Greg and Jennifer question crowded schedules, endless to-do lists, and whether planning less can leave more room to recognize and follow God’s will.

Greg and Jennifer have spent years trying to simplify their lives, yet slowing down can still feel like failure. A passage from Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks gets them talking about the pressure to stay productive, keep up with everyone else, and fill every open hour.

Greg explains why he now limits his daily list instead of chasing the next task. Jennifer talks about the good that can come from an empty schedule or even a feeling of emptiness. That space may be necessary if they want to hear what God is actually asking of them. One teacher’s yearly gift of handmade rosaries has already reached hundreds of children and could keep changing families for years.

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 Handmade rosaries for third graders 02:25 The unseen ripple effects of a rosary 05:25 Remembering what the year has produced 06:09 Commonplace books and Four Thousand Weeks 15:42 The fourth quarter of the year—and life 18:13 A ripple list instead of a bucket list 19:26 Why simple living can feel like failure 23:03 Surrendering each day to God 28:01 Planning less to follow God’s will 29:25 The good of an empty schedule

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

After musician Glen Hansard’s sudden death, we tackle the sobering question of whether we are ready for eternity and how best to prepare.

Just a few days after giving a talk in Texas about God’s love and mercy, one of Greg’s favorite musicians suddenly died in a tragic motorcycle accident.  As a result, we find ourselves grieving someone we never personally met. Glen Hansard’s death raises a larger question: why do people so quickly assume someone is in heaven instead of praying for the dead?

We also talk about Catholics who intentionally withheld sins in confession because of shame and explain that preparing to die can be as simple as making a full confession, receiving God’s mercy, and staying close to the sacraments. And ultimately, we come to the realization that Rosary Army’s work is meant to help people die well.

Watch the Videos from the 2026 Rosary Army Retreat

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 San Antonio and the fear of confession 01:29 The sudden death of Glen Hansard 04:17 Why Catholics pray for the dead 06:18 “Die before you die” 08:51 It is simple to be ready to die 11:20 Rosary Army helps people die well 13:26 Making a full confession 19:14 Purgatory and the state of the soul 23:03 A raindrop in the fire of God’s mercy 29:03 Daily examen and funeral wishes

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

Jennifer spent the morning helping two friends process rabbits for food and came home with new respect for homesteading, shared work, and what God provides.

Jennifer spent the morning helping two Catholic friends process rabbits for food. She wanted to know whether she could handle the work after years of watching survival shows from the couch. Greg has loved rabbits since childhood and has never wanted to eat one.  That may now change.  Or it may not.

They talk plainly about dispatching, cleaning, butchering, and preparing the rabbits, along with the work behind the homesteading life and God’s plan for feeding us. Jennifer also found something she did not expect: three Catholic women working with their hands while talking about their children, the Rosary, and local community. She came home grateful for the food, the friendship, and the people willing to do this work.

Watch the Videos from the 2026 Rosary Army Retreat

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 Why this episode is different 00:58 Three Rosaries on the drive 02:28 Catholic homesteading and its hidden work 05:12 Jennifer agrees to help harvest rabbits 07:02 Could she actually do it? 11:24 Greg’s lifelong love of rabbits 14:27 The work begins 19:27 Friendship and faith during physical work 22:22 The side of livestock people do not post 28:13 What is ahead for Rosary Army

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

We share the books we’re currently reading, from Dungeon Crawler Carl and Dog Stars to Rosary Meditations from Ven. Mary Agreda and St. Thérèse.

Greg has always loved books, while Jennifer came to reading later, once trying to make herself literary with Voltaire and Macbeth before pretty much reading only Anne Rice and John Grisham. They talk about high school books, why old titles follow us into adulthood, and how reading changes over a lifetime.

Greg shares his current mix of serious, spiritual, and simple reading, including Oliver Burkeman, Arthur C. Brooks, Dungeon Crawler Carl, I Believe in Love, and more. Jennifer talks about going deeper into mental prayer with the rosary, using meditations from The Mystical City of God, and why Christy has become her slow nighttime read.

Books Mentioned:

Macbeth — William Shakespeare Interview with the Vampire — Anne Rice Swiss Family Robinson — Johann David Wyss Walden — Henry David Thoreau The Glass Menagerie — Tennessee Williams The Scarlet Letter — Nathaniel Hawthorne The Red Badge of Courage — Stephen Crane A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens Romeo and Juliet — William Shakespeare Hamlet — William Shakespeare Flowers for Algernon — Daniel Keyes Alas, Babylon — Pat Frank Frankenstein — Mary Shelley The Dog Stars — Peter Heller Dungeon Crawler Carl — Matt Dinniman Get Fuzzy — Darby Conley Pearls Before Swine — Stephan Pastis Calvin and Hobbes — Bill Watterson 4000 Weeks — Oliver Burkeman Meditations for Mortals — Oliver Burkeman The Antidote — Oliver Burkeman From Strength to Strength — Arthur C. Brooks The Mystical City of God — Venerable Mary of Ágreda The Holy Rosary with Meditations through the Visions of Venerable Mary of Ágreda — Fr. Mark Higgins True Devotion to Mary — St. Louis de Montfort The Love of Eternal Wisdom — St. Louis de Montfort The Imitation of Christ — Thomas à Kempis Letter to the Friends of the Cross — St. Louis de Montfort Confessions — St. Augustine Genesis — traditionally attributed to Moses I Believe in Love — Fr. Jean C. J. d’Elbée Story of a Soul — St. Thérèse of Lisieux Christy — Catherine Marshall

Watch the Videos from the 2026 Rosary Army Retreat

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 Jennifer’s late start with books 03:13 What Greg and Jennifer are reading now 04:06 Giving yourself permission not to finish books 05:34 High school books that follow you around 08:32 Why books keep calling us back 10:02 Greg’s “serious, spiritual, and simple” reading 17:20 Jennifer’s rosary meditation project 23:17 Greg’s pocket Catholic readers 26:33 I Believe in Love and St. Thérèse 28:43 Jennifer’s nighttime read, Christy

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

We talk through the first Rosary Army retreat, what surprised us, what worked, and why we’re not quite ready to decide yet if there will be another one.

We’re home from the first Rosary Army retreat, still tired, processing, and not making any big decisions. We talk about the beauty of the retreat center, the talks, the food, the people who came, and the difference between wanting something bigger and realizing smaller might just have been exactly right.

We also talk about what it was like to have our teenage daughter with us for this weekend, the impact of silent Eucharistic Adoration, and why personal encounters mattered so much.

Watch the Videos from the 2026 Rosary Army Retreat

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 Recovery after the retreat 02:29 Jennifer’s birthday food plans 07:12 Retreat talks are now available 08:44 Greg’s retreat sniffles 10:03 Is this the first annual retreat? 11:17 Heritage Retreat Center and attendee feedback 13:50 Lily’s unexpected retreat experience 16:12 Why smaller was probably right 19:15 Pond, chapel, and quiet encounters 29:13 The retreat videos and School of Mary

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

After a bad experience in the confessional, Greg and Jennifer talk about the need to return to reverence in the liturgy and the sacraments.

After a bad experience in the confessional, we felt the need to finally speak up about some things we’ve been witnessing in parishes that really need to stop. When priests and laypeople stop treating liturgy and the sacraments with the seriousness they deserve, people lose faith, reverence gets watered down, and sacred things begin to feel ordinary.

That should never happen. We talk about confession, the Eucharist, changed words at Mass, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, lay blessings during Communion, and the need for priests to model reverence for the people they serve.

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 Why this is hard to talk about 01:55 “Lord, I am not worthy” 05:33 Concerns about changing the Mass 07:24 A bad experience in the confessional 11:21 No prayer of absolution 14:13 When sacred things get watered down 16:15 Receiving Communion with reverence 20:08 John Paul II on priests and the Eucharist 22:06 Jennifer pushes back 25:45 The mission of the laity

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

A prayer from St. Louis de Montfort that you’ll want to start praying every time you go to Mass, a Tale of Two Old Chairs, and an unexpected e-mail about Greg’s book brought about a long-forgotten reconnection after almost 35 years.

Rosary Army 2026 Retreat – Register for our first in-person retreat before June 5

Prayer Greg shared in this episode:

Prayer During Holy Communion According to St. Louis Marie de Montfort Adapted from True Devotion #267-269 by Rosary Army founder Greg Willits, wherein St. Louis de Montfort recommends that, “after the Our Father, when you are about to receive our Lord, say to him three times the prayer, ‘Lord I am not worthy,’” while meditating on the following: _________________________________________________________________________

God, my loving Father, because of my evil thoughts and ingratitude toward you, I am not worthy to receive Your only begotten Son, Jesus, in the most Holy Eucharist.  But here with me is Mary, Your handmaid as well as my mother and queen, who acts on my behalf and whose presence gives me a special confidence and hope in You.

Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur ánima mea. (Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.)

Lord Jesus, Eternal Wisdom, because of my useless and evil words, and my carelessness in Thy service, I am not worthy to receive Thee, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist.  But nevertheless, I beg of You Thy mercy.  Have pity on me because I shall usher Thee into the house of Thy mother and mine, and I will not let You go until You have made it Your home.  I implore You to rise and come to the place of Your repose and the ark of Your sanctification, which is Mary.  Like Esau, I have no faith or confidence in my own merits, strength, and preparedness.  But as Jacob had trust in his mother, Rebecca, I do have confidence in Mary, Your mother.  Although I am a great sinner, I still presume to approach Thee, supported by Thy holy Mother and adorned with her merits and virtues.

Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur ánima mea. (Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.)

Holy Spirit, because of my lukewarmness, wickedness, and resistance to Thy inspirations, I am not worthy to receive the masterpiece of Thy love in the most Holy Eucharist.  Nonetheless, I put all my confidence in Mary, Thy faithful spouse, and say with St. Bernard, “She is my greatest safeguard, the whole foundation of my hope.”  I beg Thee to once again overshadow Mary, Thy inseparable spouse, whose womb is as pure and her heart as ardent as ever.  If you do not enter my soul, neither Jesus nor Mary will be formed there, nor will my soul be a worthy dwelling for them.

Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur ánima mea. (Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.)

Links:

• Register now for our first-ever in-person Retreat (June 19-21, 2026)!

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 Mr. Rogers and things that are dead to us 01:17 Seeing flaws before value 02:05 The old Colorado chairs 04:36 Lily watches Up and changes the story 06:18 Seeing the chairs through someone else’s eyes 07:21 What falling-away Catholics may throw away 08:49 An unexpected connection from Greg’s book 16:59 Carrying de Montfort in a Mass journal 18:27 Preparing for Holy Communion through Mary 21:47 Greg reads the de Montfort Communion prayer 26:36 Jennifer’s handwritten copy of the prayer 27:51 Rosary Army Retreat reminder

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

We finally did something we should have done a long time ago, and we were reminded that getting away is often how God reveals what He wants for our lives. After almost three long years, we visited our oldest son and his wife.

Rosary Army 2026 Retreat – Register for our first in-person retreat before June 5

Rosary Army 2026 Retreat – Register for our first in-person retreat before June 5

Links:

• Register now for our first-ever in-person Retreat (June 19-21, 2026)!

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

 00:00 The first Rosary Army retreat is almost here
02:05 Why in-person connection still matters
04:20 Why getting away is hard for us
05:56 Finally visiting our son after nearly three years
07:34 Jennifer decides to book the trip
08:54 Letting God lead somewhere unexpected
09:42 Realizing fatherhood does not end
12:13 Colorado National Monument and God’s beauty
19:14 Jennifer finally goes fishing
25:38 Seeing the night sky without light pollution

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!

Jennifer shares what happened when she gave a rosary to a stranger at a concert, and Greg talks through a simple way to pray the Rosary more deeply with Scripture.

Jennifer shares what happened when she gave a rosary to a stranger at a concert, and Greg talks through a simple way to pray the Rosary more deeply with Scripture.

—

After last week’s conversation with Gabriel Castillo, a lot of new people found Rosary Army, started commenting, and began sharing their own stories of prayer, confession, and returning to the faith. Greg and Jennifer begin by welcoming those new listeners and pointing back to Rosary Army’s original mission: Make Them. Pray Them. Give Them Away.

Jennifer then tells the story of taking extra rosaries to a concert and feeling prompted to give one to a stranger who was visibly moved during a difficult song. That moment leads Greg back to the early days of Rosary Army, the importance of always having rosaries ready to share, and a practical way he has been praying the Rosary with Scripture as a kind of “soundtrack” for meditating on the life of Christ.

Also, be sure to check out the all-new School of Mary 2.0!

Links:

• Register now for our first-ever in-person Retreat (June 19-21, 2026)!

Free From Rosary Army:

• Get a Free All-Twine-Knotted Rosary
• School of Mary
• Audio Rosaries
• Video Version of This Episode

God Doesn’t Hate Me After All – Discovering Louis de Montfort’s Love of Eternal Wisdom:

• Free Download of Greg’s Latest Book – Introduction and First Two Chapters
• Get it from Sophia Institute Press
• From Amazon
• Listen to it on Audible

Support Our Work:

• Make a tax-deductible donation to Rosary Army
• Purchase the official Rosary Army mobile app
• Invite Greg to speak at your next event

Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Rosary Army’s YouTube Channel

More From Rosary Army and Greg & Jennifer Willits:

• Rosary Army Mobile App
• Greg’s Substack

Timestamps

00:00 A lot of new people found Rosary Army
02:31 Lives changed through the Rosary
04:18 Jennifer’s concert story begins
05:31 Two rosaries in a tiny purse
08:22 A difficult song and a real moment
11:23 Jennifer gives the man a rosary
12:20 “You have no idea what that meant to me”
13:51 The early days of giving rosaries away
17:13 Learning to pray the Rosary more deeply
23:04 Praying Scripture with the Rosary

Support our mission in 2026: Click here to donate and help us continue!