Latest / Beyond The Beacon / 15: Remote episode at Quo Vadis discernment retreat at Camp Shiloh; interviews galore

Transcript

15: Remote episode at Quo Vadis discernment retreat at Camp Shiloh; interviews galore · Beyond The Beacon

0:07
SPEAKER_07: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, the podcast of the Diocese of Patterson.
0:13
SPEAKER_07: I'm Jay Agnish, Communications Director for the Diocese and editor of the Beacon newspaper.
0:17
SPEAKER_07: With me is Bishop Kevin.
0:19
SPEAKER_07: Bishop, how you doing?
0:20
SPEAKER_01: I'm good, Jay.
0:21
SPEAKER_07: How are you today?
0:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm doing good, thank you.
0:23
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, and before we our first remote.
0:26
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: WFAN Uh Sports Radio, they used to, Micah the Mad Dog used to do what they called remotes when they were out of the studio visiting.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: So our first remote.
0:34
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, exciting.
0:36
SPEAKER_07: Absolutely.
0:36
SPEAKER_07: And uh I want to just say congratulations on your 26th anniversary of being a priest yesterday.
0:43
SPEAKER_07: I didn't get to talk to you yesterday, so congratulations on that.
0:48
SPEAKER_07: And um what what's what's going on?
0:50
SPEAKER_01: So should we tell everyone where we are?
0:52
SPEAKER_01: Sure, sure.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: Uh here at Camp Shiloh in beautiful Hewitt, I believe, in the mountains of our diocese in northern Pasea County, Shiloh Bible Camp.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: And uh they've hosted now for a couple of years.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: I think we might have our vocation director, Father Rama, with us uh shortly.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: But uh today is called Quo Vadis, and we're blessed to have more than 50 young men who are open to the possibility that Jesus could be calling them to the priesthood and going to spend some time in prayer.
1:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh we just had mass uh and they're gonna be here for the rest of the day.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: The Knights of Columbus just cooked a great uh lunch.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: How was the food, guys?
1:24
SPEAKER_01: Good?
1:25
unknown: Pretty good.
1:26
SPEAKER_07: And we have a few kids that are involved or young men that are involved uh in today's activities joining us in our studio.
1:34
SPEAKER_07: Did they talk about the serious audience here?
1:36
SPEAKER_01: Did they talk about why it's called Quo Batis?
1:39
SPEAKER_01: Uh so last January before.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: They did.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh some guys have been here before, but the Quo Batis comes from the Latin word phrase, where are you going?
1:48
SPEAKER_01: And uh there's a legend, but based in well, uh part of the church tradition for a long time, that as Peter eventually got to Rome and uh and today it's so beautiful, it's the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, so Peter um was in Rome and they were persecuting uh and putting the Christians in jail, as we heard about in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: This would have been before uh, well, uh he would have been in jail in the Holy Land, but then eventually he gets to Rome, and maybe he's thinking that he's gonna be arrested, and he figures maybe it's best that he get out of town, and he's getting out of town, and as he's walking on the road out of town, leaving Rome, uh he sees Jesus walking towards him, and they stop and recognize each other, and Peter says to Jesus, I think maybe Jesus says to Peter, Where are you going?
2:34
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Oh, I gotta get out of Rome.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: And he said, and Peter says to Jesus, Where are you going?
2:38
SPEAKER_01: Quo Vatis.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus said, I'm going to Rome to be crucified.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: So Peter realized, well, maybe that's where I'm supposed to be.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus, we know it told him that eventually he would glorify um the Lord by giving his life, St.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: Peter would.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: And eventually he, as we know, he'd be crucified upside down because he didn't feel worthy to die in the same way that Jesus did.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: So, Quo Vatis, where are you going?
3:00
SPEAKER_01: And uh that's a question that we can all ask in our lives, certainly our young people, and we'll hear a little bit about how they ask and try to answer that question.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, certainly we do it in prayer.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: So uh we're here at Corvatis, God has given us a beautiful day, and uh they're gonna we're they're being generous and giving us some of their free time because uh there's gonna be zip lining and rock climbing and uh basketball and many other activities uh here at Camp Charlotte, but uh um it's great to be here uh on our remote at the Corvatis Retreat.
3:28
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
3:29
SPEAKER_07: So should we begin with a prayer?
3:31
SPEAKER_01: Yes, uh we'll place ourselves once again in God's presence, name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
3:37
SPEAKER_01: On this great feast, solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, we give thanks to God for the gift of our faith, the gift of life, the gift of family, and the gift of the church, our one holy Catholic Apostolic Church founded on the Apostles Peter and Paul.
3:51
SPEAKER_01: We pray for the young men with us today, for their parents and families, and for their generosity of spirit, their courage to consider the Lord's call.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: As we ask the Lord to guide us and ask the help and intercession of Mary, our Blessed Mother, and Saint Peter and Paul and all the saints, we ask the help of Mary as we pray.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
4:13
SPEAKER_01: Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: Our Lady Seed of Wisdom, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
4:26
SPEAKER_01: Saints Peter and Paul.
4:27
SPEAKER_01: Pray for us in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
4:30
SPEAKER_07: Thanks, Bishop.
4:31
SPEAKER_07: All right, so why don't we introduce our first two guests here?
4:34
SPEAKER_07: We have sitting across me here is Deacon Joe DeMarzo.
4:38
SPEAKER_07: Joe Joe DeMarzo.
4:39
SPEAKER_08: Yes, DeMarzo.
4:41
SPEAKER_08: Yes.
4:41
SPEAKER_08: How are you doing, Jay?
4:42
SPEAKER_08: How are you doing?
4:42
SPEAKER_08: Good to be here.
4:43
SPEAKER_07: Yes, thanks for joining us.
4:45
SPEAKER_07: And and uh, and I'm sorry, who do we have here?
4:48
SPEAKER_07: You're uh Dominic Wenceslaus from St.
4:50
SPEAKER_04: Lawrence Parish.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: Dominic Wenceslaus, uh the great Good King Wesley.
4:54
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, yeah.
4:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh what parish you said?
4:57
SPEAKER_04: Uh St.
4:57
SPEAKER_04: Lawrence.
4:58
SPEAKER_01: First time on Corbanis, or you've been here before?
5:00
SPEAKER_04: No, I've been here before.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: Okay, great.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh so we can maybe hear a little bit from Deacon Joe, who was just ordained.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: We had our two new priests ordained uh this past Saturday.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: One of them was here with us today, Father Christoph.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh but uh Deacon Joe was ordained a deacon on May 20th, the uh Ascension of the Lord.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: With uh Deacon Sebastian, yes.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: Uh and how has it been so far?
5:22
SPEAKER_08: Uh it's been good.
5:23
SPEAKER_08: Um you know I've being being a deacon, it's awesome.
5:28
SPEAKER_08: You know, I remember at the ordination um uh after the laying on of hands, I remember when we were kneeling in front of you.
5:37
SPEAKER_08: I remember having this experience of just there was just this sense of disbelief.
5:43
SPEAKER_08: Like I was overwhelmed with this sense of I can't believe that I'm ordained now.
5:48
SPEAKER_08: That's just that's just how I um was experiencing that moment.
5:53
SPEAKER_08: But being a deacon is awesome.
5:54
SPEAKER_08: Uh I love serving the Lord in this way.
5:57
SPEAKER_08: And where are you doing your ministry at the moment?
5:59
SPEAKER_08: Uh St.
5:59
SPEAKER_08: Anthony's in Hawthorne.
6:01
SPEAKER_01: Right with Monsignor Kupke, uh Coffee with Kupke, a chance for a promo, one of our other podcasts.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh Deacon Joe, I think you and Deacon Sebastian and some of the other seminarians have spoken or will speak to some of our young men today.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but um in in two minutes or a few sentences, what would what is your message for a young man like uh first name again, Dominic.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: Dominic Wenceslaus and the other young men here at Covadis that if they're thinking about that, they could be called to priesthood.
6:30
SPEAKER_08: It would be um be brave and consider the call.
6:35
SPEAKER_08: You know, like as I said during my talk, every every human person, every person has a calling, and there's something that God wants you to do with your life, and specifically each of us has a vocation, and some of you might be called to be a priest.
6:55
SPEAKER_08: So that is just a reality.
6:57
SPEAKER_08: Maybe not all of you, but some of you might very well be called.
7:00
SPEAKER_08: So just to be brave and to be open to that calling.
7:04
SPEAKER_08: Um, and it's also exciting.
7:05
SPEAKER_08: It makes you know, life is an ad it's an adventure.
7:07
SPEAKER_08: You know, there's something that God has for you that He a mission that He wants you to do.
7:12
SPEAKER_08: So just to be, just to have that in your mind.
7:14
SPEAKER_08: Like I might be called to be a priest, I might be called to serve God's church in this way, just to have that reality before your mind.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Deacon Joe.
7:23
SPEAKER_01: Um Dominic, uh, you said this is your second or third?
7:29
SPEAKER_04: I think third, yeah.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: And today and those previous, what would you say is a message that you've heard or received or something maybe that's been helpful for you as you think about that question?
7:38
SPEAKER_01: Quo bottis, where am I going in my life and what is God asking of me?
7:41
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I think it's a great question.
7:43
SPEAKER_04: And every priest and deacon that talks, they always talk about um listening to God first.
7:49
SPEAKER_04: They don't they don't push priesthood on you, they just say listen to what God wants for you, and I think that's the most important message on this uh this day-long retreat.
7:56
SPEAKER_04: So yeah.
8:04
SPEAKER_07: We have our next two guests, and uh why don't you introduce yourselves, starting over here?
8:09
SPEAKER_12: Hello, my name is Christian Phillips.
8:10
SPEAKER_12: Um I'm from St.
8:11
SPEAKER_12: Lawrence and Chester, just like Dominic.
8:14
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
8:15
SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Christian.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, welcome.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: I think we've met before, right?
8:18
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, good to see you again.
8:19
SPEAKER_10: My name's Armin Marderosian, and I'm also from St.
8:22
SPEAKER_10: Lawrence.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: Great.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: And where do you go to school?
8:25
SPEAKER_10: I go to school at Pope John.
8:26
SPEAKER_01: I see the nice lacrosse sweatshirt, that's the t-shirt, right?
8:30
SPEAKER_07: So uh go ahead, Jay.
8:32
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so what what do you guys think?
8:33
SPEAKER_07: You guys having a good time?
8:34
SPEAKER_07: Have you been here before?
8:35
SPEAKER_07: Is this your first time?
8:37
SPEAKER_12: Yes, this is uh my third year here.
8:39
SPEAKER_12: Um your third year here, yeah.
8:40
SPEAKER_12: Yes, yes.
8:41
SPEAKER_12: Um what keeps drawing you back?
8:44
SPEAKER_12: Probably um all of the young men with the same mindset as I do.
8:52
SPEAKER_12: So definitely seeing all the guys go to mass.
8:55
SPEAKER_12: I definitely don't see that a lot.
8:58
SPEAKER_12: Um, so it's just it's nice being together with a ton of group of guys.
9:02
SPEAKER_12: And where do you go to school?
9:03
SPEAKER_12: Uh I'm homeschooled, Seton homeschooling.
9:05
SPEAKER_12: Great.
9:06
SPEAKER_12: In what grade?
9:07
SPEAKER_12: I'm a sophomore.
9:08
SPEAKER_12: I'll be going junior.
9:09
SPEAKER_12: Great, great.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: God bless your parents.
9:11
SPEAKER_12: And how many brothers and sisters?
9:13
SPEAKER_12: I have two sisters and one brother.
9:15
SPEAKER_12: All homeschooled?
9:16
SPEAKER_12: Uh no, my brother uh graduated from high school.
9:20
SPEAKER_12: He went to college for two years, dropped out, and then joined the military.
9:22
SPEAKER_12: Um, Marines.
9:24
SPEAKER_12: Serving our country?
9:25
SPEAKER_12: Yep.
9:26
SPEAKER_12: He he finished his four years and he's out.
9:28
SPEAKER_12: He just got out this December.
9:30
SPEAKER_12: My sister um was homeschooled from I think her sophomore year up until her senior year, and then she went to St.
9:38
SPEAKER_12: John's.
9:38
SPEAKER_12: And then my younger sister is turning 13 this year, and she's been homeschooled, I think, since first grade.
9:45
SPEAKER_01: Wonderful, wonderful.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: And uh, what's your first name again?
9:48
SPEAKER_10: Armin.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: Armin.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: And what grade what year in Saint in Pope John?
9:52
SPEAKER_10: I'm going into eighth.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: Going into eighth.
9:54
SPEAKER_01: And um what's been your experience?
9:56
SPEAKER_01: Is this your first Covadis?
9:58
SPEAKER_10: Yes.
9:58
SPEAKER_01: How's it going so far?
9:59
SPEAKER_10: It's good.
10:00
SPEAKER_10: Anything stand out that you're enjoying or I like just like Christian, how we all went to Mass together and we were working on together.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: Great.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: Uh and good music, right?
10:12
SPEAKER_10: Yes.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: How was the homily?
10:14
SPEAKER_01: Um it was uh my privilege to celebrate Masses I shared with the young men um on the Feast of St.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: Peter and Paul, which is uh having been ordained on June 28th, I celebrated my first Mass um as a priest on this feast day, June 29th in 1997.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: So really couldn't think of a better place to be to celebrate uh Peter and Paul today.
10:34
SPEAKER_07: So uh I have to say I love your your tone and and your presence with the young men, and and it brings out a different side of you.
10:42
SPEAKER_07: I I I really like that.
10:43
SPEAKER_07: So yeah, I think we need more of that.
10:45
SPEAKER_07: But Armin and Christian, right?
10:47
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
10:54
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so we have our next our next two guests, Michael Rose and Shane Tucker.
11:00
SPEAKER_07: How are you guys doing?
11:01
SPEAKER_07: Thanks for joining us.
11:02
SPEAKER_03: Great, thank you.
11:03
SPEAKER_07: I'm doing pretty good today, thank you.
11:04
SPEAKER_07: Awesome.
11:04
SPEAKER_07: So, what do you what are you looking forward to today?
11:07
SPEAKER_03: Uh I'm looking forward to lots of the fun activities and uh masses great.
11:12
SPEAKER_03: Looking forward to adoration and confession later.
11:15
SPEAKER_03: It's gonna be great.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: What's your parish?
11:17
SPEAKER_03: Oh, um C or Lady Mount Carmel.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: Lady Mount Carmel in Boonton, right?
11:21
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
11:22
SPEAKER_05: Uh for me, yeah, basically what he said, just uh try different activities, heard about archery, game room, so on, and confession too, and just say that with what we've already done, I really enjoyed mass and the video and the speech um everyone gave here.
11:38
SPEAKER_01: Fish is a men video, right?
11:41
SPEAKER_01: And uh Shane, right?
11:42
SPEAKER_01: Um your parish?
11:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh St.
11:44
SPEAKER_05: Catherine of Siena in Mount Lakes.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: Mountain Lakes.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh a few parishes that have sent a group of guys, so that's great.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: Um and uh where do you go to school?
11:52
SPEAKER_05: Um Mount Lakes High School.
11:54
SPEAKER_05: And yourself?
11:55
SPEAKER_03: Um I'm homeschooled with Aquinas Learning and Little Lake Cooperative.
12:00
SPEAKER_07: Great, great.
12:02
SPEAKER_07: Good, yeah.
12:03
SPEAKER_07: What um anything that stuck out from Bishop's homily or his message earlier today or any of the speakers?
12:50
SPEAKER_05: I really liked how, um, especially coming from St.
12:53
SPEAKER_05: Catherine, I like um noticing the differences between maybe your homily and uh Father Perisi, who's um my pastor.
13:00
SPEAKER_05: Um yours is a lot longer, though I really liked uh the messages noting the differences between them.
13:06
SPEAKER_05: And honestly, just that throughout the whole Mass, though, uh realizing that together we're all accomplishing the same goal in worshiping God, but it is nice, uh, especially with um, like for instance, the map the Mass being outdoors, just to notice those little subtle differences and how we can appreciate it, right?
13:24
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes because it seems to be the same, we can take it for granted.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: Having a little different experience, right, can help to bring out some of the meaning and the power, right?
13:31
SPEAKER_05: That's uh yes, definitely.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: And uh Shane, you um you're gonna be getting a new priest this summer.
13:36
SPEAKER_01: Did you know that?
13:37
SPEAKER_05: I did not know that, no.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: Uh who was with us, Father Christoph, uh, who was just ordained.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh, actually he's gonna be serving.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: Now I feel like I remember hearing about that, yeah.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: So you'll get to hear another uh uh style of homily from uh new newly ordained Father Christoph.
13:52
SPEAKER_01: There we go.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah.
13:54
SPEAKER_03: And tell me again your parish?
13:56
SPEAKER_03: Excuse me?
13:56
SPEAKER_01: Your parish?
13:57
SPEAKER_03: Oh, Arlie of Mount Carmel and Boots.
13:59
SPEAKER_01: So you have a priest who's uh uh one of our veterans, we could say Father Daniel O'Malane, but um you also have a newly ordained uh priest just finishing his first year, Father Wade, right?
14:09
SPEAKER_01: How's Father Wade doing?
14:10
SPEAKER_01: He's great, yeah.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: He's great.
14:11
SPEAKER_03: Aunes are good, yeah.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: And they're uh a good team, no?
14:14
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
14:15
SPEAKER_01: Great, great, great.
14:23
SPEAKER_07: Yes, so we're we're back with uh two more uh young men who've who've come to the Cobaris retreat today.
14:30
SPEAKER_07: And who do we have here?
14:31
SPEAKER_07: Xavier?
14:32
SPEAKER_07: Yep.
14:33
SPEAKER_07: And what's how do you say your last name?
14:34
SPEAKER_14: Uh Sassman.
14:35
SPEAKER_14: Sussman.
14:36
SPEAKER_07: And your your name?
14:37
SPEAKER_02: Peter Sankel.
14:38
SPEAKER_07: Thanks for joining us.
14:39
SPEAKER_01: Peter, happy feast day on the feast of St.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: Peter and Paul.
14:42
SPEAKER_02: It's thank you.
14:42
SPEAKER_01: Anybody named Peter or Paul is their feast day today, so happy feast day.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: And your parishes?
14:47
SPEAKER_01: I go to um Little Flower in Berkeley Heights.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: Okay, great.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: Actually, in our neighboring diocese, right?
14:53
SPEAKER_01: I think that's uh in Matuchin or the Archis of Newark?
14:56
SPEAKER_01: Archdiocese of Newark.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah, great.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: Welcome.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: And where do you go to school?
15:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm homeschooled.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: Great.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: There's a few homeschoolers here today.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: That's wonderful.
15:03
SPEAKER_01: And yourself?
15:04
SPEAKER_14: Um I go to uh St.
15:08
SPEAKER_14: Anthony of Padua and West Orange.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Okay, great, great.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: Also, I think in Home School Newark.
15:12
SPEAKER_14: And school?
15:13
SPEAKER_14: Uh I'm also homeschooled, and like Michael, I go to Little Way Homeschool Co-op.
15:17
SPEAKER_01: Do you know some of the other homeschoolers?
15:19
SPEAKER_01: Is there some connection?
15:20
SPEAKER_01: I think there's some experience of community sometimes, no?
15:23
SPEAKER_01: Do you know or or we all know each other?
15:25
SPEAKER_01: You all know each other, right?
15:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great, great.
15:28
SPEAKER_01: So um and what grade are you in?
15:30
SPEAKER_01: I'm going into ninth grade.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: And yourself?
15:32
SPEAKER_01: Same.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: Same.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: Um and how long you've been homeschooled?
15:36
SPEAKER_01: My all my life, yeah.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're right.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: Uh and um, do you have many brothers and sisters?
15:43
SPEAKER_14: Uh yeah, I have six.
15:45
SPEAKER_14: Great, and you're I have eight brothers and sisters.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: Great, great.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: Um and um so you're is it both your parents are involved in the teaching or others?
15:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, how does it work?
15:55
SPEAKER_02: Um so I go to Hart Academy, so there's another mom, all our kids are graduated from college.
16:01
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
16:02
SPEAKER_02: But she teaches a bunch of homeschoolers once a week at a school and get homework from her.
16:07
SPEAKER_02: So I mainly learn from her.
16:09
SPEAKER_01: How about yourself, mom and dad and others?
16:11
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, my mom has primarily kind of made a curriculum for that scrolling heavily from Matomobelus, and then heading this year we're gonna be taking some online classes.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: And uh I guess uh do you both have a sense that um one of the well one uh question could be do you know why your parents chose the to that they wanted to homeschool their children?
16:30
SPEAKER_01: And secondly, do you think it has something to do with their faith?
16:33
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, I think it has almost everything to do with their faith.
16:36
SPEAKER_14: Um my mom has homeschooled not just me, but all of my siblings, and it came from the fact that she really wanted to play the biggest role she could in ensuring that we were raised in the faith, which is one of the things I love about her so much, is she committed every she used to be a journalist and then she focused, she went all in on homeschooling all of my siblings.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: So as I celebrate confirmations, I often recall that the parents on the day the children are baptized, they make that promise to raise their children in the faith.
17:03
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and uh that's everybody can make that promise, but following through, and we bless all parents, and there are many different ways of educating um children, and we're grateful for the Catholic schools we have in public schools, but uh homeschooling is certainly an option, and uh we congratulate those parents who make that commitment, as you say, all in.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: And uh we also believe that parents are have that responsibility once they baptize their children to be the first educators.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: And as a pastor, I always said, you know, uh that uh the parents entrust us in a parish, whether it be a parish school or religious education program, the pastor, the priest, or the the religious uh catechetical leaders and and the catechists to cooperate with, but the it's not the sometimes uh there might be some misunderstanding or thought that well the parents leave their kids at religious ed, and then that's taking care of the uh uh the the um the responsibility is is more than that as the first teachers.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: So um we know that homeschool parents certainly take that seriously, right?
18:02
SPEAKER_01: You guys have picked that up along the way, right?
18:04
SPEAKER_01: And maybe something about Quo Vatis.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: How is this your first one, or have how's it going so far, or anything you heard that or experienced that stands out?
18:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, this is my first one.
18:15
SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I really love all the seminarians here.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: It's really great to see all of them.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: Had you seen seminarians before, non-seminarians?
18:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: Right.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: But just a few, probably.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: Right.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: And to today they're all together, right?
18:28
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
18:29
SPEAKER_01: And yourself?
18:29
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, um, this is my first time too.
18:32
SPEAKER_14: I love the the emphasis on calling.
18:35
SPEAKER_14: Like, especially that oftentimes I am tempted to think that that's something that you know should come years into the future, but to think that the calling starts now and it's something we should all be thinking about.
18:44
SPEAKER_14: We should, you know, start asking quo bodies immediately.
18:47
SPEAKER_14: It's right, right.
18:48
SPEAKER_14: Something that this is especially helpful.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: And realize that the Lord is also asking us, right?
18:51
SPEAKER_01: Where are we going, right?
18:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: As he asked Peter, yes.
19:02
SPEAKER_01: So uh we're back and we uh are gonna try a little experiment here where we're gonna have uh this sem segment of the podcast in bilingual in English and in Espanyol.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: Um we have with us Angel, Angel de qué parroquia?
19:19
SPEAKER_11: San Antonio de Pablo.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: San Antonio de Pado in Paterson.
19:23
SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
19:33
SPEAKER_01: In 11th grade.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: 11th grade.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: Um so Angel is an 11th grader at International High School in la Escuela in Patterson.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, y um uh asistido?
19:51
SPEAKER_01: Y um uh algo pasó in the parroquia el domingo pasado, ¿qué pasó?
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Y ahora es un padre.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: Un sacerdote, sí. ¿Cómo fue?
20:19
SPEAKER_11: Fue magnífico.
20:20
SPEAKER_11: Había muchos padres reunidos and celebrando con mucha gracia, porque uno de nosotros, de los niños, pudo ascender a la gracia de Dios.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: Wow, wow.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: Angel saying that uh one of our new priests, uh now Father Staly Castaños from his parish, uh, who really grew up in that parish, uh, and uh Angel is saying one of the little guys like us now is all of a sudden ascended to being uh a priest celebrating his first mass, and that there were a whole bunch of uh priests uh who were there um celebrating together.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: And um first name again?
20:58
SPEAKER_01: Blaise.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: Blaise, what parish?
20:59
SPEAKER_13: I actually also go to St.
21:01
SPEAKER_13: Anthony of Padawas in West Orange.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you both go to St.
21:03
SPEAKER_01: Anthony of Padua, but just in different uh places, right?
21:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh and it was just St.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: Anthony's Feast Day, right?
21:08
SPEAKER_01: June 13th.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: Um your first time on Colbodis or?
21:12
SPEAKER_13: Yes, this is my first time coming here, and I really like it.
21:14
SPEAKER_13: How's it going so far so good?
21:15
SPEAKER_13: Yeah, it's been amazing.
21:16
SPEAKER_01: How did you find out about it?
21:17
SPEAKER_01: Did someone invite you?
21:18
SPEAKER_13: I actually received like a flyer for it at a different event I was going to.
21:22
SPEAKER_13: A priestess said, you know, this is for high school-aged boys if you want to contemplate your vocation.
21:27
SPEAKER_13: And I looked at it, and that sounded exactly like something I might want to go to and consider.
21:30
SPEAKER_13: And so I went and a lot of my friends did as well.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: Great, great.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: And where do you go to school?
21:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm actually homeschooled.
21:35
SPEAKER_01: You're homeschooled as well.
21:36
SPEAKER_01: And so you know that group, some of the guys here, right?
21:38
SPEAKER_01: That's the one.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm I'm actually friends with a lot of them.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: That's great, that's great.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: And uh uh anything you heard today so far that has stuck out or maybe uh caught your attention in a particular way?
21:49
SPEAKER_13: Yeah, I think two things.
21:51
SPEAKER_13: The first was the emphasis on relationships as something to consider in finding your calling, that it's all about your relationship with God and how you view that.
21:59
SPEAKER_13: And then the second was actually something I heard in the homily today, which was talking about Peter and Paul.
22:04
SPEAKER_13: And I really like the emphasis on their humanity.
22:07
SPEAKER_13: That one thing that united them despite all their differences was that they made mistakes just like all of us.
22:12
SPEAKER_13: And even though they brought about we brought about many of the greatest changes in the early period of Christianity, they also had a lot of slip-ups.
22:21
SPEAKER_13: Yeah, and I like that that shows that even human beings who make mistakes can do great things when they're able to, you know, overcome them.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: And allow God to to work to us, right?
22:29
SPEAKER_01: Yes, right, right.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: Necessitamos heroes.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: We need heroes.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: In the video that's so beautifully said about St.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: Pope John Paul II and Annel is saying, you know, that we need, and our young people they certainly need not only superheroes in the movies, but real people that, right?
23:06
SPEAKER_01: Not only in the pillows, but in in verdad, no?
23:10
SPEAKER_01: So that they in I think in seeing the seminarians, they see, wow, um, this is possible.
23:16
SPEAKER_01: And these are regular guys that come from different places and families and parishes, but they then many of them are seminarians were here when they were younger on Covaris, and now they're in the seminary and it gives you guys someone to look up to, right?
23:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you very much.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: Muchas gracias.
23:40
SPEAKER_07: So we're back.
23:41
SPEAKER_07: Um we have some a couple uh adult guests with us now.
23:45
SPEAKER_07: We have Father Ed Rama, who's our vocations director with the Diocese of Patterson, and we have I'm sorry, I Deacon Sebastian.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us.
23:57
SPEAKER_01: Thanks very much.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: And we'll hear from Deacon Sebastian, who was ordained with Deacon Joe, who's also been with us.
24:03
SPEAKER_01: And um, but I want to take an opportunity to say thank you to Father Ed Rama, our vocation director, who is really the reason why we're all here today, who brought this with the team, but uh, you know, really made it happen.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: And thank you, Father Ed.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: And uh sometimes, especially my own time in vocation work, uh, and something that vocation directors experience.
24:21
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes when we have events or plan events, uh we're hoping the response will be good.
24:25
SPEAKER_01: It's not always exactly what we had hoped for, but today, uh, would you say I think it met our expectations and then some, right?
24:31
SPEAKER_09: Yes, definitely.
24:32
SPEAKER_09: Thank you, Bishop, and thank you, Jay, for the for the interview.
24:35
SPEAKER_09: Um, yeah, we're doing great.
24:36
SPEAKER_09: I think last year we had maybe 23 young men.
24:39
SPEAKER_09: This year we have 52 uh that came to the event.
24:42
SPEAKER_09: So but I always felt it was a good venue for the kids.
24:45
SPEAKER_09: You know, there's a lot of a lot of fun, a lot of fun activities.
24:48
SPEAKER_09: Uh zip lining is an indoor pool.
24:51
SPEAKER_09: Uh they have indoor rock climbing effort, which they're all doing right now.
24:54
SPEAKER_09: Great.
24:54
SPEAKER_09: And um, and we have a nice balance.
24:56
SPEAKER_09: You know, we celebrate mass outside, and uh all our several seminarians giving talks, um, and uh with you celebrating mass, it's uh it's really powerful.
25:07
SPEAKER_09: And uh so I think it's just it's a good um good combination, I think, of spiritual things and fun things for the kids to do.
25:13
SPEAKER_09: And we're planning um, this is the first time this year we're gonna have a uh a hike uh up the mountain.
25:19
SPEAKER_09: Right, right.
25:19
SPEAKER_09: And we've got um two of our seminarians are gonna give talks, uh, Jenda Medina and uh John Peter's app.
25:25
SPEAKER_09: So um and I think I'll pray maybe a decade of the rosier on the way up, and uh so it's uh it's a fun day for the kids.
25:31
SPEAKER_01: How long again now as vocation director?
25:34
SPEAKER_09: Uh four years.
25:35
SPEAKER_09: Four years.
25:35
SPEAKER_01: Going on five years now, actually.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: Doing good, doing good.
25:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh we have different vocation events, and maybe in the coming weeks or months we'll uh have Father Ed back to talk about Project Andrews as we'll be doing some uh outreach to young men and uh considering the possibility of priesthood within parishes.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: Uh but um you also had a um mentioning a hike, you had a hike, I think, right after Easter in Sussex County, right?
25:58
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, that's right.
25:59
SPEAKER_09: We did a hike on the Appalachian Trail, uh Stairway to Heaven, and uh surprisingly we had it looks like 43 people that came and uh it was not only just young men and women discerning a vocation, but a lot of their parents came, their mothers and fathers, and uh so it was kind of a family event, and uh and we always want to make sure that when we talk about vocations, especially with those who are a little bit younger, that um the parents were need to be involved and um we uh are in contact with them, right?
26:25
SPEAKER_01: They all the parents have obviously given their permission for the boys to be here today.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh so uh again we walked that that journey with the with the parents when um as vocation director, I remember at times when a parent heard that uh there were some parents when they heard that their son was thinking about seminary or priesthood, they were excited like my mother was when I thought sometimes thought too excited, but uh when uh there's others when um the boy says the young man says, or even women in entering religious life that um they tell their parents and their parents say, Oh no, no, no, no.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: And uh we have to be respectful of that.
26:59
SPEAKER_01: And there's many uh in the um uh uh experience of discernment and seminary or formation that the parents may not be so happy at the beginning, but by the time they're getting ready to be ordained when they're priests or maybe enter the religious community, uh the time helps, and a lot of times the parents come around, and if they see that their son or daughter is happy, they're you know they're gonna be happy uh very often.
27:20
SPEAKER_01: Uh maybe that can be a segue into Sebastian, Deacon Sebastian introducing himself, and maybe since we're on the topic, uh how your family feels about you being in the seminary and how they felt when you first told them.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: Uh, do you remember what that was like?
27:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I remember when I when I told them uh they were very happy uh because uh in Colombia having a priest in your family is is such a blessing, and and so they were very happy to um to hear that I was considering a priesthood, and they always have uh supported me uh with prayers, uh giving me a lot of courage to continue my formation.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: So, and because of them, I think that uh I'm here because of them, because um because of their faith and because of their prayers.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: And in your experience and family, uh you not only were saying to your parents, uh well, maybe first you said to them, I'm thinking about priesthood and the priesthood in the seminary, um, or at least being in the seminary in Columbia where you were born and raised, but then came a time where you said to your parents, basically, which many of our priests here in the diocese from different countries, they're living a missionary vocation because they leave their home and their family and they come to a different uh country and culture and language for some.
28:36
SPEAKER_01: And uh so how did your parents feel?
28:39
SPEAKER_01: Okay, they were happy when you said you're gonna be a priest.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: When you said you're gonna be a priest maybe in the United States, was that a different reaction?
28:45
SPEAKER_00: They were not so happy when I had a missionary.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because then I was going to be uh away a few thousand of miles away, so they they were not very happy about it.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: But I think that it took them a while to to understand that that a priest is a missionary.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we go wherever we are needed, and and that's why um uh many of us, I mean, we come from uh Poland, the Philippines, Colombia, um, because we we see the need of the diocese, and and that's the priest.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: He he goes wherever he's needed.
29:18
SPEAKER_01: So and what year did you come to the United States the past?
29:20
SPEAKER_00: I was in 2017.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: 2017.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: We know there are two guys, uh and one of them is still information.
29:27
SPEAKER_01: And six years later now you've been ordained deacon.
29:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh, such a yeah.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: What was the date?
29:31
SPEAKER_01: Deacon Joe told us the date of your ordination again.
29:33
SPEAKER_01: So May 20th.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: May 20th.
29:35
SPEAKER_01: Uh and where have you been serving as a deacon and how has it been now that you're a deacon as opposed to maybe have your experience as a seminarian?
29:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I was assigned to St.
29:44
SPEAKER_00: Philip's in Clifton.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: I I was there last uh summer, so I was reassigned again, and and it's it's been great because it's very different.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: Like when you're as a seminarian, uh you're a little bit limited on what you can do.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: But then as a deacon, I was able to do my first baptism, which was uh beautiful, then uh being able to preach, uh to serve the altar in in a different way, um and then just being present with people.
30:15
SPEAKER_00: Like we just had the carnival, um, so people love seeing us.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: That was a busy weekend, right?
30:21
SPEAKER_00: That was a busy weekend, yes, yeah.
30:22
SPEAKER_00: But but that was that was good.
30:23
SPEAKER_01: And you're serving with Father David Monteleone as the pastor and Father Nico Quintos, right?
30:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
30:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh a few years ordained.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: Uh Jay?
30:32
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so well I just wanted to ask Father Ed, um, I guess what what what are we doing here as far as the discernment, right?
30:39
SPEAKER_07: So it's it's for the young men to discern the possible call to the priesthood, but that's not always gonna be the case, right?
30:47
SPEAKER_07: It's sometimes it's they're gonna get married, sometimes they're gonna live a single life.
30:51
SPEAKER_07: Right.
30:51
SPEAKER_07: What's um how do you approach having that conversation?
30:55
SPEAKER_09: Well, as a vocation director, uh I get quite a few young men actually that call and want to meet with me, or they're they have questions about the priesthood, or maybe their pastor will call and say, I have somebody in the parish that's thinking about, or he might make a good priest, and they usually refer them to me.
31:09
SPEAKER_09: We have a uh a program at St.
31:11
SPEAKER_09: Paul Inside the Walls every first Saturday of the month, and we meet at 10 o'clock and we celebrate Mass.
31:17
SPEAKER_09: And we usually have a group of young men that are also thinking about the priesthood, just discerning, really.
31:23
SPEAKER_09: And uh we celebrate Mass, we have a holy hour, we pray the rosary together, and we have lunch, and we have time to socialize.
31:28
SPEAKER_09: And they'll ask all kinds of questions.
31:30
SPEAKER_09: I try to bring in a guest priest each month, and uh, as bishops request, and um and so they get to meet different priests and uh get to learn a little more about what the priesthood is really like.
31:41
SPEAKER_09: A lot of them really have don't really have much uh you know information uh what the priesthood is about, but try to help them um you know to figure out if God is calling them, you know, and uh get them to kind of set on some kind of regular prayer life.
31:56
SPEAKER_01: And I think when uh we see um that there's a maturity and a seriousness and um they're coming to a number of events, they're usually active in their parish or some kind of ministry, then I think a suggestion that we often make is to uh that they would get a spiritual director, right?
32:13
SPEAKER_01: Because that's a good first step, kind of take it to another level.
32:16
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, yeah.
32:16
SPEAKER_09: Spiritual direction, talk with their pastor, you know, and be involved in their parish as much as they can.
32:22
SPEAKER_09: And then just try to focus on their time with our Lord, you know, prayer time.
32:26
SPEAKER_01: Um and the spiritual director, if they're meeting on a regular basis, can kind of coach them or guide them in in terms of, you know, most of us have that experience of prayer all in a little different level, but whether we're in grammar school and family and parish and sacraments and then a more adult uh relationship with the Lord as we as we but then uh if someone is taking that discernment seriously to have that spiritual director that they meet with on a regular basis and then can give them suggestions and uh guide them along the way, especially in terms of their prayer life, right?
32:57
SPEAKER_09: Right, excellent, yeah, exactly.
32:59
SPEAKER_09: Um but I I find too, you know, that's that's a key part.
33:03
SPEAKER_09: They need to have someone to talk to, someone who, and ideally it's a priest, someone who's walked that journey themselves, knows the church, has a sense of you know, is God calling this person or not.
33:12
SPEAKER_09: But as a vocation director, it's a great joy to journey with these young men, you know, because sometimes you see them come in, they have really don't have a clue when they come in, and then after maybe a year or sometimes even two years, three years, and you're working with them and you see how the Holy Spirit is at work in them, and you can see them growing, and and and eventually sometimes you see them make that step, you know, I'm ready, I want to I want to enter into formation, and then we have a whole application process, you know.
33:34
SPEAKER_07: And uh have you getting a sense of any of the young men here might be feeling the call, or is it or is it too early at this point?
33:41
SPEAKER_07: I had and second to that, have you have any has anyone gone to Covatis and then become a priest?
33:48
SPEAKER_07: I think we do have a couple of years.
33:49
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, we definitely do, yeah.
33:50
SPEAKER_01: Father Stalli, Father Christoph, I think both of them 10, 11 years.
33:54
SPEAKER_09: And I was talking to Father Christoph about that.
33:56
SPEAKER_09: I said, what was it like?
33:57
SPEAKER_09: You know, because here he is ordained a couple of days.
33:59
SPEAKER_09: And uh he had the young, he told the young boys that he was 14 years old when he came on his first Covatus retreat, and here he is now ordained the priest.
34:06
SPEAKER_09: I was kidding them.
34:06
SPEAKER_09: I said, if you come on this retreat, you're gonna become a priest.
34:10
SPEAKER_09: So yeah.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: So sorry, go ahead, Ben.
34:11
SPEAKER_01: Uh I just want to take the opportunity to ask Deacon Sebastian.
34:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think you spoke to the group, right, to the young men, and your message to uh them or other young men that might be uh thinking, maybe feeling, wow, could this be what Jesus is asking of me?
34:25
SPEAKER_01: What would your recommendation or uh message be to them?
34:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I would uh if they are thinking about priesthood, I would suggest that they have to take a lot of courage because this requires a lot of courage to say, yes, I I want to commit because it requires commitment.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think that Poor Bodies is a great opportunity for them to discern their call because sometimes they need a little bit of help so that we can awake that uh that call that they have received, but maybe they don't know how to do it, so they need somebody to accompany them.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: And then these kind of retreats help them a lot.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: And uh the other thing is those events of come and see is is really good for them, and it becomes like a momentum for them to continue their uh discernment uh journey.
35:16
SPEAKER_00: So uh that's that's what it would told them.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:21
SPEAKER_01: Jay and I were uh talking last week as we were thinking ahead, and uh it occurred to us that we usually record on a uh on a Thursday, and oh, next Thursday is Quovadis, and I said to Jay, maybe we could uh go there.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: And Jay said, Well, we could try to figure it out, and hopefully the uh technology, you know, and uh technical parts will work.
35:40
SPEAKER_01: But uh uh once we we reached out to Father Ed and said, Do you think that we might be able to?
35:45
SPEAKER_01: And Father Ed said, Yes, and uh so and I know Jay's been working this week, but uh hopefully uh uh I'm certainly happy that we're able to have our first remote here at Quilvadas.
35:53
SPEAKER_01: And I thank Deacon Sebastian, Father Ed, and all the others uh who have uh shared their time with us.
35:59
SPEAKER_07: Yes, thank you both so much.
36:01
SPEAKER_07: So um and if people want to learn more about vocations or if they are sensing that call, where do we send them to, Father Ed?
36:08
SPEAKER_09: Well, they can go to their pastor, they can ask their pastor and pastor, they'll usually refer them to me, or they can call me directly at the vocations office.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: And the website, right?
36:15
SPEAKER_01: There's in fact.
36:16
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, pattersonvocations.org.
36:18
SPEAKER_01: Pattersonvocations.org.
36:19
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, and it is a link on our diocesan website so they can find us and pretty easy to find.
36:24
SPEAKER_09: Great.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: Well thanks so much.
36:26
SPEAKER_01: All right.
36:26
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid, as St.
36:27
SPEAKER_01: Pope John Paul says, uh respond to the call, and uh the Lord will bless you if it's if it's if it's his will and you have that openness, uh, it's a great joy.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh having now just celebrated 26 years uh since uh being ordained a priest.
36:42
SPEAKER_01: It's a great gift from the Lord.
36:44
SPEAKER_01: No one is worthy of it, but and it's not for us, it's for God's people, and uh and it's a great privilege uh to be able to serve now as bishop here in Patterson, but uh but that priesthood that that we share, all of us who have been ordained as priests, and uh um uh so and please pray for us.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: So pray for the young men here, Father Ed, Deacon Sebastian, and uh Jay Jay and his important work for our diocese.
37:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh we need your prayers in uh the mass today at uh Peter's in jail, and the whole church is praying for him as the angel comes and gets him out of jail.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: And so um I think that's something we experience in the seminary, that that sense that people are praying for us.
37:19
SPEAKER_01: So so please, to all those who are listening or watching, uh please keep us and and the young men in our seminarians in your prayers.
37:27
SPEAKER_07: Good.
37:27
SPEAKER_07: Well, before we wind down the episode, is there anything else you want to talk about, any upcoming events?
37:32
SPEAKER_01: Uh happy birthday to our country this coming Tuesday, right?
37:35
SPEAKER_01: Fourth of July.
37:35
SPEAKER_01: We shouldn't take that for granted either and uh pray for our country.
37:39
SPEAKER_01: But uh we have a lot of blessings and a lot to be grateful for.
37:41
SPEAKER_01: So hopefully everybody will get we're finally we'll maybe get some good weather and uh be able to enjoy uh the the 4th of July on Tuesday.
37:48
SPEAKER_07: Absolutely.
37:49
SPEAKER_07: Okay, well thanks, Bishop.
37:50
SPEAKER_07: Thank you both, and thank you all for spending time with us.
37:54
SPEAKER_07: Join us again for the next episode of Beyond the Beacon.
37:57
SPEAKER_07: Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening.
38:00
SPEAKER_07: Give us a positive rating, write a review, and 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.
38:10
SPEAKER_07: Email questions and podcast topic ideas for the bishop to beyond at the patterson diocese.org.
38:17
SPEAKER_07: Thank you for listening to Beyond the Beacon.
38:20
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
38:20
SPEAKER_07: God bless you.