From Jabez To Peter: Faith, Duty, And Discernment In Modern Times

A simple prayer can reset a life and reframe a nation’s direction, and that’s where we begin—asking for blessing as stewardship, God’s hand as guidance, and protection from evil that harms neither us nor our neighbors. From there, we press into a stark historical reading from Pope Pius XI that unmasks how destructive ideologies often arrive dressed as peace and charity, and why prayer and penance remain powerful, practical tools for discernment. This is not nostalgia; it’s a call to see clearly and live honestly.

We move through the poetry of Song of Songs, where love stands as strong as death and refuses to be bought, and into Matthew 16, where Jesus asks the most searching question: “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s confession, the promise that the gates of hell will not prevail, and the hard turn toward the cross challenge our appetite for comfort over obedience. The Transfiguration confirms the path—glory is real, but it comes through listening and trust. Along the way, the Psalms lift our eyes to God’s strength and unfailing love, while Proverbs warns how flattering lies steer hearts toward ruin. Together they form a pattern for a resilient spiritual life: pray boldly, guard your heart, embrace sacrifice, and speak with wisdom.

We also honor Chief Gunner’s Mate George F. Brady, a Medal of Honor sailor whose grit under fire saved his ship. His story reminds us that character—quiet, costly, steady—builds the kind of culture we say we want. If you care about faith that thinks, history that warns, and courage that acts, you’ll find practical encouragement here and a few anchors for the week ahead.

If this resonated, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a review to help others find the show. Tell us: which passage or story challenged you to live with greater clarity and courage today?

#americansoul #christiannation #popepiousxi #prayerofjabez 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. I sure do appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and energy, effort, a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, who continue to share the podcast with others, tell others about it. Thank you. Appreciate that very much. Hopefully you're getting to listen to it with someone else today.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your Son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for all the many blessings you bestow upon us. The ones we admit and the ones we don't for whatever reason. Thank you for the time to listen to this podcast. Thank you for the people that listen to it and share it. Please be with them.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Be with their families. Surround us with your angels, Father. Protect us from evil of any kind. Guide our thoughts and our words and our actions. Help us to help those that have less than we do. Help us to help our country here in America and wherever people are listening around the world.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

To turn back to you and your son, Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Help us to truly love your Son, Jesus Christ, and to follow his commands. To love you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us when we fail, Father. Forgive us our greed and our selfishness, our pride, our arrogance, judgment of others, rash words and actions, cowardice and our unbelief.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Lust, covetousness, gossip, slander, lack of gratitude. Please watch over our military, our law enforcement, firefighters, EMS. In particular, these days watch over our ICE agents as they go around the country doing their job upholding justice.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Be with our leaders, give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Help them to rule in fear of you and not man or woman. Be with those who are alone, who are brokenhearted. Father, please draw them close to you. And bring us home to you in your time. Amen.

The Prayer Of Jabez And Its Meaning

SPEAKER_00 3:06

It was actually about the prayer of serenity. Uh but it reminded me of a prayer my mother taught me years and years ago, and I just wanted to share it with y'all. Maybe it'll help you. It gives me a little bit of peace and encouragement from time to time. It's out of 1 Chronicles 4.10, and it's called the Prayer of Jabez. There's a bunch of different versions out there depending on which translation you're looking at. But the one that I have ended up falling into over the years is, oh God, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would protect me from evil, that it would not cause me pain, and that I would not cause anyone else pain. As I said, there's quite a few different versions, but it's a prayer for blessing and having God's hand with you, keeping us from evil. And the Bible tells us that God granted that prayer. He responded favorably to that prayer from Jabez.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

And at any rate, I just it was a little piece of my mother that popped into my head. I thought I would share that with y'all.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

So the first little bit of uh history that we're gonna read today is from 1937. It's I'm probably gonna mispronounce this. DeVinny Redemptoris on Atheistic Communism from Pope Pius XI. Again from 1937. And it's pretty lengthy, folks. We're just gonna read a few paragraphs out of it, starting with 57, I believe.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Yeah.

Song Of Songs On Love And Fidelity

Peter’s Confession And The Cross

Transfiguration And Obedience

Psalms And Proverbs On Trust And Temptation

SPEAKER_00 5:06

On this point we have already insisted in our allocation of May twelfth of last year, but we believe it to be a duty of special urgency, venerable brethren, to call your attention to it once again. In the beginning, communism showed itself for what it was in all its perversity, but very soon it realized that it was thus alienating people. It has hereafter changed its tactics and strives to entice the multitudes by trickery of various forms, hiding its real designs behind ideas that in themselves are good and attractive. Thus, aware of the universal desire for peace, the leaders of communism pretend to be the most zealous promoters and propagandists in the movement for world amity. Yet at the same time they stir up class warfare, which causes rivers of blood to flow, and realizing that their system offers no internal guarantee for peace, they have recourse to unlimited armaments. Under various names which do not suggest communism, they establish organizations and periodicals with the sole purpose of carrying their ideas into quarters otherwise inaccessible. They try perfidically, I murdered that, sorry, folks, to worm their way even into professedly Catholic and religious organizations. Again, without receding an inch from their subversive principles, they invite Catholics to collaborate with them in the realm of so-called humanitarianism and charity, and at times even make proposals that are in perfect harmony with the Christian spirit and the doctrine of the church. Elsewhere they carry their hypocrisy so far as to encourage the belief that communism, in countries where faith and culture are more strongly entrenched, will assume another and much milder form. It will not interfere with the practice of religion. It will respect liberty of conscience. There are some even who refer to certain changes recently introduced into Soviet legislation as a proof that communism is about to abandon its program of war against God. Paragraph fifty eight See to it, venerable brethren, that the faithful do not allow themselves to be deceived. Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be deceived into lending their aid towards the triumph of communism in their own country will be the first to fall victims of their error. And the greater the antiquity and grandeur of the Christian civilization in the regions where communism successfully penetrates, so much more devastating will be the hatred displayed by the godless. But unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it. And so as a final and most effacious remedy, we recommend, venerable brethren, that in your diocese you use the most practical means to foster and intensify the spirit of prayer joined with Christian penance. When the apostles asked the Savior why they had been unable to drive the evil spirit from a demonic, our Lord answered, This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting. So too the evil which today torments humanity can be conquered only by a worldwide crusade of prayer and penance. Oh I wish you were my brother, who nursed at my mother's breast, then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, and no one would criticize me. I would bring you to my childhood home and there you would teach me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, my sweet pomegranate wine. Your left arm would be under my head and your right arm would embrace me. Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right. Young women of Jerusalem, who is this sweeping in from the desert, leaning on her lover? Young woman, I aroused you under the apple tree, where your mother gave you birth, where in great pain she delivered you. Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth, his offer would be utterly scorned. The young woman's brothers We have a little sister too young to have breasts. What will we do for our sister if someone asks to marry her? If she is a virgin like a wall, we will protect her with a silver tower, but if she is promiscuous like a swinging door, we will block her door with a cedar bar. Young woman I was a virgin like a wall. Now my breasts are like towers. When my lover looks at me he is delighted with what he sees. Solomon has a vineyard at Balhaman, which he leases out to the tenant farmers. Each of them pays a thousand pieces of silver for harvesting its fruit, but my vineyard is mine to give, and Solomon need not pay a thousand pieces of silver, but I will give two hundred pieces to those who care for its vines. Young man, O my darling, lingering in the gardens, your companions are fortunate to hear your voice. Let me hear it too. Young woman, come away, my love, be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountain's spice. Scripture for today go back into Matthew sixteen, start with verse thirteen through seventeen, verse nine. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Well, they replied, Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Then he asked them, But who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus replied, You are blessed, Simon, son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn it from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter, which means rock, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. Heaven forbid, Lord, he said, this will never happen to you. Jesus turned to Peter and said, Get away from me, Satan. You are a dangerous trap to me. You were seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's. Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it, but if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is there anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. I tell you the truth. Some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, Lord, it's wonderful for us to be here. If you want, I'll make three shelters as memorials, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. But even as he spoke a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him. The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them. Get up, he said, Don't be afraid. And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, Don't tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. Psalm twenty three verses one through thirteen. How the king rejoices in your strength, O Lord. He shouts with joy because you give him victory, for you have given him his heart's desire. You have withheld nothing, he requested. You welcomed him back with success and prosperity, you placed a crown of finest gold on his head. He asked you to preserve his life and you granted his request. The days of his life stretch on forever. Your victory brings him great honor, and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty. You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord. The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling. You will capture all your enemies. Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you. You will throw them in a flaming furnace when you appear. The Lord will consume them in his anger, fire will devour them. You will wipe their children from the face of the earth, they will never have descendants. Although they plot against you, their evil schemes will never succeed. For they will turn and run when they see your arrows aimed at them. Rise up, O Lord, in all your power. With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts. Proverbs five verse one through six. My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you've learned. For the lips of an immoral woman are sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lead straight to the grave, for she cares nothing about the path of life.

Medal Of Honor: George F. Brady

SPEAKER_01 17:37

She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn't realize it. Medal of Honor for today George F.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Brady, Chief Gunner's Mate Spanish American War, USS Winslow, US Navy, may eleventh, eighteen ninety eight, Cardenas, Cuba. On board the torpedo boat Winslow during the actions at Cardenas, Cuba, eleventh may eighteen ninety eight. Conspicuously gallant during this period, Brady, by his energy in assisting to sustain fire, his efforts to repair the steering gear, and his promptness in maintaining watertight integrity was largely instrumental in saving the vessel. Accredited to New York, not awarded posthumously, born september seventh, eighteen sixty seven in Ireland, died november sixth, nineteen oh three, Kittery, Maine, Buried Island Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

George F. Brady.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Again, folks, the quality of character, the willingness to sacrifice for country, for God, vastly different immigrants in the history of our nation than a huge chunk of the mass of illegal and Muslim immigrants that we see today in the United States.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Not even in the same ballpark.

Closing Requests, Resources, And The Lord’s Prayer

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Well, I was going to read y'all part of a letter from John Adams to John Taylor from 1814, but I think that's going to take a little bit too long. So we'll go ahead and stop here for the day. If you are looking for a middle grade fantasy along the lines of Narnia, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, with hopefully a little bit more bent to the principles of Jesus Christ than those of the world, if you would check out the countryside. Series, I would appreciate it. And if you enjoy it, if you would leave a review uh online somewhere of either the first or the second book in the series, I would be very grateful for that. Also, if you feel like you are getting something on a semi-regular basis out of the podcast, the marriage verses or daily scripture medal of honor citations or our uh history and heritage are ties back to God and country. Uh, if you can release leave a review of the podcast online somewhere, or if uh you have five or ten dollars and or uh to spare each month, that would help a great deal. There's links in the show notes for both of those actions. And also, if you are a fan of YouTube, if you'd rather listen to the podcast there, or you know somebody that would, the podcast is on YouTube now. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world listening. God bless America. We'll talk to you all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.