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How do we interpret and understand what God is calling us to, both in our vocation and in other life choices? Join Stacey Sumereau on coffee dates with Catholic friends for insight and inspiring guidance. From touring with Broadway hit shows to discerning religious life on Lifetime’s reality TV show ”The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns,” Stacey hasn’t stopped searching for God’s will! Original music by JF Church.
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 18, 2019
Tuesday Jun 18, 2019
“It’s a mix of being authentic but also sharing Jesus. If I were just trying to be what people want me to be on the internet I’d lose it! I’m never going to stop being myself.”
Social media is a brand new, evolving frontier in our world. I have real-life friendships that started on social media. I love using it to network and gain ideas and stay connected with family. However, we all know that dark side too: bullied teens taking their own lives, isolation, and comparing our messiness to everyone else's highlight reel. How do we know when social media is part of God's plan for us, and how do we know when we need to log off and walk away? Should we withdraw entirely? How do we engage with the world online but also maintain a healthy spiritual life?
Sr. Bethany Davis, a Daughter of St. Paul (aka the "media nuns,") is here to discuss this huge question. You'll love her easygoing style and relatability and also the challenge she presents to each of us to put Christ's mission first. The media nuns also have an amazing idea for influencing public figures through prayer that I'm TOTALLY stealing! I’m obsessed with vocation stories, so of course we also talk about Sr. Bethany's path as a millennial and how she made the counter-cultural choice to embrace the life of a nun.
Topics Discussed
- Being a digital disciple and spiritually adopting public figures and influencers
- The Daughters of St. Paul’s history and charism
- Why the media nuns should be on social media, and what Sr. Bethany chooses to not share
- Should we get into debates about hot-button issues on social media?
Resources
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
“In the end, it all comes down to one question: How well did I love in God’s name? And that’s where surrender comes in: in those little, teeny tiny, quiet yeses.”
Life is unpredictable and we often don’t choose the crosses that we carry. Sometimes the things we so desperately want to be fixed, aren’t. Surrender is the most important part of discernment, but how do we surrender when we are scared of being hurt?
Mary Lenaburg, author of Be Brave in the Scared, is here to offer empowering insight and hope. I get vulnerable about my struggles, we both cry (possibly several times!) and discuss how to begin trusting God in small ways that lead to big ways. We talk about what is waiting on the other side of suffering: peace, hope, strength, and then using your story to in turn assist others who struggle. Mary is inspirational and I know you’re going to love her!
BONUS: O God Beyond All Praising is my all-time fave hymn (it was the recessional hymn at my wedding!) and when I found out that Mary has a special connection to it as well I knew I wanted to include it in this episode.
Topics Discussed
- The many ways God can speak to us
- Using scripture and music in every difficult situation
- Living in gratitude even during the worst days
- Honesty as the key starting point for renewal
- Answering God’s calls when you don’t feel confident
- Letting go of expectations and seeing everything as a gift
Resources
- Be Brave in the Scared
- Taylor Schroll on Called and Caffeinated
- Fr. Aquinas Beale on Called and Caffeinated
This episode is sponsored by Serving the Aged Lovingly Today (SALT) Mission Program with the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. For more information and to apply, please visit www.carmelitesisters.com/SALT-program
Tuesday May 21, 2019
Tuesday May 21, 2019
Show Notes
“When little things are hard, it’s not just about this moment. This is my training to be able to do a big thing later.”
Do you feel like you’re sliding through your days without enough intentionality? Do the little moments of frustration make you lose your peace and feel crazy? If you’re a parent, do you feel like your parenting style is best described as: “kind of a mess”? *raises hand*
If you’re a regular listener, you know that my mission on this podcast is to increase awareness of discernment not JUST as a one-time answer about vocation, but as a lifelong muscle (or skill) that we build up and work out over time. The delightfully chipper Lindsay Schlegel is with me for coffee to lay out your training plan for getting some superbly buff discernment muscles (to continue the weird analogy.) Obedience, surrender, self-initiated spiritual education, and self-reflection are easy to let slip in the day-to-day. They may sound heavy, but don’t be fooled: our lighthearted convo will leave you feeling motivated and energized. Lindsay is the author of Don’t Forget to Say Thank You. She relays life lessons from her motherhood journey that listeners in all stages of life will find relevant.
Plus, you’ll find out who the bi-locating patron saint of coffee is (uh, how are he and I not besties already?)
BONUS: Bach-Gonoud’s Ave Maria….one of my favorites, so I recorded it when I recently had an opportunity to sing it for my bishop and every priest in my diocese! Organ accompaniment by Michael Plagerman. A beautiful piece for pausing with a cup of coffee in the middle of a busy day for a prayer break. Aaaahhhhh..
Topics Discussed
- How to become a better listener to God’s voice
- Can and should Catholic mothers “have it all?”
- Obedience to God in the small moments
- A quick and effective Ignatian discernment strategy for any decision
Resources
- Don’t Forget to Say Thank You
- Pedro Arrupe’s poem: Fall in Love
- Getting Past Perfect by Kate Wicker
- One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler
- The Ignatian Workout by Tim Muldoon
- Paul Krenzelok on Ignatian Discernment Spirituality on Called and Caffeinated
This episode is sponsored by Serving the Aged Lovingly Today (SALT) Mission Program with the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. For more information and to apply, please visit www.carmelitesisters.com/SALT-program
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Show Notes
“I was like, ‘God, I don’t want to be a priest,’ but I knew to do good discernment I had to be open to everything. I had to be open to being a priest; I had to be open to being married; I had to be open to whatever God wants for me.”
Every good Catholic boy hears from his parish priest and the Church ladies, “I think God is calling you to a priest.” Run away! Run away! Resist! There are instances in life for all of us where it may feel like God is calling us to something we don’t want to do. What do you do when you fear you’re called to something you don’t want to even consider?
The ever-droll Taylor Schroll (see what I did there?) of the Forte Catholic Podcast is a lifelong Catholic who defiantly resisted his potential calling to the priesthood for years. We discuss important aspects of discernment: moving your feet instead of waiting for absolute certainty, honesty with God (especially when you’re angry with him!), and surrendering to him before you know the answer. In Taylor’s story, he reveals how his future wife moving across the country to discern religious life actually enabled their relationship.
BONUS: at the end listen to an Ave Verum Corpus chant- simple and lovely and a great way to end the episode with a little love for Jesus.
Topics Discussed
- My brilliant business strategy for Taylor that is going to make him $millions$
- Can you discern multiple vocations at once?
- A practical tool to discern what you really want
Resources
Tuesday May 07, 2019
Tuesday May 07, 2019
Show Notes
“He said: ‘I came so that you can have life to the full.’ He didn’t say: ‘I came so you can be stressed to the max, or I came so that you can be stretched totally thin.’”
How is a married couple called to be the person of Jesus in the world? If you’re single, do you worry that the sacrifices that come with marriage will be too hard? If you’re married, do you ever feel like you have to give too much of yourself? Does your marriage feel less joyful than you think it should? You’re going to love Dan and Amber DeMatte (I admit; I have a holy couple crush on them, myself!)
First of all, Dan and Amber share a rare distinction with me: we were all on reality TV shows about discernment! Dan was featured on God or the Girl, A&E’s 2006 docu-series about young men discerning the priesthood, in which Amber also appeared as “the girl.” So I of course asked Dan about his show the top questions that people ask me about my show, and hilarity ensues!
Then we get into the meat of discerning a vision for your marriage. Dan and Amber empower married couples (or single people discerning marriage) to follow the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. It seems contradictory, but viewing your marriage as a cross is actually the secret to a holy, happy, lasting union.
Topics Discussed
- Abundant life: what does that mean?
- Contraception vs. Natural Family Planning- how your fertility integrates with chastity
- How to make generosity with God easy
- Obedience in marriage- what it is and what it isn’t
- Carving out time for prayer when you have small children
- Forming a family rule of life
Resources
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Monday Apr 22, 2019
“I would rather not get married than marry into a bad, compromising situation just for the sake of being married because I guarantee it would be more miserable. And that’s so hard to see when you’re single!”
Do you find yourself wondering, “Is this a deal-breaker in our relationship?” Do you fear that, if you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you’ll never find anyone else? Have the rose-colored glasses come off and you realize he or she is not the perfect mate you thought they were? Does it seem like your relationship and personal dreams are in conflict?
Break-ups are hard. They’re the worst, especially in a culture that glorifies the wrong vision of love. Lisa Cotter, co-author of Dating Detox and co-host of the popular How-To Catholic Podcast, is giving us a 1-2 punch of philosophical know-how and practical advice today. We discuss the intellect, will, and passions and how they interact to discern EVERY decision. Lisa illuminates how to handle chastity struggles, how to know if you’re being used or loved, and practical ways to build up and operate from God’s vision of love rather than the world’s tainted vision.
So much good stuff in here, even for an old married dame like myself ;)
Topics Discussed
- Getting honest with yourself and seeing your partner honestly
- Handling fear of being single
- Discerning personal goals and your relationship
- Projecting virtues that don’t exist and what to do when you “wake up”
Resources
Tuesday Apr 09, 2019
Tuesday Apr 09, 2019
“Jesus was a deacon, and also a consecrated single person! Most people don’t think about that- talk about imitation of Christ!” *dies laughing*
Discovering you’re not called to a vocation you're attached to can feel like God is breaking up with you. Deacon Gerard Anthony knows- he thought he was called to marriage, then religious life, then priesthood… until he realized his calling was none of those. He is called to what I believe are the two most misunderstood calls in Catholicism: the Diaconate and Consecrated Virginity.
What are those? Are those real things? Yup. Did you know that several deacons were elevated to pope, that there was a golden age of the Diaconate in Church history, and that deacons are the arm of charity in the Body of Christ? (and, as Deacon Gerard himself says, “liturgical eye candy!”) This episode is packed full of fascinating tidbits that I, even as a lifelong Catholic, NEVER heard. We also talk about how the human need for intimacy can be fulfilled in the consecrated single life.
There was so much to cover on being a Deacon that we didn’t get to go in depth about consecrated singles…but don’t worry. I’m gonna get to that in a future episode ;)
Topics Discussed
- What is a deacon?
- History of the diaconate
- Life and ministries as a permanent deacon
- How to know if you’re called to singlehood and/or the diaconate
Links
- The Deacon: Icon of Christ and Icon of Hope by Deacon Gerard Anthony
Wednesday Mar 27, 2019
Wednesday Mar 27, 2019
“Right now God is writing a masterpiece and the story is yours. The question is: will we trust him? Will we allow him to work in us?”
Do you wish you could live free of pornography, body image anxiety, or thinking of yourself as “bad?” Do you struggle to let go of habitual sins and wish you could just stop wanting the things that take you away from God? Steve Pokorny, speaker and author of Redeemed Vision: Setting the Blind Free from the Pornified Culture, uses his powerful testimony, knowledge of Theology of the Body and a scientific method (that TRULY works!) to train his clients in breaking their compulsions.
We are, first and foremost, called to be sons and daughters of God. Let’s get that straightened out so that we make healthy, God-centric decisions. In a culture where understanding of sexuality is lacking at best and horribly twisted in many cases, Steve breaks through the noise with beautiful truth and clarity. You’ll be surprised to learn how nudity in sacred art and breastfeeding in public can help redeem our culture!
Topics
- The septic tank analogy: the state of our culture today
- How negative talk affects you and others
- How to inoculate yourself and your children from pornography
- Re-training your brain to gain freedom from your anxieties and sins
Resources
Tuesday Mar 12, 2019
Tuesday Mar 12, 2019
“I was Catholic on Sunday, in my terms. I would ask God for things that I wanted, not what he wanted.”
Money can be a painful topic. Student debt, inheriting our family of origin’s wounds surrounding finances, and expectations vs. reality can leave us hurting and grasping for control. Stacie and John Martinez were making a good income working in the fashion industry in NYC. They had everything they wanted… until they realized they weren’t fulfilled. In their emptiness they found their fulfillment in the Catholic faith… and almost immediately the economic slump of 2008 hit them hard. With four kids and no jobs in sight, Stacie and John had to completely re-calibrate their definition of “a good life” and what they are working for.
Now, Stacie and John are the parents of six children and the owners of Proud Catholic Company (I own one of their shirts and it’s my FAVORITE shirt.) They’re sharing their journey of learning to lean on God and living happily with less.
BONUS CONTENT: Enjoy the famous Miserere Mei Deus at the end of the episode with all parts sung by me. It's a Lent-appropriate meditation with a gorgeous soaring high C!
Topics Discussed
- The real value of money
- Seeing God’s hand working when times are tough
- Why having kids is not as expensive as people tell you
- Letting God take care of you
Resources
This episode is sponsored by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm's Mission Program Serving the Aged Lovingly Today (SALT). Consider spending a week in loving service and find out more here!
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019
This episode is sponsored by Serving the Aged Lovingly Today (SALT) Mission Program with the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. Check them out here and consider spending a week in loving service this summer!
“Do you want God’s answer more, or do you want God’s love? If you seek God’s love more than God’s answer, you will find them both.”
How do you know when he or she is “the one?” How do we stop comparing ourselves to our engaged and married friends? Is it shallow to make physical attraction a criteria for our future spouse? How can we forgive ourselves for our past mistakes?
Leah Darrow is that big sister we all need in our lives to tell it like it is. She’s a powerhouse speaker who dishes out TRUTH regarding issues in dating and discerning marriage that everyone needs to hear during our single years. Leah shares how to live a beautiful and fulfilled life, free of fear, no matter where we are in our discernment by keeping our eyes on what really, really matters.
Topics discussed
- How to tell your significant other about the mistakes in your past
- The importance of giving God time
- Do’s and don’ts of approaching friends you'd like to date
- Setting boundaries for chastity
- Should only men pursue women or can women pursue men too?
Resources