Just One Small Thing Podcast for Catholic Parents

My relationship with the Sacred Heart of Jesus has developed a lot in recent years. For much of my life I didn't think much of the Sacred Heart. I associated it mostly with what felt like an out-dated devotion and strange Italian-looking versions of Jesus in art.    This started to change after I read a biography of Blessed Charles of Austria ( https://a.co/d/cWu4ny1 ). From there I dove head firs...

Happy New Year, Friends!  Today we're tackling a fascinating topic, and one that could possibly help you achieve some New Year's Goals: Praying for Your Temperament.  This episode started as a conversation pre-recording a few months ago... sharing how novenas appeal to some people but for others they are impossible to stick with.  "I wonder if that's a temperament thing..." lead us to Google which...

Hey Friends! Happy Fourth Week of Advent!  Today we are wrapping up our book study on Interior Freedom, and sticking with the theme of 'we can only control what is within ourselves,' Nancy is without a voice this week so it's just me, Katie.  This episode focuses on the last third of the book (that first section was so huge!!).  And for me, the two words that kept popping out were HOPE and IDENTIT...

Following the theme of 'we can't control things outside ourselves,' we're needing to take a week off from the Advent Book Study of Interior Freedom and instead, we're sharing something else... The 12 Days of Christmas!  Hoping that sharing this week gives you time to prepare a few 'liturgical living' activities but also gets you excited for the days following December 25th.    As Catholics, the Ch...

Welcome back from our Thanksgiving break and welcome into Advent!  We hope you had a beautiful "Turkey Day" and that the first week of Advent has been somewhat peaceful and prayerful.   During Advent, we will be doing a three part series on the tiny but powerful book, Interior Freedom , by Fr. Jacques Philippe.  If you don't have it yet, you can grab it here and join in on the fun. For this episod...

Hey Friends! Before we dive into this week's topic, two quick announcements! One: We will NOT be releasing a new episode next weekend. We're taking a week off for Thanksgiving.  BUT (two), we will be back the First Sunday of ADVENT with the first episode of our book study series!  The book we're reading is Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Philippe.  You can snag it right here !  This week, we're di...

** Before we jump into this week's episode, we want to let you know that we'll be doing a book study this upcoming Advent!!!  The book is Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Philippe. Have you read anything by Fr. Philippe yet? He is AMAZING. Such a gentle, yet wise voice… our hope is this study will help us all stay centered this Advent on what (or WHO!) truly matters.  You can snag a copy here . Fir...

Welcome back!  Today, we start a two part series on relics... What are they? Are there different kinds? Why do Catholics hang on to pieces of dead people?   It might surprise you to find out that the practice of keeping relics is not something that started with the early martyrs, or even with Christ.  No! The first example of relics we found in scripture is in the second book of Kings (13:20-21). ...

Welcome back to another week of the Just One Small Thing Podcast!!   Continuing on our 'Fall Triduum' theme, we're discussing All Soul's Day today.  Although the last day of this great Triduum of our Faith, it seems to be the 'middle child' in some ways... It's not an eve.  It's not a Holy Day of Obligation. It's also kind of sad.  We all have people we have known and loved and they've passed on a...

Hi There! We're getting seasonal today and tackling Halloween... If you're like us, you probably remember the annual struggle to narrow down your costume ideas to a single CHOICE and then the excitement of running door to door to get candy (FOR FREE) from strangers.  Halloween was quite different as we went on college and post-graduation life.  Halloween seemed like nothing more than an invitation...

Hi Friends! Happy Feast Day of Fatima (if you're checking this out Sunday evening).  October 13th, 1917 is " The Day the Sun Danced ." It's a great day to pray the rosary! Speaking of roses .... It's October and we'd be remiss if we didn't share about one of our favorite saints, St. Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower.  Before St. Therese died, she declared "I will send down a shower of roses fr...

Hi Friends! Happy October!!!  You probably know that October is considered the month of the Holy Rosary, but do you know why?  If you're listening the evening this episode goes live, it's the eve of Our Lady of Victory's feast day, also known as Our Lady of the Rosary!  This feast day was established during the pontificate of Pope Pius V after an astounding victory of Christian forces against the...

Hey Listeners! Welcome back and happy New Week to you!  What's your favorite Marian Apparition? Is it Lourdes or Guadalupe or Fatima? (both ours are one of those so don't feel bad for being 'predictable') This week we are exploring some lesser know apparitions. Ones you didn't hear about in Catholic School.  Ones Nancy and I found out about through an amazing lecture by Fr. Don Calloway (see link...

Hi Friends! This week we're diving into Natural Family Planning or NFP.  What is NFP, you may be wondering?  NFP is any method of observing your monthly fertility signs and using them to plan when to 'renew your vows' with your husband.   Fertility Awareness is not just for deciding when to try for a baby though.  Many health issues can be traced back to cycle or hormonal abnormalities, so women o...

Hello Friends! With yesterday being the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, in today's episode, we're taking a closer look at the Seven Sorrows of Mary along with the concept of being open to life, even if it leaves your arms empty (or emptier than you want them to be).  We're talking specifically about infertility but as Catholic Women, practicing natural family planning can leave our families looking...

Hello!!  Sterling is back with the Just One Small Thing Podcast, joining the select few who have been guests TWICE (Sterling, your certificate is in the mail ;-) ).  You might know Sterling from her Catholic Minimalism Facebook Group or her podcast Coffee and Pearls. Or maybe you've read some of her books ? Today, the three of us discuss how to make a Catholic Home without breaking the bank as wel...

Next in our Sacramental Series, we're learning about Scapulars.  We'll talk specifically about the Brown Scapular today but there are several different color scapulars each with their own particular devotion.   The Scapular is a beautiful tradition of our Church started with the Carmelite Order.  The Carmelites, unlike many of the orders founded around the same time, have no saintly founder that w...

Today, we're diving into another sacramental of our Faith: the Chapel Veil.  Reminder from last week: Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it.  (CC1670) Wearing a veil at mass will not give you special graces the way a Sacrament does, but some women find i...

For the next four weeks, we're diving into Sacramentals.  What are they? Why do we have them? How did each particular devotion come to be?  To begin, let's take a look at this line from the Catechism: Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it.  (CC1670) Sacr...

Hello and welcome back to the second season of The Just One Small Thing Podcast: Everyday Wisdom for Catholic Women!  In today's episode you'll get to meet my friend and New Co-Host, Katie Wood, while we talk about this season's motto: Let the Eucharist Lead.   To be honest, this might be our motto forever and ever because how can you beat it? Isn't this what it means to be Catholic?  Christ in th...

Hey there friends! It's a big day around this small corner of the internet. Today I am sharing the LAST installment of the VIRTUES OF THE ROSARY. I can hardly believe it! I started discussing these virtues last summer, and here we are finishing them up as we approach another summer. So, today is all about the virtue attached to the final Glorious Mystery: the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven...

Hey there friends! It's a big day around this small corner of the internet. Today I am sharing the LAST installment of the VIRTUES OF THE ROSARY. I can hardly believe it! I started discussing these virtues last summer, and here we are finishing them up as we approach another summer. So, today is all about the virtue attached to the final Glorious Mystery: the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven...

Welcome back to another installment of the Virtues of the Rosary on the Just One Small Thing Podcast. I have really loved attaching a virtue to each mystery of the Rosary, and I hope these episodes have been helpful and enriched your own praying of the Rosary. And, we are in the 2nd to the last episode in this series! Can you believe it?!? Today's episode is all about the fourth Glorious Mystery,...

Hey there! Welcome back to another episode of the Just One Small Thing Podcast. I am working my way through the final VIRTUES OF THE ROSARY. This episode discusses the virtues attached to the third Glorious Mystery, the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost.  The virtue attached to this mystery is Courage...or Zeal for the Mission...or just being Open to the Spirit. Sorry if I so...

Hey there! Let's continue on with our investigation of the virtues of the Rosary! Head here if you would like beautiful coloring pages with the virtues of the Rosary and right here if you would like to grab a Rosary Booklet of your very own. Today's podcast is all about hope, but not hope in the sense that we use the word every day. In common usage, hope is like optimism. We might say, "I hope I'm...