Following Jesus means more than believing the right things. It means letting Him transform the way we think, choose, pray, and carry our crosses.
This week on All Set for Sunday, Scott and Jeff sit down with Fr. Dufresne to unpack the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time and a simple spiritual challenge that can make a profound difference: give God 15 intentional minutes every day.
The readings don't exactly promise an easy road. Jeremiah discovers that speaking God's truth can make you unpopular. St. Paul urges us, "Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2). And Jesus tells His disciples plainly: deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me (Matthew 16:24).
That's a high calling. So how do ordinary Catholics actually live it?
For Fr. Dufresne, the answer begins with daily prayer.
Prayer is where our hearts learn to desire God more deeply. It's where our minds are renewed so that we can recognize God's will instead of simply absorbing whatever the culture tells us. And it's where we receive the grace to carry the little crosses and eventually the bigger ones that come our way.
That makes the Responsorial Psalm especially fitting: "My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God" (Psalm 63). As Fr. Dufresne points out, that thirst for God isn't an exaggeration. It's the deepest desire of the human heart.
The practical challenge? Start with 15 minutes. Set aside the distractions, sit with Scripture or another spiritual reading, notice what stirs in your heart, speak those movements to the Lord, and finish with gratitude and a resolution. It may feel like an eternity at first, but relationships grow when we actually spend time together.
Sometimes holiness really does come down to a simple turn: toward prayer instead of distraction, toward sacrifice instead of comfort, toward Christ instead of ourselves.
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🧦 Product Spotlight: St. Padre Pio Socks
Padre Pio's famous reminder to "Pray, hope, and don't worry" makes these socks a fitting companion for an episode centered on building a daily habit of prayer.
