Searching for More
by Catholic Diocese of Arlington
Are you searching for more? The good news is that there is one who is searching for you—and he is waiting to be found. You've shared with us a growing desire and need for more opportunities both to be both informed and inspired in your faith journey. In responding to this need, we seek to not only educate on the topics you wonder about, struggle with, and question, but ultimately bring you closer to an intimate encounter and relationship with Jesus Christ. This series is dedicated to the patronage of our diocesan co-patron, St. Thomas More. Searching for More (SFM) offers 3-6 minutes of inspirational and catechetical content to enrich your faith and accompany you on your journey as a disciple of Christ. When you tune into an SFM episode on Instagram and YouTube, as well as anywhere you access your favorite podcasts, you'll hear from lay faithful and religious alike from throughout the Diocese — people trying to live in, but not of, the world. Have an idea for a topic to be discussed
Episodes
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God is a Father
We are God's children through baptism. No matter what we go through on the day-to-day, God gives us the grace necessary to do what is pleasing to him. We need only rely on him and ask for the grace to call him Father! Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 301) Search for More Episodes:...
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You Can Be a Saint
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes a saint as "someone who practiced heroic virtue and lives in fidelity to God's grace." (828) And in the simple words of Mother Teresa, saints are "only sinners who keep trying." They just knew how much God loved them. Can that not be us as well? Do…
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Humor & Humility
Should Catholics have a sense of humor? Why is it important and even necessary for us to find things funny and how does that relate to humility? It's no coincidence that humor and humility share a common route. When we are truly humble, we see the world in its proper proportion. So, when things...
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Saint Scholastica
Has a saint ever found you? A saint is somebody who finished the race - who fought the good fight - who persevered until the end. Those souls, now fully alive in heaven, are given to us by God as models. St. Scholastica's relationship with her brother Benedict models for us the beauty of…
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Delighting in God's Commands
Imagine if every person in the world obeyed the Ten Commandments. No lying. No stealing. No murder, cheating, or hate. Imagine the peace and joy that we would experience! God made us to be in union with him. How does the way that God asks us to live lead us closer to that love? How can we reframe...
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A Home for the Lord
Your home is where Jesus lives. Your home is a place where Jesus lives because you live there and he resides in you. But when we're home, how often are we reminded that he is with us? Think of ways you can make space for him. Can you mark the rooms in your home with sacramentals? Get your house...
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Love is a Verb
Is love, or the virtue of charity, really just a feeling? Can we just think nice thoughts about somebody and truly say that we love them? Scripture and tradition say otherwise. Love is active, not passive. Being charitable means doing things for those you love even when it costs you something.…
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Hope When It's Hard
How does hope keep us afloat even when things get tough? Or when it feels like we are enslaved to chronic sin? Hope sustains us because it is found in Jesus Christ. He became man to save us from our sin so that we might spend eternity with him. His grace is available to us especially in the...
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Put Faith
Especially in a season like Advent, it is good to sit with Mary. The Mother of God models our waiting for Jesus after her waiting. Think how often throughout those nine months she had to put faith in so many: the angel Gabriel. God the Father. Her husband Joseph. How can you put faith in God this...
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Bride of Christ
The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. What does this mean? This spousal love is in fact Jesus' longing to give himself to us through his Church. This love of Christ is reflected not only in the Church but also in our bodies as male and female. We…
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Real Freedom
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) As brought to light in Scripture, truth and freedom are not mutually exclusive. Truth is in fact the birthplace of freedom. When we direct our free will towards the service of the truth, it is then that we more free. The...
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Does God answer our prayers?
God knows the desires of our hearts. Whether we are interceding on behalf of a friend or praying for our vocation, we know that God always hears our prayers. He desires that we trust he will see it to fulfillment as he wills and in his time. So have faith! God knows what we long for and hears us...
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Undivided Attention
Catholics are known for their pro-life beliefs. Have you ever considered how giving somebody your undivided attention supports our belief in the dignity of every human person? We have countless engagements with fellow souls every day. How often are we tuning them out for the sake of something…
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Why Walk Humbly?
"What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) Bishop Burbidge explains how this verse came to be his priestly, and later his episcopal motto; what "walking humbly" means for him and how it has made a difference in his…
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The Meaning of Sunday
Are we making Sundays what they can and should be? Are we experiencing Sunday the way that God wants and calls us to live? In this episode of Searching For More, we reflect on the kinds of rest we should embrace as Christians, and in a particular way on Sunday—the Lord's Day—instituted from the...
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What Sets Humanity Apart
What makes something alive? How has God created humans different than other living things? In this episode of Searching For More, we consider the specific characteristics of humans that set us apart from the rest of creation. God made human beings unique and unrepeatable from the rest of creation...
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Striving for Heaven
God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise. We are here on this Earth for these reasons, so that one day we might get to spend eternity with Him. What is distracting you from the goal of heaven? How can we focus our attention on the things that are…
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Made for Mission
Who we think we want to be, who the world wants us to be, and who God wants us to be may not be one in the same. We were created for so much more than what we "do" — we were made to *be* fully ourselves. We were made for mission. So if we desire to lead a deeply fulfilling life, the Lord invites…
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Can My Computer Know Me?
Can artificial intelligence truly "know"? Can AI replace human knowledge? Do computers have memory like humans do? What does it take to truly know someone? Innovations in technology lead us to ask questions such as these, which bring us face-to-face with our Creator. And as Christians, it leads…
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The Courage of Motherhood
Saying yes to God is at the heart of every Christian prayer: to be wholly his, because he is wholly ours. To answer the call to motherhood is one of the most beautiful and courageous ways of saying yes to God in this way. The heart of Mary, our Blessed Mother, was full of grace. It was this grace...
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Our Lady of Grace
Grace is a free gift, given by the Father out of love for us. And when we pray to Mary, we pray to the model recipient of God's grace. God made her full of grace and free from any stain of sin so that she could be fully united and present to Him in this life and the next. Pray for her…
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The Key to True Friendship
"But I have called you friends..." - Jesus Christ What is true friendship? How to we unlock the treasure therein? Christianity and many philosophers have taught us over time the key to true friendship — a mutual sharing of our hearts and minds. A friendship with the Lord, first and foremost, is...
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How Suffering Heals Us
"If you really want to love Jesus, first learn to suffer, because suffering teaches you to love." - St. Gemma Galgani How do we make sense of our suffering? Despite the pain and hurt we experience in our humanity, Jesus has great plans of healing for us. We make sense of our suffering by…
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How Sin Hurts Us
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." - Saint Pope John Paul II How does sin chain us and take away the freedom that God freely gives us and wants for us to live in? Ask yourself: what are the ways I feel held back first and foremost from my...
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Can Catholics Have Soul Mates?
How does God give us the opportunity to find and choose our spouse? By his grace, God accounts for our free will. But we must always cooperate with that grace in prayerfully discerning our spouse — the one we freely choose to become one with through marriage. References: Catechism of the Catholic...
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Man's Desire for More
We've been created for much more than we realize. As we enter the season of Lent, it is good to ask ourselves: Where am I attaching to or finding contentment that is not a share in God's own happiness? When are we settling? Ask God to reveal those times and places and pray for his grace to search...
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Our Most Important Relationship
Who is the most important person in your life? For Mary, it's Jesus — but it wasn't always. In this pilot episode of Searching for More, hear her story of how she came to love the Lord and why she continues to put him first before all other relationships. Come along, in this new adventure as we...
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Trailer | Searching for More
In this trailer episode, you will hear the vision behind this revamped series. Catholics need to know their faith. This podcast is an attempt to address that need. Stay tuned for the upcoming episodes! Have an idea for a topic to be discussed on the podcast? Please email your idea to...
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The Attack on Ukraine: Get the Inside Story on the Crisis, What it Means for People of Faith, and What You Can Do
Join us to hear from Mr. Robert McConnell, Co-founder of the U.S. Ukraine Foundation. In 1991, amid warnings that if Ukraine tried to break from the Soviet Union there would be civil war and bloodshed, Ukraine's independence was peaceful and supported by 92% of the people of Ukraine. Now, thirty...
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What is Real Love
You're listening to "Searching for More," a podcast of the Diocese of Arlington. Hear Father Dufresne talk about, maybe the most important issue we could discuss – love, what "real" love is in light of Church teaching and how to let it flourish. Today's host is Billy Atwell, Chief Communications...
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March for Life 2022: "Equality Begins in the Womb"
Hear Jeanne Mancini preview this year's March for Life, themed "Equality Begins in the Womb," and talk about the importance of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. Today's host is Billy Atwell, Chief Communications Officer for the Catholic...
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"Turn Outward": Evangelism in a Post-Pandemic World
Hear Tony Brandt and Chris Stewart, co-founders of Casting Nets Ministries, talk about how the pandemic has opened our hearts to truth and the call we each have to spread the Gospel of Christ. Today's host is Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. Let's...
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Experience the Birthplace of Christ: Then and Now
Hear Father Will Nyce, parochial vicar at St. Philip Catholic Church in Falls Church, paint a picture of the Holy Land and offer clues present day Bethlehem holds for what Mary and Joseph's experience must have been like. Today's host is Billy Atwell, Chief Communications Officer for the Catholic...
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Longing for Peace this Advent? What Adoration Is and How and Why to Do It. (Tips for Beginners!)
Are you longing for peace this Advent? Stay with us to hear Father Bjorn Lundberg, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Winchester, talk about what Adoration is and why to go as he offers us a simple how to "do" Adoration. Today's host is Billy Atwell, Chief Communications Officer…
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Pursuing Adoption: Transactional vs. Ethical Adoption and What it Means for You
November is National Adoption Month. Keep listening as we talk with Meaghan Lane, Program Director for Pregnancy and Adoption Support services at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, about how best to pursue adoption and what "ethical adoption" is and looks like. Today's host is Amber...
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Parental Authority and Families Under Fire- The Case for the Domestic Church
Do you think parental authority is under attack in our culture? How is this impacting the role of the family in society? Join us to hear from Soren and Ever Johnson, Founders of Trinity House Community, as they discuss parental authority and the family under fire. Today's host is Billy Atwell,...
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Do Catholics Have a Responsibility to Vote?
With the November election only days away, join us to hear from Jeff Caruso, Executive Director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, on the responsibility we have to vote and how to prepare to do so. Today's host is Billy Atwell, Chief Communications Officer at the Catholic Diocese of Arlington.
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Out of Afghanistan: The Church Helps Refugees
You're listening to "Searching for More," a podcast of the Diocese of Arlington. Today we sit down Stephen Carattini, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington and Hekmatullah Latifi, Senior Employment Specialist and Cultural Liaison for Catholic Charities as they talk...
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Invisible Losses from the Pandemic: Processing and Healing
Today we sit down with Dr. Michael Horne, Director of Clinical Services for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, as he talks about invisible losses from the pandemic. Hear Dr. Horne talk about the importance of processing these losses if we want to move forward and heal. Today's host…
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Transgender and Gender Identity: Risks and Truth
Today we're talking about transgenderism and gender identity with Mary Hasson, Kate O'Beirne Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Hear Mary explain the risks and truth related to gender identity with host Billy Atwell, Chief Communications Officer, Catholic Diocese of Arlington. Let's...
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Navigating Personal Style as Women of Faith: Where is the Balance, and What's the Point?
Today we sit down with Nicole Caruso, stylist and author, as she candidly addresses the questions Catholic women ask as they attempt to find a healthy, balanced approach to personal style. Hear Nicole talk about how you present yourself to the world as a tool of your vocation with today's host...
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Conversion and Discovery: God's Will for Our Lives
Today we're talking about conversion and discovering God's will for our lives with Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations for the Diocese of Arlington.
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A Franciscan Friar Builds a Multi-Million Dollar Skyscraper in NYC, Helps Cancer Patients and the Poor
On this episode, Father John O'Connor, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Triangle, Va., talks about what it means to be Franciscan and his experience working with some of New York's real estate elite to build a 63 story skyscraper in Manhattan. Hear Father O'Connor talk about perseverance...
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During National Volunteer Month, Hear the Incredible Impact of Catholic Charities' 2,500 Active Volunteers During the Pandemic
You're listening to "Searching for More," a podcast of the Diocese of Arlington. On this episode, during National Volunteer Month, hear Debra Beard, Director of Volunteers for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, highlight the incredible work of Catholic Charities' more than 2,500…
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The Beauty of the Church and Draw Towards the Faith, in the Words of a Recent Convert
On this episode, Patrick Thompson, a parishioner at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington, Va., talks about his draw to the Catholic faith and his experience leading up to being received into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass four years ago. Hear Patrick talk about his daughter preparing for...
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Our Burial Will Be Canceled: The Message of Easter
On this episode, Father Keith O'Hare, Pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church in Alexandria, talks about his experience in the Dominican Republic and its message to us about Easter. Hear Father O'Hare talk about the meaning of Easter for each of us and invite everyone to experience the beauty of the...
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Learning from Our Lord's Foster Father, St. Joseph's Message to Us All
On this episode, Father Donald Fest, Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Alexandria, Va, shares his devotion to St. Joseph and offers us lessons on humbly trusting God. During this Year of St. Joseph, hear Father Fest lay out practical things we can learn from St. Joseph and ways to invoke…
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Habits and Holiness: Women Serving in Religious Life in the Modern Media Era
On this episode of Searching For More, Sister Emily Marsh and Sister Carly Paula Arcella of the Daughters of St. Paul discuss women religious life in the modern era and how to incorporate and utilize media in a positive way. Hear the Sisters talk about the role of women in the Church and their…
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Understanding Lent and Experiencing God's Love and Mercy
On this episode, Father Bjorn Lundberg, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Winchester, Va. talks about the meaning of Lent and how we turn back to Our Lord, particularly through the Sacrament of Confession. Hear Father Lundberg talk about God's overwhelming love and mercy as he...
About this show
Are you searching for more? The good news is that there is one who is searching for you—and he is waiting to be found. You've shared with us a growing desire and need for more opportunities both to be both informed and inspired in your faith journey. In responding to this need, we seek to not only educate on the topics you wonder about, struggle with, and question, but ultimately bring you closer to an intimate encounter and relationship with Jesus Christ. This series is dedicated to the patronage of our diocesan co-patron, St. Thomas More. Searching for More (SFM) offers 3-6 minutes of inspirational and catechetical content to enrich your faith and accompany you on your journey as a disciple of Christ. When you tune into an SFM episode on Instagram and YouTube, as well as anywhere you access your favorite podcasts, you'll hear from lay faithful and religious alike from throughout the Diocese — people trying to live in, but not of, the world. Have an idea for a topic to be discussed
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Catholic Diocese of Arlington
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