09-09-26 Spirit Mornings Show

0:00This podcast courtesy of the Spirit Catholic Radio Network to learn more about Spirit Catholic Radio including how to support Spirit Catholic Radio and other great programs on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network head to SpiritCatholicRadio.com or download the Spirit Catholic Radio app. We can read you. I'm the way downstairs and drank a cup. You know I am excited? I'll tell you I am excited because of you that's why I'm excited. This is Spirit Mornings with Jen Brown and Damien Montez on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network. Good morning, good morning to you. So glad to have you with us this morning Wednesday. September is at a 9th. September 9th, 2026. In the here of our Lord Damien Montez, Jen Brown back in the studio and you.

1:04Thank you so much. Being a part of Spirit Mornings, welcome back Jen Brown. I want to hear all about it in one minute go. Well, it was an exciting time. It's not a contest. You're not going to win any prizes. I do want to hear about your fun trip. 35 to 0. Is that the final score? Yeah. Yeah. First time since 1915 that a first time head coach has had that shut out at Penn State. But you know, I mean, it's a good start for the first time head coach there. Yeah, that is. That is a nice time. But that they're they've only had a few head coaches in their lustreous history. So, but it is a very exciting. It was wonderful time. The atmosphere incredible. It was hot. It was supposed to be 77. I think it was 97. It was just, but I got a nice little tan and fun time. Jackson gave us a whole tour Friday of the facilities and the stadium. We went to this great place for dinner and then went into the stadium at night time.

2:07And it was just so neat being there at night. I don't know what it was about being there at night. It was just really neat. Some police officers came over and Jackson explained to him who he is, has some fam and town and giving him the tour. And so we had a great night. They were like, like a story. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. And so on the wall. We know. So, it was just a really fun time. A lot of family went and my mom's side of the family and they're just fun people. So we just had a just a fun time. That's the only time we really got to spend a ton of time with Jackson on Friday night and then after the game met back at his townhome on Saturday night and my mom and dad and Jackson's girlfriend met. We met up there at his townhome after the game and we had some pizza and just hashed out the game and then I went to this beautiful parish the next day. It was called Our Lady Queen of Victory right there in the heart of the city, state college, also known as Happy Valley.

3:10And this incredible experience, Damian, this young woman who I thought was a young woman called students at next to me and she said something to me about my veil. Like in the middle of the mask, she said, you look beautiful with that thing with that on your head. And I said, well, thank you. You know, that's very nice of you. And I said, you look beautiful today too. And we went up to communion and I did notice at the sign of the piece, she was very startled at the sign of peace. And I didn't know if she just didn't want to shake hands because they were shaking hands. But she was extremely startled. It was like she didn't know what was going on. And then we went to communion and we come back from communion and she goes, I have a big question for you. And I said, oh, okay. And she revealed in her hand, she still was holding the communion. And she said, what am I supposed to do with this? Goodness. Am I supposed to eat this? And I said, and I said, let's sit down.

4:10I said, are you Catholic? She said, no. She was just kind of following everybody. Can she have to go with everybody? Okay. And I said, I'm going to go ahead and consume this because I am Catholic so I consumed it. And I said, we believe this is the body of Christ. So I'm going to consume this. I said, have you ever been baptized? Have you gone through first communion or anything? She said, no. She said, I go to a youth group here. I go to a youth group. This is my first ever mass. Yeah. I was like, this is amazing. This is so exciting. I was just like pumping her up and this is during like right after the prayer. And so I was kind of explaining a few things and I was explaining why the priest was taking such care with the vessels as he was cleaning them. And then I said, do you read the Bible? And she said, yes, I do read the Bible. And I said in John, John, the gospel of John in John chapter 60 talks about those who

5:10eat my flesh and drink my blood. And we believe this is the body and blood of Christ. I said, that guy is going to walk that the, the, the, the left over Eucharist that you were holding in your hand that has not been consumed. He's going to put that in that tabernacle, that gold box right there. And that's where it's going to stay until the next mass because we, it's reverent. It's the body of Christ. And when I said the body of Christ, she goes, oh, yes. And then we talked about why, why he does the, the vessels and cares for them so much. And her eyes were just lit up. And I said, after the last blessing, we can talk some more. So we got the last blessing. And then we chatted a little more. I thought she was in college. She was in high school. Oh, boy. She was in high school. And I believe her name was in Nez. She downloaded the app for Spirit Catholic Radio. So in Nez, if I heard your name correctly, thank you. If you're tuned in to Spirit of Mornings, thank you for going to youth group.

6:11Thank you for going to Mass on Sunday. I hope you're going to continue to go. I told her to get ahold of father and ask about O CIA. And it was just, I'm still on cloud nine from that experience as well. That was such an incredible experience. The drive extremely tiresome. Dad and I are going to fly to the next game. Because you drove from Omaha all the way there. Like, yeah, we stopped in South Bend. And I got to go to, got to go to the grotto and the cathedral at Notre Dame. Nice. And spray there a couple of different times. So that was really special to kind of take my whole family there the first time we stopped there. So it was so nice. It was, you know what? It's always an adventure, Damian. There were some few bumps along the road, but that's going to happen in every adventure that you're on. And, and, and as couldn't have sat next to a better person to explain all this to her. Oh, and here's another cool thing. There was a whole, there was a group, there was a family that sat in front of me.

7:15And the wife was, it was a wife and grandparents and a mother and father. And they had like three kids and they were looking around and they were like, oh, well, I don't see a full pew. And I was sitting right behind him and I had a full pew. And I said, do you have other people coming? She goes, another five people. And I said, all sit up there and you can have this whole pew. And they were like, really? I said, yeah. And so we switched and they had the full pew. And so I switched. And so then, and as came in and sat next to me like all these like, because of your kindness to that family, it allowed you to sit next to a Nez who allowed her to learn about what was going on. Well, I was going to say, I'm glad that that mom, you know, was just like turned around and said, I don't see a full pew. You know, I mean, I'm glad that she just said something or I wouldn't even know that they were looking for a full pew. You know what I'm saying? The Lord works in wonderful ways. I know. You know, it, it doesn't surprise us, but it always surprises us. You know what I mean?

8:15It's just, it's just that kind of cool thing. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. All kinds of, all kinds of beautiful things. Jackson is so happy. I mean, he is in his groove. I bet. He's so proud. He's so proud of the facilities. He's so proud of that organization and he should be there. Their top notch. They're really doing some good things. And he hasn't been at a bad school yet. Has it? I mean, honestly, you know, from playing it in what Northern Iowa and then coaching it Iowa state and he coached at New Mexico state. He coached Jerry Kill who was a great coach to be under as well. He's good. He's been just pretty amazing. So it's been very fun and he's, he's just writing it in a great groove and he's just, it's hard work. I mean, it's hard work, but he likes putting in the hard work. Let's just put it that way. Absolutely. So yeah. Oh, well, we're glad to have you back. We're glad it was a safe travel for you. We praying for you. Thank you very much. Yeah. Appreciate that. And thanks to everybody. Just everybody's always so kind and so nice. And people ask about Jackson and he's doing, he's doing going, he's going to be.

9:19He's going to stay away from Mama, but he's doing good. But you and dad are going to fly next time. Yeah, we are. Do you already know which game it's going to be? Yep. The Wisconsin game. Oh, very nice. Yeah. So going to try to get those flights booked because we're a little behind the. So is that one of those reflux? Yeah. It's a little bit. So is that one of those reflux? Yeah. It's a little bit. You have to take the train. We're going to fly in the Harrisburg. Okay. And then we're going to car. It's about an hour and a half. Oh, okay. Very good. That's right. It's a teamy. It's on the bills. Yeah. Very nice. We're good to have you back for the short period of time we have you back till the Wisconsin game. What day is that? The 26. The 26th. Hello, John. So weekend before carathons, spirit, Catholic radio, weather today. Are we getting a cool down, Damien? Yeah, we are. Across the state of Nebraska, much needed cool down. Let's see. Western Nebraska, mostly sunny with a high of 82. Thank goodness. Central Nebraska. Holy cloudy and 80 Northeast Nebraska, sunny and 81 and an eastern Nebraska and Southwest

10:20Iowa. Chants of showers, mainly south with a high of 84 spirit mornings, weather brought to you by the hashtag spirit church tour. Jen will tell you all about that here and just a little bit. It is 7 10. Now you're up to date. Thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network. Yeah. Today's hashtag spirit church tour is St. Francis of a seizie in nearly Nebraska. Now the Jubilee year of St. Francis is underway for several more months right up until the first week of January. So if you get a chance to go to a St. Francis church or St. Francis monastery or anything St. Francis, you get some indulgences. So check that out. St. Francis of a seizie in nearly Nebraska. That is where you'll see today on social media a picture of our van in front of that church. It's right, Damien. If you know anything about that church, grow up in that church. If you're a member of that church right now, tell us all about it in the comments. We want to hear about it.

11:20So go to our social media and tell us about your beloved St. Francis of a seizie church in nearly Nebraska. Shout out to Father Frank Bomber at St. Francis, a seizie in nearly Nebraska. It is 7 11 and yeah, we got to get Jen back into the swing of things here. The hardest part so far is what day of the week is it? It is Wednesday, Hashtag, Spirit Church tour. So it is Wednesday. Let's hear from Father Laura's grill and then we're going to talk with Steve Angrizano about the upcoming Christ our life conference in Des Moines. A reading from the book of Job. Naked I came forth from my mother's womb and naked I shall go back again. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We accept good things from God and should we not accept evil? The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Today is Wednesday. Good morning. It is the 23rd week of ordinary time and the feast of St. Peter Claver. My name is Father Laura's grill and I come to you from where I serve at St. Mary's

12:24and Ymore St. Mary's in Odell and St. Joseph's in Barnston. Job laments today that he came into the world naked and will leave in the same way. When you think about it, we are all metaphorically naked until we have been clothed in God's grace and adorned ourselves with his virtues. Today's saint rescued naked slaves from Africa. St. Peter Claver was born in Spain and became one of the early Jesuits. He fell to call to go to the missions in the new world where he ended up in Colombia. There he ministered to the blacks who had survived the long journey from Africa. He became a slave to the slaves, caring for their every need. And one of his letters from today's office of readings, Peter speaks of the sick from the boats who were made to lie on the wet ground, were in puddles of mud. Someone thought to place the sick onto tiles and broken pieces of brick, which he termed to be their couch.

13:24Peter evangelized and baptized more than 300,000 enslaved people during his 40-year ministry in Colombia. The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly like these slaves. Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor. Our Lord identified himself with the poor of every kind. He made active love toward them, the condition for entering his kingdom. Today is a great day for us to imitate St. Peter Claver. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you Father Boris Drill for providing morning prayer and we'll pray in honor of Saint Peter Claver. Peter on today and 8 o'clock, shout out to the Knights of Peter Claver from 24th and Grant there in Omaha. Spirit morning spotlight community this morning we're shining the spotlight on Beaver crossing Nebraska and the weather in Beaver crossing. There's a slight chance of showers today with a high of 84. So good morning to our friends and listeners in Beaver crossing Nebraska.

14:25And how's in Beaver Stadium over the weekend? Close enough. Yeah. I don't think you're picking us up on 102.7 and Beaver Stadium. I had to be. Crossing it. I had to download the app to listen to Spirit Catholic Radio which that was fine with me and I can do can take wherever you go. You can listen to Spirit Catholic Radio. If you're in Beaver crossing tune in on the radio dial 102.7 FM KVSS the flagship station that started it all 27 years ago or download the app and take us anywhere you go. It is 714 and anywhere he goes smiles follows. We're talking about Steve and Grasano. He's next. This is Spirit mornings on the Spirit Catholic Radio network. He's going to be the musical MC at the Christ our Life Conference in Des Moines September 26th and 27. He tells Christ our life Iowa dot com. Steve and Grasano. Thank you so much for joining us.

15:25Now first before we get to the upcoming conference would you mind sharing with our listeners where you're at right now and what you're doing? I sure will. You know I wrote, well hello to everyone. Good morning you guys. This is not a musician time of deck. I have had to enjoy the I'm in Nashville right now recording 14 songs that I wrote with Curtis Steven and Sarah Hart to great composers. Curtis wrote the massive renewal. A lot of people sing that at church and maybe don't even know his name and Sarah's written many beautiful songs that people sing at mass and we wrote them based upon entrance and communion antivons and we're in Nashville for two weeks. Recording those 14 songs based on antivons. One of them is rejoice rejoice. Great and show reward the gospel of today. So that was kind of fun. I was sitting here waiting for you on the porch sitting on the porch right on the street because this is where the best self-service is and it's a busy time.

16:26I've been very busy. I did a lot of camps this summer for youth and conferences and now some parish missions and straight on to Christ our life which I know we'll talk about in a moment and then I want to two pilgrimages in Europe one in Ireland and one in Italy with different priests that I work with a lot and just love traveling and praying with them and we'll make a holy journey. God willing. Throughout Europe so it's a busy time. No grass growing under the feet of Steve Angerzano at all. Versatile ministry leader in in the church today. Now Steve you made a slight mention of that you are doing some stuff with not only recording but oh I lost my train of thought there but you made mention of oh what you were doing this summer some of the things but one of them was you were doing concerts for Mary's meals all across Iowa. I sure was we did we just had a banner year and I can say that probably because not

17:27a penny of those donations raised comes to me it's a very altruistic thing. We work very hard in Iowa every summer to do a fundraising concert series around Iowa and we were usually in the backyard of a church in the summer day with some food trucks sometimes inside we have adoration at the end and it was just beautiful and the donations were so records breaking and awesome. 10s of thousands of dollars and each day was just beautiful and the prayer I just think my favorite thing is when we end with adoration you know I'll do a concert a little bit and if you've seen me before if you haven't please come to Christ our life it's just one of the best experiences you can have as an adult Catholic in the United States of America I kid you not there are there are people who waited two years and paid thousands of dollars to go to the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis a couple years ago and there was no it's the same same speakers same everything it's the same experience and it's right there in

18:30your backyard and and and it's just an extraordinary thing and and in the concerts this summer so many of the folks that I encountered you know I've been to Christ our life or prayed with me online the chaplain divine mercy and oh my gosh when we end with adoration and just recognize after I sing and play a little bit and Ellen Miller who talks a bit about Mary's meals and then we just lay it all before the Lord and maybe some people are very accustomed to Eucharistic adoration some maybe don't don't have that experience to often there's just something beautiful about letting Jesus be center of our hearts and who we are and I often share in that experience quote of St. Bernard that we're called to be reservoirs of grace I think in our busy world we think of holiness is something we have to do and you know what St. Bernard says is holiness is allowing your heart to become a reservoir remove those things that come between you and God and let God fill you so that he's literally

19:31overflowing and other people experience that without any loss to yourself you don't have to lay it all out or leave it all on the field sports analogies are great for sports but when it comes to the spiritual realm St. Bernard says you don't want to end the day empty you want to be a reservoir and end the day full and what people around you have experienced is Christ overflowing in you and that's I think when we put Jesus at the center is the path that hopefully we're on now for somebody listening who thinks about wow this would be a great conference I just don't know if I want to be around that many people like what do you have to say to somebody who might kind of shy away from so many people getting together for this event? Well the first thing I'd say and I mean this as big a compliment as I can say it I I officially sing in Iowa more than I sing anywhere else in the United States of America and the people of Iowa are just the nicest people in the whole wide world it's just a beautiful gathering of kindness and

20:31I do think that sometimes we allow especially post pandemic we allow just the fact that we have to exert effort to gather to be an obstacle and you know we were not meant to find our faith individually we are communal we are the body of Christ and you know we're not saved I had an mentor who used to say this we're not saved by community but we are saved in community and it is important to be in the community with others who are walking the walk and living the life with you and I just don't know any other way if you're really shy it's a great time to go to confession with a priest you'll probably never see again for the rest of your life that in itself is a great reason show upon Saturday many great reasons yeah Steve it is the conference the Christ our life conference has been going on for a deck more than a decade and he's every other year it's such a special time and you have been around for every one of them is that correct yes I actually was not at

21:38the first one but I was have been at every one since yeah same here same here Steve oh see I knew I knew you look familiar no actually I know we've met many times in person but yes yeah that was you know the first one was also really special I've heard the stories and seen the pictures but boy I joined in the second one and it's just been quite a journey it's very spirit led I remember I do this all the time and many of these conferences are planned by big organizations that do this you know with millions of dollars and lots of important people at the top of their board of directors and you know this is such a homegrown effort and I mean that in the biggest most powerful way because I'm convinced it's very spirit led I I'm sure all these years later it may or may not be true but four or five conferences into Christ our life I asked Ellen how are you getting you know Bishop there in and Cardinal Dolan and Father Mike Smith I how are you getting all these people to come to your conference in Iowa and her answer at that time was well I don't

22:40know see like no one's ever said no to me before I just write a letter and they say yes and I'm like well that is the Holy Spirit now and that is the Holy Spirit so I think she writes a few more than one letter though yeah she writes a lot of letters she's very persistent which we're happy about oh my gosh in the in the very slow show I called her a used car salesman for Jesus I mean she's relentless relentless but in the most beautiful way yes right she's she's a fool for Jesus and we love that yeah yeah yeah Steve Angrizzano he's the music missionary composer story teller and one of the many speakers at the Christ our life conference in Des Moines at the end of this month along with I mean this amazing list of speakers Bishop Joseph Espayat the rapper priest from the Bronx is there Christophonic is that my son at Christophonic Robert Robert Spitzer from EWTN sister Medine Tessfe Gabrielle Castillo Cristina Everett Charles Belraeesh father David Michael Moses Bishop William Johnson from the Des Moines Diocese

23:46and Magnus McFarland Barrow are the guest speakers at the Christ our life conference in Iowa and you can find the details on how you can get your tickets whether it's streaming it or being at the event live Saturday September 26th Sunday September 27th details at Christ our life Iowa.com you know there's something so moving about being in adoration with thousands of people and being at mass with thousands of people it feels like Steve and I'm not just saying this about the Christ our life Iowa conference but I'm saying it's about all conferences in general when you gather with the body of Christ in that big of an arena yet you feel it it moves you to a new level absolutely oh you know I hope this comes out the way I intended you know when I was at the Eucharist at Congress in Indianapolis it was and if you're not familiar with that it was just a once in a decade or so thing that the bishops of the United States do all together and we had a

24:49completely full football stadium maybe almost a hundred thousand people on that second night and you know I had this thought that we're not doing anything different than what we always do at a 1000 person youth conference or a Christ our life Iowa that the only difference that people were that was being experienced is that young people see this all the time we drag teenagers to youth conferences and retreats all the time a lot of adults never experienced this and it put in my heart really a profound desire to say to people so it's why I'm not just making this up because I'm coming to Christ our life like like this is an experience of faith that cannot be replicated in your parish you you just have to be in an arena with a few thousand people praying at mass watching 40 priests process and and singing and kneeling in adoration with thousands of others and you know we we experience Christ in the in that big body of Christ in a way that you just don't

25:53any other way and and I really hope people will just hear this and it surprises me how many people come and it surprises me how many people don't come both surprising it's so overwhelming to see thousands of people there but then I go to a parish you know 30 minutes away and say who was at Christ our life and maybe 20% of the people raised their hand I'm like you're blowing it I mean it's right here it's right here so I hope if you're listening it moves your heart it just what you said Janet it's just there's something in that experience that cannot be replicated without going to something like this you know Steve we have about we have about four minutes left I think we have just enough time to talk about what happens when you go to lunch with the group of sisters well that that's a great that you laid that out right in front of me okay so I was doing the conference very it did have heard me share this I did a conference very similar to Christ our life down in

26:55Amarillo Texas and my uh health fatality committee was a community of sisters you can look them up right now you can go on your computer for disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in Amarillo Texas maybe 40 or 50 princess consistors they wear a little gray habit and oh let me tell you if you've not walked into a restaurant with eight nuns you're really missing one of the great experiences of life I'm not kidding the whole restaurant just comes to a stop people are videotaping for YouTube we look like the madeline cartoon and their little habits and we go and we sit down and when the waiter gives us a glass of water the sister nice to me looks up at him and says you know when you do this for me I see Jesus in you and thank you for serving us the waiter just looked like he'd been hit by a brick like he didn't know what to say and he's like uh I'm Catholic you know that was his answer which he probably shouldn't have said because it was Sunday afternoon and he's working at the restaurant and she said do you did you go to mass this morning and he's like oh sister I had to work today and

27:58she stood up and grabbed his hands and just prayed this beautiful prayer may God bless you and may you know that everything you do is a reflection of God's love website a holy card like she's magic like in her pockets with a whole Catholic bookstore she whoops it out and says here take this card this man reminds me of you so much he wrote this phrase our hearts will be restful until they rest in me it means until we let God fill our heart will never be fully who we are meant to be and he reminds me so much of you because his name is same-adjusted and he didn't go to mass either not for 30 years and I like you can't even get away with that if you're not an un he didn't know he'd been criticized he said thank you you know and he walks and every encounter for an hour and a half it was like walking around with angels from heaven every encounter once like this were I'll say this last thing I'm probably pushing my four minutes we're on our way out the door and this man just hands them a little card with his wife's name and says please pray for my wife she's she's dying of cancer and she's in the hospital next door and it's been

29:01very difficult and I'm not Catholic but I pray and I know you pray and those sisters gathered around this man and I am telling you I can't even explain the moment as they're praying over him I look around and no servers are serving no people are clinking their forex like the whole world to stop to pray and I'm thinking they don't even know what we're praying for but you know what your ears don't hear your heart understands and the Holy Spirit moves and I just walked out of there just thinking I want to be a sister I said that to my want to be a sister and they said well you have a lot of obstacles but we're all called to live like that that's reservoirs there reservoirs of grace are you giving me a tie there's reservoirs of grace right there that's who they are and that's what makes them do that you know that that is the movie I'd rather see over the DC Comics Marvel Comics I would like to see a movie that just follows those nuns around doing their love and their mission for Christ because that is just a beautiful story and that's just what you witnessed yes absolutely they're like that every day what miracles have happened since then

30:04I'm not even joking you know my goodness Steve Angrizzano if you can't hear the passion and joy for his love of Christ and his voice if that doesn't lead you to want to go to the Christ or life conference in Des Moines or check it out online then I don't know what to do for you Christ or life conference Iowa dot com is the website it's coming up at the end of this month and what's that Jen hold on what's that I think that we're giving away free tickets right now for the Christ or life conference all you have to do is call us but we just love chatting with our friends Steve Angrizzano and we wish him the best with his travels and his recording in Nashville that's so exciting Steve you have to come back on and tell us all about that when the recording comes out does that sound good I would love to yeah absolutely I mean it made it eight sounds like okay all right later in the day is like you're saying it sounds like a song right now he's sitting on a porch in Nashville right now talking to us I mean if that's how to begin like a song yeah well Steve thank you

31:06so much we look forward to seeing you at the Christ or life conference in Des Moines I'll be there look forward to seeing you too I got blessed you know I'm gonna he's gonna be one up on me I'm gonna miss this one this year yeah yeah yeah you're gonna have to hold him back from one year so you can catch back up with him so what's that number to call to win those tickets 1855 571 1027 call now to win tickets to the Christ or life conference and see this guy Steve Angrizzano now he's there throughout the whole day he's kind of like this he's the musical he tells stories like that yeah tell stories he introduces some people you did you get a sing songs with them it's amazing he just does such a good job he just keeps things going and as you can tell he is just a ball of energy how many tickets we've got two tickets yep two tickets one eight five five five seven one one oh two seven if you want to try and win a pair of tickets we would love to hook you up so you can go to Christ or life one eight five five five seven one one oh two seven in fact there's a call right there online one

32:08so Lisa can grab that one because I hung up on Steve so yeah it looks like we've got to win her right there thank you to Lisa Dempsey also line two lit up too so Lisa Dempsey from community engagement we got to visit with her yesterday and she is a jack of all trades as she is taking your call right now to win tickets to Christ our life conference in Iowa one eight five five five seven one one oh two seven and if you don't win those tickets you can go to Christ our life iowa dot warga and purchase the thirty dollar tickets for the entire weekend and if you're age 23 and under free get in free free tickets yeah we want we want students at this event as well so uh Christ our life iowa dot com is where you can find all the details father David Moses a bunch of the kids are following him so uh they'll be excited to see him and father max carcines from council boss he'll be one of the moderators in the break out session it's seven thirty two she took the stage expecting to follow a beat and ended up changing how the world sees strength capability and

33:08belonging that's our good news update next be sure to invite your friends and family to encounter Jesus tell them to listen to the spirit catholic radio network see the program schedule at spirit catholic radio dot com slash programs join spirit catholic radio for a special broadcast of the massive Thanksgiving for father Edward jay flanagan founder of boys town on sunday september 13th at eight thirty p.m. central archbishop michael macgumman of the archdiocese of omha will celebrate the mass from the doug chapel tune in as we give thanks for the life and legacy of father flanagan for more details visit spirit catholic radio dot com this is john donna from san isek jokes and link in nabrasca you're listening to spirit catholic radio catholic radio for the christian community thank you so much for supporting spirit catholic radio

34:13i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which is stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all we represent the family of the good shepherd from grand island of braska and this is spirit catholic radio spirit catholic radio presents catholic words sacramentary the book used by the celebrate containing all the prayers for the liturgy of the mass sacramentary and that's catholic words on it's now time for the spirit mornings good news update on spirit catholic radio sponsored by weepfield's bakery express located at one hundred eighty-ninth and maple and omaha to drive through option for busy people on the go every week inside a bustling gym in k'sville utah the room comes alive with music sweat and energy but for 22

35:20year old obry aldridge those four walls were always more than just a place to exercise they were a place to belong born with down syndrome obry has spent her life navigating a world that often places limits on what people can achieve but if you ask anybody who knows obry they'll tell you that that word limit not in her vocabulary at all obry's love affair with fitness started from the back of the room she tried everything zumba pilates high fitness and dance but when she found a fitness class which blended cardio and strength something inside her ignited she didn't just follow the movements she absorbed them while others struggled to keep up with the rhythm obry's mind raised ahead memorizing every step every beat every transition and soon her natural passion became impossible to hide during workout sessions obry would turn around and gently guide the people behind her pointing the way with a bright smile and her instructor jane johnson said

36:21she has an incredible brain obry can learn choreography so fast and she retains it recognizing a rare talent and an overflowing heart jane saw that obry had known all along or jane saw what obry had known all along she wasn't meant to follow from the back of the class obry was born to lead it through dedication relentless practice and an unshakeable belief in herself obry made history becoming the world's first certified instructor in that type of physical fitness with down syndrome and when the day finally arrived for her debut obry stepped out onto the stage in front of more than 60 waiting people stripping away every doubt fear and barrier she clipped on her headset microphone took a deep breath and lit up that room and for 60 powerful obry wasn't just teaching a workout class she was mending hearts and breaking glass ceilings she moved through the crowd offering radiant high fives shouting words of praise and ensuring that every single person in that room felt seen valued and loved and obry said i

37:27love to be on stage i love exercise i love to wear my mic and say every cue i want to help everyone feel included and this world that so often tells us where we do and don't fit obry carved out a space not just for herself but for anybody who has ever felt left out or doubted obry proved that true strength isn't measured by the weight you lift but by the lives you uplift around you her former instructor now current employer jane shared obry is a light and she brings so much joy to so many people i think it shows that she can work hard to do anything and i think it shows other people that they can work hard to do anything they set their minds to as well today is the gym prepares to place obry officially on the schedule her message echoes far beyond the studio mirrors no matter who you are no matter whatever challenges you face or with the world expects of you you belong you are capable and your light deserves to shine

38:28with your good news update i'm damian montez on spirit mornings keep shining obry keep shining it's seven thirty eight spirit Catholic radio weather brought to you by the hashtag spirit church tour this week the hashtag spirit church is st. Francis's eC in neely nabrasca jena give you more details on that here shortly western nabrasca today oh i love the cool down we're all going to be feeling in nabrasca western nabrasca a much needed cool down mostly sunny with a high of 82 central nabrasca partly cloudy in 80 northeast nabrasca sunny in 81 and in eastern nabrasca in southwest ayowa parts of the region will see a slight chance of showers with a high of 84 it is 739 now you're up to date thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network this sunday in the archdiocese of omaha or having very special massive thanksgiving in honor of the life of father edward jflanagan the celebrant will be archbishop michael mgavern it's at the down chapel but you can hear it

39:30on spirit catholic radio you can hear the live video you can watch the live video stream at spirit catholic radio com and then you can listen to the radio broad calat cast later in the day at eight thirty p.m another mass that's important to note is the massive remembrance and prayer the 25th anniversary of september 11th the mass will be in belview at saint mathes friday september 11th at nine a.m also archbishop michael mgavern the celebrate of that mass as well it's seven thirty nine spirit catholic radio um we we did mention that saint frances of acesia neli a jubilee year of saint frances that's the ash tank spirit church and it's seven thirty nine we're going to hear more about saint peter claver powerful witness to christ in the church and then after that we're going to check in with the emeculate heart of marie calzine center this is francescan media saint of the day for september 9th today we celebrate

40:30saint peter claver born in 1581 claver left his spanish homeland in his early thirties and was ordained a Jesuit priest in columbia the slave trade had been flourishing in the port city of carthagania for a century ten thousand slaves poured into the port each year after crossing the Atlantic from west africa under conditions so foul and inhuman that an estimated one third of the passengers died in transit as soon as a slave ship entered the port father claver ministered to the ill treated and miserable passengers with medicines and food with the help of interpreters he gave basic instructions in the faith and assured his brothers and sisters of their human dignity and god saving love during the forty years of his ministry he baptized an estimated three hundred thousand slaves extending his apostolate beyond the enslaved father claver became a moral force preaching in the city square and giving missions to sailors and traders after four years of sickness father claver died in sixteen fifty four the city leaders who had previously dismissed his work

41:35ordered that he should be buried at public expense with great pomp peter claver was canonized in eighteen eighty eight there's more about the saints along with inspiration and Catholic resources at our website saint of the day dot org from francescan media this has been saint of the day saint peter claver praying for us to shout to the nights of peter claver at saint Benedict more in Omaha the saint the saint the spirit Catholic radio networks by like community is beaver crossing Nebraska listening on one oh two point seven fm k v s s the flagship station that started at all twenty seven years ago that's right and uh... let's see the weather today and beaver crossing Nebraska slight chance of showers with a high of eighty four so good morning to our friends and listeners and beaver crossing Nebraska it's seven forty two at the top of the hour we'll have a prayer dedicated to saint peter claver next let's talk about um... mission let's

42:36talk about the mission mental health and why it's important this is spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network is an intern at the immaculate heart of Mary counseling center Katie walkers with this good morning Katie how are you? hi good morning can you hear me? we can hear you just fine so glad to have you with us so you're one of the new interns and and so we want to know i guess first off before you tell us about your experience at the immaculate heart of Mary counseling center and Lincoln you know what your path was like that led you to where you're at today how did you kind of how did you end up here what was that nudge? yes absolutely um i grew up in and church my my whole life um has been a believer for a long time and um always was passionate about mental health as well my mom is a therapist and so i kind of always you know was passionate about the lord and his work

43:37but also in how mental health integrated with that and my church was also very mission-minded growing up and so i um was aware of missionaries and thought what they did and they're calling from the lord was just the coolest thing ever as a kid and so i um really thought for a long time that was how the lord was calling me was to um be a missionary as well but then he had other plans and kind of combined my um interest in mental health and also for um god's work to the nations and that's led me here to pursue a PhD in counseling psychology and for our final year before we get to become a psychologist we have to do a pre-doctoral internship and um i ended up matching here at the Immaculate Heart of Mary counseling center and Lincoln Nebraska and i'm about a month and a half in now and it's just been a joy and a blessing and so um glad to be calling in here and talking a little bit about the work we do here at Immaculate Heart of counseling center and getting to share

44:39a little bit about the research that i do and missionary mental health and how we can care for those who are called by the lord to serve to the nation. Katie Walker we're happy to have you happy to be chatting with you now when you grew up and you were called to um missions at a young age did you notice something about the mindset or the healthcare of missionaries that you thought well this could be something that i might work on as you pursued this this career. Absolutely yeah i was really lucky enough to get to do a lot of medium-term missions growing up you know different short-term trips with my church or my college experience they had a program where i was able to do summer semester serving internationally and so i spent a summer in Honduras a summer in Uganda and a summer in Singapore and so because of you know the background that i had in mental health was my mom being a therapist and kind of being aware of the importance of

45:44taking care of mental health i had this lens that i took with me as i was serving in these positions in the long-term missionaries that i was working with i was noticing that maybe they were struggling with anxiety or depression while they were in the field and i was like huh this is it right they need access to care they need someone to talk to about this and so because of the background that i had like i said was my mom and then being able to do this experience i was noticing that missionaries weren't getting the care that they needed i was like there's something that i think i could do about this and that was how the lord called me into doing this work of combining these two passions in my life to now i'm doing my dissertation and studying how we can most effectively help missionaries in the therapy setting and increase access to care for them. We're talking with Katie Walker from a macular heart of Mary counseling center on spirit mornings. This is a fascinating subject and i think it's one of those that i guess until we start to talk

46:46and with you i would have i would have taken something like this for granted so why is it important for Catholics to care about the well-being and mental health of missionaries. Yeah you know we we see in the gospels the great commission where Jesus charges us to go and make disciples and so you know the church has a long rich history of sending missionaries and speaking to the nations which is amazing but you know as our research is developing as we're learning more about what it actually costs people when they are missionaries we see that research shows that rates of trauma are really high in this population that they're exposed to things like natural disasters warfare or terrorism more commonly and actually research points that 47.9% of female missionaries and 42.1% of male missionaries report anxious symptoms as well as 32.5 female missionaries and 27.5 male missionaries report depressive symptoms while they're in the

47:53field these are really high numbers and so really warrants our care and attention to these on how can we best support these people who are following the words calling but are maybe really likely to develop anxiety or depression while they're in the field and so then that's where mental health and therapy can come in on how we can best support these people so that they're less likely to leave the field early or be unable to fulfill the calling that the Lord has placed on their heart because it's really layered the demands that are on missionaries you know our faith can really increase resilience you know all of us know this that you know our faith provides us with joy and purpose but yet still there's a vulnerability that can come from being on the field as missionaries and so we want to best attend to this of the taxing work of what it is like to be a missionary especially if they're not in regular rhythms of knowing how to take care of themselves so that they can keep

48:56doing the work that the Lord has called them to and so by attending to mental health supports and really increasing these for missionaries we can support the support the sustainability of them in the field their effectiveness as long as they're long-term well-being you know Katie as we are talking about these things and the and missions it with the Catholic Church it's being such a huge church there's many different things that fall into mission work like we have the focus missionaries they're on college campuses and we have people that do pro-life work and do it right there in the middle of inner cities or work in pregnancy help organizations that's missionary work and then you have where they're going out into maybe third world countries and doing that kind of work for like Catholic relief agencies different things like that or working for Catholic charities so there's or or even just the work that sometimes the Knights of Columbus do across the globe could be considered missionary type of work or actual just going on a missionary trip the first thing that's

49:58going to happen is you're going to be separated from your families you're going to you know be removed from like the comfort that you're that you're kind of used to so are there some key action steps that someone can take so that they can have a solid foundation when they're taking that first step as a missionary absolutely you know that there are a lot of different things that we can do to help people yet exactly like you said no matter where they're serving whether that's here in the States or abroad understanding that serving the Lord while it's rewarding but also demanding that there are things that we can do to to help ourselves to put supports in place and so my my joke is that I think everyone should get a therapist I you know I'm the number one supporter of therapy myself as a therapist and so I really highly recommend it to most people truthfully it's I'm really just beneficial to have that space to talk to someone but that isn't

51:04necessarily required for people to be able to do good missions work but certainly here at the Immaculate Heart of a Mary counseling center we're here and ready to to support people but really I think it's important for people to get comfortable checking in with themselves you know often it's really easy when we have extra space in our day to pick up our phones and scroll on social media but I think that there's really a biblical model of being able to slow down and check in with ourselves you know and Luke 219 it talks about how Mary quote pondered these things in her heart when you know the angel visited her and told her of what was going to happen to her you know she pondered these things in her heart I think we I'm really struggling with you know just culturally slowing down and pondering things in our heart of checking in with ourselves and slowing down and so I think that that would be a recommendation I would have for most people is how can you

52:08pondering things in your life and the emotions that you're having in a more structured way then resist picking up your phone as much as the recommendation that I would have next I would I would recommend for people that are doing missions work like you said whether it's here in the States or abroad is kind of having a check-in system between them and the people that are surrounding them whether that's their sending organization or their close friends people that are in their circle kind of figuring out what your yellow flags are and what your red flags are what does that mean so it's like understanding what it means for you to be healthy so for me I have an understanding of what does healthy Katie look like what does oh Katie's not feeling so great right now look like or and then for me like what are my big red flags so like for example a yellow flag for me is when I stop working out like that is one of my big coping strategies is how I feel good and what helps me be okay at the end of the day like if I am not making time for that in my schedule that's

53:11yellow flag but it looks different for other people and so kind of having understanding of what that looks like for them especially for people when they're in ministry full-time that's really important for them to be able to slow down ponder what that looks like for them and be intentional and then really strengthen their relational supports whether that's yeah like I said getting a therapist or finding mentors or supervisors or people better their friends who will remain emotionally present with you all you're in the field having these people and knowing them it can really set missionaries up for success and so these are just a few things that I would recommend but of course there's many more that can help people be okay but these are what what the research says is really important of being able to sustain people being able to serve the Lord to the completion of their calling. Well in Katie I commend you for taking on this role of

54:15therapist and for mentioning that it is okay to get a therapist this is something that I had struggled with for a long time and when my dad passed away in April that was kind of the tipping point where I said okay I'm really struggling and I have been total transparency I have been seeing a therapist and it has been so helpful but from your end how can you tell being a mental health therapist for others how can you tell that you're making it headway because when I go to these sessions I don't I don't know where it's going how the direction is is going with it but how can you tell that it's actually going somewhere that that you're chipping away at it. As the therapist how can I tell that my client is getting somewhere? Is that what your question? Yeah yeah I would say that therapist should and with you collaboratively come up with your best treatment plan and so that is sometimes it looks like the work is hard to see the evidence of it sometimes whether you're the client or the

55:18therapist but having a game plan of established schools of things you are working towards should really be like looking looking in the future what are we working towards together as a collaborative group and so you know often truthfully especially when when working with difficult things like like grief that you're talking about sometimes it's hard to see evidence of hard work but I think it's in the day-to-day weekly being committed to to yourself and you making the time and space to to prioritize therapy and in the missionaries that are in the field that I'm talking about that also are making time but it is just evidence of being I think faithful of knowing that the Lord really cares about our emotions it's a part of what it's like to be made in the image of him as that he acquits us with these and so taking time to attend to them intentionally in a space like

56:22therapy and an understanding and having a goal in mind is really what where the work is even if it seems like in the day-to-day that it's hard to see the work just knowing that you're attending to it so like I feel like it's been doing me good I just can't see how I so it's some kind of you know some conscious thing that's happening so when you're out working with these missionaries then are you the one making the first step to ask if they're okay or are they seeking you first who makes that first move good good question I think it should be a collective effort whether it's yeah me as a therapist doing things like this raising awareness for a missionary's getting access to care you know with you guys talking on the radio or you know different conferences that I'm attending to raise awareness for for this that is part of it but I also think that sending

57:26organizations or churches have a responsibility to raise awareness for this when they're sending missionaries to kind of be stigmatized that mental health issues can arise and it doesn't mean that people aren't being faithful it's just that they are needing extra support and people to talk to and I think that there's really a biblical evidence for having communities surrounding you to support you in the midst of mental health struggles and so I think it can look like missionaries reaching out for help themselves but often there can be you know a lot of stigma that can prevent them from wanting to reach out so I think it can be a collective effort of I mean all of us that believe you know in the Lord can all collectively come together and you know advocate for for the people who have calling in their calling this calling placed on their lives for for mission work to to be really intentional to reach out and care for these individuals so

58:27that they can best serve the Lord how he's called them we will have missionaries on from time to time but in the different all types of different fields of missionary work I will have people at the end say this is how you can support this missionary and that means the monetary support of the missionary and the and the prayerful support of the missionary but also as Catholics we can best support missionaries in their lives in in other ways we could probably support the organization being akin to or queued into their mental spiritual and physical health through things like what you have written here at Katie Walker so this information and I also just want to point out that that I went from a therapist to a spiritual advisor and that was a priest that was a spiritual advisor and that was a long journey after the loss of a husband and a brother and a permanent injury and it was extremely helpful long like 13 13 year journey very very helpful in that so

59:31went from a therapist to a spiritual director so that might be something that would be helpful for someone as well Katie. Absolutely 100% yeah thank you for for mentioning that I completely agree. So how can Catholics best support these missionaries in their lives then Katie? Yeah I think start with compassion you know just trying to get to know the person that they're dealing with in the context that they're coming from be curious you know ask good really intentional questions I think a practical way to do it is resist just asking missionaries in your life how are you you know ask a maybe a better question like how is your soul doing you know rather than just to the oh fine I'm good how are you kind of questions you know being intentional with what it's like to check in on on the people that you know are missionaries that you support your your church your your church supports and so you know creating a space where they feel comfortable being honest

1:00:31with you is really important and so I think that when missionaries know that they are being supported the research shows that they are less likely to prematurely terminate really that fancy wording for leave the field before they to complete it their mission and so I think that that's really convicting for a lot of us to to know oh wow I want to help this person best be able to complete the mission or the calling of the Lord is placed on their lives and so I want this person to know that I am on their team I am here to support them I'm whether that's you know in my role as a therapist or even the missionaries that I am and friends with personally in my own life how can I best support them and care for them and thank you for mentioning that that can look a lot of different ways financial support or even just praying for this person or increasing awareness just having conversations just making mental health for missionaries less less of a stigma and talking about it is really kind of where we can best increase support for these people

1:01:36and help the mission of the Lord across the world and even just in Lincoln Nebraska here just continue to flourish well Katie Walker from the Macculate Hardham Mary Counseling Center thank you so much for sharing with us very important information that we need as listeners to pray for you and to pray for these missionaries because the mental health aspect like I said it's not one of those things you would think about but it can be mentally trying and I'm so glad that you're there to help lead them through that and more details can be found about a Macculate Hardham Mary Counseling Center on their website immaculateheartcounseling.org Katie Walker thank you so much we appreciate your time and everything you do thank you very much have a good day we're pretty happy you got matched in Lincoln Nebraska the licensed mental health provider Katie Walker and you can find out information about what she talked about today or get a hold of her and talk with her about being there getting a therapist at a Macculate Hardham Mary Counseling Center.org it is 802

1:02:39congratulations to our winners for the Christ our Life Tickets Susan from St. Mary's in Norfolk 88.3 land and then Geno from St Margaret Mary in Omaha I think I know Geno I think of met Geno time or two that's a name you remember right Geno that was one of my best friends had a friend named Geno growing up at St Richard so that is a fun name Geno St Margaret Mary in Omaha they're both going to the Christ our Life Conference all right congratulations and they're going to have a grand old time I'll have to report back to us we'll have to reach out to them and maybe afterwards and find out how it went with them yeah a little little testimony on their experience see what those folks what they found out if Steve was if Steve was ringing true with all the kudos that he was handing out this morning about the conference it's 803 and we're going to have a prayer dedicated to St Peter Claver next thanks for listening to Spirit Catholic Radio this is Father Larry Richards

1:03:41I'm a priest at ISEs of Erie and you are listening to the Spirit Catholic Radio Network Happy Birthday! Spirit Catholic Radio would like to wish a happy birthday to Father Patrick Moser from the Archdiocese of Omaha we thank you for responding to the call of God to serve the church may God continue to richly bless you in your ministry of service Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Hi there this is Jeff Job from St Patrick's in Gretna and you are listening to the Spirit Catholic Radio Network Catholic Radio for the Christian community. Thank you so much for supporting Spirit Catholic Radio. PBSS Publicly in Omaha K25's NFK Columbus KMA-YLB work DPA ALP Beatrice K208GM Falsity JATT Falskatslust Gary K217GM Chadron DLD HLD Blanc

1:04:45JATJLDC DLD CEDD DLD Imperial KW O'Gallos Spirit Catholic Radio This is Spirit Mornings with Jen Brown and Damien Montez on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network We are so grateful you invited us to be a part of your week day morning routine Wednesday September 9th 2026 in the year of our Lord Damien Montez Jen Brown and you that's what makes Spirit Mornings such a wonderful morning show to be a part of and again Jen it's Wednesday. I know thank you for reminding me yeah it's been a whirlwind like we were closed on Monday yes I had yesterday off just getting back in town from amazing time at Penn State. The girl is back in town! Yes and then talk about going out on mission Saint Peter Claver is a man who left his home to never return to a ginormous mess is dealing with who he was helping the slave ships in the I think part of myorka that he was at just horrific

1:05:48things that he had to see and help and try to heal. He baptized 300,000 people into the faith. 300,000 people because of the care that he took of them the ones that were just broken and discarded he said nope not on my watch they're not going to be discarded they're not going to be just thrown away because they're ill and broken so Saint Peter Claver let's pray. And the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit amen. Saint Peter Claver you embarked upon a journey into the hellish conditions of abuse and suffering caused by greed and a total lack of respect for human dignity. Within those conditions you brought the light of Christ and administered the grace of the sacraments giving hope to those who needed it the most. Please pray for me that I will be a beacon of hope for those who need it the most I always preach in Christ crucified and making the salvation of souls beginning with my own

1:06:52my number one priority. Saint Peter Claver pray for me Jesus I trust in you in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit amen. Patroncy of African diaspora African missions Colombia an interracial justice Saint Peter Claver pray for us. That's pretty cool we're just talking about missions and he's the patron saint of African missions and the diaspora. And a shout out to the Knights of Peter Claver it says that it is the more in Omaha and I believe sacred heart in Omaha as well so just yeah wonderful saint I'm gonna. Beacon Spicer yeah I was gonna say Deacon Spicer. He was the I think he started that in that area I'm not positive but I think that we've talked to him about how he was really instrumental in giving that going in that area. And the community center the Bryant Center and just the wonderful community over there a lot of a lot of cool places to check out in that part of Omaha if you ever stop in and it's right around the 24th and grant and lake

1:07:55mini area you could just kind of drive up and down and check out all the great businesses there. Spirit Mornings weather brought to you by the Spirit hashtag spirit church tour. This week we're shining the spotlight on Saint Francis the CC in Nile Nebraska search hashtag spirit church tour on Facebook and Instagram Western Nebraska mostly sunny with a high of 82 central Nebraska partly cloudy in 80 Northeast Nebraska sunny in 81 and in eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa chance of showers mainly to the south with a high of 84 I'm liking all these lower 80s temperatures nice little break from the heat it is 808 now you're up to date thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network spirit mornings brought to you by the number eight of on Wednesday September 9th it's Wednesday. I know it is Wednesday. Did you have fun celebrating Mary's birthday yesterday? Yes yes we did. I heard you guys got cupcakes. We yeah I think there are some leftover two who set those to us oh I want to give her a shout. What was it Deb? Yeah it

1:08:57was Deb yes it was okay yes she cooks she's happy she cooks and bakes a lot of stuff for us she's so sweet. Here's the problem I have with these cupcakes. Okay when you make them look pretty I don't want to eat them because they're so beautiful and these were just beautifully frosted with these little candy little pearly little things on it. It just I felt bad eating three of them it was just it did that but that's the third one you're the third one I was like boy I'm really I'm okay with this right now this is actually not bad too bad. So but yeah thank you so much for those beautiful cupcakes it was a beautiful day celebrating Mary's birthday yesterday for sure missed you on that one because you know I think of the Virgin Mary the blessed Virgin Mary you know I know you have such a beautiful relationship and devotion to Mary and so nothing against Jeb but you know what was it fun? It was fun it was beautiful but you know there was that little Jen Brown little

1:09:59segment that little part of it that would have been kind of nice. For Mary's birthday yeah I don't know if I do know that some of people around here call me the Mary Fairy because I when a new person starts at Spirit Catholic Radio I I find a a repurposed Mary I sometimes save them from the thrift stores you know Mary statues and have them blessed and put in people's and I sneak them into people's offices that's where the fairy comes in because yeah so I sneak them into people's offices and trying to find them like yours has a candle in it because you like candles you know you like sense and candles the stuff yours has a candle in it there's a woodworking one and there's one with wood on it in Mark's office. Oh yeah because he's a he's a woodworker yeah so I mean to just I just try to something that kind of pinpoints it with somebody you know with their with their personality or something like that so yes so I was at Mass yesterday for her her for her birthday for

1:11:02the Nativity of Mary one of the three Nativities we celebrate in the Church Jesus Saint John the Baptist and Mary only three that we celebrate so pretty special another special thing that we're going to celebrate talking about life and Mary her birthday the Archbishop's visual for life mass is coming up this coming Saturday at 8am at Saint Mary's Church in Bellevue Nebraska so I hope that you have a chance to go be at that mass the Archbishop's visual for life mass at 8am Saint Mary's in Bellevue Nebraska it's 8.11 we're going to hear Morning Prayer with Father Grille and then after that it's the Good Book Club with Father Eccle. I tell you right now Father Grille has something beautiful to say about Saint Peter Claver let's listen a reading from the book of Job naked I came forth from my mother's womb and naked I shall go back again the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord we accept good

1:12:03things from God and should we not accept evil the word of the Lord thanks be to God today is Wednesday good morning it is the 23rd week of ordinary time and the Feast of Saint Peter Claver my name is Father Loris Grille and I come to you from where I serve at Saint Mary's in Weymour Saint Mary's in Odell and Saint Joseph's in Barnston Job laments today that he came into the world naked and will leave in the same way when you think about it we are all metaphorically naked until we have been clothed in God's grace and adorned ourselves with his virtues today's saint rescued naked slaves from Africa Saint Peter Claver was born in Spain and became one of the early Jesuits he fell to call to go to the missions in the new world where he ended up in Columbia there he ministered to the blacks who had survived the long journey from Africa he became a slave to the slaves caring for their every

1:13:03need and one of his letters from today's office of readings Peter speaks of the sick from the boats who were made to lie on the wet ground were in puddles of mud someone thought to place the sick onto tiles and broken pieces of brick which he termed to be their couch Peter evangelized and baptized more than 300,000 enslaved people during his 40 year ministry in Columbia the kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly like these slaves Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor our Lord identified himself with the poor of every kind he made active love toward them the condition for entering his kingdom today is a great day for us to imitate Saint Peter Claver God bless you thank you Father Grille for providing morning prayer this week here on spirit mornings spirit morning spotlight community beaver crossing Nebraska chance of showers possible today

1:14:08with a high of 84 good morning to beaver crossing Nebraska they listen on 102.7 FM KVSS that's the flagship station that started it all now 20 signals strong you can listen to the stream online at spiritcatholicradio.com just click the listen live button you can also download the app take it anywhere you go I had that wonderful story Damien where I met that young woman at mass when I was in happy valley in state college and she didn't she was her first mass ever and she just had gone to the youth group and she'd never experienced a math so I was able to answer a bunch of questions and also had her download the app so she maybe she's listening right now so shout out to her she was just as lovely I think that she said a nice a nice right as well good morning and as if you're listening on the spirit catholic radio app it's 814 let's open those bibles however you listen it's time for the good book club with father equity pastor at st. wencesloss and we're going to wrap up a

1:15:08haggie or haggie chapter two verses 10 through 23 let's listen right now it's now time for the spirit mornings good book club on spirit catholic radio as we open the bible like gods where it feed the soul on the 24th day of the ninth month in the second year of deraise the word of the Lord came by haggie the prophet thus says the Lord of hosts now ask the priests concerning the law saying if one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and with the edge he touches bread or stew wine or oil or any food will it become holy then the priests answered no if one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these will it be unclean it shall be unclean so is this people and so is this

1:16:15nation before me says the Lord and so is every work of their hands and what they offer there is unclean and now carefully consider from this day forward from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord since those days when one came to a heap of twenty ephaz there were but ten when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty bars from the press there were but twenty I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labours of your hands yet you did not turn to me says the Lord consider now from this day forward from the 24th day of the ninth month from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid consider it is the seed still in the barn as yet the vine the fig tree the pomegranate and the olive tree

1:17:24have not yielded fruit but from this day I will bless you and again the word of the Lord came to haggai on the 24th day of the month speak to the rubble governor of juda saying I will shake heaven and earth I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them the horses and their riders shall come down everyone by the sword of his brother in that day I will take you the rubble my servant the son of shalt here and will make you like a signer dream for I have chosen you from the word of promise audio bible this is the spirit mornings good book club hey guy chapter

1:18:28two verses 10 through 23 here to help us out this morning father mike eclie from saint wences lawson omahal you might hear him celebrating mass when we play the daily mass week day mornings 10 thirty central here on spirit cathart the radio father eclie thank you so much for joining us to discuss hey guy and right off the bat I have questions because I know there's a Gregorian calendar difference with what we're seeing here what they refer to us the ninth month but then it isn't the at the ninth month that we're thinking of right great yes yeah that's true it's great to be with you here this morning yeah the scripture talks about on the 24th day of the ninth month of the second year of darius and that's repeated again in verse 18 yeah and and from the Gregorian calendar that we reckon that that's December 18th of 520 bc okay and so we're looking at a particular date and a very important date in the history of israel hey guy is talking to the people who have come back from exile in babelon and they've been back for about 16 years and when they

1:19:34came back the order was that to rebuild the temple and and immediately under josh with a high priest in zerbable the governor that building started and they established the altar there started making sacrifices but it went on for a couple years that rebuilding and then it stopped because of political tensions because of disagreements there was no more building going on and so God speaking through hey guy the prophet is calling the people back to rebuild the temple in marking this particular day December 18th 520 is that laying of the foundation of work beginning again on the rebuilding of the temple and how important that is you know hey guy is kind of inviting the people to recognize this day and to mark this day and to remember what happened before that and what happens after that I was thinking about how we mark particular times or how

1:20:38we remember dates and things that happen in our life significant things that happen in our lives and we kind of have able to recall you know what we're doing because of certain things that happened you know as a as a nation we're coming up on the 25th anniversary of September 11th 2001 and so many people remember that day and and remember where they were there was such an important day in the history of the United States and and one that marks that there's growing up people would always talk about the assassination of john f kennedy is one of those significant days of remembering and and hey guys telling the people remember this date remember what happened beforehand and then what's going to happen after and the promise of of fortune afterwards because they're putting the temple first they're putting god first as long as they risk as long as they don't neglect the temple and they say with god they will be they will be prospering they're going to

1:21:43prosper they've been in this 16 year time frame and they've kind of just been right mulling around so this establishment of the temple the rebuilding begins and the proofs priestly ruling on blessing into filament that's where we hear them talking about the holy meat was the holy meat established there at the altar right you know the sacrifice is made and then taken from there and talking about whether or not that holy meat in the garment if it touched something else could transmit blessing and the answer is no it can't transmit blessing but it can transmit to filament and because the hands of the people because they're not putting god first they're going off on their own their their own agenda of taking care of their own homes built rebuilding their own homes after returning from exile rebuilding their businesses rebuilding all those other things but not rebuilding the temple not putting god's center in the community because of that their hands are defiled so even

1:22:50offering the sacrifice although they're offering the sacrifice because they're offered with defiled hands that that's defilement and that everything it touches is defilement and and we hear similar to what happens if you're an extraordinary minister of the eucristened you take it to somebody in their home you're supposed to take it directly from receiving it right after church directly to them you're not supposed to go shopping afterwards or you know if you have the blessed sacrament if you have the body of Christ with you you take it directly to that person that needs it correct yes that's the the idea you don't tell deli dali right no we're on an important mission there and and needing to take it and take it directly from there from the from the altar from the tabernacle to to the person that that you're going to minister to yeah if you're going to run out of gas obviously get yourself some gas things can happen things can happen but keep yourself safe but that that whole that idea that's what I thought of first when I heard that was like you don't

1:23:55want to defile what you have right and and when I when I think of that I think of when we have when we have God's center in our lives and and make that their priority which hey guys calling the people to do then then everything that follows that is going to be a blessing if we're just doing our own thing and not paying attention to God not seeking his will or his desire then then things are going to come to not I remember a friend of mine when I was pastor in battle Creek talking about and he was a farmer and lots of work to do especially during planting season the harvest season and he said you know it seems that whenever I try to work on Sunday things just do not work out have mechanical problems things break down things it just ends up being more more work that's not the work that he wants to get done because things are

1:24:56just kind of not working out and and the intention of of of working on Sunday is not okay I've doing that kind of work is not God intends he wants that day of rest and he says you know if I take that day of rest and and Monday seems to be a very productive day and and going forward if if we're not doing what God desires things are not going to turn out the way that we desire and that's what hey guy is saying and and saying look what happened in these last 16 years you we've planted all these seeds you're expecting this great abundance but you go to the the store rooms you go to the vats and there's not as much as you expected there and and yet afterwards marking this date there's going to be great abundance and that is that is what that promise is. Spirit mornings on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network it's the Good Book Club hey guy chapter two verses 10 through 23 with Father Mike Eccle from Saint Wentzah Slas and Omaha and then we hear another promise in verses 20 through 23 you know obviously we we've heard God say

1:26:00look if you don't focus on me if you don't obey me this is what this is why this happens so let's stay focused on me and then there's this other promise as well. Yes there's the promise to Zerabobble that he's going to be that's Signet Ring and in the Signet Ring in ancient times and you probably see this so often that when a special decree is made they take the ring and and put down into the wax that that mark and that can be done by the King or can be done by his representative and and what God is saying is Zerabobble is going to be my representative I am marking him as that he can wear he's going to be the Signet Ring and so by following with the Lord his desires with the Lord is asking and and Zerabobble is the the governor fulfilling that will be as if God's putting his seal on that he's making Zerabobble the seal to put on his desire and his will

1:27:03because Zerabobble has been faithful and started the recent construction of the temple back in 535 BC and now again in 520 reestablishing that in doing that he's he is going to be a faithful servant he's going to be one of the people that God's he's going to be a representative of God he's going to wear that Signet Ring like you're saying but enough like he's going to physically wear it but in like this spiritual form he's going to be wearing that right not only is he going to wear it he's going to be the Signet Ring for God would he's going to be the seal that follows God's God's command and so what he's doing it's it's not his control necessarily it's God using him as actually the ring of putting his seal on on what is going to be done and so then this temple begins to be restored and so then we're restored to Jesus as the center of our lives so there's there's like the Messianic message in what is going as in all of this the Old Testament we see the you know the

1:28:09traces of just Jesus in all of these passages of the Old Testament powerfully jump out at us all the time as you got to be looking for them though right and in one of the messages with we take from this is is how important it is to put Jesus first and foremost in center in our lives beginning our day in prayer beginning our day with with scripture beautiful way to begin the day is with daily mass for those who are able to attend and I think of the crowd that comes at 645 every morning at at Saint Once-a-Sloce and and before they head off to work before they head off to the other things that they have going on from the day or heading off to school beginning that day in prayer with Christ's center and and how much of a difference that can make in our lives when we begin with that and we keep him center in our lives later on this morning I'll be returning back to the office

1:29:12at Saint Once-a-Sloce and we have our staff meeting we have a staff meeting every Wednesday and and meet together talking about important things that are going on in the parish how can we coordinate how can we work together the different directors and the things they have going on but how can we be of assistance in that and and then also looking are we staying faithful to our mission are we staying faithful to our strategic plan and and moving things ahead but we always begin with prayer and I'm mindful of one of my brother priest a number of years ago was telling the story about get coming into a new assignment and he was at that first staff meeting and suggested that they start with prayer and and one of the staff members said oh we don't do that we have too much work to do we have to get you know to the agenda well if if our agenda and especially in our mission and our ministry is not centered in Christ it's going to come to nothing it's going to come to

1:30:15our will being done and and I know when when his father Mike's will and not the will of the Lord things don't work out as well and and always need to be in prayer in prayer with one another and in praying for that direction that openness to the to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in doing things I had something that happened to me a number of years ago that that made this so clear to me I I started off Sunday morning I was an associate in St. Patrick's and Fremont and it was is a busy place it was a big place it was before the new church was built so we had nine nine masses on the week and one Saturday evening and eight throughout the day on on Sunday two different locations we used the parish center and then also the church for masses so there's there's four masses two well one going on in the church and one going on in the 15 minutes later

1:31:15in the parish center and that happened twice in the morning to accommodate the people right to accommodate all the people and and to fit everyone in and and it was it was busy and I was on call so one priest was on call so you know the doorbells ring and the phones ringing and and responding to people's needs I got called up to the hospital and from the minute I woke up I hit the ground running and and was just going all day and I I had the late morning mass and then I had the baptisms after mass and another priest was coming in for baptisms later and I was just I was feeling exhausted I was feeling tired I was feeling like I I just I just want to get a nine to five job and just not bothered with anything and and I kind of collapsed into the front pew right in front of the blessed sacrament there's a little Eucharistic chapel there and and and just prayed and just laid things out and it was the first opportunity that day I had really to pray and it was a very

1:32:19moving moment I felt so profoundly not just in the presence of the Eucharist but physically the presence of Christ they are holding me up and and I went through the rest of the day and it was just as busy I was up the hospital I came back I had the evening mass and about seven o'clock I was back in the rectory and I got a phone call from from one of the neighbors it was one of the key volunteers there in the parish and she called me and she said would you preach on and I kind of gave her the outline and she said no no would you preach on and I said well why are you asking me this and she said well my husband just came back from mass my husband and my son and they said this evening you gave the best homily you've ever given in your life I was at the 1130 and it was okay what did you preach on and the 1130 homily was not a lot different structurally the story that I

1:33:20used the examples I'd use the the whole outline was the same but something was different Jesus was different right Jesus was present the mission was different yes it's not like you have a different homily for the for the matinee show as opposed to the twilight right right yeah it's just how it resonates with each person individually oh no it's what happened to you it was happening eternally that that something had changed and and I I recognize that and I knew exactly what it was when she said that what the difference was powerful he was lifting you up he was carrying you through right and still to this day that you helped you carry you through and that reminds me so much of of what happened before rebuilding the temple to Israel they they continue to do their work they continued off of the sacrifice but it was coming to nothing it was coming up short but when they put God's center when they rededicated themselves to rebuilding the temple the promise of a bounty

1:34:26was there there was going to be an abundance and that's the same thing with that that grace that I experienced on that that Sunday many years ago and the St. Patrick's and Fremont praise God Father Acly thanks for sharing that with us that's beautiful and thanks for closing out haggie I always say I say it completely wrong instead of haggie I was always saying haggie so I was I was way off I always I always wonder you know I I was at St. Augustine Indian Mission yeah yeah is it Augustine is it Augustine yeah I always wonder what did his mother call him he says yeah what did hey guys mother call him yeah we did say hey yeah yeah it's a few interestingly enough my son went to school with it was a roommate with a kid named Hezekiah and he went by H and then and they played football together and then one of his other uh oh line guy on the o-line got married and they named their kid Zerebaba and they call him Baba faithful Christian couple

1:35:31named their son Zerebaba and call him Baba right isn't that I mean you don't hear those old testament names around very much no no uh when I got my first dog as a priest when I first became a pastor he's a uh I bought him a at gross high schools fundraiser my own father oh yeah oh that's a big deal yeah I was still an associate in Fremont for about a month and a half but I knew I was moving to battle Creek Nebraska to be pastor there and and I bought this Cocker Spaniel beautiful black and white little dog I had him for 16 years and I knew his name right away it was Mel Kiesadek and the oh first perfect he went from my male most of the time yeah perfect I love that uh can we get a priestly blessing for sure oh my god as we begin our day we pray that we keep you center in our lives we know with you there's always abundance when we keep you first and foremost in our life bless us this day help us to be mindful of you in each moment of this day

1:36:31may your blessed be upon us and remain with us always in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit amen amen and that wraps up Hagia Hagia Hagai that's a button tomorrow is um Zachariah we head into another book another short book of the minor profits on the good book club on spirit warnings on the spirit Catholic radio network if you want to catch out if you want to check them out you can go online at spiritmourning.com and hear exactly what father had to say today it is eight thirty good luck with your staff meeting today thank you we know what they're like it's eight thirty six and next we have a beautiful story she took the stage for a good news update to expecting to follow a beat and ended up changing how the world sees strength capability and belonging every parish has a story from the first I do it the altar to the generations of families filling the views every Wednesday spirit Catholic radio is spotlighting a different parish

1:37:32in our listening area on Facebook and Instagram see the photos share your favorite memories in the comments and tag your friends the hashtag spirit shirt store connecting our community one parish at a time see where we are this week on Instagram and Facebook this is Jeff Feller from council 1793 and north for your listening to spirit Catholic radio network Catholic radio for the Christian community thank you so much for supporting spirit Catholic radio be sure to invite your friends and family to encounter Jesus tell them to listen to the spirit Catholic radio network see the programs catch well at spirit catholic radio dot com slash programs Catholic words brother a man who is a member of a religious order but is not ordained or studying for the priesthood brother and that's Catholic words on it's now time for the spirit mornings good news update on spirit Catholic radio

1:38:43sponsored by wheatfields bakery express located at one hundred eighty-ninth and maple and Omaha it's a drive-thru option for busy people on the go every week inside a bustling gym in case villiou taw the room comes alive with music sweat and energy but for twenty two-year-old obry aldridge those four walls were always more than just a place to exercise they were a place she truly belonged born with Down syndrome obry has spent her life navigating a world that often places limits on what people can achieve but if you ask anyone who knows obry they will tell you the word limit not in her vocabulary obry's love affair with fitness it all started from the back of the room she tried everything zumba pilates high fitness and dance but within she found this fitness class which was a perfect blend of cardio and strength that's when something inside inside her ignited she didn't just follow the movements she absorbed them and while others struggled to keep up with the rhythm

1:39:46obry's mind raised ahead memorizing every step every beat every transition and soon that natural passion became impossible to hide in fact obry would turn around during these workout sessions and gently guide the people behind her pointing the way with a bright smile and her instructor Jane Johnson noticed it right away saying she has an incredible brain obry can learn choreography so fast and she retains it recognizing this rare talent in an overflowing heart Jane saw what obry had known all along obry wasn't meant to follow from the back of the class she was born to lead it through dedication relentless practice and an unshakeable belief in herself obry made history becoming the world's very first certified instructor in that type of physical fitness with Down syndrome and when that day finally arrived for her debut obry stepped out on at that stage in front of more than 60 waiting people stripping away every doubt fear and barrier she threw on her headset microphone

1:40:51took a deep breath and she lit up that room boy for 60 powerful minutes obry wasn't just teaching a workout class she was mending hearts and breaking glass ceiling she moved through that crowd offering high fives and fist bumps shouting words of praise and ensuring that every single person in that room felt seen that they felt valued and that they felt loved and obry said I love to be on stage I love exercise I love to wear my mic and say every cue I want to help everyone feel included in a world that often tells us where we do and do not fit our for Aubrey carved out this space not just for herself but for anybody who's ever felt left out or doubted obry proved that true strength isn't measured by the weight you lift but by the lives you uplift around you I love that line it's not measured by the weight you lift but the lives you uplift around you and obry's former instructor now current employer Jane shared obry is a light and she brings so much joy to so many people I think

1:41:54it shows that she can work hard to do anything and I think it shows other people that they too can work hard to do anything if they set their minds to it and today is the gym prepares to place obry officially on the schedule her message echoes far beyond the studio mirrors no matter who you are whatever challenges you face or what the world expects of you you do belong you are capable and your light does deserve to shine with your good news update i'm Damien Montez on spirit mornings and keep on shining obry doing a great job and kudos to that instructor that hired her as well spirit calisthenia weather at 842 brought to you by the hashtag spirit church tour shining the spotlight this week on st frances a cc in neilly nebraska search hashtag spirit church tour on facebook and instagram a nice cool down across the state of nebraska today western nebraska mostly sunny with a high of 82 central nebraska partly cloudy with a high of 80 northeast nebraska sunian 81

1:42:59and in eastern nebraska and southwest ayawa slight chance of showers mainly to the south with a high of eighty four it's creeping up on eight forty three now you're up to date thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit catholic radio network yes st frances of a cc is the parish in neilly nebraska today and it's the jubilee year of st frances shining the light on all the st frances of a cc places that you can go and get a plenary indulgence also shine the light on bishops and brews throughout the state of nebraska in omahe linkin and grand island omahe linkin september 16th 17th grand island october 22nd if you want the details on bishop and brews and the three locations and the fun theology on tap style of event that's going on you can go to ne catholic dot org that's nebraska ne catholic dot org and join the network and receive all the information about bishop and brews coming your way next week in omahe and linkin yeah it's not just a chance to hang out

1:44:02and enjoy some brews they are discussing a very important topic and that is the pope's declaration and announcement on ai and current technologies so that's something that the bishops are going to be involved with tom venzer from the de braska catholic conference it is going to be a very serious and very important talk so again ne catholic dot org to find details on bishop and brews it's going to be kind of like a dais so there'll be people on the platform or little yeah people talking and yeah they're talking about poplios most recent encyclical and that deals a lot with ai 844 we get a chance to hear about st peter claver and then also we're going to check rom to home next this is francescon media saint of the day for september 9th today we celebrate st peter claver born in 1581 claver left his spanish homeland in his early thirties and was ordained a Jesuit priest in columbia the slave trade had been flourishing in the port city of carter hania for a century

1:45:0410,000 slaves poured into the port each year after crossing the Atlantic from west africa under conditions so foul and in human that an estimated one third of the passengers died in transit as soon as a slave ship entered the port father claver ministered to the ill treated and miserable passengers with medicines and food with the help of interpreters he gave basic instructions in the faith and assured his brothers and sisters of their human dignity and god saving love during the 40 years of his ministry he baptized an estimated 300,000 slaves extending his apostolate beyond the enslaved father claver became a moral force preaching in the city square and giving missions to sailors and traders after four years of sickness father claver died in 1654 the city leaders who had previously dismissed his work ordered that he should be buried at public expense with great pomp peter claver was canonized in 1888 there's more about the saints along with inspiration and

1:46:08catholic resources at our website saintoftheday.org from francescon media this has been saint of the day saint peter claver. great for us. a 46 spirit catholic radio network spotlight community is beaver crossing nabrasca. good morning to beaver crossing nabrasca the forecast today's slight chance of showers with a high of 84 in our spirit morning spotlight community of beaver crossing nabrasca listening on the radio at 102.7 FMKVSS streaming online at spiritcatholicradio.com take the app anywhere you go like maybe to roam. this is spirit mornings on the spiritcatholic radio network. wow it's our one of my favorite segments the roamed home update Thomas mctea at the Pontical North American College thank you so much for joining us this morning. Thomas howard things i know you're just getting back there right? yes i'm in my first full week back at the college so with my classmates we're preparing for the academic or nation in just over three weeks

1:47:13and our workshops are this week are focusing on learning how to do the liturgical rights that deacons can do so it's beginning to feel much more real today we were working on practicing baptisms oh boy i'm and it's your deaconal ordination correct? yes october 1st. october 1st now when i have when we've interviewed some of the priests they said that their anxiety levels were a bit higher when they were getting ready to be ordained to the deaconant transitional deaconant because those were some those those are some really heavy orders they're about to take on tell us what you're feeling about this special time in your life Thomas yes yeah that that's true i just received an email from a priest that won my former seminaries that kind of talked about how for him uh you found deaconant you much more momentous than priesthood and at least right now i would say i don't feel too apprehensive i would say i feel

1:48:13a small but growing sense of anticipation for the ordination itself but i know i'm also looking forward to go and retreat the week prior to ordination i'd kind of just be napping a full week of silence really to to pray with that itself um so i would say yeah like i'm looking forward to it there's a little a little bit but it's not the primary and ocean it's sort of like apprehension or whatnot well and how poetic too you said you're starting to practice baptisms and here we're celebrating st. Peter Claver who's known to baptize over 300,000 people so it kind of beautiful that you're learning about doing it from from that point of view on this the feast day of st. or st. Peter Claver so tell us about we got to visit with you when you were back home this summer so first tell us about how that trip was going and how everything went during the summertime before you went back to back to Rome then yes so the summer i was assigned to saint vista de Paul parish

1:49:14in one of us the mahala with father and erosa and phala logon help so i was there about six weeks which was rather short so i felt like i was just able to get a taste of the parish um it kind of gets to know it just a little bit not not enough to really think my teeth and as it were but it was a beautiful very welcoming affinement being with the priest following them around so one of the kind of major takeaways for me was especially for like annoying can calls because they get a decent number and so following the priest around especially father logon who handles most of them this kind of seemed like how each priest brings his own humanity to the sacramental moment that he's fully himself but how did he respond to the person how does he celebrate the right which doesn't change but just in the sense of like is there a certain thing that they focus on really more so like how do they pray that thinks that how do they talk with the families surrounding it so in that sense kind of cultivating the sort of like everything else around the red felt like we know we learned how to celebrate it but you never celebrate it just in the back and there's always a real person so how does

1:50:16your humanity meet the other person's humanity and how does Christ work through that work through you and just being able to this kind of see that come more and more alive to both priests and kind of building that desire within me for it as well. Christ was speaking to you as you were like learning like in his name apprentice this summer with father logon and doing that as he was out on those different calls and the baptisms and now right now as you're at the North American College you and your other seminarian classmates you're learning that you're learning the different rights and the things that you have to do during baptism does do you feel that also that sense of Christ flowing through you and being like also that feeling as you're going through this and this workshop in these workshops as well is there something very spiritual about them or they more technical. I would say for me at least right now to just begun the last few days I feel a little

1:51:19bit more of that technical side like we've certainly seen that as it's done we've been in benediction exhibition hundreds of times maybe thousands of times and so for what I'm noticing but my classmates are too like okay it's one thing to sort of be on the receiving end or to watch the sacrament happen but it's just sort of a whole other thing to actually go through and celebrate it and just like how much focus that takes make sure you're doing the right things most of which which comes automatically we're just like getting that sort of practice down building like the memory muscle in some sense so I think right now for me just kind of going through that the focus is more like okay what is the next thing I need to do am I doing what is customary like at the college what the right says the rubric the rule for how to do it and so I think getting kind of that facility down to that building that muscle memory that enables it to be much more spirituals I go forward like I'm not thinking so much about what's the next thing I'm doing but more on like okay crisis working to make a hoos that person I'm baptizing I'm exposing Jesus in the monstrance on the altar and so just

1:52:21allowing like the spiritual I think to come more to before as we get more and more comfortable with it so right now it's like we're kind of more hesitant and so it feels much I don't want to make a mistake then letting Jesus just kind of flow more naturally so I think that will come but we're just kind of just begun well yeah you're you're going through the motion and then after you've got that down then you get the emotion and the soul the soul aspect of it I think that's that's so cool you know I'm listening to Thomas we're talking with Thomas Matias I Rome to home update I noticed when you said you were here in Omaha however the summertime you said you made the phrase of well I didn't get to sink my teeth into it and I can hear this excitement you know where some are anxious and stressed out you seem like you said earlier you seem very excited you're looking forward to certain things you mentioned the retreat what what is it that you're looking forward to about this retreat coming up so I think they're just like it's the week prior to just like being able to pray like more fully with the right self kind of working through some of

1:53:24the symbolism our responses the promises will make so do like I've been praying with that but just like to have this five six days of you know full silence I've been able to talk with the director about what's going on in my heart and I'm sure there'll be be doubts or moments where God feels distant in that retreat or where the devil will try and enter in or to cast out so to have that is like to bring up everything as it were just okay like there's all these things that perhaps I'm feeling or I haven't quite fully recognized that I'm sure like the movements that are in my heart now to some small degree will become larger just because they have the space the time and my ability to notice that not being distracted by the normal course of things in the day so just really being able to notice those more fully and then to bring those to God and then to receive what He wants to speak into that so I hope just desiring he's running to this point but designing that like I'm about to you know make a as that one of my brothers who's already been

1:54:24or they can been ordained to be can said you know I've made a definitive lifelong commitment here so as I prepare for that just to like to really be honest like where am I giving myself over where I still need to do that perhaps like where is Christ really why I speak into my life because he calls us even though we're not perfect and so at times like how can you call me Jesus don't you know XYZ and he does but he still chooses us he chooses me so to really receive that in love and let that really just become the foundation then for the fact that itself to not which the work I'm doing but the work that he has begun in me that he may bring into completion as we pray in the right of our nation itself Thomas Matias with us he's at the pontifical North American College it's Rome to home next time we have you on Thomas will be able to ask for a diagonal blessing for a day that's so cool I'm gonna ask all the prayer warriors that we have listening to pray for not only you several several times a day for the next few weeks as

1:55:28you're getting ready to prepare to be ordained to the temporary deaconate but also to pray for all seminarians throughout the world as they're preparing for something like you're preparing for or as they're just maybe making their first steps into seminary so please pray for seminarians and for priests every single day great to ask our mother our mother Mary who loves her priest so much to ask her intercession every single day for priests finally to you once you get ordained Thomas Matias well I'm sorry yeah I'm already already you yeah she's ready to go on this one we gotta we got a slow gen down I was afraid we had to slow you down Thomas but Jen is really heading heading heading home with this one so we really appreciate you checking in with us and we it was a joy visiting with you in the studio this past summer and and like Jen said we'll continue to pray for you we look forward to talking with you again perfect I look forward to sharing the fruits of your nation when we talk hopefully in October that'll be wonderful thank you so much have a blessed day

1:56:30and you're in our prayers Thomas Matias have a great day talk soon talking October thank you come bless isn't that exciting oh what a sweet what a sweet young man he used to be he used to be on the show with a witness show yeah there for youths and young adults from back in the day and yes yeah now he's in Rome at the pontificate North American College so yeah we'll continue to pray for Thomas Matias and anybody we're gonna pray for everybody who might be considering a religious vocation somebody who listens to these Rome to homes who listens to this station who attends Bible study who who might be at a church where the pastors homelies resonate with them and makes them think maybe that's something I should look at you know we'll continue to pray for that and in fact we do that every weekday morning at 10 o'clock the Rosary for vocations we invite you to pray along with that followed by the daily mass here on spirit catholic radio tomorrow is Thursday Jen just to get

1:57:30you back on track with the day of the week is Thursday Thursday September 10th day van cat will be here with the Catholic charities given us a recap from their gala event looking forward to that and we'll also have a catholic burrow from abortion dialogue academy on a very special anniversary day tomorrow it is 857 I'm Jen Brown long Damien Montez pray for us we will pray for you have a blessed day we'll talk to you on Friday Eve you can now access spirit warnings on your favorite podcast platform find the details at spirit catholic radio dot com slash podcasts thank you for being a part of spirit warnings with Jen Brown and Damien Montez on the spirit Catholic radio network this podcast courtesy of the spirit catholic radio network to learn more about spirit catholic radio including how to support spirit catholic radio and other great programs on the spirit catholic radio network head to spirit catholic radio dot com or download the spirit catholic radio app