Episode Transcript  

One

A Lost Son

Yesterday was the memorial of Bl. Bartolo Longo, but since he shares the day with St. Faustyna, will reflect on his life today. He was born in 1841 in a small town on Italy’s Adriatic coast. His parents were devout Catholics, and his mother especially nurtured his faith. But when Bartolo was only ten, she died, and that wound ran deep. Restless and skeptical, he slowly drifted from the Church.

At seventeen, he went to Naples to study law. The city at that time was a cauldron of anti-Catholicism and fascination with the occult. Séances, mediums, and secret societies flourished. In this environment, Bartolo abandoned his faith completely and, seeking something beyond the ordinary, immersed himself in spiritism. Curiosity hardened into devotion, and he soon became entangled in darker practices.

Eventually, he was initiated into a Satanist circle. By his own admission, he was “ordained” a priest of Satan after fasting and ritual consecration to a demon. He began presiding over ceremonies and preaching against God and the Church, calling them the true “evils.”

The effects were devastating. His health collapsed. Depression, hallucinations, fevers, and insomnia left him broken. In this torment, he suddenly heard the voice of his deceased father urging him, “Return to God! Return to God!”

Two

The Way Back Through Friendship

It was at this low point that the grace of God came to Bartolo in the form of a friend. Vincenzo Pepe was both a lawyer and professor of philosophy at the University of Naples, but more importantly, he was a devout Catholic and a man of deep charity. When others avoided Bartolo, whose extremism and violent mood swings made him difficult company, Pepe drew near. He did not begin with arguments, condemnations, or warnings. He began with friendship.

Pepe spent time with Bartolo, listened to him, asked questions, and sought to understand him. This was no formula or quick fix, but a sustained and patient friendship, the kind that builds trust and allows grace to work slowly and deeply. Through this genuine care, Pepe became a bridge. With persistence and compassion, he eventually invited Bartolo to meet a holy Dominican priest, Father Alberto Radente.

Fr. Radente was the perfect guide for Bartolo’s brokenness: steady, humble, and deeply consecrated to Mary through the Rosary. He did not sensationalize Bartolo’s torment, but offered the antidote, Christ, the sacraments, and Mary’s refuge. At first, Bartolo resisted when urged to go to Confession, fearing his sins were beyond forgiveness. But with Pepe’s encouragement and Radente’s persistence, he finally surrendered.

That Confession broke Satan’s chains at last. In that moment, God broke the devil’s power, poured His grace back into Bartolo’s soul, and welcomed him back as His child.

Three

Apostle of the Rosary

Even though God had forgiven him, Bartolo could not forgive himself. One evening, as he walked near the ruined church in Pompeii, he was overwhelmed by despair and nearly took his life. Later, he wrote, “As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my head of the voice of the Dominican Priest, repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ‘Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!’ Falling to my knees, I exclaimed, ‘If your words are true that he who propagates your Rosary will be saved, I shall reach salvation because I shall not leave this earth without spreading your Rosary.’”

From that moment, his life had one purpose: to begin with friendship and lead people to the Rosary, and he became forever known as the Apostle of the Rosary.

Four

Make the Rosary a Meditation 

Blessed Bartolo Longo had the habit of meditating on the whole life of Jesus and all His teachings that are found in the Catechism while praying the Rosary, not limiting himself to the traditional mysteries. It was this practice of Bl. Bartolo, that inspired St. John Paul II to add the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary. In his letter on the Rosary the Pope said, “even with the addition of the luminous mysteries, the mysteries of the Rosary do no more than outline the fundamental elements of the life of Christ, they should easily draw the mind to a more expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel, especially when the Rosary is prayed in a setting of prolonged recollection.” Rosarium 29

Bartolo Longo saw the daily Rosary as a spiritual journey with two friends, Jesus and Mary. As we spend time with them, day after day, in the Rosary, we start to become like them, little by little. 

John Paul was captivated by the idea of the Rosary as a spiritual journey with friends and so he wrote, “Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding conversation with Jesus and Mary, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, (that is, in friendship with them) we can become, to the extent of our openness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”. Rosarium 15

Five

Our Method

We all know that you can’t just go up to someone who wants nothing to do with Christ and the Church and say, “Hey, why don’t you try praying the Rosary!?” That’s why our method for evangelization isn’t the Rosary. It’s friendship. 

Why do we keep repeating this? Because no matter how often it’s said, people will always ignore the simple and obvious solution. Instead, everyone turns towards programs, institutions, and the latest, most helpful self-help book. They blame their priests, and the culture, and really, all they’re doing is avoiding the real solution. If you want to help a loved one back to Christ, the solution is not a program. Pray for them. Offer sacrifice for them. Develop a genuine friendship with them and have a good conversation. And when God opens the door, invite them to encounter Him. 

Again, what is the real solution? PRAYER. SACRIFICE. FRIENDSHIP. GOOD CONVERSATION. In that order. 

Keep your resolution simple, and don’t put it off. Who can you invite to coffee, to drinks, to your house? Who can you get to know better? How quickly can you get them on your schedule? Do it now, do it immediately. Don’t wait. If you can’t find the time, make the time. Because this IS the method. 

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