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

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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

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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:

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• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
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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!