Welcome to the TGIFF Podcast

Br. Andrew Torrey and Br. Luke Rawicki are American Legionaries of Christ studying for the priesthood in Rome, and every month they are inviting you to view a snapshot of their lives through their podcast, “Thank God it’s First Friday!”.

Br. Andrew, a native of Louisiana, is renowned in the Legionary community of Rome for his skill at baking spiced-up carrot cake. In an episode of the podcast he explains, “Everyone likes carrot cake and I consider it my special contribution to the community for Easter Sunday,” when he bakes for 300 people. Br. Luke Rawicki, one of 6 children raised in a Regnum Christi family, does not know how to make carrot cake, but loves to eat it, and to sing and play soccer.

The two of them with their eclectic talents and shared enthusiasm have teamed up to start a new podcast that provides a window into what life is like while studying in Rome. They discuss the situation in the church, life in Rome, movies they have watched, and what day-to-day life is like as a seminarian. As the two brothers grapple with fun inspirations and profound truths, bouncing around ideas about what they mean in real life, they invite you to join them with your questions, ideas and comments through their Facebook page.

The idea of the podcast was born after a 30-day retreat last fall, when the brothers decided they wanted to do something to introduce more people to the mystery of God’s mercy. Since first Fridays of the month are traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the unconditional mercy of God, they focused their project around them, and they envision their fun and energetic podcast as a message of hope. 

Br. Andrew and Br. Luke decided to build out their podcast based on the Dunque hermeneutic. What is the Dunque hermeneutic? Dunque means therefore in Italian. It refers to a way of drawing wisdom from experiences, and learning deeper lessons from what one is living, whether it’s in the normal day-to-day of being a seminarian, or in the extraordinary events of life in Rome. The brothers are extracting lessons from their lives and then interpreting and sharing them in light of Church teachings.

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.