The Catholic Coaching Podcast

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298. Why 85% of Catholic Kids Leave the Faith (And How to Stop It) with Dr. Greg Popcak May 27, 2026

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Why are 85% to 90% of Catholic kids walking away from the Church as adults—and what are the rare 15% of successful families doing differently?
In this episode of The Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt sits down with Catholic psychologist, author, and EWTN radio host Dr. Greg Popcak to look at the groundbreaking research surrounding the "Liturgy of Domestic Church Life."
If you've ever felt like your parenting is reduced to a "toolbox of manipulation techniques" to force external compliance, this conversation is the breath of fresh air you need. Dr. Greg breaks down how families can transition from behavior-focused parenting to a deeply relational, Trinitarian model that emphasizes warmth, mutual self-giving, and mentorship.
We cover:
👉 The shocking age when most kids actually lose their faith (hint: it's much earlier than college).
👉 Why behaviorism fails the Christian view of the human person.
👉 The "Three-Bucket Water Wheel" analogy of the Trinity applied to your household.
👉 How the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life acts as a powerful counter to clericalism.
👉 Practical ways to navigate modern parenting dilemmas like teenagers and social media.
Whether your children are toddlers, teenagers, or independent adults, this episode provides a life-changing framework to transform your home into a thriving domestic church.
📌 SHOW NOTES & LINKS:
• Read the original White Paper on the 12 Habits: https://lead.metanoiacatholic.com/leadership-guide-download-thank-you
• Download the Catholic HOM (Households on Mission) App: https://catholichom.com
• Connect with Dr. Greg Popcak: https://catholiccounselors.com
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297. How to Change Your Desires (A Catholic Guide to Habit Change) May 20, 2026

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Have you ever found yourself stuck in a loop—doing the exact things you want to stop doing, and failing to start the habits you actually want to build?
In this final episode of our Discernment Series on the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin dive into the practical neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and Catholic theology (hello, St. Thomas Aquinas!) behind how to actually change and redirect your desires.
Many of us feel stuck with our disordered attachments, but our minds are plastic and designed by God for virtue. Desire itself isn't the enemy; the secret is learning how to starve your lesser desires and intensify your desire for the highest goods.
In this episode, Erin puts Matt in the hot seat for a raw, vulnerable live coaching session on overcoming his own desire for the esteem of others, shifting from a "slave mentality" to resting fully in the safety and security of God the Father's house.
We break down a practical 6-step protocol to help you:
• Identify and detach from disordered desires.
• Interrupt the reward cycles and create distance from triggers (like social media or metrics).
• Focus attention, build a new identity, and take small actions that rewrite your neural pathways.
It’s time to stop fighting with willpower alone and start cooperating with God's grace to rewrite your habits from the inside out!

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296. How to Know if a Desire Is From God May 12, 2026

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How do you know if a desire is really from God?
In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin continue their discernment series by diving into one of the most important spiritual questions: how to discern your desires.
After exploring the idea that desires themselves are not bad, this episode walks through practical ways to evaluate where your desires are coming from, what emotional tone is fueling them, and whether they are leading you toward greater freedom and relationship with God.
In this episode, we discuss:
• How to discern whether a desire is from God
• The difference between holy longing and desperation
• Peaceful clarity vs anxious urgency
• Ordered zeal vs chaotic striving
• Why unexplored desires become dangerous
• How attachment distorts discernment
• The emotional “tone” behind desires
• Why God is not afraid of what you want
• How desires reveal deeper needs and longings
• The importance of surrender in discernment
• How to uncover the core desire beneath surface desires
Jesus asks, “What do you seek?”
That question is not meant to shame us. It is an invitation into relationship.
Many of us either suppress our desires or chase them impulsively. But true discernment means bringing those desires honestly before the Lord and allowing Him to reveal what is underneath them.
If you’ve ever struggled with confusion, emotional urgency, fear, attachment, or wondering whether your desires can be trusted, this episode will give you practical tools for discernment and deeper prayer.

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295. Can you Change Your Desires? May 06, 2026

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Can you actually change your desires?
In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin continue their discernment series by exploring the role of desire in the spiritual life.
Many Catholics feel suspicious of desire, as if wanting something automatically means it is selfish, disordered, or opposed to God’s will. But desire itself is not the enemy. Unexplored desire is often what keeps us stuck.
In this episode, we discuss:
* What desire actually is
* Why desire is morally neutral
* The difference between ordered and disordered desires
* Why God is not afraid of what you want
* How unexplored desires can lead us away from God
* Why your desires are not fixed forever
* How neuroplasticity helps explain changing desire
* How attention, habit, identity, and contemplation shape what we want
* Why bringing desire to the Lord can lead to freedom
Jesus asks, “What do you seek?” That question is not meant to shame us. It is an invitation into deeper relationship, purification, and freedom.
If you feel stuck, unmotivated, ashamed of what you want, or unsure how your desires fit into God’s will, this episode will help you begin bringing those desires into prayer.

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294. How to Know If It's God's Voice or Your Own Thoughts Apr 29, 2026

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How do you know if something you receive in prayer is actually from God?
In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin continue their discernment series by walking through how to test spiritual promptings, private revelations, interior movements, and words received in prayer.
Building on the previous episode about prayer language, they explain how to bring what you receive back into dialogue with God, ask for interpretation, test the spirit, and look at the fruits over time.
In this episode, we discuss:
• How to discern God’s voice from your own thoughts
• Why St. Paul tells us to “test every spirit”
• How to avoid acting too quickly on strong spiritual experiences
• The importance of tone, freedom, humility, and fruit
• How to ask God for interpretation and application
• Why good counsel matters in discernment
• How to know whether a prompting leads to peace, charity, clarity, and deeper communion with God
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is this God, me, or the enemy?” this episode will give you practical tools for discerning what you hear in prayer.

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293. How to Hear God’s Voice (A Catholic Guide to Prayer) Apr 22, 2026

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Have you ever felt like God speaks to everyone… except you?
In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, we break down how to actually hear God’s voice in prayer — in a way that’s simple, practical, and grounded in Catholic teaching.
This is Part 1 of our series on discernment:
👉 First, you need to learn how to hear God
👉 Then, you can learn how to discern His voice
We introduce the concept of “prayer language” — the unique way God communicates with you — and show how understanding this can completely transform your prayer life.
You’ll learn:
• Why hearing God can feel confusing or frustrating
• The difference between Logos (Scripture) and Rhema (personal word)
• The 4 primary ways God speaks to us:
- Visual (images, imagination)
- Auditory (words, inner dialogue)
- Kinesthetic (feelings, movement)
- Cognitive (insight, understanding)
• How to enter into mental prayer more easily
• Why your distractions might actually be doorways into prayer
If you’ve struggled with prayer, felt stuck, or assumed you “just don’t hear God” — this episode will change that.
Next episode: How to Discern What You’re Hearing 👀

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292. How to Discern God’s Will and Actually Make a Decision Apr 15, 2026

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Are you stuck in the “miserable maybes”?
In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, we continue our discernment series by making St. Ignatius of Loyola’s discernment process practical for real life decisions.
Whether you’re discerning:
•a career change
•your college major
•a relationship
•vocation
•a big next step in life
this episode will help you move from confusion toward clarity.
We cover:
•the 3 modes of discernment from St. Ignatius
•why most people get stuck in endless “discernment”
•how to establish holy indifference
•how to make a pros-and-cons list in a truly Ignatian way
•how to evaluate responsibilities, resources, talents, and desires
•how to use the “deathbed” and “judgment seat of Christ” perspectives
•how to know when a decision is confirmed
Discernment is not just about making a decision. It is about deepening your relationship with God and learning how to unite your will with His.
If you’ve been asking:
“What is God’s will for my life?”
this episode is for you.

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291. Discern Like a Saint | Learning Discernment with St. Ignatius Apr 08, 2026

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If you’ve ever asked, “What is God’s will for my life?” or “How do I discern God’s voice from my own?” this episode is for you.
In this episode of the Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin begin a new series on Catholic discernment and walk through the foundations of how discernment actually works. Using the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola, they explain the three modes of discernment and how God often leads us through relationship, consolation, desolation, and reason.
We also talk about why so many people say they are “discerning” when they are really just stuck, confused, or going in circles.
In this episode, we cover:
•what discernment actually is
•why discernment is about relationship, not just decision-making
•the three modes of discernment from St. Ignatius
•the difference between consolation and desolation
•why first-mode discernment is rare
•how reason plays a role in third-mode discernment
•how to begin discerning big decisions with God
This is especially helpful if you are discerning:
•dating or breaking up
•vocation or religious life
•marriage
•career changes
•college decisions
•major life transitions
If this episode helps you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who is trying to discern God’s will.

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290. Spiritual Warfare of the Mind: How to Break Free From PSYOP Apr 01, 2026

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What do you do when you realize you’re being manipulated?
In this episode of The Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin continue their conversation on psychological operations (PSYOPs) by answering the next big question:
How do you get out of one?
If fear, outrage, urgency, or confusion are being used to shape your thoughts, emotions, and behavior, you are not powerless. As Catholics, we are called to renew our minds, think critically, and bring our intellect into conformity with truth.
In this episode, we cover:
• what a PSYOP is
• why fear shuts down critical thinking
• how manipulation compromises free will
• why media pressure loops are so powerful
• how to separate facts from interpretation
• how to slow down urgency and reclaim language
• how to spiritually realign with truth, peace, and freedom
This episode is about more than politics or media. It’s about custody of the mind, spiritual warfare, and learning how to live in the freedom Christ gave you.
If you missed last week’s episode on how to identify a PSYOP, go back and listen to that one first.
If this episode helps you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who wants to think clearly and live freely.

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289. How Your Thoughts Are Being Controlled (And What to Do About It) Mar 25, 2026

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How Your Thoughts Are Being Controlled (And What to Do About It)
Are you really thinking for yourself?
In this episode of The Catholic Coaching Podcast, Matt and Erin dive into a powerful and often overlooked topic: psychological operations (PSYOPs) and how they influence your thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
As Catholics, we are called to renew our minds and live in truth. But in a world filled with messaging, media, and constant information, it’s easy to unknowingly absorb ideas that shape how we think—and ultimately how we live.
This episode connects:
• psychological operations (PSYOPs)
• critical thinking and mindset
• spiritual warfare of the mind
We break down:
• what a PSYOP actually is
• how manipulation differs from healthy influence
• how your beliefs and identity can be targeted
• why freedom requires intentional thinking
• how to recognize when your mind is being shaped without your awareness
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, confused, or like your thoughts aren’t entirely your own—this episode will help you step back, think clearly, and reclaim your freedom.
Your mind matters. Your freedom matters. Truth matters.
If this episode helps you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs clarity.

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