Catholics in Ordinary Time

A new season of Catholics in Ordinary Time begins with American Parish. In this introductory episode, Fr. Jack shares the vision behind the season and why we are beginning with the people and stories of Saint Aloysius. This season will explore the ordinary life of Catholics in a parish community — young adults, adults, volunteers, leaders, and people simply trying to follow Christ in everyday life...

Eric Clayton joins Fr. Jack to explore the surprising connection between Star Wars and Ignatian spirituality. Drawing from his book My Life with the Jedi: The Spirituality of Star Wars, Eric explains how themes of hope, discernment, purpose, temptation, redemption, and the search for meaning echo the spiritual wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Together, they discuss why stories like Star Wars cont...

As we conclude our journey through the Spiritual Disciplines, Fr. Jack reflects on the lessons, challenges, and graces discovered along the way. Growth in the spiritual life rarely happens all at once. It comes through small acts of faithfulness, daily choices, and a willingness to let God work in the ordinary moments of life. In this episode, we look back on the practices we've explored, the...

Submission isn't about being weak. It's not about losing your voice or letting people walk all over you. In this episode, Fr. Jack explores the spiritual discipline of submission and how it transforms the way we relate to other people. In a culture that constantly tells us to fight for control, defend our preferences, and put ourselves first, Jesus offers a different path. What if true fre...

We're all chasing something. Success. Security. Comfort. Recognition. The next achievement, the next purchase, the next thing that promises to make us happy. But Jesus offers a different path:  "Seek first the Kingdom of God." In this episode, Fr. Jack explores the spiritual discipline of simplicity and how it begins not with owning less, but with reordering our desires. When God bec...

What if celebration isn’t a distraction from the spiritual life… but part of it? In this episode of  Catholics in Ordinary Time , Fr. Jack explores the spiritual discipline of celebration through Scripture, Christian tradition, and ordinary life. In a world shaped by anxiety, exhaustion, and constant striving, Christians are called to something different: joy rooted in God. This conversation looks...

Why do so many people avoid Confession even while longing for peace? In this episode, Fr. Jack explores the spiritual discipline of Confession and how honesty before God becomes the doorway to healing, freedom, and deeper worship. From fear and shame to mercy and restoration, this conversation looks at why Confession has remained one of the most transformative practices in the Christian life. Not...

This week, Fr. Jack explores the spiritual discipline of worship and why true worship goes far beyond music, emotions, or Sunday routines. Real worship changes the posture of the heart. And sometimes, the greatest obstacle to worship is the unforgiveness we carry. In this episode, we talk about surrender, reconciliation, humility, and the kind of worship that actually transforms us from the inside...

We often try to figure out God’s will on our own… and end up confused, stuck, or second guessing everything. In this episode, Fr Jack explores the discipline of guidance, not as a private decision making tool, but as something deeply communal. God does not only speak to individuals. He speaks to His people together. Drawing from the wisdom of Richard Foster, this episode unpacks how true discernme...

We don’t just read to learn. We read to be formed. In this episode, Fr. Jack explores the discipline of reading through Celebration of Discipline and how what we take in quietly shapes who we become. Jesus gives a different kind of invitation: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me…” (Matthew 11:29–32) To read with Him is to let your mind slow down, your heart be trained, your life be reoriente...

Prayer is one of the most talked about parts of the spiritual life… and one of the most avoided. In this episode, Fr. Jack continues the journey through spiritual disciplines inspired by Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, turning his focus to the discipline of prayer. Drawing from Gospel of Matthew 6:7–15, where Jesus teaches not just how to pray but how not to, this conversation moves p...

Is service a weakness… or one of the most powerful ways to grow closer to God? In this first episode of our Spiritual Disciplines series, Fr. Jack breaks down what spiritual disciplines actually are and why they matter. They are not about perfection or checking boxes, but about allowing God to transform us from the inside out. This episode focuses on the discipline of service. Not being a doormat....

What happens when you step inside something ancient… and come out changed? In this episode, Fr. Jack reflects on his journey through the Latin Mass conversations from this season. What surprised him. What moved him. What challenged him. And where he still sees things differently. This isn’t a conclusion. It’s a reckoning. Fr. Jack unpacks the beauty, tension, and deeper questions that surfaced thr...

In this episode of  Catholics in Ordinary Time , Fr Jack sits down with Sean Harrel to explore a story that doesn’t come with fireworks or easy answers. It is a conversation about movement. About what happens when something inside you begins to shift. When the life you are living no longer feels like enough, and you start asking deeper questions about meaning, identity, and God. Sean shares his ex...

Jensen Tait shares his journey from Mormon to Catholic, opening up about the questions, experiences, and moments that led him to faith. He also reflects on discovering the Latin Mass and why it has become a meaningful part of his spiritual life and growth with God. A conversation about searching, conversion, and encountering faith in an unexpected way. We listen.

In this episode of our Latin Mass series, Ken Staal shares his personal journey into the Traditional Latin Mass, not as a trend, but as a response to something deeper. What draws someone to a liturgy they may not fully understand linguistically, yet experience so profoundly? Is it reverence, mystery, beauty… or something harder to explain? Rather than debating which form is “better,” this conversa...

Is there really a surge of Catholics returning to the Latin Mass? Or is the story more complicated than the headlines suggest? In this opening episode of Season 5, Fr. Jack sets the stage for a new series of conversations exploring the Latin Mass. Without diving into debates or taking sides, he reflects on the growing discussion around the Traditional Latin Mass and the claims that more Catholics...

After a full season of conversations, stories, laughter, and honest moments, Fr. wraps it all together. In this episode, he looks back at the voices we heard, the lessons that surfaced, and the quiet themes that kept returning. From music and ministry to struggle, service, doubt, growth, and everyday faith, this season reminded us that holiness is not found in the extraordinary alone, but in the o...

In this episode, Jake Ineck reflects on his experience serving the Church through sacred music, from the joy of weddings to the solemnity of funerals. He speaks about the quiet responsibility of accompanying people during life’s most meaningful transitions and the honor of being entrusted with those sacred hours. We also explore the role of antiphons in the liturgy, why they matter more than we th...

In this episode, we sit down with Sara Shakliyan, a choir director whose work is reshaping what parish music can sound and feel like. Having worked closely with Fr. Jack in his previous assignment, Sara shares how she has grown a choir from the ground up by blending the richness of classical hymns with the immediacy of praise and worship. Rooted in tradition yet alive with intention, her approach...

In this episode of Catholics in Ordinary Time, we sit down with  Daniel Dangca , a music director with a PhD who has spent years serving the Church from the choir loft and the planning table. Daniel shares what he genuinely loves about working in a parish, the beauty and weight of shaping music for the Mass, and the reality of navigating moments when a congregation is not always happy or on the sa...

Music often starts as a love. For some, it slowly becomes a way of life. In this episode, Alexis Santos shares how directing choirs as a teenager set him on a path that would shape his work, his faith, and his sense of responsibility as a musician. From formal studies in music and theology to composing bilingual sacred music used in churches today, Alexis reflects on what it means to serve both th...

Ben Stone has spent his life in music, beginning at the organ as a child and building a career shaped by years of professional experience. In this episode, he reflects on his journey as a musician, the demands of working within the Church, and the ongoing challenge of balancing craft, vocation, and personal life. A conversation about longevity, discipline, and what it means to make music a lifelon...

Ike Ndolo is a musician who speaks openly about the realities of creating and performing music within the Catholic Church. In this episode, he reflects on the tension between being a performer and leading worship, the challenges artists face in church spaces, and how his experience as a Black man has shaped his relationship with faith and vocation. A conversation about music, identity, and what it...

This season of CIOT centers on musicians and their work. Guests from a range of musical paths share how they understand their craft, how they lead worship, and how their approaches differ. A season about sound, practice, and faith lived through music.