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The Real Reason Your Advice Falls Flat
I’ve learned this the hard way—again and again: It doesn’t matter how good your insight is, or how clear the path seems to you, if the other person isn’t ready to hear it. It won’t go anywhere.
Sometimes this desire to do more only reveals how much of our spiritual life has become driven by pressure, fear, or the need to maintain an image of ourselves. We are no longer simply praying. We are managing.
My 4-Year-Old Suddenly Stopped Sleeping Through the Night—Here’s What We Learned
If your faith has become burdensome or performative, the answer is probably not to do more. In fact, doing more may be part of what is keeping you stuck.
Sometimes this desire to do more only reveals how much of our spiritual life has become driven by pressure, fear, or the need to maintain an image of ourselves. We are no longer simply praying. We are managing.
Is Your Spiritual Life Performance-Based? Three Ways to Figure out the Answer and One Powerful Solution
If your faith has become burdensome or performative, the answer is probably not to do more. In fact, doing more may be part of what is keeping you stuck.
Sometimes this desire to do more only reveals how much of our spiritual life has become driven by pressure, fear, or the need to maintain an image of ourselves. We are no longer simply praying. We are managing.
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A Way Forward for Perfectionists
Well, there are many challenges that come from being a perfectionist. Not just one! Here are the three biggest, at least…
When I Feel Frozen
Saying something hard but true is a people pleasers worst nightmare. There’s a particular kind of fear I know well—the fear that if I speak…
The Two Types of Narcissism
When you hear the word “narcissism,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many people, it’s an image of someone…
Pope Leo XIV: What His Name Choice Reveals About His Vision for the Church
White smoke has risen from the Sistine Chapel chimney, and the 267th pontiff has been elected. This choice brings historical…
Learning to Mother with Mary
If I could name one constant in my motherhood journey, it would be fear. I wish this wasn’t true, but it is…
Why the Force Still Moves Us
Star Wars illustrates three deep truths about what it means to be human—truths that we at the CatholicPsych Institute try to live out…
Mental Health, and the Gift of Becoming
Work, Mental Health, and the Gift of Becoming: Lessons from St. John Paul II on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker “Daddy, why do you have to go to work?” For about a week or so, my daughter Maggie stopped me just before I left for work and looked up at me with her...
The Mindful Catholic
Written by Dr. Peter Kreeft, this foreward comes from Dr. Greg's book, "The Mindful Catholic" “Greg Bottaro was a student of mine at Boston College. He was a very good student, but even very good students seldom write very good books. He did.” It is a good book not...
Let Christmas Correct Aquinas
Every Christmas, our attention turns to the manger scene and the profound mystery of the Incarnation: the eternal Son of God entering the world through the womb of the Virgin Mary. In meditating on this event, it is striking to note how Mary gave Jesus at least half...
The Secret of Real Self-Compassion – Episode 204
Transcript Hello and welcome to The Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today, I’m going to share a secret with you — the secret for self-compassion. Now, this might sound fluffy or easy, something you can just roll past, but wait a minute....
The Secret Opportunity Gender Confusion Gives Us – Episode 203
Transcript Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today I'm going to share with you another continuation of this little series we're doing on man and woman. Specifically, I'm sharing with you the next lecture from...
Complementarity Without The Competition: Why We Need Each Other – Episode 202
Transcript Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today we're going to carry on this theme over the last couple of episodes. I shared with you for our 200th episode a keynote that I delivered at the Franciscan...
Is Leadership of the Family a Man’s Job? with Special Guest Barbra Bottaro – Episode 201
Transcript Dr. Greg:Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Botarro. Today, I've got my favorite special guest ever. She's my wife, and we always get great reviews whenever she's on. I really should learn more from that and just have...
Being Human Episode 200: Keynote from Franciscan University
Transcript Hello and welcome to the Being Human podcast. This is episode number 200 and I have something to share with you today. I wasn't sure if I was going to have permission to share today's episode, but I did just get permission just in time to release this...
3 Spiritual Diseases Plaguing Our Personhood – Episode 199
Transcript Dr. Greg:Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today I've got a special guest from across the world. We have Alex Havard, who's coming from Moscow. We're on a Zoom call on a call across the world, and so...
Overwhelmed by Shame
Life isn't always so clean cut. Sometimes you are thrown a curveball and wondering how you're meant to make it through. With God, there is always hope. “Will they ask me about my baby's dad?” When I was pregnant, I would put on a fake wedding band when I'd go in...
A Bishop’s Raw Story of Anxiety and Depression: Why ‘Try Harder’ Doesn’t Work – Episode 198
Transcript Dr. Greg:Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today I've got an awesome, super special, blessed conversation to share with you. Such a blessing to be able to speak with Bishop Conley. He is just an amazing...
Correcting Aquinas: JP2’s Truth Bomb on Gender and Human Dignity – Episode 197
Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today is a really special day. This is being released on the Feast of St. John Paul II. So, happy Feast Day St. John Paul II. Pray for us. AI-Generated transcript of this episode: I'm...
The Single Most Important Thing to Live a Holy Life – Episode 196
Transcript Dr. Greg:Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today I have a co-host with me for this episode, Fr. Louis Merosne. He is a being human friend and favorite. Today, actually, we're doing something a little...
Better Than Global Outreach? An Interview with CPMAP Graduate Jack Beers – Episode 194
Dr. Greg:Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today I've got an amazing guest, another graduate from the CPMAP certification. And the day this episode is getting released, it's a really special day because today is...
From Missionary to Mentor: An Interview with CPMAP Graduate Mary Sutarik – Episode 193
Transcript Dr. Greg:Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and we are continuing our series of insider baseball here. A look at the Catholic Psych CPMAP certification through the lens of graduates, students who have...
From Missionary to Mentor: An Interview with CPMAP Graduate Mary Sutarik – Episode 192
Transcript Dr. Greg: Hello and welcome to the Being Human Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Greg Bottaro, and today I have another amazing guest, a graduate from the CPMAP Certification Program. We're doing this little series of graduates in preparation for...
Are You Dreaming? (3 Tips to Help You Start)
Dreaming big is what God expects of us! I'm sharing 3 tips for dreaming if it's been a while and you don't know where to start. “If you don’t use it, you lose it” This clichéd phrase has commonly been used to explain how, if you don’t exercise the physical...
Catholic Psychology: Combining Easter and Trauma
Catholic Psychology recognizes the Resurrection of Christ as a reason to hope while we suffer our own traumas. The Resurrection of Christ is our source of hope Integrating the field of psychology into a Catholic framework is not an easy task when you consider that...
Healing After Trauma: Q&A with Maura Preszler
Maura Preszler, author and non-profit leader, promotes healing after trauma and the idea that spiritual and mental health are connected. Mental illness does not mean you don't pray enough On the CatholicPsych Facebook page, I once shared a post that ended up...
God Created Us to Need Each Other
Modern culture seems to no longer see why men and women need each other, especially when it comes to the structure of a family. God designed the family so that both men and women's contributions are needed. You probably already know by now that I have a weekly podcast...
Emotional Pornography
There are two types of pornography: physical and emotional. Let's talk about what emotional pornography is and why it tends to target and hurt women. Sex sells Marketing in our culture is almost exclusively based on sex. We have known this for years, and although we...