Patience! It's the name of the game. During this third, and final, of the "Pandemic Episodes," Fr. Mark-Mary reminds us to be still and know that he is God! We can be sure that God is at work in our situation even though we don't know where he's leading and when we'll arrive.
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Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 9)

Do you trust God's mercy?

We are invited to bring to light those things that we are keeping in the dark, things that are tough, and trust that God in his mercy will love and care for us there.

When we bring something to the Lord, it's ...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 8)

What's your initial response to difficulty?

Difficulty and suffering is something that's part of the world we live in and to move forward with the Lord we have to live in this reality, even though it's hard.

God is with us in it!

One ...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 7)

What's the role that rules and laws play?

Rules create boundaries and usually define the best way to do things.

However, following rules can also NOT lead to freedom, this is why we need to learn to find the right balance in following...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 6)

What does it mean to be safe?

Safety is not the absence of suffering, it's not like we're not going to struggle with anything but it's the recognition that when we are vulnerable, we don't have to escape it, because someone wants to be ...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 5)

What does it mean to be loved and celebrated?

We are favored sons and daughters worthy of celebration—of being served.

We are worthy and loved by God and this episode talks about a step in the right direction on what it means to be lo...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 4)

What does it mean to be made for freedom?

We are all called to live in freedom as sons and daughters of God. The reality is we are seen, loved, and chosen by God the Father and there's freedom when we experience that.

In this episode, ...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 3)

Can you imagine how you would gaze upon your newborn baby for the first time?

This is the way the Father loves everyone. He's constantly looking at us and is constantly delighting in us.

The Father always looks at us with the same deli...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 2)

Do you know how much your heavenly Father delights in you?

The part of the heart of the Father is to care for his children in whatever shape or form that would take. It might feel a lot or even tiresome but because of the uncalculated l...

Series on "The Father" by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR (Part 1)

How are you affected by the wounds you had from your earthly father?

The life of St. Francis is a good example of how the wounds we have from our earthly father can be an access point to the heart of God. His wounds led him to embrace t...

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 7)

This holy week, how do you intend to receive Jesus' total gift for you?

The fast during Lent is not to show Jesus how tough we are, it's to show him how poor we are. It's to be in the space of utter poverty and to trust that re...

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 5)

Does it have to end in just being able to receive God's unconditional love?

Like Lazarus, the guy beat up on the side of the road. We who have been loved in such messiness are also invited to go into the mess, and love. This is...

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 6)

Our expectations and what God is doing can be totally different, so how should we respond to that?

In the raising of Lazarus, the response of the Pharisees was to have Jesus killed. This was the tragic response of the heart whe...

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 4)

If you were the prodigal son would you receive the Father's unconditional love?

The conversion that the Father wants us to have is to move on from a conditional, perfectionistic way of experiencing God to a place of just being ...

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 3)

Are you familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan?

When we're beat up, when we're in this place of difficulty and shame, He's there, at the side of the road looking at us, desiring to pick us up and saying, "Come with me....

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 2)

How does a bridegroom love his bride?

That is how Jesus loves each one of us. He meets us wherever we are in our life to be our beloved and for us to be His. The Lord meets us in the desert-our place of poverty where He betroth...

Series on The Ascension Lenten Companion by Fr. Mark Toups (Part 1)

What does Jesus desire for you and Him this Lent?

The temptation during Lent is to make the Lenten journey about us, we can do hard things during Lent that are fueled by our own desires and distractions but Lent isn't supposed ...

Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 3)

Do you remember Jesus and what he did?

The most consistent word Mary had spoken to Fr. Jeremiah, was "remember". When we don't know what to do or how to act, Mary tells us to remember her son, Jesus' actions, that was the c...

Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 2)

Is your prayer and your life two separate realities?

Mary gives us a ton of hope that the grace of God and the Holy Spirit meet us in reality.

The Marian posture at the core of it is about the reality of the fullness of Go...

Series on "Mary and the Interior Life" by Fr. Jeremiah Shryock (Part 1)

How important is Mary, Our Lady, in your spiritual life?

Our Lady is a real woman, a real mother to all of us and Mary's intercession is actually more real than we realize.

The gift of Our Lady is that she looks upon us, s...

Do you actually believe and have hope that prayer does something?

Doing things over and over again can lose the awe and wonder of what's going on in our prayer life. There can come a point when we're no longer coming to prayer expecting to hear God's voice or expecting anything at all.

This res...

How much focused are you toward yourself?

There can be times when we struggle with perfectionism, control, and activism, and this can sometimes rub off on our spiritual life.

Jesus does not demand great actions from us; rather, the invitation is simply to live in surrender and gratitude to Him....

Are you worried for 2024?

Worry is a lack of confidence and we can be worried about a lot of stuff.

The invitation from St. Therese and from our Lord is to have confidence in Him. We who run in the way of love shouldn't be thinking of suffering that can take place in the future. That's a lack o...

What was Jesus like for you this year?

As we end the year, let's do a poverty and identity check and put Jesus in the center as we look back to this past year and look forward to the coming year

For this episode, a proposal to reflect on where Jesus have been, how He has been with you, how He l...