This week, Jake and Bob welcome Dr. Shane Owens to explore how desire, the heart, and theology work together for our good, through the lens of St. Augustine's Confessions. Dr. Owens breaks down St. Augustine's healing journey and how by understanding the desires motivating our actions, we are led into deeper communion with God. They also discuss how memories shape our view of reality, why we distrust a good God, and what the Scriptures teach us about our identity.

Key Points:

• Our desires ultimately point us towards God
• Sin is a result of misdirecting our desires towards something that is not God. It is an attempt to counterfeit the beautiful
• Memory is dynamic, not static, and returning to our heart to examine our memories plays an important role in forming our identity and facilitating healing.
• St. Augustine's willingness to be vulnerable in his "Confessions" is a model for vulnerability and understanding our desires.
• Scripture helps us recognize true beauty and reveals our true identity
• There will always be a tension between our desires and satisfying those desires. Healing and maturation occurs when we listen to our desires but wait for true fulfillment in God rather than settling for counterfeits.

Resources:

• Return to the Heart: The Biblical Spirituality of St. Augustine's Confessions by Dr. Shane Owens
• Dr. Owen's Instagram
• Bible Across America
• "Vice As Counterfeit Beauty" chart from Dr. Owens' book (see our website here)
• Dr. Owens on the Abiding Together Podcast

Connect with Restore the Glory:

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• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:56 St. Augustine's Healing Journey

13:52 Connecting Desire, the Heart, and Theology

26:02 Every Sin is Counterfeit Beauty

35:05 Why We Distrust A Good God

43:06 Allowing Desire to Guide Even When We Aren't Satisfied

48:05 Memory Shapes How We Perceive Reality

58:05 Restoring the Glory Through Childlike Trust

This week, Jake and Bob begin a two part series on desire and how it relates to sin. They discuss how sin arises from a desire for good and how our woundedness shapes these patterns of sin. Rather than suppressing our desires, Jake and Bob reflect on the goodness of desire and the importance of rightly ordering it through prayer. Through personal stories and movie references, they end by walking you through practical ways to identify the holy desires beneath your struggles.

Key Points:

• Behind every disordered desire is a holy desire, an unmet need, an unhealed wound, and a hidden pattern of sin.
• Sin arises from a desire for the good
• Every time we experiencing longing, we are experiencing a desire for God
• To stop patterns of sin, we must first recognize the underlying desire
• Self reliance is the false belief that the satisfaction of our deepest desires is completely up to us.
• Desire is an essential element of the Christian life.
• God desires our wholehearted devotion and places desire on our hearts so we seek and love Him
• Movies, music, and stories can reveal and awaken our deepest desires. They show us what moves our hearts and what we deeply long for.

Resources:

• Unwanted: How Our Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing by Jay Stringer
• One Desire by Hillsong Worship

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:23 Sin Arises from a Desire for Good

00:11:32 Self-Reliance, Deadly Wounds, and the Anatomy of a Wound

00:16:52 We Cannot Escape Our Desire for God

00:20:29 The Integration of Virtue and Desire

00:22:56 The Battle of Desire

00:32:14 Awakening or Killing Right Desire

00:36:13 Can Movies Reactivate Desire?

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

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This week, Jake and Bob welcome Fr. Matthew Rolling to the show to discuss healing through the lens of Thomistic philosophy. The path to healing isn't a straight path and sometimes our experiences in life cloud our perception of reality. Fr. Matthew explains why philosophy helps us find truth and how it can redirect us when we become confused within our healing journeys. They also explore how sin affects healing, the role of our passions, and the importance of grace.

Key Points:

• Philosophy helps us find the truth about reality
• Not all questions can be answered by human reason alone
• The human person is a union of body and soul
• We should not let our experiences define our reality
• Our desires have the ability to lead us towards what is inherently good
• Grace perfects nature, it does not destroy it

Resources:

• The Glorious Freedom of the Children of God by Fr. Matthew Rolling (Available soon for purchase here)
• St. Gregory the Great Seminary
• Diocese of Lincoln
• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:04:09 The Importance of Philosophy in Healing

00:09:08 The Error of Experiences Defining Reality

00:15:44 Understanding the Human Person as Body and Soul

00:22:13 The Relationship Between Sin and Wounds

00:25:20 Passions, Emotions, and Apparent Goods

00:34:30 Trauma and the Healing Process

00:41:57 Dealing with Desire, Fear, Joy, and Sorrow

00:47:42 How Grace and Virtue Lead to Healing

00:57:01 Discerning Truth in All Things

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

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This week, Jake and Bob conclude their series on athletics by welcoming Fr. Burke Masters, the baseball priest, and Trevor Williams, the Washington Nationals pitcher, to the show! Together they discuss finding your identity in Christ when your job is about performing well, evangelizing as a professional athlete, and how sports can aid you in becoming a better Christian. Fr. Burke and Trevor also share how God led them to athletics, the story of how they met, and play a fun game with Jake and Bob at the end of the episode.

Key Points:

• Even when our jobs demand we perform well, our core identity is as beloved children of God, not in what we do or achieve.
• True humility is revealed in how we respond both to success and to failure, not just in our losses.
• Integrating faith and sports means living out Christian values and witness in every context, not separating religious life from professional or competitive arenas.
• Authentic evangelization often emerges through genuine relationships, presence, and consistency of character, more than through words alone.
• Practice, discipline, and perseverance in sports mirror the virtues needed in the spiritual life.
• The tension between ambition and surrender is navigated by directing all striving and success toward God’s glory rather than personal gain.
• Regular self-examination and reflection help transform both athletic and spiritual setbacks into opportunities for growth.
• Balancing vocations—such as career and family—requires intentional boundaries and prioritization of what truly matters.

Resources:

• Grand Slam for God (or on Amazon)

• Fr. Burke’s Website

• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:33 Trevor’s Family and Journey to Baseball

00:12:06 Fr. Burke’s Baseball Story and Journey to the Priesthood

00:20:18 Finding Identity in God Not Sports

00:26:38 How Fr. Burke and Trevor Met

00:33:52 Evangelization in Professional Sports

00:39:24 Balancing Baseball and Family Life

00:41:55 How Sports Help You Become a Better Christian

00:50:39 Not Relying Solely on Your Own Effort

00:56:25 Sports Teaching Us How to Lose

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

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This week, Jake and Bob continue their series on athletics, and welcome Bart Schuchts, a former D1 football player, to the podcast. Bart reflects on how athletics shaped his self-identity, beliefs, and relationships from childhood through his adult life. They also discuss sports culture, fear based coaching, and the fine line between healthy competition and idolizing sports. Ultimately, when approached with balance and intention, athletics can foster deep connection, personal growth, and spiritual insight that extends far beyond the game itself, enriching every aspect of life.

Key Points:

• Athletic achievement is often tied to receiving love, affirmation, and attention in families, especially when there are older siblings who excel in sports.
• Sports can become an idol when one's entire sense of self-worth and identity is defined by performance and recognition.
• Sports teaches "conditional love," when praise and acceptance are contingent on athletic success.
• A coach's coaching style can establish either a positive, formative atmosphere or contribute to wounding dynamics.
• The question "Am I lovable?" is often unconsciously brought to sports, and how one seeks to answer that can drive them to healthy mastery of athletics or unhealthy obsession.
• Healthy participation in sports fosters union and belonging. It also highlights both the best and worst ways we seek connection, love, and purpose.

Resources:

• Church on Fire (Bart's Website)
• Interview with Bart and Bobby Bowden
• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:08:43 Sports in Bart's Life

00:10:44 Sports as an Idol

00:18:55 Finding Our Worth in Sports

00:28:38 The Good and Bad of Sports Culture

00:32:03 Dion Sanders and Work Ethic

00:33:39 Finding the Four Identities of a Human in Sports

00:34:58 Son vs Orphan

00:44:32 Brother

00:52:44 Husband

00:55:31 Father

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

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This week, Jake and Bob begin a series on athletics, diving into the profound ways sports intersect with faith. Today, they are joined by Dr. Nicole Gabana Chiesa, a sports psychologist and former collegiate athlete. Together they explore the beauty of sports and how they can shape one's identity, foster virtue, and offer opportunities for healing that extend far beyond the playing field. However, athletics present many challenges beyond just physical injury. They also discuss the dangers of over-identifying with athletic success or failure, the impact of parental and societal expectations, and emphasize the importance of rooting one's identity in God's unconditional love rather than achievements.

Key Points:

• Femininity and masculinity can both find authentic expression through sports
• Healthy competition in athletics can foster discipline, humility, perseverance, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. Sports also offer an opportunity to practice and learn delayed gratification, sacrifice, and adherence to rules which are virtues that lead to human flourishing
• Wounds can arise from sports through idolatry, performance culture, unhealthy comparison, or losing sight of the bigger story beyond the game
• Sports rules do not restrict, but rather create the possibility of freedom and meaningful play, much like God's laws facilitate human flourishing
• The identity of athletes can become overly tied to performance and success, leading to struggles or loss of self-worth when results or careers end
• Integrating faith and spirituality into sports helps athletes anchor their identity beyond achievement, rooting it in being a beloved child of God
• The desire for perfection seen in sports reflects a deeper call toward holiness and striving for spiritual growth
• Coaches and mentors play a significant, often formative, role in shaping not just athletic skills, but confidence, character, and motivation
• Playfulness and joy in sports are glimpses of the freedom and delight intended for us by God, paralleling receptivity in the spiritual life

Resources:

• Pax Perform Website
• Dr. Nicole Gabana Chiesa's email: paxperform@gmail.com
• Gaudium et Spes
• On the Christian perspective on sport and the human person, from the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life
• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:05:49 Integrating Sports, Psychology, and Faith

00:08:00 Nicole's Faith and Experience with Sports

00:17:06 Femininity and Athletics

00:20:51 Identity and Comparison in Sports

00:27:53 When Competition Becomes Unhealthy

00:32:14 Virtues of Sports

00:38:02 Personal Experiences of Virtue in Sports and Coaches

00:47:59 Rules, Sacrifice, and Community in Sports

00:51:28 Wounds and Dangers in Sports

00:54:43 Performance Culture and Identity Loss

00:58:16 Sports as Formation and Healing

01:11:25 Sports Draw Us Closer to God

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

Never miss out on an episode by hitting the subscribe button right now! Help other people find the show and grow in holiness by sharing this podcast with them individually or on your social media. Thanks!

This week, Jake and Bob conclude their series on integrating faith with psychology. They welcome Beth Stoll, a therapist from St. Louis, to talk about how an encounter with God's love at a Healing the Whole Person retreat transformed her practice. She not only shares how suffering creates a greater capacity for empathy but also why therapists who have experienced deep suffering themselves are able to more deeply connect with clients. They also discuss why one must first live a life of faith before integrating faith in their practice, define the difference between praying with and praying for someone, and reflect on the challenges of trusting God rather than our own abilities.

Key Points:

• Personal suffering can deepen a therapist's ability to empathize and connect with clients
• One must live a life of faith in their personal life before one can integrate it into their practice
• As a therapist, it is important to remember Jesus is the one who ultimately heals
• Learning to receive and allowing God to work in and through us can be difficult for both therapists and clients
• Integration is about encounter with the Lord through the therapist or Him directly

Resources:

• Beth's Website

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:18 Beth's Journey Through Sorrow

05:58 The Impact of Suffering

11:42 How Prayer Shifted Beth's Practice

16:24 Jesus as the Primary Therapist

22:40 The Dynamics of Trust in Therapy

28:12 Praying for vs. Praying with Someone

34:57 Learning to Receive

40:42 Being the Presence of Christ

47:02 The Secret of Encounter and Integration

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast

• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod

• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

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This week, Jake and Bob continue their series on integrating faith with psychology and welcome Christopher Lafitte, a Catholic counselor based in Texas. Christopher shares his story of formation, from aspiring engineer to therapist, and about the deep encounter with Christ that shaped his journey. They discuss Christopher's unique approach to counseling, why loving one another is healing in itself, and how a therapists' own wounds can become blind spots in their ability to help clients. Throughout all of this, Christopher reflects on how nothing in our lives will make sense apart from the reality we are made for communion with God. So whenever we approach therapy or personal healing, we should always remember Jesus wants to heal us so we can be in relationship with Him.

Key Points:

• Our personal healing and ongoing transformation helps us to more effectively help others.
• Encountering God's love is the foundation for true healing. Psychological techniques build upon this foundation.
• Nothing in our lives will make sense apart from the reality that we are made for communion with the Lord. Whether we realize it or not all our deepest desires are unique expressions of how we are made to be in communion with Him.
• Healing often begins when we encounter profound safety and love. This atmosphere allows deep wounds to surface and be addressed
• Therapists' own healing, awareness of personal wounds, and openness to being transformed are crucial for effective therapy, as their blind spots can affect the client's healing.
• Sometimes the ongoing problems we experience in life, such as anxiety or depression, are rooted in deeper wounds or beliefs. Allowing God into the past experiences that led to the creation of a wound can help transform our current struggles.
• The ultimate goal of therapy is helping people grow in freedom to love and fulfil their vocation, not just to alleviate pain.
• Most healing is gradual and requires patience and trust in God's timing.
• God heals so we can be in relationship with Him.

Resources:

• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop: Healing Sexual Brokenness | October 23-24 2025 with Dr. Bob Schuchts, Jake Khym, and Christopher Lafitte
• We invite any clergy who are interested in meeting with Christopher to reach out to us here. We will connect with Christopher to see if he has any availability.
• San Damiano Ministries | Christopher is the Founder/Executive Director of San Damiano Ministries - a ministry dedicated to healing and forming leaders in the Church.

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

Never miss out on an episode by hitting the subscribe button right now! Help other people find the show and grow in holiness by sharing this podcast with them individually or on your social media. Thanks!