Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of "Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick." In today's conversation, Michael and Jim Smith dive deep into the complex and ongoing journey of surrender and spiritual growth. Michael opens up about his own experience with the painful yet rewarding process of counseling, emphasizing that surrend…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome back to "Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick." In today's episode, Michael dives deep into a conversation with Sam Jolman, author of "The Sex Talk You Never Got: Reclaiming the Heart of Masculine Sexuality." Sam’s groundbreaking book, set to release on June 11, explores the often misunderstood landscape of ma…

John Michael Talbot is a tremendously successful musician and writer; he is also the founder of a monastery—the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage in Arkansas—where he is Minister General today. He started as a Methodist and a country rock musician in the seventies and the story of his journey is amazing, from the encounter…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Today, our special guest is Sam Jolman, author of the forthcoming book, "The Sex Talk You Never Got: Reclaiming the Heart of Masculine Sexuality." In this episode, Michael and Sam explore the genesis of Jolman's book and the pivotal discussions that u…

Professor David Bonagura, theologian and Latinist, has translated and edited seven of St. Jerome’s letters dealing with death and mourning. This doctor of the church consoles his friends in first centuries of Christendom, describing death as sleep, and dying as our journey back home to God. And though the Mediterranean is big and fourth-century tra…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to "Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick." In today's episode, Michael is joined by Dr. Alison Cook, author of the newly released book, "I Shouldn't Feel This Way." Together, they delve into the complexities of emotions and how we can navigate challenging situations through daily practices. Dr. Cook's book is …

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another edition of Restoring the Soul. On today's podcast, we tackled the critical topic of betrayal trauma with my bride Julianne. We explored why many women feel stuck in their healing process, diving into relational barriers like ongoing betrayal, gaslighting, and the impact of unresolved past trauma. We discus…

Michael John Cusick argues that our addictions and disordered sexual desires are really a misdirected effort to reach God and live in connection with Him. How can this be? The crude simulation is but at poor substitute for the real thing, for the Truth. Yet in this fallen world, sinners repeatedly fall into the snares. “I do not understand my own a…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Today, Michael is joined by Intensive Clinical Soul Care Specialist Brian Boecker. Together, they explore the profound impact of an upcoming men’s intensive weekend in Monument, Colorado, from September 19th through the 22nd, 2024. Throughout this dis…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome back to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Today, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Rodney Reeves for a captivating conversation about spirituality, imagination, and the profound teachings from the Gospel of John. In today’s episode, we’ll be delving deep into the passage of a remarkable wo…

Temeko Ricardson grew up in the Protestant American tradition; she was a “GPK” (grand-pastor-kid) from a family of church leaders. She has been thinking about Christianity and social issues—failure to include God’s people into His Church, fractured families, homelessness—and how to weave out society together and spread the Gospel. She’s an entrepre…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Joining Michael is Alan Kraft, who will delve into the spiritually nourishing practice of scripture meditation and its power to let the Holy Spirit speak directly to our hearts. In today's episode, titled "The Intimate God," Alan unravels his spiritua…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul. Alan Kraft is joining Michael on today's podcast. Alan has served as lead pastor of Christ Community Church since 1990. He is passionate about teaching, writing, and prayer to help people experience Jesus in transformative ways. He holds an MDiv degree from Trinity Evangelica…

There have been Christians in the Holy Land for two thousand years; “we are the first church,” says Father Firas Abedrabbo who is from Bethlehem and works in Ramallah. He studied law in France and speaks excellent English and spoke with me about his experience as a priest in Palestine (the West Bank) during the Gaza War. We talk politics and histor…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with your host, Michael John Cusick. Forgiveness is a term often uttered with ease but practiced with considerable difficulty. What does forgiveness truly entail? Does it inherently mean reconciliation or forgetting? Joined by Julianne in the studio, they tackle heavyweight qu…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul. Today, Michael and Julianne delve into the complex tapestry of trauma, unwinding the threads that bind us to our past experiences. Many regard trauma as stemming from life-shattering events, but today’s discussion unfolds its layers, revealing that trauma can emerge from the …

For Christians, the central event in history and in universe is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. This killing of God (or deicide) is so mysterious and terrible that it’s hard to even approach: what kind of a God would choose to be tortured and murdered by his rebellious creatures? Pastor Brian Zahnd’s poetic theolog…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Join Michael and Ian Morgan Cron as they delve into the profound topic of spiritual growth. Ian shares insights from his new book, offering a raw and unfiltered look into the existential turmoil that plagues the human condition. They discuss the paradox of powerlessness…

Send us a Text Message. Congratulations, Michael John Cusick, for publishing your 300th episode of Restoring the Soul! In this episode, our good friend Ian Morgan Cron joins the program to discuss the thought-provoking book "What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing" by Bruce Perry, MDPhD, and Oprah Winfrey. Michael and…

Colin Rahill dropped out of law school to become a Catholic writer; he just finished his first book, Castor & Pollux (Emerald Books, 2023), which is about the troubles facing Gen Z: the idolatrous snares of social media, health cults, self-manifesting, neopaganism, a kaleidoscope of prescription drugs, and pornified AI digital realities (to name a …

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. In this second part of our exploration into Trauma-Informed Care, we continue to understand how our past experiences inform our present reality and how vital it is to feel safe and secure—not just in our external environment but within the therapeutic space. Today, we’l…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. Today, Michael takes you through the deep waters of understanding trauma's impact and how entities like hospitals and clinics are integrating Trauma-Informed Care into their daily routines. With practical insights and real-life scenarios, this episode…

Lifelong alcoholic Joe McGivney drank himself into brain damage and permanent disability. The day after being placed into the assisted care he would need for rest of his life, he sprang back to full recovery, restored health—it was a medical impossibility—for which he credits the intercession of Blessed Father Michael McGivney, his distant relative…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. This episode delves into the transformative power of intensive counseling, a unique process honed over nearly two decades. Michael and Julianne Cusick explain how Restoring the Soul provides a safe, sacred space where you get clarity on your struggles and a clear path f…

Theology Professor Jeremy Holmes of Wyoming Catholic College teaches a class called “Science and Theology,” which is about the Darwin’s theory of evolution and related topics, including the problems we encounter in the fossil record and our understanding of genetic change. I ask him about the discussions he has with his students and his colleagues …

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to "Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick." Today, we explore the depths of a non-anxious life with guest Alan Fadling. We discuss the power of embodying peace and the transformative practice of God’s presence in our daily lives. Alan shared insights from his new book and his journey of replacing anxiety with g…

Father Piotr Żelazko is Vicar for the St. James Vicariate in Jerusalem and has been priest in Israel for fifteen years (he is a native of Poland and studied in Rome). He and I recorded our first talk about Catholicism in Israel in the fall, weeks before October 7 and the Gaza War. Since then, we have been periodically checking in to talk about War,…

Peter Hess (Ph.D, FFT2) is a theologian, an environmental scientist, a wildland fire practitioner, and firefighter type two. I ask Peter about this work which is a collaboration of firefighters and indigenous communities, about the Catholic Theology, stewardship of the Earth, and Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudatus Si’. Peter Hess’s webpage at “Clim…

Send us a Text Message. “We need to exchange the currency by which we do life for the currency of heaven.” - Michael John Cusick Welcome to the Restoring the Soul podcast. You’re in for a treat as we’re featuring a talk given by our host, Michael John Cusick, to Denver Community Church titled “The Currency of Heaven.” From the Beatitudes in Matthew…

The 2006 Mel Gibson movie, Apocalypto, takes us into a decadent Maya civilization in the Yucatan on the eve of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. It could be a commentary on ancient Rome or the present-day US, but, because it is a new world for both the viewer and the forest-dwelling protagonists, we get to see it through ‘new eyes’ and a ‘beginner’s …

Send us a Text Message. “Freedom is birthed out of suffering.” - Dr. Barbara Peacock Welcome to Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick. On this celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, we wanted to highlight our conversation with Dr. Barbara Peacock, an experienced preacher, teacher, and minister of discipleship and prayer. Dr. Peacoc…