Ponder and Magnify: A Rosary Podcast

S4, E1 - Welcome to Season Four: The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

• John and Jessica Helling • Season 4 • Episode 1

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The mission of the Ponder and Magnify Podcast is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. In this episode, John and Jessica introduce Fr. Hecktor, a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri. Throughout Season Four, John, Jessica, and Fr. Hecktor will be diving into the Scripture of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary together. In this episode, in addition to giving a glimpse into the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, Fr. Hecktor shares about his relationship with Mary and Mary's role in our salvation. Praise be to God!

Jessica:

Hello and welcome to the Ponder and Magnify Podcast, where our mission is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. I am so happy that you are here. Welcome everybody to season four of the Ponder and Magnify podcast. We are so excited to be here, to be wrapping it up and taking it home with the joyful mysteries. And we're especially excited for this to be launching during Advent. Although, of course, we know you could be listening to this at any time. We're just excited to dive into it with you. We, John and I are so excited to introduce someone who's very special to us, um, who'll be joining us for this for this fourth season, Father Hecktor. He is a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. His current assignment is Pastor of St. Justin Martyr, which John and I are lucky enough to call our home parish. So it is a gift to have our parish priest here with us to go over these joyful mysteries. And I just want to say thank you to God for all of our parish priests on our archdiocese and all across the country, all across the world. We have such a gift in our priests. And just whether or not you've ever spoken to your priest, knowing that they've given up so much to take care of us and pray for us, and just that the Lord has entrusted us to their care, just that's a special, special gift. So whether or not you've ever spoken to your parish priest, we encourage you to pray for them because it's important. In particular with Father Hecktor, father, my first experience meeting you was in Confession. Father Hecktor got assigned to our parish, and I really was feeling it on my heart to go to Confession. It was a very humbling moment because I called the priest to go to Confession, and that was going to be my first ever introduction with him. And I had something that was really weighing on my heart and was getting teary-eyed and emotional in Confession. Father Hecktor received me with such love and compassion. It was a true feeling of like the paternal love of the Lord just meeting me in that moment. And I swear that he was also tearing up and at least made me feel just that he was feeling the weight of my pain and also the relief that comes at the end of Confession. It was just, it was so beautiful. It was a Confession that truly gave me so much freedom. And then the craziest thing is I'm walking out of Confession, and again, I don't know him at this point. And he says to me, Jessica, I'm gonna pray for you. And it's hard to explain how that felt in that moment. It just immediately reminded me of the scripture from Isaiah 43, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. And to feel that affirmation right after Confession, where something had really been weighing on me, it was just a true Holy Spirit moment. And when I brought this up to Father Hecktor later on, he said, Huh, I don't remember that, which I think is also proof that it was the Holy Spirit orchestrating it all. Another thing that we just really love and appreciate about Father Hecktor is his true love and reverence for the Eucharist. It's something that is just important to him. It's evident in the way he preaches. And I'm I have the privilege of being on the liturgy committee at church with him and in the way that he's always making sure that the Eucharist is the center of our worship and just encouraging others to go pray before the tabernacle. He just, it's beautiful to have a priest whose heart is really focused on the heart of Jesus and making that accessible to all. And with that, John and I and Father Hecktor, we have his backing. Want to invite anyone who's listening here, whether you go to Mass regularly or if you haven't been to Mass in years, we just want to invite you all together to come check us out at St. Justin. If you feel so moved by the Holy Spirit or if you're looking for home or just to be to be back at Mass, we would love to have you, and Jesus would love to have you. So I just want to extend that invitation with the backing of our priest um that Jesus is waiting for you in the Eucharist. So please go meet him there, whether it's at St. Justin or somewhere else, he's waiting for you there. Father Hecktor, anything else that you'd like to add?

Fr. Hecktor:

So thank you for such a wonderful introduction and knowledge and love of the Eucharist. That's exactly what I want people to grow in in love of Jesus being present, God being present, a sense of the sacred in the church, and a sense of God being with us, which is such a wonderful thing that we remember in these mysteries that we're about to pray, and also in this Advent season that we're about to undertake. God with us. He is there with us, and we need to understand and appreciate the goodness and glory of God, Almighty God, our creator, our the creator of this expansive universe who's with us. So, yes.

Jessica:

Thank you, Father. Would you mind kicking us off in prayer as we start our season?

Fr. Hecktor:

Very glad to. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Lord, send your grace and blessing upon us. We trust in you and know that you are with us. And we are so grateful, Lord, for your presence among us, your love for us, the generous, infinite, steadfast love and mercy that you give us. Guide us, Lord, especially through this season of Advent. Help us, Lord, to remember your presence among us and the goodness and joy and truth that you share with us through our prayers, through our sacrifices and giving. Help us, Lord, to know you and love you and be a witness of your goodness to others on this earth, a world that so badly needs it. We make these in all of our prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Justin, pray for us. Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jessica:

Thank you so much, Father. All right, we are changing it up a bit for this episode. It was just kind of a little we're gonna call it, well, we'll see, Holy Spirit inspiration, perhaps. Instead of doing one word to describe what we're where we're at, we are gonna say one thing we're thankful for. So, Johnny, I'm kicking it to you. What's something you're feeling thankful for?

John:

I'm glad I'm going first, because I feel like I get to steal this layup, but I am thankful for the gift of our family. Since our last recording, we have welcomed a a sweet new, happy, healthy addition to our family another daughter, and just getting to see the the joy in you know between you and I with for her, between her sisters and her, and just our extended family and friends. It's just a constant reminder of how lucky we are and how how thankful we should be. So I don't know who wants to follow that up, but uh Father Hecktor, what would you say?

Fr. Hecktor:

Yeah, I am very, very grateful for faithful families like you. I have it's been such a joy. So Jessica talked earlier about uh the first time meeting me in Confession, the first time meeting all of you. I can't remember the first time I met you, but I remember the first time you had me here to your house, and we took a walk around the neighborhood, and what a beautiful joy that was with your daughters, the two who were here . Across the street, there were some neighbor boys who waved at me. I'd only been here for like a month or two, and they they they waved and they were they were really kind and that was very, very nice. And just being with you two and knowing the faith you have and continue to have. I hope you know you inspire me and so many other priests to continue doing what whatever we do, giving, offering the sacrifice of the mass, the Confession, prayers, all of those things. We count on wonderful families like you, and I'm so grateful for you. So that's my my gratefulness is for families like you that you are here, you practice your faith, you inspire us to to greater faith. So it's not just the priest who inspires others, but it's it's certainly families like you who do that. So keep up the good work, yeah.

Jessica:

Thank you, thank you, Father, and thank you, Holy Spirit, for that for sure. And you were a true celebrity that day when we were walking around.

Fr. Hecktor:

I felt like it. That was pretty awesome. Like I said, I had just gotten here and I was I was really amazed that some kids across the street recognized me. So I thought that was that was pretty awesome. First of all, that you had me here. You you felt comfortable to invite me, and then yeah, those kids recognized me. That was pretty awesome.

Jessica:

Yeah, that was so great.

Fr. Hecktor:

That was cool.

Jessica:

Uh-huh. It was. I am feeling grateful tonight for just a moment in family life that happened about a week ago. To me, it was really a true reminder of the love of God um when we're not at our best. So I was like John was saying, we've got a newborn. Been pretty been pretty sleep deprived. I'm not my best when I'm sleep deprived. I'm easily irritable and everything makes me cry. So I was having an impatient moment with my family before dinner where I was not being as loving to them as I should be. I was standing in the kitchen trying to get our girls to the table. I was feeling very impatient. And John came over to me and he was like, Okay, girls, mom is frustrated right now. And I want to teach you what you need to do when mom is frustrated. And he's like, first you give her a big hug, and then you give her a kiss on the cheek, and then you wait. And he did that, and I smiled, and he was like, Oh, see that? There's the smile, girls. This is what we have to do for each other. Fast forward like 24 hours later, our girls have um Harry Potter style in a closet that we have. They've made a little office space there, and some water got spilled in it, and I was cleaning soggy paper out of the bottom of the closet underneath all the coats. And I was feeling really frustrated. And our oldest daughter just goes, Oh, I know what to do. And she gave me a hug, she kissed me on the cheek, and then she looked at me and I smiled, and she was like, Yeah, dad was right. And to me, it was just such a beautiful moment, first by John like leading the way in our family, and then just receiving the tenderness of a child when I am it was having a moment of impatience and just a true reminder from our family life of being loved in our weaknesses, and that when we are weak, it is an opportunity to receive that beautiful love of the Lord, and it hits home so much more when we receive it in that state. Um, so anyway.

Fr. Hecktor:

That that is amazing that you two all the challenges that you parents must go through raising children, that you look for those beautiful opportunities to smile and to appreciate the joy of life and faith. Thank you for doing that. That's really, really awesome that you do that.

Jessica:

Oh, yes. It's many challenges and many, no, it's all it's all beautiful. It's a gift, it's such a gift.

John:

Well, Father Hecktor, do you mind um kind of turning it back to you? Do you mind sharing about um kind of your relationship, you know, with this being a rosary podcast, with your relationship with Mary and how it's grown and developed over time?

Fr. Hecktor:

Yeah. I love our blessed mother and I'm so grateful for her. I just can't imagine. There's so many times late at night when you wake up worried about things, or when you're sick, or when uh you're just about to uh celebrate Mass. There's so many times I've asked her to help me, to wrap me in that mantle of protection, all the good things that she does for us. Um my mom is wonderful. She she loves, she gives, she she just cares so much. And it's not just the delicious food that she gives me, but it's the wonderful hugs that she gives me, the care that she gives me, that she sends me now that she has text message, you know, she can text, she text messages me all the time. And she says, How are you? You doing okay? Are you coming out this weekend? She wants to see me, she cares about me, and that's just a fraction of what our blessed mother does for us. When I was a kid, during Advent and Lent, we prayed the rosary after dinner, sat around the dinner, and we didn't want to do it as kids. We didn't want to sit there for an extra 15, 20 minutes, but we did it, and I'm so grateful that we did that because that established for me a wonderful relationship with our blessed mother that I still have to this day. And I just she's she's the most beautiful and caring, and I'm so grateful for her. I'm so lucky to have her looking out for me and protecting me and helping me the way she does. And not just about me, but for the church, for the entire church. And I hope I convey that to the rest of the church how much she cares. Yeah.

Jessica:

Thank you for saying that, Father Hecktor, too, about having like a moment where maybe as a kid you didn't want to pray, but that bearing so much fruit later, because I don't know, as a family that's trying to pray with our kids, sometimes that's the reality and it can feel discouraging. When the kids aren't into the prayer, into the activity or whatever that we're doing, but just knowing that the seeds are being planted and that that is our only responsibility, not having to worry about the fruit that's gonna be born later or whether that's happening fast enough or whatever, any of that. It's just our responsibility is just to plant the seeds. So thank you for sharing that.

Fr. Hecktor:

Welcome.

John:

is there anything like helpful? Or is there a Father Hecktor hack for praying the rosary that are like something you like to do while you pray?

Fr. Hecktor:

Carry your rosary, it's in your pocket, and you remember to pray it. There's been so many times I didn't pray it at all, but I reached in my pocket and I felt the rosary, and I could remember that she's with me. She cares, she loves me. I could feel the crucifix, I knew our Lord was with me. So carry that rosary with you and remember, just remember our Lord is walking with you. Our blessed mother is with you, and she cares about you very, very much.

John:

I had to just make sure I snuck this in. Do you recommend carrying a rosary with you while you're on a motorcycle?

Fr. Hecktor:

Yes, definitely. Especially while you're on the road with my mother will appreciate it if you ride to bring a rosary with you on the motorcycle, yes. And all your mother will appreciate it too if you ride on the motorcycle, yes.

John:

Just needed a clarification there.

Jessica:

I love that. I had a friend who um underwent surgery recently and she's a daily rosary person, and she was saying to me, like, Oh, I just I can't, I'm so worn out. I can't, it's I can't get the rosary said, but I just hold my rosary and that feels like enough. And I really think that's true. That our mother meets us wherever we're we're at with whatever we have to give her. And if it's just simply holding the rosary or whatever, even just looking to her in our heart for a second, she takes that as such a treasure to her.

Fr. Hecktor:

Yep. I I've done this so many times. Just reach in my pocket and grab that and and just know that she's she's there, she cares, she loves. Yeah.

Jessica:

Absolutely. So, Father Hecktor, I wonder if you could help John and I and our all those who are listening just understand a little bit more what Mary's role is in our sanctification and salvation, because obviously Jesus is well, I'm just I'm gonna let you take that. Go ahead.

Fr. Hecktor:

Yeah, such an important role. And I hope we always remember what an amazing role she has. I think of myself, my resistance to God sometimes. I I felt like I was called to the priesthood back when I was 10 years old. And for 15 years, I resisted. I didn't want to do that. That's not what I wanted to do. That that's okay, maybe that was God's will. I didn't want to do it. I put it off. I tried to resist it, I tried to forget about it. What did Mary do when she was uh you know 14, 15 years old? She said, Be it done unto me according to your will. What an amazing act of faith that she did. She's filled with grace, immaculate conceived. She had all of that, but she cooperated with God's grace. She turned to God when He invited her to participate in His Saving Plan, and she said, Yes, I will be a part of it. It was just it's just amazing how Mary does that for us, how she invited through God's well, I should say God's invitation, how she accepted that invitation and allowed the savior of the world, the redeemer of the world to come through her at God's invitation. What an incredible thing that she would say yes the way she did. I put it off for years and years and didn't want to say yes. I imagine a lot of us do the same thing sometimes, but she cooperated just so perfectly, so wonderfully with that, allowed our salvation to come into the world through her. What an amazing thing that she did for us.

Jessica:

I've been thinking about that Annunciation story and praying with it recently. It's also just wild to think that that was such an act of sacrifice for all of humanity. It wasn't just accepted for her own joy, but it was accepted for like the joy and beatitude of all people, as all of our calls are not just for us, but are for the joy and beatitude of the of the whole church, or at least those who are entrusted to us by God. And I just have the thought that there are times, or probably for me all the time, she desires my salvation more than I desire it. And in the same way that the Lord gave her Jesus, He gives her each of us individually. And so all she does, all of her intercession is all leading toward our sanctification and salvation. And she's praying and acting in all the ways that she does with such a desire for that that is at times stronger than that desire for myself, even. Father Hecktor, I wonder as we go into these joyful mysteries, could you just walk us through what each of these mysteries are?

Fr. Hecktor:

Be glad to. Thank you. Yeah. Overall, just a wonderful reminder of the presence of God in our lives, God with us in Advent. We celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. Almighty God coming to be with us through our blessed mother. What an incredible thing. The Annunciation Again, earlier I said Mary's fiat or consent. Yes, Lord, whatever you will. What an incredible thing that she said yes to God the way she did. As uncertain or curious or or however she may have been at that time, she said yes. She she cared so much. She wanted God to come into the world, and she allowed that to happen through the Annunciation. The Visitation, she the the the first wonderful sign after she conceived to bring Christ to the world. John the Baptist uh jumping for joy, knowing the Savior of the world was with us. The first sign, Mary bringing Christ to the world, bringing our Savior to us, bringing this person who cares and loves and gives so much to us. And of course the Nativity, this wonderful demonstration of God that He doesn't just say He cares about us or wants to be near us or wants us to be near Him, but He shows us He actually came to be with us, materialized, literally came to be with us in person. And it was through Mary that brought that about. And Mary showed her dedication throughout her entire life, giving, dedicating. And of course, Jesus being presented in the temple. That beautiful and sad reminder that the priest gave was that Mary, you will be this will be a beautiful thing for you, but also be a painful, difficult, challenging thing for you. And she wouldn't shy away from that. She wouldn't say, Well, maybe this isn't such a good idea, maybe you should pick somebody else. She didn't have second thoughts. She didn't push it off to somebody else. Her heart would be stabbed, and she saw that at the foot of the cross later on. And I can only imagine how painful that would be. But she didn't shy away from that, even though the early on at the presentation she knew Jesus as as what a wonderful gift that was to have that child. She knew there would be challenges and difficulties and pains, and she didn't shy away from that. She kept pressing forward. And then finding Jesus in the temple in church, I see all the time. From the presider's chair, I see husbands or maybe sometimes wives wandering, or they seem like they're aimlessly wandering in the back of church, like in the gathering space. I'm like, what the heck are they doing? Oh, well, they're f they're trying to find their child. They're wandering around trying to find their child back there, or following their two-year-old who just started learned how to walk, or one-year-old who just learned how to walk, and they're finding them and they're letting them find their way in the world. Mary and Joseph, allowing Jesus to go and worrying about him, caring so much about him, angry at him, but understanding that there is a greater purpose for him, and then accepting that what a wonderful, beautiful thing that they were able to do uh for him. And Mary was able to let him find his way and do what he came to do to free us, to save us, to redeem us, to teach us. As as a parent, I can only imagine how frustrating and difficult and worrisome that must have been, but she still did that for him. Uh the finding of Jesus in the temple demonstrates, I imagine all parents know that that care and concern and worry and frustration that comes along with that.

Jessica:

Father Hecktor, it's speaking to me when you're describing these mysteries and really like wrapping my head around this season more and praying for it and praying the joyful mysteries. These mysteries really reveal something I think about both Mary and Jesus, their hearts and their ability to hold space for both joy and sorrow simultaneously. Like we're calling these the joyful mysteries, but none of them is purely joyful. All of them, although there is good that comes from it, there's also suffering that coincides. And I'm excited as we talk about these more to really kind of meditate on how Mary and Jesus' heart were able to hold space for both joy and sorrow throughout these mysteries. And it's also just amazing that both Mary and Jesus are suffering in each of these in some capacity, and they're suffering for our joy. So it's cool to think of like they're the they're named the joyful mysteries, maybe in a way, because because they're suffering for our joy. Just a beautiful reminder of that. Um, I wonder, Father Hecktor, is there one of these that you are most excited to discuss?

Fr. Hecktor:

Well, that's interesting. I never really I haven't thought about that before. There, there's an element of suffering and sacrifice in all of these mysteries. You know, there's joy in the birth of Jesus, and we're about to celebrate that in a month from now. How how joyful that is. We're seeing the decorations and everything coming up. And it's such a joy. But there's yeah, there's an element of suffering because she knows that something challenging and difficult is about to happen. What a uh what an interesting revelation. I didn't think too much about that before when I'm praying these. One of my favorites, um, of course, is the nativity, my favorite is knowing God is with us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God Almighty, coming to be with us. That brings me so much comfort and consolation in the middle of difficulty and and sadness and and sickness and all kinds of other things that God would come to be with us out of his love for us. That's how I truly know he is the one true God. He comes to lead and guide nd be with us, not to tell us what to do, not to guide us from afar, but to actually be with us. What an amazing thing that is. That's who our God is.

Jessica:

What about you, Johnny?

John:

I'm not gonna say Father Hecktor is still my answer. But uh no,

Fr. Hecktor:

I'm glad I went first.

John:

No, I I'd say the enunciation because kind of what you were touching on, Jess, I just feel like there's so much to like learn from that. Like on the one hand, I'm like just shocked that Mary and Joseph had to deal with like hard things. Like God asks for her help and she said yeah, like absolutely. Like if I'm Mary, I'm thinking like, okay, the like the red carpet's just gonna get rolled out from me from here and everything's gonna be nice and easy because I said yes. But uh that's you know, as we know, not the case. So I just feel like there's I don't know, stuff to to glean and take away from it. What about you? Any one in particular? The visitation?

Jessica:

Ah, you know your wife. The visitation is a very, very special scripture mystery for me. it's something that has been woven, and I feel like in every stage of life somehow that story comes to the surface. It all started as a young child. The visitation sisters were really influential in my life and just really brought me to the heart of Jesus. And at the time I was kind of like we were saying earlier, resistant at times, but they the seeds of faith were really planted by those visitation sisters who also formed my mom. So they're it's just kind of generational. But yeah, the visitation is a beautiful story that I'm excited always to dive in and meditate on. I'm also really excited to jump into the finding of Jesus in the temple because I feel like recently I that story has spoken a lot of consolation to my heart in a place where I really needed it. So I'm excited to dive into that one too. So much excitement and things to look forward to. I was chatting with a friend the other day. Our recordings were being postponed a few times because of sickness, and my friend said to me, Oh man, this means this is gonna be the best season yet because it's trying to be thwarted. So anywho, she was like, I'm super excited. And I'm feeling that same way. I'm feeling a lot of good, excited energy. Um, so this season will run the same as the previous season. So for the next five weeks, there will be an episode released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Monday will be an episode with John and Father Hecktor and I chatting about the scripture associated with the mystery. On the Wednesday will be a decade meditation, and then on Friday will be a full rosary with all the joyful mysteries with some imaginative meditations. We are so thankful to the Holy Spirit for orchestrating all this and just God's providence that brought this all to be. Father Hecktor John, anything else left to add before we wrap up?

Fr. Hecktor:

Nice job. What a beautiful podcast you have going on here. And thank you. Nice job for leading us the way you have and the reflections that you both give. Thank you very much for doing all this. what an amazing thing. And I hope that the people listening will open their hearts and minds to uh the wonderful invitation that God is giving them through this to let Mary into their lives, let our Lord into their lives more.

Jessica:

Thank you, Father Hecktor. We promise over the course of the season and and beyond, we promise to be praying for you. We ask for you to please pray for us. May we all be in heaven together one day. Praise be to God.