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Home > Father and Joe > Father and Joe E461: “The Lord Is My Shepherd” — Desire, Provision, and the Messy Gift of Kids at Mass


	Podcast:		Father and Joe
	Episode:		Father and Joe E461: “The Lord Is My Shepherd” — Desire, Provision, and the Messy Gift of Kids at Mass
	Category:		Health
	Duration:		00:22:49
	Publish Date:		2026-05-12 05:00:00
	Description:		A single Psalm line can mess with your head—in a good way. Joe Rockey brings a phrase from the Good Shepherd Mass that sounds impossible on first hearing: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” Joe’s honest reaction is simple: I still want things… like a burger. So what is the Church actually saying here? Father Boniface Hicks grounds it in Psalm 23’s meaning: the Lord provides for our needs—He doesn’t leave us destitute or deprived. Desire isn’t the enemy; it’s essential. St. Augustine calls prayer an exercise of holy desire, and the spiritual life involves attuning and purifying what we want. The key is order: keep God at the top of the value hierarchy, resist the temptation to cut corners on Him to “provide for ourselves,” and trust that if we seek first the Kingdom, God will provide what’s needed—often in ways we wouldn’t have predicted. Joe then gives a concrete, family-life example: raising little kids at Mass can feel embarrassing and “imperfect,” but staying faithful reshaped the whole parish. Their consistency helped normalize young families, encouraged grandparents to invite their children, and grew the number of small kids in the congregation. Father reframes it: Mass isn’t a private piety project—it’s communal worship. A healthy parish supports families instead of treating them like an “intrusion.” Children don’t just disrupt; they awaken the community to reality and train the body of Christ to revolve around the weakest members—like a healthy family does. The episode closes with an athletic analogy: practice includes drills and scrimmage. We aim at “ideal prayer” in quiet moments, but we also learn to worship faithfully in the real-world chaos—because that’s how love matures. Key Ideas “Nothing I shall want” doesn’t mean “no desires”; it means God provides what is needed and doesn’t abandon us. Desire is good; prayer forms and purifies desire (“holy desire” as a spiritual discipline). Keep God at the top of the value hierarchy instead of cutting corners to self-provide. Kids at Mass reveal what the Church is: a body, not an individual “quiet bubble.” Healthy communities revolve around the weakest members; that’s how God loves us and how parishes should live. Scripture Mentioned (no links) Psalm 23 Matthew 6:33 (“Seek first the kingdom…”) “Father gives good gifts” (bread/stone, fish/scorpion; Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask) Links & References (official/source only) None explicitly referenced with clear official/source URLs in this transcript. CTA: If this helped, please leave a review or share this episode with a friend. Questions or thoughts? Email FatherAndJoe@gmail.com . Tags (comma-separated) Father and Joe, Joe Rockey, Father Boniface Hicks, Psalm 23, Good Shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want, desire, holy desire, St Augustine, prayer, providence, God provides, value hierarchy, worship, Mass, distractions at Mass, kids at Mass, young families, parish community, communal worship, body of Christ, shame, vulnerability, support for parents, family life, parenting, one year old, four year old, drills and scrimmage analogy, practice and real life, ideal prayer, chaos and faithfulness, Easter season, discipleship, gratitude
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