The Empowered Catholic Podcast

Meaning and purpose are big themes in transition.    Transitions like RETIREMENT, EMPTY NEST, or other WAKE-UP call you might have.    Where's the excitement, meaning, purpose, discomfort, and discernment kicking in?    Where's the expediency, fear, super cautious, or momentum kicking in?    We had a season on TRANSITIONS, starting at episode 2.   John Paul II, in Christifideles Laici , at 58, wro...

Indeed as a person with a truly unique lifestory, each is called by name, to make a special contribution to the coming of the Kingdom of God. No talent, no matter how small, is to be hidden or left unused (cf. Mt 25:24-27) . . . . In this regard the apostle Peter gives us a stern warning: "As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace" (1 Pt 4:10)....

Our definition of purpose includes having a profound sense of who you are.    That's intriguing. As we tried to get to the core of what that really means, we touched on about half a dozen key ideas.    One of them is a very helpful "how-to" find meaning and purpose.    Another key concept is that we have spiritual, mental, and emotional realms that need to cooperate. Integrating these realms so we...

This is a big topic!   We need purpose and meaning. Think about times when you've felt that your actions had no meaning or purpose. Yikes. Well-being requires a sense of purpose and meaning.    Fortunately, as Christians, we have strong spiritual resources that help us find that. The SPIRITUAL realm of our being does not always percolate down into our day-to-day moments, however.  We also have MEN...

Here's one more take on Romans 8!    In this episode, we are focusing on the glory of God :  what is it? What does it mean?  And whatever is Paul talking about when he says God's children will be 'glorified with him'? Can Christians really partake of the glory of God?   Paul starts by encouraging us to "celebrate the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5: 2) and continues to help us understand what...

Book of Romans! It's not an easy read! We will have a couple of episodes just on Chapter 8.    There's a lot of HOPE and assurances in Romans. There are many more themes, including patience and suffering. It's all going to be worth it, Paul says.    Chapter eight of Romans starts with this: Therefore there is no condemnation for those in the Messiah, Jesus.    Let's all make that a verse we rememb...

Do you want her to hear you? You must hear her first.   Do you want him to see your perspective? You must see his perspective first.    Being SEEN and HEARD is important to any relationship that has depth and vitality.   The person in front of you has DIGNITY.  God made him or her.  Recognizing the dignity of the other person is your job. It's up to you.    When you are speaking with your young ad...

Our children, at any age, are always hoping to feel loved by us.    Receiving love from your mom and dad is a primary psychological drive. It's a reason why psychologists are always trying to get you to straighten-out your relationships with your parents.    As parents, let's make sure we fulfill our role. It's our unique opportunity.    COLLABORATING will help you stay in that role.    Thinking i...

  What's the best way to give advice? Our young adults generally don't want to hear it. They've had plenty of it from us in the past.    They likely need lots of advice, however. Or could, at least, use some to avoid making costly mistakes.    There's also something that we often offer when we give the advice: it's something that they intensely dislike.    We discuss some of the biggest DO's and D...

There's a huge goal to never lose sight of when relating to your young adult! This huge goal is: to create a healthy and loving relationship with our adult children.    Our expectations of them can conflict with that goal. It's human nature to focus on what's NOT happening and to be impatient for what we think SHOULD be happening. We have expectations rooted in our own personal history. Let's bear...

Noreen helps us find wisdom and receive grace as we accompany our aging parents as caregivers, children, and companions as they age and need our help. We talked about what she learned, how God showed up for her, and how she managed her parents' aging and deaths. Join us as Noreen, a lovely lady of humor and persistence shares some of her touching stories and inspires us. Her book, Keep at it, Rile...

Happiness, striving for happiness, is important in everything you do.  Happiness sets us up for success - in Work, Love, and Play. In spiritual life. In doing the right things. In all of the above.  Create an ethic to strive for happiness.  Martin Seligman, the positive psychologist was out in his yard doing yard work. His daughter was maybe five or six. She said, "Daddy, do you remember when I wa...

We've been discussing happiness.  Aquinas views the desire for happiness as ingrained in and being inseparable from, our humanity. We want to be with God because we desire happiness. We are made for Him.  There are some schools of thought based on an idea that we should be disinterested in happiness and entirely focused on serving God and others. That's not how human nature works.  Happiness is so...

It is important as spiritual beings, as Christians, and Catholics to strive for happiness. And we can make a lot of choices for it that are perfectly in alignment with our highest values and everything we believe.  Happiness helps us be what God intends. We use the word "happiness" to refer to thriving, flourishing, and cooperating with grace. Purpose has an important role to play in happiness.  Y...

Saint Augustine was asked a difficult question: what to ask of God? He said Ora beatam vitam : meaning "Ask for the happy life." What?? It's good to be happy. It's important as spiritual beings, as Christians, as Catholics, to strive for happiness. Humans desire happiness as an inseparable aspect of their nature. There are quite a few misconceptions about happiness. Find out if it's really OK to p...

We have a role to play in the Kingdom of God, now. With His Easter resurrection, Jesus inaugurated His new Kingdom. We each have a role and identity in this Kingdom. Listen to Karen explaining how this Kingdom is part of a two-stage process of God unfolding His purpose and, by implication, our roles. Then listen while Curtis uses analogies to the Lord of the Rings to grapple with what it's all abo...

Knowing about the hopes of the Jews as seen through the Old Testament helps us better appreciate what the kingdom of God in the New Testament is, and what that might mean to us.  We share how this shifts our perspectives: From pursuing to having; From chasing to possessing; From me acting as an individual to being invited to participate in God's cosmic project of salvation and transformation, a pr...

Rites of passage in traditional societies show a firm grasp of the phases of transition. Catholics know a thing or two about tradition! We have rites of passage, for sure. Also, liturgical cycles are tied to the seasons. There's no single modern rite of passage for midlife. But midlife transitions can bring a transformation in outlooks: we discuss a few of them. 

Description:  Transitions have an ending; it's called the New Beginning. When the New Beginning starts to show up, you are starting on the end phase! This phase can be fuzzy, so having a mastery focus is very helpful. Christian spiritual masters talk of living in the present as a spiritual discipline; a mastery focus helps us with that, too. The New Beginning may not be what we expect!

There's a lot of uncertainty and insecurity in transitions.  Let's decide to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, to practice hope, and to get the most out of our transition process!

Grit and Grace in Midlife Transitions is the topic of Season One. Understanding a few basic things about transitions is super helpful for personal and spiritual growth. Transitions include letting go and receiving. If we want to be filled with new things, it's hard to receive them if we are full of other stuff. It's like the old wineskins that can't receive the new wine. Listen and get the low-dow...

In this episode, Karen and Curtis dive into the phases of transition and the power of endings, letting go, and choosing to own your transition. There is new wine available to us, so why do we say, "Nope! I'm good with the old!"

We decided it would be fun to ask each other questions by way of introducing ourselves and what's behind the podcast. Listen to Karen try to keep Curtis from digressing in this fast-paced mutual interview. Backgrounds, books, blue-collar, when we hear the F-bomb, Hope, and other essential info is all right here!  We also invite you to start sharing your insights with us around the show; we decided...

We (Karen and Curtis) introduce The Catholic Midlife podcast. We cover topics such as: Why midlife should be intentionally treated as a transition - an important one! Why we started a podcast for Catholic midlifers. And a key Spiritual theme that shows up over and over in midlife and in our coaching practice.