Latest / Beyond The Beacon / 8: Solanyi Rodriguez on walking with moms in need and the gift of life

Transcript

8: Solanyi Rodriguez on walking with moms in need and the gift of life · Beyond The Beacon

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Jay Agnish, Communications Director for the Diocese and editor of the Beacon newspaper.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: Bishop, good morning.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: How you doing?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm good, Jay.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: How are you doing this morning?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm doing good, thanks.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: So so what's new?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: What's what's been going on?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: You you uh been watching some sports or uh yeah, after the long days, it's nice to be able to watch a game and particularly excited about the Knicks these days.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's right, yeah, because they're doing okay.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: But uh uh yes, I've been a Knicks fan for a long time and a basketball fan, and uh so um great to see them in the second round, and it's like the the 90s to see them play in the Miami Heat again.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So um so happy about that.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And let's hope they uh beat the Heat and get on to the next round.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, my hockey team uh not they made it to the second round, but Devil's not doing so good after game one, but we'll we'll see.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well you you're in better shape than the Rangers or the Islanders, so yeah, very true.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Very true.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: I was hoping for an Islander matchup.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: But um, so why don't we uh say hello to our guest, Salanji Rodriguez.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: How are you doing, Salanji?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, hello, good morning.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: I'm doing great.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: I feel honored and I feel blessed.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thanks for coming on.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's so nice to have you.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um so just a little background about about you.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: So Salanji was appointed to uh assistant to the Respect Life office in late January by the bishop.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: She's a sidewalk counselor who advocates for life with women outside of abortion clinics and has helped save the lives of 12 babies.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: She's a godmother to many of them and maintains relationships with the mothers.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: She's setting an example when it comes to walking with moms in needs.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: And Solanji's also an actress with several several film credits and co-hosts a podcast.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: And as far as I know, other than the bishop, she's the first person to be on the cover of the beacon three times.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: So quite a few.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: So so welcome.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: And uh Bishop, uh, can you can you tell us why you invited Solanji and and yeah, why am I here?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_03: Why are you here?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So um the uh the we had this nice um opportunity last week to um uh bless this uh mobile unit for a group called Several Sources that we'll um talk about and look forward to speaking about and uh having that opportunity also gives us the chance to hear from Salanji in terms of the work that she's been doing here in the diocese over the last few months and the work that she's been doing, like many others, uh really uh advocating for life, not only politically or in uh in ideology, but as you said, very practically uh walking with mobs in need.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we've been doing that as a church for a long time, but not everybody is so aware of that.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh I'll be glad that uh listeners can get to know Salanjay and hear some of the work that that the church is doing.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So why don't we why don't we open up in prayer?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Could you open us up in prayer?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Place ourselves in God's presence in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Continuing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in the seas season of Easter, now moving towards the celebration of the ascension and looking forward to the great feast of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: In as we pray in thanksgiving for the gift of life and praying for a greater respect for the dignity and value of every human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: We continue to ask for the gifts and help of the Holy Spirit as we pray.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love, send forth your spirit, and we shall be recreated, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in that same spirit to be truly wise and always rejoice in your consolation through Christ our Lord.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Joseph, pray for us.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: All holy men and women, pray for us.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: The Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: Amen.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: I know I sure need it.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so you're you have a podcast.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Can you tell us about it?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: What's it's called Rev Revive, right?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_03: Revive.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_03: So the beauty of that is that in Spanish or English, revive, revive is just, you know, it just works so well.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: But that's with Father Agustino uh Torres, CFR, and um, it's the official podcast for the Eucharistic Revival with the USCCB.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_03: So it's a pleasure to be able to be part of that.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_03: We're on our eighth episode.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_03: So these are the English episodes, like what we're working with right now, and then, God willing, um putting out their our Spanish episodes as well, because we have a crowd that also wants to continue learning about the beauty of the Eucharist and um that relationship with the Lord in in such a real way.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because the way that we talk about things is just we keep it as real as possible.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um the studios are in the Bronx.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: So the way that we you we hear the outside noise, uh, we hear like the beeping of the horns, we hear the people.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: So it's just pretty real the way that it goes about, and we're really excited uh to continue with it.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: A wonderful priest I had in high school uh used to um offer the phrase um that convergence is a sign of the Holy Spirit, and I believe that's true.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um as we uh invited Salanjay on to be today to speak about the several sources, uh mobile unit and her pro-life work, uh real we realized that uh there's that convergence of being able not only to speak about our b work on behalf of life, but uh the national eucharistic revival, which we need to speak about more in in the weeks to come.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: But uh it's great timing because we're actually going to be uh getting information out to parishes.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: We're now entering the or will be as of Corpus Christi in mid-June, entering that third year of the three-year Eucharistic revival leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress that'll take place in Indianapolis in July of 2024.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: So uh for those who may not be so familiar with uh the Eucharistic revival, uh Salange's podcast with Father Augustino is a great resource.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we'll be able to put a link, right?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or um but put it in the in the show notes for sure.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um we'll um hopefully get some time to talk a little bit more about that.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: But um just maybe to go back to uh I remember same Father Augustino, again, the Holy Spirit uh uh guiding us.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I reached out to Father Augustino last fall um when we were planning our annual uh respect life mass, and I um was wondering about um someone who might speak um on behalf of what we what we do for life, what we strive to do for life, and and uh not necessarily uh a priest or a bishop uh or an official uh representative of the church, but uh someone who's part of the church, who's part of that incredible pro-life movement.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes in the media uh over these now 50 years since Roe versus Wade, the pro-life movement sometimes can get a not the best reputation.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's only focused on the child in the womb, doesn't focus on the mom.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh maybe some of the ways that the pro-life commute community has uh communicated uh has led to some of that maybe misunderstanding or lack of uh information.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: But from the very beginning, this is about the child and the mom and and who we are as a people, and uh and and there's a legal part, but there's also even more importantly, um the you can change laws, but changing hearts is um something different, and and that's the work of the Holy Spirit, and that's the work of us being instruments of of the Lord's grace.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that's done in a beautiful way.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Again, sometimes misunderstood.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um sometimes you'll see in movies or other things the people outside the abortion clinic being portrayed in a certain way, maybe judgmental or yelling, or um, but in so many places, um that's a loving presence just there to let that mom know there is another choice.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And uh through Father Augustino, I got to meet Solange.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: She spoke at our uh Respect Life Mass.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: We weren't sure if she was gonna make it because a mom she had helped was about to give birth and she had promised to be with the mom.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you can share a word about that, Solange.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: But uh so um so through our that that meeting, uh uh then we were looking for help in the Respect Life Office of the Diocese, and and Solange has been the great uh uh a perfect fit, I think, for that work, especially as you said, walking uh with moms in need.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe Silanji, just tell us a little bit about how you started in that work on behalf of life and and what it's been like, and and maybe um something as well uh in terms of uh your work in the diocese now.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, thank you so much for that introduction and actually bringing me back to that moment.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um last year was such a blessing to be part of the of the uh Respect Life Mass.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_03: And you were so understanding.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_03: I will never forget.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um I I was so uh filled with enthusiasm.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna, I'm I'm going to speak at this mass.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_03: And then I said, oh, wait, wait.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_03: One of my girls is about to give birth, and they're saying now that it may happen this weekend, and it's exactly the weekend when we have the mass.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember you saying, Um, well, that's important.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: Like that's what's important.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_03: You being there for her, walking with this mom, like truly, right?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_03: We're talking about walking with moms in need.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_03: And and you said, if you can come and speak, that would be amazing.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: But if you can't, um, that's totally fine.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_03: And God is so good that she didn't give birth that weekend.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_03: It happened days later.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_03: And the fact, too, that um you were just so on it, you know, wanting to know how she was doing, um, how was baby.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't even ask of you to do this, but you did this from the kindness of your heart.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_03: And I love how um that's how we we we work.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_03: We work uh with the heart.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you were asking about her, sweet Maybelline, and you went and visited her at the hospital.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: It was her last day.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: She was going to finally head home and and Bishop Sweeney um came by to to give a blessing to the mom and to the baby and to her father who was there that day.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_03: My sister, even Genesis, was there.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_03: And it was just so beautiful.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember you also saying, if she wants to baptize a baby, let me know.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: So these are things that you don't plan.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: These are things that, again, come from the heart.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm so grateful and I thank you for bringing that up because um it just gives such a good feel.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: And it's someone who I still stay in touch with and baby is growing oh so much.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_03: I have to show you a picture of Little Alondra.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: But um, but yes, I mean, the the work that we do, the way that we serve God um is so wonderful, yet it's it's such a battle.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, what we deal with out there is exactly that.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's the good versus the not so good.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_03: And you definitely have to um to understand that it's a calling.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_03: In reality, I mean, I didn't grow up, I like to say this, but I really didn't grow up saying someday I'm gonna be a sidewalk counselor and I can't wait for people to tell me off and you know to spit at me.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, this is so exciting.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: Today is the day, you know?
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_03: That is not like what I wake up thinking, like I can't wait until I'm there by that door.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: And they and and they're trying to What are those what are those conversations like with the with these women?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I mean, I like to meet them where they are, right?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_03: I and and the way that we also work um or or serve with these mamas is um I always tell them, I know that I don't know you, but I care for you.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_03: We don't know where they may be, what walk in life um um this may be.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: And I just want them to know I care for you because as uh Bishop Sweeney was saying, there is this reputation or sometimes people saying, Oh, it's only about the baby.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_03: What about the mom?
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_03: I always like to say we save them both, right?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_03: That's exactly what we're doing because once, you know, the mom is good, the baby's good, then a family could be good.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_03: I care about the dads too, right?
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_03: I see them and I tell them you are as important, you are important to this.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, just making sure that that when I meet them, I mean, you only have seconds to talk to these, to these moms and to and whatever it may be that you say, sometimes it changes up.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: I I can't even say I really have an actual script, right?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_03: Because it changes up depending on how I see them, maybe they're crying.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And these days when we're reading from the Acts of the Apostles, or even uh we see the uh um fulfillment of the words of Jesus when he said to his apostles uh in difficult moments, don't worry about the words you're gonna say, because the Holy Spirit will give you the words.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure that it's so often uh the Holy Spirit giving you the words, right?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_03: And then the people praying across the street.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_03: So that's how I started, right?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: So uh going back to what you had asked, how how I got involved.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I started with 40 Days for Life.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: I started with the organization Life Net, and I started by praying.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_03: I was there with my mom, with my sisters, and that's that's where my mind was with things.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_03: Then I became a speaker for life.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: How long ago would that have been?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my goodness.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I started with Psychua Counseling in 2021, and I might have started with um Life Net maybe in 2019.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And and first praying outside?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: First praying.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: Praying, praying, and whether it was raining, snowing, I be I would never forget this day.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that was a day that God really touched my heart um and letting me know that I could cross the street.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_03: Because literally, right, I'm seeing these girls at coming in and out of the clinic, and I'm thinking, I would love to say something.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: Can I?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_03: Do I have like, do I need some type of training?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what do I need to do?
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_03: Should I have gone to school for this?
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I remember seeing this girl um coming out of a a truck, and she she just looks so worried.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_03: It was raining so hard.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember being the only one praying there that day.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um, well, at that moment.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I wanted to go home.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: I was, I was feeling the cold and everything, right?
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: But it's as if it were a movie scene.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_03: Like the Lord wanted me to be there to experience that, which was seeing this girl coming in and out of the car, talking to who could have been maybe the father of the baby, who could have been a dad.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we're not sure who these men or people are.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and she just looks so worried.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_03: I could see her belly, like she was maybe, I don't know, six months, and she was smoking a cigarette.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, like a a movie scene.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I wanted to say something to her, I never did.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: But I prayed for her and I said, Because of that moment, there's so much I need to do.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: And little by little, while God was tugging at my heart to cross that street and be there by that door to talk to these women.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I've learned over the years, uh, when I was in college, I've shared before my the priest who was a principal of my high school, he was a great pro-life um uh advocate and um in the the the the movement from even before Roe vs.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Wade, Monsignor Philip Riley.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: But he started this group, helpers of God's precious infants, that prayed outside of clinics and offered um sidewalk counseling.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um so um he would say, uh I'll see you at Calvary, he would say um that because as Jesus said, what we do for the least of our sisters and brothers, we do or fail to do for him, and um and and we need to see that see Jesus and that child and the child's mom and the dad, as you say.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we I remember him saying when you're praying outside the clinic um and you pray for that mom and her child as they're walking in, um, that might be the only human love that that that baby's gonna experience because the mom is struggling to say yes to the but over these years, uh something I've learned that we have to say, I think every time we have these conversations, we're not judging, we're not condemning.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and even to hear these conversations, I know there are some that might be upset that we're having these conversations or that uh even people maybe are there outside the clinic.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: But um I think when uh people can hear your testimony and literally uh how lives are saved, that um we ask we try to we all need to have that open heart and um and and not judge um and and know that people have been through under terrible pressure to make difficult decisions and and and that healing is always possible.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um I'm sure you've learned a lot of compassion, right?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_03: And and empathy.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_03: Truly um seeing myself in their situation, feeling, I mean, I I tell them I I can't feel the way you feel, right?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: I can't tell you I know exactly what you're going through because I don't, right?
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um even if it's very similar to something that I've been through or something, a story that they're telling me about, whatever it may be, a lot of these girls have relationship issues, right?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh they have issues at home, um lacking self-love.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_03: So again, this is why it's so important for me to let them know that I care for them, right?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_03: Even if we don't know each other, um, that I want the very best, and that that's true women empowerment.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: Women's empowerment would be for me to walk with you in this stage of your life, that you feel that it's it's so horrible, everything that's happening, and this is an inconvenience, when in reality is the biggest blessing, because not every uh woman can conceive or or is able to, right?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_03: To to have a baby.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_03: So I tell them, um, I'm here for you and whatever that may be.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_03: It could be financially, emotionally, because as you were saying, eventually, if they go through this, which is abortion, the healing.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm there not judging.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: Some of them have told me, listen, I've been there, done that.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, basically saying, like, I got this, um, and I'll be fine.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I say, Well, I I still want to be there for you, even if they've already walked out and and done it, right?
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_03: Even if they've told me that they've already done it before and they're gonna do it again.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_03: I just want that not to continue because we're gonna we're gonna continue needing this healing and love.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so some of what you're saying is as you um you know have that contact with those those moms and and women in such difficult situations, uh uh as we um had this um opportunity to meet with some of the people from several sources.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: You have those people praying for you there on the sidewalk uh in that encounter and other people praying at masses and rosaries and who knows the power of that prayer throughout the church.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, but also the church, again, not known by everyone, uh we do kind of put our money where our mouth is uh when it when it's saying that we're not just gonna uh you know give you a sonogram or uh you know say as long as you you're gonna have the child, good good luck, you know, you're on your own.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so maybe just say a word about several sources and some of the other groups and crisis pregnancy centers and the work that they do, which allows you to be able to say to the mom, we can we got you, we're with you, we're we'll we're there's real help available, right?
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_03: We we we cannot do this by ourselves.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: We need a team of people, we need different hearts to to join into what we do.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: And when I tell these women, I'm gonna walk with you, I'm gonna be there for you, I truly mean that.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, again, um, as mentioned before, um, all the glory to God, 12 saves, right?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but I'm just an instrument of the Lord.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_03: I'm doing what he is asking of me to do, but I need people to to to come through.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so that that's the beauty of being able to have these organizations like Let Them Live.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: Let them live has helped me with with moms um paying their rent throughout the months that they're pregnant and and having the resources that they need once they're they've given birth.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um so yeah, several sources would think.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Seems a little donation or small thing, some diapers, but that makes a huge difference, right?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: So I love that because just last night I was with um St.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_03: Cecilia Parish from Rockaway.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: And just seeing all the things that they're doing, sometimes we may feel like what we're doing is probably not enough, or what is the next step and where we are, like starting small, maybe it seem seems, you know, small, and we're dreaming so big because even with the moms I have, I'm dreaming so big for them.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_03: But I say, okay, again, let me meet them where they are, let me see what these needs are.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_03: And um, having these organizations, like I said, coming through has been so amazing because again, when I tell these moms I'm gonna be there for you, I mean it in the way that I've been there while they're giving birth.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_03: I mean I've been there for the birth of three of these moms.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_03: Like literally, I'm there like pushing with them in a sense.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, just holding them down and being there for them and in such a vulnerable moment.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then now I have another two moms who are to give birth next month.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_03: And one of them, I'll be there for, I'll be there for one of them for sure.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: The other one um has her partner and everything.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_03: So again, just to say again, this is this is something where we do not judge.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_03: There are situations where we may think, oh, but they have a husband, they have a partner, they're not going to do X, Y, and Z.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_03: We don't know where they stand with things.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we don't have the education that is needed.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and that's why I'm so big on the pro life and the chastity talks to our youth and young adults.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: Because if we don't have that, a lot of the times, then that's where we lose them because sometimes we don't even have these talks at home.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: But um, but yeah, several sources, I mean, even the way that they started um was just such a beauty because it was something where there was a girl living in her her car, um, who they noticed was in need of um of of help.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_03: So Kathy, who's a found was a founder, is the founder of several sources, um, saw her need and took her into her own home.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_03: So it reminds me of me.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: Like I literally do that.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_03: Like I take people into my home.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_03: Like I take it so personal.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_03: And not everybody has to do things the way I do it, right?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not asking for that, but for us to at least see how is it that God is calling us to serve him with these moms and these families who are in need.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah well that brings us to uh so not too long ago about a week and a half ago you organized an event with several several sources shelters in which they came to our parking lot here in the diocesan center um and they and the bishop blessed the uh a mobile pregnancy uh unit uh a sprinter van which is gonna be can you tell us a little bit about that it's I can't so it's so beautiful because again I've seen miracles happen.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_03: I've seen what happens when we have the the ultrasound pregnancy free pregnancy test mobile units outside of the abortion clinic one of my saves our baby Noah just turned one uh about two weeks ago and if it weren't for that bus that uh that mobile unit being there which I was able to I don't really want to use the word convinced but guide her on the importance of going in in there and getting the ultrasound.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_03: If it weren't because she had heard her baby's heartbeat she would have never said yes to life.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_03: She had already made up her mind according to what she has said to me right and then I said you know this is what we're offering this is what can happen.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_03: She came out of there and I said what happened she was in tears and she said I couldn't I'm not gonna do it.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_03: I can't give up my baby um she she was just so um excited to for what was to come and even though she was in a difficult moment in her life uh she was able to to choose life so this mobile unit is going to be such a blessing I mean already received the blessing of of of the bishop and has all of our love and um God willing Tuesdays which is the days that I tend to be at outside of the abortion clinic pilgrims at Montclair to be specific the uh the mobile unit will be there hopefully so that's something that's in the works and that's going to be just such a help for me and and for these moms to and dads to to see what is really going in going on within because um one thing that the men have mentioned and that's why I say men are just so important as well is that they're not able to go inside the well they go in the clinic but uh they cannot stay with the woman um throughout the process or different things that are going on.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_03: So right there that's a sign like we don't know what's going on, right?
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_03: So they've expressed to me wow how wonderful that when I go into the unit, the mobile unit, I'm able to be there, hear baby's heart be with her, have that moment.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_03: They don't allow that in there with for me to do that.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_03: So I said even that is isn't that a sign if we want to ask for one or so that you're able to do this and now continue walking with her because you can go to her doctor's appointments and you can be there in every every walk.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're watching on YouTube, we will have some footage of that blessing uh some some b-roll so definitely tune in to the YouTube version of this episode to to check that out.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned uh being at I think there's a a group of parishes that are in Rockaway right that have a uh a pro life group that you visited uh and then um I I think you were also at St.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: Vincent's in Madison recently right for a communion breakfast.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yes and maybe to to speak a little bit about uh what it how it's been like over these months uh that you've been working here in the diocese well again it's it's a blessing um it's an honor to to have been appointed by you Bishop Sweeney working with Dr.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_03: Mary Mazarin uh head of that office for many years now and is a person of great wisdom right she's so sweet so yeah so I was gonna definitely mention her because being under her direction um and and she says to me you know whatever it is that I can teach you basically as if she doesn't have all this knowledge and all this wonderful wisdom but um being by her side and and hearing her um hearing her ways on on how she works certain things versus the way that maybe again because I'm sometimes I may want to do something more from the heart and she'll say okay this is the legal point of view to things and I'm like all right let's not forget that okay we can't do X, Y, and Z.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_03: But it's been such a blessing people have been so welcoming, I mean from the beginning um just the emails, the love that I receive um at the different events and and things that we do.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_03: Recently being there at um St.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_03: Vincent Martyr parish um that was so beautiful because I was able to talk about about my experience with Saiwa Counseling and walking with these moms in need also the my new role and um this initiative of the US E C B which is walking with moms in need.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_03: And everyone was just so um welcoming there too but I said it's not about me it's about my very special guest.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_03: So I brought up with me one of my babies uh she's a year and four months uh my baby Zoe and um and yeah everybody was just so like in joy with her because she was just like she just felt so at home she was so happy every time she saw people clapping she thought it was for her she took it very personal and then I brought her up with me and she wanted to like even talk on the mic.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_03: But um but that's to show the the real deal of things right um I I like that I like for people to not only hear about what it is that we do but to see.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that seeing this baby the proof of um where things end up is is so beautiful and it's so needed because otherwise like you said some people say oh they're gonna help but they're really not gonna walk with them throughout this time.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_03: And actually at the clinic they tend to say that to the women you're gonna see this girl outside truly they're talking about me.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_03: You're gonna see this girl outside and she's gonna tell you that she's gonna help you and she's gonna walk with you and all of that but it's all a lie.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_03: Just come straight upstairs and I say no uh they know exactly what we're getting ready to do and that's why we see the girls rushing in.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_03: They already tell them that just as soon as you come in just rush in because if now they're gonna try to get you.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And as you say that I I know that um often those conversations are in Spanish right uh as we think of our um moms in the Latino community and and and um their challenges in particular and uh how you're able to uh bring your bilingual and uh uh faith and and and ability uh because uh within the diocese too and we're planning an event uh I for the uh Spanish speaking parishes right for uh for respect life event yeah yes God willing so we're gonna be doing that June 3rd um for all the Spanish speaking uh parishes coordinators um and maybe maybe there isn't a coordinator at a at a parish yet but I sent the email uh to see if there's an interest because um yes a lot of my mamas are are Spanish speaking and thank God that I've been able to be there to guide them and and be with them right because otherwise um they just feel so lost I have a mom who came from Peru uh in December of last year and I've been with her like doctor's appointments whatever it may be ubering her wherever she needs getting her right now everything that um baby is going to need since it's due next month.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_03: So these families come with nothing um probably thought they would get everything and that's where we have to come in and and say, all right so these are the next few steps and we want them to also venture and to grow and to be independent right not be dependent of the help that we're giving but to be able to do this also on their own.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm very big on that as well.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'll help as much as possible but I need you to also help yourself.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_03: So thank God for organizations who um who who do that who actually um guide these women to get certifications and to learn how to even cook sometimes the most simple things because they're gonna need it for their home to cook, to uh find jobs and to have these opportunities that they thought that they couldn't have because the baby was an inc would be an inconvenience.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_02: How can our parishes the faith Catholic faithful in the diocese anyone listening or watching to this podcast um get involved get in touch with you or um obviously we have a a website rcdop.org slash respect dash life dash office which I'll put up on the screen for on YouTube.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah so um I'm with Life Advocates of New Jersey um so people can definitely uh look up or reach out to me through the diocese as well um since we do receive donations for sometimes very specific like this one mom that you spoke about I want to donate to her and they do that they'll say maybe I can't come out to pray with you all or I can't be there at the clinic but can I give you this check?
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_03: Okay great let's do this um in the best way that we can um where they see where it's going as well right we we want them to to understand that um we're not gonna just use it for other things right we want to be very responsible with everything so people can definitely reach me uh again through the diocese also I'm on Instagram which um I'll start posting I think a little bit more I have been doing that through stories and and people are just like wow I had no idea that you even were doing some of these things so soul as as in the sun soul got soul as in we all have one so S O L G O T S O U L so Soul got soul or Solanji Rodriguez um is a good way to find me on on social media as well.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: Great and maybe then uh as the convergence that shows us the side of the Holy Spirit uh you could also just maybe in two or three sentences what would you say is the goal of the national eucharistic revival or what have you and um Father Augustino been trying to communicate I know you said uh a a real um reflection on the Eucharist in our lives um but um if somebody here doesn't know about the right Eucharistic revival what would you say to them?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: Well again once again once again it's a blessing to be able to to be part of that um of of that movement or um of all that goodness right because the thing is that we want to meet people where they are in faith.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: So this is for for our youth and our young adults this is for um even older because sometimes we we feel that we've been in the church for quite some time right and we're Catholics so we should know everything and we're afraid to even ask or we're hesitant to the last episode you were saying you were going to take one for the team and ask some questions that maybe uh uh might some might hesitate to ask um not to mention then you and Father Augustino started uh talking about music and cassette tapes and CDs right oh that's right so yeah so we we talk a little bit about it all um because again we are meeting people where they are with things so I ask questions that maybe other people won't ask and I'll say father but what does this mean?
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_03: But why do we do this?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_03: And and again I have people who are older and they'll say to me I'm so glad that you asked that and that you go there with things because I'm afraid to ask that in my parish or wherever it may be.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_03: But yes we spoke about tapes we spoke about CDs or CDs uh to be more specific because I have um and I was saying how my car play CDs and um mine too yeah and it's a beautiful I heard that and I said wow um the car I have now doesn't I and I I'm not very technical technological but no I my phone has uh Bluetooth and I right no I have I have collections of CDs and people are like what are you even doing with that?
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_03: You know I'm a collectionist.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_03: They may call me old fashioned but I like to think of it as um I don't know maybe the cars as advanced as they'll be maybe they'll also have a space for CDs.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe CDs are going to come out I would love that because I have everything from merengue bachata I have jazz I have um RB I have hip hop you name it I have it on CDs I have it on tapes so I want to listen to to a lot of the music that I would listen to back then back in the days when I was young you know so um and I have classic rock and roll and folk music so you see Bishops rocking out to uh Bruce Springsteen and you too right too yes and um yeah so it's a Simon and Garfield called Paul Simon and um Billy Joel and yes I have Ray Charles oh yeah I'm like okay that's where we're taking it I'm like I'm like stuck on the Spotify algorithm.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_02: I've I've just been stuck there for a few years but it's a great way to discover new music.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: I still have records myself.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well thank you Solange for being with us and uh for our listeners of viewers we'll hear more about the Eucharistic revival uh as we go uh in the coming weeks and um we'll keep you up to date on Salanja's work as well and it's so important and it's part of who we are as the church and um we will be praying for you for sure.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yes we need the prayers we need all the prayers sometimes people say that's all I can really do for you I can just and I say hey that is enough.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_03: Of course I always like to say passion.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_03: We have the passion and then put that into action right that is very important.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_03: But if people can't really come outside of their homes or depending on age or illnesses I say hey you're doing God's work.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_02: You really are doing what is needed.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: Before we uh kind of move to the end of the episode Bishop did you want to say anything about the pro-life movement or where things are at I mean we are in a kind of a shifting time I know that lately it's been a lot about the the Camicola abortions and and any thoughts.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: Back to St.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: Pope John Paul II talking about the struggle between cultural death and culture of life and unfortunately even um you know I think uh I've heard um uh when we hear about a school shooting even last night there was a shooting in New in Newark a seven year old girl was killed and uh so uh we're we're uh we advocate on behalf of life and from conception to natural death and everywhere in between especially those who are most in need and part of that is um uh the issue with guns and um you know I often hear from parishioners or others that uh well you're if you're pro-life you need to be doing something about guns and I I agree that that's a a problem that we have to look at and there's you know complicated politics that goes into that and um you know we're so blessed to live in the country that we live in you know which has its challenges and divisions and struggles at the moment but um but we also have freedoms and uh and we that with that freedom comes responsibility and uh as as good disciples and Christians we're called to be good citizens and while everyone may not agree or see eye to eye or especially on the approach or maybe even priorities uh um part of being a good citizen is is is uh you know our listening to our founders who said that we all have God given inalible rights and stowed by our bestowed by our our creator um life liberty and and the pursuit of happiness so we pray for our country and and and that we can work together for peace for an end to violence um and and for a greater respect for for for life at at every moment thank you bishop and um want to sneak in a question from a uh from a a a listener of to beyond the beacon I hope it's for Solange it's for you bishop um so we're starting to get a few we want those questions go ahead absolutely so the the email to send to is beyond at patterson diocese dot org and so we got a question from speaking of um Saint Cecilia in Rockaway it's it's a question from Jim Clancy who's the director of faith formation there.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_02: He says hello bishop Sweeney thank you for doing the podcast you're a great communicator and I have enjoyed the the episode so far it also helps to familiarize people with your your voice thoughts and your pastoral love for the diocese so thank you.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_02: So his question is um with the busy schedule that you keep how do you find time to sit and really get to know the people of the diocese with so many people lay religious clergy wanting to chat and be social with you how do you manage that in a practical way I'm sure you would love to talk to more people but time is limited.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: Love to hear your thoughts on this uh Jim is that right the person who sent thank you Jim for the question and uh we want to uh be transparent and uh uh Jay is good enough to share the questions with me before give me a little time to think in terms of the answer and when I heard I read Jay's question excuse me uh Jim's question uh it I was glad for it because it made me think like others and uh so my role now as bishop is different than uh a priest, a pastor or a priest serving in a parish or in some other forms of ministry that maybe allows a a little more closeness with um and time you know uh uh being one of the blessings of being in a parish is uh for a priest is uh there's a group that he sees maybe every day uh or five or six four or five times uh in in a week if he's celebrating daily mass.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: I I mentioned it before it's an underrated group that and and so those are people that you're praying with every day when you're in a parish and uh even if it's um just Saturday evening or Sunday uh that when you're in a parish a long time the faces become more familiar you start getting names with faces you learn about families you are with families in the joyful moments in the most difficult saddest moments and so uh that's a gift of uh and blessing and responsibility of being a priest in a parish which I was blessed for 23 years uh to to serve in in in Brooklyn and Queens and well most of those years in the parish but now obviously it's a little bit different going to different parishes this time of year for confirmations and uh yes just saying hello after mass now thank god we can shake hands again and uh so um uh when you're out there uh after every mass well i i i I'm happy to meet people and sometimes the interchanges are brief but uh you help me uh in the encouragement that you give and and the prayers that you offer and uh and also sometimes the suggestions are uh uh uh even criticisms well you you know we uh I'm grateful for that as well so yeah it's it's it's different I can't sit down with people in the same way someone in Paris does but also I've learned in in this role um part of my quote unquote parish at the moment um is uh our priests and those who work in our diocese like yourselves and uh our staff here um uh the leadership team that we have in in uh here in our diocese and offices at our evangelization center in in Madison and other places our schools and uh so um that's been a great privilege to get to know uh those um both priests religious um and and lay men and women deacons that um help in the leadership of our diocese and I do need to get to spend time with them and get to know them so that uh we can uh uh allow the Holy Spirit to uh um give us make use that teamwork if we want to say that that we're working together um uh uh to to to discern that synodal process you know that we haven't forgotten the synod so maybe we'll have to get back to that at some point but that that when we encounter one another we listen to one another and then we discern so uh we that's done on a parish level it's done on a family level it's done in the pro-life movement it's done uh in different as we call ecclesial communities any where two or three are gathered Jesus is there and the Holy Spirit is present and and so we need to be listening to and as Pope Francis asks us that we are on the lookout for those who maybe aren't in that group or feel so comfortable in a church or a parish or um might have difference of opinion with some of the things that the church teaches or the way we uh sometimes communicate or again an approach but um so uh that we um are conscious of those encounters that we're listening to one another this podcast is an opportunity send in your questions we're glad to answer them we'll try to get to more in some other episodes but uh and I'll try not to uh give such a long answer to all the questions but that's the it's all good that's a that's a little summary I is as as good as I could do with that I want to ask I hope that answers Jim's question.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_02: You you had a meet and greet in Kinelon a few months back at Our Lady of Mag Mag of the Magnificat.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: And are you planning on doing any more of those or I'm open to the possibility you know that uh Father Steve Shadwell the pastor there he thought it would be um a good thing for his parishioners and it really was it just a little bit more time informal um coffee and cake and um good conversation and some question answers and um it was great.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so um we'll see we might have uh some other of those coming up uh and and certainly we did that during the synod and and though we got to be looking for those opportunities um as as we go and and and see the best forum for that.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I I mean you've been almost three years now you've been here are you are you would you say you're getting kind of getting a pulse of the the diocese?
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: I hope so sure seems like it to me.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: Are you getting the hang up some things I'm still uh learning but uh uh feeling at home as I've said even last year after completing two years uh I feel very very much at home and it this diocese is just a wonderful um ecclesial community um and uh great history and the bishops before Bishop Saratelli Bishop of Dama those before and what's been built um yes we can always uh improve and and and we should be open to where the spirit is leading us today uh and and seeking um the the Lord's will um so we're all hopefully trying to and people and people are so welcoming and um actually St.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_03: Cecilia yesterday uh wanted me to let you know that they love you.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um they said please let the bishop know that we love him and they also want to have that uh one-on-one or have that moment with you so I said we're gonna make that all happen and not only with this parish but with many others um just know that that's part of the plan and and I've had people even say so it's just abortion uh is that all we're gonna talk about sometimes and I just want to address that that yes that is such an important matter and especially with so much that's going on right now with the abortion pill and all these things we want to know the behind the scenes we want to know why it is that they're doing what they're doing but just know that we truly believe from the womb to the tomb, right?
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_03: And that there's so much in between that and the respect for life is in all walks and in so many different ways.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not gonna get into that right now but eventually people will get to see the communities will get to see how it is that we're gonna get involved in many other things that don't just have the word pro-life in it.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_03: I mean yes it's going we protect life at all uh in all its ways but again there are many other topics and things that also uh go into that.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yes that's right yeah yeah well great I think we'll wind this wind this down then I know I know you have places to be both of you places to go people to talk to tell your people to tell my people and and check out Revive the the podcast that Salange is a co-host of a lot of fun.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_02: I really thought uh you guys have some great chemistry on there.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_03: I really enjoyed that thank you uh episode eight there and same here I was listening to actually the last episode uh we have Father Jose and Father and Father yeah yeah so that was a great episode as well to hear their story on how they um are feeling being um in the diocese and their walk in priesthood that was beautiful as well so thank you for all the work that you're doing at this moment.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being here today Salange for all the work you're doing.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_02: Likewise well thank you for spending time with us join us again for the next episode of Beyond the Beacon.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_02: Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_02: If you're watching this episode on Bishop Kevin Sweeney's YouTube channel be sure to like the episode follow the channel and ring the bell for notifications.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_02: Email questions in podcast topic ideas for the bishop to beyond at pattersondioces.org thank you for listening to beyond the beacon God bless you