The Prodigal's Purpose

What does grief look like when you still believe in God, but you’re heartbroken by what you’ve lost?

In Good Grief: Finding Faith After Loss, I talk honestly about losing two people I loved deeply and how grief changed the way I think about faith, love, healing, and what it actually means to keep moving forward.

This episode is about the parts of grief people don’t always talk about, the fact that it doesn’t follow a timeline, that everyone carries it differently, and that healing doesn’t necessarily mean “moving on.”

It’s also about the questions grief can bring into your faith. Where is God in suffering? Is it okay to be angry with Him? Can you trust God and still be completely devastated?

I don’t have a perfect formula for grief, and I don’t think one exists. But I have learned that grief and faith can exist in the same place, and that loving someone doesn’t stop just because they’re gone.

This episode is especially for anyone walking through loss right now who doesn’t know what to do with the grief, the questions, or the faith they’re trying to hold onto. I hope somewhere in this conversation, you feel a little less alone in carrying it. This episode is an honest conversation about learning to carry both love and loss and finding hope without pretending the hurt isn’t real.

#prodigalspurpose #grief #loss #catholic #christian #podcast #faith 

 I’ve always hated the Rosary.

For years, I thought it was repetitive, boring, and honestly something I prayed because I was supposed to, not because I understood it. But over time, and through moments when I didn’t know what else to do, the prayer I spent years resisting became one I learned to reach for.

In this episode, we’re breaking down what the Rosary actually is, where it came from, why Catholics pray it, how it points us back to Jesus, and why it has been called a spiritual weapon for centuries. We’ll also look at the surprising research behind what happens to our bodies during prayer, powerful stories of people who have clung to the Rosary in unimaginable circumstances, and why this prayer might be more relevant to your life than you realize.

Whether you pray the Rosary every day, haven’t picked one up in years, or still don’t understand why Catholics are so obsessed with it, this episode is for you.

Maybe the Rosary you thought you hated is actually the prayer you never understood.

Some friendships last a lifetime. Others are only meant for a season. And some end in ways we never expected.

In this episode, we’re getting real about the beautiful, messy, and sometimes heartbreaking reality of friendship: wanting to belong, growing apart, navigating different seasons of life, friendship breakups, forgiveness, boundaries, and learning who truly deserves a voice in your life.

Through personal stories and the wisdom of Sirach 6, we’ll look at what God teaches us about friendship: how to recognize a faithful friend, why it’s okay to be careful about who we allow close to our hearts, how to forgive when friendships hurt us, and how we can become the kind of friend Christ is calling us to be.

Because not every friendship is meant to last forever, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have a purpose. Some people may be in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. And through every friendship gained, changed, or lost, we’re reminded that the greatest friendship we will ever have is the one that never leaves us: our friendship with Christ.

#prodigalspurpose #catholic #christian #podcast #friend #friendship #relationships #bible #advice

Your body gets your attention. Your mind gets your effort. But what about your soul?

"Consider how valuable your soul must be, that both God and the devil are after it."

Those words reveal a profound truth: your soul is the only part of you that will last forever.

In this episode, we'll explore what the Catholic Church teaches about the soul, compelling near-death experience research that points beyond the physical world, and why no amount of success, self-improvement, or achievement can satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart. Through personal stories, a powerful bonfire analogy, and practical ways to strengthen your relationship with Christ, you'll discover why investing in your soul is the most important investment you'll ever make.

So ask yourself: What are you doing to care for the one part of you that will never die? #prodigalspurpose #podcast #soul #faith #catholic #christian

Who is Jesus... really?

It's the question that has shaped history, divided nations, inspired martyrs, and changed countless lives. But what if knowing the right answer isn't the same as truly answering His question? 

In Matthew 16, Jesus asks His disciples a question that echoes through every generation: "Who do you say that I am?" It's a question that demands more than the "right" answer—it demands a response.

In this episode, we'll explore why C.S. Lewis argued that Jesus must be either Liar, Lunatic, or Lord, why Peter's famous confession wasn't the end of his journey, and how one conversation after the Resurrection completely transforms what it means to follow Christ.

Whether you've known Jesus your whole life or you're rediscovering Him for the first time, this episode will challenge you to move beyond simply knowing about Him and ask yourself the question that changes everything:

Who do you say that I am?

If I could go back and have one conversation with my freshman year self, this would be it.

Not because I had everything figured out. Trust me, I didn't. But because there are a few lessons I learned the hard way that I wish someone had told me before I ever stepped foot on a college campus.

In this episode, we're talking about the slow ways we drift from God without even realizing it, why the people you surround yourself with matter more than you think, and the simple habits that can either keep Jesus at the center of your life or slowly push Him to the sidelines.

Whether you're about to start college, moving into a new season, or simply trying to stay close to Christ in the middle of a busy life, I hope this conversation encourages you to be intentional about the life you're building.

Because you won't accidentally become closer to Jesus.

You'll become closer to Him every time you choose Him.

And my prayer is that years from now, you won't just look back with a degree. You'll look back with a deeper relationship with Christ.

Do you actually want to be healed? It sounds like an easy question until Jesus asks it.

In John 5, Jesus approaches a man who has been unable to walk for thirty-eight years and asks what seems like the most obvious question in Scripture: "Do you want to be made well?" But instead of answering, the man begins explaining why he hasn't changed. Maybe we do the same.

In this episode, we'll explore the deeper question Jesus is asking each of us, the surprising symbolism behind the man's mat, and what it means to stop letting our wounds define our identity.

If you've ever felt stuck in fear, shame, sin, anxiety, or disappointment, this conversation is for you. Because healing isn't just about removing pain. It's about becoming who God created you to be.

Jesus is still asking the same question today: Do you want to be healed?

How do you know what God wants? What if you choose wrong? What if you miss His will entirely? If you've ever spiraled over a decision, obsessed over signs, or treated discernment like a spiritual scavenger hunt, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I share one of the most personal prayer experiences of my life and the surprising way God began dismantling an idol I didn't even realize I had. What I thought was a prayer about my future became a lesson about identity, attachment, and the things we trust to make us feel secure.

Together, we'll explore the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Teresa of Calcutta, the difference between consolation and desolation, why peace is often quieter than we expect, and why some of God's most important answers don't come in the form of clarity—they come in the form of transformation.

We'll wrestle with the deeper questions beneath discernment: What am I afraid of? What am I attached to? And am I following Christ—or simply chasing a life that makes me feel enough?

If you're tired of overthinking, waiting for certainty, or feeling paralyzed by the future, this episode is an invitation to stop chasing the perfect answer and start paying attention to what God might be doing beneath the question you're asking. Because discernment isn't about controlling the future. It's about learning how God moves in your heart and trusting that He is far more committed to leading you than you are to getting it right.

What if the way you’ve been living is slowly hardening your heart? In this episode, we dive into the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the overwhelming reality of a God who willingly suffered, bled, and died for you… while fully knowing you might never love Him back. We explore the difference between a heart of stone and a heart of flesh, why so many of us resist love and vulnerability, and how Jesus enters into human suffering more intimately than we realize. We also break down the meaning behind the Sacred Heart itself: the flames, the thorns, the wound, the cross, and why this devotion has transformed the lives of Christians for centuries. Because the Sacred Heart isn’t just a beautiful Catholic image. It’s the image of a God whose heart still burns for you after rejection, shame, sin, failure, and every moment you pushed Him away. If you’ve ever felt too far gone, emotionally numb, closed off, or afraid to let God in… this episode is for you. ❤️

#prodigalspurpose #sacredheart #jesus #catholic

What if the biggest thing keeping you from God… is the way you see yourself?

In this episode of The Prodigal’s Purpose, we’re talking about the voices that label us, shame us, accuse us, and make us believe we are nothing more than our worst moments. Because if we’re honest, so many of us walk around carrying names that were never ours to begin with: too much, not enough, failure, addict, dramatic, unlovable, hypocrite, problem. And after hearing those things enough, we start believing them.

But Jesus doesn’t speak the way the enemy does.

"The devil knows your name but calls you by your sin. Jesus knows your sin and still calls you by name."

We dive into the difference between accusation and conviction, how to actually discern God’s voice from the spiral in your head, why shame keeps us hiding from Him, and what scripture reveals about the way Jesus truly sees us. This episode also includes a guided imaginative prayer and reflection to help you sit with the reality that God is not disgusted by your mess, exhausted by your weakness, or waiting to walk away from you.

He knows everything about you… and still wants you.

If you’ve been stuck in shame, struggling with self-worth, battling negative self-talk, or feeling spiritually exhausted, this episode is for you. Because you are not the name your sin gives you. You are the name Jesus calls you.