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

Episode 172 - Suffering and Prayer, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 5 of 8) In reality, suffering's out there, in many ways, and in most ways, it's unavoidable. So, "Okay, what do we do with it?". This is the question that we'll try to unpack in today's episode. We are invited to unite our suffering with Jesus and offer it to Him. As we suffer generously and give that to the...

Episode 171 - Conditions for Growth, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 4 of 8) We are all invited to a profound, mystical union with God.  But in order to grow in our spiritual life, Fr. Dubay mentioned in his book that there are certain conditions that we need to understand for our growth in the mystical or spiritual life.  In this fourth episode of our series on the Fire With...

Episode 170 - Experiencing God, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 3 of 8) The medicine for wanting to pray is learning to live in the reality that's most true-God wants to be in communion with us. Meditation, contemplation, and infused prayer are things that can help us live in this reality and this is what we're gonna talk about in this third episode of our series on the Fire...

Episode 169 - Prayer and Repentance, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 2 of 8) Growth in spiritual life is never easy. In the beginning, it's gonna take a LOT of effort. But as it goes on, you'll notice that it becomes more and more the Lord's work and less and less contingent on our human work. This is the second episode of our series on the Fire Within that talks about how St...

Episode 168 - Serious Prayer and Serious Joy, Series on Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (Part 1 of 8) We are anointed with the power of the holy spirit and this is the fire that we've been given. With this fire, all of us are called to live a deep union with God—not just to live in mediocrity with our spiritual life but to set ablaze with love for the Lord. This is the first episode of our s...

Episode 167 - Actions and Consequences Jesus dying on the cross is the symbol of God's victory but is also the consequence to sin.  This is one of the most striking examples that there are things that we can do that are gonna have real concrete consequences in our lives and the lives of others.  As Christians and Catholics, we try to memorialize this consequence through the crucifix. But in realit...

Episode 166 - More Than My Sin How do we respond to the serious sins in our lives?  For many of us, there is a temptation to be overly critical of ourselves and we let that define us. But, our spiritual life should not be defined by these serious sins.  We are invited to be with the Lord and let him teach us about our hearts in the place of sin.  In this episode, we'll unpack and attempt to answer...

Episode 165 - On Being Chosen Loneliness can make us feel that we're not chosen, it can give us a sense that we are totally in isolation. And sometimes it's so easy to forget BUT we have to remember what's true—we have a God who loves us and chooses us.  This is the first part of our series on Fr. Dubay's The Fire Within where we dive deep into the idea, experience, and desire of being chosen—a re...

Episode 164 - The Body and Blood of Christ Do we still know deep within ourselves, how amazing the gift of the Eucharist is? Sometimes, we can forget and take that for granted, but it's awesome how Jesus gives Himself to us, in the form of bread and wine through the Eucharist. In the most humble way, the Lord wants to offer himself to us and be with us ALWAYS. In celebration of the Feast of Corpus...

Episode 163 - Praying with Scripture The Scripture is one of the Lord's best ways to talk to us, a way for us to converse with God. It is also a good reminder of who Jesus is and who we are to Him. Most of us say that praying with scriptures is something that's good to do, but how do we actually do that? In this episode, we're going to offer some initial guidance on praying with scriptures and pro...

Episode 162 - My Brother's Keeper? Not every relationship is the same, so not every fraternal correction will be the same.  This may vary between a parent and a child, between friends, between a boss and his subordinates, between strangers, or between a formator and the people their forming.  In today's episode, we will discuss essential distinctions when it comes to fraternal correction and try t...

Episode 161 - Dealing with Loneliness Loneliness is a common experience that we all share.  Whether you're in crowds of people or constantly with other people who are not peers. Maybe you're in a marriage surrounded by kids all day, or you could be in isolation and feel you have not been chosen by people. Either way, at times we can experience loneliness at some point. Instead of trying to escape...

Episode 160 - Prayer, Presence, Party (Easter Things) What do you do after Easter Sunday? We are invited to be overwhelmed with paschal joy during the Easter season, but instead, we usually resolve to our daily grind like everything isn't transformed by our encounter with the risen Lord.  So many of us return to our normal ways shortly after the resurrection—we can sometimes take comfort in that....

Episode 159 - Our Stories How much do you know about the hosts of the Poco a Poco Podcast? Some people have been along with the Poco a Poco journey for some time now and may already know certain things about them. On the other hand, some people might also be new to this podcast and may want to know more about our beloved brothers. So in today's episode, the Poco a Poco squad is going to share a li...

Episode 158 - The Options Not Optional "How is Jesus calling you to serve the poor?" This is the question we'll attempt to answer in this episode. Jesus loved the poor and like Him, we are called to be a lifeline for a person in need. God's sees the poor but we are called to intercede on their behalf—to be somebody who'e able to bring them to Him. This episode talks about the importance, necessity...

Episode 157 - Hot Takes 3 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 156 - I Am The Resurrection Do we live our lives believing—having faith in the ressurection?  In this ongoing journey of stripping the things we clothe ourselves with, Jesus wants us to give him the things that hold us back and desires to give himself in return.  We have sins that isolates and causes us to go into hiding, but the gift of the resurrection breaks it all open. This episode fo...

Episode 155 - Surrender It All (Lent 2023) Can we allow oursleves to be exposed before the Lord in prayer?  Are we able to be before the Lord as we are and not holding anything back of ourselves or hiding ourselves in any way?  These are the questions that we are attempting to unpack in this seventh part of our Lenten series.  In this episode we are talking about how we can be stripped of all the...

Episode 154 - Surrender Authority (Lent 2023) How does Jesus have authority? It is through His obedience to the Father. But one incredible reality of Jesus is that, in His authority He takes all the stench to the cross where it will be killed in His crucifixion. His authority is not one that lords it over us. It's not one that forces us to bow down and tremble before Him. But it's one that allows...

Episode 153 - Surrender the Stench (Lent 2023) "Have I told Jesus all of my story?" That's the question that we are going to unpack in this episode. Most of us have confessed and have sought healing in particular places of our lives, but there are still parts of who we are now that we keep in the dark—the stench.  The reality of that stench is that it is discouraging and it is despairing, but Jesu...

Episode 152 - Surrender the Script (Lent 2023) There's this simplicity that when we encounter Jesus, our lives become different. We may not understand it and it might not look the same for each of us, but our lives becomes different. Just like the story of the man born blind, before he met Jesus and hoped in Him, he was living in darkness unable to see. After his encounter there had been healing a...

Episode 151 - At The Well (Lent 2023) In one form or another we can sometimes live in isolation and hiding. Because of shame and sin we clothe ourselves with shadows, we hide. These lies that we hide behind keeps us stuck and paralyzed—Jesus wants to call us out of that. The places of hiding don't have to defeat us, but they can become these intimate places where the Lord desires to be. This episo...

Episode 150 - Up The Mountain (Lent 2023) What going up the mountain offers is an opportutiy to come face-to-face with God.  It provides a perspective where we can see what's actually important. Up there we are invited to embrace the experience and the beauty of childlike wonder and awe, it's a place of intimacy with and revelation of God. But the challenge as we go up the mountain is that we have...

Episode 149 - Into The Desert (Lent 2023) There are a number of practices that we are preparing to do during this Lent. But this time of year shouldn't only be a project that we need to fulfill but rather an opportunity. Lent is an opportunity to exercise a posture of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and surrender. Surrenderring to someone, to a relationship that matters, to God. This episode is the fi...

Episode 148 - Blessed Are The Poor The first of the nine beatitudes of Matthew said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The world is constantly trying to define us—it tries to tell us who we are. Our successes, belongings, talents, people in our lives, our jobs, culture and technology, all these things tends make us who we are. We beclothed ourselves with these...