Visitation Sessions (A Podcast)

Is “How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told,” by Harrison Scott Key, really the best book ever written about marriage? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s absolutely one of the best. It’s honest, real, and—in its own way—profoundly faithful. If you or someone you love is struggling in your marriage, we recommend putting it at the top of your reading list. Today, we’re talking about the bo...

No folks, we’re not endorsing any candidates. We’re not even talking candidates. Instead, we try to thread the narrowest needle ever threaded by discussing why elections do and don’t matter, what Catholics need to consider every time we head to the polls, how to fund common ground with those who disagree with us, and what matters most the day after Election Day … all without talking about the actu...

Today, we’re joined by a very special guest, our friend Dave VanVickle. Dave is a lay evangelist, spiritual warfare expert, and father of five, who has spent the past 22 years assisting priests and dioceses with exorcisms. Dave is the sanest, most balanced expert we know on this topic, so we were eager to have him share his wisdom on the nature of exorcisms, the dangers of the demonic AND of payin...

Plenty of opinions, lots of questions, but very few answers is what we have for you this week as we talk about raising kids in the age of cell phones, Internet, and graphic crime shows streaming eternally on TV. Chasing Childhood (Documentary) The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt The War Against Boys: How Misguided P...

Two weeks ago, Emily answered a question in her newsletter about whether or not a wife should honor her husband’s request that she get breast implants. Everyone felt like there was a lot more to talk about than Emily was able to fit into her answer, so we recorded a whole podcast about it. It’s a perfectly clean conversation, but if you have any 12-year-old boys around who break out into hysteric...

Today, the gang is breaking down Pope Francis’ new pastoral letter on literature “On the Role of Literature in Formation.” Why do priests need to read more stories? We do we all need to read stories? What are the very best stories? What do they teach us? And what is wrong with all the people who hate Harry Potter? So. Many. Links. Today. Probably missing a dozen. But here is the best list we could...

Chris and Casey are back in the classroom, and everyone’s summer vacation is coming to an end, so the Chapmans and Stapletons are officially kicking off the second season of Visitation Sessions by looking back on a summer that was anything but restful and talking about the quest for rest, the purpose of recreation, and the glory of routines. Related to this episode: Leisure as the Basis of Culture...

We crowded into a hot childfree attic on a Sunday night to talk about what everyone else is talking about: Ballerina Farm … and farming … and trad wives … and social media …and minding our own business … and why no matter what we do, the world is going to hate believing Christians (or aspiring Christian as the case may be) who are trying to live our faith. Mentioned in this episode: Meet the Queen...

This week, your hosts Chris and Emily Chapman and Casey and KATE Stapleton (not Chris Stapleton 🤦🏼‍♀️) review some of the flash points in Butker’s Benedictine speech and discuss why both the speech and Emily’s Substack article about it are making so many people so danged crazy. Note 1: This will be our last podcast for the next two to three months, as the Chapmans head off on pilgrimage, the Sta...

Today, we’re talking about homeschooling, the purpose of the domestic Church, why awkwardness matters, and a whole lot more of listener requested topics, in this special Q&A Episode. In This Episode: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies by Jared Diamond John Henry (Tonie character) John Henry (short—Also available on Disney Plus) Future Faithful Families Project “Every Tech Tool in...

This week, we dive deeper into the Christian obligation (yes, obligation) to practice hospitality and answer your questions about what that looks like when you’re tired, strapped for cash, and would rather just watch Netflix. Mentioned in this episode: Apostolica Acuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity), Second Vatican Council “Enduring Homelessness Requires More Than Just Survival,” by...

Two high schoolers, a homeschooling mom, and a sleep deprived writer sit down over drinks to talk about learning. It sounds like the beginning of a very boring joke, but it actually was a fascinating late night conversation about learning, education, technology in classrooms, the virtue of studiositas, the vice of curiositas, the wonder of children, and why Emily dislikes the word “educator” almos...

The Chapmans are counting down the days until they take two three-year-olds and a five-year-old to Italy. The Stapletons are counting down the days until they take six kids on a converted school bus and embark on their summer concert tour. Obviously, when it comes to travel, none of us are sane. But there is a reason for our madness. This week, we’re talking about the graces of travel—why we do it...

Today, we welcome our first guest ever to the show, Dr. Matt Breuninger— associate professor of Psychology at Franciscan University , author of Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts , and most important, the former owner of Visitation House. We talked for a solid 90 minutes up in the attic about what it means to be a good man, a good father, and a good husband (including an inordinate am...

After a two week Easter break, we’re back this week with a new conversation on modesty. Yes, modesty. But we promise, it’s not the conversation you had with your mom (unless your mom is Emily or Kate). Links: * The Summa: Modesty ( II-IIae Q.160 ); Adornment in the Creation of the World ( I-I Q. 70 ) * Daily Life in the Time of Jesus by Henri Daniel-Rops * These Beautiful Bones: An Everyday Theolo...

This week, we’re talking about using our phones, navigating social media, cultivating quiet, and how much Emily misses 2004. Links: Reclaiming Quiet: Cultivating a Life of Holy Attention (Pre-order) by Sarah Clarkson Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education by Stratford Caldecott “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer” by Wendell Berry “Why We Can’t Read Anymore,” by Hugh McGuire...

Casey shares some terrifying family secrets. Emily reveals her deep dislike of Russian literature. And we chat about women’s work—in the home and in the world, why both are important, what the Church has to say about it, how it’s changed with time, and how Catholics can be witnesses to creativity in making family the priority for both men and women. Letter to Women , John Paul II Mulieris Dignitat...

What is work? Why is it so hard? What defines success? Can we serve both God and mammon? How do we rightly order our vocations so that first things come first? And does that ordering look different for men and women? Talking about these things and more in the attic, this week on Visitation Sessions. Not a subscriber? Sign up today (it’s free). Show Notes: Church Documents * Rerum Novarum (On the C...

Today Chris, Kate, Casey, and I are talking about creativity. What is creativity? What does it mean to be creative? How does pursuing creativity in work, life, marriage, and family make us more alive and help us live more deeply human lives? Also, why does my skin crawl when people use the word “creative” as a noun and not an adjective? (Seriously people, please don’t ever call me “a Creative.”) P...

Today, Chris, Kate, Casey, and I are talking all things Lent: the meaning of the season, abstinence and fasting, Fish Fries, practical penances, prayer, almsgiving, loving the poor, living Lent in marriage and with children, and what happens when you fail at it all. Mentioned on today’s episode: Approach to Penance by Hubert Van Zellar St. Michael’s Abbey Friendship Room The Red Door Ministry This...

Introducing Visitation Sessions For over a year now, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a podcast. This is partly because I love good conversations, and those have become almost impossible to have on social media these days. It’s also because I’ve wanted you to know my husband Chris better. He is one of the healthiest, wisest, and most mature Christian men I know, and I think a lot of you...