Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish podcast with Father Greg and jd. Each week, Father Greg and I connect on a variety of topics related to our faith and our parish in Winona, Ontario. We are here to help spread the good news and unite our parish community. Just want to point out this isn't official ASL that he's doing just very helpful signals to.
To help you follow along at home. This is episode number 24. It is all star week with the following the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the most sacred heart of Jesus, along with Saints Peter and Paul. So it's big hitters this week.
Remember, you can find us on the Spotify, Apple podcasts and the YouTube every week. So please like or subscribe or don't. It's up to you. Like or subscribe and we'll find your inbox every week.
You've been quite busy since you've been back. I think I counted four weddings, a funeral, a bunch of baptisms.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: Indeed.
[00:00:56] Speaker A: It's a good thing you turned up the prayer conditioning last week, too.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Yeah, it's been way better since I turned up the prayer conditioning. It was getting a little bit too warm and unprayerful.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: The joke that keeps on giving, isn't it?
So I have A story about St. Gregory of Nyssa from last weekend. Okay, so we're driving to Kingston and just getting to the last parts of the trip and drive down Sydenham Road and just happen to catch this beautiful church off to the side. And it's St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church.
Beautiful little space.
The next morning, I get the Franciscan media email.
And who do they feature in their email?
[00:01:40] Speaker B: St. Gregory of Nyssa.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: How did you know that?
[00:01:42] Speaker B: I don't know.
Wild guess.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: So just a, you know, a wild. A wild coincidence again, you know, made me think back to when Deacon Renee lost his whisper in Italy and miraculously found it right after we had visited the tomb of St. Anthony.
So, coincidences. I'm. I think I'd said before I'm not into coincidences anymore. Things are really planned.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: God incidences.
[00:02:12] Speaker A: Oh, very good. Well, I did come across this line that coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous.
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Ah, that's a good line.
[00:02:19] Speaker A: So a good way to think about it. That's a great Father Greg quality line right there. After that, you better start us off with a prayer.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Sure.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God, we just thank you for your great love for us and we just build our life on your love for us, knowing that we are treasured, that we are cherished by you, and that no matter what's happening in our lives and no matter what's happened, you are with us, you love us, you care for us. May you fill us and all those who are touched by this podcast with your Holy Spirit, that they may know you and enjoy ever deeper relationship with you. May Mary, St. Joseph, St. Michael, all the saints pray for us, protect us and continue to guide us and our podcast and all its listeners. Thank you. Lord, bless our parish, bless our time. Today we pray this in Jesus name. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: Thank you for that.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Yeah, the prayer conditioning just went a little higher.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Yeah, it's so comfortable in here now.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: Yeah, I am more comfortable.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: Let's reveal our saint of the week. Each week we feature a saint and share some facts about their lives as we strive to live out our mission as Catholics, we can always look to our saints for inspiration. This week we feature St. Irenaeus.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Irenaeus.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Irenaeus. Irenaeus.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Irenaeus. Sounds cool, but I've mostly heard Irenaeus. Well, I'm not just saying I've not heard it as much.
Irenaeus.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Irenaeus. Irenaeus Irenaeus. Saint Irenaeus. A second century bishop and theologian known for defending Christian doctrine against heresies, especially Gnosticism. He emphasized unity of scripture and the importance of apostolic tradition. His key work against heresies helped shape early Christian theology and affirm the humanity and divinity of Christ in and he is the 37th and most recent Doctor of the Church.
So very influential. The very opening stages of Catholicism.
And I have a quote for the glory of God is a living man and the life of man consists of beholding God.
So an interesting parallel there.
And I believe he also said Jesus I trust in you.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Probably did in some way.
[00:04:31] Speaker A: It's been remarkable. Every saint we feature so far had said that at some point.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: We suspect as much. I don't know if we always have proof of it. There's a bit of a speculative theology going on here, but.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: But only positive speculative theology.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Totally. I mean, of course they trusted in Jesus as how did they become saints? So they probably said it in one way or another.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: Does Jesus take the wheel? Similar phrase.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: I think it's similar enough that you could say they said Jesus in you.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: May not have been a lot of wheels down in St. Irenaeus time.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm not sure. They might have. I don't know Second century. I don't know.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Wagons?
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Yeah. No, they had wheels.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: It is time for Ask Father Greg. Each week we respond to a question submitted by a listener or one that we make up ourselves. This week, I want to ask you about cremation.
Or cremation. I'm not sure, since we're into pronunciation.
[00:05:26] Speaker B: I think both are. Those are fine. I'm good with cremation or cremation. I think they're both good.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: Okay. All right.
Many believe that it's against Catherine doctrine, but that's not quite true, is it?
[00:05:36] Speaker B: That's correct.
So the church used to prohibit cremation because.
Let's say that. And the church still leans in the direction of favoring caskets. Because if we believe in the resurrection of the body, whatever helps us get closer to that idea of our whole body being resurrected is a good thing. And so the church had concerns for a long time that by burning the body, that might not have been helping everyone to really appreciate the truth that we believe in the resurrection of the body. It's easier to understand the idea that my body will be raised if I bury it whole.
Even if we know it's going to decay, still, there are certain reasons that it's helpful to think of the body in the same. At least the same size and shape. If we put a casket in the ground, it's easier for us to understand, even though we're still using our imagination, how God will raise us up.
Now, that said, the church has now permitted cremation.
And so the church, in some of the way it does things. Legally, it would say it permits cremation. It's not.
Traditionally, cremation is on the same level as caskets. But it's certainly not sinful to have cremate. Cremation is a very fine, approved, very legitimate way of having your body placed to rest.
Now, just some other things on this topic. We'd say that God can do anything. So whether you're cremated or you decayed in the ground, or your body was lost, you know, tragic accidents happen. God is all powerful. He can take that and raise it up and give you new life. He's not bound by that. So he's not gonna go, like, shoot, it's all in a box. What'd you do? Like, oh, man, you're trapped. Like, he's not. That's not gonna happen. Okay. But still, it's a matter of what most helps us. Like when we go to maybe a cemetery or we go to a mausoleum and we go to visit our loved ones, it can help us sometimes if we're reminded of the resurrection of the body by means of the shape of the way their body is preserved, that can help us to remember. Yeah, I expect that they'll be raised up body and soul. And this is also a good chance for me to explain something that at death, our body and soul are separated.
And your soul at death, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, goes immediately to one of three places, either Hell, Purgatory, or heaven. So your soul goes somewhere immediately. Your body stays where your body is. So, like, if I go down the street to Mountview Cemetery, there's bodies there, and the souls and the bodies are separated.
The soul has gone to a place, and the body is still physically here.
But what will happen at the end of time is when Jesus returns body, everybody's body and soul will be reunited. So we often hear this phrase, raised up on the last day. It can be very confusing because people, especially if they're at a funeral, they're, like, raised up on the last day. I hope my loved one's already been raised up. What does that mean? The idea is that, okay, the soul goes somewhere. The body is here. This is part of why the body, first is sacred. The body, body is holy. And so for us as Catholics, it's very important that we have a proper funeral for our deceased loved ones and that we place their bodies in a place of rest that is sacred. It should be blessed, and it should be a publicly visible place so that we can honor that body and other people can come and pray and be close to that body. If we keep the body in our home, which is against.
Like, if we store cremated remains in our home, that's against church teaching because we believe that the body is so holy, it needs to be in a sacred space, and it needs to be publicly accessible so that no one family member has monopoly on access to that person's body. Because you are body and soul. As Catholics, we believe we're not just a soul trapped in a body. No, we are a body, soul, composite. So watch this. I touched J.D. i didn't just touch his body. I touched J.D. because our body is part of who we are.
And so that means when we go to a cemetery or mausoleum, I'm actually going to visit that person, and they're there. Okay? Their soul and their body are distinct right now, and that's part of the awkwardness of death, but they'll be reunited. And so there's a real sense in which I'm very close to that person. When I go to visit their body. And I want their body to be preserved in a sacred, publicly accessible space so that I can be close to them, pray for them, remember them, honor them. And also be reminded that their body will raise on the last day.
So cremation is permitted. It's cheaper. Yeah. Any follow up? No.
[00:10:11] Speaker A: I got thinking about. You said God is all powerful, he can pull all the parts together. Then I got thinking of organ donation. That's right.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: And the church allows organ donation as well.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: You know, just a little. Little bit of a hurdle for God. He's got a. I gotta get the heart from over there. I gotta get the pink.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: Yeah. God, just like, whoa, man, we gotta.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: Somebody have a list of where all this stuff went.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. So it's kind of funny. I hope. I hope we're not offending anyone by a little playfulness as we talk about this more serious topic, but just enlightening a little bit. But the idea is that, yeah, this is a very interesting part of our faith. We believe that we will. We will die because of sin. The wages of sin is death.
But Jesus died and rose so that we could rise. And his, just as he temporarily had, his body and soul separated, his soul went down to the place of the waiting area where those who were dead but couldn't go to heaven were waiting. Then he raised up his body on the third day. We are going to follow that pattern of Jesus.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: Okay, beautiful. Thank you for clearing up a lot of those misconceptions because I think a lot of people were unsure about the ability to follow cremation as a possible path.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: Yeah, it's not sinful. I mean, to be honest with you, I personally am going to vote for myself as casket. I always like that. But that's not like. It's not like I look down on anyone for. That would be wrong. That'd be against the mind of the church. I think it's more that there's freedom, there's different reasons that different people go with things. Sometimes it's economical, sometimes there's personal situations.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: And I think the church has preferences, but not specific forbidden. Like they would prefer a funeral with a casket.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: I think that's in my. Yeah, I think that's the way that we would read the preference of the church, especially over the last centuries. Fair enough.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Fair enough. Well, thank you for that. That's provided a lot of clarity and I hope some very helpful information for our listeners.
[00:11:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I bet you were just dying to know.
Oh, sorry, did that joke fall dead?
[00:12:00] Speaker A: Oh, goodness. Wow.
We better slide right into where you need to go next. Confession or.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: What do you mean reserve? That was a good joke.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: That was a good joke.
Let's go to a resource of the week.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: I do need to go to confession. I go a lot, so daily. I don't go daily. I don't go daily. I go weekly.
Daily. Some Saints went daily. St. John Paul II went daily.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: But I'll let you keep going.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: I mean. Okay. I do hear confessions daily.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: True, true. Well, I think that's what I'm going to focus on and sort of throw a few kudos to you. I mean, this is the sacrament that has probably more people tied up in knots than. Than any other sacrament, but you've made it so accessible here. I've known of parishes that offer confession once a week and that's it. But you're offering it before every Mass, even if the Masses are twice a day or.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: Yeah, three.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: Thrice a day.
[00:12:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: I just want to make sure the word thrice worked in there too.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:58] Speaker A: That's so outstanding.
[00:13:00] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: What moved you to make it that accessible?
[00:13:06] Speaker B: Great question.
So there's a few things. One is my previous pair, St Margaret Mary, they had confessions half hour before all Masses already as well.
So I'm just used to it, I think. And even before that I was in Owen Sound. We also had the same thing. Now there we had three priests. In my previous parish as well, St. Margaret Mary had two priests.
So, okay. One wasn't always realistically every day saying Mass and hearing confessions, but either, I mean, we said. I said Mass every day, of course, but so I was used to it and I saw the fruitfulness of. I saw like, this is really such a blessing for people and. And to take that away would be like, so. So obviously for me a way to harm the spiritual well being of my flock. Right. It should be maximally accessible. And I've seen the fruitfulness of that. And when I arrived here, actually it wasn't long before I was like, we just can't fit everyone in the regular scheduled times. It was like, wow, like we're just bursting with confessions at the regular times, which at the time were an hour on Tuesday, an hour on Saturday. And I was like, well, we need more time. And so I consulted the parish, I consulted various people and I prayed about it. And I came away with the idea that I think it just makes sense to offer it when they're already here. Right. And the response to that has been very good. I mean, it's beautiful to see Just how many will take advantage of confession every day.
And so that's great. And also Saint Pope John Paul II has a document.
I think there's dives at Misericordia and there's another document as well about confessions. Camera what it is right now. But he talks about how priests should make confessions available as much as possible before every Mass. And if there's a second priest, there could even be a second priest hearing confessions during Mass. And so he says that just that idea that like, this is one of the most important things we do.
Anyone who's gone to confession knows just how much peace, comfort, that new start. There's so much grace there, so much comfort there. And so it's like one of the most important things we do. Especially if someone's committed a serious sin, they need to go to confession before they go to communion.
So that if we don't offer them the opportunities, I mean, we're really hurting people by keeping them stuck in a painful spiritual situation. And if we're not generous with that, I mean, honestly, I just wouldn't. I would feel uncomfortable not making it more common.
[00:15:32] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's how some great habits form.
You're introduced to that pattern in your previous parishes and it's just natural to keep on going.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that's true. And also I think it's cool for people to come and they see everybody going to confession. Maybe they've been away for 30, 40, 50 years. And then like maybe they're prompted by the Holy Spirit just to walk in. Right. And then that becomes like an amazing life changing point where they get closer to the Lord and experience his love and mercy in a new way. And they come out being like even more strong in their faith that it's just a beautiful thing. I get to see this, like every day I get to see this. It's just normal for me anyways. I don't want to ramble too much, but it's exciting.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: Well, thank you on behalf of all of us here at the parish for making that so accessible and the opportunity for us to become closer to God through that, through that sacrament.
[00:16:21] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: It is all star week this week with all of the sacraments and solemnities we have. The Nativity of St. John the Baptist was on June 24. The most sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated on the 27th.
Saints Peter and Paul this Sunday and.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Saturday is Saturday in the universal calendar is Immaculate Heart of Mary.
[00:16:44] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: Which is our patronal feast. But the pastor of a parish can translate this type of thing to The Sunday so that the whole, like, all the masses can celebrate that so that we just get to spotlight that feast that much more for us. So that's what we're doing this year, as we did last year.
[00:17:00] Speaker A: So, I mean, it feels like, you know, a balloon. A balloon that when it's. You blow it up and you let it go and it kind of flies around. And then at the end, it sort of feels like this week is coming up, we've got all these big celebrities and then, bam. Ordinary time.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: Ah, I see what you're saying. Yeah, yeah. And we are in ordinary time even right now. But, yeah, yeah, we got a little burst of them, which is great. And maybe I can just quickly comment on these because it's kind of neat to notice that, like, for example, The Nativity of St. John the Baptist was Tuesday, June 24. But John the Baptist is very unique because first off, the fact is that he has two feasts. He has a Nativity and he has the passion or the beheading of John the Baptist. And also his Mass is one of the very few saints who has what's called a vigil mass, a unique vigil Mass. So, like, on the night before, on Monday night, I celebrated the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist with different sets of readings and prayers. And then on Tuesday, I celebrate the same feast with new prayers and readings. And like, that's very. And then he has a second feast, too.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: So it's. It's very unique, which really highlights that he's more important than I think we often talk about.
And obviously he was a relative of Jesus and he points out the Lamb of God. He baptized Jesus. He died for Jesus.
They knew each other. Jesus, you know, of course, his presence made John the Baptist sleep in the womb. There's so much incredible stuff there. And then we got to have most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is Friday, which is always a Friday.
And that means because it's a solemnity, you can eat as much meat as you want on that Friday. And then, yeah, we've got. If it weren't for our Immaculate Heart of Mary, we'd have Saints Peter and Paul that we'd be celebrating this Sunday. They're very important pillars of our faith. And then like Immaculate Heart of Mary, our paternal feast, she holds us in her heart. And I'm going to talk about that this weekend. So, yeah, it is really blast of blessings.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: And going back to St. John the Baptist, amazingly depicted in the chosen.
[00:18:56] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, very fascinating.
[00:18:58] Speaker A: So well cast. And so it delivers the message in Such a real way.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, I'll be honest. I find the character of St. John the Baptist in the chosen. Like, I'm like. I don't think he was quite like that.
He's. But that. But, like, it's. It's fun to see their creativity, and it helps you to enter into and reflect on the Scriptures. It's great.
[00:19:19] Speaker A: Excellent.
Wow. What a great recap. Well, there is so much happening in our community, our parishioners. Parishioners.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: I love parishioners.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: Pronunciation practice. Here we go.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: No, you're great.
[00:19:32] Speaker A: They can check out the bulletin every week.
But for everyone else out there, what are some of the highlights of the coming week?
[00:19:38] Speaker B: Great question.
Okay, so aside from those feasts and stuff like that, we are in the process of getting our St. Vincent of Paul society up and going. It's really exciting. So we've got another little thing that I'll be at for that tonight.
Yeah, I just have a. I'm looking at my calendar. I've got exciting events on my calendar for Saturday. A strew of appointments, which is great. That's not. That's not public. That's just. That's just like random fun facts for you. But Giuseppe, our seminarian, he is leaving to Cameroon on Sunday night, and so he'll be gone for a month. So if you know Giuseppe, you remember him from a few episodes ago.
Yeah, he's an awesome guy. He'll be away for a month and then he'll come back in August, so you'll miss him. But we actually have another seminarian staying with us now, too. His name is Salvatore, and so he's here and he's going to be with us for July as well. So that's kind of just cool to be aware of. Say hi to him.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he'll watch this. I'll get him to watch it.
And yeah, with summer coming, a lot of our parish groups slow down, which is, you know, people go on vacation and that's cool. I've got a meeting with some principals about next school year. That's always fun. Finance Council. That'll be fun.
All the, like, fun facts, fun things you don't really maybe see in the bulletin, but please do see the bulletin for lots of attendable events. Ways to grow closer to Jesus. We just had our Corpus Christi procession this last Sunday. That was a lot of fun. Beautiful to see that. A lot of people enjoyed that.
Anyways. Yeah, lots more. Check out our bulletin. And lots of cool stuff. Fantastic.
[00:21:12] Speaker A: Oh, you're gonna throw something else.
[00:21:13] Speaker B: Well, one other thing I thought of at the last second there was. So, as usual, we have our monthly youth night and our young adults night. Our next young adults night, which is on July 12, I'm gonna give a talk called A Taste of Italy. I'm going to tell about our trip to Italy and I'm going to try to get whatever Italian food I can get, at least pizza. And we also have a foosball table in our hall now, which is awesome. We also are hoping to get an air hockey table and a ping pong table for our youth events and for our just adult events, like whatever you want to do to hang out. I mean, there's no bad age to play ping pong, foosball, or bear hockey.
[00:21:50] Speaker A: Not at all. Not at all.
[00:21:51] Speaker B: So those are some bonus facts for you.
[00:21:53] Speaker A: Excellent. And some of the listeners will be familiar with the big match that we.
[00:21:56] Speaker B: Had oh, so much fun in vess. Oh, yeah, foosball is so much fun.
[00:22:02] Speaker A: Well, none of these things happen without the work of great volunteers and people doing amazing work here at the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Who would you like to recognize in the parish this week?
[00:22:12] Speaker B: I would like this week to recognize Salvatore, who is our new seminarian. Just give him a welcome. And he's been really helpful already. Very nice guy. It's exciting to see his enthusiasm for starting seminary and we're happy he's here and he's going to be here for the next month, and so we're just happy to have him.
[00:22:30] Speaker A: Excellent. That's super. Well, shout out to Salvatore. Excellent. Well, that is just about all the time we have for today. Thank you for your insights, Father. Shall we close with a prayer?
[00:22:40] Speaker B: Yeah, let's crank up the prayer conditioning again.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God, we thank you for your love for us. We just ask you to bless us. Bless our listeners, bless our podcast. Anoint us all with your Holy Spirit. Help us to hear your voice in our lives, to know your love, your gentle care, and your constant protection. May you bless us in all we do. We pray this in Jesus. Name the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:23:03] Speaker A: Thank you for that, Father. And thank you for reminding us that we're all called to be fishers of men. But we just have to catch them. God will clean them.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Right on. Amen.
[00:23:13] Speaker A: And thanks also to our fans and friends and odds and ends for joining us this week through the Immaculate Heart of Mary social media channels, the Apple podcasts, the Spotify and the YouTube. And 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 Father Greg and jd. He leaving you smarter, happier and more blessed than you were yesterday.
