Fr. Ron Hoye Reflects on the Evolution of The God Minute

This article originally appeared in the spring 2023 issue of the Western Province’s quarterly newsletter, The Vincentian. The second and third parts of the story will be posted in the coming days.

The God Minute office in the Vincentians’ Lazarist Residence in St. Louis affords a glimpse into the workings of the popular prayer podcast and app called The God Minute. It has a recording studio off to one side and a desk and meeting table on the other that is covered in notes and a stack of canvas tote bags and t-shirts with The God Minute logo.

Fr. Ron Hoye, C.M., who directs the apostolate, reflects on the early days of The God Minute, a daily online prayer that weaves together music, scripture, and a thoughtful reflection based on the Liturgy of the Hours of the Church. It now has about 47,000 subscribers and recently passed 1 million listens on YouTube.

“The God Minute began five years ago as a response to a need I kept hearing from people while leading parish missions: the desire for a simple, beautiful way to pray every day that fit into their busy lifestyle,” Fr. Ron said. “What they wanted was a way to pray that was not too long, easily accessible, and beautiful.”

Initially he searched the Internet and app stores for such a prayer but couldn’t find one he liked. What he was looking for, he said, was something modest, focused, and accessible and simply about beautiful prayer.

“I got together with a friend with whom I have worked together on many retreats and asked him to join me in creating a daily prayer podcast that would be based on the Divine Office of the Church,” he said. “We previously wrote a book together and used those reflections as a part of the prayer, incorporating scripture, blessings, and soft music.”

They kept it to 10 minutes and uploaded it each day to podcast directories. The God Minute name was coined. Within a year it went from a couple of hundred listeners to thousands, mainly by word of mouth.

Three years ago, Fr. Ron expanded the podcast prayer to an app, making it even easier for people to pray on the go while also providing access to additional prayer resources and videos. More contributors were also added to reflect greater diversity and plurality, along with part-time staff to handle the growing demands.

“God wanted this to happen. There is no other way to explain it,” Fr. Ron said. “It went from a little side project to a growing community of over 47,000 people around the world who pray with us each day.”

The God Minute community takes their Vincentian roots seriously and puts that prayer into action on behalf of the poor.

“Two years ago we raised over a quarter million dollars to build classrooms for children in Kenya and last year an equal amount to help those devastated by loss and violence in Ukraine,” he said.

In the coming months, The God Minute will expand into another element of their Vincentian identity, evangelization. A new video series of faith formation and leadership called, “Tuesday Conferences” will be offered, led by members of the Vincentian family around the world.

The God Minute (thegodminute.org) is available on all podcast directories and your App Store.

Subscriber Testimonial-Jim Krakus

Jim Krakus, of Ohio, discusses what The God Minute has meant to him, in particular as a source of comfort in the wake of his wife’s passing from cancer. Today, as a regular listener, he says the God Minute provides a sense of community as well.