Are you attending Mass regularly but struggling to live out your faith in everyday life? You're not alone. In this episode of Religion to Reality, Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich explore why so many Catholics feel confident in their sacramental life but struggle with the expressive fruits of discipleship, particularly the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Drawing from their groundbreaking discipleship study, they sit down with three inspiring guests who are living these works of mercy in radically different ways: Renee Roden from the Catholic Worker Movement, Fr. Jim O'Shea of Reconnect Brooklyn, and Christina Semmens of Say Yes to Holiness. Together, they unpack what it truly means to become Eucharist in the world and how small acts of mercy in our daily lives can transform both ourselves and our communities.

Renee Roden - Journalist, author, and member of the Catholic Worker movement. Former marketing team member at DeSales Media and Notre Dame alumna. Renee brings firsthand experience of living in intentional community while serving those in need.

Fr. Jim O'Shea - Passionist priest and co-founder of Reconnect, an organization providing training, opportunity, and direction for at-risk youth in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Fr. Jim has dedicated his life to building bridges between disparate communities.

Christina Semmens - Author and founder of Say Yes to Holiness, a ministry dedicated to helping Catholics recognize and embrace God's call to holiness in everyday life. Christina specializes in helping people identify works of mercy already present in their daily routines. 

"There is no division between people who do the helping and the helped. I'm not just a helper. The point of the works of mercy is we're all supposed to be doing it for each other." - Renee Roden

"The Eucharist contains a call for us to go be Eucharist in the world, right? To become what we received." - Renee Roden

"If we do it well, our narrative is going to be upset. And none of us want that narrative messed with." - Fr. Jim O'Shea

"One of the biggest things I think we all can do is start listening to the people. There's so many people and groups of people that we have written off." - Fr. Jim O'Shea

"Until we had talked about what the corporal works of mercy and spiritual works of mercy were, he didn't realize that he was feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, and instructing the ignorant by simply sitting down with his younger brother after school, getting him a snack and then helping him with his homework." - Christina Semmens

Join us next week as we’ll be getting a little meta with it and talk about podcasting.

Learn More About the Discipleship Study: Religion to Reality is built on comprehensive research into how Catholics are living their faith today. Visit our website for more details and resources from the study.