The Verso l’Alto Podcast

In our last episode of the semester, the team discusses the importance of reflecting on the graces given in a season and expressing gratitude where it is due before moving on. Practicing that gratitude, our beloved Fr. Chris announces his reassignment to St. Louis in Waco and reflects on his time at St. Mary's and on Verso L'Alto. Thank you, Fr. Chris, for your wisdom, friendship, and fatherhood!

This week we have a special twin guest join us as we talk about all the intricacies of being a Catholic man. We go in and discuss some pressures that guys face in society, what lifts and tears them down, and some ways to grow in brotherhood with one another. Ladies out there, this is also a good listen to learn more about the mind of your fellow guys and we give some ways that women can actually help us become better men. Good luck figuring out who is who based on just the Cox brothers' voices ;)

This week we sit down with Megan Bacak, director of St. Mary's 2023 Connect Retreat, to discuss how one might actively invite freshman (and all we meet around campus) into community and eventually a life-giving relationship with Jesus at St. Mary's. From being a friendly face on move-in day to developing long-term discipleship relationships, we are all called to be and to make missionary disciples!   Interested in learning more about Connect? Check it out here.

As we wrap up our series on Journeying with Jesus in the Desert this Lent, we end at Holy Week, remembering the Lord's passion and death and preparing to rejoice in the Resurrection. This episode, the team explores how to practically embrace the cross this Holy Week. We remember that despite our shortcomings over Lent, this week is one of great graces and the Lord helps us begin anew to honor and console Him.

The Lord calls us to greater almsgiving during this season of Lent. Spending time in service to the poor is an active way to engage in this sort of giving. This episode, we discuss different avenues to journey with the poor, including mission trips, street service, unseen acts of service, and encountering the “poor in spirit” on campus every day. We pray this episode blesses you and inspires you to greater awareness of how to serve Christ himself through the poor in your life.    In this episode, Fr. Chris talks about The Missioners of Christ and Happy Are You Poor by Thomas Dubay.

We know “faithful friends are a sturdy shelter” (Sirach 6:14). This episode, we discuss the importance and the joy of walking with others during Lent (and all through the year). From accountability groups to authentic friendship, what should these relationships look like and how does one develop them? Tune in then go out and make some invitations; it's time to Walk with Community!

Reflecting on the call to fasting during Lent in imitation of Old Testament penitential practices and Jesus' own preparation for ministry in the desert, the team discusses the purpose of this common practice and some practicals to encourage you on your way. During Lent, we are called to sharpen our senses to focus our hearts and minds on God, keeping in mind that fasting strengthens our wills. That increased freedom to say “no” means our “yes” mean much more, freeing us from the worldly attachments that keep us from saying more a complete “yes” to God's call. Some highlights from this week include some practicals on fasting with a focus on growing in charity, discussing the “should I relax my fast on Sunday?” debate, and the benefit of building holy community during this time of self-denial. 

Continuing our season on "Journeying with Jesus in the Desert" during Lent, this week we consider the beauty of “Journeying with Simplicity.” How might we strip our lives of unnecessary business, clutter, and distraction in order to more fully make space for awareness of the Lord's prompts and providence? These and other questions are discussed, keeping forefront how to always keep our eyes on the Lord amidst the commotion of everyday life. May we walk with the Lord in simplicity and docility, trusting that He gives us the grace for each day! 

In preparation for Lent, the team introduces the idea of journeying with the Lord in the desert for these 40 days. Discussing how to live out prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as college students, they consider some Lenten practices students might take up and dispositions to keep in mind. Specifically remembering St. Teresa of Avila's encouragement to always persevere and the truth that the Lord wants our hearts—not just for us to do the most difficult thing—the allegory of a journey proves especially apt. May we willingly enter the desert with Christ this Lent, meekly letting Him lead us to the cross then to His glorious resurrection at Easter. 

This week, Charis, Will, and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Adam of The Society of the Divine Word to discuss Christ's Great Commission, calling us all to “go and make disciples.” Fr. Adam shares his experiences serving in faraway lands, including Japan and the Philippines, and touches on insights for college students to actively serve and evangelize right where they are. Notably, the power of invitation and maintaining awareness of those around us remain consistent themes in sharing the warmth and  light of the gospel wherever we are. Thank you Fr. Adam! 

This episode, the team is joined by Sr. Julianna from the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. Diving into the history and characteristic spiritual practices of the Carmelite order, Sr. Julianna shares about community life, how college students can learn from the prayer practices of Carmel, and the cereal of choice in their convent (is it the cereal of the week? tune in to find out!). From hiking to nursing to teaching to exploring the depths of the soul's garden in prayer, the Carmelites in Los Angeles certainly live adventurously! Thank you Sr. Julianna!   Interested in learning more about the Carmelites or the Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart? click here. 

The Verso L'Alto Podcast proudly welcomes our new co-host, Will Cox! Aggie Catholic, Accounting enthusiast, and member of the class of 2024, he's all systems go to join Charis and Fr. Chris of season 5. Will also comes bearing the cereal of the week; stay tuned! As we return from winter break and face a new semester, this episode explores the challenge of living in the present moment and receiving the Lord's grace day by day. Remembering that spontaneity requires self-discipline, we touch on practical steps to prepare oneself to be intentional and present amidst the busy-ness of college daily life.    In the word's of St. Edith Stein, “O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage, and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before, and I shall meet it with peace.” Lord, may we meet each moment you entrust to us with holy joy, courage, strength, and peace in this new semester and always! 

The time has come, that after 51 episodes we will be saying goodbye to Ben, our co-host on the show. We are sad to see him go, so we are taking this episode to hear what he is doing next in his life and to let him share the lessons he learned during his time in college. It has truly been a blessing to have him on the show and we look forward to what Verso l'Alto is going to do next!

When it comes to lust, the 21st century offers the most temptations than any other time period, and the last thing we want to do is create more temptations. Modesty is something that we all need to practice, men and women, and that can be a difficult thing to do with changing standards of what modesty is and with a fashion scene that does not have the best intentions in mind. We need to consider the foundation of our beings as sons and daughters of Christ and as brothers and sisters to one another, and in doing so, we can reflect our understanding of who we are, in the way that we dress.

A very special guest joined the podcast this week! Fr. Angelus of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal made his annual journey to Aggieland and the Verso l'Alto gang invited him for a return engagement, this time to talk about how we are all called to be saints, even though how we respond to this call can be a challenging question. In our ambition, we can often forget why we are striving for sainthood and thus seek it for itself. We know, however, that the means to sainthood are found within the heart and that our goal of reaching full communion with God is only possible through the process of living a humble, meek, and Christian life for the sake of Christ.

Pro-Life means a whole lot more than just being anti-abortion. As Catholics, we believe in respecting life from conception to natural death. While things like abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment are wrong, so is a general lack of respect for another's dignity. We strive to respect all human life, not just by keeping each other alive, but by caring for one another the way that Christ cares for us.

In this second episode discussing Pope John Paul II's essay, "Meditation on Givenness," we take a closer look at the appreciation of beauty, the redemption of the body, and devotion to Mother Mary. Beauty is the source of inspiration and creativity in our lives, and it also helps us to remember our end point in Heaven where our redeemed bodies will be glorified. In committing ourselves more fully to these truths, we ought to devote ourselves to Mother Mary who helps us to live in the fullness of Christ. As children of God, we must always lift each other up and strive towards all that is good, beautiful, and true, and see one another as gifts given and received.

For these next two episodes we will be taking a look at St. John Paul II's Meditation on Givenness. This document explores the passionate giving of self and receiving of others in a fully Christian way. In this first episode we talk about the extraordinary gift that people are to one another and how we ought to receive one another as gifts, and give of ourselves in the same way. JP2 especially notes the gift that man and woman are to one another and how the gift of each person means that God has entrusted them to uphold each other.

Christian masculinity is under attack in our secular world, and so often today men are put down when they exercise their masculinity, but when lived out properly, the masculine heart is a beautiful thing. It is a gift to be cherished and to be used to protect and uphold all of Christ's children. All men should come to use their authentic masculinity to build up the Church and live out their identity in Christ.

Women are the crown of creation and have so much to offer our world. In a letter to women, St. John Paul II writes on what he refers to as the “Feminine Genius” and how it manifests itself in the world. For women, femininity ought to be understood, embraced and practiced, and for men it ought to be greatly appreciated, for it is an extraordinary gift from God. We talk more about what it means to live out femininity as a woman and its grave importance in our society today.

In our society today, truth has become subjective, but as Catholics we know this is not the case. Nonetheless, moral relativism is so often encountered on college campuses and in society as a whole. Ben and Charis speak on their experiences with meeting people who believe truth is subjective and how they dealt with the situations. Ultimately, we should all strive to live out the truth and to help others come to do the same so as to build up God's church on Earth.

The famous parable of the prodigal son is a story we can all relate to either as the younger brother, the older brother, or the father. This parable is a solid reminder of the way the father loves us unconditionally and how we can always return to him if we have strayed. The character of the father, in his mercy and compassion, is an ideal that we all should strive for so as to imitate our Father in Heaven. We can do this through our interactions with others by loving them and being merciful to them always.

It can be hard to love those who turn their backs on Christ, but the truth is that we all separate ourselves from God's love at different points in our lives. Learning how to love others in their worst times as well as their best times is an essential part of imitating the life of Christ. We are all called to love the sinner, but to hate the sin. This is easy to say but a rather difficult ideal to live out. However, by God's grace we can all come to love unconditionally for the sake of the kingdom.

The Verso L'Alto Podcast proudly welcomes our new co-host Charis Strickland! Fellow Aggie Catholic and member of the class of 2024, she's ready to join Fr. Chris and Ben for the fourth season. Beginning the school year yet again, we desire to invite all into a deeper community where abiding with the Lord takes on a new meaning. A life in community brings us closer to Christ and forms us into better human beings. We should all seek it out and pray for the courage to live our lives on mission!

For this final episode of the season, and perhaps forever, Lynsey dives into lessons she has learned during her time in college before she leaves College Station for the next step in her life. Father Chris and Ben converse with her about implementing these lessons into one's life and how we should use our time in college to prepare ourselves for what lies ahead.

After Christ's resurrection, an entirely new meaning was given to the Faith. Christians saw with their own eyes the resurrected Christ and came to believe that they too could be raised from the dead and enter into eternal life. We see mass amounts of converts and a strong community among the early believers which was due to the evangelization of the Apostles who, like us, were commissioned to preach the Gospel. We can learn from the zeal and strong faith of the early church to help us spread the Good News today and bear witness to the glorified and resurrected Christ.

From wounded to glorified, Christ's resurrection changes everything. A bloody passion was the price he paid for our lives, and because of Jesus' willingness to pay our debt and resurrect into Heaven, we too can be glorified like him. We can now dwell in Paradise even though we have fallen short here on Earth. The Easter season is a time for feasting and celebration so our Faith in what has been promised to us will be strengthened.

No one entered into their poverty better than Christ himself. For Him to stoop to the low level of our humanity and embrace extraordinary physical and mental suffering helps us see that we too must strive to be as poor as Christ. Holy Week allows us to console the heart of Jesus in His suffering and to remember our littleness as we ready ourselves for the holiest time of the year.

We will not fully encounter Christ until we encounter the poor. The poor have nothing but the Lord and are a beautiful example of how we should live our lives—detached and dependent. We have so much to learn from the poor, and so much to give and share with them beyond material things. The poor need relationship and we, as Christians, are obliged to offer ourselves to them as a gift.

During this Lenten season we continue in our seven week series on poverty and how to embrace it in order to better imitate Christ.  This episode focuses on spiritual poverty and what it means to be poor in spirit as it states in the beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."  Spiritual poverty is a lack of our own will and total dependence on the Lord, surrendering totally to Him and to accept that we cannot do anything in life on our own.  The paradox of being poor in spirit in order to be rich in the Lord and to be happy is one that is further explored.

During this lenten season we will be introducing a seven week series on poverty and how to embrace it in order to better imitate Christ. This introductory episode gives a look at the different forms of poverty in our life and how we can best go about living them. In order to better enter into our humanity, we must encounter and accept our poverty, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are poor in spirit.

The institution of the Eucharist was one of the greatest joys the Lord gave us, and as Catholics we believe it to be the source and summit of our Faith. Fellow Aggie Catholic Cate Bailey joins us today to discuss why it is so important to be properly disposed for receiving the Eucharist, to do so on a regular basis, and the overwhelming graces that are poured out into our hearts when we do.

Kicking off the third season of The Verso l'Alto Podcast is an episode on treating Jesus as an end in your life, and not as a means to an end. Sometimes it can be tempting to use Jesus as a means to find answers or build relationships, and we can forget that He is the ultimate end for everything, be it our answers, our relationships, or any other situation in life. We should strive to treat Jesus as an end and to leave behind the “vending machine” mentality of our Faith, and simply love Christ for Christ's sake.

The image of Christ as a little baby shows His littleness in a physical way. He had an extraordinarily immense amount of humility to be able to enter into the world totally dependent on others to care for Him. The world finally received their King after waiting so long for His arrival and he came in the most vulnerable way he could come. The Child Jesus teaches us to be little ourselves and to enter into our poverty so that we can become totally dependent on Christ the way he was dependent on His parents to provide Him all he needed.

Continuing on our journey through advent, we take a look at the hidden life of St. Joseph. Leader of the holy family, St. Joseph is a great model for fatherhood and courage, but also obedience and humility. His surrender to the Lord during the time of Advent was paramount to guiding Mother Mary and carrying out the will of the Father. Especially during this liturgical season, we ought to increase our devotion to St. Joseph to better grow in docility to the Lord and to stretch our hearts for His coming.

We begin a new liturgical year with the dawn of Advent! So often we can easily let this four-week season come and go without entering into it as we ought, but it marks the beginning of the year because of its grave importance in our lives. We are to use this time of advent to stretch our hearts and ready ourselves for the “coming” of our Lord. It can be especially helpful for us to walk with The Holy Family in prayer during this time and learn how to trust in the Lord and be formed in this season of waiting just as Joseph and Mary were, with hope that beautiful things are soon to come. The next few episodes will take a more in depth look at Advent with The Holy Family!

In our progressive society, individuals are becoming “woke” and in the process of this “waking up” they are becoming more and more secular. Moral relativism crawls through our streets and infects the integrity of our beliefs. However, as Catholics we know that our salvation story has been given to us, it is not something that we create. We know that we have already been saved and that Christ is Lord, that that is the truth, so speak that truth boldly and stand up for it as Christ himself would.

It is easy for us to neglect day-to-day tasks, from being punctual to doing a job properly. We often find ourselves falling short with excellence, and the same can also be said of our spiritual lives. It is easy for us to do the minimum or find excuses to avoid prayer of silence, and yet our Lord calls us to perfection. We are called to perfection because Christ wants us to excel and be the best that we can be so we can give ourselves to others, and to the world, entirely as a gift. For the sake of building up the Kingdom here on Earth, we must seek perfection, which starts with discipline, and we must ultimately understand that this gift of perfection comes from Christ and that it is through Him that we are able to excel.

Wrapping up the theological virtues is that of Charity—the greatest of all! Love is the greatest of these three virtues because it is everlasting. Faith and hope are no longer needed in Heaven, but Love is all we'll be doing there. We can start living out true Christian love in the small moments of our lives and inviting the Lord to come and perfect his love in us so we can begin to share in that eternal love right now.

Up next with the theological virtues is Hope. If the virtues were a plant, faith would be the roots, hope the stalk, and love the flowers. Today we look at that stalk, hope, the means at which growth occurs. Hope is what allows us to shoot up out of the ground and to reach for the heights! Hope is putting our faith in the certainty that, God willing, eternity in Heaven awaits us one day. Hope allows us to keep moving forward and to brush off discouragement like a hair on our shoulder. Hope y'all enjoy!

Here to help us discuss a deeper understanding of our own identity, constructed intentionally by the Lord, is repeated guest Father Angelus, a member of The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City. We talk about specific scripture that has been placed in our hearts and how the Lord is trying to create a unique version of himself within each of us. It then becomes part of our role to discover that uniqueness within ourselves and to utilize it on all levels to experience a deeper conversion and more radical relationship with our Christ.

In the next few episodes, we will be diving into the theological virtues, starting off with Faith. As the Catechism says in paragraph 1814, “Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God.” Faith allows us to move mountains, walk on water, cast out demons, and all we need is Faith the size of a mustard seed to do so. Faith not only propels us through the miraculous times, but the worrisome ones too. So, when we talk about believing in something, large or small, on good days and bad, we are talking about Faith—a necessary virtue if we want to live in, and be led by, the Spirit.

Don't worry! That's the last thing the Lord wants you to do. So often we overload our lives with plans out of fear that the Lord will not provide, but he will every time. His providence is always calling out to us, and it is we who need to give up the plans we have made for ourselves and submit to the Heavenly will that God desires for us. The Lord will always provide, and he has a special plan for each one of our lives, though we must remember to not obstruct his plans with our own. By the grace of God may we surrender to his will and leave our own selves behind.

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!" These are the words, in Revelation, that we read are being prayed unceasingly by the living creatures, and these are the words we too should imitate when we are praising our Lord! The Father is so good and he is so worthy of our praise. In this episode we discuss praise: what it is, why we do it, and how we do it. Praise and thanksgiving is something that we should incorporate into our daily lives to better give all the glory back to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon us. A fellow Aggie Catholic, Matthew Castanada, joined us to discuss praise and he spoke about the importance to his own life of praising Our Lord with all our hearts.

Welcome Back! Season Two of The Verso l'Alto Podcast begins with a heartfelt homecoming between our three hosts. You'll be privy to the adventures Fr. Chris, Lynsey, and Ben embarked on over the summer. After catching up, they tackled the question of “Where are you going and why?" which is ultimately a question of desire. To be in tune with our desires is to follow the lighted path the Lord has set before us. To act upon our desires while being united to the Lord is to live in true communion. What is it that you are desiring this year? Will you follow the Lord through the desires he has given you?

Anoint us Holy Spirit! Send us your grace and your love! A true relationship with the Holy Spirit is an essential characteristic of the Catholic life. Lacking the Holy Spirit is lacking a genuine relationship with our Lord, for he is truly present as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has so much to offer us and so much to teach us, and all we have to do to encounter these wonders is open up our hearts and ask for the Spirit to shower itself upon us. If we want our lives to change and our relationships to grow, especially spiritually, the best way to begin is by praying “Come Holy Spirit Come!”

Lynsey and Kate continue their exchange with Ben and Thomas while Fr. Chris tries to mediate! The men discuss what they think about women being the “crown of creation” and how they can best receive women as a gift. The women share what it means to be pursued and the role they play as a true gift in their relationship to a man. For the greater glory of the Lord these topics are covered to better live as brothers and sisters in Christ to each other.

In this unique two-part episode we happily welcome back Thomas Dunn as a special guest and we are also joined by special guest Catherine Bailey, a devout Aggie Catholic herself. They join us on this two-part episode to discuss differences between, and in general the perspectives of, men and women. Whether it is a difference in getting ready for church or a gender-specific perspective on prayer, a wide range of topics is covered to help you better understand the opposite gender, but also to better understand yourself as son or daughter of God. This allows us to fully live into our masculinity or femininity, respectively, so that we can better live out our identities in the Lord and thus better give of ourselves to the world with a genuine, Christ-like love.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Powell, director and founder of Camp Wojtyla, a Catholic outdoor adventure camp, joins us to discuss a bit about himself and how the great outdoors can be used to strengthen the Catholic faith. Dr. Powell speaks about how the wildness of adventure can speak to us metaphorically so we can relate our experiences to the life of Jesus himself. Whether you are climbing a mountain or rafting a river, there is always a way to relate your journey to the life of Christ and allow Him to enter deeper into your heart. This unconventional means of spiritual growth is bold and radical and it is motivating for everyone to journey into the outdoors to meet the Lord, who is waiting patiently in the mountain and in the stream.

For this second episode on mental health, we dive into the feeling of depression and discuss what its purpose is, why the Lord allows such a feeling, and what to do when it comes. As humans, we all encounter these feelings, and what we do with them is so imperative to their effect on our lives. If we bring them to the Lord, which he greatly desires, we can allow them to be gifts in our lives and bear fruit. Tangibly, that dependence may be found in a counseling meeting which can be a great way to allow the Lord into the depths of your heart and learn how to better lean on him in difficult emotional trials.

We are proud to welcome the pastoral counselor here at St. Mary's Catholic Center, Christopher Lafitte, to the show to talk about mental health. Christopher led a wide-ranging discussion about anxiety. What is it? How should a Catholic deal with it? As members of the human race, we all experience these deep emotions and can suffer because of them, but if we process them correctly and unite the suffering to the Lord, it can be a time of immense growth and intimacy with the Father. Don't be afraid to bring every feeling to the foot of the cross. He knows what to do with it!