Transcript

I've been blessed to have a relationship with Jesus my entire life.

It was something given to me by my parents and by the church that I grew up in.

But as a Catholic, that relationship has, has deepened immensely, most especially through the reception of holy communion and by going to adoration.

It's an amazing thing to think that, as Catholics, we can go into a church where there's adoration, where, where we can look at our Lord face-to-face, as it were, as we, as we gaze upon the host.

That's been a source of, of great grace in my life and in the lives of so many other Catholics that I know.

As a priest, though, my relationship with Jesus has been given an incredible boost, and the fact that, as a priest, it's my privilege to stand at the altar in his status, both priest and victim, and to call him down out of heaven, to, to hold him in my hands every day as he becomes substantially and truly present for us under the appearances of bread and wine.

It's an amazing thing to administer the sacraments, to stand in persona Christi Capitis, to forgive sins, to bring healing and hope to people through the sacraments.

All of these things are not lost on us priests as we do them.

There's so many times when we are, are doing our, our daily ministry as a priest that we become conscious of the fact that it's not us working, but that it is Jesus Christ working through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I really appreciate what the Catholic Church teaches us about suffering.

I feel like, um, it's human nature and the way I've always grown up is to avoid suffering at all costs.

That it's a negative thing, it's a bad thing, and you just don't want to have to go through hard times.

What I've learned since I've become Catholic, that suffering truly is not a bad thing.

It's, it's an opportunity always to grow closer to Christ.

My very favorite Mother Teresa quote is one where she mentions that in suffering, the, the beauty of it, the gift of it, is that you become close enough to Christ on the cross that you can kiss him.

And I have learned throughout, um, my time being Catholic that while, you know, suffering might not always be what I think is the best thing for myself at the time, it really It can be an opportunity to grow cr- closer to Christ, um, to view him on the cross, to see what he went through for us, um, and to realize in the end that it's a gift.