Episode 105

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Published on:

11th Jun 2026

Re-Run: What You Didn't Know About Mary | Paul J. Kim

This episode re-run is one of my favorites! I'm joined by Paul J. Kim to discuss all things Mary!

Whether you've prayed the Rosary for years or are just beginning to grow in your relationship with Our Lady, this conversation is full of practical wisdom and encouragement. We talk about why Mary matters, how she always leads us closer to her Son, and simple ways to deepen your Marian devotion.

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Transcript
Speaker:

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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I know there's something here for you.

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Pull up a chair and listen

in for insightful real life

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conversations and actionable steps

on how to claim the Full life.

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God created you for if you're a

woman desiring to live a Christ

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centered life in today's modern

world, then this is for you.

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Welcome to the ever be podcast.

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Track 1: Welcome back friends today.

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I think today's going to be one of

my favorite episodes probably because

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we're going to be talking about Mary.

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And if you've followed me for

a while now, you know that I

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have a great devotion to her.

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She's played a huge role in

my life and in my prayer life.

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Uh, and today joining me is

a very special guest, Paul J.

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Kim.

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He is an incredible Catholic speaker.

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And if you have heard him speak,

you know that he is equally

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inspirational as he is hilarious.

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He always brings the comedy and the beat

boxing, and he's so entertaining to watch.

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Uh, and he's also the author and host of

the bestselling online course, a Catholic

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guide to adulting, which sounds like we

all could use a little bit of that wisdom.

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So Paul, welcome to ever

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

Thank you very much.

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man to be here

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Track 1: you.

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for those who maybe don't know

much about you, can you share a

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little bit about your background

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: Well,

I was conceived in 19 No, I'm kidding.

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Um, so, a little bit about me.

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Track 1: Not that

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far

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: Yeah.

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Track 1: a good TMI.

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Um, so I would say, uh, long story short,

I was your typical average Catholic

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kid who is on the one way track of

being confirmed and never coming back

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that rhyme, that should be a song.

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Um, and God in his great mercy, especially

during college years, essentially sent

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his mother to rattle me in the sweetest

and gentlest way possible through the

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prayer of the Rosary out of my lifestyle.

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And.

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That basically catapulted me into a

rediscovery of my Catholic faith, um,

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into my initial conversion, because

conversion is a lifetime thing.

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And I then discerned

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religious life with the CFRs for a

few years, thinking that might be it.

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So I hung around some pretty

holy and hairy dudes for a

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couple of years in New York city.

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And, That's true.

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: um,

and it was, it was very formative.

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I know for yourself, you

were a focus missionary.

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I know many people go through net

focus, um, different faith based

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opportunities that really strengthen

and form them in so many ways.

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I didn't do the missionary route there,

but, um, being in formation with the

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CFRs was kind of that chapter for me.

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And so I discerned out naturally.

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Um, and I had to figure out what

my next best steps would be.

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And I thought maybe I'd be

like a Catholic therapist.

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So I went to school, got my master's

in marriage and family therapy.

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And it turns out no one calls you master.

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If you get a doctor, they call you doctor.

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So it was a bad deal.

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Um, no, I'm kidding.

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Yeah.

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Bad No, uh, it was, it

was great formation.

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Also.

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It helped me really understand

relationships that helped me

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understand a lot about myself.

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And while I didn't.

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ultimately do counseling.

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Um, around that time, God was

opening up doors for me to, to

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speak at local churches and youth

events and things like this.

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And honestly, that door kept opening

and I was like, all right, I'm just

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going to keep running through this door.

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Cause one, I enjoy it.

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And two, I can, you know, this is

becoming my career, if you will.

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But, but more than that,

I understood be a call.

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And so God was using all of those

interesting journeys in life,

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all those different chapters to

prepare me for what I'm doing now.

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Um, now happily married, uh,

uh, 11th year this August, got

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our, our sixth baby on the way.

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Life is crazy, but it's good.

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And it is such an adventure.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So, so yeah, been doing ministry

as a full time Catholic speaker

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for the past 13 years or so.

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And, uh, just went to my

50th state, Pesky, Maine.

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And yeah,

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Track 1: Congrats That's

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

cool able to say that.

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It's not like I reached every

soul in every state, but, um.

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You know, just to do my part and

that's ultimately what it is.

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You know, we can only

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do so much.

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We only have a limited amount

of time in life and reach, but

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it's, it's all a team effort.

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You know, mother Teresa, St.

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Mother Teresa, she once said, you

do what I can't do and I can do

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what you can't do and together We'll

do something beautiful for God.

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And that's ultimately it, you know, and

when I put it into that perspective,

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it's not about, not about competition.

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It's not about me being more notable or

notorious than this person or the next.

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Cause I mean, ironically, even in

ministry that can creep in, it's

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just what God, what do you want me to

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do?

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And I just want to be faithful to that.

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And at the end of the day,

that's all that matters, right?

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Living our vocation.

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Well, so a little bit

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Track 1: Yep.

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That great.

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That was perfect.

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Thank you for sharing that.

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you mentioned in a little bit of

that story that like Mary played

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a big role in your conversion.

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She, you know, you said that

she, she rattled you or she shook

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you, you know, she jumped in.

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So can you share more about that?

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Like what sparked your relationship with

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: I

was shooketh by her intercession.

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Um, yeah, speaking Gen Z terms with, like,

a British accent is quite interesting,

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The Catholic Riz, chapter one.

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Uh,

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Track 1: Hey, you gotta meet

people where they're at.

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know.

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

to all Zoomers.

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uh, okay.

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So back to your question, sorry.

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Side track myself.

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Um, yeah, yeah.

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Yeah.

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So I went to UCLA for a few years and,

uh, it was during that time, you know,

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just typical party life, just, uh,

majoring in hedonism pursuit of pleasure.

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Um, and during, during that time, uh,

my conscience was bothering me and.

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I, I believe God was using that to

kind of lead me back to himself.

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And so, yeah, I just, I was like,

okay, how do I connect with God?

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I guess I'll pull out a rosary.

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That seems like an awfully

Catholic thing to do.

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And so I pray, I started praying the

rosary and oddly enough, um, I felt

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more peace and joy and purpose in

that 25 minutes of prayer than from

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the whole week of screwing around.

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And so it fascinated me because I

was like, that felt really good.

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You know, and it's, it's kind of funny

because when you like you browse through

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social media, you see all these people

and all these influencers and God only

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knows where they're coming from or what

their, you know, their values or life,

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life, uh, view worldview is,

but you know, there, I think.

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I think I know the easy answer and

it's because we're all hardwired to

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have a relationship with the infinite

and and God alone is infinite, right?

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We all have this hunger and desire

to search for more and so naturally

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like all these people are like

talking about meditation and like

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manifesting and all these like Kind

of spiritual things that might go and

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miss mark, but still there's

that hunger and desire, right?

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And so for me, praying the rosary

was kind of that lifeline where I

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was like, Oh, oh yeah, I have a soul.

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I should probably like think about

what my soul looks like and what

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my relationship with God is like.

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And so as I was praying the

rosary, I just came back to it

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the day after and the next day.

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And I'm kind of, you know, like playing

hopscotch where I'm like one foot into

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like whatever the heck I want to do

and one foot into like, all right,

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I want to try to be a good Catholic

or whatever, because this is new.

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But eventually it came to a head where,

um, you know, Mary was really, um, she

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was trying extra hard to get my attention.

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Um, and the Catholic understanding of

things is called like a signal grace

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where, Not necessarily like a miracle.

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I guess a mini miracle,

if you will, where yeah,

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like sitting by myself on a bench

outside my dorm room and I'm praying and

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I start smelling roses out of nowhere,

you know, for no particular reason.

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Right.

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And so for me, that was kind of a no

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brainer.

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I'm like, uh, it was

probably, probably Mary.

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Yeah.

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She's probably trying to

get my attention here.

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And I'm being led slowly but

surely back to the sacraments like

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reconciliation and I make a good

confession for like the first time

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ever in college where I'm actually

transparent and Repentance and wanting

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to get all the things off my chest.

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then that leads me towards the Eucharist

where I'm like, all right, let's go

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to, I don't know, mass on a weekday.

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Let's just keep going down this route.

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Let's try to figure out like

what this Catholic all about.

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Cause you know, once again, a

professional Catholic on paper, but

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sorely lacking in one fundamental piece.

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And that is a relationship with Christ.

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You know, it really is that simple.

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And I get it like, especially in

our cultural climate, if you spend

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any time online, there's like this.

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perpetual beef between like

Catholics and Protestants and the

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Protestants will say, well, it's

all about relationship with Jesus.

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And then they're like,

it's not about religion.

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It's about relationship.

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And like to that, I say, eh, well with an

yes, it's about relationship with Jesus,

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which I needed in my life at that time.

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And that was actually really important

naturally in scripture, you know,

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the disciples have an encounter.

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a relationship with the Lord.

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And then, but at the same time,

he does establish a religion.

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And I mean, even Protestant churches

are technically a religion because

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they have ways of understanding

God, ways of practicing their faith.

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They have traditions and rituals, even

in their very non Catholic services.

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And so it's neither here nor there.

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It's just, it is what it is.

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I needed to connect in a way that was,

you With that personal relationship

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element of knowing God, of being known

by him and, and our lady, Mary, you

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know, the, the, the common complaint

or concern or just argument, if you

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will, is that she is a distraction,

she is an idol, she is, you shouldn't

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focus on her, she will lead you astray.

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That's not what God wanted.

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You should just go straight to God.

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And to all of that, I say, well,

actually, if you look in scripture, Mary's

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desire isn't to like flex on herself.

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Like she's trying to do

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one and one thing alone.

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And that is one to glorify God, who

happens to be her father, but also

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happens to be her son, which is a pretty

wild relationship to have with God.

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Um, but also John chapter two, verse

five, do whatever he tells you.

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Right.

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First miracle of Cana, like that

could easily summarize her mo or

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her mission statement, which is

like, just do whatever he tells you.

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I just

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want to follow my son.

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And so in real time, I was experiencing

that where, as I'm spending time with her,

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praying the rosary, you know, Getting to

know the gospels through her eyes and St.

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Jean Paul, the second and his letter on,

um, uh, gosh, I forgot the actual title.

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It may have just been a letter on

the Holy Rosary, but it's essentially

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back in 2002, where he announced

the, um, the luminous mysteries.

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of the first time in

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hundreds years, like a Pope had basically

established a new set of mysteries,

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the luminous mysteries, to emphasize

the divinity of Christ, his ministry.

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And I remember in that letter so

beautifully written, he says that The

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rosary is a School of Mary where we're

spending time meditating on the life of

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Christ through the eyes of the mother.

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And who knew Christ's best?

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I mean, the

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whole joyful mysteries, if you think

about it, the gospel writer Luke St.

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Luke.

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I mean, he had to have sat down

with Our Lady and asked her

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these intimate questions about

what was your experience like.

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Tell me, like, first hand, what happened?

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Uh, the angel Gabriel appeared to you?

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What?

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You, you went to your cousin Elizabeth?

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That's what she said?

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Like, the only way he could have

actually received this information

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is if he sat down spoke to her.

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So, if you think about it, the Gospel, I

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mean, Gospels, especially the

Gospel of Luke, I mean, that's

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like hand eyewitness stuff

through the eyes of Our Lady.

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Right.

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Right?

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And so,

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Track 1: love that.

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I never thought about it like That's so

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: so, as

I'm sitting there, you know, in prayer

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with Our Lady, Unbeknownst to me, she's,

yeah, she's giving me also a first hand

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view into the life of Christ, and, and

of course, like, on the other side of

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eternity now, she's able to intercede

in a much more profound way, and that's

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what she's doing for me, and I'm like,

whoa, okay, I, I'm kind of understanding

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the gospel more, I'm intrigued, I, I

want a relationship with God, I, I want

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to be in right relationship with him.

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I want to be in his grace.

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I, I, should probably

go back to confession.

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I, I should probably like figure

out this mass thing because I've

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done it all my life, but there

just wasn't much of a connection.

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But as I opened my heart in faith and

as I pursued the Lord, um, you know,

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and I share this all the time, but

in Jeremiah, God says, if you seek me

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with all your heart, you'll find me.

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And that's essentially what was happening.

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And Mary was there every step of

the way, every step of the way.

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And so, um, I showed the story a lot

too, but for some reason, our lady under

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the title of our lady of Guadalupe was

like present throughout the string.

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It was always our lady of Guadalupe.

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And I joke around.

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It's because I'm so Mexican

that she just really.

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You know, just reaches out but it's funny.

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Like that image, she was always there.

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And so that I went to

this church called St.

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Paul's down the street from UCLA.

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And I remember like praying before her

image of our lady Guadalupe asking her

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to make, help me make a good confession.

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And then I'm, I'm waiting in

line and I opened the door and

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then the roses again, the smell.

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And I'm like, okay, they must be in here.

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And

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I'm there's no roses.

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And then after my confession, I asked

the father, I'm like, do you smell roses?

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He's like, I smell my sandwich.

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I don't know what you're talking about.

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And.

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You know, it's like Mary is

there at all the key moments

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in the life of Christ, right?

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And she was there at the foot of the

cross when his side was opened up, right?

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He was pierced with a lance and

his blood and water poured out

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and became the fountain of mercy

for the whole world, right?

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And so naturally it makes sense

that in a way she would be

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there with me at confession.

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We're mystically speaking sacramentally

like that blood and water is

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being poured out on my soul again.

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And so she's there She's present

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and then you know, I transfer from UCLA

to Franciscan University of Steubenville

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right Catholic Disneyland in the

armpit of America Steubenville, Ohio

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And so There she is, our lady Guadalupe,

in the chapels of the dorms that I'm in.

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Okay.

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Um, and then I joined the Friars,

as I mentioned before, and she's

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the patronist of that community.

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I lived in a friary in Har in, in

the Bronx for a few years where

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literally there's a 30 foot mural

on the side of the, the Friary.

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She is present, she is

just journeying with.

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And then I left the,

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yeah, and then I left

community, I discerned out,

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and I'm like, what now, right?

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And, you know, if you talk to anyone

who's kind of spent time in discernment

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or seminary or religious life, and they

discern out, you will find that I think

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there is a common struggle amongst

those who have this experience, and

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it's that, Should I have tried harder?

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Could I have done more?

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Like, did I make the right move?

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You know, like, cause everyone goes into

these situations with an ideal of like,

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I want to do something great for God.

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And so when it doesn't pan out,

they're kind of left with this,

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like, uh, are we still good?

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Like, you know, like, uh, I just, I, you

know, and it was a wrestle even for me.

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And, and so as

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I'm of like figuring out next best

steps and I'm trying to keep my

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faith life up, um, I eventually met

my, my now wife, who at the time,

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obviously it was my girlfriend.

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And, um, what's funny was at the

time she wasn't even Catholic and.

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Yeah,

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so I met her at my

friend's wedding reception.

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He asked me to emcee.

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And so I was telling corny jokes.

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I was actually, uh, had the

vantage point that night, right?

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Of all the cute girls.

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And I'm like, no, she's too drunk.

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I'm not

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Track 1: Oh, yeah.

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

But then I saw, I

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saw my now wife at a table

and I'm like, Oh, she's count.

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She's laughing at my jokes.

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And I, Talked to her that night.

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I

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Track 1: all you need.

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: yeah,

I got you know, walked her to her car.

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And I remember like asking

her, where do you go to church?

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And she's like, Oh, I go to some like.

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Very Protestant sounding church like it's

called Mosaic and I'm like in my mind.

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I'm like, uh oh.

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I Hope this works cuz I'm not becoming and

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um, and so, uh, yeah long story short

We started dating She tried to break up

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with me multiple times because I wasn't

gonna become Protestant She wasn't gonna

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become Catholic at least she thought

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Track 1: There

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paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: praying

inviting her to events with me You know

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different ministry things because I was

starting my ministry at that time You

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And I remember taking her out on a date

on December 12th, which is the Feast of

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Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I certainly

wasn't intentionally planning this, but

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went to a cupcake shop in Los Angeles,

and we're at the register, and this lady,

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um, She, she has like this fat tattoo

of Our Lady Guadalupe on her forearm.

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And I'm like, dude, that's a cool tattoo.

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You know, I'm like, you know, it's

the feast of Our Lady Guadalupe.

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Right.

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And she's like, yeah, I'm like,

where do you go to church?

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And she's like, I don't go.

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I'm like, conversation over.

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Thank you.

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Give me my cupcakes.

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So So um, we get back in the car and

I started nerding out and I'm like,

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babe, did you, like, I was telling

her just like the serendipity of like

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running into a girl with a fat tattoo

of our lady Guadalupe on her feast day.

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And then I'm, I'm start

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like giving witness to like

how Mary has prayed for me.

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And this is how I experienced

her in my life, her prayers.

375

:

And she's always led me closer to Jesus.

376

:

And once again, we don't worship her.

377

:

And, uh, here's in, here's in scripture

378

:

where.

379

:

know, these are the key points that are

really helpful in understanding her role.

380

:

I'm talking about apologetics.

381

:

I'm telling her all the things.

382

:

And at the end of the car ride,

I'm like, is that helpful?

383

:

And she's like, kind of, thank you.

384

:

then in that moment, I'm, I just asked,

um, I just asked her a simple question.

385

:

I feel like this was God, like helping me.

386

:

And I said, um, have

you ever spoken to Mary?

387

:

And she said, no, I don't.

388

:

We've never taught that.

389

:

So what would I even say to her?

390

:

And I said, what would you

say to like the best mom ever?

391

:

Like, what would you say?

392

:

How would you speak to her?

393

:

And, and I said, do you want

to lead a prayer to her?

394

:

Like I'll, I'll pray with you and we can.

395

:

Pray to her together and she said

sure and she said very like honest

396

:

prayer, very simple, very humble prayer

to our lady and um, she finished the

397

:

prayer and she was very emotional,

like in tears and so I was like, yeah,

398

:

Track 1: Yeah.

399

:

That's when you know it hits

400

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

that time, right?

401

:

And so, so I asked her, what, what

do you, what are you crying about?

402

:

Like, what are the tears about?

403

:

And she said, well, um, yeah, I've had

a tough relationship with my mom lately.

404

:

And the thought of having a heavenly

mother who's loved me and prayed for me

405

:

this whole time is really comforting.

406

:

And so I said, praise God.

407

:

And so basically what happened

after that very long, there's many

408

:

more chapters to this story, but.

409

:

Very long story short, as I continue

to pray for her, as I continue to like,

410

:

show her the beauty of our Catholic

faith by taking her to events with

411

:

me and mass and all these things.

412

:

And God was ultimately

doing the heavy lifting.

413

:

Um, you know, basically we, um, we were

at mass one day and afterwards I said,

414

:

you know, they're offering our CIA.

415

:

And I said, you know, honey,

would you be interested in that?

416

:

And she said, yes.

417

:

I'm like, Oh, praise God.

418

:

So she went through the RCA program.

419

:

And I think that at this

point we were engaged as well.

420

:

And, um, she, um, yeah,

finished the RCA program.

421

:

And shortly before we got married,

she received baptism, confession,

422

:

communion, confirmation, and then.

423

:

A few months later, we got married.

424

:

So it was like six sacraments in one year.

425

:

Pretty big deal or five, five, five, five

426

:

Track 1: lot of

427

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: Yeah.

428

:

Five,

429

:

Track 1: a

430

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

lot of grace.

431

:

And so that was pretty cool.

432

:

And so anyways, going back to our lady,

like I saw how she was present in my

433

:

life and as our marriage continued.

434

:

Um, we, we got married and, you

know, basically we got pregnant our

435

:

first year of marriage and we went

to the doctor and we're like, Hey,

436

:

um, the doctor's like, yeah, that the

baby's gonna arrive on December 12th.

437

:

And I'm like, yeah, she, yeah, she

438

:

Track 1: way

439

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

I just claimed

440

:

Track 1: You're like,

441

:

I

442

:

knew that

443

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

that even this is all a big surprise.

444

:

Track 1: I could have

told you that myself.

445

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

And so, um, you know, the, I mean,

446

:

that's purely an estimate, you know,

doctors don't know the exact date,

447

:

but they can give you a general idea.

448

:

And so doctors said

449

:

December 12th, I'm like,

yep, December 12th it is.

450

:

And so we, you know, fast forward,

it was December 3rd and I was

451

:

like, honey, let's pray Novena.

452

:

Let's pray a nine days of prayer

for this intention that our daughter

453

:

would be born on the feast day.

454

:

And we just dedicate her to

our lady of Guadalupe and.

455

:

God will do the rest.

456

:

And so, um, we're praying the Novena and

at this point it's like December 11th.

457

:

And she's like, honey, I don't

know, like contractions don't feel

458

:

like any different or more intense.

459

:

So I'm like, baby, it's going to happen.

460

:

And so I took her to Costco

and I made this girl walk.

461

:

And then, uh, and then we went to the,

462

:

I'm We had groceries, whatever.

463

:

I'm not, I wasn't trying to torture.

464

:

And then we went to, we went

to the movie theater and.

465

:

You know, we're just chilling

out watching a nice film.

466

:

And then we go back home and she

falls asleep and I'm just like up

467

:

and I'm just kind of like, I don't

know if it was like just this angst

468

:

that I just got this feeling like,

no, it's going to happen real soon.

469

:

But I stayed up till like

three in the morning.

470

:

And I remember like three,

three or four in the

471

:

morning, my, my wife wakes up and she's

like, Oh my, I think my water broke.

472

:

And I'm like, eat this time.

473

:

And so I was like, game on.

474

:

And we had some waffles we went to the.

475

:

You know, local hospitals called St.

476

:

Joseph's there in Orange, California, and

long story short, our first girl, our baby

477

:

daughter, Audrey, was born on December

12th at three something in the afternoon.

478

:

So very fitting.

479

:

Um, and so once again, It was like

our lady saying to me, just like

480

:

in some sense, she said to Juan

Diego, you know, why are you afraid?

481

:

Are you not in the hollow

482

:

of my mantle?

483

:

Are you not underneath

the crossing of my arms?

484

:

You know?

485

:

And so she's really

486

:

been a mother to me.

487

:

She's been very, very loving

and merciful and sweet to me.

488

:

And she has prayed for me and my family.

489

:

And And even today, you know, as

I, as I turned to her often and I

490

:

asked for her prayers, like I do.

491

:

I don't always feel her presence,

of course, but I know that she is

492

:

always present and interceding for me.

493

:

And as I continue to entrust, not only

myself, but my marriage, my children,

494

:

my family, my ministry, everything

that's dear to me, um, as I offer it

495

:

to God through her intercession, by,

by consecrating myself to her, um, it

496

:

comes as a huge consolation knowing that.

497

:

You know, as Hebrews 12 says, we

are surrounded by a great cloud of

498

:

witnesses and one of those witnesses

happens to be our spiritual mom who

499

:

Christ gave us on the cross when he

said to the beloved disciple, behold

500

:

your mother.

501

:

And so as the saying

goes, I think it was St.

502

:

Maximilian Kolbe, if you do not

call Mary your mother, you cannot

503

:

call Christ your brother, you know?

504

:

And also another quote,

another banger from St.

505

:

Maximilian Kolbe is.

506

:

You cannot love Mary more than

he or you cannot honor Mary

507

:

more than he honored her Every

508

:

Track 1: Yeah, I think, I think

it's, you can't love Mary more than

509

:

Jesus loves Mary or something that.

510

:

Like, you can't beat the love

Christ has for his mom, so

511

:

don't worry about overloving

512

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: It's

impossible because every grace that she

513

:

received from her immaculate conception

to The motherhood, being the mother of

514

:

God, to being, uh, perpetually sinless, to

being a perpetual virgin, even though she

515

:

gave birth, wrap your head around that,

to being, the, assumed in the heaven,

516

:

to being the queen of heaven and earth,

like that's all, these are all singular

517

:

graces and, These graces stem from

what Christ accomplished on the cross.

518

:

So indeed she was saved, but she

was saved in a more excellent way.

519

:

And so like when our Protestant friends

or even our Catholic friends who are like,

520

:

just confused about what's the big fuss.

521

:

Well, it's kind of that Christ

made a big fuss about her.

522

:

It's kind of the fact that he like,

he really overdid himself in not only

523

:

redeeming her, but redeeming her in such

a way that it would give us all hope.

524

:

And here's why, like the, the, if we're

going to get kind of nerdy here, the

525

:

dogma of the immaculate conception,

meaning the belief that is a, pivotal

526

:

belief of the Catholic faith that

Mary from the moment of conception was

527

:

delivered from the stain of original sin.

528

:

You know, people will often say,

well, if that was one, how, and, and

529

:

secondly, if that's the case, then why

530

:

does she need a savior?

531

:

Um, to that Mary says, I've pro my soul

proclaims the greatness of the Lord.

532

:

My spirit rejoices in God, my savior.

533

:

So she herself.

534

:

Proclaims that she is saved, but

how, considering this dogma, right?

535

:

That was declared in, I believe the 1800s.

536

:

Well, um, the, the theologian in

the Catholic church whose work

537

:

was actually quite influential

in helping to develop this.

538

:

This understanding, this doctrine that led

to the dogma ultimately was an individual

539

:

by the name of Blessed John Duns Scotus.

540

:

And so, Blessed John Duns Scotus, uh,

fun fact, you know like back in the

541

:

day when kids would get into trouble in

school, they would get sent to the corner

542

:

and they'd have to wear a dunce cap.

543

:

You remember that?

544

:

The little cone

545

:

hat and that was the way to shame them

and get them to behave or whatever.

546

:

Obviously, that didn't

happen in my generation, but.

547

:

So the dunce cap actually is, is by

the insults that the enemies of blessed

548

:

John Duns Scotus coined for him.

549

:

They called people, Oh, you're

such a dunce as a, as an insult.

550

:

Yeah.

551

:

Against the great theologian and

saint, his enemies didn't like him.

552

:

So

553

:

Track 1: I don't know if that's a bummer

554

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

know, right?

555

:

So now, if being punished in the corner,

you can take it with great honor.

556

:

Wow.

557

:

Um, so blessed John Dunscotus, in simple

terms, um, And this is an analogy that

558

:

I think is helpful for a lot of people,

but the understanding that Blessed John

559

:

has had was like, okay, Mary has been

saved, but in a more excellent way.

560

:

And to give you an analogy, like, let's

say, for example, you're, you're about to

561

:

like, you're walking down a path, right?

562

:

And this path is like the same

path that all humanity goes on.

563

:

And ever since Adam and Eve, and through

this sin of original, Um, we are all

564

:

tainted because like in the middle of this

road, if you will, there is a quicksand.

565

:

Okay.

566

:

And everyone, just by virtue of the fact

that they are born into humanity will

567

:

fall into this quicksand and have the

stain, if you will, of original sin.

568

:

Well, Mary's on the same path,

but what if an individual, right?

569

:

But, um, but before I get there,

um, we fall into this, um, There's

570

:

quicksand, but Christ pulls us

out of the quicksand and saves us.

571

:

Well, what if Christ were to say

572

:

to Mary, You're on this path and you are

about to fall in, but here, walk around.

573

:

I will show you a path around it.

574

:

Is Christ still not saving her?

575

:

Of course he is, but he's saving

her in a more excellent way.

576

:

Because here, he's not saving her

once she's fallen, but he's preventing

577

:

her from falling to begin with.

578

:

And so, this is still salvation, but it

just looks a lot better, and it's better.

579

:

And so Mary was given this singular grace.

580

:

Um, and it was just that God, who

can do anything by the way, He can

581

:

choose what year he's born, the

circumstances, the geographical location,

582

:

and it also happens that he can also

create his own mom and prepare her.

583

:

And it was fitting that Christ would

584

:

enter this world conceived in the

womb of the Ark of the New Covenant.

585

:

What is the Ark of the Old Covenant?

586

:

In the Old Covenant, the people of

Israel wandered through the desert,

587

:

and the command given to Moses was

to basically create an Ark, which

588

:

was made out of incorruptible wood.

589

:

That was plated with solid

gold, and it was so holy that

590

:

you had to carry it on poles.

591

:

And the reason you did is because it held

three artifacts that were representative

592

:

of God's presence, His holy presence.

593

:

They were the two stone tablets that

came down to Moses on Mount Sinai, right?

594

:

They were

595

:

the, uh, it was a piece of manna or

the, the bread that came down from

596

:

heaven that God just so conveniently

allowed the Israelites to eat

597

:

and survive in the desert with.

598

:

And it also held the staff

of Aaron, the high priest.

599

:

And these symbols of God were so anointed

and sacred that once again, they had

600

:

to be held in this very holy container.

601

:

And it was so holy that in

fact, God warned that if anyone

602

:

would touch it, they would die.

603

:

And it happens that there's

this guy in the Old Testament

604

:

named Uzziah who didn't listen.

605

:

And instead of carrying it on poles,

which God was very specific about, he

606

:

thought he'd be like, You know, kind of

novel and put it on a cart with wheels.

607

:

And as this cart was like rocking back

and forth and the ark was about to

608

:

fall over, Uzziah stretched his hand

out to like prevent it from falling.

609

:

He touched it and lo and behold, he died.

610

:

Okay.

611

:

So, um, stories in scripture wild sure.

612

:

But anyways, like literally ark the of

the covenant, like this was literally.

613

:

The hope of the people of Israel, it was

literally God's holy presence among them.

614

:

Like if they had the arc, they

won victory over their enemies.

615

:

If they had the arc, they were blessed.

616

:

If they had the art, they were safe.

617

:

And eventually, you know, um,

if, if, if, In scripture, you

618

:

have this concept of typology.

619

:

Typology is basically a nerdy term

for something that happened in the

620

:

Old Testament, but there is a parallel

that happens in the New Testament.

621

:

And this reality in the Old

Testament sheds light on

622

:

the reality in the New

Testament and vice versa.

623

:

So I think the most

common one, uh, St.Paul

624

:

uses a typology about the old Adam.

625

:

Versus the new Adam, the old Adam,

we all know he contributed to the

626

:

original sin, the fall of humanity,

but the new Adam is Christ, right?

627

:

The old Adam was disobedient to God.

628

:

The new Adam was obedient to God.

629

:

The old Adam helped incur, you

know, sin, suffering, and death.

630

:

And the new Adam took on sin, suffering,

and death and redeemed it on the cross.

631

:

So you see, there's these parallels.

632

:

Well, there's an old Eve, right?

633

:

The old Eve was greeted by a serpent.

634

:

satan Well, the new Eve,

Mary was greeted by an angel.

635

:

The old Eve basically fell into

636

:

by saying, I will not serve God.

637

:

And Mary says in the new Testament, the

new Eve, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

638

:

Let it be done unto me

according to thy word.

639

:

So you see, there are parallels.

640

:

They're very striking.

641

:

And so the arc of the old covenant, as I

was talking about a second ago, pure made

642

:

out of pure gold, incorruptible wood.

643

:

Items of God that represent God.

644

:

Okay, so who or what is the

Ark of the New Covenant?

645

:

Well, let's go all the way to Revelation.

646

:

Saint John is like, just straight

up having these wild visions.

647

:

And right before he sees,

648

:

right, and then right before the, The

chapter I'm about to share, he says he

649

:

sees the arc, a vision of the arc in the

heavens and immediately thereafter, the

650

:

next verse, the next chapter is about him

seeing an image of a woman in the heavens,

651

:

clothed with the sun, with the moon

under her feet and a crown of 12 stars.

652

:

It's crazy.

653

:

And so, and so people are like,

Oh no, well, John's just talking

654

:

about, um, a symbol of Israel.

655

:

Yeah, well, actually let's go a

little bit further because it's very

656

:

specific about how this woman gives

birth to a child that will rule

657

:

all the nations with an iron rod.

658

:

Um, figuratively, yes, there is

symbolism with Israel, but, uh,

659

:

you can't figuratively give birth.

660

:

There was someone who literally gave

birth to this child and her name is Mary.

661

:

And so the Ark of the New Covenant,

662

:

if you work on that typology,

the question is like,

663

:

this old Ark of the

Covenant was massively holy.

664

:

It was God's present.

665

:

So if Mary is the Ark of the New

Covenant, how holy would she have to be?

666

:

Because here's the deal.

667

:

Old cut, old Ark held, um,

the two stone tablets, right?

668

:

Well, Mary held the fulfillment

669

:

of the law and the prophets, which

the commandments symbolized, Right?

670

:

Okay.

671

:

Uh, the old, the old ark held the

manna that fell from heaven, right?

672

:

Well, her womb is holding the living

bread that came down from heaven.

673

:

Jesus Christ.

674

:

Uh, the old ark holds the

staff Aaron, the symbol of

675

:

the high priesthood.

676

:

Well, Jesus Christ is the

universal high priest who redeems

677

:

all mankind back to his father.

678

:

So question, how holy

would Mary have to be?

679

:

Pretty holy,

680

:

like a

681

:

Track 1: Like

682

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:

so naturally these.

683

:

These favors, these singular graces that

God gave to Mary are hers and hers alone.

684

:

And they're all by virtue of what

Christ would do, even in the future.

685

:

This is wild.

686

:

It's kind of like back to the future, you

know, even preemptively God was bestowing

687

:

upon Mary, these graces that flowed from

what he was going to do from the cross.

688

:

she's, she's.

689

:

She's pretty impressive to say the

least, but not just impressive.

690

:

She is a work of mercy

from God Almighty to us.

691

:

And to think also that, you

692

:

know, St.

693

:

Paul talks about the body of Christ

and how every body has a head

694

:

and that head is obviously Jesus.

695

:

Well, Jesus had a mother.

696

:

And so naturally in the body of Christ,

which we are all members of, we have

697

:

a head, we have our, our Lord and

savior, but we also have his mother.

698

:

And the mother is not by any

means a substitute for the savior.

699

:

And, but, um, once again, at the

foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts

700

:

all of his children to the mother.

701

:

And so she is there, even after Jesus

resurrects, after he ascends into heaven,

702

:

she is there quietly, mysteriously, humbly

praying with the disciples at Pentecost.

703

:

She is present, she is praying,

and it would be foolish, it would

704

:

be terribly foolish to think.

705

:

That she no longer cares that, and I hear

this quite often, it is so bewildering to

706

:

me, like it's because the theology isn't

developed or it's because what people

707

:

have been told at their pulpits for, for

many years, it's misinformation and lies.

708

:

And it's like in the words of Archbishop

Fulton Sheen, who said, you can't

709

:

find a hundred people who actually

hate what the Catholic church teaches.

710

:

They hate what they think

the Catholic church teaches.

711

:

And.

712

:

You know, it's these arguments of,

713

:

you know, why, why are you, why

are you praying to dead people?

714

:

That's necromancy.

715

:

That's, that's specifically

warned against in the Bible.

716

:

It's like, actually the scripture

says that he is the God of

717

:

the living, not the dead.

718

:

You are gravely mistaken.

719

:

It's literally the verse.

720

:

So one, she's not dead.

721

:

Number two, well, why are you, why

are you asking her for prayers?

722

:

James 5, 16, the prayer of a

righteous person prevaileth much.

723

:

It's, it's the reminder that

if you are tight with God, he's

724

:

going to listen to your prayers.

725

:

Well, why are her prayers

726

:

matter?

727

:

Well, just go to John chapter two,

where through the behest of our lady

728

:

who sees that the bride and the groom

are out of wine at their, their party.

729

:

Like she says to him,

son, they're out of wine.

730

:

That's intercession.

731

:

And what does Jesus say next?

732

:

He says, how does this concern me?

733

:

I am not a wine distributor.

734

:

No, he says it's not my time, right?

735

:

And so Mary just says to the

servants, do he tells you.

736

:

And like a good Jewish

boy, he listens to his mom.

737

:

And so he's honored.

738

:

He's honored to hear the prayers of

his mother and it was at her behest.

739

:

And if you want to get even deeper, wow.

740

:

Like we could just like open up the rabbit

hole here, but like Notice he calls, he

741

:

says, woman, how does this concern me?

742

:

And people are like, the Protestants,

Protestant friends are like, oh, he

743

:

doesn't even respect his mom, see

744

:

that?

745

:

Well, if that was the case, how could

746

:

be a hypocrite?

747

:

Because he literally says, honor your

mother and father in the commandment.

748

:

If God doesn't do it, you

think he's being, you know,

749

:

that wouldn't make any sense.

750

:

Why is he saying woman?

751

:

I'll tell you why.

752

:

Very fascinating.

753

:

Because all the way back in Genesis

754

:

chapter 3, verse 15, When Adam and

Eve have sinned and God is doling out

755

:

punishment to both Adam and Eve and the

serpent What does he put in there like an

756

:

easter egg?

757

:

The easter egg is called the proto

evangelion which in Latin means the pre

758

:

good news And what is the pre good news

even in the midst of the punishment

759

:

where it seems like everything's lost?

760

:

God says to the serpent Because you

have done this, you will crawl on

761

:

your belly, you will eat dirt all the

days of your life, blah blah blah.

762

:

And I will put enmity, hatred

between you and the woman, woman,

763

:

between your offspring and hers.

764

:

He, you will strike at his

heel, he will crush your head.

765

:

Okay, now.

766

:

What is happening here?

767

:

Because he's not talking

about Eve, the woman, anymore.

768

:

Because Eve has fallen into original sin,

so she has a lot to do with the devil now.

769

:

But remember, God said, I will put enmity,

which is hatred, complete darkness.

770

:

I mean, you are completely at

odds between you and the woman.

771

:

So he's not talking about Eve

anymore, he's talking about Christ.

772

:

He's talking about Mary.

773

:

Because if you want to,

774

:

oh, I was gonna blow your mind like that.

775

:

Symbolism.

776

:

Track 1: already my mind.

777

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: of

778

:

Mary, the woman.

779

:

Right.

780

:

Because once again, let's fast

forward all the way to John.

781

:

Jesus public ministry hasn't

started yet, but at the miracle

782

:

of Canaan, it's about to happen.

783

:

And through the behest of Mary, right,

remember it was at the behest of Eve,

784

:

my husband, try some of this fruit.

785

:

Remember that?

786

:

That was literally

787

:

the, the invitation towards Jesus.

788

:

Disobedience and death.

789

:

Mary was saying to her son, Jesus, who

is the new Adam, she's the new Eve.

790

:

And of course they're not married.

791

:

So the, the, the analogy

doesn't go completely.

792

:

However, Mary says to Jesus,

my son, they're out of wine.

793

:

Right.

794

:

And what does Jesus say?

795

:

Woman, how does this concern me?

796

:

It is not yet my time.

797

:

Meaning, Jesus is like, if you want me

to do what you're asking me to do, you

798

:

understand that my ministry begins now.

799

:

And we are going to fast track all the way

800

:

through towards Calvary.

801

:

And this salvation

802

:

about to go down, like, and

the suffering that's going to

803

:

have to result prior to that.

804

:

And Mary says to the servants,

do whatever he tells you.

805

:

How does this concern me?

806

:

Woman, right?

807

:

And then let's keep moving

forward towards Calvary.

808

:

What happens as he's dying on the cross?

809

:

What does he say to her?

810

:

Woman, behold your son.

811

:

Okay.

812

:

Woman, right?

813

:

It's, it's absolutely wild how it's all

here, let's, let's take it a step further.

814

:

Remember that, that proto Evangelion,

Genesis 3 15, you will strike at his heel.

815

:

He's talking to the devil,

and he will crush your head.

816

:

Do you know that Golgotha actually

means the place of the skull?

817

:

So consider the imagery of Christ's cross

818

:

literally piercing the skull of that

mountain and the skull of the enemy.

819

:

He is literally fulfilling prophetically

what was uttered thousands and thousands

820

:

of years ago, and that had to do with

Mary, and that had to do with Christ.

821

:

And so Mary is wrapped up cosmically,

uh, in scripture from Genesis all

822

:

the way to Revelation to when John

is seeing that vision and it said

823

:

the ancient serpent, um, was there

trying to devour her child, right?

824

:

This woman who is clothed with

the sun with the moon under her

825

:

feet, crowned with twelve stars.

826

:

And it says, um, there was another

interesting verse in there where it says

827

:

that, um, the enemy, the serpent waged

fury against her children or her father,

828

:

like I'd have to pull up the exact verse,

but it speaks to the fact that this

829

:

cosmic battle has been waging on for

thousands of years and it's precisely,

830

:

it's ultimately against God versus

831

:

but Mary has such a pivotal role in all.

832

:

And so here's the thing

without sacred tradition.

833

:

Without the authority of the church to

interpret, to bind them to loose and to

834

:

help give us insight, naturally, it's

really hard for non Catholics to just

835

:

read scripture at face value and come

up with these conclusions by themselves.

836

:

And this is why there's so much

misunderstanding about her.

837

:

Because she doesn't say a

whole lot in scripture, right?

838

:

She has like a pretty pivotal like place

in the early chapters of Luke, but then

839

:

she's just kind of MIA for a while.

840

:

She just kind of has these

little guest appearances.

841

:

And so people are like,

they misunderstand her.

842

:

They don't like her.

843

:

But beyond just not misunderstanding

her and being confused about her,

844

:

I feel like it just gets wrapped up

once again in that cosmic battle.

845

:

Satan hates her.

846

:

In a very particular way, in

a very particular way, St.

847

:

Louis de Montfort, who wrote

True Devotion to Mary, whose

848

:

book has widely influenced St.

849

:

John Paul II, so much so that

his papal motto, totus tuus,

850

:

comes from a prayer that St.

851

:

Louis de Montfort wrote, totus tuus

ego sum et omnia mea tuus sunt,

852

:

which basically means, Mary, I am

yours and everything I have is yours.

853

:

It's a total entrustment to Mary

854

:

because his understanding, it

was, he had no qualms about this.

855

:

It wasn't idol worship.

856

:

There wasn't Mary replacing Jesus.

857

:

It was the understanding that if God

could entrust his only begotten son to

858

:

the woman married for nine months and

beyond, as he raised, as she raised him.

859

:

Then who am I to say that I can't entrust

myself spiritually to Mary, right?

860

:

I mean, yeah, um, and how, you know, our

faith, it's just so important to, it's

861

:

just so helpful, and it's so important

that we don't singularly rely on ourselves

862

:

to interpret Because there is, one, such a

863

:

wealth knowledge, but And I get into

conversations about this all the time,

864

:

um, you know, debates, if you want

to call it that, online, where I'll

865

:

post anything remotely Catholic on

my social media, and then, you know,

866

:

a whole, like, tribe of disgruntled

Protestants will be telling me why I'm

867

:

wrong, and why I'm going to hell, why

Catholics aren't Christians, and why Mary

868

:

idolatry, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

869

:

And, you know, there's just these

fundamental gaps in their understanding

870

:

of why I believe what I believe.

871

:

And it's because Christ, He

didn't leave us with the Bible.

872

:

He left us with the church.

873

:

I mean, he did leave us with the

Bible in the sense that he inspired

874

:

the word of God and there were

all these scrolls in circulation.

875

:

But the fact of the matter is

it wasn't until the year 397 A.

876

:

D.

877

:

and the Council of Rome or Carthage,

whatever you want to call it, that the

878

:

canon of Scripture was all put together.

879

:

And so, The question becomes like, what

did the early Christians do for the first

880

:

400 years then before the Bible dropped?

881

:

Right.

882

:

And even when it dropped, it's not

like we had the printing press.

883

:

So they couldn't read

884

:

it themselves.

885

:

What was being taught?

886

:

Well, St.

887

:

Paul in second

888

:

Thessalonians says that, hold

on, hold fast the traditions that

889

:

I've helped, I've passed on to you

through writing and word of mouth.

890

:

So the word of God came to the early

891

:

Christians two ways, through scripture

and through preaching, meaning.

892

:

That it's not about sola scriptura,

which is a heretical understanding

893

:

that the Word of God alone suffices

and that is our only source of

894

:

information about what God wants.

895

:

But according to St.

896

:

Paul in this verse, he's saying, uh,

the Word of God came to you in two

897

:

ways through writing and preaching.

898

:

So, just because it's not explicitly

said in the Bible doesn't mean

899

:

that it's not part of our faith.

900

:

And I'll give you a primary example.

901

:

The Trinity.

902

:

The scripture literally

doesn't even use that word.

903

:

Nor does it explicitly

express that God is one in

904

:

nature and three distinct persons.

905

:

You know that early

Christians for hundreds of

906

:

years, like, fought and

squabbled over this?

907

:

When you're trying to figure out

who is God, what is the belief here?

908

:

Are they all this?

909

:

Are they equal?

910

:

Are they like kind of equal?

911

:

Did God create Jesus

or was Jesus begotten,

912

:

made consubstantial with the father?

913

:

Like we had the luxury of sitting here and

like saying the creed, like it's no big

914

:

deal.

915

:

And yet the church like had to labor over

916

:

figuring out what is God

saying to the church?

917

:

And so anyways, I'm going down a

bit of a rabbit hole, but when it,

918

:

whether, whether it's the Trinity,

whether whether it's Mary, it's like.

919

:

We're so blessed as Catholics to have

this relationship with her, to have this

920

:

understanding of who God made her to be.

921

:

And for me personally, like firsthand

experiencing how profound her role

922

:

is, like in our lives and how she does

intercede for us and how she is truly a

923

:

mother to us, um, has been a real comfort.

924

:

And so, um, yeah, that's, that's great.

925

:

that's a bit of the story.

926

:

Track 1: Paul, that was so amazing.

927

:

I feel like we just got, like, not only,

like, the heart, you know, like, your

928

:

testimony, but we also got the head,

like, we just got, like, a, like, crash

929

:

course, course that, uh, I, I enjoyed

so much and I feel like everything

930

:

you mentioned are like tidbits of

scripture and revelation that I feel

931

:

like I've heard in different talks or

different books, but put all together

932

:

in, in that way that you presented it,

it just makes it, like you said, like.

933

:

So abundantly clear how pivotal

of a role the Lord gave to Mary

934

:

and how it's not, you know, he's

not, she's not just his mother.

935

:

Like I've heard Protestants say that a

lot, like, yeah, like sure you can like,

936

:

you know, respect that she was the mother

of Jesus, but like, that's about it.

937

:

But you, you hear all this and you

say like, there's so much more than.

938

:

Just his mom, you know, which alone is

like a good and holy and task, but the

939

:

way that she plays a role in salvation

history to bring us the salvation of

940

:

Christ, the way that she played a role in

your life and in my family's life in mine.

941

:

And I know so many other people

who Mary has interceded for

942

:

and has just actively like.

943

:

Like you said, like, I think

you called it signal graces.

944

:

I feel like what I've heard

before is like stocks.

945

:

Like sometimes you get like stocks.

946

:

You like a saint, like just like

947

:

stalks you, tracks you down.

948

:

And she's like, no, seriously,

like, let me into your life.

949

:

I want to show you son is.

950

:

Um, so everything you said,

it was so, so beautiful.

951

:

Um, wow.

952

:

I just like, we, mic drop.

953

:

We could just end it right there.

954

:

That was great

955

:

paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324: Yeah.

956

:

No, it's, it's, yeah,

she's, she's amazing.

957

:

And.

958

:

Yeah, just having experienced it and

also, you know, just furthered my

959

:

studies about Mariology and just kind

of diving into the beauty of our faith.

960

:

It really is so eye opening and it's so

important, I feel, for Catholics of any

961

:

age and any walk of life to also learn

apologetics, right, which is ultimately

962

:

the defense, defending our Catholic faith.

963

:

And not to defend it that, you know,

we have to somehow frantically try to

964

:

defend that it is the fullness of what

Christ left for us, but, but more just a

965

:

witness to like people who really don't

know and who have misinformation, who

966

:

have been told lies you know, whether

it's about Mary, whether it's about

967

:

the sacraments, whether it's about the

community of saints or the Eucharist

968

:

or any other Catholic thing, it's

like, We have literally no need to be

969

:

ashamed, but we should be thankful.

970

:

And with that level of thankfulness

and gratitude to like, go out

971

:

and give witness to the world

of like the beauty of our faith.

972

:

And, um, as I think first Peter says in

scripture that, you know, be ready to give

973

:

an account for the reason of your hope.

974

:

Right.

975

:

And that ultimately is Christ, but also

like, yeah, just to like, be ready,

976

:

be ready, um, by learning about our

faith, like filling your mind with

977

:

what is good, true, and beautiful

learning the why behind the what, and

978

:

you don't have to know everything.

979

:

I certainly don't know everything.

980

:

Um, I'm very far from it, but.

981

:

But there's certain things that I'm

versed in where, yeah, I can, I can

982

:

share when someone has a question.

983

:

And so, yeah, I just encourage people

to learn about their faith, to dive in.

984

:

There's a lot of great resources

out there on apologetics.

985

:

I think one of the most OG

ones is like Catholic answers.

986

:

They have pretty cool

podcast and YouTube videos.

987

:

And, um, and if you don't know

something that somebody is asking you

988

:

or challenging you about, there's no

shame in saying, that's a great question.

989

:

I don't know how to answer that, but I'm

going to look into it and get back to you.

990

:

And fair enough, go look into it and come

back and have the But don't make stuff up.

991

:

Track 1: True, true.

992

:

Definitely not.

993

:

That's beautiful.

994

:

So we talked a lot about Mary and

obviously the amazing role that

995

:

she has played in your life and

that she plays in all of our lives.

996

:

Um, what about the rosary?

997

:

That's something that Mary says a lot

in her apparitions that many saints

998

:

have spoken about that clearly is a,

also a pivotal, um, you know, thing

999

:

that we should be paying attention to.

:

00:51:15,468 --> 00:51:15,818

So.

:

00:51:16,178 --> 00:51:19,338

What has the role of the rosary

been in your life, or what are some

:

00:51:19,338 --> 00:51:22,048

words of, you know, wisdom about

the rosary that you would like

:

00:51:23,372 --> 00:51:27,252

-:

yeah, um, that prayer has been just

:

00:51:27,262 --> 00:51:32,252

profoundly helpful in, in ways that I

can both describe and I can't describe.

:

00:51:32,562 --> 00:51:35,152

Because, you know, when

we pray, it's hard to

:

00:51:35,152 --> 00:51:37,452

quantify, like, what exactly is happening.

:

00:51:38,132 --> 00:51:40,612

You know, when we go to the sacrament

confession, we make a good confession.

:

00:51:40,612 --> 00:51:42,542

We know that our sins have

been washed away that much.

:

00:51:42,542 --> 00:51:45,767

We understand, but like, When it

comes to prayer, reading of scripture,

:

00:51:45,767 --> 00:51:47,367

like, what is, what is happening?

:

00:51:48,057 --> 00:51:51,797

It's hard to figure out how to answer

that, but I will say that through

:

00:51:51,797 --> 00:51:56,667

the years as I've, as I've prayed the

rosary, as I've made that part of my

:

00:51:56,667 --> 00:52:01,657

devotional life as a Catholic, and um,

I've, I've seen the fruits of that.

:

00:52:01,757 --> 00:52:03,917

I've seen my life change.

:

00:52:03,987 --> 00:52:05,517

I've seen my faith grow.

:

00:52:05,797 --> 00:52:07,657

I've seen certain sins.

:

00:52:08,622 --> 00:52:12,722

Little literally be broken, like the

chains that, you know, enslaved me

:

00:52:12,752 --> 00:52:17,312

through different sins, um, literally

be broken away because of the grace.

:

00:52:17,342 --> 00:52:20,412

I believe that God gave me

through the intercession of

:

00:52:20,412 --> 00:52:22,142

our lady to be freed of them.

:

00:52:24,402 --> 00:52:27,582

Mary, as you had mentioned in

apparitions, as she's kind of like.

:

00:52:28,842 --> 00:52:31,972

Appeared in different countries at

different times throughout the history

:

00:52:31,972 --> 00:52:36,062

of the church for various reasons,

but oftentimes those messages are

:

00:52:36,062 --> 00:52:42,282

the same and it's that with earth

and the people of this world and

:

00:52:42,282 --> 00:52:46,862

the people of God need to return to

God, like it's a mother coming as a

:

00:52:46,892 --> 00:52:49,042

concerned mother to warn her children.

:

00:52:49,412 --> 00:52:52,522

And not out of like fear mongering,

but out of genuine concern,

:

00:52:52,522 --> 00:52:59,372

like, Hey, you need to change, or

there's going to be like suffering and

:

00:52:59,372 --> 00:53:02,142

punishment that are going to be incurred

:

00:53:02,152 --> 00:53:02,572

here.

:

00:53:03,402 --> 00:53:07,032

And it's not because God is out to

punish the world, but it's because

:

00:53:07,032 --> 00:53:12,972

like the sins of men and women are

like filling the cup so much that it's

:

00:53:12,992 --> 00:53:17,232

going to overflow and people reap, reap

:

00:53:17,282 --> 00:53:19,922

the fruit of the ugliness of sin.

:

00:53:20,737 --> 00:53:26,407

And so, like, she's appeared in

Portugal, in Fatima, in Akita, Japan,

:

00:53:26,947 --> 00:53:33,717

in Mexico City, in Kibeho, Africa, I

mean, literally every culture and race

:

00:53:33,717 --> 00:53:36,027

you can think of, like, she's appeared.

:

00:53:36,967 --> 00:53:37,637

And when she

:

00:53:37,637 --> 00:53:41,687

appears, she's usually

saying the same stuff.

:

00:53:42,067 --> 00:53:47,007

Pray the rosary, return

to my son Jesus, right?

:

00:53:47,067 --> 00:53:48,357

Receive the Eucharist.

:

00:53:49,107 --> 00:53:58,787

Um, stop doing sketch, you read

pray and fast, you know, pray for

:

00:53:58,817 --> 00:54:03,287

others, repent, I mean, just like

the key, key things in the gospel,

:

00:54:03,287 --> 00:54:03,727

right.

:

00:54:04,037 --> 00:54:06,197

Repent and believe in

the gospel ultimately.

:

00:54:08,657 --> 00:54:14,197

in some sense, with a lowercase s,

right, she has saved me by leading me

:

00:54:14,207 --> 00:54:21,487

to the Savior, who has capital S saved

me on the cross, And so, we all have a

:

00:54:21,487 --> 00:54:26,577

role to play in, I mean, in some sense,

it's not us who save anybody, really.

:

00:54:26,607 --> 00:54:29,207

It's the Holy, it's the work of

the Holy Spirit, and ultimately

:

00:54:29,207 --> 00:54:30,787

it's, it's God himself.

:

00:54:31,787 --> 00:54:34,247

But does he delight in using us?

:

00:54:34,597 --> 00:54:35,307

Absolutely.

:

00:54:35,597 --> 00:54:38,657

Does he delight in allowing us

to be instruments of his grace?

:

00:54:38,687 --> 00:54:39,527

100%.

:

00:54:39,577 --> 00:54:45,477

In fact, I'm forgetting where in scripture

right now, but it basically says that we

:

00:54:45,477 --> 00:54:48,317

are coworkers of Christ in his vineyard.

:

00:54:48,792 --> 00:54:49,932

We are co workers.

:

00:54:50,662 --> 00:54:51,642

And what does that mean?

:

00:54:51,702 --> 00:54:57,312

I mean, it means that God is delighted

to invite us into his work of salvation.

:

00:54:58,192 --> 00:55:03,612

And we see that as the last commandment

to the disciples is, you know, baptize

:

00:55:03,622 --> 00:55:07,202

all nations, you know, make disciples

of all nations, baptizing them in the

:

00:55:07,202 --> 00:55:08,592

name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

:

00:55:08,662 --> 00:55:14,052

He gave them a very particular role

in partnering, being co workers,

:

00:55:14,672 --> 00:55:19,032

to preach the word, to give witness

so that his word could go forth.

:

00:55:19,952 --> 00:55:23,902

And so when you look at Mary, I

mean, she does that par excellence.

:

00:55:23,902 --> 00:55:25,822

Like she is the premier missionary.

:

00:55:25,822 --> 00:55:29,382

I mean, just consider

like:

:

00:55:29,412 --> 00:55:33,452

reformation is happening and an

estimated, you know, 10 million

:

00:55:33,452 --> 00:55:39,102

people leave the Catholic church as

they join the Protestant sect and.

:

00:55:39,412 --> 00:55:43,912

Obviously that's a huge heartbreak to, to

God because he didn't pray for division.

:

00:55:43,982 --> 00:55:44,922

He prayed that they would all

:

00:55:45,062 --> 00:55:45,412

one.

:

00:55:45,482 --> 00:55:46,902

That's what he prayed at the last supper.

:

00:55:47,042 --> 00:55:50,942

And it was, I'm pretty sure it

wasn't his will for his people to be

:

00:55:50,942 --> 00:55:55,362

splintered off into several different

denominations, tens of thousands

:

00:55:55,362 --> 00:55:57,052

of different churches in:

:

00:55:57,052 --> 00:55:58,042

This is not his will.

:

00:55:58,487 --> 00:56:00,437

And sure, there were problems

in the church at the time,

:

00:56:00,457 --> 00:56:01,967

and there always will be.

:

00:56:01,997 --> 00:56:09,104

Um, there's this funny quote, I forget

who said um, it was some bishop,

:

00:56:09,117 --> 00:56:12,977

and he had had some he real humor,

but basically someone's like, the

:

00:56:12,977 --> 00:56:15,337

Catholic church will destroy itself.

:

00:56:15,807 --> 00:56:19,597

And the bishop looks at this person

and says, sir, we have tried to destroy

:

00:56:19,617 --> 00:56:22,767

ourselves for hundreds of years,

and we have not been able to do it.

:

00:56:24,136 --> 00:56:27,026

Track 1: That wasn't the one that

I was thinking The quote that I've

:

00:56:27,026 --> 00:56:31,366

heard is like, Oh gosh, it was like,

if you're trying to find a church,

:

00:56:31,666 --> 00:56:35,786

like, wait till you join it, and now

it's, now it's no longer a church, you

:

00:56:35,786 --> 00:56:39,666

know, because like, every church is

run by humans, and we're all imperfect,

:

00:56:39,676 --> 00:56:43,780

so good luck finding a perfect church

:

00:56:44,175 --> 00:56:47,195

-:

on that note, yeah, our faith, our

:

00:56:47,225 --> 00:56:51,855

Catholic faith, our Catholic church is

perfect in so far as we're talking about

:

00:56:51,855 --> 00:56:53,325

Christ, who is the head of the church.

:

00:56:53,795 --> 00:56:55,385

It is very imperfect.

:

00:56:56,145 --> 00:56:56,365

If

:

00:56:56,365 --> 00:57:00,455

we are referencing all of its

members, all of us, but Mary,

:

00:57:01,255 --> 00:57:02,825

but going back Mary, she's different.

:

00:57:03,825 --> 00:57:08,875

Because she received in a more excellent

way, this gift of salvation and through

:

00:57:08,875 --> 00:57:12,385

a singular grace given to her by God,

she not only was conceived without

:

00:57:12,385 --> 00:57:13,815

original sin, but she never sinned.

:

00:57:14,965 --> 00:57:21,095

And when she was assumed body and soul

into heaven, she is the premier disciple.

:

00:57:21,255 --> 00:57:24,635

She is showing all of us like

what we are truly called to be.

:

00:57:25,565 --> 00:57:30,015

And while we are not sinless and we

have all fallen short of the glory

:

00:57:30,015 --> 00:57:37,715

of God, she still gives us hope that,

um, that through the grace of God, she

:

00:57:37,715 --> 00:57:39,700

was able to win the race in her life.

:

00:57:40,140 --> 00:57:41,610

in such a beautiful way.

:

00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:47,610

And she was able to fulfill, um,

ultimately that pre good news that

:

00:57:47,610 --> 00:57:51,640

even God in His mercy was, was

saying back in Genesis chapter three.

:

00:57:52,770 --> 00:57:57,650

And so, you know, she doesn't flaunt

that she's very humble about it.

:

00:57:57,660 --> 00:58:01,660

She gives praise and glory back to the

Almighty who has done great things for

:

00:58:01,660 --> 00:58:03,520

her and wants to do great things in us.

:

00:58:04,390 --> 00:58:07,520

Um, but I believe going back to

the process of reformation and

:

00:58:07,990 --> 00:58:11,390

10 million, an estimated nine, 10

million people leaving the church.

:

00:58:12,140 --> 00:58:15,110

Well, not too long after that

moment, guess what happens?

:

00:58:15,120 --> 00:58:17,120

She appears to Juan Diego in Mexico

:

00:58:19,260 --> 00:58:20,890

in a, in a, in Mexico at

:

00:58:20,890 --> 00:58:26,580

the where there's, you know, the

Aztec culture, um, they were doing

:

00:58:26,580 --> 00:58:28,560

terrible things like human sacrifices.

:

00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:31,860

They, they were under the

impression that in order to keep the

:

00:58:31,970 --> 00:58:35,570

God, lower case G of the

sun and the moon happy.

:

00:58:36,060 --> 00:58:37,760

You had to sacrifice human blood.

:

00:58:38,620 --> 00:58:43,680

And so it was terrible, terrible human

rights violations to say the least, and

:

00:58:43,680 --> 00:58:45,160

just terrible things happening there.

:

00:58:46,140 --> 00:58:46,460

And

:

00:58:46,470 --> 00:58:52,720

simultaneously the Spaniards show

up to colonize, uh, that country.

:

00:58:52,920 --> 00:58:53,770

And typically when you're colonizing.

:

00:58:55,305 --> 00:58:58,825

And enforcing your religion,

it doesn't go well.

:

00:58:59,265 --> 00:59:04,265

And so there's not a lot of converts

to Catholicism, but among them, among

:

00:59:04,265 --> 00:59:09,085

those converts is a man named Juan

Diego, very humble man who loves God

:

00:59:09,085 --> 00:59:13,895

and loves the church and is, is just

serving just very simply and humbly.

:

00:59:14,385 --> 00:59:18,225

And Mary appears to him and basically.

:

00:59:19,160 --> 00:59:21,500

Sends him to the local Bishop with a sign.

:

00:59:21,500 --> 00:59:25,010

And the sign is that image of

the Tilma, our Lady Guadalupe

:

00:59:25,060 --> 00:59:26,070

that I was talking about earlier.

:

00:59:27,060 --> 00:59:27,930

And it's fascinating.

:

00:59:27,960 --> 00:59:31,830

Um, as I, I led a pilgrimage there a

few years ago, and, um, it was just

:

00:59:31,830 --> 00:59:38,400

a beautiful, uh, beautiful sort of

fulfillment of having experienced

:

00:59:38,400 --> 00:59:40,710

her intercession throughout my days.

:

00:59:40,760 --> 00:59:42,060

And then now.

:

00:59:42,505 --> 00:59:48,125

In my, my adulthood as a husband, as

a dad, um, with all this reflection

:

00:59:48,135 --> 00:59:52,105

in my past, like to be able to go to

the Basilica and see the actual image

:

00:59:52,105 --> 00:59:55,515

was very touching because for me,

it was just a trip of Thanksgiving.

:

00:59:56,175 --> 01:00:00,215

And so anyways, um, Mary appears

to Juan Diego and says, take these

:

01:00:00,215 --> 01:00:04,715

roses, which, um, we're not supposed

to be growing in December in Mexico.

:

01:00:04,945 --> 01:00:06,065

Back in the:

:

01:00:06,205 --> 01:00:07,415

And they weren't supposed to be

:

01:00:07,415 --> 01:00:10,045

growing in Mexico at all because

they were Castilian roses.

:

01:00:10,095 --> 01:00:11,835

They were roses that were unique to Spain.

:

01:00:12,695 --> 01:00:15,615

So there's no explanation

as to why these were there.

:

01:00:15,625 --> 01:00:19,195

But she said, take these roses,

tie them up in your toma,

:

01:00:19,225 --> 01:00:20,825

which was a cactus fiber fiber.

:

01:00:21,155 --> 01:00:23,865

Pancho and he was wearing one.

:

01:00:23,925 --> 01:00:26,075

So he ties it and takes

it to the local bishop.

:

01:00:26,075 --> 01:00:31,795

So Bishop Zuma and says, you know,

uh, our lady has sent me with a sign.

:

01:00:32,105 --> 01:00:37,245

He unties his Tilma and then

roses fall out miracle one, cause

:

01:00:37,245 --> 01:00:38,125

they shouldn't have been growing.

:

01:00:38,125 --> 01:00:39,795

And they were from his native country of

:

01:00:39,795 --> 01:00:40,355

Spain.

:

01:00:41,255 --> 01:00:42,505

And number two,

:

01:00:43,025 --> 01:00:47,435

the our lady, Guadalupe is

emblazoned on, on his Tilma.

:

01:00:47,895 --> 01:00:49,885

And that's the image that we have today.

:

01:00:50,685 --> 01:00:53,665

And this image, there's

no explanation for it.

:

01:00:53,685 --> 01:00:55,305

It's miraculous in every way.

:

01:00:55,315 --> 01:01:00,475

Like as scientists have examined this

thing, the tilna has like cactus fiber.

:

01:01:00,485 --> 01:01:00,585

It

:

01:01:00,585 --> 01:01:02,725

has life of 30, 40 years tops.

:

01:01:02,725 --> 01:01:05,485

It's been around for almost 500 years, you

:

01:01:05,485 --> 01:01:05,735

know?

:

01:01:05,755 --> 01:01:14,755

And when this image dropped back in

the:

:

01:01:14,755 --> 01:01:19,155

shock waves through that nation because

whenever people would look upon this The

:

01:01:19,155 --> 01:01:22,595

image itself was so compelling to them.

:

01:01:23,680 --> 01:01:24,640

And compelling for many

:

01:01:24,640 --> 01:01:25,320

reasons.

:

01:01:25,360 --> 01:01:28,400

Compelling because if you look

at the image, you see that she's

:

01:01:28,400 --> 01:01:29,640

standing on top of the moon.

:

01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:33,500

Remember they worshipped the

moon, the god of the moon.

:

01:01:33,570 --> 01:01:35,500

Well, that means she's

greater than the moon.

:

01:01:36,430 --> 01:01:37,620

who is she standing in front of?

:

01:01:37,630 --> 01:01:38,050

The sun.

:

01:01:38,060 --> 01:01:38,420

There's sun

:

01:01:38,860 --> 01:01:39,620

rays behind her.

:

01:01:39,700 --> 01:01:45,590

So, in art, that basically shows that

she's greater than the thing behind her.

:

01:01:45,890 --> 01:01:46,830

She's greater than the sun.

:

01:01:46,860 --> 01:01:48,060

Okay, so do we worship her?

:

01:01:48,950 --> 01:01:51,180

No, because she has her

hands clasped in prayer.

:

01:01:51,595 --> 01:01:54,975

And her head tilted down, which means

she is submitting to someone else.

:

01:01:55,995 --> 01:01:57,015

Who might that someone else

:

01:01:57,015 --> 01:01:57,475

be?

:

01:01:57,595 --> 01:02:00,805

Well, if you look closely, like around

her neck, she has this insignia of

:

01:02:00,805 --> 01:02:03,475

the cross, she worships the God of the

:

01:02:03,475 --> 01:02:04,199

Spaniards.

:

01:02:04,925 --> 01:02:05,515

Whoa.

:

01:02:06,415 --> 01:02:06,705

Okay.

:

01:02:06,705 --> 01:02:09,915

But not only that, if you look at

her face, this is very important.

:

01:02:09,925 --> 01:02:13,975

She is neither full, fully

Aztec and indigenous, and

:

01:02:13,975 --> 01:02:15,265

she's neither fully Spaniard.

:

01:02:15,305 --> 01:02:15,755

She's.

:

01:02:16,465 --> 01:02:17,805

A mixture of both.

:

01:02:18,965 --> 01:02:25,025

She is, she is, um, in other words,

if she was alive at that time,

:

01:02:25,025 --> 01:02:28,885

she would have had indigenous and

Spanish parents come together and

:

01:02:28,885 --> 01:02:31,105

that's what her complexion revealed.

:

01:02:31,525 --> 01:02:35,415

And so that too was a very beautiful

touch because it was Mary saying,

:

01:02:35,445 --> 01:02:36,785

I am the mother of all of you.

:

01:02:38,475 --> 01:02:39,535

I want you to get along.

:

01:02:41,195 --> 01:02:47,885

And then, and then she has, um, she

has this fur around her, um, her

:

01:02:47,885 --> 01:02:50,445

wrists and that was a sign of royalty.

:

01:02:50,775 --> 01:02:54,335

So she's a queen, but then she

also has a sash around her stomach.

:

01:02:54,335 --> 01:02:56,295

And that was a sign she

was pregnant with child.

:

01:02:57,485 --> 01:03:03,585

And even the decorations of the

flowers on her, on her dress for

:

01:03:03,585 --> 01:03:07,565

the ancient Aztec people, this

wasn't just a decorative feature.

:

01:03:07,575 --> 01:03:11,725

It was literally, it told stories,

it told history, it told a message.

:

01:03:12,635 --> 01:03:14,615

And so all of these things combined.

:

01:03:15,490 --> 01:03:18,800

When the ancient Aztecs looked

upon this image, which was out of

:

01:03:18,800 --> 01:03:22,650

this world, because once again,

it was completely miraculous.

:

01:03:22,700 --> 01:03:24,530

They have technology to print this.

:

01:03:25,120 --> 01:03:27,060

You know, it's not like

someone painted it.

:

01:03:27,070 --> 01:03:30,530

In fact, when scientists have

actually zoomed in on the fabric,

:

01:03:30,550 --> 01:03:32,750

there's no discernible brushstroke.

:

01:03:32,750 --> 01:03:34,430

There's no sign of it being painted.

:

01:03:35,560 --> 01:03:38,270

And so once again, it was

so compelling to them.

:

01:03:38,300 --> 01:03:43,240

It was such a powerful witness

that the mother of God was coming

:

01:03:43,240 --> 01:03:47,300

to Mexico and being a missionary,

like only she knew how to do.

:

01:03:47,960 --> 01:03:51,500

And over the course of the next

decade, there was an estimated 10

:

01:03:51,500 --> 01:03:53,240

million converts to the Catholic faith.

:

01:03:54,190 --> 01:03:59,230

And so, ironically, when the Reformation,

you know, made 10 million leave, Mary

:

01:03:59,230 --> 01:04:01,360

came to Mexico and made 10 appear.

:

01:04:02,390 --> 01:04:06,000

And once again, leading everyone

to her son, leading to Jesus,

:

01:04:06,020 --> 01:04:07,990

not to herself, to her son.

:

01:04:08,850 --> 01:04:10,780

And whatever honor we give to Mary,

:

01:04:11,310 --> 01:04:15,790

as, as I went to that basilica a couple

of years ago on her feast day, December

:

01:04:15,790 --> 01:04:17,050

12th, I was gathered with my family.

:

01:04:18,210 --> 01:04:22,300

There was an estimated like nine,

I think it was like, no, no, no.

:

01:04:22,480 --> 01:04:25,660

I think it was like 10, 11 million people

who showed up over the course of a week.

:

01:04:25,700 --> 01:04:26,680

Like, this is no joke in

:

01:04:27,049 --> 01:04:27,349

Track 1: Yeah.

:

01:04:27,399 --> 01:04:27,809

No, I know.

:

01:04:27,949 --> 01:04:30,129

We went last summer beautiful.

:

01:04:30,224 --> 01:04:30,684

-:

:

01:04:30,862 --> 01:04:31,052

Track 1: it was

:

01:04:31,967 --> 01:04:32,407

-:

:

01:04:32,987 --> 01:04:35,037

I don't know what it's like in

the summer, but on the feast day,

:

01:04:35,038 --> 01:04:36,084

Track 1: I can't imagine going,

:

01:04:37,379 --> 01:04:39,209

I can't imagine going

during the feast day.

:

01:04:39,209 --> 01:04:43,319

I mean, we went, yeah, we went in the

summer and it was like, it was pretty

:

01:04:43,319 --> 01:04:47,269

full, but, and we, I remember being there

and us being just like, wow, imagine

:

01:04:47,269 --> 01:04:49,479

what it would be like on December 12th.

:

01:04:49,499 --> 01:04:53,119

Like you probably, like not

even standing room only.

:

01:04:54,617 --> 01:04:56,387

-:

you're literally like shoulder to shoulder

:

01:04:56,387 --> 01:05:00,827

with like hundreds of thousands of people

who are all trying to get in and trying

:

01:05:00,827 --> 01:05:04,877

to walk past the miraculous image and

whoever the engineers at this Basilica

:

01:05:04,877 --> 01:05:05,987

where they're actually really smart.

:

01:05:05,987 --> 01:05:08,567

Cause there's basically

like four lanes of like,

:

01:05:09,137 --> 01:05:13,657

uh, escalators that are ensuring

that people don't just like camp

:

01:05:13,894 --> 01:05:14,637

Track 1: zoom on through.

:

01:05:16,167 --> 01:05:16,887

-:

It's like a ride.

:

01:05:17,294 --> 01:05:18,944

Track 1: I mean, I wrote

it like four times.

:

01:05:18,954 --> 01:05:19,864

I like got on.

:

01:05:19,894 --> 01:05:21,354

I was like, my gosh, that's Mary.

:

01:05:21,354 --> 01:05:22,334

And I was like, wait,

:

01:05:22,624 --> 01:05:23,804

that I just, I got to do

:

01:05:24,159 --> 01:05:27,202

-:

was, that was literally I was

:

01:05:27,202 --> 01:05:28,422

like a ride at Disneyland.

:

01:05:28,422 --> 01:05:32,992

You know, I gotta get on and

I gotta see mother again.

:

01:05:33,922 --> 01:05:39,092

Um, so anyways, when I went there and I

saw, you know, the hundreds of thousands

:

01:05:39,092 --> 01:05:45,752

of people and the devotion that these,

these Mexican Catholics had, um, as they

:

01:05:45,752 --> 01:05:53,762

greeted their, their reina, their queen,

It was very, it was very like compelling.

:

01:05:53,762 --> 01:05:59,212

It was very beautiful because as I

watched them honor our lady, I, I,

:

01:05:59,212 --> 01:06:04,022

couldn't help, but think back to what

Mary did for Mexico, what Mary did for

:

01:06:04,032 --> 01:06:08,242

me, what Mary has done for countless

people through the ages and leading

:

01:06:08,242 --> 01:06:13,332

them, not only being such a humble vessel

to accept God's will, but to literally

:

01:06:13,332 --> 01:06:17,632

be the vessel, which gave birth to

the Lord that fashioned his humanity.

:

01:06:18,057 --> 01:06:22,937

And even in heaven, she

continues to love on us.

:

01:06:23,662 --> 01:06:28,752

Her children and to want one

desire, and that is for us to

:

01:06:28,752 --> 01:06:30,792

also be saved by her son, Jesus.

:

01:06:32,032 --> 01:06:33,442

It's pretty amazing actually.

:

01:06:34,442 --> 01:06:36,812

So yeah, to be in Guadalupe and to kind of

:

01:06:36,852 --> 01:06:43,572

like wrap that up in a bow, it was, um,

yeah, it was very amazing to just see

:

01:06:43,572 --> 01:06:48,172

the devotion there because of all the

history of this culture and the people.

:

01:06:48,212 --> 01:06:55,702

But ironically, as someone who's not even

Mexican, who is very much Korean American.

:

01:06:57,882 --> 01:07:02,202

To how Our Lady for some reason

was appearing to me, not literally

:

01:07:02,202 --> 01:07:03,632

in a vision, but, you know.

:

01:07:04,172 --> 01:07:05,372

In a mysterious way through

:

01:07:05,372 --> 01:07:06,412

this Yeah.

:

01:07:06,872 --> 01:07:09,652

was really cool, man.

:

01:07:10,288 --> 01:07:10,979

Track 1: No, I love that.

:

01:07:10,979 --> 01:07:14,839

I love that she has such a pivotal

part of your story and that we were

:

01:07:14,839 --> 01:07:18,529

able to not just talk about Mary in

general, but about Mary, you know,

:

01:07:18,599 --> 01:07:21,919

for our Lady Guadalupe specifically, I

have a great devotion to her as well.

:

01:07:22,109 --> 01:07:23,902

The necklace I'm wearing

is the one I literally

:

01:07:25,349 --> 01:07:25,729

summer.

:

01:07:25,729 --> 01:07:28,079

And so she's always so I'm surprised.

:

01:07:28,079 --> 01:07:28,338

I'm surprised.

:

01:07:28,739 --> 01:07:32,087

to be that we're talking

about her because she is so

:

01:07:33,652 --> 01:07:33,952

-:

:

01:07:34,089 --> 01:07:37,819

Track 1: we wrap up, I have one last

question I want to touch on quickly.

:

01:07:37,819 --> 01:07:40,609

And that would be, what is your advice?

:

01:07:40,929 --> 01:07:43,339

Um, you know, we've talked

a lot about like who she is,

:

01:07:43,409 --> 01:07:45,249

how amazing she is, how plays.

:

01:07:45,309 --> 01:07:46,229

plays a role in our life.

:

01:07:46,249 --> 01:07:49,989

But what about the person who's

hearing this and maybe wants to

:

01:07:49,989 --> 01:07:54,229

but feels intimidated by her for

some reason or nervous or scared?

:

01:07:54,489 --> 01:07:57,179

What is your advice to someone, um,

who doesn't really know where to start,

:

01:07:57,409 --> 01:07:58,712

um, on how to build a relationship

:

01:08:00,212 --> 01:08:01,632

-:

Yeah, no, that's a great question

:

01:08:01,642 --> 01:08:03,192

because I do hear it quite a bit.

:

01:08:03,212 --> 01:08:07,502

I hear, uh, people outside

the church, inside the church.

:

01:08:07,762 --> 01:08:09,882

Um, I've heard this question a lot.

:

01:08:09,892 --> 01:08:11,012

Like I, yeah.

:

01:08:11,012 --> 01:08:14,762

How do I, I want to like

have a relationship with her.

:

01:08:14,762 --> 01:08:17,682

I don't know how to start,

or I have my questions.

:

01:08:17,682 --> 01:08:18,662

I have my concerns.

:

01:08:18,662 --> 01:08:20,452

I don't relate to her as much.

:

01:08:21,792 --> 01:08:22,122

And.

:

01:08:22,607 --> 01:08:24,047

You know, for various reasons, too.

:

01:08:24,047 --> 01:08:27,027

Like, some people might not relate to

her because, I mean, let's face it,

:

01:08:27,047 --> 01:08:31,267

maybe, maybe they didn't have a good

relationship with their earthly mom, and

:

01:08:31,327 --> 01:08:34,727

the thought of turning to having another

mom in heaven, like, that can be hard.

:

01:08:34,747 --> 01:08:37,797

Like, honestly, like, just on a

very human developmental level,

:

01:08:38,466 --> 01:08:40,216

she can feel like, uh, I don't

:

01:08:40,846 --> 01:08:42,557

want a relationship with her.

:

01:08:42,596 --> 01:08:46,987

But, oddly, you can't really not

have a relationship with her because,

:

01:08:48,042 --> 01:08:51,752

She is so part and parcel with what

Jesus accomplished in this world.

:

01:08:52,402 --> 01:08:55,192

And regardless of whether we have

:

01:08:55,192 --> 01:08:59,142

that relationship or not, she is

praying for everyone who is alive.

:

01:08:59,892 --> 01:09:05,862

And, um, so what I would say is

what I said to my wife, which was,

:

01:09:07,902 --> 01:09:10,172

what would you say to the best mom ever?

:

01:09:11,482 --> 01:09:17,551

The mommy always wanted the mom, the

most loving mother of all time, the

:

01:09:17,551 --> 01:09:19,602

sweetest, like gentlest, kindest,

:

01:09:20,002 --> 01:09:25,511

most virtuous, honorable woman, mother,

Like, how would you speak to her?

:

01:09:26,772 --> 01:09:28,932

You wouldn't have to do

much for her to love you.

:

01:09:29,272 --> 01:09:32,272

Cause that's what mothers do so

well as they bring that comfort

:

01:09:32,272 --> 01:09:33,362

and that warmth to their children.

:

01:09:34,482 --> 01:09:36,822

And, And, so I would start there.

:

01:09:37,221 --> 01:09:41,232

I would just simply ask them to

do what I asked my now wife to

:

01:09:41,232 --> 01:09:44,017

do, which is, would you like to

just say a simple prayer to her?

:

01:09:44,777 --> 01:09:45,857

And you can speak to her.

:

01:09:45,966 --> 01:09:47,557

I mean, speak humbly,

:

01:09:47,557 --> 01:09:51,557

but speak honestly, like, Hey, I

don't have a relationship with you.

:

01:09:51,557 --> 01:09:52,557

I'd like to get to know you.

:

01:09:52,557 --> 01:09:58,567

And I'd like for your prayers so

that I can be closer to Jesus.

:

01:09:58,577 --> 01:10:05,327

So I can be a faithful disciple like you

were so that I can, um, fulfill God's will

:

01:10:05,327 --> 01:10:07,937

for my life and, and, and, and be holy.

:

01:10:08,467 --> 01:10:15,657

Um, and so just as you would ask

any other person who you perceive as

:

01:10:16,172 --> 01:10:20,432

Uh, holy or has a good relationship

with God or is very devotional.

:

01:10:20,432 --> 01:10:24,822

And so naturally you don't go to the

sketchy people and be like, Hey, bro,

:

01:10:24,822 --> 01:10:26,752

pray for me, pray for your prayers.

:

01:10:26,752 --> 01:10:28,712

You know, you know, I need

your not what you're like,

:

01:10:28,712 --> 01:10:30,797

that's going to be asking for.

:

01:10:30,797 --> 01:10:32,282

You're going to go to the nun.

:

01:10:32,292 --> 01:10:36,122

You're going to, you know, the

lady who's at church, like all the

:

01:10:36,122 --> 01:10:38,502

time, you're going to be asking,

:

01:10:38,549 --> 01:10:39,119

Track 1: time.

:

01:10:39,202 --> 01:10:39,329

Yep.

:

01:10:40,692 --> 01:10:41,162

-:

:

01:10:41,412 --> 01:10:41,762

Right.

:

01:10:42,092 --> 01:10:42,642

And so.

:

01:10:43,727 --> 01:10:48,047

Once again, she doesn't discriminate,

even though she had a lot of

:

01:10:48,047 --> 01:10:49,877

reason to discriminate, right?

:

01:10:49,917 --> 01:10:53,457

I mean, she was there watching her son

get brutalized and murdered on a cross.

:

01:10:54,707 --> 01:11:00,117

And yet she too extended her

forgiveness to all those who did that.

:

01:11:00,217 --> 01:11:05,627

And we are all responsible, ironically,

and yet she was willing to offer

:

01:11:05,627 --> 01:11:07,947

that mercy in union with her son.

:

01:11:08,187 --> 01:11:09,967

Um, once again, don't confuse it.

:

01:11:09,967 --> 01:11:10,877

She's not the savior.

:

01:11:11,957 --> 01:11:16,867

But her role was so profound in what

Christ needed to accomplish in this world.

:

01:11:16,947 --> 01:11:23,997

And, and so spend time with her by

just asking, honestly, um, there

:

01:11:23,997 --> 01:11:26,577

are some really good books out

there, uh, that I'd recommend.

:

01:11:26,657 --> 01:11:30,367

Um, one of them would be

by Father Mike Gately.

:

01:11:30,427 --> 01:11:33,627

It's called, um, 40 days to morning glory.

:

01:11:33,637 --> 01:11:36,497

It's about, it's all about

Mary and what Mary and

:

01:11:36,929 --> 01:11:37,818

Track 1: Oh no, no.

:

01:11:37,869 --> 01:11:38,699

We're both wrong.

:

01:11:38,739 --> 01:11:41,742

It's it's 33, isn't it

:

01:11:41,872 --> 01:11:41,902

-:

:

01:11:41,902 --> 01:11:42,322

I'm sure.

:

01:11:42,382 --> 01:11:42,582

Yeah.

:

01:11:42,582 --> 01:11:42,962

Whatever.

:

01:11:43,002 --> 01:11:44,012

50, 60,

:

01:11:45,892 --> 01:11:49,147

Track 1: think it's 33

days to morning glory

:

01:11:50,262 --> 01:11:53,452

-:

Father Mike Galey, uh, he's written

:

01:11:53,452 --> 01:11:57,062

a really great book there and,

um, preparing oneself for Marian

:

01:11:57,172 --> 01:11:58,872

to entrust themselves to Mary.

:

01:11:58,882 --> 01:11:59,832

That's a really good book.

:

01:12:00,742 --> 01:12:05,322

Um, if you want to kind of go to like

an old school, like classic, there's

:

01:12:05,322 --> 01:12:07,042

a book called true devotion to Mary.

:

01:12:07,122 --> 01:12:10,532

And, um, it was written by

that French priest and St.

:

01:12:10,532 --> 01:12:11,382

Louis de Montfort.

:

01:12:11,802 --> 01:12:15,222

Um, the language is a little

bit more like old fashioned.

:

01:12:15,222 --> 01:12:16,032

So people might.

:

01:12:16,512 --> 01:12:17,712

I mean, no, take it for what it is.

:

01:12:17,712 --> 01:12:18,672

It's, it's a beautiful book,

:

01:12:18,702 --> 01:12:22,892

but, um, it is a little, it's written in

a different style, but I would say that

:

01:12:22,892 --> 01:12:26,122

father Mike Gates, Gately's book, he does

a really good job of kind of making more

:

01:12:26,122 --> 01:12:32,282

contemporary, like, um, there's more of

like a, what's the word it's more user

:

01:12:32,282 --> 01:12:36,032

friendly in the sense of like explaining

what Marian consecration is all about.

:

01:12:37,092 --> 01:12:39,362

Um, yeah, I, I

:

01:12:39,362 --> 01:12:43,062

would, would probably recommend

that, but yeah, just spending

:

01:12:43,062 --> 01:12:44,522

time with the rosary, obviously.

:

01:12:44,562 --> 01:12:50,192

Um, Yeah, just, you know, even if it's

just a decade, like I pray a decade with

:

01:12:50,192 --> 01:12:54,272

my kids every night and this one, our

father, 10 hail Mary's in a glory being.

:

01:12:54,272 --> 01:12:56,832

And, and you'll, you'll see that one.

:

01:12:56,832 --> 01:13:00,032

It's very like meditative and that

we're not just repeating prayers

:

01:13:00,042 --> 01:13:00,942

for the sake of repeating them.

:

01:13:00,942 --> 01:13:02,672

We're, we're meditating

on the life of Christ.

:

01:13:02,712 --> 01:13:05,862

So even there, there's like

a beauty to that prayer.

:

01:13:06,752 --> 01:13:06,967

Um,

:

01:13:07,711 --> 01:13:08,281

Track 1: Thank you.

:

01:13:08,341 --> 01:13:08,781

Yeah, I know.

:

01:13:08,781 --> 01:13:09,851

That's a great place to start.

:

01:13:10,581 --> 01:13:13,161

Paul, it's been so wonderful

to have you on the show today.

:

01:13:13,161 --> 01:13:13,611

Seriously.

:

01:13:13,611 --> 01:13:15,831

It's been such a gift to

have this conversation.

:

01:13:15,841 --> 01:13:17,971

I know that it's going

to bless so many people.

:

01:13:17,971 --> 01:13:19,031

It's already blessed my life.

:

01:13:19,071 --> 01:13:20,412

So for coming on.

:

01:13:20,412 --> 01:13:22,892

Um, where can people find more of

:

01:13:24,420 --> 01:13:24,850

-:

:

01:13:24,870 --> 01:13:30,540

Um, they can, uh, if you want to check

out my ministry website, it's pjkmusic.

:

01:13:30,540 --> 01:13:31,070

com.

:

01:13:31,540 --> 01:13:34,330

Um, there you can find out

more about my ministry.

:

01:13:34,330 --> 01:13:39,000

I'm, I'm traveling all year long

doing, uh, events, conferences,

:

01:13:39,010 --> 01:13:40,850

school assemblies, parish missions.

:

01:13:40,880 --> 01:13:43,340

So if you would be interested

in having me speak in your

:

01:13:43,340 --> 01:13:44,270

community, it would be great.

:

01:13:44,350 --> 01:13:47,320

You can send my info to an organizer.

:

01:13:47,320 --> 01:13:49,300

If you're an organizer

yourself, you can reach out.

:

01:13:49,770 --> 01:13:53,420

Um, if they wanna follow along on social

media, you can just look up Paul J.

:

01:13:53,420 --> 01:13:53,790

Kim.

:

01:13:53,850 --> 01:13:55,980

Um, I'm most active on Instagram.

:

01:13:56,070 --> 01:13:59,820

Um, my account is, hey, P-J-K-H-E-Y-P-J-K.

:

01:14:00,160 --> 01:14:03,010

Um, I got some things on YouTube,

but man, I, it's been a while

:

01:14:03,100 --> 01:14:04,390

since I've uploaded anything.

:

01:14:04,540 --> 01:14:05,410

I gotta get to that.

:

01:14:05,920 --> 01:14:06,850

And then lastly,

:

01:14:07,096 --> 01:14:07,466

Track 1: is a

:

01:14:08,116 --> 01:14:08,686

-:

commitment.

:

01:14:09,940 --> 01:14:10,390

Sheesh.

:

01:14:10,450 --> 01:14:15,450

And then lastly, um, I wanna say to all

the young adults out there, I created

:

01:14:15,450 --> 01:14:19,950

an online course a few years ago, um,

to just help, um, young adults who are

:

01:14:19,955 --> 01:14:24,600

trying to tackle all the, the Catholic

things that young adults are facing from

:

01:14:24,600 --> 01:14:26,430

dating, discernment, personal finance.

:

01:14:26,850 --> 01:14:28,650

How do I grow my faith?

:

01:14:28,650 --> 01:14:30,059

How do I do this life well?

:

01:14:30,059 --> 01:14:32,550

And you can find out more about

that at Catholic adulting.

:

01:14:34,615 --> 01:14:35,925

But that's what I would share.

:

01:14:35,975 --> 01:14:38,365

And so I want to thank you, Mari,

for spending time with me and

:

01:14:38,365 --> 01:14:39,985

allowing me to be on this podcast.

:

01:14:39,985 --> 01:14:43,975

And like you said, I hope it

blesses somebody and yeah, may,

:

01:14:43,985 --> 01:14:48,965

may God be praised and may be

praised through the intercession of

:

01:14:49,331 --> 01:14:50,001

Track 1: Absolutely.

:

01:14:51,441 --> 01:14:51,981

Beautiful.

:

01:14:52,351 --> 01:14:53,071

All right, everybody.

:

01:14:53,121 --> 01:14:54,434

We'll see you Wednesday.

:

01:14:55,235 --> 01:14:56,955

Thank you so much for listening in.

:

01:14:57,315 --> 01:14:59,875

If you've enjoyed this episode,

please share it with your friends

:

01:14:59,925 --> 01:15:03,665

and on social media and give me a

five star rating on whatever podcast

:

01:15:03,715 --> 01:15:04,875

platform you're listening on.

:

01:15:05,255 --> 01:15:07,375

That helps me and the show out so much.

:

01:15:07,684 --> 01:15:11,184

Also make sure to follow the podcast

on Instagram at ever be podcast.

:

01:15:11,600 --> 01:15:15,059

And if you want more content like this

and you don't already follow me, you

:

01:15:15,059 --> 01:15:17,570

can also follow me on Instagram at Mari.

:

01:15:17,610 --> 01:15:17,830

c.

:

01:15:18,070 --> 01:15:18,290

wagner.

:

01:15:18,930 --> 01:15:21,050

And may his praise ever be on our lips.

:

01:15:21,600 --> 01:15:22,020

God bless.

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About the Podcast

Ever Be
A faith and lifestyle podcast.
The Ever Be Podcast is a faith and lifestyle podcast filled with meaningful conversations and practical tips that will inspire and empower you to live a Christ centered life in today’s modern world. Through her own experience of surrendering completely to God and finding true fullness of life, your host Mari Wagner, has committed to having God’s praise “ever be” on her lips and sharing that message with the world. Listen in for insightful, real life conversations and actionable steps on how to claim the full life God created you for.

With over 100K followers and counting, Instagram content creator and founder of the popular Catholic lifestyle brand, West Coast Catholic, Mari Wagner is showing the world how to live a bold, attractive, and fulfilling Catholic life by being in the world but not of it. On the podcast you’ll get a combination of heartfelt solo episodes with Mari, interviews with exciting guests, and up-close and personal time with both the Wagner’s—Mari and Trey. What more could you ask for?!

Finally! Answers to questions you’ve been asking like:
How do I infuse prayer into my daily life? How do I live out my Catholic faith? What is the best dating and marriage advice? What does a good Catholic marriage look like? How do I grow in homemaking skills and build a domestic church? How do I create a beautiful and welcoming home? What does a healthy and balanced lifestyle look like? Is it possible to find a solid community of like minded women?

Host Mari Wagner covers topics that you actually care about from faith life, to relationships and marriage, to homemaking, to healthy living. Each episode is crafted to resonate with your challenges and aspirations as a modern Christian woman seeking purpose, balance, and joy.

Tune into the Ever Be Podcast for valuable advice, relatable stories, expert insights and just some fun girl chats with someone who really gets you. Hit play to get out of the rut you constantly feel yourself in, and subscribe to join the community and experience the fullness of life Jesus has in store for you.

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