Always Hope

Abortion. You can’t say the word without evoking angst, defensiveness, and possibly rage. The problem, however, with the word becoming a political barometer of left vs right affiliation is that the people who suffer them are being lost in the cracks. We must mourn the unborn and help the men and women who have made … Continue reading "023 – Healing After Abortion or Miscarriage with Michaelene Fre...

You know how you want to do everything in life, but you just feel like you can’t do it all? If that’s you, then this is your episode. If you’re like me, finding the balance between the idealistic and the practical feels easier than finding a unicorn in the forest. Can you follow a dream … Continue reading "022 – Finding a Happy Balance with Paul George"

In this show, I don’t mess around with easy topics, as I have stated many times, my desire is to find God’s goodness precisely in the challenging places our lives and culture. So, I couldn’t help myself when I got curious about how two seemingly opposed ideologies can actually fit together: Catholicism and Feminism. Can … Continue reading "021 – Catholic Feminism with Dr. Jennifer Miller"

The busyness of life makes it difficult to find time to reconnect and rest together as spouses. Often it feels like everything becomes a priority before my spouse. Even when we are doing good things for our families and ministries, we have to stop and be deliberate to pray with our spouse. But how? That’s … Continue reading "020 – Spousal Prayer with Jason Angelette"

BONUS EPISODE! Consider this episode a little lagniappe, as they like to say in Southern Louisiana. On March 23, 2019, I gave a presentation on discerning the celibate priesthood to seminarians at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, MN. Thanks to Fr. Marty Schaefer and their Rector Fr. Robert Horihan for, who invited me … Continue reading "019 – Discerning the Celibate Priesthood (BONUS)"

This is part 3 of my miniseries on dating and discernment and like the previous two episodes, I am trying to explore the balance between the theoretical and the practical when it comes to discernment because often the advice that is given errors one way or the other. In this episode, I target questions surrounding … Continue reading "018 – Know When to Get Married with Mary-Rose Verret"

It’s no secret that compulsive pornography use has become a rising issue in our culture. Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones, the ability to access pornographic images and videos are easier than ever. And leading scientists in brain research are starting to show the detrimental effects porn is having on our neurobiology. There are many … Continue reading "017 – How Pornography Impacts Vocational...

On Always Hope, I’m usually the one who is asking the questions and guiding the conversation, but in this special episode, the roles have been reversed. On February, 25, 2019, I was invited to do an open Q&A on dating and relationship advice at the John Paul II House at Louisiana State University. That is … Continue reading "016 – AMA on Dating"

Mindfulness is a buzzword in the field of mental health. Studies have shown its effectiveness for treating a whole host of issues from anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. What is Mindfulness and why is it helpful? Moreover, recognizing that this practice is rooted in a Buddhist spiritual tradition, how does a Catholic Christian appropriately integrate … Continue reading "015 – Catholic Mindfuln...

In this podcast, I often talk about suffering in life and various ways to overcome it. That’s because I believe that knowing how to handle our suffering is the key to unlocking personal maturity and happiness. So, in today’s show, I am focusing the conversation squarely on understanding how to make suffering redemptive. Redemptive suffering … Continue reading "014 – Redemptive Suffering with Dr. D...

New to the podcast? This is a short overview of the heart behind the show. Have a listen, and subscribe to stay updated! Dialogue with me: FB: @drmariosacasa IG: @drmariosacasa Web: bit.ly/DrMarioAlwaysHope

Debt, savings, spending, and tithing… for many of us, money is a topic of conversation that no one wants to have. We all attribute certain values to money: power, freedom, guilt, or shame. And because I love talking about the hard things in life and we need to go here, have an honest conversation about … Continue reading "013 – The Lost Art of Financial Generosity with Cory Howat"

Have you ever had a hard day at work and while you are driving home all you can think about is the stress and tension of the day? Then, out of nowhere, you see the sun setting and it just captures your heart and for a brief moment, your stress dissipates as you get lost … Continue reading "012 – Beauty Will Save The World with Bill Donaghy"

This part 2 of my conversation about the lay vocation with Dr. Tom Neal, professor of Spiritual and Pastoral Theology at Notre Dame Seminary.  If you missed part 1, click on the link in the show description. We pick up right where it left off In this episode, we have an honest conversation about the … Continue reading "011 – The Laity Rules with Dr. Tom Neal, Part 2"

I’m excited about this episode, because I finally get to have on the show one of my favorite people to talk to, Dr. Tom Neal, professor of Spiritual and Pastoral Theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Neal is a dear friend and truly one of the wisest persons I know. We … Continue reading "010 – The Laity Rules with Dr. Tom Neal, Part 1"

Doesn’t it seem like morality has become a bad word in our culture? Or that trying to be a good and moral person is not an ideal we should strive for anymore. That is probably because we overly associate morality with just following rules. But, what if morality is not so much about the do’s … Continue reading "009 – Love Chooses Morality with Dr. Sarah Bartel"

Discernment is tricky business and discerning a lifelong vocation is down-right hard! Knowing how to listen to God’s will, shifting through our desires, and ultimately having the confidence to make a decision is no small task. Knowing what to listen to in prayer and how to respond appropriately is the focus of today’s episode. Joining … Continue reading "008 – How to Discern a Lifelong Vocation wi...

Art has a significant role in the spiritual life. The ability to enter into the creative process, regardless of the medium, is an invitation by God to share in his creative energies. We need to stop neglecting our inner artist and see how God uses art to communicate his love in the world. Joining me … Continue reading "007 – The Spiritual Life of an Artist with Greg Boudreaux"

Have you ever wondered why the Bible makes so many references to the past? Up and down the old and new testaments, there are repeated appeals to “remember the works of the Lord” or for God to “remember his children.” This is because according to Scripture memory plays an important role in cultivating hope and … Continue reading "006 – Memory in Scripture with Dr. Brant Pitre"

As a culture, we rightly believe that empowerment and education often go hand-in-hand. Therefore, empowering women should also mean better education on the natural rhythms of her cycle. The need for both men and women to grow in fertility awareness is the topic of today’s episode and joining me today is FertilityCare Practitioner and campus … Continue reading "005 – Women’s Health with Sarah Denny...

Yes, Fred Rogers is a model of masculinity. Listen to the show for Dr. Mario’s reflections on the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Social media is ruining everything! It is killing our brains and relationships. That is what we hear, and while yes there is truth to that, what if, social media isn’t the problem, per se? What if the problem rests on the lack of charity and virtue within the users themselves? What if the onus was … Continue reading "004 – Loving Social Communication with Dr. Daniella Zsupan-Jerome"

Millennials are not as involved in religious traditions as previous generations. This is undeniable. Yet, rather than being intimated by this, let’s see it as an opportunity. Instead of feeling the pressure to change Church teachings or come up with some new gimmick to make the faith more hip, how about we just to get … Continue reading "003 – Broken and Blessed with Fr. Josh Johnson"

Let’s admit it, trying to have faith can at times be challenging. I love God, but sometimes I doubt: his goodness, his providence, his presence. This episode is about knowing what to do with those doubts when they arise. Ignoring, stuffing, or pretending they will go away are not the best options. Joining me today … Continue reading "002 – Faith and Doubt with Chris O’Neil"

Men and women. Is there anything that causes more heartbreak than this dynamic? But try as we do, we are stuck together and have to figure it out. In this episode, we focus on the male side of this equation and try to determine what it means to be a man in a modern, pluralistic, … Continue reading "001 – Authentic Masculinity with Jennifer Miller"