
You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo
Join Fr. John Riccardo and Mary Guilfoyle as we talk about anything and everything that has to do with reacquiring a Biblical Worldview. This podcast seeks to encourage and inspire our listeners with hope firmly founded in the Lordship of Jesus.
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Latest episodes

Apr 7, 2025 • 24min
Episode 327: Are We Missionaries of Mercy?
In their ongoing Lenten series on Psalm 51, Fr. John and Mary concentrate on how David is not only desperate to receive God’s mercy but to announce that He is merciful to others who are likewise in need of it.
Psalm 51:13-15
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
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Mar 31, 2025 • 23min
Episode 326: Take Not Your Spirit From Me
Continuing their Lenten series on Psalm 51, Fr. John and Mary linger with verses 11 and 12, highlighting David’s humility and self awareness that everything he has and is is a gift from God that could be taken away…and yet isn’t because of God’s great mercy.
Psalm 51:11-12
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
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The Rescue Project
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Mar 24, 2025 • 20min
Episode 325: Good But Not Safe
“Our God is a consuming fire,” Hebrews tells us, and so it is not safe to draw near Him. And yet God is Goodness itself and invites us into His presence. In this episode, as Fr. John and Mary continue to reflect on Psalm 51 they focus their attention on David’s cry, “Create in me, O God, a clean heart!”
Psalm 51:6-10
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
Web: https://www.actsxxix.org
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Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
Web: https://rescueproject.us
Instagram: @the.rescue.project
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Mar 17, 2025 • 35min
Episode 324: No Excuses
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary continue their reflection on Psalm 51, reflecting this week especially on David’s tearful, no-excuse act of repentance and how he serves as a model for us.
Psalm 51:3-5
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
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Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Mar 10, 2025 • 28min
Episode 323: Of All the Masters I Have Known, You Are the Kindest
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary continue their reflection for Lent on Psalm 51 and go deep with the unexpected and shocking love of God.
Scripture passage: Psalm 51
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
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Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Mar 3, 2025 • 33min
Episode 322: Can Sparks Set Fire to the Ocean of God’s Mercy?
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary discuss how and why for Lent they’re going to be doing a series on Psalm 51. Today’s episode breaks open the background of this most hopeful Psalm of David.
Psalm 51
Register for Rescue LIVEs at https://rescueme.live
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
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Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
Web: https://rescueproject.us
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Feb 24, 2025 • 37min
Episode 321: Sticks, Stones, and Names
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary continue the conversation from last week’s episode on speech and consider how we as disciples of Jesus can be agents of recreation in our culture by how we speak, text and post.
First Reading: Sirach 27:4-7
To register for Rescue LIVE Acadiana and/or Rescue Michigan, visit rescueme.live
Book Recommendation: The Hidden Power of Silence in the Mass, by Fr. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.
Scriptural Exam for speech:
Prov 15:28 “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”
Prov 16:28 “A perverse person stirs up conflict and a gossip separates close friends.”
Prov 20:19: “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.”
1 Peter 3:10: “For whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.”
Titus 3:2: “Slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate and always to be gentle towards everyone.”
Prov 21:23: “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.”
Prov 18:13: “To answer before listening, that is folly and shame.”
1 Thess 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up just as in fact you are doing.”
Prov 16:24: “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
Eph 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs so that it may benefit those who listen.”
James 3:5: “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”
Col 4:6: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Prov 12:18: “The words of the reckless pierce like swords but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
Ps 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, my Lord, my rock and my redeemer”
Mt 12:34: “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Connect with us and our community on our websites and social media.
Or simply reach us via email at [mission@actsxxix.org](mailto: mission@actsxxix.org)
ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
Web: https://www.actsxxix.org
Instagram: @acts.xxix
Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
Web: https://rescueproject.us
Instagram: @the.rescue.project
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Feb 17, 2025 • 30min
Episode 320: Do Not Harm the Lord’s Anointed
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary reflect on how convicted they are by David’s extreme reticence to harm King Saul, a man who is actively trying to kill David, and offer an examination of conscience to consider focused on how we think and speak of others.
Scripture | 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
Rescue LIVE Acadiana | Register here
Greece Pilgrimage May 27-June 6, 2026 | Register here
Franciscan priest, deacon and seminarian retreat June 23-27, 2025 | Register here
If submitting topics to ACTS XXIX regarding "nonverts", email us at mission@actsxxix.org
Connect with us and our community on our websites and social media.
Or simply reach us via email at [mission@actsxxix.org](mailto: mission@actsxxix.org)
ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
Web: https://www.actsxxix.org
Instagram: @acts.xxix
Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
Web: https://rescueproject.us
Instagram: @the.rescue.project
Our Streaming Channels
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Feb 10, 2025 • 34min
Episode 319: Putting Down Roots
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary discuss the parable that Jeremiah puts before us this Sunday and how we can move from being a barren shrub in the desert to a lush tree planted beside a river with deep roots.
Scripture for today’s podcast | Jeremiah 17:5-8
Register for Rescue LIVE Acadiana, LA, March 22, 2025 at rescueproject.us/live
Pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey, May 27-June 6, 2026. Register at: https://www.ctscentral.net/
Connect with us and our community on our websites and social media.
Or simply reach us via email at [mission@actsxxix.org](mailto: mission@actsxxix.org)
ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
Web: https://www.actsxxix.org
Instagram: @acts.xxix
Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
Web: https://rescueproject.us
Instagram: @the.rescue.project
Our Streaming Channels
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

Feb 3, 2025 • 27min
Episode 318: Why Do Saints See Themselves as Sinners (and vice versa)?
In this episode, Fr. John and Mary discuss the call of Isaiah and an unexpected reality all of the saints experience as they encounter the majestic and glorious God.
Rescue LIVE Acadiana, Louisiana
Registration link:
https://www.abidecatholicministries.com/rescue-acadiana
Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
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ACTS XXIX - Mobilizing for Mission
Web: https://www.actsxxix.org
Instagram: @acts.xxix
Facebook: @ACTSXXIXmission
The Rescue Project
Web: https://rescueproject.us
Instagram: @the.rescue.project
Our Streaming Channels
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YouTube: @actsxxix (https://youtube.com/actsxxix)Support You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo