Scripture Sessions: Winning the Race
Hello, and welcome. Thank you for joining me. This is the scripture sessions, and I'm your host, your reader, your interpreter extraordinaire, the Catholic adventurer. Thank you very much for joining me today. This is actually a special special episode.
Speaker 1:It's my first live scripture sessions. You heard that right. I'm doing this live. I'm broadcasting right now to Substack. Hello, Elizabeth and Substack.
Speaker 1:And simulcasting it to my Instagram. Hello, Instagrammers. Thank you for joining me. Oh, boy. Are you guys lucky.
Speaker 1:Now today I'm talking about winning the race. Winning the race. You're probably vaguely familiar with that. Right? Saint Paul talks about finishing the race, but I'm gonna talk to you about winning the race.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Elizabeth. Winning the race. So it's the solemnity of the saints of saints Peter and Paul, two heavy hitters in Catholic in the Catholic faith, the Catholic tradition. And I'm gonna focus today on Saint Paul's letter to Timothy. This was the second reading at mass today.
Speaker 1:Okay? And those of you catching this on demand, by the way, you're catching this on Substack, and I thank you for checking me out on Substack. And those of you catching me live, you can find my Substack in the link in my bio anywhere you're catching this or directly into your browser. Go to catholicadventurer.substack.com. Everything I do, I do on Substack.
Speaker 1:I go way deeper on Substack than what you see on socials. And hello to Fabione. Don't don't know how to pronounce that name, but thank you for joining me there on Substack. Alright. First, I'd like to open this up with a prayer.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna share something personal with you. I've really been neglecting my scripture reading because of life, because of stress, because of I don't wanna say lack of interest, but effectively that's what that that's what it is. It's a lack of interest. And I I offer that not I'm not too embarrassed to offer that because I know all of you go through these periods. Right?
Speaker 1:Lack of interest in prayer, in in your devotions, whatever. And it's something I've been wrestling with for no for no, like, real reason. It's not like, now I hate the scripture, or now I'm angry at God. It's really no real reason, just a general diminishment of interest, not a lack of interest, a diminishment in interest. And I am determined to fix that.
Speaker 1:There are a lot of things that I'm determined to polish up in my practice of the Catholic faith. I haven't been as prayerful you those of you who catch the regular podcast, you've heard me say this. I'm not as prayerful as I want to be despite trying. So the scripture sessions is one of the things that that that I wanna read more scripture more regularly again. I used to be all over the scriptures.
Speaker 1:I wanna do that again, and this is my my foray into that. So with that in mind, I'm going to start this episode a little differently by opening it with a prayer. Usually, pray before I read the scripture. When I do the scripture sessions, I don't record that prayer. This time, I'm going to record that part two.
Speaker 1:In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. Amen. Heavenly father, in the scripture, there is word and power that has come from you through the Holy Spirit, through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a well of wisdom. I acknowledge that it's a well of wisdom.
Speaker 1:It's your very word and power. And I thank you for myself, and in the name of my family, and in the name of those who are listening or watching this right now, I thank you for giving us this tremendous gift of your word that we have access to immediately, always, everywhere. Help me, Lord, to receive what you intend for me to have in the reading of your holy word. Help me, Lord, to interpret it correctly, not just for myself, but that, but also for those who are going to listen to what I have to say, my thoughts and feelings about this scripture. Help me, father, to lead your children to you by leading them closer to Jesus.
Speaker 1:I'm very small, I'm very stupid, and I'm very weak. And without you, I'm absolutely powerless. I'm absolutely lost. And so I ask you through the intercession of Saint Anthony of Padua, through the intercession of Saint Anthony of the desert, through the intercession with most holy mother of God, Enable and empower me above and beyond my natural limitations, and help me to do something beautiful for you in this moment. Just in this moment, that's all I pray for.
Speaker 1:I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, your only begotten son. Amen. Come holy spirit, come into my mind, come into my heart, enable and empower me. Come by means of the powerful intercession of the immaculate heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. In the name of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Amen. The name of the father, of the son, and the holy spirit. Amen. Alright. Let's get on with it.
Speaker 1:Thank you again. Those of you watching me live, I really appreciate you. From the second letter of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy. Now folks, pay careful attention because you're going to hear some nuances here that will go over your head unless you've studied this or unless you listen to me point them out. Okay?
Speaker 1:But I don't wanna have to double back, backtrack, reread the things that I'm pointing out, the nuances. So pay attention, okay, so that you'll understand the referencing. Here it goes. I, Paul, am ready am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have complete I have competed well.
Speaker 1:I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. From now on, the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, the yeah, the just judge will award me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
Speaker 1:The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. The word of the Lord. So this is a very interesting letter from Paul to Saint Timothy.
Speaker 1:In this reading, there are a lot of references from two different cultures. There are references to Jewish culture and references to Greek culture. Saint Timothy was Jewish and Greek. His mother was a Jew. His father was a Greek.
Speaker 1:He was probably he was not Greek in nationality, but he but he probably had a lot of Greek influences, and he certainly had a lot of Jewish influences. He was not circumcised, which which kind of cost him his credibility with the Jews, and so Saint Paul had him circumcised. So we know he was probably what I would call a secular Jew if he wasn't circumcised as an you know, by the time he was an adult, he was probably like a secular Jew. Right? Probably not a very religious Jew, probably not.
Speaker 1:Okay? And probably a secular Greek. But he was aware of both of these cultures. We know that both of these cultures influenced his development. Saint Paul begins his letter talking about being poured out like a libation.
Speaker 1:That's a very Jewish reference. He also talks about competing well. I have competed well. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.
Speaker 1:These are Greek references. The Greeks had a lot of competitions, Olympics, stuff like that. These are Greek references. Now, what are we to glean in this? I have competed well.
Speaker 1:I have finished the race. What do Olympians and athletes do? They practice, and they practice, and they practice, and they try, and they fail, and they try again. They compete. Right?
Speaker 1:They compete. It's interesting that Saint Paul is talking about the competing and the finishing of the race, but he is not talking about winning it. I have competed well. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.
Speaker 1:Why isn't he talking about winning the race? Let's continue. From now on, the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award me on that day. Why isn't he talking about winning? Because that's for the Lord to decide.
Speaker 1:The just judge. Just as the Olympics, there are judges. Right? A perfect 10. A low score of six.
Speaker 1:Right? It's for the Lord to judge who wins. For the Lord judges injustice and in truth. Fast forward. The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed, and all the Gentiles might hear it.
Speaker 1:Paul went through hell to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Sometimes he went through hell from his own people. Sometimes he went through hell from the people he was ministering to. Sometimes he went through hell from his own friends. Get out of here, Paul.
Speaker 1:I can't take you anymore, Paul. Get out of here. Or I'm leaving, Paul. I can't take you anymore. But Saint Paul was able to finish the race because Jesus held him up.
Speaker 1:And boy, do I know how that is, man. Let me tell you. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. This is probably a reference to Daniel in the lion's den, another Jewish reference. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat.
Speaker 1:Wait. Paul is about to be executed. I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. So Paul suspects he's going to be executed. Why is he saying the Lord will rescue him from every evil threat?
Speaker 1:Well, what is an evil threat? An evil threat isn't always harm or inconvenience. Sometimes an evil threat is an ultimate negation well, often, an evil threat is an ultimate negation of a good, an evil threat. He's not talking about being rescued from harm. He's talking about being rescued from a dark and final end.
Speaker 1:Not death, but eternal death. Not physical death, but eternal spiritual death. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. So it sounds like Paul knows he's going to be executed, but he has faith that he has completed the race.
Speaker 1:He's competed well, and when you compete, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you win. I'll give you a baseball reference, because I'm not into the Olympics, so I can't give you many many Olympics references. But a baseball reference, sometimes you lose games and sometimes you win them. But it's the World Series, it's the final game of the World Series that determines who is the champion. Paul says he competed well, and that he's finished the race.
Speaker 1:He had his ups, he had his downs, and it's for the Lord to judge what that all comes to be in the end. What does that all come to be in the end? I just dropped something on Instagram talking about what judgment what our judgment will probably be like. And in it, I said it's a three part thing, by the way. So if you're on Instagram, look for it.
Speaker 1:It's parts one, two, and three. In it, I talk about how everything we've done in life is brought to Jesus when we are judged. Not just our sins and our failures, but our efforts and our successes. Do you know why? Why is Paul talking about competing?
Speaker 1:Because it is the nature of fallen man to lose. It's the nature of fallen man to lose. It takes effort to compete at all. To be in the game, to be in contention, I guess, to be competitive, that takes a tremendous effort and tremendous grace. That goes above and beyond our fallen nature.
Speaker 1:That is what's truly laudable. Competing is laudable. You win, you lose, you win, you lose, but you're competing. That's laudable, because it goes above and beyond our fallen nature. Our fallen nature means we lose every time.
Speaker 1:And so we don't even try or we barely try. And if you barely try, how can you possibly win? Because if you barely try, you cannot compete. If you cannot compete, how can you win? And that's what I wanna talk to you about today.
Speaker 1:First, to close out the scripture segment of this before I check-in real quick with the chat rooms. If you have any questions in the chat rooms, now is the time to type them, cause I'm not going to be paying a whole lot of attention to the chats. But I'm gonna check-in right now to them, and if you have any questions, I'll see them and I'll address them. We're not done yet. I'm not done yet, but I'm just closing out the scripture portion of this episode.
Speaker 1:Just that portion closing out, and then I'm gonna talk some more. Some things you should take from this. First, this is the second letter of Paul to Saint Timothy chapter four verses six through eight, and then 17 through 18. If you wanna read this yourself, and you should read it yourself, and reflect on it. What should you take from this?
Speaker 1:Paul is giving two references to Timothy who's both a Jew and a Greek. There are Jewish references in this scripture, and there are Greek references in this scripture. Paul acknowledges that he has competed well, that he has finished the race. He does not say he's won. He leaves the winning up to Jesus to decide.
Speaker 1:Jesus, the just judge. Now, Saint Paul is very confident by the end. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat, and he will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. Safe. Safe.
Speaker 1:Another baseball reference. I'm sure that's not what Saint Paul meant though. He will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. Saint Paul is confident that he will be judged well. Not well, but he will be judged, I guess, positively by Jesus, the just judge.
Speaker 1:Why? Why can he be so confident? Because he knows he's competed well, that he's fought and fought and fought to live the gospel. He's he knows he tried and he fought and he tried and he fought and he rose and he fell and he rose and he fell. He knows what he's bringing to Jesus when he's going to be when he's judged.
Speaker 1:Something to keep in mind for yourselves. Whether we win or lose, that's up to Jesus to decide whether we have won or lost. But it's up to us, we have the power, to take to Jesus our very best efforts. And some of those will be tied to very great failures. But I'm telling you, if you keep trying, many of your efforts will be tied to very great victories.
Speaker 1:And then judgment won't be something to be afraid of. It'll be something to look forward to as Paul looks forward to it here. That's what you should take mostly from this scripture. But I strongly encourage you, read it yourselves and see what the Holy Spirit has for you in this scripture. Okay?
Speaker 1:Let me check-in with the chat room, go round and round and round I go. Hello to Travis, who just joined me in the chat room on Substack at home base. And Anne has joined me in how to be Catholic, a great fellow himself, has joined me here at Substack. Rob Capelli has joined me, and so is Jamie. God bless you, Jamie.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining me here on Substack. This is an episode of the scripture sessions available exclusively on my Substack catholic adventurer.substack.com. And hello to God is greater than I have seen you before, my friend. God is greater than blank. I that name stood out before.
Speaker 1:You have a better handle on Instagram than I do. Mine is like for the queen b v m, which I just kind of got stuck with. It's a long story. But I saw your name before, and I love it very much. And the Gypsy Roman, God bless you for joining me here on Instagram.
Speaker 1:You dropped in on an episode, a live episode, the first the first live episode of the scripture sessions. And I thank you very much. I wanna talk to you folks about winning the race. Winning the race. Not just competing well, but winning the race.
Speaker 1:Do you know why? Because it's very easy to get caught up. In fact, this, you mark my words, this is becoming the next thing that worries me in the Catholic culture, is that people are increasingly satisfied simply with competing. People are getting more and more satisfied with just aiming for purgatory. You think I'm kidding?
Speaker 1:Pay attention. You're gonna see and hear it everywhere. Increasingly, increasingly, increasingly. They don't aim for heaven. They aim for purgatory.
Speaker 1:They don't aim to compete well. They aim just to get across the finish line. Well, my friends, if you are not competing well, you will not get across the finish line. And if you do by some great miracle, you may not be judged well when you face Jesus. You have to compete to win.
Speaker 1:Don't just finish the race. You have to run to win. Don't let yourselves get bogged down in mediocrity, in ease, saying if I can just get to the next mass and then get just get to the next mass. Don't don't be satisfied with that. Sometimes that's all we can do depending on our state in life or whatever, but don't be satisfied with that.
Speaker 1:You have to run to win. We too often lose ourselves, as I said, in mediocrity, being content with just getting across that finish line. But I tell you, if that's all you're aiming for, you're not going to do well. If all you're aiming for is purgatory, you may miss. You may very likely miss.
Speaker 1:And if you miss purgatory, I got news for you, you're not hitting heaven. Heaven is not where your where heaven is not where your arrow ends up if you're aiming for purgatory. But if you aim for heaven and you miss, you'll get purgatory. And that's not so bad because it's temporary, and it's not hell, which is permanent. Right?
Speaker 1:We're so caught up in just getting by in the faith experience that we wind up not competing well. We effectively become spectators and not competitors. We don't become soldiers of Jesus Christ. We become the drivers of the jeeps and the trucks, the guys that bring the food out to the troops in the field. That's what we become.
Speaker 1:Or the guys that put the food on the plate and hand them to the soldiers. We are lost in a culture that's content with mediocrity, with just barely getting it through, and just barely getting by. But you have to run to win, as if your whole existence depends on it, because it does. You have to run with this idea that your destiny is not mediocrity. That is not what your destiny is.
Speaker 1:Now destiny has two meanings. One, it's something predetermined and you can't decide against it. But classically, that's not what destiny meant. Destiny, classically, had had always meant your where you're supposed to get to, your destination, where you're supposed to be. You can choose against it, but it's where you're supposed to be.
Speaker 1:Your destiny as a baby is not to crawl around on your hands and knees, it's to stand and walk. Right? That's your destiny. It's where you're supposed to be. You can choose against it, but it's your nature to stand and walk.
Speaker 1:Right? So your destiny, our destiny is not mediocrity. It is great. It is literally greatness. That's not poetry, it's not metaphor, it's literal.
Speaker 1:Our destiny is greatness. Not just greatness. All of us are destined for greatness. You are destined for an individual greatness, not mediocrity. And my friend, you cannot arrive at greatness on a path of mediocrity in this faith life, in the faith experience.
Speaker 1:Do you run just to exist? Do you run just to get by that next mile mark, or do you run to win? Do you run like hell and fight like hell to win? Do you declare war on your lower self? Do you declare war on your vices?
Speaker 1:Do you declare war in the name of Jesus Christ? And with the help of the blessed virgin Mary and the saints, do you declare war on these things that rip you away from God and rip you away from his perfect design of you? I don't just mean poke and prod it. I mean declare a full on war against these things. Do you run like hell into the arms of Jesus?
Speaker 1:Or do you just wave at them from a distance? When we feel distant from Jesus Christ, what's in our heart? Is it when will I see you again? Or is it just, hey, how are you? I hope you're doing okay?
Speaker 1:Do we have that sort of inner fire, that inner passion, that inner longing? Is it just about going through the motions, checking the next box on the list? Or do we run to win? Do we compete to win? Do we compete to take the prize?
Speaker 1:Do we compete for the gold? Or do we compete just enough to be able to say, I did that? My brothers and sisters, we have to compete to win. We have to compete like our very existence depends on it because it does. We have to compete as as if we are destined for greatness, which we are.
Speaker 1:And we cannot compete in mediocrity, we cannot be mediocre in how we compete because our destiny is not mediocrity, If you're taking a road that only goes south, you're not gonna end up north. You're just not. You're not gonna go east. You're not gonna go west. You're gonna go south.
Speaker 1:Pun intended. You're gonna go south. And so here's what I want you to take from this. Competing to win, not just to get by. And and I'm not trying to contradict what Saint Paul says.
Speaker 1:It is up to Jesus. The final judgment is up to Jesus. And also the assistance is up to the grace of Jesus Christ. But we have to cooperate with that. But remember, when we face Jesus in judgment, we're bringing it all to Him.
Speaker 1:Not just our failures, but our efforts. Not just our mistakes, but our successes. We're bringing it all to Jesus. What is it that we want to bring to Jesus at judgment? When we face Jesus at judgment, tell me how this sounds to you: Lord Jesus, I competed to get by.
Speaker 1:I mean, as I'm saying it to you, sounds ridiculous. Lord, I competed to get by. Here's what I have for you. A life of mediocrity. Or, Lord Jesus, I competed to win, and, oh, boy, was I bent on winning, and I didn't always do well.
Speaker 1:But, Lord, I tried. Oh, boy, did I try. With your help, I tried. I have successes here, and I have failures. I have successes, failures, and I have the efforts in between.
Speaker 1:Some of those efforts didn't pay off, and some of them did. But this is what I have for you, lord. This is what I present to you, the just and final judge. Yes. My failures, my sins, my vices, my inclinations, sins that I just couldn't fall out of love with.
Speaker 1:Yes. I bring those to you, and I also bring my efforts. And, boy, Lord, did I try? You know that I did. I didn't always try hard enough, but often I really, really tried.
Speaker 1:I bring you my efforts, my successes. I bring you the victories of every time I went to confession, the victories of every mass I ever attended, the victories of my good works, my acts of charity to my neighbor, my acts of of good works and charity toward my family. So, yes, there's all this, Lord, and I'm so sorry that I have to present this to you. I'm so sorry, but I also have this, and I have everything that falls in between. And all of this, Lord, is what I give to you now, and I can't do anything more about it.
Speaker 1:There's no more confession. There's no more saying I'm sorry. There's no forgiveness of sin after death. Here we are, Lord. This is what I've invested, and this is all that I have, and I give it to you.
Speaker 1:I surrender it and subject it to your mercy and to your judgment. That's the kind of judgment day I would like to have. I do not want to have the moment of judgment where what I'm presenting to Jesus is mediocrity. Lord, I wanted to be that guy who tried hard, but I just didn't. I wanted to be the person who wanted to try hard, but I just didn't want to.
Speaker 1:I tried a little, Lord, but, you know, you understand how hard it is. That's not the kind of that's not what I want to bring to Jesus at judgment. That's not what I want and it's not what you should want to bring to Jesus at judgment. Because when Jesus judges us, he's going to see he's going to see a fallen human being born in sin. Right?
Speaker 1:Have all the have concupiscence and all these obstacles. He's gonna see that, of course. He's also going to see a person made in the image and likeness of God, and he's going to expect something of you. He's going to expect greatness from someone who was made with such greatness inherent to their being in the image and likeness of God. He's going to expect a return, right, equal to the dignity of the person God created.
Speaker 1:And that's not going to be mediocrity. He's going to expect a return from someone who tried like hell to live their dignity, to live the law and word of God. Don't just run to finish the race. Don't just run. Don't just compete to get over the finish line.
Speaker 1:Who cares? Compete to win. Compete to win. And try like hell to compete and win. Next time you see one of my posts where I end it with win exclamation point, now you know where that comes from.
Speaker 1:Don't just don't just compete to to get past the finish line. Compete to win. Compete with the mindset that winning, not just getting through. Winning is your destiny, but you can choose against it. But don't.
Speaker 1:Hello to Avery Maker who just joined me on Instagram, and hello to John Henry who joined me on Substack. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been an episode of the scripture sessions. If you have any questions, I don't have to leave yet, but I'm about to, but I don't have to. If you have any questions, drop them in the little chat section there. And also there's a couple names there that join me on Instagram that I can't pronounce.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, but thank you for joining me. And Zadoth, I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right. It sounds like someone from the planet Jorel not Jorel. What planet was Superman from again? It sounds like that guy.
Speaker 1:You remember general Zod and those other two clowns who were trying to get even with Jor El by destroying his son, Kal El, who we know as Superman? Krypton. That's the yeah. Sounds like somebody from Krypton. Zadoth.
Speaker 1:Can't pronounce that name, but I'm trying Krypton. Yeah. Thank you, Ellis. I I got it. Just before I saw that, I got it.
Speaker 1:If you have any questions, John Henry also, Krypton. You know, I'll tell you something interesting. What's the difference between Superman and Batman? Through a Catholic lens, do you know the difference and it's not a joke. What's the difference between Superman and Batman?
Speaker 1:Through a Catholic lens, what do you think? I'm gonna take a sip of tea. John Henry says, that's where I'm from, Krypton. I'm gonna take a sip of tea and give you a moment to answer. The difference between Superman and Batman.
Speaker 1:Going once. Going twice. Alright. Alright. Let me put it to you this way.
Speaker 1:Batman has no superpowers. Batman has to try to be a superhero. I'm looking at the wrong camera again. Batman has to work to be a superhero. He has to work out.
Speaker 1:He has to train. Whatever. Batman requires science to be a superhero. Right? That's why he has a belt and not a cape.
Speaker 1:Well, guess he does have a cape, but he has a utility belt with his tools and gizmos and doodads. He needs science to be a superhero. Superman is like an angel. He possesses this power his powers he possesses in his being. He can fly without the use of technology.
Speaker 1:He's the man of steel without a bulletproof vest. Right? Faster than a speeding bullet, all that stuff. He possesses this power in his being, but Batman does not. Batman so in other words, Superman doesn't have to try to be a superhero.
Speaker 1:It's just who he is. He can't really fail. Batman has to try to be a superhero. Batman has to work, and try, and fail, and try again. He needs technology, theology.
Speaker 1:He needs to master the skill of utilizing his technology. He has to practice what he's learning. Right? The theology that he's learning, he has to put it into practice. And to put it another way, Batman becomes Batman not overnight, but over a progression.
Speaker 1:He becomes an expert at his tools, the the Batmobile, the Batwing. He becomes an expert at using these to such an extent, to such a degree, that there's almost no distinction from the technology and the person utilizing it. He becomes who he is being. He becomes the Batman. He doesn't become Bruce Wayne in in a costume with tools.
Speaker 1:He Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman. That's us. We need the help of practice, and the humiliation of failure, and the effort of trying again and doing it better. We need theology, the tools, and philosophy, the teaching of the church, the sacramental life. And we need to practice being children of God made in his image and likeness with an expertise at absorbing these tools theology, prayer life, devotion, sacraments, the Mass absorbing these tools so that there is no differentiation between the person and the faith.
Speaker 1:We have to become that which we believe. We have to literally become what we believe. We can't become we can't be Bruce Wayne in a Batman costume. We have to become what we believe. We have to become the truth.
Speaker 1:You know something? That's impossible without the help of God. Impossible, but for the help of God. Because that is our destiny. That is our destiny.
Speaker 1:To run, to win, not just to get across the finish line. I wanna go back to something Ellis said. It took everything in my power, Ellis, to not be distracted and read what you said. So here I go. Ellis said, I have long been an advocate of a Batman approach to faith.
Speaker 1:The film Batman Begins great film, by the way. The film Batman Begins contains the line, why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up. Damn good line. I don't remember that line being there, but great film and a great line from a great film.
Speaker 1:I saw Batman Begins in the movie theater, and I think I've only ever seen it once since then, like, you know, on DVD or digital or whatever. Great movie. Maybe that should be the next family movie night. John says, next time we have to examine the greatest American No, you didn't. No.
Speaker 1:You didn't go there. Believe it or not, I'm walking on air. I never thought I could feel so free. Come on, man. The greatest American hero.
Speaker 1:I can't believe you went there. Flying away on a wing and a prayer, who could it be? Believe it or not, it's just me. And that brings us right back to running the race. Yes.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up. And that brings us right back to running the race. Something key in that line.
Speaker 1:Why do we fall? So and I don't know. I don't remember if this if that was in the line or if this was just how you phrased it, but that learn part. Learn to pick ourselves back up. Learn to pick at Judgment, we bring our failures, we bring our successes, and we bring everything that falls in between.
Speaker 1:Right? The learning part is one of those things that falls in between. What did you learn in getting back up? My friends, it's a terrible thing from from my point of view, but I think it but it but it's it's the truth from God's point of view. Sometimes God will let you fall and fall and fall and fall and fall and fall and fall because he wants you to learn something in the getting back up.
Speaker 1:He wants you to learn something in the getting back up. Why does the Lord let me keep falling? Because you get back up, but you're not learning from the getting back up. Ask the Lord, Lord, what am I missing? Show it to me, Lord.
Speaker 1:What am I missing? What should I learn in the getting back up? Let me tell you, man. The faith life is very hard, and sometimes the Lord has to whip you to death or half to death because we're so stubborn and so dumb. And part of the whipping our fallen nature out of us is that falling and rising and falling and falling and falling and falling and trying and still failing.
Speaker 1:Sometimes that's part of how the Lord whips it out of us. You think superheroes are made easily? Superheroes are not made easily. It's very, very, very hard to make a superhero, and that's really what a saint is. Alright, man.
Speaker 1:The close of this show has been so much fun. I almost hate to bring it to an end. Alright. If there's nothing else, my friends, I want to just tell you, I'm very grateful to you for joining me today. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I I I remembered Ellis. I remember coming away from that movie feeling like it was deeply Catholic. That that stood out for me when I saw that movie. You know what's also deeply Catholic if you're watching carefully?
Speaker 1:The Avengers, the first movie. The Avengers. Very, very Catholic. I I strongly believe there was an angelic muse behind the writing of that movie. If you'd like to catch this on demand, subscribe to my Substack, and you will be notified when it drops.
Speaker 1:Uh-oh. Avery on Instagram just went there. Rocky is also Catholic. Christianity movie. Avery, let me tell you, my man, Rocky is my all time favorite movie ever.
Speaker 1:That is one of the reasons why. Rocky, one of my all time favorite movies. Love it. Love it. Love it.
Speaker 1:If I could only watch one movie ever again, like ever, anytime I wanna watch a movie, ask me that one movie, it would be Rocky. One of my all time favorite movies. And I agree, very Catholic. Sylvester Stallone was I I mean, technically he's still Catholic, but he intentionally put Christian symbolism in that movie because I believe I believe he was sort of Christian still at the time. I think he was born Catholic, came away from it, flirted again with Christianity, came away from it, then went back again, something like that.
Speaker 1:But the Christian symbolism in that movie is intentional. I don't know if you knew that. Daniel on Substack says, one of the prayers I love is Lucia uh-oh. Looks like he went Greek. Can't read that.
Speaker 1:Lou Luisa Picarretta, I love you, Jesus, in your will, and offer up everything I do in Jesus' will and remain mindful. Now, Daniel, that's really good advice. John, continuing his course in lunacy, says, the Barbie movie, perhaps unintended, but Catholic themes. Though I didn't see it. Yes, you did, John.
Speaker 1:You watched the Barbie movie. Though I didn't see it, but I did see commentary on it from a Catholic lens. You watched the movie, John. Don't don't. You watched the movie.
Speaker 1:Why else would you say that? And I still can't believe you dropped the greatest American hero. Wow. And I still can't believe you didn't clap or applaud or do an LOL when I sang that that theme song from the show, The Greatest American Hero. By the way, that actor is very weird.
Speaker 1:I forget his name now. The guy who plays The Greatest American Hero? Very weird guy. He's very, very weird. Anybody on Instagram with anything to say, this is your last moment to say it.
Speaker 1:Substackers, y'all too. So going back to my point, if you want to listen to this on demand, it's available only on my Substack. I do not do them very frequently, unfortunately. I want to, but I just haven't been. So you're getting a real treat by getting this at all.
Speaker 1:And soon I'm gonna do a podcast episode on the subject of building a house of prayer. I don't mean your actual house. I mean your interior castle. How do you build a house of prayer? Something that's solid, built on a rock, impenetrable, near impossible for the enemy to attack.
Speaker 1:How do you build a house of prayer? That will probably be my next podcast episode coming this week. I am hoping you make the song your new I don't think that's gonna happen. I hope you make the song. Although, that would really be appropriate for the outro or even the intro to be the greatest American hero theme.
Speaker 1:But because I have a soft heart and because I love silly things, I'm going to grant you your request. I'm not sure if you can even hear this. This is the opening theme song. I watched this on TV. It's kind of a catchy song.
Speaker 1:Wait. I don't think you can hear this. Hang on. Okay. See, John John Henry appreciates that.
Speaker 1:That's great. Maybe I'll lose some subscribers over that one. JN Broad, you just missed a great show, man. You just missed a great show, but I thank you for joining me. Listen.
Speaker 1:I do a lot of great stuff here on JN is catching me on Instagram. I do a lot of great stuff here on Instagram. Check out my feed, especially the last three videos I just posted. And if you're not subscribed to me already or if you're not following me on Instagram, please do. A little update on Instagram.
Speaker 1:I'm actually really enjoying it. I said I was gonna go back to Instagram for about a month to see how how I like it when I fully utilize everything it has to offer. I kinda like it. I'm probably gonna in fact, I I am gonna stick around on Instagram. If you have an Instagram account, check me out at for the queen b v m, the hardest working man in all of Catholic podcasting, the king of Catholic media.
Speaker 1:And you're welcome very, much. Now let me get up out of here. Thank you all for joining me for this live recording of the scripture sessions by The Catholic Adventurer. Check out the link in my bio if you're checking this out on, like, Instagram. Check out the link in my bio for all my latest works and all that.
Speaker 1:Alright, man. Let me get out of here. If you're not doing so already, follow my substat catholicadventurer.substat.com. The link is in my bio if you're catching me on Instagram. Instagrammers, you got the right one, baby, the hardest working man in all of Catholic podcasting and the king of Catholic media.
Speaker 1:Write him your pocket. You got me carried around in your pocket if you are following my Instagram. Got a lot of great stuff planned for you. So I hope you're, following me, I hope you enjoy it. John Henry says, let's all sing the greatest John says, let's all sing the greatest American hero together.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, John. You realize if I crack and I decide, okay, I'll make the video available on demand, not just audio, you realize what the thumbnail is going to be now. Right? You did that. That's on you.
Speaker 1:You made that happen. You did that thumbnail. Alright, folks. This has been the Catholic Adventurer, trying like hell to enable and empower you to know the truth, to live the truth, and to be the truth because God wills it. Don't just run to get across the finish line, my brothers and sisters.
Speaker 1:I love you too much to let you do that. Don't just run to finish to get across the finish line. Run to win. Run to win. God bless you, folks.
Speaker 1:God be with you all. Avery, thank you for joining me. JN Broad, thank you for joining me. Those of you on Instagram who I have not been able to acknowledge, thank you for joining me. God bless you, and God be with you.
Speaker 1:Substackers here at Homebase, God bless you, and God be with you all. Signing out of here. Bye bye.
