Podcast
Claymore: Become Who You Are
Hosted by Jack · EN
What’s the meaning and purpose of my life? What is my true identity? Why were we created male and female? How do I find happiness, joy and peace? How do I find love that lasts, forever? These are the timeless questions of the human heart. Join Jack Rigert and his guests for lively insights, reading the signs of our times through the lens of Catholic Teaching and the insights of Saint John Paul ll to guide us.
Saint Catherine of Siena said "Become who you are and you would set the world on fire".
46episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
#728 The Border and More: A Battle For The Soul of a Nation
5d ago00:29:56Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”The most disturbing stories at the border aren’t numbers, they’re names we never learn. We respond to a clip of reporter Ben Bergquam stepping outside a church to face protesters head-on, and the exchange becomes a window into something bigger: what happens to a culture when it trades truth for slogans and formation for outrage.We talk through the border crisis in human terms, focusing on the vulnerability of innocents and the ways cartels profit when order breaks down. The conversation raises hard questions about illegal immigration, border security, ICE enforcement, and the role of NGOs that receive public funding while facilitating movement across the border. We also unpack the mindset behind easy answers like “tax the billionaires,” and why that kind of thinking spreads faster in a society that has lost shared moral ground.From there, we zoom out to the deeper framework that drives the whole show: the Claymore three-step battle plan. We argue that lasting renewal starts in the human heart, strengthens marriage and the family, and then rebuilds culture through truth, virtue, sacrifice, and love. You’ll hear practical next steps, including the Claymore handbook and a simple 10-minute morning ritual designed to pull you out of the spirit of the age and back into prayer, clarity, and courageous action.Visit Claymore Milites Christi to learn more about the Battle Plan for Young Men! Email Jack with questions and comments to answer and discuss on future episodes! jack@ClaymoreMilitesChristi.com. If this conversation challenges you, share it with someone who needs a better framework than outrage. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us your take: what’s one concrete step you’re willing to take this week?Support the show
Transcribe →#727 Discussing ACT Five: "The Fall and the Call to Be a Man of God" Marriage and the Family under attack
6d ago00:35:54Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”A child can be treated like a purchase, and a pregnancy can be treated like a contract dispute. When that happens, we are not just arguing policy, we are watching the meaning of human dignity collapse in real time. I take you straight into the heart of Act Five, The Fall and the Call to Be a Man of God, and I name what I believe is the central conflict of our age: an all-out attack on marriage, the family, and the most innocent among us.I break down two disturbing surrogacy stories that show how quickly children can become commodities: one involving a legal loophole that allows surrogacy where adoption would be restricted, and another involving a third-trimester abortion demanded because a baby was missing fingers. Check out this episode on Video: https://www.youtube.com/@johnpauliirenewalcenter4023From there, I widen the lens to spiritual warfare, using Ephesians 6 to explain why the cultural pressure feels relentless and why confusion spreads when sin becomes “normal.”Then I anchor the response in Pope Saint John Paul II’s Letter to Families (1994) and the Theology of the Body. We talk about the “sincere gift of self,” why the family is a communion of persons, how fatherhood and motherhood reflect God’s creative love, and why every person’s identity is tied to a real genealogy that begins with a mother and a father. I also lay out the Claymore three-step battle plan: get your own heart and house in order on Christ, rebuild a true vision of marriage and family, and then work so our culture and laws reflect the beauty of authentic love.If you want a clear Catholic framework for marriage, family, the culture of life, and what faithful men can do right now, listen through to the end. Subscribe, share the show, and leave a review so more people can join the fight for truth, goodness, and beauty.Support the show
Transcribe →#726 The Fall and the Call to Be a Man of God...ACT Five
1w ago00:27:28Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”You can feel it, even if you can’t always name it: the pressure, the drift, the sense that something essential about love and manhood is under attack. We step into Act Five of the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook to name the fight without flinching. The claim is bold and clarifying: every man is made for adventure, the adventure is a battle, and the battle is for beauty, especially the beauty of authentic love.We use Saint John Paul II’s “triptych” to zoom out and see the whole story, the beginning, the fall, and what redemption is moving us toward. From there, we let Jesus define the battleground. In the Sermon on the Mount, he goes straight for the heart, where lust turns persons into objects and where real freedom begins. That has direct consequences for pornography, dating, marriage, and the kind of strength it takes to protect women and children rather than consume them.We also look at how the fall gets normalized in modern culture, where bodies are marketed, fame and pleasure are sold as fulfillment, and men are trained to surrender attention and conscience. But we don’t stay in diagnosis. We move to hope with traction: grace is stronger than sin, Christ brings transforming power, and the way forward looks like prayer, self-mastery, brotherhood, and a renewed vision of marriage and family as the heartbeat of civilization. We point you to practical next steps, knees before the phone, the Claymore 10-minute morning ritual, then reading One ACT from the Battle Plan Handbook to share with a brother, plus a way to send in your thoughts for a follow-up.Subscribe for the next conversation, share this with a brother who needs his heart back, and leave a review so more men can find it. What part of the battle feels most personal for you right now?Email Jack with questions and comments to answer and discuss on future episodes! jack@ClaymoreMilitesChristi.comSupport the show
Transcribe →#725 Discussion ACT Four: "In the Beginning: Awe, Wonder, and a Cosmic Explosion of Love"
2w ago00:33:12Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”A teenage girl gets told her body is the problem, gets put on powerful drugs, and loses her breasts before she can even vote. That story isn’t just shocking. It forces a harder question: what happens to kids when adults replace real healing with “affirmation,” and when parents feel pressured to surrender their role out of fear?We’re joined by Fred Scola as we discuss Act Four of the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook, and go back to Genesis and the words of Jesus that point us to the model: in the beginning, it was not so. We talk about John Paul II’s vision of the body, why male and female matters, and how marriage and the family are meant to make God’s love visible. We also get practical about Catholic parenting and spiritual formation when the culture says “my truth” is all that exists.Visit Claymore milites Christi Learn more and share the vision! "The World Changes when we pass on...what is True, Good and Beautiful...with the next generation".If you care about faith, family, truth, in a confusing age, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. Then ask yourself...What part of my morning routine needs to change first?Support the show
Transcribe →#724 Weak Men Create Hard Times: Tom Undercover, Nick Shirley Attacked, Predators Free, Kids Abused
2w ago00:54:32Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”Unveiling the Hidden Attacks on Family, Faith, and Free SpeechIn this episode, Jack sits down with seasoned investigator and commentator Thomas Hampson to explore the deep-rooted threats to traditional values, free speech, and the integrity of our families. Their candid discussion sheds light on real-world agendas hiding behind laws, organizations, and cultural shifts that compromise our society’s foundation.Main Insights:The ongoing attack on moral and cultural foundations, including the influence of organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)How laws like the Predator Protection Act and conversion therapy bans suppress free speech and parental rightsThe role of sexual abuse, grooming, and societal confusion in breaking down family unitsThe influence of radical gender ideologies and questionable school curricula on children’s innocenceThe importance of courage, conviction, and active participation in defending truth and libertyIllinois HB 5295 and how parental notification, abortion record secrecy, and cross-state travel can create serious blind spots that predators can exploit. If you care about child protection, parental rights, free speech, and practical ways to push back in your local community, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway or the question you want us to tackle next.Connect and Support Thomas Hampson's Work: Resources & Links:Illinois Family InstituteTruth Alliance FoundationSubstack NewsletterClaymore Milites Christi, The Battle Plan For Young Men Waking Up to the Evils of Our DayJohn Paul II Renewal CenterEmail Jack with questions and comments to answer and discuss on future episodes! jack@ClaymoreMilitesChristi.com. Visit https://claymoremiliteschristi.com/Support the show
Transcribe →#723 In the Beginning: Awe, Wonder, and a Cosmic Explosion of Love. ACT Four
2w ago00:36:24Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”A 16-year-old girl receives a double mastectomy, later detransitions, and a jury awards $2 million in damages. That headline isn’t just a news cycle to us, it’s a flare shot into the night that forces a real question: what does the human body mean, and who is protecting the young when they’re most confused and vulnerable? I connect that crisis to the deeper spiritual battle we’re living through, where institutions often choose slogans over truth and where “affirmation” can replace real healing.From there, I make the case that no politician, celebrity, or distant leader is going to ride in and rescue your family, your marriage, or the hurting people right in front of you. There is a hero in the story, and God keeps choosing men who will unite themselves to Jesus Christ in prayer and in the Eucharist, then carry the Gospel person to person. I walk through the Claymore Battle Plan and the two asks: knees before the phone with the Claymore 10-minute morning prayer ritual, and a short daily reading and reflection that forms you to Become Who You Are! The man you were created to be.Visit Claymore milites Christi! Subscribe, share this with a brother, and leave a review so more men can find formation that leads to freedom.email your questions and stories that we can address on the show! info@jp2renew.orgSupport the show
Transcribe →#722 The Claymore Battle Plan, Discussing ACT Three: Commissioned for Battle! The Importance of Spiritual Formation
3w ago00:27:02Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”Evil rarely announces itself. More often it blends in, turns the temperature up one degree at a time, and convinces good people that numbness to sin is normal. Jack is with Claymore leader Dan McSweeney to talk plainly about the spiritual battle playing out in modern life and why so many young men feel drained, isolated, and stuck, even when everything looks “fine” on the surface. If you’re watching marriages crumble, seeing addiction, especially to p*rnogra$hy (not a typo) become common, or feeling your own heart go passive, this conversation puts words to what’s happening and why it matters.We also tackle a hard objection head-on: is the Church just a pile of rules? We walk through why the Ten Commandments are designed to set you free, not box you in. Freedom isn’t “anything goes.” Freedom is the ability to love without fear, build trust, protect your family, and live with integrity when the culture pushes the opposite. Jack shares how the Catechism begins with desire and authentic love, reframing Catholic faith as a love story rather than a scolding, and why that changes the way a man fights the battle between love and lust.Then we get practical. Claymore’s simple spiritual formation plan is built for real life: ten minutes of morning prayer before the phone, and a short nightly reading rhythm that can reshape your heart in 52 days. We talk about brotherhood, accountability, and why you should never try to do this alone, especially when spiritual resistance shows up after you start changing.Subscribe for more conversations on Catholic men’s formation and the spiritual battle, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review to help more men find the Claymore Battle Plan. What part of the plan will you start this week?Sign up for the Claymore Newsletter, get notifications on Zoom calls and live events! https://claymoremiliteschristi.com/Email Jack with questions and comments to answer and discuss on future episides! jack@ClaymoreMilitesChristi.comSupport the show
Transcribe →#721 Implementing the Claymore 3-Step Battle Plan: Answering Your Questions!
3w ago00:31:05Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”Your first 10 minutes each morning are already shaping you. The only question is whether they belong to your phone or to God. Jack sits down with Jeff to answer your questions. We hear from parents, mentors, and young men who feel the urgency of the moment and want a simple way to get their hearts back, find a wife or learn how to better love the one they have, and finally, how to restore the culture and take back their country. We break down how the Claymore 3-Step Battle Plan Outline and the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook work together, why the plan moves from the individual human heart to marriage and family, and then outward into culture and civic life. If you’ve been looking for Catholic discipleship that’s practical, repeatable, and built for real life, we explain the “Claymore 10-Minute Morning Ritual” (knees before the phone) and the 10-5 rhythm that helps you build momentum without getting overwhelmed.We also go straight at the hard stuff: anxiety, loneliness, and addiction in a porn saturated culture. We talk about why “temptation is not a sin,” how to turn temptation into an invitation to pray, and why nobody wins this battle alone. Mentorship, walking with brothers, and the grace of the Sacraments are key themes throughout, along with one guiding rule for sharing faith at home: never impose, but always propose what is true, good, and beautiful.If you want the overview, practical starting steps, and a way to pass this on to your family, social circle or your parish, listen through, then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the path.Email Jack with questions and comments to answer and discuss on future episides! jack@ClaymoreMilitesChristi.comSupport the show
Transcribe →#720 Commissioned For Battle! The Importance of Spiritual Formation...ACT Three
3w ago00:28:05Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”Evil doesn’t usually kick down the door. It slips in while we’re busy, distracted, and telling ourselves we’ll think about the big questions later. We talk about why so many men don’t choose evil outright, but still end up cooperating with it through drift, silence, and “just doing my job.”We use the idea of the banality of evil to name what’s happening, drawing on Hannah Arendt’s reporting on Adolf Eichmann and the unnerving truth that massive harm can be carried out by ordinary, morally numb people. From there we widen the lens to the mystery of evil as spiritual warfare, not just politics or psychology, and we ask what it means to live in a culture that normalizes sin, denies objective truth, and fractures the family through addictions, abortion, and confusion about identity and love.Then we get practical: knees before screens, The Claymore 10-minute morning ritual that includes praying through temptation, followed by a simple 5-minute evening plan through the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook designed to form men fast over 52 days. Find everything here! ClaymoremilitesChristi.com Where you can view the brief Claymore Battle Plan Outline or download it for free. Also order the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook from the website or on Amazon! While there sign up and meet other men already in the Battle. If you’re ready to stop drifting and start choosing the good with intention, listen, share this with a brother, and then leave a review and subscribe so more men can find a clear path to spiritual strength.Support the show
Transcribe →#719 Discussing ACT Two: Awakened By Beauty, The Opening Scene
4w ago00:22:05Tap to summarizeLove to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”Beauty can save a man’s life, or at least wake his heart up enough to fight for it. We sit down with Claymore Milites Christi Leaders, Dan McSweeney and David Avignone, to open the discussion on Act Two of the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook, “Awakened By Beauty,” and we start where modern culture rarely starts: Genesis and the simple claim that you are created good, made in the image of God, male and female. When that truth gets buried under confusion, and shame, desire doesn’t disappear, it gets redirected into using, consuming, and comparing. Visit Claymore milites Christi today! Read the Claymore Battle Plan Outline! Order the Claymore Battle Plan Handbook! Share it within your circle! The world changes when we pass on what is true, good and beautiful! If you want more freedom, stronger relationships, and a clear Catholic framework for sexuality, marriage, and holiness, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more men can find the path back to what is true, good, and beautiful.Support the show
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