Made for Love

Jose Pulido knows what it takes to evangelize men and to drive men to evangelize others. He's done it in his ministry At the Service, and he knows how scripture can help make it happen. Later, (21:10) Kara joins to get a jump on the upcoming Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer by looking back at Inception and its overlooked emphasis on the role of objective reality in truly loving relationships. Episode Notes

We're back with the rest of our conversation with Jason Evert on his book Male, Female, Other? and how it can help us approach gender theory and those who experience gender discordance. Then (19:35), Kara joins to finish talking about Pixar's Inside Out.   Episode Notes

Jason Evert of the Chastity Project joins to discuss his new book Male, Female, Other?, which addresses the current state of gender theory in our culture. He goes into great detail about how to address the problems in the ideology, but more importantly he provides insight into how to lovingly speak and listen to someone struggling with gender discordance, not as an advocate, but as a child of God. Later (18:55), Kara joins in advance of Pixar's new film Elemental to talk about another Pixar movie, one that has a lot to say, both true and misleading, about the human person: Inside Out. Will Andrew be able to restrain his philosophical finger-pointing to recognize the positive elements? Only one way to find out! Episode Notes

Does God need us? Why would he create us (or anything) if he didn't? How is God's relationship with us and with the world different than any other religion's account? How does it change the way we love? Bishop Robert Barron, head of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and Word on Fire, discusses how the Christian distinction answers all of those questions and more. Episode Notes

Our conversation on human ecology continues with Dr. Jennifer Frey, who dives deeper into the mind of the Church and the work of the Institute for Human Ecology. Then (19:15), we celebrate Mother's Day with Kara by talking about Lady Bird. The prestigious 2017 movie has a surprisingly nuanced take on family life and love-related wounds, without turning its nose up at Christianity. Episode Notes

When talking about humanity's relationship with nature, John Paul II used the phrase "human ecology". Benedict XVI used a similar phrase. So did Francis. What do they all mean by it? Dr. Jennifer Frey, of the Institute for Human Ecology and a philosophy professor at the University of South Carolina, helps unpack this theme in the Church's recent tradition. Kara hops in to talk about Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (20:25) and its bad dad before the release of volume 3. Episode Notes

Happy Easter! We're back with a shorter episode during the Easter Octave, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sleepless in Seattle! Kara and Andrew complete their coverage of the Nora Ephron-Meg Ryan romcom trilogy. Destiny takes a hand, or does it? Episode Notes

The addictive danger to our families from pornography is far too great to ignore, which is why Amanda Zurface of Covenant Eyes is here to help. She talks about how communities and families can guard against these risks, and how parishes can do the same, with Safe Haven Sunday. Then, Kara joins (18:00) to chat about the recent AI/chatGPT news developments, through the lens of the film Her (2013), directed by Spike Jonze. Could an advanced AI genuinely take part in a romantic relationship? (Spoiler: of course not). Episode Notes

When you think of your soul leaving your body, what image comes to mind? If it's a ghostly duplicate of your physical body, boy do we have a show for you. Dr. Therese Scarpelli Cory joins from Notre Dame's philosophy department to examine how that view has some unintended side effects for our sense of self, how to improve on that view, and what it has to do with our relationship with Jesus Christ. Then, Kara joins to finish our Oscars run-up with the rest of our heartfelt discussion of last year's Academy Award Best Picture winner, CODA (21:10). Episode Notes

Why do we feel more isolated than ever? How do kids from smaller families have a harder time forming connections later in life? What do people mean when they talk about identity, using phrases like "it's who I really am"? Mary Eberstadt discusses answers to those questions, her new book Adam and Eve After the Pill Revisited, and the unfolding impact of the Sexual Revolution. Later (32:00), Kara joins as we continue our run-up to the Oscars with part 1 of our discussion of CODA, last year's Academy Award Best Picture winner. Episode Notes

Our coverage of the National Eucharistic Revival continues with Sr. Alicia Torres, managing editor of the Eucharistic Revival's newsletter, who shares how her relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist animates her calling as a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist. Later (18:45), Kara Bach joins as we attempt to wrap our minds around Everything Everywhere All at Once. This Academy Award front-runner has a lot to say about a lot (as the title might suggest), and we try to separate the googly eyes from the sinister bagels.   Episode Notes

Kara and Andrew devote an entire episode to Titanic on the 25th anniversary of the film's long run in theaters, which happens to coincide with director James Cameron's new film, Avatar: The Way of Water. The aquatic adventure from 1997 has quite a bit more to offer for reflection on the call to love, however. As is unavoidable when talking about this movie, the conversation gets emotional. Episode Notes

We are kicking off the new year with a look at the Eucharistic Revival! Fr. Craig Vasek gives us the scoop on this growing movement to restore faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Then (27:35), Kara Bach joins to talk about Steven Spielberg's Oscar-contending autobiographical family drama, The Fabelmans. Episode Notes

We're ending the year by celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Muppet Christmas Carol! Kara and Andrew wax theological about this all-time classic, which builds in surprising ways on Charles Dickens's original 1843 novella. According to this version of Scrooge, love is the only thing sillier than a Merry Christmas. How's that working out for him?   Episode Notes

What did Aquinas say about marriage? How does he reveal the true nature of marriage as we live it out today? Did he get everything right, and if not, how do we approach it now? Fr. Gregory Pine, OP, joins to answer those questions and more! Then, Kara joins (22:30) to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Casablanca and how world events impact the call to love. Episode Notes

Kara and Andrew finally complete their quest to review season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power! Most of the story is not original to Tolkien and was produced by a company whose practices diverge considerably from the Gospel. So why does the show quote almost directly from scripture and the moral theology of Thomas Aquinas with strange regularity? Why is divine providence hinted at more heavily than in the Lord of the Rings films? What's going on here? Episode Notes

Canavox's Lucas Fennell joins to talk about what we can learn about friendship and its impact on fatherhood, drawing from his years of experience working with teenage boys and incarcerated men.  Then (25:10), Kara and Andrew finally start their coverage of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Now that season 1 is complete, we can finally talk about it, but will we fit everything into one episode? (No).   Episode Notes

We're celebrating 100 episodes by celebrating the movies! Deacon Steven Greydanus of Decent Films joins to offer some perspective on our approach to film, declining religious themes in Marvel movies like Thor: Love and Thunder, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, plus a plethora of recommendations! Episode Notes

Dr. Andrew Sodergren brings his psychological expertise to the podcast to help us tackle questions surrounding the development of men and women. This fascinating look includes Attachment Theory, questions about gender discordance and dysphoria, and how to treat people with those experiences compassionately and truthfully. Then (36:55), Kara joins to mark the onset of Fall as is commonly done: by talking about You've Got Mail. Episode Notes

Experts in medicine, psychology, philosophy, and theology recently collaborated on a  new book, which comprehensively outlines a coherent view of the human person. Dr. Paul Hruz, one of the medical contributors to Sexual Identity: The Harmony of Philosophy, Science, and Revelation, joins to talk about the book and what exactly are the factors of biological sex. Later (22:55) Kara joins to celebrate Hobbit Day, and put up with Andrew's effusive praise for JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion, part of which overlaps with the new show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Episode Notes

Jonathan and Amanda Teixeira of WalletWin are back to offer more financial help, combining the vocation of Catholic families with money management wisdom. And we return to last episode's cliffhanger ending (16:40) to wrap up Before Midnight, but not before Andrew tries yet again to find a secret Catholic meaning, which Kara may or may not validate. Episode Notes

For as much stress as they can cause to marriages, finances don't usually get a lot of direct attention around here. Jonathan and Amanda Teixeira of WalletWin are here to help, combining the vocation of Catholic families with money management wisdom. Kara joins (16:40) to find Andrew debuting an exciting new podcast segment coinciding with the final film in the "Before trilogy", Before Midnight. Episode Notes

Fresh off their talk at the 2022 World Meeting of Families in Rome, Soren & Ever Johnson join to talk about discernment in family life, how it's oriented toward communion, and their ministry with Trinity House Community. Later (23:15) Kara joins to continue our trek through Richard Linklater's "Before trilogy" with its exciting midpoint, Before Sunset. Episode Notes

Before Sunrise came out 27 years ago. Its sequel, Before Sunset, came out 18 years ago. The finale in the trilogy, Before Midnight, came out 9 years ago. Today, Kara Bach joins to kick off our series on the trilogy, starting with Before Sunrise. It follows a couple meeting, falling in love, and asking the big questions about love, God, and the world… all in one day. Episode Notes

Friend of the podcast, Dr. Abigail Favale, returns to talk about her new book, The Genesis of Gender! We visit disparate sources like Plato, Stranger Things, and Simone de Beauvoir, but we promise you one thing: by the end we will arrive at stable definitions of “man” and “woman”. Later (29:40), Kara joins for even more Stranger Things! We wrap up season 4 and conclusively answer whether this is a secret Catholic show. Episode Notes

We're heading to Rome! The Tenth World Meeting of Families is happening and we are going to be there. That's great, but... what does that mean? The USCCB's own Julia Dezelski joins us to answer that question and more! Then (18:45), Stranger Things returns! Kara Bach joins to chat about the entire show up through Season 4, volume 1, with spoilers! Is Stranger Things secretly a Catholic show inspired by Lord of the Rings? Episode Notes

Abortion doesn't have to tear the country apart. It doesn't have to be the option women turn to in crisis. With the upcoming Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson likely overturning Roe v. Wade, we have to be part of a quantum leap in caring for mothers. We can do it, because Tiffany Farley and Dan Miller of Gabriel Network already have been doing it. They join us for the entire episode to provide insight and a wealth of opportunities to help save lives and make it easier for mothers to love their children. Episode Notes

Concluding our series of episodes on vocations, Fr. Dan Hanley (Associate Director of the USCCB's office for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations) joins us to run the gamut of the various ways God calls us to love. For anyone who might be confused about the scope of vocational options, his insight goes a long way toward making sense of the whole. Then Kara Bach joins (30:20) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Few movies have ever offered a better reflection on family life and the sense of wonder. Episode Notes

What's the best way to love God? The answer can vary a bit from person to person, and impacts who we care for, what we do, where we live, and how we act. You know, minor stuff. Having formed priests for over a decade, Fr. Carter Griffin joins to provide insight on how to respond to God's call. Then (24:35), Kara jumps in to talk about The Children of Men, both the novel and the film based on it. We... had definite opinions on which was better. Episode Notes

Happy Easter, Christ is Risen! Fr. Timothy Gallagher is back for the second half of our interview, taking us deeper into the world of spiritual discernment. Then, Kara returns (15:55) to finish our chat about The Prince of Egypt. Topics covered include: finding a spiritual director, BattleCrocs, and the Eucharist as the new Passover.  Episode Notes

For decades, Fr. Timothy Gallagher has been spreading the spiritual wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his predecessors- wisdom that can help answer questions like "why am I here?" and "is this desire to follow a certain path from God?". We had a lot to talk about, so naturally we had too much to fit into one episode. Later (16:30), Kara joins to chat about The Prince of Egypt, a sensational and underrated movie, which Andrew claims is the greatest movie based on scripture. Regardless of whether it's the best or merely one of the best, it makes for a great preparation for Passover and Holy Week.  Episode Notes

Leah Libresco Sargeant is here to help us better understand the spiritual and theological side of being a mother or father. How do kids empty us of our false selves in their radical dependence? How does that dependence reveal our own, even more radical, dependence on God? That, Broadway musical nerddom, and a chat with Kara about the 2019 film Weathering with You to come in today's episode.   Episode Notes

It's too late to stop us now. We're talking about Bruno. And the rest of Encanto. That follows another topic people don't always enjoy talking about: wedding planning. Catherine Boizelle is here to make the process easier, so that engaged couples can focus on what matters most in the sacrament. Episode Notes

Newlywed life is always challenging and exciting, but in a pandemic it can be more the former than the latter. It doesn't have to be that way though, as Alessandro DiSanto's experience shows. The co-founder of Hallow joins to chat about life as a newlywed, continuing our miniseries on marriage. Kara joins (19:50) to talk about the Oscar contender King Richard, starring Will Smith, and what it has to say about sports and fatherhood. Episode Notes

The marriage crisis in the United States will deepen if we don't do something to help, and JP DeGance knows how. In honor of National Marriage Week, part 2 of our interview with him dives deeper into concrete ways parishes are helping couples to stay together. Speaking of families in crisis, our second segment (19:45) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the greatest movie ever made: The Godfather.   Episode Notes

JP DeGance knows how parishes can help married couples stay together. His organization Communio proved it in Jacksonville, where the divorce rate dropped 28%, largely as a result of their work. As part of our ongoing series leading up to National Marriage Week, JP tells us how to enrich marriages, no matter how stable they are, which in turn strengthens the Church. There was definitely a lot to cover, so this is part one of that interview, with the second part coming in our next episode. After that, Kara (along with her baby daughter!) joins to talk about West Side Story, both the 1961 classic and the 2021 Steven Spielberg-directed remake… which might actually be better? Both versions have a bit to say about the call to love; not all of it's great, but it's definitely worth reflecting on. Episode Notes

Marriage prep varies widely from place to place. The marriage catechumenate is changing the way formation works for couples as they prepare to live out their life in Christ together. This responds to a call from Pope Francis, echoing JPII, in reforming sacramental catechesis. Richard Budd from the Diocese of Lansing is here to help explain what that means, how the kerygma plays into it, and how some practical angles usually go overlooked. Episode Notes  

Lucia Luzondo of the Person and Identity Project weighs in on aspects impacting Hispanic/Latino family life. Kara joins to talk about Pixar's film Coco (28:00) which definitely did not make us cry multiple times. Topics covered include: ideological colonization, machismo vs. manhood, abuelita shoe combat, loving family across generations, rethinking "parents just don't understand" narratives.   Episode Notes

Struggles with body image don't get a lot of attention in our culture, but Dr. John Acquaviva is here to help with that. He walks us through the ways which JPII's Theology of the Body catecheses and scripture can resolve those struggles so they don't stand in the way of loving relationships. Then, Kara rejoins (29:48) for the second half of our coverage of C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce.   Episode Notes

The vaunted birds and the bees talk. April Readlinger of CanaVox offers tips to make it easier to have successful conversations with your son or daughter about sex. Later (29:47), Kara joins for part 1 of our chat about C.S. Lewis's novel The Great Divorce. Topics covered include: the obliviousness of teenage boys, how the love of neighbor relates to the meaning of all human life, and Sonny Corleone. Episode Notes

Ann Koshute and Kimberly Henkel of Springs in the Desert wrap up our discussion on infertility, then we pit Beauty and the Beast against Shrek (21:10) on the occasion of their 30th and 20th anniversaries respectively. Topics covered include: deep-fried Shrek memes, love and appearances, postmodernism, and surprise weddings. Episode Notes

Kimberly Henkel and Ann Koshute of Springs in the Desert join us to talk about their ministry to those who experience infertility. We had a lot to talk about, so the conversation will pick back up next episode. Later in this episode (21:05) Kara joins to talk about the surprisingly fun and encouraging I'm Your Man, a new German film about a robot husband. Episode Notes

We're back with lots more Lord of the Rings and its significance for fantasy and family! First, the founder of Tea with Tolkien joins us to share her mission of spreading the author's wisdom and world. Then, Kara joins to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film release of Fellowship of the Ring. Topics covered include: the Immaculate Conception, Frodo paying off his student loans, Tom Bombadil's divisiveness, and trees. Lots of trees. Episode Notes

Kara and Andrew go on a journey with Sir Gawain to see if he's up to the Green Knight's challenge. Honestly, though, traveling with Bilbo or Frodo would be a more enjoyable experience. Topics include: Memento Mori, humanity's relationship with nature, talking foxes, and random giants. Episode Notes

Our journey through Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love concludes with the book's author, Dr. Edward Sri! Join us as he gives the inside scoop on the book's background and where it leads. Topics covered include: doing it for the gram, the scourge of event maybes, Jesus is enough, and the point of virtue is to give us the freedom to love. Episode Notes

We had too much to say about When Harry Met Sally! We're back with the second part of our chat about this endlessly entertaining, and at least somewhat edifying, look at relationships. Topics include: Gerald Ford, 80's hair, the disputed nature of “chick flicks”, and the applicable ideas from Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love. Episode Notes

We finish up our two-part interview with Eden Invitation's Anna Carter BUT we also start another multi-parter with the first of (at least) two episodes on When Harry Met Sally, the classic romcom from 1989. Seriously, we had way too much to say about this movie, even more than we thought going in. Episode Notes

In the first of a two-part interview, Anna Carter imparts her wisdom gained from Eden Invitation's exciting ministry relating to same-sex attraction and gender discordance. Following that, Kara jumps in to wrap up Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love with a cool conversation about remote preparation for marriage (i.e. singlehood). Episode Notes

Damon Owens of Joyful Ever After joins for a surprisingly fun chat about NFP Week. Then Kara stops by for a while to cover Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, one of our favorite movies. Topics covered include: Elon Musk's space ambitions, the Trinitarian theology of booby traps, and can archeology serve as a vessel for loving your family? Episode Notes

Our guest Alice Heinzen tells us about grandparenthood, but maybe we should have brought her back for the second segment too. Kara and Andrew talk about Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love‘s section on tenderness, and find themselves disagreeing a bit. Is this the end for our heroes? Nah, it's fine.   Episode Notes

To mark Father's Day, Bishop Konderla joins us to chat about St. Joseph, fatherhood, and Pope Francis's apostolic letter Patris Corde. Then later we keep the Father's Day vibes rolling when Kara joins to talk about A Quiet Place (2018) and A Quiet Place Part II (2021), starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. Topics covered: cheating off of Bishop Barron's work, Neil Young's devotion to music at risk of life and limb, and does John Krasinski's fatherhood model Christ's sacrificial love?   Episode Notes