Poco a Poco Podcast
Looking for rest and renewal in your spiritual life?
Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. PT of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal for Practical Spirituality rooted in prayer, communal life, and work with the poor. Each episode offers rest, encouragement, refreshment, and renewal for the pilgrimage to the Father’s house.
Poco a Poco, little by little, step by step.
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New Episodes
Silence of Memory
Have you ever felt pulled back into the past, either by something beautiful you miss or something painful you still carry?
In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of memory. Our memories can be a gift, helping us remember God’s goodness and receive His grace again in the present. But they can also become places where we get stuck, trapped in nostalgia, old wounds, discouragement, resentment, or the ache of what once was.
The friars explore how Jesus wants to meet us in our memories, not so we can live in the past, but so He can bring healing, integration, and peace. Whether we are remembering past consolations or painful experiences, the invitation is to return to the present moment where God is still real, still near, and still loving us now.
Join us as we learn to bring our memories to Jesus, and let Him lead us from old noise into deeper stillness, healing, and communion.
Silence of the Imagination
Have you ever noticed how quickly your mind can drift into “what ifs,”” old conversations, or stories that aren’t actually happening?
In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of the imagination. The imagination is a gift from God, one that helps us remember beauty, enter into Scripture, pray with the Rosary, and receive the world more deeply. But when it becomes untethered from reality, it can also pull us into fantasy, rumination, fear, resentment, comparison, or distraction.
The friars explore what it means to let the imagination be purified and brought under the gentle custody of the Holy Spirit. This is not about shutting the imagination down, but allowing it to serve truth, beauty, intimacy, and communion with God.
Join us as we learn to return from fantasy to reality, and let our imagination become a doorway to deeper prayer, healing, and union with Jesus.
Silence of the Senses
What if the noise around us is keeping us from hearing the voice of God within us?
In this episode, the friars begin a new series on holy silence, starting with the silence of the senses. They reflect on how our eyes, ears, taste, touch, and even smell are gifts from God, ways we encounter beauty, creation, and one another, but also how easily these senses can become overwhelmed, distracted, or pulled out of order.
This conversation is not about rejecting the world or shutting everything off. It is about learning custody of the senses: allowing the Holy Spirit to bring stillness, freedom, and right order to the ways we see, hear, taste, touch, and receive the world around us.
The friars invite us to consider where our senses may need healing, discipline, or purification, not so we can love less, but so we can love more deeply and become more available to God.
Join us as we learn to quiet the noise, receive the gift of our senses rightly, and make more room for the silence where God speaks.
On Gossip
Have you ever realized that a “harmless” conversation can sometimes start to tear someone down?
In this episode, the friars talk about gossip, why it can be so easy to fall into, why it often feels like connection, and why it never really gives us the communion we’re looking for. Whether it happens at work, in friendships, in community, or around the people we love, gossip can quietly train our hearts to tear down instead of build up.
The friars reflect on the deeper questions beneath gossip: What am I seeking here? Am I trading authenticity for connection? Am I willing to let my discipleship reach even the way I speak about others?
This conversation is a gentle invitation to bring Jesus into our words, our relationships, and the places where we feel tempted to belong at someone else’s expense.
Join us as we learn to speak with greater charity, courage, and freedom, and let our words become a place where Christ is present.
Spotlight
Receiving Mary’s Hospitality (Rewind)
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…
Believe That God is Enough (Rewind)
“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…
Ordinary But Extraordinary (Rewind)
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.
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…
Intentional and Wanted by God
Were you just a surprise, or did God want you? In this episode, the friars speak about 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…
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Every one-time or recurring gift supports our mission to evangelize the culture through beautiful, high-quality storytelling. We could not do this without you. Thank you, and God bless you!
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Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
A Little Hope, A Little Reset
Silence of Interior Conversations
How much of your day is spent talking to yourself?
Replaying a difficult conversation. Planning what you should have said. Criticizing yourself for a mistake. Imagining what might happen next. Running through the same fears, judgments, and to-do lists again and again. In this episode, the friars explore the constant interior monologue that can fill our minds with noise and leave us anxious, distracted, or stuck within ourselves.
But we were not made to live inside a closed loop. We were made for communion. The invitation is to notice when that interior conversation has turned inward and begin directing it toward God. Instead of merely thinking about a struggle, we can bring it to Jesus. Instead of endlessly processing what happened, we can let Him meet us there. The monologue becomes a dialogue.
The friars offer practical examples of what this can look like in everyday life: after falling into sin, before or after a difficult conversation, when anxiety takes over, or when loneliness and discouragement begin shaping the way we see ourselves. Sometimes the movement toward prayer can be as simple as stopping, looking toward Jesus, and remembering: I am not alone. We are doing this together.
This kind of silence does not mean having no thoughts at all. It means allowing the noise within us to find its proper end in relationship with God. As our interior life becomes less about endlessly speaking to ourselves and more about being with Him, we make room for His presence, His truth, and His peace.
Silence of the Senses
What if the noise around us is keeping us from hearing the voice of God within us?
In this episode, the friars begin a new series on holy silence, starting with the silence of the senses. They reflect on how our eyes, ears, taste, touch, and even smell are gifts from God, ways we encounter beauty, creation, and one another, but also how easily these senses can become overwhelmed, distracted, or pulled out of order.
This conversation is not about rejecting the world or shutting everything off. It is about learning custody of the senses: allowing the Holy Spirit to bring stillness, freedom, and right order to the ways we see, hear, taste, touch, and receive the world around us.
The friars invite us to consider where our senses may need healing, discipline, or purification, not so we can love less, but so we can love more deeply and become more available to God.
Join us as we learn to quiet the noise, receive the gift of our senses rightly, and make more room for the silence where God speaks.
On Comparison and Insecurity
Have you ever looked at someone else’s gifts, vocation, prayer, family, or life and suddenly felt like you weren’t enough?
In this episode, the friars talk about the very human struggle of comparison and insecurity. Whether it shows up in ministry, community, relationships, social media, or the hidden places of the heart, comparison can quietly pull us away from the truth of who we are in God.
They reflect on how insecurity is often connected to deeper narratives we have picked up along the way, the stories that tell us we are less than, not gifted enough, or somehow behind. But the Father does not compare His children. He sees each of us uniquely, loves us personally, and invites us to live from the truth of our identity instead of the fear of not measuring up.
Join us as we learn to bring comparison and insecurity back to Jesus, and let His voice remind us who we really are.
Borrowing Peace
What if peace isn’t something you have to create on your own?
In this episode, the friars reflect on the gift of “borrowing” from Jesus. His peace, His confidence, His mercy, His steadiness, especially when our own hearts feel overwhelmed, anxious, or shaken. Like a child borrowing calm from a loving parent, we’re invited to bring our storms to the One who is never overcome by them.
They explore how Jesus offers us His very life: in prayer, in the Eucharist, and in the quiet steadiness of His presence. When we feel disregulated, afraid, ashamed, or unable to hold everything together, we don’t have to manufacture peace by ourselves. We can receive His.
This conversation is an invitation to return to Jesus in the boat, Jesus in the Eucharist, Jesus who gives His body and His peace to us so that what we receive from Him can become what we offer to others.
Join us as we learn to borrow peace from Jesus, and become a place of calm, mercy, and safety for others.
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 people have not chosen you. Either way, at times, we can experience loneliness at some point. Instead of…
Habits For Holiness
A Prophetic People
We’re called to be prophets. Real, recognizable prophets in our day to day. How does that hit you? What does your life look like? Do people around you see it and think, “This guy’s living it. He communicates in the depths of who he is that Jesus is alive and he’s real and he’s risen from the dead and this means something…
The Art of Sacrifice
To sacrifice is to make holy. Most of us are given enough suffering in this world that if we were to offer it fully and freely to the Lord, that would be enough. We need only to accept; well, the penances that life gives us. Any additional sacrifices — ones that we choose — should be chosen carefully, intentionally, after checking…
Learning to Love Like Jesus
The fullness of the mission of Christ includes a heart for the poor. This is pretty central, actually, but somehow doesn’t always get a lot of airtime. This isn’t just something we do, but who we are. It’s not just a Christian thing — this is being like Jesus. And even once that heart is developed and the desire is there, the how can…
Christian Contentment
In our world of wanting more and of endlessly upgrading, we have to get good at saying, “Okay, that’s enough.” There’s a game of constant consumption and if we’re not careful, it’s going to take advantage of us. Don’t get played! Simplicity isn’t about getting rid of everything. It’s saying “no” to things you need to say “no” to…
Your Stuff is Holding You Back
Ever try to connect with the person right in front of you, but he or she is staring at a phone, totally preoccupied? You want to jump in and say, “Look up! Look at me!” How often are we those preoccupied people in prayer? We have to be real about attachment; whether we like it or not, our humanity is into stuff. In our weakness, we can get…
Hot Takes
Hot Takes 7
We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in our lives, and we must 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…
Hot Takes 6
We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in our lives, and we must be attentive. 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. Many questions will come our way…
Hot Takes 5
We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in our lives, and we must be attentive. 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. Many questions will come our way…
Hot Takes 4
We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in our lives, and we must 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, many…
Hot Takes 3
We must understand that we are going through different journeys, and God is doing something completely different in each of our lives, and we must 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…
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Hungry for God
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 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…
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…
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 …
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…
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…
Beautitudes
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Litany of Trust
Trust Is Hard for Everyone (Rewind)
Week 4 of a series on A 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust, by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. 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…
Trust That Mercy Is Greater (Rewind)
Week 2 of a series on a 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust, by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. 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…
Week 3 of a series on A 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust, by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. 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…
Trust God With Your Past (Rewind)
Week 2 of a series on a 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust, by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. 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…
Trust Comes From Relationship (Rewind)
This episode kicks off a four-part series on a new retreat based on the Litany of Trust from the Sisters of Life. 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 Is Hard for Everyone
Week 4 of a series on A 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust, by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. 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…
Make This Mission Possible
Your generosity helps us create powerful Catholic media that draws people closer to Christ.
Every one-time or recurring gift supports our mission to evangelize the culture through beautiful, high-quality storytelling. We could not do this without you. Thank you, and God bless you!
Your donation is tax-deductible within the United States, and we will provide a tax receipt for your record
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
The Heart of God
A Holy Hiding
Affirmation feels different when it’s public, out loud and in front of everyone — as at the Baptism of Christ and the Transfiguration, where God audibly affirmed Jesus as his beloved Son. That affirmation becomes the foundation that allows Jesus to be free; to weep and be compassionate and angry, to be a revelation…
For 30 years, Jesus lived quietly in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph; his “hidden” years. Through his normal day-to-day living of going to school and having friends and putting in a hard day’s work, Jesus made sacred the hidden space. That hidden space is where most of us live most of our lives — out of the public eye…
The Father’s Blessing
Affirmation feels different when it’s public, out loud and in front of everyone — as at the Baptism of Christ and the Transfiguration, where God audibly affirmed Jesus as his beloved Son. That affirmation becomes the foundation that allows Jesus to be free; to weep and be compassionate and angry, to be a revelation…
The Tears of God
You see a different side of someone when you see what makes him or her cry. Seeing a person weep, and knowing why — the thing he or she cares about so deeply as to be moved to tears — is a deep insight. Lazarus. Jerusalem. Sin. Jesus weeps at these. That tells us something important, for a man who weeps…
Jesus Receives You as a Gift
“Nobody has ever been for me like this before.” That’s the difference it can make to receive someone as gift. Jesus looked at the disciples and thanked the Father for the gift of them. He looked around at the faces of people he loved and received each of them and all of them as a gift. In their goodness and…
Last Words of Christ
Jesus always chose his words carefully. There was great meaning and intention behind each word, part of which we can only begin to understand by listening carefully. How much more, then, should we pay attention to Jesus’s very last words? The ones he painfully uttered as he was dying on the cross? What do…
Jesus and the Jubilee
Joy and the Valley of Tears
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 discuss joy amid suffering and how the Jubilee…
The Fullness of God
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. Proper 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…
Jubilee and the Good Samaritan
Why do we leave what’s good and search 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 our peace and identity in God—toward places that leave us wounded and empty? We all carry brokenness, whether it’s the orphan mindset, performance pressure, or endless distractions. But Jesus…
Jubilee and Prophets
What does our identity as prophets mean? We are baptized in Jesus and called to be prophets, meaning 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 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…
Jubilee and Kingship
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—leading, healing…
Silence Vs. Noise
The Asceticism of Silence (Rewind)
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, contemplative silence, inner recollection, and interior stillness are ways to live in a relationship with God. But, there’s a silver bullet to make people live in chaos and noise, exteriorly or interiorly. Every day, through general media…
The Battle (Rewind)
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; if we want to look at and learn about God, we must 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…
Hunger for God
Are you hungry for God? One of our foundational struggles is that we’re just not hungry for Him. Part of the path, if not the path, is that we will have to experience this hunger. A “stepping away” from the noise, distractions, and self-reliance, entering into a place of vulnerability and dependence on God and being able to live and pray from that place. Today, we will…
(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…
Contemplative Spaces
What stands in your way to go deeper with the Lord? Growing in silence and our ability to contemplate is highly important, but responding to that will undoubtedly be very hard. How do we do this practically? Today, we will talk about how actual behavior change happens and how we can set ourselves up for success to grow in silence and make our…
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The Fire Within
Detest Sin, Love Your Neighbor
What happens when we sincerely give ourselves to the lives of prayer and the experience of God? The Fire Within series has been quite intense, but it’s 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. Little by little, Poco a Poco is the…
Mind Your Business
Solitude is not just quiet time for ourselves. It is not running from people, isolation, or hiding from or avoiding our problems by going off and being alone. But instead, 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…
Humility, Obedience, and Prayer
Humility is a lowliness — not for its own sake but rather a proper 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 doesn’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…
Suffering and Prayer
In reality, suffering’s out there in many ways, and in most ways, it’s unavoidable. So, “Okay, what do we do with it?”. We’ll unpack this question 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…
Conditions for Growth
We are all invited to a profound, mystical union with God. But to grow in our spiritual life, Fr. Dubay mentioned in his book that there are certain conditions that we need to understand our growth in the mystical or spiritual life. In this fourth episode of our series on the Fire Within, we’ll reflect upon and respond to the 8 conditions for spiritual…
Advent
Merry Christmas 2024
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 hearts, and we are invited to come closer to Jesus during Christmas. This is why…
Little Like Mary (Advent 2023)
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,” but that’s not our Lady’s experience. She didn’t understand, but she knew what God had proposed to him, and despite that, she said “yes.” She trusts; she surrenders in this whole experience of her life without…
Good St. Joseph (Advent 2023)
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 a fantastic example and witness. 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…
God is Working (Advent 2023)
Can you believe that God is working with what’s happening in the world? 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…
Learning from Nazareth (Advent 2023)
What does Nazareth look like for you, and how does it compare to how you encounter Advent? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived in Nazareth—a place of beauty, simplicity, and stillness. Meanwhile, Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus. It is usually one of the busiest times of the year for most of us. So, how can Advent be an experience of Nazareth…
Lent
The Father’s Banquet (Lent 2026)
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.
An Unfading Mercy (Lent 2026)
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 Father’s Embrace (Lent 2026)
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 Necessary Consequence of Sin (Lent 2026)
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.
Give Me My Inheritance (Lent 2026)
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.
Poco a Poco Episodes
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Silence of Interior Conversations
How much of your day is spent talking to yourself?
Replaying a difficult conversation. Planning what you should have said. Criticizing yourself for a mistake. Imagining what might happen next. Running through the same fears, judgments, and to-do lists again and again. In this episode, the friars explore the constant interior monologue that can fill our minds with noise and leave us anxious, distracted, or stuck within ourselves.
But we were not made to live inside a closed loop. We were made for communion. The invitation is to notice when that interior conversation has turned inward and begin directing it toward God. Instead of merely thinking about a struggle, we can bring it to Jesus. Instead of endlessly processing what happened, we can let Him meet us there. The monologue becomes a dialogue.
The friars offer practical examples of what this can look like in everyday life: after falling into sin, before or after a difficult conversation, when anxiety takes over, or when loneliness and discouragement begin shaping the way we see ourselves. Sometimes the movement toward prayer can be as simple as stopping, looking toward Jesus, and remembering: I am not alone. We are doing this together.
This kind of silence does not mean having no thoughts at all. It means allowing the noise within us to find its proper end in relationship with God. As our interior life becomes less about endlessly speaking to ourselves and more about being with Him, we make room for His presence, His truth, and His peace.
Silence of Memory
Have you ever felt pulled back into the past, either by something beautiful you miss or something painful you still carry?
In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of memory. Our memories can be a gift, helping us remember God’s goodness and receive His grace again in the present. But they can also become places where we get stuck, trapped in nostalgia, old wounds, discouragement, resentment, or the ache of what once was.
The friars explore how Jesus wants to meet us in our memories, not so we can live in the past, but so He can bring healing, integration, and peace. Whether we are remembering past consolations or painful experiences, the invitation is to return to the present moment where God is still real, still near, and still loving us now.
Join us as we learn to bring our memories to Jesus, and let Him lead us from old noise into deeper stillness, healing, and communion.
Silence of the Imagination
Have you ever noticed how quickly your mind can drift into “what ifs,”” old conversations, or stories that aren’t actually happening?
In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of the imagination. The imagination is a gift from God, one that helps us remember beauty, enter into Scripture, pray with the Rosary, and receive the world more deeply. But when it becomes untethered from reality, it can also pull us into fantasy, rumination, fear, resentment, comparison, or distraction.
The friars explore what it means to let the imagination be purified and brought under the gentle custody of the Holy Spirit. This is not about shutting the imagination down, but allowing it to serve truth, beauty, intimacy, and communion with God.
Join us as we learn to return from fantasy to reality, and let our imagination become a doorway to deeper prayer, healing, and union with Jesus.
Silence of the Senses
What if the noise around us is keeping us from hearing the voice of God within us?
In this episode, the friars begin a new series on holy silence, starting with the silence of the senses. They reflect on how our eyes, ears, taste, touch, and even smell are gifts from God, ways we encounter beauty, creation, and one another, but also how easily these senses can become overwhelmed, distracted, or pulled out of order.
This conversation is not about rejecting the world or shutting everything off. It is about learning custody of the senses: allowing the Holy Spirit to bring stillness, freedom, and right order to the ways we see, hear, taste, touch, and receive the world around us.
The friars invite us to consider where our senses may need healing, discipline, or purification, not so we can love less, but so we can love more deeply and become more available to God.
Join us as we learn to quiet the noise, receive the gift of our senses rightly, and make more room for the silence where God speaks.
On Gossip
Have you ever realized that a “harmless” conversation can sometimes start to tear someone down?
In this episode, the friars talk about gossip, why it can be so easy to fall into, why it often feels like connection, and why it never really gives us the communion we’re looking for. Whether it happens at work, in friendships, in community, or around the people we love, gossip can quietly train our hearts to tear down instead of build up.
The friars reflect on the deeper questions beneath gossip: What am I seeking here? Am I trading authenticity for connection? Am I willing to let my discipleship reach even the way I speak about others?
This conversation is a gentle invitation to bring Jesus into our words, our relationships, and the places where we feel tempted to belong at someone else’s expense.
Join us as we learn to speak with greater charity, courage, and freedom, and let our words become a place where Christ is present.
Limited Men
Have you ever felt like everyone needs something from you, and you just don’t have enough to give?
In this episode, the friars reflect honestly on leadership, fatherhood, responsibility, and the ache of being limited. Whether it’s emails, texts, meetings, ministry, family needs, or people asking for more than we can offer, there is a real poverty in wanting to love well while knowing we cannot do everything perfectly.
They talk about the humility of naming our limits, the importance of healthy boundaries, and the grace of admitting, “I am a limited man.” This isn’t about giving less or closing our hearts. It’s about learning how to give ourselves freely, honestly, and with Jesus, trusting that our limitations are not obstacles to His work.
For parents, pastors, leaders, and anyone feeling stretched thin, this conversation is a reminder that we do not have to be infinite. We are invited to be faithful, poor, generous, and dependent on the One who never runs out.
Join us as we learn to accept our limits and let Jesus meet us in the poverty of what we cannot carry alone.
On Comparison and Insecurity
Have you ever looked at someone else’s gifts, vocation, prayer, family, or life and suddenly felt like you weren’t enough?
In this episode, the friars talk about the very human struggle of comparison and insecurity. Whether it shows up in ministry, community, relationships, social media, or the hidden places of the heart, comparison can quietly pull us away from the truth of who we are in God.
They reflect on how insecurity is often connected to deeper narratives we have picked up along the way, the stories that tell us we are less than, not gifted enough, or somehow behind. But the Father does not compare His children. He sees each of us uniquely, loves us personally, and invites us to live from the truth of our identity instead of the fear of not measuring up.
Join us as we learn to bring comparison and insecurity back to Jesus, and let His voice remind us who we really are.
Knicks in Five
What if the joy of victory is meant to teach us something deeper?
In this episode, the friars take a very Poco a Poco turn, from celebrating the Knicks’ championship win to reflecting on what sports, fandom, loyalty, and shared joy can reveal about the spiritual life. Behind the fun, the emotion, and the city-wide celebration is something profoundly human: the desire to belong, to suffer together, to hope together, and to share in a victory that somehow becomes our own.
They explore how the joy of another’s win can point us toward something greater: the victory of Christ. Just as fans rejoice in a team’s triumph, we are invited to rejoice in the Resurrection, in the communion of saints, and in the gift of being part of a Body where grace is never private and victory is meant to be shared.
Join us as we celebrate, laugh, and look beyond the scoreboard. Let’s look at the deeper victory we are all invited to share in Christ.
Silence of Interior Conversations
How much of your day is spent talking to yourself?
Replaying a difficult conversation. Planning what you should have said. Criticizing yourself for a mistake. Imagining what might happen next. Running through the same fears, judgments, and to-do lists again and again. In this episode, the friars explore the constant interior monologue that can fill our minds with noise and leave us anxious, distracted, or stuck within ourselves.
But we were not made to live inside a closed loop. We were made for communion. The invitation is to notice when that interior conversation has turned inward and begin directing it toward God. Instead of merely thinking about a struggle, we can bring it to Jesus. Instead of endlessly processing what happened, we can let Him meet us there. The monologue becomes a dialogue.
The friars offer practical examples of what this can look like in everyday life: after falling into sin, before or after a difficult conversation, when anxiety takes over, or when loneliness and discouragement begin shaping the way we see ourselves. Sometimes the movement toward prayer can be as simple as stopping, looking toward Jesus, and remembering: I am not alone. We are doing this together.
This kind of silence does not mean having no thoughts at all. It means allowing the noise within us to find its proper end in relationship with God. As our interior life becomes less about endlessly speaking to ourselves and more about being with Him, we make room for His presence, His truth, and His peace.