The Poco a Poco Podcast with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Episode 72 - The Tears of God You see a different side of someone when you see what makes him or her cry. Seeing a person weep, and knowing why—the thing he or she cares about so deeply as to be moved to tears—is a deep insight. Lazarus. Jerusalem. Sin. Jesus weeps at these. That tells us something important, for a man who weeps in the face of suffering is a man who loves deeply, who is profoundly...

Episode 71 - Jesus Receives You as a Gift "Nobody has ever been for me like this before."  That's the difference it can make to receive someone as gift. Jesus looked at the disciples and thanked the Father for the gift of them. He looked around at the faces of people he loved and received each of them and all of them as a gift. In their goodness and brokenness, even in times that didn't feel quite...

Episode 70 - Last Words of Christ Jesus always chose his words carefully. There was great meaning and intention behind each word, part of which we can only begin to understand by listening carefully. How much more, then, should we pay attention to Jesus's very last words? The ones he painfully uttered as he was dying on the cross? What do these words reveal about the heart of God? Jesus's whole li...

Episode 69 - A Father And Son Moment There's an intense vulnerability to letting people into your most tender moments. Allowing someone to witness a private, cherished part of life is no small thing, and being a witness to one of these moments is an honor. There's a particular part of Jesus's life for which we get to be these witnesses only a few times: his experience of prayer. In these rare inst...

VIDEO episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9P586wY2HI   Episode 68 - House of Prayer, Not Den of Thieves Sometimes we need someone to fight for us. To respond forcefully to injustice in our lives. Jesus does this, as he did in the temple—He's not afraid to clean house. The Divine Physician heals us, though the medicine isn't always tender and gentle. The medicine that's needed is tougher, and...

Episode 67 - The Compassion of God Compassion; it means "to suffer with." Recall those times when you've been suffering, alone, and someone has come into that isolation with you. It's powerful!  Now… don't skip the fact that God became man so he could suffer with us. God is the prodigal son's father, spending every day looking at the horizon with longing even though his son hurt him in such a conc...

Episode 66 - The Heart of God This episode starts a new series: The Heart of God. The Sacred Heart. This is a series about the goodness of God—not only the reality that he is, but that he is good, with a human face and a human heart that rejoices. A deeper encounter with his heart; that it may be the remedy that heals the wounds of our hearts. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of generous do...

Episode 65 - A Prophetic People We're called to be prophets. Real, recognizable prophets in our day to day. How does that hit you? What does your life look like? Do people around you see it and think, This guy's living it. He communicates in the depths of who he is that Jesus is alive and he's real and he's risen from the dead and this means something for us. He's a prophet. We have to live provoc...

Episode 64 - The Art of Sacrifice To sacrifice is to make holy. Most of us are given enough suffering in this world that if we were to offer it fully and freely to the Lord, that would be enough. We need only to accept—well—the penances that life gives us. Any additional sacrifices—ones that we choose—should be chosen carefully; intentionally, and after checking in with someone else, and always lo...

Episode 63 - Learning to Love Like Jesus The fullness of the mission of Christ includes a heart for the poor. This is pretty central, actually, but somehow doesn't always get a lot of air time. This isn't just something we do, but who we are. It's not just a Christian thing—this is being like Jesus. And even once that heart is developed and the desire is there… the how can be unclear. How do we li...

VIDEO: Watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfhPsn_uF30 Episode 62 - Christian Contentment In our world of wanting more and of endlessly upgrading, we have to get good at saying, "Ok, that's enough." There's a game of constant consumption and if we're not careful, it's going to take advantage of us. Don't get played! Simplicity isn't about getting rid of everything. It's saying "no" to things...

Watch this video episode at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbtZV0z_is0   Episode 61 - Your Stuff is Holding You Back Ever try to connect with the person right in front of you… but he or she is staring at a phone, totally preoccupied? You want to jump in and say, "Look up! Look at me." How often are we those preoccupied people in prayer? We have to be real about attachment. Whether we like it or n...

VIDEO now available! Watch on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_wJgfHG1sI   Episode 60 - Are You Stuck in the Ordinary? As Christians, what does our free time look like? Do we prioritize the same things as the world? Is there any difference in how we spend our time and money and attention? Those who know Jesus live differently. In important things, and also ordina...

VIDEO now available! Watch on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/dZ78lBznd_s Episode 59 - Loving The Person Who Has All Your Pet Peeves Love your enemies. AND love that one person who embodies every single one of your pet peeves and always seems to find the fastest way to most intensely annoy you. Each person's personality—our most and least favourite parts—is gift, and it's all ab...

VIDEO now available! Watch on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFruaMSgbdc   Epiosde 58 - You Need Community We have some pretty strong feelings on this topic… and it shows in this week's episode. Passing through purgatory is the experience that prepares us for heaven. There's no greater insight into what purgatory is like than family life or community life. The most impor...

Now with video! WATCH the podcast on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4Hg26S_bDo   Episode 57 - Discipleship Is a Team Sport Discipleship is a team sport. Family—both through our natural families, and our supernatural family through baptism—and communion with others is an essential ingredient to the Christian life. Not that it will be easy… it won't be. It is simp...

Now with VIDEO! Watch this episode on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FteWNKQD8wM   Episode 56 - Jesus, Look At My Heart It's key to commit to prayer; to schedule it and keep honor it through intention and discipline. But, then, how do we maintain prayer as an intimate relationship and not let it become a routine? The answer to one question: where's your heart in...

Now with VIDEO! Watch this episode on Spirit Juice's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbgj8IU-ogg.   Episode 55 - You'll Be Glad You Prayed Do you know anybody who wants to work out *every* time? Unlikely. But nobody who gets in that workout says afterwards, "That was a waste of time. Why'd I bother?" Even more with prayer. When you take the time, it's always, "I'm so glad I did...

Episode 54 - We're Not Kids Anymore You crave conversion and real change; to receive the healing and hope that God wants to give you. How does that lasting, long-term change happen? It happens when we accept some truth or let go of some lie. Each step forms our will, either strengthening it or weakening it. And the stronger our will, the more we'll be able to choose the good even when it's hard an...

Episode 53 - You Are Not an Outsider We're all really interested in what God can do for us; the healing, the restoration, the gifts of the Father. Are we as interested in committing to the long-term relationship that allows us to receive all of that? It's all too easy to spend the inheritance while overlooking the relationship. As sons and daughters of God, we're meant to live from the inside of J...

Episode 52 - The Rich Man Who Didn't Turn St Francis is the rich young man who didn't turn away sad. God invited St Francis, and his response was even more than his heart burning for the Lord — he was consumed. There was no going back. He became more like Jesus, but without being less like Francis. He became more like Francis; not losing himself in God, but finding himself in God. The unique man t...

Episode 51 - God Is Looking for You We have a God who's always on the move, always pursuing. In our busyness, we're distracted — we miss things. We miss people. But God is constantly seeking, constantly encountering what is broken, and seeing the wholeness. Christianity is different: it's about God becoming Man and coming to us. He's looking for you. Let yourself be found. For the next few episode...

Jesus has a wounded human heart; he allowed himself to be fully wounded this way. If it had only been his hands or feet, he would've survived.   How do we allow ourselves to be wounded for him? My sacrifices thus far are survivable. I could still be intact on my own. He gave us everything; we can't turn back.   Evangelical chastity is the full, total gift of your heart, which is set on fire with l...

Obedience isn't something being snatched from you; it's about willingly offering the gift of your freedom. It comes from great humility, a bold statement that "I'm not in charge of my life. I'm not God." It's recognizing that we don't have all the answers, and God really knows what is best for us.   So wherever Jesus is, wherever he's leading you: go there. Stay there. Choose to go there... don't...

The last few weeks, we've been in the wilderness for Lent… but you can only stay in the desert so long. And when the Lord came out of the desert, he was very focused on his mission, with one moment in mind: going to the cross, and ultimately giving his life.    As we move towards Holy Week and the Triduum: stay focused. Look at Jesus on the cross.   For three episodes, we're going to ponder the wo...