What's the best way to love God? The answer can vary a bit from person to person, and impacts who we care for, what we do, where we live, and how we act. You know, minor stuff. Having formed priests for over a decade, Fr. Carter Griffin joins to provide insight on how to respond to God's call. Then (24:35), Kara jumps in to talk about The Children of Men, both the novel and the film based on it. We... had definite opinions on which was better.

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Happy Easter, Christ is Risen! Fr. Timothy Gallagher is back for the second half of our interview, taking us deeper into the world of spiritual discernment. Then, Kara returns (15:55) to finish our chat about The Prince of Egypt. Topics covered include: finding a spiritual director, BattleCrocs, and the Eucharist as the new Passover. 

Episode Notes

For decades, Fr. Timothy Gallagher has been spreading the spiritual wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his predecessors- wisdom that can help answer questions like "why am I here?" and "is this desire to follow a certain path from God?". We had a lot to talk about, so naturally we had too much to fit into one episode. Later (16:30), Kara joins to chat about The Prince of Egypt, a sensational and underrated movie, which Andrew claims is the greatest movie based on scripture. Regardless of whether it's the best or merely one of the best, it makes for a great preparation for Passover and Holy Week. 

Episode Notes

Leah Libresco Sargeant is here to help us better understand the spiritual and theological side of being a mother or father. How do kids empty us of our false selves in their radical dependence? How does that dependence reveal our own, even more radical, dependence on God? That, Broadway musical nerddom, and a chat with Kara about the 2019 film Weathering with You to come in today's episode.

Episode Notes

It's too late to stop us now. We're talking about Bruno. And the rest of Encanto. That follows another topic people don't always enjoy talking about: wedding planning. Catherine Boizelle is here to make the process easier, so that engaged couples can focus on what matters most in the sacrament.

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Newlywed life is always challenging and exciting, but in a pandemic it can be more the former than the latter. It doesn’t have to be that way though, as Alessandro DiSanto’s experience shows. The co-founder of Hallow joins to chat about life as a newlywed, continuing our miniseries on marriage. Kara joins (19:50) to talk about the Oscar contender King Richard, starring Will Smith, and what it has to say about sports and fatherhood.

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The marriage crisis in the United States will deepen if we don’t do something to help, and JP DeGance knows how. In honor of National Marriage Week, part 2 of our interview with him dives deeper into concrete ways parishes are helping couples to stay together. Speaking of families in crisis, our second segment (19:45) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the greatest movie ever made: The Godfather.

Episode Notes

JP DeGance knows how parishes can help married couples stay together. His organization Communio proved it in Jacksonville, where the divorce rate dropped 28%, largely as a result of their work. As part of our ongoing series leading up to National Marriage Week, JP tells us how to enrich marriages, no matter how stable they are, which in turn strengthens the Church. There was definitely a lot to cover, so this is part one of that interview, with the second part coming in our next episode. After that, Kara (along with her baby daughter!) joins to talk about West Side Story, both the 1961 classic and the 2021 Steven Spielberg-directed remake… which might actually be better? Both versions have a bit to say about the call to love; not all of it’s great, but it’s definitely worth reflecting on.

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Marriage prep varies widely from place to place. The marriage catechumenate is changing the way formation works for couples as they prepare to live out their life in Christ together. This responds to a call from Pope Francis, echoing JPII, in reforming sacramental catechesis. Richard Budd from the Diocese of Lansing is here to help explain what that means, how the kerygma plays into it, and how some practical angles usually go overlooked.

Episode Notes

Lucia Luzondo of the Person and Identity Project weighs in on aspects impacting Hispanic/Latino family life. Kara joins to talk about Pixar's film Coco (28:00) which definitely did not make us cry multiple times. Topics covered include: ideological colonization, machismo vs. manhood, abuelita shoe combat, loving family across generations, rethinking "parents just don't understand" narratives.

Episode Notes