He Leadeth Me

The Gospel of St. John teaches us that Jesus gave us "power to become children of God." The churches teaches us that we are God's beloved children, yet sometimes it can be difficult to take this teaching from head to heart. Fr. James Brent, O.P., joins Jessica to talk about divine adoption and how we can learn to live out of this grace. Fr. James and Jess discuss: The early Church F...

How can I grow in my spiritual life and become a saint? Fr. John Ignatius gives us one of his top recommendations: get a spiritual director. In this episode, Fr. John Ignatius and Jessica discuss: How a spiritual director can help you overcome your spiritual blind spots How a spiritual director can help you discern God's will for your life The difference between spiritual direction and counse...

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Hollcraft returns to talk about roadblocks to vocational discernment and how God overcomes them. Dr. Hollcraft and Jess discuss: Can broken family backgrounds be a roadblock in vocational discernment? What is the role of healing in the discernment process? How does someone know if they are ready to discern or if they should pursue more healing? What advice do you have f...

How do I know if I am in the Dark Night of the Soul or if I just have dryness if prayer? The Dark Night is a metaphor used by St. John of the Cross to express ways that God purifies a soul and brings it deeper into union with Him. In this episode, Fr. Pier Giorgio, OCD, returns to talk with Jessica about the writings of St. John of the Cross related to the Dark Night. Jess and Fr. Pier Giorgio dis...

How can I go deeper in prayer? In this episode, Fr. Pier Giorgio Pacelli, OCD, joins Jessica to talk about the 4 Waters of Prayer that St. Theresa of Avila writes about in her autobiography. Jess and Fr. Pier Giorgio discuss: St. Theresa's analogy of watering a garden and the 4 "waters" of prayer she describes How God moves a soul from active to more passive prayer The prayer of rec...

What makes a person a saint? Msgr. James Shea, President of the University of Mary, joins Jessica to talk about FOCUS alumna Michelle Duppong, who passed away from cancer in 2015. The Diocese of Bismarck recently opened an investigation into Michelle's life of holiness, which could eventually lead to her canonization. Jessica and Msgr. Shea discuss: What does it mean that the diocese has open...

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Dr. Joseph Hollcraft, Director of the Avila Institute's Higher Calling Program, to ask him questions about vocational discernment. Questions include: * How do you know if God is calling you or if it's just your own mind? * What tips do you have for how to pray about your vocation? * Can I discern the priesthood and marriage at the same time? The Hi...

Everyone experiences discouragement, but do you use your discouragement for the purpose God has allowed it for?  In this episode, Jessica sits down with Fr. Martin Latiff to discuss why God allows us to go through discouragement and how we can use it to catapult us forward in our spiritual lives. Fr. Martin Latiff is a priest with the Miles Christi religious order and a FOCUS National Chaplain. He...

After converting to Christianity at the age of 13, Fr. Doug Grandon devoted his life to bringing others to Jesus, and eventually answered God's call to become a missionary in communist Yugoslavia. In this episode, Fr. Doug shares lessons Jesus taught Him during his discernment to become a missionary and later when he risked arrest to proclaim the Gospel in a communist country. Join us next we...

Many people are surprised to learn that Fr. Doug Grandon is a married Catholic priest! In our last episode, we left off with Fr. Doug's undercover missionary work in communist Yugoslavia as an Evangelical Christian. In this episode, Fr. Doug shares with us how Jesus took him from sharing the Gospel in Yugoslavia to becoming a priest in the Anglican Church and finally to converting to Catholic...

St. Ignatius of Loyola said that there was one prayer a person should never neglect praying: the Examen Prayer.  In this episode, Jessica and Fr. John Ignatius will discuss: * How do I pray the Examen prayer? * Why did St. Ignatius think the Examen prayer was so important? * What are some common pitfalls in praying the Examen prayer? * How can I pray the Examen prayer well?

In this pilot episode of He Leadeth Me, Jessica and Fr. John Ignatius discuss Fr. John Ignatius' 5 recommendations for the new school year. His recommendations include: * Consistency with our Plan of Life * Practice of the Presence of God * Praying the Examen Prayer * Cultivating Virtue * Spiritual Direction Fr. John Ignatius is a priest in the Miles Christi religious order and also a FOCUS N...