Agape Latte | The Podcast

Professor Brian Robinette shares his story about the time he quit his “dream job” in advertising to become a janitor at a church after a massive quarter-life crisis. This is the story of the best mess he ever made. This episode is a live recording from 2018.

Brian Robinette is currently a professor in the Theology Department at Boston College.

“To actually take on this kind of crisis can feel like it’s going to destroy or unravel everything that you’ve been working towards all along and here’s what I have to say to you: Let it. Let that happen. Is to not be so focused on some sort of goal that you think that you have, or other people have of you, that you can’t take sufficient time to allow yourself to be deeply confused -to not really know what you’re doing and to really not know what you’re doing. To have a crisis more fully is what I’m suggesting, to have a more complete crisis where you lean into it. You’re not generating crisis or unnecessary drama in your life – you’re actually leaning in and allowing the confusion to be some sort of potential source of wisdom for you…” – Prof. Brian Robinette

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Fr. Casey Beaumier, S.J. shares his story about how a journey to try to meet Maya Angelou with $30, a one-way bus ticket, and a dream led him to a place he never expected: finding his purpose. This episode is a live recording from 2015.

To buy Fr. Casey's book, A Purposeful Path: https://amzn.to/3ozFRRZ

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How did Fr. Pat Nolan, S.J. decide to leave his career path in the sports marketing industry in New York to join the Jesuits? In this episode, he shares his story of how one fateful plane ride, a pair of forgotten headphones, and paying attention to the possibilities in front of him changed the course of his life.

BIO | FR. PATRICK NOLAN, S.J.

Fr. Patrick Nolan, S.J., the youngest of seven children, grew up on Long Island, NY. After seven years working in the sports marketing industry, Nolan entered the Society of Jesus. As a Jesuit, he has worked as an orderly in cancer hospital, visited inmates in a jail, taught, coached, and served as a college counselor in the Pacific Islands of Micronesia, and studied at Loyola University Chicago and Boston College. Ordained in 2018, his current mission is at Boston College High School where he serves as assistant director of enrollment and chaplain to athletics. He also serves as the vocation promoter for the New England region of the USA East Province of the Jesuits. On the weekends, Fr. Pat says Mass in the parishes of South Boston and at various Boston-area colleges, including BC at the St. Ignatius 9:30 p.m. Mass.

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In this episode, Mia Cruz shares a candid story about how navigating the uncertainty of the pandemic taught her how to make room for change, to embrace the non-linearity of life, and to create space for the hope that things will be better.

Mia Cruz is a professor in the Theology Department at Boston College.

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Dealing with changing plans, uncertainty about the future, and spending less time with the people we care about has seemed to become the new normal. Mike Serazio shares how he's been finding patience during this new normal. Mike Serazio is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Boston College.

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“Are you really always happy?” is a popular question for Ms. Smiley (Yvonne McBarnett). In this episode, she answers that question (spoiler alert: the struggle is real right now for her too), shares how she’s finding happiness during these uncertain and stressful times, and gives tips for how you can find it too!

Yvonne McBarnett (Ms. Smiley) is the program director for the Montserrat Coalition at Boston College.

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Will you live differently after everything goes back to "normal"? Dan Ponsetto shares what he's learned about moments of disruption. From the new normal after his cancer diagnosis, to life lessons during the pandemic, his takeaways have a common thread - taking the risk of slowing down can reveal what your busyness has been distracting you from. 

Dan Ponsetto is the director of the Boston College Volunteer & Service Learning Center.

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How do you handle difficult conversations (about racism, social injustice, current events), especially with friends or family that you know you disagree with? In this Agape Latte, Prof. Steve Pope shares his thoughts on how to communicate a message you’re passionate about without judgement and how to use these conversations as an opportunity to learn about, connect with, and understand the other person. 

Stephen Pope is a professor in the Theology Department at Boston College.

How do you find hope when life doesn’t go as planned? Fr. Michael Himes shares the story of his diagnosis and how he continues to find hope in it. To go straight to his story head to 21:26 on the podcast.

“The whole of the universe is your gift. And if at some point in the universe, it’s shaking a little bit, that doesn’t take away its grandeur, its beauty, its wonder, and its capacity for love.”

Highlights from this Episode:

• 4:15 – 5:40 // Optimism and hope are not the same thing

Fr. Michael Himes is a professor of theology at Boston College and a priest from the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. He's been awarded the "Teacher of the Year Award" at Boston College and the "Most Influential Teacher" award at the University of Notre Dame, where he taught before coming to BC.

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Prof. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones received an unexpected wake-up call and a second chance at life after a near-death experience forced her to rethink the way she was living her life. She had to ask herself with equal parts humor, grit, and grace, ‘are you living your days like you mean it?'