Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the DeBucharistic Revival Podcast.
Speaker: That's the name we're going with.
Speaker: My name is Father Jacob Rouse, and I'm the pastor of Notre Dame Parish in Cresco, Iowa.
Speaker: And this is our final episode of the DeBucharistic Revival Podcast.
Speaker: Aw, final episode.
Speaker: uh i'm glad to be here with you samwise gamgee here at the end of all things good lord of the rings yeah thank you this is my beloved mr frodo no i'm just kidding i do remember strawberries this is my beloved co-host and friend father kevin father kevin can you introduce to our tens of listeners uh where you are at as a priest hello i am father kevin earlywein
Speaker: who has joyfully been a part of this journey of the Debuchadnezzar Revival podcast and co-hosting this.
Speaker: I am pastor of St.
Speaker: Patrick's in Hampton and St.
Speaker: Mary's in Ackley.
Speaker: And a bittersweet episode.
Speaker: It's been a fun ride, but here we are in the final one and here to reflect on how the journey's been from a year ago till now.
Speaker: Yes, it has actually been just about a year.
Speaker: Our intention with this final episode, this is the 21st episode technically.
Speaker: And we want to just kind of review the different guests and categories that we've had of podcast episodes.
Speaker: And Father Kevin, which guests that we've had do you like the most?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I have loved most all of our guests.
Speaker: That's a great answer.
Speaker: Or you could say yourself because you did the Holy Grail episode.
Speaker: Anyway.
Speaker: I actually didn't like that guest very much.
Speaker: You didn't like that guest?
Speaker: Well, take a look at him a lot.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Let's get down to it.
Speaker: First of all, how the heck did this whole thing come about?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So why are we doing a podcast?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So hearkening back to our very first episode, uh, for those who remember from a year ago, um,
Speaker: kind of talked about why we're redoing this.
Speaker: And so it's been part of this effort of Eucharistic revival in the Church of the United States, particularly trying to kind of connect it here at home in the Archdiocese and help people to reflect on the Eucharist, different facets.
Speaker: So that kind of led to this idea of one way to do this is to do this podcast with
Speaker: Not just to talk about the Eucharist in general, but particularly to talk to people within the Archdiocese, who are part of our local church in the Archdiocese, about different things going on.
Speaker: And so we kind of had kind of three different categories we talked about.
Speaker: We had
Speaker: some uh one we had some episodes that were like testimonies and conversion stories about people kind of having a deepening conversion experience whether to catholicism or to the eucharist uh and then secondly we had different catechetical topics teaching themes uh around a whole bunch of different facets or topics that were kind of teaching about the eucharist and then thirdly we just talked about either different
Speaker: efforts or movements or events or happenings that are kind of Eucharistic centered that have been happening in primarily around the archdiocese, but also touching on events such as the Eucharistic, National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and National Eucharistic Congress that happened a couple of months ago.
Speaker: So we kind of have those three different categories of events and episodes and
Speaker: I thought we'd reflect on kind of each of those categories of episodes and what's all happened and some of the nuggets and reflections as we review the year.
Speaker: Yes, I agree.
Speaker: However, that first episode, though, it was you, myself, and Father Greg Ball.
Speaker: And we were just trying it out.
Speaker: I think it was 30 minutes, and I titled it Beginnings.
Speaker: And, well, actually, in the discussion leading up to it, we're like, what do we call this thing?
Speaker: The Dubuque Eucharistic...
Speaker: revival podcast and we're trying to play with different names and then finally greg father greg goes how about the debucharistic podcast no that's stupid let's not you that and every single person i asked they said you absolutely have to make that and that is what we've done with thank you to the genius though he wouldn't say it was genius but the genius of father greg ball this has been the debucharistic revival podcast that's where the name came from all credit to our director of
Speaker: Worship and liturgy in the Archdiocese.
Speaker: We are so thankful.
Speaker: The thing that stands out most from that episode is how we all, three of us, stumbled on the image of the mountain of how we're all... That's right.
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: Journeying and playing and journeying up towards the source and summit, which is the Eucharist.
Speaker: And we can all find ourselves at different paths around the mountain, but we're all on the same mountain, all journeying towards the same peak.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The summit.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The same summit.
Speaker: The source and summit, right, was the imagery.
Speaker: And that was an imagery of the Eucharist we kind of played with.
Speaker: And I remember we occurred across a few different episodes, kind of talking about the idea of the Eucharist as source and summit as like, yeah, this journeying up the mountain to the summit.
Speaker: So the Eucharist is both, yeah, the summit we're trying to get to, but also the source that gives us strength as we journey.
Speaker: So source and summit and journeying and playing upon the mountain.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So our testimony slash conversion stories, episode two called Encounter with Matt Selby.
Speaker: We interviewed him and just sort of his story.
Speaker: What stands out to you about that episode?
Speaker: Yeah, first of all, I just loved our episodes that were like kind of testimony conversion stories because just, I don't know, I'm always moved when you hear about people becoming convicted about the truths of the faith and their kind of their journeys and a lot of that is
Speaker: dispelling misconceptions so one thing that struck me about uh matt selby and also this kind of touches on actually the another one we did down to earth with keith nester episode number eight um both of them kind of talked about they were both stories of them converting from protestantism to to catholicism and both pretty active in their in their own protestant faiths before they converted and
Speaker: And I just remember for both of those, there being a theme of kind of a lot of dispelling of misconceptions, you know, like in, there was just a lot of misconceptions about what Catholics think and believe in general and about the Eucharist and various things.
Speaker: And part of their conversion story was, was kind of being dispelled, disillusioned of like, here's what I thought Catholics think and believe.
Speaker: And then I delve into it and either find out, oh, there's biblical reasons for this.
Speaker: So why do I believe something different?
Speaker: And or like this is how I thought of Catholics.
Speaker: But then as I look into it, it's like, oh, you know, that that's not that's not what I understood it to be.
Speaker: So there's something that struck me is just the yeah, I think.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Just the dispelling of misconceptions.
Speaker: So how about you?
Speaker: What struck you from either Matt Selby or Keith Nestor's episodes?
Speaker: Yeah, I like that.
Speaker: The misconception idea that that our whole goal with evangelization and education and conversion is not to prove why a certain group of people are wrong, but rather show what we have and what we truly believe.
Speaker: I think that's a much more.
Speaker: light way to do it, of shedding light on what is here rather than trying to cast darkness on someone else.
Speaker: And both through scriptures, through people, through prayer experiences, they both came to understand, learn intellectually and their heart as well.
Speaker: We had another conversion story.
Speaker: My good old dad, Deacon Dan.
Speaker: Deacon Dan Ranks.
Speaker: That episode was called Full Circle and it was number nine.
Speaker: And it's a story that I had heard many times growing up and it just grew.
Speaker: It was always in the background of my mind.
Speaker: And it was really cool to have it presented in that way.
Speaker: Formally in a podcast, there was some things and names that I had never heard before.
Speaker: And that was a big thing that stood out for me in his story is that so many people
Speaker: humans that God worked through along his path to lead him to the truth and devotion and love of the Eucharist.
Speaker: So it causes me to reflect back and like, I'm just one guy.
Speaker: I'm just a priest, you know, I'm doing my thing.
Speaker: You have no idea if you're open to the Holy Spirit, you have no idea how influential you could be in someone's life leading to their conversion and their
Speaker: fullness of life later.
Speaker: So I think we all have a part to play in each other's stories, which is true.
Speaker: The witness and accompaniment, you know?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And so I think that is an important part of we're talking about Eucharistic revival.
Speaker: You know, it's a good reminder that part of this revival, I mean, it begins with just us ourselves being converted.
Speaker: And so being and then sometimes unintentionally, but being witnesses, right?
Speaker: we're part of this thing and the people are coming in life and we're just trying to live our faith.
Speaker: And yeah, that has unseen impacts, right?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I've, I've known your dad for some years, but that was the first time I had forgotten if I had been told, I didn't, that he didn't grow up Catholic.
Speaker: And, you know, I just knew him as, as, you know, Dan Rouse and now Deacon Dan and he's very passionate about faith and organizer of men's conferences and stuff.
Speaker: But,
Speaker: Yeah, so it was neat to hear the fuller story behind all of that.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And then episode six, Passionately Catholic, featuring Anthony Digman.
Speaker: That was cool, too.
Speaker: He gave a very... He's a very passionate person.
Speaker: He is very passionate and excited.
Speaker: It's a very fitting title.
Speaker: If you go back and listen to that, you don't need to have your coffee for the day.
Speaker: His was more of an intellectual approach.
Speaker: Because if I remember correctly, he did grow up Catholic.
Speaker: And then in time for his conversion, or sorry, his confirmation...
Speaker: he decided, I really want to know what this is I'm getting into and just continue to start to test and learn.
Speaker: And so I think it highlights the discipline of study.
Speaker: It's not that we as humans need to know everything, but it is a very good and praiseworthy activity to spend time intellectually diving into what all of our faith has to offer as well.
Speaker: Yeah, the conversion journey.
Speaker: Actually, I was just talking to someone recently about this, about just our own spiritual journey, maturity, our ongoing process of conversion.
Speaker: There's different aspects to who we are.
Speaker: And so there's different aspects of the conversion, right?
Speaker: There's the, you know, sometimes the more, the deeper kind of emotional stuff of the heart.
Speaker: But then there's also the intellectual stuff.
Speaker: And Anthony Digman really led with his head in some ways.
Speaker: So it was both kind of, you know, that's where it was kind of a,
Speaker: It's both kind of a testimony and conversion story, but also kind of a teaching catechesis.
Speaker: What I liked about it is he presented a lot of evidence for the Eucharist kind of on the intellectual level.
Speaker: And the two that I particularly remember that struck me was
Speaker: he talks about some of the typology, as we call it, of the Bible.
Speaker: So the ways that different images, scenes, themes of the Old Testament foreshadow, prepare for, lead to things fulfilled in Christ.
Speaker: So particularly the Eucharist, how there's all sorts of foreshadowings, hints, kind of preparing for the establishment of the Eucharist.
Speaker: So you realize just how deeply biblical the whole idea of the Eucharist is, everything we believe about it is.
Speaker: So like the manna from heaven, you know, the,
Speaker: the showbread in the temple are all foreshadowings, typology of the Eucharist, you know, which then Jesus takes up in John chapter six.
Speaker: And then the other thing was then the scientific evidence through Eucharistic miracles.
Speaker: And he specifically talked about one from, oh, I don't remember what country it was in, some South American country, but in the 1990s and just kind of all the scientific scrutiny the Eucharistic miracle underwent.
Speaker: So for listeners, a reminder, Eucharistic miracles, when the,
Speaker: The host or the precious blood that appears to us as unleavened bread and wine sort of supernaturally miraculously manifests as physical flesh and blood.
Speaker: And then they've analyzed it and it's living heart tissue and stuff that speaks to that.
Speaker: So anyway, so just the fact that there's, I don't know, sometimes it's easy for us to think of just, well, this is just this thing we have to believe, but we don't always think about that there is actually evidence for what we believe as Catholics and specifically even around the Eucharist, right?
Speaker: Because I think often we think of the lack of evidence.
Speaker: Well, you know, it looks like bread and wine to me, so it must be bread and wine.
Speaker: You know, I apply my senses and physically it appears as bread and wine.
Speaker: So it seems like a scientific approach, but that there's other things that give evidence to
Speaker: biblically and then Eucharistic miracles that give evidence to the reality of what we believe so that was something that really struck me for for Anthony's um and as as I said it's both kind of his conversion but also a teaching which maybe is a good segue into our next category of episodes we also had a lot of episodes on on catechesis or or kind of teaching about different themes around the Eucharist um and we had a number of those as well so um
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Our third episode called Liturgy.
Speaker: The creativity department took the day off that day.
Speaker: That episode was about the liturgy.
Speaker: That was with Anastasia Nicholas and Connor Miller.
Speaker: And they talked about their different roles in leading, planning, and guiding the faithful through the worship of the liturgy.
Speaker: One thing that stood out for me is...
Speaker: the definition of liturgy is the work of the people.
Speaker: That's literally what it translates to from the Greek.
Speaker: And that's how I've always taught it and said it.
Speaker: And then Anastasia added for the glory of God.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And that's a no brainer to me now.
Speaker: That's what I'll always say from now on.
Speaker: It's the work of the people for the glory of God.
Speaker: Cause otherwise it's just a bunch of work you get together.
Speaker: And yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, and in that episode, I remember we especially focused on, they're both musicians, so we talked a lot about music particularly, and how is music at the service of the Eucharistic mystery.
Speaker: And one thing that really struck me, I remember Connor talked about
Speaker: that they've done these studies that when when people sing together, their heartbeats actually sync up, go in sync.
Speaker: You know, they they start beating in the same rhythm when when people like a choir singing together.
Speaker: And so I remember being very struck by that or how we talked about that sort of how we're singing a sign of aligning our heartbeats, not with not only with each other, but with the heartbeat of God.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Which I mean, references a little back back to the episode with Anthony.
Speaker: how we talked about how Eucharistic miracles that have manifested show the host, the Eucharist has manifested as heart tissue.
Speaker: So there's sort of this deep connection between the heart of the sacred heart of Jesus and the Eucharist.
Speaker: And it's also very fitting that we celebrate those mysteries in the same month of June.
Speaker: In June, we celebrate Corpus Christi and the sacred heart of Jesus.
Speaker: You know, that June is sometimes called the month of the sacred heart.
Speaker: And there's something very intentional there.
Speaker: of connecting them.
Speaker: So anyways, just the whole idea that when we pray at mass, we are sinking our hearts, where we are allowing our hearts to beat in rhythm with the heart of Christ, with the heart of heaven, with the heart of God.
Speaker: And I just remember that being a really beautiful image from that particular episode that really struck me.
Speaker: Yeah, it is really beautiful.
Speaker: The use of music in general, if you've ever been to a concert, secular or religious or worship or any sort of music making community, you will very easily find that your passions are arisen.
Speaker: there is something transcendent about music itself, even just listening to it, a recording of something on Spotify in your headphones alone.
Speaker: Now multiply that with making it live with people and then being able to worship God through all of that.
Speaker: So music itself is very powerful.
Speaker: And I think that the fact that we can use it for God's glory shows his transcendence as well.
Speaker: And you're quite a musician yourself, aren't you, Father Jacob Rouse?
Speaker: I am.
Speaker: Yes, you were quite the trumpet player back in your day.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Before priesthood, my intention was to be a middle school or high school band director and play jazz on the side.
Speaker: So I've been able to play and keep up and praise God in my own way.
Speaker: God called you to divine jazz.
Speaker: I would say that, yeah, that's what homilies are, divine jazz.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: anyways the connections between jazz and spirituality isn't there a book about that i remember when i was in college there was this book it's kind of a popular christian book that was blue like jazz jazz yep and it was it was sort of a christian i never read it but i had friends who did anyways i remember something about it was him coming to appreciate jazz and that being a parallel to coming to appreciate the faith or something like that did you ever read that one no i didn't either so anyways
Speaker: Back to it.
Speaker: Speaking of jazz, motherhood is kind of like jazz, isn't it?
Speaker: Yeah, there's a lot of improvisation there too.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: That was a beautiful and tender episode number 10 with Cassie and Hannah.
Speaker: And it was just a really beautiful reflection on...
Speaker: their experience as mothers, as one of many, and yet still unique, their journey through marriage and raising children, and then how their life is mirrored or mirrors the life of our Blessed Mother as well.
Speaker: Yeah, just on a personal level, I really enjoyed that episode.
Speaker: Cassie and Hannah have been good friends of mine.
Speaker: We've known each other since freshman year of college, and so all of us have just kind of, you know, through the years of college, which we're
Speaker: major years of transformation and growth and conversion for me personally, and, you know, accompanying them through that and, and, and then accompanying me through that.
Speaker: And yeah, just as we've shared in life journeys and them onto marriage and now motherhood and me onto priesthood.
Speaker: It was just really neat to hear kind of the ways they were, especially knowing, you know, having shared a spiritual journey over the years and
Speaker: where they've come from and where they've been and that transitioning into motherhood and both the, the beautiful joys and the deep richness and theology of that, you know, Cassie talking about, I remember Cassie bringing up the, the pelican image of the image of the pelican is a symbol of the Eucharist that tears off.
Speaker: It's the, the legend of the pelican is that when a mother pelican can't find food, it will,
Speaker: tear flesh from its own breast to, uh, so feed with its own flesh and blood to feed its, its baby chicks or, uh, are baby pelicans called chicks, baby birds?
Speaker: I like that name.
Speaker: Pelican chicks.
Speaker: Uh, anyway, um, anyways, but just the deep connection of course, of like that bodily gift of self with motherhood and children, um, being really, really beautiful.
Speaker: It was so that deeply connected with the Eucharist, this idea of this is my body given up for you.
Speaker: This is my blood poured out for you and how that's,
Speaker: that reality is sort of kind of deeply felt in motherhood, obviously, very much from their flesh, you know, they're giving life to this child in multiple ways, you know, giving birth and nursing and, and then just the day to day, you know, the child sort of always clinging to you or climbing on you or whatever.
Speaker: And then you have to keep it alive, keep him or her alive.
Speaker: So both the beautiful reflections, but also then the honest, like, practical and the daily grind, some of the challenges, but how do we keep our mind on those
Speaker: Beautiful spiritual truths and kind of the day to day grind.
Speaker: So they both reflected very beautifully on that.
Speaker: Yeah, the the the joys, the pains and in between the ordinary of daily life.
Speaker: each one of our parents sacrificed and day in day out did things to get us to where we are now.
Speaker: And I think the same thing when I'm elevating the host or the chalice and saying, this is my body given up for you, which will be given up for you.
Speaker: Whether it's in the middle of the night and emergency at the hospital or, you know, moving myself to the office to answer some more emails, like, yeah,
Speaker: I am sacrificed.
Speaker: And that is truly where the cross is sacrifice.
Speaker: And that's God's love perfected is in self-sacrifice.
Speaker: And that's absolutely what motherhood is.
Speaker: And of course, we talked about the...
Speaker: funny from the outside horrifying from the inside uh experience of bringing children to mass and how we all on this on that call absolutely encourage it um even if it's not the prettiest thing it's a witness and it's a teaching moment bring your children to mass bring them to mass and we might say that what they shared in their spiritual journey of
Speaker: was perhaps in some form a conversion to the real.
Speaker: Maybe we wouldn't say that.
Speaker: That was just me trying to segue into the next episode we had.
Speaker: That was, in fact, episode 14 titled Converts to the Real.
Speaker: Good effort.
Speaker: Got to work on the segues.
Speaker: 21 episodes in.
Speaker: We'll get those segues down eventually.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Number 14, Converts to the Real featuring St.
Speaker: Edith Stein.
Speaker: And our guest was Dr. Travis Lacey.
Speaker: This was, I really liked this episode.
Speaker: It's like an hour and a half.
Speaker: Basically it's Dr. Travis Lacey sharing his love and devotion for the story of Edith Stein and the
Speaker: And I mean, we could recap the whole thing.
Speaker: Basically, she was a Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism.
Speaker: And because of her Jewish blood and heritage, she was her life ended in martyrdom in the
Speaker: one of the extermination camps in Auschwitz.
Speaker: And just her not only brilliant writings on the human person and phenomenology, but then also her incredible heart devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
Speaker: It ties back to our conversion section because no matter if you're a head person or a heart person or somewhere in between, it's
Speaker: There's room for everyone, and there's a spectrum of how people are drawn to Christ.
Speaker: And obviously hers was the philosophical transcendental principles and all those other big words.
Speaker: But it was beautiful to hear her story and how someone is so passionate about her.
Speaker: Remind me, Father Jacob and our listeners, I remember we talked about kind of the role, particularly the Eucharist,
Speaker: And I remember that it was somehow connected to this idea of conversion to the real, hence the title.
Speaker: But I don't remember.
Speaker: It's a little foggy in my head.
Speaker: I don't remember the specifics.
Speaker: But I remember there's something about how the Blessed Sacrament, I mean, it helps us engage reality or something like that.
Speaker: Wasn't there?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Because if I'm if I'm sitting here talking to well, right now we're on a video call.
Speaker: So I can see you and interact with you.
Speaker: But if I were to be in person with you, and then we were to engage in only small talk, or there's something about each each person has infinite unsearchable depths that we can interact with and get to know and we impress upon each other and we're changing each other.
Speaker: for the better, hopefully.
Speaker: And the image that was used is like a coin, like, or a stamp when you when you press, impress something into something, that thing is changed.
Speaker: And I can be changed by you for better or for worse.
Speaker: But then the goal is that we are impressed upon and changed by spending time with the most real person, which is Jesus Christ himself.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Does that refresh your memory?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I remember there w as a lot of philosophy in there.
Speaker: There was.
Speaker: But yeah, this idea of, yeah, that the presence of the most real person being impressed upon us.
Speaker: Very beautiful.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And Ida Stein is just an inspiring figure.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: But how the Eucharist was a part of that whole thing for her.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Great.
Speaker: So also, we had some teaching episodes that were a little more, we might say, artistic, you might say, on Eucharistic in film and literature.
Speaker: For our next two episodes, we did an episode 17 with Eucharistic in film with Father Scott Bullock, and episode 19 was with me, The Quest of the Holy Grail.
Speaker: So kind of speaking of a Eucharistic story in literature.
Speaker: So what were some things that struck you about any either of those episodes?
Speaker: Well, here I was trying to come up with a segue and I came up with some people might ask if films are real.
Speaker: Oh, sorry.
Speaker: Did I steal your segue?
Speaker: Yeah, you stole my segue, but it wasn't very good.
Speaker: Anyway, what we learned with Father Scott Bullock, well, now Bishop Bullock, Bishop of... Yes, now Bishop of Rabbit City, South Dakota.
Speaker: Yes, we witnessed his installation and his ordination.
Speaker: That was a pretty powerful event.
Speaker: He's always loved him and his brother grew up watching films together and he just started to fall in love with the art form and it truly is an art form and all art is all art is powerful.
Speaker: And sometimes it can be powerful in good ways and sometimes it can be powerful in negative ways but or the vehicle itself the film itself isn't.
Speaker: very powerful at all.
Speaker: But he talked about the ways that maybe a filmmaker or a director is Catholic or grew up Catholic.
Speaker: And sometimes that influences the choices they make artistically.
Speaker: Sometimes it might...
Speaker: change what subject matter they choose to film on.
Speaker: So it's not just a movie about Jesus.
Speaker: It's, there can be Catholic themes and Eucharistic themes, even in a very secular setting or timeframe.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I would say, Father Jacob Rouse, you have helped me to, in my, in our friendship and in our journey, you have helped me appreciate the art form of
Speaker: film more deeply so well thank you yeah you're welcome uh yeah film is something that i i also uh really like to spend a lot of time on as well yes yeah and i remember one particular film we talked about was bob et's feast correct and we talked about that in the episode and uh
Speaker: Yeah, kind of this image of this feast and the conversion process as part of it that drew these disparate people together in communion.
Speaker: And I remember that those being, you know, very interesting things kind of tied in the story.
Speaker: Yeah, that's a 1980s foreign film.
Speaker: And the only mention of Jesus might be in one of the hymns that one of the scenes has when the stuffy Puritans are singing hymns.
Speaker: But the whole thing is about a foreigner, a woman from another country, making a feast and bringing people together and
Speaker: And some of the things that she chews, like I think she's from France.
Speaker: And like she has turtles and the people in this little town are not used to eating turtle.
Speaker: And they're very, very startled by it.
Speaker: But then the fact that she puts out all the dishes and all the napkins and lights the candles and has a big feast for them.
Speaker: And it's pure gift.
Speaker: I mean, yeah, you can't help but your mind be drawn to the Eucharist in that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So things like that.
Speaker: Things like that.
Speaker: Yeah, things like that.
Speaker: Other stories like the quest of the Holy Grail.
Speaker: The quest of the Holy Grail.
Speaker: Episode 19 with our very own Father Kevin Earlywine.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So let's start off with...
Speaker: Go ahead.
Speaker: Oh, the title itself, I remember when I was uploading it and making the title, I said, is it the quest for the Holy Grail or is it the quest of the Holy Grail?
Speaker: And we both agreed that that wording is very important.
Speaker: And we went with the quest of the Holy Grail.
Speaker: Can you shed a little light onto why it's of and not for?
Speaker: Well, a very practical reason is...
Speaker: uh, the book I have that is about the Holy grail is, uh, that's its title is the quest of the Holy grail.
Speaker: So that's a very practical reason.
Speaker: But also I think we talked about that.
Speaker: It's, um, the importance of, it's not just us questing for something like the Holy grail is not merely something to be achieved, but it's, it's the thing that will win throughout the whole story.
Speaker: You might say it is the, it's the journey itself, you know?
Speaker: So it's the, um,
Speaker: the quest that is of the Holy Grails of the Holy Grails shape.
Speaker: Sort of, well, kind of the sorts and summit idea, right?
Speaker: It's the,
Speaker: we're talking about the Holy Grail is a Eucharistic symbol, right?
Speaker: It's it's the source and summit.
Speaker: It's the thing.
Speaker: So it's not merely the thing we're questing for, but it's also the thing that inspires the quest.
Speaker: It's the thing that strengthens us for the quest itself.
Speaker: And then is the summit of the quest.
Speaker: So it's, it's more deeply woven into the whole thing.
Speaker: And it's not merely about us achieving the thing, but it's, it's how it, I mean, how, how the Eucharist shaped our whole journey kind of.
Speaker: So.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: Is that, is that?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: That's marvelous.
Speaker: Because if it was the quest for the Holy Grail, either you get it or you don't get it.
Speaker: And obviously some of the, some of the characters in the story, they did not achieve being able to either see or hold or touch or even get to the Holy Grail.
Speaker: And yet, yet we still have stories about them and they are still,
Speaker: integral parts of the story, even though they never actually achieved what they set out to do.
Speaker: And I think that's a great lesson for us, not only as imperfect humans who are going through life and, you know, messing things up, succeeding some places and failing in others.
Speaker: Our quest is holiness and unity with Jesus.
Speaker: And that's going to be in each person has their own unique adventure.
Speaker: And then, of course, you I was greatly affected by it, too, because I
Speaker: the final question I asked was, is the grail actually real?
Speaker: Is the chalice that Jesus used, is it somewhere?
Speaker: And I think you said that there is one that might be it, but the main takeaway is that every single week, every seven day week is our own quest of the Holy Grail because it's leading up to Sunday when we get to partake in the Eucharist.
Speaker: So right now, whenever, what day of the week you're listening to this, you are on your own quest.
Speaker: to finish and then start the week off with unity with Jesus in the Eucharist.
Speaker: The source and summit.
Speaker: We're flowing into our week from the source that is our own Holy Grail, that is the Eucharist, and moving towards drawing all that together to the summit that is next Sunday's Eucharist.
Speaker: So it's the cycle of our life.
Speaker: Every day is a great quest.
Speaker: Every day is a great quest.
Speaker: You know, it's dangerous business going out your front door.
Speaker: Yeah, you never know where you're... Wait, how does that go?
Speaker: Oh, yeah.
Speaker: that's the Lord of the Rings or a Hobbit quote.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So, yes.
Speaker: And then when you get to, how's this for a segue?
Speaker: When you do get to your quest and you go to mass, you will hear preaching.
Speaker: That's a lame segue.
Speaker: But our next episode, 18, that we talk about called preach, even though it actually came out before the Holy grail, but that was with Mary Peterson talking about preaching the Eucharistic, preaching the Eucharistic or Bible.
Speaker: So how do we, so we're trying to, you know,
Speaker: put some some flesh on some of these things we talked about these beautiful ideas but then practically just how do we how is that done and how do we do some of that so what were the three what were the three kind of headlines that she gave us yeah i remember mary mary talked about uh preach the kerygma identify his real presence and lead to the eucharist father kevin what's the kerygma
Speaker: The kerygma is the gospel, basically the core message of the gospel.
Speaker: That is that essentially that we are sinners and the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus saves us from sin and death and brings it makes us holy and leads us to eternal life.
Speaker: I think we could summarize the kerygma.
Speaker: Yeah, there's different ways to sort of articulate the krigma, but that's what it is, is what is the core message of gospel.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: And what was the next one?
Speaker: Identify his real presence.
Speaker: I think this can be done.
Speaker: And obviously, one of the things we covered in this episode is that
Speaker: Your priest is going to formally preach a homily to you or at you in some cases on the weekend.
Speaker: However, you are called as baptized priest, prophet, and king.
Speaker: Each one of us is called to preach with our lives.
Speaker: And this is how we can, we can preach the kerygma that, Hey, I was lost.
Speaker: Now I'm found and draw the,
Speaker: always draw your attention to Jesus.
Speaker: So identify the real presence.
Speaker: This can be done when I'm talking or in a counseling situation with, or even a friend, I don't try to solve their problems.
Speaker: I say, well, where is Jesus in this?
Speaker: Or how is God loving you in this?
Speaker: Even if it's a very terrible situation, because
Speaker: if we're looking for where Jesus is, what is he doing, and how is he loving us, then I think we're going to have a much more broader perspective on our situation.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I also remember we talked about the different ways Christ is present in very real ways in the Mass.
Speaker: We talked about how he's present in his word that's proclaimed, the scriptures, in the gathered people, in the priests themselves, and of course then that
Speaker: those three presences are interconnected with or lead to or fueled by, however you want to look at that, then his real presence in the Eucharist, you know, which is that kind of at the heart of, we might say at the heart of those other presences.
Speaker: It's the word made flesh.
Speaker: It's the connection between the mystical body, the Christ, the church, and his
Speaker: body that we receive on the altar and, and yeah, and how through the priest that sacrifices is, we're connected to that sacrifice.
Speaker: So, so it all leads to the Eucharist.
Speaker: And then, as you said, that we're to carry that into the world.
Speaker: Yeah, we're led into it and we're sent out.
Speaker: That's what every Mass, once again, it's a cycle.
Speaker: Our quest every single week, every single day, the seasons, the breath in our lungs, the coming into Mass, and then the being sent out.
Speaker: It's all rhythm.
Speaker: It's all rhythm and cycles until we reach the eternal now, which is eternal union with God in heaven.
Speaker: We're like those little tabernacles with legs.
Speaker: Tabernacles with legs, yes.
Speaker: I want to say also this, we didn't necessarily say this in the episode, but I was, I remember a few years ago, I was praying before the tabernacle was in one of my churches that I serve at.
Speaker: And it was one that has on the doors, it has the alpha and the omega on the two doors.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And of course, then there's just the line that is the, the kind of,
Speaker: the the crack for the for the two doors where the opened and i just remember reflecting reflecting on how our lives are like that line uh in the door of the tabernacle you know that um between the alpha and the omega the beginning of the end whether it's the beginning of our life or god who's the beginning then but then our life is just that simple line it seems like a blip on the radar but it's meant to then be opened up to reveal the
Speaker: presence of christ right um anyways i was just thinking about that especially with the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end our lives are that that that simple line in between them so anyways that's very poetic thanks i can be poetic sometimes um yeah so uh so those were some of the themes we talked about kind of just teaching about different themes of the eucharist um but then kind of our last set of episodes is we um
Speaker: we kind of just talked about different happenings, different movements happening around the Archdiocese and in our country that were Eucharistic-centered.
Speaker: And when I was preparing for this episode and we were kind of categorizing them, I was actually pleasantly surprised by, yeah, there are a lot more Eucharistic-centered happenings in the Archdiocese than I remembered, that there was just a lot happening, which is exciting, right?
Speaker: That it's showing that we are living into this
Speaker: Eucharistic revival movement.
Speaker: And some of the things we talked about were just, you know, an event that happened and is over with, but some were kind of ongoing efforts or ongoing movements that were kind of happening about the archdiocese.
Speaker: So we can talk about some of those.
Speaker: So I remember the first one of those was episode three, Ground Up, where I ended up sort of interviewing you and one of your staff, Melanie Weber, just to kind of about this conversation
Speaker: I don't remember what you called it, but kind of this Eucharistic centered form of catechesis and faith formation kind of aligning everything with the Eucharist.
Speaker: So, so I'm curious.
Speaker: So if you want to recap that episode a little bit, but my followup question is kind of, how's that been going a year later?
Speaker: You know, we talked about that almost a year ago.
Speaker: And so some reflections on what it was, what the intent was and where maybe where it's gone.
Speaker: So not just talking about the episode, but how has that movement been going?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, a big part of our collaboration is, I think it was a book and a publication about how to make a Eucharistic-centered parish.
Speaker: And there was four attributes of that.
Speaker: And I don't remember what they are right now.
Speaker: But the whole point was to make all of our activities...
Speaker: flow and connect and click.
Speaker: And not only is that really nice for planning and branding purposes, but for the evangelization as well.
Speaker: And what it started, it all started with is Cornerstone, which is the name that we gave to our new religious ed program, our Wednesday night program.
Speaker: So Melanie
Speaker: completely wrote a brand new program based on the catechism and the teachings of the USCCB, the bishops.
Speaker: And the point was not just to babysit some kids for every Wednesday night.
Speaker: The point is to engage and educate the families as a whole and the parents themselves as well, because the parents are the primary educators of their youth, the handers on
Speaker: Handers on?
Speaker: The hand on the seats.
Speaker: Hand honors?
Speaker: Hand her honors, yeah.
Speaker: Hand her honors?
Speaker: The parents, oh, I know the word.
Speaker: The parents are the primary catechists.
Speaker: That's the word I was like.
Speaker: Oh, okay.
Speaker: I like the hand of honors.
Speaker: The catechist works too.
Speaker: And then us people at the church, the staff and the teachers and catechists were meant to be supplemental to what the parents are doing at home.
Speaker: And so we want to jumpstart that.
Speaker: So it came, our cornerstone program is week one is Father Jacob gets everyone together in the basement, parents and children, students.
Speaker: And
Speaker: And they share a meal together.
Speaker: And then I teach them about the month's theme.
Speaker: And then the next two weeks, they're in their classrooms.
Speaker: And then the fourth and sometimes fifth month, they are...
Speaker: Not there.
Speaker: They're at home.
Speaker: The whole goal is to have a free night to be able to spend time as a family.
Speaker: And there's many different prayer opportunities in the bulletin Melanie makes every month.
Speaker: It says, do you have five minutes?
Speaker: Do this.
Speaker: Do you have 30 minutes?
Speaker: Do this activity.
Speaker: If you have an hour, do this.
Speaker: And then not only does the teaching of Cornerstone, it's got a three-year program.
Speaker: So we're in our fourth year of doing this three-year cycle.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: All the adult teachings as well, the different activities that we have, they all somehow tie into the theme or discussion points of what Cornerstone is doing.
Speaker: So it's really cool to educate because I think it's easy in a parish to get overwhelmed and have, okay, we got this stuff for the kids, we got this stuff for the adults, we got this stuff for married couples.
Speaker: But to have them all connect and flow and relate to each other is is why it fits in with the Eucharistic theme.
Speaker: Because it's personal.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Beautiful.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So it's continuing to go well.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Beautiful.
Speaker: Well, speaking of catechetical efforts, I'm going to change the order on you a little bit, but I think it will flow better.
Speaker: But speaking of Eucharistic-centered catechetical efforts, we also did an episode on another kind of catechetical program or effort called Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So episode 12, titled Rich Food and Small Bites, we did that with Liz Coningsfield and Sarah Burke from St.
Speaker: Patrick's in Cedar Falls.
Speaker: And that one I can speak to as you were talking about Eucharistic efforts in your own parish.
Speaker: So I can say happily that we are working on building up a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program here in my own parishes here.
Speaker: So we have level one and we have level two in one of our parishes and hoping to start at one of our other parishes.
Speaker: So for those who don't remember for our listeners, the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is kind of a, it's a,
Speaker: It's a form of catechesis that's based on something called the Montessori model of education.
Speaker: And for lack of better terms, it's essentially kind of a hands on experiential form of teaching rather than your standard classroom sitting at the desks lecturing to and having assignments.
Speaker: It's kind of getting rid of the desks and everything and having these different tangible projects that manipulatives.
Speaker: And that means like using of their their hands.
Speaker: of different works and projects, but that very much connects them to what's beautiful about Catechism of the Good Shepherd.
Speaker: It's these kids are doing these very tangible project things, but that very much connect them to the liturgy.
Speaker: And so that's where it's very Eucharistic centered right there.
Speaker: They have a little mass thing.
Speaker: They can they learn how to set up the altar with little, you know, little wooden chalices and patents.
Speaker: And so they're having these very tangible interactions with the things of the Eucharist that helps them then make connections between those tangible experiences.
Speaker: with them when they go to mass, and it seems like they're just coloring or not paying attention, but like they are beginning to make all of these connections, right?
Speaker: from these very tangible experiences, and it helps them as children to connect much more deeply with the Eucharistic mystery as experienced in the liturgy.
Speaker: So I'm happy to say that we are moving towards building up a kind of a Eucharistic-centered catechetical program, the Catechism of the Good Shepherd.
Speaker: So it's a long, slow process, but we're doing it.
Speaker: And thankfully, like I said, I'm very blessed to have a great director of faith formation who's
Speaker: very much been on board with this and she's kind of very enthusiastic about it and it's kind of really been really throwing herself into it which I'm very grateful for so yeah anything you want to say I know I kind of did a quick transition there but about that episode or anything yes Jacob uh catechesis of the good shepherd is a
Speaker: an idea and a practice that I am very much in favor of.
Speaker: And if you go back and listen to episode 12, it is like a mini retreat, listening to how they describe how they work with the children.
Speaker: So one one approach to education, I think is, is you could look at, okay, what do seven to nine year olds, what are they capable of knowing and learning?
Speaker: And then we give them that what are five to seven year olds capable of learning and knowing, and then one to three,
Speaker: And then, oh, well, zero to three, they can't learn anything yet.
Speaker: So we'll just leave them out.
Speaker: But what Catechism of the Good Shepherd does is slowly builds on things.
Speaker: So you've got a two-year-old.
Speaker: Can they really learn what transubstantiation is?
Speaker: No, not yet.
Speaker: But you know what they can do?
Speaker: They can set up a chalice on a table, which is like an altar.
Speaker: They can pick out and identify many versions of the chasuble that the priest wears, what colors of the liturgical season.
Speaker: Even if they are not able to say that, oh, well, green represents ordinary time and it's time of growth and purple is a penitential color.
Speaker: They can say, oh, that's purple.
Speaker: That's red.
Speaker: And then as you start to just being, I like the word marinate.
Speaker: you're just constantly marinating in these symbols because then if you've got a mini thoroughful thoroughble in the catechesis atrium is what they're called not classrooms they're atriums if you've got a mini thoroughble there and then they see that at mass being used they're going to make that connection very quickly yes it's it's a very beautiful and then too what I liked as well is oh I'm just playing with kids no actually I think there was like
Speaker: how many hours I don't remember to actually even get certified to train level one.
Speaker: I think it was like 90, 90 hours, I think for a cat, for a CGS person to go through and be able to teach all three levels.
Speaker: So you're not just playing toys with kids.
Speaker: You are really being formed yourself.
Speaker: And so that's what Liz and Sarah had to say too, is that they themselves were being formed as they've gone through this training and leading children.
Speaker: And then the title is one of the quotes that they said is that we're giving them rich food, but in very, very small bites.
Speaker: And you can think of the Eucharist that way too, because it's a tiny little white host, but it's the richest food there is.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: I like to say, I think Catechism of the Good Shepherd, it teaches children the art of contemplation.
Speaker: In our soundbite culture, in our immediate gratification through TikTok and
Speaker: and Instagram and Twitter X, you know, we're used to having these just very superficial things blasted at us a whole bunch at once, you know, that, that doesn't allow us to sit with something and go deep.
Speaker: Um, so it's kind of degrading our art of contemplation, but like good art or even good films or good literature or good music.
Speaker: Um, uh, and those things when we're forced to really sit with something like catechism, the good shepherd really, uh, uh,
Speaker: not forces, allows a child to really sit with a symbol and image, allow that image, that symbol to work on them to, as you said, to marinate in these symbols.
Speaker: It really teaches children the art of contemplation in a very beautiful way, in a way that really meets where they're at, I think.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: So speaking of movements going on in the Archdiocese, we're talking about some faith formation ones for children.
Speaker: um, let's transition a bit to something that's maybe a little more for adults and things like that.
Speaker: Um, we, in episode five, be healed.
Speaker: We had father Andy Yupan, father Michael McAndrew, where we talking about, um, an exciting movement in the archdiocese, these Holy spirit healing fire missions, um, that have been happening.
Speaker: Um, so we interviewed them before one of the missions, but since then we've had a few more missions kind of at different points in the archdiocese.
Speaker: So it's a kind of a three night mission that, um,
Speaker: kind of a group of us priests have kind of started and we're, and have been a long way inviting other people into it to be a part of this.
Speaker: But anyways, it's a three night mission, all about the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: Each night involves a couple talks or one or two talks, praise and worship music, adoration, confessions, and opportunities to be prayed over.
Speaker: And each night has a different emphasis.
Speaker: First night, the kind of baptism in the Holy Spirit, second night being healed in the Holy Spirit and third night,
Speaker: being sent by the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: So we talked about that kind of making connections with healing in the Eucharist.
Speaker: And I'm glad to say that movement is still happening.
Speaker: And it's been inspiring to see people have experienced real, genuine healings.
Speaker: People shared that they've experienced peace and joy that in their hearts that they haven't known for a long time, which is
Speaker: to me, the most inspiring things, but that also some people have experienced genuine physical healings too, that they've had pains or things that they've gone and been prayed over and it's, and it's been healed.
Speaker: So that's like stuff is happening and that's, that's hopefully inspiring hearts to Christ.
Speaker: And I think it's kind of this movement of revival that is very Eucharistic centered, like it is important for the mission that we talk about.
Speaker: Jesus is the great healer and and really the greatest healing is intimacy with the Lord and the most intimate encounter we can have with him is in the Eucharist.
Speaker: So anyways, I'm just glad.
Speaker: So I just wanted to share guys, I guess, a follow up update.
Speaker: You might save that episode that that missions are continuing to happen.
Speaker: And so we're still kind of in the midst of this.
Speaker: And I think the full fruit of it is yet to be seen.
Speaker: Actually, the next one that I have down is the Holy Spirit Healing Fire Parish Mission is going to be at St.
Speaker: Patrick's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids.
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: October 27th to 29th.
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: And that's your home parish, isn't it?
Speaker: It is my home parish.
Speaker: 6 to 8.30 p.m.
Speaker: Although I think there's a typo.
Speaker: They should say 6 p.m.
Speaker: to whenever the Holy Spirit gets done with us.
Speaker: Yes, you're right.
Speaker: I've attended these as an, not an outsider, but I'm not on the team that puts these on, but it was really cool to go as a baptized person and just attend them.
Speaker: And the only word I can describe them as is
Speaker: out of control in the best way possible.
Speaker: But in a very peaceful way.
Speaker: Yes, yes.
Speaker: Because we control, but not in a chaotic way.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that that my my choice of word is more provocative than comforting.
Speaker: However, the Holy Spirit is not a is a being that loves us.
Speaker: It's one of the third person of the Trinity and we cannot control the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: We can only give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit.
Speaker: And I think we contemporary Midwest Americans love control.
Speaker: And whether it's control over my health or over my surroundings or the people I don't like, surrendering that control is one of the most freeing things I've ever experienced.
Speaker: And truly then, as Father Kevin mentioned, that it is all centered on the Eucharist.
Speaker: They, to an almost extensive point, emphasize that any physical healing that is done is not them.
Speaker: They're not magic faith healers.
Speaker: They are
Speaker: Jesus delights working with secondary means and Jesus delights in healing his people and bringing them freedom and joy.
Speaker: And so Jesus is the primary, the healer for all this.
Speaker: And, and yeah, it's, it's, it's a party.
Speaker: So I recommend, I recommend checking it out.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: It's trying to just create a space, a Eucharistic-centered space where the Holy Spirit can work.
Speaker: And then we just kind of let the Holy Spirit do his thing, and that's where it's out of our control, to your point.
Speaker: Yeah, very beautiful.
Speaker: So...
Speaker: Go ahead.
Speaker: You, yeah, I don't know what we're doing.
Speaker: You took the, you took, swept the rug out of my feet.
Speaker: So the next one is, I think what I noticed, actually, this is the genius of Father Kevin's organizing, is that this section started off small at the parish level.
Speaker: And then if you notice, it started to grow bigger and bigger and bigger until we reach, spoiler alert,
Speaker: the final one.
Speaker: Anyway, the next one is an event that happened and a class that happened in Dubuque at Loris College.
Speaker: This is episode seven, the banquet of justice with Dr. Pitt, the professor of that class, and then Isabel Werner, who took that class.
Speaker: Can you refresh our memories on what that class was about?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I remember a
Speaker: a few years ago I had talked to someone who had taken that class and I was very intrigued, um, because it was really a simple concept as a class.
Speaker: Uh, it was a J term class.
Speaker: So J term is a class they take in January.
Speaker: It's like kind of a, uh, only a couple of weeks or two or three weeks intensive class.
Speaker: That's just, you only take that class.
Speaker: Uh, and it usually has an emphasis on experiential learning.
Speaker: So not just sitting in a classroom, but actually going out and having experiences.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: And so in this particular case, it was sort of a simple concept.
Speaker: It was the class was, let's go to daily mass and then let's go out and serve the poor.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And then let's, and then basically in between was kind of reflecting on what is the connections between those.
Speaker: So I think it's such a simple and yet profoundly beautiful idea.
Speaker: And so, so that was essentially the class.
Speaker: So basically they were both reflecting on that Dr. David Pitt, kind of how he decided and was inspired to offer that class and,
Speaker: and Isabel about her experience of said class.
Speaker: So it was really connecting, drawing a lot of dots and connections between the poor and the Eucharist, the presence of the poor and the Eucharist, but also this idea of mission, right?
Speaker: That it's very much at both hands.
Speaker: Sometimes I remember, I think I shared in that episode, but
Speaker: I've seen or had experiences of sometimes like in college, kind of different communities of where there were sort of the people that were that love Bible study and prayer.
Speaker: And then there were the people who are all about like social justice.
Speaker: And there was almost this sense that those were two siloed separate things.
Speaker: Like you could only be one or the other.
Speaker: Like you either had to love the church and Bible study or you had to love the poor and therefore be against the institutionalized church.
Speaker: And what this class really did is try to really just shatter that to show how the outpouring of the gift of Christ self in the Eucharist is something that we receive and is meant to then shape and form us to go and pour out our lives for the least in the poor in the world.
Speaker: Kind of that idea of source and summit and being sent out.
Speaker: So, so that was, those are some things about that episode.
Speaker: I don't remember if we mentioned the episode, but Dorothy Day is someone who comes to mind to talk about this episode.
Speaker: She was a,
Speaker: Catholic activists who started the Catholic worker movement very much living among the poor and caring for them, but was also a daily mass goer and spent much time in Eucharistic adoration.
Speaker: So, and those were not disconnected things.
Speaker: They were deeply interwoven.
Speaker: So, um,
Speaker: And Father Jacob Ross, I remember you were very moon and struck by that episode and very much appreciated it.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, I was.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Just like you already mentioned, the emphasize the shattering that false dichotomy of, well, I care about the poor and I am involved in activism and I do lots of things or I sit and pray and learn.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's truly a cross.
Speaker: And right now I'm making a up and down motion with my hand and a side and side motion with my hand.
Speaker: Our viewers can't see that, but it truly is a vertical and horizontal.
Speaker: And then in the center of that is like all things, virtue, but also the heart of Jesus.
Speaker: The heart of Jesus truly delights in us learning and spending time with him and
Speaker: And yet we also need our community aspect, which is the horizontal axis of, okay, so as long as I'm good and I learn things and I know things and I'm good with my Jesus, then great, I'm good.
Speaker: No, we are called, we are sent out as apostles and as baptized to go serve the poor, which he has some pretty explicit things to say about that.
Speaker: And then on the other hand, if I'm, okay, all I'm doing, always, always, always doing things and serving others, come back.
Speaker: Mother Teresa was very famous for, well, a lot of things, but one of them is that when her sister said, Mother, we don't have time to pray today.
Speaker: We don't have time to pray our holy hour.
Speaker: She said, all right.
Speaker: We're going to do two hours then.
Speaker: And then truly trusting the Holy Spirit in the present moment of whether to pray, to be active, to be active while praying, to pray while being active.
Speaker: It's a big, beautiful mess.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: That was a very, that was also a very reflective and transformative episode for me.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Beautiful.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And connecting the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the presence of Christ in the poor.
Speaker: you know, talking about some of that.
Speaker: So yeah, Mother Teresa is lots of beautiful.
Speaker: I think she really embodies that connection, adoration and service to the poor, like you said.
Speaker: So, um,
Speaker: Yeah, and well, you know, it's kind of what we need is we're pilgrims in this life, right?
Speaker: Hey, good one.
Speaker: Hey, that's our next episode we're going to talk about.
Speaker: Episode 11, simply titled Pilgrims with Father Tony Cruze.
Speaker: In that episode, we talked to Father Tony Cruze about a couple of things.
Speaker: I mean, we talked about he had been traveling around.
Speaker: and doing these videos kind of showing different Eucharistic spaces.
Speaker: You might say it's different churches in the archdiocese kind of as a virtual pilgrimage that it started kind of during COVID and then he's just continuing with that.
Speaker: And so that in and of itself, just reflecting on the intentionality of a church space helps us to reflect on the Eucharistic mystery.
Speaker: How is this space at the service of our encounter with Christ in the Eucharist?
Speaker: But we also kind of talked about
Speaker: I remember there was an event coming up at his parish too, I think we talked about.
Speaker: I think, was that with ACCW or something?
Speaker: The Archdiocese and Council of Catholic Women or something.
Speaker: They're having a Eucharistic event there.
Speaker: And so that was kind of the gist of the episode.
Speaker: Father Jacob, what was some things that struck you about that episode?
Speaker: I remember we had some technical difficulties and I disappeared for a portion of that episode.
Speaker: Oh, that's right.
Speaker: Yeah, my battery, we ran out of power and my computer battery died and our electricity went out.
Speaker: And so I had to scramble to reconnect, but, but I don't know that our listeners noticed.
Speaker: I, I, hopefully it was smooth enough that I was able to seamlessly rejoin.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Go back and listen and see if you can see where I had to use the backup audio.
Speaker: And then anyway, one note about that before my thoughts is every single episode went fine, except for any episode with a priest or deacon guest.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: There was always some sort of problem.
Speaker: Technical difficulties.
Speaker: And I thought that was funny.
Speaker: But we made it through.
Speaker: Here we are.
Speaker: I loved that, just the honesty and humility of our dear friend, as we finally call him, One Take Tony.
Speaker: It started off as him saying, well, I guess I'll do this coffee talk thing during COVID.
Speaker: My staff wants me to talk to the parishioners through a video.
Speaker: Then he started doing the virtual tours to show people different churches.
Speaker: And then it led to him sharing this really beautiful reflection to us on the episode about how his encounter with the Eucharistic presence of the Lord in different chapels around the diocese, but then also around the world.
Speaker: He said that when...
Speaker: He went to, I think his first week in seminary in Rome.
Speaker: He felt so homesick and lonely and nothing was familiar.
Speaker: And then he went to go say his evening prayers and realized that, wow, Jesus is here in this seminary chapel.
Speaker: How many miles away from Iowa?
Speaker: It's the same Jesus and he's here for me and with me.
Speaker: And then also to him as a pilgrim into the virtual world of just going forward and just being led.
Speaker: There's something about pilgrim.
Speaker: I think if we're going to go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes or Fatima or wherever we're going,
Speaker: we sometimes think it's a vacation and it's not a vacation.
Speaker: Being a pilgrim is an uncomfortable journey with its own spiritual trials and rewards.
Speaker: And I think the same is true for our earthly life here is the image has been used that we are pilgrims on this earth.
Speaker: It is not our true home.
Speaker: Not yet anyway.
Speaker: And we are going to be a little bit uncomfortable until we reach our true home, which is unity with the Father.
Speaker: And then, yeah, tying it all together that I think our final point of that episode was, if you are not able to financially or physically to travel to see Rome or any of these beautiful places, do it if you can.
Speaker: It's cool to see other cultures and other ways that people worship.
Speaker: But also know that the same Jesus that
Speaker: the Pope himself is elevating in Rome is the same Jesus that's in your local parish church tabernacle.
Speaker: So big and small, far and wide.
Speaker: It was cool to have that come together in that way.
Speaker: Yeah, beautiful.
Speaker: Yeah, in olden days, the people of Israel used to have to always pilgrimage up to Jerusalem to the one temple.
Speaker: And now that temple is right in our hometown because wherever the Eucharist is reposed, you know, every church is the new temple, you might say.
Speaker: So, yeah, and we are fed by Christ in those new temples.
Speaker: We sure are.
Speaker: Which sure reminds me, Father Jacob Rouse, there's another event in the diocese.
Speaker: And I think it was called Fed by Christ, was it not?
Speaker: I recall.
Speaker: In episode 13...
Speaker: We talked about an event that happened in Cedar Rapids.
Speaker: Father Dennis Miller and Deacon Dan Hoger, we talked to them about that event.
Speaker: Were you able to attend that event in Cedar Rapids?
Speaker: I was not.
Speaker: Not physically.
Speaker: Okay, I was not either.
Speaker: But anyways, it happened.
Speaker: And I heard people I know who went on it said it was good.
Speaker: And yeah, any thoughts on that episode?
Speaker: And it was kind of promoting that event and getting people excited about it, which actually...
Speaker: One of the talks at said event was Father Scott Bullock presenting on the Eucharistic in film.
Speaker: So we sort of, in a way, took one of those talks and made it into a podcast episode to give people a taste of that.
Speaker: Yeah, it was just cool to hear a local priest and a local deacon talking about their efforts to bring Eucharistic revival to their community.
Speaker: And what it ended up being is a day of talks and I think reflection and prayer and Eucharistic procession around Xavier High School, which is my
Speaker: alma mater so once again the big wide world of being a catholic and then also in our our local expressions of that so i think it was the first eucharistic procession or anything like that that had been done at xavier high school and they just talked about the promotion of it and the desire for it and some of the practical aspects about it yeah and leading up to that with
Speaker: the establishment of a Eucharistic Adoration Chapel there at St.
Speaker: Patrick's too, I remember.
Speaker: But we touched on some of that too.
Speaker: But speaking of Eucharistic processions, there were also these, so this is kind of going from local to kind of bigger national Eucharistic revivals were kind of coming in for a landing here, coming towards the end.
Speaker: But yeah, this kind of, I guess, the series of podcasts was also leading up towards the
Speaker: the National Eucharistic Congress, which happened this past summer, but leading up to those, there were the National Eucharistic pilgrimages, so four processions from the four edges of the United States, kind of processing with the Eucharist, these perpetual pilgrims, leading to and converging on Indianapolis for
Speaker: the National Eucharistic Congress.
Speaker: And we had an episode, Father Jake Dunn and I, we were able to attend in Champion, Wisconsin, not only visit the Marian Shrine there, but to participate in kind of a snippet of this national pilgrimage.
Speaker: That was in episode 16, simply titled Champions, where we talked about that.
Speaker: So me and Father Jake Dunn shared about our experience.
Speaker: And it was just really beautiful to kind of, in our small way, be able to participate in this national
Speaker: movement and to be able to pray with, you know, three thousands of our new closest friends at, at our lady of champion and both connecting to the story of, I mean, just this movement of the national Eucharist revival, but also connecting that with the story of Mary appearing in Wisconsin in the 1800s.
Speaker: And, um, yeah, that was just a really beautiful experience and your Eucharist processions, adorations, special masses.
Speaker: Um, and it was just, it was inspiring to be with, with all of those people.
Speaker: And, um,
Speaker: Yeah, and that kind of flowed into then our episodes, both before and after, kind of in preparation for the Eucharistic Congress and after the Eucharistic Congress.
Speaker: But before I get into the National Eucharistic Congress, anything you want to say about that?
Speaker: No, I just thought it was cool that Mary's a Packers fan.
Speaker: Not really.
Speaker: Amen.
Speaker: She showed up outside of Green Bay.
Speaker: You really did.
Speaker: We believe that Mary appeared to Sister Brazy.
Speaker: Adele Brees.
Speaker: Yes, yes.
Speaker: And that happened right here in America, like in our Midwest or whatever Wisconsin calls themselves.
Speaker: What do you call yourself?
Speaker: Are you Midwest?
Speaker: We're Midwest.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Very good.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And that was cool to have two of our, our brothers go to that.
Speaker: It was neat.
Speaker: So yeah.
Speaker: And then there was the big event that we talked about, the national Eucharistic Congress.
Speaker: So we both had, we kind of did it before and after we talked to sister Alicia Torres and
Speaker: not of the archdiocese, but a friend of the show, a friend of us, who is part of the Franciscus Eucharist and who has been, who serves the poor in the inner city of Chicago, but has been a major component of organizing, helping with the National Eucharistic Congress and the revival in general.
Speaker: And so we were blessed to have, and sort of that was our one outside the archdiocese guest come in and talk about kind of the anticipation of that.
Speaker: But that one kind of going back to the banquet of justice episode,
Speaker: We also talked about some of the connections with the Eucharist and the poor.
Speaker: That was titled, that was episode 15, The Riches of Poverty with Sister Alicia.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: We broke our one rule of having someone outside the archdiocese and for good reason.
Speaker: It was a sister that Father Kevin knew well in seminary in Mundelein and it was cool to reconnect with her and hear her story.
Speaker: And she's, was she the one on Food Network?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: She actually was a number of years ago was on an episode of chopped the TV, the competitive cooking show chopped, which is like three competitors and they have a three course meal.
Speaker: And there there's, they're given a food that they have to incorporate in.
Speaker: I don't remember if it's in every course of the meal or certain foods they have to incorporate in.
Speaker: And then they're given a set of time to prepare first an appetizer, then the main course, then a dessert.
Speaker: And, and they're kind of judged and everything.
Speaker: Yeah, she was on a special charity episode where they featured different people who do some sort of cooking for the poor, for soup kitchens, that kind of stuff.
Speaker: Anyway, this is a major primetime network, like nationally syndicated event that she got to be on, a Food Network show.
Speaker: And it didn't come up at all.
Speaker: I mean, that's not like some, I think some people would like, oh yeah, I was on TV once and I did this.
Speaker: No, she just wanted to talk about Jesus and how great it is to being poor.
Speaker: And I love that about her.
Speaker: Just, I mean, she's on her face.
Speaker: If you look up National Eucharistic Revival and the podcast or the YouTube and her face is everywhere.
Speaker: And she,
Speaker: No mention of that.
Speaker: Maybe we did, but she is just in love with our Lord in the Eucharist and just wanted to make this a great event.
Speaker: And I loved that, the absence of that information.
Speaker: But the main takeaway from that for me was that this, the Eucharistic Revival Congress,
Speaker: is a beginning.
Speaker: It is not an end.
Speaker: Because it's easy to look at all this work we've done, all this, oh, we're so tired after all this podcasting.
Speaker: And to think now we're finally done.
Speaker: We made it.
Speaker: No, this is all this culminating events and lead up to the Congress is intended to start a new era and send us out and do even more, you know?
Speaker: And I really think that's important.
Speaker: Yeah, which transitions nicely into, of course, one of our last episodes, episode 20, was the Eucharist Congress coverage, where we talked with Father Martin Coolidge and Deacon Dan Hurt about their experience of that, right, and about
Speaker: going both both their experience of the national eucarist congress but also then bearing that forth how that um is bearing forth fruit into the future and i don't remember if this was said on the episode but i remember i read a few things um some news people have been speculating they've been talking about this national eucarist congress they've been comparing it to something like john paul ii's pope john paul ii's world youth day visit uh in denver colorado because uh i don't remember what year it was in the 1990s i believe he did uh
Speaker: There was a World Youth Day that happened in Denver, Colorado.
Speaker: And people have observed then, you know, in the last 30 years since then, there's kind of been a development in Denver, Colorado, kind of all these Catholic movements and ministries that have kind of become that Denver has kind of become this Catholic center of the Church of the United States.
Speaker: I mean, focus that does, that has missionaries on over 100 campuses, college campuses, kind of doing outreach to students.
Speaker: That is headquartered in Denver,
Speaker: the Augustine Institute, which is kind of a big teaching thing that merged with Lighthouse Catholic Media.
Speaker: They're based out of Denver.
Speaker: And then just other kind of very creative catechetical efforts coming out of there.
Speaker: There was a Camp Otiwa, which is a Catholic camp that started there.
Speaker: And so just a lot of neat and powerful kind of Catholic movements that came out of it sort of blossoming from, and not that there's a direct line between
Speaker: But that it seems like there's some sort of ripple effect from that event.
Speaker: And anyway, so some people have talked about the National Eucharist of Congress as sort of being a comparable thing.
Speaker: Like we won't, the full fruits of this, we won't see until like 20, 30 years from now as people who were moved, inspired, impacted by it will continue to pray and reflect and bear that forth.
Speaker: And it'll kind of ripple over across time that it won't necessarily be immediately obvious, but that there will be seeds of things that will continue to grow over the next
Speaker: 20, 30 years that hopefully will bear fruit and revival.
Speaker: And that, I found that very inspiring, you know, just to think that this was sort of, uh, that this event, it wasn't just a one-off event, but that was maybe the planting of a seed or, uh, a very slow bombshell, you might say, sort of spiritual in a positive spiritual sense of, uh, this slow rippling out and explosion depth charge, you might say in the depths of our nation and the church of our nation that, uh, that hopefully we'll have, uh,
Speaker: as effects under the surface that will bear fruit in due time.
Speaker: So that it's not just the end, but a new beginning.
Speaker: So yeah.
Speaker: The Eucharistic era, the age, the age of the Eucharist.
Speaker: Wouldn't that be cool?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: The age of the Eucharist.
Speaker: Dear listener, if you've made it this far,
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: God bless you.
Speaker: Are you trying to finish this episode before we hit an hour and 15 minutes?
Speaker: Well, not necessarily, but we are almost at an hour and 15 minutes, so we should probably...
Speaker: wrap up here soon no let's say rosary together no i'm just kidding um we'll do that later father jacob so just as you know we've been on this fun journey together for a year you agreed to go on it with me um you know we kind of asked around and you were willing to go along for the ride and i will say you've been very helpful in the all the techie parts i have to give you all credit for that but uh what's just been i guess just kind of as a final wrap-up we i know we reflected on the various episodes but just uh
Speaker: Maybe a final takeaway or thought is kind of this experience, this journey is coming to the close.
Speaker: Not that Eucharist Revival is over.
Speaker: We're continuing with that.
Speaker: It's just a beginning.
Speaker: But kind of this journey of doing this podcast together, what's been, I guess, kind of a takeaway as we've been on this fun journey together?
Speaker: The 1st and the 15th of every month is...
Speaker: Oh, and rather I should say the last day of every month and the 14th of every month is a lot of typing and clicking and uploading.
Speaker: No, that's not the only takeaway.
Speaker: What it's been is, is I would say the big and small again, that we are just, we're just two priests just doing our thing, being faithful and, um,
Speaker: just working in the vineyard.
Speaker: And yet we all have a part in each other's story, not only as individuals, but then also as the wider American church and the universal Catholic church.
Speaker: It's, it's cool to, and then, and then that, that same Lord Jesus in the Eucharist that all of our listeners receive and we get to receive them too and be in union with him.
Speaker: And then with everyone else,
Speaker: until one day we're all hopefully in heaven together as well.
Speaker: Amen.
Speaker: How about you?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Well, one thing I think for me is just, well, it's been fun.
Speaker: Yeah, it has been.
Speaker: Just talking to a lot of people.
Speaker: It's been fun to do it with you.
Speaker: And then I've enjoyed a lot of our guests, some of them very dear friends of mine.
Speaker: So it's been fun to have an excuse to make them come and talk to us.
Speaker: But one takeaway, I mean, I,
Speaker: I mean, I maybe received a little bit myself, but I hope listeners take away is God is alive and at work.
Speaker: Like, I hope people see the many and varied ways that the Lord is working right here in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Speaker: I mean, that was one of the initial motivations for this is, I don't know, sometimes people get this idea that all the cool happening stuff is always somewhere else, you know, not in Iowa or in faraway places, but just to see like,
Speaker: The Lord is doing stuff and people are working with the Lord and doing that stuff right here in our own archdiocese that I think is exciting, is life-giving, is inspiring and inspiring hearts to seek the Lord more deeply.
Speaker: So I hope that's been a takeaway for our listeners to...
Speaker: themselves be inspired to, first of all, just knowing that stuff is happening, but maybe also inspiring them to deeper conversion, to be like, wow, the Lord's at work.
Speaker: How can I jump on the train of the spirits movement right here in my own parish, in my own archdiocese of how the Lord's work, whether in their personal life with people around them in their own parish and in bigger diocesan movements or whatever it may be.
Speaker: Yeah, that is, I think my prayer and hope is people are inspired to see
Speaker: God is alive and at work and right here.
Speaker: And so get excited, folks, because Jesus, the Lord's doing stuff, man.
Speaker: So let's jump on board with him, you know?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So that's what I think what I would say.
Speaker: Aslan is on the move.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Aslan is on the move.
Speaker: So.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Well, God bless.
Speaker: It's been fun.
Speaker: I think we should call good.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Will there be a season two, Father Jake Brown?
Speaker: Will there be a season two?
Speaker: What would season two be about?
Speaker: Hello?
Speaker: Uh-oh.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: Oh, he froze.
Speaker: Oh, hello?
Speaker: That, hello?
Speaker: Hi.
Speaker: I was actually going to make a joke and say, wow, this is an episode with priests that didn't have any technical difficulties.
Speaker: And then my internet lost connection for like a second.
Speaker: So hopefully.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So I was just about to say if, if there's going to be a season two.
Speaker: Our favorite secondary Lord of the Rings characters.
Speaker: How about that?
Speaker: it'd probably be about liturgy or something yeah so the answer I think is maybe the answer is maybe maybe there'll be a season two maybe there won't be you know might have a different emphasis or focus but listeners if you want there to be another season or have ideas let us know yeah let us know if we do a season two I would actually give you a raise oh yeah from the pay that you're getting right now
Speaker: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Would you double it?
Speaker: Yes, I would double, yes, your paycheck, yes.
Speaker: Zero times zero is still zero.
Speaker: Yeah, no, we have been more than enough paid in the fraternity and the joy and the conversation and the learning.
Speaker: Honestly, it's been really cool.
Speaker: All right, I think before my internet goes out again, let's wrap this thing up.
Speaker: So thank you so much, everyone.
Speaker: I and Father Kevin and everyone else will see you in the UK.
