Silence of Speech

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/

Episode 307 - 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. 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 306 - 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. 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 305 - 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. 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 304 - 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. 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/