The Father Who Ran: When A Child Refuses

Every father eventually faces a moment when his child pulls away. The distance grows, the relationship hardens, and most men respond in one of three ways. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt use the parable of the Prodigal Son to diagnose what's really happening beneath the surface: why rebellion cuts so deeply into a man's sense of worth, and what the wounds underneath his reactions are actually telling him. But this conversation doesn't stay in the failings we have, it moves toward the father who ran. John and Devin unpack what it looks like to stop protecting your ego and start pursuing your child, how to separate your hurt from their harm, and why asking for forgiveness is one of the most powerful things a father can do. 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ for over 31 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: ⁠⁠https://catholicgentlemanplus.com⁠⁠ 👉 Devin Schadt's new book The Rule: ⁠https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-rule/COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno ______________________ -- FOLLOW THE CATHOLIC GENTLEMAN – ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/catholicgentleman ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/TheCatholicGentleman ➡️ https://x.com/catholicgent

We start Lent with strong intentions. The fasting plan is clear. The prayer routine feels doable. The discipline is there. But somewhere in the middle of Lent, the struggle begins. The motivation fades, the routine breaks down, and we quietly give up. In this episode of Into the Desert, Fr. Ken Geraci and John Heinen explain why this exact moment is where real spiritual growth begins. The desert exposes the limits of self-reliance and reveals how much a man still depends on his own strength instead of God’s grace. Instead of seeing failure as the end of Lent, this conversation reframes the struggle as the place where humility, surrender, and deeper conversion begin. 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ with over 30 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentlemanplus.com/rosary 🟢 Join us as we go Into the Desert with Fr. Ken Geraci -⁠ https://catholicgentlemanplus.com/lent 👉 Devin Schadt’s book The Rule: ⁠https://sophiainstitute.com/product/t... COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20

The word "headship" has become so loaded that most men either weaponize it or abandon it entirely. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt cut through the cultural noise to recover what male leadership actually means, not as domination or control, but as a divine paradigm rooted in the very nature of God and modeled from the beginning in Adam, St. Joseph, and Christ Himself. Why do men of goodwill still feel confused about their role? This is Satan's playbook and plan of attack. What follows is a frank, theologically grounded unpacking of what Devin calls "charitable authority", the kind of leadership that doesn't demand compliance but authors the story of a family's glory by pouring itself out. The three P's of the leader of the family are examined not as a management framework but as a way of understanding the ransom a man pays so that his wife and children can be free. 🟢 Join Catholic Gentleman+ for over 31 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentlemanplus.com 👉 Devin Schadt's new book The Rule: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-rule/ COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno ______________________ -- FOLLOW THE CATHOLIC GENTLEMAN – ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/catholicgentleman ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/TheCatholicGentleman ➡️ https://x.com/catholicgent 🔴 PLEASE HELP US GROW THIS CHANNEL 🔴 1. Don’t miss a Youtube Catholic Gentleman Video: Please click SUBSCRIBE, then Click the "Notification Bell" = 🔔 and select “ALL”. This will make sure that you are notified when any new video is released. 2. Please "Like" this video. 👍 3. Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the SHARE button. Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, AND SHARE

We can look disciplined on the surface while still clinging to comfort, control, security, and the illusion that what we have is our own. This conversation gets underneath the act of giving and presses on the deeper question: what am I holding onto? Fr. Ken Geraci and John Heinen talk about why almsgiving is more than generosity, why it exposes the heart, and how gratitude breaks the instinct to accumulate. If fasting teaches a man to master his appetites and prayer teaches him to abide in God, almsgiving teaches him to let go. It trains him to live open-handed before the Lord and to remember that everything he has has first been given. This is not just about money. It is about attachment, trust, possession, and whether a man lives like an owner or a steward. 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ for over 31 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentlemanplus.com/rosary 👉 Devin Schadt’s book The Rule: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-rule/ COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno

We avoid thinking about death until it forces its way into the room. But what happens when a husband and father is suddenly told he has ninety days to live? In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt examine the striking story of former Nebraska senator Ben Sasse, who recently revealed a stage-four pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Drawing from his candid interview reflecting on that moment, they explore how the ancient Christian discipline of memento mori, remembering death, cuts through ambition, noise, and distraction to reveal what actually matters in a man’s life. Sasse speaks openly about regret, fatherhood, selfishness, and the urgency of redeeming time when the clock is no longer theoretical. John and Devin unpack his reflections through the lens of the Church’s tradition, from Sirach’s warning to “remember your last end” to the teaching of saints like Jerome, Augustine, and Alphonsus Liguori, while confronting the questions most men quietly push aside: what would change if you truly believed your days were numbered? 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ for over 31 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentlemanplus.com/rosary 👉 Devin Schadt’s book The Rule: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-rule/ COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno

Prayer becomes one of two things: a religious obligation or a strategy to get results. But it's not a productivity tool. It’s not emotional therapy. And it’s not a way to convince God of anything. In this week’s Lent series, Fr. Ken Geraci and John Heinen cut through the purpose of prayer. If fasting makes room, prayer is where union happens. Prayer is where control dies, and where a man learns to be with God instead of trying to manage Him. Fr. Ken breaks down why so many men stall in prayer: they measure success by feelings, clarity, or outcomes. But real prayer is about fidelity, surrender, and transformation. It is less about talking and more about consenting to be changed. 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ with over 30 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentleman.lpages.co/l... 🟢 Join us as we go Into the Desert with Fr. Ken Geraci -⁠ https://catholicgentlemanplus.com/lent 👉 Devin Schadt’s book The Rule: ⁠https://sophiainstitute.com/product/t... COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno

How a man treats women is never a side issue. It is one of the clearest revelations of his interior life, where it is at and even where it is going. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt explore why masculinity is tested not in dominance, intellect, or achievement, but in whether a man honors, protects, and reverences the feminine. From the way a man looks at women in public, to how he speaks about them in private, to how he carries the emotional and spiritual weight of his marriage, the conversation exposes the subtle ways men either elevate women to their proper dignity or reduce them for personal use. Do you protect or consume?   This episode moves beyond surface-level advice and into formation and practical use. John and Devin address lust, resentment, spiritual passivity, and the quiet temptation to withdraw when love becomes costly. They examine why a husband’s response to his wife shapes the entire atmosphere of a home, and why a man’s relationship with woman ultimately reflects something deeper about his relationship with God. The path forward is not control, but self-gift; not avoidance, but reverent strength.   🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ with over 30 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentlemanplus.com   🟢 Into the Desert with Fr. Ken Geraci -⁠ https://catholicgentleman.lpages.co/into-the-desert/   👉 Devin Schadt’s book  - - LEAD - Daily Devotional for Men - https://shop.stewardshipmission.com/products/lead-daily-devontions-for-every-man - The Rule: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-rule/COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20   Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno

It's time for a reset to the entire purpose of fasting. John shares how he spent years fasting the wrong way, treating it like self-mortification for the sake of self-control. Until a spiritual director challenged him: fasting isn’t mainly about proving you can suffer. It’s about making room for loving union with Christ. Fr. Ken explains why the Church gives a minimal fasting prescription. It’s meant to be doable for everyone, including children, the elderly, and those with health issues. But if you’re able-bodied and serious about Lent, the question becomes: what is Christ actually inviting you to do? 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ with over 30 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentleman.lpages.co/l... 🟢 Never miss each Into the Desert release -⁠ https://catholicgentlemanplus.com/lent 👉 Devin Schadt’s book The Rule: ⁠https://sophiainstitute.com/product/t... COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno

You see over 5000 marketing messages every day. In 2025, hundreds of billions of emails were sent every day, notifications never stop, and research shows the average person switches attention every 47 seconds. We are conditioned to live and stay teathered to noise. But all of this keeps us separated from God. In addition, Scripture warns that men will render account for every careless word they speak (Matthew 12:36), and God Himself speaks not in the earthquake or the fire, but in the whisper. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt expose how noise is not neutral; it weakens men, fragments our attention, and keeps us from a purposeful life. Silence is not passivity. It is your strategic power. It is an interior dominion. It is the hidden strength of St. Joseph, the composure of Christ before Pilate, and the battleground where identity and mission are clarified. John and Devin break down silence within ourselves, silence before others, and silence before God, why most men resist it, and why the man who refuses silence forfeits confidence, peace under pressure, and grace. 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ with over 30 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentlemanplus.com   🟢 Into the Desert with Fr. Ken Geraci -⁠ https://catholicgentleman.lpages.co/into-the-desert/ 👉 Devin Schadt’s books  -- LEAD - Daily Devotional for Men - https://shop.stewardshipmission.com/products/lead-daily-devontions-for-every-man - The Rule: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/the-rule/COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20Join Email - https://catholicgentleman.com/podcast...

This Ash Wednesday, Fr. Ken Geraci and John Heinen go straight to the heart of Lent’s first command: repent and believe. We're focusing on two concrete actions that we avoid until we're desperate: a real examination of conscience and a clean, simple confession. Not scrupulosity. Not vague generalities. An honest inventory of blind spots, weak spots, compromises, and missed opportunities for virtue. 🟢 Father's of Mercy Examination of Conscience: https://fathersofmercy.com/fathers-of... 🟢 FREE ROSARY - Join Catholic Gentleman+ with over 30 sessions of exclusive formation, daily saint quotes, and a brotherhood of men pursuing holiness: https://catholicgentleman.lpages.co/l... 🟢 Into the Desert with Fr. Ken Geraci -⁠ https://catholicgentleman.lpages.co/i... 👉 Devin Schadt’s book The Rule: ⁠https://sophiainstitute.com/product/t... COUPON CODE for 20% Off: Gentleman20 Video Producer – Pietro Damasceno