Watch this video episode at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbtZV0z_is0 Episode 61 - 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 attached to stuff, which can serve us or n...
Jun 16, 2021•38 min
VIDEO now available! Watch on Spirit Juice’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_wJgfHG1sI Episode 60 - Are You Stuck in the Ordinary? As Christians, what does our free time look like? Do we prioritize the same things as the world? Is there any difference in how we spend our time and money and attention? Those who know Jesus live differently. In important things, and also ordinary, everyday things. We’re talking about the kind of mindset that changes the most important thing abo...
Jun 09, 2021•36 min
VIDEO now available! Watch on Spirit Juice’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/dZ78lBznd_s Episode 59 - Loving The Person Who Has All Your Pet Peeves Love your enemies. AND love that one person who embodies every single one of your pet peeves and always seems to find the fastest way to most intensely annoy you. Each person’s personality—our most and least favourite parts—is gift, and it’s all about how we receive the uniqueness of each person in his or her personality. Each trait speaks an asp...
Jun 02, 2021•51 min
VIDEO now available! Watch on Spirit Juice’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFruaMSgbdc Epiosde 58 - You Need Community We have some pretty strong feelings on this topic… and it shows in this week’s episode. Passing through purgatory is the experience that prepares us for heaven. There’s no greater insight into what purgatory is like than family life or community life. The most important thing you’ll bring to your vocation—whether that’s religious life or family life—is your capacity...
May 26, 2021•56 min
Now with video! WATCH the podcast on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4Hg26S_bDo Episode 57 - Discipleship Is a Team Sport Discipleship is a team sport. Family—both through our natural families, and our supernatural family through baptism—and communion with others is an essential ingredient to the Christian life. Not that it will be easy… it won’t be. It is simple, but not easy. An encounter with family lived well is redeeming not because it’s perfect, but becau...
May 19, 2021•59 min
Now with VIDEO! Watch this episode on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FteWNKQD8wM Episode 56 - Jesus, Look At My Heart It’s key to commit to prayer; to schedule it and keep honor it through intention and discipline. But, then, how do we maintain prayer as an intimate relationship and not let it become a routine? The answer to one question: where’s your heart in it? Going through the motions to get it done is not the point. You know… when you finish your prayer t...
May 12, 2021•57 min
Now with VIDEO! Watch this episode on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbgj8IU-ogg. Episode 55 - You’ll Be Glad You Prayed Do you know anybody who wants to work out *every* time? Unlikely. But nobody who gets in that workout says afterwards, “That was a waste of time. Why’d I bother?” Even more with prayer. When you take the time, it’s always, “I’m so glad I did that.” Eternal perspective changes how you use your time. What are we made for? To live forever. Our d...
May 05, 2021•42 min
Episode 54 - We’re Not Kids Anymore You crave conversion and real change; to receive the healing and hope that God wants to give you. How does that lasting, long-term change happen? It happens when we accept some truth or let go of some lie. Each step forms our will, either strengthening it or weakening it. And the stronger our will, the more we’ll be able to choose the good even when it’s hard and resist the evil even when it’s tempting. This change can start in an instant, but the long-term fo...
Apr 28, 2021•51 min
Episode 53 - You Are Not an Outsider We’re all really interested in what God can do for us; the healing, the restoration, the gifts of the Father. Are we as interested in committing to the long-term relationship that allows us to receive all of that? It’s all too easy to spend the inheritance while overlooking the relationship. As sons and daughters of God, we’re meant to live from the inside of Jesus’ heart. Not as outsiders or coworkers or bystanders, but within, where we can experience being ...
Apr 21, 2021•43 min
Episode 52 - The Rich Man Who Didn’t Turn St Francis is the rich young man who didn’t turn away sad. God invited St Francis, and his response was even more than his heart burning for the Lord — he was consumed. There was no going back. He became more like Jesus, but without being less like Francis. He became more like Francis; not losing himself in God, but finding himself in God. The unique man that he is in the eyes of the Father, not just repeating the works of other saints. Our hearts have s...
Apr 14, 2021•48 min
Episode 51 - God Is Looking for You We have a God who’s always on the move, always pursuing. In our busyness, we’re distracted — we miss things. We miss people. But God is constantly seeking, constantly encountering what is broken, and seeing the wholeness. Christianity is different: it’s about God becoming Man and coming to us. He’s looking for you. Let yourself be found. For the next few episodes, we’re focusing on Habits for Holiness, a new book written by our own Fr Mark-Mary. You can find i...
Apr 07, 2021•54 min
Jesus has a wounded human heart; he allowed himself to be fully wounded this way. If it had only been his hands or feet, he would’ve survived. How do we allow ourselves to be wounded for him? My sacrifices thus far are survivable. I could still be intact on my own. He gave us everything; we can’t turn back. Evangelical chastity is the full, total gift of your heart, which is set on fire with love for God and for one another. Jesus teaches us a new way to love on the cross — one that lines up wit...
Mar 31, 2021•39 min
Obedience isn’t something being snatched from you; it’s about willingly offering the gift of your freedom. It comes from great humility, a bold statement that “I’m not in charge of my life. I’m not God.” It’s recognizing that we don’t have all the answers, and God really knows what is best for us. So wherever Jesus is, wherever he’s leading you: go there. Stay there. Choose to go there... don't get dragged! Don’t back off, don’t fill it with other things. Stay focused on him on the cross. We’re ...
Mar 24, 2021•49 min
The last few weeks, we’ve been in the wilderness for Lent… but you can only stay in the desert so long. And when the Lord came out of the desert, he was very focused on his mission, with one moment in mind: going to the cross, and ultimately giving his life. As we move towards Holy Week and the Triduum: stay focused. Look at Jesus on the cross. For three episodes, we’re going to ponder the wounds of Christ and relate them to the three evangelical counsels : poverty, obedience and chastity. (Peop...
Mar 17, 2021•58 min
Sometimes, in the heart of the wilderness, your step that was a strong march slows down. Then turns into a limp after rolling an ankle, and finally ends up looking more like a crawl by the end of the day. And that’s fine. Because the only rule is we don’t stop . When there’s a choice between struggling and stopping, we always want to err on the side of going for it. That means that at the beginning of each day, the ones who “win”, spiritually, aren’t necessarily the most gifted, the most talente...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 4 min
After trying to go it alone day in, day out, you start to realize you can’t do it alone. That’s miserable. In the desert, you’re radically dependent: on the Lord, and on people who surround you. Relationships are not accessory. They’re essential. This breakthrough happens humanly and spiritually. All the physical sufferings start to purify you and you can experience what’s most important. It’s in our weakness that the only comfort, relationship, comes alive. Once you lean into that, you can find...
Mar 03, 2021•49 min
The desert isn’t about struggling for the sake of struggle. There’s a wrong kind of struggle; one that’s self-reliant, self-focused, worldly. It’s difficult for the Lord to do anything for us there. In the desert, the reality of the wilderness slams against pride and ego. Against “I know what’s best” and “I’m strong.” You get to the desert and it punches you in the face because everything’s so heightened. You figure out real quick how self-focused you are. And that wake-up call is good , because...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 4 min
We’re kind of tired of mediocre Lents. You? This Lent, we’re going for it: into the wilderness. Accepting God's invitation into the desert, with all its dangers and hazards and risks. Why does a loving Father, through a loving Church, invite us into a wild unknown? Because it’s not unknown… to him. He’s the one who initiates the invite every time. Jesus’ journey into the desert began immediately after his baptism—after receiving his anointing and identity from the Father. He goes into the desert...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr
If you want to be healthy, happy and holy—and truly, these things are possible!—you have to live intentionally. It’s not going to happen by accident. The small things are the foundation for that kind of life; getting out of bed on time, showing up to that planned workout, cooking the healthy groceries sitting in the fridge instead of firing up that food delivery app (again). Because things fall in order when you’re living in order. This consistency is often hidden… boring , even. It’s often anyt...
Feb 10, 2021•51 min
What’s one thing you can do that will move you towards being holier, healthier and happier? Seriously… take a second. Bet something came to mind. Right? Sometimes we overcomplicate the plan. When there’s a lot to change, or the change is going to be rough, it’s tempting to bail on starting. It’s easy to avoid doing the hard things, even the little hard things. Maybe especially the little things—but that’s how holiness happens. Choosing to do the small hard thing, for Jesus, over and over and ove...
Feb 03, 2021•57 min
This week, we welcome a special guest for the first in a three-episode series: Jackie Mulligan of Reform Wellness. “It’s ok to not be ok… and it’s also ok to want to be ok.” God loves and accepts us as we are, in all the messiness of our weakness. And his love also draws us to renewal; to real change that leads to real holiness, happiness, and a life that’s abundant. Life-changing renewal is possible and it’s what God wants for us. But it doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intention. It takes ...
Jan 27, 2021•57 min
We welcome a pretty special guest this week... Br Kolbe, of "He likes cars" renown! Let's get right to it: interior poverty. Facing our own brokenness, weakness, failings. Not the first place we want to go, right? But here’s the thing… there’s no way around it. The “secret” way to following Jesus is coming to terms with our poverty— with him, as he gives us the grace to be able to see it and not be overwhelmed by it. Getting to that place of emptiness allows him to fill us with peace and trust. ...
Jan 20, 2021•59 min
If you live community life well, if you live family life well, people are going to see your sins and weakness and failures. That can be a hard place. But if you can stay there, and people can stay there with you: that’s the good stuff. That’s the place of abundant fruit. Real fraternity—the love of brothers and sisters—is powerful. There can be a real infection in our hearts today that comes from experiences of rejection. We need spaces where we can rejoice in one another despite our weaknesses:...
Jan 13, 2021•53 min
“There are so many voices telling me I’m not good enough, not worthy of that love. And lots of voices saying that this kind of freedom doesn’t matter or isn’t possible. That I can’t experience true forgiveness or true healing or true conversion. That’s where the battle is fought.” We hear a lot of voices. And the gift of prayer is a space where we can hear the one voice that matters. Blessed are those who root out the distractions in their lives, for they will know God. As baptized Christians, w...
Jan 06, 2021•57 min
Even when we’re actively trying to trust God in all things, there’s a constant temptation to take back control. To just do it ourselves. To bail out of surrendering to Him, and keep things from Him to try and “make sure they get done.” We forget, over and over, that God takes initiative, does things, takes care of us. We overlook the ways He’s doing that right now. What’s opposite that temptation? God’s constant invitation to let go, to trust, to forget about ourselves, to get over ourselves. To...
Dec 30, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Sometimes we need to stop and take a real look at what’s going on in our hearts and our lives. What has power in my life? Who has influence over me? And if God isn’t the first authority—by a mile—then it’s time to reorder. It’s time to get back to relationship with Him above everything else. Because Jesus isn’t meant to be one priority among many. We can’t balance our pursuit of Him with other things, even good things. The only way to living intensely with the Lord—the only way to become a saint...
Dec 23, 2020•54 min
Isaiah 25: “The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.” We face suffering in this world; trials and hardships and pain that can leave us feeling so alone. In Advent we wait to celebrate Jesus coming to us in the Incarnation, and for him to come at the end of time, when he will definitively wipe away all tears. But he also comes to us today. Wherever we are, whatever we're feeling; he gently comes near to us and wipes away our tears. When we cry out to God, he hears us. He sees our sufferi...
Dec 16, 2020•54 min
Let’s take an honest look at our expectations of God. Specifically, how our wounds and weakness can make us expect so little of him. The times when we feel threatened by others, insecure about ourselves, anxious about life—these are all fruit of a small heart with small expectations of what our mighty Father will do. Jesus says he will come. So do we believe him? And when he comes to us—at Bethlehem, at Mass, every day—are our eyes open to see him? Our hearts are meant to be bigger. Advent is a ...
Dec 09, 2020•56 min
Where do you feel most "at home"? When are you most free to be yourself? Ultimately, our hearts can only fully experience this through a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. He's the one who settles our insecurities and gives us the sense of belonging which we crave. If you're feeling a sense of exile, of not feeling seen and known and loved... maybe it's time to discern if that's due to trying to make your home in other places. As Henri Nouwen pointed out, sometimes we know we have a home, we j...
Dec 02, 2020•56 min
Advent is here! In these days leading to Christmas, we all have the chance to look at the places where we need Jesus to break in and bring light and hope. In this week’s episode: We start our 4-week exploration of Blessed is She ’s Advent Devotional, Maranatha Recommendation from Fr Angelus: Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings, 1941-1944 by Fr Alfred Delp, S.J. Martin Jernberg (instagram: @martin.jernberg), Mike Kearney (instagram: @atmikekearney) Advent and Lent have simil...
Nov 25, 2020•53 min
