
120 episodes

Always Hope Mario Sacasa
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- Religion & Spirituality
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5.0 • 104 Ratings
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Who doesn’t need a little more hope in their life? Through engaging interviews with well-informed guests, Dr. Mario Sacasa draws on his years of counseling experience and knowledge of the Catholic Christian faith to help us find the good in life, relationships, and culture. Always Hope is a production of Willwoods Faith and Marriage. For more information, visit faithandmarriage.org
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How Faith Constructs Culture | Danny Fitzpatrick
Joining me on the show today is Danny Fitzpatrick, Editor of the Joie de Vivre Journal, to talk about the intertangled relationship between faith, tradition, art, and culture.
We discuss how culture is an embodied religion, the importance of traditions, and the necessity of the creative process to move culture forward. We examine our modern fragmented culture, ask “who is pop culture worshiping?”, and proclaim the need to reclaim art as a contemplation exercise not just a consumer one.
Danny also shares about the work they are doing at St. Louis IX Art Society promoting religious art in Southern Louisiana.
If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it on your social media.
Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Websites mentioned in the show:
Joie de Vivre Journal
St Louis XI Art Society -
Eric Sammons on Holiness According to Josemaria Escriva
Have you ever wondered if working in a cubicle can make you saint? Do we all have to leave our ‘real world’ jobs and work for a church ministry? What does holiness look like? In this episode, we turn to St. Josemaria Escriva, a 20th Century Spanish priest, for some answers.
Joining me on the show is Eric Sammons, author of the book Holiness for Everyone, to break down St. Josemaria’s teachings on lay holiness. We discuss St. Josemaria’s call to the priesthood and founding of Opus Dei, why he disagreed with a two-tier vocational call, why holiness is not the same thing as popularity, and how to reframe our jobs as pathways for sanctity.
If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it on your social media.
Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Websites mentioned in the show:
Ericsammons.com
Holiness for Everyone Book Link
Social Media conversation starter:
For those of you in non-Church affiliated jobs, when have you experienced God in the workplace? -
Juan Carlos Carredano and Mike Day on Can Technology Aid Prayer?
We certainly hear of the many ways that technology is hampering our faith life and leading to increased distractions in prayer. But can we use technology to aid our prayer life and help us grow closer to the Lord? Joining me on the show to talk about that are Juan Carlos Carredano, CEO of CCC of America, and Mike Day, founder of Cor Ignis Inspiring Technologies.
They are the winners of the most recent OSV Challenge’s technology track.
In today’s episode, we talk about the challenges of brings creative ideas into fruition, the need for innovation from Catholics in the technology sector, how our creative energies cooperate with God’s will, the need for excellence when being creative, how technology can aid our prayer life, and they offer details about their respective award winning projects, My Guardian Dear, and VCON.
If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it on your social media.
Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Websites mentioned in the show:
Cor Ignis Inspiring Technologies
CCC of America
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115 - Sam Blair on Achieving Peak Performance
Have you ever wondered what it means to be your best? Or what it feels like to chase a dream? Or be in an environment where you find that your unique skills line up perfectly with the work you do? Or are you simply frustrated by your current work circumstances? Joining me on the podcast is Sam Blair, former Navy Seal and co-founder of The Frassati Company to talking achieving peak performance in your life.
Sam shares about his time as a Naval Officer, the challenges of having hard conversations with your spouse when dreams and desires aren’t lining up between you, doing ambitious things with the Lord, knowing what is enough, what peak performance looks like for a work team, how to maintain personal agency even in difficult work environments, and how to discern next steps.
If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it on your social media.
Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Websites mentioned in the show:
The Frassati Company
Valetta Industries
Big Yellow Coffee -
114 - Alex and Melissa Dee on Good Storytelling for Kids and the Saints Alive Podcast
By now you probably know that I love movies and good storytelling, so joining me on the show to talk about the necessity of creating engaging stories for kids are two of the creators of the popular Saints Alive Podcast, Alex and Melissa Dee. Saints Alive is a radio drama podcast about the lives of the saints that is geared to kids. My youngest son is a fan of this podcast, so I got serious street cred at home when I told him I was interviewing them.
I recorded this conversation back in December and we had a delightful and free flowing conversation on a wide range of topics. Alex and Melissa share their journey of starting the Saints Alive podcast with their friend Tanner, winning a $100k from the OSV Challenge, learning to navigate differences in desires and lifegoals as a couple, the importance of having hard conversations, the need for good storytelling, and they share a bit about their creative process.
After listening to this episode, if you can think of one person who could benefit from it, then don’t be a hoarder and pass it along. If you enjoyed then someone else will too.
Have thoughts about this episode that you’d like to share with me? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Websites mentioned in the show:
Saints Alive Website -
Laraine Bennett on Living with Less
January 2 was the 150th anniversary of St. Therese’s birth, therefore it is fitting that we take a look at how The Little Flower can help us let go and declutter our lives. Joining me on the show is Laraine Bennett to talk about her new book “The Little Way of Living with Less.”
In today’s episode, we discuss, the challenges of letting go of things, how St. Therese’s teachings can apply to our modern lives, how to make minimalism not just a trendy lifestyle choice, but something that aids the spiritual life, practical tips for getting started, and navigating the differences on clutter with your spouse and children.
Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Websites mentioned in the show:
Art and Laraine’s Website
Little Way of Living with Less Book
2023 Willwoods Marriage Retreats
St. Maximillian Kolbe Messy Desk Pic
Customer Reviews
Show with Elisa Neven-Pugh
This was the best episode I’ve heard yet! Elisa’s testimony of Gods love was so moving and comforting. She is a pure vessel to communicate this love and it touched me in places that are hard to reach. I sincerely hope she does more talks and podcasts on Gods healing Love. For anyone with any type of disability, visible or not, this was a true breath of Hope for the soul.
Depth when we need it most!
Dr Mario brings a joyful mix of conversation and quality in every episode. His podcasts highlight and articulate the questions that often leave us aching if we wrestle with them alone. Don’t let the length of the podcasts intimidate you! I listen to them in 2-3 increments at a time (which is great since I need time to process and bring topics in prayer). His ability to bring in other insightful colleagues has helped me broaden my perspective of how to healthily wrestle through questions and concerns, and embrace a truth that we share as believers in Christ. Thank you Dr. Mario for your dedication and trust in the Lord to use this podcast and your work to minister to so many! Praying for you!
Super helpful show
I’ve found Dr. Mario’s insights and interviews to be super helpful in my spiritual life and search for a more integrated and balanced life. Among many other excellent episodes, I think recent episode on overcoming perfectionism should be heard far and wide! I pass these out to friends and family often. Thanks for the wonderful work you do, Dr. Mario!