Episode Transcript  

One

The Program is Jesus

St. John Paul II gave us the plan for the next thousand years when he wrote Novo Millennio Ineunte. We don’t need a “new” program. We are not saved by programs. We are saved by a Person, we are saved by Jesus Christ. He said, “The program already exists: it is the plan found in the Gospel. Ultimately, it has its center in Christ himself, who is to be known, loved and imitated, so that in him we may live the life of the Trinity, and with him transform history until its fulfilment in the heavenly Jerusalem.”

Then he reminded us that with the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, "a river of living water, the water that continually flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb (cf. Rev 22:1), has been poured out on the Church.” An ocean of grace and mercy has been poured out upon the world.

So Jesus is calling us to “put out into the deep”. Commit to Holiness as the purpose of life.

“Since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity…It means to set before them the radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Mt 5:48).”

So, “The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction.”

And put our into the deep, duc in altum, for to catch souls and help them to God. This is the time of the New Springtime of Evangelization.

Two

The Primacy of Grace 

There is a temptation which attacks every spiritual journey and pastoral plan, that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to plan and act. But our holiness and the salvation of others is the work of God. We are called to cooperate with him by habits of holiness. Living by the power of the Holy Spirit through Mary. Being nourished by Jesus regularly in the Eucharist and healed in Reconciliation. Practicing daily meditation on the Word of God with a resolution, by which good actions become virtues and transform us in love. Learning the fullness of the Catholic faith and way of life. Removing the destructive forces of sin and the near occasions of sin. Living a well-ordered, balanced life through a plan of life. Building bridges of friendship so we can cross over to others and help them cross over to God.

Christ saves us and our loved ones. Our job is to commit to the practices that allow Him to live and work through us.

Three

Prayer is the Way

Jesus wants to live in and through us. He gives his divine life to us through the Eucharist and Reconciliation. We open up and receive His life by prayer. Therefore, John Paul says we need a genuine training in holiness distinguished above all in the art of prayer. And our Christian communities must become genuine schools of prayer.

The two greatest teachers on prayer are John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.

“However,” John Paul II writes, “it would be wrong to think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow prayer that is unable to fill their whole life. Especially in the face of the many trials to which today's world subjects faith, they would be not only mediocre Christians but "Christians at risk". They would run the insidious risk of seeing their faith progressively undermined and would perhaps end up succumbing to the allure of "substitutes", accepting alternative religious proposals and even indulging in far-fetched superstitions. It is therefore essential that education in prayer should become in some way a key-point of all the Church’s work.”

Therefore, we must be people who are first and foremost people of deep prayer, who invite others into prayer with us and who are committed to teaching others how to pray. One of the best ways to do that is through the Rosary.

Four

The Fruit is Communion

We are in a spiritual war, and there are two kinds of casualties. People who are estranged from God and estranged from one another, isolated and alone. John Paul II then says we must “make the Church the home and the school of communion: that is the great challenge facing us in the millennium…, if we wish to be faithful to God's plan and respond to the world's deepest yearnings.”

A spirituality of communion means: the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us. It means the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as a "gift for me".

It means to know how to "make room" for our brothers and sisters, bearing "each other's burdens" (Gal 6:2) and resisting the selfish temptations which constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy.

It means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith as "those who are a part of me". This makes us able to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship. It means living the art of friendship.

Five

Friendship is the Mission

We live in a world collapsing into loneliness, with fewer real friendships and more fractured relationships. How are we going to turn this around?

Friendship is the bridge by which we cross over to others and help them cross over to God. If we want our loved ones to come closer to Jesus, then we cannot begin with arguments, pressure, lectures, or correction. We have to begin with friendship.

Friendship is a bond between two or more people united in pursuing something greater than themselves. And how is that bridge built? Friendship is built through shared activity. It grows when we do good things together: meals, walks, work, recreation, prayer, projects, books, games, coffee, hunting, fishing, music, service, and ordinary time spent together.

But doing things together is not enough. We also have to talk while we do them. Good conversation is one of the main ways friendships are formed. It is how we come to know another person. It is how we discover what they love, what they fear, what they are carrying, what they hope for, what they are confused about, and where God may already be working in their life.

Good conversation is not just filling the silence. It is not dominating the room. It is not proving a point. It is not waiting for your turn to talk. Good conversation is an act of love. It says to the other person: I know, understand, love, and care for you. And when people experience that, the walls come down. Their hearts begin to open. That is how friendship becomes apostolic. Good conversation is not merely a social skill. It is an apostolic skill. It is one of the practical ways we love people, accompany them, and help them open their lives to God.

So, if we want to help our loved ones get to Heaven, we must learn how to build friendships, and we must learn how to speak with people in a way that opens the heart. That is why we have to learn the art of good conversation.

Ask. Listen. Help them reflect. Invite but leave them free, always ready to accompany them on their journey to God.

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