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

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 to let go of things. And it's difficult because most of us have surrendered theophany for dopamine. We have been used to this constant consumption of "dopamine kicks"—the consumption of these things that makes us feel good. As we go up the mountain, we need empty ourselves, and allow God to lead us there. So that we can have His eyes look upon us, which is the purest, the truest, the tenderest, the most loving, and the most hope-filled. This episode is the second part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

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 first part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups's Lenten Companion. In this episode, we're gonna talk about about how we transform what's being taken from us to something that is offered, how we can make our sacrifices and circumstances, holy. A reminder and an invitation to relinquish control and to entrust everything to the Lord when we cannot control or we don't like the things happening around us. A proposal to trust that the Lord can make something good and beautiful out of it. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

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 things and we are tempted to find our identity in them. But again, "Who Is God and Who Am I?". To understand what it means to be truly free and live in freedom as sons and daughters of God, we have to keep this question before us. We have to let go of other worldly things and not be afraid of staying in the place of spiritual poverty before the Lord. This episode is the fourth and last part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about freedom in spiritual poverty. An invitation for us to remain in this place of poverty and let God define us, give us everything and ultimately lead us to the kingdom of heaven. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 147 - Hope For Everything We cannot grow in freedom unless we grow in faith, hope and love—that's the recipe for freedom. Faith, hope and love are the three theological virtues that connect us to God. As Christians, we are people who believe in God, hope everything from Him, and want to love Him with all their hearts and to love their neighbors. This episode is the third part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about the key role of theological virtues in acquiring internal freedom with a particular focus on the importance of Hope. An invitation to freedom for those who feel defeated and those who might've lost a sense of hope in the Lord. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 146 - Realities Not Fantasies We think we're most free when we can kind of be in control. "I'm free when I get to get up every day and just have control over my life and my circumstances." That's not a Catholic freedom according to Jacque Philippe, but it is actually being able to accept reality as it is. We struggle with freedom because it's hard to accept our weakness. It's quite difficult to accept our sinfulness—it's hard to accept these different parts of our lives. But if we don't accept ourselves, our realities, we either live in memories or fantasies where Jesus can't reach us. This episode is the second part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about and the importance of acceptance towards being truly free. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 145 - A Freedom Greater Than Circumstances What makes us most free, is this submitting to God and this dependence on Him. Yes, freedom is actually dependent on obedience rather than kind of doing whatever I want. When we fall in love with God and we experience that love, this deep interior freedom takes place and it becomes the most important thing of our lives—even to a point that is greater than our circumstances. This episode is the first part of our series on Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacque Philippe that talks about what it means to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God and how this freedom can become greater than the circumstances of our lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 144 - Strong But Weak How do we reconcile being strong and weak at the same time? There has to come a healthy recognition that we're just unable to do things. And it's in this weakness, in recognizing that we have a lack, that Christ is then able to come in and actually be the one who moves us through that weakness into a place of strength. In this episode, we're gonna talk about and attempt to reconcile how we are supposed to be strong but weak at the same time. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 143 - Getting Virtue Right A habitual and firm disposition to do good, not just for ourselves but for everybody—this is how virtue is defined. Virtue allows the person, not only to perform good acts but to give the best of themselves for the greatest good of everybody. But why do we do it? Who's it truly for and how do we exactly do it right? In this episode, we'll attempt to answer these questions as we talk about what virtue is along with some insights and practical examples on how we might get it wrong and how we can get it right. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 142 - Relationship, Identity, Mission "Who Is God" and "Who am I?" This is what we're attempting to answer when we talk about living in the proper order of relationship, identity, and mission. We are living in a time where we're going through an identity crisis. In the very foundation, a lot of us are forgetting who we are. We forget that we are sons and daughters of God and that we are made for relationship with Him. We've allowed the world, our successes, brokenness, and weaknesses to define us. We've allowed all these things on the outside to define us instead of starting in the right place. This episode talks more about relationship, identity, and mission—what these are about and why are they important. A reminder that our relationship with God tells us the truth about who we are and how that can help us live our mission. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com!

Episode 141 - Formation First Why do we need to go deeper into our spiritual life? What does that actually mean? Going deeper into our spiritual life means recognizing that we are not the ones in control anymore. It is accepting this place of poverty that we cannot only rely on ourselves, to fabricate everything and make it work. It is having that absolute trust and confidence in the presence of God. Yes, life will be hard, there will be poverty, there is real suffering, there will be death and there will be sin. But what do we do with that? Do we get discouraged and face our weakness over and over again or do we allow God to make the foundation of our hearts, our faith, our relationship, unshakeable. In this episode, we'll be talking about the choices we make in our lives that is geared towards formation along with some practical examples on how the presence of Jesus-the peace he gives us becomes more real than the circumstances that we have. An invitation to be able to say that "Jesus I trust you, I know you're here and I know you're real." even when it's hard. To be in a place where we can be utterly poor and can utterly rely and trust in God as we face our limitations. 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at pocomerch.com! The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!