Jonathan Roumie on The Chosen, Jim Caviezel, Scott Hahn, and His Most Profound Fan Encounter

good evening mike aquilina cardinal pell dr scott and kimberly hahn how can one not be impressed wow this is uh this is totally humbling um and then i'm here i don't know how i ended up on this stage i think they said cardinal pell was surfing or something i said yeah sure i'll come by huh but thank you so much scott thank you for inviting me here thank you to all my new friends at the saint paul center and everyone here in attendance uh and those who are joining us live streaming i didn't know about that it's a lot of people watching oh pressure okay um as dr han said before today he and i had only ever spoken on the phone and um we never met in person and so that this was a pretty monumental day for me um i'd been a fan and reader of his writing for years uh in fact dr han actually i brought every book you ever wrote for you to autograph uh and a few you didn't right i hope that's okay we got time right i'm here tomorrow um but in all seriousness uh i would love to share a little bit about my journey tonight um playing christ in a very specific way but starting with the the two most frequent questions i get asked about this experience number one what's it like to play jesus and number two have you met jim kavisel from the passion of the christ let's get the second one out of the way no i have i have not i have not i hear he's a wonderful man um if i had a dollar for everyone that asked me that question i would donate it all to st paul center so they continue to promote life transforming scripture study from the heart of the church um seriously folks don't be cheap okay you know what they say about catholics with protestants tithe catholics tip let's change that let's try to change that tonight please thank you too much to ask i actually once read in a social media comment and i i rarely read them now because well let's be honest if you really want to know what it's like playing jesus just read some of my the comments on my pages and it's like i've got a skull ring i'm a demon dweller i mean like you know i'm masonic i'm evil incarnate i'm the antichrist i'm all sorts of stuff so it's it's uh jesus apparently uh doesn't apply uh approve rather of the skull that's in your own head um and uh people don't know much about memento mori so i try to just educate them on the value of um understanding that life is fleeting and temporary and this just reminds me that all of this could be gone tomorrow so why not focus on a holier life today so that's my response to that [Applause] thank you so after like uh half a dozen people expressing their steady assurance that they could connect jim and i together uh without success i might add it's not happened i'm beginning to think that um well i actually i skipped something i wrote and so this joke will not make sense if i read it uh but one of the things actually in the social media comments i did read this that if jim and i if the film jesus and the tv jesus jim being the film jesus ever actually met in person what was it the universe might implode and since it hasn't happened i'm starting to think the theory is maybe plausible i don't know i don't know what's going to happen if that happens just pray for me please but instead of giving you my own personal reactions to what it's like to play uh christ i'd like to tell you a brief story about somebody else's reaction which happened a couple of weeks ago which simply reinforces all of the profound blessings and graces that god has already bestowed upon me on on this journey so a couple of producers and i were at breakfast in utah a few weeks back as i said when all of a sudden this woman just approached the table i didn't even see her walk up and asked me very tentatively excuse me are you jonathan rooney which is still very strange that people know my name and i don't know them i'm not nobody gives you a handbook on celebrity it just it just kind of happens and it's very bizarre just just so you know and so when i acknowledged that i was she literally fell down on her knees next to me and with both hands clutched my arm and squeezed while on the verge of tears mystified that i was actually sitting there and i myself was in a slight state of shock because that that was the first time something so intense took place with a personal encounter she kept saying to me as she squeezed my arm it's really you you're really real you're here and for a moment i couldn't quite be sure of of the situation or even her state of mind because of the intensity of this and and looking at her it also became clear to me that um life had not really been easy for this woman or her husband who stood just a few feet away just kind of keeping his distance and kind of in a state of shock and just and just smiling so i was truly at a loss for words and i asked her her name and for the sake of the story i'll call her jennifer so i stretched out my hand and i said hi jennifer i'm jonathan so that she'd be sure to hear me make the distinction between the character i play and me personally and as i said her name she just closed her eyes and buried her head in my shoulder and began to weep so i embraced her and she clung to me as if i imagined she would if jesus himself were holding her while i did my best to keep it together and for a few moments all time seemed to stop god was present in the room making it clear to me that all i needed to do was to be present for her in that moment knowing that he himself could use the opportunity to give this woman some kind of refreshment or hope or healing or whatever it was that she was dealing with never thinking for a moment that i was responsible for any of this but that i was merely a lowly stand-in for the holy spirit a meager messenger as it were and so she composed herself and looking at me she said i know you're a person i know you're an actor i know you're jonathan but you see i've been praying for a sign today my two children have been taken into custody by the courts and i have an appointment we have an appointment at 11am to try to get them back so seeing you sitting here as the embodiment of christ is a sign for me that god is listening and that he's here and you're here so thank you thank you a few more moments went by and one of my producer friend who has a gift for spontaneous spirit-led prayer asked jennifer if she could pray for her and so we did the three of us our new friend jennifer and her husband circled up and allowed god's spirit to preside and fill this woman up if only for a brief moment to give her enough courage to go on her way through the next step of her mission and trial on this earth so armed with some newfound peace and a few pieces of chosen merch i just happened to have handy she and her husband left looking several layers lighter and i was once again given the deeply profound reassurance that this is what god has called me to do on this earth at least for now thank you [Applause] and those things are to do my part representing his image through my work in the chosen as well as being a witness in my personal life to his grace and providence bringing the fullness of the gospels made manifest in the spirit of our savior jesus christ into my depiction to encapsulate and serve that spirit as best and humbly as i can using the gifts god has lovingly bestowed upon me none of which i deserve not a single one and to help as he calls all of us those who are suffering and in pain in whatever way the opportunities present themselves to provide a glimpse of hope and respite for those simply seeking encouragement or a word of affirmation and to remind all with ears willing to listen that each one of us every one of you seated here has the ability to be a vessel for the spirit to each other and indeed is christ's mandate as we remember his words in matthew 25 verse 40. king will reply truly i tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters did for me our god is the god of mercy our god is the god of compassion our god is the god of truth and forgiveness and the god of life no matter what our no matter what your gifts may be let us use those gifts for the betterment of society much in the same way dr and mrs hahn have along with the saint paul center having served the community of catholic faithful as well as the spiritual truth seekers for the past 20 years you all here continue to be a gift to us now and for generations to come doctor god bless you all it's been an honor to be here thank you [Applause] you

Channel: St. Paul Center

Views: 949,642

Keywords:

Id: yfXSvc_MAVI

Length: 13min 41sec (821 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 03 2021