Consecrated virginity might be the most misunderstood vocation in the Catholic Church. It’s often mistaken for a call to the “single life,” but this vocation, which predates religious sisters and nuns, is actually quite the opposite. So what exactly is a consecrated virgin?

On this episode, host Lisa Cotter interviews Andrea Politio, who is one of only a few hundred consecrated virgins in the United States. They talk about the ins and outs of Andrea’s unique vocation and Andrea shares some great tips for discerning whether or not you might be called to this special vocation too.

SHOWNOTES

Called to Consecrated Life (Andrea’s Letter on thecatholicwoman.co)

Connect with Andrea: arpolito13[at]gmail[dot]com | Instagram

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The post S5 Ep4: How-to Discernment: Consecrated Virginity with Andrea Polito appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

It’s time for part 2 of our 4-part series on discernment. On this episode, Lisa interviews her friend, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Albers, who is a religious sister with the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT). Sr. Mary Elizabeth shares her story of discernment and gives 5 tips for discerning religious life. If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe God is calling me to religious life?” you won’t want to miss this episode!

SHOWNOTES

Vita Consecrata (On the Consecrated Life and it’s Mission in the Church and in the World)

Find out more about SOLT:

Website | Volunteer and Mission Website | Instagram

Hack

St. Louis de Montfort’s Consecration to Jesus through Mary

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The post S5 Ep3: How-to Discernment: Religious Life with Sr. Mary Elizabeth Alberts, SOLT appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

One of the most frequently asked questions Kevin and Lisa receive is, “How do I discern my vocation?” This question makes sense because in a world that changes so often it can be difficult to pick one final state of life. So to help with your discernment dilemma, on today’s episode How-to Catholic is starting a four-part series on vocational discernment, beginning with marriage.

SHOWNOTES

CCC on Marriage

Vatican documents on Marriage

Three to Get Married by Fulton Sheen

How-to Online Dating with Jill Rippee

Hack

Pray More Novenas

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

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Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

The post S5 Ep2: How-to Discernment: Marriage appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

Our culture constantly offers us different approaches to happiness, but it typically fails to offer us the one way to happiness that has worked for thousands of years. What is this method and how can we concretely work towards happiness? It’s all about virtue.

On today’s episode, hosts Kevin and Lisa Cotter share what virtue is, the different types of virtues, and how to grow deeper in virtue. And along the way, they’ll share a hack on how to get last rites in an emergency situation. Get excited, season 5 is here!

SHOWNOTES

The Catechism on Virtue (CCC 1803-1845)

Virtue Tree!!

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

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Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

The post S5 Ep1: How-to Virtue appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

Welcome to the Liturgical Lowdown for the month of May! In this episode host, Lisa Cotter will be giving you insights, histories, and ideas on how to celebrate and integrate the liturgical life of the Catholic Church into your life this month.

SHOWNOTES

You can find the books, movies, and items we recommended on this episode, along with even more products related to this month’s Feast Days, on our How-to Catholic Favorites Amazon Page!

May’s Devotion: The Blessed Virgin Mary

The Pope’s Monthly Intention:

Follow Obianuju Ekeocha on Twitter

Season 1: Episode 20: How-to Easter

Feasts of Note:

May 1st – St. Joseph the Worker (Optional Memorial)

May 2nd – St. Athanasius (Memorial)

May 3rd – Sts. Philip and James (Feast)

May 13th – Our Lady of Fatima (Optional Memorial)

May 13th – Bl. Imelda Lambertini (Optional Memorial)

May 14th – St. Matthias (Feast)

May 15th – St. Isidore the Farmer (USA) (Optional Memorial)

May 26th – St. Philip Neri (Memorial)

May 22nd – St. Rita (Optional Memorial)

May 30th – St. Joan of Arc (Optional Memorial)

May 31st –  The Visitation (Feast)

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

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Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

*This post contains Amazon Associate/Affiliate links.

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Welcome to the Liturgical Lowdown for the month of April! In this episode host, Lisa Cotter will be giving you insights, histories, and ideas on how to celebrate and integrate the liturgical life of the Catholic Church into your life this month.

SHOWNOTES

You can find the books, movies, and items we recommended on this episode, along with even more products related to this month’s Feast Days, on our How-to Catholic Favorites Amazon Page!

April’s Devotion: The Holy Spirit (also The Eucharist)

The Pope’s Monthly Intention: Doctors and their Collaborators in War-Torn Areas: For doctors and their humanitarian collaborators in war-torn areas, who risk their lives to save the lives of others.

Archdiocese for the Military Services USA

Season 1: Episode 19: How-to Holy Week

Season 1: Episode 20: How-to Easter

Feasts of Note:

April 4th – St. Isidore of Seville (Optional Memorial)

April 7th – St. John Baptist de la Salle

April 16th – St. Bernadette (Here are the ideas from The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes from the February Liturgical Lowdown)

April 23rd: St. George (Optional Memorial)

April 25th – St. Mark the Evangelist

April 26th – Our Lady of Good Counsel (Optional Memorial)

April 28th – St. Gianna Molla, St. Louis De Montfort, and St. Peter Chanel

April 29th – St. Catherine of Sienna (Memorial)

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

Lisa: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

*This post contains Amazon Associate/Affiliate links.

The post Liturgical Lowdown: April appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

Pilgrimages are a pretty cool idea, but most people need a few more details. Where should you go? How should you get there? What do you need to know to turn these holy opportunities into a reality?

On today’s episode, hosts Kevin and Lisa Cotter tackle part two of a two-part series on pilgrimages. They’ll share with you pilgrimage sites from around the world and your own backyard. Plus, they’ll give you practical how-to tips to make your trip a success and share a Catholic hack to help you focus while praying.

SHOWNOTES

Pilgrimage Sites to Consider:

Tour Groups to consider:

Tour guide in Italy if you travel on your own: Mountain Butorac

Our go-to for traveling on your own: Rick Steves

Chase Saphire Preferred Credit Card (The bonus gets you very close to a free round trip ticket to Europe.)

The Points Guy (How to use points to get free flights and hotels)

Brian McAdam (Our personal friend who’s taught us how to travel big on the cheap)

Finally, here’s the episode from when we had Brian on the podcast.

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

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Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

The post S4 Ep20: How-to Pilgrimage: Part 2 appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

St. Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Spiritual travel has always been a part of the Catholic faith in the form of a pilgrimage, but what is a pilgrimage anyways? Is it just a Catholic vacation? What’s the significance behind this incredible tradition?

In the first part of this two-part series on pilgrimages, hosts Kevin and Lisa Cotter will tell you the why behind the Catholic practice of pilgrimages. Along the way, they’ll share a Catholic hack about relics and how you can practically begin to plan your own pilgrimage.

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

Lisa: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

The post S4 Ep19: How-to Pilgrimage: Part 1 appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

Welcome to the Liturgical Lowdown for the month of March! In this episode host, Lisa Cotter will be giving you insights, histories, and ideas on how to celebrate and integrate the liturgical life of the Catholic Church into your life this month.

SHOWNOTES

March’s Devotion: St. Joseph

The Pope’s Monthly Intention: Recognition of the Right of Christian Communities: That Christian communities, especially those who are persecuted, feel that they are close to Christ and have their rights respected.

How-to Lent (on resolution making)

CatholicFamilyCrate.com (Use the code to get 20% off your first crate!)

Feasts of Note:

March 3rd – St. Katharine Drexel (Optional Memorial)

March 7th – Sts. Felicity and Perpetua (Memorial)

More on their story can be found here.

March 8th – John of God (Optional Memorial)

March 9th – Frances of Rome (Optional Memorial)

March 17th – St. Patrick (Optional Memorial in US, Solemnity in Ireland and Australia)

March 18th – Cyril of Jerusalem (Optional Memorial)

March 19th – St. Joseph (Solemnity)

March 23th – Turibio de Mogrovejo (Optional Memorial)

March 25th – Annunciation of the Lord (Solemnity)

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

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Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

*This post contains Amazon Associate/Affiliate links.

The post Liturgical Lowdown: March appeared first on Lisa Cotter.

It’s no secret that Kevin and Lisa recently had a baby and after going through this experience of transition for the 4th time they’ve continued to learn more and more about how to care for a newborn and themselves.

On today’s podcast, the Cotters share with you 4 dos for life with a newborn. Along the way, they also share the birth story of baby Isaac and a hack for getting customized Catholic art that you can’t even find on Etsy.

SHOWNOTES

CCC 1250: The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.

Hack

Check out Emily Runyan’s artwork on Instagram!

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Kevin: Twitter | Instagram

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Email: hello[at]madetomagnify[dot]com

The post S4 Ep18: How-to Newborn appeared first on Lisa Cotter.