WOMEN OF GRACE - December 3, 2020 - Guest Dr. Ted Sri

visit ewtnnews.com women of grace with johnnette williams starts now this is women of grace live discussing issues important to your life and faith spiritual insight practical wisdom join us as we transform the world one woman at a time women of grace for such a time as this now here's your host johnette williams good morning everyone and welcome to women of grace live what a pleasure and blessing it is to be with you today as we continue to make our way through this very first week of advent i hope it's been a good week for you i hope that you have planned the way in which you want to sojourn toward the creation of our lord jesus christ and i hope of course that you are allowing yourselves to enter more deeply into the sacred mystery of the incarnation we're going to be talking about some of that with our guest today dr edwards 3 he's going to be with us after the first break i'm always delighted to have ted on our radio program and our television programs we've known each other for many many years and it's always a blessing to be with him i'm always blessed by him and i know you will be today we want you to feel free to call with any questions that you might have let me give you that toll-free number it is toll-free for you right here in north america eight three three two eight eight e w t n that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six always eager to hear what you have to share with us today we certainly do also want to invite you to get out to ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page social media is there for you and it's there for a reason we want to hear from you use that chat feature there to put your questions or comments insights inspirations or words of encouragement up there and we will do our very best to get to you as quickly as we possibly can right here on women of grace live i've been telling you all about this beautiful retreat that's coming up on december the 12th it is our women of grace online advent retreat it is a one day retreat it should fit neatly into your schedule i do know of course that this is a busy time of the year but we should never be too busy to take advantage of the opportunities that god provides for us to enter into a deeper union with his son our lord jesus christ and to allow ourselves the opportunity to be receptive to all that he wants to do in us and all that he wants to do through us and i can tell you one thing that i know from my own life god cannot be outdone in generosity we give him a wee bit and he returns to us an infinitude of grace but he also has the capacity to stretch time so we say oh my goodness though i'm so busy no no the deal is when you're really busy you have to give more time to the lord because he he performs this miracle of time expansion you get more done now does time really expand i don't think so but i think what happens is we become more effective and more efficient in our use of time he orders our steps in a beautiful way and and that's part of the great gratuity who is our lord so you know i certainly do invite you to join us on december the 12th feast of our lady of guadalupe who is the patroness of women of grace uh join us for this beautiful advent online retreat rejoice in the lord always it is the saturday before goldate sunday and we know that that is a sunday of rejoicing and so we want to be sure that you take advantage of this opportunity all of the information is available for you at our website womenofgrace.com just get out there to womenofgrace.com it's number one in the slideshow click on it it will take you to a landing page that will tell you about the beautiful retreat that's coming up and also give you the opportunity to register right there you're going to find the bios of all of our speakers you are also going to find the schedule you will see that things are are kind of centered around the joyful mysteries of the rosary which i think are so outrageously beautiful and we will have this beautiful healing rosary that will close out our event uh on on saturday night it's all out there for you so just get out there and take a look at it now we're gonna have live music from living praise worship team and our guest today dr edward three is going to be one of our speakers and so i know it's just going to be you know an amazing time father peter john cameron will also be with us thomas k sullivan will be with us i will be with you susan brinkman will be with you and i just know that god has great blessings in mind for us we have been very very happy with the numbers of you that have signed up and registered already and uh we we are inviting you to join us if you haven't already signed up and registered the fact that it's an online retreat gives us the opportunity to have many many of you with us so we certainly do hope that you will take a look at that and consider it uh you know as i was saying to you there this this is a time of preparation we're supposed to be preparing us ourselves our hearts our souls our minds our spirits for the coming of the christ child how does jesus want to be birthed anew in you what area of your life does he want to uh become replete with his holy presence you know what area of your life do you think his presence is lacking and how can you begin this process of allowing him to be birthed into that very area so that he can make it new you know revelation 21 verse 5 says behold i make all things new and that's jesus talking to each one of us and this newness that he wants to bring is life on high in him he wants for us truly to experience that abundant life he wants for us to be molded and shaped according to the pattern of his own heart that we might be an influence on others even as we uh are are entering into this deeper relationship with him and you know when we think about those great realities we see how important this time of advent is we see that it's not meant to be just a time that is caught up in the preparation for the day in this in the natural sense but more importantly than that we're to be caught up in the preparation for the day in the supernatural sense in the spiritual sense in this interior preparation that that advent gives us the opportunity to really involve ourselves with so i want to encourage you you know if you haven't yet struck out on a path if you haven't yet come up with a way in which you are going to make this advent perhaps the best advent that you've ever lived then then do so and i know that dr street is going to have some advice and counsel for us on that he's written books about advent we'll be talking about some of those books that are available for you and and we certainly do want for you to take advantage of of all of the beautiful ways in which god wants to regale you in this season right the way in which he wants to build his home within you so that in the creche of your heart he can come and rest with you that is the goal and so we invite you to check out our website womenofgrace.com sign up register for this retreat i think it's going to set you on very good footing it's kind of coming like in the middle of advent and in that way it it really gives you you know it centers you but it also gives you a new thrust for those last weeks of preparation we've got it all coming up for you on december the 12th check it out online in addition to that we're inviting you to call us today 833 288 ewtn that's 833 288-3986 it is the way that you can join us right here on women of grace live where we do love to have that holy conversation with you in addition to that we invite you to use social media ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page is available for you there use the chat feature to put in your question comment inside inspiration or word of encouragement we're coming right back after the break here we have charles barry call screening for us today be sure to give him a big old howdy hay if you're a first time caller let him know so i can ring my first time caller bell to welcome you to our program 833 288 e wtn jeff berson social media manager and our producer will retrieve your questions from ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page looking forward to being with you and dr edward sri on the other side of the break stay with us [Music] beyond damascus with dan danatay and aaron richards is our show for young adults everybody's talking about encounter everybody's talking about that mountaintop experience what we fail to often talk about is what happens after what happens beyond that damascus moment jesus christ is calling all of us to be missionary disciples disciples of jesus who are on mission to bring the kingdom of god here and now on this earth beyond damascus with dan demete and aaron richards saturday at 8 eastern on ewtn radio hi i'm doug keck and this is an ewtn bookmark brief i just had the pleasure of speaking with wife kaufman about her book child consecration to jesus through mary following in the spirit of saint therese the little flower available through the ewtn religious catalogue w10rc.com of course great to see him life tell us what is this book all about oh thank you so much doug for having me on the program uh this takes the traditional st louis de montfort consecration that was presented in the classic book true devotion to mary and unpacks it in a way that children can understand so it's very similar to that but it's made it in a way that children with the help of their parents or teachers can use this to reach jesus through mary thank you so much child consecration to jesus through mary following in the spirit of saint therese the little flower available through our ewtn religious catalog ewtnrc.com and this has been a bookmark brief i'm doug keck i appreciate you stopping by we'll see you next time i didn't take my faith seriously which which probably means i i never really got it to begin with no i didn't want to give up saying the reason we sin is because sin is fun but it's it's self-love sin but it's amazing with god's grace how easy trying to not sin it really is if you've been away from the catholic church for whatever reason we invite you to take another look visit catholicscomehome.org today encouraging women in their gift of authentic femininity here's more women of grace with john ed williams well welcome back everybody we're so happy to have you with us today we certainly are we do love having holy conversation with you right here monday through friday at this same time on women of grace live always inviting you to share your thoughts and ideas with us right here let me give you that toll-free number that you can use uh if you're in north america it is 833 288 ewtn that's 833 288 3 just pick up the phone give us a call we're eager to hear what is on your mind today you can also use the chat feature at ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page we always invite you to get out there and to take a look you can see me there i'm waving to you right now i'm very happy that you're joining us today so let us hear from you 833 288 ewtn or using the chat feature at ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page i am so delighted that dr edward sri is with us today i'm so delighted that he's going to be one of the presenters at this beautiful women of grace online advent retreat that's coming up for you on december the 12th as i mentioned to you at the beginning of the program dr edwards 3 and i have known each other for many many years he was just sharing with me that his oldest child is 20 and i can't get over that because i remember when well she wasn't 20 she was just a baby so how wonderful it is uh to have you with us today how are you doing ted oh doing really well thanks so much good to be with you again here well it's great to be with you too and we're really looking forward to this retreat i want to thank you publicly for accepting our invitation uh you know i know that so many of the people that have signed up have signed up because they want to hear what you have to say and i know that you are going to give us some great insights on advent and on the the finding of jesus you know if you will in the temple of our heart so why don't you share with everybody just a little bit about what you're looking forward to sharing with us at this beautiful online retreat oh you know i love the season of advent it's really my favorite it's it's the one that's kind of i think most counter cultural if you're really living it as a catholic because the rest of the world is celebrating christmas right i mean they've been celebrating christmas since the day after thanksgiving walmart started the day after labor day i think you know but for us as catholics we realize no no christmas actually begins on the 25th and it doesn't end on that day it actually continues all the way to the epiphany and but this is the season of waiting this is the season of anticipation and i i love to think about the uh the the four candles that we have on the advent wreath why do we have four candles well they correspond to the four weeks but why why four weeks why not three three is a a a stronger biblical number it's trinitarian or the number seven why the number four you know it's because the four weeks of advent recall the 4 000 years of biblical salvation history of israel and and humanity longing for the coming of the messiah and so the idea is that we're entering into that yearning that expectation that waiting uh and that's what i i love this season you know to really you know maybe put off all the extra christmas celebration part you know until you know we really get there it's kind of like you don't celebrate uh you you don't celebrate uh jesus christ is risen today on ash wednesday and so you know here in advent we should really be like israel we're waiting we're longing and our we feel in our hearts you know that desire to be in quiet a little more uh peaceful a little more desire for jesus to come in and we want to we want to prepare our hearts to to welcome jesus so so as far as what i'll share i'll talk a little bit about some of that and advent in general but i really uh you you probably would guess this about me and joanna you you you wouldn't even have to ask you would go i bet ted's going to talk about mary and and i i think because she you know she sums up all of israel's hopes and fears of all the years and in her own life and in her own womb she's carrying that child and she has that expectation of all the fulfillment and so i'm probably i'm gonna spend some time with our lady looking at a couple scenes in her journey to bethlehem from that from nazareth to bethlehem and and kind of just really walk with her to keep and ponder with her uh so we can really imitate her in our own walk with with our lord this advent season yeah it's so beautiful and and you're right you know this is one of the i think it was our blessed lady that actually introduced us to each other because it was your first book on mary i think that um i interviewed you on ever so many years ago yes and you know uh she is so central in your life and in your your walk with our lord ted and she should be for all of us and i just want to share with everybody that you've got some lovely books out there and here is one the advent of christ scripture reflections to prepare for christmas i really want to encourage you all to get this book i have to check to see if ewtn's religious catalog carries it but it is available for you uh you know out there on amazon and other booksellers it is a beautiful book and it features this lovely lovely image of our blessed mother on the front cover and then there is a book that i interviewed you on years ago uh that that remains a bestseller and it is uh the dawn of the messiah another really really beautiful book that helps for us to understand the importance of this season but really to to to look from you know the perspective of the jew and that's what you do in the advent of christ to look from the perspective of the jewish person and how they would have seen this all unfolding and just the insight that you gave us you know on those on the four weeks you know and the four thousand years of waiting and anticipation uh these are the the little nuggets that help for us to enter more deeply into the season and to see ourselves as this ongoing uh you know people of god uh that dates back so many years before the coming of our lord yeah you know i think of this season you know the color that features prominently is purple right and and we we have purple also in lent there's a connection between advent and lent they're both penitential seasons and again this is something i don't know if all catholics realize you know that this is a season where we want to do something a little extra for jesus maybe a little sacrifice it's not as intense as lent and certainly not as sorrowful and somber there's a lot of joy and expectation in the season uh but but it's a wonderful thing i think you know for really entering into that that that yearning of israel uh is is to do something and to prepare our hearts so one thing we've done this is a fun story i've been sharing with people recently uh we've done this for all many years where we have a little we put out a little manger on display in our house and the manger is empty it doesn't have the baby jesus in yet it's just an empty manger then we put a bowl of straw next to it little pieces of straw and then when the children make a little sacrifice we encourage them maybe to give up something sacrifice serve in some way when they do that on their own the little kids can go and grab a little straw and put it in the manger and the idea is as the four weeks of advent go by that that manger gets more and more cushion for the baby jesus as he's coming well right away on day one this is sunday just this sunday first sunday of advent we set it out and my kids are bickering at the dinner table about the carpool to school in the morning and they're all because we go in the suburban we go with another family and then some one child has to sit by himself in the back row and they're all saying i don't want to sit there anymore no no you should sit there no no no you should sit there and then all of a sudden my little six-year-old kiara all of a sudden she she gets this big smile on her face all of a sudden she says wait i'll do it i'll sit in the back and beth and i are looking like what where is this coming from she just volunteers and then all of a sudden she smiles and then gets up leaves the table runs to go get the little straw and put it in the manger and i i'm thinking oh man i i we should have advent all year round but uh but i i it's little it's cute with the little kids but it's a good reminder for us adult children of god in this season i think that we want that's what we want to do we want to prepare our hearts like a to make a very beautiful manger for the baby jesus to be born a new you know they're special graces that await us in each season of the liturgical year and and those graces are waiting us for christmas you know so i want to use the advent season to you know to to prepare my heart for for christ and that's why doing a little extra prayer a little extra devotion maybe stopping by the chapel if you can uh if if you're in a place that you know your church is open um you know even if it's from your own home a little extra prayer in the season is a wonderful way to put that straw in your heart for jesus and maybe a little sacrifice you know maybe you just give up something or you fast one day a week you know again it doesn't have to be as intense as lent but something little uh jesus loves us loves it when we do these little acts of devotion uh where we show you know our our kindness our desire to to be with him uh he just rejoices when we do little acts of love like that absolutely 833 288 ewtn that's 833 288 39 that's the way that you can join us today charles barry answering the phones give them a big old howdy hay let them know if you're a first time caller so i can ring that first time caller bell to welcome you to the program also available to you out there at ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page we invite you to use the chat feature to get your question comment insight inspiration or word of encouragement up on the board jeff burson our producer and social media manager will grab them and he'll get them up here for us as well you know maybe in light of what you're saying there ted we should be thinking about what sacrifice will we make and i remember many years ago when i was a little child in catholic school taught by the ascension sisters of charity they would always ask us you know what are you giving up for lent excuse me what are you giving up for advent uh you know it was it was tied into that penitential aspect that we're so familiar with during the lenten season and uh you know in preparation for uh you know our retreat i've been doing some research on advent but in addition to that tomorrow we're gonna have uh with us father peter john cameron on our television program and we're gonna be talking about advent and there's an old book and maybe you know it ted it it's it was out of print for numbers of years and um has been reprinted by ignatius press so it is available and it's called the handbook of of catholic feasts and customs are you familiar with that book at all who's it by oh i knew you would ask me that and i don't i don't remember this mary reed newland that wrote a lot of stuff on this back in the 1950s or so and just and she has a book on liturgical year and feasts and practices but this is a different title so i'm just wondering if it would be titled it was her or it's maybe a new book but yeah it was a priest and years ago i mean it was like it preceded the 50s it's a really old book but at any rate he talks about the fact the way in which um you know this this holy season developed and that from from the uh golic churches uh they had more of an emphasis on uh penitential aspects of of advent and then from the church in rome it was more about this waiting and this anticipating and so they kind of the church kind of came together and unified those so that penitential aspect is never left but it has been less emphasized in recent times i think since the second vatican council actually it's been a little less emphasized but i think what you're sharing with us is very beautiful and it reminds us of the fact that this fasting and sacrificing is very much a part of our catholic tradition share with us a little bit about the importance of fasting why why do we fast what how does that enhance our spiritual life yeah we can sometimes view sacrifices or we think of fasting in particular giving up you know you can fast from social media you can fast from uh you know just wanting to watch your favorite sports team you know so there's many ways you can apply fasting you know in addition to just food and drink but we could think of it as like uh you know i'm trying to be heroic and show improve my muscles my spiritual muscles for god and and that's not i don't i i don't think that's healthy to look at it that way uh i i look at it more as i'm creating space in my soul more for jesus uh there is an element of exercising the muscle don't get me wrong because when you deny yourself in something small like i okay i won't put sugar in my coffee or i won't have that cookie or whatever you know you know when i deny myself in something small it prepares and trains my will to to be able to deny myself for bigger things when my wife needs me to to do something that's going to be really hard or you know my children need my attention in the middle of the night i'd rather be sleeping so i trained my will to make little sacrifices like voluntarily then when the unexpected little crosses come up in life i i actually have that ability my muscles you know that muscle memories there to okay yep life's about doing hard things and here we go you know i've been practicing uh so there is that element and i think that's really good but i but i also think there's another piece of where uh what i'm doing is i i'm checking my attachment to the comforts and pleasures of this world none of those things are bad but but i'm i'm putting in check my attachment to them so that my soul can be more attentive to jesus and my heart may be more longing for him i'm coming in in deeper touch with the the deeper desires in the cavern of my soul uh and and and so when i when i fill my mind with just you know email and social media my favorite show on netflix my favorite sports team i fill my my my desires with oh that favorite drink or that coffee or that beer or this food you know or this snack whatever it is and i i i'm more distracted i'm less attentive to him uh and and so i think the idea of building in some periodic fasting in our lives helps us to then be again more disposed to the the holy spirit the holy spirit's promptings listening to the spirit because i'm not so attached to the things of this world so i think of it in that sense yeah i think that that's the way to think of it uh you know and it's not so much it's an emptying out so that we can be filled it's not an emptying out for the sake of emptying out it's an emptying out for the sake of being filled and so we might want to ask our lord to reveal to us through the illumination of the holy spirit the area of our life that most needs to be if you will prepared for the christ child because it is so attached to the things of the world and i don't think that we have to go very deep some of us might be able to come up with some of those uh areas pretty quickly but the holy spirit knows which area uh you know from from the heavenly perspective through the eyes of god needs to be modified redirected if you will so you know i want to encourage you all to do that and you know we find that this this time of advent uh should really be shaping and forming our time of prayer and i want to talk just for a few moments about the beautiful book that you do have here the advent of christ scripture reflections to prepare for christmas share with us a little bit about how that book can in inspire us and can help to uh pattern our prayer time uh in accordance with this liturgical season yeah you know what what people want to do is to be able to really have some daily you know time with the lord extra some kind of extra devotion like i mentioned earlier and that's what the book's trying to do is it's meant to be like a helpful tool and it carries you to keep really focused in in this month of december when we're so distracted by you know all the pressures of december you know getting things ready going to the christmas plays and going to other there's probably not many christmas plays this this particular year but in general you know most decembers there's the shopping there's the packing there's travel and there's there's all this this pressure well what we want to do is make sure i can carve out that time away from the chaos of everything else going around me and and so i need that time to pray and and so it's biblical reflections based on the story of christmas so it takes you through the what are known as the infancy narratives the beginning of luke's gospel luke 1 2 and the beginning of matthew matthew 1 2. so all the stories of the magi the shepherds zechariah elizabeth john the baptist and most of all mary jesus and joseph and what it does is it just short little reflections that are based on the biblical background of bringing you in to that first century jewish understanding because so many of us were so familiar with these stories we've heard about the idea of an angel appearing to mary you know at the enunciation we hear about a baby laying in a manger but sometimes the story is so familiar we can take it for granted and so what i do is really understand biblically what what does this really mean what did what would this have meant to mary what would this meant to joseph and uh if you were a jew in the first century hearing these stories for the first time you're realizing wow all these prophecies are coming to fulfillment and so what i do is i break down the story into small bite-sized pieces and it carries all through the four weeks of advent and then through the christmas season all the way to the epiphany yeah indeed and so we do want to recommend friends that you take a look at that book written by dr edwards 3 the advent of christmas excuse me the advent of christ scripture reflections to prepare for christmas it's available for you out there through booksellers everywhere we certainly do want you to stay with us we're going to take your questions on the other side of the break let me give you that number that number toll free for you in north america 833 288 e wtn looking forward to talking with you after the break more with dr edwards three stay with us father john ricardo when you and i wake up every day do we strive to know jesus or not quick question to you and me right now is that what you and i are doing every single day the leading catholic voices are on ewtn radio the reason for our hope with father larry richards so this is the last thing that paul writes to his son timothy and now what happens when the holy spirit comes upon somebody which is the key about what it is to be a man is a man who's someone who surrendered to the spirit of god huh and so here he comes second timothy chapter one verse six and seven for this reason i remind you to stir in the flame the gift of god was stowed upon you when my hands were laid upon you and so this is the gift of the holy spirit so this is what the spirit makes us gentlemen spirit that god has given us is no cowardly spirit but one that makes us strong loving and why so what it is to be a man that's filled with the spirit of god is a man who's strong not a wimp who's loving gives away his life and his wise and the one who gives us the greatest example that is who jesus of course now here comes another thought from mother angelica's perpetual calendar the whole advent season is about merciful love we look upon god's infinite mercy and know he finds such joy in coming to us and that he finds joy in forgiving us mother angelica's perpetual calendar features an inspirational message for each day of the year it's available from the ewtn religious catalogue at ewtnrc.com that's ewtnrc.com it's a gift to live with or serve those with special needs that's what we'll be talking about today at noon eastern time on take two with jerry and debbie on most of these ewtn stations now we return to women of grace transforming the world one woman at a time let's return to women of grace with johnette williams welcome back everybody we are so happy you are with us today we're eager to hear from you 833 288 ewtn that's the number to use if you're here in north america it's toll-free for you 833-288-3986 also available to you via social media and all you need to do is to get out to ewtn radio's youtube channel and or facebook page and use the chat feature there to get your question up on the board we have charles barry on phones today filling in for ryan penny and we have jeff berson our producer and social media manager out there retrieving those questions that you leave for us at ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page our guest today is dr edwards three i'm always happy to have the opportunity to spend time with ted we've known each other many many years and he does such a beautiful beautiful job of helping us to understand sacred scripture to lead us more deeply into the mysteries of christ through sacred scripture and really to educate us about the wonders that are ours through our catholic faith so i thank you for all of that uh ted and um we do have some callers we're gonna go to those phone lines again it's 833 288 ewtn that's 833-288-3986 and i should mention and want to mention uh that dr sri will be one of our speakers one of our presenters at our women of grace online advent retreat coming up december the 12th all of the info available for you at our website womenofgrace.com we invite you to check it out the slideshow that features it is a is a hyperlink click on that it'll take you to a landing page you can read all about it there read the bios of our speakers see the schedule and guess what you can register there because we like to make it easy breezy for you so please do carve that time out of your day it's a one day retreat but i can tell you it will really enhance the rest of your journey to the creation of the christ child during this advent season well we've got some calls here ted and they're not specifically related to our topic i do want to invite you to call us with questions related to our topic today as well as other questions 833 288 ewtn that's 833-288-3986 we have pam with us and she's in your neck of the woods dad she's in denver colorado she's listening to us via serious station 130 good morning pam how are you i'm good janet thanks for taking my call i wanted to i wanted to ask you a question i heard about the miraculous medal on your program and a girlfriend of mine bought me one and i just wanted to know if the holy spirit was saying anything to you about this but i'm coming back into the catholic church i'm in the process of pursuing an annulment i really been praying a lot about that and i was praying about it one morning this was a few weeks ago and i took my sweater off i had another shirt underneath and my miraculous medal came off of the chain miraculously because the necklace stayed on my the chain state on my neck but the metal fully came off onto the chair and i just assumed the clasp had like opened and it had you know come off but then when i examined it um there's no it's just soldered completely full circle um you know the way it attaches to the chain so i took it to a jeweler i was saying how how could have this come off of the chain you know what the chain stayed on my neck and the anyway if she didn't have any explanation the jeweler couldn't explain it um but i didn't know if that if you know the holy spirit was saying anything to you about what that means or if i should i'm just taking it that i should keep moving forward in my faith it was quite a miraculous thing i was pretty shook up about it actually when it happened so anyway i wanted to call and ask you about it well thank you thank you pam for your call and i just want to congratulate you on your decision to come home that that just brings joy to my heart and throws me to no end and and what a beautiful movement of grace god is working in you and working through you and as far as the annulment goes you know i i don't know what the situation is uh with regard to all of that and certainly wouldn't want to comment on that i know that you must be receiving some advice and counsel from a priest and you have made some progress at least it sounds as though uh in in filling out the paperwork and and doing what's required there and um but you know there are god does want to communicate with us now whether or not he's telling you something special in this incident i don't know and i don't want to turn this to ted for a moment and then i'll come back but you know ted is sacred scripture is filled with signs and wonders that god does so that his intentions are known so that we know what his will is how should we in our daily lives begin to uh respond to unusual circumstances uh that take place such as pam is describing yeah you know i think there's different degrees of this i think there's certain times where god is directly maybe intervening and pointing something out to us and uh in in dramatic ways and then there's other times where things just happen in life and then we're the ones making a connection but it's a good connection you know or maybe like we sense oh this this is i oh this is a great you know a sign i think i i interpret this as i'm on the right path and whether it was a you know intervention from god you know or it was just in god's providence this event happens but i see meaning in it god uses can use those moments too as as as a moment of grace a moment of encouragement a moment of challenge you know uh so i think in any case that it sounds like this has been something important to you pam this moment and you know i wouldn't spend too much time worrying was it was this like you know an angel appearing to me at that level you know you know god intervening more directly or or is what it was the point is that you you this was momentous for you and you know and it's a great this this this miraculous medal you know it's a wonderful expression a sign the fact that somebody you know encouraged you that was definitely you know and god's providence gave that to you and and that that devotion to the miraculous medal is it's just you know it's it's a it's a sign of our devotion to jesus and to our lady and and and what it does is it it's like all devotions it prepares our hearts to receive grace and be disposed to cooperate with grace and cooperate with the promptings of god's spirit in our life and so uh i i think you know keep that devotion going keep moving forward on what you're looking at you know assuming you're working with the good folks here in the archdiocese on the annulment and uh and enough most of all keep moving forward and in uh your walk you know into in as a disciple of the lord in the catholic church yeah excellent excellent insights and excellent advice and counsel there ted and i would say this too pam you know what is so beautiful about your call is the fact that you are really seeking the lord uh you know you wouldn't have even made that connection that maybe god was saying something to you through this if in fact you really were not seeking him and this is a beautiful time of the year where we are seeking the lord we're seeking god we're seeking his guidance we're preparing for the coming of the christ child and all that he wants to do within us and in a certain way you're seeking the same reality here you're seeking for christ in your life and whether or not he's leading you forward in this annulment or he's certainly leading you back to the church i don't think that there's any question about that so you know in light of what um dr ceria shared my suggestion is just take it into your time of prayer and say to the lord you know okay so i don't know if this is a you know just one of those little things that happens in life you know an everyday occurrence in some way or because it touched me so deeply and profoundly i don't know if you're trying to speak a word to me but if you are i am open to receive it so clarify it for me help me to see and then as as doctors three said just let it go and and god in his his mercy and kindness and goodness will hear that prayer and if there's something more about it he's gonna let you know it you don't have to worry about it how does that sound that sounds great thank you so much you're welcome so much we appreciate your call today and we thank you for calling and you can call us two friends eight three three two eight eight ewtn that's 833-288-3986 that is the way that you can join us here live on women of grace live where we love to have that holy conversation with you let charles barry know if you're a first time caller so we can ring our first time caller bell for you in addition to that we're available to you as well through ewtn radio's youtube channel and facebook page use the chat feature and we will get your question up on the board through the uh happy work of jeff burson our producer and social media manager we have maria with us and she's in plymouth massachusetts today listening to us via station of the cross and she is a first time caller and so we welcome you maria how are you i'm fine thank you good what is your question thank you for uh answering my call my question is i've been getting a few emails from lifesight news about the new vaccine that's coming out either in moderner i believe and um it was saying that it is made from aborted fetal parts and it would be unethical for us to get that vaccine i want to know what you think and what do you think the church's standing is on it well that's an excellent question um ted do you have any background in this that you would like to share or any knowledge about this vaccine you know i don't know the particulars on it so i i wouldn't be able to comment on the particular these at least i will say a general comment you know the biotechnology world just keeps growing we are faced with ever more complicated situations you know that are so unfortunate you know uh and so uh i don't know the particulars on this particular one though well i and i have to agree with you on that and i think maria that this is where we find ourselves as catholics you know there is so much that is going on and we have as as as a as a nation and unfortunately um as a as a medical research community uh become so um what do i want to say so insensitive to the fact that life begins at conception uh and and so insensitive to the fact that that the human person and the dignity of the human person should reign supreme over the decisions that we make on how it is that we go about research and what material we use for research and in this case we're not using it just just material we're using again the body parts of of children who have been killed in the wombs of their mothers and that's horrendous and the fact that we as a nation and as a medical research community have grown so insensitive to that reality just shows you where we are now i i want to recommend that you go to a website and here's the website i want you to go to the national catholic bioethics center's website okay it's ncbc center ncb ncbcenter.org and there are articles in there that you can use the search engine to find that have to do with the very question you're raising not long ago as a matter of fact just about a week ago and you can go out to ewtn's um website ewtn.com or go to the app and you you should be able to find this interview that i did with dr joseph uh mini who is the president of the national catholic bioethics center we talked about this very thing and he explains to us about these these uh cell lines right uh and he um helps for us to look at this through the lens of our catholic faith and he does a much better job than i can do so i want to recommend that you go out to ncb center ncbcenter.org and just use the um use the um uh search feature there i think the article that that we uh referenced was one that he wrote on november the 13th uh i think so so you might check that out and i think that you're going to find the answers that you're looking for and we thank you for your call today and you know what i want to share here um ted is is that you know isn't it unfortunate isn't it sad that we should be having to look at the bioethical realities of these things and try to determine if this is according to church teaching or not because of the of the way in which we have advanced as a nation in these negative areas yeah and you just get the sense it's only going to get more complicated and much worse i mean this is a culture of death that does not that's where we're living in and we're you know it's an evil thing uh that that we are using aborted children uh for experimentation we're using it for other you know it's for other people's lives there is it really is yeah it's bringing out this idea that it's the powerful against the weak the weakest of all human beings is the baby in the womb you know saint john paul ii said you know you can't imagine a child more dependent on on others you know and needing others and yet you know we we kill we kill the babies in the womb uh in our culture and then we're using them and exploiting them for our own our own benefit uh so it is a grave evil uh and and and you can go to the political council as well uh in the academy for life you know that they've got great resources as well but i think the one here in the united states probably be the easiest one the one you mentioned to go to to sort those things out yeah absolutely and you know it reminds me of the fact that here we are you know we're in the advent season right uh this is this is the time when when our we we think of baby jesus growing in the womb of mary right uh and and we see uh just just by virtue of the incarnation you know the value that we have as human persons i mean jesus is true god true man hypostatic union there but nonetheless the humanity of jesus uh it says something about our humanity about how precious we are and and as we move through this season and and find our way all the way to christmas to his birth i don't know how we can put that alongside of the heinous practices that have become a part of our our nat our national culture and and so uh you know misunderstood as well as marketed and that's that's so very very upsetting so we have lots to pray about during this advent season and you were talking about these little sacrifices to prepare ourselves for the coming of the christ child a beautiful way uh that we can unite that sacrifice for the sake of the children growing in the wombs there of their mothers right now praying for them to be brought to term uh you know i was sharing with you before we started our program today that um um my my daughter thea is pregnant with baby number eight a little boy we've discovered and she just sent some pictures yesterday ultrasounds and and you look at this little one growing in her womb everything is there it's absolutely amazing what you can see and when you look at at that uh those ultrasound pictures and you see what's taking place in the mother's womb it it just reminds you of of the call that is ours to continue to pray for an end of abortion to do everything that we can uh in in our power to prevent more abortions from taking place and that's our civic responsibility and duty it's our our spiritual responsibility and duty and all of us need to take it most seriously so i want for all of you to get out there to the national catholic bioethics center's website and read the articles that are available for you there we appreciate it very very much inviting you to give us a call and the number for you to use is toll free in north america it's 833 288 ewtn that's 833-288-3986 um so you know when we uh move forward in in this time of advent ted um you know and we look at this union between our spiritual lives and our practical living out of that spiritual life in the world today what would you say we can do to enhance that connection yeah well you know i think some things we've talked about here my spirit director always asks me uh what are you gonna do in advent and and kind of like your your teachers when you're growing up what are you gonna what's your pendant's gonna be a sacrifice but then i also get asked so and then what's your devotion so i think those are are two great things that we want to keep in mind some kind of little sacrifice some extra devotion uh and and because when we do these things again like we talked about earlier it is it is preparing our heart uh for for christ for a deeper encounter we encounter him in prayer we encounter him and in the little sacrifices we make but another thing i'd like to think about is i always liked in advent to think of of mary at different moments and one of the points i'll probably make uh at the conference next week is looking at a line that you find in luke chapter 1 verse 39 where it's right after the annunciation it's the beginning of the visitation scene and it tells us that mary went with haste to visit her kinswoman elizabeth and i love thinking about this moment here because december is a month of haste isn't it i don't do we feel like we're running in haste you know you're running in haste to the mall you're running in haste to the post office wearing haste to clean and to cook and to get packages ready you know and and it's all wonderful right it's because we love people we want to be with others and express our love but sometimes all of that worldly haste can distract us from what matters most and so i always like to think of mary if there ever was a woman that kind of had an excuse for feeling overwhelmed i think it would be merry you know i don't know about you but when i when i get overwhelmed like if i'm on a book deadline i get to the final weeks or some project at work or maybe something at home my weakness is when i when i'm feeling the pressure i can i can become very self-centered and beth will call me out on that okay you're going self-centered mode here you know because i'm so worried about the things i need to do uh and i don't want to be like that i want to be more like mary if there ever was a woman that said you know i got a lot going on i got a lot to get ready for i mean she's got the the holy son of god in her womb she's going to give birth to you would understand if she if she heard elizabeth was pregnant and said oh i'll just send her a text message you know i don't want to make that big journey you'd go oh i understand yeah she's got to get ready for the baby jesus you know but that's what she does mary goes in haste and she goes in haste after what matters most the people in her life she goes in haste after her her son jesus keeping and pondering the mysteries in her heart uh and i think that's a good thing to think about this season will be going haste after the people in our lives our spouse our children are we just busy with all the the the the busyness of the season will we go in haste to jesus to the chapel to the scriptures to prayer um maybe one one one little story i'll share uh it's a friend of mine told me this a couple years ago we're talking about the busyness of december and advent and he said yeah you know i grew up in a great catholic home and and and every year my my mom got all into christmas and all these things and we had relatives over and all the gifts and and in those couple weeks leading up to advent it was always stressful around the house i mean we prayed we were catholic but it was stressful you know and there was all this tension and mom would lose her temper sometimes and she wasn't as present to us and you know but everything we all you know it seemed all fine you know just this is what happens but at the end of christmas day december 25th after all the guests leave and they open up the final presents when it was all done mom would all of a sudden start to cry and just say i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm sorry i lost my temper with you i'm sorry i i wasn't as present i'm sorry there was this tension and and and so she really was sad about it and then the same thing happened next year and the next year and the next year and i think that's an invitation to all of us to say let's let's not let's not end december 25th with that sorrow of looking back going i shouldn't have focused on all those other things let's run after what matters most to be present to our children present to our spouse present to the people in our lives as best we can yeah yeah i i i love uh i love the infancy narratives that are given to us in luke and i spend a whole lot of time in luke 1 and luke 2. and that beautiful moment when mary makes haste you know that that wasn't an easy journey uh in addition to that it was a pretty long journey so mary had a whole lot of time to to contemplate that which was taking place within her and and i think about that too you know that that we need to contemplate what is god doing in me and she arrives at the home of zechariah and elizabeth she carries the christ child i've heard it said and maybe you've said it uh too ted you know it was the first eucharistic procession right because she she's carrying a baby jesus right and she carries him into the home of zechariah and elizabeth and something miraculous happens there and salvation comes into that home that day and you know we are all called to be pregnant with the life of jesus within us within our soul so that that every encounter that we have uh produces the same kind of a result so i i think that the advice you've given us the insights you've given us will hold us in good stead uh through this advent season and i want to invite all of you to join us on december the 12th for our women of grace online advent retreat dr sree will be with us the schedule is out there for you valerie wanted to know what time does it start 9 30 a.m is music and welcome it ends at 9 55 p.m saturday but there is a big break in the middle of the day for you so we invite you to get out to the website thank you for being with us ted it's always a blessing god bless all of you bye bye now [Music] do you have a loved one

Channel: EWTN

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Length: 54min 10sec (3250 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 03 2020