He Leadeth Me

FOCUS Director of Formation Travis Todd joins Jessica today to talk about his discernment to transition from being a campus missionary to working at the FOCUS Headquarters (DSC). Travis and Jess discuss:How do you know when it's time to leave campus?Ways to experience divine intimacy and live mission in an office settingAdvice for those transitioning from being a student or a campus missionary into the workforceTravis Todd is a convert to Catholicism and has worked for FOCUS for 17 years. Travis served 9 years as a campus missionary and team director before accepting a role at the FOCUS Denver Support Center. He currently serves as Director of Formation. Travis resides in Arvada, Colorado, with his wife, Rebecca, and 7 children.

As part of our series on sanctifying daily work, Jess sits down with FOCUS alum and small business owner Joe Henkels to talk about the spiritual lessons God has taught him through entrepreneurship. Joe and Jess discuss:How fundraising as a FOCUS missionary increased his trust in God's providence and prepared him to take the risk of starting a small businessThe 4 benefits of business activity according to Pope Pius XIIThe moral qualities necessary for an entrepreneurAnd much more!Joe Henkels is a former FOCUS missionary and owner of Lady Blue Coffee, a retail and wholesale coffee company. You can check out Lady Blue's website here: Lady Blue Coffee

In this episode, Nathan Stanley, Senior Director of Talent and Leadership Development, joins Jessica to talk about sanctifying your daily work. Jess and Nathan discuss:How the early Christians evangelized through their workWhy you should always have a plan for your workdayHow to overcome temptations from "the noonday devil"The contemporary debate about the 40 hour work weekNathan Stanley serves FOCUS as Senior Director of Talent and Leadership Development. He resides in Denver with his wife, Lauren, and their three energetic children.

Want to revitalize your spiritual life? Try going on a mission trip! In this episode, Elizabeth Phillips and Ryan Noll, missionaries who serve FOCUS on the Missions team, join Jessica to talk about mission trips. Jess, Elizabeth, and Ryan discuss:How encountering Christ in the poor can transform your daily prayerHow the adventure of a mission trip can be a catalyst for growth in virtue and trust in GodCommon objections to mission trips, including the question: Shouldn't I just send money?Want to see where FOCUS is sending students and missionaries on mission trips to in this school year? Check out the Missions website here: FOCUS MissionsELizabeth Philipps is an eighth- year missionary with FOCUS. She served 5 years on campus at Omaha- Nebraska, Wayne State College, and Franciscan University and is now starting her third year with FOCUS missions. She started serving on mission trips while in college at Franciscan University and had a transformative experience serving in New York her junior year. It was this trip that led her to discern a call to serve as a full time missionary after she graduated. Since joining staff with FOCUS, Elizabeth has served on 10 different trips. The most recent of these was a mission to Tanzania this past summer. Outside of her job with missions, Elizabeth enjoys baking, ice skating, reading the classics, and making Rosaries. Ryan Noll is a tenth-year missionary with FOCUS, beginning his 3rd year on the missions team. Ryan fell in love with missions after his first trip to Nicaragua in 2015. Since then, he has been on 13 trips with FOCUS to various locations around the world. As a campus missionary, he served on the Digital Outreach team, at NYU, where he was a team director for 4 years, and he led the expansion effort at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. In his spare time, he’s been leaning into his artistic talents by getting involved in community theatre, where he’s recently been cast in productions of Disney’s Newsies, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost. 

In this episode, Fr. James Brent shares about the mystic revelations of Blessed Conchita Cabrera Arias de Armida, one of the great mystics of the 20th century. Fr. James and Jess discuss:Blessed Conchita's daily life as a wife and mother of 9 childrenHer writings, which exceed the volume of the writings of St. Thomas AquinasKey themes in her revelations, including the mystical incarnation in individual believers and worldwide renewal of the priesthoodYou can find the book that Fr. James referenced about Blessed Conchita hereFr. James Brent, O.P., is a priest in the St. Joseph Province Dominican Friars. He is a professor at the Dominican House of Studies and a popular retreat master and preacher.You can listen to Fr. Brent’s homilies at his Soundcloud site here: Fr. James Brent on Soundcloud

How does church architecture assist us in deepening and celebrating our faith? In this episode, architect Adam Hermanson joins Jessica to discuss church architecture. Adam and Jess discuss:The 5 hallmarks of Catholic church architecture: verticality, permanence, transcendence, iconography, and orientationThe significance of the altar as a table of sacrificeThe symbolism of the center isle as a microcosm of the Christian journey to HeavenTraditional ways for architecture to depict the nuptial mystery of the MassHow the interior of the church should be formative to the faithful and the exterior should be evangelicalAnd much more!Adam Hermanson is the founder of Integration Design Group, an architecture firm in Denver, Colorado, which focuses on churches and other ministries with an emphasis on the renewal of beauty in liturgical design. Adam has been an architect for 17 years. He resides in Denver with his wife, Nicole, and their 6 children.

In this episode, Formation Specialist Sarah de Silva joins Jessica to talk about Servant of God Takashi Nagai, a Japanese Catholic convert on his way to canonization. Sarah and Jess discuss:Takashi's Shinto upbringing and conversion to CatholicismHis work as a doctor in radiologyHow he lived through the nuclear bomb being dropped on NagasakiThe last years of his life, when he preached forgiveness to the Japanese peopleSarah de Silva has served FOCUS for 5 years as a campus missionary, team director, and now Formation Specialist. She is married to Niru and they are expecting their first baby.

There's a lot of talk about healing in the Church today. Are we becoming too focused on healing? In this episode, Fr. James Brent, O.P., joins Jessica to talk about healing. Fr. James and Jess discuss:The culture's naturalistic understanding of healing vs. an understanding of healing from a Catholic worldviewJesus' healing ministry in the Scriptures and His desire to heal todayWhy doesn't Jesus heal everyone?How Jesus uses healing and every aspect of our lives as a formation for HeavenFr. James Brent, O.P., is a priest in the St. Joseph Province Dominican Friars. He is a professor at the Dominican House of Studies and a popular retreat master and preacher.You can listen to Fr. Brent’s homilies at his Soundcloud site:https://soundcloud.com/james-dominic-brent-o-p

A new school year is beginning! In this episode, Fr. Kevin Dyer and Jess challenge listeners to make the phrase "Conquer Yourself" their motto for the year. Fr. Kevin and Jess discuss:One of the early biographers of St. Ignatius of Loyola stated that there was no phrase more commonly on the lips of St. Ignatius than "Conquer yourself!"God sometimes allows difficulties in our lives so that we have opportunities to conquer ourselves and grow in virtue.Practical ways to conquer yourself through the Examen prayer and other spiritual practicesTo learn how to pray the Examen prayer, please listen to this episode from Season 1 of He Leadeth Me, The One Prayer You Shouldn't Neglect Praying: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-prayer-you-shouldnt-neglect-praying/id1634970581?i=1000570122175Fr. Kevin Dyer, S.J., is a priest in the Society of Jesus and serves FOCUS as Senior National Chaplain. Fr. Dyer completed studies at St. Louis University and Boston College and was ordained in 2010. In 2019, he became a part-time FOCUS National Chaplain, and in 2022 he stepped into the role of Senior National Chaplain. Fr. Dyer resides in Denver, Colorado.

In this episode, FOCUS East Area Director Marcus Schoch joins Jessica to do a deep dive into fasting, penance, and mortification. Marcus and Jess discuss:The difference between fasting, penance, reparation, and mortificationHow fasting helps us recognize our dependence on God3 reasons to fast according to St. Thomas AquinasHow to know what types of fasting are too extreme or too lenientAnd much more!Marcus Schoch is in his 13th year with FOCUS and currently serves as the East Area Director. Marcus oversees 170 FOCUS missionaries serving at 42 campuses from Maine down to Virginia. He and his wife Kelsie live with their 6 children near Augusta, Georgia.