Show Notes

Episode 79. How Fathers Can Find Peace w/ Devin Schadt

Episode 79. How Fathers Can Find Peace w/ Devin Schadt

“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’”
~ Romans 8:15

Why are so many fathers struggling?
Is it possible for fathers to live peaceful lives today?
How can a man change the world through his identity as a father?

In episode 79 of This Whole Life, Pat Millea sits down with Devin Schadt, founder and executive director of the Fathers of St. Joseph, to dive deep into the challenges and opportunities of Catholic fatherhood. Devin shares his personal journey, including a life-changing experience after his daughter’s health crisis that propelled him to embrace his vocation as a husband and father. The conversation covers topics such as the crisis of fatherhood, overcoming shame, the loneliness men often face, and the power of transformative relationships. Pat and Devin discuss the profound influence fathers have on families, the unique spirituality of St. Joseph, and practical steps men can take to become trustworthy fathers by first becoming trusting sons of God the Father. Fathers - and the people who love them - will walk away with inspiration, practical advice, and a renewed vision for integrating faith, mental health, and the incredible gift of fatherhood.

Devin Schadt is the executive director of the Fathers of St. Joseph, an apostolate that labors for the restoration, redemption, and revitalization of fatherhood. He is the author of over 20 books on fatherhood through the wisdom of St. Joseph, including The Rule: Counsels and Directives for Husbands and Fathers and Custos: Total Consecration Through Saint Joseph. He is a co-host of The Catholic Gentleman podcast. Devin has been married for 30 years and has five daughters, and lives in Iowa.

Show Notes

  • Check out the Fathers of St. Joseph for resources, blog posts, videos, and groups supporting faithful fathers.

  • The presence of a loving father in the life of a child is a positive effect on everything in the child’s life: spirituality & religiosity, education, healthy relationships, avoiding alcohol, drugs, and criminal activity, etc.

  • We’re experiencing a crisis of great fatherhood, but this is also a sleeping giant in the Church and the culture - an opportunity for fathers to have a powerful impact for good.

  • “Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet,
    Before the day of the LORD comes,
    the great and terrible day;
    He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
    and the heart of sons to their fathers,
    Lest I come and strike
    the land with utter destruction.”

    • Malachi 3:23-24

  • “In revealing and in reliving on earth the very fatherhood of God, a man is called upon to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family: he will perform this task by exercising generous responsibility for the life conceived under the heart of the mother, by a more solicitous commitment to education, a task he shares with his wife, by work which is never a cause of division in the family but promotes its unity and stability, and by means of the witness he gives of an adult Christian life which effectively introduces the children into the living experience of Christ and the Church.”

    • Familiaris Consortio §25, St. John Paul II

  • The 6 P’s of the world are Prestige, Prominence, Power, Profit, Possessions & Pleasure

  • “Do not become a streetlamp only for your house to go dark.”

    • Fr. Rudy Juarez

  • The 4 Pillars of the life of St. Joseph

    • Embrace silence

    • Embrace woman

    • Embrace the child

    • Embrace charitable authority

  • The life of St. Joseph is silent & strong, humble & hidden

  • “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’”

    • Romans 8:15

  • Three parts of a father’s identity

    • The human part

    • The divine part

    • The kingly part

  • The Prayer of Abandonment by St. Charles de Foucauld:

    “Father, I abandon myself into your hands, do with me what you will.

    Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.

    Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures.

    I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands, I commend my soul;

    I offer it to you with all the love of my heart;

    For I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself:

    To surrender myself into your hands without reserve and with boundless confidence. For you are my Father.”

Challenge By Choice

Fathers:

  1. Get right with God the Father: “Abba, Father, I trust you.”

  2. Give intentional attention, affirmation, & affection to your wife & children

  • Personal transformation leads to relational transformation

  • Allow God the Father to transform your heart in order for your relationships to be transformed

  • Deliberately find ways to be the face of God the Father with your wife and children

Reflection Questions

For personal reflection or group discussion

  1. What is one specific thing that stuck with you from this conversation?

  2. How have your experiences with your own father, or your relationship with God the Father, influenced your approach to parenthood or relationships?

  3. What are the threats that face fathers today? What are the opportunities for them to impact the world for good?

  4. What are some practical steps that fathers and communities can take to combat male loneliness and foster deeper connections among men?

  5. How is St. Joseph a truly practical witness of sanity and sanctity in fatherhood?