Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Hey, everybody. It's a beautiful Wednesday, December 18th. We're heading to the fourth week of Advent and it's time for JD and Father Greg. I'm JD. Each week, Father Greg Merkley and I will discuss various topics related to our wonderful parish, Immaculate Heart of Mary, located in beautiful Winona, Ontario. We're here to help to spread the good news about Jesus and to help further unite our parish community. Father Greg, how are you doing today?
[00:00:30] Speaker B: I'm good. I'm excited. This excites me. I'm happy to be here on the screen in your earpods, whatever you're doing to listen to us. I'm happy to be here with you.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Can you tell how excited we are about this new adventure?
Well, we're going to come to you each week and we're going to build this as we go. And we'll continue to talk about different topics that are of interest to all of us and move us all forward in our faith. I have a quick question though, before we begin this week's discussion.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Did you know that all socks are holy?
[00:00:57] Speaker B: All socks are holy.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: How else would you get your feet into them?
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Whoa, that's a great joke. How else would you get your feet into the socks if they weren't holy?
[00:01:05] Speaker A: That is a Father Greg quality joke right there.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: Mine aren't that bad, are they?
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Let's let the groans decide.
After that, you better start us off with a prayer.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: Okay. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God, we thank youk for your love for us and we just ask youk Holy Spirit to be with us and our listeners that yout would just fill us with youh peace youe love and you'd joy especially for us as we record this approaching the Christmas season. Help us whenever and wherever we are Just to draw close to youo love that comes to us so sweetly and tenderly in the Christ Child. May youy bless us and guide us during our chat today and always. We ask this in Jesus name. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Amen. Well, thank you, Father. Well, let's kick it off with our Saint of the Week. Each week we recognize a saint and share some interesting information about them. You know, as we strive to live out our mission as Catholics, we can always look to them for inspiration. This week's saint is perfectly aligned to Immaculate Heart of Mary as he is the patron saint of parish priests and is well known for his deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He's also well known for his role as confessor and for his remarkable supernatural gifts. I'm of course talking about St. John Vianney. St. John Vianney had a unique ability to see into the hearts of others, to know events happening far away, and even to glimpse into the future. He dedicated an astonishing 12 to 15 hours a day in the confessional, embodying a life aligned with the heart of Christ, uniting his own heart with his. Speaking of his heart, did you know that in November 2018, St. John Vianney's heart was transported to the US and did a cross country tour?
[00:02:52] Speaker B: That's cool.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: It went on for six months and received special veneration as it symbolizes a person's hidden center of emotional, intellectual and moral activity as referenced in Scripture. I love this quote of anger never travels alone. It's always accompanied by other sins.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: That's deep.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Wow, 12 to 15 hours per day. That doesn't leave much time for other priestly duties, does it?
[00:03:17] Speaker B: No, I think he only got a couple hours of sleep, if not usually, but I don't have that gift. I need more sleep.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: I tried that is St. John Vianney, everybody. Well, it's time for Ask Father Greg. Each week we respond to a question submitted by a listener or one we meet up ourselves. And this week's question comes from Rain, a long time listener, first time caller, always wanted to say that.
[00:03:39] Speaker B: That's great. That's a good one.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: Rain asks, according to canon law, every Catholic Church altar is required to contain a relic of a saint or martyr. Father, what relic do we have at Immaculate Heart of Mary?
[00:03:52] Speaker B: That's a good question. So, okay, insert reflection on this topic here, which is.
So there used to be a strict requirement that every altar had a relic of a saint inside. And then it seems that with the new Roman missal after Vatican ii, it says that there should be, it's fittingly retained, you know, the practice of having a relic of a saint in the altar.
But I asked Canada lawyers about this and it seems that they think that technically it's not as mandatory now, so. But we do have another way. We do have saints.
So there are two saints in the relics. Well, the relics in the altar. And one is St. Helena, the mother of Constantine. And she's famous for really kind of gathering a lot of holy things from the Holy Land and finding many relics. And then the other saint is Saint Theodorus. Now here's the thing. There's apparently lots of Saint Theodorus'and I don't know which one it is. So we're still figuring that out, but I'm pretty sure it says he's a martyr. And so maybe I'll do a show and tell and take those out of the altar one day for a homily.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Oh, that would be awesome.
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Yeah. But I think we have saints with us. I mean, they're always there spiritually, but even parts of their body is there at the mass is pretty, pretty neat.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Wow, that's fascinating.
All right, well, let's look ahead to next week. What are we looking forward to during the fourth week of Advent, Father?
[00:05:27] Speaker B: Fourth week of Advent? Well, it's a pretty short fourth week of Advent this year because we only have a few days into it and then Christmas comes. But, yeah, the fourth candle is often considered the candle of love. So hopefully, as we light that fourth candle and the light of Christ is really shining bright, hopefully our love is growing. And, I mean, Christmas is gonna be the biggest thing that happens on the fourth week of Advent. So come and be with us. Come hang out with us. Come celebrate Christ's birth and think about how God became one of us so that we could share in God's own life and love.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: Oh, that's amazing.
All right, while there's so much good that's happening here at Immaculate Heart of Mary, who or what do you want to recognize in the parish this week? Good question.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: There's a lot of cool stuff happening in our parish all the time. You just look at our bulletin for a glimpse of that. But if I had to choose one who or what to recognize this this week, I would choose Hilaria, our secretary.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Good job.
[00:06:23] Speaker B: She's fantastic. I'm so blessed. We're so blessed to have her. So shout out to Ellaria, thank you for being an amazing secretary and helping so many people.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: Excellent. That's beautiful.
All right, everyone. Well, that's just about all the time we have for today. I think that was a fantastic first show, don't you, Father Greg?
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Yeah, it was pretty good for the first one. And, yeah, I'm excited. If you have feedback, if you have comments, if you. Things you like, don't like, things you want to hear, things you want us to include. This is a very much a community thing, and as you can see, we're just praying and going with the flow. So we're happy to have you along for the ride. Whatever we can do to better serve you, let us know. And yeah, I guess if that's my summary, then we can close off with a prayer. Let's in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God, we thank you again for your love for us, your presence, and we just ask you to continue to bless our listeners, whether they are parishioners or just anyone who finds this. May you send your spirit upon them, fill them with your peace and help them. And may Almighty God bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:07:28] Speaker A: Well, thank you for that, Father, and thanks to our fans and friends and odds and ends for listening this week. Soon you'll be able to find us on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts. You'll also be able to check us out on the YouTube, and you'll be able to view Father's homilies and raps as well. Once we figure out how to do that, it'll be great. If you like our show, subscribe and tell your friends. If you don't like our show, tell your friends anyway and let them discern for themselves. Have a great week everyone. We are JD and Father Greg, leaving you smarter, happier, and more blessed than you were yesterday.
[00:08:00] Speaker B: At least we hope so. Bye for.
