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Religion To Reality

Religion To Reality

De : Dave Plisky
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Religion to Reality is a Catholic podcast about living an integrated life, one where faith isn't filed away in a separate drawer from the rest of who you are. In Season 2, we take that conviction somewhere new: into conversation with voices from other Christian traditions and other faiths entirely. Not to debate, not to draw lines, but to listen. Because the most radical thing we can do in a noisy, polarized world might be to sit with someone whose faith looks different from ours, and discover what God is already doing in them.© 2026 DeSales Media Christianisme Ministère et évangélisme Philosophie Sciences sociales Spiritualité
Épisodes
  • Gold in the Desert with Frederica Mathewes-Green

    Gold in the Desert with Frederica Mathewes-Green
    Jun 15 2026
    QUICK SUMMARY What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Can ordinary people actually do it? In this episode of Religion to Reality, prolific author and Orthodox Christian writer Frederica Mathewes-Green shares her remarkable spiritual journey: from a devout Catholic childhood to atheistic hippie, to a dramatic conversion in a Dublin church, to 50+ years of daily unceasing prayer. She also opens up about leaving the Episcopal Church, the beauty of Orthodox liturgy, and why she believes spiritual loneliness is one of the great unspoken crises of our time. IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE How a young Catholic woman lost her faith, explored Eastern religions, and unexpectedly encountered Christ in Dublin.Federica’s dramatic conversion experience and the voice she believes changed her life.How Federica and Gregory’s marriage became a path back to faith from atheism to the priesthood.Why liberal theology accelerated church decline and weakened belief in core Christian teachings.Gregory’s journey from Episcopal priest to Orthodox priest after leaving an increasingly secular church.Why they left Catholicism for Orthodoxy and what liturgical worship revealed about humanity’s need for transcendence.What God’s detailed instructions for worship in Exodus teach us about icons, beauty, and sacred art today.The difference between liturgy and worship, and why Orthodox worship centers entirely on God.The Jesus Prayer: its origins, spiritual benefits, and Federica’s practical guide to praying it.What nearly 50 years of daily 3:00 AM prayer has taught Gregory about discipline and devotion.Catholic diversity vs. Orthodox unity, and why reunion between the two traditions is more complex than it seems.Federica’s advice on listening well, asking better questions, and meeting the deep human need to be heard. ABOUT FEDERICA MATHEWS-GREEN Frederica Mathewes-Green is one of the most prolific voices in American Christian writing, with over 800 published essays and 11 books to her name. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Christianity Today, The Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Smithsonian. She has been a commentator for NPR, a podcaster for Ancient Faith Radio, and a consultant for VeggieTales. A sought-after speaker, she has delivered more than 600 presentations at institutions including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Cornell, and has been interviewed over 800 times by outlets including NPR, PBS, Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. She holds an honorary Doctor of Letters from King University and lives in Johnson City, Tennessee with her husband, the Reverend Gregory Mathewes-Green. They have three grown children and 15 grandchildren. MEMORABLE QUOTE “Stay alive and keep praying. In time, it becomes second nature, and you realize that He is responding when you invoke His name, and you sense that communion with Him.” — Frederica Mathewes-Green RESOURCES MENTIONED The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence: The foundational devotional book on unceasing prayer that shaped Frederica’s prayer life. She first read it as a young Christian.The Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”): Developed by the Desert Fathers from the 2nd century onward; rooted in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (“Pray without ceasing”).1 Thessalonians 5:17: The scriptural basis for the practice of unceasing prayer, which Paul also addressed to the Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians.Exodus 25: God’s detailed instructions to Moses for building the Tabernacle — gold, embroidery, bells, pomegranates, and carved cherubim — Frederica’s go-to passage on the importance of sacred... Chapters (00:00:00) - I Am Your Life(00:00:27) - Religion to Reality: Listening Across the Faith Spectrum(00:01:42) - Frederica Matthews Green on "This Week in Christian Writing"(00:03:24) - What Really Happened to My Faith(00:12:11) - How a Roman Catholic married with a liberal theology turned to the Orthodox(00:16:50) - Displaced Episcopal Priest speaks out about his ordination(00:19:50) - The Reasons Why the Episcopal Church Should Go(00:25:53) - On the beauty of the Catholic Church(00:33:58) - John the Baptist on the Liturgy(00:42:07) - An Orthodox Priest on the Liturgy(00:47:09) - The Power of the Liturgy(00:51:31) - John Paul on Personal Practices(00:57:50) - The Prayer Life of Saint Lawrence(01:00:34) - Separation of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches(01:06:24) - Jane Fonda on Becoming an Orthodox Priest(01:10:51) - Interviewing Dave Ramsey(01:12:18) - A Question for the Listeners(01:18:03) - Religion to Reality: The Interreligious Conversation
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    1 h et 20 min
  • The Practice of Accompaniment with Josh Packard

    The Practice of Accompaniment with Josh Packard
    Jun 8 2026
    QUICK SUMMARY What if listening to someone isn't just a bridge to telling them something, but is itself a formative, sacred act? Sociologist and researcher Josh Packard returns to Religion to Reality to unpack groundbreaking data on the intersection of faith and listening, challenge Catholics to truly live out the concept of accompaniment, and offer an honest outside-in assessment of where the Church is falling short, and where it's quietly thriving. IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE Why two-thirds of people say listening shaped their faith, but the Church has invested almost nothing in ministries of listeningThe difference between knowing the Catholic concept of accompaniment and actually doing itHow over-professionalized youth ministry has quietly outsourced the most important relationshipsWhy the digital missionary space may be the most significant untapped opportunity in Catholic outreachWhat "cultural Catholics" might actually be getting right that formal church structures are missing ABOUT JOSH PACKARD Josh Packard is a sociologist of religion and the founder of Future of Faith, a research and consulting organization helping churches move from institutional ministry to relational ministry at scale. He is a former sociology professor and co-founder of Springtide Research Institute, and has also served at the National Catholic Educational Association. His work includes the Sacred Listening Study, to his knowledge, the only research in the world examining the intersection of faith formation and listening, as well as the recently released book Faithful Futures. Josh is a Lutheran who has built his career crossing denominational boundaries to serve Catholic, Protestant, and ecumenical audiences alike. MEMORABLE QUOTE "I don't think you can understand what we mean when we say listening is sacred if you do not feel like you have a God who has listened to you, and that you've also listened to." — Josh Packard RESOURCES MENTIONED Future of Faith — futureoffaith.orgRelational Discipleship White Paper — futureoffaith.org/relationaldiscipleshipSacred Listening Tools (free download) — available at futureoffaith.orgBook: Faithful Futures by Josh PackardEvery Student Sent — ministry connecting high school graduates to campus believers in their first week of college (based in Texas)Springtide Research Institute — springtideresearch.orgReligion to Reality Season 1 with Josh Packard — available in the back catalog and as a bonus episode John Gribowich's Substack: Going Analog — johngribowich.substack.com Chapters (00:00:00) - Return to Religion to Reality: The Sociology of Listening(00:13:00) - The inner voice and the outer call: Is contemplation the same as listening to others? Dave, Josh, and Fr. John explore whether listening to yourself and listening to your congregation are really the same act(00:15:32) - The Sacred Listening(00:16:00) - Sacred Listening Theory: Josh explains the structural tools Future of Faith has developed; why you can't do listening-based ministry by having 500 cups of coffee a week, and how to know which five matter(00:17:15) - "If Protestants Would Understand the Catholic Concept of Accompaniment(00:20:00) - What Pope Francis really means by accompaniment: Removing the time container, moving toward a destination, and why this matches the lived experience of today's young people(00:22:00) - Where the Church gives too much back to modern organizational life: Semesters, confirmation timelines, conveyor belts, and the wide gulf between sacraments that gets left unmarked(00:42:00) - Where is the Catholic Church doing this well? Campus ministry and the digital missionary space, and why the larger institution has been slow to support either(00:46:00) - The global Catholic Church vs. U.S. Catholicism: Todos, encuentro, encuentro; why the rest of the world is far less precious about who gets to share their faith(00:47:00) - In defense of cultural Catholics: Are the people the institution dismisses actually modeling community better than the institution itself?(00:52:00) - The destination fallacy: We trick ourselves into thinking young people can arrive at a final faith state, but the real question is, will you be there when they inevitably keep asking questions?
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    56 min
  • A Church That Listens with Sebastian Gomes

    A Church That Listens with Sebastian Gomes
    Jun 1 2026
    QUICK SUMMARY What does it actually mean for a 2,000-year-old institution to learn how to listen? In this season premiere of Religion to Reality, multimedia journalist and America Magazine podcast director Sebastian Gomes joins hosts Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich to unpack the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis's sweeping effort to transform the Catholic Church into a culture of genuine listening. If you've ever wondered whether the Church is really changing, or felt frustrated that it isn't changing fast enough, this conversation will challenge and encourage you. IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE "The message is not getting through, so maybe we should listen instead." Sebastian traces Pope Francis's pivotal shift from speaking to listening, and why it took 12 years of declining church membership to get there. (16:00)Synodality is not a program, it's a culture. Sebastian explains why treating the synodal process like a church initiative is the most common misunderstanding people have, and what it actually means to change how an institution listens. (22:45)What people finally said when they felt safe. From women's voices to LGBT experiences to stories of poverty and marginalization, Sebastian describes the dramatic moments inside the synod hall when people said what they'd never felt free to say before. (30:30)The clergy problem. The most common frustration Sebastian hears from parishioners isn't about Rome, it's about their own pastor. He reflects honestly on why priests and bishops are often the biggest obstacle, and what to do about it. (25:00)Synodality is coming whether you like it or not. Using the analogy of the early internet, Sebastian makes the case that synodal culture will eventually shape every debate in the Church, from liturgy to parish closings to outreach to young people. (38:30)The Gen Z Catholic revival and why it's complicated. Hundreds of new converts entered the Church this Easter, making national news. Sebastian offers a nuanced take: it's real, it's notable, and it doesn't mean what you might think it means. (51:45)You can't become synodal by just reading about it. Sebastian reflects on the personal and spiritual dimensions of synodality, and why you actually have to do it in community before it can transform your prayer life. (46:30) ABOUT SEBASTIAN GOMES Sebastian Gomes is a multimedia journalist and the director of podcast and video production at America Magazine, the Jesuit Review. He holds a BA and MA in theology and history from St. John's University in Minnesota. His media career began in 2012 at Salt + Light Catholic Media in Toronto, where he produced award-winning documentaries, including The Francis Effect and The Francis Impact. In 2022, he wrote and directed People of God, America's first feature documentary on the state of parish life across the United States. Sebastian led America's coverage of the 2023–24 Rome gatherings of the Synod on Synodality and the 2025 papal election of Pope Leo XIV. He oversees America's weekly podcast portfolio, including Jesuitical, Inside the Vatican, and The Spiritual Life with Father James Martin. He is based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and contributes regularly to americamagazine.org. MEMORABLE QUOTE "Synodality is not a program. It's a culture. And resistance to synodality is also, in some ways, a resistance to the Holy Spirit — a lack of faith that God is actually present in our midst when we're together as a community." — Sebastian G... Chapters (00:07:00) - Fr. John explains why Sebastian was invited on: the synodal process and listening without agenda(00:09:00) - ebastian's origin story: accidentally falling into media, his first Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2012 under Pope Benedict(00:13:00) - Synodality is not a light switch, it's a process — why people are already "tired of the word"(00:17:00) - Sebastian's firsthand role covering the 2023 & 2024 Rome synod gatherings from the outside(00:23:00) - Synodality is a culture, not a program — the most significant insight(00:34:00) - Fr. John raises the conservative/progressive skew criticism of listening sessions(00:43:00) - Advice for interfaith dialogue: ecumenism was "sneakily important" at the synod; go in to listen, not to correct(00:51:00) - The wave of Easter converts: how should cradle Catholics listen to new members?(00:52:00) - The Gen Z Catholic revival is real but overstated — thousands still leaving for every 200 who arrive
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    58 min
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