Breadbox Media

Msgr. Charles Pope shares the best ways to grow in maturity in the spiritual life, to help others who are spiritually immature, and how to best combat spiritual warfare.

Questions Covered:

22:12 - My boyfriend and I are in a long-distance relationship. I feel like one of us should be prepared to move at this point, but neither of us seem to be. How can I maturely and prayerfully approach this? 

32:53 - How can I understand spiritual warfare and grow in my ability to combat it? 

41:42 - I find myself and my wife at different stages in our spiritual walk. I feel like I am leaving her behind. What should I do? 

44:49 - I have noticed that if I go to confession, I am attacked by temptation almost immediately. Is this a common experience? 

46:40 - How does cohabitation affect growing in the spiritual life? 

49:28 - If we are in our adolescence as Christians, why does God choose to be hidden from us? 

51:45 - I was brought up pagan. I was a part of a ritual. How can I get out of this?

In college she was left paralyzed with a broken back after a bus accident involving her swim team from the University of Notre Dame, with two teammates having been killed instantly. After five back operations and being told she wouldn't walk, not to mention swim again, miraculously, she returned to competitive swimming for Notre Dame 21 months after the bus accident and her injury. Her 2008 book, What Though The Odds, details what she went through and her "journey of faith and triumph." She later became Assistant Swim Coach at Xavier College Prep, the all-girls Catholic high school in Phoenix that she had attended. She also talks here about two pilgrimages this and two years ago that she says reignited her faith and commitment to service.

Some people have had the great gift of hearing Jesus’ voice in their hearts during a special moment. Others struggle to hear him. The fact is Jesus is always talking to you. The question isn’t whether he talks to you but rather how and when. In order to hear his voice, you must be truly listening for what he has to say. Oftentimes, people miss hearing Jesus because they’re trying to make him speak in the way that they want to hear him. Sometimes Jesus does speak to us directly, but at other times it’s subtle and through the people and happenings around us. Marge describes her own desperate yearning to hear the voice of Jesus and the amazing way in which he finally did speak. Finally, she talks about the role of prayer, practice, and persistence in hearing the voice of Jesus as Mary did.

Ginny Kochis is a Northern Virginia Catholic wife and homeschooling mom to three twice-exceptional children. She believes (and is living proof!) God gives curious, creative, intense children the exact mother they need to thrive. Ginny provides practical support and prayerful encouragement to Catholic moms raising differently-wired kids on her website, Not So Formulaic.

Ginny brings us this quote from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:

 “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”

Ginny speaks with honesty and humility of her experience as a mother, and how her vocation has drawn her closer to both Jesus and His Blessed Mother.

Bonus relevant quote from Mother Angelica, “You'd better get off your lead bottoms and go out there and change this pagan world.”

Follow Ginny at facebook.com/notsoformulaic and instagram.com/ginnykochis. And grab a copy of her book, Made for Greatness: A Growth Mindset Journal for Courageous Catholic Youth.

As always, to suggest a quote or a guest, follow the show on Instagram, @quoteme_podcast, or contact Lindsay at her website, LindsaySchlegel.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast, leave a review wherever you find your podcasts, and tell a friend.

Until next time, God bless you!

Ray Haywood is a devoted husband to his wife, Natalie. They have been married for the past thirty years. Together they intentionally raised two faith-filled sons, Nicholas and Frank within the foundation of faith, the sacraments. Ray shares in more than 26 years of willful fatherhood and parenting experience. Now living in North Carolina, Ray and Natalie operate a small family owned car dealership. They are faithful parishioners of Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through active parish involvement, Ray's family's faith continues to grow in the New Covenant teachings of the Catholic Church. He is devoted to handing on the faith filled gifts to all men of good faith wherever they may be in their faith journey. He finds this to be his call to action in his own faith journey.

On this week's show, we address the close connection between the Catholic Church and Sacred Scripture with popular apologist Jimmy Akin as we discuss his newest work The Bible Is A Catholic Book.

About Jimmy Akin:

Jimmy Akin is an internationally known author and speaker. As the senior apologist at Catholic Answers, he has more than twenty-five years of experience defending and explaining the Faith. Jimmy is a convert to the Faith and has an extensive background in the Bible, theology, the Church Fathers, philosophy, canon law, and liturgy. Jimmy is a weekly guest on the national radio program Catholic Answers Live, a regular contributor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a popular blogger and podcaster. His personal web site is JimmyAkin.com.

About The Bible Is A Catholic Book:

In The Bible Is a Catholic Book, Jimmy shows how the Bible cannot exist apart from the Church. In its origins and its formulation, in the truths it contains, in its careful preservation over the centuries and in the prayerful study and elucidation of its mysteries, Scripture is inseparable from Catholicism. This is fitting since both come from God for our salvation. For Catholics who sometimes get intimidated by the Bible (especially scriptural challenges from Protestants), The Bible Is a Catholic Book will help them better understand and take pride in this gift that God gave the world through the Church. And the clarity and charity that Jimmy uses as explains how the early Church gave us the Bible will make it accessible to non-Catholic Christians as well.

Check out books by Lisa Hendey at Amazon and find all of our book and movie suggestions at Lisa's Amazon Influencer list. For Lisa's speaking schedule visit www.LisaHendey.com. Send your feedback to [email protected] or connect with Lisa on social media @LisaHendey.

This show is my appearance on Gary Michuta's radio program titled "Hands on Apologetics".  Gary and I discuss the biblical basis for the sacrament and how my discovery of it aided in my conversion.  You can learn more about Gary's program at handsonapologertics.com.

Join  Fr. Scott Mansfield, Pastor of St. John Vianney, Tony Wilimitis, Director of Formation, and Will Tapia, Director of Development as they give an in depth review of the Gospel from The Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: No Stones.

Remember to subscribe in iTunes/Google Play/your favorite podcast app, and to leave us a review.

Contact the crew at [email protected]

Donate: http://sjvnm.org/donate/

www.sjvnm.org/holy-smokes-podcast/

https://www.instagram.com/holysmokescatholic

Opening music by The Thirsting: http://www.thethirstingcatholic.com/

Regina Cigars: https://www.reginacigars.com Use coupon code HOLYSMOKES and receive 10% of your order!

This week on the podcast we talk about the spiritual leadership of David. How David waited for so long, already anointed, and still mourned the death of King Saul even though they were enemies. This really spoke to us about holding the office in respect even if we know that the leadership is not perfect. The anointed of God still should be respected and mourned. It is a perspective that is lacking in today's culture. In the second reading we talk about how Paul points out Christ as the king of everything created, the levels of angels that are bad and good are subject to Him. We discuss the paradox of Christ's Justice and Mercy and how we should hold them together. We also focus on the correct interpretation of what Mercy really is verses the illusion of compassion. In the Gospel we talk about contemplating the sufferings of Christ and how they are the beatific vision.