Holy Father Francis

Episode 317 - Holy Father Francis What is it about Saint Francis that still captures hearts after 800 years? In this episode, the friars begin a new series reflecting on Saint Francis during the 800th anniversary of his death. Rather than simply talking about Francis as a historical figure, they each share how he first entered their lives, how their love for him has grown, and what continues to move them about his witness. They reflect on Francis as a radical follower of the Gospel, a father, a lover, a mystic, and a man completely captured by Jesus. His poverty, penance, joy, prayer, and love for the poor were not just external acts. They flowed from a heart burning with intimacy, gratitude, and total dependence on God. This conversation invites us to look beyond the familiar images of Saint Francis and rediscover the interior fire that made him who he was. Join us as we begin this journey with Holy Father Francis and ask for the grace to love Jesus with the same freedom, passion, and totality. T he 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 316 - Silence of Union What if silence is not just something we practice, but a place where God invites us to meet Him? In this final episode of the silence series, the friars reflect on the silence of union-the deeper "why" behind all the silence we have been talking about.  The goal is not simply to talk less, think less, judge less, or strip everything away. The goal is communion with God. The friars explore how silence becomes a kind of mountain we climb with Jesus. Like the disciples at the Transfiguration, we cannot force God to reveal His glory, but we can follow Him, make space, surrender what distracts us, and receive the gift He wants to give. This is the promise at the heart of the journey: God desires union with us. He wants to draw us into His life, transform us by His love, and send us back into the world more free, more present, and more able to lay down our lives in love. Join us as we learn to see silence not as emptiness, but as an invitation to union with the God who gives Himself completely. 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 315 - Silence of Judgment Have you ever caught yourself judging someone before you really knew the whole story? In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of judgment. They explore the difference between healthy discernment and rash judgment, and why our quick opinions about others can create so much noise in the heart. Judgment often comes from places of hurt, insecurity, control, or the desire to fix what is not ours to fix. But Jesus invites us into a deeper poverty and humility, one that remembers we do not see the whole picture, we do not know the fullness of another person's story, and we cannot always see the hidden work of grace in their life. The friars invite us to slow down, become curious, and surrender others more peacefully to the Father. As we grow in trust, we learn to see ourselves and others with more mercy, patience, and truth. Join us as we learn to quiet the noise of judgment-and ask Jesus for hearts that are meek, humble, and merciful like His. 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 314 - Silence of the Body Have you ever noticed how your body can make it harder to be still with God? In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of the body. They explore how our pace, movement, sleep, food, health, rest, and daily habits all shape the way we pray, love, serve, and show up to the present moment. This conversation is not about treating the body like a problem. It is about learning to steward the body as a gift. When we move too fast, neglect rest, ignore our limits, or live constantly scattered, our bodies can carry noise that makes prayer and charity harder. But when we slow down, breathe, rest, and care for our bodies well, we create more space for recollection, peace, and deeper communion with the Lord. Join us as we learn to bring our bodies into the silence of prayer and let even our daily rhythms become places where God can 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! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 313 - Silence of Speech Have you ever wondered how much of what you say actually leads to love? In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of speech. Speech is a gift from God, meant to build communion, speak truth, encourage others, give thanks, and bring life. But our words can also become noisy, filled with commentary, gossip, distraction, self-protection, or conversation that never really leads anywhere deeper. The invitation is not to stop speaking, but to let our words become more intentional, more prayerful, and more ordered toward love. The friars reflect on how silence can purify the way we speak, helping us notice what our words are really serving: communion, connection, attention, or simply more noise. This conversation invites us to ask where our speech may need greater custody, where we may need to fast from certain words, and where God may be asking us to use our voices to bless, encourage, and give thanks. Join us as we learn to speak less from noise and more from love, and let our words become a place where communion can grow. 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 312 - Silence of Self-Love Have you ever felt like you had to prove yourself, protect yourself, or hold everything together on your own? In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of self-love. They explore how pride, self-reliance, self-protection, insecurity, and the need to perform can create a lot of noise in our hearts. When we feel threatened, unseen, corrected, or afraid, it can be easy to turn inward and try to defend the self we want others to see. But Jesus invites us into something much quieter and freer, the poverty of being beloved sons and daughters. We do not have to build a fortress around ourselves or work endlessly to be loved. The Father's love is already poured out, already steady, already "maxed out" for us. Join us as we learn to let go of the noise of self-protection and rest in the Father's love that tells us who we really 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! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 311 - Silence of Interior Conversation Have you ever gotten stuck in your own head, replaying conversations, overthinking decisions, or arguing with yourself? In this episode, the friars continue their series on holy silence by reflecting on the silence of interior conversation. So much of our daily life happens inside that constant inner voice, planning, judging, rehearsing, worrying, self-criticizing, or trying to figure everything out on our own. The invitation is not to shut down our thoughts, but to bring them into relationship with Jesus. Instead of living in an endless monologue with ourselves, the friars invite us to turn that inner conversation into prayer: "Jesus, what do You think about this? What is true here? How are You with me right now?" This kind of silence opens the heart to communion. It helps us move from anxious loops and self-reliance into the peace of being seen, known, and accompanied by the Lord. Join us as we learn to stop arguing with ourselves and begin bringing our inner life into honest, healing conversation 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 spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!  🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com/

Episode 310 - 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. 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 309 - 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. 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 308 - 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. 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/