Chris Stefanick Catholic Show

John Foppe was born without arms — and he wouldn't have it any other way.

In this powerful episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, John shares how a childhood of trauma, tough love, and feeling different led to a life-changing mission trip to Haiti, a career in corporate motivation under Zig Ziglar, and the founding of Friends of the Forgotten — an organization connecting adults with disabilities to institutionalized children in the developing world.

John opened a can of Coke with his feet right in front of me. He eats salads with a fork. He's been traveling internationally by himself for 35 years. As he says, "there are no unsolvable problems."

We go deep on embracing your cross, the lies that hold us back, the theology of presence, contemplative prayer, and why suffering isn't just redemptive—it's worship.

This is the truth I think every single one of us needs to hear: your pain is not an accident. It's a feature. It's your connection to the crucified Christ.

I asked John: if I could snap my fingers and give you arms, would you take them? His answer floored me.

If you've ever felt disqualified, not enough, or like your pain has no purpose—this conversation will change that.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 Intro
3:06 "There are no unsolvable problems."
9:46 A mission trip to Haiti triggers a painful flashback.
11:44 A little boy in Mother Teresa's hospital changes everything.
13:38 He wasn't asking to be picked up — he was hugging me.
24:00 Suffering isn't just redemptive — it's worship.
27:01 Don't follow your passion. Take up God's mission.
40:43 "Would you take the arms?" John's answer is immediate.

Check out Friends of the Forgotten: https://www.friendsforgotten.org/
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Sign up for The Daily Anchor to get Chris Stefanick's bite-sized reflections every morning: https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP
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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
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Join Chris Stefanick on pilgrimage: https://reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Daily Inspiration
(00:01:30) - A Paralyzed Man's Challenge to His Disability
(00:03:37) - When Did You First Realize That You're Different?
(00:04:38) - One of the Disabilities of the World
(00:06:21) - Missionaries of Joy
(00:07:45) - Deliver Me From the Cross
(00:14:44) - Inspiring speakers: Zig Ziglar
(00:16:05) - In the Elevator With a High School Student
(00:22:41) - John Fappe on His Suffering
(00:26:15) - Chris Gantz on Friends of the Forgotten
(00:31:15) - John on The Theology of Presence
(00:35:53) - Wonders of the World
(00:39:48) - Pilgrims Praying the Jesus Prayer
(00:43:16) - Pray for Those Who Are Lonely

There's an old Greek storytelling trick called Deus ex machina—"God from the machine."

When the playwright wrote his characters into a corner he couldn't get them out of, he'd just lower a god onto the stage on a crane, and boom—everything's fixed. Aristotle called it lazy writing.

But here's the thing: the Bible is full of Deus ex machina moments. Not because God is a bad writer—but because we tend to write ourselves into corners we can't get out of.

That's exactly what was happening on the road to Emmaus. A couple (a lot of theologians think it was a married couple—Cleopas and his wife Mary) is walking home, devastated. They'd given up time, income, maybe everything, to follow Jesus. And now He was dead. Game over. They're walking home feeling like fools, talking and talking, their problem-solving brains spinning in circles.

And right in the middle of that mess, the solution drops down and starts walking with them!

The first people Jesus appeared to in the Gospel of Luke after the Resurrection weren't the apostles or the official leadership. It was a husband and wife in their lowest moment, unsure what to do with their lives.

He loves you in that moment.

Look, your brain is a beautiful problem-solving supercomputer. God gave it to you, so use it. But sometimes the most practical thing you can do in a crisis is stop trying to figure it out, get on your knees, and pray: Lord, I want the mind of Christ. Give me Your eyes to see this. Come, Lord Jesus.

David slew Goliath with a sling and five smooth stones. Sometimes the biggest problems get knocked out by the simplest of solutions.

Whatever you're carrying—invite Him in.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. When you face a problem or crisis, what's your default move—do you tend to think your way out of it, or do you bring it to the Lord first? Why?

2. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said, "We had hoped he was the one"—past tense. Have you ever experienced a moment when your hope in God felt like past tense? What did that feel like?

3. Chris suggests that Jesus often appears in our "low moments" rather than our high ones. Where in your life right now might Jesus be walking beside you that you haven't recognized yet?

4. The couple invited Jesus into their home. What would it look like, practically, to invite Jesus deeper into your home this week—your conversations, your routines, your relationships?

5. Is there a specific situation in your life where you need to stop trying to figure it out and pray instead? What's one concrete way you can "invite Him in" this week (e.g., a Rosary, a holy hour, prayer with your spouse)?

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Watch the episode on Divine Mercy with Fr. Chris Alar: https://youtu.be/81-skhKl0-w
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Sign up for the Daily Anchor for free daily reflections from Chris Stefanick in your inbox:
https://bit.ly/4tQCXtP
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Join the mission to spread the joy of the Gospel! Become a Missionary of Joy to support this free content: https://bit.ly/4nTHbN0
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Join Chris Stefanick on pilgrimage: https://www.reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Deus Ex Machina
(00:02:00) - The Road to Emmaus
(00:02:21) - The Marriage of Cleopas and Martha

Most people don’t even know men can have eating disorders.

In this powerful episode of The Chris Stefanick Show, I sit down with former college football player Patrick Devenny, who opens up about a hidden battle that nearly destroyed his life.

From chasing NFL dreams to spiraling into obsession with food, fitness, and control, Patrick shares how what looked like “discipline” on the outside was actually deep pain, shame, and addiction on the inside.

We talk about:

-Why eating disorders in men go unnoticed
-How fitness culture can mask serious struggles
-The role of identity, loss, and control in addiction
-The turning point that changed everything
-How Jesus, community, and truth led him toward healing

If you’ve ever struggled with body image, shame, or feeling trapped in your own mind—this episode is for you.

Jesus came for the broken. And healing starts when we stop hiding.

Highlights:
0:00 Intro
3:40 Can men have eating disorders?
5:10 Patrick’s football journey & identity
9:30 Losing everything—and hitting rock bottom
12:45 Can Jesus actually heal something like this?
17:50 The hidden world of male eating disorders
22:00 When “discipline” becomes obsession
27:30 The breaking point
31:00 The moment everything changed
34:00 Finding identity beyond performance
38:30 Practical steps toward healing
46:00 Why men must speak up

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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
........
Join Chris Stefanick on pilgrimage: https://www.reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Fooled by Eating Disorders
(00:01:30) - Real Life Catholic: Talking About Eating Disorders
(00:04:06) - Adam Levine on His Conversion
(00:09:43) - Marriage of the Immaculate Conception
(00:11:13) - Mission: Living Joy
(00:12:36) - How Jesus Helped Me With My Eating Disorder
(00:17:48) - Tyler on His Slide Into An Eating Disorder
(00:24:32) - Ex-Football Star on His Eating Disorders
(00:30:41) - An Eating Disorder Coach's Message
(00:32:59) - Mental Health for Male Athletes
(00:35:32) - Former NFL Player on The Brain Injuries
(00:40:27) - What's The Biggest Challenge in Your Faith Life?
(00:45:01) - Come out of the Shame: Male Suicides
(00:48:29) - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(00:52:56) - CBT For Recovering From Addiction
(00:57:01) - Prayer for Eating Disorders

My father-in-law was just baptized. At 85 years old.
 
Watch this week's reflection to hear the whole story—and why it matters for you right now.
 
To watch a lifetime of questions, of searching, and of sin washed away in an instant? That is how powerful the love and mercy of God is.
 
And that's what Divine Mercy Sunday is all about.

Jesus told Saint Faustina that his mercy is like an ocean — and our trust is the bucket. The bigger the bucket, the more mercy we can receive. The only thing that limits God's mercy isn't the size of your sin. It's the size of your trust.
 
I'm recording this from Hawaii, where my family is on a pilgrimage to beauty. My kids got to visit Kalaupapa — the remote peninsula on Molokai where people with leprosy were exiled in the 1800s. It was a place of total anarchy and misery.
 
And guess who walked into the middle of it? The Catholic Church.
 
Father Damien came from halfway around the world, and he didn't leave. He stayed. He held people's hands while they died. He built churches. He cut holes in the floor so the sick could stay at Mass without having to leave. He crawled under the building himself to clean it all out. And eventually, he contracted leprosy too.
 
That's what divine mercy looks like when it has hands and feet.
 
We're not just supposed to receive mercy. We're supposed to give it away. People are messy. Life is messy. But mercy says, "I see the mess, and I'm not running from it. I'm stepping right into it—for you."
 
Jesus, we trust in you.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Chris's father-in-law was baptized at 85 after a lifetime of searching. Is there someone in your life you've been praying for who seems "too far gone"? How does this story challenge that assumption?

2. Jesus told Saint Faustina that his mercy is like an ocean and our trust is the bucket. What makes it hard for you to trust in God's mercy—and what would it look like to "bring a bigger bucket"?

3. Father Damien didn't just serve the lepers from a distance—he lived among them and eventually became one of them. Where is God asking you to step into someone else's mess instead of keeping a comfortable distance?

4. Joseph Dutton was a broken man—a Civil War veteran, an alcoholic, divorced—and he gave his brokenness to God on Molokai. Have you ever felt disqualified from serving God because of your own failures? How does Dutton's story speak to that?

5. Chris says we're not just supposed to receive mercy but imitate it. What is one concrete way you can be an instrument of God's mercy to someone in your life this week?

Interested in a pilgrimage to Kalaupapa in Molokai, Hawaii? Fill out this form: https://bit.ly/4ck9zEj
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Watch the episode on Divine Mercy with Fr. Chris Alar: https://youtu.be/81-skhKl0-w
-----
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
-----
Join Chris Stefanick on pilgrimage: https://www.reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Pilgrimage to Beauty
(00:01:46) - The Most Beautiful Place in the World
(00:08:04) - Mercy in the Gospel

I'm going to be honest with you—you might be a little frustrated after watching this. But only because you didn't know it sooner.

There is one day every year when Jesus promised that any Catholic who goes to confession and receives Holy Communion will receive the complete forgiveness of all sin and all punishment.

Not just forgiveness. Complete wiping of the slate. Like a second baptism.

That day is Divine Mercy Sunday—the Sunday after Easter. And in this episode of the Chris Stefanick Show, Fr. Chris Alar explains why this is quite possibly the most extraordinary grace available to us in the entire liturgical year.

Here's the part that blew my mind: most of us know about plenary indulgences. But to receive one, you need to meet four conditions—including having zero attachment to sin, even venial sin. St. Philip Neri once said that out of 1,200 people in a cathedral, only two received the plenary indulgence.

Divine Mercy Sunday's promise? Confession and Communion. That's it. No other conditions.

Fr. Alar explained why Jesus was emphatic about this being on the eighth day of the Easter octave. To the Jews, eight symbolized eternity—the day the groom comes for his bride. Jesus is coming for you. And he wants to find you spotless.

So here's what you do:
✅ Go to Confession sometime before Divine Mercy Sunday (even a week before counts)

✅ Receive Holy Communion at any Mass on that day

✅ Go back to your pew and pray: "Lord Jesus, you promised St. Faustina that the soul who goes to confession and receives Holy Communion on this day will receive the complete forgiveness of all sin and punishment. I have. Please give me this grace. Jesus, I trust in you."

That's it. That's the whole thing.

Remember—God's mercy is the ocean. Your trust is the bucket. Whatever feels hopeless in your life right now? It's a pebble tossed into that ocean. It's nothing.

Jesus, I trust in you.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 — Intro
2:05 — The ABCs of Divine Mercy (Ask, Be merciful, Completely trust)
5:10 — Trust is the vessel for all grace
7:17 — Jansenism and how it distorted our view of God
11:18 — Divine Mercy: God's love put into action
14:15 — The meaning of the eighth day
16:06 — The octave of Easter explained
19:01 — Divine Mercy Sunday as the eighth day
21:16 — The extraordinary promise: forgiveness of sin AND punishment
22:02 — The fulfillment of Yom Kippur
23:16 — John Paul II's death on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday
24:30 — What the two rays in the image symbolize
26:30 — Why this is greater than a plenary indulgence
29:30 — The 4 plenary indulgences any Catholic can do daily
31:00 — The 4 conditions for a plenary indulgence
34:17 — The extraordinary promise requires only confession and communion
36:04 — The simple prayer to claim the grace
38:44 — The nail and the hole analogy
41:01 — Closing prayer: Jesus, I trust in you

Understanding Divine Mercy by Fr. Chris Alar: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Divine-Mercy-Explaining-Faith/dp/1596145390
........
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
........
Join Chris Stefanick on pilgrimage: https://www.reallifecatholic.com/pilgrimages

Chapters

(00:00:00) - The Feast of Divine Mercy
(00:00:30) - Chris Stefanik
(00:01:17) - Father Chris Alar returns to the priesthood
(00:01:26) - Uncovering Divine Mercy
(00:06:30) - Catholics on Jansenism
(00:09:13) - Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy
(00:12:39) - Crucified Mercy
(00:16:40) - The Decameron: The Octave of Christmas
(00:20:02) - Divine Mercy Sunday
(00:24:22) - The Image of Divine Mercy
(00:26:27) - What is a Plenary Indulgence?
(00:29:49) - 4 Plenary Indulgences You Can Do Every Day
(00:32:11) - 4 Conditions of Attachment to Sin
(00:36:03) - Crucified Mercy Sunday
(00:39:05) - Confession in the Catholic Church
(00:41:01) - Prayer for the Year