Episode 299 - Winning Summer

What does it actually look like to rest well?

As summer begins, the friars talk about how to enter a season of more space, flexibility, and rest without drifting into idleness. Whether it's summer break, vacation, weekends, or simply a change of rhythm, these moments can become a real gift, but only if we bring Jesus into them.

In this episode, they reflect on the difference between true Sabbath rest and just checking out. Rest isn't a break from prayer, charity, or our relationship with God. It's an invitation to receive life with Him in a new way with intentionality, joy, good recreation, and space to be renewed.

They also offer practical encouragement for staying grounded: keep prayer at the center, stay connected to others, choose wholesome fun, and look for small ways to love each day.

Join us as we learn how to win summer, not by doing more, but by resting with Jesus and letting Him renew what matters most.

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Episode 298 - How Does Jesus See My Sin?

Have you ever felt like your sin says more about you than God's mercy does?

In this episode, the friars reflect on how we experience our own sin and how easy it is to fall into shame, discouragement, anxiety, or self-condemnation. They explore the difference between healthy sorrow for sin and the kind of shame that begins to define us, isolate us, and keep us from bringing our weakness honestly to Jesus.

This conversation is not about taking sin lightly. It's about learning to see our sin with the mind and heart of Christ. Jesus does not ignore our sin, but He also does not reduce us to it. He meets us there with mercy, patience, and a love that calls us deeper into freedom.

Join us as we learn to stop staring only at our weakness and begin again by looking at Jesus, who sees us fully and still calls us beloved.

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!

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Episode 297 - When One Door Closes...

What do you do when the plan you had suddenly falls apart?

In this episode, the friars reflect on the role of closed doors in discernment, those moments when something we hoped for, planned for, or tried to control simply doesn't happen. A missed flight, a changed plan, a lost opportunity, a relationship that doesn't unfold the way we imagined… sometimes reality interrupts us and invites us to listen more deeply.

Rather than seeing every closed door as failure, the friars explore how these moments can become places of surrender, curiosity, and trust. Not because every disappointment is easy or painless, but because Jesus is present even there. The Resurrection reminds us that no door is more closed than the sealed tomb, and even there, God was not finished.

Join us as we learn to trust Jesus in the detours, the disruptions, and the closed doors, and discover that what feels like an ending may become the place He begins something new.

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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

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Episode 296 - Revelation of the Resurrected One

Have you ever wondered why it can be so hard to recognize Jesus, even when He's right in front of you?

In this episode, the friars reflect on the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus, moments where those closest to Him don't recognize Him at first. From Mary Magdalene in the garden to the road to Emmaus, they explore the mystery of how the risen Lord reveals Himself: personally, patiently, and often in unexpected ways.

They unpack how Jesus meets people exactly where they are, in grief, confusion, doubt, and even ordinary moments and how those encounters change everything. This isn't just something that happened back then. It's a pattern that continues today. The same Jesus still comes, still pursues, and still reveals Himself in ways uniquely meant for each of us.

For those who feel like they've never had that "breakthrough" moment, this episode is a gentle reminder: the Lord is closer than you think, especially in the Eucharist, where the Resurrection is made present again.

Join us as we open our eyes to the risen Jesus and learn to recognize Him already at work in our 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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

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Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

Episode 295 - Who Did It Better?

Does it sometimes feel like the people who mess up the most end up closer to God?

As the friars wrap up their reflections on the Prodigal Son, they wrestle with a real and honest question: Did things actually turn out better for the one who left than for the one who stayed?

In this episode, they unpack the tension between comparison and truth. While the younger son experiences a powerful return, that doesn't mean sin is the better path. God can redeem anything, but that doesn't make it the plan. The deeper invitation isn't about having a dramatic story, but about entering into real relationship with the Father, right where you are.

They also reflect on the subtle danger of doing all the "right" things without ever truly encountering God, and how both sons are invited out of an orphan mindset and into deeper intimacy.

Join us as we let go of comparison and rediscover that the goal isn't a better story, but a deeper relationship with the Father.

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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

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Episode 294 - Be Merciful As Your Father

Have you ever wanted to forgive, but just couldn't seem to get there?

This week, the friars reflect on the call to "be merciful as your Father is merciful" and the real, often slow journey of forgiveness. They unpack the tension of holding pain while still being invited into mercy and how forgiveness isn't something we force, but something we receive and grow into over time.

Through the lens of the older son, they explore what it means to stay close to the Father, to "borrow" His heart, and to take small, honest steps toward healing, even when it's hard.

Join us as we discover how God meets us in our wounds and gently leads us into freedom, one step at a time.

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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

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Episode 293 - Older Son (Spiritual Sense)

Have you ever been hurt by someone and struggled with what forgiveness is supposed to look like?

In this episode, the friars revisit the older son in the Prodigal Son story, but now through a deeper, spiritual lens. Not just what he did, but what he felt. The loss, the frustration, the sense of being overlooked, and the real difficulty of being invited into forgiveness before you're ready.

They explore the complexity of the human heart, how joy and pain can exist at the same time, how past wounds resurface in present moments, and how God meets us not with pressure, but with presence. This conversation is an honest look at what it means to carry hurt, to wrestle with forgiveness, and to let the Father meet you in the middle of it.

Join us as we enter the older son's story and discover a God who doesn't rush healing, but walks with us through it.

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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

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Episode 292 - Older Son (Literal Sense)

Have you ever felt frustrated, overlooked, or distant, even though you find yourself doing the "right" things?

In this episode, the friars dive into the older son in the Prodigal Son story, not symbolically at first, but simply as he is. His words, his reactions, his position in the family. And what starts to emerge is something deeply human: a struggle with comparison, entitlement, and not fully receiving the Father's love.

They unpack how easy it is to stay close in proximity but far in relationship and how the older son's experience can quietly mirror our own spiritual lives.

Join us as we take an honest look at the older son and allow the Father to meet us right where we 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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

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Ever feel like God is inviting you back to something, but you're not quite sure how to step into it?

After time away, Fr. Angelus returns, and the conversation picks up right where grace has been quietly at work. There's a sense of homecoming here, but also a deeper invitation to listen, to trust, and to respond to what the Lord is doing beneath the surface.

In this episode, the friars reflect on what it means to return, not just physically, but spiritually. They talk about the movements of the heart, the subtle ways God calls us forward, and how renewal often begins in places we didn't expect.

Join us as we welcome Fr. Angelus back and lean into the quiet, steady work of God who is always drawing us deeper.

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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

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Episode 290 - The Father's Banquet

Have you ever struggled to receive love that you feel you don't deserve?

As the Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son continues, the friars turn to one of the most striking moments in the parable, the Father's banquet. What should be a moment of pure joy is, for the son, also deeply uncomfortable. After everything he's done, he's not just welcomed back, he was celebrated.

In this episode, the friars reflect on the tension between shame and mercy. What does it feel like to be fully seen, fully known, and still fully loved? Why can receiving God's love sometimes feel harder than earning it? And how do we begin to live as sons and daughters again after we've fallen?

Join us as we enter into the mystery of the Father's banquet, and discover a love that doesn't just forgive, but restores, celebrates, and calls us back to life.

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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

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Episode 289 - An Unfading Mercy

Do you ever feel stuck confessing the same sins over and over again?

Continuing their reflection on the Prodigal Son, the friars explore a powerful truth: God's mercy isn't a one-time moment, it's something we encounter again and again. Like a path worn into the ground, the Father continually goes out to meet His children, never tiring, never holding back.

In this episode, they reflect on what it means that God's mercy is "new every morning", and how His love doesn't diminish, no matter how many times we return. For those who struggle with discouragement, shame, or the feeling of "starting over," this is a reminder that the Father's embrace is always full, always real, and always waiting.

Join us as we rediscover a mercy that never fades and a Father who never stops coming to 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!

Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi

Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/