SPEAKER_01: Welcome everyone to Heart of the Homily Podcast.
SPEAKER_01: We are coming to you live in a new location.
SPEAKER_01: So we are in Rome, Italy, which is incredible.
SPEAKER_01: My name is Michelle Lopez.
SPEAKER_01: I'm one of your hosts, and I'm here with Father Vigova, our pastor.
SPEAKER_00: It's great to be with you here in Rome.
SPEAKER_01: Great to be here in new setup.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we look different.
SPEAKER_01: It's obviously we're not in Miami.
SPEAKER_01: We have uh some nice coats on here.
SPEAKER_00: We were planning on doing something in the rooftop, showing all of Rome at night lit up, but it's raining.
SPEAKER_01: So Yeah, and it's still beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: But so more to come, more to come.
SPEAKER_01: Stay tuned.
SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll show you the glory of Rome.
SPEAKER_00: Um it's a little cold, don't you?
SPEAKER_00: Don't you think it's cold?
SPEAKER_00: Or you're used to you like this weather?
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: It's um it's cold for me.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's cold for me.
SPEAKER_00: I remember when I I lived here, it was around this time of year.
SPEAKER_00: I had to go on Amazon and buy this little space heater for my room because I just wasn't used to the cold.
SPEAKER_01: I would walk around with that if I was if I lived here in Rome, I'd walk around with it because it it's chilly.
SPEAKER_01: It's chilly.
SPEAKER_00: It's chilly and it's that type of cold that gets into your bones.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, it's like a wet cold.
SPEAKER_00: And with it raining tonight, it's kind of but I think that you could see a beautiful scene in the background.
SPEAKER_00: So this is pretty nice.
SPEAKER_01: Father, what church is that?
SPEAKER_01: Pop quiz.
SPEAKER_00: That that is the church of Saint Ignatius.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_01: It's a beautiful church.
SPEAKER_00: I I I did when I we were walking around and did some of the uh, you know, how every Friday I would go to a different church.
SPEAKER_00: I did that church, and um, one of the most stunning and beautiful things about that church is that it doesn't have a dome, but when you go in it and you look up, it looks like there's a dome, and they painted it to look like a dome, which is just absolutely fascinating.
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people think that the body of Saint Ignatius is there, really, and it's not.
SPEAKER_00: The body of St.
SPEAKER_00: Ignatius is at Jesu, okay, which is just a little bit further down.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but the body of Saint Robert Bellerman is there.
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't, if you got a little bit of a break over there, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_00: And there's a line of people that stand there because they have this mirror that you look up, and and the ceiling is absolutely gorgeous because the way it was painted, it looks like um you could just look into heaven.
SPEAKER_01: That's beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely like 3D, 4D, I don't know what it is, but whoever did that is such a master artist.
SPEAKER_00: So if you get a chance, I will.
SPEAKER_01: There's so many treasures, treasures in Rome.
SPEAKER_01: It's like crazy.
SPEAKER_01: You walk a block and you're like, what is this church and who might be in here?
SPEAKER_01: You know, like what relic is in here?
SPEAKER_01: So it's an exciting place to be the eternal city, uh, the city of the saints.
SPEAKER_01: It's incredible.
SPEAKER_00: What a blessing to be here with your family, too, right?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So my husband's with me, and as well as our one-year-old who is roaming the streets of Rome and um learning how to walk on cobblestone.
SPEAKER_01: It's been very interesting.
SPEAKER_01: Thank God she has like you bought her actually, father brought an amazing jacket.
SPEAKER_01: It's like a it's it looks puffy, and so when she falls, it's fine.
SPEAKER_01: It's like a cushion.
SPEAKER_01: She's like in bubble wrap.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I said, you know, in Miami, it's hard to, I think, I where do you buy a winter coat?
SPEAKER_00: So I I saw one here that was super inexpensive.
SPEAKER_00: I said, I'm gonna get that for Avila.
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01: It fits it's so cute, and it is different than the ones I bought in Miami.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, hey, this has like some thickness that I didn't bring with me at all.
SPEAKER_01: So it's perfect.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe, Father, you can share it.
SPEAKER_01: Um, why are we here in Rome?
SPEAKER_00: So we are here in Rome with 50 other parishioners from our parish um for the Jubilee year.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember we announced it.
SPEAKER_00: I think we announced it in the bulletin.
SPEAKER_00: I announced it at a couple of masses, and within 24 hours it was sold out.
SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of people did not get an opportunity to either sign up or to join our trip.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry about that.
SPEAKER_00: We're we're planning on a couple of different trips next year.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it did sign up really quickly.
SPEAKER_00: There's uh it's a great group, 50 people.
SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen everyone yet because they're starting to trickle in.
SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow's our first official day.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's been nice to see different pilgrims arriving uh on their own terms, uh getting their way, making their way here to Rome.
SPEAKER_00: So it's gonna be very, very exciting.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be visiting the the major basilicas to go through the holy doors, and so just so excited.
SPEAKER_00: What a graceful year.
SPEAKER_00: We won't be able to see the Holy Father, which we're very bummed about that, because he, of course, if you've watching the news and all the updates, I've been watching it from Rome.
SPEAKER_00: Uh they've been doing a great job, uh like giving updates on his visit in Turkey and Lebanon.
SPEAKER_00: But um just so blessed to be here.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's exciting.
SPEAKER_01: And Lebanon needs him more than us, so we will we're glad that he's there and we're here hanging out.
SPEAKER_01: It's really fine.
SPEAKER_01: So much to see and good to be in the heart of the church, heart of Rome.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
SPEAKER_00: Good time to be here.
SPEAKER_01: Well, great.
SPEAKER_01: Well, um, well, we also want to share a little bit about your Hamley, Father, since this is uh the first Sunday of Advent.
SPEAKER_01: So we're just kicking off the new liturgical year of the church.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and this first Sunday of Advent has so much to really help teach us about how to enter into these next four weeks as we prepare for Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: Um so I thought we could kind of start with that and really part of your theme was talking about that Advent is a season to allow ourselves to be interrupted by the Lord to kind of shake us up a little bit and um allow him to interrupt and surprise us.
SPEAKER_01: And I really love that, especially since we are in Rome.
SPEAKER_01: And so my sleep schedule has been very interrupted, um, as well as my young ones.
SPEAKER_01: So it's um it's a real good taste of of Advent.
SPEAKER_01: But kind of where did that theme come from?
SPEAKER_01: Thinking about being interrupted.
SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the things that I've been as the director for the office of worship, too, is that I've been writing to the priest and I do liturgical notes, not to reprimand or to, but just like quiet or or subtle reminders of different seasons, liturgical guidelines, how to help uh deacons, priests, uh uh to be faithful to what the church teaches liturgically.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that I've been stressing over the years is don't rush through Advent.
SPEAKER_00: Advent has its own season, and people want to rush through um Advent to have Christmas.
SPEAKER_00: And so I just recently I had a complaint uh from a woman from a parish in Broward who they're full-blown Christmas.
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow, and this was before Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_00: Oh gosh, so they had all the wise men up, uh the whole nativity scene, then uh Christmas trees and pointsetas all around the altar, and the Christmas trees were lit.
SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_00: And so I haven't written to the pastor.
SPEAKER_00: Not sure.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's almost like the horse is out of the wad out of the barn by this time.
SPEAKER_00: So um, but again, like what you just said is I when I was writing the homily, I was thinking about how I think that the Lord wants to interrupt uh this season interrupts our daily because there are seasons throughout the year, Advent, Lent, Easter, uh, ordinary time, where they have their own flavor, their own um style.
SPEAKER_00: And it's how do we allow the Lord to interrupt our day-to-day to say, wait, this is different.
SPEAKER_00: This is is is a time for really preparation for the coming of the Lord, whether it's the second coming or or Jesus in we celebrate his incarnation at Christmas.
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people they say, Well, I hope the second coming comes after I'm already long and gone and and I'm dead, but we don't know.
SPEAKER_00: We don't I think that there's something to say that not even the angels in heaven will know when the Lord will come again and in his second coming, but how are we preparing for that second coming?
SPEAKER_00: How are we preparing for the birth of Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Um and so we need that interruption to remind us to to fine-tune our lives and to take it seriously.
SPEAKER_00: Are we, if you're listening to this in your car on your way to work, or or hopefully hopefully you're you're taking serious this idea of breaking open the homily during your week is to ask yourself those important questions.
SPEAKER_00: Is it just a conversation that I'm listening to, or is it something that I'm applying to my life on a daily basis because I want to fine-tune, because I want to do better, I want to be a faithful disciple.
SPEAKER_00: And one of those things is okay, how do I let that interruption to remind me that I need to do something a little bit different in this season of Advent?
unknown: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think that word interruption is great because we like even like that one church in Broward, the whole world is already like fast-forwarding to the celebration of Christmas.
SPEAKER_00: Right.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and we need to interrupt that to be like, we're not there yet, and also you're not prepared, you know, for the great celebration of Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: Like, we need to prepare our hearts in order to really soak in anew this feast of Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: And Advent is a time to stay awake and be ready.
SPEAKER_01: And it's so funny because I feel like the world is partying, like there's like we're celebrating Christmas by like all these different parties, and they're beautiful and good things, and but they have a proper place and they are more fully experienced if we actually prepare for them, you know.
SPEAKER_01: So the season of Advent is is an interruption, I think, to our culture to be able to say, like, well, wait, what are we celebrating?
SPEAKER_01: Like, we're celebrating more than just a holiday, it's a holy day, you know, and to be able to really be like, How do I how do I live counterculturally the season of Advent so that I'm holding off on you know, preparing well to celebrate well the feast of Christmas?
SPEAKER_00: Where it's different, it's a different time, it should feel uh penitential, it should feel uh a period of uh of grace, a graceful period where I'm actively doing something different.
SPEAKER_00: We're starting our challenge today for Advent.
SPEAKER_00: I I encourage everyone who from our parish, take advantage of the Advent challenge that we're doing.
SPEAKER_00: We sent out a text message, I received it, uh, and and so do it.
SPEAKER_00: Commit yourself to do something different.
SPEAKER_00: This Advent.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let Christmas come and oh, I didn't do anything, I didn't prepare anything.
SPEAKER_00: Do the Advent challenge.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: And it's something how does that work, Michelle?
SPEAKER_00: Tell us.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, great.
SPEAKER_01: So it's using the Hello app.
SPEAKER_01: So it's a hat that's an app that's gonna remind you a little bit of like, you know, that you need to listen to this daily.
SPEAKER_01: It's 10 to 15 minutes, and it's a reflection going through um a book called The Read of God, as well as um oh gosh, I forgot the book's name, but it's basically about slowing down, not being in the hustle and bustle of being busy all the time.
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: So they're kind of pulling these reflections.
SPEAKER_01: We have some excellent speakers that are giving the reflections, but it's basically an opportunity to be on the challenge with the whole community.
SPEAKER_01: We're doing it like worldwide with Halo, but then um particularly through our parish page, you're with us.
SPEAKER_01: And so you'll get reminders to um to do the reflection every day.
SPEAKER_01: And it's a chance to slow down and to tune in and to challenge yourself to carve out 15 minutes or less of reflection time to be able to again make advent different by adding prayer, adding your adding reflection to your day.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so it's kind of like a pray 25 challenge, being able to every day pray for 15 minutes with the app.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and really it's listening to a reflection and then some questions at the end of like taking it into your life.
SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's beautiful and it's doing it with us.
SPEAKER_01: And so we encourage you to you go to the Halo app, you click yes for the challenge.
SPEAKER_01: So when you join the challenge, all the reflection stuff should pop up on your page.
SPEAKER_01: And if you have any questions, you can reach out to us.
SPEAKER_00: And I would say, Are you doing it?
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna challenge you as a parishioner of St.
SPEAKER_00: Augustine.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say, Are you doing that?
SPEAKER_00: Are you taking this seriously?
SPEAKER_00: We we we partnered with Halo, and we're so blessed that Halo wants to do this with our parish.
SPEAKER_00: And so take it seriously.
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a great opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: We're already providing something.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to go out and think outside the box.
SPEAKER_00: It's so simple.
SPEAKER_00: Just click on it.
SPEAKER_00: I promise you you'll enjoy it.
SPEAKER_00: I think you can hear the bells.
SPEAKER_00: I think it's uh is it close to six o'clock?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um, there's bells behind us because we're in Rome.
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think the other thing I'll mention too about doing the the Hallow Challenge or something is I know for myself, um, when I started entering into the liturgical seasons of the year, especially Advent, it's amazing because every year, Advent has an another layer, a new meaning, and a new experience of what it means to journey with Jesus um, you know, to Christmas or to look at Joseph and Mary or to look at the Israelites and what they were longing for.
SPEAKER_01: So like all these things have come to life more and more every year because this the church is giving me the season to say, like, hey, look at this, you know.
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus' life is there's so much to the our church and our faith.
SPEAKER_01: It's beautiful, it's huge.
SPEAKER_01: But the church in her wisdom is saying, like, no, look at this now.
SPEAKER_01: For four weeks, look at this.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: I need that attention grabber to be like, out of everything, what should I focus on?
SPEAKER_01: And the church is being very wise in her motherly heart to say, like, I'm gonna show you what to look at now, so it'll prepare you for the next thing.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because I I think you mentioned this earlier, is our world is so crazy busy, and it wants to already fast forward to Christmas Day and have all of the lights and the festive and the music, which is beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: And then as soon as December 26th comes, okay, take down the tree, every Christmas is done.
SPEAKER_00: We don't we don't think about Christmas anymore.
SPEAKER_00: And there's that buildup to Christmas, sure.
SPEAKER_00: But are we taking the time, like you're saying, to really prepare our house so that when Christmas does come, you didn't say, oh my gosh, all the craziness and all the shopping and all the obligations and all the commitments.
SPEAKER_00: So exhausted.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Christmas is here, but man, I want it to be over with already because I'm so exhausted.
SPEAKER_00: Do we take the time to prepare for Christmas?
SPEAKER_00: Advent gives us that space.
SPEAKER_00: The church and her wisdom gives us that space to be able to really prepare our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: Either we're serious about the faith, about serious about growing in the faith, or we're not.
SPEAKER_00: And I was listening to Bishop Barron.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you listen to Bishop Barron, but it was one of the things that he said, I don't know if he said it in the homily for today, but it it was funny how he says, I don't like, I'm not patient.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a patient person.
SPEAKER_00: And and this kind of season of Advent reminds me that I need to be patient, uh practice a virtue of patience.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and it's so true.
SPEAKER_00: In the world that we live in, it's it's everything is fast.
SPEAKER_00: Our text messages, uh uh emails, uh the way that we live our life.
SPEAKER_00: We want something right now.
SPEAKER_00: Even in a restaurant, we're like Americans where well where's my my where's my meal?
SPEAKER_00: And here in Europe, you see that they take their time, they bring their bill like it takes like forever.
SPEAKER_00: Please bring me the bill.
SPEAKER_00: I want to get out of here.
SPEAKER_00: These Americans just and and Europeans are like savor the moment, savor the time with the family, and and really enjoy your time.
SPEAKER_00: And and I think Advent's about that.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: And something from the homily that you shared yesterday, you said that a lot of times we're building our own kingdom instead of doing like God's kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Right.
SPEAKER_01: And I think one of the things you said is we have this um hope that God's will like matches our own.
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a great thing to look at during Advent is like we long for Christ's kingdom to come.
SPEAKER_01: We long, but are we are we building his kingdom or are we continuing to build our own and just hope it fits God's plans?
SPEAKER_01: So could you share what you mean by that?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I feel like that's a very relatable um thing that we do.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, one of the things that and when I was thinking about that is that it comes from a good place.
SPEAKER_00: A lot of times it doesn't come from a bad place, it comes from, Lord, I I want to do your will.
SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to build a good life.
SPEAKER_00: I I live sometimes people live in a hard life.
SPEAKER_00: Um, like I and again, not to just uh but Bishop Barron had said that St.
SPEAKER_00: Therese had said something that this life is is it's almost like we're living in a bad hotel all the time.
unknown: Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00: Which that's a pretty drastic kind of way of looking at the at life in the world.
SPEAKER_00: Um is your hotel pretty good?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're in a great hotel.
SPEAKER_01: So we can't relate to that one right now.
SPEAKER_00: But um I I think the idea is that um we weren't meant for this life, right?
SPEAKER_00: And and I think that our intentions, because we live good lives and we are trying to do the very best with what God has given us, our hearts want more.
SPEAKER_00: Our hearts want that perfection, our hearts want that life in Christ, even though it's confused with things of the world or things that are more attractive that that distract our time.
SPEAKER_00: But the idea is, yes, Lord, I want to do your will, but this is so attractive.
SPEAKER_00: And and if I get this, I will do your will, but let me get this first.
SPEAKER_00: And and Lord's saying, no, let me purify you.
SPEAKER_00: Let me let me give you what what I want to give you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm not able to give you what I want to give you because you're not there yet.
SPEAKER_00: Right.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we suffer through that.
SPEAKER_00: So I so I don't think that it always comes from a bad place.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I only want to, I'm a very selfish person, I only want to do my will.
SPEAKER_00: There are some people like that.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but sometimes even in our own struggle to do well uh to be a good disciple, to to have a good life, sometimes there's that also that, well Lord, can I just do it this way?
SPEAKER_00: And once I get there, maybe I'll uh it'll align with what you want for me, right?
SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01: It does.
SPEAKER_01: And I and I think again, it's never I don't think it's intentional.
SPEAKER_01: It's not like, oh, I'm building my own kingdom over here, Jesus, move out of my way.
SPEAKER_01: But I think there's, you know, as we continue to grow closer to God, we realize more and more what we're even asking for is more what we want, and not necessarily first like, okay, what do you want?
SPEAKER_01: You know, we're kind of like share what we think is best instead of saying, okay, well, Lord, what is your will?
SPEAKER_01: Like, what does your kingdom look like here?
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's that that tension of really like surrendering what we think would be best and really allowing the Lord to give us like what is best for us.
SPEAKER_01: And then of course continuing to um look at the ways that we live our life, like especially you know, the virtues, like the discipleship part, like making sure we're doing our part of trying to follow and live Jesus' call to discipleship in our daily life, you know, by following the Ten Commandments, by living a life of virtue.
SPEAKER_01: And um, and those are the places where are we building a kingdom that looks like Christ or that looks more like the world.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: And it's got to be intentional.
SPEAKER_00: I I I was at lunch today with one of the pilgrims that has made it here.
SPEAKER_00: Lily was telling me that you know she went to bed late because she has all these prayers that she does, and this 56-day uh, I don't remember if it's a consecration prayer or uh I don't know what it is, but it's it's all these prayers that she's doing.
SPEAKER_00: But in in her witness that she was talking about to the to the group and at lunch, I was thinking to myself, how beautiful that the desire there is to grow, right?
SPEAKER_00: To grow being intentional, like this is what I do before uh before I go to sleep.
SPEAKER_00: This is what this is how I want to grow in holies, this is how I want to learn more about my faith.
SPEAKER_00: And so I think for today, our the if the biggest takeaway is carve out some time, this advent to be intentional, to be different, to to feel different in your walk with the Lord than in ordinary time, than in Easter or even in Christmas time after Christmas Day.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but how does this time in your life feel different as you're preparing for the coming of the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I would even mention decorating your house could be a little different.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: To maybe put out Advent things and not just the Christmas stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And I think surrounding yourself with reminders of this being a season that's different than what the world is already.
SPEAKER_00: What do you guys do?
SPEAKER_00: Do you guys do anything with Advent?
SPEAKER_01: We have an Advent wreath at home, which I think is great.
SPEAKER_00: I families an Advent wreath.
SPEAKER_00: I think that you should get an Advent.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a big fan of Advent wreaths in churches.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, that's just me.
SPEAKER_00: We have one.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I love when families get an Advent wreath in their home.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Teach your children why are we lighting this candle?
SPEAKER_00: Do it before dinner.
SPEAKER_00: Like the first thing that you do before you say grace, let's light the Advent wreath.
SPEAKER_01: Um and we also do um something called an Advent Bush.
SPEAKER_00: What is that?
SPEAKER_01: So it's basically it's a Christmas tree, but instead of decorating it Christmas, we have like either purple ribbon around it or in like you know, saint cards or different like feasts that are during December.
SPEAKER_00: I've heard of the Jesse's tree, but this is an Advent bush.
SPEAKER_01: It's uh a little, you know, it's not ghetto, but it looks beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: But um, it's some it's a tradition that we did um when I lived in a woman's household, but it's an Advent bush, and then on Christmas Day, you put up all the lights and all the ornaments.
SPEAKER_01: It's the transition to know that like we're almost there, but we're not there yet.
SPEAKER_00: And that's the whole key that we're trying to drill home is that it's not Christmas yet.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: And it's and it's not because celebrating Christmas is bad, right?
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: Like you were saying, it's it's because it's so good and that in the what we're celebrating changed the world.
SPEAKER_01: So it deserves like a preparation of our heart to be able to enter into the mystery a little bit deeper.
SPEAKER_01: And we're human, so we need things around us that help us remember that we're not there.
SPEAKER_00: So um and also too, maybe these four weeks before Christmas or these 24 days before Christmas.
SPEAKER_00: Um figure out what are those things in your life that need to change?
SPEAKER_00: What are those vices, those addictions?
SPEAKER_00: And we've been talking a lot about this in different podcasts that we have, but I think that this, these 24 days before Christmas should take a different feel, it should be more intentional in the sense that let me see if I can go to confession, let me be in a state of grace so that I can really purify my heart for the coming of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Let me do it.
SPEAKER_00: Making room, making room, and what does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: What is that?
SPEAKER_00: Do I understand the second coming of Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Do I understand uh the greatest gift that that humanity has ever received through the incarnation of Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Do I understand this?
SPEAKER_00: And am I living it?
SPEAKER_00: Am I am I bringing it to my consciousness?
SPEAKER_00: Am I meditating on it?
SPEAKER_00: Am I praying about it?
SPEAKER_00: It's gotta be intentional.
SPEAKER_00: Do it.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and see the difference it makes when Christmas comes and and then you're able to decorate the house, you're able to like listen to Christmas, you're able to all these things help you celebrate this great joy um of Christmas that changed the world and hopefully change your own heart and your own life.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um and it reminds me of something that you said from your homily, which was put on Christ not as jewelry, but as armor.
SPEAKER_01: And I think that even this whole thing of like when we decorate for Christmas, like that's what I was thinking, actually things, but like are we allowing it's not just jewelry, it's not just signs.
SPEAKER_01: Like, how are we allowing that to penetrate our heart and transform us to prepare us for something great that God has in store?
SPEAKER_00: And also, too, we need the the armor of God, like Ephesians says put on the armor of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We're being attacked by everything and everywhere, and and and and we get attacks, even subtle, small attacks, and um we got to put on that armor.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not just maybe a cross, which is important.
SPEAKER_00: I think wearing a crucifix is vital, it's essential.
SPEAKER_00: I think you should wear some sort of article of jewelry or a bracelet, or it doesn't have to be gold, but something that reminds you and and that is blessed, that is uh consecrated to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Just uh the re I belong to him.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: And and this it's and this whole idea of Advent is that it's not just the Christmas tree or the Christmas ball or the the nativity set, it's something that I put on myself, like this armor that that protects me and and claims me for Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So good, so beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: So as we have a little bit of time left, I had two things I wanted to make sure we talked about.
SPEAKER_01: In your homily, you talked about a way that Mary interrupted someone in 1918 for two.
SPEAKER_01: Would love for you to share a little bit of um that story, because I didn't know it was a 27-year-old atheist, and he looked like a an atheist, but I mean that's a young, like a young man.
SPEAKER_00: Young man.
SPEAKER_00: He that that church, San Andrea de la Frate, if you've never been here in Rome, I would recommend that you go.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the nicest church.
SPEAKER_00: It's it is beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: And I'd churches in Rome, Father, all churches in Rome are beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: But even did you see how they they decorated the altar area with all of these fresh flowers?
SPEAKER_00: And and someone from our group said, those are fake.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, walk up to the altar.
SPEAKER_00: Those are all real flowers.
SPEAKER_00: The beauty of the the time that they did it that they take to dress up the altar and make it beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: But this altar, this church of San Andreas Alfarate, our Blessed Mother, appeared to Alfonsus Raboni, um, who was an atheist, a Jewish kid, a young kid who has this encounter with our Blessed Mother, so much so that he uh has instantaneous conversion to the faith and later on becomes a priest.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's this radical uh faith that that he that he's given as a gift.
SPEAKER_00: Um and so that's I've always found that church just to be so powerful and you feel the presence of the Lord there.
SPEAKER_00: St.
SPEAKER_00: Maximilian Colby celebrated his first master in that side altar.
SPEAKER_01: I saw that.
SPEAKER_01: I was amazed.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, oh my gosh, that's so cool.
SPEAKER_01: Such an incredible I mean, literally I stood in the ground that St.
SPEAKER_01: Maximilian Colby awesome.
SPEAKER_01: At the altar where he he celebrated his first master.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine the joy as a new priest to celebrate your first master?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Incredible.
SPEAKER_01: And part of the story that you shared about um the young man was that Mary didn't say anything.
SPEAKER_01: It was her presence that changed him, right?
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought that's very adventy.
SPEAKER_01: That like, you know, through even the gospels, like we see like it's Mary's presence that we're following.
SPEAKER_01: We're not really following her words.
SPEAKER_00: That's beautiful, Michelle.
SPEAKER_00: I agree with that.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so maybe as we wrap up our conversation, what could you share about that?
SPEAKER_01: Mary helps us prepare for Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Let her interrupt you.
SPEAKER_01: So perhaps some closing words on that.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I would just say that the Blessed Mother needs to be part of your everyday life, your discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: She is the the disciple par excellence.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, to this guy, this this atheist who doesn't even say anything, but just her image and transforms his whole life and gives him this radical faith that that converts him and convicts him to the to to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's who Mary is, and that's who she can be for all of us.
SPEAKER_00: If we open our hearts and we see that uh no, she's not someone that we worship.
SPEAKER_00: It's it's someone who we venerate and we look to so that we can draw closer to her son.
SPEAKER_00: And Advent is that time of preparation, that purification.
SPEAKER_00: Look to her, pray to her, do your devotionals.
SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, we celebrate on Christmas Day where she gives birth to the light of the world, uh Jesus incarnate.
SPEAKER_00: And uh so very powerful.
SPEAKER_01: Wonderful.
SPEAKER_00: But what would you say to you?
SPEAKER_00: What would you say is uh, you know, that image of Mary that that for you as as you grow in Advent?
SPEAKER_01: I think it's a beautiful thing.
SPEAKER_01: Advent, because it's a time of Jesus' life where you only see Jesus if you look at Mary.
SPEAKER_01: And that has always like stood out to me so much of like there's something to contemplating Mary that we get to an insight into Jesus that no one else can give us, you know, because she is mother.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so it's a beautiful thing to even think about her presence changing, you know, and like it's her presence because Jesus is is within her, you know.
SPEAKER_01: It's like that's the mystery of it is it's because of Jesus within her.
SPEAKER_00: Have you seen that statue that they have?
SPEAKER_00: I I I haven't seen it around in Miami, but I've seen a statue where it's actually Mary pregnant.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, a lady of expectant hope or something.
SPEAKER_00: Is that what it is?
SPEAKER_01: It's very beautiful, it's very beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: But that's the whole idea of Advent, that expectant hope, hope of of of what's to come.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and also with hope that it like hope is because it's I like to think of like it's brewing.
SPEAKER_01: It's brewing, like you know, it's not like stagnant, but it's like hope is like it's like it's happening, it's brewing, it's happening.
SPEAKER_01: Um and so for our lady, yeah, like she's she's the one that helps usher those things with Jesus, and it's um amazing to contemplate her journey through Advent to really look to Jesus in the womb of Mary and with Joseph by her side.
SPEAKER_01: There's there's just so much, and that's why Advent can't be boring, and sometimes we miss Advent because we're so busy with Christmas, and there's just so much mystery and beauty about this time of Jesus' life being in the womb of Mary with Joseph and on their way to Bethlehem.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Well, lots to contemplate.
SPEAKER_00: We are just in the first Sunday of Advent and we're trying to break it open here for you.
SPEAKER_01: If you hear the sirens, maybe that's our sound of like wrap it up.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, wrap it up.
SPEAKER_00: We um next Monday, we're gonna do our podcast from Florence.
SPEAKER_00: So very, very exciting.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be posting a lot of pictures and videos.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I hope you follow us at St.
SPEAKER_00: Augustine also on our Instagram page.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so it's great to be here with Michelle.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, a little chilly, but uh it's been good.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so tune in.
SPEAKER_01: We'll see you soon.
SPEAKER_01: Um God bless you.
SPEAKER_01: Great job, Father.
SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
SPEAKER_00: All right, thanks, Michelle.