Chris Stefanick Catholic Show

What do you do when everything just becomes too much? This Sunday Reflection is deeply personal, as lately God has been bringing me right up to the edge of my own strength—physically, emotionally, spiritually. In prayer, I was reminded of something we all need to remember when we reach our breaking point: You were never meant to be your own source. We’re all afraid of running out—of energy, money,...

You probably have a litany of complaints about your priest. But what does your priest think about YOU? In this episode, I sat down with Fr. Leo Patalinghug (yes, the priest who beat Bobby Flay), and I gave him permission to unload. This priest chef turns the tables to serve up an honest assessment of the parishioner behaviors that drain the life out of priests...and how we can do better at bringin...

Have you ever felt small? Like just one person among nearly 8 billion—how could you possibly matter? That's no doubt how the apostles felt...fishermen of little consequence by the world's standards. Until Jesus called them by using a phrase that rabbis would use to call specially gifted students: "Come follow me." They were hearing something they'd dreamt of their whole lives—something they though...

Suicide rates are rising—and almost all of us have been touched by it. If you’ve ever wondered “What happens to someone who dies by suicide?” or felt crushed by fear, guilt, or unanswered questions, this episode will bring you real hope. I sit down with Fr. Chris Alar, author of After Suicide, to unpack what the Catholic Church actually teaches: why suicide is grave matter, why that does not autom...

I recently had the honor of being at the funeral of Micah Kim, the five-year-old son of my friend Paul J. Kim. And I don’t use the word honor lightly. Because while the pain of losing a child is unimaginable…what I witnessed there was just as unimaginable: JOY. At Micah’s wake, Paul stood next to his son’s casket—his little body dressed in cowboy boots—and he pointed and said: “That’s my son’s bod...

When most people think about where God is, they look to the sky or point to a mountaintop. God is ON HIGH, right? But the reality of the incarnation flips that vision upside down. Christ dwelt among us. God came to the lowest of places to meet us in our brokenness and heal our sin. Did you know the spot where Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River is literally one of the lowest places on earth? Th...

Have you ever noticed that when God shows up, he often does so in ways that are...completely ordinary? Think about the Epiphany of the Lord that we are celebrating today. Angels fill the sky. A star bends the universe. Heaven breaks into earth. Kings come to pay homage. And at the center of it all? A poor child. A nursing mother. A scene you could walk right past. Fast forward two thousand years a...

Why do we keep confessing the same sins… making the same resolutions… and falling back into the same patterns? In this practical and powerful episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, I sit down with Fr. Peter Mussett, a priest who has heard thousands of confessions—and has lots of advice to share about human nature, change, and mercy. In this conversation, we talk about real sins and real solutions so...

Happy Feast of the Holy Family! One of the most comforting truths of our faith is also one of the hardest to live. You’re not living the whole story — you’re living your current page. One of the most powerful (and overlooked) truths of the Bible is typology—the way God weaves the same story across centuries, fulfilling promises in ways no human author could plan. Different people. Different centur...

What if Santa Claus wasn’t just a character… but a calling? In this unforgettable episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, I sit down with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Eddie Cotter, Jr.—a longtime Catholic youth minister who unexpectedly took on the role of Santa Claus and eventually ended up appearing as Santa at Rockefeller Center in New York City! What starts as a fun conversation turns in...

As we draw close to the mystery of Christmas, we don’t just discover who God is—we discover who we are...and what we're worth. When you look at the face of the Christ child in the manger, you’re not just seeing Emmanuel, God with us. You’re seeing your own value reflected back at you. Your worth is revealed by what God was willing to pay for you. And the price wasn’t silver or gold...It was the pr...

Picture a football stadium full of 80,000 people. Research indicates that you will influence that many people during the course of your lifetime. (even if you don't have your own YouTube channel) But who is in your stadium? And what does it sound like in there? Are people cheering for the ways you positively affected them? Are they booing for all the terrible things you did? Or are they silent bec...

It’s beautiful to want good things and to build a great life in our time on earth. But here’s where it all gets twisted: When the dream stops being about God and the blessings He’s given us, and quietly becomes all about me—my security, my reputation, my legacy. I’ve seen it in family life. I’ve seen it in ministry. I’ve seen it in my own heart. This is where John the Baptist becomes a perfect mod...

Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But what if the hardest person for you to love…is you? In this profound new episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, I sit down with Dr. Peter Malinoski, Catholic psychologist and founder of Souls & Hearts, to unpack one of the most misunderstood teachings of Jesus: the command to love yourself. Because here’s the thing no one tells you: You can’t love...

What can you learn from a preacher who wore a camel's hair cloak while eating locusts and wild honey? Plenty. In this week's Gospel, John the Baptist gives us the perfect playbook for entering into Advent...and for taking our spiritual lives to the next level. His ascetic appearance and way of life might seem crazy to us, but his intensity had the goal of stripping away life's distractions to clar...

Why does marriage hurt—and why is that actually a good thing? In this powerful and incredibly vulnerable episode, I sit down with Dr. Christopher West, the world’s leading communicator of Theology of the Body, for one of the deepest conversations we’ve ever had on this show. Christopher doesn’t just teach TOB…he lives it. And today he opens up about the most intimate parts of his story—the childho...

What story is dominating the headlines of your life? As we enter the Advent season, we are preparing our hearts to receive the ONLY headline that matters: Jesus is our savior. And this headline should change EVERYTHING. In this reflection, I introduce a word most Christians have never heard: kerygma. In the ancient world, a kerygma was a headline delivered by a herald—news that was so big it rewro...

Michael Miley is one of the best rock & roll drummers in the world. In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss secrets to his outlier excellence that can help you in your own life, the wild road to his conversion to Catholicism, and what it's like to witness as a Christian sharing the stage with legendary rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Guns 'n Roses. We cover everything from the state of popul...

In this on-the-road Sunday Reflection, I'm talking about the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (how's that for a title?!) along with Fr. Burke Masters of St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Hinsdale, Illinois, where we held a sold-out REBOOT event a couple weeks ago. Jesus is king. Full stop. And it's not the typical kind of kingship. He doesn't take more when he has everything. He gives more...

As a 10-year-old, Sister Marilyn of the Sisters of Mary watched her father murdered by family friends—then grabbed his gun to take revenge and had her finger on the trigger. Something stopped her in that moment, but the trauma of that experience hardened her heart with thoughts of anger and revenge. She felt like a failure and couldn't trust anyone. In front of the Blessed Sacrament years later, J...

Are you afraid it will get instantly awkward around the water cooler if you mention Jesus or talk about your faith? Yeah, it might. And Jesus told us it would be this way! His message is uncomfortable because he claims divinity. If he is who he said he was, then it has to change everything. We have to change EVERYTHING about the way we are living. And a lot of people don't want to do that. But you...

What if your calling isn’t something you have to chase… but something God already wrote into your soul? In this new episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, Dr. Bob Rice—Franciscan University professor, deacon, and joy-filled Catholic dad—joins me for a deep dive into how to discover your unique charisms, live out your personal vocation, and find meaning in being the one-of-a-kind person God made you...

On the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Jesus reminds us: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” He was speaking of his Body—and by baptism, you are joined to that Body. That means the Church is a living temple right now: the Church Triumphant (in heaven), the Church Suffering (in purgatory), and the Church Militant (us!). As a member of the Body of...

What happens after we die? If the answer is "nothing," then what are we doing here? The good news is that we ARE headed somewhere. Our Christian hope changes everything—we have our eyes fixed on heaven as a final destination. As Pope Benedict XVI wrote, our entire story can be redeemed by a good ending. Jesus won that victory for us, so death becomes a comma instead of a period. This hope also gra...

Remember when making friends was simple? Somewhere between adulthood, social media, and COVID…we forgot how. In this new episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, I sit down with Maggie Craig—speaker and author of Friendship Reset—to talk about the loneliness pandemic that is eating away at society and how we can turn the tide in our own lives and relationships. We unpack why we’re more connected than...