A Pro-Life Examen

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