God doesn't call us by our sin, He calls us by our name. Our dignity is based on the fact that we are His children.  In this episode week's episode the friars dive into what "blessed are the merciful" really means.  God loves us even in our sinfulness and wants to restore what sin has taken away.  We are called to come face to face with our brokenness so that we can experience true healing and mercy so we no longer act as orphans but as children of the Father. 

"Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God." Journey from the cry of the heart expressed in Psalm 80, "Show us your face and we shall be saved," to the tragic loss of the rich young man who went away sad because he missed the answer to who he is and what he's made for as it was revealed to him on the face of Jesus who looked at him and loved him, to the world transforming conversion of St. Francis of Assisi who was able to find in the face of the leper the sacred face of his Savior.

It's satisfaction guaranteed people! "They shall be satisfied." Not, they might be satisfied or 9/10 times those who hunger and thirst for righteousness claim to be satisfied. Satisfaction is guaranteed to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! It's a promise and the Father always keeps his promises!

But...you gotta want it. You have to burn for holiness. You have to burn for the infinite depths of his love and burn through all lesser goods. Let's get after it together!

Fr. Lloyd has experienced a whole lot of life over the past 98 years. In his own words, what has he learned, "The Father thinks I'm hot stuff."  That's his friendly, New Yorker, way of saying the Father is well pleased with him.  The Father loves him and rejoices in him. And it's for you as well!  In this week's episodes the friars take a look at the true meaning of "meek."  Being meek doesn't mean you're soft, it's the strength that comes from already receiving the inheritance of your identity and knowing that all the Father has is yours.  Or in short, it means living in touch with the reality that the Father thinks your hot stuff, too.

"Love is an exodus from me to you" (Pope Benedict XVI). Oftentimes the spiritual life can be focused on." Am I growing? Am I getting after it? Am I, am I, am I... Of course, each individual's particular growth is important, and there is a place for examining our own lives, but discipleship is a team sport and it's in losing ourselves that we authentically find ourselves.  In the latest episodes, the brothers take a look at how poverty of spirit helps us do the hard work of staying in communion.

Beggars and Beast Mode.  Taking another look at the "Franciscan Sweet Spot," poverty of spirit, the friars reconcile our poverty and dependence with the call to scale the heights of sanctity.  Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. Mark-Mary, looking at their own life experience, proclaim with conviction, that our poverty is not an obstacle to Christian excellence, but when it is properly brought to the Lord, our poverty becomes the very fuel for holiness.

It's time to go Holy Spirit-Anointed-Beast Mode.  It's time to give God permission to make us saints.

Join Fr. Angelus, Fr. Innocent, and Fr. Mark-Mary, members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, in a deep dive into the "Franciscan sweet spot": Poverty of Spirit and The Kingdom of Heaven where our dependence meets the Father's providence.  For this reason, the friars truly consider themselves, "Rich Kids." They are rich in intimacy with the Father and it's possible for you too!

Punctuating everything the friars discuss is the witness of Fr. Innocent, who as a 24-year-old friar, had what he calls a "conversion" moment after he woke up paralyzed from a routine back surgery. In was in that moment, he experienced the Lord's love for him not because of his gifts or abilities, but because he is truly his beloved son.

IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS! In the latest episode of The Poco a Poco Podcast, Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. Mark-Mary take a totally fresh look at the Beatitudes.  And what do we discover in the beatitudes?  We discover the face of Jesus and the invitation to become authentically, and overwhelmingly, fascinated with Jesus.  

IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS! Jesus offers us the Beatitudes as a reminder of what it means to be truly blessed.  We are invited to be blessed like Jesus, and that is very good news. But don't get caught on the first half of the beatitude (the hard or uncomfortable part).  In each beatitude is also a promise, and we all know, we worship a Father who always keeps his promises.  

Intimacy with the Father is for you!  FACT! Get it!  

This is the first episode of The Poco A Poco Podcast in which all three hosts are present: Fr. Innocent, Fr. Angelus, and Fr. Mark-Mary of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.  After an extended introduction to their community, themselves, and the story behind "Poco a Poco" the friars proclaim with absolute conviction, rooted in lived experience, that radical relationship and intimacy with God IS POSSIBLE.  

Join the friars in climbing to the heights of holiness by first entering into the depths of the interior life where the King of Glory and the fulfillment of every desire dwells.

Learn more about the friars, signup on their email list, and get a transcription of the podcast at www.franciscanfriars.com