Curiosity can be the opposite of self-centeredness—but only when it’s paired with respect, trust, and appropriate vulnerability. In this episode, Joe Rockey and Father Boniface Hicks unpack the difference between “healthy and holy curiosity” and being “nebby” (nosy), and why that line matters in friendships, marriage, and sales. They also connect it to the life of faith: softening the heart so communion becomes possible under God.

Key Ideas

• Curiosity builds relationships when it’s rooted in genuine care, not extraction or control.
• Vulnerability is required for intimacy, but it must match the level of trust that exists.
• “Nebby” curiosity (nosiness) seeks power or gossip—without shared vulnerability or mutual goodwill.
• A curious, kind stance toward yourself (and your “parts”) can reduce contempt and grow calm, compassion, and communion.
• In sales, curiosity becomes a “cheat code” when it serves the person—not the commission—and when it respects boundaries.

Links & References (official/source only)

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Tags (comma-separated)

Father and Joe, Joe Rockey, Father Boniface Hicks, curiosity, vulnerability, trust, relationship building, communion, intimacy, selfishness, self-centeredness, kindness, compassion, calm, confidence, courage, connectedness, internal family systems, IFS, Judith Glaser, transformational conversation, Conversational Intelligence, nebby, nosy, Pittsburgh, gossip, pride, humility, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, hard of heart, Jesus, sales, ethical sales, sales training, servant leadership, boundaries, trustworthiness, manipulation, integrity

Indulgences can sound like scorekeeping. They’re not. Joe Rockey and Father Boniface Hicks unpack indulgences in plain relational terms: the Church’s “treasury of merit” is like trusted relational credit you can lean on—the saints’ friendship with God helping you deepen your own. We connect First Fridays/Saturdays, rosaries, Scripture, adoration, and pilgrim practices to one aim: better spiritual health, i.e., a stronger, freer relationship of trusting love with God.

Key Ideas

Indulgence = relational help, not a magic pass: you “tap” the Church’s treasury of merit (the saints’ lived friendship with God) through concrete practices.

Always personal: you still act (prayer, Scripture, adoration, works of mercy); grace perfects, doesn’t replace, effort.

Apply to self or the dead: love shares its credit—our bonds in Christ extend beyond death.

Keep the frame human: think “street cred” or a trainer’s plan—habits that restore and strengthen relationship, not accounting tricks.

Sin harms relationships; practices heal: less “temporal punishment” math, more repair, trust, and re-ordering of love.

Helpful Parallels

Trainer plan → spiritual plan:

30 min Scripture reading (indulgenced)

Rosary in common

30 min Eucharistic adoration

Stations of the Cross

Pilgrimage/holy door (in jubilee years)

Works of mercy + usual conditions (state of grace, confession, Eucharist, prayer for the Pope’s intentions)

Scripture touchpoints

“Whatever you bind on earth…” (Mt 16:19; 18:18)

“The communion of saints” (cf. Heb 12:1; Eph 2:19)

Reconciliation and restoration (Jn 20:21–23; 2 Cor 5:18–20)

One-week Spiritual Health Tune-up (simple, doable)

Pick one indulgenced practice above and do it twice.

Go to confession (once).

Add one concrete act of mercy (call, visit, forgive, give).

Close each day with a 2-minute examen (gratitude → review → ask help for tomorrow).

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Father and Joe, Joe Rockey, Father Boniface Hicks, indulgence, treasury of merit, communion of saints, First Friday, First Saturday, adoration, rosary, Scripture, pilgrimage, spiritual health, confession, temporal punishment, works of mercy, Catholic podcast, practical spirituality, relationship with God

We know the headline miracles—Incarnation, Eucharist, Resurrection. But what about the quieter moments that don’t come with spectacle? Joe Rockey and Father Boniface Hicks explore why God preserves room for trust, why Eucharistic “flesh-and-blood” phenomena are less than the Eucharist itself, and how faith matures when we live the mysteries (not rank them). Through the three lenses—self, others, under God—we look at spiritual health as a habit of trusting love, not a hunt for proofs.

Key Ideas

God invites freedom, not coercion: He offers evidence, then leaves space for trust—the essence of love.

Signs vs. Sacrament: visible Eucharistic phenomena are signs; the Eucharist is the whole living Christ (Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity).

Don’t “rank” feasts: Christmas, the institution of the Eucharist, and Easter are one saving mystery unfolding—each essential.

Living the unseen: deeper attention at Mass reorients daily life; think “spiritual health plan” (prayer, confession, charity) that steadies mind and relationships.

Faith grows by practice: name doubts honestly, choose trust, and act—grace meets you in motion.

Links & References
Scripture named (no links):

Doubting Thomas (John 20:24–29)

Institution of the Eucharist (Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26)

Signs confirming authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:1–12)

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If this helped, please leave a review or share this episode with a friend.

Questions or thoughts? Email FatherAndJoe@gmail.com

Tags
Father and Joe, Joe Rockey, Father Boniface Hicks, Christmas, Easter, Incarnation, Resurrection, Eucharist, Real Presence, Eucharistic miracles, believing without seeing, Doubting Thomas, signs vs sacrament, freedom and faith, trust, spiritual health, prayer, confession, charity, participation at Mass, liturgical seasons, unity of mysteries, grace, interior conversion, relationship with God, relationship with self, relationship with others, Benedictine spirituality, Catholic podcast, practical spirituality