly gonna be very very hard as well. So, how do we do this practically?  Today, we're going to talk about how actual behavior change happens and how we can set ourselves up for success to truly grow in silence and make our contemplative spaces. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 182 - Recieving Mary's Hospitality Do you wonder about Mary's firsthand memory or experience of God?  We can relive Mary's memory and experience of God through the rosary. Rosary is like experiencing God with Mary—in her heart, her hospitality. Mary is the most perfect Christian, the most perfect woman who's all about Jesus, and on this month of the Rosary, we are invited to take time and be with Her more and be able to love Jesus a lot more through her. In this episode, we're gonna dive deep and talk about the Rosary, Mary, and Marian Devotion and how we can open ourselves up to receive the hospitality of Mary. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 181 - The Asceticism of Silence, Series on Silence Vs. Noise (Part 2 of 2) What's the most prevalent voice that you hear in your life? Is it God's or someone's/something else? We long to teach people how to pray and contemplative silence, inner recollection, and interior stillness are ways we can live in a relationship with God. But, there's a silver bullet to make people live in chaos and noise whether exteriorly or interiorly.  Every single day through general media we are bombarded with chaos and noise and there's this turmoil all the time both internal and external that's a direct attack on how God speaks and how He wants to give Himself. Today, in the next part of this mini-series, we'll dive deeper into the importance and experience of silence and attempt to stir people's hearts to recognize that this silence is against under direct attack and identify ways to defend against these attacks. DISCLAIMER: We apologize in advance that you can't see Br. Kolbe video like you usually do in some parts of this episode. Unfortunately, we've had some technical difficulties with his camera during the recording session that rendered some of Br. Kolbe's footage unusable. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 180 - The Battle, Series on Silence Vs. Noise (Part 1 of 2) How are you able to receive and communicate with God? Silence is the divine language. God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love and communicate in eternal silence and if we want to look at and learn about God, we have to let ourselves be moved by that. However, the world has become a place of radical noise, trying to rob us of the experience of God and there's always been an inner battle to stay in contemplative silence. Today, we'll talk about the realities and dynamics of silence as God's language and how we can win the battle and be able to stay in this silence with Him. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 179 - Pray Always Do you set a time in the day to pray? Do you stay in relationship with the Lord throughout the day? Turns out, we should be doing both! We have an opportunity and even an invitation to remain in this relationship with the Lord throughout our day. But to be able to do that, we have to make prayer important, make prayer a priority, and formally make God a part of our lives. In this episode, we're going to talk about how we can sanctify our day by praying without ceasing and some practical examples of how to have ongoing conscious contact with God throughout the day.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 178 - Perseverence Not Pretty Do you think God is calling us to be perfect or just to be pretty? Personally, I think not. I believe what we're called to is not pretty or perfection but perseverance.  Sometimes it's much easier to have a very happy-looking social media feed than to have a happy heart and home in reality. But we're not going for things to look good, instead what we're going for is to be good and to persevere in this goodness. In this episode, we are going to highlight the importance of perseverance and how we can practice it in our lives.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com

Episode 177 - Gratitude vs Greed A person who lives in a place of gratitude usually focuses on what they have. On the other hand, the person who struggles with greed and lives in that place usually focuses on what they don't have.  Both can have or do not have the EXACT same thing but one person can have an experience of fullness and gratefulness while one person, has an experience of emptiness, and disappointment, discouragement.  So in our lives, what are we focusing on—what are we paying attention to? In today's episode, this is what we'll try to unpack. We're gonna talk about how we can cultivate this life of gratitude and how a spirit and a heart of gratitude can permeate our lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 176 - Make a Home What is the place of HOME?  It's a place where we are safe, loved, known, and seen—a place where we are well-received and can be ourselves.  Brokeness may significantly affect our experience of home but ideally home is a place of joy and laughter, a place of communion.  In this episode, we'll talk about hospitality, what home is, what it can be, and how we can make it a place where we can joyfully experience living in relationships with love. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode SEEK - Holiness is Possible What is that SEEK episode, what happened in there?  In the previous episodes, you might have heard that we referenced a SEEK episode a few times. Today's episode is pretty unique—a throwback episode that we wanted to share with you to give you an idea about our SEEK episode but at the same time we're gonna talk about following Jesus. We're gonna talk about what you want and how you want to get it. Holiness, happiness, and fullness of life are possible, but it doesn't happen by accident.  We truly believe that it happens when we follow our hearts and allow the Lord to reveal our hearts to us to be able to fulfill them. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 175 - Detest Sin, Love Your Neighbor, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 8 of 8) What happens when we deeply give ourselves to the lives of prayer and the experience of God? The Fire Within series has been quite intense but it's actually the reality of the depths of the gospel truly lived. It goes beyond the ordinary simply because living out the Gospel wholeheartedly is NOT ordinary—but extraordinary. And little by little, Poco a Poco, it's the place that we want to be. This is the eighth and last episode of our Fire Within series, an invitation: 🔥To be the ones who say, "Yes" to the Lord.  🔥To be the ones who live differently.  🔥To be the ones who risk everything, who hold nothing back, and give themselves, in all they are. 🔥To be the John of the Crosses and the Teresa of Avilas for the next generation.  Which ultimately, can happen through the radical living of the Gospel, loving God and our neighbors. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 174 - Mind Your Business, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 7 of 8) Solitude is not just quiet time for ourselves. It is not running from people, isolation, nor hiding from or avoiding our problems by going off and being by ourselves. But rather it is avoiding certain behaviors, worldviews, curiosities, and distractions that take our focus on the Lord. According to Fr. Dubay, authentic solitude is the healthy turning towards one's beloved. It is an authentic pursuit of the one we love, our beloved—a pursuit of the Lord with the desire to be in a relationship with Him.  This is the seventh episode of our Fire Within series which talks about detachment and solitude—an encouragement to find and pursue authentic solitude and grow in our spiritual life. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 173 - Humility, Obedience, and Prayer, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 6 of 8) Humility is a lowliness—lowliness not for its own sake but rather a right understanding of who we are and who we are not. It's a place where you know more about what everybody is saying in a room, but don't always have to say anything or don't need to be someone who wants to seem smarter than everybody else. In this sixth episode of our Fire Within series, we're gonna talk about the importance of humility and some of its practical applications in our journey for growth in our spiritual lives.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 172 - Suffering and Prayer, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 5 of 8) In reality, suffering's out there, in many ways, and in most ways, it's unavoidable. So, "Okay, what do we do with it?". This is the question that we'll try to unpack in today's episode. We are invited to unite our suffering with Jesus and offer it to Him. As we suffer generously and give that to the Lord, one of the fruits of it is that it creates the space and cultivates the soul for profound union with God Himself. In this fifth episode of our Fire Within series, we'll dive into and talk about suffering, prayer, and growth in the spiritual life and discuss the close correlation between suffering and growth in prayer. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 171 - Conditions for Growth, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 4 of 8) We are all invited to a profound, mystical union with God.  But in order to grow in our spiritual life, Fr. Dubay mentioned in his book that there are certain conditions that we need to understand for our growth in the mystical or spiritual life.  In this fourth episode of our series on the Fire Within, we'll try to reflect upon and respond to the 8 conditions for spiritual growth. This also is an invitation to spiritually "get our ducks in a row", leave behind sin, and live the Gospel with generosity. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 170 - Experiencing God, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 3 of 8) The medicine for wanting to pray is learning to live in the reality that's most true-God wants to be in communion with us. Meditation, contemplation, and infused prayer are things that can help us live in this reality and this is what we're gonna talk about in this third episode of our series on the Fire Within.  This episode also aims to present before us, an authentically Catholic understanding of experiences of God and give witness through what we see in scripture and the lives of the saints. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 169 - Prayer and Repentance, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 2 of 8) Growth in spiritual life is never easy. In the beginning, it's gonna take a LOT of effort. But as it goes on, you'll notice that it becomes more and more the Lord's work and less and less contingent on our human work. This is the second episode of our series on the Fire Within that talks about how St. Theresa sees the "giftness" of advanced prayer and the relationship between prayer and the profound growth in the spiritual life. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 168 - Serious Prayer and Serious Joy, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 1 of 8) We are anointed with the power of the holy spirit and this is the fire that we've been given. With this fire, all of us are called to live a deep union with God—not just to live in mediocrity with our spiritual life but to set ablaze with love for the Lord. This is the first episode of our series on the Fire Within which reminds us of the importance of being given to prayer and the importance of being "on fire" in a profound union with the Lord. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 167 - Actions and Consequences Jesus dying on the cross is the symbol of God's victory but is also the consequence to sin.  This is one of the most striking examples that there are things that we can do that are gonna have real concrete consequences in our lives and the lives of others.  As Christians and Catholics, we try to memorialize this consequence through the crucifix. But in reality, there's still a real struggle in surrendering to the fact that our actions have real consequences.  So in this episode, we will talk about the importance of our actions and consequences and attempt to make sense of why it is important for all of us.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 166 - More Than My Sin How do we respond to the serious sins in our lives?  For many of us, there is a temptation to be overly critical of ourselves and we let that define us. But, our spiritual life should not be defined by these serious sins.  We are invited to be with the Lord and let him teach us about our hearts in the place of sin.  In this episode, we'll unpack and attempt to answer this question. A reminder that you are more than your sins. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 165 - On Being Chosen Loneliness can make us feel that we're not chosen, it can give us a sense that we are totally in isolation. And sometimes it's so easy to forget BUT we have to remember what's true—we have a God who loves us and chooses us.  This is the first part of our series on Fr. Dubay's The Fire Within where we dive deep into the idea, experience, and desire of being chosen—a reminder that despite the difficulties in our life experiences, we are chosen, desired, and pursued by God. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 164 - The Body and Blood of Christ Do we still know deep within ourselves, how amazing the gift of the Eucharist is? Sometimes, we can forget and take that for granted, but it's awesome how Jesus gives Himself to us, in the form of bread and wine through the Eucharist. In the most humble way, the Lord wants to offer himself to us and be with us ALWAYS. In celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi, we're going to dive deeper into the Eucharist and its importance—an attempt to remind ourselves of the beauty and essence of this amazing gift. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 163 - Praying with Scripture The Scripture is one of the Lord's best ways to talk to us, a way for us to converse with God. It is also a good reminder of who Jesus is and who we are to Him. Most of us say that praying with scriptures is something that's good to do, but how do we actually do that? In this episode, we're going to offer some initial guidance on praying with scriptures and provide some good practices that might be helpful for us to have a more fruitful relationship with God through the scriptures. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 162 - My Brother's Keeper? Not every relationship is the same, so not every fraternal correction will be the same.  This may vary between a parent and a child, between friends, between a boss and his subordinates, between strangers, or between a formator and the people their forming.  In today's episode, we will discuss essential distinctions when it comes to fraternal correction and try to shed some light on what would be our responsibilities or what we are supposed to do when we encounter people in our daily walks of life and we would like to engage in fraternal correction. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 161 - Dealing with Loneliness Loneliness is a common experience that we all share.  Whether you're in crowds of people or constantly with other people who are not peers. Maybe you're in a marriage surrounded by kids all day, or you could be in isolation and feel you have not been chosen by people. Either way, at times we can experience loneliness at some point. Instead of trying to escape it or fill that void with other things, what exactly do we need to do with that loneliness? This is what we are going to unpack and attempt to answer in this episode.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 160 - Prayer, Presence, Party (Easter Things) What do you do after Easter Sunday? We are invited to be overwhelmed with paschal joy during the Easter season, but instead, we usually resolve to our daily grind like everything isn't transformed by our encounter with the risen Lord.  So many of us return to our normal ways shortly after the resurrection—we can sometimes take comfort in that. In today's episode, we're gonna talk about the importance of Easter and how we can allow the liturgy to break into our everyday lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 159 - Our Stories How much do you know about the hosts of the Poco a Poco Podcast? Some people have been along with the Poco a Poco journey for some time now and may already know certain things about them. On the other hand, some people might also be new to this podcast and may want to know more about our beloved brothers. So in today's episode, the Poco a Poco squad is going to share a little bit of their stories—their testimonies about what God has done to their lives and how they got to where they are now. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 158 - The Options Not Optional "How is Jesus calling you to serve the poor?" This is the question we'll attempt to answer in this episode. Jesus loved the poor and like Him, we are called to be a lifeline for a person in need. God's sees the poor but we are called to intercede on their behalf—to be somebody who'e able to bring them to Him. This episode talks about the importance, necessity and the beauty of having hearts that are mindful of those who are most in need. An invitation to live how Jesus lived and loved those in need. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 157 - Hot Takes 3 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses, and even sins.  In our Catholic life, there will be a lot of questions that will come our way and in this episode, we'll try to answer a few of them. Here is another one of our Hot Takes episodes that talks about some essential topics that most of us can relate to. In this episode we'll be going through the following topics:  1️⃣ Should I write down my sins for confession? 2️⃣ How to make a better confession. 3️⃣ Thoughts on the fraternal correction. 4️⃣ Theraphy, Yes or No? 5️⃣ Chapel Etiquette The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 156 - I Am The Resurrection Do we live our lives believing—having faith in the ressurection?  In this ongoing journey of stripping the things we clothe ourselves with, Jesus wants us to give him the things that hold us back and desires to give himself in return.  We have sins that isolates and causes us to go into hiding, but the gift of the resurrection breaks it all open. This episode focuses on the importance of the resurrection. An invitation to allow the hope of the resurrection to enter into all of our darkness and all of the different areas of our lives, in this Valley of Tears as we continue to journey through it. This Easter season let's pray to have an increase in faith in the Lord and his resurrection. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 155 - Surrender It All (Lent 2023) Can we allow oursleves to be exposed before the Lord in prayer?  Are we able to be before the Lord as we are and not holding anything back of ourselves or hiding ourselves in any way?  These are the questions that we are attempting to unpack in this seventh part of our Lenten series.  In this episode we are talking about how we can be stripped of all the things we cloth ourselves with—to be clothed with the dignity of the Father's providence and our identity. An invitation to be naked without shame and give the God everything—to be able to surrender the fullness of our past, our lives to Him and firmly trust that he can take it all on himself and let us begin again. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 154 - Surrender Authority (Lent 2023) How does Jesus have authority? It is through His obedience to the Father. But one incredible reality of Jesus is that, in His authority He takes all the stench to the cross where it will be killed in His crucifixion. His authority is not one that lords it over us. It's not one that forces us to bow down and tremble before Him. But it's one that allows Himself to be emptied and clothed with all the messiness, struggles, confusion and pain so he can take it to his death at the cross. And in His authority he conquers sin and death, upon his resurrection. This episode is the sixth part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion that reminds us that we should not take lightly that God comes and let himself be stripped and crucified for all of us—an invitation to allow Jesus to have authority to live his life in obedience and in surrender to his Father, within ourselves. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 153 - Surrender the Stench (Lent 2023) "Have I told Jesus all of my story?" That's the question that we are going to unpack in this episode. Most of us have confessed and have sought healing in particular places of our lives, but there are still parts of who we are now that we keep in the dark—the stench.  The reality of that stench is that it is discouraging and it is despairing, but Jesus comes and He's not afraid of that. This episode is the fifth part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion. An invitation to have the radical vulnerability and trust to say "Jesus here is everything." and let Him see all of the death and stench in our lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 152 - Surrender the Script (Lent 2023) There's this simplicity that when we encounter Jesus, our lives become different. We may not understand it and it might not look the same for each of us, but our lives becomes different. Just like the story of the man born blind, before he met Jesus and hoped in Him, he was living in darkness unable to see. After his encounter there had been healing and he was finally able to see. Things changed. We know that there's an absolute vulnerability and struggle with physical blindness and it is similar to the vulnerability and struggles that we have in the desires we can't give ourselves. That is why we need to receive this gift of acceptance and surrender for us be comfortable in being uncomfortable. This episode is the fourth part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion, a beginning of a journey of surrender. An invitation to make space for the Lord, ask Jesus for help with the crosses we carry and to trust and hope, not for outcomes but in Him. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 151 - At The Well (Lent 2023) In one form or another we can sometimes live in isolation and hiding. Because of shame and sin we clothe ourselves with shadows, we hide. These lies that we hide behind keeps us stuck and paralyzed—Jesus wants to call us out of that. The places of hiding don't have to defeat us, but they can become these intimate places where the Lord desires to be. This episode is the third part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion that talks about the Well not only as a place of shame but intimacy as well. This episode shows us the reality of the renunciation and what it means to leave the shadows behind. An invitation to say "no more lying and hiding", an invitation to be honest that the shadows affect us, an invitation to name our struggles or sins, an invitation to remember that the brokenness never defines us.  A reminder that God is always in search for us, that we are pursued even as sinners and He wants to shed light to our darkness. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 150 - Up The Mountain (Lent 2023) What going up the mountain offers is an opportutiy to come face-to-face with God.  It provides a perspective where we can see what's actually important. Up there we are invited to embrace the experience and the beauty of childlike wonder and awe, it's a place of intimacy with and revelation of God. But the challenge as we go up the mountain is that we have to let go of things. And it's difficult because most of us have surrendered theophany for dopamine. We have been used to this constant consumption of "dopamine kicks"—the consumption of these things that makes us feel good.  As we go up the mountain, we need empty ourselves, and allow God to lead us there. So that we can have His eyes look upon us, which is the purest, the truest, the tenderest, the most loving, and the most hope-filled. This episode is the second part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 149 - Into The Desert (Lent 2023) There are a number of practices that we are preparing to do during this Lent. But this time of year shouldn't only be a project that we need to fulfill but rather an opportunity. Lent is an opportunity to exercise a posture of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and surrender. Surrenderring to someone, to a relationship that matters, to God. This episode is the first part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion. In this episode, we're gonna talk about about how we transform what's being taken from us to something that is offered, how we can make our sacrifices and circumstances, holy.  A reminder and an invitation to relinquish control and to entrust everything to the Lord when we cannot control or we don't like the things happening around us. A proposal to trust that the Lord can make something good and beautiful out of it. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 148 - Blessed Are The Poor The first of the nine beatitudes of Matthew said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The world is constantly trying to define us—it tries to tell us who we are. Our successes, belongings, talents, people in our lives, our jobs, culture and technology, all these things tends make us who we are. We beclothed ourselves with these things and we are tempted to find our identity in them. But again, "Who Is God and Who Am I?". To understand what it means to be truly free and live in freedom as sons and daughters of God, we have to keep this question before us. We have to let go of other worldly things and not be afraid of staying in the place of spiritual poverty before the Lord. This episode is the fourth and last part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about freedom in spiritual poverty. An invitation for us to remain in this place of poverty and let God define us, give us everything and ultimately lead us to the kingdom of heaven. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 147 - Hope For Everything We cannot grow in freedom unless we grow in faith, hope and love—that's the recipe for freedom. Faith, hope and love are the three theological virtues that connect us to God. As Christians, we are people who believe in God, hope everything from Him, and want to love Him with all their hearts and to love their neighbors. This episode is the third part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about the key role of theological virtues in acquiring internal freedom with a particular focus on the importance of Hope. An invitation to freedom for those who feel defeated and those who might've lost a sense of hope in the Lord. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 146 - Realities Not Fantasies We think we're most free when we can kind of be in control.  "I'm free when I get to get up every day and just have control over my life and my circumstances."  That's not a Catholic freedom according to Jacque Philippe, but it is actually being able to accept reality as it is. We struggle with freedom because it's hard to accept our weakness. It's quite difficult to accept our sinfulness—it's hard to accept these different parts of our lives. But if we don't accept ourselves, our realities, we either live in memories or fantasies where Jesus can't reach us. This episode is the second part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about and the importance of acceptance towards being truly free. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 145 - A Freedom Greater Than Circumstances What makes us most free, is this submitting to God and this dependence on Him.  Yes, freedom is actually dependent on obedience rather than kind of doing whatever I want. When we fall in love with God and we experience that love, this deep interior freedom takes place and it becomes the most important thing of our lives—even to a point that is greater than our circumstances. This episode is the first part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about what it means to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God and how this freedom can become greater than the circumstances of our lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 144 - Strong But Weak How do we reconcile being strong and weak at the same time? There has to come a healthy recognition that we're just unable to do things.  And it's in this weakness, in recognizing that we have a lack, that Christ is then able to come in and actually be the one who moves us through that weakness into a place of strength. In this episode, we're gonna talk about and attempt to reconcile how we are supposed to be strong but weak at the same time. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! 

Episode 143 - Getting Virtue Right A habitual and firm disposition to do good, not just for ourselves but for everybody—this is how virtue is defined. Virtue allows the person, not only to perform good acts but to give the best of themselves for the greatest good of everybody. But why do we do it? Who's it truly for and how do we exactly do it right? In this episode, we'll attempt to answer these questions as we talk about what virtue is along with some insights and practical examples on how we might get it wrong and how we can get it right.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! 

Episode 142 - Relationship, Identity, Mission "Who Is God" and "Who am I?" This is what we're attempting to answer when we talk about living in the proper order of relationship, identity, and mission. We are living in a time where we're going through an identity crisis. In the very foundation, a lot of us are forgetting who we are. We forget that we are sons and daughters of God and that we are made for relationship with Him. We've allowed the world, our successes, brokenness, and weaknesses to define us. We've allowed all these things on the outside to define us instead of starting in the right place. This episode talks more about relationship, identity, and mission—what these are about and why are they important. A reminder that our relationship with God tells us the truth about who we are and how that can help us live our mission. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! 

Episode 141 - Formation First Why do we need to go deeper into our spiritual life? What does that actually mean? Going deeper into our spiritual life means recognizing that we are not the ones in control anymore. It is accepting this place of poverty that we cannot only rely on ourselves, to fabricate everything and make it work. It is having that absolute trust and confidence in the presence of God. Yes, life will be hard, there will be poverty, there is real suffering, there will be death and there will be sin. But what do we do with that? Do we get discouraged and face our weakness over and over again or do we allow God to make the foundation of our hearts, our faith, our relationship, unshakeable. In this episode, we'll be talking about the choices we make in our lives that is geared towards formation along with some practical examples on how the presence of Jesus-the peace he gives us becomes more real than the circumstances that we have. An invitation to be able to say that "Jesus I trust you, I know you're here and I know you're real." even when it's hard. To be in a place where we can be utterly poor and can utterly rely and trust in God as we face our limitations. 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 140 - I Know Him Mary wants the Holy Spirit to come to our life, as the Holy Spirit came for her. When we're struggling, when we don't understand, when we're having deep desires and longings of our hearts, the Holy Spirit will come.  God is good, God will send and He will give us everything, we just need to have the openness to received Him and say Yes. We might not know the answers, but we know Him. In the unknown, let's rely on our relationship with Him. That's what's Advent is about and that's where we want to be. This episode is the fourth and last part of the series on Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional that talks about the Annunciation and an invitaion to say Yes to the grace of the Holy Spirit as Mary did—not just a one time 'Yes' but an ongoing, abiding and persevering Yes. ✝️ If you want to follow along with our upcoming advent series, you can get your copy of Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional (by Fr. Angelus Montgomery, CFR, and Sr. Karolyn Nunes, FSGM,) at  https://ydisciple.shop/products/emmanuel 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 139 - Peace not Panic We have this tendency that we want to fix or clean-up certain things first before we let the Lord in.  We are afraid that our place, our lives are messy—that it can be too much for anyone even for God to handle. But God is NOT panicking, he's completely in control. He's not afraid or scandalized of how messy our lives are, he actually comes for the mess. He isn't waiting for us to get it together, he wants to come and the way we get things together is by Him coming to our lives, we just have to let him in. This episode is the third part of the series on Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional that talks about how we can ask the Lord to take our panic and give His us peace. An invitation for us to let God in to our lives regardless of the mess. ✝️ If you want to follow along with our upcoming advent series, you can get your copy of Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional (by Fr. Angelus Montgomery, CFR, and Sr. Karolyn Nunes, FSGM,) at  https://ydisciple.shop/products/emmanuel 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! 

Episode 138 - Don't Fumble the Bag The gift of Advent is God proposing himself to us. He comes not just to command us to do something and watch from a far. He comes to sing with us, dance with us, BE with us. With that said, it would be tragic if the Lord comes knocking in our door and we don't open it—that we miss Emmanuel, God with us. Let us receive him and respond to him in the proper way during this Advent. This episode is the second part of the series on Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional, which talks about how we can have the hearts to be open and available to receive God—to keep our focus on the gift of Emmanuel above and beyond everything else. It is also an invitation to ask Mary to teach us the purity of heart that she had, to see God as she did. ✝️If you want to follow along with our upcoming advent series, you can get your copy of Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional (by Fr. Angelus Montgomery, CFR, and Sr. Karolyn Nunes, FSGM,) at  https://ydisciple.shop/products/emmanuel 🛒You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! 

Episode 137 - Gentle But Uncompromising Sometimes we lose hope, wondering, does He really want to come and be with us in our sickness, addiction, our family brokenness, our difficulty, our struggles, or anxieties?  Advent is a time that God speaks a definitive word into our exiles, "Yes, I do"—He comes and desires to be with us. This episode is the first part of the series on Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional which talks about what Advent is all about. A reminder that God is pursuing us and that in our brokenness, He comes to be with us. If you want to follow along with our current advent series, you can get your copy of Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional (by Fr. Angelus Montgomery, CFR, and Sr. Karolyn Nunes, FSGM,) at  https://ydisciple.shop/products/emmanuel The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com

Episode 136 - Step One Jesus not only loves us—He thirsts for us. Why does He say "I thirst"? What does it mean? It's something so hard to explain in words. I thirst is something much deeper than Jesus just saying, "I love you".  Mother Teresa tells us how much love Jesus has for each of us—beyond all that we can imagine.  In her words "Not only He loves you, even more, He longs for you. He misses you when you don't come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don't feel worthy" This fourth and last part of this series talks about Jesus's experience of us and our first step to begin to know who He wants to be for us, or who Jesus wants us to be for Him. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com

Episode 135 - Little But Infinite Sometimes, we may feel that we are only able do the little things—that what we do is insignificant. Things may seem so small, but in reality no matter how little or insignificant something may seem, nothing is little. It's because God makes them and because He makes them, they are great and infinite in value. The Saints, like Mother Teresa did amazing things, but they were faithful to the little things and through that God did the huge things in their lives. Even Jesus himself came to us small, hidden and lowly and not in the most grand way. This third part of the series on Mother Teresa reminds us that everything is an opportunity to be holy when we allow God to enter into it. A reminder that if we are faithful, even the little things matter. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! If you want to follow along with our upcoming advent series, you can get your copy of Emmanuel: An Advent Devotional (by Fr. Angelus Montgomery, CFR, and Sr. Karolyn Nunes, FSGM,) at  https://ydisciple.shop/products/emmanuel You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com.

Episode 134 - The Ecstasy Episode Could you imagine being woken up in the middle of the night because of a great desire to be with someone? For Mother Teresa, it was her desire to be with Jesus.  She had a deep, supernatural union with God that gave her the experience of divinely-inspired thirst for Him. A living relationship with Jesus that brings her to this mystical state of ecstasy. This episode is the second part of the new series on Mother Teresa that talks about the beauty of the relationship Mother Teresa had with Jesus, and how it relates to all of us.  It is also an invitation for us to recognize this desire that Mother Teresa had and the desire that God has for her and for all of us. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 133 - Our Holy Aunt As we mentioned on our previous episode, we need to be in this place where we are able to both worship and adore Jesus and at the same time be in relationship with Him and our neighbor with compassion and warmth. This episode talks about an exceptional example of that-Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  A person who embodied and lived the fullness of the gospel life and who was such a great steward of the grace the she received that it influenced millions of people in a very good way.  A saint who gave us a glimpse of who Jesus is and how He loves us. This is the first part of the new series on Mother Teresa wherein the CFRs shares a little bit about their experience of Mother Teresa and what it meant to them. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 132 - Worship and Warmth In our faith we sometimes find ourselves in the extremes. We become either strict and liturgical or warm and casual but the truth is our faith should not be "either, or" but "both, and". We need to be in this place where we are able to both worship and adore the Lord and at the same time be in relationship with Him and our neighbor with compassion and warmth. When that becomes our reality, we can make a difference—that's why it's important for us to discern where we are in this mix. This episode talks about, how we can assess where we are in this regard and how we can integrate worship and warmth to our faith and our relationship with Jesus. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 131 - We Speak Praise We allow our hearts to agree with the truth of who God is—that's what adoration means.  And as we become more familiar with the truth of who God is through adoration, we start to see more clearly who God is to us and what is given to us by Him.  Everything that we have is a gift from God and for most of us this is an overwhelming truth where Praise is the only just response. This episode is the sixth and last part on the series on Hungry For God by Dr. Ralph Martin which talks about what praise is and its' importance. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 130 - Prayer Battle Tactics There's great wisdom to having some structure or intentionality to our prayer life because not having a plan for it can lead to the death of it. The truth is, killing your prayer or spiritual life is not only limited to doing violence to it, but also not nourishing it. There might be a lot of reason for us not to make time for prayer. But we need to make a commitment to the Lord and schedule some time for our prayer life. In our life, whether we realize it or not, we're making commitments, we're scheduling things. The only question we need to ask ourselves is, "Am I making the Lord a priority?"  This episode is the fifth part of a series on Hungry For God by Dr. Ralph Martin that talks about some concrete ways and examples how we fight and win our prayer battles—may it be to about creating time and space for it or persevering in staying within it. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 129 - Stay Where the Grace Is Life is difficult—our life is a valley of tears. And the ability to remain in faith, hope, and love with God as Father is impossible if we do it ourselves.  If we want to be able to experience God's closeness and his presence and to cry out "Abba, Father" in the midst of our darkness, difficulties, crucifixions, sufferings and loss, we need grace to do it. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can the Lord for greater commitment and resolve to receive and to stay in grace at all times. This episode is the fourth part of a series on Hungry For God by Dr. Ralph Martin which talks about how we persevere to be in relationship with God the Father in the midst of these lived experiences and provide some amazing insights on how we stay where the grace is. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 128 - The Me in "Our" Father There is no denying that there can be many circumstances to dismiss fatherhood, both from our earthly and our Heavenly Father.  But despite what we've experienced, God is your Father and my Father who intently listens and cares for us—a Father who delights in his sons and daughters. We all need to have a personal relationship with God. Aside from praying "Our" Father in a communal way, You and I also need to pray to "My" Father in a personal way. God provides concrete expressions and revelations of fatherhood every day of our lives. What we need is to be more open to receive that gift of every moment that He gives us and be able to see again how the He truly cares for us in reality. This episode is the third part of a series on Hungry For God by Dr. Ralph Martin which talks about the personal fatherhood of God to each one of us. An invitation to the possibilities and responsibilities of sonship or daughtership to The Father. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 127 - Define the Relationship Being in relationship with God looks like we're sitting down in front of a big table with Him, and what a deeper conversion and deeper healing means is that we are willing to be at this table and we are willing to lay out everything here for the Lord to see.  He sits us down and He wants all our weapons, all of our distractions, all the things that keep us from Him, all the obstacles, and He's gonna keep calling us out until we lay them all out on the table. Jesus has so much more to give us, but he's waiting for us to take this step—to surrender everything to Him rather than trying to be the Lord of our own lives. Those parts of our hearts that we'd rather keep quarantined or closed off, the Lord is now sitting saying  "I want to be the Lord of that as well." This is how He is inviting all of us. This episode is the second part of a series on Hungry For God by Dr. Ralph Martin that invites us to define our relationship with Jesus and fully commit to his Lordship.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 126 -  Authentically Awesome When we were kids, we were usually amazed and awed about something that was new, grand or magnificent, but as we grew older we became more indifferent towards those things.  As Christians and Catholics, we are in love and fascinated with Jesus. But as we've sat with the Lord for longer periods of time, we too sometimes become indifferent to our Faith and His life as well. We need to keep seeing our Faith with fresh eyes—to be excited and eager to grow in relationship with the Lord.  Let's ask for the grace to continue experiencing a child-like awe and wonder towards God. This episode is the first part of a series on Hungry For God by Dr. Ralph Martin. An invitation for us to return and authentically stay in awe and wonderment before all the mysteries of God. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 125 - Heaven Within Life and circumstances are undeniably hard, but we are not alone in this.  The beautiful reality is that even when we leave prayer and go into the world, we may leave God but He never does. God is still always with us—within us. Knowing that the Lord is dwelling within us, it does change how we navigate through whatever is happening in our lives. It doesn't mean that our problems will go away instantly or that it will fix it immediately, but there can definitely be a drastic change on how we approach and live our lives.  This episode talks about this gift of the Holy Trinity dwelling in us, its' importance and how we can access that. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 124 - Dryness in Prayer Probably the most important relationship in our life is our relationship with God, and we are building that through prayer. Prayer is real—it's for everyone, but we know that prayer is not always easy. Sometimes it can even be really hard. Growing in relationship with God is a journey, there are ups and downs along with some twists and turns.  There are good days when you just feel really close to God—days when you feel that you can hear the voice of God and there's so much joy, peace and consolation that goes into that. But in some days, there may be a lot of struggles where we feel far away from God. This episode talks about what happens when prayer is hard and how we go about it. It also serves as an encouragement to be more aware of what's happening in our hearts when we pray. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 

Episode 123 - Sons of the Church Obedience is rooted in God, it is lived trust and lived surrender in His pastoring and fatherhood—that's where we want to be. It can be really difficult but as sons and daughters of the church we are invited to stay in obedience, not only to our religious superiors but ultimately to God. We need to be able to listen to the voice of God amidst all the ups and downs of the church. This episode talks through some great insights about what the Catholic appreciation for obedience actually means.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 

Episode 122 - Hot Takes 2 As we go through life we encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses and even sins. But we have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as they may seem.  This is another one of our Hot Takes episode that talks about some of the most essential topics that most of us can relate to. 1️⃣ "To tell someone the truth that they are not ready to receive, does violence to the person" 2️⃣ Can you miss your vocation? 3️⃣ Praying for healing for other people 4️⃣ "Life is a struggle, make sure you pick your battles" 5️⃣ A little bit about shopping ( "Checks and Balances on Impulsive Buying" ) The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 

Episode 121 - A Really Good Episode Because of fear and insecurity that is ruling our life, we tend to control everything and self-protect. We look inward and we really don't see what God is doing—we don't really trust anyone around us. We don't have to be afraid anymore. There will be pain and suffering on our healing journey and the wounds won't just go away, but that's okay. We got to stop running from our woundedness and stay rooted. Let us allow the vulnerability to happen at the source of healing and give the Lord permission to meet us, loves us and heal us in these deepest places in our hearts.  This episode invites us to let the Lord come into those vulnerable place and break down those walls that we've put up to protect ourselves. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 120 - No More Self-Protection The brokenness that is present in our culture deforms us. We have been taught a certain way of living that somehow cultivated the sins of self-reliance, self-protection, fear and insecurities. Because we're afraid of being weak or being poor and failing, we put up walls and put on armors to protect ourselves from being hurt—this in turn makes us live with a high level of anxiety. It doesn't have to be that way. We can be reformed and refashioned but we need to do that with the Lord and this episode provide some amazing insights and talks about how we go about doing that. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode - 119 Rethink Growth One might often think that growth is gonna happen in a particular way that we usually perceive as a huge experience or something flashy, but growth might actually look different.  What does the Lord want to teach us and how does He teach us these things? We don't grow by having everything altogether all the time. We also cannot expect to grow while staying self-protected in our comfort zones. Instead it's when we actually experience poverty. In reality we can be uncomfortable from the challenges of our lives and realize that this is what we need to help ourselves to grow in love and in holiness. This episode looks back on how most of us perceive, encounter and experience growth. An invitation for us to reflect on what does it really mean and how can we make it happen. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 118 - Learning To Be Loved There is the undeniable temptation to achieve and perform in order prove that we are good enough. But, it shouldn't be all about that. We are gifts to the Lord not because of our perfection but only because of who we are. We can get caught up in the little things that we do and detach them from the overall goal. It's not just about being perfect on all virtue, discipline or devotions—it should all be geared towards Love. The love of God and growing in love with him, that's the ultimate goal. This is a supplementary episode to close the series on The Practice of the Presence of God, that talks about experiencing love, learning to be and being loved and from that being able to love. You can find the Presence of God challenge in the Hallow App or this link https://app.hallow.com/challenges/51, where you can join in and reflect with Fr. Mark-Mary on The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 117 - Finding Peace in Chaos, Series on The Practice of the Presence of God (Part 4 of 4) There's a lot happening in the world we live in, and nothing much we can do about it. During this difficult time we need to pay attention to the Lord—to be immersed in the mystery of God, his goodness and his mercy. It's good to understand what is and what's not in our circle of influence even though it might be in our own country, group, family or even in our own life. Let's discern with the Lord, what's His and whats ours to deal with together.  The beauty and grace of it is that we have the freedom to surrender all the things we cannot control, and bring it God.  Let's not fall to the pattern of distraction, discouragement, despair. We need to find a way to encounter the light to push back the darkness. There's hope to find peace amidst chaos. You can find the Presence of God challenge in the Hallow App or this link https://app.hallow.com/challenges/51, where you can join in and reflect with Fr. Mark-Mary on The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 116 - Give It To God, Series on The Practice of the Presence of God (Part 3 of 4) We can't do anything more to earn God's love, we have it already! We can be weak, we can be poor, and we can be sinners—and that's okay. We can bring all that to the Lord and that's where we start.  Jesus doesn't want us to give him the good things alone, but the bad things as well. What the Lord wants is for us to invite Him in that space for Him to be with us on that.  What we need to do is to surrender every bit of who we are, surrender our desires to control and give it all to God. This episode talks more about some great points in the practice of presence of God. An invitation to reflect back on who we are, understand or accept our weaknesses and sins. While at the same time, recognize who God is as we surrender everything to Him. You can find the Presence of God challenge in the Hallow App or this link https://app.hallow.com/challenges/51, where you can join in and reflect with Fr. Mark-Mary on The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 115 - Prayer: Pure and Simple, Series on The Practice of the Presence of God (Part 2 of 4) What does a good prayer look like? We don't know.. Everyone has the freedom on how they pray. But thinking about God, reading a book about God and just saying words about God is not praying. Praying is the relationship that brings us in to a conscious living contact with God himself. Everything is at the service of relationship with Him. There's a real person looking back at us in prayer—who loves us and wants to draw us close to his sacred heart. Jesus wants to meet us in that contemplative space and experience his heart there. In relation to Brother Lawrence's Book, this episode talks through some amazing insights on the relational aspect of prayer as well as some logic and application of prayer. An invitation for us to re-evaluate our prayer life which is meant to put us in relationship with God. You can find the Presence of God challenge in the Hallow App or this link https://app.hallow.com/challenges/51, where you can join in and reflect with Fr. Mark-Mary on The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 114 - Unceasing Prayer, Series on The Practice of the Presence of God (Part 1 of 4) With the abundance of noise in our world, there can be a lot of interruptions to our ongoing conversation and relationship with the God.  The habitual, silent and secret conversation we all dream to have with God, all seems to be very difficult to achieve. There's going to be a cost, sacrifice and perseverance. We need to drive away from our minds everything that is capable of interrupting our thought of God. It doesn't overnight nor does it happen easily.  Like any dream that we have, we do need to put some work into it in order to make it happen.  The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 113 - Under Open Heavens Whether we feel it or not—believe it or not, this is our identity. We live as beloved sons and daughters of God.  There's a temptation to believe the we have to do something amazing or special to be able to bring the Gospel and Christ to people. But the reality is, the same spirit and the same gifts are given to us in our baptism as Christians and Catholics.  All of us are called to bring the Gospel and Christ to people and by participating in this mission we are just being who we are supposed to be. This episode talks more about our identity, the inheritance we have and our mission. A beautiful reminder that the power of Christ is already in us, we just have to embrace it—have faith in it! The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 112 - Words, Works, and Wonders We are all beloved sons and daughters of the Father and through our baptism we are all anointed and empowered. We don't have to be all-put-together or be perfect in order to bring healing to ourselves and to other people. We are all incomplete and despite that God wants to work through us—right now. There might be times that we can revert our eyes from our Jesus, or get stuck within ourselves or maybe distracted by the world. At times like this we need to fight a continuous battle to keep looking at Jesus and feed our faith. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

Episode 111 - Searching and Fearless, Series on The Twelve Steps (Part 3 of 3) God wants to go back into our lives and our stories—and start speaking light, redemption and truth over that. There's the need for us to have a radical opening of our hearts and honesty to what really is happening in our lives. We have to be searching and fearless to admit what's inside our "junk room" and bring that to the Lord.  Whatever that makes our lives unmanageable is just a symptom of something else. We not only need to look at the things that make our lives unmanageable but also we look at the things that drives them and the ripple effect that it had caused.  This episode focuses on the gift and highlights of the remaining step. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!