Draw Near

By Fred Shellabarger and Kara KardellReligion & Spirituality Christianity Spirituality

Draw Near episodes

February 16, 2024The Sacrifice of Our Lives (MLMG Ep 21)
In this episode we are joined by our friend, catholic speaker, author, filmmaker, founder of the Science of Sainthood, and host of the Art of Catholic podcast, Matthew Leonard. What was the journey from being a Protestant pastor's kid to receiving Christ in the Eucharist like for Matthew? How did meeting one Catholic family who did "relational evangelization" well set him on a new path?
Matthew and Fred share what it is like to discover Catholic teaching, and how it led them both through an, at times, confusing process asking the Lord, "Who are you?" Why was the question of authority so critical in this process? This, too. is discussed.
We look at the "pedestal" that converts can sometimes be placed on, and offer some encouragement for cradle Catholics.
Matthew also describes the radical new way he encountered Christ in the Eucharist and the realization of becoming a part of a family that goes beyond his blood relations, and why that matters!
Finally, we look at the central question of our show: "How has your encounter with Christ in the Eucharist changed your life?" The answer to this question has everything to do with how we build our lives; what we are centered on (or more accurately, WHO we are rooted in). Should our encounter with Christ in the Eucharist be evident to those around us? If so, how? What is the role of sacrfice in a Eucharistic life? Listen to find out!
Learn more about Matthew Leonard:
The Science of Sainthood
The Art of Catholic Podcast
Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Click here to become a patron! Patrons are essentially "sponsors" and co-producers or Draw Near as it could not happen without them.
"Like" and follow us on Facebook!. Follow us on Instagram!
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page.
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching
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29 min
February 14, 2024DN Classics: Doing Lent... Well?
Reaching back into "the vault" from a couple of years ago, we share one of our most popular Lenten episodes. If you think you are good at Lent… You are not. No one is good at Lent. But there is a good reason for this. Lent is often a challenge because it requires letting go of things that hinder us in following the Lord. It requires taking up the cross and denying ourselves for something much greater and more beautiful: a deeper encounter with the love and person of Jesus Christ. This helps us to begin to think more like Christ, to live more like Christ, to love more like Christ. But how do we do this?
In this episode we invite some of our friends to share some of their own thoughts and experiences of drawing near to the Lord during Lent.
Special Guests:
Sonja Corbitt
Taylor Schroll
Matthew Leonard
Link to our previous Lent episode, Why Give Up?
*Some of Kara and Fred’s tips: *
St John the Baptist: "he must increase, and I must decrease."
Pray to your guardian angel to "humiliate you interiorly"
Pray with this question: What is holding me back from growing in my relationship with Christ?
Hear more on this in our "Come Follow Me" episode.
From the segment with Sonja:
Sonja’s LOVE method for prayerful Scripture study
From the segment with Taylor:
If you are not doing the basic fundamentals of living your faith, start there!
Check out our "Made for Greatness" episode for more on this topic.
From the segment with Matthew:
Sign up for Matthew Leonard’s free Lenten study.
Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Click here to become a patron! Patrons are essentially "sponsors" and co-producers or Draw Near as it could not happen without them.
"Like" and follow us on Facebook!. Follow us on Instagram!
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page.
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
Draw Near Theme © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell
Support Draw Near
1 hr 5 min
February 09, 2024 I'll See You in the Eucharist (MLMG Ep 19)
In this episode we are joined by one of the people that makes My Lord and My God (and the Draw Near apostolate) possible: John Fitzsimmons! In his testimony we hear how the legacy of faith has been handed down from one generation to the next; how encountering Christ in the Eucharist shaped his childhood and fostered in him a desire for more as a new father. We also hear how prioritizing that encounter with Christ in the Eucharist has shaped his family and the impact it has had on his children (two of which we are blessed to call friends). Finally, we see what great fruit "dragging your kids to daily Mass" can bear as John shares how his son Jimmy (seminarian) and his daughter, Mary Kate (entering religious life), are deepening his own faith by sharing with him their own encounter with Christ in the Eucharist!
Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Click here to become a patron! Patrons are essentially "sponsors" and co-producers or Draw Near as it could not happen without them.
"Like" and follow us on Facebook!. Follow us on Instagram!
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page.
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching
Support Draw Near
26 min
February 07, 2024 Wrestling with God: A Lectio Divina Reflection on Genesis 32
In this episode we dive deep into one of the most perplexing passages in Scripture and reflect on its meaning and the implications for our own lives. What is this passage? Genesis 32:22-32, in which Jacob wrestles with God. In what ways is this passage an invitation for all of us? In what we ways do (and perhaps must) we also wrestle with God? How does this wrestling leave us changed? Listen to find out!
Listen to the episode, I See A Movement here!
What is Project Timothy? Find out here!
Interested in supporting the Project Timothy effort at St Augustine Indian Misison, contact us here!
Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Click here to become a patron! Patrons are essentially "sponsors" and co-producers or Draw Near as it could not happen without them.
"Like" and follow us on Facebook!. Follow us on Instagram!
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page.
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
Draw Near Theme © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell
Support Draw Near
38 min
February 02, 2024 Her Answered Prayer: Sonja Corbitt Testimony (MLMG Ep 18)
In this episode, we are so grateful to be joined by our good friend, Sonja Corbitt! Here, Sonja shares with us her powerfully stirring testimony about how God led her to the answer to her prayer, and the longing of her heart: "Lord, I want to be closer to you!"
As always, Sonja shares from the heart with passion. She shares her journey of falling in love with Jesus in and through the Scriptures and how that led her into the Catholic Church.
Fred and Sonja also discuss the challenges and struggles they faced in making that journey toward the Eucharist; but, also how the sacrifice is worth it! Because in Christ, the deepest longing of our hearts can be found.
Learn more about Sonja here: https://www.biblestudyevangelista.com/
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page. Join the Draw Near Community Space on Suscipe.co
Click here to become a supporter/patron or access the patron book study! "Like" and follow us on Facebook! You can even find us on Twitter. Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching
Support Draw Near
45 min
January 26, 2024 As You Did in Egypt (MLMG Ep 17)
St Augustine famously said, that in the Old Testament, the New Testament is concealed. And in the New Testament, the meaning of the Old Testament is revealed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that, "All sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ (CCC 134). We hear the St John the Baptist and other New Testament writers refer to Christ as the "Lamb of God." But what does this mean? St Paul refers to Christ as our new Passover Lamb (1 Cor 5:7). but again, what is the significance of this passage? What profound truth was the apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, desiring to reveal to us? In this episode we look at the Passover (when Israel was freed from Egyptian bondage) found in Exodus 12, and what it reveals to us about our reception of Christ in the Eucharist.
"By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus' passing over to his father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom" (CCC 1340).
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page. Join the Draw Near Community Space on Suscipe.co
Click here to become a supporter/patron or access the patron book study! "Like" and follow us on Facebook! You can even find us on Twitter. Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching
Support Draw Near
21 min
January 24, 2024 Jesus, I Trust In You
In this episode, we share some exciting news! We also spend some time reflecting on one of our favorite prayers, the Litany of Trust. Continuing our "Lectio Series" by reflecting on the prayer itself, we look at what it means to "trust" in the Lord. How can we trust in hard times? How does God forge our trust and hope in Him in the midst of our day to day lives? Listen to find out!
Pray the Litany of Trust here!
Listen to "I See a Movement" here!
Listen to "Why Are You Catholic?" here!
Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Click here to become a patron! Patrons are essentially "sponsors" and co-producers or Draw Near as it could not happen without them.
"Like" and follow us on Facebook!. Follow us on Instagram!
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page.
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
Draw Near Theme © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell
Support Draw Near
46 min
January 19, 2024 I AM the Bread of Life (MLMG Ep 16)
Continuing our discussion from the episodes, Bread from Heaven and Feeding of the 5,000, in this episode we discuss the meaning of John 6 (particularly, the Bread of Life discourse). In this passage, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." What does Jesus mean? Is this a metaphor? Does he mean to be taken literally? If so... what does it mean for us?
Bread of Life Discourse (from John 6)
22 On the next day the people who remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, boats from Tibe′ri-as came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper′na-um, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; 39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” 59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper′na-um.
60 Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?[e] 63 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that should betray him. 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. 67 Jesus said to the twelve, “Will you also go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.
The Words of St Ignatius of Antioch:
“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1)
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page. Join the Draw Near Community Space on Suscipe.co
Click here to become a supporter/patron or access the patron book study! "Like" and follow us on Facebook! You can even find us on Twitter. Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching
Support Draw Near
37 min
January 12, 2024 I Was Made to Be A Priest (MLMG Ep 15)
When God calls your heart, you answer. Fr. Andrew Auer of St. Louis shares how through an invitation to attend weekly mass, God changed his heart. Father's encounter with Christ in the mass at 16 years old led him to leave sin and desire holiness, and it ultimately led him to the priesthood.
In this episode Fred, Kara, and Father Auer also discuss God's desire for us to approach him with the security and reliance of that like a child to a parent.
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page. Join the Draw Near Community Space on Suscipe.co
Click here to become a supporter/patron or access the patron book study! "Like" and follow us on Facebook! You can even find us on Twitter. Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
My Lord & My God Theme: Original Music © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell; Arranged and Performed by Paul Ching
Support Draw Near
36 min
January 10, 2024 New Day's Resolution
In this episode, we reflect on New Year's Resolutions... Or, more accurately, "New Day's Resolutions" and the idea that the Lord's mercies are new every morning. While there is great value in in resolutions for a new year, should we also place an emphasis on the hope of a new day, every day? How do we evaluate the "success" of our resolutions? How do we avoid the temptation to be overly hard on our selves when we believe we fall short? Listen to find out!
*The Quote That Inspired This Episode: *
“The beginning of a new year is an opportunity to make a new start in our lives.”
― St. Josemaria Escriva
Scriptures Mentioned in This Episode:
Psalm 5:3
O Lord, in the morning thou dost hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch.
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Eph 4:21-23
assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. 22 Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Jer 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart,
Phil 3:13-15
Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.
Isa 40:31
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Prov 23:17-18
Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Lam 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is thy faithfulness.
Rev 21:5
And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Col 3:9-17
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Phil 4:6
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
John 13:34-35
A new commandment[a] I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
James 1:17
Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.
Psalm 20:4
May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfil all your plans!
2 Cor 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
Prov 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Serenity Prayer:
O God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace. Taking, as he did, the sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that he will make all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever.
*Prayer from Fred's Journal: *
Blessed is the man who delights in the Lord. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Lord, help me to delight in you today. When my strength is fading, be my strength. Lord, stay with me for I am weak and without you I can accomplish nothing. Lord, I know you will be with me; for I know you will never leave me nor forsake me; and nothing can separate me from your love. But, very often I will forget this today. I will forget you. But, thank you Lord that you do not forget about me! Lord, this day, help me to see you in the frustrations; in the joys, in the sufferings; in the situations that require patience, that require a gentle response. Keep me from my anger; help me to love those you have given me to love today.
Prayers Mentioned in This Episode:
Litany of Humility
St Patrick's Breastplate
Stay With Me
Get Imitation of Christ here!
Book Fred and/or Kara to speak by visiting the Draw Near "booking page."
Click here to become a patron! Patrons are essentially "sponsors" and co-producers or Draw Near as it could not happen without them.
"Like" and follow us on Facebook!. Follow us on Instagram!
Who are "Fred and Kara?" Find out by visiting our home page.
Like our podcast? Hit that “subscribe” button AND the notification button/bell to know when new episodes are posted! Give us a rating! Leave a review! Tell your friends! Even more, pray for us!
Draw Near Theme © Fred Shellabarger & Kara Kardell
Support Draw Near
28 min

About Draw Near

From the publisher's feed

At Draw Near, we explore the beautiful truth that God, out of His deep and personal love for each of us, takes the first step to draw near. But this divine movement calls for a response—a response…