The Catholic Coaching Podcast

In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt sits down with Catholic therapist Dr. Gerry Crete to talk about a growing challenge in today’s mental health conversations: the overuse and misunderstanding of psychological language.

Words like trauma, narcissism, abuse, and mental health are being used more than ever—but are we always using them correctly?

Together, they explore:
 • When therapy language helps—and when it harms
 • The difference between real trauma and ordinary human struggle
 • Why labeling too quickly can actually block healing
 • How to recognize when someone truly needs professional support
 • The difference between coaching, therapy, and spiritual direction
 • How compassion, discernment, and humility restore clarity

Dr. Crete also shares insights from his work as a therapist, author of Litanies of the Heart, and founder of Souls & Hearts, helping listeners understand how healing, faith, and psychology work together—not against each other.

If you’ve ever wondered whether something is “trauma,” struggled with self-diagnosis, or felt confused about where coaching ends and therapy begins, this episode will bring clarity and peace.

🎧 Listen in and learn how to approach healing with wisdom, humility, and hope.

👉 Meet us at SEEK in Columbus
We’ll be offering live dating mindset coaching at the Candid Dating booth—alongside Catholic speed dating events designed to foster authentic encounter.

Send us Fan Mail

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This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

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In this Christmas episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin unpack the hidden Christian message woven into these beloved classics. Through a mindset-coaching lens, they explore how these stories reveal conversion, repentance, gratitude, and redemption—even though they’re not explicitly religious films.

Using the idea of metanoia (a deep interior shift of heart and mind), they break down:
 • George Bailey’s journey from bitterness and sacrifice to gratitude 
                and joy
 • Ebenezer Scrooge’s conversion through memory, compassion, and 
                foresight
 • How entitlement, resentment, and scarcity blind us to what’s 
                already good
 • Why gratitude is the gateway to freedom and renewal
 • How these stories model Ignatian reflection and discernment

Matt and Erin also show how every great story echoes the Greatest Story Ever Told—the story of redemption written on every human heart.

This episode will help you:
 • Understand why these movies resonate so deeply
 • Learn how to “watch with spiritual eyes”
 • Apply the same reflective tools to your own life through journaling 
                and prayer

Whether you’re watching on Christmas Eve, during the Octave of Christmas, or any time of year, this conversation invites you to rediscover the hope, joy, and conversion that Christmas offers—right now.

🎄 Merry Christmas from the Catholic Coaching Podcast.

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► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

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► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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Dating as a Catholic—especially in college—can feel overwhelming, confusing, and high-pressure. Between time constraints, expectations, fear of temptation, and the desire to “do it right,” many people end up stuck or avoiding dating altogether.

In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin coach through real survey responses from Catholic college students who shared their biggest struggles with dating. Using a mindset-coaching lens, they unpack the thoughts and beliefs that quietly block freedom, clarity, and authentic connection.

Topics include:
 • Time management and the belief that relationships are “too much work”
 • Unrealistic expectations of holiness and “being on fire for God”
 • Disappointment, rejection, and hearing “I’m not ready for a relationship”
 • Fear of temptation, lust, and avoiding dating altogether
 • How unspoken rules and internal manuals create pressure and anxiety

Matt and Erin explore how to approach dating not as a problem to solve or a finish line to reach—but as an opportunity for formation and encounter. They also discuss how processing emotions, clarifying expectations, and surrendering control can lead to healthier, more virtuous relationships.

This episode is especially helpful for Catholic college students, young adults, and anyone preparing for SEEK or navigating dating with faith and intention.

👉 Meet us at SEEK in Columbus
We’ll be offering live dating mindset coaching at the Candid Dating booth—alongside Catholic speed dating events designed to foster authentic encounter.

Subscribe for more Catholic coaching on dating, discernment, relationships, and interior freedom.

🎧 Listen to the full Virtuous Influencing & Dating series on the Catholic Coaching Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

👉 Subscribe for more Catholic mindset coaching on dating, discernment, vocation, and daily life.

► Learn more about Candid Dating and upcoming events: https://www.candiddating.net/
 
► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/@metanoiacatholic?sub_confirmation=1

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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Dating in Catholic college can feel weirdly intense: pressure to get married, gossip on small campuses, fear of “leading someone on,” and a ton of unspoken rules about how it’s supposed to go.

In Episode 274 of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin put on their Catholic dating coach hats and walk through real survey responses from students at a Catholic college. They do “hypothetical coaching” on:

🔹 “Modern dating has a high bar of entry and exit.”
🔹 “Everyone’s pressuring me to get married.”
🔹 “I’m not ready to settle down… so should I even date?”
🔹 “On a small campus, reputations and rumors follow you around.”

You’ll learn:
   • How to spot the mindset traps that create fear and overthinking in 
      dating
   • What’s actually in your locus of control (and what isn’t)
   • Why unspoken “dating rules” and manuals make everything heavier than 
      it has to be
   • A healthier, more Catholic way to see dating: as a place of authentic 
     encounter & formation, not just a spouse-hunt

Matt and Erin also share practical examples from their own stories and explain why skills like emotional maturity, honesty, and freedom are best learned now—before marriage.

⸻

🧠 Want live Catholic dating coaching at SEEK?
Metanoia Catholic will be at the Candid Dating booth in Columbus for SEEK 2026, offering:
   • Free temperament assessments
   • Quick “dating mindset” classes
   • 1:1 coaching slots with certified Catholic mindset coaches

Come get coached, then go get your reps in at the Candid Catholic speed dating events. 😉

🎧 Listen to the full Virtuous Influencing & Dating series on the Catholic Coaching Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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What if Catholic dating wasn’t just swiping, overthinking, and feeling like “there’s no one out there”… but real conversations, real formation, and real freedom?

In this episode of The Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt & Erin sit down with Taylor O’Brien, founder of Candid Dating — a Catholic speed dating app and events apostolate that’s exploding in popularity (including huge events at SEEK).

Taylor shares the story of her broken engagement, the season of deep healing with Jesus in adoration, and how the Lord led her into creating Candid: a space where Catholic singles can actually talk, get “reps” with the opposite sex, and grow in human formation, not just chase a ring.

Together we talk about:
   • Why Catholic speed dating is often less pressure than apps or 
      traditional dates
   • The lies Catholic singles believe ( “God will just drop my spouse in front 
     of me,” “I can’t say yes to a first date unless I know I’d say yes to a 
     second,” “I’m responsible for their feelings if I say no” )
   • How locus of control & mindset coaching help you stop carrying what 
     isn’t yours
   • Why dating is about authentic encounter, not shopping for a spouse
   • How God uses the “waiting” and even heartbreak as powerful formation

We also share what we’re doing together at SEEK in Columbus:
   • A shared Candid + Metanoia Catholic booth
   • Free temperament assessments (with buttons 👀) so you can better 
     understand your wiring in dating
   • On-site Catholic mindset coaches to help you prep for the Candid speed 
     dating event
   • Practical help to show up free, peaceful, and yourself—instead of 
     desperate, shut down, or overthinking

Whether you’re:
   • A Catholic single coming to SEEK
   • Discernment-tired and wondering if your “picker is broken”
   • Or just curious what healthy Catholic dating can look like…

…this conversation will give you hope, language, and tools to step into dating with more freedom, courage, and trust in God.

► Learn more about Candid Dating and upcoming events: https://www.candiddating.net/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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Ever tried to “help” someone change… and just ended up exhausted, resentful, or shut out? 😵‍💫

This is Part 2 of our series on virtuous influence—how to help others change for the good while fully honoring their freedom and dignity.

In this episode, Matt and Erin share 5 interior dispositions that transform the way you show up in tough relationships, especially when someone you love keeps choosing badly:

In this episode we cover:
• Why healed people heal people—and why your inner work matters
• What it means to be humbly honest (and why pretending you’ve “arrived” 
  backfires)
• How to be attentively affirming instead of constantly correcting
• Seeing people as a mystery to receive, not a problem to fix
• Patiently persevering when change is painfully slow
• Sanctifying surrender: uniting your sorrow with Christ instead of slipping 
  into despair

We talk about real situations:
• Parents with kids drifting from the faith
• Spouses stuck in bad habits
• Friends caught in addiction or destructive patterns
• Coaches and ministry leaders who feel responsible for other people’s 
  outcomes

If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t fix them, but I also can’t stop caring,” this episode is for you.

👉 Watch Part 1 for the first 5 dispositions on virtuous influence
👉 Subscribe for more Catholic coaching tools for real interior transformation

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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Have you ever tried to “help” someone change… and they just dug in their heels? 😅

More resentment. More distance. Zero real change.

In this episode, Matt and Erin from Metanoia Catholic break down how to influence virtuously so you can help others change for the good without controlling, nagging, or manipulating.

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on virtuous influencing – how to make a real impression on others while honoring their freedom and dignity.

You’ll learn:

👉 The difference between influence and manipulation
👉 Why real influence always starts with your interior disposition, not their
      behavior
👉 How John Paul II’s personalistic norm applies to parenting, marriage,
      work, and coaching
👉 Why trying to “fix” people usually backfires (and what to do instead)

Matt & Erin walk through the first 5 influential dispositions:

1. Compassionately Curious – seeking to understand what people truly 
     want 
     and value instead of assuming you “know what they need.”
2. Benevolently Boundaried – setting and keeping loving boundaries that 
     actually teach people how to be in healthy relationship with you.
3.  Fearlessly Free – maximizing the other person’s freedom, even when 
     you’re afraid they might not choose well.
4.  Confidently Candid – clearly naming the real consequences of actions   
    (without shaming or drama).
5.  Impartially Inviting – inviting people into growth and a common good, 
     while staying detached from whether they say yes or no.

Whether you’re a:
 • Catholic parent who wants to guide your teens without constant power 
   struggles
 • Spouse who wants deeper change without nagging
 • Leader or ministry worker who wants to call people higher
 • Catholic coach who wants to ethically influence clients

…this episode will give you a clear, practical vision of what virtuous influence looks like day-to-day.

🟣 This is Part 1 – in the next episode, Matt & Erin cover the remaining 5 influential dispositions so you can grow into a truly impactful, virtuous leader in your home, work, and parish.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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“Did I miss my calling?” “Is this really God’s will?”
If you’ve ever wrestled with those questions, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Matt sits down with Stacey Sumereau—former Broadway performer, reality TV discerner (“Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns”), host of the Called and Caffeinated podcast, Catholic wife, mom of five, and special needs mother. Stacey shares how God led her from the stage to a deeply hidden life of family, ministry, and Catholic coaching… and how He used disappointment and weakness as the doorway.

You’ll hear about:
• Her transition from Broadway tours (Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz) to 
  Catholic ministry
• How reality TV discernment opened her to surrender and real relationship 
  with God
• What a “personal vocation” is (and how it fits under marriage / religious life/ 
   priesthood)
• How to tell when you’re following perfectionism vs. the Holy Spirit
• Being a Catholic mom, special needs parent, and still honoring a real call to 
  ministry
• Why God speaks through your desires (not just in spite of them)
• How Catholic coaching helped her break out of victim mentality and reclaim  
  joy
• Practical ways to hold your family, work, and mission in right order without 
  burnout

Stacey also shares about her new book Adventure Awaits: How to Interpret Your Desires and Hear God’s Voice, and why most Catholics underestimate how much God actually wants to speak into their everyday choices.

⸻

CONNECT WITH STACEY SUMEREAU
👉 Website & coaching: https://www.staceysumereau.com/
👉 Book: Adventure Awaits: How to Interpret Your Desires and Hear God’s Voice (Ave Maria Press, Amazon, etc.)
👉 Podcast: Called and Caffeinated

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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Real vs. Fake Apologies: 8 Red Flags

How do you know if an apology is truly sincere? In this episode, Matt and Erin walk through practical ways to evaluate an apology and respond in a way that protects the relationship and your peace.

What you’ll learn
• The difference between “I’m sorry” and sincere contrition
• 8 signs to watch for:
      1.Convenient timing (ulterior motives)
      2.Vague language (no specific action owned)
      3.Defensive tone or anger
      4.Over-explaining to self-justify
      5.Minimizing your hurt (“it’s not a big deal”)
      6.Blame-shifting (“sorry you were offended”)
      7.Sorry about consequences, not the harm
      8.No follow-through—or pressuring you to “get over it”
• How temperament and ignorance vs. contrition affect sincerity
• Mercy without enabling: requests, boundaries, and next steps
• Simple questions that draw out sincerity:
   - “What exactly are you sorry for?”
   - “How do you wish you’d acted?”
   - “What will you do differently next time?”

Key idea: Be a model of mercy while staying in your locus of control. You can forgive, ask for clarity, and set timelines for rebuilding trust—without accepting manipulation.

Related episode: How to Make a Sincere Apology (pairs perfectly with this one)

If this helped, share it with someone who needs a clear, faith-rooted framework for reconciliation.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
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How to Make a Sincere Apology | 5 Steps to Real Reconciliation

Want to apologize in a way that actually restores trust? In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin break down how to make a sincere apology—what to do internally before you speak, what to say (and not say), and how to detach from the other person’s response while still moving toward reconciliation.

What you’ll learn
• The difference between saying “sorry” and offering a sincere apology
• 3 common mindset traps:
      - “If I apologize, they’ll feel justified”
      - “They started it—so they should go first”
      - “What if they don’t accept my apology?”
• The 5-step framework for real reconciliation:
   1. Forgive first (release the anger)
   2. Own your fault (no blaming, no generalities)
   3. Detach from their response (stay in your lane)
   4. State how you’ll act in the future (your repair plan)
   5. Apologize—clearly, briefly, without expectations
• How to model repentance as a spouse, parent, friend, or leader— 
   without enabling

If this helped you, share it with someone who could use a simple, faithful path to peace.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

____________________

► Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Metanoia Catholic YouTube Channel!

► Discover How God Is Speaking to You In Prayer

► Find out your temperament: Take the Free Quiz

► Get the Conversation Starter Guide (FREE)

► Take the Quiz: WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

► GET THE DAILY SEVEN JOURNAL!
This interactive journal will help you transform your life from the inside out by teaching you how to grow in gratitude, set healthy goals, and gain mastery over your thoughts.

► JOIN THE ACADEMY!
Your online resource of classes, tools, and community to ramp up your growth and really change your life. Learn from the Metanoia Catholic coaches in webinars, live coaching calls, Lectio Divina, and more with your monthly membership.
____________________

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