Faith in Action—Deacon Bart Zavaletta, October 10, 2026

Tune in to Faith in Action at 9 a.m. on Mondays on Channel 88.1 FM, Siouxland Catholic Radio. This week, Host Joanne Fox talks to Deacon Bart Zavaletta. 

Faith in Action is brought to you by Mary's Choice, a Sioux City Pregnancy Resource Center. Previous Faith in Action programs can be found at siouxlandcatholicradio.com, on YouTube, and on several other podcasting platforms. Programming is subject to change.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:17

I'm your host at JM Fox and I am so pleased that you are taking time out of your business schedule, be it the day, be it the afternoon, be it the evening to listen to our programs. Now, maybe it is 9 a.m. on a Monday, that's when we typically air. Or maybe it's 7 p.m. on a Saturday, and that's when we replay the show. Or maybe you went to our website who landcatholicradio.com, clicked on programs, clicked on local programs, clicked on faith and actions, and you are listening at your convenience. And we're also on a number of other podcasting platforms, which is really cool, Spotify and some others. And that's all due to the generosity of Mary's choice. So listeners as you know, I love to bring on guests and uh especially ones I do know, but also ones I'd like to know. And usually there's something there's a reason why I'm bringing them on. And I'm gonna get that in the second phone, but that's a taken for the architect on the hall, and so uh Friday October 6 for a 13 event, and it's going to interact with the students and the third of the words of the students at the statement general. Which is everything at our radio station, and you can see that. But I just would be so cool to bring them on to my shelter and we could talk about and young people and all this other good stuff that we want to share with you listeners at all. Um apparently I learned something today that Dick and Bart actually goes by Deacon Zab, which obviously that's short for Zavoletta. Oh, Dick and Zab, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come on the show and share with our listeners a little bit about yourself and your faith.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Well, thank you so much for having me. This is such a wonderful way to start the morning. Uh I I really enjoy uh Catholic radio, and the more the more Catholic radio, the better, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Oh that was a wonderful testimonial. We'll have to make sure and write that down and use that in a PSA. So um Deacon Zav, why don't you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself, where you grew up, where you went to school, just a little bit so we get to better know you.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Absolutely. So I grew up in a very uh loving family in the town of Brownsville, Texas. That's the southernmost tip of Texas, way down on the coast. And I spent my first 18 years of my life there. Uh then I went off to college at the University of Houston. Um I played a little college football. I walked on their team and made the team and lettered for two years.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

What positions did you play on the team?

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Well, I thank you. I was a backup quarterback, and I also played I I got to travel with the team because I I earned a position on two of the special teams, kickoff and punt return. So it was uh it was an awesome experience. My older brother actually uh walked on uh a couple years before I did. So him and I both got to travel. So the highlight of our career was playing in the Hawaii Bowl together on Christmas Day 2003, way back then.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

So would you say you're kind of like a a Joe Montana Joe Nancy?

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Oh well. I I'm a Joe Montana uh wannabe, this is what I am.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Oh, that's great. Well, thank you for sharing that. So, okay, school is done. Um what did you major in in school?

SPEAKER_02 4:39

Well, I majored in kinesiology, but during my time at the University of Houston, I was uh I got elected somehow. I got elected as president of the Catholic Student Organization, and we had a wonderful, very active Newman Center, and so I began finding myself uh very fulfilled in leading other people to the faith. And so I began to discern a vocation to the priesthood. And it as it turned out, um, I had to have a talk with my girlfriend at the time, but as it turned out, uh I went home for Christmas break, and oh over the Christmas break was attending daily mass at our cathedral. And the cathedral at the time was staffed by a group of missionary uh priests. They were actually the founding priests of our home diocese, they were originally from France, and I uh started to wonder whether or not God might be calling me to be a missionary. And so uh I did some research, I started to pray, I started to open my heart to the idea of being a missionary priest, and the more I read about this uh particular community uh of priests that were not only missionaries, but they were also dedicated to Our Lady. And I had a I I was I've always been a mama's boy, so I had a great devotion to Our Lady, so that was very attractive to me. I read about their founder, Saint Eugene de Mazinod, uh, who was a French bishop, uh the Bishop of Marseille back in the mid uh 1800s, and he was a fiery personality, really passionate and zealous guy, a lot like myself, I suppose. And and so I was very attracted to him and the charism that he was given to to really preach the gospel uh to everyone, but especially to the to the to the poor, to those that are um least touched by the regular ministry of the church. And so I I applied and I was accepted, and I went off to seminary for three and a half years, and during that time, I I can tell you it was such a wonderful time, such a beautiful time of understanding who I am, who God is, why I need him so much in my life. But at the end of that time, uh I discerned that that maybe the Lord wasn't calling me to become a priest. Um, maybe he was asking me to discern married life. I had never really discerned married life up until that point, so I was very honest with my formaters, and um, they were very gracious with me and gave me the freedom uh that I needed to make this decision. And um, and so I I left the seminary and not not knowing really what God's plan was for my life at that point, but I I knew I needed to pray some more, I needed to continue my spiritual direction, I needed to continue to um just open my heart to the Lord and and and continue to allow him to guide me. And during that time, I really leaned on the Blessed Mother. I really leaned on her, I really said, Blessed Mother, please take me by the hand and lead me to where your son wants me to be. You you know how to get me there the fastest. And so uh the more I I leaned into Mary, the more I uh opened my heart to um yeah, just this possibility of of married life. And about a year and a half later, I I met my future wife, and the rest is kind of history. I I proposed to her on our way to Lourdes in France, and the next day uh we celebrated our engagement at Holy Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes. And in my heart of hearts, I just knew um that after we were married and our first child would be uh a girl, and she would be dedicated to our blessed mother. And as Providence would have it, uh it turned out our first child was a girl, and we named her Bea Maria, which uh is uh Spanish for beautiful Mary, Bea Maria. And uh we've had four boys after her, so turns out she was a bit of a miracle.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Uh kind of like the Jacksons or the Osmonds or the one girl and all those boys.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

That's great. Right. I tell everybody I have I have a daughter and four monsters at home.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

So yeah, and listeners have known me for decades and decades and decades. They know that I now have four adult sons. Uh I use the term adult loosely. Um I do have beautiful granddaughters and beautiful uh daughters-in-law, so I I am blessed in that way. I did get my girl somehow.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Tell the listeners about um your employment journey, which is kind of interesting since you said you graduated with a degree in kinesiology. And your mother, I would have said, and what are you doing with that, Barbara? Tell me. You know, I want you to make a living.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

The way uh the way I described myself, you know, not to anybody, but to myself uh and to the Lord when I was in college, is like, Lord, I just want to be a jock who prays.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Oh gosh, that's great.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Because Padre Pio described himself once as a monk who prays. And I'm like, well, I could be a jock who prays.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

You could.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

So so that that was what I was thinking is like I will be uh a gym coach or a gym teacher, and and uh I'll have a deep spiritual life, and that'll be good, and that'll be okay, um, because the Lord loves uh the body and the soul, you know, and so uh very, very um active uh person. So you know, kinesiology was very interesting to me how the booty how the body moves and and uh how how we uh uh grow and develop uh and how to teach uh young people um to appreciate their bodies, to love their bodies, and to to understand their bodies are created uh in the image and likeness of God. You know, the whole theology, the body was just coming out at that time with with uh St. John Paul II and Christopher West, who was breaking it down for all of us, you know, lay people at the time, and and and uh so then uh in the seminary, I really fell in love with philosophy and theology. And so I decided after I I exited formation, um, I got a job at a Catholic high school, and and it was um wasn't a teaching job, it was an administrative job. I got hired as the director of enrollment or admissions. And uh so I started to to interact with the high school students more and more. Uh I started to promote the school, the Catholic identity of the school, and I just said, you know what, this is really cool. Like I would really love to be in a in a in a Catholic school setting. I'd love to work in a Catholic school setting, uh, but now my my focus had kind of shifted to uh again formation and and sort of pastoral leadership and that kind of thing. Um so I I asked the seminary that I had been studying at in San Antonio, um, which is a oblate called the Oblate School of Theology, I asked them if I could continue as a lay person and get my master's degree in theology, and they said yes. And it turns out the Catholic school that I worked at at the time uh was owned by the University of Incarnate Word, and the University of Incarnate Word, so we're technically considered uh University of Incarnate Word employees, had a tuition exchange uh with the seminary, with the Ablet School of Theology. So I got my master's degree and it was paid for. So the Lord just paved the way for me to you know accomplish uh his will in my life. I I I really strongly believe that when we trust the Lord and we rely on his providence that he opens and closes doors as he wills, and it's not up to us to to you know try to uh figure out why or kind of bother ourselves with um you know what should have, could have, and and happened, but rather trusting the Lord, putting one step in front of the other, and saying, Lord, at the end of the day, I've given my life to you, I've surrendered, and I know that you're leading me down a path that you have planned for me. Even though I can't see down that path, I can't see very far, I can see the next step, and I'm going to take it with you by my side, trusting and loving you all the way.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

So I've been so I'm just gonna interrupt a second here. So I've been listening to you as you've been talking about kind of this wonderful life journey, and you you have uh mentioned several times here, Texas. I've been listening to see if you sound like a Texan. You do not sound like J.R. Ewing or any of his uh you know, family from Dallas. You sound very Midwestern. So somehow you must have made your way here to the Midwest. And if I'm jumping ahead of anything, just backpedal and kind of bring me up to speed.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Sure, sure, absolutely. Well, you know what's interesting interestingly enough that you know my family's Hispanic. I I'm a hundred percent Hispanic. So both my parents and grandparents on both sides are a hundred percent Hispanic, and and they came from Spain into Mexico and from Mexico into southern Texas. The interesting thing about my accent is the English that was spoken in southern Texas was brought by Midwesterners. So a lot of Midwest farmers came down to farm the Rio Gran Valley because there was a citrus and cotton um market down there, and the land was cheap, and so a lot of Midwest farmers, in fact, a lot of farmers from Iowa came down to South Texas and settled uh in that in that area. So a lot of the English that was being spoken at the time, even not too long ago, you know, 75 years ago, whatever, because most most of the people in Brownsville being it it so close to the border speak Spanish. And so the English was brought in by the Midwesterners and taught in schools by Midwest, Midwestern people. So that's why we don't have the the Texas draw. Isn't that interesting?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

That is very interesting. I'm so glad I asked you about that because I was listening very carefully. Very carefully. There is. Oh, it is a small, small world. So eventually you you are here in the Archdiocese of Omaha, and uh what what what led you on that path to bring you back here to the Midwest?

SPEAKER_02 15:38

So um I I mentioned that my my wife, uh, we were engaged, and so shortly after we came back from Europe, after our engagement, she got a letter of acceptance from Creighton University for her graduate school. Yeah, for her graduate school in physical therapy. And uh I never in my wildest dreams thought I would move to Nebraska. I I thought, you know, or at least permanently, right? Uh I thought, you know, we we'll go to Omaha, you'll get your degree a couple years for a couple years, you know, spend spend time studying and then and then head back to Texas. Well, um, I had to figure out what I was gonna do in Omaha while she was in grad school, so I said, well, maybe there's a Catholic school in Omaha. Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Maybe.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

Because I had no clue what this uh you know place was was about. And much to my surprise when I googled Catholic School, Omaha, Nebraska, it was like, I don't know, nine that popped up.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Right.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

And I'm going, oh my goodness, what wow, I had no idea there's nine Catholic high schools in in the metro. So uh I put out some feelers, a couple of schools uh said they didn't have any openings, and so I was kind of getting a little discouraged. And then so then I went on the Archdiocese of Omaha's website, and interestingly enough, um there was a job posting for a theology teacher at VJ and Angela Scott Catholic High School. And I said, Oh, I didn't see that one on you know the Google search or whatever. So for some reason, or I didn't see an opening at that school um uh at the other, and so I clicked on the link and I got a phone number and I called the school and I said, Hi, uh, I'm I'm calling about the open theology. Hold on one second. And brief pause, and then hello, this is Patrick Slattery, president and principal of Scott Catholic High School. How can I help you? I'm like, oh my goodness, I got straight through this impressive. Uh yes, I'm calling just to inquire about the uh position of you know, the open theology position at at your high school, and he said, Well, to tell you the truth, um you know, we're about to to wrap this up, uh, but if you can get me your resume in the next half hour, I'll I'll I'll take a look.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

Wow, that is the Holy Spirit working in mysterious ways.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

Holy Spirit. And so this is the the beginning of my 17th year here at Scott Catholic. And uh I I uh I can't tell you that that uh I I I can tell you that the reason why we didn't we haven't moved back to Texas is because of this school.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

I believe it. Listeners, if you are just tuning in right now, I want to remind you this show is faith in action. I'm so grateful you are listening. And I'm your host, Joanne Fox, and on the phone with me from Omaha is Deacon Bart Zavaletta. And I've been calling in the Deacon Sacks. That's what he asked me to do. And because I know you say, well, why am I having this guy from Omaha office? We have lots of wonderful deacons and the diet sets of as well as our wonderful deacons and the archives at Omaha and the diet sets of falls. I mean, we've got them everywhere. But here's it, and that's kind of the hook. And we are going to do a one-day event at Catholic High School Friday, October 16th. I'll give you a little bit more about that, but um that'll give you a little bit of time to quickly find a piece of paper, a pen or a pencil, and write that down Friday, October 16th. So um this is uh just an amazing life journey. Uh probably more interesting maybe than myself or other listeners. So I would be curious to know about uh the the deacon formation part of all of this. Because clearly, you know, you um you have a wonderful relationship with our Lord. But taking on the it's studious. I know this. I've done numerous stories. Again, listeners know I come out of uh like 50 plus years in the field of journalism. Numerous stories with deacons. I know how rigorous that is. So what prompted you to say to yourself, I think I want to do this?

SPEAKER_02 20:01

You know, that's uh that's a wonderful question. So you know, when I left the seminary, um I I left it was very bittersweet, right? It was very bittersweet. I I I knew that that uh I had a heart for the ministry, I had a heart for the church, obviously, and and a heart for service. Um so when I left, I felt like um something was was unfulfilled, right? Something I was leaving with uh a little bit unfulfilled, right? With an unfulfilled desire. And so I I continue to bring those thoughts that that desire to the Lord. I said, Lord, I I desire to be an apostolic man. I desire to be, you know, your your missionary, I desire to be your servant. How how can I how can I fulfill this desire? And teaching theology really did help, but it didn't it didn't quite fulfill it. And interestingly enough, as uh as I was discerning this, I got an invitation to go talk about Holy Spirit to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage, on an all-in-made um pilgrimage that was being promoted by the School of Faith and um the Holy Family School of Faith at the time, which was an organization, a nonprofit, that sought to build up and form really, really strong Catholic school teachers so that they can be unleashed in the Catholic schools and they can set souls on fire with the gospel. And the founder, Mike Scherslicht, Dr. Scherslicht, he says, in order to set these, build up and form and set them on fire, we gotta take them to the source of our faith. We gotta take them to the Holy Land. And so he fundraised uh to take uh five of us. One myself, I was the only teacher, the other four were principals, but five of us from the Archdiocese of Omaha, and about twenty five people from From Kansas City, and another twenty-five people from uh Cincinnati. And so we all went to the Holy Land on pilgrimage, and we're sitting at a place called Tabga, where tradition holds our Lord multiplied the loaves and the fishes. It's also a stone's throw away from where he called Peter, James, and John, who were mending their nets right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And I'm sitting in this uh under these these shady uh olive trees listening to this talk, and I'm looking over to my left, and there's the Sea of Galilee, a stone's throw away. And it's a beautiful uh picturesque kind of scene. You know, you you could picture it in your mind. It's a nice sandy beach, which the rest of the Sea of Galilee wasn't sandy, it was very rocky. So this was a sandy beach, and you could even picture the boats kind of pulled up on shore, and and Peter, James, and John sitting in their boats, mending their nets, and and Jesus walking up to them. And so we're listening to this talk, and this guy from Cincinnati, who I don't know, but he's a principal at a grade school in Cincinnati, he's digging in the dirt, and he's kind of distracted. I said, What are you doing? He says, I think I found something. And I said, Well, what'd you find? And he pulls it up and he says, What do you think it is? And I said, Well, it's a rock. And he says, Look at it closely. And it's a pear-shaped rock, and the top of the the rock, there's a perfectly hewn hole right through the top of it. And I said, I'm kind of thinking, what kind of insect could have like burrowed its way through? And he goes, It's it's a weight. And I'm like, What? He goes, It's a fishing weight. It's what if they would have tied to their nets. And you know they dropped their nets and followed Jesus. And so he looks, I'm like, dude, you found an artifact. And he says, I want you to have it. I said, Me? Why why me? And he said, I don't know. The Lord just put it on my heart to tell you that he wants you to have this. And you know, the talk ends, and I'm holding this artifact, this symbol of the fisherman who was called, you know, who left his nets behind to follow Jesus as an apostolic man. And and and the the talk ends, and he the the tour guide says, take some time to to walk out on the shore of Sea of Galilee, just be with the Lord. And I I take two steps and I start bawling, you know, because I'm like, oh my goodness, Lord, who am I? Why would you choose me? Why would you give me such a tangible sign of this of the and and he reminded me of the desire that I had to come and follow him as his apostolic man, as his missionary, as his disciple, as his servant. And as I'm walking toward closer to the Sea of Galilee, it just breaks open like a bright light. I want you to be my deacon. And I'm 33 years old.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

I'm thinking it's like the uh Paul being knocked off the horse.

SPEAKER_02 24:57

Seriously, yeah, I was knocked off that log I was sitting on.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Oh my goodness gracious.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Yeah, so so I came home, told my wife uh about it, and and we, you know, the conversation started. We had been married about six years, uh, five and a half years at the time. And so I didn't even know if I'd be accepted. You know, I I'd never met a young deacon. I was, you know, 33 years old. I'm like, what am I thinking? You know, uh, they're gonna laugh me out of the chancery here when I tell them I I think I'm called the diaconare. They're gonna tell me to come back in 30 years, you know, and and and uh much to my surprise, uh Deacon James Keating, who's uh just a very well-known deacon, um very well-respected theologian, um and and and professor in the seminary, um was the director of of Deacon Formation, the Actal Formation at the time. And you talk about rigorous, his interview was very rigorous. I bet. My interview with him was very, you know, uh I I just said I just kept coming back to, you know, my my desire to serve the Lord, my desire that's been with me, that's been you know, cooking inside of me, and and uh this this something's gotta, you know, this desire is very strong. I know it's the Lord. I know it's the Lord. And and he said, Well, actually, you know, we're looking for younger men to to apply to the diaconate. And so this is very interesting that you're coming forward at this time because I've been praying about this too. And oh my goodness, I you should have seen my face. I just like my jaw dropped and my eyes are wide open. I'm going, like, seriously? I thought you were going to tell me to come back in 30 years, and uh, which I was willing to do. I was willing to wait. It it just I it was such a gift and such a surprise, just gift upon gift. And so, yeah, the the four years of formation um was a beautiful, beautiful experience. And you know, interestingly enough, it completed like it that was the amount of time I had left for ordination to in the seminary. You know, so it brought that whole thing to fulfillment, and and it brought my desire to to be the Lord's apostolic man, to to serve him in the midst of his church, uh, to be um yeah, a conduit of his graces through holy orders, like that that was all fulfilled and is being fulfilled in my life right now.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

So you were ordained when?

SPEAKER_02 27:28

I was ordained in 2021, so five and a half years ago. Um I'm 44 years old. So I was ordained uh just shy of my uh 39th birthday. Yeah, so I was 38. And um It's been a beautiful five and a half. Oh, two and a half months before I was ordained. I was I laugh now, but it wasn't a laughing matter. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Oh and so I had a nine-month journey of chemotherapy and and um and and treatments ahead of me, uh, two and a half months before I was ordained. I was I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to be ordained with my classmates because of my treatment schedule and because of the uh you know the white uh blood cell count. I I forget what they call it, but basically, but basically if your counts are too low, you can't be around too many people. And this was like 2021, so COVID was still around and it was it was uh it required a lot of trust, uh a lot of a lot of surrender.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

So when you were ordained, um what what was your assignment besides you know you're in a school setting, but did you have other assignments like with a parish or anything like that?

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Yes, yes, I was assigned to uh St. Vincent de Paul uh parish in West Omaha. Um my wife and I had been parishers there for um about uh let's see about five years, just under five years. Um fact I had I I started formation right around the time that we moved into that parish. So um it was a be it's a beautiful parish, beautiful people. My goodness, I've had so much so much support. My family's had so much support. Uh it's just been such a beautiful way of sharing the gospel um with each other at at a parish. Um, you know, it I just can't say enough about the people at St. Vince de Paul. They're just uh they welcomed us with open arms. They're just so such such beautiful souls there, such such a grace.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Terrific. So when you come to Sioux City to heal, um this is you know kind of mission territory here. What what are you hoping to communicate to the students?

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Sure. Well, I I would love to just give them I want to present the gospel, right? I everywhere I go, whenever I'm invited to go and speak about the faith, I I I just want to start with the gospel, the good news of the gospel, the charygma. You know, we're created for relationship, sin ruins that relationship, Jesus comes to restore it, but it's up to us now to respond and rally around the gospel. And so I want the gospel not to just be some humdrum, you know, story that they've heard a hundred thousand times since they were knee hide or grasshopper. I want them to hear it in a new way. And so I ask the Holy Spirit to help me to communicate in such a way, to help me present the gospel in such a way that it's attractive, that it's new, that it stops them in their tracks and helps them to see the Lord inviting them to follow him as his disciples. You know, when the Lord looked upon people and called them, something changed in their hearts immediately. Like they left their nets immediately. It's like, what? They just barely saw this guy once, you know, and they're just following him. Something about the Lord. The Lord is mysterious in all his ways. He has that power. He's captivating, he's inspiring. I mean, the most captivating, inspiring person that has ever walked the face of the earth, and he's with us through his spirit.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

And young people uh want to embrace that, but a lot of times they feel a little hesitant. Peer pressure, family pressure, uh, you know, social media pressure. Um some of them are on fire for God, some of them are lukewarm, mediocre, and some of them are kind of ice old. How do you tailor a message to this uh not only vast um difference in approaches to their faith, but also um we're looking if you're at the high school, ninth graders to seniors. So how do you tailor a message to that group then?

SPEAKER_02 31:56

Yeah, absolutely. Great question. So I I I always go back to St. John Paul II and how amazing his life was, how amazingly attractive uh the the gospel was when he presented it to young people, uh, myself included, and his words that he always loved to use when speaking to young people was be not afraid. Be not afraid. Fear keeps us from deepening our relationship with Jesus Christ. And and really, fear keeps us from becoming who we were chosen, created, and now called to be. And and fear is a liar. Fear is the antithesis of the joy and the fulfillment that you were meant for. There's only one person who can fulfill your deepest longings, the deepest longings of your heart, and that's Jesus Christ. Believe in him, trust in him, follow him wherever he leads you, and be not afraid. There will be challenges, there will be trials, there will be tribulations, and there will be temptations, but you're not alone. Be not afraid. And so I encourage young people all the time to trust the Lord, that he is a trustworthy God, that he loves us beyond our imagin wildest expectations, he loves us despite our weaknesses, our failures, our sins. He desires to transform us and reform us into who he originally created us to be. You know, sin deforms us, sin decreates us. The Lord's grace and his mercy, his goodness, his truth, his beauty, his love transforms us and reforms us, and it fulfills us. And so that's my message to the young people. And I said, Well, okay, so one of the biggest things that can happen in a Catholic high school is a culture, is a culture change. You know, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 34:15

I just said one of my my strategy is to it be inspiring and and to to um present the gospel in in a way they've never heard it before, and that's all good. But without culture on the ground, you're not gonna get anywhere. The culture of the school needs to be set on fire with the gospel. How do you do that? You do that by young people stepping forward in groups, you know, and it doesn't have to be a large group. The Lord, it could be a mustard size, mustard seed-sized group, right? The Lord can do a lot with a little bit, the Lord can do a lot with a few people. Look, he transformed the entire world with twelve guys. One of them betrayed him. And and look, look, look at where we're at now. And so we should never think that the Lord is hindered by numbers because culture's got to start somewhere. The yeast, you just put a little bit of yeast for the whole loaf to to rise. You just put a little bit of salt for the entire dish to be flavored. Right? So you don't have to look at it as a numbers game. Well, we just don't have enough kids that are you know on fire for their faith, or we just don't have enough uh, you know, uh teachers that are on fire for their faith, or we don't have enough, whatever, whatever, whatever. The Lord looks at you and says, You are enough. You are enough. Your story is enough, your testimony is enough, your witness is enough, you are enough. You know why? Because it's not just you, it's me and you, and we are enough, and so that's my message to young people is is is if they really want to see uh the fruit come forth, then we need to create a soil in this school, in this place, that is receptive to the gospel, and it doesn't again, the soil will multiply. You know, the culture will multiply, the culture will grow. It can start small. Don't be afraid of a small start, because the Lord has amazing ability, obviously, to expand this culture and grow this culture. You know, when I first came to Scott Catholic, um, we had one young man in the history of the school, and it's a young school, so um it was about let's say 20 years old when I when I stepped on board here, and we had one young man in the history of the school in the last 20 years, the previous 20 years, that discerned a vocation of the priesthood. Two years uh after my I started my my job here, the Lord inspired me to start a spiritual fraternity for our young men to help our young men to change the culture of our young men. Because our culture at the time amongst the young men was very worldly, very worldly, and some might argue that that it still is, but we have so we have secret sauce here. I think this is the secret sauce. We have a spiritual fraternity here on campus that has been around for the last oh fifteen years, and it has produced more than ten young men in the last fifteen years have discerned a vocation and have gone to the seminary. Two of them have already been ordained, thanks be to God. So you look at that and you think about that, how did that happen? It's not because of me, it's because of us. We opened our heart to the Lord and said, Lord, come into our hearts, come into our school, come and change our culture, and help us to believe that you can do this with nine freshmen boys, which is what we started the group with. Nine freshmen boys. And now there's over 70 young men in our spiritual fraternity, and that's more than 10% of the of the young men here at Scott Catholic, that's probably upwards of twenty, twenty-five percent uh of the young men at Scott Catholic participate in the spiritual fraternity. And the fruit of it is evident, right? The fruit is evident. It's it's it's changed the culture of our campus ministry, it's changed the culture of our theology department, it's changed the culture of our school and our entire uh Catholic identity as as an institution, as an organization. And of course, you know, there's other pieces, but but it's all connected to this desire to to let your nets down for a catch. Put out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch. But that's impossible. This just, you know, I've been fishing all night. There's there's nothing here. Watch the Lord work.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Yes, absolutely. And I loved your whole analogy about the culture of a Catholic high school. Uh, listeners know I used to teach it at the college level at Western Iowa Tech Community College. And I often would pull students to one side and it looked like they might be uh in despair or something. And I I can't blame them. I competition, you know. So I would not focus on all four meets you know, yeah, I don't have a girlfriend or I don't have a boyfriend, or I go off to the parking lot, and my car is the ball tires. And here somebody else has a wonderful car. And I think that's fine. And I think you're an alcoholic with the tight school. We're all in this together. And our two or more gathered together there are people in this, especially young people I think are often think of themselves as isolated, and somebody else is going through what I'm going through. I feel so alone. And what you have kind of created there with the help of a lot of other people is this culture of we are all in this together, and look what we can accomplish with the Lord. I think that is so powerful, and what a testament to not only you, but these young people and the administration that's got Catholic.

SPEAKER_02 41:03

Amen. Amen. That's exactly right. You know, I just listened to uh a former Navy SEAL talk about his faith, and uh he he used an analogy in the special operations community, they understand that you know when you have an objective, uh you have to isolate, contain, and then crush that objective, right? Isolate and contain. So that's what the enemy does to us. He tries to isolate us and contain us. Isolate the gospel, contain the gospel. The gospel is not cool, therefore the gospel is not going to be talked about. Isolated, contained. And then it's crushed. And the spirits are crushed, and and and and the the proclamation of the gospel is crushed, and the strategies are crushed, the programs are crushed, the the um all the output is crushed. What do you have to do? You have to unleash the gospel in the hearts of these young people. You have to bring them together in fraternity and sorority, spiritual fraternity and spiritual sorority, and you have to encourage them to not be afraid. And even if it's within a a small group of authentic friends, it will bear fruit and it will spread like wildfire, and you will not be able to contain it any longer, and you will reach people far beyond your wildest imagination, and you will create a ripple effect that'll echo into all of eternity your decision, your yes, to unleash the gospel in your heart and to proclaim the gospel boldly and courageously and authentically, as you are striving to follow Jesus daily and bring others to him, watch out because the gospel is powerful, it is life-changing, and we know that. We just don't always believe it. We don't always believe that we personally can make a difference, can be the difference maker. But the Lord says each and every one of us baptized in his name has the power to unleash the gospel.

SPEAKER_00 43:19

Amen. That's the truth. That is the absolute truth. Well, listeners, this has been absolutely delightful to share this almost uh 45 minutes with all of you. It's been great. Um I am so tickled to have the opportunity to interview Deacon Bark of Athletica, Deacon Safe. Um, he's coming here to the Diet Center City Friday, October 16th at the One Day event at Catholic High School. Um, we'll have more on our website about school and say, it's gonna be an old school. Or you can also fight clients and communicate today with me. I am still difficult to uh about this. Uh the burning question is are you bringing the artifact with you?

SPEAKER_02 44:33

I certainly will. I certainly will. Yes, I will bring it with me.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

Excellent. Well, I look forward to meeting you that day and uh introducing myself and I look forward to uh safe travels from you, uh for you from uh Omaha to City. And uh again, thank you so very much, Deacon Safe, for sharing all of this. Um very powerful message we have today.

SPEAKER_02 44:57

Amen. You're welcome. And I I do also want to say that you can also listen to Life Plan on Spotify and other streaming services or platforms.

SPEAKER_00 45:07

Because that's where they're at. We know this. That uh brings to an end another um edition of Faith in Action. Um thank you so much for all your support. If you're tuned in late or you want to listen to this again, you can go to our website, SMCatholicRadio.com, click on local programs, faith in action or uh, also a Spotify number of the podcasting platforms. That's all the general resource centers underwriters for the shelter.