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

Episode 301 - Seen, Known, Understood by God
Have you ever tried to explain what you're carrying and felt like nobody really got it?
In this episode, the friars talk about the deep human desire to be seen, known, and understood, and the pain that comes when we feel missed, dismissed, or alone in our experience. Whether it's suffering, leadership, race, vocation, family life, or the hidden weight of something hard to explain, being misunderstood can leave us feeling isolated.
The friars reflect on what it means to listen with compassion, validate someone's experience, and resist the urge to fix, explain, or minimize what we don't fully understand. At the same time, they invite us to bring the ache of being misunderstood back to the Father, the One who sees in secret, knows the heart, and never misses what we carry.
Join us as we learn to receive others more deeply and rest in the God who sees, knows, and understands us completely.
The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you
🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at
https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 300 - Words and the Word ft. Fr. Gregory Pine, OP
Have you ever thought about how much power your words actually carry?
In this special 300th episode, the friars are joined by Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, to talk about words, speech, and the deeper invitation behind how we communicate. Drawing from his book Training the Tongue, Fr. Gregory reflects on how our words are not just sounds or information; they can build communion, reveal the heart, wound, heal, bless, and bring us closer to one another.
Together, they explore how speech opens the door to real encounter: with God, with others, and even with ourselves. From the voice of the Good Shepherd to the Word made flesh, this conversation invites us to see language as something sacred, a gift meant not only to avoid sin, but to grow in love, truth, and deeper relationship.
Join us as we learn to listen more deeply, speak more faithfully, and let our words become places where the Word can be known and loved.
The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!
Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: 
https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi
🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at
https://www.pocomerch.com/

Episode 299 - Winning Summer
What does it actually look like to rest well?
As summer begins, the friars talk about how to enter a season of more space, flexibility, and rest without drifting into idleness. Whether it's summer break, vacation, weekends, or simply a change of rhythm, these moments can become a real gift, but only if we bring Jesus into them.
In this episode, they reflect on the difference between true Sabbath rest and just checking out. Rest isn't a break from prayer, charity, or our relationship with God. It's an invitation to receive life with Him in a new way with intentionality, joy, good recreation, and space to be renewed.
They also offer practical encouragement for staying grounded: keep prayer at the center, stay connected to others, choose wholesome fun, and look for small ways to love each day.
Join us as we learn how to win summer, not by doing more, but by resting with Jesus and letting Him renew what matters most.
The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!
Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: 
https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi
🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at
https://www.pocomerch.com/
Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints
https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home
https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page

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

Episode 297 - When One Door Closes...
What do you do when the plan you had suddenly falls apart?
In this episode, the friars reflect on the role of closed doors in discernment, those moments when something we hoped for, planned for, or tried to control simply doesn't happen. A missed flight, a changed plan, a lost opportunity, a relationship that doesn't unfold the way we imagined… sometimes reality interrupts us and invites us to listen more deeply.
Rather than seeing every closed door as failure, the friars explore how these moments can become places of surrender, curiosity, and trust. Not because every disappointment is easy or painless, but because Jesus is present even there. The Resurrection reminds us that no door is more closed than the sealed tomb, and even there, God was not finished.
Join us as we learn to trust Jesus in the detours, the disruptions, and the closed doors, and discover that what feels like an ending may become the place He begins something new.
The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!
Join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Rome and Assisi: 
https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/an-immersive-franciscan-retreat-to-rome-and-assisi
🛒 You can also grab your Poco a Poco Merchandise at
https://www.pocomerch.com/
Get your own copy of the Prodigal Son prints
https://spiritjuice.shop/collections/poco-a-poco/products/print-coming-home
https://visualgrace.org/coming-home-product-page