Beyond Sunday

(01:30) Rakhi asks Nicole if she is a crier and Nicole shares about how it takes a lot to make her cry, especially in public. The two discuss different things that make them cry and evoke strong emotional responses. 

(04:19) They introduce this week’s topic of grief and loss, based on the Gospel reading about the raising of Lazarus and the reality that Jesus wept. They highlight how the pandemic has brought about a lot of loss, but also has led many to bury their grief and not fully experience it. They discuss recent experiences of grief and loss felt in their communities. 

(08:04) Focusing on the Gospel story, they emphasize how Jesus took time to grieve, even knowing that he would be able to bring Lazarus (or anyone) back to life. They highlight the responses of Martha and  Mary in their anger in the wake of the loss of their brother. 

(09:28) Nicole shares her familiarity with loss, opening up about the three miscarriages she and her husband have experienced. She describes resisting bringing God into her grief. 

(13:03) Rakhi shares that there can be a power in letting our children see us grieve. They discuss how grief can be isolating, but how it is meant to be communal, and can be shared with our children in appropriate ways. 

(18:14) They discuss the power of redemptive suffering and how enduring loss can be redemptive. They highlight how Jesus models this for us and meets us in our grief. They offer encouragement to anyone listening who might be grieving in isolation to reach out to someone, to their community, for support. They share how they’ve seen communities show up for people in grief and how powerful that can be. 

(23:57) They encourage listeners to seek guidance, counseling, therapy, etc. if needed, highlighting the fact that God wants us to have life in abundance and that it’s not a lack of faith to seek professional help. They also encourage listeners to pray for the souls of loved ones they’ve lost and the souls of Purgatory with their families.

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children. Lead your family to Jesus through Mary, with this book by Detroit local, Colleen Pressprich, and grow in your devotion to Our Lady. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this beautiful Marian resource.

(02:20) Rakhi and Nicole lightheartedly commiserate about their children not being able to find things or not putting their things where they belong. 

(05:51) Rakhi describes her craft area and draws a connection between the messiness of that to the spiritual life, full of snippets and soundbites of prayer, in the midst of the busyness of day-to-day life. 

(06:41) They discuss the reality of looking ahead to different things: spring break, summer camp, repairs that can’t happen in the winter, summer in general, and the Lenten reality of looking forward to Easter. With that in mind they highlight how we can enter into the penitential season of Lent that does remain through prayer, fasting, and giving alms. 

(10:24) They highlight, as they have previously, that we can be praying or entering into penance in the midst of daily tasks and it still be meaningful. They share why they appreciate visual reminders to guide them into prayer throughout their day. 

(14:40) They talk about the power of going to Confession during Lent. They share some of their experiences of asking for forgiveness from their children when necessary, and how that reconciliation with their children can model the beauty of going to the Lord with sins and asking for his mercy and help. 

(16:24) They discuss this Sunday’s Gospel reading about the man born blind and how his story can inspire us to go to Jesus with our own brokenness and let him meet us in it. They talk about being honest about our own brokenness and need for Jesus, and how doing so can bring God glory, as Jesus steps into it to make us whole. They share from their own experiences of doing this in their own lives. 

(20:25) They highlight how Unleash the Gospel calls all of us to bear witness to Christ’s goodness in our lives, by sharing what he has done in our lives. They share how transformation in Christ allows us and others to be made new and leave behind our old selves and highlight how this transformation theme remains throughout Lent. 

(23:13) They close this episode by encouraging listeners to take a moment to ask God where he wants their focus to be this week. 

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children. Lead your family to Jesus through Mary, with this book by Detroit local, Colleen Pressprich, and grow in your devotion to Our Lady. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this beautiful Marian resource.

(01:03) Rakhi and Nicole have some fun opening up the episode with some rapid fire questions about parenting toddlers. They discuss how intense the toddler years can feel and the hope of knowing the toddler season won’t last forever. They start to discuss how they try to make Christianity make sense for their little ones.

(08:37) They share from their own experiences some favorite moments with their children during Lent. Nicole shares an experience when a parishioner seemed to disapprove of her bringing her children to a Good Friday service. They discuss the importance and the responsibility parents have to bring our children to church.

(16:48) Our hosts discuss the impulse to protect our children from the harder truths of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, but highlight the reality that children will know the reality of suffering and how the Lenten season can help them understand what to do with that suffering. 

(17:11) They unpack different ways they can bring their children, at various ages, into practically entering into Lent through things like fasting from dessert or video games, participating in Operation Rice Bowl with Catholic Relief Services, or learning new prayers as a family. They share different resources they use including 52 Sundays, Saints Around the World by Meg Hunter-Kilmer, and the OSV Kids Stations of the Cross by Colleen Presprich.

(22:57) Nicole and Rakhi share how they cultivate fasting and almsgiving among their little ones, sharing what’s worked for them and their children. 

(25:26) They encourage listeners to identify what they want to try this Lent with their little ones, and live Lent right now, authentically. 

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children. Lead your family to Jesus through Mary, with this book by Detroit local, Colleen Pressprich, and grow in your devotion to Our Lady. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this beautiful Marian resource.

(01:07) Nicole and Rakhi open up this week’s episode with a little bit of toddler trivia. This leads to a discussion of what they lovingly call, “the dark ages.” They begin to unpack the unique challenges and joys of raising children in the toddler phase. 

(06:39) Nicole proposes the topic for this week as finding times to pray and enter into Lent as busy parents. They discuss the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, the Transfiguration, and begin to discuss how they are spiritually fed in the midst of their lives as busy moms. 

(09:42) They highlight how, like Peter at the Transfiguration, they have had “mountaintop” experiences where they want to stay and soak in the goodness of the Lord. They share how coming down from those moments can be very difficult, but how motherhood, in a sense, forces a return from the mountain — a snapping out of those intimate moments with the Lord. 

(11:47) They discuss the reality of feeling parental guilt when parents decide to do something for themselves, even for something as important as prayer or retreat. They share how they distinguish between the voice of God and lies when it comes to that feeling of guilt, and how the example of prioritizing their own faith can be a good way to cultivate faith among their children. 

(15:24) They share how they fit moments of prayer in the midst of their day-to-day, especially in the mornings. They highlight the importance of ongoing dialogue with the Lord throughout their day. 

(21:33) Both Nicole and Rakhi describe their own experiences of how they do this in their lives, highlighting God’s own desire to spend time with each of us, trusting him as the author of time, and  expressing our desire for intimacy with him to him in our prayer. 

(23:06) They challenge listeners to think about how to take mountaintop moments of encounter with Jesus and come down and live, listening to Jesus throughout their days.  

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children. Lead your family to Jesus through Mary, with this book by Detroit local, Colleen Pressprich, and grow in your devotion to Our Lady. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this beautiful Marian resource!

(01:51) Rakhi and Nicole kick off the episode sharing things they can’t give up for Lent and what their  best Lenten sacrifices have been. Nicole shares a story about being asked to restore an antique vestment embellishment and spent her Lenten season repairing it. 

(08:04) They talk about entering into Lent with humility and authenticity, and avoiding treating Lenten sacrifices like New Year’s resolutions, by inviting God into their own imperfection. 

(09:22) Rakhi breaks open the topic of this weekend’s Gospel, the temptation of Jesus in the desert, and highlights how the Devil can use half-truths to try to deceive us and lead us to doubt who we were created to be. She emphasizes how God is with us in our “deserts” — those places where the Devil tries to lead us to believe lies. 

(11:43) Nicole shares how important it is to invite Jesus into our doubts, wounds, and baggage, rather  than live out of a defensive place, in order to receive the transformation and healing he offers. She goes on to illustrate how important it is to claim truth for our children, who are growing up in a world filled with half-truths and lies. 

(15:15) Nicole describes how these half-truths can lead parents to a place of self-doubt or despair when we give into the temptation to compare ourselves to what we see other parents doing, especially on social media. Rakhi comments on the reality that holiness doesn’t involve immediate gratification or silver bullet solutions, but rather, requires staying rooted and committing to the long game, clinging to the fullness of truth. 

(18:47) The two challenge listeners to consider what’s behind the half-truths they may be believing and, especially during Lent, to sit in discomfort with God, and seek to live in the full truth. They go on to share how half-truths and a desire for immediate gratification can lead us to seek control, even of our children, and discuss the challenge of letting go of that desire to control. 

(23:18) They emphasize the hope that we have in the resurrection and that we can still cling to that truth, when we’re stuck in the deserts of “half-truths.” They challenge listeners to view these desert places as a path to the resurrection, just as Lent is a path to Easter. They close their discussion by encouraging parents to pray the Litany of Trust and offering encouragement. 

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children. Lead your family to Jesus through Mary, with this book by Detroit local, Colleen Pressprich, and grow in your devotion to Our Lady. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this beautiful Marian resource!

(01:17) Nicole and Rakhi talk about how the start of the year has been going and how quickly Lent is approaching. They talk about Ash Wednesday, why it seems to draw in so many Catholics (despite not being a holy day of obligation), and why Catholics love sacramentals. 

(05:44) Rakhi comments on how Ash Wednesday might be a sign of connection with the faith, even for fallen away Catholics. She also poses the question, do you leave your ashes on or wipe them off? Nicole and Rakhi discuss their responses to the question and how they talk about wearing ashes to their kids. 

(10:42) Nicole highlights the penitential themes of Lent and the invitation to better love people we don’t like. Rakhi shares how the Lord has been calling her to better love people that she doesn’t agree with and unpacks the reality that we don’t have to agree with people to love them. She also notes that there’s a distinction between being aggravated by a person’s behavior, versus the person themself. She and Nicole discuss distinguishing between a person’s actions and their identity — as a beloved daughter of son of God — when it comes to choosing to love others.

(14:22) Rakhi shares an anecdote about a mother who radically responded to the call to love her enemies, after her son was tragically kidnapped and murdered. They discuss good and natural reactions to injustice, like anger, and how to love authentically through anger and difficulties, especially in their approaches to raising their children. 

(20:45) Nicole and Rakhi share firsthand experiences of how they have been able to love their children in and through difficult moments.

(25:00) They discuss the closeness of God and acknowledging the love that he has for every person, even the people who have hurt us the most. They highlight how there are some relationships which will never be fully restored, but that we can release ourselves from resentment, as Jesus did by praying for his enemies from the cross. 

(26:56) They close the episode by encouraging families to intentionally pray for those who have hurt or offended them. 

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by OSV Catholic Bookstore, publisher of Marian Consecration for Families with Young Children. Lead your family to Jesus through Mary, with this book by Detroit local, Colleen Pressprich, and grow in your devotion to Our Lady. Use code “52SUN” for 20% off your purchase of this beautiful Marian resource!

(02:39) Rakhi and Nicole discuss their Valentine’s Day plans and the approaching memorial of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. They break open the topic of what love is, not in the Hollywood or romantic sense, but love from a Christian context, highlighting the sacrificial nature of it. 

(06:14) They discuss the ways married couples are called to die to themselves and share their own experiences of how they have experienced this in their own marriages.

(09:25) They start to unpack the way the world presents marriage, in contrast with what marriage is, in reality: more than a feeling, a call to self-sacrifice, and a means of sanctification. They confront the reality of broken marriage, as well. They discuss the importance of strong married couples to witness to others within community and how isolation can be dangerous for married couples.

(13:53) Rakhi shares how she sees real love portrayed in the movie Beauty and the Beast. Nicole ties their discussion into last week’s episode, emphasizing the importance of understanding ourselves and our spouses’ unique gifts and love languages and modeling for our children how to love each other intentionally, according to those differences. 

(18:28) They discuss the importance of ongoing discernment and adapting in love according to family members’ needs and life circumstances. They also address the reality that human love is imperfect, but that Jesus provides grace to transform our love to make it what our families’ need. 

(20:20) Listeners are left with the encouragement to ask God for guidance and strength in loving the people that are in their lives and some creative ideas to express love intentionally on Valentine’s Day.

(01:08) Rakhi and Nicole welcome listeners back to Beyond Sunday, and chat about the parmesan avalanche snack mix, the featured recipe for this Sunday in 52 Sundays. 

(05:29) They move on to discuss the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus calls his disciples the salt of the Earth. They discuss what it means to follow Jesus to bring life to the world, and  how they seek to help the members of their families recognize their own gifts and how to use them for the glory of God. They discuss seeing and adapting to the different personalities their children have as unique individuals.

(11:18) Nicole asks how we can help our children uncover their gifts, without forcing those gifts on them as a label. Rakhi highlights the need to emphasize that our only identity is a beloved child of God, while the other things are characteristics.

(13:56) Rakhi mentions the impact of encouraging new experiences for our children, to help them discover for themselves their own giftedness and charisms. She mentions the Called and Gifted workshop and Sherry Weddell’s “Catholic Spiritual Gifts Inventory.” They share the gifts they see in their own children, and discuss the charisms in general.

(17:44) They discuss the importance of using the charisms and trying them out, to be more in tune with one’s gifts. They also highlight the importance of recognizing and affirming the gifts we see in others. 

(19:59) Rakhi mentions the Catherine of Siena Institute as a great resource to use to better understand the charisms and the Temperament That God Gave Your Kids as a book to use to better understand our children’s unique personalities. She also mentions the Love Languages and how those can help us better understand God’s voice and our children.

(25:19) Nicole highlights the family prayer section and the featured saint for this Sunday in 52 Sundays as action items moving into the week, approaching the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by SaintSprouts. SaintSprouts creates fun, engaging illustrations to inspire children of all ages to encounter Jesus and the beauty of the Catholic faith! Learn more and shop at saintsprouts.com.

(01:19) Co-hosts, Rakhi and Nicole talk about Rakhi’s Christmas tree still being up and discuss embracing Ordinary Time. They mention the upcoming feast of. St. John Bosco and discuss raising their older children: teens and tweens. They discuss the growing pains of this age group and share some of the challenges they’ve experienced. 

(07:20) Nicole shares how she came to understand the importance of validating the feelings of our children, even when what they’re experiencing doesn’t seem to be a very big deal from our perspectives. She also shares how she tries to encourage her children to recognize that the hard things they face won’t always seem as challenging as they do in the moment. 

(09:57) They discuss the many influences that exist and the importance of helping their children to learn to identify the true, good, and beautiful and push back on ideas that are false. They go on to discuss how they aim to cultivate discipleship among their children in a developmentally appropriate way, by seeking answers to big questions about life, giving them spaces to make their own, and respecting that their children’s prayer may look different from their own. 

(16:32) Nicole and Rakhhi discuss the reality that teens and tweens may resist a life of faith, simply because of their developmental stage, and encourage listeners to trust in God and in his desire for a relationship with them. 

(19:49) Nicole highlights Compass, a new project of the Office of Family Ministry in the Archdiocese of Detroit, which points parents to dozens of helpful articles, videos, books, and blogs to help parents navigate some of the more challenging realities of raising teens and tweens in 2023. 

(22:23) Rakhi shares a bit about St. John Bosco, whose feast day is coming up, and shares why he is a great model and intercessor for parents of teens and tweens. She invites listeners to participate in the upcoming Bosco Prayer Initiative, a dedicated time to pray for young people and those who minister to them.

(27:15) Rakhi challenges parents to consider creative ways to invite their kids to pray, by leaning into the things their children already enjoy doing and playing with. 

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by SaintSprouts. SaintSprouts creates fun, engaging illustrations to inspire children of all ages to encounter Jesus and the beauty of the Catholic faith! Learn more and shop at saintsprouts.com.

(00:41) Nicole and Rakhi talk about how they struggle with memorizing Scripture and Rakhi shares a bit about her husband’s love for Scripture. 

(02:50) Nicole shares why Pope Francis dedicated the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time to the Word of God. Rakhi shares her experience of reading the Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz and Nicole shares her experience of reading through Meg Hunter Killmer’s A Year in the Word Catholic Bible Journal, and the Unleash the Gospel Scripture Challenge. The two discuss the increased focus on Scripture among Catholics in recent years.

(07:33) Nicole and Rakhi talk candidly about how they can realistically incorporate reading Scripture in their homes. Rakhi shares how she would incorporate a Scripture focus for the week for her family by using 52 Sundays. They talk about the power of stories and making Scripture stories accessible to their kids.  

(12:12) Nicole shares how her family collects and leaves Bible stories for kids around the house and describes a moment when she saw her son learn from these stories, without her explicitly teaching him. Rakhi shares how the example of her husband has inspired a love for Scripture among her children. They talk about various age-appropriate Bible resources and translations.

(17:37) Rakhi shares how Scripture is transformative because it is an encounter with Jesus.

(18:57) Nicole offers encouragement to families who are not sure where to start incorporating Scripture into their lives. She invites them to use 52 Sundays as a free weekly resource to easily access and share the Sunday Mass readings with their families. She shares how she and her family prepare for Mass by reading the readings in advance.

(20:39) Rakhi shares how she uses 52 Sundays, and also mentions how the series, The Chosen, has brought Scripture to life for her family. She also discusses various ways to access Scripture besides reading, including journaling and drawing. 

This episode of Beyond Sunday is sponsored by SaintSprouts. SaintSprouts creates fun, engaging illustrations to inspire children of all ages to encounter Jesus and the beauty of the Catholic faith! Learn more and shop at saintsprouts.com.