FR. JOHN RICCARDO, missionary and ACTS XXIX Executive Director. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1996. In 2019, after 23 years in parish ministry, he founded Acts XXIX to proclaim the gospel in an attractive and compelling way and to equip clergy and lay leaders for the age in which God has chosen us to live. Fr. John is a graduate of the University of Michigan, the Gregorian University, and the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.
Fr. John Riccardo has hosted 41 Episodes.
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Episode 32: Minds and Bodies and What to Do About Them
August 30th, 2023 | 5 mins 38 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
Paul urges us to present our bodies as “a living sacrifice.”
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Episode 31: Of Course
August 23rd, 2023 | 5 mins 24 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
The simple reality, Paul writes, is that God’s ways are not our ways. Our puny, finite minds simply cannot understand what He is about, the plan He has, and how it is all going to be fulfilled. He is God and we are dust and ashes
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Episode 30: Great (Un)Expectations
August 16th, 2023 | 6 mins 50 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
The problem was that since the Jewish people were part of the original human project it turns out they were in “the ditch” too, hopelessly bound by Sin and Death. The “tow truck” also needed to be rescued. In such a hopeless predicament, how could humanity ever be rescued?
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Episode 29: God of Abraham, Forgive
August 9th, 2023 | 5 mins 56 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
Over and over in these chapters Paul reminds the Church in Rome that God has not and will not ever reject His promise to the Israelites.
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Episode 28: The One We Can Trust
August 2nd, 2023 | 5 mins 53 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
In the political landscape, well, does anyone really trust our leaders – no matter their party affiliation?
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Episode 27: Who's In Charge Around Here?
July 26th, 2023 | 9 mins
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
For those who believe in God, however, and not just a god, but the God who has revealed Himself to be Love, then suffering, pain, injustice and the rest can become very problematic indeed. Nobody asks more questions of God about suffering than Scripture.
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Episode 26: The Gift of Weakness
July 19th, 2023 | 4 mins 55 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
Personally, I hate the feeling of being weak, in any way. Yet, the Holy Spirit seems to be telling us through Paul that we need weakness.
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Episode 25: As Nothing?
July 12th, 2023 | 6 mins 42 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
Paul reminds us of a most important truth. There, he teaches us that while suffering is never a good, it can be used for good things.
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Episode 24: Shedding What is a Hindrance
July 5th, 2023 | 4 mins 37 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
As I prayed with this, I was immediately struck by how relevant that little detail is for so many of us. How tempted I am to think that many of the things that other people, or other ministries, need I must also need.
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Episode 23: The Real World
June 28th, 2023 | 7 mins 43 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
Americans don’t usually like bad news. Oh, to be sure, we seem to enjoy reading other people’s “dirty laundry,” as an 80’s song once put it. But confronting the reality of demons who hate and are seeking to degrade, enslave and destroy us…? Uh, no thanks.
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Episode 19: ALL
May 31st, 2023 | 4 mins 57 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
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Episode 18: The Experience of Faith
May 24th, 2023 | 5 mins 31 secs
acts xxix, actsxxix, encouragement, faith, fr. john riccardo, hope, inspiration, mission, prayer, reflections, weekly
Jesus has never said that our life should be a desert journey. If we understand the Christian life in this way, it should not surprise us that many turn their backs on the Church and Christianity and just go on to other traditions that promise peace, joy, and a full life. This is a reaction, not against Christianity, but against a type of Christianity that has lost its authenticity.