The Verso l’Alto Podcast

The Feminine Genius

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.

Moral Relativism

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.

Prodigal Son

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.

Loving the Sinner

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.

040 Come and See

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!

039 Lessons Learned in College

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.

038 Learning from the Early Church

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.

037 Living Easter

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.

036 Poverty During Holy Week

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.

035 We Need the Poor

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.