This episode of Physically Spiritual explores God’s vision for the Sacrament of Matrimony, and how marriage in the Church teaches us about God's love and how to give our whole life to the Lord.

Does God care about how we sleep? Some saints famously slept very little. Should we imitate them? This episode of Physically Spiritual will explore why we sleep and how a good night of rest can help us be the people God is calling us to be.

I have often heard the saying “listen to your heart." Sometimes my heart wants to skip work, eat gallons of ice cream, and watch Youtube all day, but are all my internal inclinations always wrong? How can we ever hope to sort out the mix of attractions and repulsions in the human heart? This episode of Physically Spiritual explores St. Ignatius of Loyola’s answer to this question, the Discernment of Spirits.

In the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, the Church continues Christ's work of healing. But, not everyone who is prayed over, even by a priest, is healed, at least not in the way we expect. This episode of Physically Spiritual will explore healing and the Anointing of the Sick.

Growing up, I was told that fasting was a bad idea because my body would “eat its own muscle.” But, the Catholic Church has always had a tradition of fasting. Is she asking her members to forfeit health for holiness? Many contemporary doctors and health enthusiasts proclaim a wide variety of fasting benefits from weight loss, life extension, to fighting chronic disease. This episode of Physically Spiritual will explore how to live the Church’s teachings on fasting while taking advantage of many of the health benefits associated with the practice.

The United States has arguably never been less Christian, but spirituality is everywhere. The Second Vatican Council states that “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions.” But, does this mean that we should try every practice we hear about on podcasts and talk shows? This episode of Physically Spiritual explores non-christian forms of meditation.

We live in the world of extremes. Certain things traditionally considered faults must be accepted absolutely and without exception and certain other things traditionally considered faults are now unforgivable and irredeemable mistakes. Jesus’ arms spread on the cross are wide enough to embrace all, and his pierced heart is deep enough to call us to become more than we are capable of. This episode of Physically Spiritual will explore the incarnation of Christ’s love on the cross, the Confession of sins and the sacrament of Penance.

What the heck should we eat? There are few questions more confusing than this in the modern world. Vegan, Keto, Paleo, Pescatarian, Vegetarian, Carnivore, and the list goes on… Popular dietary gurus weave confusing tapestries of half truths and contradictions that thinly veil monetary interests and bias. It's official, we are the losers of the diet wars. Should we even care about what we eat; does God care about what we eat? This episode of Physically Spiritual explores eating.

You can’t make it through the magazine aisle of a store without seeing a cover lauding the merits of meditation. It seems like the less Christian our culture becomes the more people become obsessed with meditation. The Church has a long rich tradition of meditation. Is this what modern self-help gurus are talking about? Or, is there something more that Christian Meditation offers that the world cannot grasp? This episode of Physically Spiritual will explore Christian Meditation.

Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ, and every piece of bread at every Mass that becomes God himself contains all of the power that created the universe. As Catholics, we receive it every Sunday, or even every day, yet how much is our life different after we receive? The episode of Physically Spiritual explores the Eucharist and how to receive it to become more like God.

“A man may any hour he pleases retire into himself; and nowhere will he find a place of more quiet and leisure than in his own soul: especially if he has that furniture within, the view of which immediately gives him the fullest tranquility. By tranquility, I mean the most graceful order. Allow yourself continually this retirement, and refresh and renew yourself.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4-3

How could we expect to arrive at a destination without knowing where it is? Many who are seeking the Lord, while sincere and generous, wander through their spiritual lives without confidence or direction. In this episode of Physically Spiritual we will explore the traditional map of our journey to God on Earth: the Three Ages of the Interior Life and the Seven Mansion of the Interior Castle.

What does the Sacrament of Confirmation do? If you were Confirmed, did it mark a turning point in your life? If you have not been Confirmed, do you feel like you are missing something? The Catechism says that the “effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost”. Is this true in our lives? This episode of Physically Spiritual explores how to live the Sacrament of Confirmation.

“Where one alone may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken.” (Ecc 4: 12) We are created physically connected to our mother, and our destiny is the Communion of Saints, the perfect fulfillment of Holy Mother Church. Yet, isolation and loneliness are becoming rampant in our world. The first form of asceticism that will be explored on Physically Spiritual is growing in relationship.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says “when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.” Christ doesn’t say “if you pray”, he assumes we pray. But, how do we do this? Trying to pray can be one of the most difficult and frustrating endeavors. In this episode of Physically Spiritual we will begin to answer the question “how should I pray?” by exploring the three expressions of prayer.

If no one told you that you were Baptized, would you know you were? Maybe you were baptized as an adult, and some never have been baptized, but many were baptized as infants. What difference did this make in our lives? Did our parents take something from us by not waiting for us to choose? In this episode of Physically Spiritual we will explore how to live the Sacrament of Baptism.

Are the body and its passions evil, something to be warred against, discarded, and destroyed? Or, are they misguided, and in need of redemption and healing? This episode of Physically Spiritual explores the Church’s tradition of asceticism, the practice of self-denial and renunciation, but, in light of what can be discovered from God to heal the body and the soul to become more like Him.

If a tree never grew out of being a sapling, or a person stayed a baby their entire life, we would think something is wrong. The Church’s tradition of prayer teaches that spiritual maturity includes freedom from sin and receiving infused contemplation, but these seem so rare. Why do we accept spiritual infancy as the norm? This episode of physically spiritual will begin to explore the church’s tradition of prayer and spirituality.

We believe that one of the effects of Baptism is the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Sacramentally present yet some are baptized and they seem no different than the unbaptized and so many go to communion regularly yet do not have apparent signs of holiness. This episode digs deep into the Church’s sacramental theology and how to receive what God is offering in the Sacraments.

Physically Spiritual is the show about the connection of physical health and spiritual growth. This episode is the introduction to season two of Physically Spiritual. Season two is a 25 episode roadmap to becoming the people God calls us to be.