Old St. Pat's Podcast

By Old St. Patrick's Church, Father Bryan Massingale, Fr. Bryan MassingaleSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education Self-Improvement Philosophy

Old St. Pat's Podcast episodes

June 09 So Much Can Happen at the Table - Fr. Tom Hurley 6.7.26
Think about the last time you gathered around a table with family or friends.
Maybe it was a holiday meal. Maybe it was dinner after a long day. Maybe it was coffee with a friend. Whatever the occasion, chances are it involved more than food. Around the table, stories were shared. Laughter erupted. Memories were made. And perhaps there were even difficult conversations, tears, or moments of healing.
There's something powerful about a table. It brings us together. It unites.
We arrive hungry, but we leave with more than a full stomach. We leave feeling connected. Nourished. Reminded that we belong to something bigger than ourselves.
In many ways, that's what happens every time we gather for the Eucharist.
We come carrying the joys, worries, questions, and challenges of our lives. We bring our successes and failures, our celebrations and sorrows. And at the table of the Lord, we hear Jesus say, "I am the bread of life." We are fed by His presence, strengthened by His love, and reminded that we do not walk this journey alone.
But the Eucharist is not simply something we receive. It is something that transforms us.
Just as a family meal strengthens us physically, the Eucharist nourishes us spiritually and sends us back into the world with purpose and inner peace. We are fed so that we can feed others. We are comforted so that we can offer comfort. We are loved so that we can become love in action.
Today, Father Tom Hurley reflects on the beautiful connection between the tables of our everyday lives and the altar table and he challenges us to see the Eucharist as the source of spiritual life - nourishing, strengthening, and renewing us so that we can become nourishment, comfort, and support for others.
18 min
June 07Music Series: One Bread One Body, Holy Is Your Name, Go Light Your World 6.7.26
The Old St. Pat's Music Series Is Brought To You By The Old St. Pat's Choir
The featured songs today are:
One Bread One Body

Holy Is Your Name

Go Light Your World
15 min
June 02 Created for Connection - Fr. Jack Wall 5.31.26
Have you ever felt lonely? Not just physically alone, but disconnected and unseen. Like you're moving through life without a real sense of belonging.
It's a curious paradox of modern life. We can live in a city of millions yet still feel isolated. We can spend our days on video calls, emails, and text messages and go hours—or even days—without a meaningful face-to-face conversation.
We live in an age of unprecedented connection, and yet many people are experiencing unprecedented loneliness. Why? Perhaps it's because, deep down, we were never meant to live as isolated individuals.
At our very core, we are relational beings. We were created to be connected to God and to one another.
Think about the moments when you feel most alive. Chances are they involve relationships: sharing a meal with friends, helping someone in need, laughing with family, encouraging a coworker, mentoring a young person, or simply sitting with someone who needs to be heard. There is something about giving love, receiving love, and being known by others that awakens us to our deepest selves.
We discover who we are, not by focusing only on ourselves, but by giving ourselves away in love.
Not out of obligation, guilt, or trying to earn approval. But rather, because we already know we are loved by God. When we recognize ourselves as beloved, love naturally begins to overflow.
So today, Father Jack invites us to look at the people right in front of us and recognize that every relationship is an opportunity to love and to become who we were created to be.
13 min
May 31Music Series: Go Be Justine, For the Healing of the World, In the Breaking of the Bread 5.31.26
The Old St. Pat's Music Series Is Brought To You By The Old St. Pat's Choir
The featured songs today are:
Go Be Justine

For the Healing of the World

In the Breaking of the Bread
12 min
May 26 From Fear to Peace - Fr. Pat McGrath 5.24.26
What is one thing in your life right now that you are not doing because you are afraid? Maybe you are afraid of failing. Afraid of what others might think. Afraid of being judged, rejected, or not being enough. Maybe you are afraid of letting someone down, getting hurt, or stepping into something uncertain. Fear has a way of locking us up. It convinces us to stay quiet, small, and hidden. But think about the moments in your life when you did push past the fear. What helped you move forward? Maybe it was encouragement from someone you trusted. Maybe it was focusing less on yourself and more on the people you could help. Maybe it was remembering the joy, healing, or goodness that could come if you took the risk anyway.
Courage is not the absence of fear. Often, courage is simply recognizing that something else is more important than fear.
Fear is part of the human experience. Even the disciples at Pentecost were afraid. They literally locked themselves in a room — confused, anxious, and uncertain about what would come next. But then Jesus entered into that fear and spoke peace. He breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and sent them out on a mission so the world could hear the Good News of the Gospel.
And it is a good thing they left that room. Because their courage changed lives. Their willingness to move forward despite fear allowed others to encounter hope, healing, and the love of God.
Whatever fear you may be carrying today, remember this: fear does not have to have the final word. You can still feel afraid and move forward anyway. And when you do, both you and the people around you can be blessed by your courage. It can strengthen you, stretch you, and help you grow into the person God is calling you to be.
In today’s episode, Father Pat McGrath reminds us that the question is not whether fear exists. The question is whether we will allow the Holy Spirit to move us beyond it and into the life and mission God is calling us to live.
15 min
May 19 Divine Empathy - Fr. Ed Foley 5.17.26
Have you ever had the chance to care for someone? Maybe professionally as a nurse or doctor, or maybe in a personal way — caring for a sick child, helping a spouse recover after surgery, or supporting a bedridden friend. When someone is unable to care for themselves fully, you become their hands and feet. You bring the medicine, prepare the meals, offer comfort, run errands, and help them heal. Their well-being depends, in part, on your willingness to show up with love, compassion, and empathy.
And often, the most healing part of care is not the task itself, but the feeling that someone truly sees your pain and is there for you. That is the power of empathy. It reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering. At the heart of the Ascension that we celebrated this past Sunday is this beautiful truth that Jesus does not leave humanity behind. Instead, He carries the full human experience — our grief, fear, heartbreak, joy, and hope — into the very heart of God. The Ascension is not about distance from humanity, but divine empathy embracing it forever.
In many ways, that is exactly what the Feast of the Ascension asks of us. Jesus’ physical body is no longer here on earth. And so now, we are called to become His hands and feet, His voice, His compassion, and His presence in the world. We are the ones called to carry out acts of mercy, pursue justice, spread kindness, and remind people they are deeply loved by God — especially in moments when God can feel absent or far away.
And imperfect as we are, we are the ones entrusted to continue His mission. So today Fr. Ed Foley reminds us that Jesus is counting on us to be His healing presence in the world.
19 min
May 17Music Series: Only This I Want, I Will Be The Vine, I Am For You 5.17.26
The Old St. Pat's Music Series Is Brought To You By The Old St. Pat's Choir
The featured songs today are:
Only This I Want

I Will Be The Vine

I Am For You
11 min
May 12 Bloom & Grow Forever - Maura Keller 5.11.26
At first glance, The Sound of Music is a musical filled with singing children, rolling hills, and catchy songs. But underneath it all is something much deeper: a story about choosing strength in difficult times…having the integrity & moral courage to do what’s right…creating beauty in the middle of fear… and building a home filled with love in a world that feels uncertain.
And maybe that’s why the story continues to resonate so deeply today.
Because many people are carrying a sense of heaviness right now — politically, socially, and spiritually — as so much about the future feels uncertain.
But today’s message reminds us that hope is still stronger than fear.
And perhaps one of the clearest places we learn that lesson is through the people who raised us, cared for us, protected us, and loved us unconditionally. Long before we fully understood faith or resilience, many of us first experienced them through the quiet witness of a mother’s love — a love that kept showing up, kept believing, kept nurturing, even in uncertain times.
That’s why Motherhood becomes more than parenting. It becomes a reflection of God’s nurturing love — the choice to keep creating beauty, tenderness, safety, and hope even when the world feels divided, anxious, or heavy.
Not hope as wishful thinking but hope as a daily spiritual practice.
Because sometimes the most powerful witness to God isn’t found in grand gestures — it’s found in ordinary acts of care that quietly tell someone: “You are loved. You are safe. You belong here.”
So today, Maura Keller shares a beautiful witness about motherhood and reminds us that even in a fractured world, ordinary acts of love can become sacred acts of hope… and that, with God, hope and goodness can still bloom and grow forever.
19 min
May 05 What Happens When You Stop Holding Back Love - Fr. Paul Novak 5.3.26
What happens when you stop holding back love? Have you ever caught yourself doing it—holding back just a little?
Not saying the kind thing. Not reaching out. Not fully showing how much you care… because somewhere in the back of your mind, there’s that quiet thought: What if I get hurt?
It’s a natural instinct. We protect ourselves. We think if we keep some distance—if we don’t give too much—then maybe we won’t feel the sting of rejection, loss, or disappointment.
But what if holding back love doesn’t actually protect us? What if it slowly does the opposite? Because love isn’t meant to be stored away. It’s meant to move.
In a way, love is like breathing. We’re meant to breathe in… and breathe out. Receive… and give. If we only receive love but never give it, something feels off and we are disconnected. And if we only give love but never allow ourselves to receive it, we become drained, exhausted, and feel like we’re running on empty.
A healthy life is a balance of giving and receiving. When we live that way—when we stop holding back—love doesn’t disappear. It multiplies.
Because when love is poured out, it has a way of coming back—in ways more abundant, more beautiful, and more meaningful than we could ever expect.
So maybe the real question isn’t: What if I get hurt? Maybe it’s: What might happen… if you didn’t hold back?
Today, Father Novak shares the story of a life well lived—a life where love was given freely and received fully - a life that shows us we don’t have to be afraid to love boldly.
15 min
May 03Music Episode: Sing A New Church, Holy Spirit We're Calling You, Ever We Praise You 5.3.26
The Old St. Pat's Music Series Is Brought To You By The Old St. Pat's Choir
The featured songs today are:
Sing A New Church

Holy Spirit, We're Calling You

Ever We Praise You
9 min

About Old St. Pat's Podcast

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Old St. Patrick's is a Roman Catholic community in Chicago's bustling West Loop neighborhood, founded by Irish Immigrants on Easter morning in 1846. Since then we have grown into a home to a…