Some Women – Episode 1: Drawn to Jesus

October 8, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Some Women – Episode 1: Drawn to Jesus

Description:
In this first episode of Some Women, members of the Magnificat® Central Service Team (CST) — Angela, Donna, Jackie, Mary, Pat, and Sharla — share their heartfelt stories of faith and calling. Together, they answer the questions:

What drew you to Jesus?
What drew you to Magnificat®?
What makes us a community of “some women”?

As these women reflect on their journeys, they explore the inspiration behind the name Some Women — the women of Luke 8:1–3, who followed Jesus and served Him with love and devotion. Through their personal testimonies, we’re reminded that each of us is invited to walk with Jesus and respond to His call in our own unique way.

Join us for this Spirit-filled conversation about faith, community, and saying “yes” to God’s invitation to follow Him more deeply.

🌿 About Some Women

Who were the women who followed Jesus — and how do we follow Him today?

Some Women is a podcast from Magnificat®, A Ministry to Catholic Women, inspired by the women of Luke 8:1–3 who accompanied Jesus and His disciples. Each episode features members of the Magnificat Central Service Team and special guests in lively, Spirit-led discussions about topics such as growing in holiness, nurturing a prayer life, spiritual warfare, and living in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Join us as we pray, learn, and experience what God can do in our lives when we let Him.

✝️ About Magnificat®

Founded in 1981, Magnificat®, A Ministry to Catholic Women, is an international nonprofit with over 70 Chapters worldwide. Its mission is to evangelize and encourage Catholic women to grow in holiness by opening more fully to the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Inspired by Mary’s words, “My soul magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1:46), Magnificat® fosters community through gatherings that include prayer, worship, testimony, and fellowship, helping women encounter the transforming love of God.

🌐 Visit: https://magnificat-ministry.org

Listen to all podcasts from Magnificat®

Watch on YouTube:

🎵 Music: Gold Among the Sand by Trevor Kowalski
🎧 Licensed by Epidemic Sound

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Some Women Podcast

October 7, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Some Women — A Magnificat® Ministry Podcast

Who were the women who followed Jesus — and how do we follow Him today?

Some Women is a podcast from Magnificat®, A Ministry to Catholic Women, inspired by the women of Luke 8:1–3 who accompanied Jesus and served Him faithfully. Each episode features members of the Magnificat Central Service Team (CST) and guest panelists in lively, Spirit-led conversations about faith, prayer, holiness, community, and living life in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Together, we’ll explore what it means to be “some women” — ordinary women with extraordinary faith — learning, laughing, and growing as disciples of Christ in the modern world.

Join us as we pray, learn, and experience what God can do in our lives when we say yes to Him.

🎶 Music: “Gold Among the Sand” by Trevor Kowalski — Licensed by Epidemic Sound
💜 Learn more at https://magnificat-ministry.org

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Founded in 1981, Magnificat®, A Ministry to Catholic Women, an international nonprofit with over 70 Chapters across the globe, exists to evangelize and encourage Catholic women to grow in holiness through opening more fully to the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. “My Soul Magnifies the Lord,” recorded in Luke 1:46, is the beginning of Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s joyful greeting. The entire scene of the Visitation is the inspiration for this Ministry. Through quarterly gatherings that include a Chapter Meal, praise and worship, guest speakers proclaiming their testimonies as to how God has transformed their lives, and other faith-sharing experiences organized in a relaxed social setting, women (and men) are inspired and encouraged to grow in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. Magnificat® is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, an image of the Church, and model for all Christians, especially women. Visit: https://magnificat-ministry.org

Music: Gold Among the Sand by Trevor Kowalski

Licensed by Epidemic Sound

Filed Under: Some Women® Podcast Tagged With: Magnificat Ministry for Women, Some Women Podcast

Never Underestimate Prayer (Replay)

October 6, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Never Underestimate Prayer ~ Episode 281

Do you think your prayers never get answered? I believe you should never underestimate prayer! In this podcast, Felice discusses ways we can shortchange the Lord and what a blessing it is to realize that our prayers have been answered.

Thanks to our sponsor – Media Angels, you can find curriculum as well as books such as One More Child and A Few Minutes with God.

Before you ask, no, my prayers do not always get answered, well–let me rephrase that. They do get answered but not how I would like them to be answered. I hope that makes you feel better. But that is no excuse to underestimate the power of prayer. We can pray, sometimes for years (or it seems like years), with no results.

Never Underestimate Prayer

If you haven’t done, so already, I invite you to listen to a previous podcast I did that is on the topic of forgiveness. What does this have to do with prayer? Well, I prayed for many years, and it turned out to be seven years, for a situation that happened in my life. Basically, I was praying for a person who had hurt me. Every time I was upset or felt helpless, I asked the Lord to bless this person. Did I feel like praying was a blessing? No, but felt led by the Lord to pray it anyway.

I invite you to do this. If you are upset with a person or hold a grudge against them, it is always best to go to the Lord in prayer and to pray for this person. The reason is that the enemy dislikes it when we pray for someone. The enemy wants us to be upset and unkind in our thoughts and in our actions, and when we reverse that and pray for a person who we believe has wronged us, then the enemy has no power over us and usually leaves us. In my case, a chance meeting showed me that all of that animosity and hurt feelings and everything else that I was feeling was gone.

This was truly a miracle, and seven years–wow! That’s why we should never underestimate prayer! I didn’t even realize it had been so long. However, the outcome was such a blessing in my life and one that I wanted to share with all of you. It isn’t always easy to admit when we are at fault, and holding grudges and unforgiveness in my heart is an example of being at fault. None of us are exempt from sin.

I learned through perseverance and prayer that the Lord always answers our prayers, and we should never underestimate prayer or his power in our lives, we feel defeated and alone and that no one hears us or understands us, and I think that’s what leads so many people into sin —they think that no one understands them, that God doesn’t hear them until finally a situation crops into their lives that they feel is an answer— but instead the situation becomes worse than the solution.

Friends, we must be steadfast and continue to pray. When I look at the lives of the Saints, those holy men and women who’ve gone before us. I see their lives are marked with struggle, yet they continue on and persevere. What a wonderful example that is for each one of us. Can you imagine if Abraham had given up or if David had stopped worshiping God after sinning? Sure, it took him some time to repent, but eventually God, God wants our hearts and minds to be single, focused and living the best life we can keep him at our center. The key is repentance and prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

That is a scripture we should commit to memory!

One of my sons started listening to a podcast from a businessman. He has been very successful, and he wants to share his success with others who are striving to live lives that he calls “striving for excellence.” I may have mentioned this to you in a previous podcast, but it’s worth mentioning again, especially since it has encouraged my son to strive for excellence. I explained that when we strive for excellence we’re striving to put on the mind of Christ. Excellence only comes from God, the same way we receive grace or blessings in our lives. It is a pure gift.

When we strive to live each day the best way we can, we should offer up our day to the Lord. Otherwise, are attempting the impossible, especially with daily temptations. Striving to do something on your own is a recipe for failure. How can we strive to put on the mind of Christ? One way is to focus on what is important each and every day to our day to the Lord and ask him to come into our lives in a deeper way. I often pray this prayer. I don’t know how successful I am, but I do ask the Lord to come into my life in a deeper way.

We should set aside some time for prayer. How often you can do this depends on what is going on in your life; I know people like the idea of downtime, but what better way than spending time with God? On the days that I can’t spend time with God, I offer my day to him. I try to focus on what is important that day and give it the rest to him.
We can make our lives a prayer to God, and in that way, even if we are not verbalizing our intent, God knows our heart and perhaps will bring a scripture verse to mind or maybe a song of praise. Challenge yourself to memorize a scripture verse this week. Then another one next week. Soon you will have four verses memorized by the end of the month. Can you imagine if we did that monthly? We’d have 48 verses memorized by the end of the year.

Colossians 3:16 (Read on air.)

Gratitude And Prayer

Can we sing gratitude? I’m sure if we were all in a room together and sharing about how the Lord has answered our prayers, we would be amazed at each of our stories. Each one of us has hardships that we bear, but each one of us has been blessed whether or not we realize it. If not, perhaps you can pray for an attitude check. Praising God in all things, seeing the good in our lives and those around us. This takes prayer, and it takes grace!

One way we can see how we are doing in our faith walk is to look at our lives as a glass that is half full or half empty which is it? Is your life half full, or is it half empty? If you believe your life is half full, meaning that you are blessed, rather than half empty, meaning you are lacking, that is one indication. No, it’s not an exact science, but it is an illustration that shows how we can look at things optimistically or pessimistically. The choice is ours. Believing that God hears all of our prayers is really Important.

Ultimately, when we pray, it is up to the Lord; if he answers the way we would like him to answer or not, if it is a prayer that is important to our salvation, those are the ones that are answered the most. For example, Lord, give me more faith, our Lord, bring me closer to you. Remember, when we pray, it is not a feeling; it is a decision we make. We make a decision to pray similarly to making a decision to forgive ourselves as well as others as we are closer and closer to the Advent season. As I record this, and it will probably play for the first time during December, the season of Advent, let us call to mind how important it is to pray to the Lord and offer our daily struggles to him.

Your challenge this week is to look at answered prayer as a gift and give God all the glory that He rightly deserves.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Answered Prayer, faith, prayer

Sharing Christian Faith (Special Replay)

October 3, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Be sure to subscribe to this podcast or listen to this here – online. You can download this talk on your computer or you can listen on your phone. Share this podcast with a friend.

Sharing Christian Faith

Episode 15

Practical Ways for Sharing One’s Faith

Sharing Christian faith isn’t always easy. There are a number of ways to do evangelization. One could participate in a program for preparing individuals to practice evangelization such as Christ-Life or Alpha. It is also possible to go through a training program in order to do “street evangelization” or one-on-one personal evangelization. Even some of the current ministries of healing focus on doing evangelization.

How does sharing your Christian faith work in your life?

However, this presentation is concerned with doing evangelization using the method of personal faith sharing in small groups, which can also be applied to personal relationship based evangelization. Therefore, we need to know what specific content of our personal witness and the method that we use when we are sharing.

For example, several years ago two piolets were flying a commercial plane from somewhere on the east coast to the Minneapolis airport. They flew 150 miles past the airport and were immediately fired. How did this happen? The newspaper reported after the inquiry, that they were joking with one another and messing with their personal computers. They missed the vector, a signal that comes from the airport of destination to the airplane that guides the plane to the right airport. When we do evangelization or faith-sharing in small groups we need to know what approach we use, and what content we should share in order to make this opportunity effective and fruitful for the recipient(s) for whom one is giving their personal witness.

From the viewpoint of sharing one’s faith in a small group, it important to understand that if we are going to share our personal faith we need to personally experience what we believe, live it, and understand what we are about to share. It is also important to be attentive to where the others in the group are coming from. Our first consideration is to try and make sure that we have a balanced understanding of the model of Church within which we will approach the sharing of the Good News of the Gospel. In reflecting on this matter in my own life I did a little study of the models of the Church, a book written by Cardinal Avery Dulles, a well know Jesuit theologian who died several years ago.

I specifically consulted a summary of these models of the Church written by Chris Castaldo in regard to the expanded edition written in 2002. This section of the recording may be a little heavy, so listening to this part several times may be a good idea. Since we are currently moving in the Church from the position of seeing evangelization to be giving a good example only to doing various forms of faith sharing and personally witnessing to the Resurrection of Jesus, we need to consider the various models of viewing the Church, some are more conducive to personal evangelization and faith sharing than others.

The first model, Church as Institution, defines the Church primarily in terms of its visible structures, especially the rights and powers of its officers. It is called a hierarchical form of Church government and emphasizes its nature as a visible and palpable community. As instruments of God’s sacraments, the priesthood opens and shuts the valves of divine grace, and is rooted in the apostolic life passed down by Christ’s disciples. The strength of the institutional model is in its public, visible manifestations of solidarity. It presents a tangible communion of faith. The weakness of this model is that it may become rigid, doctrinaire, and conformist. Cardinal Dulles explains that this model must not be primarily because of its nature; structures are subordinate to persons and life.

The church as Mystical Communion: According to this model, the church consists of faithful men and women who are bound together by their participation in God’s Spirit through the living glorified Christ. The nature of this unity is not institutional but “Spirit-filled”, communal, and personal. The goal of this model is a spiritual or supernatural one. The church aims to lead its members into communion with the divine. It is a communion of persons, primarily interior but also expressed by external bonds of creed, worship, and ecclesiastical fellowship. The bond of unity, in this model, consists of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, through the external bonds are also important.

The Church as Sacrament: This model brings the others closer together, retaining structure while also promoting dynamic spiritual life. Accordingly, the church as a sacrament is a sign and transmitter of God’s grace to the world. As an embodiment of the grace that it signifies, the Church exists as the presence of God to the nations. Another important element of this model highlights and affirms that the sacraments are communal realities and not individual transactions. Nobody baptizes, absolves, or anoints himself. It is unthinkable for the Eucharist to be celebrated in solitude. The reality of grace corresponds to human nature and is relational. A man comes into the world as a member of a family, a race, a people. He comes to maturity through an encounter with others. Sacraments, therefore have a relational nature. They take place in the mutual interaction that invites the people to achieve a spiritual breakthrough that they could not achieve in isolation. A sacrament, therefore, is a socially constituted or communal symbol of the presence of grace coming to fulfillment. This is the strength of this model. The weakness is that it has little warranty in Scripture and in the early tradition of the Church, and could lead to a sterile practice and almost an isolated and narcissistic form of contemplation by a few.

The Church as Herald: The herald model related to the proclamation. The herald model differs from the others in that it makes the ‘word’ primary and the ‘sacrament’ secondary. It sees the Church as gathered and formed by the word of God. The mission of the Church is to proclaim that which it has heard, believed, and been commissioned to proclaim. This model looks upon the Church as a herald—one who received an official message from the commission to pass it on. The heart of this model of Church is the activity of calling its members to renewal and reform. The strength of this model is its emphasis on the message of the gospel and the pursuit of the Great Commission (evangelization). Its weakness is that it can often be devoid of incarnational service (mercy work). This can result in appearing merely as ideas without tangible reality. This is especially obvious when it focuses too exclusively on the witness to the neglect of action. It may become too reluctant to give human effort to establish a better human society in this life.

The Church as Servant: The servant model asserts that the Church should consider itself a part of the total human family, sharing the same concerns as the rest of men. Following in the footsteps of Jesus our Lord, the Suffering Servant. The Church announces the coming of the Kingdom not only in word, through preaching, and proclamation, but more particularly in work, in her ministry of reconciliation, of binding up wounds, suffering service, or healing. The Lord was the man for others, and so must the Church be the community for others. The weakness of the servant model is that it can get so caught up in “this world activity” that is would compromise the biblical deposit of faith which Christians are called to guard. I recall a Sister who was preparing about 20 young enthusiastic college girls for a mission trip. After a great deal of training, she said to them, now we must look at the Christian motivation behind all this, and they said, “what do we need to do that for”?

Integrating the models: Each model offers insights and positive contributions to our understanding of the Church. When the most genuinely biblical qualities are preserved from each model and integrated together, we realize a more balanced vision of the Church. Each of them (the five models) brings out certain and important qualities. The institutional model makes it clear that the Church must be a structured community and it must remain the kind of community Christ founded. Such a community would have to include a pastoral office equipped with authority to preside over the worship of the community as such to prescribe the limits of tolerable dissent, and to represent the community in an official way. The mystical community model is evident that the Church must be united to God by grace and that in the strength of that grace its members must be lovingly united to one another. The sacramental model brings home the idea that the Church in its most visible aspects—especially in its community prayer and worship—be a sign of the continuing vitality of the grace of Christ and for the hope of the redemption that he promises. The proclaiming model points out the necessity for the Church to continue to herald the Gospel and to move men to put their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. The servant model points up the urgency of making the Church contribute to the transformation of the secular life of man, and of impregnating human society as a whole with the values of the Kingdom of God. The sacramental model is the most comprehensive because of its ease in integrating the best elements in the other four models. The goal here is to experience a balancing integration of all five models in order that various groups, big and small, become communities of disciples of Jesus inspired with a missionary spirit.

Here is a little test: A number of years ago I participated in an evangelization training program. After three days of class and group discussions, the members of the program were divided up into units of two. We were sent to a local mall and moved in different directions. It was directed by the leaders that we should respectfully approach individuals and attempt to share our personal faith with them; hoping that we learned some things that they taught us in our sessions. I have to admit that I was feeling a bit nervous and hesitant. I was with an older woman who had an outgoing personality. We both entered the section of the mall where there were seats for people to sit around. On one bench there was an older man sitting by himself. In a moment the well-intentioned woman went over to him and sat down beside him. She introduced herself and then launched into a series of questions about his faith. These questions were aimed at his specific denomination and his attendance and participation at church. I could sense that he was a little non-pulsed, after a few moments he turned to her and said, “ Lady, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, let’s just leave it at that! What model of church was my colleague coming from in her good intention to share her faith?

May We Pray!

Father, we experience a tremendous blessing from you in giving us the gift of you Son, Jesus. In your Word, Father you led your Son Jesus to found the Community of Believers call the Church. This gift to us is a great means for Salvation. It is in ecclesial communities in which we find great love of you and your Son. For those of us praying on the above reflection may we deeply appreciate the abundant graces which you bring about by the work of the Holy Spirit in all our Christian communities, where you are glorified and the name of your Son Jesus is know as our Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Filed Under: Evangelizing Catholic Culture Tagged With: Evangelization, Evangelizing, faith sharing, sharing Christ, Sharing Christian faith, sharing Jesus with others, Sharing your Christian faith, sharing your faith

Survival (Special Replay)

October 3, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Survival — Episode 3

When I think of the word survival I think of the term, “Survival of the fittest.” We survive life’s curves in different ways. We look at things during different lenses and I hope after the last podcast you are looking at your family roots with a focus on the positive. In this episode, we will look at the ways we survive with ideas on helping you cope, have hope and yes even have joy out of the process.

Before we get started … can you please share this podcast with a friend, and give me a star rating on your favorite podcast app – here we are in our third episode and I completely forgot to ask you previously. Amazing that I teach people to podcast and can’t follow a simple outline myself!

I believe we learn our survival skills as a kid. I know I did. Kids are resilient and I believe our survival stems from this very fact. Kids can bounce back from life changes so much easier than we can. When we get to be adults the silliest things set us off or throw us off like for me it was scheduling my kids — The things that drove me nuts was juggling the schedules of three kids that play sports all at the same time in different places, yet this didn’t faze my kids at all because they knew I’d figure it out.

Our kids survive life’s changes because they know we have their best interests in mind. The adults will take care of it – what happens when we become adults who handles it for us now?

As a kid, I moved from my loving home with my parents and grandmother to a home far away leaving my grandmother behind. It is a tragic story of family drama. My grandmother didn’t want us to leave but the extended family got in the way. Of course, they had her best interests in mind…yet it backfired.

I have no idea what my parents were thinking as they packed up a car, with a trailer and moved me and my two little brothers from Long Island, New York and all the way to Toronto Canada. Both are in heaven so I can’t even ask them.

I think my parents were fearless. Can you imagine packing up three kids and moving across the continent in a few days? I can’t. We are planners, aren’t we? We are worried about taking a vacation or even going on a day trip. I have friends who decided to sell their house and become full-time RV’ers and it took them three years to plan for this lifestyle change, and rightly so!

I was very upset with my parents and very young. I was entering the fourth grade when we moved and they took me out of public school and placed me in a very strict Catholic school. No, I didn’t have the mean nuns. Our nuns were nice and we even had regular teachers.

I knew my parents cared about me but it wasn’t my friends I was sad to leave; it was my grandmother. I didn’t even care that we went to Canada. It was a pretty awesome place to live especially if you liked snow and what kid didn’t.

My parents knew they could work hard and had an amazing skill set. They didn’t mind being self-employed and were not afraid to take any job to pay the bills. They also had a small nest egg, or I assume they did because we bought a house at the top of a horseshoe subdivision on a hill. My mother was a fabulous seamstress, a great cook yet her baking was by “eye” and it was either great or not. My father was a handyman and a seamstress. All self-taught. Canada was a blessing to my family, my parents did very well sewing custom clothing for a wealthy crowd. My mother and father made my clothes well into college.

In fact on the rare occasion that my mother took me shopping, she would turn the seams inside out first. Mom taught me that to determine how long the outside would last you had to look at the inside first. A good life lesson!

Three years later they did it again. This time I didn’t care about moving from Canada to Florida. Across the continent, we went! We drove around the town of Winter Haven, (My mother said anything that had heaven in the name had to be wonderful), until my parents found first a house they wanted to buy and then a business. A fried chicken place – I mean what else would an Italian family buy?

Seriously. I’m astounded. Of course, they quickly added Italian sides like spaghetti. Two pieces of chicken, a side of pasta and garlic bread. The combo platter. I created custom signs, I loved art and was a bit embarrassed that they traded out the fries for pasta, but the customers were delighted. They soon outgrew their little place – and when the pizza place owner next door forced the building owner to not renew their rental contract it was understandable.

My mother prayed and prayed for a solution. I remember her going to talk to the priest because the other owner was Catholic as well. My mother prayed for God’s will. Nothing worked until they looked across the street. Well, not exactly across but at 2:00 – over there. I’m pointing but you can’t see me! There it was. A stand-alone building in need of remodeling. Hmm, anyone know a handyman? They purchased the building and remodeled and business was wonderful. They grew so big my dad had to remodel again, later while I attended college.

My parents made friends with one of the owners of the major league baseball team, the Red Sox that use to train down the street and we had a stream of winter visitors and famous players at the restaurant.

One door was closed and another opened for them!

It was a life tragedy for my parents. They had to move their thriving business. How could they survive and provide for their family? Yet, God provided. Not only that but grew their business tremendously! And guess what? They could now offer pizza on the menu because there were no lease restrictions!

Where do you get that will – that determination – that drive to survive? It comes from need. The need begins when we are kids and then develops as we get older and into adulthood. The urge to eat, sleep and provide for our families is very real and I believe it is instilled in us, this survival instinct.

Where do you get your survival instincts from? Have you thought about it? Is it due to the example of your parents or is it from someone who you admire?

I think it also is based upon what we think is important.

Ask yourself these questions:

What has happened in the past to hone your survival skills?
How do you survive life tragedies?
What is your example in surviving in the midst of adversity?

I know what happened in my life – through moving I had to learn to let go, yet we are created to bond to others, our family or friends.

Filed Under: One More Child Podcast Tagged With: faith hope and life podcast, survival

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 9, Patti Mansfield

October 3, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 9, Patti Mansfield

Introduction to Magnificat® Proclaims

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims. In this episode, Patti Mansfield, a wife, mother, grandmother, speaker, writer, and teacher, shares her inspiring testimony of how she transformed her life by developing a personal relationship with the Lord and giving her fiat to do his will.

Patti Mansfield’s Journey and Testimony

Patti, who has been a part of Magnificat Ministry from its inception, was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1967 at the famous Duquesne Weekend, which marked the beginning of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. Since that time, Patti has traveled the world witnessing to the New Pentecost. She has authored several books and has over fifty teaching CDs.

Service to the Church and Global Ministry

Patti and her husband, Al, also an author and teacher, received the Papal Medal, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, for outstanding service to the Catholic Church. In 2006, spoke before 400,000 people in St. Peter’s Square when she was chosen to thank the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, on behalf of ecclesial movements and new communities. In June 2014, she was acknowledged by name by Pope Francis as being “one of the first to experience the Spirit in an intense way.”

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims.

The Podcast is a platform for inspiring testimonies that showcase God’s goodness, greatness, and grace in our lives. These testimonies not only inform and educate but also encourage and inspire us to develop, deepen, and cultivate our relationship with the Triune God. The show hosts are Monique Moussot and Maryann Ridini Spencer.

Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHARE Magnificat® Ministry’s Podcasts

How to Listen and Watch

Watch the video podcast of this episode on Magnificat Ministry’s YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/@MagnificatMinistry

Visit: Magnificat® A Ministry to Catholic Women website and peruse the Magnificat Proclaims books in the store: https://magnificat-ministry.org

LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS on The Ultimate Christian Podcast Network, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and other channels:

Magnificat® Proclaims: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry/

About Magnificat® Ministry

All Magnificat® Ministry Podcasts: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry

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Filed Under: Magnificat Ministry Podcast, Magnificat® Proclaims Tagged With: Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Catholic evangelization, Catholic faith stories, Catholic podcasts, Catholic women’s ministry, Christian testimonies, Magnifcat Ministry for Women, Magnificat Proclaims podcast, Patti Mansfield, Ultimate Christian Podcast Network, women’s ministry

Family Roots (Replay)

September 17, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Family Roots – Episode Two

Have you studied your family roots? We all have a history we are either proud of or want to shove back in the closet. In today’s episode, I’ll share how we can use our heritage to our advantage and bring healing out of situations that truthfully should make us cry!

In my book, One More Child I write what I believe to be a truth – “We don’t get to choose our parents, something my kids probably lament in private!” They did get a kick out of that line – when our kids are little they adore us and write us “I love you, mommy,” notes. When they get older we can be embarrassing or you hear the line, “Moooommmm” at the end of anything I ask.

My parents are now both deceased, and my life was not your average American kid story. While I was born into an Italian immigrant family in New York City, I had no idea I was different until I entered school.

Has that happened to any of you? Your background, morals, truths that were taught by your parents just were, because they said? Then you wake up to find out, wow, things are different out there.

I go into more details about my upbringing in my book, yet in this podcast, I want to focus on our roots.

What are your roots? Have you looked back, and I’m not talking about a DNA test or a family tree history. While those may be interesting it tells you the ancestry parts of your story but not the full picture. Your family tree doesn’t tell you what is important to you. It doesn’t tell you how your upbringing, your family, your parents or lack of good parental influence colors your life decisions. It doesn’t explain the hurt you feel.

Our roots have a way of explaining a lot. I want to challenge you to look back on your upbringing like I did, but not with sad eyes but with eyes that see the good. We didn’t have money growing up but I didn’t know it. We didn’t live in the best neighborhoods or eat the right food. We didn’t even have friends (or very few) outside of our family circle. My best friends were my two cousins, both guys, Sal and Joe. We grew up in the same apartment complex. When we played, we played together.

In fact, my mother was divorced, something that is forbidden in an Italian Catholic family. It wasn’t her choice. My father left. But it left a big hole in her life and you can imagine it had a rippling effect not only on me but our extended family.

Do loving people, who love the Lord get abandoned. Yes. Sometimes through no fault of their own. These things remain a mystery in families that won’t talk about the issues that bother them, they are swept under the carpet.

But if you ask me to describe my family to you and my upbringing I would say it was loving, loud, and after God family was the most important thing and it was happy. Can you do that? Look back upon your family with rose-colored glasses and see the good?

It is a matter of our survival to focus on the good, the happiness, the joy. Even if it is a relative, a neighbor, a teacher who brought you that joy. In curriculum series, I published I had a co-author, Jill. I loved Jill. She was a boisterous evangelical Christian and I was a cradle Catholic and we agreed to disagree on several faith-related discussions but not on the things that mattered the most of which we agreed, our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. She had a horrible relationship with her father, and when she found God she said she could not equate a loving God as a “Father” because her idea of the word Father was skewed. Yet, when she realized they were two separate entities and forgave her earthly father, she was able to move on and embrace the love and joy from her spiritual father.

That is true joy friend. When we can leave those icky things in our past behind and move forward. Maybe you are not at a place where you can do this – but you can. I have faith that you can. Maybe not this second but soon.

Here are some practical steps to get you started.

Look at your roots. What do you see?
If you see hardships, acknowledge those but look for the good.
If you are stuck on the icky stuff pray to God to forgive. Only through forgiveness – can we move on.
Future – look at the future with hope.
Let go! Joy comes from releasing things that are upsetting to God and letting go.

This is a ton of work to get you started and believe me it doesn’t happen overnight. It took me many years to grow in faith and that was a process and afterward, it took me another five years to write my book.

Why do we delay in letting things go, in allowing God to work in our lives? If you have the answer, please let me know! We all make mistakes and in the next episode, we will discuss survival – the way we regroup and survive difficult things.

Maybe you can’t do any of the five things I’ve listed. Fine. Make up your own list. If you are struggling and hurting there is only one way out and that is to look for the root cause.

A quick side note here. Taking responsibility. In my case, my distress was because of a decision I made, not lightly but along with my husband. I had to take responsibility and own it to move on.

Bad things happen to good people. And…

Good people do not need to let those bad things define them.

We are responsible for ourselves for our decisions and for our own feelings. If we allow ourselves to stay in a self-pity party for very long it begins to define us – we look at other people and see their lives as perfect. We begin to compare ourselves to others and guess what? We think we fall short – everyone else’s life is so much better than ours, right?

Wrong.

There is no perfect life. Believe me, I know. Just think of any friends you’ve gotten to know whose life you thought were perfect. I usually walk away happy that is not my life and thanking God that He has given me what I can handle with His help!

Can you do it? Can you look at your roots, your past and not allow it to define who you are?

Yes, I’m Italian. Yes, I grew up in a faith-filled Catholic family but we were more cafeteria Catholic that true Catholic – selecting and choosing what we wanted to follow. Yes, I watched as my family practice the fine art of guilt – making others feel guilty when they didn’t want to visit or eat the food prepared. It was subtle but oh so effective technique – and the drama! There was always drama.

I let these roots define me for way too long! Take the good, get rid of the bad. Learn from past mistakes. I’m not into guilt or drama. But it was a process. When my parents retired in a community thirty minutes away, I would feel guilty if I was within ten miles of my parent’s home and didn’t go to visit. Even after my mother died I began to fill guilt that I hadn’t visited enough. Why didn’t I go see her more? My husband reminded me of all the times we visited all the meals, of all the family celebrations. My parents actually baked homemade pizza for lunch and brought it fresh and hot to my house for the kids. Retirement was an extension of the Italian Restaurant they owned in Winter Haven, Florida. They just changed the menu and fed the neighbors and family that lived nearby.

When my cousin wanted to take his wife on a getaway (the same cousin whose mother, my aunt lived in their home and his wife made welcoming) and he wanted to visit my area in Florida I told him that while I’d love to see him – this was a surprise for his wife who lived near family and it was okay—he didn’t need to come to visit. Needless to say, he was delighted and shocked.

In the past, there would have been all types of drama told about being so close and not coming over for dinner. Every. Night.

Growing up anyone who walked into our house was greeted with the same words. Hello. Welcome. And, you look hungry. How do you look hungry?!

Friends, let it go. If you come to my house I’ll say, “Hello, welcome,” and then proceed to forget to offer you even a glass of water. The glasses are in the drawer near the water cooler help yourself!

Please connect with me on social media, I want to meet you, and for us to get to know each other. The information and details are on the podcast page at One More Child Podcast.com – or if you are not on social media please share your comments and questions with me at Felice@MediaAngels.com.

I pray God’s blessings upon you and your family. Until next we meet

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Spoiler Alert! God Wins (Special Replay)

September 15, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

We live in a divided world, where right is wrong and wrong is right, but the good news? God wins! This podcast focuses on the ultimate reality in our lives: God reigns now and forever.

God Wins ~ Now and Forever ~ Episode 321

The Issues That Divide Us

The issues that plagued our country were and are truly diabolical. Each one of us knows them and we are astounded that this is the world in which we live. Yet God knows. He has delivered us at this point of time, but we must always put our trust in Him and not in man! Somehow, we can see the evil where others are blinded. As one young adult told me recently, “No one believes the news on television.” That wisdom.

Yet, what does wisdom teach us? It teaches us the truth, and it teaches us God’s sovereignty. Our God is a God of order; He is not a God of chaos. There are things that are clear. There are other things that are not, yet God has given us the ability to make up our own mind and act upon it. Yet, are we willing to accept the consequences?

God is indeed control of our lives, but God gives us:

The leader we deserve
God gives us free will
God allows people of ill intent to cheat

Therefore, not voting is becoming complacent in a way, and that is not my teaching; it actually comes from Fr. Rippenger, an exorcist priest. He says we must choose the less of two evils. Why am I discussing this after an election and not before? No matter when you hear this, you are responsible for your own choices, and how those choices affect you (and me) is often overlooked. The prayers and sacrifices of the Christian people I aligned within my own state of Florida managed to overturn very detrimental amendments to our constitution. I am still in total shock they did not pass, and I praise God for this blessing.

God is victorious. God wins – God always wins, yet we must do our part.

We must pray, we must fast, and we must hold those truths of faith in our hearts. I’m going to read you a portion of Romans 8. I normally quote Romans 8:28 this is one of my favorite verses, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

That is you and me, yes, but while God works out things for good, we might not like the trial and tribulation (for our own good) that we must go through. It is echoed in Romans 8:31-32 …If God is for us, who can be against us?He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

For our salvation God sent His only begotten Son John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For our salvation, for our sake, for us. Do we cherish this? Do we praise God on a daily basis? Do we say, “Oh my gosh I can not praise and thank-you enough?” Do we truly understand the concept of God wins?

Romans 8:31-39 (read on air).

Amen and Amen! But, friends, what will you do with this information? How will you handle the truth? In what way will you go forth from today onward? We must look within our hearts and pray daily for a growth in our faith and for a true longing for wisdom that only God can bring.

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Why Parish Life Matters: Finding Strength in Catholic Community

September 11, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Have you ever felt like you’re walking through your faith journey alone? Many Catholics wrestle with that feeling—especially in a world that doesn’t always understand or support our beliefs. But the truth is, God never intended for us to live our faith in isolation. From the earliest days of the Church, community has been at the heart of Catholic life.

Parish Life is More Than Sunday Mass

It’s easy to think of a parish as just the place we go for Sunday obligation. But your parish is much more—it’s the living Body of Christ in your neighborhood. It’s where we come together for the sacraments, yes, but also where we find encouragement, accountability, and belonging.

Why Community Matters

Spiritual Support: When life gets hard, parish friends can lift us in prayer and remind us of God’s presence.
Faith Formation: Bible studies, catechesis, and parish events help us grow in understanding and love of God.
Service Opportunities: A parish connects us with chances to serve the poor, volunteer, and live out our faith in action.

The Domestic Church Needs the Parish

Our homes are the “domestic church,” but the parish is where those homes come together. When families gather at Mass, share meals, or celebrate feast days, we strengthen our identity as Catholics and pass the faith on to the next generation.

Take the Next Step

If parish life has felt distant, September is the perfect month to reconnect. Many ministries, Bible studies, and faith formation programs begin in the fall. Ask the Holy Spirit where He is calling you to plug in.

Because in the Catholic faith, we don’t walk alone—we walk together, as the Body of Christ.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Catholic community, Catholic faith community, Catholic parish, importance of parish life, living Catholic faith, parish life Catholic, parish ministries

Mary Mother of Jesus (Special Replay)

September 8, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Mary Mother of Jesus – Episode 97

Mary, Mother of Jesus is known throughout humanity, nations and time. We can learn so much from her! Most Christians know her name and read about her in the Bible. She receives a staring role in the New Testament that begins with humble roots, becomes elevated by her, “Yes,” to the Angel, Gabrielle – the spokesperson for Almighty God and culminates in the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Why are we discussing Mary – as I record this it isn’t anywhere near Christmas when people consider Mary’s part in redemption history as they set out a Nativity scene perhaps to commemorate the birth of Christ. Yet, I believe that Mary is more than that and we need to take a closer look. She is a kindred spirit. She suffered as we suffer, she felt compassion, loved, trusted God and she is our example.

Mary is known by many names, she is known as Mary Mother of Jesus, she is known as the Virgin Mary, as Theotokos in Greek -Mary Mother of Jesus or in Easter Christianity and the Latin translation is Mother of God or God’bearer

Yet, while the Bible talks so little of Mary. We know her by her attributes:

She was a willing servant
She trusted God
Mary Obeyed God’s call
Mary had great suffering in her life

Can you imagine being a poor girl and learning that you were chosen by God for a great task? As a young Jewish girl, Mary must have learned as all the children did that they were awaiting a Messiah, a Savior to free them from Roman rule. She learned the Old Testament and she must have known about Isaiah and the prediction that a young virgin would bear a son, and he would be named Emmanuel which means God with us. Read all of Isiah 7 but the verse I will read to you is at follows and begins in verse 10-15

Emmanuel – God is With Us: Isiah 7: 10-15

When Mary was approached by the angel she didn’t say – “I’m sorry you’ve got the wrong person, didn’t you take a wrong turn at a castle somewhere?” No – she said, “Let it be done to me according to your Word.” She said yes.

How often do we feel like God asks us to do something and we are conflicted. As I’ve shared with you its happened to me often. Yet, Mary was from a poor and humble family. Luke 1:38

The Infancy Narrative is in the Scriptures and you can read the entire verses in Luke 1:1-50 read this in your Bible and think about the words and what they mean. How can you apply this to your life? Luke 1:26-45 especially announces the birth of Jesus to Mary by the angel Gabriel. He was sent by God, and Mary humble servant said, “Yes.” She then visited her cousin Elizabeth. She was unselfish. And the visit turned out to be a blessing when Elizabeth greeted Mary. “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:42)

Mary Filled with the Holy Spirit:

Responded with, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” Luke 1:46-47 Mary needed a Savior, and her son was the Savior.

For many of us these verses are so familiar and if they are not for you – go back and revisit them, take your time, journal about them. While they are often read around Christmastime, it is so important we take time now to study them now.

God sent His Son for us – and God picked a humble lady.

Now, Joseph’s lineage we read is from the house of David with a direct lineage to Abraham, this is very important and not the topic of today’s podcast. However, know that because of prophecy and the fulfillment of prophecy

First known miracle -wedding feast of Cana – do what he tells you.
Mary reminds us that Jesus serves our needs – but we must be obedient to Him.

She was present in the days before Pentecost and she was there at the foot of the cross

A woman of great courage and self-giving – went to visit Elizabeth to help her!

Isaiah 7:14 speaks of the Virgin Mother of Emmanuel

“Virgin-Mother of Emmanuel”: “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel.”

Emmanuel means God with us

The child – Jesus, would be a

Luke 1:46-49 – My soul magnifies the Lord …

Greatest of all saints – chosen by God, prepared by God to be the mother of his son – His divinity at the Council of Nicea was determined by defining his mother. Was Jesus half man and half God – God his human form from May and his Divinity from God or was he fully man and God – all as one?

Mary was called Mother of God

Mary was immaculate by an act of God at the time she was conceived so that she would be sinless and therefore a worthy vessel

God gave Mary so many wonderful attributes of Grace
She is the symbol of hope, obedience, and pointing us constantly to her son – do what he tells you. Her life is a witness to the Glory of Jesus

Is Mary Mother of Jesus a Kindred Spirit?

Image Attribution:
Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato – http://www.bridgemanartondemand.com/art/104827/The_Madonna_in_Sorrow

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Mary, Mary Mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary

Overcoming Common Prayer Struggles

September 4, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever sat down to pray and found yourself distracted, dry, or just plain tired, you’re not alone. Every Catholic—saints included—faces struggles in prayer. The key is not to give up but to learn how to walk through the obstacles with God’s help.

1. Distraction

Our minds wander constantly. One moment you’re praying the Our Father, and the next you’re thinking about dinner. Instead of getting frustrated, gently bring your mind back to God. You can also keep a journal nearby to jot down distracting thoughts and set them aside.

2. Dryness

Sometimes prayer feels like talking to a brick wall. St. Teresa of Calcutta experienced decades of dryness, yet she remained faithful. Dry seasons teach us that prayer is not about feelings—it’s about faithfulness. Keep showing up, even when it feels empty.

3. Busyness

We often say, “I don’t have time to pray.” In reality, prayer creates space in our hearts that makes everything else more manageable. Start with short prayers throughout the day—while driving, folding laundry, or waiting in line.

4. Feeling Unworthy

Some people hesitate to pray because they feel unworthy of God’s attention. But the truth is, God delights in you. Hebrews 4:16 invites us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence.” Prayer is where we bring our brokenness, not hide it.

5. Expecting Instant Results

Prayer is not a vending machine. Sometimes God answers with silence, delays, or “no.” Trust that His timing is better than ours, and allow prayer to form you even when answers aren’t immediate.

Takeaway: Prayer struggles are normal. Don’t see them as failure but as opportunities to deepen your relationship with God. Keep showing up—He always does.

Podcast Episodes on Prayer

Prayer Time – Overcoming Distractions

Frequent Personal Prayer Time

Finding Joy in Tough Times ~ New Hope, New Direction & Blessing Prayers ~ Ruth #3

Why Daily Prayer is the Foundation of Catholic Life

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Catholic encouragement, Catholic faith growth, Catholic prayer help, distracted in prayer, prayer life challenges, spiritual dryness, struggles with prayer

How to Start (and Stick With) a Daily Prayer Routine

August 28, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Do you ever sit down to pray only to realize five minutes later that your mind has wandered—or that you never even started? If so, you’re not alone. Many Catholics want to pray daily but struggle to make it part of their real-life routine. The good news is that with a few small adjustments, daily prayer can become natural, life-giving, and consistent.

1. Start Small

Don’t pressure yourself to spend an hour in prayer right away. Begin with just two minutes in the morning or evening. Offer a simple prayer like, “Jesus, I give this day to You.” Over time, you can expand as the habit grows.

2. Anchor Prayer to Habits You Already Have

One of the easiest ways to stay consistent is to connect prayer to something you already do daily:

Pray while your coffee brews
Say a Hail Mary when you buckle your seatbelt
Offer a quick prayer before bed

These “anchors” turn prayer into part of your natural rhythm.

3. Use Tools that Help You Focus

Keep a Rosary in your pocket, a prayer card on your nightstand, or use an app like iBreviary or Hallow. These gentle reminders can keep your heart focused on God.

4. Give Yourself Grace

Some days you’ll forget. Other days will feel dry. That doesn’t mean you failed—it just means you’re human. God rejoices in every effort you make to turn toward Him.

5. Remember the Goal

Daily prayer isn’t about checking a box. It’s about cultivating a relationship. Like any friendship, it grows through consistency, honesty, and time spent together.

Takeaway: Start small. Anchor prayer to your daily life. Keep tools close. And remember—it’s not about perfection, it’s about connection with God.

Podcasts on Prayer Time

How to Plan Your Prayer Time

Prayer Time Ideas

Overcoming Distractions

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Catholic faith life, Catholic prayer routine, daily Catholic prayer, how to pray daily, prayer habit, prayer tips, spiritual growth Catholic

Why Daily Prayer is the Foundation of Catholic Life

August 21, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Do you ever feel like your faith life is “missing something”? You go to Mass on Sunday, maybe even volunteer at your parish, but deep inside there’s a longing for something more. The truth is, without daily prayer, our faith risks becoming just a routine instead of a relationship.

Why Prayer Matters So Much

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: “Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment” (CCC 2697). In other words, prayer isn’t a box to check—it’s the very breath of our spiritual lives. Just as our bodies can’t survive without air, our souls can’t thrive without prayer.

Prayer is where we:

Encounter God personally
Receive strength for daily struggles
Grow in trust and love for Him

It’s not about saying the “right words.” It’s about showing up before the Father with an open heart.

Starting Small is Enough

If daily prayer feels intimidating, start small. A simple “Thank You, Lord” when you wake up. A quick “Jesus, I trust in You” before a hard meeting. God isn’t waiting for perfection—He’s waiting for you.

A Foundation You Can Build On

Daily prayer becomes the anchor for everything else: the way we love our families, the way we handle challenges, even the way we see the world. When we root ourselves in prayer, we begin to live the Catholic faith not just on Sundays, but every single day.

So ask yourself today: Where can I carve out even two minutes to speak with God? That small step can become the start of a lifelong foundation.

Podcast Episodes on the Prayer Life

Answered Prayer Through Journaling (A Few Minutes with God podcast)

How to Plan Your Prayer Time (A Few Minutes with God podcast)

Power Focused Prayer (A Few Minutes with God podcast)

Microprayers (A Few Minutes with God podcast)

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Catholic Faith, Catholic prayer, Catholic teaching, daily prayer Catholic, foundation of prayer, prayer life, Spiritual Growth

Answered Prayer Through Journaling (Special Replay)

August 18, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Answered Prayer Through Journaling?

Episode 24

Magnificat® Proclaims Ep 7 – Testimony of Jan Tate: Living the Call of Catholic Marriage

August 1, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 7 – Jan Tate

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims. In this episode, Jan shares how the Lord has enabled her to serve Him by combining her two great passions in life: her Catholic faith and her Sacramental call to Matrimony.

A native of New Orleans, Jan graduated with honors from Loyola University with a degree in Communications. She has been married to Lloyd Tate for 53 years. They have five children and 18 grandchildren.

Growing up in a loving Catholic home, Jan’s parents were role models, instigating Jan’s desire to emulate a life dedicated to faith and marriage. Jan praises the Lord for continually placing people and events in her path to ignite this passion for faith and marriage. She discusses how we must confront and “heal” negative patterns and beliefs and how human chords—living as part of the Body of Christ—are essential; we all need one another to make “God come alive” daily.

Jan is a trained spiritual director on the Archdiocese of New Orleans staff. She and her husband, who are authors of the In-Home Marriage Preparation manual used by dioceses and Catholic parishes, preach and hold couples’ retreats to prepare engaged couples for marriage in the Church.

Magnificat® Proclaims is a platform for inspiring testimonies that showcase God’s goodness, greatness, and grace in our lives. These testimonies not only inform and educate but also encourage and inspire us to develop, deepen, and cultivate our relationship with the Triune God. The show hosts are Monique Moussot and Maryann Ridini Spencer.

Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHARE Magnificat® Ministry’s Podcasts
Watch the video podcast of this episode on Magnificat Ministry’s YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/@MagnificatMinistry
Visit Magnificat® – A Ministry to Catholic Women, and explore the Magnificat Proclaims books:
https://magnificat-ministry.org
Listen on Ultimate Christian Podcast Network, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and more:
https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry/

About Magnificat® Ministry

Founded in 1981, Magnificat®, A Ministry to Catholic Women—an international nonprofit with over 70 chapters worldwide—exists to evangelize and encourage Catholic women to grow in holiness through opening more fully to the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. “My Soul Magnifies the Lord,” recorded in Luke 1:46, is the beginning of Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s joyful greeting. The entire scene of the Visitation is the inspiration for this Ministry.

Through quarterly gatherings that include a Chapter Meal, praise and worship, guest speakers proclaiming how God has transformed their lives, and other faith-sharing experiences in a relaxed social setting, women (and men) are inspired and encouraged to grow in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Visit: https://magnificat-ministry.org

All Magnificat® Ministry Podcasts: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry

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Filed Under: Magnificat Ministry Podcast, Magnificat® Proclaims Tagged With: Catholic marriage, Catholic podcast, Catholic Testimony, Catholic women, faith and family, In-Home Marriage Preparation, Jan Tate, Magnificat Ministry, Magnificat Proclaims, marriage ministry, marriage retreat, spiritual director, Ultimate Christian Podcast Network

Christian Example

July 28, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Christian Example ~ 272

What is a good Christian example? We can point to the saints, people like Mother Teresa and others. But, truly we can be an example to others by asking the Lord for His grace and His help.

Sponsored By: CTCMath.com a curriculum for students grades K-12 with online tutorials and help. Visit the website for more information.

Sadly, we, as Christians as a whole, are not the best examples of how to live. The promises of the gospel message show others, especially those who are suffering, that there is faith, hope, love, and compassion from the Lord.

God gives us many examples through the scriptures of how he expects us, his people, to act, and we fall short. Sometimes we fall short by word, sometimes by deed, and most of the time, just because we’re too lazy to do what is right truthfully, sometimes we can be so hard on ourselves or as one of our pastors says we have Christian scrupulosity. We care more for the letter of the law rather than the law itself. When we read the scriptures, we see it plainly, and yet how many of us take it to heart I know I’m guilty of this myself.

In Luke 7:31-35 we read, (on air).

Now, if we read the gospel of Luke Chapter 7, we will see before this happened, Jesus had been very busy. He was curing many who had diseases and sicknesses and casting out evil spirits. He gave sight to the blind and cured those who had leprosy. Those who were lame walked, but yet Jesus was reprimanding the people because even though they saw these miracles, they were not ready to change their lives

As Christians, we know the end of the story. We know what it is we should do God had compassion on those, and on those who were suffering, he brought people back to life. This is an example to us today of the gift that God gives us as Christians. We have the opportunity for everlasting life with him, so how are we going to be an example as Christians? How are we going to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to the Lord?

I can give you a list, of five or ten things you can do. But, my list might not be the one that is right for you. And, in doing this good thing, being a Christian example, it can cause us to be boastful, or to congratulate ourselves that we are not like those sinners over there. Friends, we must be cautious.

I did a podcast sometime back that I titled Judgmental Christians, and I’ll put a show a link I’ll put a link in the show notes. (Tell the story on air)

To summarize the other podcast, I explained how I should live my life according to the gospels I should improve my life, and I needed to forgive those who hurt me and ask forgiveness for those I had hurt. Friends, we are all flawed! It is difficult to show an example of Christianity to others when we are hurting, and as my mother used to say we need to get our own house in order before we can try to fix the houses of others

In giving others an example of what it means to be a Christian, we are following the example Christ gave us. However, when we pray, when we give alms, we do this because we should out of obedience, it is a free-will decision

Being a Christian is a free-will decision, and acting like one means we show others humility, love, and compassion, especially if they are hurting and especially if they feel rejected by others. When Jesus walked the earth, he called his disciples, I love the phrase “Come follow me” This is an example of what it means to follow and to be called by God.

But we know we are all called by God, the Scriptures tell us, He has called us by name…(Isaiah 43:1). Knowing someone’s name held great importance in Biblical times and even today. Aren’t you happy when you remember someone’s name or they remember yours? The significance is import. Even more, God knows the “number of hairs on my head– And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30.

In Matthew 9:9-13 we read (on air).

Wow! God is calling us; he is calling all of us. Not the perfect, not the ones that have it all together, but us. The sinners.

As a Christian, our example may be flawed, but it is at least an attempt, not at perfect but of example. All of these things show us that there is a right and a wrong way to act, but one thing we know, we should not be judgemental like the Pharisees.

Think about everyday life, driving in traffic trying to find a parking spot or maybe returning something at a store when the clerk is very frustrating. We can use these everyday opportunities to say thank you or some other greeting that is welcoming. Or, “I appreciate the excellent job you have done or appreciate how hard you’re working if they haven’t done an excellent job.” You know what I mean.

Sometimes it only costs us a few minutes of our time, and sometimes it costs us much more. It is a sacrifice, and that is a small price to pay. If we can all show just a little bit of grace to others because God has given us grace, we should. Jesus asks us to follow him. It is not a call we should take lightly. It is those baby steps that take us closer to Christ.

Let’s all pray and ask the good Lord to give us the grace we need to be a Christian example because only by his gift of love and grace can we possibly show others just a tiny bit of the goodness of God. My friends rejoice and are glad because he is there for us not just today but every day, and I just pray that this week your challenge will be, can you guess it that’s right, to be a Christian example to either yourself or to others in your life and beyond take care and may the Lord bless you today and always.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God

Keeping God’s Word (Replay)

July 21, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Keeping God’s Word ~ Episode 254

How can we keep God’s word close to us? In this podcast, we explore ancient traditions still practiced by those of the Orthodox Jewish faith today and how we can learn from these practices.

Thanks to our sponsor CTC Math and the curriculum receiving rave reviews. Check out the sponsor of this week’s episode.

When reading the Bible, we often hear of the Lord saying over and over again, especially to the Israelites, to keep his WORD next to their hearts and never to forget what the Lord has done for us. The Israelites were taken out of bondage as slaves, yet they had much to learn as they wandered in the desert. And, if you read Exodus and Numbers, you will find they were an ungrateful nation!

We would like to think we would be different, but as we both know, that is impossible without God’s grace. As we live our lives, we do not want to be forgotten. We want to leave a legacy for our family. When people talk about us, we want it to be with fondness and consideration. You can think about this for a moment. What is an accomplishment you do not want to forget or want others to forget?

Throughout salvation history, God has and continues to save His people. It was clear when he took the Israelites to the promised land. The Jewish culture still remembers this and keeps a sign of God’s word on their doorposts, sometimes even in their homes. I was fascinated when reading about the Mezuzah, [MA-ZOO-ZA ], and I looked it up. The word itself means doorposts. It is a small scroll with a piece of parchment paper handwritten by an expert scribe. Some are very basic, and others are quite elaborate. On the outside are Hebrew letters. The Mezuzah is believed to be an extra spiritual protection to the family that places one at the door. When the Jewish person enters or exits their home, they kiss their fingers and then place them on the mezuzah and recite – May God keep my going out and my coming in from now on and ever more – which is from Psalm 12:18

The foundational text of the Holy Scriptures – Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 begins with Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, and the Lord is One. This is the command that God gave the Israelites. “And you shall write these words upon the doorposts of your house and upon your city gates.”

It is a beautiful verse; let me read it in its entirety. (read on air) Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Why don’t we, as Christians, have these on our doorposts? Why are we not continuing this tradition? Well, one of the reasons is Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Old Testament, yet, the Old Testament has many things we ascribe to – for example, teaching our Children diligently, putting the words of God in our hearts, and more. We have Bibles in our homes, often multiple Bibles. I have two different apps on my phone where I can read scripture. In reading the Bible, we consider and ponder the words and place them in our hearts, both the Old and New Testaments.

Think about your home, car, apparel, and maybe even a religious symbol like a cross. These are outward reminders of our faith. The Bible verse plaques in my home or on the doors to our bedroom. Where do you see signs of God’s word in your home?

I love the idea of a mezuzah, and I believe we must never forget; we take so much for granted as Christians. Consider how you can improve on your faith journey and keep God’s Word in your heart. What can you do?

We read in Psalms 119:105-106

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.

By our Baptism, we have been made sons and daughters of God; He is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:4-6 we read (read on air). Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

At times in our lives, when we are lost, and we, like Thomas, do not know where we are going, we can remember this passage. Through Jesus is everlasting life. While God took the Israelites out of bondage and slavery physically and spiritually, the same applies to us today. With our faith in Christ, he takes us out of slavery from sin and into the life everlasting. We must follow that path less traveled, but it is lit with the true light of righteousness.

We may believe that the Old Testament is obsolete and it does not apply to us today. We think it is written for a people long ago. It does apply to us today because, just like any history lesson, if we do not learn from past sins, the sins of our forefathers, we will continue to make the same mistakes. The sins of Adam and Eve, of Moses being a humble servant but in his anger hitting the rock twice and not setting foot in the promised land, in countless events during the time in the desert. Making an idol to worship while Moses was speaking with God for direction for the people. Why go back into sin and slavery when you left it behind?

Because we are stubborn people, we want what we want. We think what we do is not “that bad,” especially if we compare ourselves to others. Friends, I am sure there is some truth to that, but shouldn’t we strive to do the best we can each day? To keep God’s word in our hearts and yearn for time with Him. Our relationships hinge on our relationship with God first. Everything else will fall into place!

This week, consider all the ways you can keep God’s word in your hearts and mind.

I pray that you are reminded of all God has done for you and that you continue to put God’s Word in your heart and never forget! May God be praised, now and forever!

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Bible Study, Christian living, Christian parenting, Deuteronomy 6, Family discipleship, Homeschool faith formation, keeping God's word, Mezuzah, New Testament fulfillment, Old Testament insights, Orthodox Jewish traditions, Psalm 119, Scripture memorization, Spiritual Growth

Special Replay: How To Plan Your Prayer Time

July 14, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

How To Plan Your Prayer Time #4

with Felice Gerwitz

Talking to the Lord

Whether you are happy OR upset – bring that to the Lord – either way begin by praising HIM – use Scriptures such as … or you can use extemporaneous prayer – You are the Lord of Lords, you are the Almighty, the King of Kings – I praise you and I thank you, I thank you Lord for _____
If you are a singer – sing! Praise God in song… allow yourself to think about the words – singing allows us to get into the presence of God –it lifts us…brings us joy.
If you are not a singer – proclaim and praise God longer… don’t go to the Scriptures right now… If you want to proclaim certain scriptures get those out ahead of time and write them out – read from a journal rather than the Bible – right now our focus is to allow our minds to calm down and be in a place where we can pray and be still before the Lord – we want to listen but first we need to unload our baggage all the things on our mind – any emotions whether it is fear, anger, hatred – when do we stop? When we feel hope – joy – forgiveness – calm.
Ask the Lord to come into your heart. If you have a prayer request you can ask it – if you just want to spend time with the Lord and be available to Him – just be still, close your eyes and listen.
Give Him time – don’t expect anything – but you will be blessed whether you hear anything or not!!

Journal what you thought during your quiet time – is it random or is it specific? If it is confusing or chaotic – take it to the Lord – ask him for clarity. Typically, random or chaotic thoughts are not from the Lord unless it makes sense to you!

The Lord doesn’t bring us guilt or make us feel bad – I so love that!! God is a good God – He gives us HOPE

NOW pull out your Bible – read through a passage or two that maybe came to mind during your quiet time, or perhaps something is drawing you to read a specific page.
Journal if you want to add these passages.
No end with praise and worship again – thank the Lord.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: A Few Minutes With God Podcast, Bible Journaling, Catholic devotion, Christian podcast episode, Christian prayer habits, CTC Math sponsor, daily quiet time, family prayer routine, Felice Gerwitz, homeschool moms faith, how to pray effectively, prayer journaling, prayer time planning, quiet time with God, spiritual growth tips, time with God

God’s Love is Sufficient (Replay)

July 7, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

God’s Love Is Sufficient – Episode 182

Uncertainty surrounds our lives yet with God we know that His love is sufficient for all of our needs. In this podcast, learn how you can live a life that is free from worry, stress, and anger.

Thanks to our sponsor CTCMath for all of your children’s (grandchildren or friends and neighbors) math needs. Check out CTCMath.com for more information.

If you know your scriptures you are probably thinking – why is she talking about God’s love being sufficient when the scriptures say, my grace is sufficient: Read: 2 Corinthians 12:9

God’s grace is his love and his forgiveness – it is empowerment by the Holy Spirit that makes us strong in, as the scriptures say our time of weakness. Seriously God’s grace and love is sufficient? Really? When are we weak? When are we scared? When we have infirmities – illnesses?

God’s Love IS Sufficient

No one thinks their life is ideal. But if I asked you to take some time to design your ideal life what would be included? Would it be a house on the beach, listening to the waves crashing on the seashore? Or would it be a mountain retreat? What about an unlimited bank fund or maybe good health and happiness in your family? Each of our lists would be very, very long. But for most one of the missing elements is a relationship with God. Our ideal life surrounds our health and welfare, our temporal or temporary needs. We are often more interested in taking care of today, the right now rather than the forever.

We hold on tight to the things that don’t matter in the end.

An ideal life is free from worry, stress, anger, and heartache, to be free from illness … and the only way for this to happen is to have confidence in Almighty God. A stress-free – worry-free life is almost unimaginable. In fact, it is a difficult concept to grasp. Yet God’s love is all we need to live a life that is fulfilling.

This may be again, easier said than done. God is the God of Creation – He is after all the Creator God. Before original sin our lives would have been more astounding than our greatest dreams. One of the things that our first parents shared with the Creator was the gift of communication with Him. Communication is a form of relationship – communion is beyond speech, it is beyond what we can explain with words. This is what was recovered by the life – the example Christ gave to us, His death for redemption and the resurrection. The miracle. God is the only one who can restore us. This communion with God takes us to a level where we can let go of the things of this world. As a Catholic, I believe Holy Communion is the key because it is healing.

Recently we had a medical scare concerning my husband. We thought he might need surgery on his back – the neck region… and we know how back surgery can be – it can be great or the worse nightmares can happen. Well after months and months of tests, MRI, more scans, and even some he still has to go to later this month, we are at peace. The neuro-surgeon basically said my husband had a major issue but that his body had repaired itself, and the vertebrae he would have had to fuse in surgery was already done for him! What a miracle! What a gift from God.

It also turned out – which shows God’s sense of humor, that the surgeon and I chatted about his hometown which is also my hometown (I’m one of these people who read a doctor’s bio on their website), and it turns out he knew me, and I was his teacher in the 4^th grade when I was a college student and student-teaching in his classroom. Of course, I was blown away, and we laughed about the chances of meeting up again.

God is amazing and in this life, we can either praise God for all things – those we are scared and uncertain about and those things that are truly happy and amazing blessings in our life. God cares in everything we do even if we think that only bad things happen.

We are called to love God and realize that His grace and His love are all we need, but without a relationship, we cannot love someone we do not know. How do we know someone? We communicate with each other. Some may feel speaking to God is a one-way street. We talk, He listens. We hear nothing back. This takes practice and it takes the Holy Spirit. Have you availed yourself to the Holy Spirit? I attended what is called a Life in the Spirit Seminar in the 1990s and this changed my life. Here I learned that God not only wanted a personal relationship with me but that He wanted to pour His Spirit into my life in a way that I could experience, more fully what it means to be a Christian. People talk about finding faith and the honeymoon period. That is a period when they can’t get enough of reading the Bible or spending time in prayer or just meditating on the goodness of the Lord. They are so excited to share their faith and everything that God has done in their life with anyone – and I mean anyone who will listen.

The Holy Spirit allows Scriptures to become alive. When we read about Jesus healing the Lepers we think about this in terms of being there on the side roads and watching this take place. We feel the elation of those healed and we want to shout from the rooftops – God is a God of miracles. Everything else pales by comparison. We also realize that the things of this world are fleeting.

Sure we need money to live, to buy food, to pay for our bills – but that is not enough for most. Everyone has big dreams that include bigger homes, cars, and vacations, and a bigger, deeper relationship with the Lord is not necessarily high up on the list.

No wonder we are depressed, defeated, and feeling like no one cares or listens to what we have to say. So what can we do? Put aside all of our world aspirations – of course not, but maybe intersperse them with other goals and focuses.

First, when you read Scripture always pray to the Holy Spirit for the gift of knowledge, and ask that the Lord allows you to see the parts that really speak to you. Our lives have a way of refining all of the impurities and all of the things we need to release, but our strength is in that grace from God and that Knowledge that God’s love is all we need.

Let’s Pray – Dear Lord we thank you for all of the miracles in our lives for those things we see and for all of those things that are unseen. I praise you for the grace you give us and that is indeed sufficient and I thank you for the love you give for that is sufficient as well. I ask you Lord to bless those I pray for now and provide for all of their needs.. and I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: 2 Corinthians 12:9, Catholic perspective, Christian Encouragement, Christian Podcast, CTCMath, faith over fear, faith stories, God's Love Is Sufficient, Grace of God, healing testimony, Holy Spirit empowerment, miracles, prayer life, stress-free living, Ultimate Christian Podcast Network

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 6, Marilyn Quirk

July 4, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims

Episode 6 – Marilyn Quirk

“The Mighty One Has Done Great Things for Me”

In this episode, Marilyn Quirk, the Founding Coordinator of Magnificat and Coordinator Emeritus of Magnificat’s Central Service Team, shares how “the Mighty One has done great things” for her and how she was led to found the international Magnificat Ministry while raising a family of six with her husband, Peter.

About Our Guest

While studying to become an Episcopal medical missionary in 1958, Marilyn converted to Catholicism.
Since 1970, she has been active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, serving on the Southern Regional Conference Steering Committee and the National Service Committee.
Marilyn and Peter have six children and thirteen grandchildren and are members of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and Legatus.
On January 29, 2000, St. John Paul II honored Marilyn with the Pontifical award Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for her faithful “Yes” (Fiat) to nurture and grow the Magnificat Ministry.

Listen & Watch

Listen on the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and other platforms:
https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry/
Watch the video podcast on Magnificat Ministry’s YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/@MagnificatMinistry

Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHARE Magnificat® Ministry’s podcasts!

About Magnificat® Proclaims Podcast

Magnificat® Proclaims is a platform for inspiring testimonies that showcase God’s goodness, greatness, and grace in our lives. These stories both inform and encourage listeners to deepen their relationship with the Triune God. Hosts Monique Moussot and Maryann Ridini Spencer welcome you to grow in faith through every episode.

Explore More from Magnificat® Ministry

Founded in 1981, Magnificat®, A Ministry to Catholic Women now includes over 70 Chapters worldwide. Through quarterly gatherings—featuring meals, praise & worship, powerful testimonies, and fellowship—the ministry inspires women (and men) to open themselves fully to the Holy Spirit.

Visit the website for event information, Magnificat Proclaims books, and more:
https://magnificat-ministry.org

All Magnificat® Ministry podcasts are available here:
https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry

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Filed Under: Magnificat Ministry Podcast, Magnificat® Proclaims Tagged With: Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Catholic Testimony, Catholic women, Evangelization, faith stories, Magnificat Ministry, Magnificat Proclaims, Marilyn Quirk, podcast episode, Ultimate Christian Podcast Network

Overwhelmed – Find God! (Replay)

June 30, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Overwhelmed? Find God!

Episode 18

Overwhelmed, find God! When you are overwhelmed that is the perfect time to find God. In this episode, I’ll discuss how you can find God even when you are under pressure, busy or overwhelmed by life. It is the perfect way to get refreshed in a hurry and continue on with your schedule. This sure-fire way has been my go-to for years, and when I actually *remember to do this, it has been a lifesaver.

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Other episodes you may enjoy on our sister network, and my podcast Vintage Homeschool Moms.

No time for Mom

Depression During The Holiday

Show Notes: Overwhelmed? Find God.

Spiritual Side:

Identify why you are overwhelmed. Writing helps
Ask for an infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Renew your commitment to the Lord.
Ask the Lord to give you more of HIM and less of you.

Practical Applications:

Ask God to help you find answers
- Simplification
- An answer to a pressing problem
- Cutting back
- Saying, No!
Find God in the simple things
- Sit and listen
- Enjoy the outdoors
- Watch the antics in nature
Ask God to use you.
- To be an answer to someone else’s prayers
- To be His hands and feet
All God asks for is our love – that’s it!

Rejoice, the Lord is waiting for you to ask, and He is ready to answer. You can find the Lord even when you are overwhelmed and especially when you are so busy — like during the Christmas holiday. The Lord has an answer. The Lord hears you. It is that small still quiet voice. Are you listening?

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God

Spiritual Sandpaper (Replay)

June 30, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Spiritual Sandpaper – Episode 264

Spiritual sandpaper describes the events that happen in our lives that purify us and make us better than before, yet they are painful. In this episode, Felice shares how this can actually cause spiritual growth if we open our eyes to the possibilities.

Visit our sponsor CTCMath.com for all of your family’s math needs. My own grandchildren use this curriculum and I’m excited they are sponsoring our network.

Have you heard sermons about being tested in faith? The longer you follow the Lord, the more you understand this concept. At various times in our life, we strive for goodness, honesty and perhaps even holiness. Yet, our faith deepens not by all the good things that happen in our lives but through our trials.

In the book of Job 23:10 we read, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Our resolve goes one way or another. After being tested, or purified we are not lukewarm but either for or against God. Proverbs 27:21 speaks truth in the verse, “

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

We’ve discussed praise and worship on my past episodes, and praising God in our daily walk can make the difference between happiness and strife. In fact as I write this the Lord has reminded me of a private matter of which I have been praying and beeseching God and I am now going to thank God for the situation. I am not thankful, but if it is God’s will – or God’s permissive will then I will be thankful out of obedience.

Is this true faith to blindly follow? Not at all. It is faith that understands that while we have free will, God’s will is for us to join Him in heaven at the end of our life, and a life of ease and comfort rarely gets us to that destination. The areas of our life that are unchecked lead to temptation. This can look different for each one of us.

Spiritual sandpaper is that time in our life when things are uncomfortable, and yet we see, after the trial, that the outcome is better than we could have hoped and prayed. We had some years of reduced income due to the economy. We never lived over our means, but even our savings accounts and investments did not prevent the outcome. After this very uncomfortable time, the Lord allowed us to keep our home when many around us with deeper pockets went bankrupt, and we were able to pay off our debt in a difficult yet fulfilling way. This time has taught us to value money in a better way than would not have happened without this uncomfortable time in our life.

I praise God for the outcome, which was so much better than I could imagine. In prayer I kept getting those words, they would pop into my mind, “It will be better than you imagine.”

We know sandpaper can be gritty and abrasive, but what happens afterward? The surface is primed and smooth. The sandpaper in our lives was reduced income, it was not a life and death situation, even though it felt like it at that time. Many of you have had a situation with someone who has been abrasive in your life, and it has been a challenge.

Our pastor talks about a husband and wife being sandpaper to each other and it works out our flaws and shortcomings. Our family is also our spiritual sandpaper.

The scriptures talk about being tested many times. The most notable in our spiritual sandpaper focus today is Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

How are we sharpening each other? Are we helping each other in our walk toward the Lord –that is what we should be doing, but we often fall short. I don’t want to come off as preachy when I talk to my children about spiritual matters. Yet, sometimes I do. I send them videos of good sermons, Scripture verses, or encouragement. That helps in ways that are beneficial without me using a bunch of words.

Our job as parents is to aid our children. Our job as a husband or wife is to aid our spouse. The same goes if you are dating. We are to help and not antagonize each other.

Matthew 5:43-44:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!’”

God commands us to love as He loves, which is difficult and sometimes impossible. That is why I have prayed, “Lord, I can not love this person right now, but I know you love them; please bless them abundantly.”

MOST OF THE ANIMOSITY WAS LIFTED whenever I prayed this prayer or something similar. Sometimes it took years, but the Lord was victorious in teaching me to forgive.

Why should we love even when people hurt us? Even when we are chafed, annoyed, or persecuted? Because the Lord asks it of us. I love how Jesus explains the main purpose of this command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5 verse 47, he says:

“If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”

Do we want to be compared to pagans? Of course not; as believers, we want to do better than those without belief or those who believe in false gods. And that is our challenge today or this week. It is three-fold.

First, to be aware of situations where we are sandpaper – that is, abrasive to others without cause. (Not sure there is ever a cause to be abrasive!)
Be aware of situations where others have been abrasive to us, and we harbor unforgiveness. Remember the Lord’s prayer.
Look at the spiritual sandpaper in our lives as a good thing, one that will help us to grow spiritually.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Christian Podcast, spiritual sandpaper

Stop. Pause. Reflect on Your Faith

June 24, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

What do you believe? Have you taken the time to stop and reflect on your faith? Today, we will discuss ways to increase your faith and spend time with God.

Reflect On Your Faith – 313

Friends of mine attended an international conference and shared their experiences with me. There was such joy and hope expressed not only in the experience and the speakers they heard but also in how motivated they were to spread the good news to others. This fire, if you will, the fire that comes from the Holy Spirit, is what we all need. We need a boost from time to time and encouragement. We need that shot in the arm to get going and to spread God’s love for others. This can happen to you when you take the time to reflect on your faith. Why should we?

Thanks to our sponsor, CTMath.com

Romans 8:30-32: What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? ³

Because of who we are in Christ, we are called to speak to anyone who will listen about His love and goodness, yet if we don’t take the time to reflect on our faith, it is difficult, at best, to know what we believe. What do you believe? Do you know? When was the last time you read a book of faith or studied the scriptures? Do you have time set aside for prayer?

Maybe you have not prayed because what you believe is not crystal clear. How can we worship a God we don’t know? How can we worship a God we can not see? How can we worship when we feel empty inside? The answer is you can not worship a God you don’t know and can’t see. And, if you are in the middle of a life crisis, then it will seem more difficult because we as humans tend to blame God, even if our faith in God is weak! Do you know someone who has abandoned their Christian faith because they blame God for their trials and for unanswered prayer?

Listen, we’ve all been there; if you have not doubted God or had a chink in your armor of faith, you have not lived long. Everyone has thoughts that I attribute to the evil one. These thoughts are not from the Almighty, let me tell you! The thoughts are something like this: God doesn’t care about you, God isn’t real, and you are wasting your time. Or even worse, Where is the God that you believed in? He has let you down. No, God never lets us down, but by the free will God has given us, we have a choice to make. Do we follow Him or not? Do we believe or not? Do we continue to worship when we don’t feel like it, or not?

God does not force His will upon us. He did not create us as puppets with Him pulling the strings. No. He gave us a heart and soul, a spirit to worship or not, and a hunger in each one of us for more. But why do we hunger and thirst without it ever being quenched? God created us to know, love, and serve Him because how could we not serve the one who gave us so much?

And here is the bottom line: Faith is a gift—yes, that’s right, a gift. Faith is a gift given to us by the Almighty God, and while it begins with a feeling, it involves so much more. It involves your free will—your free will to continue to love and serve God when you don’t feel like it.

Look up the Nicene Creed (Council 325) and the Apostles Creed. The Nicene Creed is believed to be the oldest creed. Read on air.

What do you believe? Reflect on your faith. Ask the Lord to increase your faith.

Prayer is a conversation with God; it is praying, but it also takes time to listen—spend some time in quiet. This means being present and aware of God’s love for you, meditating on this—God does love you, and you are here for a reason. Last week, the topic was belonging. We are His people, and He is our God. Podcast here.

Spend time in prayer and speak to the Lord.
Spend time in quiet, listen.
Read scripture.
Journal
Praise God, thank Him for everything.

Dear friends, I pray your faith is increased. In this world, there is a need for people who are on fire for the Lord. Christians need to help those who are suffering, and one way we can do this is by having the love of God within our own hearts and pouring our love into others. Amen!

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God

Blueprint For Making MAJOR Decisions (Replay)

June 16, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Blueprint For Making MAJOR Decisions

Episode #14

Using a blueprint for making major decisions.

Every once in awhile making major decisions is a must, and having a blueprint for making major decisions is important. Decisions such as where do I go to college, should I change jobs, should I write a book – should I do another podcast? Those are some of the decisions I’ve had to make in my life. In this episode, I’ll discuss a blueprint for making those major decisions in your life!

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Major decisions can hold us captive! What do we do? Where do we turn? Oh if God would only answer us clearly we could make good decisions, quickly! How does this happen? It happens with lots of perseverance and prayer as well as some of the steps I’ll share with you.

So, if you listened to the previous podcast – episode 13 you will hear some of the same points mentioned except with a few powerful additions. Making a big decision includes those that can impact you for the rest of your life – I remember when praying for a spouse, I finally gave up. The choices were slim and in my town, truthfully with teaching full time I had no time – and my workplace had one single guy who I was not interested in – at all.

It was difficult to think about my future and I finally said, “Lord if you want me to be single forever that is fine with me – your will Lord, not mine.” I gave it to Him. I could not make decisions at that point – such as moving to another town, closer to some college friends.

Well, the Lord took care of it by having my now husband move into the same town to teach school, he and I went to the same college and while I knew him, I did not know him that well. But, I did think he was awfully cute – and I still think that 38 years later!

This blueprint for making major decisions is a process I’ve used with some additions and modifications throughout the from years. The hard knocks of life and real-life experiences have caused me to fine tune my list. When do I use this blueprint for making major decisions? When I had to make those big decisions – what do I do about college, a job – which one to take – what do I do about homeschooling Lord –should I or shouldn’t I? Lord, should I write a book? Lord, should I podcast? I will tell you in those times I did not turn to the Lord first – no, I’m not perfect – often things fell apart!

I’m quick to jump into a new idea and often the Lord is there to catch me. In those big decisions, we need to give our ALL to Him and he will not let us down.

Blueprint Making Major Decisions:

Here are some helpful tools to use in praying for those major decisions.

Pray specifically for your decision.
- God knows, but do you?
- Stress creates havoc on nerves, be single-minded in prayer
Be open to God’s will in your life.
- Sometimes it may not be specifically what you want to hear.
- Sometimes God’s will is different than our own
- Sometimes we think we “hear” God, but need confirmation
Give it to the Lord
- Praying and seeking God means leaving it at His feet
- Try not to dwell on it further
- Let go and let God
Ask the Lord’s guidance
- Pray for guidance
- Seek outside help, friend or a pastor
- Look for guidance in the Bible
Read Scripture
- Pray specifically, and read through Scripture
- Sometimes the Lord answers prayers in verses you’ve read 100 times before
- Be open to the Lord’s word and your prayer request
Pray specifically for your need and ask the Lord to give you the gift of knowledge about what to do.
- Many gifts fo the Holy Spirit
- Ask the Lord for the Gift of Knowledge, peace, joy
Our subconscious listens and often when we are in tune with God
- Ideas will come into our minds, miraculously
- We can pray and think about thoseWrite anything down that comes to you.
Write anything down that comes to you.
- Keep a journal
- Be sure to take “co-incidences” with a grain of salt (more in the audio)
- God-incidences do happen but keep our eyes focused on Him, not just the events
Look into your options
- Research
- Be informed
- If needed visit the place or seek more information.
Seek counsel if you continue to be stuck.
Ask the Lord to direct you
- We are constantly praying in this situation, however ask for direction if you are still “stuck”
- Praise Him ahead of time.
Continue to read Scripture
1. Believe that the Lord talks to us through His word.
Pray about any thoughts
- Ask the Lord to confirm thoughts that come to mind
- Confirmation can be through others or the Bible
Do you have peace of mind?
- Peace is a sign from the Lord that it is right.
- If you are stressed or agitated keep praying!
Be careful with signs – continue to journal
- Continue to journal
- See #8 above.
- Sometimes we look for those God-incidences and while those are wonderful, we want to use caution.
Make an informed decision.
- Don’t just go on feeling, especially if this is a major decision.
- Think wisely with your head – and your heart.
- Sometimes you just know-that-you-know!
If you can’t make a decision… wait!
- Satan rushes, God leads
- Pray and continue to read scripture.
Once you make a decision trust in the Lord and give it to Him.
- Surrender to God.
- Have peace about the decision.
Ask the Lord to go ahead of you and prepare the way.
- Praying for intervention
- Praying for those involved in your decision.
If you make a mistake learn from this and regroup.
- Go back to the Lord and ask Him for help – again!
- God can make crooked paths straight
- If it was the wrong decisions look at this as a learning tool
Give all the glory and praise to God!
- God deserves our praise for the little and big things in our lives
- Praise conquers all! Continue to praise God in all of the success in your life
- Continue to praise God in all the failures in your life!

Make your decision for the glory of God – not for ulterior motives, sometimes we want the Lord to bend to our will – and sometimes the Lord allows those mistakes to teach you that HIS way is best. Use all of these methods as a tool but not a miracle guide – it is a blueprint and blueprints are meant to be added onto and revised. This list can be used to add your own revelations from the Lord.

The main idea here is don’t jump or be hasty with your major decisions – rely on the Lord and He will not only make your paths straight He will guide you along the way!

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: a few minutes with god, biblical wisdom, blueprint for choices, blueprint making major decisions, Christian decision making, discernment tips, faith and decision making, Felice Gerwitz podcast, God’s will for my life, homeschool family life, how to make big decisions, how to pray for clarity, major life decisions, making major decisions, Media Angels, prayer and discernment, seeking God’s direction, spiritual guidance, trusting God with decisions, waiting on the Lord

Testimony of Amanda Schneidau

June 11, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Testimony of Amanda Schneidau

Listen to more Magnificat Ministry Testimonies.

Amanda was raised in Louisiana in strong Catholic family and is the 5^th of 8 children. She attributes the gift of her own faith to her mother, who did everything with great love. Amanda’s life is a story of Christ calling her more deeply into His Sacred Heart and her struggle to trust Him with every facet of her own heart.

Amanda has been married to her husband, Thomas, for 20 years. Being from large families themselves, they were very open to life.

Unfortunately, Amanda suffered several miscarriages at the beginning of their marriage, but trusted God had a plan for each one of these beautiful souls. They preserved through their loss and grief. The Lord continued to bless them with children and are now raising six children, ages 4-16.

In the past year, she lost her father to an unknown illness, and it was difficult to watch him decline, but the families’ strong faith carried them through the difficult time and Amanda brought Jesus to her father weekly. Amanda’s beloved mother has battled Alzheimer’s for the past 10 years, and she has the privilege to care for her and their relationship continues to grow in a new light filled with peace.

Amanda is the Coordinator of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Margaret Mary School and was recently recognized as a formation leader by the U.S. Association of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She is looking forward to passing on this beautiful work to more catechists.

Amanda’s favorite verse is “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” -Luke 2:19

This testimony was given to the East St. Tammany/Slidell, Louisiana Chapter on January 2025. The recording is 40 minutes, 20 seconds in length.

To find out more about Magnificat, A Ministry to Catholic Women, visit us at www.magnificat-ministry.org

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Filed Under: Magnificat Ministry Podcast Tagged With: Amanda Schneidau, Catholic Faith, Catholic motherhood, faith and family, grief and hope, Magnificat Ministry, Magnificat Ministry Testimony, spiritual formation, women of faith

Power of Fatherhood – Dad is Destiny (Father’s Day Special Replay)

June 9, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Power of Fatherhood Dad is Destiny – Episode 34

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 5, Annette Baber

June 9, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

For Ultimate Christian Podcast Network

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 5, Annette Baber

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims. In this episode, Annette Baber shares how she found the Lord and the purpose for her life.

Annette was born into an Orthodox Jewish family and, from a young age, believed that The Messiah would someday come on the clouds of heaven—never believing Jesus could be The Christ, despite the fact she had many Christian friends and even married a Catholic man.

In this podcast, Annette delves into her religious perceptions as a young child, a miraculous experience she and her sister shared, and her transition from Judaism to Humanism as an adult. She also highlights the pivotal role of a friend and her reading of The New Testament in leading her to the Catholic faith.

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims.

Watch the video podcast of this episode on Magnificat Ministry’s YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/@MagnificatMinistry

Visit: Magnificat® A Ministry to Catholic Women website and peruse the Magnificat Proclaims books in the store: https://magnificat-ministry.org

LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS on The Ultimate Christian Podcast Network, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and other channels: Magnificat® Proclaims: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry/

About Magnificat® Ministry

All Magnificat® Ministry Podcasts: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry

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Filed Under: Magnificat Ministry Podcast, Magnificat® Proclaims Tagged With: Annette Baber, Catholic podcast, Catholic Testimony, Christian testimony, inspirational stories, Magnificat Ministry, Magnificat Ministry Podcast, Magnificat Proclaims, Magnificat Proclaims podcast, Orthodox Judaism to Catholicism, Ultimate Christian Podcast Network

Keys To Unlocking Your Faith

June 2, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Keys to Unlocking Your Faith ~ Episode 276

The keys to unlocking your faith are not complicated, yet often missed in our hectic lives. In this podcast, we discuss the key elements of faith and ways we can be open to receiving more of Him and less of us.

Sponsor: Judson College

Everyone likes keys, and what’s not to like? They unlock previously blocked or locked items and often treasures. What is more important than the treasure of faith? For those of you who are lifelong Christians, the answer may be obvious, but still, when was the last time you asked the Lord to come into your life and unlock those places you’ve previously blocked?

You may enjoy these previously recorded episodes:

Think about this. Many of us pray and have an openness to God. We read the Scriptures, pray our prayers, and maybe even confess our sins. But, there is the place we ignore, we don’t think about, and we won’t release to the Almighty.

One time, I felt strongly in prayer that God was calling me to do more. He was asking me to give Him my all — but in a way that made me pause. “Lord, I’ve given you my heart, mind, intellect, all of me.”

But what about your health, your family, your finances?

Do we release everything to Him and say – Your will, Lord, not mine? Sure, within reason or what we believe is reason. We worship God, but what do we leave on the table? There is a saying in business that often we leave money on the table. That means we do not maximize our investment or profit to the fullest. We are, in essence, short, short-changing ourselves.

The same can be said in faith; we give God everything except everything.

The key to unlocking your faith is a complete surrender, and some of you listening are just not ready. Join the club. We are rational human beings. God gave us intellect, He gave us reason, He gave us free will (which often gets us in trouble). But He has also given us everything.

Jesus gave me everything by lowering Himself to come as a babe, live among us, suffer, and die to atone for my sins and the sins of humanity. He opened the gateways of heaven for me. He loves me. And I can choose to deny Him.

We walk around with heaviness and a lack of joy because we carry the burdens of life. We live in a world of war, strife, anger, and deceit. How do we see the silver lining in this world? Yet, we hold on and cling to life, don’t we? On occasion, I suffer from migraines. The pain is excruciating, but it is debilitating. For those of you who are fellow suffers out there, you know. I can do nothing, but I hope and pray it ends soon. Amid the suffering, the thoughts are disjointed as they believe there would be respite in death. How many suicides are there? The number has grown exponentially, especially among our young people. That is a lie from the evil one, and I rebuke it in Jesus’ Name. There is death, yes, when God wills it and only then.

If you are struggling, you can figure out the cause in this way. Try to listen to praise and worship music, try to watch something that is faith-based, and try to read Scripture. Does any of this bring a struggle in your mind or make you want to turn it off or away? If so, you are in the midst of a spiritual struggle. It happens to all of us from time to time. We want to bury ourselves in fluff, entertainment, and veg out occasionally. And, of course, there is nothing wrong with this. However, remember, the enemy wants to keep us in a loop of entertainment to rob us of the joy of a genuine faith infilling (Come Holy Spirit) and the joy that only comes from God.

There is good news! The good news is that true faith comes from releasing our will freely to the Almighty God.

So, back to the keys. The keys to unlocking your faith, what are they?

Surrender to God’s will in your life—all of me, Lord, for all of you.
Know that God will provide no matter what you cross if you lean on Him.
Fill your mind with all that is good; listen to praise and worship music.
Join a faith community. There is power in praying with other faithful Christians.
Go to church.

Friends, the truth is that the struggle, while real, can be overcome with the simple keys to unlocking your faith. Come, Holy Spirit, come and fill each person listening today! Your challenge is to pray this week for more of Him in your life, and if you are ready, surrender all to Him. Amen!

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Christianity, faith, Judson College sponsor

Where does our True Identity come from? (Replay)

May 27, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

What is our true identity?

“We cannot be truly happy until we are truly free, and we to know who it is that we truly are if we are to be truly free.”
Habits of Freedom, pg 20

Eve

As in adam and Eve, she engages in a ‘what if ‘ conversation with the snake. She speculates. Wonders. Thinks about what if? Instead of focusing on now and engaging in conversation, aka, prayer, with God.

We do the same thing. Making time for God each day will give us an intimate relationship with him. It keeps us on an even keel and able to handle our lives better.

Jesus’ Baptism

In Luke 3:21-22,

After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened

and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

God the Father is well pleased with Jesus. He is well-pleased with you too!

This week, pray and meditate with Luke 3:21-22. Hear what the Father says to Jesus and listen to what He has to say to you.

If you’d like to read and discuss the Sunday Mass REadings, join us on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm (ET). You can sign up here to receive the link.

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Filed Under: Not LukeWarm Podcast Tagged With: Baptism, daily prayer, God, Ignatian

Parenting as God Parents (Replay)

May 27, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Parenting as God Parents

Parenting as God Parents. Parenting is a tall order. Not only does it mean forming little minds and souls while keeping little bodies protected and provided for but parents image God. How we relate to little people as parents or in roles of authority becomes how they perceive the Lord. Because they perceive us as all-knowing and all-powerful (even though we are NOT), how we interact with them becomes how they perceive He Who is really all-knowing and all-powerful. This can be done in a beautifully good way, as St. Therese of Lisieux’s parents imaged God for her. Through her autobiography, Story of a Soul, the reader can see how she so naturally transitioned from being related to in a loving way that she came to understand that she is lovable and then could so easily perceive God as loving her deeply. It was the reception of that love that filled her and strengthened her interior life. So, when it was lacking externally from uncharitable experiences from her religious sisters, she could maintain her peace.

In psychologist Madeline Levine’s article, Raising Successful Children, she explains that being overly protective and controlling of children does them no favors. It can cripple them emotionally. It’s the sweet spot of setting high expectations, being available, and attentive but letting go that is most beneficial. When we focus on controlling the external results, a child loses motivation, comes to see themselves as incapable, and can become fearful of trying because of possible failure.

On the contrary, when we foster the internal development of the child – focusing on the development of character rather than external results, a child develops a self, an interior sense of who they are as someone who can struggle through obstacles and so is capable to handle the challenges that life might put in front of them.

I know this can be easier said than done if we were neglected in some way as children. We can want to catch them before they fall. Also, if we see their achievements as a reflection of who we are, we can try to live vicariously through them. Let’s consider, though, how God parents us. He has set high expectations of us by calling us to love Him, ourselves, and one another. He is always available to us and yet respects the free will He has given us, and He doesn’t interfere with that. As we choose the good it is not just the good result that is good, the choosing itself is good. It’s the exercise of virtue and freedom when we had the ability and option of doing otherwise that is so precious. It’s not just winning the good fight that is good. The choosing to fight the good fight is where the victory begins. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be persons. We would be robots.

If you struggle to allow your child the good struggle that will allow him or her to develop interiorly, ask the Lord to show you what fear might lurk behind that. Good Father, please give us the grace to parent as you do and so endow the children you entrust to us with truly free wills that are capable of choosing the good, especially You who are the greatest good.

May the Lord give you peace.

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Filed Under: Wholeness and Holiness Podcast

Power Focused Prayer (Replay)

May 27, 2025 by radioadmin 2 Comments

Be sure to subscribe to this podcast or listen to this here – online. You can download this talk on your computer or you can listen on your phone. Share this podcast with a friend.

Power Focused Prayer

Episode 14

Part One — podcast here

Power focused prayer brings everything in relationship to forgiveness to complete freedom. I want to repeat the summary of this approach which was in The Fire of Forgiveness One. This process leads to complete freedom in relation to forgiveness:

1) A sincere and honest decision and appropriate action to exercise heartfelt forgiveness, 2) Willing to receive the necessary ministry that surfaces surrounding the forgiveness situation

3) Letting go and surrendering all the negative elements involved in the forgiveness itself, and those things that have surfaced around the forgiveness

4) power prayer for the individual(s) who caused the problem. All four of these aspects need to be pursued in order to allow forgiveness let us experience complete freedom.

Some things to think about generated by the content of what I just presented: After going through each step of the process check to see if the negative attitudes and hurts are gone. The memories may still be there, but they have lost the power to hurt or wound. The memories may gradually fade naturally away over time. Be open to understanding that the forgiveness process may need more than one episode of forgiving prayer. Also, consider that the process may happen by uncovering subsequent levels.

This could be the case in long-standing abuse or hurts by others. In some situations, the thought of betrayal or of the wounds “triggers” unhealed hurts, attitudes, and wounds in other areas of the person. For example, the thought of the current event brings up other deep negative feelings; say of self-pity. Self-pity is a subtle form of self-hatred or self- rejection. The feelings of self-pity anesthetizes our pain and it makes us feel good so we indulge in self-pity. Maybe we have a problem with anger that makes us feel vengeful or victimized, so we compulsively want to get back at the one who hurt us. These real issues may not necessarily be directly related to forgiveness.

Therefore, we may need some simple deliverance or healing in adjacent areas so that our freedom from forgiveness can take hold. And power focused prayer for those who have hurt us can bring freedom in our heart by some self-healing prayer. Also, some of us by our upbringing and training may have a struggle with anxious perfectionism, for which there may be a need for some spiritual ministry or pastoral attention beyond the forgiveness process because these painful issues are deeply rooted in our human personhood, they may automatically surface significant other areas which need healing.

If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. Let this be the pattern for all when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you. Therefore, let prayer, penitential sacrifice, and mercy be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor. With this offering of sacrifice, the Lord will receive it as an offering, for this kind of a sacrifice to God is a broken wounded spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart. (St. Peter Chrysologus, Liturgical Prayer, Vol. 2, pgs. 231-232; penitential sacrifice replaces the word fasting.)

Offer yourself to God, make him an oblation of your penitential sacrifice, so that you may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God, “I urge you brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom. 12: 1-3)

A suggested approach for complete freedom through forgiveness: I mentioned above four steps necessary in order for a person to experience complete spiritual freedom in relation to significant forgiveness. I would like to present a suggestion which would be connected to the fourth step, which is, power-focused prayer for individuals I have forgiven. This approach can easily be used for praying for others for atonement, forgiveness, reparation, intercession. I use the term “power focused” because it has remarkable results in bringing about change in the lives of those we pray for. It is a procedure for cleansing, healing, mercy, and conversion. I am going to present a simple formula, and then I will give further commentary on the specifics.

First, we place ourselves in the presence of the Divine Merciful Love of God. Then we picture the person or group we want to pray or do intercession for. Even though I am praying for a particular person we directly address this formula to the presence of the Divine in my prayer for a particular person or group. And we say, I am very sorry for all the hard, painful, and difficult things that have happened to you in this particular situation and in your whole life. At this point you have just stepped up into CELP, the compassionate evoking love power of the Divine, thus God’s love becomes the primary and proactive power in this process of forgiveness. I take complete concern and total responsibility for everything you have experienced

This doesn’t mean that you take on any guilt or negative experiences of the person you are praying for; it simply means that you have become one with the Divine power of the prayer. I sincerely ask you to please forgive me! This action brings the healing power of the Lord to the recipient of the prayer, and secondarily, but really to you as well. I love you very much, and I thank you for everything.

When you pray this prayer, you become a conduit for the Divine power of the Father, Son, and Spirit to act in the recipient’s life, and yours as well. This procedure should be a Spirit-led experience done with your heart, primarily open for inspiration, rather than your mind. You have placed yourself in the Divine Connection so now the powerful love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is intimately and proactively present to the person or group you are praying for. When you say “I love you” you are bringing and sharing the infinite love of God for the person you are praying for. When you pray “Thank You” you are grateful for the unique and special person that God has created them to be in this new creation.

MAY WE PRAY!

O Lord spur us on to desire and possess a more abundant life through the healing gift of mercy, and being rich in mercy you constantly offer pardon and call we sinners on to trust in your forgiveness alone. You have never turned away from us, and though time and time again we have broken your covenant, you have bound the human family to yourself through Jesus your Son, our Savior, and Redeemer, with a new bond of love so tight that it can never be undone.

Even now, in “the Grace of the Present Moment,” this time of grace and reconciliation, and as each one of us turns back to your, you grant us hope and freedom in Christ Jesus, and a desire to be of service to all, as we entrust ourselves more fully to the Holy Spirit, and so filled with love and wonder, we extol the power of you merciful and healing love, and proclaim to others the joy of salvation which comes from you!. We pray this prayer in the power of the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection in Jesus name. Amen.

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Filed Under: Evangelizing Catholic Culture Tagged With: Catholic, Christian, Christian follwers, Christian ministry, power focused prayer, prayer, praying, praying for forgiveness, praying for God's will

Salvation History & You

May 19, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Salvation History and You Episode 112

Have we considered salvation history in the light of not only what Jesus did for humanity but what Jesus did directly for us? In this episode, we will learn how to apply this to our lives and others.

Thanks to our sponsor: CTC Math

The Bible consists of the Old and the New Testament. The first book of the Bible begins in Genesis and ends in Revelations. It is the behind the scenes look at the new heaven and the new earth and at the apex or the center is Christ. This is a story of love – the greatest love of all, the love of God for a humanity that He created, that is fallen. It is the story of God’s promise before Jesus came and about Jesus fulfilling the promise by his life, his death, and His ultimate Resurrection.

Simply put, the salvation of history is the storyline of the beginning of time, the creation of man and the redemption by God. The Bible is this intricate puzzle with many books that seem to be unrelated yet overall paint this amazing picture of our history and God.
When we read the Bible we get a glimpse into the lives of the saints that lived before us, the tragedy and the triumph. It really happened. It isn’t an allegory, a theory or a fluff piece. It is real.

Before God created the world He existed. The Father. The Son. The Spirit. For us it is difficult to imagine an always was – always is and always will be because we are finite people.
And before

History is His – Story, the story of a God who was not made, not created, but who always was and will always be. This amazing creator God wanted to enjoy the universe he created with us. He began our story with our first parents, Adam and Eve.

Before the fall we read a wonderful, idyllic story of our ancestors that lived in this beautiful garden with everything they wanted or needed provided. This was how God planned it. No toil, no sin, no problems.

God created the angels before our first parents – and we learn about their sin in Revelations:

And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Apocalypse 12:7-9)

We know the story, our first parents sinned and were banned from the garden, from that idyllic place because they were tempted by the devil or Satan. The punishment from God to the enemy was swift yet he did not find mercy from God, but man did. Read 2 Peter 2:4

We do not know the mind of God – from paradise on earth, our parents were condemned. The need for a Savior was born. Read Genesis 3:15. Then the trouble began and continued throughout history to this present moment and we still need a Savior!

God has not deserted us – God is active in our lives, each and every day. It is the mission of you, of me, of the CHurch to
The history of salvation leads us to be disciples, and bring others the gospel message.

We must understand the beginning to realize the end.

Salvation history forces us to look at the actions of those who went before us, the story of God’s people from God’s point of view. God’s word tells us all about the way he time and again saved the people who cried out to Him. Do we cry out to God for saving? And if we do, how do we apply what we know not only to our lives but the lives of others? Are we a witness not by word, but by deed? If not we should be.

Let’s pray:

Dear God Almighty the Creator of Heaven and Earth, we thank you for sharing the story of how the world came to be and the history of your people through your point of view. I thank you, God, for giving us this world in which to live, for our family, for our friends, and for those who we will meet in the future. Let us be an example of your kindness, your love, your peace, and your joy. Let us learn from the holy men and women who went before us as well as those who turned their backs on you. Please keep us free from the temptations of the evil one and keep us in your holy mantle of protection. Dear God Almighty we pray for the following: … Please hear our prayers and grant them if they are in your Divine Will. I praise you for all you have done in my life and I thank you until I draw my last breath. And, I pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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How To Pray

May 12, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

How To Pray ~ Episode 156

Have you thought about how to pray? When I think about how to pray sometimes I am at a loss. So, how can I dedicate an entire podcast to this topic? Well, it is a challenge. And the key is the following words, God’s will be done…

Sponsor Media Angels, Inc. – CTC Math.

How to Pray:

Is there a formula? Is there a quick way to have a hotline to the Almighty? I’m sure if you do a search online you will see the correct way, the wrong way, and everything in between. For me, prayer is a conversation with the One True God. The God that cares about everything I do and cares about the number of hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30) or has us in the palm of His Hands:

Isaiah 49:16

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

I think struggling with prayer happens when we are in the midst of a tragedy or are fearful and feel a situation is hopeless. Nothing is easy, so why should pray? In addition, we think that if we pray and the prayers are not answered we will struggle with our faith. So, again why pray? Then there is the prosperity gospel which is a spin on Christianity as it focuses on our beliefs. If we believe (and that depends on the strength of our belief), we will get the outcome we deserve in prayer. God will only answer us if we pray hard and believe harder. Right? That simple philosophy of prayer has led more people out of the church and away from their faith than any other. I’ve talked to people who have turned their back son Christianity because their belief did not pan out in answered prayers, so in essence, God has let them down.

Let’s think about this… we worship the Almighty God of the universe in Exodus 3:14 we read: “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Do we really think we have power over God? Of course not! As humans, we are given the dignity that only a Creator God who loves us gives – God has given us hope that the future we see on this earth is not all there is. Faith is not a coping mechanism. It is also not a “get out of hell card.” Some think that if we pray we don’t have to worry about eternal damnation. Prayer is so important but also living a life that is right and just. In other words, walking the walk instead of talking.

Yes, we can pray a salvation prayer. Or, if you are a Catholic participate in the sacraments, but once again it is more. There are many forms of prayer for a pentecostal or charismatic there is praying in tongues, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there is praying extemporaneously, from the heart and in prayers such as the Lord’s prayer. There is singing with I’ve been told is like praying twice. Christian prayer is as diverse as the people praying.

Prayer, like faith, is a choice–a decision that you embrace wholeheartedly, or is it another step in the list of things you should do. Complacency in our faith is a tool of the evil one.

Prayer does not necessarily save us, only Christ can. But, prayer does save us from ourselves. When we pray we are in a state of humility realizing that we are not in charge, and we are in a position of asking the Lord that His will be done for us, and the hope and prayer that we accept His will.

We realize with faith that we are not in charge, we can not manipulate our world or “make our own luck,” as I’ve heard countless people say. Yes, we can choose to be happy, chose to follow God, and select a greater good in this life, but that is a choice. Luck is chance. Faith is not.

Some people think that when prayer is answered, it is pure luck. No! Absolutely not. Answered prayer is Divine intervention of God’s will. I’ve shared this in previous podcasts that sometimes when we pray it is no, not now or yes, but as I contemplate prayer it is really more. God in His infinite wisdom and goodness knows what is best for us so His answer is always His will.

In the Scriptures, Jesus taught us how to pray in what is famously known as the Lord’s Prayer. This is the key to praying and it is simply praying in the Father’s will. I know I recite the Lord’s prayer daily, but like some of you, I have become complacent and say it without thinking.

You should read the entire book of Matthew, but here in chapter six is where we find the Lord admonishes us to pray, not as those who give alms and want everyone to see their good works, but as someone who is humble and realizes our lives are in the care of One who really loves us and not only created the world in which we live but had a hand in creating each one of us, we are the handiwork of God.

Concerning Prayer Matthew: 6:5-14

Please pray the Lord’s prayer, ponder the words and place then in your heart. The keys for me might be different than for you, but the main points are to pray God’s will be done, to pray to forgive others and to ask that the Lord forgives us as we forgive others. God wants us to have peace not turmoil in our lives and it calls to mind

Faith is a gift from our Father. Matthew 16: Peter said, “You are the Christ the Son of God.” For those of us who are believers then our focus as we pray is that the Name of the Almighty the great I AM should have greater significance and be front and center in our lives. Thy will be done–now and forever! Lord give me the words to pray…

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father, thank you for the gift of faith, I believe you are the great I AM and I ask that you continue to increase my faith, and I pledge to follow you in all things, the things that matter, the focus on what is right and good. I stand for life, Lord — all lives from conception to death. I stand for all the is holy and righteous. Thank you, Lord, for all the ways you have answered my prayer, and I pray your will be done. I pray for the following needs and intentions…. and Lord, if your will be done, grant these prayers and petitions in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 4, Maria Vadia

May 2, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims, Episode 4, Maria Vadia

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims. In this episode, Maria Vadia shares how she found the Lord and the purpose for her life.

When Maria Vadia was ten years old, her family visited the United States but never returned home to their native Cuba. Maria enjoyed wealth, status, and a luxurious lifestyle living in the US. Later, she married and had four children, enjoying all the luxuries money could buy. She wanted for nothing, yet she felt empty. While her family was Catholic, they were Catholic in name only. Maria never went to church, prayed, or had a relationship with the Lord. However, her sister believed and prayed for Maria for seven years. Her sister’s prayers worked for after attending a charismatic service, Maria’s fantastic transformation began. Maria consecrated her life to the Lord and to proclaim the good news. She became an avid Bible reader and gave up her “pagan” lifestyle, which she knows would have been her sure ticket to hell. As sometimes happens when God touches our souls, our lives change, and so does Maria’s. Her marriage ended, and she faced other challenges. However, the Lord remained steadfast and was a faithful friend.

Maria, an author of eleven books, is a sought-after international speaker, having visited more than 35 countries. Through her transformative preachings of The Word, she has witnessed many miracles, signs, and wonders. Maria is a founding coordinator of the Miami, Florida, Chapter of Magnificat and a Magnificat’s International team member. In 2002, she founded The Glory of God Foundation (www.gloryofgodfoundation.org) to assist the Pigmy people in Africa. The global organization’s mission is to make Jesus known and loved by preaching the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Magnificat® Ministry Presents Magnificat® Proclaims.

Watch the video podcast of this episode on Magnificat Ministry’s YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/@MagnificatMinistry

Visit: Magnificat® A Ministry to Catholic Women website and peruse the Magnificat Proclaims books in the store: https://magnificat-ministry.org

About Magnificat® Ministry

All Magnificat® Ministry Podcasts: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/magnificatministry

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Spiritual Sandpaper (Replay)

April 30, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Spiritual Sandpaper – Episode 264

Visit our sponsor CTCMath.com for all of your family’s math needs. My own grandchildren use this curriculum and I’m excited they are sponsoring our network.

In the book of Job 23:10 we read, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Our resolve goes one way or another. After being tested, or purified we are not lukewarm but either for or against God. Proverbs 27:21 speaks truth in the verse, ”

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

I praise God for the outcome, which was so much better than I could imagine. In prayer I kept getting those words, they would pop into my mind, “It will be better than you imagine.”

Our pastor talks about a husband and wife being sandpaper to each other and it works out our flaws and shortcomings. Our family is also our spiritual sandpaper.

The scriptures talk about being tested many times. The most notable in our spiritual sandpaper focus today is Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Our job as parents is to aid our children. Our job as a husband or wife is to aid our spouse. The same goes if you are dating. We are to help and not antagonize each other.

Matthew 5:43-44:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!’”

MOST OF THE ANIMOSITY WAS LIFTED whenever I prayed this prayer or something similar. Sometimes it took years, but the Lord was victorious in teaching me to forgive.

“If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”

First, to be aware of situations where we are sandpaper – that is, abrasive to others without cause. (Not sure there is ever a cause to be abrasive!)
Be aware of situations where others have been abrasive to us, and we harbor unforgiveness. Remember the Lord’s prayer.
Look at the spiritual sandpaper in our lives as a good thing, one that will help us to grow spiritually.

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Christian Strength

April 21, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Christian Strength ~ Episode 269

We have tools and resources available to us; what about Christian strength that comes from the grace of God? In this podcast, we will discuss the tools God has given us to combat the evil one.

Have you visited CTCMath.com for an award-winning curriculum designed for the entire family? It is a great math program for ages K-12, and we are thankful for their sponsorship.

One of my sweet friends, who gets our emails, sent me this quote, “If you get on the scale and don’t like your weight, remember that you are carrying the full armor of God!” Thanks, Carolyn Wright, for sending me this quote. I love it! It is the little things that remind us we are not alone. Our strength comes from the Lord.

Nehimah 8:10 – “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” How can we have this strength?

If we love and worship the one true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that is half the battle.
We must remember to put on the armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-18 (Here is a podcast on the Armor of God.)
We are in good company! We are adopted children of the Almighty God, so we should rejoice.

Today, I was filled with joy that surpasses all understanding. There was no reason for this; in fact, before I went to church, I was burdened. I was praying for my family and felt a weight pressing on me. Whenever I felt this weight, I gave it to the Lord; in my mind, I said, “Your will, Lord, not mine.” Then, I kept praying. When I finally arrived at church and knelt down to pray, I felt an overwhelming sense of the love of God.

Have you realized that as Christians, we have powerful tools given to us through Baptism by the Almighty God? Not only are we claimed during our Baptism, but for some of us, we were infants claimed through the intercession of our parents and godparents, and at other times as adults, for those who convert to Christianity. But there is more. God knows everything about us, and we are worth so much in the eyes of God. We are worth much more than any animals. In Mark 5, we see that Jesus restores one man, casts out the evil spirits, and puts them into the swine, who proceed to go off the cliff. One man was worth so much more than all of the swine!

The concept of exorcism shows us that God is greater than evil. There is more to this world than just what we see; there is a spiritual world. There are principalities and powers, and ever since the fall, we see this brokenness and disobedience of man. Yet, God is light and continues to shed His goodness on a fallen world; we have the choice, and God gives us this free will. After the fall, the world belongs or is under the dominion of the evil one. Jesus came not just to teach, heal, and forgive sins but to fight. We see this with the verses in Ephesians about the armor of God. People looked at Jesus as a prophet; they expected Him to lead an army and wipe out the evil of the day, but He did this in the way that God works. God does not work by outward force. He works by word and deed. He only has to utter a word and evil was cast out. He instructed His disciples to go forth and to command evil to leave in His Name.

After the Baptism of Jesus with John the Baptist, he went into the desert to prepare for the trials to come, and he did it with a fight to take back what belongs to God, and that dear friend is you and me! Praise God, what fantastic news. If that does not give us a boost of faith, remember that the exorcisms that occurred then and now were to reclaim what belongs to the Almighty God.

During the Rite of Baptism (in the Catholic church, I’m not sure about other denominations), there is a right of exorcism; it happens in every Baptism. We are claimed for the Kingdom of God, but we must be delivered from the evil one before this can happen. Wherever the gospel has been proclaimed, wherever Christ is proclaimed, it is accompanied by exorcisms. We have stories of exorcism from the beginning of the New Testament. When missionaries went to various countries, they also had to do exorcisms to deliver the people from bondage.

I heard a teaching on the topic, and there was a man, a priest who was from Spain and a renowned exorcist, who wrote a book on the topic and studied it extensively. In his studies, he found so few exorcisms during the Middle Ages, and he wondered why, but he concluded that the amount of Baptisms had risen. They were transferred from the kingdom of the evil one; they were brought into the Kingdom of God.

Today, there is a rise in exorcisms; why? Well, for many reasons, one is that people are not having their children baptized, and another is that those baptized deny faith in God, in Jesus as the true Savior; those in sin are choosing the evil one. It is their choice. Therefore, this leaves them open to evil. It is a gateway, if you will, an open door.

Fear not! If you are baptized, you have been transformed into the Kingdom of God! Jesus says do not be afraid. We have strength in God through the Holy Spirit. In the book of Romans, particularly Romans 1, we read about the early church and their struggle but, more importantly, how they were encouraged. Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

We have been saved, in fact Romans 6 heading states Dead to Sin Alive in Christ. What good news.

Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This reminds me of a podcast I did on the present moment on being mindful. Link here. God provides for us today. In the present, when we need Him most. We torture ourselves with regrets from the past and the fear of the future, yet we only need to focus on today.

So, friends. Rejoice. Today, as always, the Lord will provide for me and you. He will provide for your family. Continue to pray, continue to storm heaven for what we need. This week, your challenge is to pray for Christian strength for the Lord to provide the grace we need when we need it!

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Deliver Us From Evil

March 24, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Deliver Us From Evil ~ Episode 275

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

Luke 11:24-26 (Read on air.)

Spiritual warfare doesn’t take a break; those who get free of addictions, if you get free of the evil, you need to change your lifestyle to maintain that freedom. Turn to a life of prayer and a sacramental life. We are made as a spiritual vessel for the Holy Spirit, and if it is not filled by the Holy Spirit, it gets filled by other spirits. We can not leave it empty.

How do you avoid evil? Recognize it.

Even as Christians, the lure for understanding or knowing the future is prevalent in our society. Two years ago, I was in New Orleans for a conference and visited St. Louis Cathedral. The church had erected a high metal fence in front of it, which I found strange until I saw, little by little, people in colorful garments coming and setting up shop in the open, public space in front of the church. Who were these people? They were the “sellers” of evil. There were fortune tellers and palm readers, to name a few. Some people took tours to talk about the ghosts that inhabited many of the buildings and had been “seen” in years past.

Where there is good, evil abounds. You may think I am exaggerating, but the truth is that the enemy will do anything for your soul. The enemy is allowed in through a gateway, but always with our permission.

One way that evil enters is through occult practices; many are unaware of items such as occult games, for example, the Ouija board and tarot cards. Or activities such as seances and mediums, which is how evil gets in, because people welcome and allow it, believing it is just for fun or not real. Friends, it is real. Evil does have power, but only what we give it; God is greater, He is Almighty, He has dominion over evil. Who will we serve?

Deliver Us From Evil, Scripture Warns Us

The scriptures warn us. The Old Testament is filled with worship of idols, of false gods. The true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, gave warning after warning. The 10 Commandments, the prophets, and what happened? All of the twelve tribes of Israel fell because while two of the twelve (in the south) worshipped the true God, they would not remove the “idols from on high” that the people worshiped. We can not be divided in our worship.

A verse that should give us pause is in Isaiah 47 – in verses 10-11 (Read on air.) Leviticus 20:6 (Read on air.)

Deliver Us From Evil – Five Easy Steps

Renounce your sin, ask the Lord to call the sins to mind, and rebuke them in the Name of Jesus.
Renounce permission you may have given the evil one to enter through the sin. Spiritual warfare prayer.
Claim in the Name of Jesus that you are a child of God.
Pray with a spiritual advisor or clergy.
If you are Catholic, go to confession and receive the sacraments often.

Praying, reading the scriptures, asking for more of the Holy Spirit, and confessing are ways to avoid evil.

Spiritual Warfare Prayer

Renounce sin – in the Name of Jesus, I give you dominion over my life and renounce the sin of *** ____________________ (pray and quietly wait on the Lord to reveal sin to your mind.)
Put on the armor of God Ephesians 6:10-18.
- RIGHTEOUSNESS: Girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, flaming arrows against the evil one, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
- WHOLE ARMOR: In verses 13-18,” Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
- TRUTH: Stand, therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
- PEACE: As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
- FAITH: With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
- SALVATION: Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
- PRAY: Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.Pray in the Spirit – come Holy Spirit, and keep alert.

***Once you have prayed against evil – for example, the spirit of lies, ask the Lord to fill you with the opposite, “the spirit of truth.” Always pray the opposite of the evil and ask God to fill you with His grace. If you do not know the opposite, pray, Come Holy Spirit.

Remember, the battle has been won! Alleluiah. Alleluiah. Jesus lived, died, has risen, and has broken the bonds of death. We must be open and vigilant and recognize that we can pray, “Come Holy Spirit, Come…fill my heart today and always.”

Your challenge this week is to pray the spiritual warfare prayer and take back any areas you have given over. Amen! May God be praised.

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Love As Christ Loves (Replay)

January 13, 2025 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Love As Christ Loves ~ Episode 241

How can we love as Christ loves? Is it impossible, or is it? In this episode, we explore what true Christian love means to us.

Visit the website at MediaAngels.com for books and products written by Felice Gerwitz, specifically her ministry books, A Few Minutes with God and One More Child. Please share this episode with a friend, and share God’s love with all.

Renew Your Faith this New Year

December 30, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Renew Your Faith This New Year~ Episode 211(replay)

It is time to renew your faith in God. Today. There are so many things we renew but often our faith is not one of those things that we think about in that way. In this podcast, we will discuss ways to recharge your faith and how to do this in a way that makes sense for your life.

Visit MediaAngels.com for books, curriculum, and other offerings, just for you. Check out the books One More Child and A Few Minutes with God there as well. Available in print or digital.

When we renew things such as our auto, health or life insurance, it causes us to pause in our lives to do something that is sometimes painful. Shopping for insurance is no fun. What about our faith? Does your faith need renewal or a recharge? When we stop and look at our faith we may see places that need shoring up or other places where we spend much time but maybe do not see as much fruit in the way of change.

Many times we have not matured into our faith. Our years move on but our faith remains stagnant. I can see the evidence of this when I go into a church and see few people in attendance. Sure, you can watch many different services online, but it is different than participating in purpose, especially if there is no physical reason that you can’t. And, on the other hand just because you go to church doesn’t mean you believe. It can be an obligation you fulfill or you go to make someone else happy.

We go and we worship because it is one of the commandments of God, “Keep Holy the Sabbath,” and the wisdom of God trumps anything else, or it should.

In Christian homes, a child may believe because of their parents, and their faith is their parent’s faith. Faith is a personal decision, it is a fundamental option to choose God, follow God, and live a life that is holy. What does this mean to you?

Take a look at your daily walk with the Lord and ask yourself the following:

Do you wake up praising God or in some way thinking about the Lord?
Do you pray?
Do you spend time in God’s Word, at church or with the Bible, or another app?
Do you spend time in quiet with God?
Do you journal or are you in a Bible study?

If you find yourself falling a bit short, don’t worry. We can look back to see where we want to improve, but then move forward in how we want our lives to look. All of us want joy, peace, and love in our lives, and these come directly from the source of all love, and that is God. Renewing our faith means renewing our dedication to doing God’s will.

Renewing Your Faith ~ A New Beginning

Where do we begin? With a profession of faith. We can start with a prayer such as the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed, but I would invite you to take it a step further. Write the Lord your own love letter, a pledge to love, honor, and follow Him. It can look something like this:

“I praise you and I thank you my Lord for all you have done in my life. I want to dedicate my life to you in a new way, in a deeper way, and in a way that is pleasing to You, my Lord. Come into my heart Lord and fill it to overflowing with your love. Jesus, I trust in You. Help me to place You before all else. Help to keep me on the straight path, do not allow me to stray, and keep me from sin, my God. I dedicate all that I do and say to You and ask that You help make it pleasing. And I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

You can add or take away anything you want, but make it a heartfelt prayer that tells the Lord you trust in Him and His divine will. When we fill ourselves with thoughts about God the darkness is dispelled. We can not live in fear and faith at the same time. God has already overcome the enemy and we need to place our lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We can easily look at examples in the Bible of people who turned their back on God, the Israelites come to mind. God’s people suffered in exile and yet they continued to be unfaithful. If we trust in God we can not serve two masters.

Examine your life and look at the way that you spend your time. Is there anything you can do to place God first? Is there something you can avoid, or move in your schedule to make more time to learn more about your faith? What can you do to surrender your time to God?

I learned that to be more productive during the week I needed time to recharge. Renewing your faith is like a “recharge” of your faith battery. Keeping holy the sabbath is a way to enjoy the world that God has given to you, to enjoy your life in some small way. Enjoying a beautiful day or finding beauty in a storm with the lightning flashing in the distance. Basically praising God in all things.

While we live in a time of darkness this weariness with the world can get us down to a point that we can not see the light that is God through the sin in the world. We can’t help anyone else if we do not help ourselves first. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new.”

God can make us new, each and every day. You can renew your faith daily with a quick prayer and ask the Lord to give you the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the trials that come with each day. Faith or religion without a relationship is hollow. Jesus wants a relationship with us, we know this, but we don’t seem to have the time. We make time for all things except this most important element in our lives.

God loves us with a love that is nothing something we can understand or grasp. Our human love by way of comparison is so inadequate. It falls short of the glory and wonder of God. We look to others for this love and find ourselves disappointed. People will disappoint us, this is one of those things we can count on. Each of our lives has some type of sorrow, tragedy, or hardship. Some of us have harder lives than others. Yet our Father who is in heaven looks to us with open arms.

Read 2 Thessalonians 12 – the entire chapter. It is a teaching to those who suffered, but this verse stands out for me, verse 13: “We also unceasingly give thanks to God because, when we handed on the word of God to you, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it truly is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

Accepting faith, accepting the Word of God as truth, and accepting the truth that belief in God will help us in our lives is just the start of our faith journey, not the end. You see our struggles become insurmountable when we put our trust in others or in ourselves over God. We can do nothing without God. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”

The best news is that each day is a new day and we can look to the Father for a faith recharge anytime we want or need it. We grow in our faith in the same way as we mature in body. Our faith grows deeper if and when we invite the Lord in, and pray more of you Lord, and less of me.

Read the scriptures and see which verses jump out at you and write them down. Think about them and see what it is that you can learn or what you feel the Lord is telling you.

The challenge this week is to take the time to renew your faith in a meaningful way. Whether it is to purpose to read the Bible each day or spend time with the Lord. What is a way that you can be open to the blessings that can come into your life? This week the focus is on you, not someone else (yes, I know that is hard). Recharge you first and watch the worries and cares fall away! May God be blessed, Amen and Alleluiah!

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Loneliness At Christmas (Replay)

December 16, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Loneliness At Christmas ~ Episdoe 282

Loneliness can happen at any time of the year, yet loneliness at Christmas seems especially painful. In this podcast we will discuss our role as Christians and how to bring to those in need the joy of the season of light.

Visit Media Angels.com for gifts for your family, especially the Character Planners that help you and your children focus on the importance of developing good habits.

Thank you to our sponsor, NOW Programs.

Here are some podcasts you may enjoy.

Loneliness

Connection With Others

Temptation is Real

As I think back on Christmas past, I remember how my father felt after my mother’s passing. Every time there was an event or holiday, he missed her, especially the first time. He was so used to spending time with her and sharing his life that when she was gone, it was as if a piece of him was missing. My neighbor died this summer unexpectedly, and I am certain his widow also feels the pains of firsts, the first Thanksgiving without him, the first Christmas, and more. We are only neighbors, and friends, but when someone has a special place in your life, you will definitely feel the loneliness at Christmas.

In Isaiah 41:10 we read: (Read on air.)

God gives us the strength we need, but we need to ask. How often do we forget to ask? I know I do. In living our lives we can feel lonely even in the midst of people. I think that is why we stay so busy, so we don’t feel loneliness and so that we don’t focus on what is bothering us.

Loneliness At Christmas Can Be A Struggle

Psalm 16:11 – (Read on air.)

When we are in a good place with our faith and our Lord, it seems to stem the loneliness. We don’t feel as alone or afraid. We find that joy that surpasses all understanding. Yet at times, we feel as if we are being tested.

In 1 Chronicles 29:17, we read on air.

Loneliness At Christmas Understood

There is no secret formula to combat loneliness at Christmas other than to give our hearts to the Lord. My friend would take her three boys and spend time at the soup kitchen or Church ministries. She did this at Thanksgiving as well as at Christmas. This took place after she was divorced, and she felt that her holiday was different, sad, and lonely. She decided that in giving, we receive, not for the sake of receiving. And she did! She said it was the best holiday and she wished she had done it sooner.

That is truly a gift.

Make me an instrument of your peace is a song as well as a prayer attributed to St. Francis…O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

St. Francis gave up his life of wealth to serve the Lord and to serve the poor. We may not all have the opportunity to spend time with the poor this Christmas, but if you can, it is well worth it. Sometimes ministering to our own families and extended families is serving the poor in spirit. Other times they are blessing us with their joy and presence. It takes an effort to travel, especially during the holidays.

Loneliness can be a blessing; it is a pearl of great price. Think about how the Lord Jesus prayed at the garden of Gethsemane and the apostles could not stay awake with him for one hour. I pray in my mind that I am there with him. God, Jesus doesn’t need me, yet we can offer the simple tasks as an offering of our hearts even if it is just in our thoughts.

Matthew 13:44 states (read on air).

Loneliness Overcome

Our loneliness is a struggle, and it is something we may try to overcome, but each in our own way. Finding other like-minded people is helpful. I often see people at church who have lost a loved one join together for the holidays or even after church for coffee. I try to reach out to friends I know who may be struggling. I know they are being social even if they do not feel like it. It is easier to stay home, but putting out the effort is often rewarded.

We can all pray that the Lord uses us to minister to others, whether it is visiting someone without family in a nursing home, serving the needs of the poor, donating to a worthy cause, or buying gifts for those less fortunate. All of these things are small in the scope of our lives, but each one of these things brings us closer to the Lord.

This week the challenge is to pray for those who are struggling and lonely this Christmas as well as other times of the year and to ask the Lord to use us to bring joy to their hearts. Let God be praised now and forever.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Christmas, loneliness

Joyful Family Celebrations

December 3, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Joyful Family Celebrations Episode 28

Joyful family celebrations take planning. No matter what time of the year we are in we can find ourselves overwhelmed! In this episode of One More Child Podcast, we will discuss how to look for the good in our family life.

Faith brings us together.

Be sure to share this episode with a friend, it is easy to do by going to OMCP.com

This episode sponsored by Now Programs.

My pastor has it right when he says that those who see good in others or situations always see good and for those who don’t they only see bad. It seems that the busier we are the more we become overwhelmed and less satisfied with life. I think it is all a matter of perspective.

When it comes to celebrations sometimes we put so much time in effort in impressing others that we lose sight of the real focus of the celebration. One year my then four-year-old daughter attended a birthday party hosted by a family with some amazing resources. When we drove onto the property we were greeted with balloons lining the driveway and signs leading the guests to park and a clown that greeted the children at the door. Of course, the inside of the home was on high-birthday-alert with signs, banners, balloons, and games. And yes there was even a pony ride. My daughter was so overwhelmed she did not want me to leave.

This one incident showed me that the key to happiness for our family was not in overwhelming the senses but in focusing on the joyful family celebration aspect, and if we invited a few friends then that would be fine.

We cannot please everyone and when we try to do this we will feel frustration. Joyful family celebrations are those in which we create memories.

Ask yourself these questions:

What do I want my family to remember from this celebration?
What is the overall goal? Is it a birthday memory or a milestone such as graduation?
Are we celebrating a holiday? What is the one thing I want to do to make it memorable?
Can I reuse things I have around the house?
Can everyone participate in the setup and prep?

A friend recently shared that she didn’t buy gifts for her children once they reached a certain age for Christmas because they took family trips instead. She even did this for birthdays. The idea in her mind was to create a memory instead of buying an object they would eventually break or grow out of. Each family needs to make these decisions themselves and as with most things, whatever decision you make is probably right for your family.

Remember the focus is on the person, not the event. I doubt the four-year-old whose party we attended even remember that one event because more than likely her fifth, sixth and so forth were more spectacular. Talk to your child, your spouse and find out what they envision for that day? At one time my kids told me they did not want parties other than the immediate family, instead, we took a trip to an amusement park or their all-time favorite, camping.

As we approach the holiday season keep this in mind. Focus on the reason for the season and remember the joy begins with what is in our heart. Refresh your time with the Lord and He will provide an abundance of joy for you to pass on to your families! I pray this for you and yours especially as we head into our daily lives which are often filled with spills and tears. Know you are doing the best thing for your family taking the time to be with them. No one loves your kids the way you do and that my friends is the biggest blessing you can give them! Until next time – God’s blessing be upon you and your family.

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Filed Under: One More Child Podcast Tagged With: planning for holiday

Introduction to Trauma Series: Avoiding Spiritual Identity Theft

December 3, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Episode #2 – Introduction to Trauma Series (Avoiding Spiritual Identity Theft!)

Have you or someone you love endured sufferings in which you continue to feel stuck? Does this leave you feeling confused or even fearful, perhaps even rejected or abandoned by God? Unfortunately, there are so many types of trauma and such experiences are so prevalent that it’s difficult to imagine someone who hasn’t been traumatized at one time or another.

Have you ever been told or thought that if you only had greater faith you’d be able to overcome feelings of abandonment, rejection or insecurity? In this series Margaret will help unpack how the neurophysiology of trauma can leave us trapped in the emotions from traumatic experiences regardless of how great our faith is. Come to a deeper understanding of what happens in the person during traumatic experiences and deepen in your sense of God’s love. Grow in compassion for yourself and others.

Due to a very specific biological reaction during trauma, even decades later we can default to a mode of fear leading to cortisol (a stress hormone) and shutting off oxytocin (a feel-good hormone associated with love, trust, and friendship) when we encounter reminders of those traumatic experiences. Knowing the body responds in this way can help us to cling to the truth and not give into a skewed perspective that is fear-based.

The evil one wants to divide you off within yourself, disconnect you off from others, and even give you a sense of separation from God by spiritual identity theft! He wants you to think that your symptoms of feeling fearful and rejected are really who you are. The truth is they aren’t who you are. They are only how you are doing in a moment. Understanding where those feelings come from can help unmask the lies we can take on and operate out of and even more it can help us stay grounded in the truth of our identity as God’s beloved children!

My first book, More Than Words: The Freedom to Thrive After Trauma, is available on Amazon.com and will provide you with more information about how traumatic experiences can impact us even decades later.

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Filed Under: Wholeness and Holiness Podcast Tagged With: cortisol, identity, oxytocin, trauma, Wholeness and Holiness

God’s Love For His People

December 3, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Be sure to subscribe to this podcast or listen to this here – online. You can download this talk on your computer or you can listen on your phone. Share this podcast with a friend.

God’s Love for His People

Episode 1

God’s love for His people will astound and bless you — in the scriptures, He says, “Beloved let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God is revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love. Not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” (1 Jn. 4: 7-12)

“… who remains in love remains in God and God in him.” (v. 16)

We are called into a love relationship with God in Jesus Christ through the power and life of the Holy Spirit. We live a covenant relationship in Jesus Christ in the New Creation. Those committed to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ live in a relationship with him in the Father and the Holy Spirit.

We have been created for God

We have been created to naturally live this life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and come to completion or perfection as a human being in the dynamic of this triune relationship of love. In the book of Revelation Jesus says “Behold I make all things new”! Jesus is the source of the New Creation

By love, we become a new creation, a new man or woman in Christ. Jesus invites us into the New Covenant of Love through our Baptism in water

(The story of Dianne) — listen to the podcast for more.

God’s love for His people is unending!

The only way we can grow in love is by the power of God’s love Therefore we are called into a relationship where we are willing to embrace a process and journey of changing. Sometimes change is easy sometimes it is hard, “unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it remains just a seed, but if it dies it bears much fruit.” (Jn. 12) The story of Jimmy Cohen – a little book entitled Love of God by Charles Colson, in a chapter entitled “Whatever Happened to Son.”

If God is love and lives in us, we need to love others. The basic call of our vocation is love. A successful and meaningful life is a life of love: giving our life away, giving our love away, and giving our death away! Our transformation and growth in divine love and human love brings spiritual happiness and also human maturity. (The story of Alex Bombara)

Love is a gift from God, both divine and human love, a fruitful life. A fruitful life lived in the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit brings forth in our transformation generosity and gratitude. In humility we need to be patient, learn to appreciate and accept ourselves as we are, and trust in God’s merciful love to achieve all He has planned for us.

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Filed Under: Evangelizing Catholic Culture Tagged With: Evangelizing Catholic Culture, God's love, Love

Celebrate Christmas and Advent

December 2, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Celebrate Christmas and Advent – Episode 280

When you celebrate Christmas, does it include Advent? Advent is the time before Christmas. It is the 24-day countdown to the blessed event, the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Advent helps us to put the holiday in perspective. In this podcast, Felice discusses ways you can celebrate this joyous time, whether you are living alone or celebrating as a family.

Thank you to NOW Programs for sponsoring this podcast episode replay.

More podcasts on Celebrating Christmas here:

Countdown to Christmas

Christmas Blessings

Christmas is Real

Advent deals with the coming of Christ, yes, but also the openness of our heart to receive our Lord and Savior, as well as the more profound meaning of recognizing he came for a purpose: to open the gates of heaven and to set us free from sin.

In my church, Advent brings in the Christmas season or the start of what is called the liturgical year. This is the season of Christmas and ends in January with the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated—the coming of the wise men to visit Christ.

The liturgical year is also celebrated with special colors worn by the priests at church. They are as follows:

White: joy and purity, and the resurrection
Green – hope and perseverance the call to continue to listen
Purple – penance, waiting and morning
Red – martyrdom of Jesus and the sayings
Blue is in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Pink —solemnity
Gold – royalty

Suppose you had to pick a color which would you pick to celebrate Advent. You would think white, possibly, but it is purple. Advent is a time of waiting and morning. It is a time of joy because we know the end of the story, but it is a time of hope and sorrow for what had to be because of the sinfulness, the free will choice of man. When we celebrate Christmas, we can follow the Lenten practice of prayer and fasting. This is difficult to do unless you live alone. But, some families do make this their practice.

One idea is to fast from a particular bad habit or from overeating during the holiday when it seems that cakes, cookies, and parties are abundant. It does not have to follow the strictness of Lent, the 40 days before Easter. The importance is to recognize the Christmas season as a time of reflection.

What can you do to celebrate Christmas? Decorations, sure. But keeping the focus on the “reason for the Season,” the Christ child. In our decorations, be sure to add a Nativity scene or two, a picture of the Holy Family, or something that reminds you of the coming of our Savior.

Isaiah 7:14 (read on air).

Or we can read the geology of Jesus in Matthew 1 – again a reminder of the prophecy of God the Father to Abraham, Genesis 26:4 (Read on air).

While we love the Christmas season for so many reasons, it is also a time of hardship for many. It is difficult because of the loss of a loved one, financial hardships, or perhaps illness. Yet, the key to the season’s joy is not on the external but the internal, the focus on Christ.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (Read on air)

Who doesn’t want to celebrate the season with joy after hearing that? We can each celebrate in a way that makes sense for your individual family. For us, it begins with nightly prayer. This year, Advent begins on December 3. We will begin early because everyone will be home on Thanksgiving. So we will do the first week twice. Each evening, we light one candle and pray from my favorite book.

During the Advent season, we use a round advent wreath with four candles, three purple and one pink. The pink candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent to remind us of the momentous occasion that is to come the following week. It is a time of prayer and scripture readings, and our family adds the prayer of thanksgiving. We share what we are the most thankful for each evening after our prayer time. It is wonderful and I celebrate this time with joy with my family.

I’ve given the children advent wreaths to take to college with them so they could celebrate on their own until we gather at Christmas time. It is called the Season of Light: Daily Prayer for the Lighting of the Advent Wreath. I have purchased other books but do not like them as well. The readings are not very long, but they are heartfelt. The suggestion is given to do this during or before a meal.

However you celebrate this Christmas, I pray you are surrounded by joy. Your challenge this week is to think about how you want to prepare in the coming weeks and, as always keep Christ in your heart.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God

Worship and Thanksgiving

November 18, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Worship and Thanksgiving ~ Episode 228

What do worship and thanksgiving mean to you? Your definition may be similar to many Christians, yet where is the challenge? The challenge is living lives that show that we worship the One True God and, in that way, our faith is permeated in all that we do. Listen to the challenge this week, by your host, Felice Gerwitz.

Thanks to our sponsor, Media Angels, and the wonderful books and products such as A Few Minutes with God and to NowProgams for sponsoring this episode.

As we discuss worship and thanksgiving today remember that the key to everything we do is to make it workable for us. What works for me may not work for you and that is important. I’ve read blogs over the years that list things that are so not doable in my life. This is why I try to simplify things for myself and for you! Which reminds me.

Have you heard the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do?”

At times when I record podcasts, I feel a nudge from the Lord with the thought, “Are you living your life in the way you are challenging your listeners to live theirs’s?” Unfortunately, the answer is not always, “Yes!” Yet, podcasting on topics that point to the Lord also challenges me as well.

As we head into the months of Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations the theme of thanksgiving resounds in my mind. I ask myself the following questions:

How am I worshipping God daily?
How am I giving Him all the praise and thanks He deserves?
How am I living my Christian life to the fullest?
Am I allowing myself to be used by the Lord (those gentle nudges).
Am I giving myself time to pray?

Giving ourselves time is the biggest obstacle in our life, so in this busy season, we need to cut ourselves some slack while placing a focus on the most important things. What have you learned from past mistakes and how are you leading a life that does not parallel the old? Think about this and consider ways you over-commit.

Years ago I found that if I quit one ministry or volunteer position to make more time for my family, I soon found I was volunteering for another position somewhere else that might not take as much time, or perhaps was for a better cause. This is great to give in some type of ministry but look at your life, your family, and your time commitment. Be sure you are not sacrificing your family.

Worship is an important facet of giving praise to the Lord. If you have a smartphone it is worthwhile to set up a praise and worship album. At one time I had about five songs and my kids would tease me because I had so few, yet these songs spoke to me. They filled my heart with love for the Lord. Today I have a mix of faster-paced songs with some contemplative tunes. I have new favorites depending on what is going on in my life. I shared with you the song “The Motions,” by Matthew West in a previous podcast and for the longest time that was my song, it was an important one to me because I felt like I was becoming complacent, and I wanted to change. Then my song was, “Joy,” by For King and Country. I wanted to be sure I was choosing Joy, and that was my focus. My next favorite was “He Reigns,” by Newsboys. Of course, I love many other gospel hymns and I go to a traditional church where we often sing songs like “Amazing Grace.” I believe you can tell your spiritual mood by looking at the songs you like to play frequently.

Take time to do this, and create a song playlist. What songs speak to you and what songs lead you into worship? Currently, my new favorite is “Blessed Be Your Name.” It makes me consider God’s precious Name and how we should worship Him not only in song but in our lives.

Music is a huge part of helping to set the mood which is why many churches begin with praise and worship. This opens our hearts to the Word of God spoken to teach us and challenge us. If you do not have a playlist make one, either on your phone or on a computer. It is not that difficult to do, and if you do not know how, ask someone to help.

I’m not sure who began the saying when we sing we pray twice. But I believe there is truth to those words. Singing allows us to rejoice and music lowers our inhibitions in a good way and the roadblocks we often put up keeping the Lord out. We can use music in a way that enhances our prayer time and allows the deeper meaning of the words to speak to us in a way that just saying or even reading the words can accomplish. God knew what he was doing when he created music!

I believe that worship music allows us to live our lives more fully. The scriptures are filled with references to music, we read in 1 Chronicles 6:31 “there are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there.” And we know the Psalm is a sacred song or poem used in worship such as the book of Psalms.

In what ways do you like to worship? Think about this and then when you do, make a point to make this part of your life. Worship can be serious and there is a time for this, but it can also be lighthearted. I think laughter is great and I believe with all of my heart that the Lord has a sense of humor. If He is truly Lord of Lords and created all things he created humor (the good kind) as well. Remember anything good can be perverted by the evil one.

I think one of the reasons I like music that I play in the car is because it fits my lifestyle when I am on the go. It puts me in a good frame of mind when I get to my destination. We use the tools at our disposal to make things work for us! In this way, we can more easily add worship and thanksgiving into our lives, daily.

The challenge for you is to look for a way to implement worship and thanksgiving not only during the holiday season but daily in your own life.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: Thanksgiving, worship

Christian Example (Replay)

October 21, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Christian Example ~ 272

What is a good Christian example? We can point to the saints, people like Mother Teresa and others. But, truly we can be an example to others by asking the Lord for His grace and His help.

Sponsored By: CTCMath.com a curriculum for students grades K-12 with online tutorials and help. Visit the website for more information.

In Luke 7:31-35 we read, (on air).

I did a podcast sometime back that I titled Judgmental Christians, and I’ll put a show a link I’ll put a link in the show notes. (Tell the story on air)

In Matthew 9:9-13 we read (on air).

Wow! God is calling us; he is calling all of us. Not the perfect, not the ones that have it all together, but us. The sinners.

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God

Penny From Heaven (Replay)

September 9, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Penny From Heaven ~ Episode 252

When you find a penny, what do you do? I call it a gift, a penny from heaven. It is something little, often ignored and stepped over but valued nonetheless. In this episode, Felice shares her finds and treasures that are inspirations from the Lord.

Thanks to our sponsor, this curriculum is for kids of all ages. Visit CTCMath.com, a math curriculum from the comfort of your home with self-paced lessons. This is one not to miss. Share this with a friend, and we appreciate CTC math.

What do you do when you see a penny lying on the ground? Most of us walk over it and ignore the coin. We do this for many reasons, and all of them are valid. It is an insignificant amount; it is dirty, we don’t want to bend down to pick it up, and so on.

I was right there with you for quite some time. But then something changed. I decided that each penny signified a gift from God. While it may hold little value in the monetary sense, it is, after all, the smallest coin we have; it represents the gifts that God has in store for me. Each penny is a blessing; each penny is a reminder that God knows me and sees me. He sees all of me, and I am important in His eyes.

Do you see a penny from heaven as a blessing?

This is one of those podcasts where I wish we were together because I imagine some of you are like me; you stop and pick up that penny or that coin. You recognize it for what it is – not for the monetary value, but for the gift. It is a blessing, you happened upon it, and it has value in your eyes.

It reminds me of the widow’s mite, and we read about it in Luke 21:1-4 [Read on air.]

Just as the widow gave her savings, what was described in her poverty, to the Lord, I, too, set aside this money for the Lord. I have areas throughout my home set up like little prayer corners and plaques proclaiming scripture verses, and basically, some have called my home a mini-shrine. It’s not, but it is all a matter of perspective. Walking by a sign or a prayer corner reminds me to pray or consider what the Lord has done for me. One particular shelf above my computer has a small depiction of Jesus and Joseph. Jesus is seated on a bench, animated with his hand outstretched, and Joseph listens to him in rapt attention. The workbench and work are briefly forgotten as Joseph is focused on the Lord. I set up a small container where I place any pennies I find. I feel that these gifts are given to me, but then I can turn around and donate it back. After some time, these coins add up, and I donate them to charity.

This is a visual sign of an invisible truth. Faith is invisible but has such an impact on our lives. I know some people think that having a statue, a cross, or even a picture depicting a religious scene is idolatry which the old testament warns us about. And, if I had a statue of Baal or Budda, I would agree with you, but I don’t.

I believe in the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the lineage of David and Jesus, the true Lord and Messiah. My God is a God of infinite love and mercy. I want reminders of Bible verses and religious scenes.

Maybe picking up pennies seems silly to you. But it is a small gesture and reminds me about so things that are spiritually important. My shortlist would include the following:

A reminder not to take anything in life for granted.
Acknowledgment that even a penny can symbolize something greater
The understanding that value is in the eyes of the beholder
Remembering that the value placed by material things in our world is nothing compared to that of heaven
A reminder not to ignore the simple things in my life

Maybe your list looks different, and I have a much longer list, but the purpose here is to give you the overall idea–which is looking at your day, each day, and seeing the gift that God has for you. No matter what happens, we can turn to the Lord and thank Him. What is that penny you have stepped over and ignored in your life? What is it that seems insignificant but holds bigger value?

I feel blessed in many ways, not because I live in a castle, am royalty, or am a multi-billionaire. I am blessed because my eyes have been opened like Saul on the road to Damascus, and the Lord has called me by name.

In Acts 9:1-20 We read the entire account of Saul – but here is the first part (Read on air).

We later read in the following verses that Ananais also receives a vision from the Lord, and he says, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord tells him specifically where to go and that he will find Saul of Tarsus. Ananias knows how he is – Saul has been harming the Christians in Jerusalem, and he reminds the Lord of this. Let me stop here – doesn’t that strike you as ironic? Here is a man with a vision from God; he is conversing with the Lord, yet he is reminding him of something that the Lord already knows!
God is so patient with us, isn’t he?

The Lord says to him, in verses 15-16 (Read on air.)

I am sure Ananias was fearful, but he went, laid hands on him, saying verses 17-20 (Read On Air.)

Saul thought he was doing the right thing, he thought he was doing the will of God, but God showed him that he wasn’t and purged him into the three days of darkness. It was a false belief – which makes me think, what false beliefs do I harbor that I need to dispel? Is it simple, like the value of finding a coin on the ground, or is it deeper in understanding that the God we serve is loving and kind but also righteous?

God restores our belief daily if we let him. Your challenge this week is to look at those little things as gifts from heaven, whether it is a penny found or something more!

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God

Why Be Catholic? 5 Key Reasons

August 29, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Catholicism is one of the oldest branches of Christianity, tracing its roots back to Jesus Christ and His apostles. But why be Catholic? In this article, we’ll explore five key reasons: the Church’s historical roots, the importance of the sacraments, the role of Mary and the saints, the Church’s authority, and the belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Let’s dive into what makes the Catholic faith unique and why so many people choose to follow it.

1. Historical Roots of the Catholic Church

One of the most compelling reasons to be Catholic is the Church’s deep historical roots. The Catholic Church began with Jesus Christ, who appointed His apostles to continue His mission. These apostles, led by Peter, whom Catholics consider the first pope, spread the teachings of Jesus throughout the world. For over 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has maintained this unbroken line of leadership, known as apostolic succession. This means that every pope, bishop, and priest can trace their authority back to the apostles, making the Catholic Church the original Christian Church.

2. The Sacraments: Special Signs of Grace

Catholics believe in seven sacraments, which are special signs of God’s grace. These sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Each sacrament is a way that Catholics receive God’s help and guidance in their lives. For example, through Baptism, Catholics are welcomed into the Church, and in Reconciliation (or Confession), they are forgiven of their sins. The sacraments are more than just symbols; Catholics believe that they truly bring God’s grace into their lives, helping them to grow closer to Him.

3. Mary and the Saints: Friends in Heaven

Many people wonder why Catholics honor Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the saints. It’s important to know that Catholics do not worship Mary or the saints. Instead, they see them as friends in heaven who can pray for them. Just like you might ask a friend or family member to pray for you, Catholics believe that they can ask Mary and the saints to pray to God on their behalf. The Bible encourages Christians to pray for one another, and Catholics believe that this doesn’t stop when someone goes to heaven. This connection is known as the Communion of Saints.

4. Authority and Tradition: Understanding the Church’s Teachings

Another reason to be Catholic is the belief in the Church’s authority. Catholics believe that the Bible is the word of God, but they also value Sacred Tradition. This is the teaching passed down from Jesus to the apostles and through the Church. To make sure that teachings stay true to what Jesus taught, the Catholic Church has something called the Magisterium, which is the teaching authority made up of the pope and bishops. They help interpret the Bible and Tradition so that Catholics can understand their faith clearly and avoid misunderstandings. This guidance helps keep the faith united and strong, unlike the many different interpretations seen in other Christian denominations.

5. The Eucharist: The Heart of the Catholic Faith

One of the most special beliefs in the Catholic faith is the Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion. Catholics believe that during the Mass, the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This belief is called transubstantiation, and it means that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, not just symbolically. This idea comes from the words of Jesus at the Last Supper when He said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” By receiving the Eucharist, Catholics believe they are receiving Jesus Himself, which helps them grow closer to Him.

Reasons to Be Catholic

These are just a few reasons why someone might choose to be Catholic. The Catholic Church offers a faith that is deeply rooted in history, centered around the sacraments, connected to the saints, guided by tradition and authority, and focused on the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. For those who seek a faith that connects them to Jesus and His teachings in a direct and meaningful way, Catholicism offers a path that is both ancient and alive today. Whether you’re exploring faith for the first time or looking to deepen your understanding, the Catholic Church has much to offer to help you grow in your relationship with God.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Catholic church, why be catholic

Transformed Family

August 5, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Family Transformed – Episode 217

Are you ready for a transformation within your own family? How about a challenge for a transformed family? This is a follow-up to the last episode of Heart Transformed

Thanks to our sponsor, CTC Math a wonderful math curriculum for kids K-12

Why is it we can see the faults in other people so much easier than we can see the faults in ourselves? Did you know when we focus on ourselves first (the opposite of what we have been taught), and get our own spiritual house in order, the rest of the family will see the change and want to be a part of what you have? If you didn’t catch the last episode, Heart Transformed be sure to check it out.

St. Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-4 [ Read on air]

When our family is at peace, when we are serving the Lord as a group, we will all get along so much better. I taught my children that God put us together as a family on purpose. There are no mistakes in Lord’s plan for family life. Each person was selected to be together because of what they could learn from each other. It is a beautiful thing when it works the way God designed. If we focus on the things above we are so much happier.

The best teacher is the example we set If we want our family to read the Bible, we need to read the Bible. If we want our family to pray, we need to lead in prayer. Years ago I wanted my husband to be the spiritual leader of our home, and he is in so many ways, but not in the way I wanted him to be. I wanted him to lead the Bible studies and the prayer sessions we had as a family and while he contributed to these, he is not a leader. So we became co-leaders, I would initiate the studies and he and I would contribute to the discussion. We can become upset or bitter because things do not go our way rather than take on the leadership ourselves if that is what God leads us to do. Don’t box yourself in with your own ideas, but rather what works best for your family. Never, never compare your family to other families. That will surely set you up for failure. Many people put up a good front when everything is falling apart. So don’t judge by exteriors.

Here are some simple things to do, for yourself if you do not have a young family and with a family, if you do:

Start each day by giving thanks. By doing this we are giving God all the glory (Colossians 4:4 – When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.”) That is enough for us to rejoice daily.
Family prayer. Begin each meal with thanks to God. Keep it brief. Have a nighttime routine that includes prayer.
Encourage each member of the family to have their own time to pray.
Participate in helping. Whether it is each other or contributing to the family needs. Meals, cleaning up, helping when needed.
Participate in ministry outside of the home. Volunteering, visiting the elderly (neighbor), etc.

Talk to your family members and add to this list. As the children grew and left home we had a big gap in our lives, and my husband and I found we were no longer praying together because our nightly routine was changed. Even when our children were younger, the two of us would pray each evening together. This habit changed as our lives became busier. For anyone who has children, you always think you will have so much time when the kids grow older, but soon find that our lives just change and often become even busier. We must make the time to pray together.

If you are alone in your home and have a good prayer life, that is wonderful, now invite a friend. I pray with my friends often. Sometimes it is in church, sometimes it is a friend in need. I am part of several email prayer groups that send out prayer requests. I set up a Facebook group – A Few Minutes with God years ago for prayer requests. It was used to help people who needed prayers and also to post their praise reports.

And that is really the crux of the transformed family, and that is you will have so many praise reports! A praise report is where we thank God for the blessings in our lives. My son was hit by a falling object that was large and metal off of a single-story roof. The injury could have been so bad, but it turned out that while it bled profusely, the damage was minimal and mostly a scrape. That was a miracle. No swelling, no concussion, no brain damage, or worse! So thank you Lord for your blessings. If you think about it each day you can come up with so many things to thank the Lord for and to praise His Name. But, it takes time to stop and think.

What do you do when you enter a church? Is it a time to be social, or is it a time to listen and pray? Can we pray and be social? Of course! But I feel that often church is used as a social outlet rather than a time of worship. Going to church for me is a time to get on my knees, for as long as I am able, and begin by thanking and praising God, asking His forgiveness for the ways I have offended Him, and petitioning Him in prayer. However, you serve to worship it is an individual choice.

This week I challenge you to work within your own family no matter how big or how small and make positive changes. Small to begin with and grow as your family grows and adapts to a time of prayer, worship, and growing closer to the Lord. I pray this is a blessing to you and your family.

Thank You to our Network Sponsor – CTC Math!

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Spiritual Experience

July 23, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Spiritual Experience | A Few Minutes with God Podcast with Felice Gerwitz

Episode 308: Exploring Spiritual Experiences Based on Matthew 17

Have you had a spiritual experience? Have you ever felt like you were on a spiritual mountaintop? In this episode of the “A Few Minutes with God” podcast, Felice Gerwitz explores these profound moments. She draws inspiration from Matthew 17, where Jesus is transfigured on the mountain before Peter, James, and John:

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:1-2)

You might be curious about what defines such an experience or blessed to have had one. These moments can come through prayer, music, a powerful sermon, a unique situation, or a special moment from the Lord. In this episode, Felice discusses:

Understanding Spiritual Experiences: Felice explains what a spiritual experience is and isn’t, helping you recognize these moments.
Common Elements of Spiritual Experiences: Many of these experiences share typical components, such as a sense of immense peace, overwhelming joy, or a deep connection with God.
The Joy of Spiritual Experiences: Felice shares insights into the profound joy that accompanies a true spiritual encounter and how this joy can transform your faith journey.
Experiencing God’s Grace Anew: This can open your heart to God’s grace in new and unexpected ways. Felice provides examples and personal stories to illustrate this transformation.
A New Calling: Sometimes, it brings a sense of new purpose or calling. Felice discusses how to discern and embrace this new direction.
What to Do After a Mountaintop Experience: Practical advice on integrating these powerful moments into your daily life and maintaining spiritual growth.

This episode is proudly sponsored by CTC Math. They offer an excellent resource for homeschooling families seeking a comprehensive and engaging math curriculum.

A Mountaintop Spiritual Experience can contain some of the following elements:

a spiritual connection to the Almighty
it can be life-changing – you don’t want to continue on the path you are currently on but want to improve.
it can contain extreme joy
it can come from unexplainable events
you feel a strong sense of God’s presence
you have a deep knowledge of the truth that God loves you
you feel a calling to follow God in a deeper way.

God’s love is something we read about in the scriptures; look up the words “God’s love.”
We read in 1 John 4-6 (Read on air).

and in Romans 5:4-6 we read (On air.)

The trouble is that we understand God’s love only through our own experiences. How can we experience what we have not gone through and do not understand? We can’t. God’s love can only be explained by the fact that we must first have the head knowledge that it exists (because we are here, we live, the Lord had given us life – we are not a mistake, not an accident!

God loves us, and our mountaintop spiritual experience can be realized because God wants this for us. So let’s pray, dear friends, that you recognize when it happens and are open to the love of God today and always.

Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of spiritual encounters and how they can profoundly impact your walk with God.

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Evil Tactic

July 15, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Evil Tactic – Combatting Evil ~ Episode 225

What is an evil tactic? It is something employed by the evil one to take souls to hell. Harsh? Maybe. But, this is something that few of us want to talk about or consider. In this podcast, Felice will explore the tactics used and how to prevent being led to the dark side.

Visit this month’s wonderful sponsor who helps bring this network to you for free, visit CTCMath.com for a great math curriculum for grades K-12

Few people realize the greatest tool of evil is to convince people that evil does not exist. Everything is fine, it’s good, there is nothing to worry about. Everyone gets a free pass to go to heaven. Don’t worry, proclaim God once, claim Him and go on and live your life in whatever way you see fit. I realize we all come from different faith walks. Some are non-denominational and others adhere to a specific denomination. Some teach it is faith alone and others that it is faith and works.

In the previous podcast, I cited James 2:14-26, Faith without works is dead. With this thought, we must look at the ways that evil sets to destroy not only others but specifically our lives.

I see evil glorified everywhere I look during the month of October, whether I am in the grocery store or at a restaurant. Some people celebrate fall with leaves and such, but many, enjoy what they believe is making light of darkness with evil-looking and scary decorations. While spoofs are fine, being surrounded by evil-looking decorations is not something I enjoy. Walking into a hair salon while hearing an evil cackling voice is not my idea of fun, and believe me, I soon went to another hair salon.

Here is a short list of things that are considered evil tactics:

Not believing evil or satan exists. John 8:44 (read)
Fearfulness (in a minute I’ll read from Matthew 10 which helps us to combat fear)
Deception and lies, Confusion, Twisting of words – reproductive freedom, no big deal, not for us to judge
Division – because when we are divided we are weak. John 17:20-24 (read)
Diversion – an overload of information, social media, anxiety, and distractions of everyday life Matt 10:26-32 (read)
Discouragement and depression – personal setbacks, always wanting more, if “this” happens, I’ll be happy. (humility)

There is so much packed into these verses, first, we have nothing to fear, the next is that we should not fear the body because what is most important is our soul, and the only person to fear is what can destroy us -that is giving into evil tactics and ultimately hell. Then there is the wonderful verse about the Father’s intimate knowledge about each one of us because he even knows the number of hair on our heads. We have value to God, my friends more than we know! We must also acknowledge God, we must not be afraid of our Christian faith or deny him unless we want to be denied before the Father in heaven. Powerful words!

5. Humility – the key to discouragement and depression is humility. Realizing we can do nothing without God. This is not a way to push off blame or alleviate our guilt, it is a way however to realize that when we do things under our own steam we are setting up ourselves for failure. Have you ever wondered when your life falls apart, and you can’t seem to handle anymore that you are “doing” it yourself and without God? Sure, we are all gifted in some way, but those gifts should be attributed to the Almighty.

In our humility we ask the Lord for help, to come into our lives in a deeper way (I know – I must sound like I repeat myself over and over) but it is a truth that when we grow closer to God we find things that are so important in our life or that we think are important fall way. All the people who suffer loss realize in the end that these are things they can not take with them when they die. That is why we are taught to look to the end, to look at our lives and when we do, when we grow closer to God we can see the areas where we have sinned.

Evil tactics are lost on those who are grounded, who surround themselves with like-minded Christians, and who immerse themselves in all that is good and holy, beginning with your relationship with Christ and the Scriptures. This week make a list of the evil tactics aimed at you and work at ways (with God, Scripture, and prayer) that you can combat the evils.

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God’s Word Revealed (Replay)

July 8, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

God’s Word Revealed – Episode 220

We often read the Bible and are left unmoved, but through the words of scripture, God’s word is revealed. Why is that? What are the tools you need to get you into the right frame of mind before praying and delving into the scriptures? Stay tuned and find out.

We are so appreciative of this wonderful company and our sponsor CTC Math – for a math curriculum that is geared to teaching children K-12 visit CTCMath.com our sponsors help keep this show and our network on the air.

When was the last time you read the Bible or listened to the Bible read to you in church and found your mind wandering or the words had less of an impact than you hoped? God’s word teaches and instructs us and it can reveal truths to us that will help us in our daily lives and we are taught are good for our eternal soul. What is revealed in God’s word is more than can we usually unpack on our own and that is where the commentaries are helpful.

A quick guide to reading scripture.

Pray to the Lord for the forgiveness of past sins.
Ask the Holy Spirit for a blessing upon you to open your mind to the words the Lord wants you to hear.
Close your eyes and pray thanksgiving for all the Lord has done for you.
Put on the “mind of Christ,” and pray for understanding.
Open your Bible and read!

As I was preparing this podcast I thought about some of the highlights of which there are many but these were earth-shattering revelations about the sovereignty of God.

God revealed His name in Exodus to Moses in the burning bush – we learn that it was a miraculous event, the bush was not consumed in fire and by the power of God, he sustained it, and revealed Himself with the promise of liberating the oppressed people.

Exodus 3: 1-8 [Read on air] The bush was sustained by the power of God and in this passage, God revealed His name. I AM. What a miracle and one that we wish was happening today – a miracle to set His people free those of us who are believers who are crying out to the Lord for help. Not as I want my God but as you want for me. That too is takes a miracle of faith to trust in God and His insight and knowing what is best for us.

The Lord revealed His plan of a Savior through his prophetic word, and even through Mary. We may not consider the Mother of Christ sharing a prophetic word but she did and we know this because we read her prophetic word in what is known as the Magnificat, in some translations I read Mary’s song but I feel that falls short of the magnitude of her words: Luke 1:46-56 Please read those words and think about them, friends. My goodness, when I read … my soul magnifies the Lord we should pray for that blessing and grace. To trust as Mary trusted what a gift! Sure, she was visited by an angel of God, but we all know that the punishment for an unwed woman in those days was death. I’m sure she was afraid but still, she went to tend to her cousin, Elizabeth and we further read the baby in Elizabeth’s womb lept for joy. That baby was the future John the Baptist.

I think that is why so many of us feel so strongly about abortion that we never know who the future child that will be born is, and all are gifts from God and created in God’s image. Again, we have to suspend our thoughts and put on the mind of Christ as the scriptures teach.

And another prophetic word by Zechariah – the father of John the Baptist. Because he did not believe the word he received from the Lord when he was in the temple offering the sacrifice of the people, he was struck mute. Yet once his wife Elizabeth argued about the name that should be given to their child, the Lord gave him his voice back. Luke 1:67-80 (this was soon after Mary’s words). His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied that his son would be a prophet called by God the Most High. The miracle next to that of Elizabeth being barren, and old and still giving birth to a healthy child.

Those prophetic words and the many that the Bible contains are not just for your neighbor, your friend, or the people down the street, no. These words are for you and for me! There are prophets of today some are sound and teach truth and others I believe want to sow fear in our hearts. We do not need to have a spirit of fear but we must be of sound mind and that comes from putting on the armor of Christ!

Your challenge this week is to pray to discern God’s Word in the scripture and to pray to only hear the truth and discern when it is not of the Lord. May you be blessed today and always.

Thank You to our Network Sponsor – CTC Math!

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Christian Retreat (Replay)

June 20, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Christian Retreat ~ At Home – Episode 213

It is time to fill up your spiritual tank with a Christian retreat. No matter what time of the year a refilling is good and that begins with a good Bible Study, or you, the Holy Spirit, and a pad and paper. Have you ever tried to listen to God and then had a sense of something you wanted to write down? In this way, we can communicate (in our own fallen way) with the Almighty. While it is not the same as face-to-face, we’ll have to wait for that time at the end of our lives, it is still a way to have a Christian retreat in our own homes.

– and if you missed my podcast on Renewing Your Faith you can catch it here.

Not all of us can leave to go on a weekend retreat, but if you have ever had the opportunity to go on a really good one, you know the blessings are unsurpassed. In the past, we’ve talked about spending time with God, the entire purpose or theme of this podcast, but this takes it one step further. Prayer is a communication of some sort, many times we feel it is one-sided. We talk, we listen and we hear silence. Or we look for a particular feeling, one of joy, thanksgiving, or peace. When we try to find these things and don’t we feel that we’ve failed in some way, or perhaps given up.

If you could go on a retreat what are your goals? What is it that you would want to get out of it? Is it getting closer to God? Growing in your relationship? Is it learning, listening, or perhaps making a point to rely upon the Lord? Or, is it to rest in the Lord, to become infilled and empowered by the Holy Spirit?

Recently I read something that really caused me to analyze my own relationship with the Lord. It said that if we are short-tempered, finding ourselves quickly annoyed, or unable to deal with the detours of life, we need to look at our relationship with the Lord. The people who are on track, who have a good relationship with God, and who feel that they spend time in meaningful prayer, learning, sharing their faith, and giving of themselves in service to others are the ones that can handle most things calmly.

Wow, that was eye-opening. In fact, I had just shared with my husband shortly before that the opposite. I asked him why I was unable to deal with all of the minor issues, many of them computer related that normally didn’t cause me to become upset. In the space of two weeks, my husband’s website was hacked, junk emails were created and sent from his account, and we had to move our server to a more secure one including this podcast network and the other one I owned, and website. Not only that, but the accounting software my husband’s business uses was giving me issues! And, I had no patience at all.

Sure, we all have things that happen in our lives and sometimes we handle them better than others, but this type of thing never bothered me. I was attributing my irritations to getting older! But, the Lord set me straight. If I truly believe, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my savior, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 then I have to live my life in this way. And, the best way to begin is by filling back up and renewing my relationship with God.

And, today we will discuss a customized retreat just for you!

First, if you have been on a retreat, think about some of the things you enjoyed. I’m going to share my list with you, be sure to add to this or subtract things that don’t interest you. You may need to tweak or adjust it to fit your schedule.

My favorite aspects of the retreat are the following?

Quiet.
Time for prayer.
Praise and Worship.
Solitude.
Time for confession.

Retreats usually contain some type of guest speaker who gets us started on the journey of turning our hearts toward God. This may be several talks or one key talk. I spent the weekend at a retreat that started with a keynote on a Friday evening, then the silent part of the retreat. We were asked to go back to our rooms, and if we had a roommate to still remain silent. We could break our silence the next day at breakfast. The focus was on giving our thoughts to God and reading, praying or spending time in that quiet thinking about what the speaker said that was impactful but more importantly to train our busy minds to slow down. When you take communication out of the equation and are forced into quiet it is amazing. It allows you a chance to breathe and relax.

When you are in the car, can you just drive in silence? If the answer is always no, maybe it is time to begin your car trip with prayer. I plan to do another podcast on this very topic at some point soon. I use my car trips always the very beginning of one to pray. Once I am finished with my prayers, then I can flip on the radio or podcasts. But first I must have time with God.

The point of a retreat is relationship and communication only with the Lord. It can be a time of prayer and petition for yourself, wait another time to pray for others, unless you are really led to do it during this time.

So, your dream retreat what would it look like? Here is a thumbnail outline to start you off.

First, ask the Lord to fill you to overflowing with His love joy, and peace or whatever the goals are for your retreat.
Find a quiet place. Somewhere you will not be interrupted.
Have a journal, a pen, your Bible, and something to drink.
Praise God – either in word or song. If you can sing, do it! Have a favorite playlist? Play it.
Wait until you feel the joy or the sense of peace and allow that to fill you in the quiet. Remain in this way as long as you’d like or time permits.
Write down any thoughts or words. Don’t be in a hurry with this. Close your eyes and just wait upon the Lord.
Read scripture if you are led to a particular scripture. Again, write down the words that touch you, and in the quiet and listen. Mediate on what they mean in your life.
Ask the Lord, in prayer to strengthen your faith (or whatever it is you want to ask the Lord).
Write down any thoughts or goals you want for this day or the future. Make these goals reachable!
Praise God and thank Him for this time with Him.

Create your own retreat and you will be blessed.

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Summer Reading for the Working Woman | Summer replay

June 10, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Episode 90–Summer Reading for the Working Woman

Deanna Cauthen, the host of The Working Woman Radio Show, shares 10 of her favorite books to encourage summer reading for the working woman.

The nice thing about the summer is that most people usually take vacations during the summer, and this can be a great time to catch up on some reading that you may not have been able to do during the other months of the year.

The list that she shares is not in any particular order as far as preference is concerned.

So she encourages you to put your feet up, kick back, and take a little time to do some reading this summer.

Helpful Resources:

The following are a list of the books that I mentioned on the podcast:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup, MD

Emily Posts Complete Encyclopedia of Etiquette by Emily Post

Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman

Soothe Your Nerves by Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

The Boy Crisis by Warren Farrel, Ph. D and John Gray, Ph.D

The Power of a Praying Wife Stormie Omartian

Announcements

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Tell us a story about something you’ve done to elevate your life or someone else’s. It could be something you’ve done to better the life of a family member or friend, or a creative way you enhanced your home decor home. It could also be something you’ve done to improve your health like losing weight, and more.

If you would like to be featured in our ‘Before We Go’ segment, share your story with us. To sign up, go to The Elevate Talk Show YouTube channel and subscribe. Then email us your stories and pictures to elevateytchannel@gmail.com.

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To view the Elevate! YouTube channel, go to Elevate!

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God’s Will While Living The Gospel | Special Replay

June 10, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

God’s Will While Living The Gospel Podcast 18

How can we find God’s will while living the gospel? Often when a member of a family receives a threatening or fatal medical diagnosis. The tendency in this situation, especially for the individual, is to devote themselves to putting everything in order. They may update their will, re-deed their property, even preplan their funeral. All of this is to ensure that their loved ones are well taken care of once they are gone.

Finding God’s will while living The Gospel can be seen in the last supper.

At the Last Supper Jesus does the same with his disciples. In his preplanning to physically leave them, he tells them the following things to remember and do: He tells them to remain in him, if they don’t they will not produce fruit because apart from him they can do nothing. If they remain in him they can ask for what they want and it will be done for them. If they keep the commandments they will remain in his love, especially the great commandment of loving God and loving one another. He tells them that they are his friends and he has given them everything the Father has given him…

“I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them the word and the world hated them.” Then he tells them the world is going to hate them because they do not belong to the world. “because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may be consecrated in truth”, see Jn. 17: 11-19.

God’s will while living the Gospel…

God’s will while living the Gospel shows up in the consecration in this scripture means being set aside for the purposes of being a sacrificial love offering through suffering and death. Hatred here means to resist, plot against, persecute and kill. And they will do this because they do not know him or the Father. The world will hate them without cause. When this happens they will remember that he prepared them and told them that this would happen. However, he will send them the Holy Spirit and he will guide them and teach them all truth. He told them to take courage because he has conquered the world. They are told by him to remain committed, courageous, and merciful in the face of adversity, struggle, trial, suffering, and persecution. In this consecration, for the sake of the truth of the Gospel, his disciples will discover the will of the Father.

I was speaking to a close friend a short while ago and he, reflecting on the state of the world at the present time, referring to the mayhem in our post-modern world, he said that the world has become a very dangerous place to live. Many people undoubtedly are perceiving these same realities.

The question one may hear occasionally is, why is God allowing these things to take place? How does this situation reflect on the consideration of God’s will in our daily life? When we look at the world around us and take the time to reflect on the beautiful and wonderful world of creation, we can’t help to be deeply moved by the glorious wonder of God’s creating love. And the truth that we partner with God in the unfolding of his creative love.

How many gifts the good Lord has given us. We all have received many tremendous blessings both spiritual and temporal. Just in the recent years the many new discoveries in medicine and the rapid development of modern technologies. Original, personal, and social sin has deeply marred the beautiful world of creation which is an expression of God’s gracious love for us. This is the world of reality in which we live.

To counteract the broken reality of sin in the world, God’s plan is fulfilled in his beloved Son, Jesus, our Lord, and Savior. “We know that no one begotten by God commits sin, rather, God protects the one begotten by him, and so the evil one cannot touch him. We know that we belong to God, While the whole world is under the evil one. We know too, that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to recognize the One who is true. And we are in the One who is true, for we are in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life”, see I Jn, 5: 18-20.

“Have no love for the world, nor the things that the world affords. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love has no place in him, for nothing that the world affords comes from the Father. Carnal allurements, enticement for the eye, the life of empty show—all these are from the world. And the world with its seductions is passing away but the man who does God’s will endures forever”, see 1 Jn. 2:15.

What does it mean to leave go of the worldliness of modern reality and do God’s will in all things, especially and primarily in my daily life? If we give up our worldly way of life and begin to follow the ways of the Holy Spirit we surrender our own isolated way of life, our own isolated determination of our human life.

We then take on the supernatural likeness of Christ and imitate the life of Christ, living a life in the Holy Spirit who lives in us and is united to us. Then our nature is transformed so that we are no longer merely human beings, but also sons and daughters of the Father, spiritual human beings by reason of the share we have received in the divine nature. This makes us all one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We are one in mind and holiness, we are one through our communion in the sacred flesh of Christ and our sharing in the one Holy Spirit, see St. Cyril of Alexandria, Liturgy of the Hours, vol II, p. 873.

It is easily seen in the Scripture, that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell. He so transforms them that they begin to live a completely new kind of life.

“As we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, that glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit, transforms us all into his own likeness, from one degree of glory to another. 2 Cor. 3: 18. And where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”

What does it mean to leave the world of modern reality and seriously look to change some things in our modern and post-modern life? The goal is being free from “the negative spirit of this world”, as we live our good and wonderful human life in this material world created in God’s love. The key goal is the seeking and doing the will of God.

It is probably one of the most ignored and neglected understanding of the truth of God’s will in our Christian growth. “Through the mercy of God, offer your bodies as a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to the Lord. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed in the renewal of your mind, in order to know what is good, pleasing, and perfect.”, see Rom. 12: 1-3 How can we know God’s will in our lives, if we don’t directly relate to attitudes, choices, decisions, behaviors, in the practical situations of our daily life?

“Just as the truth is in Jesus, “that you should put away the old self of the former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth”, see Eph. 4: 21-24. A fresh new spiritual way of thinking! Do we run the risk of mistaken opinions, disagreement’s, and criticism from others? Absolutely! Nevertheless, we really need to cut to the chase here. Can we identify the attitudes and the system of negative values which characterize modern thinking and acting? Which things are opposed to the revelation of God and his most precious will for those he loves?

For the sake of honoring God and loving our brothers and sisters, we should humbly try! The first step in this attempt is to identify some of the idols, false gods, and then look at some of the attitudes and behaviors which are antithetical or hostile to God and his will. And follow and obey what he wants for the nations of the world, and specifically for family life in the Church, and for each individual living in the world of our time.

Of course, it would be impossible to cover everything that may need to be mentioned, but I will attempt to identify some things that may stimulate some specific considerations for us. It would also be helpful if you think about some things that may easily come to you which I won’t be mentioning. These things may point out some areas in your own life which may need some attention in regard to, leaving the world. The Lord may give you some wisdom and understanding in growing in spiritual freedom as you attempt to do the Fathers will in your life, and in the lives for whom you may have some responsibility.

Identifying some idols and false gods in our society: St. Pope John Paul II came to the United States a decent number of times even before he became Pope. He really loved the American people and recognized the potential for American Christians to make a tremendous impact on the international scene in terms of proclaiming the Gospel and living by those values. One time a group of Americans were complaining about all the bad stuff on TV, and asked what should we do? His simple answer was, turn it off. He also took the time to warn American Christians that democracy without a religious base could easily become a new Totalitarianism, which he knew well because of his personal experience in the European situations.

These situations characterized a negative philosophical nihilism, a meaningless and emptiness of life without God, violent destruction of peoples, and two world wars. The leaders of this movement abandoned God and designed new false gods of atheistic humanism and abusive murderous control of individuals. As we today in this country remove God and his values from the American scene, we become victims by tolerating violent destructive behavior and obliterating the dignity and value of God-given human life. A recent article about the toxic destruction of being exposed to third degree of smoking which means living in places where people have smoked for years.

The theory is that individuals living there now are absorbing the toxic poison through their skin. Have we, with little thought bought into our societal values a destructive secular humanism, because we just absorb these attitudes and beliefs, as God’s will is ignored in society and in the media? The commercials on television and movies in a very charming manner promote or present a way of life on TV, which highlights the negative values of unbridled materialism, compulsive buying and spending, liberal sexual behavior, immodest dress and behavior, and programs that foster violence, indecency, killing, materialism, indecent exposure, and paranormal forms of the occult etc.

Ingesting these attitudes unconsciously over a period of time actually changes our way of thinking and our value system. It gets us used to ignoring God and his commandments and not feeling guilty about it as we give in to an inordinate and quiet toleration of all things in society. Do we allow our children to have unsupervised access to watch whatever they want, by having televisions in their rooms? And carry their iPhone computers and TV’s all day long and into the night? Democracy without God leads to bondage and the loss of the dignity of the human person. We see many forms and degrees of destructive behavior very evident in the life of our beloved young people. Many feeling lost and abandoned by others, and open to do destructive things to themselves and in some cases to others.

May We Pray!

Dear Lord grant us the grace to love you with our whole heart, mind, and soul. In love and truth, we seek to know and do your will. Help us, oh merciful Lord to leave the “negative spirit of the world” which fosters destructive behavior and darkness of mind. Give us a Spirit-led discernment of the worldliness of modern life, that we may have the light of your Father and the Holy Spirit unfolding your will in our lives. And grant us purity of heart to do your loving will for ourselves and our brothers and sisters for whom you have asked us to serve. In Jesus Name, we pray! Amen.

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Mary, Our Blessed Mother: A Guide to Spiritual Retreats at Home

May 20, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

In the heart of every Catholic woman, there exists a deep reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary, our loving mother and example of faith. Throughout history, Mary has been a source of inspiration, guidance, and comfort to women around the world. In this blog post, we’ll explore how Mary’s life serves as a model for women everywhere and how she can accompany us on a spiritual retreat right in the comfort of our homes.

Mary as an Example to Women:

Mary’s life embodies virtues such as faith, humility, courage, and love. As we reflect on her journey, we are inspired to emulate her unwavering trust in God, her willingness to say “yes” to His plan, and her steadfast presence at the foot of the Cross. Mary teaches us to surrender ourselves completely to God’s will and to trust in His promises, even in the face of uncertainty and adversity.

Podcast Accompaniment: Spiritual Reflection on Mother Mary

Mary as Our Spiritual Companion:

Imagine inviting Mary to join you on a spiritual retreat at home. Picture her sitting beside you, her gentle presence bringing comfort and solace to your soul. As you enter into moments of prayer, reflection, and meditation, Mary is there, guiding you closer to her Son, Jesus Christ. She listens to your joys and sorrows, interceding for you with a mother’s love and compassion.

Podcast Accompaniment: Fly to Mary

Creating Sacred Space with Mary:

As you prepare for your retreat, consider dedicating a special corner of your home to Mary, adorned with a statue or image of her, along with candles and flowers as symbols of devotion. This sacred space becomes a tangible reminder of Mary’s presence in your life and a focal point for your prayers and reflections, as she points you to her Son, our Lord Jesus.

Podcast Accompaniment: Jesus and His Mother

Walking with Mary Through Scripture:

During your retreat, immerse yourself in the Scriptures, particularly those passages that recount Mary’s life and her encounters with Jesus. Dive into the mysteries of the Rosary, allowing Mary to lead you deeper into the heart of her Son’s love. As you meditate on each mystery, contemplate Mary’s faithfulness, her obedience, and her profound love for Jesus.

Podcast Accompaniment: Mary at the Tomb – John 20:11-18 by Deacon David Hockwalt

Praying with Mary:

Turn to Mary in prayer, seeking her intercession and guidance as you journey through your retreat. Recite the Hail Mary or other Marian prayers, inviting Mary to walk alongside you and accompany you in your spiritual endeavors. Pour out your heart to her, knowing that she listens with a mother’s tenderness and understanding.

Podcast Accompaniment: Mary Mother of Jesus

Reflection

As we conclude our reflection on Mary, Our Blessed Mother, let us be inspired by her example and her unwavering devotion to God. May Mary’s gentle presence accompany us on our spiritual retreats at home, guiding us closer to Jesus and nurturing our souls with her love and grace. Let us strive to emulate her virtues and entrust ourselves to her maternal care, confident that she intercedes for us with her Son. May Mary, Our Blessed Mother, be our constant companion and guide, leading us ever closer to the heart of God.

Podcast Accompaniment: Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Blessings to you on your journey with Mary!

Additional resources:

Marian Hymns Playlist

Rejoice & Be Glad podcast episode

PS. For non-Catholics, we encourage you to listen to this episode:Do Catholics Worship Mary?

Filed Under: Blog

Journal How To

May 9, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Journal – How-To

Episode 25

Journal – how to do it and keep it consistent is the emphasis of today’s podcast. Do you keep one in the traditional way or do you keep a journal as a tool to jump start your Christian walk?

Journaling is an amazing way to see the truth, answered prayers and your spiritual growth. There are many ways to journal and there is no definitive way, however, in this episode, we discuss ways to journal.

Thanks to our sponsor, Media Angels, Inc. A Few Minutes with God, The Journey Begins

How to get started:

You can pick up a book and start writing and that would be considered a journal, but I prefer this method which I will share with you. I found that the way I set up my journal that the most impact on the way I was consistent or not. When you journal, make it personal.

You can find some very inexpensive books at the store. I found very inexpensive lined-paper, bound books for a few dollars with a hardcover that I prefer.

I set mine up with a combination of praises and prayer requests. It was a wonderful way to begin and I felt that praising God and thanking him for all he had done for me!

It allowed me to ask Him in prayer without the fear that I had not been grateful for all the ways He has blessed me! I also wondered if God heard me, which was another reason I would write. In this way I felt I had a conversation going with the Lord.

How To:

Purchase a small journal and keep it handy.
Keep it with your Bible.
Write on the cover or inside — make it your own.
Divide your journal if you would like the way I did, in my explanation in this podcast, or…
Just begin writing. It helps to put the date of your journal entry.
Try to write in your journal every day.

I wanted to praise God before I prayed. I felt that I wasn’t being thankful.

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The Sacred Practice of Contemplation for Catholic Women

May 3, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Embracing Divine Connection: The Sacred Practice of Contemplation for Catholic Women

In the bustling rhythm of our modern lives, amidst the noise and distractions, finding moments of peace and connection with God can seem elusive. Yet, within the rich tapestry of Catholic spirituality lies a timeless practice that offers solace and deepens our relationship with God and the Lord Jesus: contemplation. For Catholic women seeking to nurture their faith amidst the demands of everyday life, the art of contemplation serves as a profound pathway to spiritual enrichment and communion with the divine.

What is Contemplation?

At its heart, contemplation in the Catholic tradition is a sacred invitation to encounter God’s presence in the quiet depths of our souls. It is a practice of intentional reflection, prayerful listening, and openness to the workings of the Holy Spirit. In a world filled with constant noise and distractions, the call to contemplation beckons us to carve out sacred spaces in our lives where we can quiet our minds and open our hearts to God’s loving presence.

Prayer as Contemplation

One powerful avenue for contemplation within the Catholic faith is through the rich tradition of prayer. Whether it’s participating in the Holy Mass, reciting the Rosary, or spending time in silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, these sacred practices offer moments of stillness and communion with God. For example, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, such as the Annunciation or the Crucifixion, allows Catholic women to enter into deeper contemplation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Saints, Our Friends

Furthermore, the Catholic Church offers a wealth of spiritual resources to support contemplative prayer and reflection. The lives of the saints, with their profound devotion to prayer and intimacy with God, serve as inspiring examples for Catholic women seeking to deepen their own spiritual lives. Reading the writings of mystics like St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross can provide valuable insights into the journey of contemplative prayer and the mystical union with God.

Sacraments

The sacraments, particularly the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, are powerful sources of grace and spiritual nourishment for Catholic women on their contemplative journey. Through the sacramental encounter with Christ, women can experience healing, forgiveness, and renewal, deepening their connection with God and strengthening their faith.

Incorporating contemplation into daily life as a Catholic woman doesn’t require elaborate rituals or extraordinary efforts. It’s about cultivating a spirit of openness and receptivity to God’s presence in the midst of the ordinary. Whether it’s through daily prayer, participation in the sacraments, or reflecting on the lives of the saints, Catholic women can find countless opportunities to deepen their relationship with God and the Lord Jesus.

Contemplation is a Sacred Gift

In conclusion, contemplation is a sacred gift that enriches the spiritual lives of Catholic women, offering moments of peace, connection, and intimacy with God. As women of faith journey through the joys and challenges of life, may they continue to embrace the practice of contemplation, knowing that in the silence of their hearts, they encounter the loving presence of God.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Catholic tradition, contemplation, prayer, sacraments

Planning Time For God

May 1, 2024 by radioadmin 1 Comment

Planning Time For God Podcast #3

Have you ever wondered how you can really love someone you’ve never met? It might seem tricky at first, but the answer is pretty simple—get to know them! Just like making a new friend, you spend time with them, talk to them, and learn about their likes and dislikes.

Now, think about this in terms of God. We often hear that God loves us, but how can we love Him back if we feel like we don’t know Him? The key is to spend time with God, just like you would with a new friend.

In today’s episode, we’re going to explore the wonderful love God has for us and how we can get to know Him better. When you spend time with someone, you learn more about who they are, and the same goes for God. By reading stories from the Bible, praying, or just talking to Him about your day, you start to build a connection.

Prayer is like having a direct chat with God.

You can thank Him, ask for help, or even tell Him about things that worry you. Reading the Bible helps too because it’s like reading letters from a friend. The Bible tells us about God’s personality, His plans, and how much He cares for us.

Another great way to feel closer to God is by spending time in nature or listening to music that makes you think of Him. These moments can help you feel His presence and love more deeply.

So, remember, getting to know God is like getting to know a new friend. The more time you spend with Him, the closer you’ll feel. Let’s take this journey together and learn how deep and amazing God’s love for us is!

Sponsor: Media Angels, Inc. Novels – Truth Seekers Mystery Series available on Amazon. Three novels for tweens!

Thanks to our sponsor, Media Angels, Inc. A Few Minutes with God, The Journey Begins

Show Notes: Planning Time For God

Can you love someone you don’t know?
What is the best way to get to know someone?
How is your faith strengthened in prayers?

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Filed Under: A Few Minutes With God Tagged With: how to plan your prayer time, planning time for God

Heartfelt Reflections: 20 Cathlolic Bible Journaling Prompts

April 22, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

If you’ve been fascinated by the journaling Bibles and the concept and practice of Bible journaling, this brief overview and 20 journaling prompts to get you started can be your first steps.

What is Bible Journaling?

Bible journaling is a special way to spend time reading the Bible and thinking deeply about what it says. When you journal, you write down your thoughts, feelings, and prayers about the Bible verses you read. This helps you understand them better and see how they fit into your life. It’s like having a conversation with God on paper! You can use a notebook or even draw pictures if that helps you express yourself. Whether you’re looking for comfort, guidance, or just want to grow closer to God, Bible journaling can be a wonderful and fulfilling practice.

How Do Catholics View the Bible?

Catholics see the Bible as a very sacred book that is the word of God. They believe it was written by people who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, which means that while humans wrote the words, the messages came from God. This makes the Bible very important in the Catholic faith. It is used for prayer, learning about God, and guiding how to live a good life. Catholics also believe that the Bible should be read with the help of the Church’s teachings, because the Church helps to explain and understand the deeper meanings of the scriptures. This way, everyone can be sure they are following the teachings correctly and fully.

How Can Catholics Practice Bible Journaling?

Bible journaling can be a meaningful practice for Catholics to connect more deeply with God’s word. By reading the Bible and then writing down their thoughts, Catholics can explore how the scriptures relate to their own lives, guided by the Holy Spirit. This practice also allows them to reflect on the teachings of the Church and understand how these teachings apply to their daily actions and decisions. Journaling can become a personal space where Catholics engage with the Bible in a prayerful way, seeking wisdom, comfort, and guidance. It’s a powerful tool that not only enhances personal understanding but also strengthens their relationship with God and the community of the Church.

Learn how to journal here.

Gratitude Reflection: Choose a Psalm that speaks of gratitude (e.g., Psalm 136). Reflect on the ways God has shown steadfast love in your life.
Divine Mercy: Read about the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42). Journal about a time you experienced God’s mercy.
Living the Beatitudes: Pick one of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12 and write about how you can live out that Beatitude in your daily life.
Fruits of the Spirit: Read Galatians 5:22-23. Select one fruit of the Spirit and journal how you see this fruit manifesting in your life or how you can cultivate it more.
Saintly Insights: Choose a favorite saint, read a passage they wrote or a story about them, and reflect on how their life inspires your spiritual journey.
Parable Pondering: Select a parable Jesus tells in the Gospels (like the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan). Write about its relevance to your current life situation.
Divine Promises: Reflect on a promise of God from Scripture (e.g., Isaiah 41:10). How does knowing this promise affect your faith and daily living?
Forgiveness and Healing: Read the story of the healing of a paralytic, where Jesus first forgives his sins (Mark 2:1-12). Reflect on the relationship between forgiveness and healing in your own life.
Mary’s Heart: Reflect on Luke 2:19, “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Journal about what you are treasuring and pondering in your heart today.
Call of Discipleship: Read about Jesus calling His disciples (Mark 1:16-20). Reflect on how you are being called to follow Jesus in your own life.
Overcoming Temptation: Reflect on Jesus’ temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). Journal about a personal struggle and how you can use Jesus’ example to overcome it.
Faith in Action: James 2:14-26 discusses faith and works. Write about a recent time when you put your faith into action.
Hope in Hardship: Reflect on Romans 5:3-5, which talks about suffering producing perseverance. Journal about a difficult time and how it has strengthened your hope.
Christ’s Peace: John 14:27 talks about the peace Christ gives. Write about how you experience Christ’s peace in turbulent times.
Loving Like Jesus: Reflect on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Journal about practical ways you can show this kind of love in your relationships.
Spiritual Warfare: Reflect on Ephesians 6:10-18 and the armor of God. Journal about the spiritual battles you face and how you can be better prepared.
God’s Creation: Spend time in nature and read Genesis 1. Write about how the beauty of creation speaks to you about God’s character.
Guidance and Wisdom: Reflect on Proverbs 3:5-6 and how trusting in the Lord has guided you in past decisions.
The Role of Prayer: Reflect on the importance of prayer as seen in the life of Jesus (e.g., Luke 5:16). Journal about your prayer life and aspirations.
Sacrifice and Salvation: Reflect on the Passion narratives in the Gospels. Write about what Jesus’ sacrifice means for your life and faith.

Here are 20 Catholic Bible journaling prompts to deepen your faith and reflection_ (Printable version)

Bible Journaling

Bible journaling is a reflective practice where individuals write their thoughts and prayers about Bible passages, helping them to understand and apply God’s words to their lives. This method is particularly enriching for Catholics, as it allows them to deepen their spiritual connection and better understand the Church’s teachings alongside Scripture.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Bible Journaling, Catholic Bible Journaling

Invitation To Hope (Replay)

April 1, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Invitation To Hope – Introduction Episode One

Do you need an invitation to hope? Well, I did and I’m convinced that everyone has a story to tell. Every single one of us struggles yet we don’t want anyone to know about it. We want to paint a rosy picture and let everyone know we are living the dream. My life was just that way; I was struggling on the inside yet smiling on the outside. There is hope and joy in life and I am here to share this message with you.

I will discuss real concerns that you have as a woman, as a mom or someone who is learning and growing in their faith. I want you to know you are not alone. This podcast is meant to support, encourage and to give you hope! Some of you are stay-at-home moms some of you at our work at home moms and some of you work outside of the home, yet we all have common struggles. Anyone who tells you that life is great all the time is not being truthful. Life has struggles, this is not heaven, and I often have to remind myself of this very fact. Happily ever after does happen in real life but it happens not necessarily in the way you think.

You might think this is a strange name for a podcast – One More Child – but it has impact and meaning. Once I was open to God’s will in my life, in everything–even being open to having one more child, I felt as if my eyes were opened to the truth. I could no longer compartmentalize my beliefs and my life. I also found that my daily life struggles were manageable because I was not doing it alone.

In this series of podcasts, we will discuss so many topics that affect our happiness. And you will see a reoccurring theme one of trust, of truth and of focus. Can you use more of that in your life? I know I can!

As I record this episode I am just beginning to share my book with the public, it is a story about faith and redemption, and how my last three children are a miracle story. I thought God might bless me with a third child, but he decided I needed a fourth and a fifth as well! My God is abundantly gracious.

In this series for the One More Child Podcast, I’m going to discuss different topics that relate to openness to children, family, faith, and relationships – I also want to encourage you to find joy and hope no matter what your life’s situation may be.

So who am I? My name is Felice Gerwitz, and I have been online in some capacity since 1999 representing the company I created and founded Media Angels. I’ve been writing and publishing for over 24 years.

When I started, there were no podcasts, no online forums or even social media as we know it today. But I am so happy we have these things so I can connect with all of you!

Now that my five children are grown up, with my two youngest currently in college, I find myself at a crossroads. I wrote a book that I felt compelled to write through the urging of the Lord, in writing this book I found that I had much more to say than the 100 pages of the book, so since I am no stranger to podcasts, I decided, “Why not?”

I know this podcast would have helped me as someone who was struggling, as someone who had no one to talk to about private issues — well let me amend that, I had plenty of people I could talk to but no one I wanted to tell my story to nor was I open to any solutions at that time. I held a secret in my heart that was eating away at the very fiber of who I was as a woman as a mom and as a wife. Sometimes there are things you just can’t share with anyone. And this feeling was something I couldn’t even share with my husband even though if you had asked me I would say we were very close.

I don’t want this podcast to be a one-way conversation. I want you to join me with questions and perhaps as a guest on this podcast if you are open to this idea. If not, I totally get it! No one believes I am shy—no one. But truthfully I’m a private person that the Lord has stretched and taken me out of my comfort zone. Has that ever happened to you? We grow when we are stretched and believe me I have grown and continue to grow in my relationship with the Lord.

At one time I believed that if I shared my secret I would admit my inadequacies and I was not in a place spiritually to do this. My walk with the Lord was one-sided—I followed Him on my terms. You may wonder about my secret what was it that had me in turmoil? It was regret. Regret over a decision that thousands of people make each day and that is to limit the size of their family with a surgical procedure. For us, it was a vasectomy.

Once my faith grew and I began to understand what it truly meant to be a Christian in the full sense of the word, I began to regret the decision. My husband was also feeling the same way but he didn’t tell me either until years later.

If this story didn’t have a happy conclusion I wouldn’t be sharing this right now! I know the wonderful outcome could only happen by the grace of God – His mercy and His love for me. My last three children wouldn’t be here unless we had a change of heart, and I can’t tell you what a blessing they have been. Has it been easy? No – but can you tell me one thing in your life that has been worthwhile that is super easy?

What I want to share in future podcasts is that God does answer prayers and His answers are so much more glorious than anything you or I can imagine – and believe me, I have a very vivid imagination! God poured out His grace on me, my husband and my family and I can’t wait to share the good news with you!

One thing you can be sure of … there will be no pretense in these episodes. I have learned so much and I’m happy to share helpful solutions and encourage you along your journey in life if I truly have lived it — and my heart’s desire is to share the wonderful and amazing hope that comes only my relationship with the one true God! And, you know what? IT is available to all of you.

Welcome my friend. If you are a long-time friend and listener of my other podcasts I thank you in advance for coming over to yet another podcast I host and your loving support. You know who you are. If you are a new listener, I hope to meet you and for you to become a friend. My hope is that you will join me on social media so we can have a chance to connect, meet and get to know each other. The information is on the podcast page at One More Child Podcast.com – or if you are not on social media please share your comments and questions with me at Felice@MediaAngels.com.

I’m excited about this new journey the Lord has me on …and I pray it is a hundred-fold blessing to all of you. Until next we meet…

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God’s Grace

April 1, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

God’s Grace is Sufficient

Episode 21

God’s grace, is it sufficient for you? Or do you rely on the world for the help you need? In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we read the passage that many sermons are built around, but how do we apply this to our life? In this episode, I’ll explain how I strive to have more of Him and less of me in my life.

Sponsor: Media Angels, Inc. Novels – Truth Seekers Mystery Series available on Amazon. Three novels for tweens!

Thanks to our sponsor, Media Angels, Inc. A Few Minutes with God, The Journey Begins

How do we live a grace-filled life when most of the time we can hardly get out of bed without being overwhelmed with all that needs to be done each day? Now that my children are older I’ve taken on some extra activities that put me in the path of people from all walks of life. Some are Christians, others are not, but it is hard to tell the difference. Years ago a good friend of mine used to be asked all the time, “What is different about you?” She carried the joy of Jesus Christ with her wherever she went. She was my writing partner and while we each attended different churches, she was an evangelical Christian and mostly attended non-denominational churches, I am a Catholic. We agreed on the solid foundation that without Jesus there can be no joy in your life.

Jill showed the love of Jesus in her life. She showed others that even if she was under a life burden she would still praise God. Jill loved her children unconditionally as she loved her friends and even her acquaintances. She didn’t live a life without hardship. She went through a painful divorce, bankruptcy and she died suddenly in 2007. Before she died she told me she would soon be homeless if things didn’t change in her life. Yet, she told me she was not worried – she had God. And, instead of being homeless, God took her home. I have never publically told that story before, and while I still miss her tremendously I am happy for her because I know that as she lived she was an example of God’s grace being enough.

It is the inspiration from friends that we surround ourselves with that we too can learn about that joy and that grace should be sufficient for us. That grace that surpasses anything that we can earn or attain in this world. Remember friends, it is in Him that we can have true life. As I record this episode it is the end of November and I approach the Christmas season with a sense of expectancy in the true miracle of the birth of Christ, but also in the miracle that we can be, by example for each other.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

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Making Lent Meaningful for Your Family

March 26, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

This season is a precious time for Catholics around the world, filled with tradition, reflection, and growth. Whether you’re new to observing Lent or have been participating for years, there’s always a way to make this season meaningful for you and your family.

What is Lent?

Lent is a special period leading up to Easter. For 40 days, Catholics prepare their hearts and minds to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s a time of prayer, fasting, and giving to others, mirroring Jesus’ time of fasting in the desert. This tradition is not just a rule; it’s a journey that helps us grow closer to God and understand the great love He has for us.

Making Lent Meaningful for Your Family

1. Share the Story

Start your Lenten journey by sharing the story of Lent and Easter with your family. Keep it simple and heartfelt. You can use a children’s Bible to help younger members understand the significance of this time.

2. Set Goals Together

Sit down as a family and decide on what each person can give up or how they can give to others during Lent. It could be giving up a favorite snack, spending less time on electronics, or doing extra chores to help around the house. The key is choosing something meaningful that helps you grow in faith.

3. Pray Together

Prayer is the cornerstone of Lent. Dedicate time each day to pray as a family. Morning or evening prayers can become a cherished routine. You can also include prayers for people in need, bringing a sense of unity and purpose to your family’s Lenten journey.

4. Learn and Reflect

Use this time to learn more about your faith. Read stories of the saints together, watch movies about Jesus’ life, or participate in online classes offered by many churches. Discuss what you learn and share your thoughts and feelings. This can help deepen your family’s understanding of Catholic traditions and beliefs.

5. Volunteer as a Family

Lent is also about giving to others. Look for opportunities in your community where you can volunteer as a family. Helping at a food bank, visiting the elderly, or participating in a clean-up day are great ways to live out the Lenten call to service.

6. Celebrate Progress

At the end of each week, have a small celebration to acknowledge your family’s efforts. Share what was challenging, what you learned, and how you’ve grown. This not only reinforces the journey you’re on together but also builds anticipation for the joy of Easter.

Lent is a Beautiful Season

Lent is a beautiful season that offers your family a chance to grow closer to God and each other. By incorporating these simple practices into your Lenten journey, you can create a meaningful and memorable experience for everyone. Remember, it’s not about being perfect; it’s about making small steps in faith together.

As we move through this holy season, let’s keep in mind that Lent is a path leading us to the ultimate celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. It’s a time to reflect, learn, and prepare our hearts for the joy of Easter. Let’s make this Lent a journey of love, sacrifice, and family unity.

Lenten Podcasts:

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Understanding Sacramental Marriage: A Journey of Love and Faith

March 20, 2024 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Today, we’re diving into a very special topic that’s close to the heart of our Catholic faith: Sacramental Marriage. This might sound like a big term, but don’t worry! We’re going to explore it together, step by step, so you can understand why it’s so important and beautiful in the eyes of the Church and God.

What is Sacramental Marriage?

In the Catholic Church, marriage isn’t just any ordinary event. It’s what we call a sacrament. A sacrament is a special way we experience God’s love and grace in our lives. It’s like a divine promise of love and support from God, and in the case of marriage, it’s a promise shared between two people who decide to spend their lives together.

Why Is It So Special?

Sacramental Marriage is special because it’s not just an agreement between two people. It’s a covenant, which means a sacred promise, with each other and with God. It’s like saying, “Not only do I choose to love you for my whole life, but God is part of our relationship too.” This makes the marriage strong, filled with love, faith, and the support of the entire Catholic community.

Love and Faith Together

In a Sacramental Marriage, love and faith walk hand in hand. The couple promises to love each other no matter what, through the good times and the challenging ones. They also promise to keep God at the center of their relationship, praying together, going to Mass, and serving others. This way, their love isn’t just about them; it’s a reflection of God’s love for us all.

The Wedding Ceremony

During the wedding ceremony, there are beautiful symbols and rituals that reflect the sacramental nature of marriage. The rings exchanged symbolize an unending circle of love and fidelity. The vows are sacred promises made before God and the community, showing the seriousness and beauty of their commitment.

Living Out a Sacramental Marriage

Being married in the Church means the couple has a special grace from God to help them live out their promises. This doesn’t mean there won’t be difficult times, but it does mean they’re never alone. God is with them, helping them to grow in love and faith together.

A Lifetime Journey

Sacramental Marriage is a journey that lasts a lifetime. It’s about growing together, facing life’s challenges together, and helping each other get closer to God. It’s a beautiful adventure of love, faith, and commitment.

Sacramental Marriage is a beautiful example of how love and faith come together in a powerful way. It shows us the beauty of committing to someone with God’s help and reminds us of the special plan God has for each of us in our lives.

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Peace Within Families | Special Replay

November 1, 2023 by radioadmin 2 Comments

Peace Within Families Episode 118

Next to world peace, we want peace within families! I’ve heard horror stories of siblings not talking to each other for years, and in this episode, we will pray for broken families and those who are lost to the hope of Jesus.

Thanks to our sponsor – Media Angels, Inc. and don’t forget to download our Prayer Journal free for subscribers on this website.

Peace on earth – peace be with you – peace within families goes hand-in-hand. I sometimes marvel that we want world peace, but those born with the same parents sometimes can’t get along! Of course, there are many psychological reasons that this happens, but truthfully, the real reasons are not so complex if we think about it.

I’ve created podcasts on forgiveness, and sometimes, it is the hurt and the unforgiveness that keeps people apart. One of the biggest problems I see among families is the inability to communicate.

We get upset, our feelings get hurt, we can’t understand, we are floored, and we are … well, fill in the blanks. We’ve all had arguments with those we love – and the more you love, the harder it is sometimes to keep from getting hurt. We wear our hearts on our sleeves, especially those of us who are parents, and we hope that our kids and our grandkids will see that we love them. But seeing is often tricky when our actions may show something different.

How do we show we love? For different people, it is in different ways – two quick examples for me are doing something, baking you cookies, having you over for a meal, opening my home, or well-doing. For my husband, it is time – and it is kindness. But peace is something that transcends doing!

John 16:33

Peace is the feeling of being protected and safe, and, most of all, it happens when we feel people understand us. That is why, without good communication within families, it will fall apart! With God, we talk, and He listens – very rarely do we hear the Lord … but when we do, whether through the Word, a friend, or in prayer, it may not be what we want to hear.

God is our haven. In God, we are guaranteed peace. Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

But back to peace within families – how do we achieve this? Especially in the toxic climate in which we, as Americans, live – and at the time of this recording! I’ve heard of family members who avoid getting together for the holidays because they do not want to get into heated discussions!

So, friends, here are some things to pray about if we want peace!

Pray for the Lord to shower those you love and are family members with love that surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Listen: when others talk, listen and pray for discernment – and Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
Pray to do God’s will – whether that is to comfort or love. We don’t have to agree, but we can do what God would do – maybe not agree but love.

Only God can love unconditionally, but I believe that as family members, we have a special grace from God to forgive if we allow ourselves to be humbled and realize we are not perfect! I know hard to do and easy to say –

So, Let’s Pray for His Divine Grace.

Dear Jesus, I pray for peace within my family. I know You love me all the time with your unconditional love, and I ask for the Divine grace to love those who have hurt me and ask that those I have hurt forgive me. Lord, I don’t want to conform or be less than I am; I want to be a shining star that shows Your love to others. I want to reflect Your light, and I want to be the one who plants the seeds for You to reap. I ask my God that you bless those I pray for and specifically for their needs … Thank Jesus for all you have done for my family and for the peace and joy that we will feel – and I pray this in Jesus, precious Name. Amen.

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Pray and Act | 10 Ways to Show Love and Support When Someone Is Hurting

October 13, 2023 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Have you ever seen a post on social media where someone is going through a tough time or facing a difficult situation and all the comments are filled with “thoughts and prayers”? While prayer is important, as Christians, we are also called to take action and support those who are hurting.

(A Catholic prayer for someone who is hurting.)

Here are 10 simple ways you can show your love and support when someone is going through a tough time.

1. Reach Out Personally

The first step in supporting someone in need is to reach out personally. Send them a message, make a phone call, or visit them in person if possible. Let them know you care and are there to listen.

2. Listen with Empathy

When someone is hurting, sometimes all they need is a listening ear. Be empathetic and patient as they share their feelings and thoughts. Avoid interrupting or offering unsolicited advice. Hold advice unless it’s solicited. It’s unlikely they need you to give answers or “fix” anything, as much as they need the space to talk when they are ready.

3. Offer a Helping Hand

Actions speak louder than words. Offer to help with practical tasks such as cooking a meal, running errands, or babysitting. These small gestures can make a big difference in their day-to-day life. Rather than asking them how you can help, let them know you’ll be by with groceries. Oftentimes, even the act of accepting help is too much.

4. Send Encouraging Notes and Holy Cards

A heartfelt note or card can brighten someone’s day. Write a kind message expressing your support and encouragement. It’s a simple yet thoughtful way to show you care. In the fast-paced world of tuned-in and tapped-on, a handwritten note sent by snail mail shows special attention to the person. Many Catholic parishes have greeting card ministries, too.

5. Provide Comforting Gifts

Consider giving a comforting gift, such as a cozy blanket, a favorite book, or some soothing tea. These gifts can provide physical and emotional comfort during difficult times.

6. Pray with Them

While “thoughts and prayers” can sometimes feel empty, praying with someone in person or over the phone can be incredibly meaningful. Offer to pray together and share words of comfort. Even a text via prayer can be a comfort.

7. Offer Your Time

Offer to spend time with the person who is hurting. Sometimes, just having someone to talk to or share a quiet moment with can provide great comfort.

8. Connect Them with Resources

If the situation requires professional help or additional support, offer to help them find the right resources. This might include recommending a counselor or connecting them with support groups.

9. Be Patient and Respectful

Everyone processes difficult situations differently. Be patient and respectful of their feelings and decisions. Avoid judgment and offer unconditional support.

10. Continue to Check-In

Support doesn’t end after the initial crisis. Continue to check in on your friend or loved one in the days, weeks, and months that follow. Knowing that someone cares can provide ongoing comfort.

As Christians, it’s important not only to offer “thoughts and prayers” but also to take meaningful actions when someone is hurting. These 10 simple ways to show love and support can make a significant difference in someone’s life during their time of need. Remember, it’s the little acts of kindness and the willingness to be there for others that truly demonstrate the love and compassion we are called to as followers of Christ.

Podcasts That Can Help You Understand Hurt

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Conversion 2.0: God in My Life vs Me in God’s Life

October 18, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Romans 14:7 says that we don’t live or die for ourselves, whether we live or die we are the Lord’s. The Scriptures dismantle the illusion that life is our own. The language can be used, “have you accepted God into your life” and yet it isn’t my life. When we zoom out and really look at the whole person, we realize this is God’s life we participate in. He is the initiator and orchestrator. Keeping in mind that this life is the Lord’s gives us the proper perspective.

We can come up with our own plans and ask the Lord to bless them or we can submit ourselves to Him surrendering to His activity within us and His leading. When we are baptized in Him, we are baptized into His life. This is all a process of deeper conversion and transformation. Fundamentally, we can seek a position of control, or surrender to the Lord’s omnipotence and give ourselves over to His will.

Fr. David shares about how he experienced the Lord telling him he was running his own life and asked him to let the Lord Himself run his life. The repentance and conversion thus led Fr. David to drastically changed his life.

When we realize this is really the Lord’s life in which we participate it really calls us on beyond not doing the things on the naughty list to an ever-deeper experience of surrender. In this way, we radically realize there is always more of God, deeper union into which we are called, and we no longer have the tendency to evaluate ourselves as better than our neighbor because we aren’t drinking, having illicit relationships, acting out of anger, and the like. Rather, we are continually called on to continual growth in intimacy with the Lord. This keeps life fresh because there is always more and He makes all things new.

Living as though the Lord is in our lives rather than us in His life, we can tend to compartmentalize spirituality. Recognizing that we are in God’s life disposes us to incarnate Him to the world.

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Journey From the False Self to the True Self

October 11, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

The true self is who we really are – made in the image and likeness of God as His sons and daughters. We’re in this place when we’re calm, compassionate and confident. The true self responds out of love and is immutable. The false self, by contrast responds from a place of fear. In many places the Scriptures talk about putting off the old man and putting on the new man. The false self is the old man, and the true self is the new man.

How do we do that? How do we make that journey? It’s a process of grace and coming to understand more and more who God is and what He asks of us. We come to realize how powerless we are. How we relate to our powerlessness is a process of conversion in relationship to God, ourselves, and others. By receiving from the Lord and relating to ourselves as He does, we grow in our ability to reach out to others in compassion. It’s a wonderful and challenging process.

Experiencing powerlessness is the moment of testing where we make the choice to respond in a sinful way or in a courageous way. Powerlessness is scary and we can either be sent on a negative cycle toward disconnection or a positive cycle toward intimacy with the Lord. When we see that there’s a positive direction we can move, it can really be a game changer that turns the painful bitterness to sweetness. The same way sugar is the enemy when we’re on a diet, fear is the enemy in the spiritual life. How do we handle the fear?

Powerlessness can lead us to pride, self-reliance, an eventual sense of inadequacy (because we aren’t all powerful), and shame which then leads to isolation and disconnection and an even deeper sense of powerlessness. Conversely, when we encounter powerlessness, we can respond out of humility, relying on God because He is all-good, omnipotent and He is FOR US. This then leads to a change in our heart giving us hearts of gratitude, love and trust in the Lord, and a sense of intimacy with Him.

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Suffering and Healing

October 7, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

God intends great things for our lives, but when we look at our personal sufferings, that can be hard to hold onto. What are we to do with suffering when we don’t experience healing? There can even be a misconception that there is a certain point in time at which I am finished with my healing journey or that there are people who don’t experience suffering. Neither of these are true. We all go through sufferings to one degree or another in this life and healing is an ongoing process.

Since suffering is an ongoing process, healing ought to be, as well. The Lord’s mercies are renewed each day and He always has greater freedom, joy, and peace for us. They can be a regular part of our daily prayer times. If we normalize the concept of suffering, we can be alleviated of the pressure and burden that we aren’t good enough if we still have areas of woundedness.

Life is a process and there’s always something that is going to come forward where the Lord wants to bring us into greater wholeness and deeper relationship with Himself. Healing is certainly a good thing and something to be open to and seek. However, there is time. Life is a process. The Lord is ever present to us and can even surprise us with healing. If the Lord is permitting us to suffer, it can be a great challenge for us to trust in God’s love and goodness, but we know that He is all good, all loving, and all wise.

As Catholics, we are privileged to have access to the Lord in His Real Presence. We don’t have to wait for a healing Mass because every Mass is a healing Mass. We don’t have to fear pain and suffering when they come, and the Lord hasn’t yet healed it because He is working an even greater healing in us in the waiting. We don’t suffer alone. When we unite our sufferings to the Lord’s and suffer them with Him knowing He is suffering them with us, they become an occasion for intimacy. This is the notion of atonement. At-one-ment…being at one with Jesus.

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Special Replay: Being Present In Prayer

October 3, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Being Present In Prayer – Episode 176

What does being present in prayer have to do with your spiritual life? Well, this is an amazing insight into getting closer to God that was recently shared with me during a sermon, and it really hit home. I hope you are blessed as well.

I’d love for you to visit my website MediaAngels.com and to look at some of my books, for example, a book that will help kids with faith: Print version or download: A Few Minutes with God plus study guide

Great for summer reading: The Truth Seekers Mystery Series – Entire Set and Study Guides

And, my book that tells how one big mistake translates into three more blessings — One More Child: Book

Being present sounds like it could be some type of new agey hype, and before you pull the plug on this podcast, here me out. I shared a podcast on this similar topic with parents recently on my other network for moms (VintageHomeschoolMoms.com) and discussed how it would change the relationship parents have with their children, and it will! Being present is an amazing concept that is not new but so important now because we are so wired and plugged in! Examples of out to dinner, etc.

We know that we were born to love and serve the Lord. The things of this world will not fill us up, and so when we do not spend time with the Lord we feel lost. The things of this world are like dust – when we pray to the Lord do we want Him to hear us, are we expecting he’ll be busy with someone else or something else, that are problems are too trival. Let me read Exodus 12-15 and poor Moses is having a time with the Israelites that God placed him in charge of leading through the desert- when you think your life is hard think about what Moses had to endure!

Exodus 12-15

We know that the presence of the Lord leads them in the day and in the night – God was there. He is omnipresent – he is with us always and He is everywhere. So, how do we as mere creates become present to God? It is actually very easy – in prayer and in quiet. (Hint: A Few Minutes with God!)

Our pastor told us a story of a holy man who saw someone in the chapel just sitting there with the Lord in prayer but his lips were not moving (longer explanation on the podcast). The pastor realized this was the highest form of prayer, just being there for and with God. Does God need us? No of course not but we need Him! Look around you – this world we currently live in is a world that is without God – they took God out of the schools, out of many churches even – pastors have lead their sheep astray. How do you know the truth? Well, through discernment a gift was freely given by the Holy Spirit. Be present with God and watch your life change!

Let’s pray. Dear Lord, I ask that you help me to be present to you. increase my time so that is not an obstacle, help me to identify the ways that I am avoiding prayer or putting up obstacles so that I can’t hear your voice. I realize Lord you talk to us in different ways, through others, in your most Holy Word in the Bible, and in our hearts. Thank you, Lord, for always being present to me and I pray for the following needs – in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Thank you to our Sponsor: CTCMath

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What the Lord Taught Me When I Lived with a Serial Killer

September 29, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

In 1997, I ended up in a roommate situation that turned out to be one of the most dramatic experiences of my life, but the Lord actually used it to teach me tremendous lessons about His wisdom, goodness, power, provision, and desire to be intimately involved in the details of our lives.

I was living in Tampa, FL and with little resources needed to find an inexpensive housing option. I responded to a classified add where two people were looking for a third roommate. Shortly after moving in, one of them relocated because of business and we needed another roommate. The man who moved in turned out to have a long history of violent crimes against women and began murdering women he did not know.

Without any knowledge of his past, the Holy Spirit enlightened me as to the danger I was in and led me, despite my reluctant cooperation, to the information by which we were able to undo his alibi and get a murderer off the streets. The Lord is certainly able to do anything and uses us in His plan when we cooperate with His grace and direction.

Many years later, the Lord asked me to offer Mass for the same person’s conversion and he confessed to one of the murders he had denied for 25 years. Finally, that victim’s family was able to gain closure and did not have to withstand a retrial when Florida law changed that called the sentencing into question.

God’s goodness knows no bounds, his power knows no limits, and His desire for the conversion of every single one of us reveals the depth of His love and relentless commitment to us no matter what we’ve done.

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St. Thérèse of Lisieux

September 20, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Margaret and Fr. David discuss The Context of Holiness by Fr. Marc Foley, OCD as he examined human and spiritual integration in the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Her motto of doing little things with great love leaves us a wonderful example of bringing spiritual principles to life.

She experienced a great number of sufferings thru her childhood that became places of insecurity that she overcame thru choosing to make the heroic choices. She deepened in her sense of security through her identity in the Lord. This gave her great growth in maturity and bore pure fruit of love, even as she was suffering tremendously with tuberculosis.

Erik Erikson talks about stages of psycho-social development and how we can become stuck at earlier stages when there is wounding that happens. Yet, her devout life afforded her another parent – God the Father – who she could draw strength from when her earthly parents failed in different ways. This gives each of us great hope since none of us (other than Jesus) has had perfect parents. We can follow her example, too. Our identity is informed by who we are in the Lord. As we become conformed to this who we are becomes reformed.

Through making choices to exercise great love, she received healing and excelled as novice mistress and in heroic charity that led to her being a saint and doctor of the Church. She integrated her piety and the principles of our faith in her daily life and relationships. Thérèse chose the gifts of Divine Love and manifest that to her sisters in how she dealt with even the most difficult members of her community.

The Way of Imperfection by André Daigneault is a wonderful little paperback book that fleshes out some core concepts of Thérèse’s ‘little way’. This fantastic work can plug us into some great helps in becoming conduits of the Lord’s grace.

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Baptism in Fire!

September 13, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Margaret Vasquez, LPCC and Fr. David Tickerhoof, TOR discuss the notion of the baptism in fire that was foretold by St. John the Baptist.

There were graces of renewal flowing from Vatican Council II that brought a deepening of life, power, spiritual gifts, and in particular intimacy of relationship with the Trinity. This is known as the charismatic renewal or baptism in the Holy Spirit. Today, we see a resurgence of renewal from the Encounter movement out of Brighton, Michigan. There is a focus on understanding and practicing the spiritual gifts flowing from the relationship with the Lord.

There’s another dimension known as the baptism in fire (Mt 3:11-12) John the Baptist spoke of when he said the Lord would baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. What is that fire? In Scripture fire represents the Lord’s presence, purification, and sometimes punishment. In particular, fire seems to represent power. That fire becomes transforming power! We ought not to ignore, but instead be aware of it, open to, and pray for that deeper transformation.

Margaret shares her story of being prayed with for the baptism in fire and how astounding that grace was and was so other than anything she had ever experienced. The power of God’s love took away every fear, even the fear of death and kept Margaret tethered to the lordship of Jesus even in years of wandering and brokenness where she ended up questioning her faith.

The revelations St. Catherine of Genoa received regarding purgatory essentially saw what is at times consolation, sometimes suffering, even the purifying fires of purgatory to be one fire – the fire of His love! That can ground us, fill us with gratitude, and help us remember that the Lord is always loving us through whatever He allows in our lives, even if it seems very difficult at the time.

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Applying the Principles of Human and Spiritual Integration

September 6, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Peace, freedom, and joy are available to us in this life when we live the principles of chosen, known, valued, boundaries and openness in our relationships with the Lord, ourselves, and others!

The Lord has chosen each one of us personally, knows us intimately, values us completely, and protects and provides for us. We are likewise called to respond to Him by choosing Him, growing in union with Him, valuing Him for who He is, and receiving His boundaries as gift! These becoming guiding principles for our lives to lead us toward the abundance He has for us.

As we develop in these areas we grow in both human and spiritual maturity. These principles help us to focus on being rather than doing. We can focus on how we are being and, in that way, prevent so many problems. When we get the being right, the doing takes care of itself.

We are called to make a conscious and intentional choice to take on the mind of Christ. He is the epitome of love and compassion and it’s essential that we imitate Him in how He sees us. By collaborating with Him we preserve the gift of peace that was His first gift to us. We can examine our consciences by these same principles. Our life of communion with the Lord manifests itself in our relationships. The connection with the Lord leads to connection with others if we are connected to ourselves. Focusing on the Lord’s deep love for us changes everything! It is the power for transformation for our lives.

The Lord has intimately connected how we treat our neighbor with our love for Him. So, charity is the hallmark virtue that puts it all together. St. Thérèse of Lisieux lived this in her own life by the deep life of charity she lived even while she was so young and suffering terribly from the symptoms of tuberculosis.

Challenge: As you read the Mass readings, look to see how the readings fall into the categories of being chosen, known, valued, and/or boundaries. All of Scripture is about relationship and so you’ll see these themes throughout all of Scripture.

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Charity Toward Others and Healthy Relating

August 30, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Compassion, mercy, and forgiveness are essential for healthy relationships. We have to start from receiving the compassion of the Lord and in order to really do so I have to be compassionate toward myself. If not, I’ll just deflect the Lord’s love. That’s not selfish or narcissistic. It’s taking on the mind of Christ who is compassion itself! It’s authenticity and honesty, but fully embracing His stance of compassion toward ourselves.

We can learn to express compassion in our daily interactions. It doesn’t need to be complex or complicated. It just requires really acknowledging the other person by paying attention to them as individuals and giving those extra couple of seconds to treat them as humans with dignity for even a moment or two. These things are very evangelistic or ‘pre-evangelistic’.

When we start from such a place, we’ll see the profoundly healing effects in what would otherwise be complicated circumstances. To operate out of compassion for others we need to have the freedom that comes from not operating out of our own concern for ourselves because our needs have first been satisfied to overflowing by the Lord.

Understanding the principles we all need to have – being valued as individuals, known as good, and our boundaries respected – we can operate very fluidly and confidently. We start without fear because we understand what is needed and so we don’t have inordinate fear. Changing how we relate to ourselves changes our mode of operation to one of compassion that naturally overflows. In this way, the Lord’s love can flow not just into us, but through us. We become the hands and feet of the Lord by relating to others the way He relates to us.

All of this is a process! It’s a beautiful, life-giving flow of receiving His love, internalizing that and relating to myself with greater compassion and then allowing that to flow out to those I meet each day. We are able to relate out of love rather than fear.

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Personal Integration and Charity Toward Others

August 23, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

It’s essential for lives of wholeness and holiness that we grow in communion with the Lord, personal integration, and charity toward others. We like to encapsulate all these concepts with the simple term ‘connection’. The principles are the same in all of these relationships, being chosen, known, valued, protected and provided for.

Today’s conversation focuses on peace, freedom, and great relationships particularly through personal integration and charity toward others. This is particularly done through having mercy toward ourselves and toward others, which has been a continual theme of the last few popes. It’s really essential to our holiness and well-being.

Ironically, we need to make sure we are charitable toward ourselves before we can have the charity to extend toward others. We can tend to skip over this concept, falsely viewing it as selfish, but it’s Scriptural. “Love your neighbor as yourself”(Mark 12:31). That becomes our mode of operation. If we have a mode of charity and love, that is the mode through which we relate to the Lord and by which we reach out to others.

Charity toward ourselves requires us to be patient and intentional in our relationship to ourselves. We need to intentionally choose to relate to ourselves from the basis that we are ‘very good’ based on our dignity as children of God. This allows us the sense of safety by which to operate out of a deep sense of safety and peace. It sets us in a place of being able to really conceive that the Lord loves us deeply and then to be able to truly receive His love. Relating to ourselves out of a contrary attitude sets us up to be lied to by the evil one and to fall into discouragement. Self-talk is so crucial because it reveals those attitudes we have toward ourselves. We need to respect our own boundaries in our self-talk, not overextending ourselves, running ourselves ragged, and stressing ourselves out beyond what is healthy.

Boundary setting with others is important because it helps to establish rules of engagement so we can give each other the opportunity to love and respect each other. They are a gift by which we can work towards common ground for relating in freedom and mutual respect for each other’s needs. They can free us up and help us avoid undue and unspoken expectations, resentment, and conflict. Peaceful and healthy relating doesn’t have to be complicated.

Listen to more episodes here!

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The Importance of Human and Spiritual Integration

August 16, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Episode #4 – The Importance of Human and Spiritual Integration

As Christians we can tend to over spiritualize, and secular society tends to under spiritualize.

We need a paradigm by which to understand how to build a firm foundation that includes both human and spiritual maturity.

A healthy human maturity helps us break down and apply the spiritual information we take in. It helps us be refreshed by the Living Waters of the Lord and allows them to flow out of our lives in a way where they become part of who we are and how we live in relationship to others. To the truths of our faith, we ought to ask, “What does this have to do with me and how does it apply in my life?” We are called to let them pierce our hearts, renew our minds, and get applied in our lives.

We can see the pillars of wholeness and holiness in ‘connection’, that is: communion with the Lord, personal integration, and charity and compassion toward others. There are common principles across each of these relationships – chosen, known, valued, boundaries, and openness is a byproduct of those factors.

Oftentimes our relationship to ourselves gets overlooked and yet it’s really the hinge point. We need to really receive the infinite love of the Lord and imitate that love in how we relate to ourselves because that same mode of relating becomes how we relate to our neighbor, as Scripture tells us to love our neighbor the way we love ourselves (Mk 12:31). We operate out of fear when we lack a healthy sense of connection, and we operate out of love when we have that healthy connection.

The fruit of knowing we are chosen by the Lord is a sense of belonging, being known perfectly by Him provides us with the most profound intimacy, being established in the fact that our value is inherent in our dignity as children of God we have the fruit of humility, the Lord’s boundaries (His protection and provision for us) bears the fruit of gratitude, and the openness that is a byproduct of those four principles leads to the fruit of authenticity.

CLICK HERE to download the notes for this podcast

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Introduction to Trauma Series: Avoiding Spiritual Identity Theft

August 2, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Episode #2 – Introduction to Trauma Series (Avoiding Spiritual Identity Theft!)

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Filed Under: Wholeness and Holiness Podcast Tagged With: cortisol, identity, oxytocin, trauma, Wholeness and Holiness

What is Wholeness and Holiness Podcast?

July 26, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Episode #1 – What is Wholeness and Holiness Podcast?

Have you ever wondered how our natural human lives and the spiritual life are connected? Would you believe that the study of psychology and counseling can actually serve to illuminate and deepen our relationship with the Lord? It’s true! He made us in such a way that our human and spiritual lives are intertwined. The more we live lives of human and spiritual integration the more we will deepen in the sense of peace and fulfillment He has for us.

In this podcast, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Certified Trauma Therapist Margaret Vasquez shares with you many of the insights she has gained through over 16 years of providing intensive trauma therapy to clients of all ages and seeing the world through the lens of her degree in Theology. Author, TV and radio guest, trainer and retreat master, Margaret is passionate about bringing people to a deeper participation in the intimacy the Lord has for them.

Tune in weekly for a greater understanding of the spiritual life, religion, Church, and what it all has to do with giving your everyday life greater peace, joy, and purpose.

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Fruits of Human and Spiritual Integration

June 14, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Fruits of Human and Spiritual Integration

When we live lives of personal and relational peace, there is abundant fruit on both a human level and in our spiritual lives. We are actually able to live the “abundant life” in the “peace the world cannot give”. The overflow of the calm and stillness we experience removes the distractions that vie for our attention and enable us to foster the attraction our souls have for God. There is more we all naturally long for and the more is the person of Jesus.

Living in the More, we begin to move from the initial conversion of removing big, glaring sin from our lives into living in loving Communion with the Indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit who came to make His home in us at our baptisms. The freedom to respond more deeply avails us of even greater experiences of joy and freedom. We move from a downward spiral of confusion, hurt, and brokenness to an upward spiral of freedom, peace, joy, and gratitude. No longer fearing our powerlessness we are able to be embraced by the loving arms of our infinitely Loving Father in the kingdom of Heaven that is at hand.

Human and Spiritual Integration Series Podcast Summaries
Fr. David Tickerhoof, TOR and Margaret Vasquez, LPCC, CTT, CITTI

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Filed Under: Evangelizing Catholic Culture

Human and Spiritual Connection

May 24, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Human and Spiritual Integration Series Podcast Summaries
Fr. David Tickerhoof, TOR and Margaret Vasquez, LPCC, CTT, CITTI

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us that what we receive we receive according to the mode from which we operate. Unfortunately, that mode can be one of fear due to very biological effects of past hurts and woundedness. However, it does not have to be so. In any battle, it is key to know who the enemy is. In the battle for integrating our spiritual lives, fear is the enemy!

In this podcast, Fr. David and Margaret Vasquez discuss how we can break the cycle of fear and hurt and allow ourselves to be more fully embraced by Perfect Love who casts out fear. Key to doing so is coming to understand the four factors (chosen, known, valued, and boundaries) that foster openness and prepare us for the bonds of unity through the Holy Spirit.

You’ll learn tips for how to foster healthy relationships in your own life and how to avoid common pitfalls. Applying these tools to growing healthy relationships can help you not only avoid unnecessary hurts and confusion, but instead foster peace and joy in the lives of each one of of the people you touch.

As we make our default mode one of self-compassion, it begins to become more naturally and consistently how we relate to all and by doing so we become conduits of grace ministering the compassion of the Lord to each other and facilitating their ability to be compassionate with themselves.

In this process, we deepen in our personal and interpersonal wholeness and grow in greater holiness as we imitate the Lord’s compassion.

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Faith and Trauma

May 4, 2022 by radioadmin 1 Comment

Because the particularly hurtful events we endure can become encoded in the brain in a way where they continue to be experienced as current rather than past, we can be effected in a wide variety of ways without even being aware. We can end up stuck in a fight or flight response that can significantly limit our freedom to act or respond from love rather than fear. This knee-jerk reaction mode can lead to a breakdown in our sense of connection to our very selves and this most often flows out to others. As it turns out, “love your neighbor as yourself” is as much descriptive of how we tend to relate as it is prescriptive of how we ought to relate. That is, we do tend to connect healthily to others to the extent that we are healthily connected to ourselves.

Since the spiritual life is about relationship to the Holy Trinity, the Church triumphant, the Church militant, and the Church suffering those relationships can, too, become quite muddled, unnecessarily complicated, and breakdown when we live out of the emotions and mindsets of painful and threatening experiences. The good news is that it need not be so!

In this three part series, you’ll come to understand the effects of trauma on yourself and on others, what you can do to lessen or eliminate those effects, and live in the peace, joy, and freedom of the Love who casts out all fear. Human and spiritual integration is essential to bring those spiritual concepts into our daily lives and relationships. When we operate from a place of compassion we build the culture we were made for – one of connection, Communion, and personal integration. Fr. David Tickerhoof, TOR discusses the effects of trauma and what you can do about them with author and veteran professional counselor and trauma therapist Margaret Vasquez.

Human and Spiritual Integration Series Podcast Summaries
Fr. David Tickerhoof, TOR and Margaret Vasquez, LPCC, CTT, CITTI

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Growing Spiritually Serving Others

May 2, 2022 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Be sure to subscribe to this podcast or listen to this here – online. You can download this talk on your computer or you can listen on your phone. Share this podcast with a friend.

Tools for Growing Spiritually Serving Others

In this episode, we will explore ways to grow spiritually and serving others.

Show Notes: Tools for Growth in Serving Others

In the First Letter of John, the writer speaks of the anointing we who are baptized have from Christ. “But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one, and you have knowledge…As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you everything and is true and not false, just as it taught you, remain in him.” (1 Jn.2: 20-27)

The “anointing” referred to here is the gift of the Holy Spirit given to the baptized, source of wisdom and understanding. The Jerusalem Catechizes, presented in the Liturgy on the Octave of Easter Friday also speaks about the anointing with the Holy Spirit.

“When we were baptized into Christ and clothed ourselves in him, we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. Having destined us to be his adopted sons and daughters, God gave us a likeness to Christ in his glory, and living as we do in communion with Christ, God’s anointed, we ourselves are rightly called “the anointed ones.” When he said: Do not touch my anointed ones, God was speaking of us…But we too have been anointed with oil, and by this anointing, we have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in his life.

This year we are now in the midst of celebrating the great season of the Pascal Mystery. It is the heart and core of the life and power of our Christian life. As Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed, during the Vatican Council II, the Paschal Mystery is the heart and center of the Council’s teaching, and as such is the heart and core of a Christian’s life. How should we view this very clear teaching in relationship to the Church’s Grace of Renewal? In the spiritual renewal movements, the approach is usually a seminar which prepares one to be prayed for “a new empowerment of the Holy Spirit.” There is plenty of evidence of the wonderful things that happen for a person who has had this experience, and if one feels drawn in that direction of renewal, seeking to receive an empowerment of the Holy Spirit, a new special grace of spiritual refreshment, I highly encourage it.

However, I am proposing a different approach to a similar reality, which I have called the spiritual experience of the Church’s Grace of Renewal and Reform. The basic scriptural reference that I suggest is the Easter Sunday night experience of the disciples gathered in the upper room, recorded in St. John’s Gospel (Jn.20: 19-23). The heart and core of this approach is the full gamut of the Paschal Mystery, which includes the sending of the Spirit by the Father and Jesus. Certainly, we would need a preparation program including a series of teachings. The prayer of spiritual anointing and commissioning at its conclusion could be termed, the Baptism of the Spirit in the Paschal Mystery. The starting point of the threefold empowerment of the Resurrection, the Cross, and the Spirit would be the experience of the Glorified Risen Lord and Savior. It would also certainly include the empowerment of the Spirit and the Spiritual Gifts.

It is with this understanding in which I am presenting four opportunities to provide for others some tools for growth. In a previous reflective teaching, I presented some tools that focused on spiritual growth for individuals. Now in this teaching, I want to present a few tools that focus on group opportunities for others who may be seeking a relational program that is ongoing and growth producing in holiness of life. This reflective podcast teaching is going to concentrate on four opportunities which the podcast sponsors or supports for serving the spiritual growth of other brothers and sisters. In outreach, to others, this teaching is going to review the possibilities of serving a person or a group of individuals, who may want to be in relationship with others for the ways and means of spiritual growth and/or service to others. These four opportunities are ways of doing Evangelization.

The first tool which we want to consider is Power Focused Intercession. This means of growth, healing, and empowerment for others is looked at in some of the other podcast presentations. (The Path to Spiritual Freedom) Some of us may feel a real disconnect when we pray for others, or In the “Universal Prayers of the Faithful,” when it is hard to connect with the petitions. So we may settle for a dry cerebral or a disconnected prayer. We don’t seem to have a dynamic connection with the individual or group we are praying for.

This doesn’t mean that our intellectual prayer recitations for others are not blessed by God, they are! But what we want to try and do is proclaim and promote that we can have a connected grace-filled experience when we pray for others, which comes from our hearts and is experientially based. Where real change and miraculous results in the lives for whom we pray are happening.

Recognizing that in this approach we are exercising the beautiful truth that we are members of the Mystical Body of Christ, and Jesus wants to give to us an invitation to join him in ministering a powerful happening in grace for the benefit of others. The key is in knowing how to connect up with the powerful working of the glorified Lord’s grace for the specific needs of an individual or group.

The simple formula: I am sorry for all the hard, painful, and difficult things that have happened to you. I take limitless responsibility for all that has happened to you! Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you. Now before we are tempted to begin a rationalization that finds some difficulties, let’s take a look at how this formula is prayed in a direct union with the Lord himself.

We are members of the Mystical Body of Christ, by virtue of our water Baptism. We are in a dynamic personal relationship with the glorified Lord Jesus and one another. We are all the Body of Christ. This truth is the foundational truth in which we begin our intercession for another person or group.

The night of the Resurrection the glorified Jesus, who had already ascended to the right hand of the Father appears and says, Peace be with you! (Shalom!) It is done! I have accomplished it all! It is over and done with! Jesus gives the disciples and us the full experience of the Paschal Mystery. He breathes on them and says: “Receive the Holy Spirit…”, and commissions them to do also with others what he has accomplished and gives to them, and he will do it in them! In Romans chapter 8 it says, that both Jesus and the Spirit do intercession for us.

When we express our sorrow for the person we are praying for, we immediately leave our mere human desire and place ourselves in the heavenly plane; in total union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have just entered the supernatural realm. We then picture the person or group we are praying for and we enter into union with our glorified Lord and all that this means in light of that event, the Lord does the actual intercession, reparation, atonement prayer in which we are with him for he has accomplished it all!

So when we take limitless responsibility we are doing so in union with the Lord. So we should never take on the negative or destructive attitudes of the one we are praying for. So as we say, “please forgive me” it is the Lord who is acting in power. When we say I love you we are doing so truly with our human ability but now joined with the love of the Lord for that person. In this is the power we have of sharing in a miraculous power of love to change and heal another human being. And when we say “I thank You” we are “divinely” acting to affirm and identify the full purpose in which God has created that person.

This prayer of “power focused prayer” is a ministry and mystery of Love! When this procedure is a Spirit-led Experience and performed primarily with the heart, one will actually feel the powerful presence of the Lord working in a mysterious manner. Now, this is so good! When one does this prayer of cleansing, the individual will also feel the cleansing and healing going on in oneself. Therefore, while we are doing this mission of love for another person, the Lord is doing a work of tender healing and cleansing in the one praying. “Two sides of the same coin” The way to really learn the experiential truth of all this is by practice, practice, practice! The more we do this the more we are drawn into the power and the more we experience the cleansing power in our own life.

Unbound Ministry: An approach to healing and deliverance that fits well in Catholic Life: The approach to healing and deliverance which seems to fit best in the ambient of the Catholic Church is the ministry developed by Neal and Janet Lozano entitled “Unbound Ministry.”

It follows a similar approach to the general basics of praying with individuals for healing and deliverance. However, its uniqueness consists in the fact that the ministry operates from a position of “non-confrontational deliverance,” and the recipient of the ministry does the renunciation and takes personal authority of the specific aspects of personal evil. It uses common sense and the exercise of practical wisdom, which does not permit one to fight with evil spirits, but ministers truth in love to the recipient. In short, it is a ministry of evangelization, which provides deliverance from personal evil, and also aids the recipient in receiving spiritual healing and the gift of genuine freedom. Essentially it involves the “five keys to spiritual freedom”:

The first key is to stand in the experience and truth of faith and practice life-giving repentance.
The second key involves forgiveness: seeking forgiveness from God, forgiving others, and forgiving oneself. It also means giving forgiveness to others in all situations of life where I have been hurt or offended. The follow through in this key is after forgiveness then let things go and surrender them to the Lord, the icing on the cake is praying for those who have sinned against and hurt me. The fourfold features of completed forgiveness. Because all four are exercised it brings closure in the process of forgiveness.
The third key is the acknowledging and renouncing in the name of Jesus, the identified attitudes and the spirits of darkness, which have been oppressing, harassing and working in one’s life.
The fourth key is taking authority in the name of Jesus over these entities and commanding them to leave.
The fifth key is finally praying with the recipient for the Father’s love and blessing. This blessing confers grace for the recipient in which they experience that they are a beloved son or daughter of the Father, and they are especially loved by God.

Fire Groups: A source for helping people make changes in their life, and living the Christ-Life.

Fire by its very nature has the ability to make changes in things. However, it is primarily used symbolically in Scripture. One may recall Moses seeing the bush on fire but not burning up; representing God’s awesome holiness. It purifies one from the dross of sin. It illuminates the mind and enables one to see what is pleasing to God. In the human person, the symbol of fire illuminates the mind, energies of the will, and gives strength to the soul. In relationship to personal holiness, it inflames us with love.

In the recent past in this country FIRE was used as an acronym to identify changing ones life and living a new life in Christ. At this time it is useful to identify a flexible small group opportunity that meets occasionally to help one another grow more deeply in the Lord.

A salient feature in a small fire group is this:

F stands for Faith; I stands for all the forms of Intercession. R stands for life-giving Repentance. E stands for Evangelization and doing mercy work. These four topics are joined as one, and they represent a process of opportunities for growing in Christian maturity. So FIRE represents a small group fellowship. These groups could be made available to those who are interested. These groups would be useful for spiritual growth, formation, and transformation

Merciful Christian Fellowship Groups: Fields of Compassion.

I served at Franciscan University of Steubenville from 1968 until 1990. In those years the Friars, members of the faculty, students, and members of the lay community worked together to develop spiritual renewal. Individuals at that time were trying to grow in holiness and serve others to grow in holiness and human maturity. Many were talking about “eating right” and losing weight and bemoaning the frustration of consistent failures in their sincere attempts. Someone mentioned about a group program started in the Boston area that claimed to be very successful in achieving the goal of weight loss. It was called, “Diet, Discipline, and Discipleship.”

Some decided to research and then provide the opportunity for those who desired to develop this approach of small groups, where individuals kept track, openly reported results and failures, and were held weekly accountable. The results were amazing! Individuals lost weight easily and consistently. The success of this communal relational endeavor was quite impressive. One of the lessons of this group centered accomplishment was the huge success that happened when individuals quit trying on one’s own and joined in a group effort.

The Church in this country is just beginning to appreciate the value of small fellowship groups developed to aid one in growing in Christian holiness and maturity. “Evangelizing Catholic Culture” Podcast will eventually be providing two types of small group fellowships for the purpose of growth and support in the Christian life. The first one is FIRE Growth Groups mentioned above, and the second one is Merciful Christian Fellowship Groups. The Merciful Christian Fellowship Groups are designed to help individuals grow in living a committed Gospel form of life. The MCFG’s are designed to provide a flexible formation experience as a modern penitent, to assist individuals to grow and share one’s faith, and training to do some type of evangelization or mercy service. Who may want to take a look at this opportunity?

Anyone who has a personal relationship with Jesus, and feels called to deepen their skills in prayer and outreach to others.
Anyone who wants to grow in the use of the spiritual gifts and qualities of mercy by practicing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
Anyone who enjoys prayer and desires personal transformation, and formation in the life of grace.
Anyone who wants to grow more comfortable and skilled in sharing their personal faith story.

May We Pray!

Lord, we trust in your abundant Mercy and ask that you would fill our hearts with the desire to grow in holiness. May the Holy Spirit move us to become aflame with a desire to bring your love and mercy to those we serve. As missionary disciples give us a willingness to reach out to those who are suffering and struggling to live a happy life in this post-modern world. Let the joy of the Gospel and our humble acts of mercy bring your goodness and love to others. We ask this prayer of our Father who is ever ready to lead us more deeply into a union with Jesus Christ, his beloved Son. Amen,

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Special Replay:Blind Faith vs. Real Faith

May 3, 2021 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Blind Faith vs. Real Faith

Blind faith is not what is required of us. We should question and wonder in our walk with the Lord, but truthfully while we believe without seeing, it is far from blind faith. In this episode, we will think back to the time of the Ressurection of Our Lord and what we can learn from the scriptures that can be applied to our lives.

Thanks to our sponsor Media Angels and the book, One More Child – download a free chapter at MediaAngels.com

Jesus did not call us to blind faith – because he has opened our eyes!

Luke 21-24:

When I think about those who doubted I think about doubting Thomas. I wonder, would I have been any better? I hope the answer is YES!

In John 20:24-29 we read about the way that Jesus appeared to Thomas.

Are we the blessed who have not seen and yet believe? This is something to think about to journal about and to really consider when we look at our lives. In this podcast, I ask a lot of you! And, I’m so happy for all of you who listen, because this is a lesson for us all!

There were many signs and miracles that happened after Jesus rose – and we learn more and more as the story unfolds.

Because of the witness of the faith of the twelve so many people were converted into believers.

In Acts 5: 1-14 we read a tragic story of those who followed but on their terms. They followed half-heartedly and allowed greed to get in the way of blind faith. They wanted to believe, but on their terms, like many of us!

Our faith should grow every day, if we are not going forward we are not just stagnating we are regressing. We see the works of the Lord all around us if we look – even though Jesus rose over two thousand years ago we see the witness of this faith. We see it in the men, women, and children that go to church each week. We see it in those who honor the Lord in their dress and their speech. Who proclaim Jesus and give him all the glory and the honor on the sports field.

We are the people who witness now. How can we do this?

Smile – that goes a long way in letting strangers know we have something special.
Praise God in conversation. Give God the glory. (I share a story about my husband here.)
Tell others what God has done for you, in your life.
Ask others to share their story – I’d love to hear yours!
Tell people the good news – if you see someone is depressed who seems to be without hope ask them about their faith, invite them to church.

Remember to be able to witness we must first, fill up! Are you filled to overflowing with the love of Christ? We are the witnesses as believers. As we gather in prayer, as we gather as a faith community, as we share what the Lord has done for us.

Be sure to spend time this week in prayer and with your journal in recording how your faith has sustained you.

Let’s pray:

We will pray in the Trinity – in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord, we thank you for giving us faith – the faith that believes without seeing. Oh, how I would have loved to be with you and talk to you when you lived upon the earth, but Lord, I know that you are more present now, through the Holy Spirit and the graces your death and resurrection have purchased for us sinners. I am so blessed Lord that you opened my eyes to the Christian faith and that you are so ready to deepen my faith if I just ask! Please help me to be a Christian witness to others for your glory, Lord! And, Father God thank you for your love in sending your Son and the Spirit – please hear our prayers … I praise you my God for all you have done and for all you will do in my life, and I pray this in the name of the Almighty God. Amen!

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Lead By Example

April 26, 2021 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Today our topic is one that may cause you to think that leading by example means being perfect and no one is perfect this side of heaven – but, there is more to leading and we’ll explore this topic in this podcast!

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Sometimes our leader’s let us down and when we see this we lose heart and think this is it! The world is ending tomorrow… but Jesus said, Matthew 28:19-20

New International Version

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

He didn’t say go forth and be perfect as I am perfect! When we look at leadership we see that there is much that is expected and rightly so… but it also means that we must look at what we can do and not where others have fallen short. In college, many people thought I needed saving. I was a Catholic and in my mind a Christian. But, my Christian friends thought I had something lacking in my walk with the Lord. So, they asked me to pray a salvation prayer and join a Bible study. I read the salvation prayer and thought – sure, I already believe this and a Bible Study? Why not? But it was still you need to do this and that – and this is the way, the only way.

Good people who mean we’ll want to help others as the Lord has urged, to make disciples of all nations. If we sit together and chat I am sure that many of us come from different denominations and may say their church is the only way. But here is the thing, how are you leading and how are you giving others an example of the love of God in your heart?

When we lead we show and we demonstrate often without words – a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi says, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” There are those who say that Francis never said this and we may never know, but I’d like to believe that he did and I heard this taught by my own parents at an early age, St. Francis being one of our favorite Italian saints who denounced his worldly wealth and went on to preach the gospel all his life.

When we have God’s love in our hearts and we are in communion with him there is no need to use words, there is no need to tell people what to believe or do – there is only a need to show and we do this first and foremost with our own family and our friends. Why is it that we hurt the people we love the most? We hurt those who care for us and who are immediately there in case of need? Is it because we know they will understand? It is not the way we should be or live our lives.

I had a good friend in fact we co-authored some books together and she was a science genius, an amazing mom, and a cook. She was just good at whatever she did, and I would tease her often about her joy and her vocabulary. She talked about utensils (you mean forks and knives?) she talked about “play structures,” you mean a swing set? I would tell her I was her translator because she was on another level! She loved the Lord and before we began the writing projects we would launch into prayer, she’d grab my hands and begin praying and praising God, and yes from time to time I’d open one eye and see she was still going strong, so I’d close my eyes and focus on the words and the Spirit of God – she was an Evangelical Christian and we got along famously because of our mutual love to the Lord even if she was just a tiny bit more –okay allot more—vocal about her praising God. The reason I share this wonderful memory – because Jill went to be with the Lord right after Christmas in 2007, is that wherever we’d go people would stop her and say those golden words to any Christian who wants to share the gospel –
“What is different about you – or You are different, or “I want what you have.” Jill lead people to the Lord at our printing company where we had our books printed, at the grocery store, and even at the gas station. In fact, she never even realized she did this until I pointed it out to her. She didn’t go around saying anything. Or wearing a huge cross or even a t-shirt that says, Got Jesus? She just smiled and was joyful to everyone she met.

So, we start by asking the Lord for that SPIRIT of Joy and we begin in our own homes and then we ask God to give us the gift of evangelism if that is our calling how DOES HE want us to share the gospel? Is it to learn all we can in the quiet of our home? Is it to reach out to someone at church, or in the grocery store? I look around me and people are afraid. It is a spirit of fear that holds people ransom and the evil one feeds on fear – if you are fearful there is no way you can be an example or lead… Pray this prayer –

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear must do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

Ask the Lord for an infilling of HIS love – and ask the Lord for a deeper relationship with him. We can lead only the Lord requests it.

Let’s Pray – Dear Lord I ask you for that spirit of Joy to overcome any negativity or fear in my life and in the NAME of Jesus I ask that you take away any fear, any anxiety, anything that is not of you and put it at the foot of the cross. Dear Lord I ask for you to fill me with the opposite the spirit of hope, of love, of peace and joy – and I ask for the following needs in my life…. And I pray this in Jesus precious Name. Amen!

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Special Replay: Take Jesus With You

April 19, 2021 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Take Jesus With You

Many times people feel alone and forgotten but you can take Jesus with you each and every day. In this episode, we are reminded that God is always with us until the end of time. We are not alone!

So, how do you take Jesus with you and why is this a strange concept to so many? We learned as children that Jesus is always with us – we are told in the Scriptures after Jesus resurrected that the disciples were asked to go to the mountain in Galilee where they found the Lord – and he instructed them before he went to heaven. This is known as the “great commission.”

Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven went to find Jesus
Some doubted
The great commission – make disciples of all nations
The Trinity: Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Teach them to obey
…I am with you always, to the very end of the age

Jesus is with us … always … to the very end of the age…

We should be shouting and rejoicing in the streets – hallelujah the Lord is with us – He is here – He is always beside us. OR… if we are not sure of our relationship with God it may be a little bit intimidating.

Each of us has a different relationship with the Lord. We worship in our own way. Some in private, other’s in the community, some lifting their hands and worshipping in song and others on their knees in the privacy of a church chapel or home. Yet we should work on our communication with the Lord.

Is Jesus with you each and every day? Is he right

Dear Jesus, thank you for always being with me, until the end of time – thank you for giving me the grace to believe you are here – that you are with me. I repent of any way I have not allowed you to work in my life, anything I have done that is not pleasing. I ask you, Lord, to come into my life in a renewed way – to see your hand in the little things in my life, to honor my prayers and to go with me, wherever I go. I praise you and I thank you, Lord! Thank you for answering the prayers that I ask of you now…

You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and I give you all the honor and praise as the one true God and I pray this in Jesus Name – Amen!

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Bestow A New Anointing

April 7, 2021 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Bestow A New Anointing Episode 39

The next two podcast shows are probably the most important ones that will appear in my podcast listings or shows (evangelizingcatholicculturepodcast.com). The overall topic I will be discussing in this show is the Church’s Grace of Renewal. I would like to start by reviewing a bit of history of this topic. Immediately after the close of Vatican Council II in 1965 a wonderful spiritual grace began happening in the Catholic Church. This grace manifested itself in various renewal programs which provided individuals the opportunity to receive a powerful transforming grace of spiritual renewal. The one approach that I am most familiar with is the happenings in the Charismatic Renewal. In the 1960’s some of the young leaders in the movement wondered what to call this movement. After consulting with several Catholic theologians, they decided to call it the Charismatic Renewal. The reason for this title resided in the fact that what was manifested experientially was some of the charisms listed in the scripture. The anointing that individuals were powerfully experiencing they entitled the “Baptism of the Spirit”. This experience initiated a tremendous spiritual change in one’s Christian life. This identification of the anointing was probably unfortunate for several reasons. First it easily led to the “haves and the have nots”. This reality led to many negative experiences. Secondly, the word “baptism” led to some confusion between this actual grace of anointing with the reception of water baptism, which is a very different thing. The baptism in the Spirit is simply an actual gift of grace give by God for a current conversion of life. Water baptism is the reality of the Divine indwelling of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the gift of eternal salvation. It is easy to see why this tension and confusion arose among Christians.

What seems to be the present situation? About 65 years have passed since the initial emergence of the Renewal appeared right after the close of the Council in 1965. Many years have passed and what was fresh, new, and exciting has waned. At the beginning there was a flurry development of prayer groups all over the world, especially in the United States. Today most of them have discontinued or usually consist in a few older people in the later years of life. Some individuals have left go of the initial empowerment and no longer consider themselves a part of the movement. Many have gone home to the Lord. In short, many things have changed in society in relationship to moral principles and behavior, and in the Church, which is experiencing a tremendous amount of downsizing. Plus, the fact that the neo-pagan social religion of “secularism humanism” has brought a huge amount of “spiritual darkness”, moral confusion, and unfaithfulness among Catholics who were formerly committed to their religion and its practice. For example, a statistic I read awhile back maintains that 70 percent of those raised Catholic leave the Church or the practice of the Faith by the time they are 27.

Where do we go from here? Quite frankly I believe we need to view the past anointing of the Spirit experienced through prayer and various spiritual renewal programs as the first installment of a much greater outpouring of the Spirit. At this point instead of looking wistfully at the beautiful empowerment of the Spirit in the past. For example, the Baptism of the Spirit identified in the Charismatic Renewal. We should humbly desire a fresh second empowerment that bestows a new fresh anointment of the Spirit for the current needs and spiritual desires of individuals, and the powerful grace to meet the mission of the Church to establish the Kingdom of God now! A new impartation of the Holy Spirit at this time could set on fire many souls for greater holiness. Equip individuals with the tools for fighting against the modern forms of neopaganism in our society. For example, current attempts to destroy Christian family life in our American culture. And stand for the truth revealed by the Word of God and the authentic moral principles of the Church (check out the last podcast)

Are there any individuals who may have a strong desire to develop an organized movement to unfold prayer, study, and action to humbly attempt to investigate and possibly initiate possibilities in a new spiritual direction? What would be some of the considerations necessary to discern any planning about these matters in the days ahead?

First is this conferring of a second empowerment of the Spirit need to be something that God wants to bestow on His People?
What sort of gathering could exist or come into existence that some may see it necessary to evaluate these possibilities?
Is there anybody who really believes in this possibility, and is willing to put some effort forth to consider making this happen?
We want to hear from you in order to initiate a good discussion about these matters.

May We Pray!

Dear Father, we approach you in your Son Jesus because we have many serious and painful concerns in our hearts. The spirit of negative secular humanism is rapidly growing in our society. Many of those accepting this new social religion are working against the revealed truths of a Christian way of life, and they are promoting a spiritual darkness and abandoning the wonderful teaching of Jesus and his way of salvation. Immorality and violence are increasing in our culture. Fear, mistrust, and hatred abound in many sectors of our society. Families are suffering greatly. We know that there are many good people who desire to live in a spirit of love, honesty, and service for others. We pray with a trusting and humble heart that in your goodness and mercy you would pour out you Holy Spirit anew among those whose hearts are open to receive a divine impartation which would equip many to serve to embrace the liberating freedom of holiness, enlightened truth, and the zeal to serve brothers and sisters in need of your goodness, mercy, peace. We pray this prayer in Jesus most holy name. Amen.

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When will the seed produce a harvest?

September 9, 2020 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

When will the seed produce a harvest? Listeners fall into 4 groups in regards to how they receive and respond to the gospel. Each group is uniquely different and response to the message is acted upon at various velocities. I discuss the characteristics of these groups in today’s message.

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Meet Jay Dee Schurz, Pastor, Certified Kingdom Advisor™, Certified Stewardship Instructor, and Host of the “Revolutionary Stewardship” podcast

Jay has dedicated his life to providing education to those people seeking to align their faith and values with their stewardship. Jay spent the early part of his life serving in the U.S. Army as a Military Policeman for 12 years and has served in the financial industry since 1996.

Do you have a question? Email jay at jschurz@vanderbiltsecurities.com

Visit my website here www.kingdomplanadvisory.com

Filed Under: Revolutionary Stewardship Podcast

What are you doing to Glorify God?

September 5, 2020 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

What are you doing to Glorify God? Great things are happening globally in regard to spreading the Gospel. There are missionaries risking their lives to save souls in all nations. Unfortunately, many Americans allow attending a church to define their Christianity. We have lost our vision. We have lost our drive to be part of the Christian Revolution. As believers, you can have a major impact on yourselves, your families, and those abroad by being good stewards. It’s time to be proactive, obedient, and aware of the different aspects of our financial stewardship.

Meet Jay Dee Schurz, Pastor, Certified Kingdom Advisor™, Certified Stewardship Instructor, and Host of the “Revolutionary Stewardship” podcast

Do you have a question? Email jay at jschurz@vanderbiltsecurities.com

Visit my website here www.kingdomplanadvisory.com

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Biblically Responsible Investing

September 2, 2020 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

As an obedient steward, you have an opportunity and obligation to honor God with your investments. Biblically Responsible Investing aligns a person’s beliefs with their investments by avoiding those companies that profit from and support issues contrary to their moral compass. You can choose to own investments that mirror your theology and beliefs. As a steward, you are either honoring God or rebelling against God in how you manage those assets entrusted to you.

Do you have a question? Email jay at jschurz@vanderbiltsecurities.com

Visit my website here www.kingdomplanadvisory.com

Listen to more episodes here!

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Could I Accuse You of Being a Christian?

August 29, 2020 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Could I identify you as being a Christian by reviewing your financial stewardship? How we handle or mishandle God’s assets is very important regarding our obedience to God. Has debt, materialism, coveting, and addictions invaded your financial stewardship and preventing you from being content? Are you obedient with your investments? Do they profit from or support issues contrary to your moral compass? In this episode, we discuss the financial trail we leave as good or poor stewards.

The content presented is strictly for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional investment advice or construed as an endorsement or recommendation. Those seeking individual advice should contact a licensed investment professional for information that may be applicable to a specific situation.

Do you have a question? Email Jay Dee Schurz at jschurz@vanderbiltsecurities.com

Visit my website here www.kingdomplanadvisory.com

Find episodes here: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/revolutionary-stewardship-podcast/

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Introducing Your Host, Jay Dee Schurz

August 26, 2020 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Meet Jay Dee Schurz, the Host of Revolutionary Stewardship Podcast

As your host, I think it is important for you to know my background and my personal testimony. God has led me on a very interesting path. As a young adult, running a drug suppression team in the Republic of Panama during the height of the cocaine smuggling from South America to the United States. Supervising a SuperMax prison, while serving on a hostage extraction team. 24 years in the Financial services arena while adhering to a Faith Based financial planning approach and pastoring a church for the last 3 years. You will have a better understanding of my faith, my obedience, my focus on glorifying God in this episode of Revolutionary Stewardship.

Do you have a question? Email Jay Dee Schurz at jschurz@vanderbiltsecurities.com

Visit my website here www.kingdomplanadvisory.com

Find episodes here: https://ultimatechristianpodcastnetwork.com/revolutionary-stewardship-podcast/

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The Birthday

April 8, 2020 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Birthdays – Everybody has them! Praise God! And this week, we celebrate with Shauna as she graciously endures another birthday.

We are talking all things birthday, from annoying birthday parties to annoying birthday people. Choose this day which one you will be!

Shauna gives us the inside scoop on what to get her for her birthday, where to get it, what size, shape, and style. We also gather around the water-cooler to discuss how annoying other people’s kid’s birthday parties are, amen?

Shauna shares her recent experience at a birthday party depot for kids, nearly ending the night in her usual fist-fight with an old lady.

We also learn fun facts about the world during the year of our Lord, 1972. From Dawn dish soaps debut to the Carnival Cruise line’s maiden voyage, all things groovy are discussed.

Do you know what the top song was on your birthday? How about the number one movie when you were born? Those and much more will be discussed!

Don’t miss a second – and be sure and wish Shauna a hearty Happy Birthday – just don’t awkwardly sing happy birthday to her…

Please check out the new series: “Daily Universal Media Broadcast” featuring the latest and dumbest news stories. You can find the vids on the YouTube page and anywhere Shauna’s social media pages are located.

Be Shauna’s friend on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/shauna.lopez

Follow Shauna on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/seriouslyshauna/

Like and Subscribe to the YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCceXy254XYIoTi1ftOnqUnA?view_as=subscriber

Don’t forget to visit Shauna’s website for more information and to contact Shauna directly:

https://seriouslyshauna.com

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The Joy of the Lord

December 26, 2019 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

What exactly is the joy of the Lord?

Nehemiah 8:10
“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

In this story, Ezra found the book of the Law and read it to the people at their request. When they heard all the things they were supposed to be doing and weren’t they were tempted to be discouraged and sad. But Nehemiah pointed out that this was a holy day, because they had found and understood God’s word. He encouraged them to celebrate.

What exactly is the joy of the Lord?

Just in case you want to separate it from happy, here’s what the word really means in Hebrew:
“chedvah,” meaning joy or gladness.

Why is it my strength and how do I use it?

The true joy of the Lord creates possibility, hope, and life.
It is our motivation to keep going.

How do I use it?

First, you can consider the techniques I discuss in these other episodes:

In Episode 20: A Secret to Easy Joy, we talked about how joy is a bi-product of other actions you take:

Keep your commitments

In Episode 21: The #1 Joy Sapper and How to Stop It we talked about joy sappers we allow in our life that block us from it coming in, even though it might be there waiting for us.

In Episode 22: Happy Living, we discussed practical ways to enhance joy, make it more fulfilling, and teach our brains that we actually like it.

This episode is primarily to help you see that joy IS your superpower in Christ.
If you want the energy to persevere, if you want the courage to take a risk, if you want that dead set lock on that relationship no matter what the other person throws at you, the joy of the Lord is your strength and shield.

Paul and Barnabas showed joy as they sang in the jail- along with countless others who have done the same over the centuries. Their joy was the superpower that bolstered their faith in the midst of severe difficulty.

What was the alternative?

Discouragement? Hopelessness? Cynicism? What possible fruit will those attitudes bear?

Pride- I’m right, this is awful.
I’m right, this is someone else’s fault and there’s nothing I can do.

If I claim Defeat, I may be miserable, but I absolve myself from any responsibility. I can sit back, and slack off. No courage must be mustered. No perseverance is necessary. Circumstances may happen to me and I am no longer required to participate.

When we grow weary, this is tempting. Even in our discouragements, we long for any action to be someone else’s responsibility.

Ah, but friend, if you are a Christian, then like it or not, you are telling others by how you live your life what is and isn’t possible in the strength of Jesus!

Unbelievers can’t exactly tell when you are deciding simply not to pick up the tools and weapons you have available, or whether they just don’t appear to work.

If you are a believer, you are called to live a life of testimony of Christ’s work in you!

Pick up your weapons! One of them is the joy of the Lord! It is the muscle behind the punch, the energy behind the walking, the running, the getting back up when you fall.

How is it joy of the Lord your STRENGTH?

Last year was one of the hardest, most stressful years ever, and yet, you can ask my husband- I was thriving? Why? Because of a steady focus- a choice I made over and over again to continually focus on the joy of the Lord- on his power, on his workings, on his goodness, and collecting ever scrap of evidence that he was working in my life.

Practically, what does that look like?

– I sat down on the couch one night in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep and created a new playlist on my phone of uplifting music- songs that brought me focus on the greatness of God, who I am, what is possible, how he’s in charge, and some peppy tunes.
Then, every time I was alone and my mind started to wander towards worry or panic, I hit play.

– I took regular time to talk to God- tell him what I needed, what I longed for, and then thanked him for the ways he had met our needs.

– I bought a giant post-it pad and pasted pages to my bedroom wall. One said God’s abundance doesn’t disappear just because my circumstances changed. Another was a growing list of ways God showed up, needs met, things I was thankful for. (It wasn’t in a journal, locked away. It was on the wall- where I couldn’t not look at it every single day.)

– I focused on the way God was meeting the needs of others and thanked him for their success. I had a list of other people in my life that had seen God do a mighty work in their life.

– The joy of the Lord is something that God provides, but we must choose to take hold of it and use it. Just like a soldier is issued a weapon, but he gets to choose whether he just lugs the thing around all day behind him or whether he picks it up and shoots the enemy.

The joy of the Lord is YOUR strength. Will you pick it up and use it today? How? What’s one way you will choose to apply the joy of the Lord to your life today?

One way you can take action is to apply for one of our Joy and Peace Breakthrough Calls. We have a few spots left. Get on a call with me that is specifically designed to help you get clear on what practical joy and peace can look like in your family life in the year 2020. Discover the #1 thing stopping you from having that regular happiness, and Complete the call with excitement knowing the EXACT next steps to take to have the happy and content family you desire!

SImply apply for a call at maryaldrichcoaching.com/apply . But hurry, there are only a couple spots left and you’ll want to get started on the game plan we create right away.

As a bonus for applying, I’ll send you a FREE digital copy of my Daily Fruit Juice Journal. It has 365 days of simple journal prompts to help you apply the fruit of the spirit more practically to your everyday life. Use it with your kids, too. The prompts make great conversation starters for valuable discussions.

Again, that’s maryaldrichcoaching.com/apply

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Filed Under: Fruit Pursuit Podcast

How to Prepare for the Upcoming Season

September 11, 2019 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Today on big dreams we are talking about how to prepare your child for the upcoming season! When it comes to preparing your kids for the upcoming season of sports, how parents play a major role, and how creating a routine can bring value and balance to your young athlete. So, grab your coffee and your headphones and check me out on Big Dreams Sports Tv.

Find us on:

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

More podcast episodes

Are You Interested In Playing Sports?

Join your host, Andrew Layton.

Andrew Layton loved playing football and devoted his life to playing until he took a wrong turn because of finances. Now he wants to help student-athletes to make to take the higher road.

Andrew is a personal trainer, former professional athlete, and currently the Head Football Coach at Canterbury High School in Ft. Myers.

Andrew is determined to help at-risk kids just as he was at one time, now he encourages athletes to stay on a better path, and avoid the cycle of despair that he fell into. He saw the affects on the lives of other young men and women who grew up in similar communities, including his late mom.

Andrew was a star football player at Estero High School and he entered Georgia Military College. His mom died during his first year in 2000. He later attended Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Although a pulled hamstring barred him from the NFL draft, he started a professional football career in the Arena Football League, playing for the Greensboro Prowlers.

Andrew was recruited by the first-string Dallas Desperados and elated to be making money doing what he loved. Now he shares his story and insider tips and advice to all of you athletes who want to Dream Big on his Big Dreams Podcast! Join Andrew Layton weekly.

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Prayer of Faith – Part 14

August 22, 2019 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Join Lucia as she talks about how to put your faith into operation through the prayer of faith. There are different kinds of prayers we can pray: the prayer of praise and worship; the prayer of agreement where two or more people agree together; the prayer of binding and loosing; the prayer of intercession; and the prayer of petition or the prayer of faith.

The prayer of petition is the most common prayer, and this is where we ask Father God to do something for us or give us something. There are laws that govern its operation, and if we don’t operate according to the laws that govern it, it won’t work for us.

Mark 11:24 is a great example of the prayer of faith. The Good News Translation reads, “For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for.”

This is one of the most important statements in the Bible and could be the solution to every challenge you may ever face. Your faith is released through prayer and this verse is the key that unlocks doors to walk in victory.

Jesus says when you pray for your desires, believe that you receive them when you pray, and you will have them!

It doesn’t matter what your heart desire, the technique to get it manifested in your life is the same for whatever you desire.

Everything we receive from God we receive by our faith. The technique or principle of faith is this: when you pray, believe that you receive them when you pray, and you will have them. If you don’t believe you receive them when you pray, you are not going to receive anything!

LuciaClaborn.com

Faith Builders for Victorious Living

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Faith to Please God

June 12, 2019 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Lucia continues her study of faith in this week’s podcast by sharing you must have faith to please God.

She references Hebrews 11:6 in The Passion Translation which says, “And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.”

And Hebrews 3:7-12 in the New Living Translation tells us it’s important to walk by faith. “That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’ Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.”

A key statement in this verse is “Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving.” Paul is telling us that an unbelieving heart or a heart that is not full of faith is considered to be evil!!

If you want God’s Word to work for you, you must mix it with your faith. The Word of God can be preached; people can hear the Word; and it will not profit or produce for them because they don’t mix their faith with the Word of God.

Walking in faith causes you to live the victorious life!

LuciaClaborn.com

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Perfecting Your Love Walk, Part 3 – Overcoming Offenses

February 27, 2019 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

In today’s podcast Lucia finishes her series on Perfecting Your Love Walk and discusses how to overcome offenses. Even though you’re walking in love, you’ll have countless opportunities to get offended every day.

People who become offended are usually trapped as they go about their normal, daily routines, and suddenly find themselves pulled into an offensive situation that causes hurt and resentment that grows until the person being offended decides to strike back.

Offenses will come, but you can overcome them and not let them rule your life. The important thing to remember is that it’s not the trap itself that is the offender; it’s the trapper who sets the trap.

Whenever Satan brings a scheme to cause an offense, he’s setting you up for destruction. The proper response to an offensive situation is to respond the same way Jesus did! Rebuke the devil! That does two things for you. First, you’re exercising your authority, and this stops the devil from hurting you. Second, it helps you recognize that it’s the devil and not people who sets up an offensive trap for you.

Satan’s plan is specifically designed to fit your weaknesses because he’s after your testimony. He wants to immobilize you and distract you from your destiny. It’s time to put on the full Armor of God, stop blaming someone else for what they did, and take responsibility for your own actions!

You can totally change your life by operating out of God’s love; and you can overcome offenses by choosing to forgive so you can live the victorious life God created you to live!

LuciaClaborn.com

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Authority – Part 1

October 3, 2018 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

Do you realize as a born-again believer that God has given you power and authority to enforce Satan’s defeat in your life? Do you know what your God-given authority is? Why you have authority? Why you need authority? Do you know how to use your authority?

Join Lucia as she answers these questions and explains the authority that belongs to you once you make Jesus Lord of your life. She will teach you that you have authority, or power, over Satan’s tactics against your life, and you can enforce his defeat in every area of your life!

God created you to reflect His image, and as the reflection of God, you have His creative power on the inside of you. When you speak God’s Word in faith, those words release creative power into your circumstances and situations.

God spoke the universe into existence with His words, and Holy Spirit made it come to pass. God has given you that same power to speak words to influence the outcome of your life and create your future. All the creative power you possess is released with your words. Words that bring life or words that bring death.

This message will be good news to you if you’ve never been told God has given you power and authority over Satan and his plans for your life. It will change your perspective on how you live your life, and how you pray once you realize your God-given authority, which will enable you to live the victorious life God created you to live.

Links mentioned in the podcast:

LuciaClaborn.com

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The Fulfillment of What is Spoken to Us from the Lord

May 31, 2018 by radioadmin Leave a Comment

The Feast of the Visitation

Ever have one of those days when it could not possibly turn out good? Crisis, frustration, events leave you depleted, devastation, or dangerously disgusted? Radical, overwhelming, crazy, insane events take the breath out of you?

How does God show up in this? How does He confirm to you that He is REAL?

Mary and Elizabeth had radical, overwhelming, crazy, insane, likely initially traumatic events (like an angel appearing) happen to them! How did Mary’s visit, in haste, anchor them to know that God was working in their lives? How did their being together give them the ability to handle the unknown, unexpected, and uncertain? God breathed Grace into them, in their holding each other up, and gave them the ability to go forward that day.

Do things happen for a reason? Join Dr. Sue Ellen Nolan as she looks at the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth and their coming together in the midst of the spectacular miracles happening in their lives. How does God work in such things? How does He work in unreasonable things?

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

Oh My Soul

Casting Crowns

Oh, my soul

Oh, how you worry

Oh, how you’re weary, from fearing you lost control

This was the one thing, you didn’t see coming

And no one would blame you, though

If you cried in private

If you tried to hide it away, so no one knows

No one will see, if you stop believing

Here and now

You can be honest

I won’t try to promise that someday it all works out

‘Cause this is the valley

And even now, He is breathing on your dry bones

And there will be dancing

There will be beauty where beauty was ash and stone

This much I know

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Filed Under: Authentic Faith and Life Tagged With: feast of visitation