Red Dirt Catholics
Join Jayce, James and guests from "Red Dirt" Oklahoma as they discuss what evangelization and discipleship looks like in real life.
Red Dirt Catholics
Living Mission (ft. Jared Williams)
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In this episode, Jayce and James are joined (again) by Jared Williams, a FOCUS missionary at the University of Memphis, who shares his transformative experience living on mission and the beautiful intersection between personal holiness and evangelization efforts on campus.
• Campus outreach strategies including move-in assistance and root beer float stations
• "The little way" of evangelization through genuine friendship and authentic relationships
• Daily prayer routines incorporating Mass, holy hour, and rosary as the foundation of missionary life
• Intercessory prayer as a powerful tool in campus ministry
• The rewards of watching students embrace their faith and begin to lead others
• Learning to surrender when faced with rejection or unexpected outcomes
• How mission transforms the missionary even more than those being served
• The inseparable connection between holiness and evangelistic mission
• Practical ways anyone can build Catholic community in their parish
Ready to take the next step in your faith journey? Look into opportunities like Zeal in Oklahoma City, or simply introduce yourself to someone at your parish you've seen but never met. "You can't expect to have good Catholic community and grow in your faith if you're by yourself."
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Links and other stuff from the show:
Pastoral Letter, "On the Unity of the Body and Soul:" archokc.org/pastoral-letters
Red Dirt Catholics Email Address: reddirtcatholics@archokc.org
The Book "From Christendom to Apostolic Mission" (Digital and Print): Amazon
The Social Dilemma: https://www.netflix.com/title/81254224
Daily Examen Prayer: https://bit.ly/309As8z
Lectio Divina How-To: https://bit.ly/3fp8UTa
going to training, going to ave? Um, we have a new pope, yeah, which is super awesome pope leo the 14th, an american. I were up where the rest of two were you watching like when he walked out? I wasn't, and everything.
Speaker 1:I saw the video yeah, you saw the video, so I was watching live. So you're just like sitting there waiting and they're saying it. They're saying it in Latin, right, and so you're just trying to get a hint. And I thought I heard Prevost and I had seen his name briefly that this could be the only shot at an american pope. You know was the article that I read and it turned out to be really spot on um. So I was like freaking out. But then, like everyone, every video that I've watched of when we find out it's american, everyone's just like grabbing their phone and figuring it all out, like and yeah, it's a unique privilege. My favorite social media thing that I've seen with it is him walking out to the 1990s Bulls walkout music. Like him walking out onto the step like overdubbing it with that, because he's from Chicago.
Speaker 1:But, I've heard what people say, but I love what he's written and said His first homilies and addresses.
Speaker 3:The amount of times he uses the name of our Lord is very encouraging. It's very Christocentric. Just reading what he's written that's about anything I've digested it's really peaceful. I'm really grateful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm excited. I can't wait to see how did your students react? Uh, I think everyone was just like he's american, like what? Um, there was definitely a lot of just unexpected, uh, surprise and feelings. The first thing they started saying was like we got to get the pope to seek, like that was like. I saw this in like four group chats that I'm in, just like back to back to back.
Speaker 1:I was like okay, maybe it'll happen what a, what a get that would be.
Speaker 3:Yeah seek would blow up like you can't contain seek already yeah, you'd have.
Speaker 1:What would it be, you'd?
Speaker 3:have hundreds of thousands. It'd be like a mini world youth day thing going on it really would be. Maybe they could just collide. That's pretty cool. I was coaching baseball that day and so I'm like warming up the kids and that day was like so full that I didn't digest any of it.
Speaker 3:Like my assistant had told me some things, my wife had told me some things. I had some text conversations that was about it. And I'm warming up Parker Chastain Shout out to the Chastain family. And I'm warming up Parker Chastain, shout out to the Chastain family and I throw on him some pictures like hey, how's your day?
Speaker 1:And he was like it's great we got a new Pope.
Speaker 3:It's just fun to see, like a seven-year-old like super excited and like I don't know. It's really neat, Like the whole world was excited about that, talking about that, chatting about that, even the non-Catholic world, and that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Super that, even the non-catholic world and that's pretty cool, super cool. So big fan of that. You know what I didn't mention last time when we recorded in the previous episode with josh that that was actually my last day as an employee at the pastoral center oh yeah, you had to go through the same security protocols of the rest of the yeah I'm a man of the people now, not a part of the privileged few, so I had to like get my bat, like do my scan my id and all that stuff, which is fun, um, with everything today.
Speaker 1:but it's been two weeks on the job at the cathedral and it's been amazing like the people are so good. I've gotten to have dinner with, uh, or drinks with a whole bunch of people already, like danielle and I are going, danielle and I are going to, I think, ted's tonight with another couple. Um, so it's just been a whirlwind and a blast. Great. Yeah, I can't wait. Praise God, it's been awesome. So I was texting James this morning, though, and he was just updating me on what he's been up to, and he mentioned that he'd been researching duck habitats, and I was like loser nerd and whatnot, and then he showed.
Speaker 1:then he sent me a photo and there's a duck in his backyard and his son.
Speaker 3:Is that Theo?
Speaker 1:yeah, theo's just like standing there, just kind of like, just kind of looking at him like it like very pensive.
Speaker 3:He was in his happy spot really he was just observing the ducks. He just brought all his food out there and or brought all the ducks. He just brought all his food out there and it brought all the ducks food and in their water that morning. Yeah, so Jace called me a nerd, like what's going on? Because of the research thing. I was like no, well, we got ducks, like there's a reason for it. But honestly, we still have ducks and chickens and honestly, the uh, there's something kind of fun about the ducks Like chickens, it's, it's rewarding because you get the eggs and they're. But the ducks like they still lay eggs if they're bred for that and frankly, it's really common in Europe and in Asia. But here in our like super conventional agriculture, like pump out as many eggs as possible, like you need water to keep a duck and they're a little bit messier and uh, you couldn't do that like at commercial production levels. The same way you could pump out eggs. You can't grow them in a little concrete.
Speaker 1:Because of the water.
Speaker 3:Because of the water and yeah, they just wouldn't survive. I mean, they need to be constantly drinking water. They can't go more than eight hours without a little bit of water and they're always playing in it and preening themselves and stuff. But yeah, they're pretty endearing and they love to follow you. It's hilarious. My kids will just walk in circles around the yard going follow me, follow me, follow me, and the ducks just follow.
Speaker 1:But the duck's eggs are way more tasty or nutritious.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're kind of like I mean, I haven't tried these ones yet, so we'll see in a few months when they're ready to lay but supposedly they're a little bit richer, creamier and bigger.
Speaker 1:So what is one? So you obviously have a duck guy. Now Where'd you get your ducks?
Speaker 3:Tractor 2 down in Midwest City or Farm 2? Farm 2, I don't know, it's kind of like a tractor supply store, but Lumber 2, that's what it is called, Lumber 2.
Speaker 1:Lumber 2. We sell ducks.
Speaker 3:Ducks and chickens. If you show up on a Tuesday morning in this season you will have a two to three hour line To get a duck. My wife went three Tuesdays in a row.
Speaker 1:To get birds Three Tuesdays in a row Out the door. Are these ducks, pope?
Speaker 3:Leo.
Speaker 1:Like what.
Speaker 3:It's a supply chain thing. Most people are there for the chickens, but have you ran out of-? It's harder to get a duck than Boris.
Speaker 2:Frank tickets. Have you gone to the?
Speaker 3:grocery store. Have you gone to the grocery store lately and have been out of eggs? Yeah, yeah, okay, so it's just going up the channel. People are frustrated about no eggs, so they're going to buying chickens. And then they there's no chickens left man, we got to start raising chickens.
Speaker 1:I don't know how profitable it is, they're like three bucks. This is a crunchy granola cat. It's kind of a numbers game, right, they're really hard to keep alive through the chick stage?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it can be, and if you don't have a good enclosure on them, they'll get taken out by a possum or a bird or something like that. Possum, yeah.
Speaker 1:Every now and then I've seen a skunk walk across our backyards. There's probably some city ordinances for chickens, maybe not for ducks.
Speaker 3:No animal raising activities was the old code. In Oklahoma City you can have up to six hens is the technical reality. If you're animal raising now there's a blurry line about what's a pet and what's animal raising.
Speaker 2:It's my emotional support duck.
Speaker 1:It's true. So the idea is to keep it at six birds is the general code thing.
Speaker 1:That's awesome all right, let's let's let's pray and get into it in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen, lord, thank you so much for Jared and for James and for Avery and for our team and for the opportunity to do this podcast. We pray that it builds up all of our listeners and that, yeah, we'll have a great time talking in fraternity and that we will be connected with you in the Holy Spirit. In your name we pray Amen, Father, Son Holy.
Speaker 3:Spirit amen.
Speaker 1:So, jared, we were in our last episode and this is like the recap thing we talked about your background, your journey back into the church, your journey into mission here locally in Oklahoma City and your discernment of being a focused missionary. And so now we're getting closer to the present. We've got about a year of your life, your first year on mission at the University of Memphis, like like, walk us through, like what was it? What was it like going to training?
Speaker 2:Yeah, training was an absolute experience. Um, it is unlike any place I've ever been. Ever. Uh, you just descend upon Ave Maria University with a couple hundred other missionaries that are all on fire for the Lord and like super holy and just want to live mission, and so they, they all say or give a radical yes to to the Lord and it. It was an experience I feel like I was instantly friends with, like everyone. So there was just like a lot of me running around and oh, I know that guy or I know that one, and yeah, we went to the beach a lot, we learned a lot. There's a place called Seed to Table, which is like the coolest place on the planet. This is like a highlight from training. It's a grocery store store, but it's also a restaurant, so you can go and like pick out steaks and then they cook the steak in the grocery store and like you eat it. But like, while you're waiting, you can go like around and shop and so like we would go and just hang out.
Speaker 1:It was awesome, um sounds like a thing James would love. I love steak, I also love steak, but that just sounds like that sounds up y'all's alley for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 3:As long as they name the cow, as long as I know the name of the cow, we'll be okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:All right Farm to table. My favorite place in Ave when I was there was this oh gosh, maybe I can't remember it, but it was this Puerto Rican sandwich place. That was just no Cuban Cuban sandwich place, sorry, and it was just absolutely on fire. I loved it. They had these fried plantains that like Fernando the Bull that was the name of it and I loved it, I loved it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, the food is great, but obviously, yeah, the formation is amazing too. I really one thing that I really thought was cool is like these very high level Catholic people from just kind of all around kind of Come to Ave and they just like live with us for like a month. Um, you're like walking around with Dominicans and Franciscans and their sisters and my senior, james Shea, is there and like all of these people are very approachable. Um, I think I had a really cool interaction with father Mark Mary Ames. Um, he walked right up to me hey, I'm father Mark Mary and you're like Aims. Um, he walked right up to me. Hey, I'm father Mark Mary and you're like I know, like aren't you on YouTube or something Like what is this? Um, and he remembered my name for a month.
Speaker 2:I believe that, just like you're walking around and he's hey, jared, and he's opening the door for you and stuff, it's just like stuff like that was really really cool. Um, seeing the genuine side of a lot of these people, um, and how much they care for our mission. Uh, yeah, I, I learned a ton, uh, but you're kind of drinking through a fire hose I would describe it as that. Uh, there's just a lot of stuff being thrown at you all at once. It's cool.
Speaker 3:What might have been most formative for you or a short list of things during the new staff training you were in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think a lot of it had to more do with, like a conviction for discipleship, just how to live that out. Well, focus is not trying to reinvent the wheel. They are, in a lot of ways, just doing what the church has always done for 2,000 years and I think that was really refreshing just hearing that clarity and conviction in which they speak about evangelization in the little way. I think that was very impactful for me.
Speaker 3:What's the little way for those who aren't familiar?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the little way of evangelization. It's not going to take a big action. We're not going to take a big action. We're not going to change the world by some huge movement or something. It's just exactly what we're doing here genuine friendship, genuine intimacy with friends and sharing Christ in that way, first and foremost that's amazing, I love that.
Speaker 1:So you go through, you meet your team, partially through what was like the opening of your letter, like letting you know that you're going to Memphis.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was kind of surreal. They pull you into a dorm room I think we all kind of knew that it was placement day and they give you a letter and I opened the letter and it's like happy to have you at memphis. I'm like memphis, like what do I even know about memphis? Walking in me, I'm like there's a pyramid. Uh, what else, elvis? So I'm like, okay, this is clearly a place with a lot of culture and I was very excited about that, excited to go somewhere new. And then, yeah, we run out onto the lawn and find our team. That was really cool. I got to meet my teammate, emily and my other teammate, taylor. I had already known Taylor, like just by happenstance, had met her at SEEK the previous year, just briefly, and then we ran into each other again at interview weekend. So that was really cool and I was very hopeful, just excited to live mission and to do that well.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. So then, so you hear you're going to Memphis, you're excited, you're meeting your team, Like what's it been like for you? It's been Tell me about the year. How did it start?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been good, Started really fast. I think the transition from training to getting on campus is kind of like a movie in and of itself. We obviously fundraise our entire salary, so was doing that for most of the summer trying to get to campus at Memphis and then once you get there, it's just like right into fall outreach. So we make a lot of efforts on the front side to go out and meet students where they are. We helped with move-in days so we were moving freshmen into dorms and helping families unload cars and all this stuff. So that was really fun. We did a root beer float stand kind of thing for our first week. It's like a staple at Memphis so we've just been doing it for multiple years so I was able to do that. We were literally carrying a keg around campus on an electric scooter, which is like the craziest visual you'll ever see. It's just a keg of root beer, but people are like what is going on and we're just like pouring people root beer, but no one can know that it's root beer.
Speaker 2:There's no way. There's no way. Anyone knew it was root beer, not until we walked up and was like, hey, I want some root beer, but it was awesome, that's so good.
Speaker 3:What a great way to grab attention.
Speaker 2:That's so good. What a great way to grab attention. That's amazing. The electric scooter was the only way that we could transport it, so, like we were trying to figure out, we had like a cart. We're like, okay, we got to get this across campus. So then we just got the electric scooter and just walked alongside of it. It was great. But yeah, so a lot of outreach in the beginning Definitely focused pretty heavily on meeting people after mass, going to meet people in common spaces, and pretty quickly found some students that were very interested in living for the Lord, got them invited to our Bible studies and started discipleship groups and yeah, have been pretty consistently walking with the same group of guys since I got on campus. We've added a couple more, but it's pretty cool, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Give me a story of, like, one of the guys that you met and how you met them and now they're in your study, or something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, one guy was kind of an unusual case, I guess or maybe it is very usual Basically, our priest, our chaplain, Father Dennis, shout out he's the goat. He introduced me to a student that had asked to go to confession before mass and found out he was an incoming freshman. He'd taken a gap year, he wasn't from Memphis, so in a lot of ways, like I was one of the first people he was meeting there, so got to know him pretty well in the beginning and he was doing the or trying to do the fraternity thing and I think he had a really bad experience pretty early on and I was like the first person that he called where it was just like, hey, Jared, like this just happened. What do I do? Like I want to live a life for the Lord and like what does that mean? And so that was like one of the first tangible moments where I was able to give a gospel presentation and invite him into discipleship.
Speaker 2:And this kid is an absolute rock star. Like I absolutely love this kid. He started his own Bible study. Now he's trying to lead other guys. He's just an absolute stud.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. So that's some of the frontline work. I'm kind of curious like life of a missionary on campus when you're not with the students. Like what things are you doing now to like bring about fruit with the Lord? Like what's that look like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we pray every day, we go to mass every day, do a holy hour, a rosary every day, and I think we really just want to be rooted in the sacraments first and foremost. And, yeah, like a lot of it is really investing in our team as well, trying to strengthen those friendships and really just like us being co-laborers in the vineyard Right and like understanding this, this idea of we're in this for the same reasons. And yeah, like we, we spend a lot of time trying to invest in each other as well. We did like a team Bible study every week and just kind of went over scripture that we were praying with and I think like being able to see where other members of our team are coming from and apply that into our mission and I think like, interiorly, that was that was super big for me throughout the year just to see like where they were and what was working for them or what wasn't working for them.
Speaker 3:That's beautiful. You said you pray every day. Can you take us behind the scenes Like what's's that?
Speaker 2:like it's at times very, very interesting and at other times extremely mundane. I think that if I've learned anything about like praying consistently this year, it's just that there's ebbs and flows. There's times where I feel very, very intensely close to the Lord. Right before Lent this year, I was praying a lot with images of the crucifixion and specifically very brutal depictions of images of the crucifixion. I had bought some crucifixion nails and was just praying with them and I think those, those were pretty hardcore. Well, I can't take the credit. My team director, max, definitely recommended that and I took him on it and it was amazing, I think, just being able to really intensely feel for our Lord in that moment. That was really cool. And then, yeah, there's been times where it's like, lord, I have no idea what you want to tell me today, but I'm here, I'm here to receive and whatever you want from me at this moment, like I'm here to listen, and so, yeah, I think there's the both end there. If that makes sense, I love that.
Speaker 3:Do you guys pray like intercessory as a team?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Uh, actually I've got kind of a funny story. We did like an outreach, uh for intercessory prayer. Uh, it was called puppy pets Prayer Requests, which I also stole from my buddy Weston, and he, like, we were out on campus with my dog and so we would have like students come in and they would come and pet the dog, and then we'd be like, hey, like how can we pray for you? And they would write stuff down on like a sticky note we had like a box, and so we would come back to the chapel and then just pray all of these prayers for all of these people, and so that was just like a highlight for intercessory prayer for the year.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, one of my favorite ways. When I was hanging out with Jared last night, I was talking about some of the things that we did when I was a focus mission. He's like, oh yeah, man, that's like the old focus, that's like the old focus, that's like the old focus. It made me feel great about everything. So we were discussing it. But, as you were saying that, what we did as a team, we called it the power hour. I don't know if you guys still, if you've heard of that or do those, but we would take a rosary, we would take a DMC, any type of prayers like that and we would like divine we would walk around dmc is divine university chapel yes, sorry, um and we would walk around the entire campus and we would like invite students to come with us.
Speaker 1:So we would get like groups of like at ou. We would get like 60 people to like walk around campus praying the rosary and you can imagine like it is a presence when that's happening, like everyone hears it, who's like within earshot and because it's like out loud and everything. Um and Emporia, we had the same thing. We never we didn't have as many students as OU did but I always loved that because it was a moment. People would come up and even ask, like what are you doing? We're like we're praying for you, uh, and for the students and all that. So it was really fun.
Speaker 3:It's really interesting, like I mean, I love the power hour thing. Maybe you don't call it power, but have like as a team. Do you pray intercessory for them?
Speaker 2:Yeah For the campus. Yeah, we uh before our rosary every day. Uh, we offer up intentions and uh, yeah, those are great too. We talk about our students, we talk about our team, our campus ministry staff, uh, our mission partners.
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, it's it's pretty great With, without using a name, like could you invite us into like what one of those, like what some of the intercessory prayer intentions look like for certain students, Like if you could kind of picture a student in your mind and like share what you guys have prayed for for this person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I actually had a student that was pretty involved in my Bible study early in the fall semester and was very into the fraternity culture but was coming to Bible study, which I was very impressed by, had this cultural Catholicism attached to him in a way and wanted to learn more.
Speaker 2:The sad reality is, at times you hear different things about different students and I was very much concerned of the lifestyle that he was living outside of Bible study, and so that was one of the prayers that I was able to offer up before our rosary, like please deliver this man. And yeah, I think there's a lot of opportunities for that kind of prayer throughout the year. And I think, even as a team, like outside of our like rosary interactions, like when we see these kind of prayer throughout the year, and I think, even as a team, like outside of our like rosary interactions, like when we see these kinds of things, like we're texting not just our team but other missionaries, like, hey, please pray for this guy. Uh, he's really struggling with his faith and he needs to to be brought back to the Lord, and so I think there's a lot of times, um, that we get really cool opportunities to do that as an apostolate.
Speaker 3:When Jesus in the scriptures says when you ask anything of me, you know I'll grant it to you. Like I'm convinced, like these types of prayers asked in Jesus name are the ones that we can know are aligned with his will and he will answer. And I think, like as believers, whether we're formally a missionary or not, like if we really believe Jesus is who he says he is, we should ask these specific things about the people we care about in our life, the things that we see, because we might be the only ones able to see and ask. Thank you for sharing that. I'm sure there's a lot of others. I was kind of tearing up a little bit cause the first time. So my a little bit about my story, my just short, my exposure to focus and missionary life is my, my wife. I was praying to like have good Christian men put in my life and like live the good life as God would desire, but really didn't know what I needed. And my wife got caught up in focus her last year at OSU as a student.
Speaker 1:Got caught up Like it's a gang, no, like caught up in the beauty of it like just sucked into the wonderfulness.
Speaker 3:And, yeah, like caught up into the mystery, the beauty of Christian community. It was the first time I saw Christian community, like lived out, well, and so, like, I download the Focus Equip app. I'm living in a different city and I'm like going through the crux, as she's going through it, which is a gospel proclamation study. If you did CCO here, it's very similar to Discovery, you know walk through Prodigal Son story, all those things, right. Well, so I'm seeing it happen, live there. And then I meet some missionaries at OU. I was encouraged to do that and one of them, stephen, invited me to go to a power hour and so, like, I'd read the leader's guide of the crux and listen to my wife and I witnessed this power hour and I got it. After the power hour I was like I know what they're doing, I know how they're sold out, because I heard like 30 prayer requests like that, where it was like she's girl missionaries mentioning this girl by name, mentioning this, this or relationship with her mother and the things that this girl's carrying and is like praying for Jesus to be, to come into her heart there, right. And so these were like just so like you could have told me what authentic friendship is. But I got to see it. I was like that's how a friend prays for a friend. You know that's how a missionary prays for someone they're leading. And it was just like you didn't need to tell me anything more about mission.
Speaker 3:Like I got that hour of hearing that the heart of the sold out missionary pray for the people they love and the people they want to introduce to the person who they love the most Jesus.
Speaker 3:And it was just so convicting and that's something that's like come with me and like I'll be honest and like to admit, like to confess out loud before everyone sometimes I forget to pray that way Like I'll have whole seasons where I'm caught up in life and I'm trying to control things or whatever, and I'm coming to prayer but like man, those are the prayers the Lord loves. You know like that's where his heart is and you know like that's where his heart is and so I just want to encourage listeners like we don't need to be a missionary to pray that way. You know we don't need to be a full-time missionary to pray that way and like if we pray about our kids that way, we even have authority over them. So how much more powerful. But like there's people and things, we see that we might want to gossip about or we might want to fix Bring that to the Lord in a very specific way and like ask for him to work miracles in their people's lives.
Speaker 1:What have been the greatest rewards for uh, for you personally of just being on mission and saying yes to this sacrificial lifestyle?
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, fulfillment is is the first word that that comes to mind. For me, yeah, I think taking a big risk to go and be a missionary and seeing my yes change some of these kids' lives in ways that I never really knew that it could and obviously not me, the Lord, right but getting to just kind of sit front row and watch the Lord like work on these kids' hearts, has been an absolute grace. I think that's the first thing that comes to mind, and I think that's the first thing that comes to mind watching them get it, watching the metaphorical lights come on in their head or it's like, oh to like, oh, I need to pray, like every day and I need to go to mass, and some of these things, and I think that's been really, really cool.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. I love hearing all of those things. Can you share a story of like where it just didn't seem like something was going to happen, like it didn't seem. It didn't seem like the Lord was there or moving or making something happen, or where there was just a moment where there was where you had to persevere, and then you know grace floods later on, or something like that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, or something like that. Yeah, I think I have a lot of examples of that, but there's one student in particular that comes to mind of asked him into discipleship. He said no.
Speaker 1:What does that mean?
Speaker 2:Asked him into discipleship. Uh, he said no, what does that mean? Um discipleship really quickly?
Speaker 1:yeah uh well, specifically commissioned discipleship.
Speaker 2:Um, so what does that mean? Asked him. Yeah, uh, commissioned discipleship would be, uh, equipping leaders to lead right. Right, I'm a missionary, but I'm making another missionary in commissioned discipleship, in a very real way, or the Lord is asking them to embrace their call to be missionary.
Speaker 3:Can I restate that in a way from the vision of the disciple? Say that again. Can I restate that in a way of the vision of the disciple, to make sure I'm understanding it. So if I'm the kid you're asking into commissioned discipleship, I might have already like, agreed and assented that, like I am putting Jesus at the center of my life and I'm making him the priority. Yes, and now I'm moving to realize, like Jesus had a mandate, he had a mission. Yeah, and you're helping me understand. Right, I'm a critical part of the mission of the church. I'm a critical part of the mission of the church, right? Is that? Like the movement you're walking this? Yes, okay, a hundred percent.
Speaker 2:And so, yeah, we, we kind of asked the question, after a certain point in discipleship of yeah, is this, you've been given all that I can give you. The Lord has has equipped you in this way, and what do you want to do with it? Do you want to put it in action? Or yeah, I mean, what does this look like for you to put it in action? And so he said no, said no, what?
Speaker 2:was that like I was pretty crushed.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to lie.
Speaker 2:I think I had a lot of high hopes and expectations and all the things, and I mean when you love someone and you know who they are and how they are and you can get very excited about some of these things.
Speaker 2:And so, yeah, initially very hurt, very like man like this would be so good for you. But I think what's been really cool is I've watched him make Christ the center of his life and live mission in a different way and, although it's not the way that I had pictured for him, he is bringing other students around the Catholic Center and he is being kind of a mover and a shaker within our community. And I think watching that growth and him take that seriously and hearing him speak about his faith boldly to all of his peers, that has been extremely encouraging to me of like yeah, I didn't get the yes that I wanted, but in a very real way, like he is bringing people to the Lord, which is really good and that's amazing, like and I focus missionaries or at least in my day, we're trained to say like, I mean not everybody's called to be exactly, you know, commissioned disciple, with focus especially.
Speaker 1:but there's other ways to to live on mission and I think that you realize that in a really even bigger way when you leave campus. You know, like when you're thrust into the big bad world and you know, and and into parish life, which a lot of times can be like kind of a brutal awakening for students who've lived in the, in the beautiful hot tub of their catholic center where everybody's got way more free time and they're hanging out and all of that stuff. So I think that's a beautiful way that he's like something was planted there, obviously and moved in his heart. He was like well, I got to because he wasn't doing that before.
Speaker 2:No, definitely not.
Speaker 1:No, he wasn't, but so there's definitely not. No, he wasn't, but so there's. And the Lord yeah, the Lord just works, and I think that's the cool part about it. He said no to you and you were like dang, who am I? You probably had a brief like am I good at being a missionary? And all of those feelings. But the Lord had a plan which is just so peaceful about like getting after it in mission right Of just like. He said no, today, we'll see what happens tomorrow. You know, it's just kind of funny that way. Like as long as you're faithful to where the Lord is calling you, like you just don't like there's no promises of exactly how it's going to get used. So I love that yeah, yeah, the.
Speaker 2:The temptation there can can always be like, oh, I just need to insert myself into this situation and make it better, and I think that's one thing I've learned a lot this year is just yeah, how, how do I just surrender? How do I, like, give this completely to the Lord and how do I give myself completely to the Lord? Uh, it's been, it's been definitely a learning experience all the way through.
Speaker 3:Is there anything that, across this year, you've felt like you've had to shed, or that the Lord's pruned you pruned of you? You know, speaking of surrender like? Is there any practical example you're willing to share?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I would say in a lot of ways, who walked onto campus in August and who's sitting here right now are two completely different people Obviously a same love for the Lord. But yeah, I think there's so many things from the way I communicated with people on my team, but even just people in regular life, my family, my friends, things like that you don't even notice how sometimes you're coming off and I think, like living a life with my team and in prayer, I've been able to just kind of see in ways that I wasn't trusting of the Lord, of people around me, of people around me, and it was almost subliminal, right, it's like I don't even know that I'm doing this. And so there were a lot of ways that my communication was really bad and has gotten so much better. There were a lot of ways that no go ahead Better.
Speaker 1:How many unread text messages are on your phone right now? I got them, mine too. I got them A lot. No, go ahead. How many unread text messages are on your?
Speaker 2:phone right now. I got them, I got them.
Speaker 3:A lot, I think he's describing about his tonality of communication.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know exactly what he's talking about. Not how perfectly executing he is on, but I couldn't help it. This is just. I don't understand how people could do that. It's 763, which is amazing Wow.
Speaker 2:Is that years? I mean I give back with people he does.
Speaker 1:He's great at communicating and texting with me. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Keep going, brother. No, no, you're good. Yeah, yeah, keep going brother.
Speaker 2:No, no, you're good, yeah. Yeah, there's been a lot with just how I communicate and, I think, even just ways in which I enter into relationship friendships with my team, friendships with students. What is that looking like? Am I seeking their validation in these conversations or am I seeking the Lord's validation? And I think, coming to that conclusion and getting to a point where it's like, yeah, I am very broken and I need the Lord in all of these ways, that has been the most transformative, I think, part Taking my ego, my thoughts, what I think should be happening, and casting it to the side and saying, lord, your will be done in this. I'm going to be obedient and I'm going to do what you're telling me to do. I'm gonna do what my superiors are telling me to do and I think, like that aspect of of building as a team and and bringing those things to prayer and and really having to wrestle around with it and spiritual direction, some of those things that's been where I've seen the most change in my life.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's beautiful. It's just crazy how much mission changes you Like. You set out to serve others and the Lord ends up encountering you in a whole nother way. And I think that's one of my favorite parts of just like you set out to do one thing and the Lord does another thing within you and within your heart.
Speaker 3:It's interesting that you mentioned that, just like with a handful of conversations I have with people that I love, and introspecting on my own life, if in your faith you're like not engaged in the mission, like you're not proclaiming the gospel, you're not serving others or leading others in a spiritual sense, and you feel stuck in your faith, it probably makes sense.
Speaker 3:You know, like cause, like holiness and mission are like two sides of the same coin and they really reinforce each other.
Speaker 3:And so, like I mean, take it to the Lord, of course, um cause, like just outward activity alone isn't, isn't the solution to things, but like if, if your prayer life is good and you're doing the things as a wonderful catholic and you feel like there's something that you haven't gone to, taking a few steps in the little way of evangelization, like who are the people in my life the lord's calling me to, and like courageously going that way, not like drastically changing your whole life, even that will start. I think you'll get unstuck, and I'm speaking from experience, I'm speaking from watching other people do it. I think you'll get unstuck, and I'm speaking from experience, I'm speaking from watching other people do it, because then the parts of holiness you needed more on will grow, but then also you'll start to breathe, and what I mean by that is like prayer is like the spiritual air of breath in, so holiness is like the breath in and like mission is like the breath out.
Speaker 3:And so like if you never breathe out like your body, you're going to die Like the same thing, with never breathing in, and so they go together and I don't know. I would just encourage that. But I love what you said about obedience too, kind of similar Like not always have a superior all the time in every area of life, but if we're obedient to our responsibilities too, that will help bring about a beautiful holiness and more fruit and mission actually, which is kind of cool.
Speaker 2:So I love that you mentioned obedience, yeah, and like something, even as you say that that just kind of sparks back to like what I was saying about the student that I was talking to earlier is this idea of putting your faith into action. It is what has propelled the growth within me in a very real way. Where you are being called to embrace the hard parts of mission, you will be rejected at the name of Jesus Christ and that's going to hurt and like there's so many things in mission that hurt and it's like I'm not running away from these things, like I'm actually being transformed by these things, like I'm actually being transformed by these things and so taking those, those initial steps and not being afraid of anything, the Lord is with us and I think, yeah, like taking those steps specifically and and being willing to put yourself out there and to be rejected for the Lord, it's a beautiful thing and it's a transformative thing.
Speaker 3:Speaking of steps, I know we're probably near time. I'm curious, do you, the three of us? It'd be interesting just to rapid fire for our listeners, like taking the next step right, like, is there a?
Speaker 1:way that you would advise. That was exactly the question I was gonna ask Jared, actually of like, if there was one practical that you've picked up this year on mission that you feel like would be the most universally applicable to somebody just sitting in a pew who's kind of on the sidelines wanting to get in the game, what would you advise them to do?
Speaker 2:Well, firstly, if you're in Oklahoma City, reach out to Jace Palmer, that's really nice, Jared.
Speaker 3:Now give him the real one, but for real. There is a phone number in the show notes. If you don't have Jace's number, you might and this moved you, you might text the show notes and we'll help do something with that it might not be Jace, but it could be someone.
Speaker 2:Well, and exactly like what we did with Zeal, Like specifically here in Oklahoma City, like if you don't know what Zeal is like, look into Zeal and get involved in your parish. That way, there are people that want to pour into you and that want to help you with your walk towards Christ.
Speaker 1:So finding mentorship? Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, universally. Find someone at your local parish. I think even just like being willing to make friends, like when we think of how the disciples lived in Acts right, like it's very much just going into people's homes, sharing meals together and like living life together. Sharing meals together and like living life together. And so you can't expect to have good Catholic community and grow in your faith if you're by yourself. And so many times I see in young men they're scrolling on Instagram all day and it's like, oh, cool Catholic stuff, I love this.
Speaker 2:You have to put that into action and how that starts is, as you're at your parish for Sunday Mass, who's that guy who's sat next to you for the last three months that you have no idea what his name is. Go up and ask him what his name is. Hey, do you want to go get lunch? And start that way. Like there's so many people in the parishes right now that are just unreached, they're not being talked to. It's like I'm going to go to mass on Sunday and then I'm going to leave. It's we have to break that mold, and the way to break that mold is to reach out and to try to live that communal life. Invite people into your home, share a meal, pray together, hit a holy hour together. Uh, and I think, just through that aspect of the faith, you're going to find people that are living out their faith, maybe better than you are, and cling to them. You know, uh, if you find people that are holier than you, I want what you have.
Speaker 1:How can I?
Speaker 3:Uh if you find people that are holier than you, I want what?
Speaker 2:you have? How can I um? But yeah, I think, I think that's a. That's a great place to start.
Speaker 3:I feel like you summarize what. What's the scripture? In those days, they devoted themselves to the breaking of the order.
Speaker 1:Breaking of the bread, the fellowship, the teachings of the apostles and prayer, right, two, two, 42.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, this has been Red Dirt Catholics. Jared, thank you so much for being here. We'll have you on again. You're a great guest. I'm Jace. I'm James.
Speaker 3:I'm Jared. See you next time. Hey, we stuck with the J's, thank you.