Spiritual Warfare and Divine Mercy - Chapters 7 & 8

In this episode we discuss how the Resurrection revealed itself in our lives after the Building Trust Series and the fruit of our Lenten journey.  We discuss  how God works in our lives when we resolve to participate in His plan.  He IS faithful!  

We go on to discuss Chapters 7&8 of Spiritual Warfare and Divine Mercy focusing on the power of the rosary and the beauty of using the devotion, along with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to do a spiritual mass.  

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back. Happy Easter. Happy Easter. He is risen. He is risen. Hallelujah. Yes, yes, yes. So this week we're going to be talking about chapter seven and eight of the book. But first, we have some splaining to do. Yes. Yeah. So we we started out this whole journey pretty much right after we started the podcast talking about building trust with leading up to Lent, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Right.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

And through that series, we started talking about what we want, what we wanted to do for Lent. It was like building trust up until we got to Lent. And then Lent, we were going to do the work and continue the work of trying to build trust in God. Because it's not easy, right? I mean, we've talked about that in the past. But one of the things I wanted to talk about today was the idea that when we did the Building Trust series, we talked about some questions that we wanted to answer, which was what do I want? Do I trust God enough to let Him work in my life? And then how can I cooperate in His plan? So those were all the things that kind of the Building Trust series and Intelint we were supposed to kind of work on. And then come to the Easter season, you know, the resurrection, we were all excited because we were like, we're gonna put in the work and we're gonna see what happens and how our lives, spiritual lives, have changed from the moment we started that building trust series up until now. Right. So, you know, I know for me, back when we started the Building Trust series, one of the things that I said was, and I remember because I when I listened to it, I'm like, oh really, did I say that? I I want my heart to be converted. And I said, I I want, I want to have like a gushy, mushy, gushy heart.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

You know, like I said, yeah, I remember. Did I really say that?

SPEAKER_01 2:38

But because back then I said out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And and I was talking about how sometimes we perceive things based on you know how our heart is. And I think sometimes, you know, I'm so quick to judge or so quick to maybe make a negative comment or have a negative thought about a person or a situation. And the more I thought about it, I said it's because of the condition of my heart. So I have to my heart needs to be converted. So I was hoping that through the Building Trust series, I would and through Lent, I would kind of work on that and change the way I perceive things. And and I think that, you know, this whole Lenten season, I just I really did put the work in. And I realized, you know, God was just I I asked God for the grace to to give me things, people, books, situations that would stretch me and help my heart to be converted. And I think that he really did that through the things that I did. I did I did this program online called Healing the Whole Person with Bob Schutz and Sister Miriam from the Abiding Together podcast. And you know what I learned through that is when I first started doing this this whole thing, do I trust God enough to let him work in my life? Obviously, I do. And then how can I cooperate? I re I remember talking about how the way for me to cooperate is to break down the strongholds. So that's what I kept working on. There was just kept there were situations going on in my life, you know, that I that I was able to work on breaking down those strongholds. So what I realized was the biggest thing that I realized was in all of the situations in my life, I was so self-reliant. And it just got me again building trust. How do I build trust? I realized that there's only one God and I'm not him. Yeah.

unknown 5:13

Right?

SPEAKER_00 5:14

You use that one on me today.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

There's only one God and I'm not him. Yeah, because that's what keeps coming up. You know, you're so self-reliant, you know, this is why you're so overwhelmed. This is why you're so judgmental. This is why, you know, all these things that I that I I was learning about myself that I said, hmm. When I looked back on preparing for this day and this this podcast, I said, it really, it really did work. We put the work in.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

And I do feel like I'm different now than I was five, six, seven, eight, nine weeks ago when we first started the Building Trust series. You know, and there's so much more to it. But what about you?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Even when you got sick, when you when you had where you were down for the count for a little bit, yeah. Just what you said then, when you said how like you even take, like, you're even almost grateful for that, that you were grateful because it made you be still. Like just that was powerful.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Yeah. Like with me, it was more because I was recognizing through your challenges, I have to say, the challenges they they helped me. And I know they were Holy Spirit inspired. And they helped me identify the strongholds that I had that I didn't realize through trust that one episode, where I was like, trust equals pain.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

And and how do I get around that when it comes to giving my total trust to God, even though I know God is never gonna hurt me intentionally, like it's never his plan to hurt me. But so I just felt that through doing the challenges that you would give weekly and really taking them seriously and actually working through them, you know, taking the time to get up earlier to do my rosary, to try to be more, even though I still, I mean, I'm still not perfect with it. Just using the tools that that we have to strengthen ourselves spiritually helped me out a lot. And so, like, just like you said, life is it's not easy. And it's not like I guess in the you know, you sit there and you're like, okay, I'm gonna work hard on this, and God is gonna clear the path, and everything's gonna be, you know, flowers and rainbows. And and it's not, and it would what I found that as the challenges kept coming. I hate when I get emotional, but as the challenges kept coming, instead of seeing it as a challenge, like here we go again, I was able to see God holding my hand through it. And it's like I was able to recognize his hand in it in real time versus like I said before, like sometimes I wouldn't, like I wouldn't give up hand over the wheel. I wouldn't surrender unless unless I was destroyed, unless I was exhausted, unless I had, you know, I was broken. And and it's it wasn't about that this time. It was about like I was able to rest in him. Like I'm able to rest in him when I'm weary and when I feel like I'm tired. And it's like, or I sit there and I'm like, I I might not understand something. And I it's it's like I'm able to trust.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Isn't that a great feeling?

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Oh yeah, it's great, and it's it, and it's that was something so hard for me. And I didn't, I thought it was gonna be more difficult, but without even realizing it, yeah, it was he already he he broke down that wall. Like I was talking about before in previous podcasts. It was like I was like saying how I'm trying, but I need him to break the wall down from his end, and until now, just right now, I didn't realize that that wall is broken, yeah, it's broken down, and he's and he like to be able to rest in him through you know, just through through times in your life that you don't understand why. Why now, why again? You know, like you you there's so many times in life that you you you just you're never gonna understand. Yeah, but to be able to see his hand in it, like even like through a doctor or through you know the timing of things, how if it wouldn't have been at this time, it would have been such a bad worst worst case scenario. And and you just see things like just like him just taking over, right? And moving the pieces and moving the people and everything else. And I just to me, it's just I'm so grateful. I'm grateful. And I just feel like this Easter season, I it was like we said, we wanted to be able to die to ourselves, to our old selves and rise up in him. Yeah, and it just it just feels like that's what's kind of that's what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

That's what's happening, yeah. It's it's such a great feeling, it is, and you know, even today when I was at mass and I I stayed after mass to pray my rosary, I was thinking about what Father Jeracey said during the interview, and it this is a good segue to get into his chapter seven, but I was praying the rosary, and I was thinking about what he said about sitting with Mother Mary. Yes, you know, every time we pray the rosary, it's like 15 to 20 minutes of us sitting with Mother Mary, and she's teaching us about the mysteries of her son. And when I thought about that, and then I also thought about him giving us that image of being a child offering the sacrifice when we pray the chaplet, that was perfect, offering the sap sacrifice to the father in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. I kind of relayed that to sitting with Mother Mary because now it's not 56-year-old Vilma sitting with Mother Mary, but five-year-old Vilma in the blue dress sitting with Mother Mary. And she's teaching me about her son. You know, and when I thought about that again, and and in that instant, I just said, wow, you just keep, you just keep working. And it gets me emotional because he keeps working on that one thing that I asked for the grace for and changing my heart. Because I said, as I'm praying the rosary, I'm saying I'm sitting here with Mama Mary, this five-year-old little girl. And if I can see myself every day as that five year five-year-old little girl, then that's gonna allow me to be tender with myself in difficult situations or on days where I feel like I haven't been my best self. Right? So think about you as a mom, because we talked yesterday too, and I was saying how I can't relate to being a mama bear, or I can't relate to having children because I have no children, but I would imagine that when you see you your little five-year-old girl doing something wrong, it's like it's hard to stay mad at them. Yeah, you know, yeah. So I say to myself, if if I could imagine myself offering the sacrifice to God as a five-year-old girl, then maybe I should start, you know, just giving myself the grace and forgiving myself and being tender with myself. If I could just view myself as that five-year-old little girl making a mistake, how would I feel? Would I would I be hard on her? Or would I be, it's okay, sweetheart.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Right. And then the more I prayed, the more I I I went I went further and I said, well, if I could see myself as that five-year-old little girl and be tender with that five-year-old little girl, then I should view Carolina as that five-year-old little girl. I should view the person that annoyed me as that child. I should, you know, every every person I encounter, I should view them as God views them.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Not, you know, we always talk about how we can view someone as a child of God. Right. Right? But you just saying they're gods, but we're still viewing them as the 60-year-old, as the 50-year-old, as the 40-year-old. How about we view them as that little child that God sees them as? And then this way we could be more forgiving and more tender with them.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

That is so powerful. That's so powerful because I it's so true. My my daughter and my son, I will go on and on and on and on and on about all the things they said because, in my eyes, my daughter's 30, my son is 33. I still see them as my babies. Like, I'll sit there and I'll use the same little words that they messed up when they were babies, and and you know, and all the memories just always come back, and they just they're like, Mom, you live with us in your head, like little kids. I'm like, that's how I see you when I look at you. So and and what you said is is so on point when you if we can look at other people as the little child, because if you think about it, there's there's like mental health-wise, there's things that maybe a trauma that might have hurt that little child. Like, there's so many little broke little children in adult bodies that are hurt little children that they haven't taken care of healing and taken care of.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

And sometimes people are acting out in pain of something that that little person inside of themselves is like it's not them, it's just like something that a trigger. Yeah. And we're looking at the adult, but we're not not looking at the little, you know, it I don't know if I'm making sense.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

No, you're absolutely making sense, and you're and you're bringing up a point that I wanted to bring up because that was part of the work that I did. And I'm saying to myself, well, if if I can, if I'm doing this work and I'm digging deep, and I'm and I'm finding I'm finding out more about myself the more work that I do to see what makes me tick, to see how I could fix myself. There are so many people out there that are not doing the work. And so I have to understand that there are issues that aren't being addressed or healed, and that these people are broken too, yeah, and they're wounded, and so hurt people hurt people, absolutely, right? So in in all of this, it just brings me back to where I started several months ago on this journey, and how God just keeps putting situations and people and opportunities for me to do the work to keep doing the work. It's like, you know, this is what you're gonna do. And he keeps putting people and and things and books, and you know, between Father Tracy's book and our friend Annette was the one that introduced me to healing the whole person. I was like, oh yeah, I heard about that, you know, and it was just right in line with breaking down the strongholds, and I'm still working on it, I'm still several weeks into it. But I've seen you grow a lot with just boundaries, yeah, like setting boundaries, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

And and in this this short period of time, I've seen a lot of growth in that, and I just you know, and which as I see you do it, I'm like I need to do a little bit of that myself, yeah. But but yeah, no, it's this was really good.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

It was, it was, and I and I even think back and I say to myself, isn't it interesting how you know we had the intention of this podcast? And it's really working, you know. God, God's funny, he's a funny guy, he is because you know, yeah, we we wanted to share our love of the Lord with others and you know, whatever, but he he's using this podcast to make us go deeper within ourselves, you know, and to to be transformed, and he's transforming us through this podcast, which I really, really love.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

You know, me too. And like with me, I just I conquered the fear. Like I was telling I would tell you all the time, I'm gonna let you talk most of the time because I can't speak.

SPEAKER_02 19:33

There's times I can't apparently we both can't speak.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

I mean, because there was times like you know, I'd I would have trouble like even putting words together. And I'm like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do this. And like you said, God's a funny guy.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

He's like, You're doing it, you're doing it, you're doing it, Moses. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

So anything else that you want to talk about about your journey through Lent or No, I'm just grateful because, like I said, in the when we when we started on the beginning, one of the things that I felt like all that trust part, all those issues were tens years ago or more. Like that's something from way, way, way back. And to be able to identify them, like and and it one of the things Father Drazi says in the book is that if you don't know that there's you're in a spiritual battle, you're not gonna know, you're not gonna be on your defensive, like you're not gonna be prepared.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

And if I didn't realize, if you don't know that there's a problem, you're not gonna be trying to fix it, you're not trying to do anything to fix it or to improve. And one of the things that I will want to realize to identify that the strongholds in my life through the the challenges, through going sitting in silence, do through through just even going into the Bible and doing the lectio and meditating, the Holy Spirit revealed those strongholds for me to the the the walls, the things, the chains that were blocking me, the chains that needed to be broken, the chains that I needed to face my fears, and and and you know, renounce those strongholds.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

And now what I find is I have such a more like I was I did feel the connection with God before. Yeah. But to to to be able to release those strongholds, to be able to conquer those fears, it's like the relationship is so much deeper. Yeah, it's so much more beautiful. It's like it's it's like the there's like you you cleared the way to go to go closer to God. And and like we spoke about before, it's all about trying to stay tuned in on an everyday basis because you don't want to leave that door. door open for that stronghold to come back.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

So you fill yourself with the Holy Spirit and it's an it's an everyday as a choice to to to continue that path. But it's it's such a beautiful it's like it's like there it was a cleansing.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

It was like I feel the same way.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Yeah it was yeah like we were resurrected in Christ.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Yeah and I feel I I also feel like you said that we're we're more tuned in for me and like you mentioned you know my ability to set boundaries now is is only because I did the work of breaking down the strongholds and realizing that I was being self-reliant. So instead of letting God lead I was just asking God to follow along stay back there. Wait wait one second while I fix this. And he's like I'll call you Vanita. Yeah and he's like when didn't when did you become the boss? Yeah you know I can imagine him just sitting back there like all right you want to try this on your own look at this little girl in the blue dress she thinks she's she's got things covered. I'll wait till she messes it all up and then calls me and we'll just but but that's what I realized I said I it was like I was running ahead of him and he wants to be like right there before me taking care of it like he's the one you know and it just made me realize when I when I finally figured that out took me a while I'm a slow learner but it just I feel better yeah because I'm more at ease and if I you know because of the boundaries I'm able to say that's not something I can do right now. Right I don't have to rearrange to do it. I can't I can say I can't right that's the thing so yeah it's it was a it was a powerful powerful Lenten journey I'm so grateful that that we got to do this and yeah that the Holy Spirit inspired us to just do that because that I don't know where that came from it came from it definitely came from the Holy Spirit I shouldn't figure that one right by myself but uh yeah so chapter seven hmm this one was good this one was great all of them are great every single chapter like you said those little Easter eggs those little gems you said gems yeah little gems and even in our conversation with him yeah yeah it was amazing we're still on a little bit of a high definitely yes thank you so much yeah that was that was that was an awesome interview and I got so much from it yeah yeah and he was like just on the go just kept on and kept on giving us so much information it was so great it was great you know but it was like a little sponge like absorbing it's just like huh keep talking keep talking so we're covering chapter seven and eight and that's in part three of the book which says other aids for battle and that chapter seven is all about the rosary which is just again a beautiful meditation he talked about it in his interview the difference between the rosary and the chaplet the rosary is a meditation and the chaplet is an action and you know we're we're praying and meditating on the different mysteries of Jesus's life but my favorite just the way he describes in this chapter and you know we don't have to go too much into detail but I just love the way he breaks down all the prayers of the rosary and how the creed makes hell tremble. Yeah the Hail Mary is scriptural it's like a dagger right as he say he says it's it's all scripture it's stakes in the heart of Satan yeah and when we say when we say the name of Jesus it drives the biggest stake right so I mean and then when we say asking for her to pray now and and at the hour of the hour of death yeah so now he says is whatever moment we find ourselves in right and then the hour of our death is the greatest moment of spiritual warfare. Yeah and just to pray those prayers and the hour father the seven perfect petitions they're the words of Jesus himself and if we in it we pray for protection from temptation and it's highly recommended to avoid the snares of the devil so I mean pray those prayers with intention whoa you know and I've been doing that and it's so powerful.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Yeah it it truly is and I love I love how Father Dracy you like you said you mentioned the mama bear how like he he speaks about how like as a mother a woman a woman is very docile maybe even subservient at times you know just quiet but when you when you come up against her babies and and it just I love where he gave examples of of like how she's like just praying the rosary was so powerful on how she came to battle yeah it just you know and and then just even one of the things that he brought up was in the Hail Mary how when we we spoke about this I think with the we were talking about the Annunciation. Yeah you know the angel Gabriel and I said about how like when Archangel Gabriel I looked up what hail meant and it was somebody you know that you it was some a way to address like royalty. Right and how it says like you know in here I thought it was like even the archangels hail her and address her as as queen but it wasn't it was the archangel Gabriel he was the messenger and it was God himself that was addressing her as queen as hail you know it says first these are not Gabriel's words but the very words of God himself and you know is a royal greeting and I just thought that was so powerful.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Yeah that we're speaking the words of God himself. Yeah yeah even even the words that are attributed to Elizabeth he says because scripture says Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit those words are actually God's words too that's beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

That's amazing yeah so yeah and it's just there's so many things when it talks about the the the rosary and I feel like so many times it just it there's criticism you know because they're like oh well you're praying to Mary you're adoring her or and it's it's there's a difference between the we're venerating her right we're honoring her her fiat her yes right and and I love the way it's it you know Father Dracy you know put in the fact that you know even it what with the fourth commandment honoring your mother and father how Jesus himself is was going to honor his mother he's not gonna break his own commandment.

SPEAKER_03 30:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

So just there's so much clarification there when it comes to like the the confusion of why we believe and how we believe and and how you know Jesus is always his name is you know you bow every knee shall bend. It's as we're not trying to replace one or the other. So it just it was such a good chapter to go into all that explanation in the detail of it.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

And going back to what you were saying about Mary as mama bear he he talks about the two things that happened at Jesus' death was our redemption and our adoption. Yeah and you know that that's where we get this veneration for Mary because if we're adopted as sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus then that means that Mother Mary is a spiritual mother as well. So if the fourth commandment says honor your mother and your father why would we not honor our mother right you know so it's it's definitely a powerful chapter because he goes into detail also not into detail but he he gives us little tidbits of the Rosary's power in battles and he talks about all the different like true military battles that were won yeah um as a result of the prayer of rosary yeah and and he he he outlines like seven right seven different battles but yeah there's a there's a book that Father Callaway wrote which is called Champions of the Rosary which I believe kind of details all the the history of these battles um right in more detail but it talks about the Battle of Lepanto where the great naval battle where the outnumbered and outgunned Holy League defeated the Ottoman Empire yeah and and it goes on the Battle of Vienna the Battle of Belgrade Russian occupation of Austria Brazil comes under communist control so it I mean there's definitely power in the rosary and it's it's yeah proven time and time again.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Pope Pius the 12th he is it the 12th yeah he referred to the rosary as the slingshot of David I thought that was cute yeah yeah yeah no and it's powerful because I mean when it just shows how when we all come together we it when we all come together and pray the rosary yeah for a cause you know change can happen.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

Yeah yeah that's why I put on our Facebook page I don't know if you noticed today I put on our Facebook page that prayer and fasting oh yes yes yes can bring an end to war so we should add an extra rosary or you know fast for Wednesday and Friday with the intentions.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

Yeah Wednesday and Fridays and I love how like it's I've always said like I never understood the militant church like that what that were what that really meant until now like I'm learning. And and it's like you're part of the military. Yeah like spiritual battle spiritual battle and and you know it just brings me back to what Father Tracy said about the cruise ship or the warship. Yeah you know American Catholic or Catholic American you know you have to choose your your stance yeah and these in these times we have to choose our stance yeah and and if we're gonna be part of the militant church then it's time to you know pick up our weapons and start using them which is the rosary and the divine mercy chapters.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

Definitely and going back to the prayers there's the that end prayer after every decade which is the Fatima prayer that he says is like a volley of arrows that sink deep into Satan and the diabolic legions. Yeah he says it's a refutation of hell a request that hell be left empty and heaven be filled with all our souls don't underestimate it. It's like the last little prayer at the end of every decade that maybe some people underestimate but yeah yeah it shouldn't be no so yeah that was good that was a good chapter. And he also says at the end I think towards his comment about Pope Pius he says it's as much a weapon as it is a shield it's also a lasso we can use to pull down evil or rescue hostages of the devil I love that hostage rescue. Yeah yeah it reminds me of taken yeah so yeah that's good and then chapter eight he talks about praying a spiritual mass which is so beautiful because sometimes we can't make it to mass yeah and just knowing that these two devotions that we do on a regular basis anyway we can we can use and put together as a spiritual mass yeah is it just brings me so much comfort.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Yeah well can can I can we start out with just the first part of that absolutely that absolutely ambush predator we love that that's funny John Ricardo it says participating at mass is participating in the greatest battle of all time where Jesus on the cross is not the victim but the hunter a warrior the ambush predator has drawn the prey he will enter into death and from the inside destroy its power that's great Jesus on the cross is not the poor helpless victim and he is not the hunted Jesus on the cross is the aggressor and the hunter the aggressor drop Mike Mike I love that's the best that's the best it it totally changed my perspective you know I I I remember hearing Father John Ricardo say that and then just the way father Dorisi put it it's it's it just changes your perspective of the crucifixion because you look at him and you see you know I like you had mentioned yes we were talking about the passion of Christ.

SPEAKER_01 36:54

Yeah yeah I was watching it yeah yeah I was watching it on Good Friday and it was the first time after I read this and listening to John Ricardo Father John Ricardo it was the first time that I saw Jesus on the cross you know I felt obviously horrible to see him get scourged. That was painful to see but when I was when I saw him on the cross it was the first time that I looked at it and I said he's the ambush predator yeah like this is not what it this is not what it seems it's it's wow you know I just I it was the first time that that I wasn't really sad to see him on the cross I was just saying wow you are amazing yeah you did it you did it this is this is victory yeah you know how overwhelming that the perfectness of Jesus the God and God loved us so much that he went through all of that for us yeah it's just oh you know it just it's it's it's it's amazing it's overwhelming sometimes to think how how much we're loved and it's hard to believe actually yeah yeah it's hard to believe yeah and but hard to fathom exactly the perfect word yeah yeah no doubt so he talks about the spiritual mass and it's basically I mean it's the mass has two parts it's the liturgy of the word where we hear scripture read on the altar and then the liturgy of the Eucharist where the sacrifice of the body blood soul and divinity of Jesus is made present to us. And he says that we can do a spiritual mass uh using these two devotions powerful devotions for the spiritual battle and the way he he breaks it down is instead of focusing on the mysteries that we know of which are the the joyful sorrowful glorious and luminous we take the readings of the day and we pick five points of those readings that we want to focus on and we pray the rosary meditating on those five points from the readings of the day right and then we continue from the rosary we continue right into the divine mercy chapter chaplet because the the rosary would be like the liturgy of the word in the mass and then the divine mercy chaplet is like the liturgy of the Eucharist because we're offering the sacrifice right so to continue through that and then at the end to do a spiritual communion instead of obviously we're not at mass so we're not receiving the body blood soul and divinity right but we can receive it spiritually right so as it's just a beautiful concept for us to just even do on a daily basis. Yeah like if you're doing both devotions why not do a spiritual mass I mean it's just so beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

Right and it like in and at first when I read it I was like and but then he explains it's not a substitute.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

It's not a substitute very important.

SPEAKER_00 40:34

And then we're not saying he's not saying okay you become priests now he's just saying he was ex goes into detail in in why and how it works in in that spiritual mass concept. And then I I remember hearing I forget where I heard it but that you can also do that spiritual communion when you're receiving communion and it's and just it just elevates that moment even more like to have both a physical communion and a spiritual communion together. Yeah I never thought of doing that together like that at that moment also right it just makes it more powerful. Yeah no this this was very a lot of you know just it opened my mind with a lot of different things and and it just also like times where like if you're sick and you can't make it to mass and you just feel like horrible so you know you'll watch it like I watch it online or something like that but you just feel like that you're missing something. You're missing something yeah to be able to do it this way it gives you a way to you know these spiritually connect yeah that in a different way yeah and at the bottom of page 120 he actually says that though we are we are bound by the sacraments God is not so the spiritual communion you know we're bound by the sacraments and the graces of the sacraments but God can do whatever he wants right so the fact that we're doing a spiritual communion you know yeah whatever God's Lord is the grace will be there. Yeah I remember during COVID I it was the first time I I even heard of the spiritual communion and how how it deeply it touched me because it was the only way yeah and I just want to if if you don't mind I just wanted to read it it says my Jesus I believe that you are present in the most blessed sacrament I love you above all things and I desire to receive you into my soul since I cannot now receive you sacramentally come at least spiritually into my heart I embrace you as if you were already there and I unite myself wholly to you never permit me to be separated from you I thought that's so beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

Yeah and so deep and powerful so yeah then it's I think this is I mean Father Dreesy one chapter after the next it just does himself so yeah I uh I think we we need to get his other book too yeah he's got another book yeah I saw that that we should read but yeah I just even even thinking about covet like you said this past week it it was interesting to me how when you get deeper and you fall deeper in love with Jesus and you're you you want to be present to him in adoration and mass and all these all these ways that when he's not in the tabernacle like I really missed him yeah not in the tabernacle this week like More than ever. And it just I agree. I couldn't wait for him to be back in the tabernacle. Me too. And I just I I could just imagine how the disciples felt, how the apostles felt when he ascended or when he left, you know, when he was crucified and he wasn't around for three days. It was like and the excitement they must have felt when they saw him resurrected. And it was just it was a powerful moment for me this weekend between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Just such a beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 44:41

It's so funny that you say that because I went, it was, I was, I went with my son, and I went, we were we walked in and I went to I was with the with the grandkids too. I was showing them. I was like, you know, oh, you know, when the little light is on, that's when you know he's there present. And then when I looked up and I saw the it, you know, open open. I was like empty, it hurt. Like, yeah, here I go again. I'm such a mush. But it hurt. Yeah. I was like, where's my lord? Like, where yeah, like I'm so used to being there, and I know he's there all the time. And it just was like, oh, yeah, that's right. He's not right now. And it's and and but then, like you said, the joy, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:30

The joy when you come back and you're like, and he's like, oh, just the comfort, you know. But then it just made me think like, all right, so you miss me when I'm not here. Do you come here enough when I am here? Right. Right? What do you miss me for? You're never here.

SPEAKER_00 45:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:49

I mean, I I go as often as I can, but it's interesting to say, like, oh, I miss you. You're not there. I need you here when I want you here.

SPEAKER_00 46:01

But you know what's funny is that like I said to you before, like, I see you with the way Father Tracy says it a person of prayer versus a person of praise. And I've always said that I wanted to try to get more to adoration. And I feel like this week, I was telling you, I mean, you know, Andrea, she was like, Oh, I see her there all the time, or like my adorable buddy. And it's but I go when church is closed, like not well, it's not closed, but I mean pretty much empty.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

Empty.

SPEAKER_00 46:35

And I've like since I've started to do that, and it's almost like, and I I said it to my daughter the other day. I said, I feel like I love the fact that I can run to him when I feel like overwhelmed or something, it's like I can just go, or I or I just want to sit with him. Like I just instead of being in my room in prayer, I can just go physically in front of him and be there with my father and just and just seriously like I've learned to appreciate that much more. And because of the challenges, again, I have to keep going back to those challenges. Because of the challenges, because of the growth through those challenges that we have made. Yeah, I that's why it touched me so deeply because I was it it was I was like I knew he was there always.

SPEAKER_03 47:30

Right.

SPEAKER_00 47:30

And I I've I started this practice of being with him and and you know, my my moment with him. And I always knew he was gonna be there. Like I in that moment he wasn't because of I I that's I felt it for the first time. Like this is the first time in any Easter.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like that it hurt, and I was like right, because you see it and you know and you know this the significance of it, right? You know what it means, exactly, but to feel that that sudden yeah, he's not here, like I I want him to be here, like I miss him, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

And and then you know, some people might say, Well, he's always with you, like I don't, but it's if because he's there body, blood, soul, and divinity. Soul and divinity, it's different, it's different, and and and and it's hard to explain it until you actually grasp that concept. Yeah, yeah, but it's it's funny because you said that and I'm like, I that was exactly how I felt.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Yeah, it's it's wild.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

It's wild, but uh this um but it's even that is is a is such a precious gift. It is because it's like you to get to the point where it affects you like that. So yes, I'm I'm very grateful. I'm grateful for the challenges, I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit inspiring you with those challenges. I'm grateful for, like just is definitely grateful for this book because through envisioning and seeing through my the eyes of my soul, Father Jeracy has us do that all through the whole book.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

I've been able to go into a deeper, into the mass in a deeper, more profound way. And and just it's I I just feel so much spiritual growth through this.

SPEAKER_01 49:32

Yeah, definitely. And I, you know, I I'm reminded of his his comment during the interview where he talked about his friend or his coworker who kind of put him on the spot. And it was like, let your yes be yes and your no be no. Yeah. And and the fact that that's what led to his conversion, but at the same time, he still again sits back every once in a while in prayer to kind of account for how he's living living his yes, you know, letting his yes be yes and his no be no. Right. And I think that's what we need to do all the time. We we know that we're we're changed from several months ago, but we still always have to go back and sit in that silence where he said, you know, quality versus quantity.

SPEAKER_03 50:33

Quantity, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:34

And to and to just really sit back and say, Am I living what I'm what I'm saying? Right. You know, Frank has this great quote that he got from someone, I think he saw it on Instagram or something. He says, I can't believe what you say because I see what you do. That's powerful, right? Yeah. And I think that's something that that we should live by. It's like, okay, I'm saying all this, but am I living it? Are they seeing me do it? Right. Right. So, and and that was one of the things that caught me with Father Jarese's interview is that this guy put him on the spot. This guy let him know that he what he was doing wrong, and he said that's a real friend. But at the same time, all these years later, even after he becomes a priest, he's still taking stock of am I letting my yes be yes and my no be no? Yeah. What needs to change? What do I need to readjust? Right. You know, and so I think that's what we need to just keep in focus, you know.

SPEAKER_00 51:44

That I think that is so that is so important to do because in so many situations, I've seen it in other people. And and it's so important to to make sure you keep yourself in check. Because I think I gave you an example that you know, I I heard once, and I don't know how accurate it is, but I heard that like if like deep sea divers, when they go diving, they reach a point when they go too deep in that they don't know which way is up anymore. And they think that like they turn around, like they think they're swimming up, but they swim down instead. Like their their equilibrium is is totally off because they're so in I see that as far as I think about that in in the people who are it's it's a fine line to be to to be spiritual and and and try and learning more, right? Like we can read all the books, we can read the Bible every day, we can do, but if we get to the point where we're holier than thou, we have to put ourselves in check because we always have to remember the last will be first and the first will be last. And and if we're starting to see ourselves and start looking at people's logs in their eyes, I mean the the speck in other people's eyes, and forget not you know, ignoring the log in ours. Yeah, it's there's something wrong. And I love, like you said, that that Father Dracy does that, like he he prays, you know, on a daily he's he's he feels like he needs to make sure that there's a balance, the the healthy balance. And we're not it and it's so easy to do when you get to a point where you think like you're you're you're growing spiritually, and and sometimes it can get it be where you're frustrated because other people aren't growing at the same speed as you are or whatever, and you're like, Don't you get it? Like you're like, don't you see? Can't you see? But what you do then in that case is you you you push people push them away, yeah. And like you said, are you being now judgy? Are you being judgy? Are you being the one that they're like, oh, that like I don't like who you're becoming? Yeah, because Jesus was humble, Jesus was accepting, Jesus didn't judge, you know, like and he's the one that Jesus was patient, right? So it's it that's so that's I'm glad you brought that up because that is very important, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

Yeah, so so that's all I got this week, sister. Me too. That's it. So you know what time it is. Time for a challenge. The challenge. All right, so the challenge for this week and probably moving beyond the week, hopefully. Okay, is well, one thing I wanted to mention, maybe I'm not finished yet. One thing I wanted to mention is what Father Teresi said when we we talked in the interview that I said prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is not just for Lent, it's for every day. It's all throughout the year. And he agreed. And so what I would the first challenge for everyone would be whatever you did during Lent, try to continue it, like your resolution for Lent. Try to continue it and make it a daily habit. But for this week, I would say pray a chaplet and a rosary every day. Father Teracy gave the challenge of praying or chaplet every day last time. Yeah, I would add the rosary and the chaplet as a spiritual mass. Right, because if you're doing it as a spiritual mass, that means that you're reading scripture too. That's true. So that's included in your daily practice now.

SPEAKER_03 55:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

So let's try to get that in. And if you and if you find again, there's always, you know, every day we begin again. If you see that Monday you wake up and you couldn't fit it in in the middle of the day, start over. Start over the next day, try it in the morning. You know, it only takes a half an hour. Wake up a half hour earlier, you know, and then and then just do it that way. But that that would be my challenge that to really focus on the scripture readings for the day and do your spiritual mass with the rosary and the and the uh divine mercy chaplet.

SPEAKER_00 56:29

Yeah, yeah. I'm doing I'm doing the the novena right now for to prepare for Divine Mercy Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 56:36

Sunday, Sunday, April 12th, everybody. Yeah. Is a day of great graces. Great graces and plenary indulgences that you can offer for others. Yeah. So, you know, prepare yourself for that. Research for that.

SPEAKER_00 56:53

Yeah, because like Father Drace said, the the plenary indulgences you can offer for souls or for other people, but the the grace of the the mercy that you receive on Divine Mercy Sundays for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 57:05

For yourself.

SPEAKER_00 57:06

So I was like, okay, let me do that.

SPEAKER_01 57:08

Non-transferable.

SPEAKER_00 57:09

Non-transferable. So I'm like, let me let me do some, try to get an indulgence in so I can offer it.

SPEAKER_01 57:14

Yeah. And all you need for the extraordinary grace for yourself is communion and confession. Confession, yes. Within 20 days of Divine Mercy Sunday, right? And it's like having a second baptism. You your soul is washed clean. Yeah. And invite somebody. Invite somebody.

SPEAKER_00 57:36

Don't go alone. Invite somebody, invite as many as you can. Because how awesome would that be for other people to get that cleansing, that just that clean slate.

SPEAKER_01 57:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

That's it. That's it. So next week we'll finish the book. Yes. Do chapter nine. Chapter nine. Let's see. How to oh, how to pray the mass.

SPEAKER_00 58:03

The divine mercy elements.

SPEAKER_01 58:05

Yeah. So we'll go we'll dive deep into the mass, which is awesome too.

SPEAKER_00 58:08

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 58:09

So if that's all we got.

SPEAKER_00 58:11

That's all we got.

SPEAKER_01 58:13

All right. Have a great night, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 58:15

Have a great night. Until next time.

SPEAKER_01 58:17

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 58:18

Bye.