Chris Stefanick Catholic Show

Why do some parts of your work give you energy while others drain you?

Chris Stefanick sits down with Patrick Lencioni, president of The Table Group, to walk through Working Genius, the framework that helps you name the work that fills you up and the work that wears you out. Patrick shares how it came together, and why it frees us from guilt we were never meant to carry.

In this episode:
- The six kinds of work in every project, and the two you were made for
- Why "take a vacation" is the wrong advice for burnout
- Why feeling like a fraud may not mean what you think
- The email from a husband who thought his wife hated him
- What it changes for marriage, parenting, and your team- How it explains the way you pray

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Patrick Lencioni is president and co-founder of The Table Group, a consulting firm focused on leadership teams and organizational health. He is the author of 13 books with more than 10 million copies sold, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The 6 Types of Working Genius.

Why are you alive, and for what would you give your life right now?

Bestselling author and Harvard professor Dr. Arthur Brooks joins Chris Stefanick to talk about his new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, and why so many young people struggle to answer the biggest questions of their lives.

In this episode:

- The three "whys" behind a meaningful life
- What a gorilla named Koko can teach us about being human
- Why boredom may be the way back to meaning
- The three phone-free hours he recommends
- What to do when someone you love is far from faith

Arthur also opens up about the long walk he took at 55 that changed the direction of his life.

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Arthur C. Brooks, PhD, is a social scientist and one of the world’s leading authorities on human happiness. He is a university professor, national columnist with The Free Press, podcast host, CBS News expert contributor, and internationally-acclaimed public speaker. He is the author of The Meaning of Your Life and his previous books include the bestsellers Build the Life You Want (co-authored with Oprah Winfrey), From Strength to Strength, and Love Your Enemies. He lives with his family in Virginia.

The Meaning of Your Life is now out, order your copy today! From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of From Strength to Strength, an account of how the modern world sets us up to fail at finding meaning—and a plan for finding what you seek. https://www.arthurbrooks.com/books/the-meaning-of-your-life

What do you say when someone asks, "Who are you to judge me?"

Dr. Cary Dabney, a professor of theology at Walsh University, returns to the show to unpack the simple framework he uses to teach moral theology to students who are devout, on the fence, or completely unchurched. It's the same framework that can help you talk with your kids, your grandkids, or a friend about hard moral choices without sounding judgmental or getting shut down.

In this episode:

- The four kinds of students in his classroom

- The one question he asks before mentioning a single theologian

- The three fonts of choice

- What Robin Hood can teach us about good intentions

- What relativism does to our ability to talk to each other

- Why Dr. Cary calls Jesus "the pattern of righteousness"

Dr. Cary also shares three things to check before any decision, and why humility and the option of reconciliation are always on the table when we get it wrong.

Highlights

04:44 – The question that opens every moral theology class

06:16 – The three fonts of choice

07:32 – Robin Hood and the problem with good intentions

12:10 – Circumstances: same act, different gravity

13:47 – The object of the act

17:55 – Starting with what everyone shares: reason

19:26 – Taking the emotion out of hard conversations

32:12 – Silos, echo chambers, and Benedict XVI on relativism

34:38 – Three things to check before any choice

36:44 – Humility and the door to reconciliation

37:37 – Jesus, "the pattern of righteousness"

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One of the coolest things about being Catholic? You don't have to feel it to know you're getting it.

In this episode, Chris sits down with Fr. Chris Alar — author of Understanding the Sacraments: God's Grace Guaranteed — to unpack why the sacraments are so much more than symbols, and why so many Catholics never learned what they actually do.

Fr. Chris explains why infant baptism isn't about "letting a kid choose later," why Confirmation is the underrated "activation code" for the Holy Spirit's gifts, what it really takes for a confession to be valid, and why the Eucharist is literally the body and blood of Christ — not a metaphor.

Along the way, Chris and Fr. Chris talk about the difference between true contrition and mere remorse, why evangelization has to come before catechesis, and Fr. Chris's answer to "which sacrament is your favorite to administer?"

Highlights
[00:01:09] – Why Fr. Chris Alar wrote a book on the sacraments
[00:02:27] – The "wait till 18 to get baptized" argument — debunked
[00:10:00] – Confirmation: the "activation code" for the Holy Spirit
[00:16:39] – Heaven as a wedding feast — and why you need an invitation
[00:18:41] – The three conditions for a valid confession
[00:23:36] – Contrition vs. remorse: the difference between Peter and Judas
[00:47:26] – Fr. Chris Alar's favorite sacrament to administer

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Order Fr. Chris Alar's book, Understanding the Sacraments: God's Grace Guaranteed (https://shopmercy.org/explaining-the-faith-understanding-the-sacraments.html), Check out his work with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception / Divine Mercy here: https://www.thedivinemercy.org

Fr. Robert Spitzer has spent his life studying the two most well-documented sets of miracles and healings in Church history. Blind since his early thirties from a degenerative eye condition, he joins Chris Stefanick to lay out the evidence behind Fatima and Lourdes like you've never heard it.

In this episode: how losing his sight deepened his prayer life, his theory that St. Paul himself may have been going blind, the eyewitness account of the Miracle of the Sun and the staggering odds against a natural explanation, the discovery of the healing spring at Lourdes, a man's leg instantly restored after being severed by a falling tree, and the Nobel Prize-winning doctor who went to disprove a miracle and left converted instead.

Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., is President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and President Emeritus of Gonzaga University. Learn more at magiscenter.com

Highlights
4:01 – How Fr. Spitzer prays through blindness
5:41 – "How has blindness blessed you?"
8:00 – A theory on St. Paul's "thorn in the flesh"
13:10 – The story of Fatima: what Mary told three children
20:29 – The bloodless miracle behind the Cold War's end
24:12 – The Miracle of the Sun and its 40,000 witnesses
28:25 – The "supernatural lens" theory, explained
38:16 – Bernadette and the apparitions at Lourdes
48:00 – The instantly healed leg of Pierre de Rudder
54:43 – Why the real number of Lourdes miracles is far higher than reported
56:00 – The political battle over the Lourdes grotto
1:01:37 – The Nobel laureate who tried to disprove a miracle
1:09:30 – Why Fr. Spitzer believes he was never healed
1:16:40 – Gabriel Gargam: paralyzed, then instantly healed
1:22:00 – "35,000 miracles... something is going on"

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He's about to be declared a saint, and Dr. Peter Howard has spent nearly 30 years tracing his every word. Founder of the Fulton Sheen Institute, Dr. Howard earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, where he specialized in dogmatic theology and Mariology.

Dr. Howard joins Chris Stefanick ahead of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's beatification to talk about the man who shaped his entire life.

In this episode: the cassette tape that changed Peter's life at 22, the actual microphone Sheen used on that retreat now sitting in Peter's office, why Sheen called Mary a "spiritual Trojan horse," the one direct appeal Christ ever made of His followers, the falling out with a cardinal that got Sheen's show pulled off air overnight, and what Sheen predicted decades ago about identity, AI, and the "economic savior" the world is waiting for.

Peter also opens up about his son Beckett, now 15, who started tagging along to daily Holy Hour... and hasn't stopped.

Highlights:

04:42 – When Peter's heart caught fire for Fulton Sheen
08:36 – The retreat tape that became "the genesis of everything"
11:00 – The actual microphone Sheen used, now in Peter's office
22:03 – Mary as the "spiritual Trojan horse"
27:05 – Why Jesus asked for one hour in Gethsemane
34:08 – "You will win the war before the Blessed Sacrament"
38:14 – Peter's son Beckett and his own daily Holy Hour
50:31 – The falling out with Cardinal Spellman
52:54 – John Paul II's words Sheen waited a lifetime to hear
1:02:26 – What Sheen predicted about AI as a false savior

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Learn more from Dr. Peter Howard: FultonSheenInstitute.com and FultonSheenMovement.com

Is female athletics hiding an identity crisis nobody names out loud? Sam Kelley, founder and president of FIERCE Athlete and a former Division I soccer player at UConn, joins Chris Stefanick to unpack it. A nine-time state champion in high school before a career-ending knee injury forced her to rebuild her sense of self, Sam now leads a national ministry mentoring female athletes toward their identity as daughters of God.

In this episode: the toxic pressures nobody talks about in women's sports, how same-sex attraction gets tangled up with team bonding and abuse, why Sam's encounter with the Eucharist changed everything, the theology of the body applied to competition, and why the tide on transgender athletes is finally turning.

HILIGHTS

00:00 – Intro: The identity crisis hiding in women's sports
02:06 – Sam Kelley joins to talk Fierce Athlete's mission
07:09 – Nine state titles, then a career-ending knee injury
10:25 – A toxic locker room and an unplanned encounter with Jesus
13:18 – Same-sex pressure and coaches in women's sports
19:10 – Why sport surfaces so much sexual confusion
22:07 – The real fix: Jesus, then deep inner healing
42:13 – A closing prayer for identity and healing

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Head to https://fierce.org for everything Sam and her team are building. Dive deeper with Sam's book, her podcast, and more at https://fierceathlete.org/

Do you know exactly who you want to be, but can't seem to actually become that person? Fr. Jonathan Meyer joins Chris to share five simple, doable things you can do today to make real, lasting change in your life.

In this conversation, Fr. Jonathan breaks down his acronym MESS — Move, Eat, Sleep, Silence, Socialize — and explains why so many of the spiritual struggles we bring to God are really unaddressed physical and psychological ones. He shares the direct, practical advice he gives in confession (including his well-known "Three B's" for setting boundaries with technology and sin), why comfort might be the disease of our age, and why no one — not even a priest — is meant to make change alone.

Fr. Jonathan also opens up about his own six years of counseling, the intentional community life he shares with a brother priest, and why he modeled his bedroom after St. John Vianney's. The conversation closes with a challenge for every viewer: when did you stop dreaming the dream you started with?

Highlights

00:00 – Five simple things to make real change in your life
02:44 – The MESSS method: Move, Eat, Sleep, Silence, Socialize
04:17 – Why comfort might be the real disease of our era
05:41 – The "Three B's" — bedroom, bathroom, basement — and setting real boundaries
13:00 – Why change starts with a decision, writing it down, and accountability
18:41 – A good morning starts with a good evening (the 9pm/9:30/4:30 routine)
25:22 – "When did you stop dreaming the dream you had?"

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Fitness and faith aren't as separate as you think. In this episode, professional bodybuilder and personal trainer Dakota Lane joins Chris to talk about the real connection between physical health and spiritual growth — and why "getting spiritually buff" starts with how we treat our bodies.

Dakota pulls back the curtain on the extremes of competitive bodybuilding (6,000-calorie bulks, 60-lb cuts, near-total dehydration before stepping on stage) and explains why that world is closer to an extreme sport than everyday fitness. Then he and Chris dig into what actually matters for the rest of us: the theology of the body, why St. Thomas Aquinas says we're body-soul composites, how self-mastery is meant to lead to self-gift, and why so many people's struggles with food and fitness trace back to unhealed wounds rather than a lack of willpower.

Dakota — who is also Chris's personal trainer — shares his own story of using fitness to cover for insecurity, the difference between vanity and being a good steward of your body, and practical, no-cost ways to start today: morning habits, hydration, protein, and simply taking the next right step. They close with some straight-up "gym bro" talk on why a consistent, holistic approach beats every fad diet out there.

HIGHLIGHTS
[00:02:39] The bodybuilding disclaimer — why extreme physique culture is "no longer fitness, it's an extreme sport"
[00:07:04] The truth about competition "peak" — how bodybuilders get dangerously dehydrated for magazine-cover photos
[00:08:55] Why fitness and the spiritual life were never meant to be separate — Aquinas, body-soul composites, and grace
[00:10:22] Self-mastery is meant to lead to self-gift — the story of the priest giving piggyback rides on the beach [00:25:52] Dakota gets vulnerable about the wound behind his own fitness journey — and why food issues are almost never really about food
[00:31:59] Breaking the all-or-nothing mindset — "you can get anywhere from anywhere if you just start taking steps"
[00:44:56] Gym bro talk: the "human approach" to nutrition, why 80% of results come from what you eat, and Jesus's own physicality as a "tekton"

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Is the Church's teaching on sex just a list of rules — or an invitation to something better? Christopher West, the world's foremost teacher of St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body, joins Chris Stefanick for a speed-round Q&A built entirely from questions submitted by Daily Anchor subscribers. Three minutes on the clock, no script, no easy questions.

In this episode: the difference between Thomistic and phenomenological approaches to morality (and why JP2 brought them together), real advice for parents on teen dating, how to reach a young man stuck in pornography, what a long-married couple should do when desire for intimacy isn't mutual anymore, why Christopher refuses to use the term "LGBTQ," and how the word "gender" itself points to the truth about the transgender debate.

Highlights

00:00 – Cold open: the most fun episode ever filmed
03:13 – Thomistic vs. phenomenological approaches, explained with a poison analogy
10:03 – Speed round begins: advice for teen dating and healthy "eros"
14:17 – How to talk to a young man caught in pornography ("there's a banquet")
16:59 – What a married couple should do when desire for intimacy isn't mutual
21:07 – Why Christopher West won't use the term "LGBTQ"
27:09 – The real meaning of "gender" and the Church's teaching on being transgender

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Learn more about Christopher West and the Theology of the Body: https://tobinstitute.org/

Chris Stefanick reflects on this Sunday's Gospel from a Benedictine cemetery at a Steubenville youth conference, where the monks buried there remind us that leaving the world behind isn't about the world being bad — it's about discovering something better. Drawing on Jesus' parable of the seed choked out by "the anxieties of this life," Chris breaks down the three classic sources of temptation — the world, the flesh, and the devil — and focuses on the trickiest one: the world, which we're actually meant to enjoy.

He shares two practical tools for keeping worldly desires in check, opens up about a painful financial low point early in his ministry, and points to St. Francis and Blessed Carlo Acutis as examples of what it looks like to hold this world loosely while loving it fully.

Discussion Questions

1. Chris says the world is the "trickiest" temptation because it's something we're actually meant to enjoy. Where do you find that line blurry in your own life?

2. What would it look like to "ask your own heart what you desire" this week — and to check that desire against your desire for eternal things?

3. Arthur Brooks' exercise imagines the person you'd have to become to get everything on your bucket list. What's one item on your list you might be willing to "empty out" or surrender?

4. Chris shares that he'd choose financial hardship over leaving ministry because he values eternal things more. Is there something in your own life you've had to give up — or would be willing to give up — for the sake of something eternal?

5. St. Francis gave up everything yet loved creation more deeply than most. How might letting go of something actually free you to enjoy it more, rather than less?

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David Latting built a TikTok ministry with over 800 million views — then got permanently banned for inviting Muslims to follow Jesus. In this raw, deeply personal conversation, David shares the mystical experiences behind his conversion that he's never talked about publicly, his harrowing two-year crisis of faith starting at age 13, the night The Passion of the Christ broke him wide open, his evangelism among Muslims in Iran, Afghanistan, and at a flea market, navigating the algorithm as an influencer without losing his soul, and why he — a Pentecostal/non-denominational evangelist — finds himself drawn to the beauty of Catholic liturgy, religion, and the question of transubstantiation. HIGHLIGHTS [00:00] Intro — David's banned TikTok ministry and what's ahead [05:48] A 13-year-old's crisis of faith: doubt, despair, and a letter opener [25:19] Watching The Passion of the Christ alone at midnight — and breaking down [35:51] "Allah is not real" — the video that got him permanently banned [42:00] Underground baptisms in Iran, Afghanistan, and Mecca [51:02] The flea market encounter that led to an 8-month friendship with a Muslim woman [1:11:00] "Religion" and "liturgy" off the naughty word list — why Gen Z is craving structure [1:28:48] If transubstantiation is true, "I have to be Catholic" ....... Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning and be entered for a chance to win a trip for two on our Pilgrimage to Beauty: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP ........ Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0 ........ The Chris Stefanick Show will soon be premiering on EWTN+ Streaming! You can start watching more great content at: EWTN.com/ondemand/

Chris is on pilgrimage in Toulouse, France, taking you straight to the tomb of St. Thomas Aquinas — one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Church (and the world). Known as "the Dumb Ox" by classmates who mistook his quiet nature for dullness, Aquinas went on to write the 1.8-million-word Summa Theologica, showing that faith and reason aren't enemies but, as John Paul II said, "two wings of a bird that lift up the soul." But the real story isn't his brilliance — it's what he asked Jesus for at the end of his life, and why he stopped writing altogether. Find out what the smartest man in Church history figured out about the point of all knowledge.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

Discussion Questions

1. Chris says knowledge is meant to lead us "to the threshold of relationship," the way courtship leads to a proposal. Can you think of a time in your own life when intellectual understanding eventually had to give way to a decision of trust or commitment?

2. St. Thomas Aquinas, after writing 1.8 million words about God, said his work "amounts to straw" compared to what he glimpsed of heaven. What do you think he meant by that, and does it change your view of his life's work?

3. Chris suggests that skeptics aren't necessarily smarter than believers — they may simply be afraid to surrender to what their own knowledge points toward. Do you agree or disagree, and why?

4. When Jesus offered Aquinas anything he desired, he asked only for more of Jesus himself rather than more knowledge or answers. If you were offered the same question today, what would your honest answer be?

5. St. Albert the Great predicted that the quiet "dumb ox" would one day be heard "throughout the entire world." Has someone ever underestimated you, or have you underestimated someone else, in a way that turned out to be very wrong?

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What does it really mean to be a woman—and why has no one taught us?

In this episode of the Chris Stefanick Show, Chris sits down with January Donovan, founder of Catholic Feminine Formation, for a wide-ranging and deeply practical conversation about what's been lost—and what's possible when women are truly formed.

January brings nearly 30 years of experience helping women live out their God-given genius, and she pulls no punches. She unpacks how feminism—despite some early goods it sought—ultimately robbed women of their femininity, their faith, and their family. And she makes a compelling case that the Church now has an unprecedented opportunity to offer the world something better: a new model of womanhood rooted in Our Lady.

This conversation will challenge you, inspire you, and give you real, practical tools—whether you're a woman seeking to thrive, a husband who wants to better understand his wife, or a parish leader wondering how to serve your community more deeply.

In this episode:
– Why the "fragile femininity" of 150 years ago and today's "vicious feminism" are both failures—and what comes next
– What John Paul II's "feminine genius" actually means in everyday life
– The chaos of the busy household—and how formation changes everything about how you show up
– Why 7% of communication is words, and what that means for how you love your family
– The difference between faith formation and human formation—and why women need both
– How a growth mindset is really just another word for humility
– The New Woman Masterclass: a year-long formation journey for women in small groups
– How to bring Catholic Feminine Formation to your parish

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 – Introduction: Catholic feminine formation—and why men need to watch too
8:00 – How feminism robbed women of their femininity, faith, and family
11:10 – "Fragile femininity" vs. "vicious feminism"—and the new model the world is hungry for
13:45 – What the feminine genius actually is: nurturing humanity to its greatness
19:00 – The chaos of the busy household—and the dozen skills a woman needs in that one moment
23:00 – Tone, body language, and why 93% of communication has nothing to do with words
29:30 – Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset—and why it's really about humility
34:00 – "You can't preach joy frowning": why your thriving is your evangelization
38:30 – Why the feminine genius can't be fully lived without the masculine genius
45:10 – The New Woman Masterclass: a year-long, small-group Catholic formation journey
51:40 – How to bring Catholic Feminine Formation to your parish

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Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning and be entered for a chance to win a trip for two on our Pilgrimage to Beauty: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

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Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

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Learn more about Catholic Feminine Formation at https://catholicfeminineformation.com/

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The Chris Stefanick Show will soon be premiering on EWTN+ Streaming! You can start watching more great content at: EWTN.com/ondemand/

What does it really mean to love Jesus more than your own life — and why does it actually make life better?

In this Sunday Gospel reflection filmed at Fatima, Portugal, Chris Stefanick unpacks Jesus' provocative words: "If you love your father or mother or even your life more than me..." Far from being the words of a narcissist, this is either a claim to divinity — or the greatest red flag in history. There's no middle ground.

Chris also tells the extraordinary story of St. Jacinta Marto, the seven-year-old visionary of Fatima who was thrown in jail, threatened with the torture and death of her brother, and still refused to deny what she had seen. Her response? She led a jail cell full of grown men in the rosary.

What gave a seven-year-old that kind of heroism? She held her life lightly — and grabbed onto something eternal instead. This reflection is filmed on location at the very spot in Fatima where the angel first appeared to the three shepherd children.

Discussion Questions

1. Jesus says we must love him more than father, mother, or our own life. What's your honest reaction to that demand — and what does it reveal about how you see Jesus?

2. Chris describes two ways of going through life: gripping your blessings tightly out of fear, or holding them lightly as gifts from God. Which mode do you find yourself in most often, and what drives that?

3. St. Jacinta was seven years old and showed more courage under pressure than most adults ever will. What do you think formed her? What are you doing — or could you do — to form that kind of faith in yourself or in the young people around you?

4. Chris connects "holding life lightly" not just to heroism but to enjoying life more. Has there been a moment in your own life when letting go of something actually freed you to appreciate it more?

5. The authorities in Portugal told the Fatima children to keep their faith out of public life. Chris responds: "How about you get your politics out of my faith?" Where do you feel pressure today to keep your faith private — and how does this Gospel speak to that?

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He was raised as a third-generation Jehovah's Witness, with his entire family inside the organization. His stepfather was an elder. Leaving meant losing everything — and he knew it from age 12.

Today, Dr. Cary is a theology professor at Walsh University, and a devoted Catholic. And in this episode, he pulls back the curtain on everything.

What do Jehovah's Witnesses actually believe about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, heaven, and hell? Why is it a cult — and how can you tell? What happens when you leave? And what should you say if one comes to your door?

This is one of the most eye-opening conversations we've ever had on this show. In this episode:

• What Jehovah's Witnesses believe about Jesus (it's not what you'd expect)
• The 144,000 — and what they believe happens to everyone else
• How the organization uses isolation and shunning to control members
• What "PIMO" means — and why thousands are secretly trapped inside
• Practical tips for talking to a Jehovah's Witness at your door
• The moment at age 12 that started Dr. Cary's journey out
• How a funeral homily reignited his wife's faith — and changed his life
• The first Mass that broke him open and brought him home

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 — Introduction
2:00 — What Jehovah's Witnesses actually believe about Jesus, the Trinity, and the Holy Spirit 10:54 — What it's like growing up inside the organization: fear, conditional love, and a judgmental God
18:12 — Why Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult: isolation, shunning, and what happened when Dr. Cary left his family 23:20 — Leadership structure, the Governing Body, and the Watchtower Society explained
30:30 — What to say when a Jehovah's Witness comes to your door
38:39 — Dr. Cary's "Cornelius moment": the 12-year-old boy named John whose death changed everything
49:50 — Eight years of weekly invitations — and the Sunday Dr. Cary finally said yes to Mass

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What if you've been afraid of the wrong things your whole life?

This week's Gospel has Jesus telling his disciples — who would go on to die gruesome deaths for their faith — "Do not be afraid." But he also tells them there is one thing worth fearing: the one who can throw both body and soul into Gehenna.

Chris reflects on this Gospel from a deeply personal place, sharing the story of little Margaret — a baby whose skull didn't form fully in the womb, who lived only a few breaths, and whose brief life and faithful family changed her doctor's entire approach to this kind of thing. From the vantage point of eternity, Chris asks: what are we actually protecting when we let fear run our lives?

In this reflection, Chris unpacks:
- Why Jesus tells us not to fear — and what he actually means by it
- The one fear that is good and why we've stopped talking about it
- How fear of hell can actually be a gift that keeps us on the right path
- Why most of our fears are centered around "the breath" and not the billion years that follow
- What it looks like to fear the right thing when it comes to sharing your faith

Whether your life is 90 years or a few breaths, from the perspective of eternity, it all goes by in a flash. The question is: what are you doing with it — and what are you afraid of?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Jesus tells us not to fear those who can harm our bodies, but to fear the one who can throw body and soul into Gehenna. What does it look like practically to "fear the right thing" in your daily life?

2. Chris describes most of our fears as being centered around "the breath" — protecting our comfort, reputation, or earthly life — rather than the eternity that follows. Where do you see that pattern in your own life?

3. Chris shares that fear of sin was sometimes what kept him on the right path when love wasn't enough in a given moment of temptation. Have you ever experienced fear as a gift that moved you toward God? What happened?

4. The Gospel warns against denying Jesus before others out of fear of what they'll think. Is there an area of your life — a relationship, a workplace, a situation — where you've been staying quiet when you should speak? What's holding you back?

5. Little Margaret's brief life and her family's faithfulness moved even her doctor. How does the witness of people who face suffering with faith shape your own understanding of what life is for?

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Fulton Sheen is about to be beatified — and this episode is your inside look at everything.

I sat down with Bishop Tylka, Bishop of Peoria and the man behind the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, to dive into what this historic moment will look like, how we got here, and why it matters for the whole Church. We talk about the miracle that made it all possible — a baby born with no pulse who came back to life after 61 minutes, with no medical explanation.

We walk through the entire beatification process, what happens inside a beatification Mass, and why Bishop Tylka believes God's timing in 2026 is no accident — America's bishop, beatified by the first American pope, during the 250th anniversary of the United States.

We also get into how Fulton Sheen personally transformed Bishop Tylka's prayer life, what Sheen's legacy means for the Church today, and what you can expect if you attend the beatification at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis on September 24, 2026 — where 75,000 Catholics will gather.

Whether you're attending in person or joining from home, you don't want to miss this.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 — A wave of grace is coming: Fulton Sheen's beatification
1:42 — Bishop Tylka joins the show
3:21 — Why the beatification was moved to St. Louis (and why 70,000+ people)
5:44 — Why 2026 is the perfect moment: America's bishop, America's pope, America's anniversary
7:08 — How the sainthood process actually works
10:33 — The miracle: a baby born with no pulse — 61 minutes, then a heartbeat
17:09 — Five potential miracles already under investigation for canonization
22:24 — The beatification as a "resurrection from the dead" — the painful backstory
27:25 — How Bishop Tylka personally found out he was in charge of the cause (on Twitter)
29:06 — How Fulton Sheen transformed Bishop Tylka's prayer life
33:37 — What the Bishop hopes the whole country hears from this beatification
35:53 — Full event details: 9 nights of holy hours, the Mass, and what happens after

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Learn more about joining Chris at the beatification of Fulton Sheen: https://reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages/

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Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

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The Chris Stefanick Show will soon be premiering on EWTN+ Streaming! You can start watching more great content at: EWTN.com/ondemand/

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Learn more and stay up to date with Fulton Sheen's cause for sainthood at: https://www.celebratesheen.com/

Every June, the Church celebrates the Sacred Heart of Jesus — and this Sunday's Gospel shows us Jesus moved with compassion for the crowds, like sheep without a shepherd. But why the heart? Why not the Sacred Intellect or the Sacred Will?

In this Sunday reflection, Chris unpacks why the Church's devotion to the Sacred Heart isn't sentimentalism — it's a profound invitation to be fully human and fully alive. Drawing on C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man, the witness of the saints, and the emotional honesty of the Psalms, Chris makes the case that an "advanced" Christian isn't a detached academic — it's someone with head, gut, and chest.

If you've ever been told your heartfelt worship was just "emotionalism," this one's for you.

Chris is recording this from his driveway before heading to pilgrimage in Portugal — and he wants to bring YOUR prayer intentions with him to Fatima and Lourdes. Drop them in the comments below and he will personally bring them to those holy places.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Have you ever dismissed your own emotions in your spiritual life — or been told that heartfelt worship was "just emotionalism"? How does the Church's celebration of the Sacred Heart challenge or affirm that experience?

2. C.S. Lewis describes "men without chests" as people who haven't formed their hearts. In your own life, which do you tend to neglect most — head (intellect), gut (will and virtue), or chest (heart)? What would it look like to grow in that area?

3. Jesus expressed a full range of emotions in the Gospels — compassion, grief, anger, joy. Which of those feels most surprising or meaningful to you, and why?

4. The Psalms model prayer as emotionally raw and honest — bringing everything to God, including anger and sorrow. How comfortable are you bringing your "messy" emotions into prayer? What holds you back, if anything?

5. Chris says the goal isn't to crush our emotions but to direct them — becoming "fully human, fully alive, and fully holy." Who is someone in your life (or among the saints) who you think embodies that wholeness? What do you admire about how they live?

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Join Chris on pilgrimage. Upcoming pilgrimages include the Holy Land with Jim Wahlberg, and Pilgrimage to Beauty in Kauai. More details here: https://reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages/

What if everything you knew about Mass was only part of the story?

Fr. Jonathan Meyer — priest, pastor, and author of 14 Stations of the Eucharist — joins Chris Stefanick for one of the most profound conversations about the Eucharist you'll ever hear. This isn't a dry theology lecture. This is the kind of conversation that changes how you walk into church on Sunday.

Fr. Meyer breaks open the three dimensions of the Eucharist — communion, presence, and sacrifice — and explains why the third one, the one that hits you right in the gut, has been almost completely lost in recent decades. When you understand that the Mass is Calvary made present, everything changes: why you're there, what you bring, and what you leave with.

They also walk through all 14 Stations of the Eucharist — from the sacrifice of Abel to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb — showing how the entire sweep of salvation history points to one thing: the sacrifice of Christ, made present for you, right now, at every Mass.

This episode also covers:
- Why separating body from blood at the consecration makes the Mass a sacrifice
- What it means that you, as a baptized person, are also a priest
- How to actually bring your struggles, your suffering, and the people you love into the Mass
- Why the line for Mass intentions is drying up — and what recovering it would mean
- The stunning typology of Abel, Abraham, Melchizedek, the Passover, and more
- What "Behold the Lamb of God" is really announcing

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 — "Today we're going to change how you see the Mass" — and how you see yourself
3:30 — The three dimensions of the Eucharist: communion, presence, and sacrifice — and why sacrifice has been nearly forgotten
6:33 — Why Catholics can say the Mass is a sacrifice without saying Jesus is sacrificed again — and the stunning answer from Fr. Meyer
9:22 — Fr. Meyer gets visibly moved recalling the words of consecration: "This is my body given up for you" — what those words mean to him as a priest and as a man
17:07 — Fr. Meyer's personal story: he didn't know daily Mass existed until he decided to enter the seminary — and the moment he fell before the tabernacle and never doubted again
40:44 — A rapid-fire walkthrough of all 14 Stations of the Eucharist, from Abel's sacrifice to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb
58:59 — "If we understood this, we would bring everybody we know to holy Mass" — Fr. Meyer's closing message to anyone who thinks Mass is boring or that God has forgotten them

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Fr. Meyer's book 14 Stations of the Eucharist is available now: https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/the-stations-of-the-eucharist/STEU.html A companion prayer booklet is also available so you can pray the stations daily: https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/the-stations-of-the-eucharist-prayers-and-reflections/STEU-14-WB-ENG.html

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Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

........
Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

........
The Chris Stefanick Show will soon be premiering on EWTN+ Streaming! You can start watching more great content at: EWTN.com/ondemand/