Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish podcast with father Greg and J.D. probably Winona's favorite Catholic podcast.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Definitely.
[00:00:09] Speaker A: And according to Spotify, a Cat, a comedy podcast.
[00:00:12] Speaker B: We gotta fix that.
[00:00:14] Speaker A: 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 to further unite our parish community.
This is episode number 35, and we are celebrating World Mission Sunday, St. Luke. And I want to ask you about partial prayers.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Partial prayers. Partial prayers. Cool.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: Remember, you can find us on the Spotify, the Apple podcasts, and the YouTubes. So please like or subscribe on the YouTubes. We will find your inbox every week.
I do have a quick question before we start.
People say prayer is like talking to God, but sometimes it feels more like leaving a voicemail.
Like, does he ever call back?
Yeah.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: And prayer is talking to God.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: So we leave a voicemail and he'll call us back no matter what. Maybe not when we expect or in the manner that we expect, but he always. He always calls back. Maybe he leaves us a message.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Yeah, God always responds to every prayer. There's no prayer that God doesn't say yes, no, or wait to, and whichever one he says, he says out of love.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: That's right. Yes, yes, no, or not. Now that's interesting.
Okay. Not really a Father Greg quality joke there, but an interesting moment.
You better start us off with a prayer.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: Okay. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We thank you so much. We thank you for your love, and we thank you for all the blessings you've given us as we have just recently celebrated Thanksgiving weekend. We thank you for us, our lives, our faith, our parish, our listeners, and the countless many other blessings you've given each of us. We ask that you continue to bless us and grace us with your presence and your Holy Spirit's anointing during this podcast. And all we do. And we pray that Mary, St. Joseph, St. Michael, all the saints would be with us and guide us and help us with anything our listeners may be going through. We ask this in Jesus name, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: Thank you, Father.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Let's roll right into our Saint of the Week. Each week we feature a saint or several 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're celebrating the feast of St. Luke. One of the four evangelists celebrated for his contributions to the New Testament through, of course, the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
A physician and Companion of St. Paul, Luke emphasized Jesus compassion, mercy, and concern for the poor, outcast and sinner. His writings highlight themes of healing, forgiveness, and the universality of salvation.
His detailed and orderly accounts preserve the story of Christ's life and the early church's growth.
Often symbolized by an ox representing sacrifice and service, St. Luke reminds Christians to live with faith, compassion and dedication to spreading God's love.
St. Luke is the patron saint of artists, physicians, surgeons and surgeons.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: That's okay.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: He's also considered the patron saint of butchers, brewers and notaries. Those last three I did not know.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: That's interesting.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: So I don't know whether we have any directly attributable quotes to St. Luke, but he wrote a whole book.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: I think that counts.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: So here are two very common or very much sought after verses. Luke 4:18.
The Spirit of Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free.
Love that.
Oh, here's a quote. Sir. What am I thinking? Jesus, I trust in you.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: That's not in the Bible. What are you talking about? How do you know he said that? That's a joke. That's a joke. He probably said it.
[00:03:59] Speaker A: I'm. I'm sure he did say it.
[00:04:01] Speaker B: Well, we can't be sure.
No, odds are good. Odds are good. No, we can have exceedingly high confidence that he at some point said those words. Jesus. Probably not in English.
[00:04:12] Speaker A: In Greek.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Probably Greek.
[00:04:14] Speaker A: That's what I was thinking too.
Wow. Okay, let us get to Ask Father Greg. So we've got a short segment of Ask Father Greg.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: This Friday we have Ask Father Greg Live two hour session.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: So we get more than just my questions answered this particular night.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: You can ask questions as long as you want on Friday night, but I do have visual prayers at a funeral home at 8:45, so I'll probably be leaving more like 8:35.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: So you have an hour and 35 minutes to ask me all the questions.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: All right, I got my little list ready. We're going to have some fun.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Well, beautiful ritual here at Immaculate Heart of Mary is the recitation of the rosary before each Mass.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: So a couple of questions first. Is it formally organized or is it relying on anybody who shows up to get it going and Participate.
[00:05:02] Speaker B: It is formally organized and we have people who start it and then.
Which is a good thing. Okay. Because otherwise it might be a little risky. And then if people showed up late and then it starts late and then it's like. Then it becomes like we couldn't finish it all. Or we kind of made Mass start later because of the rosary, which would be unideal too. So it's nice to have someone who says, we're start it, you know, 30 minutes before that way.
The way that we see this is that one. It's always good for you to be exposed to the rosary, have a chance to pray with others, because there's a power in praying it with others. I mean, it's already powerful on its own, but it's even more powerful when you pray with others also. It just kind of creates an ambiance of prayer in the church beforehand. We want to really try to create a sense of a sacred house of prayer, you know, where we're getting our hearts ready so we're quieting ourselves. We're thinking of holy things.
Okay. To chat in the church. But that should be ideally more common in the gathering space and much less common in the worship space, shall we say? We should try to keep prayer in the worship space. I mean, pray anywhere but. And chats in the gathering space to create a sacred space for worship and prayer. So that helps set the tone. It also creates background noise for confessions. It also is just kind of praying for our parish, which we need. Right. Or for whatever people's personal needs are. So there's many reasons that's a helpful thing. So it is an organized.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Okay. I love the fact when you said that it helps set the tone for Mass because people will come in with their own pre Mass rituals and sometimes maybe just sort of sitting wondering what to do next or what to pray next. But there's always the rosary there. That is a great focal point and a guide for us to prepare our hearts.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: Yeah. And sometimes people like, it's good that, like, it's wonderful when people come together with their families. And especially if it's a Mass for someone they've lost or something like that. That's a beautiful thing to come together for that.
The danger is that if people have nothing going on in the church, they might think it's like, oh, hey, it's pre Mass social time, so we can talk a lot. But then there might be other people who are actually trying to have quiet prayer. And it's helpful to kind of just create a tone where those who Are looking for that quiet prayer. Have that beforehand.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: Beautiful. Okay, that wasn't really my full question. My actual question is about partial prayer.
During the rosary, the leader will say the first half of the prayer, and the rest people chime in the second half.
[00:07:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: So do half prayers count, if that.
[00:07:21] Speaker B: Is what you define as half prayer? Absolutely. Even if you meant half the prayer, like you only said the first half of the Hail Mary yourself, and no one said the second half. Hey, that'd be better than no prayer.
But this is what we call antiphonal prayer. So like this kind of alternating, like one side, the other side. And that's very common in.
In the scriptures, even, and in ancient Christianity.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Sort of like the high school cheers. Yes, yes, yes, we do. We got sports spirit. How about you?
[00:07:47] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: Even say that in church, too.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: That's right. Holy Spirit. That's right.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Okay, so. So half rows count.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: Beautiful.
[00:07:54] Speaker A: Love it. Okay. Yeah. Kind of always pondering about that because it feels like we're not doing the.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Full prayer, but right together as a family. We're praying the whole prayer and having the. The. Where one person says the other half, it gives us a little bit of time where we're not the one saying the words to dive a little bit deeper. Deeper into the meaning of the words or to whether it's the mystery of the rosary we were praying about. So it kind of gives a little wiggle room for the way you're getting into that prayer.
And also, I think it really manifests how we're all contributing something to the prayer.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: Okay, that's beautiful. Again, I love that beginning to the. To the Mass, because as we go in, sometimes we're praying or not sure what to pray.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: And, well, that leads into this resource of the week.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Is that the.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: So it's book Ask him by Matt Kelly.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Yeah, Matt Kelly.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: And it's a beautiful resource to help jumpstart your conversation with God. If we talk about prayer as a conversation with God, and you wonder, okay, where do I start? You know, when I come in, what's my ritual? How do I pray?
Really? You can just start talking to God.
And so this is a beautiful book that has a number of different prompts that just help jumpstart that conversation. Just something to guide and direct your prayer. If you're not sure where to start or if you're feeling that you're continually praying the same things over and over again. I got to. I want to shake this up a little bit. So. Yeah, yeah. So just little opportunities to to get a head start on a conversation and.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: Things to talk about.
Beautiful. Yeah, absolutely.
Ask him to remind you that the best way to find yourself is to give yourself away.
Ask him to remind you that when you pray with limitations, you're denying him a chance to do miraculous things.
Ask him to remind you that resourceful people always have a plan B.
There you go. That's neat.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: So another. Another great resource from Matthew Kelly.
[00:09:50] Speaker B: That's excellent.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: So ask him and we'll put the link to get your copy.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: If you're wondering where to get it, just ask him.
[00:09:58] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. Just ask me.
That was a good one.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: Thanks, bro.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: All right, Father, this coming Sunday is World Mission Sunday.
Why is this so significant to the church?
[00:10:12] Speaker B: Well, you have a mission. Should you choose to accept it. I do. This message will be, no joking, self destruct. That's right, exactly.
The church, in fact, we say the church doesn't just have a mission to spread the gospel, but the church is a mission that. In fact, the word mission comes from the Latin missio, which means sent.
And so we are sent on mission as a mission, as a whole. The church is a mission of Christ that's meant to spread and draw everyone into the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. And so World Mission Sunday, of course, is going to emphasize that we are called to continue to extend the reign of Christ by proposing Christ and his kingdom to all, whether they know Christ or not.
And there are still pockets of the world that have not encountered Christianity, but there's also a lot of people in our society who maybe they've heard about Jesus, maybe they haven't, but they don't really know Jesus. They don't really understand Jesus. And so we're called to support any endeavor that spreads Jesus, whether that be to far off lands or whether that be also in our own area.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: Okay, beautiful.
And that's referenced in one of the prayers in the missile to pray with the Eucharist.
The last one talks about taking Jesus with you as you travel and be encouraged to have conversations about Jesus everywhere you go. And so living out that part of the mission as well.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: I keep wanting to. To include the Missal as one of our resources. I think it's a fabulous book. And there's so much there. Yeah. That I think, you know, in the past, I kind of would go from Advent to the next Advent and not look beyond those. And there's so much richness outside of just the. The weekly Masses and the Easter Masses. So a mental note to include that as one of our resources.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: That's. That's awesome. Hey, can I share something from Pope Leo?
[00:12:09] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:12:09] Speaker B: In preparation for this World Mission Sunday, here's some stuff he said.
So he had a video message, and he mentioned about how we're called to be missionaries of hope among all peoples in this jubilee year. And he said that we should pray particularly for missionaries and the fruitfulness of their apostolic labor. So we think people who go farther away and become missionary disciples, and we're all called to be missionary disciples in our own way, but they go far off lands. And he says, where I served as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru, I saw firsthand how the faith, the prayer, and the generosity shown on World Mission Sunday can transform entire communities. So he said, I urge every Catholic parish in the world to take part in World Mission Sunday.
Your prayers, your support will help spread the gospel, provide for pastoral and catechetical programs, help to build new churches, and care for the health and educational needs of our brothers and sisters in mission territories.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, so World Mission Sunday coming up this Sunday, special envelope in our little box to help with the contribution. To help with that cost.
[00:13:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Excellent.
Well, Father, there's so much happening in our community, and our parishioners can check out the bulletin every week or the website. But for everyone else out there, what are some of the highlights of the coming weeks that you'd like to share?
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Good question. Well, fun side note, I have four funerals this week, and I'm not complaining. I'm happy to be able to serve families. That's on my mind. But aside from that, we've got Ask Father Night, as we said on Friday night. It's gonna be great.
We've also got, as usual, another wedding on this Saturday, we've got the Chosen continuing on Saturday nights. And as I look to next week, I see that. Well, also tonight, next week, we have rcia. We have definitely the most people in our RCIA program we've ever had in this parish's history, which is beautiful to see how the Holy Spirit is touching hearts and drawing them to come to the fullness of faith in the Catholic Church.
And, yeah, I'm looking forward to just continuing other stuff. We got our core men's program. That was great to see JD this last Saturday morning.
Yeah, that was awesome. Very beautiful. So, yeah, lots of good stuff. Check our bulletin. But we're living the dream. Lots of good things here.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: Any hints as to future pilgrimages? Or do we leave that for another.
[00:14:29] Speaker B: Week in May of 2026? Okay.
Maybe I can even pull up the dates of May 2026. We are going. JD maybe come with me, hopefully, but no pressure. Yeah, that's awesome. Me, Father Jeff Ehring, who's another priest of our diocese and probably lots of people who went to Italy. We are going to Spain, Portugal, and France, and we're going to go see the top Catholic sites that are the most important in Spain, Portugal, and France, including where the apparitions of Fatima happen in Portugal. We're gonna go see just amazing stuff, probably the Sagrada Familia in Spain and just like amazing sites. So stay tuned for more promotional material about that. But hey, if you want to come to see the top Catholic things in Spain, France and Portugal, come with JD and I.
[00:15:21] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: And we are going to have a great time in May of 2026. Keep those.
Keep that open.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: And hopefully start putting away a little bit of money every week to help fund your adventure.
[00:15:34] Speaker B: That's right. It's gonna be great.
[00:15:36] Speaker A: There are so many people doing great work here at the parish. Who do you want to recognize this week?
[00:15:41] Speaker B: This week, I want to recognize Natalia. She is a wonderful lady who is our sacristan at 4pm Sunday Mass. And sometimes Rick also helps her. And I think we've given a shout out to Rick before for too.
But, yeah, Natalia is just a really sweet lady and she. She really loves the Lord. And Natalia, you're doing great work and you always help people feel welcome and you look after setting things up so nicely for Mass. So here's my shout out. Thank you, Natalia, for being awesome.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: Wonderful. Thank you, Natalia. You really make the parish that much better place.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: Amen. And the dates for the pilgrimage are May 17th to May 29th.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: All right, 17 to 29. You heard it here first, folks.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: May 17th and May 29th, 2026.
Come with JD and I for a trip of your life.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Beautiful.
Well, that's just about all the time we have for today. Thank you for your insights, Father. Shall we close with a prayer?
[00:16:32] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. 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. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and bless us and our family and friends and bless all our parish and our parishioners, all those who would listen and their families and their needs and continue to pour out your spirit upon us so that we may have that peace, love, and joy that you offer as we say yes to you. Like St. Luke did and like so many other saints did. We pray this trusting in your love for us and in the name of Jesus, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Thank you for that beautiful prayer, Father.
And thank you for your insights again today and for reminding us that prayer isn't just talking to God. It's more like an ongoing group chat where he always reads the messages email, even if he doesn't reply right away.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: Yeah, or maybe he replies, but we like our signal doesn't tell us yet.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: Thanks also to our fans and friends and odds and ends for joining us again this week through the Immaculate Heart of Mary social media channels, the Apple Podcasts, the YouTube and the Spotify. And if you like our show, subscribe and tell your friends. And if you don't like our show, tell your friends anyway and let them discern for themselves.
Until next time, keep the faith, say your prayers, and hey, don't forget to tip your priest with a smile and a Hail Mary. Have a great week, everyone. We are Father Greg and JD leaving you smarter, happier and more blessed than you were yesterday.
