Youth for Truth

"I should be married by now."
"I should be earning more by now."
"I should know what I want by now."
"Everyone else is moving and I’m stuck."
True greatness does not come from worldly achievements done on our time, but by being fully open to God and receiving Him and giving Him to others. Fr. Fadi challenges us to fight the community pressure of “shoulds” and comparisons.
Name where you resist God and ask “How shall this be?” in trust, like Mary did.
Mary had no wealth, no standing, no achievements the world would clap for. She still became what God meant human beings to be.

Sister Margaret. The nun who taught us Catechism since we were little kids. The one who didn’t just prep us for a test — she made us love Jesus, and a lot of our families started actually showing up to church after that.
She gave her yes to God at 16. Her mom wasn’t fully on board. A priest told her to wait a year. Another sister told her to pray three Hail Mary's every night and ask Our Lady if this was really the call.
She talks about living with sisters you didn’t pick, the fights that aren’t really fights, and why you don’t walk away from church (or the convent) just because you can’t stand someone in the room. Also the part a lot of young people won’t say out loud: you’re scared to even tell your parents.
Recorded live at the 2026 Chaldean-Assyrian Youth Convention.
"Youth for Truth" Podcast with Fr. Simon Esshaki (featuring Fr. Christopher Somo and Andrew Hermiz)
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00:00 Welcome and Reunion 01:22 Sr. Margaret's Vocation Story 08:41 Mary and Saying Yes 12:17 Challenges in Community 20:24 Current Mission Today 22:21 Advice for Discernment 26:49 Funny Nun Stereotypes
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Fr. Simon's full talk give at the 2026 Chaldean-Assyrian Youth Convention of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter.
Fr. Simon's talk centers on why Christ's first miracle wasn’t a dramatic healing or raising the dead, but quietly turning water into wine at Cana. It reveals he came not only to remove sickness, but to give lasting joy—an “overflow,” not just enough to get by.
Mary’s role in that miracle is that she’s the one who notices the hidden problem (“They have no wine”), brings it to Jesus without controlling him, and tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Mary could only see that need because she was trusted “behind the scenes,” so we to should invite her into the private places we hide—guilt, shame, anxiety, and fear about the future—so we’re not alone in darkness.
Real devotion to Mary is a concrete way to open our hearts and be led to Jesus’ grace, because without him we only produce “water,” not wine.
Stay tuned for more full talks from this convention!

A fascinating discussion with Candice Ruttner-Duryea LMFT of "Beautiful Mind Family Counseling Clinic": https://beautifulmindfamilycounselingclinic.com
A lot of us were raised to believe that if you're struggling with anxiety, trauma, or feeling stuck, you just need to pray harder or trust God more. But what if that's not the whole story?
In this very special episode, we sit down with Candice Ruttner-Duryea LMFT, a Catholic therapist with over 20 years of experience, and Emily Farida, her neurofeedback technician. We talk about why mental health struggles aren't a failure of faith, how trauma actually shows up in the brain and body (not "just in your head"), and what brain scans and neurofeedback can pick up that regular therapy sometimes misses.
Candice shares research suggesting that leaning into your faith can make recovery around 60% more effective than therapy alone. They also get into the real difference between empathy and compassion, why so many therapists burn out, the quiet stigma around getting professional help in Catholic circles, and how the Incarnation changes everything about how we approach healing.
If you've ever felt torn between your faith and the idea of seeing a therapist — or you're trying to support someone who is — this conversation might give you some clarity and relief.
Watch the full episode and let us know what resonated in the comments!
Youth for Truth Podcast with Fr. Simon Esshaki
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Ever catch yourself thinking “If I do this one thing, am I going to hell?”
In this episode, we talk about why that framing keeps so many young people anxious and stuck in “lawyer mode,” treating faith like a checklist or a "battle pass" you have to grind.
We get honest about what heaven and hell actually are, the freedom God gives us, why real repentance is more like turning around than trying to be perfect, and how the sacraments are God reaching down to us instead of us trying to climb up to Him.
And yes… because we're talking about hell, we did the "Hot Ones Challenge." You won't want to miss that!
If you’ve ever felt like God is just waiting for you to mess up, or if the checklist version of faith is wearing you out, this one’s worth your time.
We mentioned our episode on scrupulosity — it’s linked below if this hits close to home.
Scrupulosity Episode: https://youtu.be/AFaNBG-Go9s?si=5vTHIBm7PIpSPKGu
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Sometimes you’re watching a movie or show and something just hits you — like it’s speaking to something deeper, even if it wasn’t trying to.
In this episode, Fr. Chris (filling in for Fr. Simon) and producer Andrew are joined by brothers Nick and Kyle for a conversation about how faith and pop culture keep running into each other. They talk about why certain stories stick with you long after the credits roll, and how movies have a way of making you slow down and actually think about life, suffering, responsibility, friendship, and hope.
They get into Star Wars’ take on suffering and how it compares to what Scripture says, Spider-Man’s constant inner conflict, why friendship sometimes means telling someone what they don’t want to hear, and how it’s often the smallest, most ordinary characters who end up carrying the biggest weight in the story.
 

We sat down with two smart and successful young Chaldean women, who just graduated from college, to talk about the pressure they’re feeling right now. Like many young women in our community, they’re ambitious, driven, and trying to follow their dreams — but they’re also navigating strong cultural expectations around marriage and timelines.
In this episode, they open up about the tension between building a career and the comments they hear about settling down. We talk about what it’s like to want both — a meaningful path and a family one day — and how faith shapes the way they think about it all.
If you’re a young Chaldean, Middle Eastern, or Christian woman feeling caught between your ambitions and what your family or culture expects, or if you’re trying to understand where these girls are coming from, this conversation is worth your time.
Youth for Truth Podcast with Fr. Simon Esshaki
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Two young guys sit down with us for a very honest chat about what life actually feels like right now as young Catholic men trying to make it.
They don’t hold back on the biggest pressures: wondering if they’ll ever be able to afford a wife and kids while staying in the city they love, the gap between their parents’ single-income traditional families and today’s reality, and how the 9-5 grind already has them exhausted at 21 and 22.
They also get real about trying to keep up with taking care of themselves, what happens when life throws failures and isolation at you, and why so many guys in today's world feel like they have to bottle up emotions, “man up,” and never admit they’re struggling.
It’s raw, relatable, and full of hope — talking faith, leaning on God when things feel out of control, the power of real friendships, and why being vulnerable might actually be one of the manliest things you can do.
Youth for Truth Podcast with Fr. Simon Esshaki
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Two young Chaldean women sit down and say what a lot of us are thinking but nobody says out loud.
They talk about how terrifying it feels to hand your whole life to one person in front of God, why "situationships" are straight-up emotional torture, and the pressure in our community that’s making dating feel impossible.
We get brutally honest about:
- Why the person you marry will either make you or break you. - The in-law drama that quietly destroys so many marriages. - Attachment styles, purity, boundaries, and why waiting actually builds real love. - The scary reality that people change… and how faith and willingness to grow matter more than any checklist.
If you’re single, dating, or thinking about marriage, this one hits different. It’s honest, relatable, and full of the kind of straight-talk advice you actually need.
Youth for Truth Podcast with Fr. Simon Esshaki
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Ever feel like you’re physically at Mass or singing in choir but your mind is a million miles away? Like you’re just checking “faith stuff” off your list instead of actually meaning any of it?
That’s exactly what our guests open up about in this Youth for Truth episode. These two have been in choir since they were kids and they get super honest about how easy it is to slip into lukewarm faith even when you’re one of the “good Church kids.”
Fr. Simon walks through that heavy Bible verse in Revelation where God basically says, “I’d rather you be cold than lukewarm—I’ll spit you out of my mouth.” They break down why being lukewarm is actually more dangerous than being straight-up cold, what it looks like in real life (mind wandering during Mass, singing the words but not feeling them, doing stuff just because it’s expected), and how to fight it without faking a spiritual high.
You’ll hear why simply showing up still matters, how love for God is more about action than feelings (just like a real marriage or friendship), and why the valleys in your faith don’t mean you’re failing. Plus there’s boba, fun stories, and a lot of laughs along the way.
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00:00 Why Lukewarm Happens 04:21 Staying Present at Mass 06:00 Showing Up Still Matters 08:07 Revelation Lukewarm Verse 10:45 Take Your Vocation Seriously 12:21 Peaks and Valleys 16:05 Spiritual Highs 19:57 Love Is Action 22:56 Faith As Relationship 28:10 Teaching Kids The Faith
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▶️ Video version of this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EpgThArSig4
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