Latest / The Manly Catholic: Training Soldiers for Christ / Ep 211 - Good News Friday: Jesus Walks Past the White House
Transcript
- James Caldwell: This is the Manly Catholic, the podcast that calls you out of the shadows and into the fight. Here we forge men into warriors for Christ, husbands, fathers, and leaders who refuse to kneel to the modern world's lies. No more passivity, no more excuses, no more lukewarm faith. This is your battle crowd, your call to arms. The time for weakness is over. It's time to fight. Welcome to the Manly Catholic. Let's get to work. Hello, all welcome back to another episode of the Manly Catholic. This is James, your host, and it is Friday, men, so we know what that is. It is time for some good news. For those of you who just joining, we take a bit of a step back. We're so used to getting bad news every pretty much every day. ⁓ so I'm gonna give you some good news, especially what is going on in the church. This is one of our best weeks we've had, I think. ⁓ we're gonna be talking about Jesus being carried past the White House. Six hundred thousand young people filled the streets in Madrid. The diocese in North Carolina just had the biggest ordination class in its entire history. The U.S. bishops are preparing to consecrate this entire nation to their sacred heart. And a missionary movement born in the shanty towns of Spain just celebrated sixty years of setting the world on fire. Just like every Friday, men, five stories. Let's get into it. Our first story: one thousand Catholics carry Jesus past the White House on Corpus Christi. This is in Washington, DC, because what happened there on June 6th, the vigil of Corpus Christi is one of those images that Catholic will be talking about for a while now. More than 1,000 people gathered on K Street at the Catholic Information Center for Mass. And then in the heart and the heat, excuse me, and humidity of a Saturday morning in the nation's capital, they walked. They followed Jesus in a monstrance, carried aloft by priests beneath a canopy. They went through Lafayette Square, past ⁓ Farragut Square, past McPherson Square, past the Veterans Affair building, and directly in front of the White House. Children who had just received their first holy communion walked in the procession, laying flower petals on the ground. Religious sisters ⁓ processed in their habits, families with strollers and baby carriers lined the route. Dozens of onlookers stopped on the sidewalk to watch, some pulling out their phones, some just standing still, clearly unsure of what they were seeing. Father Charles Tritolls, the director of the Catholic Information Center and the priest who carried the Eucharist said it plainly and his homily before the procession began. Today we are going to bring Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to the streets of Washington, D.C. He called it a public witness to the real presence. Of course, as Catholics believe that is the body, blood, soul, and divinity, divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to every person that they pass. One participant who was a young mother named Teresa Campbell brought her three-year-old son out. Augustine and a nine month old daughter, Rowena, and a stroller. She said, I really like taking my kids to the Eucharistic processions for Corpus Christi. Practical things really helped them understand the significance of what is going on. I think that pretty much is a perfect example of what we all can do as parents, especially. And this wasn't not just a Washington, DC event. This procession was part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Which launched launched on Pentecost in St. Augustine, Florida, and is working its way up the east coast toward Philadelphia by July fourth. I think we brought that to you last week or ⁓ the previous Friday. Along the entire route, partner processions have already drawn an estimated ten thousand additional participants. The church, of course, is on the move. Story number two six hundred thousand young people flood Madrid, and the Pope tells them you can change history. So the same day that the 1,000 Catholics were processing in Washington, D.C., something was going on over in Madrid, Spain with the Pope. Pope Leo XIV began his apostolic journey to Spain. We brought that to you last week, the first papal visit to the country in 15 years. And on the very first evening of his arrival, he went straight to the young people. 600,000 people packed Madrid's Plaza de Lima for a prayer vigil. 600,000 According to local authorities, young people were crying with emotion. They were chanting, This is the Pope's youth. The Pope's Pope Mobile moved through the crowd for more than twenty minutes along the Paseo de la Castellana, repeatedly stopping as Leo Pope Leo reached out, embraced worshippers at the barriers, and kissed dozens of babies passed forward by their parents. Thousands watched from apartment balconies overhead. When he finally reached the stage, the welcomes only intensified. And then he spoke directly to the hearts of all these young people. He told them, You can change history. Do it with love. He also said The mission I entrust to you is precisely this that you be human. Yes, be human, men and women of flesh and blood, not mere appearances, but trustworthy faces. Never be afraid of having a vocation for priestly life or religious life, and you don't have to be afraid to get married and to start a family. I think this speaks to a pope who recognizes that the church needs to reach its young people. In his first evening, this huge spiritual papal trip to Spain, first time in fifteen years, he chose to stay in front of 600,000 young people and tell them don't be afraid to be a person. Don't be afraid to ⁓ don't be afraid of vocation. Don't be afraid of marriage. Don't be afraid of giving your life to something that is real. This is a Pope who knows what the world needs. Story number three a diocese in North Carolina just had its biggest ornation class in history. Ten new priests and Day. On May 30th in Huntersville, North Carolina at St. Mark Catholic Church, Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte ordained 10 men to the priesthood. This is the largest ornation class in the diocese, 54-year history. To put that in perspective, the previous record was seven, set back in the year 2000 and march matched again in 2024. Last year they ordained six, and this year is 10th. So the trend line continues to go up. And these men were, I'm gonna say their names here, Father Robert Bauman, Father Michael Camillari, Father Daniel Chavez Peña, Father John Cuppet, Father Maximilian Free, Father Juan Gonzalez Hernandez, Father Brian Lagore, Father Michael Lugo, Father Peter Townsend, Father James Tweed, men from the US, Colombia, Mexico, and Germany. After the ordination mass, these ten new pre ten new priests gave first blessings, and they stood there for more than two years. Hours because the faithful kept coming to them. People lined up around the block to kneel before brand new hands, hands that had just been anointed with chrism oil, and received their first priestly blessing. Bishop Martin issued a statement EWTN saying, We stand in awe of God's work in our midst. We give thanks for the yes of these men, which is freely offered by them to God's free invitation. This is especially encouraging. I don't know if you guys know anything going on in the diocese of ⁓ Charlotte. North Carolina with ⁓ Bishop Martin. I won't get into it because this is good news, but he has not been the most friendly of sorts to the TLM, traditional Latin Mass. ⁓ so it's good to see a bunch of young ⁓ men in the Diocese of North Carolina. Hopefully they can reinvigorate the parishes there. So the diocese ⁓ serves more than five hundred and seventy-five thousand Catholics across ninety-three parishes in western North Carolina. The bishop acknowledged that there is always a desire to explain a moment like this. But said there are factors unique to each man that defy a single simple explanation. The Holy Spirit, of course, doesn't follow a formula. And there's one more detail. On that same day, May 30th, the nine perpetual pilgrims of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage arrived in the Diocese of Charlotte, where more than 100 Catholics came out to greet them and to walk with them. So the men, the priests are coming. Make sure you pray for them, support them. And if you have a son or if you're a young man listening to this, don't be afraid to ask the question if God is. To the priesthood as well. Number four, the U.S. bishops are consecrating America to the sacred heart for the first time in history. So on June 11th, the eve of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. So that actually happened, released this on June 12th. So it happened yesterday. The bishops of the United States will formally consecrate the nation to the sacred heart of Christ. Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Orlando, Florida, during their spring. Plenary assembly, all the bishops of the US will cons con celebrate Mass and make this act of consecration on behalf of every Catholic in this country. This has never been done before in its two hundred and fifty year history. The nation has never been formally consecrated to the Sacred Heart. Two hundred and fifty fifteen bishops voted in favor of it. It will be live streamed on the US C C B YouTube channel so every parish in America can participate. I see how many How many US bishops are there? Four hundred and forty one ⁓ no two hundred and seventy three active. So who were the priests that didn't vote to consecrate? I'm gonna have to look that up. So two hundred and fifteen said yes of two hundred and seventy three. I'm gonna find that out. But we're about good news, right? So the timing is deliberate 'cause on July fourth, twenty twenty sixth, of course, marks the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And the bishops are saying, well 215 of them are saying, before we celebrate that birthday, we are going to do something more important. We're going to place this nation under the protection of the heart of Jesus. The USCCB has paired the consecration of the Nine De Novena, the Sacred Heart, running from June 3rd through June 11th, drawn from the writings of saints and popes, including Pope Francis' encyclical, Deleux at Nos, and Pope Leo 14's Apostolic Exhortation. ⁓ Delexi T, I have loved you. Catholics are also being invited to complete 250 hours of Eucharistic adoration. And two hundred and fifty works of mercy in preparation. Alright, for those of you who do not remember the works of mercy, I'm going to list that right here. So the corporal works of mercy are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. The spiritual works of mercy are to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish the sinner, comfort the sorrowful, forgive injuries, bear wrongs patiently. Pray for the living and the dead, and I will leave a link in the show notes for you guys as well. ⁓ let's see, Archbishop Alexander Sample put it plainly when reflecting on the consecration. The faith and our reliance on God really was the foundation that the founding fathers placed this nation on. To consecrate America to the sacred heart is to return to that foundation. So men, I want to ask you a question. Is your parish participating? Are you going to be there in person or streaming on June eleventh? This is the kind of moment that comes once in a generation. The bishops of this country on their knees placing America in the heart of Jesus. Number five, the movement born in the shanty towns of Madrid turned sixty in its 138 countries. And of course, we are going back to Spain because the Neocate ⁓ I'm gonna butcher this. I am so sorry. The Neocatecuminal Way just celebrated its 60th anniversary. And the celebration happened actually in Madrid at the Al Alamedina. Cathedral, with thousands of faithful present, presided over by Cardinal Jose Cobo, the Archbishop of Madrid. Pope Leo XIV sent a personal message for the occasion. So maybe you haven't heard of this organization. I'm not going to try to repeat it because I already butchered it. In nineteen sixty-four, the year after the close of the Second Vatican Council, a young Spanish artist named Kiko Arguello made a radical decision. He gave it away everything that he owned, moved into a shanty town on the outskirts of Madrid called Palomeros Alt Atlas Altus, excuse me, and started living among the poorest of the poor. He brought a Bible, a guitar, and the gospel. He was joined by a woman named Carmen Hernandez, a theologian and missionary. And together from the shack and the slums, they began gathering their neighbors for scripture, prayer, and catechesis. That gathering became the neocatechuminal way. I think I did better that time. A path of Christian initiation. Walking people back to the full depth of the baptism through a multi-year journey of community scripture and liturgy. It was designed for the de-Christianized, for the lapsed, for people who had never really encountered the faith as adults. Sixty years later, the way is present in 138 countries. It has more than 25,000 communities worldwide, over one million members, more than 115 missionary seminaries. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastri the Laity, Family, and Life, listed the fruits at the anniversary mass, returns to faith. Conversions, Christian families, vocations, missionary catechists, missionary seminaries, missionary families, and a global mission to the most abandoned places on earth. Pope Leo, the Pope Leo the Fourteenth message for the anniversary said, Evangeliz Evangelization is a fundamental task of the entire church and praise the way for keeping that fire burning for six decades. Now Carmen Hernandez, who was the co founders, died in two thousand sixteen, now has a cause for canonization underway. The diocesan phase of her cause formally closed just this week on june second in Madrid. Nearly thirty thousand pages of documentation were submitted, and more than one hundred and eighteen thousand people have visited her tomb. Favors are being reported through her intercession. A woman who left everything to sit in a shanty town with the poorest people in Madrid, and now the church is asking, was she a saint? That is it for another segment of Good News Friday. This was your news from May 31st to June 6th, 2026. Make sure, men, you hit that subscribe button wherever you listen to your podcast. Check out our YouTube channel. If this is impacting your life, please share this with a brother, with a friend. Make sure that you ⁓ go also if you are able to ⁓ support the podcast at Buy Me a Coffee. ⁓ again, click the link in the show notes. And until next time, gentlemen, go out there and be a saint. Brothers, thank you so much for listening to this episode. If the show has added value to your life, I'm going to ask you to do three things. Share with a brother who needs it, leave us a review, and finally support the show so we can keep fighting. Links are in the show notes. We'll see you next week.