Tuned in to Love
In this podcast we discuss the various ways God reveals himself to us every day and how we find power in divine connection.
Tuned in to Love
Spiritual Warfare and Divine Mercy - Chapter 9 and Conclusion
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In this episode we discuss the final chapter of Fr. Ken Geraci’s book. The final chapter blew us away as Fr. Geraci describes what’s actually happening in the Mass , our call to participate and its connection to the Divine Mercy Chaplet and image.
How to pray a spiritual Mass as explained in Fr. Geraci’s book:
Read the daily Mass readings (they can be found at usccb.org ) and choose 5 elements from the readings you’d like to meditate on. Use those elements to pray the rosary instead of meditating on the 5 mysteries of the day. After you finish the rosary (which in a spiritual mass relates to the liturgy of the word at mass) you go right into praying the Divine Mercy chaplet.
At the end of the last decade prayed, before going into the Holy God, pray a spiritual communion ( found at https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/act-of-spiritual-communion-339 ) and remain in silence (similar to kneeling in your pew after receiving communion) because praying the chaplet relates to the liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass. Afterward, you end with the final prayers of the chaplet.
Another thing we mention in this episode - Pause app which can be found at the links below:
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Welcome to our podcast, tuned in to love. Whether you're head over heels in love with God, currently not feeling his presence in your life, or have a newfound desire to build a relationship with the creator of all that is, this podcast is for you. We're just two Catholic women on fire with love for the Lord, chatting and sharing experiences. We hope this podcast inspires you to know everything is grace, that God loves you no matter what, and that he never leaves you. So come journey with us as we discover the immensity of God's love and the power of divine connection. Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back. Oh, we're here in our uh favorite spot. Favorite spot, the lake, at Sunviews. Yeah, we wanted to talk about chapter nine, which is the end of the book. Yeah. So we figured it would be a good idea to come to our favorite place at the end of the day for the end of the book. Yeah. And um yeah, that's it. So we're gonna talk about chapter nine today, which is how to pray the mass, the divine mercy elements of the mass, which is really interesting. Can't wait to get into it. But let's talk about a week first.
SPEAKER_01How was your week?
SPEAKER_00It was good, it was really good, yeah. As I love the fact that I can just go to church at any time before eight.
SPEAKER_02That's right, it's an old receipt. Things are flying around here.
SPEAKER_00I don't know what's happening, but but yeah, like I can just go and just pop in. Yeah, I'm really liking that. So that's like my new, my new little thing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02We're really we're really blessed to have uh to live in a place that um the pastors feel safe enough to leave the churches open on a regular basis all day. Yeah, and um we're able to just go whenever we want, which is great. How is your divine mercy? Divine Mercy Sunday was absolutely wonderful, all thanks to this book, I think, because it really I I I experienced it with intention, with understanding, and it was really beautiful. You know, we put together a nice little um service. We prayed the chaplet in Spanish and English, which was really nice. So um yeah, it was it was really great. I'm so grateful for this book. I can't say it enough.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah and I have to say that I just to me I have seen like the growth with both of us really, um, with our trust in the Holy Spirit. Because I I know like I would say a year ago we we would talk about, oh, I feel this, but maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. And you felt that called by the Holy Spirit to do this this chaplet in both English and Spanish.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I just I remember you, you know, just hearing you how excited you were about it. And you just went with it. Yeah, you didn't question it, you just went with it.
SPEAKER_02You know what it was after? I was just so excited after our interview with Father Jeracy that I went, you know, I'm not registered at that church, but I happened to be at Mass one day and I know the priest, and I said, Hey, what are you doing for Divine Mercy Sunday? Did you know about the extraordinary grace? Are you offering confessions? And yeah, I just felt the need to say, like, you're not doing anything, we have to do something, yeah, and I'll help you plan it, and you know, whatever. And so we did, and it was really nice. And I was I'm just so grateful that he really went with it too. Because with without having it planned in his schedule, dealing with the holy week, all of the liturgies that he had to put together, he's all alone in that parish. And um, he said, you know what? The Holy Spirit is inspiring you to do that, so do it. But when he told me to do it, like I did little bits, he put together a lot of it. So it was so great because he really got into it too. So I was happy about that. He's just that fire is spreading. Thank you, Father Tracy. Thank you, Father Jeracy, for sure. Flying all over the place. That one I need.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh. No, it was great, and then you know, like I I wasn't able to make it all the way to to that church, but I I had a great experience at St. Stephen where at the church where I go to. Yeah. And it was beautiful. So it was just and the experience was beautiful because of the location, but more because of the understanding, the deeper understanding. The deeper understanding for sure. And just being able to imagine, oh my goodness. I was in I was in tears, I was bawling because of the imagery of where Father Dracy gave us in the interview to like the little girl offering the lamb. I was a mess. Yeah, but yeah, it was powerful in that sense because I was able to connect with that image. I was in tears in the in the interview, but it was like it was, I didn't want to explain exactly what I was going through in that moment when he was he asked, he goes, What do you see? Right. Because I was like, I'm gonna, I'm not gonna be able to finish talking.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00But it just like I was always connected to God as a little girl. I was always in nature, climbing a tree, whatever. And and to be able to, you know, you're innocent of the the knowledge of actually what he sacrificed, but I I was able to like experience the mass on Sunday, and God kept pulling me back to that image of that little girl that Father Tracy, you know, we spoke about. And during the divine mercy at three o'clock, it was it was so intense that feeling that I that it and going back as a little girl is again that opening up to trust, yeah, that blind trust, that childlike trust. And it was just like just opening up to him and as a as a child and just letting him in. And it was just it was overwhelming, it was great, it was beautiful, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So um getting into chapter nine, he talks about how to pray the mass, and the first thing he starts with is it's an epic battle, right? And that when we attend and participate in mass, because it's an epic battle, it stands to reason that when we attend it, it's the most effective spiritual warfare. And you know, we started talking about the chapter a few days ago, right? Um, but I went back and I just kept thinking about that particular sentence because I'm saying, why is it why is it the most effective spiritual warfare? And I just thought about attending and participating. Of course it is, because what do we do when we attend and participate in the mass? And I just wrote a list, so I just wanted to read. It's because we express our belief and trust in God. So when we're attending mass, obviously, if somebody sees you walking into the church, they know you're a believer. So you're walking into this church with the belief and trust in God, um, by bringing everything to God and leaving it at the altar, knowing He'll take care of it, is like I'm not gonna worry, I'm not gonna fear. We know where fear comes from. So through that, we're not fearing, we're not despairing, we're bringing it to you, and we know you're gonna take care of it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, right? You're joining our world and heaven. Yeah. You're just you're it's like you're coming into that court.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then the other thing is when we go to mass, we attend mass and we participate, we receive the Eucharist. We receive, we hear the scripture, it's explained to us. We receive the word, which is sacred scripture and Jesus Christ, the word incarnate. When you have that and you're filled with that, there's no knocking you down, there's strength there for ages, right? And then the other thing was because we're united with our brothers and sisters in Christ and in Jesus' presence. We receive his presence, and he's also present there at the Mass. Because that's where heaven and earth unite. Yeah, and so of course, it's the most effective spiritual warfare because we're there with our brothers and sisters, we're there in battle with our soldiers, that's right, with our fellow soldiers. We're not alone, yeah. So, of course, it makes sense that you know it's the most effective spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and again, and again, it brings me back to Father Dracy's example of the worship and cruise ship. That I'm not sitting there on a cruise just waiting to be waited on, served, be served. I'm actually there as part of crew, militant. You said our soldiers, yeah, a part of the militant church to be there to attend and participate, like you said.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so he talks in in the book also about participation. So that was another thing, because I I just I'm such a an analytical brain that I have to say, like I I nitpick at everything. I'm like, okay, so what does it mean to participate? Yeah, you know, dig deeper. Because you just yeah, you dig deeper. And what does it mean to participate? Again, I made a list uniting our prayers for the living and the deceased in our families, those around us, souls in purgatory, uniting them to the sacrifice on the altar, which is a re representation of Christ's passion. But then it's also attentive listening for love of God, because if the priest is speaking to God, then we should be uniting our thoughts right to that point where the priest is offering the prayers, right? But then also in our amen, because in our amen, we're affirming what the priest is saying, right. So the priest is speaking to God one-on-one, but then we say, Hey God, us too. Yeah, I agree. With our yeah, with our with our amen. Amen. I agree. Right. Ditto. It's like ditto. Like he said, yeah, yeah, it's yeah, whatever he said. Yeah, but it's also active participation, which would be like the lectors, Eucharistic ministers, um, choir, the singers, yeah, ushers, all kinds of people that are participating actively in the mass. But for those of us who are sitting in the pews, we have to remember, Father Derace says it rather clearly this is we're not going to church to receive. We're going to church to give worship.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And there's only an audience of one. Audience of one. And it's gone. Yeah. We're not the audience. That's that's where we have it twisted. That's where we have it backwards.
SPEAKER_00And I think we get it confused because we're sitting abused. Yeah. Yeah, we're sitting there, okay. The priest is doing, you know, what is he doing? And yeah. And that's where people might be like, oh, okay, here we go. He was doing his is what he's doing. But no, the audience is God.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Not us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So if God is watching, what are you doing? Yeah. You know. Yeah. But yeah, I I just um the participation, the fact that this is an epic battle, I never, I never envisioned the mass as an epic battle. I never envisioned the mass as um a group thing. I I the Mass to me was individual people coming to worship, coming to receive, right? Because I was going to receive too. Um, but this chapter just made me realize the unity. And of course, Catholic means universal, mystical body of Christ, we're all one. But sometimes it takes someone to explain it just very simply, yeah, very organically, for you to go. I kind of knew that, but I didn't know that, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right? Like I know it know it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Like, I kind of knew that. But this explanation is just bringing a whole other level, and it's just what you said during the interview. I really love how he makes us imagine, you know, turn on that imagination. Yeah. Sometimes we go through life and we we don't have the time to sit with our imagination. And when we do, it's amazing what happens. Yeah. You know, and just this little bit that he's given us to just imagine that we didn't even have to think of it ourselves, that he can explain this in a way that every time I go to mass now, I'm imagining the beauty of this mystical body of Christ. Um, and the idea that I'm going there to worship the Lord and to be nourished and strengthened so that I can take that with me and bring it elsewhere. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it just, it's funny because as you're as you're saying it, like I'm imagining opening the door to church, just the regular door, and then this beautiful court, this beautiful courtroom where where God is there present with the angels and and the saints, and everybody's there. Where it's going to be joined in one through Calvary, through the Eucharist, and and just being in all of it all. And and realizing that that's not just your imagination. Like that is really happening. Is really happening. But we can't see it. It's almost like, but if you can sit, if you can allow yourself to just your mind to to expand, to open to the glory of what is occurring. And like Father Tracy said, you wouldn't want to leave.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but you would never want to leave. Yeah, you make a good point because it's not that we're imagining something that's not happening and making a pretty picture of something that we hope would happen. This is actually happening. But what we're saying is because we can't see it, right? It's such a spiritual thing in this camera.
SPEAKER_00When a little cockeyed, sorry guys. But the other thing is that imagining, like you said, the mystical body of Christ. Like, again, I'm I'm I'm imagining right now what I'm seeing is like us walking in, and then each one of us, because we we carry the light of God inside of us, how how our light, his light that shines in us, illuminates the place, and how we are all interconnected through his divine love, yeah, and because we are a part of him, right? And how it kind of reminds me of that one song. Um I I forget how it goes. It it's like if if we were asking God, like, why don't you do something about it? And he says, like, if not you, then who? And if not now, then when.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And it's like, yeah, we're all here for a mission and to do something. And I think I think just the way you explained it just like yeah, made my mind start imagining the possibilities, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so um in the book, he relates the doxology and the fraction of the sacred host to the mass. Yeah, right. So the doxology is the part where he holds up the two pieces and the wine or the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Um, and he says, through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever. And he relates that to the chaplet. He says that the the mass and the chaplet are both direct conversations with God. Yeah, and we come to worship and adore, and God is the audience, and he says during the doxology, if you could imagine the arms of the priest lifting your prayers, lifting the prayers and intentions of those present to the sacrifice on the altar, right? And then he says, imagine that every chaplet being prayed throughout the world is united to that moment, too. And that just solidifies that whole idea of us being united in Christ. So if you're at mass, I'm at mass, other family members at mass, friends are at mass, the whole congregation is offering at that moment, we should be offering that's our participation also, everything that we have, everything that we are to the Father, and imagining that what we're offering, our little piddly offering is being raised up and offered to God. And again, in that instant, we are in the holy court. Heaven and earth has come together, yes, and we are present before the Lord. Yeah, and the Lord is receiving our offering. Imagine. Imagine, like, and just imagining that the priest is taking it all and lifting it up, not just the body, blood, soul, and divinity, but united to that, right? Like a whole swoosh of um prayers and intentions and how powerful that moment at the Mass is. And if we're not attentive to that moment, we lose all sight of the possibility of re-receiving the graces that come with that, yeah, of being present.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and it's so and it's funny because that exact part of the book is what when you were going over, oh my gosh, this book is great, and then you had already read it, and then you started telling me little bits of the book. You didn't go to chapter one. No, you went right to the end, and you're like, You got to, and I'm like, oh, I gotta get this book. Yeah, so yeah, no, it's it's good. And and then I like the example he uses with Moses.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That Moses, when he when he was when they were in battle, yeah, Moses had his arms raised, and Aaron and her, when he was tired, held them up.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And that's the militant church, yeah holding out the arms of the priests.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because I think about the priests, and I think I spoke to you about this where I was saying about how I wonder like the priests look out at the congregation, and imagine being in front of a crowd and you're talking, or you have a speech, or you're you're you're sharing something, and the people that are you're talking to are like on their phones or just not paying attention or just you know, or not participating.
SPEAKER_01Participating, not interested.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like that that motivation that you felt to share or to do that speech or whatever it was that you're doing, it it's it's like you try to make it to the end because you're just trying to make it to the end. Because now you're you're you're seeing everybody's disinterest and and it's like it's discouraging.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, knocks the wind out of your sails, as they say.
SPEAKER_00And these priests have to have to uh stay strong and and and and try to build that fire in the church that maybe and sometimes it's hard.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and that's where we come in. Yeah, because that's where we're lifting up our fellow soldiers in battle.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02We're lifting them up through prayer.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that's why it's so important to pray for these priests. Our priests, our bishops, our pope. You know, it's it's really important. I mean, we're praying for everybody under the sun. Yeah. But these guys have a bullseye on their back.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And not only do they have a bullseye on their back, but it's ve it is very discouraging to look out into the congregation and see disinterest, misunderstanding, um, a lack of um fervor for church teaching. Just a lot of different things that these guys have to deal with that we're unaware of. Yeah. And we just think, you know what? They're priests. Yeah. Do what you gotta do. Yeah. You know, it's not like that. You know, they're human beings too. And I think Father John Ricardo said that in an interview one time. He says, you know, uh a fellow priest of his, I don't know if it was him or a fellow priest friend of his that said, like, people just really forget that we're human.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02We forget that they're human. We think that, you know, they're supposed to be the holiest of holies, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're supposed to know everything. They're supposed to be on fire all the time. Yeah. You know, think of yourself. Are you on fire all the time? We're on fire some of the time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, what did he say? Was it he was he was saying about he had. Lost or had a brother or somebody that was sick. Yeah. Or he had just lost someone, and and you know, they were just like, you know, why aren't you over it? Like it was like a day later.
SPEAKER_01That's what it was. Yeah, that's what it was.
SPEAKER_00Or something like that.
SPEAKER_02That's what it was. Something like that. Where you know, you expect these guys, they they're not human, they have no no emotion, they're just just going on, you know, whatever. I don't know what we think, but yeah, we have to remember that that they are all human, so we have to lift them up too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But um, he also talks about the fraction of the host, and it's the part where the priest breaks the bread and then um puts a little piece in the wine and unites it. Um but what did you think of that section? I know you had something that you wanted to say about right.
SPEAKER_00So I was mentioning to you that how important it is that once we say the peace, we offer each other peace. And we we're always like, oh, peace be with you, and peace be with you, and it may be 10 or 20 people there that you know, and hey, how are you? But we have it's so important, and I didn't realize that until reading this book, how important it is to do the say peace be with you, do your peace offering, but then get right back in because the next part is the Agnes Dei, the Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, you know, and and receive our prayer. And that's where those, that's where that's being lifted in that moment. So, like you said, if you're if you're stuck on the giving the peace to your 100th person, you're gonna miss that grace, that part where you're offering, you're giving everything, yeah, and you're saying, you know, for the for the priest to lift it, to receive that grace. So I know that for me, I know I tried to, you know, now I'm I'm cognizant of it. So now I'm like, okay, peace be with you, peace be with you. But then it's like turnaround. It's like my attention, my audience is one, and it's God. It's and that, and again, that just switching that mindset. Yeah, switching that mindset was so important for me because now I see I'm like, it's not about it's not about me. It's not about me going to church and being like, oh God, listen to me here. I got my my litany of things that I need to bring to you. It's about me being there for God. Yeah, who's the audience, worshiping God, worshiping Him.
SPEAKER_02And also, like you said, I mean, we we are bringing our laundry list of stuff, but remembering that it's not only our our laundry list, but our family's laundry list. And when I say family, I mean our Christian Catholic family, yes, who's in the church with us, also offering their um prayers to God. Yeah. But during during the fraction of the host, he says it relates that that relates more to the image of divine mercy, not so much the chaplet like the doxology does, right? But it still relates to the message of divine mercy. So he says that the fraction points to two mystical realities. The first one is that by receiving the bread of life, many are made one body, and that comes from scripture, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 17. Yeah, and then the second thing is that fractioning corresponds to the spear that pierced the side of Christ. So we can imagine the two rays depicted in the image as flowing from the two fractured pieces, so powerful, right? And that also comes from um scripture, John chapter 19, yeah, verse 34. But those two images, if we could just imagine those two things, that in that moment we're united to the mystical body of Christ, we're made one, right? Um, and then the part about the blood and the water gushing forth from the heart of Jesus when He's when the lance is pierces his side, it's like that blood and water is flowing from those two pieces at that moment.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And he says, if we could imagine placing all of the people, all of the issues, whatever, right underneath, just two centimeters from that, right on the altar. Right on the altar, right? The people that we love, the people that we're being showered. Yeah, that they're being showered, that they're being cleansed, um, that they're being made new, he says. Yeah. He says they're being made new. And if we could imagine that, again, not just our individual petitions, like our family members that we wish to be converted, or that are having issues that are far from the church, but also for the whole world, for the holy souls in purgatory, for those who have passed, right, that we can put them all there so that they can be that that blood and water could be showering down on them right on that altar at that very moment. That imagination.
SPEAKER_00Isn't it amazing how much he loves us? It's and and I also like at the bottom of that the 127 where it says the church has taught that the sacraments receive their power from the blood and water flowing from the pure side of Jesus Christ. And I I remember learning that through the Bible study, from the Bible in a year Bible study, and that how that's our sacraments receive the power from that. Yeah, and it's to to put it into this imagery is even it brings it to a whole other level. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So he said just what I said earlier. We should imagine that the blood and water during the during the Lamb of God. So, you know, as you're saying, Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. We should imagine that the blood and water bursting forth from the fracture is flowing over us and the whole world. And when I read that part, it reminded me of the interview we had with him where he talked about when he goes to confession. I had never heard of it like that before. Even in the interview that he gave that I mentioned that I saw, he talked about how it strengthens him to resist temptation.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02But I don't think, or I didn't hear it at that time, that he mentioned that the grace that he receives during confession, when he goes out and he encounters the family members that he wishes to be converted or whatever, far from the church, or people that he ministers to, they it pours that grace pours out into them.
SPEAKER_00Isn't that awesome?
SPEAKER_02Like that to me was like, yeah. So I was thinking the same thing about the fracture. If the blood and water is pouring down and we're being made new, then the grace that we're receiving through that, by actively participating, Lamb of God, and knowing what's happening at that moment, if we leave church, the grace that we receive, I would think, is like confession that we that that grace is being poured out into the people that we encounter, that we minister to, the people in our families that are far from the church. Right. So how beautiful is that? And why wouldn't we now understand what he means when we say we wouldn't want the mass to end? Right, but we wouldn't want to not go to mass ever. Like not just on Sunday, every day. As much as you can, as much as you can.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And and and just imagining also, like you said just now, I you're saying when we leave, we leave. If we receive the body of Christ, we leave as little tabernacles. Yeah. So we take Christ to the ones who does the ones who don't want to come to church. We actually we embody, you know, he's we don't embody, but yeah, he's in us.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so he can reach sitting with them, they're sitting with Jesus too, right? Right. Yeah, that's beautiful, yeah. And so um, I think he ends the chapter, or maybe this was just my notes, something that I took from it, but I don't remember. But I wrote, we should enter that part of mass and imagine all those we're praying for, living, deceased, souls in purgatory being placed on the altar as the priest picks up the host, see the pale ray washing them clean, that's beautiful, and the red penetrating their heart, mind, and soul, infusing them and giving them new life. That those were his words, now I remember. Those those were his words, not mine. But washing them clean, infusing them, the blood, infusing them, and giving them new life. That they don't even have to be present, that we're placing them, if we're placing them on the altar, it's happening. Yeah, and so I think that's why like the trust has to be there. We have to know that everything that we're placing there on the altar, right? I give you everyone and everything. And that's and that's something, you know, that everyone and everything I got from the pause app. I put that on the Facebook and I've been like sharing it with people, but I I listened to a podcast, they mentioned the pause app. I went on there, I can't recommend it enough. It's eight minutes in the morning, eight minutes at night. I think you schedule it for yeah, you can schedule it for whenever you want. Yeah, and it's um it's just a beautiful way. And one of the things that the guy says, the leader says, is just begin your day, end your day with I give everyone and everything to you. And I think the just from doing that, and the more that I've said that, I really am starting to believe it now.
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, over and over and over again, God in the Bible he says, your faith, your faith has healed you. So it's not like if the faith that we have when we offer those things, when we give God those things, it uh I have tried, you know, this these past years, you know, I've I've dealt with cancer after cancer situations in the family, and I've learned to of course you put it in God's hands, and it's his will in the end. But it's instead of like to for me, I think wording it different so that I can now have faith, like kind of like fake it until you make it, is saying, Thank you, God, for instead of asking for, yeah, thank you for the healing. Thank you for because regardless that the healing is gonna happen, whether it's here or in heaven, or in heaven, but it it's his will. So just thank you, God, for right this answered prayer. Thank you for, you know, and like Mother Angelica says, if it's in his will, it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. Maybe not this instant, but but it will happen, it will happen.
SPEAKER_02So we have to trust that. It's really we have to trust that, yeah. And I I really, you know, what you just said about having the faith and not really um asking for something, but thanking him for it. And what you just said just struck me because you're saying thank you for answered prayer. And we talk about it all the time. It's like almost cliche. He answers every prayer. Yeah, it may not be the way we want it. So the fact that you say thank you for the answered prayer, right? It's just your acknowledging, it's your way of saying, your will be done. Not my will, but your will. You know, it's another way of saying that. And that's just a beautiful to think, thank you for the gift of answered prayer.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because everything that's happening in my life is as a result of answered prayer, it's your will, your will not mine. And that's yeah, that's all there is to it. Yeah, you know. So I think that ends the chapter. You got anything else, sister?
SPEAKER_00No, I think the only thing that I that I want to end with is the conclusion, the first paragraph where it says, um, the most important thing in life is to get to heaven, Father Tracy says. And then it says, Um, we have two choices. We have two choices fight and live, or lay down and die. Fighting and living means heaven, not fighting by giving into sin and conforming yourself to the ways of the world means hell. Nice people go to hell, the repentant go to heaven.
SPEAKER_03Great!
SPEAKER_00No, it's it's but the thing is it's the repentant. Yeah, you have to acknowledge and and and and take accountability. And I just I just think that especially the part where he says the most important thing in life is to get to heaven.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and that's a great way, and that is definitely so include anything else? No, well, guess what? Yes, what's the challenge? So the challenge this week is because the chapter was on the mass, and he does say, and we spoke about it, that it's an epic battle and it's the most effective spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02There's a real challenge. So my challenge is attend mass as many times as circumstances and vocation allows. That's fair. If you truly cannot, if you truly cannot go to mass, then commit to pray a spiritual mass when you cannot. So quality over quantity, of course. So we don't want to check off boxes. Right. I don't want to check off boxes. I want to be able to sit and say, either I can commit to a half-hour mass during the week, um, or I can commit to a half hour of praying a week, but uh not while I'm driving, not while I'm washing dishes, not while I'm doing laundry. Yeah. So can we commit and can we try to do quality over quantity and strive for seven days a week?
SPEAKER_00That's a little steep, but I think but I think I think to do it as many times as you can because it's not mass during the weekday is not an hour. It's not a half an hour, it's a it's just it's not half an hour, not even yet. So it's it's not as long as the the sending of mass.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00So but yeah, and it's also depending on the hours that are available, but I think that that would that's a great challenge because it's important. It's it's yeah, when you do at in the beginning, I was like daily mass. My parents go to daily mass. And then, but then when I started doing it, at least trying to do it as much as I can. As much as you can, as much as your vocation allows. Yeah, it it made like I I would drop the kids off of school and then I would go to mass because that's how that's the time that they would have it. And it it was just like an extra it was a different way of going about my day, but man, it made a difference. It does make a difference. It made a difference.
SPEAKER_02And and if I could just suggest only because it it works for me and I know how busy we can be, is getting up a half hour earlier. Yeah, you know, if if you if you really know that like your day, you get up and you hit the ground running and your day just takes off, and then by the time you get home, you're exhausted, cooking, cleaning, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then you want to just kind of chill. I know what that feels like. But if you want to commit to this, then wake up a half hour earlier.
SPEAKER_00That's the important thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And it's only because it's not, you know, it's not about um flexing your spiritual muscles. No, it's about the spiritual battle. It's about the graces that we receive for the spiritual battle. Yeah. It's about praying for the world, it's about praying for peace, it's about praying for all. If we can, if we can attend mass, be it a real mass or a spiritual mass, right, every day of the week. Yeah, it's gonna be powerful for us in our lives, but also for the world.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's all I'm thinking. Which the spiritual mass is a reminder is the the rosary. Yes.
SPEAKER_02In instead of the mysteries that of that day, you're doing you're reading the readings for the mass for the mass of that day.
SPEAKER_00That day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And um, and then doing the divine mercy chaplet.
SPEAKER_02Right. I mean, so yeah. What I'll do is I'll I'll put we'll put information in the show notes, yeah. And I'll put a list of how it's done. Yeah. And then links to the daily readings, yeah, where people can read it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and the important, like start your starting your day with God, yeah. And and and just it changes your it it really does. It it sounds like a lot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But imagine like if you're going on a diet or doing starting a workout routine, it's that those first mornings, that first week, that first month, it's it's hard to to get yourself going and saying, Okay, I'm gonna get up early, I'm gonna go for a jog, or I'm gonna go, but then eventually after you start doing it, it's yeah, it's easier. But it it it is life-changing.
SPEAKER_02It is, it really is. It really is, and that that early morning, first thing in the morning stuff, yeah. I mean, that really helps. Yeah. So that's all I got. That's the challenge again. Quality over quantity. Um, we don't want to just flex our spiritual muscles and and uh check off boxes, yeah. But it's something that if we don't listen, Mother Angelica said, What? Ask for the ridiculous, and God will give you the miraculous. So pray to God, give him, you know, ask him for the strength, for the commitment to do this.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And because you're gonna see spiritual fruit not only in your life, but in the world. Yes. We have a job to do, in the world, and then just the way you handle things in your day. Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Yeah. So anything else, sister? No, that's it. All right. So that's all we got today. God bless everybody. Bless. Bye. And one final thought. Yes. So um next week will be our last episode of the season.
SPEAKER_00Season one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, season one. Season one, season two. So we're gonna take a little hiatus, a two-month hiatus. Um, in the meantime, we'll hopefully be posting some after after chats from previous episodes. Yes, after chats. We'll be talking about coming to the lake and talking about um old episodes and uh things that we may have messed up or things that we thought about after um that we mentioned after we posted and we wanted to elaborate on. We're also gonna be doing walk and talks. Yes. So hopefully during that time we'll be posting that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But we'll be back in uh July.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02So our first episode of season two will be in July. In July. And we'll be talking during the hiatus of how we're gonna approach season two.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But we hope you're excited. We're really excited to get working on season two.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So until next time. Bye.
