Chris Stefanick Catholic Show

What if you've been afraid of the wrong things your whole life?

This week's Gospel has Jesus telling his disciples — who would go on to die gruesome deaths for their faith — "Do not be afraid." But he also tells them there is one thing worth fearing: the one who can throw both body and soul into Gehenna.

Chris reflects on this Gospel from a deeply personal place, sharing the story of little Margaret — a baby whose skull didn't form fully in the womb, who lived only a few breaths, and whose brief life and faithful family changed her doctor's entire approach to this kind of thing. From the vantage point of eternity, Chris asks: what are we actually protecting when we let fear run our lives?

In this reflection, Chris unpacks:
- Why Jesus tells us not to fear — and what he actually means by it
- The one fear that is good and why we've stopped talking about it
- How fear of hell can actually be a gift that keeps us on the right path
- Why most of our fears are centered around "the breath" and not the billion years that follow
- What it looks like to fear the right thing when it comes to sharing your faith

Whether your life is 90 years or a few breaths, from the perspective of eternity, it all goes by in a flash. The question is: what are you doing with it — and what are you afraid of?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Jesus tells us not to fear those who can harm our bodies, but to fear the one who can throw body and soul into Gehenna. What does it look like practically to "fear the right thing" in your daily life?

2. Chris describes most of our fears as being centered around "the breath" — protecting our comfort, reputation, or earthly life — rather than the eternity that follows. Where do you see that pattern in your own life?

3. Chris shares that fear of sin was sometimes what kept him on the right path when love wasn't enough in a given moment of temptation. Have you ever experienced fear as a gift that moved you toward God? What happened?

4. The Gospel warns against denying Jesus before others out of fear of what they'll think. Is there an area of your life — a relationship, a workplace, a situation — where you've been staying quiet when you should speak? What's holding you back?

5. Little Margaret's brief life and her family's faithfulness moved even her doctor. How does the witness of people who face suffering with faith shape your own understanding of what life is for?

----- Sign up for the Daily Anchor for free daily reflections from Chris Stefanick in your inbox: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

----- Join the mission to spread the joy of the Gospel! Become a Missionary of Joy to support this free content: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

----- Help support us as we seek to bring our transformative CORE Confirmation program to this next generation: https://reallifecatholic.com/confirmation/ 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Margaret the Baby's Funeral
(00:01:59) - Fear of the Lord

Fulton Sheen is about to be beatified — and this episode is your inside look at everything.

I sat down with Bishop Tylka, Bishop of Peoria and the man behind the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, to dive into what this historic moment will look like, how we got here, and why it matters for the whole Church. We talk about the miracle that made it all possible — a baby born with no pulse who came back to life after 61 minutes, with no medical explanation.

We walk through the entire beatification process, what happens inside a beatification Mass, and why Bishop Tylka believes God's timing in 2026 is no accident — America's bishop, beatified by the first American pope, during the 250th anniversary of the United States.

We also get into how Fulton Sheen personally transformed Bishop Tylka's prayer life, what Sheen's legacy means for the Church today, and what you can expect if you attend the beatification at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis on September 24, 2026 — where 75,000 Catholics will gather.

Whether you're attending in person or joining from home, you don't want to miss this.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 — A wave of grace is coming: Fulton Sheen's beatification
1:42 — Bishop Tylka joins the show
3:21 — Why the beatification was moved to St. Louis (and why 70,000+ people)
5:44 — Why 2026 is the perfect moment: America's bishop, America's pope, America's anniversary
7:08 — How the sainthood process actually works
10:33 — The miracle: a baby born with no pulse — 61 minutes, then a heartbeat
17:09 — Five potential miracles already under investigation for canonization
22:24 — The beatification as a "resurrection from the dead" — the painful backstory
27:25 — How Bishop Tylka personally found out he was in charge of the cause (on Twitter)
29:06 — How Fulton Sheen transformed Bishop Tylka's prayer life
33:37 — What the Bishop hopes the whole country hears from this beatification
35:53 — Full event details: 9 nights of holy hours, the Mass, and what happens after

.......
Learn more about joining Chris at the beatification of Fulton Sheen: https://reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages/

.......
Enter to win a chance to win two free tickets to our Pilgrimage to Beauty in Hawaii! : https://reallifecatholic.com/hawaii/

.......
Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

........
Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

........
The Chris Stefanick Show will soon be premiering on EWTN+ Streaming! You can start watching more great content at: EWTN.com/ondemand/

........
Learn more and stay up to date with Fulton Sheen's cause for sainthood at: https://www.celebratesheen.com/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Why Fulton J. Sheen Will Be Beatified This September
(00:00:58) - The Chris Stefanick Show
(00:01:42) - Bishop Tilke attends wedding of a wounded soldier
(00:02:11) - The Beatification of St. Louis Bishop
(00:06:53) - What's the Process of Veneration? (
(00:08:29) - Daily Inspiration
(00:09:48) - The Miracle of Las Vegas
(00:10:09) - Five Potential Miracles to Investigate
(00:14:55) - Will Fulton Sheen Be Be Called a Saint?
(00:20:33) - Martin Sheen on the Beatification Cause
(00:26:10) - The Ordination of the Bishop of Baltimore
(00:26:51) - Bishop of Peoria on Fulton Sheen's Beatification
(00:34:37) - What happens at a Fulton Sheen beatification Mass?
(00:38:35) - Peoria Catholic Beatification Event
(00:43:20) - The Sheen Experience
(00:48:07) - Bishop Tolka's message on the busy season

Every June, the Church celebrates the Sacred Heart of Jesus — and this Sunday's Gospel shows us Jesus moved with compassion for the crowds, like sheep without a shepherd. But why the heart? Why not the Sacred Intellect or the Sacred Will?

In this Sunday reflection, Chris unpacks why the Church's devotion to the Sacred Heart isn't sentimentalism — it's a profound invitation to be fully human and fully alive. Drawing on C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man, the witness of the saints, and the emotional honesty of the Psalms, Chris makes the case that an "advanced" Christian isn't a detached academic — it's someone with head, gut, and chest.

If you've ever been told your heartfelt worship was just "emotionalism," this one's for you.

Chris is recording this from his driveway before heading to pilgrimage in Portugal — and he wants to bring YOUR prayer intentions with him to Fatima and Lourdes. Drop them in the comments below and he will personally bring them to those holy places.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Have you ever dismissed your own emotions in your spiritual life — or been told that heartfelt worship was "just emotionalism"? How does the Church's celebration of the Sacred Heart challenge or affirm that experience?

2. C.S. Lewis describes "men without chests" as people who haven't formed their hearts. In your own life, which do you tend to neglect most — head (intellect), gut (will and virtue), or chest (heart)? What would it look like to grow in that area?

3. Jesus expressed a full range of emotions in the Gospels — compassion, grief, anger, joy. Which of those feels most surprising or meaningful to you, and why?

4. The Psalms model prayer as emotionally raw and honest — bringing everything to God, including anger and sorrow. How comfortable are you bringing your "messy" emotions into prayer? What holds you back, if anything?

5. Chris says the goal isn't to crush our emotions but to direct them — becoming "fully human, fully alive, and fully holy." Who is someone in your life (or among the saints) who you think embodies that wholeness? What do you admire about how they live?

-----
Sign up for the Daily Anchor for free daily reflections from Chris Stefanick in your inbox: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

-----
Join the mission to spread the joy of the Gospel! Become a Missionary of Joy to support this free content: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

-----
Help support us as we seek to bring our transformative CORE Confirmation program to this next generation: https://reallifecatholic.com/confirmation/

-----
Join Chris on pilgrimage. Upcoming pilgrimages include the Holy Land with Jim Wahlberg, and Pilgrimage to Beauty in Kauai. More details here: https://reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages/ 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - The Sacred Heart of Jesus
(00:04:03) - Pilgrims Without Chests

What if everything you knew about Mass was only part of the story?

Fr. Jonathan Meyer — priest, pastor, and author of 14 Stations of the Eucharist — joins Chris Stefanick for one of the most profound conversations about the Eucharist you'll ever hear. This isn't a dry theology lecture. This is the kind of conversation that changes how you walk into church on Sunday.

Fr. Meyer breaks open the three dimensions of the Eucharist — communion, presence, and sacrifice — and explains why the third one, the one that hits you right in the gut, has been almost completely lost in recent decades. When you understand that the Mass is Calvary made present, everything changes: why you're there, what you bring, and what you leave with.

They also walk through all 14 Stations of the Eucharist — from the sacrifice of Abel to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb — showing how the entire sweep of salvation history points to one thing: the sacrifice of Christ, made present for you, right now, at every Mass.

This episode also covers:
- Why separating body from blood at the consecration makes the Mass a sacrifice
- What it means that you, as a baptized person, are also a priest
- How to actually bring your struggles, your suffering, and the people you love into the Mass
- Why the line for Mass intentions is drying up — and what recovering it would mean
- The stunning typology of Abel, Abraham, Melchizedek, the Passover, and more
- What "Behold the Lamb of God" is really announcing

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 — "Today we're going to change how you see the Mass" — and how you see yourself
3:30 — The three dimensions of the Eucharist: communion, presence, and sacrifice — and why sacrifice has been nearly forgotten
6:33 — Why Catholics can say the Mass is a sacrifice without saying Jesus is sacrificed again — and the stunning answer from Fr. Meyer
9:22 — Fr. Meyer gets visibly moved recalling the words of consecration: "This is my body given up for you" — what those words mean to him as a priest and as a man
17:07 — Fr. Meyer's personal story: he didn't know daily Mass existed until he decided to enter the seminary — and the moment he fell before the tabernacle and never doubted again
40:44 — A rapid-fire walkthrough of all 14 Stations of the Eucharist, from Abel's sacrifice to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb
58:59 — "If we understood this, we would bring everybody we know to holy Mass" — Fr. Meyer's closing message to anyone who thinks Mass is boring or that God has forgotten them

.......
Sign up for our Hawaii Trip Giveaway: https://bit.ly/49esyPV

.......
Fr. Meyer's book 14 Stations of the Eucharist is available now: https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/the-stations-of-the-eucharist/STEU.html A companion prayer booklet is also available so you can pray the stations daily: https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/the-stations-of-the-eucharist-prayers-and-reflections/STEU-14-WB-ENG.html

.......
Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

........
Support the creation of this content by becoming a Missionary of Joy with a monthly gift to Real Life Catholic and get free access to 9 transformative courses: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

........
The Chris Stefanick Show will soon be premiering on EWTN+ Streaming! You can start watching more great content at: EWTN.com/ondemand/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Daily Inspiration
(00:01:21) - Interview with Pope Francis
(00:02:24) - Matthew Kelly's Beautiful Mass
(00:06:14) - The Sacrificial Mass
(00:09:22) - Priests Say Words of Consecration at Mass
(00:11:34) - Mission to the World
(00:12:57) - Wonders of the Mass:
(00:19:03) - The Sacrificial Love of the Eucharist
(00:22:26) - The 14 Sacrificial Stations of the Eucharist
(00:29:15) - Immaculate communion and presence
(00:32:03) - Priests talk about the Layman Priest
(00:33:16) - A spontaneous prayer at the end of universal prayers
(00:34:30) - The Real Liturgical Renewal
(00:40:43) - Praying in the Eucharist
(00:41:05) - The Sacrificial Sacrifice of Abel
(00:42:05) - offer him Melchizedek, the high priest
(00:43:33) - The Sacrifice of Abraham
(00:47:40) - 3rd Station, The Daily Mass
(00:49:51) - John the Baptist
(00:51:23) - Jesus Can Change Substitution
(00:52:24) - The 11th Stations of the Eucharist
(00:55:24) - Lack of Privy Voice
(00:57:49) - The 13 Stations of the Eucharist
(00:59:50) - Fulton Sheen

"God so loved the world." That's not just a feel-good phrase — it's the perfect summary of who God is. And understanding it might be the key to fighting the loneliness epidemic tearing our culture apart.

The Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is a communion of persons. Three persons, one God. And because we are made in the image of that God, we are made for community. Loneliness isn't just emotionally painful. It's spiritually wrong. It goes against the grain of who and what we are.

In this reflection, Chris unpacks:

- Why the Trinity reveals that you were literally made for community

- The stunning statistics behind America's loneliness crisis (and why Gen Z is the loneliest generation in history)

- Why loneliness is more dangerous to your health than obesity

- 5 practical, faith-rooted antidotes — from finding your "third space" to the one prayer that can change everything when you feel utterly alone Whether you're lonely yourself or want to be part of the solution, this reflection will challenge you and give you real hope.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The Trinity reveals that God himself is a communion of persons — not a solitary being. How does knowing that God is love (rather than merely has love) change the way you understand your own longing for connection?

2. Chris describes the loneliness epidemic as "a demonic attack on the image of God." Do you agree? Where do you see this playing out in your own community or family?

3. Studies show that weekly church attendance can add up to 14 years to your life expectancy. Beyond the statistics, what has your own experience of faith community meant to you — or what are you longing for that you haven't found yet?

4. Chris offers five antidotes to loneliness, including finding or creating a "third space," reaching out to someone lonelier than yourself, and inviting the Holy Spirit in. Which of these do you feel most called to act on this week — and what's one concrete step you could take?

5. Jesus promised his apostles they would not be left "orphaned" — and that the Holy Spirit would remain in them always. When do you find it hardest to believe you are never truly alone? What helps you return to that truth?

-----
Sign up for the Daily Anchor for free daily reflections from Chris Stefanick in your inbox: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP

-----
Join the mission to spread the joy of the Gospel! Become a Missionary of Joy to support this free content: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0

-----
Help support us as we seek to bring our transformative CORE Confirmation program to this next generation: https://reallifecatholic.com/confirmation/ 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - The Trinity
(00:03:19) - Why Loneliness Is Evil
(00:04:31) - Loneliness Pandemic: Three Steps to Help Yourself
(00:09:12) - 4 Ways to Love Yourself When You're Lonely