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

Episode 221 - Life and Mystery, Series on "Mysteries & Medicine" by Fr. Isaiah, CFR (Part 1) Would you agree that life is a journey or a pilgrimage? The journey to say yes to what God wants for our life, it's not just this thing that happens like a contract and we say, "Yes,", it's a journey. The holiness, the sanctification, the healing, it takes time.  The pilgrimage of life is tough, blindness,...

Episode 220 - Hot Takes 6 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses,...

Episode 219 - Hot Takes 5 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses,...

Episode 218 - For Those Not Accepted to Seminary or Religious Life Have you ever felt rejected by God or the church, as you try to get into religious life? This can be an utterly heartbreaking experience.  When faced with "No" as a response to the desire to get into religious life, one might feel that they are being rejected by God or the church, that they're undesirable, or too broken for religio...

Episode 217 - Hot Takes 4 We have to understand that we are going through different journeys. God is doing something completely different in each of our lives and we have to be attentive to that. Let us not be so quick to judge—everything is not as simple as it may seem.  As we continue our journeys through life, we will constantly encounter our own and other people's struggles, flaws, weaknesses,...

Episode 216 - The Good Shepherd, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 11) As a shepherd, what are you willing to lay down for your sheep? For shepherds nowadays, and even in the times of the Apostle, the sheep are for the shepherd's sake, they serve him. It's not like vice versa, sheep are the product and we get them to pasture so they can grow, so we can slaughter them.  But th...

Episode 215 - That None Would Be Lost, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 10) Can you imagine how it feels for a parent when their child dies? A father and a mother don't want to lose any of their children and this is an icon of understanding how God doesn't want any of his children to be lost—how passionate God is about our salvation. God desires none to be lost. Today we'll...

Episode 214 - Father of Mercies, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 9) Do you trust God's mercy? We are invited to bring to light those things that we are keeping in the dark, things that are tough, and trust that God in his mercy will love and care for us there. When we bring something to the Lord, it's forgiven and it's gone, He no longer sees us with that. He doesn't define...

Episode 213 - Love and the Cross, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 8) What's your initial response to difficulty? Difficulty and suffering is something that's part of the world we live in and to move forward with the Lord we have to live in this reality, even though it's hard.  God is with us in it! One of the things a father also has to do is to teach their children and equ...

Episode 212 - Law and the Father, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 7) What's the role that rules and laws play? Rules create boundaries and usually define the best way to do things. However, following rules can also NOT lead to freedom, this is why we need to learn to find the right balance in following the rules. In this episode, we will talk about the spirituality of laws...

Episode 211 - On Being Safe, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 6) What does it mean to be safe? Safety is not the absence of suffering, it's not like we're not going to struggle with anything but it's the recognition that when we are vulnerable, we don't have to escape it, because someone wants to be with us and provide for us and that is our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is the s...

Episode 210 - Loved and Celebrated, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 5) What does it mean to be loved and celebrated? We are favored sons and daughters worthy of celebration—of being served. We are worthy and loved by God and this episode talks about a step in the right direction on what it means to be loved and celebrated. This is a gentle call to conversion and repentance,...

Episode 209 - Made for Freedom, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 4) What does it mean to be made for freedom? We are all called to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God. The reality is we are seen, loved, and chosen by God the Father and there's freedom when we experience that. In this episode, we're going through the mechanics of freedom and learn more about how the...

Episode 208 - The Father's Gaze, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 3) Can you imagine how you would gaze upon your newborn baby for the first time? This is the way the Father loves everyone. He's constantly looking at us and is constantly delighting in us. The Father always looks at us with the same delight, love, and rejoicing as a father looks at his newborn for the first t...

Episode 207 - The Father's Delight, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 2) Do you know how much your heavenly Father delights in you? The part of the heart of the Father is to care for his children in whatever shape or form that would take. It might feel a lot or even tiresome but because of the uncalculated love of the father, the time when he gets to take care of and be with...

Episode 206 - The Father and The Father Wound, Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 1) How are you affected by the wounds you had from your earthly father? The life of St. Francis is a good example of how the wounds we have from our earthly father can be an access point to the heart of God. His wounds led him to embrace the heart of the Father through Jesus Christ.  It is a good...

Episode 205 - Holy Week and Total Gift (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 7) This holy week, how do you intend to receive Jesus' total gift for you? The fast during Lent is not to show Jesus how tough we are, it's to show him how poor we are. It's to be in the space of utter poverty and to trust that receptivity, that He will come. And what we are celebra...

Episode 203 - The Rich Man and Lazarus (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 5) Does it have to end in just being able to receive God's unconditional love?  Like Lazarus, the guy beat up on the side of the road. We who have been loved in such messiness are also invited to go into the mess, and love. This is a sign that God is alive in us. We now have the dig...

Episode 204 - Resurrection and the Reproaches (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 6) Our expectations and what God is doing can be totally different, so how should we respond to that? In the raising of Lazarus, the response of the Pharisees was to have Jesus killed. This was the tragic response of the heart when they were not open and unable to receive the...

Episode 202 - The Prodigal Son (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 4) If you were the prodigal son would you receive the Father's unconditional love? The conversion that the Father wants us to have is to move on from a conditional, perfectionistic way of experiencing God to a place of just being unconditionally loved by Him. But we can sometimes hold onto...

Episode 201 - The Good Samaritan (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 3) Are you familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan? When we're beat up, when we're in this place of difficulty and shame, He's there, at the side of the road looking at us, desiring to pick us up and saying, "Come with me.". That's Jesus for all of us. The invitation of this episo...

Episode 200 - Christ the Bridegroom (Lent 2024), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 2) How does a bridegroom love his bride? That is how Jesus loves each one of us. He meets us wherever we are in our life to be our beloved and for us to be His. The Lord meets us in the desert-our place of poverty where He betroths us to Him and He betroths Himself to us. In this way,...

Episode 199 - Lent is About Jesus (Ash Wednesday), Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 1) What does Jesus desire for you and Him this Lent?  The temptation during Lent is to make the Lenten journey about us, we can do hard things during Lent that are fueled by our own desires and distractions but Lent isn't supposed to be about ourselves. Lent is also not simply about...

Episode 198 - Remember Like Mary, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 3) Do you remember Jesus and what he did?  The most consistent word Mary had spoken to Fr. Jeremiah, was "remember". When we don't know what to do or how to act, Mary tells us to remember her son, Jesus' actions, that was the case for Fr. Jeremiah and this is an invitation that extends to all of...

Episode 197 - Marian Posture, Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 2) Is your prayer and your life two separate realities?  Mary gives us a ton of hope that the grace of God and the Holy Spirit meet us in reality.  The Marian posture at the core of it is about the reality of the fullness of God. Mary teaches us that The best place to live your spiritual life is in r...