38: It Takes Courage to be Catholic - Ever Be x SEEK

Speaker: 00:00:06

Hey, I'm your host, Mari Wagner,

and you're listening to the ever be

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podcast where faith meets lifestyle.

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I'm so excited you're here, whether you're

a new listener or a longtime follower,

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: 00:00:18

I know there's something here for you.

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: 00:00:20

Pull up a chair and listen in for

insightful real life conversations

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and actionable steps on how to claim

the full life God created you for.

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If you're a woman desiring to live

a Christ centered life in today's

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modern world, then this is for you.

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Welcome to Ever Be.

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mari-wagner_5_11-25-2024_171733:

Hey, everybody.

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Hi, friends.

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It's Mari Wagner here.

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I am thrilled to be your guest host

today on this Focus Seek podcast.

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This is a fun little

collab with Everbe podcast.

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Um, if you're not sure who I

am, well, Nice to meet you.

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I'll give you a little

bit of an introduction.

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I am a young wife.

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I am the host of the ever be podcast,

, which is a faith and lifestyle podcast.

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I am a Catholic content

creator on Instagram.

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You can find me at, at mari.

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c.

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wagner.

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I've been doing that for

like the past six years.

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Um, what else?

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I'm also the founder of the

popular Catholic lifestyle

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brand, West Coast Catholic.

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Um, co founder actually, I

started it with my husband, Trey.

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So shout out to the hubs there.

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Um, could not be doing it without you.

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anything without him.

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Um, so I wear a lot of

hats, but it's super fun.

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And basically, in everything that I do,

the whole reason why I do everything is

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to help people live Christ centered lives.

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That's it.

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That's my mission in life.

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That's my goal, , to help people live

Christ centered lives, and I do this

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because I grew up feeling pretty alone

in my faith, and even though I grew up

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Catholic, I didn't really know what it

meant to live out your Catholic faith,

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uh, or to really, like, follow Jesus.

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Follow Jesus, um, besides going

to mass on Sundays, that's

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all I really knew growing up.

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Um, and it wasn't really until I did

a college summer internship actually

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with focus back in 2018, where.

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This all really changed for me and I

began to be introduced to this like

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whole new perspective of what it

meant to follow Jesus so much more

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than just going to mass once a week.

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Um, and that summer was completely

transformational for me because for the

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first time ever I met other women my age

and men, of course, there's both men and

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women that were on this internship, I grew

in friendship with other women my age who

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were actively seeking Christ and actively

trying to live a Christ centered life.

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And honestly, you guys, if I'm being

completely honest, when I started the

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summer out at the, as an intern, this,

uh, in this internship, I remember

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like, Hearing, you know, these other,

like, college students talk about,

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like, how they prayed every day or how

they lived virtue or how they didn't,

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you know, sleep with their boyfriend

or go get drunk on the weekend or

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whatever, like, all these things you

commonly find on a college campus.

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I remember them talking about, like, just

the ways they were just trying to, like,

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actively pursue Christ in their life.

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And I remember thinking, like, yeah.

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They gotta, like, kind of be,

like, stretching this, like, just

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to, like, get the internship.

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Like, maybe they said this all in the

interview because they're trying to

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get a job at the Catholic organization,

but I'm going to figure it out,

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you know, like, let's be real here.

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There's no way college students out

here are, like, actually practicing

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sobriety and chastity and excellence,

and Prayer and faith and like all

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these different things and I kind of

remember like chatting with Some of the

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women interns at the beginning and just

being like no seriously You can tell

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me like I'm not gonna tell anybody like

seriously Like is this actually like

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the way you live on a day to day basis?

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Like actually do you not

do these other things?

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Like actually are you are you actually

like making time to pray every day?

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and are you actually going to daily mass,

you know during the week and Do you go

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to adoration and all these other things?

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Are you in a Bible study?

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And, and the answer was yes.

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Like these, these women, you

know, bless their hearts.

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They were so patient with me and

I was very fresh in my reversion.

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Um, and they were just so gentle

with me and they're like, yeah,

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Mari, like I'm actively like trying

to live a Christ centered life as

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a young 20 something in college.

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And.

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It's the best and life has never been,

you know, so fulfilling or whatever,

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like so joyful, like, like they didn't

regret it, like they had no complaints

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about the way they were living and

really encountering these women was

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what began to, transform me from the

inside out and seeing their courage and

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how they lived a Christ centered life.

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Began to give me the courage

to change my life as well.

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Um, and these women are so sweet.

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I love them dearly to this day.

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And, um, they basically

discipled me all summer.

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They taught me how to pray.

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They encouraged me to

live a life of virtue.

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They taught me just different truths

about the Catholic faith that I.

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Didn't know.

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I mean, there's so much richness,

so much beauty, so much to

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learn in our Catholic faith.

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Um, and I just didn't

know a lot, you guys.

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Um, like I said, I, I grew up

on the West coast in Washington.

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It's not a very like religious state.

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Um, and so I felt lonely in

my faith a lot of the time.

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And so being in community

with other young Catholics.

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Was what I needed to kind of light a fire

within me and then give me the courage

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to live it out And I think that's part

of the reason why seek was one of those

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super pivotal moments in my life Where

I felt a deeper call to follow Christ

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because So this whole reversion started

happening my sophomore year of college

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summer after sophomore year was when I

did this internship and I met these, you

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know, this community of young Catholics

that were also interning with me at

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focus that completely, like, encouraged

me to transform my life and then.

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Went back to college, um, actually

studied abroad the semester after

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that internship, which was amazing.

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Not because I was in Europe,

but because actually I think

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the Lord is so intentional.

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I went abroad without any of my friends.

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I didn't really have a lot of like

People that I knew in my study abroad

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program, and it gave me the opportunity

to kind of start a new, to kind of just

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like start this new life that I was

living over the summer of prayer and

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virtue and, um, seeking the Lord in a

much more intentional way in my life.

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I think that I would have

gone to college like back onto

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campus right after that summer.

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It might have been really hard to do

so because I would have just gone back

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to my normal ways and I think the Lord

intentionally gave me, uh, like four

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months, uh, right after this internship

away from my normal day to day on campus

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to just give me a whole new fresh start

and an opportunity to live into this day.

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Not even new Mari, but

this like more Mari, right?

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Like more of myself, more of the

daughter God created me to be, um,

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on this, uh, Yeah, the semester that

I was abroad because I didn't have

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people around me that already really

knew me and expected me to be a

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certain way or to act a certain way.

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It was just a whole new, fresh start.

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Um, and then, uh, after that

semester, right, you've got Christmas

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break and then it's January,

which means it's Sikh season.

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And this was my very first

Sikh, um, that I went to.

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So just let me just take you back.

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Okay.

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Let me take you back to my

very first Sikh experience.

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Back in 2019, was a junior in college

at the time and I was still very

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new to this amazing Catholic world.

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Like I'm, you know, I'm sharing.

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Um, and I really had just started diving

into my faith, um, as my own really began

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practicing all these, you know, good

habits as a Catholic and putting my,

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Christ at the center of my life and really

just learning what it meant to live for

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Christ as an adult, what it meant to be

Catholic and to have my life reflect that.

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And so I was going into this conference

like pretty jazzed to have another

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experience where I could be encouraged in

my faith kind of like that summer before.

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But I also was kind of unsure of

what to expect because I'd never been

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to like a big conference like this.

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And I'll never forget.

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That first day, like walking into the

convention center, seeing all the people

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and then like checking in just kind

of nervously, like what is going on?

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There's so many people.

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I don't know what to expect.

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And then walking into the arena and just

seeing like literally tens of thousands

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of people, mostly all college students

like me at the time for the same reason.

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They were all there for the same reason,

to be set on fire for their faith

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and to follow Christ more closely.

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It was amazing.

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I mean, it was truly one of the

most pivotal moments in my life.

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And it gave me a renewed sense of

courage to follow Christ in a deeper way.

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Because going to seek made me realize

that I wasn't alone in my walk of faith,

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specifically in the Catholic faith

too, um, because I had other Christian

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friends, um, even though they weren't

super practicing, like I feel like

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it was more normal to hear about it.

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You know, people being non denominational

in some way, but I didn't have a lot of

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like boldly Catholic people in my life.

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And to know that Sikh was Catholic and

that there were tens of thousands of

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people there who were there to be set on

fire, who were there to be encouraged in

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a radical counter cultural way of living.

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And to just, you know, Like, be

with Jesus, to worship Jesus,

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to follow Jesus was amazing.

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I mean, it was truly, I look

back on it and it was one of the

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most inspiring times of my life.

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And I mean, since then I've been to seek

every year, actually, I think there was

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one year I missed it, but I was in the

Holy land, so it was a pretty good excuse.

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But other than that, I've

been to seek every year.

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I think I've been like five or six times.

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Um, but.

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Nothing compares to that very first Seek.

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I mean, every Seek, you guys, I kid you

not, is so hype, and I'm recording this

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right now in November, and I'm so giddy

for Seek to come around this January.

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Um, I think after you go your

first couple times and you know

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what to expect, it's just awesome.

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Um, because.

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It's kind of like a

little reunion of heaven.

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It's like you start to see people in

the Catholic world that you've known

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from different groups or maybe different

retreats or organizations or whatever.

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Um, and it's just like this

big communion of heaven.

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And even if you don't know a lot of

people, it kind of feels that way.

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It kind of feels like you're just like

stepping into heaven and just like, you're

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just surrounded by the body of Christ.

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You're just surrounded by

people trying to be saints.

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Like what other environment can

Gives you that, uh, like culture

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that feel, you know, um, but

nothing compares to that verse seek.

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Like you're just like a sponge, just

like soaking it all up and so giddy.

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And I mean, I remember in every talk

I had my journal and pen and I would

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furiously take notes at every single

talk to try and soak up all the

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goodness and hang on to every single

word that Father Mike Schmitt said.

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And all the other speakers, of

course, they were all amazing.

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Um, and I remember I felt like I left

that first seat feeling like I wasn't

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following Jesus alone and that was

everything to me at the time, like

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to feel that I wasn't alone in this

fight, in this battle, in this walk to.

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Give my life to Christ Was so encouraging

and maybe it felt like I was alone

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sometimes even after seek, you know,

maybe you encounter hardship or Obstacles

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in the journey, but I knew deep inside

like I now knew of this entire generation

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of young catholics that were also

Fighting to make jesus the center of

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their lives and fighting to live the

truth counterculturally and live out

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Christian values of sobriety, chastity,

excellence, you know, virtue, prayer,

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piety, like being Catholic is brave.

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You guys living counterculturally in this

way is brave in today's modern world.

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Being Catholic is brave.

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It takes courage, like being boldly

Catholic and outwardly standing up

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for your faith and actually living

out Jesus's teachings is brave, which

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is why I freaking love that this

year the patron saint of Sikh is St.

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Joan of Arc.

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I couldn't think of a more fitting

example of somebody who courageously

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answered Christ's call to follow

Him regardless of what came her way.

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If you don't know a lot about this

incredible saint, I will gladly fill

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you in because it's pretty amazing

what the Lord did in her life.

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Um, and just her story, honestly,

just, yeah, just who she is.

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So basically St.

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Joan of Arc, um, at the age

of 13, she began experiencing

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mystical visions, pretty crazy.

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And hearing the voices of

none other than Archangel, St.

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Catherine of Alexandria and St.

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Margaret.

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Pretty casual.

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Um, they told her that God

had chosen her to save France.

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So she's like this French teenage

girl and God's literally like,

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You're going to save your country.

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And basically like the mission was, um,

to support Charles the seventh as the

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rightful King during that time period.

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Um, and I just like, I mean, I read her

story and it literally sounds fake to me.

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I think that like, I often think of St.

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Joan of Arc as this like amazing

Saint, but I don't think of her

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being like a real human being in

the way that I think of like St.

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Therese, you know, St.

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Therese, just like.

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She's so sweet.

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She talks about all her, um,

littleness and ways that she

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needs Christ and everything.

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And I think both Saints are incredibly

amazing examples for us in different ways.

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But I hear of St.

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Joan of Arc's story,

and I'm like, for reals?

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Like, was this girl real?

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Right?

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Like, at the age of 17, St.

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Joan of Arc led her troops to

several victories for France.

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And eventually led to the crowning

of This King, Charles VII, which

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fulfilled her divine, inspired

mission that God gave her.

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And it's just insane to think of a

teenage girl doing this, like at 17.

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I was not doing stuff like this, okay?

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I bet you weren't either.

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In battle, actually, she carried a banner

that had the names of Jesus and Mary.

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On it.

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Okay.

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I mean, home girl was full sending

it with such faith that it gave

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others courage to do the same

thing and they freaking won, right?

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They like won the victory.

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And what is, what's, you know,

the most, um, impactful part of

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her story is not just that, right?

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Even though she got the victories

in war, sadly, her story

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didn't end in glory on earth.

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Um, she was captured and

put on trial for heresy.

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And then, um, unfortunately

was, uh, burned at the stake.

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So she was a martyr at just 19

years old, which is a pretty

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harsh, um, yet holy end there.

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Um, but as she faced her death and

was burned at the stake, um, her final

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request was to see a cross raised high.

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So she literally wanted to see Jesus

on the crucifix through the flames.

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While she was being burned alive in her

famous quote is raise high the cross.

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So I may see it through the flames.

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Like, are you kidding me?

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Raise high the cross.

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So I may see it through the flames.

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Like, I'm sorry, but

like even Jesus, right.

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Uh, in the agony of the garden was like,

God, why did, why is this the plan?

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Like even on the cross,

God, why has you forsaken?

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Why have you forsaken me?

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And.

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St.

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Joan of Arc was given the grace and

the courage to be in her cross, right?

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And say, Let me see Jesus through

the flame so that I can die

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with courage and with faith.

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Saint Joan of Arc's

story is extraordinary.

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It's extraordinary.

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But, um, I just love that her courage

can inspire us in big ways, but we

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can also take this courage to inspire

us just in our everyday lives.

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I'm all about, right, Christ in our living

is all about bringing the faith into every

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part of our life and just these different.

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Things that we can learn about the saints,

these different ways that we can model

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our lives after them can be implemented

in small ways in our everyday life.

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Because the reality is most of us won't be

called to lead an army or die as martyrs,

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um, but we will face moments where we're

called to stand up for our faith, right?

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We will face moments where God is

calling us to follow him more deeply

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and maybe to stand out in front of.

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You know, the crowd.

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So maybe it's speaking truth in a

difficult conversation with your friends.

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Maybe it's choosing to live

counterculturally on your campus.

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Maybe it's simply sharing your faith

with somebody who needs it, who has

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never heard the gospel, inviting someone

to mass, maybe being brave and telling

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your friends where you're actually

going on a Tuesday night to Bible study.

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: 00:19:22

Uh, maybe it's choosing to, uh,

Stop getting drunk or stop sleeping

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with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

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: 00:19:28

Uh, maybe standing up and being pro life

is what the Lord's calling you to do.

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: 00:19:33

There are just so many opportunities we

have to courageously live our faith in

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: 00:19:39

today's world, because being Catholic

in today's world is not the status quo.

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: 00:19:46

But we can learn a lot from St.

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Joan of Arc.

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: 00:19:48

Um, she teaches us that courage

isn't about being fearless, right?

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: 00:19:53

Because, Living this way, like

living boldly Catholic in today's

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world, especially on a college

campus or maybe in the workplace,

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uh, can be really intimidating.

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: 00:20:06

And so it's not necessarily

about like having no fear.

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: 00:20:11

St.

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: 00:20:11

Joan of Arc teaches us that courage is

about trusting God enough to follow Him.

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: 00:20:16

Even when we're afraid, right?

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: 00:20:19

Trusting that after all, we're

not just following a religion for

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: 00:20:21

the sake of following a religion.

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: 00:20:23

We're following a person.

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: 00:20:26

We are following Jesus Christ and his,

in his wisdom, you guys in his like

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: 00:20:33

fatherhood and in just this gift, right?

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: 00:20:37

And wanting to gift us with goodness.

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: 00:20:39

He gave us the church to

be able to do so well.

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: 00:20:44

He gave us the church to

be able to follow him.

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: 00:20:47

Well, And we are proud of that.

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We are proud to be Catholic.

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: 00:20:52

We are proud of our religion.

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: 00:20:56

And that's why I feel like this

year's theme of SEEK, Follow

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Me, resonates so deeply with St.

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: 00:21:03

Joan of Arc's story.

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: 00:21:05

Because she said yes to God to follow

him in whatever he called her to

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: 00:21:11

do, not knowing where it would lead.

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: 00:21:14

But ultimately just trusting that he had

a plan, ultimately just trusting in who

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he is and saying yes, because he is God.

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: 00:21:23

So just take that as your encouragement

to say yes to God in whatever he's calling

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: 00:21:29

you to in your life right now, right?

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: 00:21:32

Even if that starts with a little

yes to follow Christ, those little

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: 00:21:36

yeses add up and turn into big yeses

because the more we give the Lord

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: 00:21:41

our hearts, our lives, our choices.

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: 00:21:44

are everything, the more he's going

to invite us, uh, to follow him more

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: 00:21:51

deeply, which usually means like taking

a little bit of a bigger step next to it.

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: 00:21:55

It'll require a little bit of

a bigger yes in some ways, but

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: 00:21:59

it'll start small first, right?

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: 00:22:01

Like, don't be afraid to start small.

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: 00:22:03

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

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: 00:22:04

Like God might just be asking you to take

maybe a next step in your faith life.

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: 00:22:10

Maybe it's going to adoration.

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: 00:22:12

Like for the first time, or maybe it's

like going to adoration once a month

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: 00:22:15

or once a week, if you can, maybe it's

committing to a few minutes of daily

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: 00:22:20

prayer to spend time with him in prayer

every single day, maybe just five

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: 00:22:25

or 10 minutes a day first, and then

you build up, or maybe it's inviting

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: 00:22:29

Jesus into a part of your life that

you've kept closed off that you've

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: 00:22:34

sort of just kept hidden from him.

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: 00:22:36

Maybe there's fear of what

will happen if you let him in.

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: 00:22:41

Maybe it's going to confession

for the first time in a while.

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: 00:22:46

Whatever it is, you know what it is

that the Lord is putting on your heart.

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: 00:22:50

Like right now in this moment,

if you were to think about it,

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: 00:22:53

is there anything that's like

slightly like burning on your heart?

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: 00:22:58

Maybe That's what God's calling

you to say yes to you right now.

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: 00:23:02

Or maybe that's what God's calling you

to let go of so that you can say yes to

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: 00:23:06

more amazing things that lead you to him.

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: 00:23:10

St.

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: 00:23:11

Joan of Arc reminds us that saying

yes to Jesus transforms our lives.

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: 00:23:18

It's no small thing.

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: 00:23:19

It's transformational, and it not

only transforms our lives, but it also

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: 00:23:24

gives others the courage to follow him

as well and to transform their lives.

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: 00:23:31

It's a ripple effect, you guys.

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: 00:23:33

It's a ripple effect.

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: 00:23:34

I mean, the fact that Catholicism

started with Jesus and 12 guys, and we

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: 00:23:41

are here now, I mean like a bajillion

people are Catholic, sorry, I don't know

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: 00:23:46

the real numbers, but like, you know.

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: 00:23:48

Millions of people.

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: 00:23:49

Okay, fine.

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: 00:23:49

I'll look it up on Google.

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: 00:23:51

How many people are Catholic in the world?

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: 00:23:58

As of, okay, it says as of 2022, 1.

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: 00:24:02

3 billion baptized Catholics in the world.

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: 00:24:06

That's a lot of freaking people.

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: 00:24:08

And it started with Jesus and 12 million.

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: 00:24:10

Guys, that followed him.

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: 00:24:13

So that just shows us the power of how

our yeses can transform our lives, set

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: 00:24:21

us aflame, and that flame is contagious

and brings other people into our lives.

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: 00:24:28

Into the fold, like brings other people

into this like amazing journey of

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: 00:24:34

following Jesus and gives them the courage

to shed their old life and accept Jesus

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: 00:24:40

as the center of their life as well.

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: 00:24:43

And we want to reach the whole world.

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: 00:24:45

There are so many of our brothers

and sisters that don't know

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: 00:24:49

Christ yet, or maybe that are

lost or distant from their faith.

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: 00:24:53

And you don't know the impact you could

have and other people's lives just by you.

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: 00:24:59

Changing yours just by you making

Jesus the center of your life.

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: 00:25:05

And if you're listening to this and

you're like, yup, Mari, I am with you.

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: 00:25:08

I want to do this.

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: 00:25:09

Like I'm all in.

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: 00:25:11

Maybe you've said that before and you

just like continually find yourself

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: 00:25:14

like not actually going all in.

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: 00:25:18

Let this be the time when you go all in.

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: 00:25:22

Okay.

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: 00:25:22

Let this be the push that

you need to go all in.

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: 00:25:27

I'm all about new

beginnings, you guys, okay?

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: 00:25:29

I'm a Monday girl, I must start

a new habit in a new month kind

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: 00:25:33

of girl, you know what I mean?

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: 00:25:35

Um, and so something I love about

Sikh is that it's in January.

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: 00:25:38

It's the start of a new year and

it feels like a fresh start,.

404

: 00:25:41

Like a new beginning, clean slate.

405

: 00:25:44

So if you, for some reason, just

like need an excuse to start

406

: 00:25:48

over, if you're like, I can't just

start over on a Wednesday, fine.

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: 00:25:52

Although I'll tell you, you can.

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: 00:25:53

Okay.

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: 00:25:54

And I'm talking to myself as well.

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: 00:25:56

But if for some reason you're like, no,

I just, I just need a fresh new start.

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: 00:26:00

January.

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: 00:26:01

Seek 2025.

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: 00:26:03

Let that be your new start.

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: 00:26:05

As we approach the new year,

prepare yourself, okay?

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: 00:26:08

Start asking the Lord right

now, how do you want to change

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: 00:26:12

my life in this coming year?

417

: 00:26:13

What do you want me to let go of?

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: 00:26:14

How can I follow you more closely?

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: 00:26:16

How can I make you the center of my life?

420

: 00:26:19

Start praying about it now.

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: 00:26:20

If you're not ready to do it now, start

praying about it now so the Lord can speak

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: 00:26:23

into your life this next month and a half.

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: 00:26:25

I'm recording this in, you know, end

of, you know, Mid to end of November.

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: 00:26:28

So that as we approach the new year and

as you get into seek you can kick off

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: 00:26:32

the year following christ more fiercely

Whether you're going to seek or not this

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: 00:26:38

message is for you Okay, even if you're

not going to seek let this be a time

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: 00:26:42

to start a new chapter where jesus is

truly Lord of your life like What does it

428

: 00:26:50

mean for Jesus to be Lord of your life?

429

: 00:26:53

Means that He comes first over everything.

430

: 00:26:56

There is not a single thing in

your life that takes priority

431

: 00:26:59

over Christ and His teachings.

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: 00:27:01

Let this be the time where you

allow Him to be Lord of your life.

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: 00:27:05

And just take a second ask

yourself, What is one way I

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: 00:27:08

can say yes to Jesus right now?

435

: 00:27:11

Not in January, right?

436

: 00:27:12

But right now, today, or this week,

maybe it's spending more time in prayer.

437

: 00:27:17

Maybe it's finally joining that

Catholic Bible study or small group.

438

: 00:27:20

Maybe it's stripping your life

of a sin that just is keeping you

439

: 00:27:23

enslaved and away from Christ.

440

: 00:27:26

Or maybe it's just being more

intentional about living out your

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: 00:27:29

faith in small, everyday ways.

442

: 00:27:31

Or just noticing how God is at work.

443

: 00:27:34

Actively blessing you in your day to

day life and actually acknowledging

444

: 00:27:38

his presence in your life more

wherever you are in your journey.

445

: 00:27:44

I want to encourage you following

Jesus is the most courageous,

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: 00:27:49

fulfilling and beautiful decision.

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: 00:27:52

You will ever make,

and that's just a fact.

448

: 00:27:55

And that's what I've

experienced in my life.

449

: 00:27:57

That's what I experienced back when I

did that internship and I completely,

450

: 00:28:01

you know, leaned into this Catholic

life that these girls and these,

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: 00:28:06

uh, Catholic men and women that were

interns with me were showing me.

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: 00:28:10

That's what I experienced when I went

to seek for the first time in: 2019

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: 00:28:14

That's what I experienced in 2020

when I became a focused missionary

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: 00:28:19

and began to like dedicate my

life to leading others to Christ.

455

: 00:28:23

And that's what I

experienced today, right?

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: 00:28:26

In 2024, as someone who in every part of

her life is striving to bring people to

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: 00:28:33

him and to root my own life in Christ and

to live a God centered marriage, like.

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: 00:28:39

I experience the most courageous,

fulfilling, beautiful, joyful, and

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: 00:28:44

freeing life that I could ever have.

460

: 00:28:46

And it's all thanks to Jesus.

461

: 00:28:49

It's all thanks to the grace he has

given me to follow him and the bold

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: 00:28:55

decision to put him first in my life.

463

: 00:28:58

Friends, we could talk all day.

464

: 00:29:00

Because this is like my favorite

conversation, but to wrap it up, um, I

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: 00:29:06

hope to see you at seek and just thank

you so much for, for tuning in today.

466

: 00:29:10

If this episode inspired you,

I'd love to hear from you.

467

: 00:29:14

You can connect with me on Instagram.

468

: 00:29:16

Like I said, at Mari dot C dot Wagner,

or if you want to hear more of my

469

: 00:29:20

voice, you can listen in on the ever

be podcast, Spotify, Apple, you know,

470

: 00:29:26

wherever you listen to podcasts.

471

: 00:29:27

Um, we also have an Instagram

for that at ever be podcast.

472

: 00:29:31

So give that a follow.

473

: 00:29:32

Um, and before I go, um, I'd like to

just close in prayer and just let the

474

: 00:29:39

Lord completely cover you in prayer

as we, close out this conversation.

475

: 00:29:45

In the name of the Father, and the

Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

476

: 00:29:49

Come Holy Spirit, um, I thank you for

your son and daughter, uh, I thank you

477

: 00:29:54

for your sons and daughters that are

listening in today, um, I thank you for

478

: 00:29:59

the work that you're doing in their heart

to inspire them to live a more Christ

479

: 00:30:04

centered life, to follow you more deeply.

480

: 00:30:07

Lord, I just pray that you give

us the courage to follow you,

481

: 00:30:10

just as Saint Joan of Arc did.

482

: 00:30:12

May we be bold in our faith,

unwavering in our trust, and just

483

: 00:30:17

relentless in our pursuit of you.

484

: 00:30:20

And we pray that you give us the grace

to do so, even in the face of hardship,

485

: 00:30:27

um, even in the face of feeling like

we are the only one doing so, you

486

: 00:30:31

know, in loneliness, in our faith, um,

even in the face of our society and

487

: 00:30:36

our culture that is so different from

the way that you called us to live.

488

: 00:30:41

God, just give us courage to follow you.

489

: 00:30:43

Um, and to be brave like St.

490

: 00:30:45

Joan of Arc did.

491

: 00:30:47

Amen.

492

: 00:30:47

In the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

493

: 00:30:49

Amen.

494

: 00:30:49

Until next time, friends, and I

annot wait to see you at SEEK: 2025