The Poco a Poco Podcast with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Episode 298 - How Does Jesus See My Sin? Have you ever felt like your sin says more about you than God's mercy does? In this episode, the friars reflect on how we experience our own sin and how easy it is to fall into shame, discouragement, anxiety, or self-condemnation. They explore the difference between healthy sorrow for sin and the kind of shame that begins to define us, isolate us, and keep us from bringing our weakness honestly to Jesus. This conversation is not about taking sin lightly. It's about learning to see our sin with the mind and heart of Christ. Jesus does not ignore our sin, but He also does not reduce us to it. He meets us there with mercy, patience, and a love that calls us deeper into freedom. Join us as we learn to stop staring only at our weakness and begin again by looking at Jesus, who sees us fully and still calls us beloved. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

Episode 296 - Revelation of the Resurrected One Have you ever wondered why it can be so hard to recognize Jesus, even when He's right in front of you? In this episode, the friars reflect on the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus, moments where those closest to Him don't recognize Him at first. From Mary Magdalene in the garden to the road to Emmaus, they explore the mystery of how the risen Lord reveals Himself: personally, patiently, and often in unexpected ways. They unpack how Jesus meets people exactly where they are, in grief, confusion, doubt, and even ordinary moments and how those encounters change everything. This isn't just something that happened back then. It's a pattern that continues today. The same Jesus still comes, still pursues, and still reveals Himself in ways uniquely meant for each of us. For those who feel like they've never had that "breakthrough" moment, this episode is a gentle reminder: the Lord is closer than you think, especially in the Eucharist, where the Resurrection is made present again. Join us as we open our eyes to the risen Jesus and learn to recognize Him already at work in our lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

Episode 294 - Be Merciful As Your Father Have you ever wanted to forgive, but just couldn't seem to get there? This week, the friars reflect on the call to "be merciful as your Father is merciful" and the real, often slow journey of forgiveness. They unpack the tension of holding pain while still being invited into mercy and how forgiveness isn't something we force, but something we receive and grow into over time. Through the lens of the older son, they explore what it means to stay close to the Father, to "borrow" His heart, and to take small, honest steps toward healing, even when it's hard. Join us as we discover how God meets us in our wounds and gently leads us into freedom, one step at a time. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 292 - Older Son (Literal Sense) Have you ever felt frustrated, overlooked, or distant, even though you find yourself doing the "right" things? In this episode, the friars dive into the older son in the Prodigal Son story, not symbolically at first, but simply as he is. His words, his reactions, his position in the family. And what starts to emerge is something deeply human: a struggle with comparison, entitlement, and not fully receiving the Father's love. They unpack how easy it is to stay close in proximity but far in relationship and how the older son's experience can quietly mirror our own spiritual lives. Join us as we take an honest look at the older son and allow the Father to meet us right where we are. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 290 - The Father's Banquet Have you ever struggled to receive love that you feel you don't deserve? As the Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son continues, the friars turn to one of the most striking moments in the parable, the Father's banquet. What should be a moment of pure joy is, for the son, also deeply uncomfortable. After everything he's done, he's not just welcomed back, he was celebrated. In this episode, the friars reflect on the tension between shame and mercy. What does it feel like to be fully seen, fully known, and still fully loved? Why can receiving God's love sometimes feel harder than earning it? And how do we begin to live as sons and daughters again after we've fallen? Join us as we enter into the mystery of the Father's banquet, and discover a love that doesn't just forgive, but restores, celebrates, and calls us back to life. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 288 - The Father's Embrace What do you expect to find when you finally turn back toward God? Continuing their Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son, the friars arrive at the turning point of the story, the moment the son returns home. Expecting rejection, punishment, or distance, he instead finds something completely unexpected: the Father running toward him with compassion. In this episode, the friars reflect on the heart of the Gospel. The Father doesn't wait for perfection, explanations, or repayment. He runs, he embraces, and he restores dignity before a single word of apology is finished. Join us as we rediscover the mercy of a Father who never stops watching the road and who runs to meet us the moment we begin to come home. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 286 - Give Me My Inheritance Have you ever wanted God's gifts, but not the relationship that comes with them? Continuing their Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son, the friars reflect on the bold and painful demand: "Father, give me my inheritance." They explore the deeper movement beneath those words, the desire to take control, to live on our own terms, and to separate blessing from belonging. This episode looks honestly at the nature of sin: how we grasp at what was meant to be received, how freedom can be misused, and how chasing independence often leaves us isolated and burdened. What looks flashy and exciting on the surface can quietly bend the heart inward, cutting us off from the very love we were made for. Join us as we ask the Lord to reveal where we've chosen autonomy over intimacy, and to lead us back to the freedom of being sons and daughters in His house. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 284 - Signs of Hope Is it still possible to hope when so much feels heavy, confusing, or broken? In this episode, the friars take an honest look at the state of the Church and the world and refuse to stop at discouragement. They talk about suffering, darkness, and the temptation to despair, but also about the quiet, real ways God is at work bringing renewal, healing, and new life. From families choosing faith in small, daily ways, to renewed hunger for prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments, this conversation names the concrete signs of hope that often go unnoticed. Not flashy movements or quick fixes, but steady, faithful people responding to grace where they are. Join us as we learn to see with hope again and recognize the Holy Spirit already at work, even now. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 282 - Human Stuff Why are the most ordinary parts of life often the hardest to navigate? In this episode, the friars lean into the everyday realities we all deal with: conflict, communication, expectations, and the awkward moments we'd rather avoid. From navigating tough conversations to managing unspoken expectations and misunderstandings, they talk honestly about how "human stuff" can quietly shape our relationships for better or worse. Rather than offering quick fixes, the conversation invites us to grow in maturity, courage, and clarity to stop avoiding discomfort and start choosing honesty, vulnerability, and charity in the messiness of real life. Join us as we laugh, reflect, and learn how God meets us right in the middle of our very human stuff. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 280 - How Do We Celebrate? Why is it so hard to celebrate what's good, especially when it's happening in ourselves or others? Drawing from Scripture, the lives of the saints, and everyday experiences of community and brotherhood, this conversation invites us to see celebration not as competition or self-focus, but as a way of rejoicing in what God is doing. To bless another is to acknowledge grace at work and to receive blessing is often an act of humility itself In this episode, the friars wrestle with a surprisingly tender question: how do Christians celebrate well without fear, pride, or false humility? They talk about affirmation, gratitude, and the discomfort many of us feel when blessings are named out loud, whether it's a gift, an accomplishment, or simply being seen. Join us as we learn how celebrating well can heal shame, strengthen relationships, and help us rejoice more freely in God's goodness. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 278 - The Blessed Mother Have you ever struggled to believe that God could really work through your weakness? In this episode, the friars turn their gaze to the Blessed Mother and the quiet, radical way she lived the Beatitudes. They reflect on Mary's poverty of spirit, her meekness, and her total availability to God, not as something distant or unattainable, but as a lived posture of trust, openness, and surrender. They explore how Mary's emptiness became the space where God did His greatest work, how her confidence came from knowing who she was before the Father, and how her motherhood continues to draw close to us in our own poverty and need. Join us as we entrust ourselves again to our Mother and learn how her "yes" teaches us how to receive God more fully in our own lives. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 276 - Jesus, Meekness, and Fighting Satan What if meekness isn't weakness but the strongest way Jesus fights? In this episode, the friars turn to "Blessed are the meek" and uncover how meekness is not passivity or timidity, but the fruit of deep confidence and identity as sons of the Father. They explore how Jesus enters the ultimate battle, not with force or armor, but with humility, vulnerability, and unwavering trust in who He is. This is how He confronts temptation, resists Satan, and claims victory. They reflect on how our own battles are often fought in the same place: our identity. When we're rooted in the Father's love, insecurity loses its power, and we're free to stand firm without grasping, proving, or defending ourselves. Join us as we learn how meekness becomes strength, identity becomes armor, and Christ's victory becomes our own. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes

Episode 274 - Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit What if the places you feel most empty are the places God is closest? In this episode, the friars explore what it really means to be poor in spirit, not as an idea, but as the lived experience of feeling powerless, stretched, or unable to fix what hurts. They speak into the poverty we feel in our families, our vocations, our emotions, and our prayer, and how these very places become the doorway for God's coming. Advent reveals that poverty isn't a flaw to overcome but an invitation to trust, surrender, and let God be the one who fills what we cannot. It's the space where the Kingdom breaks in. Join us as we learn to stop resisting our poverty and discover God waiting for us there. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you! 🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at https://www.pocomerch.com/ Check out the Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes book at https://ascensionpress.com/products/eight-promises-of-god-discovering-hope-through-the-beatitudes