Taste & See

Using Rembrandt’s The Ascension of the Lord alongside Matthew 28:16–20, this reflection explores how Christ’s Ascension invites us to lift our hearts toward heaven while remaining rooted in His presence through the Church and the Eucharist. By returning to Galilee—the place of first love for the disciples—Jesus teaches us to revisit the moments of conversion where we first encountered His mercy so...

In this episode on John 14: 15-21, Jesus promises that we are not abandoned but deeply loved children of God, given the Holy Spirit and His own presence so we are never left as orphans. Through His sacrifice and the gift of the Eucharist, He restores our identity as sons and daughters, healing the wounds of sin and separation. The call is clear: receive His love, keep His commandments, and live fr...

In this episode on John 14:1-12, Jesus reveals that He is not just a guide but the Way itself—the only path to the Father, who is the true destination of our deepest longing. Through the image of pilgrimage, the reflection shows that without a clear destination, life becomes aimless, but with Christ, every step has purpose, even in suffering. By receiving His life, especially in the Eucharist, and...

In the gospel for next Sunday, John 10: 1-10, Jesus reveals Himself as the Good Shepherd who lovingly calls His sheep by name, invites them to recognize His voice, and leads them into abundant life. The episode emphasizes that God speaks not just through words, but through the “language of the heart”—a quiet, intimate experience of His presence that requires trust, vulnerability, and consistency i...

This episode on Gospel of Luke 24:13–35 reveals that the story of Cleopas and the road to Emmaus is not just a past event, but the very pattern of every Mass today. Just as the disciples encountered Jesus in their pain and recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, we too are invited to move from routine to real encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. The episode challenges listeners to approach...

This episode reflects on Divine Mercy Sunday through Gospel of John 20:19–23, revealing that the risen Christ enters our fear, guilt, and shame not with condemnation, but with the gift of peace through forgiveness. Through the powerful witness of Immaculée Ilibagiza, the episode shows that true Christian mission is not primarily about great external works, but about radical forgiveness that flows...

This episode centers on Mary Magdalene in Gospel of John 20: 1–9, revealing how deep love for Christ becomes a channel of “superabundant mercy”—a grace that prevents us from falling into sin rather than just forgiving us after. Through a personal story of heartbreak and unexpected redirection from missionary life, Zac shows how choosing to praise God in suffering becomes the very way God protects...

This episode connects Gospel of Matthew 21:1–11 with the mystery of the Incarnation, showing how Jesus intentionally enters Jerusalem in radical humility by riding a donkey—a symbol of burden, suffering, and the human condition. Drawing from his lived experience in Kibera, Zac illustrates how the donkey mirrors our own wounded and burdened hearts, which Christ chooses to sit upon and carry into vi...

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent in John 11:1–45, Jesus reveals Himself as “the resurrection and the life,” entering into human suffering—He even weeps—and calling Lazarus out of death to manifest God’s glory. Through the story of Raul, a dying man encountered at the Missionaries of Charity, the episode shows that even in weakness and confusion, there can be a profound encounter with God dwelling with...

In this episode we reflect on Gospel of John 9:1–41 where Jesus heals the man born blind and reveals that true sight is not only physical vision but the ability to recognize God at work in our lives. As the fourth step of the Lenten journey toward superabundance— Set Your Mind on the Things Above —listeners are invited to see themselves honestly as beloved beggars before God who depend completely...

Reflecting on Gospel of John 4:5–42 (The Woman at the Well), the third step to superabundance invites us to give God some of our time in prayer, especially at the places of our deepest thirst. Just as Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at noon—at the height of heat, shame, and longing—He waits for us in our guilt, distraction, and spiritual dryness, asking only, “Give me a drink.” By offering Him int...

In this episode reflecting on Gospel of Mark 9:2–10 and the Transfiguration, the second step to superabundance invites us to use money for others as a natural response to an authentic encounter with Christ. Just as the disciples saw everything differently after meeting Jesus on the mountain, a true encounter with Him—especially at Mass—transforms our relationship with money from something to posse...

For the First Sunday of Lent, reflecting on Gospel of Matthew 4:1–11, this episode launches the “7 Steps to Superabundance” with Step 1: Honor Your Vows. Through the example of a father’s fidelity during his wife’s battle with cancer and Christ’s victory over temptation in the desert, we see that real strength is proven in faithfulness, not comfort. Lent becomes a training ground where, led by the...

In this episode about Matthew 5: 17-20, we reflect on Jesus’ words that He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it—by filling it to the brim with love. Through Zac's personal story of rigidity, a meditation on the Pharisees, and the image of the law as a cup, we see how obedience without love can miss God’s deeper gift. Ultimately, the Cross is revealed as the fullest interpretation of the...

In this episode, we reflect on Jesus’ call to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, drawing from lived experience among the Missionaries of Charity in Kenya and the witness of a joyful sister who embodied this Gospel (Matthew 5:13–16). Through the image of salt—its power to preserve and to give flavor—we examine how our lives are meant to safeguard goodness and make life worth livin...

Summary In this episode, we sit with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5: 1-12 as Jesus reveals the paradoxical path to true happiness. Through personal vulnerability and the suffering of the world around us, we reflect on what it means to mourn with God rather than turn away from pain. “Blessed are those who mourn” becomes an invitation to share in God’s own heart—and to discover the comfort that only He...

In Matthew 4:12–17 , Jesus enters Galilee and fulfills Isaiah’s promise: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” This episode reflects on how physical sickness became a doorway into spiritual surrender, revealing a deeper truth—that our greatest illness is often the need to control rather than to trust. Through the image of Christ as the Divine Physician, we are invited to see th...

In this episode, we reflect on John 1:29–34 , where John the Baptist points away from himself and joyfully testifies, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” revealing Jesus as the one upon whom the Spirit remains. Rather than proving Jesus through arguments or signs, John witnesses through humble obedience. This reflection invites us to consider how true Christian witness flows not from striving, but from abi...

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Matthew 3:13–17), Zac reflects on a foundational truth of the Christian life: identity comes before mission. Through the Gospel of Jesus’ baptism and a personal story of his father’s daily blessing, we are reminded that our worth is not earned by what we do, but received from whose we are—beloved children of the Father. As the heavens are opened over Christ...

On the Feast of the Holy Family, this episode invites us to rest under the quiet, steadfast care of St. Joseph—the trustworthy father chosen to protect Jesus and Mary through danger, uncertainty, and exile. Through the Gospel of the flight into Egypt and a personal story of evacuation and trust, we reflect on how God leads His children to safety through faithful fatherhood and surrendered obedienc...

In this Fourth Sunday of Advent (Matthew 1: 18-24) , we are invited into the hidden wisdom of Nazareth, where God chose not the biggest city, but the biggest heart—Mary’s Immaculate Heart—as the place of the Incarnation. The episode confronts our fear of being ordinary or forgotten and reveals that true greatness is found in joyful service, loving sacrifice, and God’s abiding presence within the q...

In this week’s episode on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Zac shares a raw and vulnerable story of wrestling with doubt in the silence of a seminary chapel—only to discover that God’s abiding Presence can pierce even the deepest darkness. Through the Gospel scene of John the Baptist in prison, in Matthew 11: 2-11, we learn that God’s silence is never His absence, and that true freedom comes from a hope...

In this second Sunday of Advent episode, Zac reflects on the mark of the Spirit of Nazareth: loving sacrifice. He draws from his own vocational journey with the Missionaries of Charity and the witness of John the Baptist. Zac also explores how sacrificial love, though often painful, frees us to love authentically, experience God’s peace, and prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. Through ref...

Taste & See is a weekly podcast that builds a community of prayer by offering heartfelt reflections and meditations on the Sunday readings. Hosted by Zac Wierschem from Paradisus Dei, each episode is a preparation of the heart for the Sunday Mass of the upcoming weekend. Personal reflection questions and the text of the meditations are also provided to guide you and your family as you prepare...

In this First Sunday of Advent episode, Zac reflects on Christ’s first, second, and “third” coming through a tender childhood memory of joyful waiting, revealing how Advent invites us into the same hopeful anticipation. He explores how Jesus comes to us today—especially in children, the poor, the weak, and the Eucharist—and how joyful service prepares our hearts for His return in glory. Through Sc...