09-08-26 Spirit Mornings Show

0:00This podcast courtesy of the Spirit Catholic Radio Network to learn more about Spirit Catholic Radio including how to support Spirit Catholic Radio and other great programs on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network head to SpiritCatholicRadio.com or download the Spirit Catholic Radio app. Thank you so much for supporting Spirit Catholic Radio. KVSS, Per billion, 05, K2, K7, Columbus, KMA, YLB, work, KVK, ALP, Niatrist, K2, 0, AGM, FALCITY, KTT, EMPL, SCATS, Bluff, DARREN, K217, GGM, Chevin, TLD, HLB, Lian, STJ, TLD, ALP, CID, A&K, PLB, Imperial, KW, OGALA, Spirit Catholic Radio. Woooooooo! We clean up, we clean, we clean up. I'm kinda good, woo, woo, woo, long wearable. I'm the way downstairs and drank a cup. You know I'm excited? I'll tell you why I'm excited. Because of you, that's why I'm excited. This is Spirit Monks with Gen Brown and Damien Montez on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network.

1:08Well, good Monday, not so fast. Good Tuesday morning, September 8th, 2026, in the year of our Lord, I'm Damien Montez. Jeb, I shite Philanon for Gen Brown and you. That's what makes up Spirit Monks here on the Spirit Catholic Radio Network with our CEO, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We hope your Labor Day weekend was blessed and full of rest. Jeb, how was yours? What'd you do? Well, I went back to Des Moines, a commissioner of fantasy football league. We got 12 guys in there. You're the commissioner. The commissioner. Well, that's a big role. Yeah, I used to do a lot. I used to be the commissioner. I didn't want it anymore. No, it's not a fun role because everybody likes to hate on the commissioner, but it's all in good fun. So yeah, we have some buddies over from grade school, high school. One of them is a priest, actually. So we have some buddies over there. I also got some family that's in there as well. My father, my uncle, my godfather's actually in this league and then his son, Luke, is in our league. You really kind of have to let your godfather win, don't you?

2:10Isn't that how that works? He's got this title. I guess his favorite stuff, the animal when he was a kid, was Grover. Grover from Grover was awesome. Sesame Street. Yeah, Sesame Street. Super Grover Grover. Super Grover. Yeah, so he was the monster at the end of the book. So he's the youngest of nine in my dad's side of the family. And so his team name is Grover's Revenge. He's going to get his revenge eventually. But he's never gotten it, actually. Ever pictured Grover's eventual muppet before, but that's interesting. This is. Yeah, he's been seeking his revenge. And the football has not been able to achieve this yet. He's been in an art league for, I don't know, six, seven years at this point. And he hasn't been able to pull it off. So we'll see. But yeah, we had our draft and had some guys over and got to enjoy that. Do you do the draft or the app? Grades your draft afterwards. Oh, yeah. How'd you do? Well, according to the draft grade, I got to see, which was not good. Yeah.

3:10But I use a fantasy football AI app. So it's a different app that you can import your league into. And that's the one I trust. Yeah. And that one I got first in. But, you know, you know, the app that we used, we had our fantasy draft. And the app we use uses a BCDF. Yeah, right. And I got a D this year. Now, I'm excited about this. And I'll tell you why. Because the last three years that I got a grade of A on the draft, I came in last place in the league. So by that process of elimination, you would think, because I get a D, I should win the league this year. Or I'm going to do so horrible. I won't even place. I don't know how that'll work out. But, you know, when I looked at our draft, like I said, we got 12 guys in there. And I looked at them. I'm like, no one's really that bad. No one was really that great. Like everybody's kind of close. Yeah. And the draft, you know, has its grades. Here's my thing. With fancy football, it's not just a one day event. The draft is important, of course. But then you have the whole season that you're trying to play the waiver wires and make trades.

4:11Right. Sit and start different guys. So really it's, it's a weekly game. Yeah. So if you just go off the draft grade that's really deceiving because you got to play the whole season. And it's important. I think there's a Wednesday game. That's right. There's one day game. So you want to have your team set up tomorrow night. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it was it was a weekend of, there was a lot of rest, a lot of football, a lot of drama in football. Nebraska pulled it off. That was awesome. The Husker volleyball team played at Regley Field or they were at Regley Field. That was weird. It was too humid. They kept having a wipe off the court at Regley Field. But it still looked like they were having a good time there. I don't even want to get into the Michigan West Michigan thing because that's the good. That was all over social media. Did you watch that live? You know, I did. And any of us who have lived here in Nebraska, we remember the Texas game and I just didn't want to have to go through that again. So that happened at Nebraska too. Yeah. Many years ago was in Nebraska, Texas game.

5:12Don't get me started on it. So this is, so Michigan's playing Oklahoma this week. This will be one of those rare times I'm rooting for Oklahoma. I'm in Nebraska fan. Plus we have Oklahoma Catholic radio down there too. So we have to root for our Catholic family members down there as well. But that Michigan game. I'm waiting to see the rankings come out. Don't those come out today? I don't know. I'm waiting to see those come out because even though they get a D plus like I did. So that's the only ranking matters. Well, hey, you're doing better now. Yes. You don't get E plus rankings anymore. Did you see what was the score of the Penn State game? Jen Brown is she went to Pennsylvania for the Penn State game. I'm trying to remember off the top of my head with the actual score was good. It was a lot to nothing that they. Penn State won. They won by. I don't remember what it was either. I just there were so many scores throughout the weekend that it was hard to get. Uh, let me look. Well, we'll have to find that later. But yes, a prank for Jen Brown. Safe travels back home. She's probably on route today. I'm guessing, right? I imagine she's already back. Maybe in today's day of rest.

6:13We got a good. Who from the weekend is my guess? All right, very good. So Jen Brown, Jen Brown back tomorrow morning. But we're so glad you're with us today. It's the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which commemorates the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Uh, one of the oldest Mary and Feast days in the Catholic Church. It goes all the way back to the fifth century dedication of a Basilica in Jerusalem built over the site traditionally believed to be the home of Mary's parents, St. Jokum and St. Ann. So we'll be seeing a prayer in honor of the Feast of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary later on this morning at eight o'clock. Let's take a look at weather right now. Spirit morning's weather brought to you by simply amazing popcorn in Lincoln. Western Nebraska today partly cloudy with a high of 88 central Nebraska showers throughout the day with a high of 82 in northeast Nebraska storms ending this morning. Cloudy this afternoon with a high of 84 and then Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa partly cloudy with a chance of storms after three p.m.

7:13With a high of 95 it is 706. Now you're up to date. Thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network. We also have high school football underway here on spirit Catholic radio. We got to thank Colin Harrow for running this last week's game. And I'm trying to see what this Friday's game is going to be. Let's see it looks like we've got and what yeah, it was gross versus pious this past Friday. So this Friday all this is going to be a good one. Creighton prep taking on Miller North and you can listen to it this Friday at seven o'clock right here on spirit Catholic. This Friday is at a Thursday. That's a Thursday. The 10th. Yeah, we get a Thursday night game. Sorry about that. So yeah, Thursday, September 10th, Creighton prep in Miller North, seven o'clock central right here on the spirit Catholic radio network. Let's see, we've got. Yeah, boy, I'm off. I keep thinking it's going to be a decontime deal or Monday friend, but it's Tuesday. So that means ask a priest that's coming your way about 30 minutes from now.

8:15But first we're going to catch up with Verne Steiner at the Amaz Institute. We'll talk with him next reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. And from his roots a bud shall blossom the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him a spirit of wisdom and of understanding a spirit of counsel and of strength a spirit of knowledge and a fear of the Lord and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. The word of the Lord thanks be to God. Good morning. We are in the 23rd week of ordinary time. Today is the feast of the nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary. My name is Father Loris. Grille and I come to you from where I serve as pastor at St. Mary's and why more St. Mary's in Odell and St. Joseph's in Barnston. Are you familiar with the Katalpa tree? They're beautiful. Really, they are a fast growing tree and they provide shade. The Katalpa has large heart-shaped leaves and its seed pods look like beans.

9:17My rectory for many years had two Katalpas at the front door. A windstorm fell them over in 2022. From the stump's new branches started coming forth right away. I let them grow for a good while but then I became concerned that another windstorm might crash them into my house. So I asked parishioners to cut them down and grind up the stumps. The stump of Jesse is the reading the church chooses for this day dedicated to Mary's birthday. She said yes to God's plan to make the stump of Jesse blossom again. You see, the son of Jesse was King David. David had been promised by the Lord that his kingship would last forever. But the Davidic kingship disappeared after Jerusalem fell to Babylon in 586 BC. Like a dead stump, it seemed God had forgotten his promise to David. But then God sent his angel to a virgin in Nazareth named Mary.

10:18The angel said that she would bear a son and that the Lord God would give to him the throne of his father David. And the virgin Mary said yes to God's plan. Thanks be to God for Mary. God bless you. God bless you Father, Lord Israel. Thank you so much for providing morning prayer for us this week here on Spirit Mornings. Let's see the Spirit Morning Spotlight community this morning. We're shining the spotlight on Beatrice Nebraska and Beatrice. I did the same thing. I correct people all the time and I did it myself. So Beatrice, listening on 100.1 KPKALP, their weather today, partly cloudy this morning and then a good chance of storms after 3pm with a high of 97 in our Spirit Morning Spotlight community of Beatrice Nebraska. So sorry about that Beatrice. Also a quick score. Yeah, Penn State did win 45 to zero. I thought you had looked back in our little pronunciation book that we did that back table.

11:21I think it's behind you. And then I was wondering, I'm like, is it actually Beatrice? It's Beatrice. Yeah, I'm sorry. I correct people. Let's see. This is real time radio here. So yeah, I'm sure good for Jackson, Jen Brown, Sun Jackson is on the coaching staff of Penn State for those of you that might not know. Also this past Friday's game Lincoln Pice, the 10th took on Omaha grows Catholic High School for the fictional Pope trophy and Pice the 10th, 114 to 7. So defensive game there. But again, you can check out the entire broadcast schedule of the different Catholic Catholic High School football games that we're going to be airing. You can check out that schedule at spirit Catholic radio.com. According to the pronunciation guide to Nebraska play's names. This is actually comes from the University of Nebraska Lincoln College of journalism and mass communications 2004 edition. Thank you for the source. It is Beatrice Beatrice Beatrice Beatrice. Beatrice. Don't do that to me. All right. We're going to talk with Veren Steiner from the Amaias Institute. It's the Amaias encounters heart of the Psalm series. Let's talk with Verne next.

12:29This is spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network. Get me in trouble with the whole city. Jam, don't do that. They're coming for you. Verne Steiner, amazing counters. The heart of the, the heart of the Psalms. Verne, thank you so much for joining us. And it's been a minute, but we always look forward to catching up with you. And, and so for those who are new to the station and new to the Catholic Church as we consider the heart of the Psalms, which the Psalm are themed from the book of Psalms. Are we going to focus on this morning, Veren? Well, first of all, thank you. Great to be with you and happy feast day. Yes. Sounds like you're probably you're having a good morning up there. I'd like to, I'd like to do something a little different this morning. Normally, the first Monday or Tuesday of the month, we take a specific small and discuss it. Instead of doing that today, I'd like to focus on a theme introduced in the very first word in the book of Psalms. It's that word blessed or blessed at the beginning of Psalm 1.

13:35It seems to me that this word strikes a kind of somatic note, which gets us pretty close to the heart of the entire book. So that's what we're going to be talking about this morning. And blessed seems to be one of the words we use a lot as Christians, Veren, but we might not pause to consider what it actually means. Maybe we just assume that it's familiar and obvious, but can you talk a little bit more about it? Like what does this first word in the book of Psalms actually mean? Sure. Well, we are blessed with two Hebrew words blessed in the Old Testament. One of them is spelled B-A-R-U-K in English letters. And we would pronounce it B-R-U-K. And the other is spelled approximately A-S-H-R-E, and we would pronounce it a Shre. So people are said to be B-R-U-K, the first of those two words. When they're the recipients of God's blessing as a gift of God's goodness, it's what we usually mean, I think, when we say things like,

14:40I am blessed with good health or a loving family or an enjoyable job or faithful friends, but that's not the word here. This is the other one. This is a Shre. And people are said to be Shre as a pronouncement about their enviable, fortunate, or truly happy. That might be our best translation, truly happy status. Almost as if to say, lucky them, or now there's a person everyone's and want to be like. It's a pronouncement of true genuine happiness from God's perspective. And what's interesting about this word, it occurs 26 times in the book of Psalms. We'll talk about that in a moment. It's always in Hebrew a plural. And the reason for that is because in days before bold font and italics and exclamation points, the way you intensified something, at least one way, was to make it plural.

15:53And though we can't see this in our English Bible, in Hebrew this word is always plural. And it's almost like the psalmist is coming unglued and is saying, oh, the, both of many manifold happiness of the person who, and then it continues. And I have just a brief personal story to share about this word. I was lecturing on this thing back in 2013. And Chad, who's a familiar voice on the radio, my son was sitting in the lecture. And they had five daughters, he and Casey, and one of their daughters was at Children's Hospital, was very, very ill during her pregnancy with what would be their first son. And God answered their prayer and spared their daughter's life. And so they chose the name Samuel, which means God heard, but they needed a middle name.

16:54And as I was talking about this theme in the book of Psalms, I mentioned that from the word a shrew that we're discussing this morning comes the name asher. And we learned that from Genesis 30. And so Chad sitting in the lecture texted his wife, Casey, and said, we have a middle name for our son. It'll be Samuel asher because God heard our prayer. And we are most happy. So one further comment to be blessed in this sense is that good about 50 times in the New Testament in the Greek Macavarias, perhaps most famously in the Beatitudes of Jesus, Cermin of the Mount or Mary's from now on. All generations will call me blessed. That's our word though, though in Greek, or in the Lamb's supper scene of Revelation 19, blessed are those who are invited to the married supper of the Lamb.

17:58And I don't know about the rubrics of the details, but this past Sunday in our mass at 11 o'clock here at St. Peter Parish and Lincoln, when we came to that line in the liturgy, our priests said happy are those who are invited to the married supper of the Lamb. And I about came out of my chair, my, my pew anticipating what we would be discussing this morning. I thought, yes, that's good. That's a good translation. So I got I don't know about the rubrics, but that's what it's getting at. So so that's our word is a really, really beautiful, beautiful word. So Verne Steiner, as we discussed during this series of Mayas and counters, heart of the Psalms, where else do we find the word blessed? You know, we know it's the first word in the first song. Where else does it occur? Sure. Well, 25 other times, 26 times. I'll read a few of them. Well, that first song begins and perhaps this is familiar to many blessed as the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked north stands in the way of sinners, north sits in the silence.

19:05He's north sits in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the Torah, the law of the Lord. And on his law, he meditates day and night. Here's chapter two, Psalm 2 verse 12, blessed are all who take refuge in him. Here's one of my favorites, 32 verses one and two. So it occurs twice here. Blessed is the man, the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no defeat. Here's another 33 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord or 41, 1. Blessed is the one who considers the poor or 84, 4. Another one of my favorites. Blessed are those who dwell in your house ever singing your praise or 94, 12.

20:11Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord and whom you teach out of your law. Couple more, 106 or three. Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. 112 verse one. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. And one more, 146 verse five. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob whose hope is in the Lord, his God. And so every time we see this 26 times in Psalms, we should be thinking, now that defines true genuine happiness as God would measure that. It might not be what our culture sees as happiness, but it certainly is what God sees as true happiness. It's a really, really beautiful thing.

21:13Verensteiner from the Emmaus Institute for Biblical Studies. Today we're celebrating the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So talk about how the word blessed or blessed, why that's so important when referring to the Virgin Mary. Sure, well, here she is from the Magnificent and that sees that it's claiming praises to the Lord, who had seen fit to come to dwell within her as it were. And I think what we often miss in Mary's song and Luke chapter one is just how saturated that song is with scripture. One of my colleagues and I were talking about this at some time back and he I suggested that I think Mary is so filled with scripture. I think 20 or 30 illusions to the Old Testament and he said, oh, a lot more than that, maybe a hundred. But here she is seeing herself as an instrument in fulfillment of the salvation plan of God and she says, blessed.

22:21From now on, all generations will call me blessed and she certainly doesn't mean by that that this is going to be an easy path. But she does mean by that that I will be truly genuinely called happy, happiest of all women we might say because here she is as the instrument who the vessel who bears Jesus our Savior to the world. Is it possible to semi such a vast theme when he becomes a blessedness like what's at the heart of blessedness when it incidents homes? Well, I can try it. It's just a little long, but in my earlier studies and I reviewed this again in preparation for today. I took this 26 references and tried to combine ones of a similar theme rather. And I came up with this portrait, a kind of a biblical portrait of the person who's genuinely happy.

23:25We could say this is the book of Psalms depiction of the person living the truly good life. I mean, it's better than the good life of Nebraska. And here it is in seven short statements that the truly happy person is one who delights in the instructions of the Lord and accepts the Lord's discipline. The truly happy person seeks refuge in the Lord and lives under the rule of his Messiah king, that is Jesus. The truly happy person finds shelter under God's protection so as not to panic in threatening circumstances. The truly happy person humbly acknowledges his sin and so experiences God's merciful forgiveness. I think we all experienced that coming out of the confessional.

24:25The truly happy person considers the poor and those less fortunate extending to them the mercy of the Lord. That's why we have such a wonderful feeling of joy and happiness when we're a generous with what God has given us. The truly happy person loves to dwell in God's sanctuary, going regularly and being consumed with the Lord's presence there in foretaste of their glorious dwelling together in the New Jerusalem. The truly happy person is honored by children and all who testify on behalf of his or her true character. I know that's long but that's an attempt to get at this last theme in the book of Psalms. I just find this to be exceedingly positive and welcoming and as I said earlier, it's kind of describing the person we might say, wow, that is a lucky person in biblical language.

25:40That's a truly blessed person. It's interesting because I've heard people refer to themselves as blessed even during their struggles, even when they're not on the outward or on the outside, they're not happy. Things aren't going their way but they'll still say, you know what? Through it all, I'm still blessed. I draw such inspiration from people that can recognize that even in the toughest of their times, they can recognize that they're still blessed. I think that that's... Yeah, go ahead. Damon, that is such an important point because here we are focusing on the first word in the book of Psalms and then 25 more occurrences. But in the book of Psalms, as we all know, there are a lot of valleys, a lot of times the psalmist is crying out. I call these psalms in the pits. They're not always on the peaks, but sometimes in the pits and yet those very psalms, so in 13, as a case in points, conclude on a note of praise.

26:48So here's a psalmist in the pits who still able to say, but this is the happy place to be. And certainly not in the world's terms, but in God's terms. So yeah, you're right on the mark with that observation. Bern, what are some final takeaways from these reflections on our theme this morning? Well, as we've just been discussing clearly that characterization of the truly happier, blessed person of Psalms is not the one who did it my way, but the one who did it God's way. It's not the one who asserted his own will, but the one who surrendered to God's and all of this, it seems to me reveals how confused the world is. And then sometimes we Christians, but throughout the book of Psalms, happiness has to do with not so much with self fulfillment, but with the orientation of the whole of life to God and God's purposes.

27:50So it's only makes sense since God who made us knows better than we ever could exactly what it is that produces ultimate happiness. So this is the truly good life better even say mentioned earlier than living the good life in Nebraska. So I think that's our main takeaway. We need to refocus just what is it that makes a deep genuine true happiness as God with measure that and I think the book of Psalms guides us there in ways that are pleasure oriented and materialistic culture doesn't. Ernst Deiner from the Emmaus Institute for Biblical studies. Thank you so much for your amazing counters the heart of the Psalms how are things going at the Emmaus Institute. We are having a blast. We are offering more classes this fall than we've ever. Some of them are short to four or five weeks, but the response has been overwhelming.

28:59We were just so graces graciously given a couple of grants that were specifically designated for our courses. And so many of our courses are free of charge and the response has been overwhelming somewhere the 250 range right now. And from various parts of the country and even overseas. So we're off to a great start. We're having a wonderful time. It's not too late to register if people would like to go to Emmaus Institute EMMA US and me as institute.net. You can get all the information. There's a tab at the top that says for students and you can pull that down and get our fall courses and enroll. You will have missed the first week of classes, but many of these are online and it would be available to you. So wonderful time. God is blessing. And I'm excited at my age. I'm 76 and I'm still able to teach and to feel incredibly blessed to return to that theme.

30:11Yes, real quick. And on these courses are for all ages, anybody that wants to learn, but kind of highlight a couple of the courses, some of the popular courses that people really enjoy. Sure. When he may has began in 2019, Bishop Conley had one request. He wanted us to provide a track of study for the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And so we have created this program. We call it a new create that the new creation certificate program. It's two semesters, 15 weeks each. Now that was not free. It requires some work and it culminates in a lovely certificate that's signed by our bishop and just a wonderful program. One of the ones that I'm personally, although I should also mention we have this five week course entitled two testaments one body. This one is free and the focus is on how the entire Bible, not just a few selected new testament passages, but how the entire Bible helps us understand what it means to be the church, the people of God.

31:23And Chad is teaching that. And then one of the ones I'm excited about I'm doing kind of a three in one one semester, but three four week classes on the three biblical books with feminine titles. So Ruth four weeks, Judith four weeks and Esther four weeks. And I love these books and I'm having a wonderful time teaching them. So those are a few. We have another one coming up feminine genius in the gospel of Mark taught by Chad's wife Casey. So those are a few of the courses we've got going having a great time. I love how the whole family participates at the the Emmaus Institute with Chad and Casey. And of course, their little one Samuel Asher. I'm so glad you shared that story with us. What a blessing that is. It's always a blessing to have you talk to us about blessings. Verne Steiner again details can be found on these courses at Emmaus Institute.net. Verne, we look forward to talking with you again soon, sir.

32:32Thank you God bless your day. Bye. Spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network at 732. Next you're going to find out how a tragic loss two decades ago, quietly laid the foundation for an unexpected miracle of love coming up on the good news update. Thanks for listening to Spirit Catholic Radio. This is Father Mitch Pack of EWD and Open Line Wednesday and you are listening to the Spirit Catholic Radio Network. Join Spirit Catholic Radio for a special broadcast of the massive Thanksgiving for father Edward J. Planigan, founder of Boys Town on Sunday, September 13th at 8.30pm Central Archbishop Michael MacKenzie. The government of the Archdiocese of Omaha will celebrate the mass from the Dow Chapel. Tune in as we give thanks for the life and legacy of Father Planigan. For more details, visit spiritcatholicradio.com.

33:35My name is Kyle Ewing and I'm from St. Robert Bellerman Parish in Omaha, Nebraska. This is Spirit Catholic Radio and counter Jesus. Thank you so much for supporting Spirit Catholic Radio. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic who extends one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We are the Davis family from St. Peter's Church in Omaha. Why do Catholics do that? Why do Catholic priests break the host at mass? The breaking of the bread calls to mind the great account of the road to Emmaus in which the disciples recognize our Lord in the breaking of the bread.

34:35This account is clearly a eucharistic reference as the priest performs the same actions of the risen Christ who took the bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. The early church fathers as well as the great saints and doctors of the church have assigned varied and beautiful spiritual meanings to this part of the mass. First, it is the breaking of Christ's body in the Passion. Secondly, it denotes the various states of the mystical body of Christ the Church. Finally, it represents the distribution of graces preceding from Christ's Passion. The breaking of the bread reminds us as St. Paul tells us that we are one body, yet many members, all united in Christ. And that's why Catholics do that. It's now time for the Spirit Morning's Good News Update on Spirit Catholic Radio. Sponsored by Wheatfield's bakery Express located at 189th in Maple in Omaha, it's a drive through option for busy people on the go.

35:35So we often talk about God's divine providence and how he can weave light out of even the deepest shadows. And that brings us to our beautiful Good News Update today that reminds us how love and life are interconnected in ways only God could arrange. Now this starts back in December of 2003, there was a ten-year-old boy named Michael Waters from Dayton, Ohio, was tragically struck by a car and lost his life. But even at such a young age, Michael possessed a remarkable heart of selflessness. He had told his family earlier in his life that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted to be an organ donor. In their deepest grief, his parents honored his wish, a truly courageous and heroic act of charity, especially for a ten-year-old to have made that decision. And at that exact same time, down in Kentucky, an 18-month-old little girl named Brooklyn Dotson was suffering from a rare life-threatening liver condition. Doctors told her heart-breaking family, or her heart-broken family, she only had days to live without a miracle.

36:39The very next day, Michael's liver was donated to Baby Brooklyn, saving her life. The church often reminds us that organ donation carried out with deep respect for human life as a noble and meridious act of love. And through Michael's sacred gift, Brooklyn got to grow up, live a vibrant, full-life, and carry a piece of his legacy with her. But wait, God wasn't finished writing this story yet. A couple of years later, the two families connected and they began a friendship that spanned more than two decades. Michael's younger brother Noah grew up alongside Brooklyn. He was there for her as a steadfast friend through childhood milestones and even supported her through additional medical treatments in her teenage years. Well, over time, that lifelong friendship bloomed into something even deeper, a God-given love. Last Christmas Eve, Noah asked Brooklyn to marry him, and she said yes. The two are now preparing to walk down the aisle together later on this month, and reflecting on it all, Noah said he believes his late brother knew his ultimate purpose, sharing, I had no idea that my brother was going to save my wife's life 20 years later.

37:54Powerful reminder that no act of selflessness is ever wasted in the eyes of God, and that even in loss, God can plant the seeds for new joy, family, and lifelong devotion. So let's keep Brooklyn and Noah in our prayers today as they prepare for the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony later on this month. Wow. With your good news update, I'm Damien Montez on Spirit Mournings. That's pretty awesome story. I love seeing the stories that come up on social media about somebody who's loved ones, donation, whether it's a kidney or a liver or heart, and then they get to meet the person, and they hug them, and they can hear their loved ones heart beating in that person. Those stories get me every time, and this is just one of those that I thought, okay, you know, it's one of the most popular times of year for weddings and marriages and matrimony, and this really kind of tied in with, you know, this young man who was 10 years old, who had decided at the age of 10.

38:55Yeah, I would like to be able to donate my organs and fast forward. That organ is alive in his brother, his sister in law. Now, I mean, I just, these are the kinds of stories I like. So cool. Yeah. You know, to be Noah and to know that your brother lives inside your wife in a sense of, you know, the reason she's alive today is because of his donation all those years ago in 2003. What a miraculous story in an awesome reminder of God's great gift. And you can do that through organ donations again done mercifully in respect to the human body. Right. And this is why we do these good news updates to remind us that, yeah, there is good happening out there. You just have to kind of dig for it. I'll take care of the digging, and then I'll report it back to you so it gets your week started off. How's your shovel holding up? Is it getting a lot of digging? I'm doing a lot of digging. I was seeing the holes in the backyard over some days. I'll be honest, some days it's tougher than others.

39:57There's always good things happening, but then it's like, okay, but yeah, but you don't want to just share something cool. You want to share something heartwarming and something that's inspirational, especially when we're starting off the morning. And after a long weekend off, you know, we need that little pick me up. But I think that story and these good news updates do that here on spirit mornings. It is creeping up on 740 spirit mornings weather. Brought to you by simply amazing popcorn in Lincoln. In Western Nebraska today, partly cloudy with a high of 88th. Central Nebraska showers throughout the day with a high of 82 in Northeast Nebraska. Storms ending this morning cloudy this afternoon with a high of 84. And in eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa, partly cloudy skies. Good chance of storms after 3 pm with a high of 95. It is 740 now. You're up to date. Thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network. This Sunday, Damien, we're going to have a special broadcast of the mass of Father Flanagan's Thanksgiving mass that the Archdiocese is putting on.

40:59So tune in on Sunday nights at 8.30 pm central time. What we broadcast in that all across the network. And yeah, we're really excited. This should be a very special mass and one that's close to the hearts of all those that live in the Nebraska community. Boys town in Nebraska specifically, but you know what an impact Father Flanagan's had on our our listening area, but also to all the youth that have come through. Just a tremendous dedication of love that he had and it certainly carries on today. So it's great to recognize him. We're doing that with Archbishop Michael McGovern, who will be celebrant of the mass again at 4 or excuse me 8.30 pm central time on the spirit Catholic radio network this Sunday. This Sunday 8.30 pm. 8.30 pm central time. Very good. You can stay in the loop on these kinds of things that we do on spirit Catholic radio and other events that were a part of if you subscribe to the Halo. That's our weekly newsletter, the Halo can come to your inbox. It's one of those that you don't mind having in your inbox, compared to all the other spam and all the other stuff.

42:03You're like, oh, there's the Halo. Thank goodness. Something that I can actually use. Something I can learn from. So go subscribe to that Halo at spirit Catholic radio.com. And while you're there, pardon me while you're there, you can always head to spirit mornings. Submit a question for Ask a Priest. Father Loskey going to be answering those questions next. This is Francisco Media's Saint of the Day for September 8th. Today we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We know nothing of the circumstances of Mary's birth. But the church holds the Blessed Mother in such high esteem that it has long celebrated her birth on this state, which comes exactly nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The so-called Gospel of James, dating from the second century, reported that Anna and Joachim were the parents of Mary. Though the work has no historical value, it reflects the long-held devotion to Mary in both the Eastern and Western churches. We also remain unclear about where Mary was born. Ancient traditions suggest either Nazareth or Jerusalem.

43:09We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. This is true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large. There's more about the saints along with inspiration and Catholic resources at our website, saintoftheday.org. From Franciscan Media, this has been Saint of the Day. The Blessed Virgin Mary pray for us. Spirit morning spotlight community this morning. We're shining the spotlight on Beatrice Nebraska. And the weather today partly cloudy. Good chance of storms after 3pm with a high of 96 in our spirit morning spotlight community of Beatrice Nebraska.

44:13Were they listening, Jeff? Yes, 100.1 KPKA, one of our great and wonderful low powers. Alton Beatrice Nebraska is not Beatrice. We have confirmed it is Beatrice. That's right. And I should know that because I knew a Beatrice at Saint Richard's school. When I was a kid, that went to Saint Richard's in North Omaha. You had a Beatrice in your culture. But everybody called her B. No, this was one of the parishioners at our church. Oh, yeah, sorry. It's Saint Richard's church, but everybody called her B. And I had a neighbor Mrs. B. I don't know if that was short for Beatrice or not. But let's get right to some of your questions here. Father Lowsky from St. Charles Boramail in Gretena ready to answer your questions. You have questions. He has answers. It's now time for Ask a Priest on Spirit mornings. Not only is he the pastor at St. Charles Boramail church in Gretena, he's also host of Cat in the Cradle Catechesis for Cradle Catholics. That program can be heard Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11 a.m. Central on Spirit Catholic Radio.

45:19Father Lowsky, thank you so much for joining us. So first question right off the bat. It says here, I enjoy listening to Father Jeff Lowsky answer questions for Ask the Priest and have a question regarding his blessing at the end of the segment. Does this blessing actually count over the radio? And this is one of a several one of several questions here, Father Lowsky. So yeah, when you do the blessing over the radio, does that actually count? Yeah, there's I would say most people would agree that that is a yes question. So what does it mean when you say does it count? That's an interesting way to phrase this. So we understand that what the questioner is asking is, is grace actually imparted? So when you think about the the sacramentals of the church, the blessings and the consecrations and the prayers of even the sacraments and so on and so forth, there are certain things that are required under each one of those.

46:19So we know that when in the handbook of indulgences, it specifies that when the Holy Father gives his blessing, that's the orbi at orbi blessing, the the blessing over the the city of Rome and the whole world, which he does on major occasions like Christmas, like Easter upon his own election, etc. So if you're a church specifies that anybody who participates in that blessing live, so if you're watching it on television, if you're listening to it on the radio, no matter where in the world you are, if you are participating live, that the effect of grace is intended and communicated. So you truly receive that. Most theologians would then argue or understand that not only does that apply to the Holy Father, but that would also apply to blessings given by any bishop or any priest, so long as they are live and so long as that you are participating in them.

47:27So if you are listening live to this program and at the end of the program, I'll impart a priestly blessing, you with your open heart and desiring to receive the grace of God, truly do receive that blessing. If you're listening to this program later on in podcast form or online, that blessing is no longer happening. It's almost like a picture of the blessing. It's not the blessing itself. So there is no grace necessarily transferred at that time because the grace happens in the moment of the experience. So there has to be some connection. It's not the same like if you called me on the phone and say, Father, I'm holding three rosaries in my hand here in my kitchen. Can you bless them over the phone? There would be a no to that because there is the transfer of the blessing to an object. It's not in my physical presence and that object cannot receive the blessing by its own desire.

48:36So the limitations would be such that if you are intending to receive this blessing for yourself and I am giving it with the intention of granting it to all those who are listening, then it is truly received. All right. Father Lowsky, I'll tell you what you knocked out a lot of answers or a lot of questions with your answers there for Walt formerly of Ashland Nebraska. Well, thank you so much for sending us those questions. Keep him coming head to spirit mornings dot com. Click on the ask a priest collar to submit your questions for Father Jeff Lowsky on ask a priest. And the next questioner is asking for a friend, Father Lowsky. Her friend is Catholic raising her children in the faith. Wasn't sure how to answer her seven year old son's question. He asked, how do we know angels are real? But we press that we believe in God, the maker of all things visible and invisible. How can she explain the angels are real? And then how are their specific Bible verses that she can read to them? Thank you. Yeah, and I think that's where the Bible is literally littered with with instances of angels. So it wouldn't be hard to find passages throughout scripture that talk about angels. You could talk about the even in the very beginning in the book of Genesis when Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden, the Lord sets an angel to guard the gate of Eden.

50:02He sends his angel to we know the angels appear to Daniel in the lion's den. We know that Gabriel speaks to the Virgin Mary in in the gospel of Luke. We end we see St. Michael appearing in the gospel of Daniel and in the book of Revelation. We see we see Raphael appearing in the book of Tobits leading Tobias on his journey that there's all of these that there's angels literally covering the scripture, the pages of the scriptures. So even just a simple Google search would you know Bible passages of angels and you'd be able to find a plethora of angels. We only know three angels by name and that is Michael Gabriel and Raphael. So if you even wanted to look up those you could easily look up those and and since they have names, they're the most easily kind of then imagined. We could also talk about how even Jesus speaks about angels when he talks about the the primacy of children and how they are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and that you should not despise one of these little ones for their angels are always gazing upon the face of God in heaven.

51:21So we hear even in a sense about guardian angels in that passage. So we just explain that not everything is visible or touchable or seeable. If you think about love, you know that love is real, even though you can't see love, you can't draw a picture of love. You can symbolize it with a heart or you can feel it, you know, in an embrace, but love is something that isn't that isn't physical or seeable. And so that's like an angel. There's there's not physical or seeable elements to an angel, but we can symbolize them with with angel wings. We can we can think about you what what they do as messengers of God throughout the scriptures. So the reality of angels, they're all over the scriptures. And we see this this invisible creature working on our behalf. Alright, Father Lowsky, this question comes from a listener for ask a priest. Is it normal for a first grader to be afraid of confession a whole year before he receives the sacrament?

52:32You know, I know we have had a question like this, almost this identical question once before. So it must be something that is maybe more common than you might think, especially if you have a child who struggles with anxiety or or fear. It might be laced in their personality if they kind of lean towards a perfectionism or a scrupulosity and you begin to see these things coming out at an early age. So what I would say is that you don't that you want to that you don't want to tell them, oh, there's nothing to be afraid of and just totally discount their experience. I think it's important to validate, you know, that they are feeling freighter, they are feeling anxious and to have a conversation with them about that as best you can. Like, well, what makes you anxious or what makes you afraid and to let them put words to that.

53:33I think this is helpful even for adults when you are fearful of something or if you're grieving something or if you're experiencing anxiety. Most of the time those feelings are compounded because they are unexpressed. There's just this this unexpressed feeling within our gut and it's only when we start putting words to that and we start describing it, explaining it and putting it out there that we begin to gain some kind of control over it. And then we can see it for what it really is and then once we can see it for what it really is, we're able to deal with it then more. So even I think in the case of a child that is you let them put words to this. It helps them to to figure out and to take control over this area. I think also there's a thing that that you can do as parent that can help them move toward reconciliation and to more move towards their first confession and that may be like breaking it down so that they can have little experiences of it.

54:40So maybe just going and talking to father after mass like when when he's standing out there greeting people, you know just introducing your child to father if they haven't already met to shake hands maybe even to have a little conversation so that you get used to talking to this priest who's going to be hearing confessions. Maybe it is going and looking at the confessional when nobody's in church and it's empty like let's go to the confessional and let's go take a tour in it. Maybe it's practicing a confession at home like let's practice and pretend like what this is going to look like. It's helping the child to do a real good examination of conscience because again if they don't know what to say they're going to be afraid. So if you break this down into lots of little steps and little bite size pieces and just spread that out over time you help them to be able to maybe embrace this bigger thing that seems so scary but you begin to take down all of the little things that just feel outside of their control.

55:45I appreciate those recommendations and suggestions father Loskey and I'm sure parents and teachers listening appreciate that to that's a great idea to kind of practice it with them so it kind of takes away those anxieties. Yeah, it's ask priests on spirit mornings again the pastor St Charles Bore male father Jeff Loskey this one I recently had a dream where friends seem possessed by an evil spirit and I felt that that evil was coming towards me. I remember saying in the name of Jesus Christ I command you to get away and immediately I woke up I usually just shrug off dreams but this woman settled me should I pay attention to something like this or simply let it go as a dream. You know we know that dreams even the scriptures remind us that dreams can be conduits for knowledge of things spiritual just because we've kind of shut down all of those things that might resist the spiritual world. I often and I often give the advice that we never give the evil one or evil in general any more power than he deserves which is not that that that that his lie is that he is powerful and his lie is that somehow we stand helpless before him.

57:06And so I never want to give into a sort of fear or or trepidation or you know that's not to say that we should take things like this lightly or just dismiss them wholeheartedly but I would just say that you know we don't know what the cause of this is we don't know maybe this is something that you take to prayer and and just ask yourself in prayer before the Lord. Why did this bother me why am I having a hard time shrugging it off is there something in my life that that that is in a sense my temptation or that I'm kind of falling into sin or the near occasion of sin I wouldn't take it as like there was a spiritual force at work in your mind during this dream or anything like that. But I think it brazes the question and to do a good examination to do a good examination of your own conscience before the Lord and just to see is there anything that my conscious is convicting me of that I need to bring before the Lord so that you know I'm not captivated by the evil one or I'm not drawn into temptation or into sin or or examine your friend what's wrong with your for no I'm just kidding.

58:26I read this question and I was like huh which of my friends could I see being in that part of the dream so father father Lowski this question here for ask a priest there is an image on the alterate my church of a lamb and it is sitting on a book and it looks like there's some metals hanging from ribbons coming down from the book I know the lamb represents the lamb of God but what are the metals. This specifically relates to the book of Revelation that in chapters five and six it describes how the lamb is seated on the throne the lamb of God is seated on the throne so Jesus Christ and glory appears as the lamb of God and the in the in Revelation it talks about this being a scroll but many times an art it's depicted as a book. That is sealed with seven seals and so these seven ribbons that are hanging down from it with like the wax seal at the end of it the the metallic binding these are the seven seals that the book of Revelation describes and so it talks about how no one is worthy to open to open the scroll or to open the contents of this book except the lamb of God and so the lamb receives the scroll with the seven seals.

59:49And he alone is able to open these seals and basically it's he alone is the one who is able to affect salvation and it is the breaking open of the seals whereby you begin to see judgment unfold upon the world and the final the final movement of salvation. These this image is often portrayed in Stingles windows or upon altars or you know in church art as a sort of eschatological focus in other words eschatology as a looking towards the end times so it's a reminder to us that the savior has conquered that the savior is coming back in glory and he will bring salvation for his people he will open the fire. He will open the final scrolls and the final judgment on death and sin will take place and the good will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished and so that that symbol then just draws our minds toward the looking forward to the coming of Christ to bring salvation for his people.

1:01:00The spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network that is asked a priest with father Jeff Lowsky you could submit questions for future episodes right now at spirit mornings dot com click on the priestly color and I'll tell you what father the question we had earlier about whether or not you're blessing at the end of this segment does count over the radio or it is it is real and I like that you explain that because that's always something I'd always thought of so the blessing you give us now does count or how it is. How did you word it father that grace is conferred the grace is because it is is conferred and received yes because it is live radio but if you were to listen to this you are participating. Yeah, if you were to listen to this in an encore or a podcast then it would not count so that was great. Thank you so much for that. There are further there are Danny put this on your notes. There are further questions in there that we need to get to because he asks also about mass and sacraments happening over over the airwaves and we definitely want to answer those questions because those change things a little bit so put those on your list for next time.

1:02:04Yeah, I marked them so we didn't forget them again thanks to war from Ashland Nebraska for submitting those questions and for all who submitted questions to ask a priest. Now father Lowsky would you please leave us with a priestly blessing. Absolutely. Heavenly father your children hunger for the gift of your grace and so they look to you who are so generous. May Almighty God bless all of you who are listening in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Thank you father Lowsky. We appreciate you and some other questions might be answered if you listen to cat in the cradle catechesis for cradle Catholics. Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11 a.m. Central on spirit Catholic radio. That's where father Lowsky really gets deep into the information and correct me 90% of the time on that show. But you answer a lot of great questions and we learn a lot of the origins of words whether it's Latin or Greek or whatever. So thank you so much father Lowsky for your time. Absolutely. Have a great day. You too. Spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network.

1:03:05We're celebrating the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary today and we have a prayer in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary next here on Spirit mornings. It's 802. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Spirit Catholic radio would like to wish a happy birthday to father Stanley Schmidt from the Archdiocese of Omaha. We thank you for responding to the call of God to serve the church. May God continue to richly bless you in your ministry of service. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Hi, this is Mary Beth from St. Leo's Catholic Church in Omaha, Nebraska and you're listening to Spirit Catholic Radio and encounter Jesus. Thank you so much for supporting Spirit Catholic Radio. A fast paced call in show with a new host every day. Listen to Open Line Live.

1:04:07Weekdays at 2 p.m. Central on the spirit Catholic radio network. It is 8.04 September 8th, 2026 in the air of our Lord. Thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of your weekday morning routine. I'm Damien Montez, Jeb Eishide filling in for Jen Brown. She will be back tomorrow morning and I'm sure she had a wonderful time watching Penn State take on Marshall 45 to 0 was the final score of that one. So it's supposed to be a secret. She's always on her secret scroll. That's right. Her secret I'm outside the loop on the secret squirrel mission. Give away her location.

1:05:08I totally gave away the location. So be a yeah, thank you for your prayers for safe travels for Jen Brown. She'll be back with you tomorrow morning. I know she's missing this morning show because it is the the birthday of the mother of God, the nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary this morning. And as we celebrate her birthday, we ask that you might spend a little time pondering her soul. You know, though much of her earthly life has remained hidden from our eyes, she is the greatest saint to ever live and holiest daughter of God that this world has ever known. And in heaven, we will be all in awe of her virtues and will forever rejoice in the great things God did in and through her. So begin that rejoicing today by prayerfully honoring her and pondering her, seeking her prayer for your life and for the whole world. Let us pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Dearest Mother Mary, your conception was immaculate in your birth glorious.

1:06:10You were conceived without sin, born without sin, and remained sinless all throughout your life. In heaven, you radiate the beauty and splendor of God and will do so for all eternity. Please pray for me that I will be more fully intimate in your many virtues so that I can be a fitting instrument of your divine son in the world. Mother Mary, pray for me, Jesus, I trust in you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Yeah, birthday celebrations. They bring happiness to the celebrate as well as to family and friends. So next to the birth of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness in the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large. Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us. Spirit mornings weather brought to you by simply amazing popcorn in Lincoln.

1:07:14In Western Nebraska today, we ask that you continue to pray for rain as Western Nebraska is in need of it. They forecast today partly cloudy with a high of 88 in central Nebraska. Thank you for those prayers of rain. They've got a chance of showers throughout the day with a high of 82 in Northeast Nebraska. Storms this morning cloudy this afternoon with a high of 84 and an eastern Nebraska in southwest Iowa. Partly cloudy with a chance of storms after 3 p.m. with a high of 95. It is 807. Now you're up to date. Thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network. Father Flanagan, Mass for Thanksgiving, put on by the archdiocese of Omaha. We'll be celebrated 8 30 p.m. Central time this Sunday, September 13th, all across the network here on spirit Catholic Radio. So tune in as Archbishop Michael McGovern. Those are Thanksgiving Mass for Father Flanagan. And now you're up to date. Thanks to your mornings and also we have it on the our website as well. If you want to tune in. That's right. All the details can be found at spiritcatholicradio.com

1:08:15and so many reasons to sign up for the weekly newsletter known as the spirit Catholic Radio. Hey, low. That's one of those emails you'll actually look forward to getting in your inbox. Sign up for that at spiritcatholicradio.com. Hey guy, chapter two versus one through nine. That's what we're going to be covering on the good book club this morning with Father Luke Fleck. But first, Father Louris Grille with Morning Prayer. It's 808. A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. A spirit of wisdom and of understanding. A spirit of counsel and of strength. A spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Good morning. We are in the 23rd week of ordinary time. Today is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. My name is Father Louris Grille and I come to you from where I serve as pastor

1:09:15at St. Mary's in Weimar, St. Mary's in Odell and St. Joseph's in Barnston. Are you familiar with the Catalpetry? They're beautiful, really. They're a fast growing tree and they provide shade. The Catalpetga has large heart-shaped leaves and its seed pods look like beans. My rectory for many years had two Catalpas at the front door. A windstorm fell them over in 2022. From the stumps, new branches started coming forth right away. I let them grow for a good while, but then I became concerned that another wind storm might crash them into my house. So I asked parishioners to cut them down and grind up the stumps. The stump of Jesse is the reading the church chooses for this day dedicated to Mary's birthday. She said yes to God's plan to make the stump of Jesse blossom again. You see, the son of Jesse was King David. David had been promised by the Lord that his kingship would last forever.

1:10:18But the Davidic kingship disappeared after Jerusalem fell to Babylon in 586 BC. Like a dead stump, it seemed God had forgotten his promise to David. But then God sent his angel to a virgin in Nazareth named Mary. The angel said that she would bear a son and that the Lord God would give to him the throne of his father David. And the Virgin Mary said yes to God's plan. Thanks be to God for Mary. God bless you. Beatrice Nebraska and let's see looking at that forecast partly cloudy. This morning with the chance of storms after 3pm with a high of 96 in our spirit morning spotlight community of Beatrice Nebraska listening on 100.1 KP KALP. It's one of our low power networks, but that does mean you can't keep listening on that

1:11:21frequency. You can also listen online. spiritcatholicradio.com or on the free spirit Catholic radio app. And again, it's Beatrice. Then there's also the discussion of hey guy or haggie as we're going to be listening to haggie chapter 2 versus 1 through 9. And Father Luke, luck will be helping us out with that. Let's listen right now. It's now time for the spirit mornings good book club on spirit Catholic radio. As we open the Bible, let us learn how God's word can provide reassurance. In the seventh month of the 21st of the month, the word of the Lord came by haggie the prophet. Speak now to Zoravable the son of Shialty El, Governor of Judah. And to Joshua the son of Jehazadak the High Priest. And to the remnant of the people saying who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory. And how do you see it now? In comparison with it,

1:12:27is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong Zoravable and be strong Joshua son of Jehazadak the High Priest. And be strong. All you people of the land and work for I am with you. According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remains among. Do not fear once more. It is a little while. I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land. And I will shake all nations. And they shall come to the design of all nations. And I will fill this temple with glory. The silver is mine. And the gold is mine. The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former. And in this place.

1:13:35I will give peace. From the word of promise, audio Bible, this is the spirit morning's Good Book Club. Hey guy, hey guy, chapter two versus one through nine on the Good Book Club. And here to help us out this morning. Father Luke, Father Fleck, thank you so much for joining us as we hear about the coming glory of God's house. So first off for those who might have forgotten since Friday. I mean, it was three days ago or didn't get a chance to listen. Let's talk about hey guy or hey guy, the prophet. Who was he? Yes. Well, thanks for having me. Hey guy, the prophet. So he's the tenth among the minor prophets of the Old Testament. And his major mission here is focused on the restoration of the temple and temple worship. So the people have returned from exile. And this is the beginning of that last kind of big period of prophetic writings that takes place with the

1:14:36restoration of the temple. So he prophecies during about 520 BC when King Darius of Purgia is ruling. And then of course, Zoruba Bell is governor of Judah as well. So his major thing of course is helping to finish the rebuilding of the temple. And you know, speaking to the people of the glory that's to come ultimately in the messianic temple that the Lord will be ushering in. So what are we hearing today in hey guy or I'm sorry, hey guy, chapter two versus one through nine. What are we hearing today? Yeah, yeah. So continuing from last week, we're now going to hear how God is desiring to meet his people in their disappointment. So where they feel like the temple doesn't match the glory of the temple that Solomon built. He instead redirects their gaze not backward to its former glory, but forward to a glory that surpasses

1:15:40all imagination. So talking about the treasures, the gold, the silver, that will be ushered in. But more so, the ultimate glory that will come with the messianic promise. So this is ultimately, we see a foreshadowing here as Christians and the incarnation, the new covenant, and of course, the universal church as well. Well, it's really interesting here that we open up with these oracles and there's three recipients of the oracle. So who are those three recipients and why are they important? Yeah, so these are the main characters that are going to be brought up again and again. That the Lord is directing this prophecy too. So first of course is the governor of Judah, who is obviously the political leader of the returned exiles and he's even a descendant of the Davidic line. So this should establish in this moment how God is still present

1:16:45politically to the people with the renewal of the National Act of Covenant, or Renewal that he has. So the rebuilding of the temple is not merely just a religious project. It's also obviously one that has roots to the Davidic line as well. So that's one place. The other is of course the high priesthood that Joshua has and as the high priest he represents the people before God in the liturgical and sacrificial order. And so his role is incomplete until the temple is functioning. So they need to have the restoration of the temple in order to continue sacrificial worship in that space as well. And then of course not to be forgotten are the remnants of the people from exiles. So those who have returned from Babylon and the Calvian areas, these are the ones who have survived who have returned who are still clean to the promises

1:17:46God made despite every reason that they have to abandon them. And so God is directly speaking to them. And the message that he provides is not just for the leaders but for every person who has endured and is named now a recipient of his word of hope that he brings. So he wants to speak directly to their grief here where they feel like oh the temple's not as glorious as it was. Don't you remember how great the temple of Solomon was? So he's speaking to that disappointment that they have. Yeah he's talking about those who might have you know who of you is old enough to remember the temple of Solomon you know. So it is kind of this wound of comparison of do you even remember where you old enough to remember that? Yeah yeah you have to remember it 70 years since that time. So most likely most people have already passed. Basically thinking of the whole generation as probably passed away at this point. So even living memory that they've heard stories,

1:18:52they've heard tales of it. So the second temple just seems kind of pitiful by comparison to it. So he's going to speak to that part where he tells them three times to take courage. We should go back to the book of Joshua where he says be strong and steadfast. Right? Like this divine imperative to be rooted in covenantal faithfulness. Right? Despite what you see like the odds being so against you or you know what the world presents I am with you. Right? So take courage be strong. You know for his promises still stand especially his covenantal promises that he made when they escaped from Egypt. Right? He's not going to go back on those. And so then we see Haggar chapter two verses four and five which he makes he talks about the promise made back in the book of Exodus. Yep yeah. So he's going to have to go back and refer how his presence has not departed from them.

1:20:01Right? So his spirit still remains among them. You know and especially we're going to see how he talks about this. So he says my spirit remains your mitt so do not fear. And then we have this transition that he's going to shake the heavens and the earth. Right? So this huge eschatological kind of event that's going to shake the world, the nations. And it's going to emphasize his toll fulfillment of his promises where even the treasuries of all nations come in. So he's going to remove anything that that you know isn't you know part of his plan and particularly allow for that upbuilding of you know the the temple that's more glorious than what they would have thought on their own. And we ultimately of course see this with Christ who's going to enter into the temple itself. It's not a materially greater. It's going to be greater because the Son of God is going to walk

1:21:05through the gates of the second temple. And that's going to bring the glory of God and of course no gold can match what is you know the Son of God coming into that space. And as we move into verses eight nine he speaks further of this greater glory and as he kind of alluded there to it's greater than silver and gold. Yeah so yeah again like the material poverty of the second temple it's kind of funny how he references like this is almost a revelant to experiential significance. Right I think we get caught up in like the adornment of spaces and like how they you know have a granger to them but with God what does he do is he's going to say I will fill this house with glory. I mean to minus the silver minus the gold greater will be the glory of this house

1:22:08right and you know ultimately all all of creation belongs to the Lord right you know it's ultimately his but something even greater than that will decorate the the temple area or fill the temple space as well which again points to the Son of God walking into the second temple. You know this reminds me of and this is such a beautiful reminder too. This store I remember reading I don't know I was looking for a good news update and and something came across my feed and it was in a third world country very impoverished very poor country and their church there were people standing in line waiting to go to their Catholic church waiting to go to mass and it was just basically bamboo and tarp and stuff it wasn't like the big architecture that we can see you know in our country and in other countries where it's all this beautiful architecture and the flying buttresses and the stained glass windows this was just a simple you know concoction of bamboo

1:23:12and tarp and it was still a beautiful place in a beautiful church because of what we're hearing in Haggai where you know it was greater because Jesus entered it so you know it doesn't matter the material things or how it looks on the outside or inside once Jesus enters it is more beautiful than silver and gold and I love that part of Haggai here on the Good Book Club. Yeah yeah we're you just think of when we have Eucharistic adoration right that's the focal point in the Eucharist who is present in our midst and so everything else should kind of fade to our periphery as we gaze upon him who is present in that space and of course like we want to you know offer the best we have to our Lord and that's why we have those beautiful spaces that we create but ultimately if we inverse that and say we want the beautiful space first before we want our Lord then we find that our churches become an empty space a hollow a hollow space that

1:24:20is lacking of the presence of God. We're speaking with Father Luke Fleck he's the pastor saying Joseph Church in Cologne, Nebraska opening up Haggai chapter 2 verses 1 through 9 and as we walked through this we got to learn a lot about this verse but let's talk about some practical applications that we can apply to today's modern context Father Fleck. Yeah so again going back to like the spiritual significance of the temple and the magnificence that we would desire you know the people of Haggai wept because the new temple was materially inferior but we kind of face more of an inverse of that where our temples are materially magnificent but spiritually kind of hollow at times right where people aren't showing up to you know encounter our Lord and I love how we've had this renewal of the Eucharist taking place over the last few years ultimately with our Eucharist of Congress because that's the most important part is you know the Lord himself who desires to be

1:25:28in our midst and so each of those beautiful vessels that we make of distinct worship space that's consecrated for worship those are means by which we encounter him and so where else do we have to look today but of course our blessed mother who we celebrate her nativity today where the perfect vessel and the time and the effort that is put into it into her by our Lord is made ready for the word of God and so how can we not help that encounter the word how we can encounter Jesus himself whenever we go to the blessed mother she always always leads us to her son and just as the Ark of the Covenant was beautifully decorated and used sacred words and precious metals so our blessed mother is beautifully adorned as well with grace and obedience off the delity and so we see

1:26:30in her an image of what we can be as well when we give ourselves fully over to the Lord into his will but most especially in inviting the word of God the dwell within us it's the Good Book Club on Spirit mornings father Luke Fleck helping us out with Haggai chapter two verses one through nine and you know I'm always so fascinated with words I since I was a kid I would look at words and wonder okay how do they tie in with this and what are the the origins of words and today there seems to be this kind of underlying theme of words because our spotlight community is Beatrice but some people would pronounce it Beatrice and there's Haggai and the Haggai thing and you and I were talking off air father Fleck about okay well I always called him Haggar the horrible but then I was told it was Haggar the horrible it's these kinds of things that that that I get a kick out of so let's tie this in with your parish St Joseph is it colon Nebraska or cologne aha it is the colon

1:27:31it is colon Nebraska okay see this is I'm fascinated by the how how words get changed around giles and giles and all that kind of stuff so how are things going at St Joseph in cologne or colon Nebraska father Fleck yes yeah it's going really well praise God we have a new school year that it started and we are gang rave for of course the many dinners in our our county especially at our different parishes so come on by to our roast beef dinner on October 4th the feast of St. Francis of the Seas see what better would St. Francis want than for us to give thanks for all the many animals in that we have in our lives particularly when we say bless us so Lord and these that gives which you're about to see from night bounty through Christ our Lord amen so we can enjoy all the fine with roast beef so love to have people come out and it's easy to remember the date because you're like ooh where can I get roast beef or when is that 10 for good buddy October 4th

1:28:35and in colon Nebraska St Joseph's Church father Fleck thank you so much for helping us out on the good book the good book club this morning we really appreciate your insight on it would you please leave us with a priestly blessing who would be with you and with your spirit we all might be God bless all of you father the son and the Holy Spirit amen amen Father Luke Fleck from St Joseph and colon Nebraska thank you so much for helping us out on the good book club and if you want to get caught up on the good book club you'll be able to listen to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts or spirit mornings and you can play catch up on the good book club anywhere you get those podcasts it is 828 on spirit mornings now you're going to find out how a tragic loss two decades ago quietly laid the foundation for an unexpected miracle of love coming up next on the good news update be sure to invite your friends and family to encounter Jesus tell them to listen to the spirit Catholic radio network see the program schedule at spirit catholic radio.com slash

1:29:40programs stay tuned something inspiring is almost here the spirit Catholic radio fall carathan begin September 28 don't miss out lifting story and the opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself learn more at barricadedio.com spirit catholic radio empowering your soul hi my name is peter and i go to christ the king and oh maha and you're listening to spirit catholic radio encounter Jesus be sure to invite your friends and family to encounter Jesus tell them to listen to the spirit Catholic radio network what why do catholics do that why do catholics have x communication every society has the right to exclude and deprive of their rights and social advantages it's unworthy or grievously culpable members either temporarily or permanently this right is necessary to every society in order that it may be well administered and survive the severe penalty of x communication that is being deprived of all participation in the common blessings of ecclesiastical society exists first to prevent a Christian from committing

1:30:45a heinous sin moving them to rethink performing an action in light of the penalty that will be in post and second to move a person to repentance and reconciliation and that's why catholics do that it's now time for the spirit warnings good news update on spirit catholic radio sponsored by wheat fields bakery express located at one hundred eighty ninth and maple in omaheads a drive-through option for busy people on the go so we often talk about gods divine providence and how he can weave light out of even the deepest shadows so this beautiful story reminds us how love and life are interconnected in ways only god could arrange so this all started back in december of two thousand three there was a ten year old boy named Michael waters from date in ohio who was tragically struck by a car and lost his life but even at that young age of ten Michael possessed a remarkable heart of selflessness he had told his family earlier in his life that if anything had ever happened to him he wanted to

1:31:48be an organ donor in their deepest grief his parents honored his wish a truly courageous and heroic act of charity now at that exact same time down in Kentucky there was an eighteen-month-old little girl named Brooklyn Dotson who was suffering from a rare life threatening liver condition doctors told her heartbroken family that she only had days to live without a miracle that very next day here comes that miracle michael's liver was donated to baby brooklyn saving her life and the church often reminds us that organ donations carried out with deep respect for human life is a noble and meritorious act of love and through michael's sacred gift Brooklyn got to grow up live a vibrant full-life and carry a piece of his legacy with her but god was not done writing this story yet a couple of years later the two families connected which can often happen when there's an organ donation and these families began a friendship that

1:32:51spanned more than two decades michael's younger brother Noah grew up alongside Brooklyn he was there for her as a steadfast friend through childhood milestones even supported her through additional medical treatments in her teenage years over time that lifelong friendship bloomed into something even deeper a god-given love and last christmas eve Noah asked brooklyn to marry him and she said yes and now pardon me I get choked up when it comes to these kinds of stories now these two are preparing to walk down the aisle together later on this month and reflecting on it all Noah said he believes his late brother knew his ultimate purpose sharing I had no idea that my brother was going to save my wife's life 20 years later what a powerful reminder today that no act of selflessness is ever wasted in the eyes of god and that even in loss god compliant the seeds for new joy family and lifelong devotion so let's keep brooklyn and Noah in our prayers today as they prepare for the holy sacrament of

1:33:54matrimony later on this month with your good news update i'm damian montez on spirit mornings it's a beautiful reminder of god's love for us and within our families you know our loved ones still remain with us even in these times and certainly michael lives on in brooklyn and in that marriage with Noah that's going to be a beautiful thing and what a powerful reminder that is I wouldn't be surprised if we hear more about Noah and brooklyn in a future good news update once the marriage happens you know how this will continue on so I do look forward to that let's take a look at spirit mornings whether it's 834 spirit mornings weather brought to you by simply amazing popcorn and Lincoln in western Nebraska today partly cloudy with the high of 88 central Nebraska a chance of showers throughout the day with the high of 82 in northeast Nebraska storms ending this morning cloudy this afternoon with the high of 84 in an eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa partly cloudy this morning with a chance of storms after 3 pm with a high of 95 it's

1:34:56834 now you're up to date thanks to spirit mornings on the spirit catholic radio network this Thursday September 10th cratin prep is that miller north we're going to be carrying that game on the spirit catholic radio network kickoff is at 7 pm you can hear the game live as the cratin prep junior jays take on miller north mustangs who do you think who do you got oh I got a route for the junior jays but I had breakfast with a buddy of mine who's a cratin prep alum Jeff again in his nephew plays for the cratin junior really football team so you know a position so linebacker okay yeah yeah so we cheering on the defense time yeah so he said he'd be going to cheer on his nephew like like we good uncles usually do for an easy enough you so okay yeah go junior jays we've got let's see what's going on next I guess we have to we we get to you know today such a beautiful day we have just really enjoyed praying to Mary and with Mary the nativity of the blessed virgin Mary is today and we're going to learn more about that right now and then we're going to learn about how

1:35:59you can head out into the community and help your community as Jesus has instructed us we're going to talk with somebody from the food bank for the heartland next this is Franciscan media saint of the day for September 8th today we celebrate the nativity of the blessed virgin Mary we know nothing of the circumstances of Mary's birth but the church holds the blessed mother in such high esteem that it has long celebrated her birth on this state which comes exactly nine months after the feast of the immaculate conception the so-called gospel of james dating from the second century reported that Anna and Joachim were the parents of Mary though the work has no historical value it reflects the long-held devotion to Mary and both the eastern and western churches we also remain unclear about where Mary was born ancient traditions suggest either Nazareth or Jerusalem we can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world this is true in a magnificent way in Mary if Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love Mary is the foreshadowing

1:37:04of that love if Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation Mary is its dawning next to the birth of Jesus Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world each time we celebrate her birth we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large there's more about the saints along with inspiration and Catholic resources at our website saintoftheday.org from francescanmedia this has been saint of the day blessed virgin Mary brave for us the spirit morning spotlight community this morning is Beatrice Nebraska and the weather partly cloudy this morning a chance of storms after 3 p.m. for the high of 96 in our spirit morning spotlight community good morning to our friends and listeners in Beatrice Nebraska and where are the listening gem 100.1 k p.k.a. are great wonderful low power out there well the LP in there throw that in there is that official designation or is that just something we do for the radio

1:38:06center i don't know it's just fun to say so say it well there it is dash LP k p k a dash LP said the word dash you'd probably need the dash in there i would imagine FCC will check on that so if you're not listening on 100.1 you can always listen online at spiritcatholicradio.com or on the free spirit Catholic radio app wherever you're listening thank you so much for being a part of our day and allowing us to be a part of your day and now let's tackle very important month that we're having this month this is spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network hunger action month Stephanie Sullivan from food bank for the heartland with Stephanie thank you so much for joining us so if it's hunger action month this only makes us think there must be a lot going on over these next several weeks to really kind of fill the fill the food pantries at the food bank for the heartland so Stephanie thank you so much for joining us what do you guys got going on? thank you so much for having me yeah like you said it's hunger action month this is a national

1:39:07movement the month of September is really focused on hunger relief efforts and it's a time to mobilize and inspire individuals and organizations to get involved in the fight against hunger because right now we are seeing highs that we have not seen in our history food insecurity has increased 62 percent across our service area over the last four years so now one in seven individuals and one in five children don't know where their next meal is coming from what do you think that is Stephanie I mean we seem to have an abundance of food here especially in America why are we struggling to get these the food to these people that's a great question years of inflation the rising cost of everything from health insurance to your mortgage your rent utility fuel and food all those things have increased but pay really hasn't kept up with that and so families and individuals are having to make unthinkable decisions do I pay my utility bill or do I get food for my family yeah and unfortunately the first thing that gets cut from people who are struggling to

1:40:13pay all their bills the first thing that gets cut is food and we're talking to neighbors who are honestly skipping meals so their children can eat which no family should ever have to face that decision we're talking to our pantry partners who are saying they have not seen lines this long since the pandemic so it's it's consistent barriers on top of all that federal funding has decreased programs like snap we're getting cut when you put additional barriers on top of people again and again and again it's just going to make food and security search so I was food bang for the heartland combating these issues yeah we are working with nearly 500 partners across Nebraska and Western Iowa and we are doing our best to ensure that every single day consistent access to healthy food that our neighbors need to live and thrive and so that's why this month is so important it's really creating awareness food insecurity is one of those hidden issues if you're not experiencing it or you don't know anyone who's experiencing it you don't think it's happening but it is happening to everyone at an alarming rate your neighbors your children's classmates

1:41:19people down the street your friends at church it's happening and and you just can't see it and so it's really to create awareness of what's happening and to inspire and get people to act and now there are several different ways to get involved one of the best ways to help the food bank one of the most efficient ways is through a monetary donation and right now throughout the month of September every single monetary gift will be matched up to 125,000 dollars and yeah I'm glad you brought that up because it is a it's a question of if not me who and then if me how so what are some of the ways how you know it's the easy way as you go and pick up some groceries you bring it to the food bank for the heartland but in every little bit helps so we don't want to discourage anybody that can donate just a little bit but sometimes people want to go okay yeah but how can I make this a bigger thing with my family or my friends or my parishioners yeah that's a great question and we are seeing more and more people get involved in creative and innovative ways we just had a little girl show up the food bank and she was nine years old and

1:42:20she had a lemonade stand and that lemonade stand raised $150 and then her parents donated some money as well so it's it's little things like that you don't think make a big difference but it really does so whether your kids want to have a lemonade stand or whether you and your co-workers want to host a food drive there are so many different ways to get creative in the fight against hunger and we need that support now more than ever as like I said more and more people are facing unthinkable decisions right now if we would like to support the food bank for the heartland how do we do that you can visit our website foodbankheartland.org there you can learn more about food insecurity in our area make a monetary donation and have that monetary donation matched learn how to sign up to volunteer or get some ideas on how to host a food drive and are you still doing the backpack program too we are our favorite things I got to participate in several years ago with food bank for the heartland and it's so important because you talk about food insecure you know when you're a

1:43:20child and you're outside playing and burning off a lot of energy but you're not consuming a lot of food nutrients that's not good for their brain that's not good for their body so talk about the backpack program real quick yeah the backpack program is essential to the needs of our children right now like I said one in five don't know where their next meal is coming from so our backpack program allows kids to get the healthy meals that they need over the weekend so they can come back to school on Monday ready to thrive because we can't expect our children to thrive in the classroom if they're not getting the essential food that they need so this gives them entrees snacks breakfast easy meals that they can put together over the weekend share with their siblings and and have that food so they can go ready to back to school and really focus on being a kid which is the most important part and I love the discrete way that they give the kids this food and still you know they don't do it in front of their friends or their classmates they they slip it into their locker for those who who need that food and and so I think it also allows them to keep

1:44:21their dignity yeah allows them to remain a child and then get those important nutrients so Stephanie thank you so much what's the website people can learn more about how they can help because I know they want to now yeah thank you foodbankheartland.org foodbankheartland.org Stephanie thank you so much we appreciate you Stephanie Sullivan assistant director of marketing and communications always good to have you you know I always have this vision of you coming in saying okay you don't have to give any more food we're packed now we're never going to have that it's always there's always going to be a need doesn't matter the weather doesn't matter the season doesn't matter what's going on so let's let's get the jumpstart on the upcoming colder days too yeah because we know food and security increases over the winter months absolutely so thank you again the website foodbankheartland.org can't say it enough it's very special. Thank you Stephanie thank you. Spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network speaking of things you can do in the community we also have our community engagement partners talking about how they're hitting the community for spirit Catholic radio we're going to learn about that but first

1:45:21let's pray along with Father Broviac. Thanksgiving for rain and prayers for additional moisture good in generous god almighty Father it is with grateful hearts and a humble spirit that we thank you for the generous rains received recently in different parts of our state of Nebraska it is a sign of your goodness to us please continue to give us continued in timely generous rains for our fields and crops we ask that you watch over those who earn their living from the earth farmers and ranchers who depend on the rain keep them safe in their work also watch over our homes and our families and protect them from Indian all damaging storms john 14 13 please know of our sincere gratitude for your gifts to us we ask all these things through your son and the spirit amen St. Isador the farmer pray for us

1:46:24this is spirit mornings on the spirit Catholic radio network again we are so grateful to you for allowing us to be a part of your weekday morning tradition Damian Montez Jeb Aishai filling in for Jen Brown she will be back tomorrow morning and you that's who makes up spirit mornings here on the spirit Catholic radio network but who makes up the spirit Catholic radio network you do your friends your family your fellow parishioners and this is why we have Lisa Dempsey and Amber Thielin from community engagement here in spirit Catholic radio because they want to come out they want to meet you they want to see your faces and and so they've been doing so much over this past year it's been such a busy year so let's talk about volunteering because as we are just what a couple weeks away my goodness a few weeks away from this the fall carathe on here on spirit Catholic radio and this is where volunteers are really going to come into play Lisa yeah oh they sure are and I'll tell you what before before we get to the volunteer opportunities with carathe on I have to give a shout out to Colby he is a member

1:47:28of Saint Cecilia parish in Hastings last week I thought oh gosh we've got one spot available for volunteering at Husker Harvest days so I went out and I looked at all of the folks who and checked their box during the doctor Marcus Peter tour yes I'm interested in volunteering please contact me so I just emailed Colby and I said hey we've got this one spot available with father worth on Thursday la la la and would you be available and he responded and said yes and so that is one thing in community engagement when you check that box yes I'm interested in volunteering our goal is to get you involved as soon as possible so Colby you know that we had Dr. Marcus Peter back in April Mayish right out in that area so 91.5 in Hastings grand island area and we found a spot for him to get involved right away so I'm looking forward to meeting Colby thank you Colby for responding but those of you who are interested in volunteering with spirit Catholic radio you can go to spirit spirit spirit caldhekradio.com hit the support tab on that menu

1:48:30across the top and drop down boxes volunteer click on that and we've got a form to fill out let us know what you're interested in and we'd love to get you involved but Amber's going to share a little bit about what our needs are for carathons that is coming up yeah the carathon is upon us and the one of the biggest initiatives we have is outbound calling which is sounds scary because usually it sounds like you're going to ask for money but these calls are not asking for money they're actually just asking people to tune in and listen to our carathon and then asking for their prayer requests so a much easier ask to do and a big help for us and a big part of evangelization as well and so we're going to be calling for the week before carathon which I do not have the dates in front of me it's a lot the carathon is the last week of September yeah but we're calling the week before and then during the carathon as well so if you're interested in that you can let me and Lisa know as well it's it's super easy and you get to like when you're talking to people

1:49:31you get to hear what's going on in their lives when you ask for their prayer requests which is which is very oh a fun part of the calls it's a very fulfilling part that's one of the things that my mom had said that she really enjoyed is when somebody does share prayer intention with her and give her gives her the backstory on it you know and it's funny Amber last week she was leaning on me saying hey think your mom would be interested in doing outbound calls again I said well I will email her and her sister my aunt my godmother I emailed the two of them it's all two people I emailed them and I and I gave them the explanation that Lisa kind of wrote up for me to to kind of best explain what they could do my mom immediately replied back and then my aunt my mom I they were conversing the other day when we were at my aunt's house so I don't know if my aunt was getting the details from my mom on it you know as far as how easy it is especially because you know again it isn't you're not asking for credit card information you're not trying to sell you know and I'm going to challenge all my fellow Gen Xers those of us that worked in telemarketing that did

1:50:32inbound and outbound calling I'm going to call on all of you because you've got those skills but the best part about these outbound calls is you don't have to get a there's not a quota to me you're not trying to meet a goal you're not trying to sell anything you're just trying to spread the word about our carathon and you want to ask how we can pray for people it's as easy as that right Amber yeah yeah well and the other thing is too you can make calls from home or you can come into the station and we just recently I with the past couple years got this automated system called phone burner and I jokingly say phone burner has my heart because you you come into the station we've got everything loaded up into phone burner and it's all automated and so you dial lots of times nowadays people don't pick up the phone if they don't recognize the number yeah I mean I'm guilty of that so we have an automated message coming from usually Damien says or Jen inviting folks to listen to carathon and and just to give them a heads up so phone burner is easy it takes five

1:51:33minutes to learn and we've actually converted a couple of our volunteers who have made calls from home to come into the station did my mom reach back to you yet this weekend did you get any mail from her yet you know I just got here I'm not sure but okay because I was on Friday and I want to follow her and my aunt Pat make sure that they can help out with this because my mom did enjoy being able to do it from home that was the best part you know especially when she helped out a couple of years ago my dad was still with us and so she could help keep an eye on him and take care of him while she was making these phone calls you know and now she's got even more time you know to to devote to it so I know she's looking forward to it and I'll be sure to like like Amber does she she kind of leans on you like it like it's some kind of mafia movie like hey you don't want it or not you know it's like that's what I'm going to do as well so we also had volunteers helping us out with other events as well Lisa we sure did so as you know we've been on the road a lot this summer with parade so shout out goes to Connie and Carmen Connie from St. Thomas

1:52:34Moore and Carmen from our Lady of Lords here in Omaha and we've had Jackie from St. Teresa's and Lincoln help out at Salt Dogs all three games June, July and August and so that was great to see her and from Christ the King Dawn and and her daughter Elz Morralda and here's the thing too eighth graders we know you need confirmation hours right service hours high schoolers parents of high schoolers let us know because there are some things we can have you do throughout the year so you just email us that community at kvss.com and we'll let you know what we have going on but we'd love our volunteers we'd love to get you involved as soon as possible when you do check that box or just call us to say hey I want to come volunteer we'd just we'd love to meet you love to get you involved being engagement always putting on lots of mileage Lisa how many miles you got today well riding wise I'm I'm leaning on you for that yeah the two winners are going to get into running speak here and yeah I know well jab you've been here longer than any of us here in the studio so

1:53:40talk about the importance from your interaction with volunteers over the several years you've been here how important it is to have these volunteers here in all the different ways they can volunteer according to their abilities you know I was born raised cradle Catholic I Catholic grade school Catholic high school great Catholic family I had every opportunity to learn and grow in my Catholic faith but I'm still learning and growing when I listen to Catholic radio and one of the important things I look at from a program in standpoint is we can have a lot of great wonderful Catholic programs that inform you on your faith and teach you about the faith and help you to come to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ but the important side of community engagement is they bring the listeners in they help our friends and family and those that have fallen away from the faith they're never even new Jesus come to know him so that's where your department comes into great help for the programming standpoint is we're trying to help everybody encounter our Lord and we can't do that without community engagement because we can keep somebody listening we believe with great Catholic

1:54:42programming we can't do that without getting the listener to come in and tune in to listen and that's where community engagement comes in right absolutely and there were always always ready to talk about spirit Catholic radio and how our programming can enrich your life and help you encounter Jesus I'm a perfect example of that because I didn't really listen before I started here and I've been absolutely immersed and it's been life changing and I'm not saying that lightly yeah yeah and Amber I know you're going to be at Husker Harvest days is that right both of us will be yeah both gonna do Husker Harvest days so you know somebody listening's like okay well Husker Harvest days what does that have to do with Catholic radio but what is it that we do out there at Husker Harvest days besides look at all the red trackers because you're a big red tractor fan but what is it about Husker Harvest days that kind of ties in with our Catholic faith in your job well we go to Husker Harvest days because there were able to cast or not really wide it's not necessarily just Catholics will be talking to but just just anybody that's interested in farming I guess which is a different community for us to break into and it happened to be a lot of Catholics out there that might stop by so

1:55:46that's always a fun part of being out there and and just doing something a little different and then I don't remember your question but yeah you'll be walking around and doing you know just kind of visiting but we would be handing stuff out for people that might want to know about the station yep we'll be handing stuff out we got a lot of freebies and then we also have a bunch of priests stuff to do our or to man our booth if you will and we'll have an ask a priest sign so what you could just had this morning of ask a priest you can do that live at Husker Harvest days if you have any questions going up to a priest and say hey I always wanted to know this father broviac or whoever it is that might be there and they can answer those questions right there yes and last year I don't know if it'll be an option but one of the priests was offering confessions and so anybody that walked up he would take him off to the side and do confessions so if you're feeling like you need that you and you don't know where to go come to our booth and ask I have a feeling those are going to be two of the popular booths Husker Harvest days ask and a priest and confession and again how can they learn more about becoming a volunteer community at kvss.com

1:56:49or you can go out to the website spearcathacredio.com support tab drop down volunteer read about us fill out the form and let's hear from you we'd love to have you part of our volunteer family yeah we would love to have you a part of it and again I'll double check with my mom make sure she emails because I gave her that same email address community at kvss.com so hopefully you'll be hearing from her and my aunt Pat soon thank you so much for all you've been doing I know it's funny we think of summers the busiest time but for community engagement every day is the busiest time so we appreciate you to for all you doing the time you put into everything for making us look and sound good out there on the streets we love it we love it spirit mornings on the spirit cathode radio network jeb i shine thank you so much for covering Jen these last couple of days she's back tomorrow morning cover for a secret super squirrel mission and it's coming to a closet welcoming Jen back on you know Kim impossible the cartoon oh yeah impossible yeah it's been

1:57:53impossible secret squirrel okay that's the reference to that so general will have completed her secret squirrel mission and Jen looks like Kim possible that's how we got the reference I'm gonna have to go watch that show and by gonna have to I mean not ever gonna check it out we uh got the road for your vocations followed by the daily mask coming up in the 10 o'clock hour pray for us and we will pray for you thank you for tuning god bless you can now access spirit mornings on your favorite podcast platform find the details at spirit catholicradio.com slash podcasts thank you for being a part of spirit mornings with jungron and Damien Montez on the spirit Catholic radio network this podcast courtesy of the spirit Catholic radio network to learn more about spirit Catholic radio including how to support spirit Catholic radio and other great programs on the spirit Catholic radio network head to spirit catholicradio.com or download the spirit Catholic radio app