This week, Jake and Bob are joined by Teresa Pitt Green, co-founder of Spirit Fire, a ministry dedicated to “facilitating healing dialogue among those wounded by abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.” Teresa shares her own story of healing from abuse, the challenges she experienced, and what she learned along the way. She also shares practical advice to help priests approach conversations with survivors, common mistakes to avoid, and insights into the complexity of what it’s like to heal from abuse. Ultimately, it is Jesus who heals, and He can use whatever we have to offer to bring about restoration in the Church and her members. 

If you are experiencing or have experienced abuse of any kind, we encourage you to reach out to Teresa or check out her resources on Spirit Fire’s website.

This week, Jake and Bob are joined by Matt Rudolph, co-founder of Chrism which is a ministry for priests. Matt dives into the challenges faced by priests today including a need for community,  support in embracing imperfections, and formation that emphasizes personal healing. They also share their visions for a more integrated approach to the priesthood that fosters true spiritual fatherhood. Matt ends the episode by sharing how Chrism supports priests in becoming happy, healthy, and holy in their vocations.

This week, Jake and Bob share ideas on how to foster a healthy parish community. They not only reflect on the challenges of developing true community within a parish but also ponder how healthy parish life revolves around our personal healing and freedom. Through the use of multiple personal examples, Jake and Bob also explore the importance of the Sacraments, the role of forgiveness, and how love and fear bonds affect our relationships with God and those around us.

This week, Jake and Bob discuss intergenerational healing, taking into account recent pastoral advice from Bishops around the world. Intergenerational healing involves understanding how wounds and sins from previous generations can affect individuals in the present. Jake and Bob not only reflect on the Bishops’ letters, which express concern regarding the practice of intergenerational healing, but also share personal experiences of miraculous healings that occurred after addressing generational issues in prayer.

This week, Jake and Bob welcome back Dr. Christin McIntyre, a Thomistic psychiatrist, to discuss the concept of personality disorders. They begin by defining what a personality disorder is and explore how modern culture and social norms can influence and twist this definition. Then, they discuss the interplay between inherited traits, early life experiences, and individual choices in shaping one’s personality. Through the analogy of a sailboat, Dr. Christin also shares how the intellect, will, and emotions are all interconnected and why navigating the waters of healing not only involves the formation of the intellect but also the conforming of our will to God’s.

This week, Jake and Bob return to an important topic: the healing power of forgiveness. Both Jake and Bob have encountered forgiveness and mercy in their healing journeys and share personal stories about receiving forgiveness and forgiving others. They also discuss why forgiving and forgetting is not possible, how to know if you’ve truly forgiven someone, and how our memories are transformed through the process of forgiveness.

This week, Jake and Bob continue their conversation and focus on the primary mechanisms of our human nature when it comes to change. We are a composite of body, soul, and spirit, but many times we isolate change and healing to only one part of our nature. While this can lead to some change, when integrated on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level we can experience greater progress. Jake and Bob discuss incremental vs transformational change, how the Sacraments pour out grace into our lives, and share stories of experiencing change in their lives.

This week, Jake and Bob explore the complex process of personal change, what change requires, and why change can seem out of reach. In today’s culture of near instant gratification, it’s easy to think change should and will come about quickly and without much effort. While God can and does work many miracles, the reality is, change takes time, effort, and a lot of grace. Jake and Bob have experienced this in their lives, understand the struggle, and share their GIVE framework as a guide to help you navigate the beautiful and yet painful waters of change. 

This week, Jake and Bob are joined by Fr. Mathias Thelen, Co-Founder and President of Encounter Ministries and Pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Parish in Brighton. Fr. Mathias shares his story of experiencing the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, encountering an advisor who fathered him in Seminary, and experiences of grace that shaped his ministry. Throughout his journey of faith, Fr. Mathias shares stories of physical and emotional healing, explains what charisms are, and why a relationship with God is the most important part of each of our lives. 

This week, Jake and Bob are joined by psychiatrist Dr. Christin McIntyre to discuss spiritual warfare and mental health. They discuss the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas on human psychology and why learning about how our minds were created to work helps us spiritually and emotionally. Dr. Christin also discusses the importance of hope in prayer, what constrains our ability to love, and the role of repentance in mental health.