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!

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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!

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Episode 303 - Borrowing Peace

What if peace isn't something you have to create on your own?

In this episode, the friars reflect on the gift of "borrowing" from Jesus. His peace, His confidence, His mercy, His steadiness, especially when our own hearts feel overwhelmed, anxious, or shaken. Like a child borrowing calm from a loving parent, we're invited to bring our storms to the One who is never overcome by them.

They explore how Jesus offers us His very life: in prayer, in the Eucharist, and in the quiet steadiness of His presence. When we feel disregulated, afraid, ashamed, or unable to hold everything together, we don't have to manufacture peace by ourselves. We can receive His.

This conversation is an invitation to return to Jesus in the boat, Jesus in the Eucharist, Jesus who gives His body and His peace to us so that what we receive from Him can become what we offer to others.

Join us as we learn to borrow peace from Jesus, and become a place of calm, mercy, and safety for others.

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 302 - Intimacy with Jesus: Ask, Seek, Knock

Have you ever done all the Catholic things but still felt distant from Jesus?

In this episode, the friars speak to the person who believes, prays, goes to Mass, tries to live faithfully, and yet still wonders why prayer can feel dry, disconnected, or more like duty than relationship. They explore what it means to move from simply doing the right things to actually bringing your heart to Jesus.

This conversation is an invitation to ask, seek, and knock with honesty. What's happening in my heart? Where do I feel blocked, afraid, ashamed, or self-reliant? Where is Jesus inviting me into healing, repentance, formation, and deeper intimacy?

The friars offer gentle guidance for learning how to pray with the heart, encounter Jesus in Scripture, and let Him meet the places we often keep hidden or protected.

Join us as we learn to bring our whole hearts to Jesus, and rediscover that prayer is not just something we do, but a relationship He longs to deepen.

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 301 - Seen, Known, Understood by God

Have you ever tried to explain what you're carrying and felt like nobody really got it?

In this episode, the friars talk about the deep human desire to be seen, known, and understood, and the pain that comes when we feel missed, dismissed, or alone in our experience. Whether it's suffering, leadership, race, vocation, family life, or the hidden weight of something hard to explain, being misunderstood can leave us feeling isolated.

The friars reflect on what it means to listen with compassion, validate someone's experience, and resist the urge to fix, explain, or minimize what we don't fully understand. At the same time, they invite us to bring the ache of being misunderstood back to the Father, the One who sees in secret, knows the heart, and never misses what we carry.

Join us as we learn to receive others more deeply and rest in the God who sees, knows, and understands us 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

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Episode 300 - Words and the Word ft. Fr. Gregory Pine, OP

Have you ever thought about how much power your words actually carry?

In this special 300th episode, the friars are joined by Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, to talk about words, speech, and the deeper invitation behind how we communicate. Drawing from his book Training the Tongue, Fr. Gregory reflects on how our words are not just sounds or information; they can build communion, reveal the heart, wound, heal, bless, and bring us closer to one another.

Together, they explore how speech opens the door to real encounter: with God, with others, and even with ourselves. From the voice of the Good Shepherd to the Word made flesh, this conversation invites us to see language as something sacred, a gift meant not only to avoid sin, but to grow in love, truth, and deeper relationship.

Join us as we learn to listen more deeply, speak more faithfully, and let our words become places where the Word can be known and loved.

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 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.

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 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!

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

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

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 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

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

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 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

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

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

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/