Welcome back friends today. I think today's going to be one of my favorite episodes probably because we're going to be talking about Mary. And if you've followed me for a while now, you know that I have a great devotion to her. She's played a huge role in my life and in my prayer life. Uh, and today joining me is a very special guest, Paul J. Kim. He is an incredible Catholic speaker. And if you have heard him speak, you know that he is equally inspirational as he is hilarious. He always brings the comedy and the beat boxing, and he's so entertaining to watch. Uh, and he's also the author and host of the bestselling online course, a Catholic guide to adulting, which sounds like we all could use a little bit of that wisdom. So Paul, welcome to ever
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Thank you very much. That's not my accent. Good to be here with you, man.
Track 1:Paul, for those who maybe don't know much about you, can you share a little bit about your background
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Well, I was conceived in 19 No, I'm kidding. Um, so, a little bit about me. Yeah.
Track 1:Not that far back.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:not a good TMI. Um, so I would say, uh, long story short, I was your typical average Catholic kid who is on the one way track of being confirmed and never coming back that rhyme, that should be a song. Um, and God in his great mercy, especially during my college years, essentially sent his mother to rattle me in the sweetest and gentlest way possible through the prayer of the Rosary out of my lifestyle. And. That basically catapulted me into a rediscovery of my Catholic faith, um, into my initial conversion, because conversion is a lifetime thing. And I then discerned religious life with the CFRs for a few years, thinking that might be it. So I hung around some pretty holy and hairy dudes for a couple of years in New York city. And,
Track 1:That's true.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:um, and it was, it was very formative. I know for yourself, you were a focus missionary. I know many people go through net focus, um, different faith based opportunities that really strengthen and form them in so many ways. I didn't do the missionary route there, but, um, being in formation with the CFRs was kind of that chapter for me. And so I discerned out naturally. Um, and I had to figure out what my next best steps would be. And I thought maybe I'd be like a Catholic therapist. So I went to school, got my master's in marriage and family therapy. And it turns out no one calls you master. If you get a doctor, they call you doctor. So it was a bad deal. Um, no, I'm kidding. Yeah. Bad
Track 1:Bad decision.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:No, uh, it was, it was great formation. Also. It helped me really understand relationships that helped me understand a lot about myself. And while I didn't. ultimately do counseling. Um, around that time, God was opening up doors for me to, to speak at local churches and youth events and things like this. And honestly, that door kept opening and I was like, all right, I'm just going to keep running through this door. Cause one, I enjoy it. And two, I can, you know, this is becoming my career, if you will. But, but more than that, I understood it to be a call. And so God was using all of those interesting journeys in life, all those different chapters to prepare me for what I'm doing now. Um, now happily married, uh, uh, 11th year this August, got our, our sixth baby on the way. Life is crazy, but it's good. And it is such an adventure. Yeah. Yeah. So, so yeah, been doing ministry as a full time Catholic speaker for the past 13 years or so. And, uh, just went to my 50th state, Pesky, Maine. And yeah,
Track 1:Congrats. Congrats. That's
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:cool. It's cool to be able to say that. It's not like I reached every soul in every state, but, um. You know, just to do my part and that's ultimately what it is. You know, we can only do so much. We only have a limited amount of time in life and reach, but it's, it's all a team effort. You know, mother Teresa, St. Mother Teresa, she once said, you do what I can't do and I can do what you can't do and together We'll do something beautiful for God. And that's ultimately it, you know, and when I put it into that perspective, it's not about, it's not about competition. It's not about me being more notable or notorious than this person or the next. Cause I mean, ironically, even in ministry that can creep in, it's just what God, what do you want me to do? And I just want to be faithful to that. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters, right? Living our vocation. Well, so a little bit about me. Thanks for listening.
Track 1:Yep. That was great. That was perfect. Thank you for sharing that. you mentioned in a little bit of that story that like Mary played a big role in your conversion. She, you know, you said that she, she rattled you or she shook you, you know, she jumped in. So can you share more about that? Like what sparked your relationship with
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:I was shooketh by her intercession. Um, yeah, speaking Gen Z terms with, like, a British accent is quite interesting, actually. The Catholic Riz, chapter one. Uh,
Track 1:Hey, you gotta meet people where they're at. You know,
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:to all Zoomers. Um, uh, okay. So back to your question, sorry. Side track myself. Um, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I went to UCLA for a few years and, uh, it was during that time, you know, just typical party life, just, uh, majoring in hedonism pursuit of pleasure. Um, and during, during that time, uh, my conscience was bothering me and. I, I believe God was using that to kind of lead me back to himself. And so, yeah, I just, I was like, okay, how do I connect with God? I guess I'll pull out a rosary. That seems like an awfully Catholic thing to do. And so I pray, I started praying the rosary and oddly enough, um, I felt more peace and joy and purpose in that 25 minutes of prayer than from the whole week of screwing around. And so it fascinated me because I was like, that felt really good. You know, and it's, it's kind of funny because when you like you browse through social media, you see all these people and all these influencers and God only knows where they're coming from or what their, you know, their values or life, life, uh, view worldview is, but you know, there, I think. I think I know the easy answer and it's because we're all hardwired to have a relationship with the infinite and and God alone is infinite, right? We all have this hunger and desire to search for more and so naturally like all these people are like talking about meditation and like manifesting and all these like Kind of spiritual things that might go and miss the mark, but still there's that hunger and desire, right? And so for me, praying the rosary was kind of that lifeline where I was like, Oh, oh yeah, I have a soul. I should probably like think about what my soul looks like and what my relationship with God is like. And so as I was praying the rosary, I just came back to it the day after and the next day. And I'm kind of, you know, like playing hopscotch where I'm like one foot into like whatever the heck I want to do and one foot into like, all right, I want to try to be a good Catholic or whatever, because this is new. But eventually it came to a head where, um, you know, Mary was really, um, she was trying extra hard to get my attention. Um, and the Catholic understanding of things is called like a signal grace where, Not necessarily like a miracle. I guess a mini miracle, if you will, where yeah, like I'm sitting by myself on a bench outside my dorm room and I'm praying and I start smelling roses out of nowhere, you know, for no particular reason. Right. And so for me, that was kind of a no brainer. I'm like, uh, it was probably, probably Mary. Yeah. She's probably trying to get my attention here. And I'm being led slowly but surely back to the sacraments like reconciliation and I make a good confession for like the first time ever in college where I'm actually transparent and Repentance and wanting to get all the things off my chest. And then that leads me towards the Eucharist where I'm like, all right, let's go to, I don't know, mass on a weekday. Let's just keep going down this route. Let's try to figure out like what this Catholic thing is all about. Cause you know, once again, a professional Catholic on paper, but sorely lacking in one fundamental piece. And that is a relationship with Christ. You know, it really is that simple. And I get it like, especially in our cultural climate, if you spend any time online, there's like this. perpetual beef between like Catholics and Protestants and the Protestants will say, well, it's all about relationship with Jesus. And then they're like, it's not about religion. It's about relationship. And like to that, I say, eh, well with an asterisk, yes, it's about relationship with Jesus, which I needed in my life at that time. And that was actually really important because naturally in scripture, you know, the disciples have an encounter. a relationship with the Lord. And then, but at the same time, he does establish a religion. And I mean, even Protestant churches are technically a religion because they have ways of understanding God, ways of practicing their faith. They have traditions and rituals, even in their very non Catholic services. And so it's neither here nor there. It's just, it is what it is. I needed to connect in a way that was, you With that personal relationship element of knowing God, of being known by him and, and our lady, Mary, you know, the, the, the common complaint or concern or just argument, if you will, is that she is a distraction, she is an idol, she is, you shouldn't focus on her, she will lead you astray. That's not what God wanted. You should just go straight to God. And to all of that, I say, well, actually, if you look in scripture, Mary's desire isn't to like flex on herself. Like she's trying to do one thing and one thing alone. And that is one to glorify God, who happens to be her father, but also happens to be her son, which is a pretty wild relationship to have with God. Um, but also like John chapter two, verse five, do whatever he tells you. Right. First miracle of Cana, like that could easily summarize her mo or her mission statement, which is like, just do whatever he tells you. I just want you to follow my son. And so in real time, I was experiencing that where, as I'm spending time with her, praying the rosary, you know, Getting to know the gospels through her eyes and St. Jean Paul, the second and his letter on, um, uh, gosh, I forgot the actual title. It may have just been a letter on the Holy Rosary, but it's essentially back in 2002, where he announced the, um, the luminous mysteries. So the first time in hundreds of years, like a Pope had basically established a new set of mysteries, the luminous mysteries, to emphasize the divinity of Christ, his ministry. And I remember in that letter so beautifully written, he says that The rosary is a School of Mary where we're spending time meditating on the life of Christ through the eyes of the mother. And who knew Christ's best? I mean, the whole joyful mysteries, if you think about it, the gospel writer Luke St. Luke. I mean, he had to have sat down with Our Lady and asked her these intimate questions about what was your experience like. Tell me, like, first hand, what happened? Uh, the angel Gabriel appeared to you? What? You, you went to your cousin Elizabeth? That's what she said? Like, the only way he could have actually received this information is if he sat down and spoke to her. So, if you think about it, the Gospel, I mean, the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke, I mean, that's like first hand eyewitness stuff through the eyes of Our Lady. Right. Right? And so,
Track 1:I love that. I never thought about it like that. That's so
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:so, as I'm sitting there, you know, in prayer with Our Lady, Unbeknownst to me, she's, yeah, she's giving me also a first hand view into the life of Christ, and, and of course, like, on the other side of eternity now, she's able to intercede in a much more profound way, and that's what she's doing for me, and I'm like, whoa, okay, I, I'm kind of understanding the gospel more, I'm intrigued, I, I want a relationship with God, I, I want to be in right relationship with him. I want to be in his grace. I, I, should probably go back to confession. I, I should probably like figure out this mass thing because I've done it all my life, but there just wasn't much of a connection. But as I opened my heart in faith and as I pursued the Lord, um, you know, and I share this all the time, but in Jeremiah, God says, if you seek me with all your heart, you'll find me. And that's essentially what was happening. And Mary was there every step of the way, every step of the way. And so, um, I showed the story a lot too, but for some reason, our lady under the title of our lady of Guadalupe was like present throughout the string. It was always our lady of Guadalupe. And I joke around. It's because I'm so Mexican that she just really. You know, just reaches out to me, but it's funny. Like that image, she was always there. And so that I went to this church called St. Paul's down the street from UCLA. And I remember like praying before her image of our lady Guadalupe asking her to make, help me make a good confession. And then I'm, I'm waiting in line and I opened the door and then the roses again, the smell. And I'm like, okay, they must be in here. And I'm looking around, there's no roses. And then after my confession, I asked the father, I'm like, do you smell roses? He's like, I smell my sandwich. I don't know what you're talking about. And. You know, it's like Mary is there at all the key moments in the life of Christ, right? And she was there at the foot of the cross when his side was opened up, right? He was pierced with a lance and his blood and water poured out and became the fountain of mercy for the whole world, right? And so naturally it makes sense that in a way she would be there with me at confession. We're mystically speaking sacramentally like that blood and water is being poured out on my soul again. And so she's there She's present and then you know, I transfer from UCLA to Franciscan University of Steubenville right Catholic Disneyland in the armpit of America Steubenville, Ohio
Track 1:Yeah.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:And so There she is, like our lady Guadalupe, in the chapels of the dorms that I'm in. Okay. Um, and then I joined the Friars, as I mentioned before, and she's the patronist of that community. I lived in a friary in Har in, in the Bronx for a few years where literally there's a 30 foot mural on the side of the, the Friary. She is present, she is just journeying with. And then I left the, yeah, and then I left the community, I discerned out, and I'm like, what now, right? And, you know, if you talk to anyone who's kind of spent time in discernment or seminary or religious life, and they discern out, you will find that I think there is a common struggle amongst those who have this experience, and it's that, Should I have tried harder? Could I have done more? Like, did I make the right move? You know, like, cause everyone goes into these situations with an ideal of like, I want to do something great for God. And so when it doesn't pan out, they're kind of left with this, like, uh, are we still good? Like, you know, like, uh, I just, I, you know, and it was a wrestle even for me. And, and so as I'm kind of like figuring out next best steps and I'm trying to keep my faith life up, um, I eventually met my, my now wife, who at the time, obviously it was my girlfriend. And, um, what's funny was at the time she wasn't even Catholic and. Yeah, and so I met her at my friend's wedding reception. He asked me to emcee. And so I was telling corny jokes. I was actually, uh, had the vantage point that night, right? Of all the cute girls. And I'm like, no, she's too drunk. I'm not going to hang out.
Track 1:Oh, yeah.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:But then I saw, I saw that my now wife at a table and I'm like, Oh, she's count. She's laughing at my jokes. And I, Talked to her that night. I got her not, yeah, I got
Track 1:all you need.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:you know, walked her to her car. And I remember like asking her, where do you go to church? And she's like, Oh, I go to some like. Very Protestant sounding church like it's called Mosaic and I'm like in my mind. I'm like, uh oh. I Hope this works cuz I'm not becoming Protestant and um, and so, uh, yeah long story short We started dating She tried to break up with me multiple times because I wasn't gonna become Protestant She wasn't gonna become Catholic at least she thought
Track 1:Oh, yeah. There
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:praying inviting her to events with me You know different ministry things because I was starting my ministry at that time You And I remember taking her out on a date on December 12th, which is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I certainly wasn't intentionally planning this, but went to a cupcake shop in Los Angeles, and we're at the register, and this lady, um, She, she has like this fat tattoo of Our Lady Guadalupe on her forearm. And I'm like, dude, that's a cool tattoo. You know, I'm like, you know, it's the feast of Our Lady Guadalupe. Right. And she's like, yeah, I'm like, where do you go to church? And she's like, I don't go. I'm like, conversation over. Thank you. Give me my cupcakes. So, so. So
Track 1:What?
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:we, um, we get back in the car and I started nerding out and I'm like, babe, did you, like, I was telling her just like the serendipity of like running into a girl with a fat tattoo of our lady Guadalupe on her feast day. And then I'm, I'm start like just giving witness to like how Mary has prayed for me. And this is how I experienced her in my life, her prayers. And she's always led me closer to Jesus. And once again, we don't worship her. And, uh, here's in, here's in scripture where. You know, these are the key points that are really helpful in understanding her role. I'm talking about apologetics. I'm telling her all the things. And at the end of the car ride, I'm like, is that helpful? And she's like, kind of, thank you. then in that moment, I'm, I just asked, um, I just asked her a simple question. I feel like this was God, like helping me. And I said, um, have you ever spoken to Mary? And she said, no, I don't. We've never taught that. So what would I even say to her? And I said, what would you say to like the best mom ever? Like, what would you say? How would you speak to her? And, and I said, do you want to lead a prayer to her? Like I'll, I'll pray with you and we can. Pray to her together and she said sure and she said this very like honest prayer, very simple, very humble prayer to our lady and um, she finished the prayer and she was very emotional, like in tears and so I was like, yeah, it's working.
Track 1:Yeah. That's when you know it hits.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:different that time, right? And so, so I asked her, what, what do you, what are you crying about? Like, what are the tears about? And she said, well, um, yeah, I've had a tough relationship with my mom lately. And the thought of having a heavenly mother who's loved me and prayed for me this whole time is really comforting. And so I said, praise God. And so basically what happened after that very long, there's many more chapters to this story, but. Very long story short, as I continue to pray for her, as I continue to like, show her the beauty of our Catholic faith by taking her to events with me and mass and all these things. And God was ultimately doing the heavy lifting. Um, you know, basically we, um, we were at mass one day and afterwards I said, you know, they're offering our CIA. And I said, you know, honey, would you be interested in that? And she said, yes. I'm like, Oh, praise God. So she went through the RCA program. And I think that at this point we were engaged as well. And, um, she, um, yeah, finished the RCA program. And shortly before we got married, she received baptism, confession, communion, confirmation, and then. A few months later, we got married. So it was like six sacraments in one year. Pretty big deal or five, five, five, five, five sacraments. Yeah. Five,
Track 1:A lot of grace.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:lot of grace. And so that was pretty cool. And so anyways, going back to our lady, like I saw how she was present in my life and as our marriage continued. Um, we, we got married and, you know, basically we got pregnant our first year of marriage and we went to the doctor and we're like, Hey, um, the doctor's like, yeah, that the baby's gonna arrive on December 12th. And I'm like, yeah, she, yeah, she
Track 1:way.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:I just claimed it right there.
Track 1:You're like, I knew that.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:that even though this is all a big surprise.
Track 1:I could have told you that myself.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:And so, um, you know, the, I mean, that's purely an estimate, you know, doctors don't know the exact date, but they can give you a general idea. And so doctors said December 12th, I'm like, yep, December 12th it is. And so we, you know, fast forward, it was December 3rd and I was like, honey, let's pray Novena. Let's pray a nine days of prayer for this intention that our daughter would be born on the feast day. And we just dedicate her to our lady of Guadalupe and. God will do the rest. And so, um, we're praying the Novena and at this point it's like December 11th. And she's like, honey, I don't know, like contractions don't feel like any different or more intense. So I'm like, baby, it's going to happen. And so I took her to Costco and I made this girl walk. And then, uh, and then we went to the, I'm not joking. We had to get groceries, whatever. I'm not, I wasn't trying to torture. And then we went to, then we went to the movie theater and. You know, we're just chilling out watching a nice film. And then we go back home and she falls asleep and I'm just like up and I'm just kind of like, I don't know if it was like just this angst that I just got this feeling like, no, it's going to happen real soon. But I stayed up till like three in the morning. And I remember like three, three or four in the morning, my, my wife wakes up and she's like, Oh my, I think my water broke. And I'm like, eat this time. And so I was like, game on. And we had some like waffles and we went to the. You know, local hospitals called St. Joseph's there in Orange, California, and long story short, our first girl, our baby daughter, Audrey, was born on December 12th at three something in the afternoon. So very fitting. Um, and so once again, It was like our lady saying to me, just like in some sense, she said to Juan Diego, you know, why are you afraid? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle? Are you not underneath the crossing of my arms? You know? And so she's really been a mother to me. She's been very, very loving and merciful and sweet to me. And she has prayed for me and my family. And And even today, you know, as I, as I turned to her often and I asked for her prayers, like I do. I don't always feel her presence, of course, but I know that she is always present and interceding for me. And as I continue to entrust, not only myself, but my marriage, my children, my family, my ministry, everything that's dear to me, um, as I offer it to God through her intercession, by, by consecrating myself to her, um, it comes as a huge consolation knowing that. You know, as Hebrews 12 says, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and one of those witnesses happens to be our spiritual mom who Christ gave us on the cross when he said to the beloved disciple, behold your mother. And so as the saying goes, I think it was St. Maximilian Kolbe, if you do not call Mary your mother, you cannot call Christ your brother, you know? And also another quote, another banger from St. Maximilian Kolbe is. You cannot love Mary more than he or you cannot honor Mary more than he honored her Every grace that she yeah
Track 1:Yeah, I think, I think it's, you can't love Mary more than Jesus loves Mary or something like that. Like, you can't beat the love Christ has for his mom, so don't worry about overloving
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:It's impossible because every grace that she received from her immaculate conception to The motherhood, being the mother of God, to being, uh, perpetually sinless, to being a perpetual virgin, even though she gave birth, wrap your head around that, to being, the, assumed in the heaven, to being the queen of heaven and earth, like that's all, these are all singular graces and, These graces stem from what Christ accomplished on the cross. So indeed she was saved, but she was saved in a more excellent way. And so like when our Protestant friends or even our Catholic friends who are like, just confused about what's the big fuss. Well, it's kind of that Christ made a big fuss about her. It's kind of the fact that he like, he really overdid himself in not only redeeming her, but redeeming her in such a way that it would give us all hope. And here's why, like the, the, if we're going to get kind of nerdy here, the dogma of the immaculate conception, meaning the belief that is a, pivotal belief of the Catholic faith that Mary from the moment of conception was delivered from the stain of original sin. You know, people will often say, well, if that was one, how, and, and secondly, if that's the case, then why does she need a savior? Um, to that Mary says, I've pro my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my savior. So she herself. Proclaims that she is saved, but how, considering this dogma, right? That was declared in, I believe the 1800s. Well, um, the, the theologian in the Catholic church whose work was actually quite influential in helping to develop this. This understanding, this doctrine that led to the dogma ultimately was an individual by the name of Blessed John Duns Scotus. And so, Blessed John Duns Scotus, uh, fun fact, you know like back in the day when kids would get into trouble in school, they would get sent to the corner and they'd have to wear a dunce cap. You remember that? The little cone hat and that was the way to shame them and get them to behave or whatever. Obviously, that didn't happen in my generation, but. So the dunce cap actually is, is coined by the insults that the enemies of blessed John Duns Scotus coined for him. They called people, Oh, you're such a dunce as a, as an insult. Yeah. Against the great theologian and saint, his enemies didn't like him. So like, don't be scared.
Track 1:I don't know if that's a bummer
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:I know, right? So now, if you're being punished in the corner, you can take it with great honor. Wow. Um, so blessed John Dunscotus, in simple terms, um, And this is an analogy that I think is helpful for a lot of people, but the understanding that Blessed John has had was like, okay, Mary has been saved, but in a more excellent way. And to give you an analogy, like, let's say, for example, you're, you're about to like, you're walking down a path, right? And this path is like the same path that all humanity goes on. And ever since Adam and Eve, and through this sin of original, Um, we are all tainted because like in the middle of this road, if you will, there is a quicksand. Okay. And everyone, just by virtue of the fact that they are born into humanity will fall into this quicksand and have the stain, if you will, of original sin. Well, Mary's on the same path, but what if an individual, right? But, um, but before I get there, um, we fall into this, um, There's quicksand, but Christ pulls us out of the quicksand and saves us. Well, what if Christ were to say to Mary, You're on this path and you are about to fall in, but here, walk around. I will show you a path around it. Is Christ still not saving her? Of course he is, but he's saving her in a more excellent way. Because here, he's not saving her once she's fallen, but he's preventing her from falling to begin with. And so, this is still salvation, but it just looks a lot better, and it's better. And so Mary was given this singular grace. Um, and it was just that God, who can do anything by the way, He can choose what year he's born, the circumstances, the geographical location, and it also happens that he can also create his own mom and prepare her. And it was fitting that Christ would enter this world conceived in the womb of the Ark of the New Covenant. What is the Ark of the Old Covenant? In the Old Covenant, the people of Israel wandered through the desert, and the command given to Moses was to basically create an Ark, which was made out of incorruptible wood. That was plated with solid gold, and it was so holy that you had to carry it on poles. And the reason you did is because it held three artifacts that were representative of God's presence, His holy presence. They were the two stone tablets that came down to Moses on Mount Sinai, right? They were the, uh, it was a piece of manna or the, the bread that came down from heaven that God just so conveniently allowed the Israelites to eat and survive in the desert with. And it also held the staff of Aaron, the high priest. And these symbols of God were so anointed and sacred that once again, they had to be held in this very holy container. And it was so holy that in fact, God warned that if anyone would touch it, they would die. And it happens that there's this guy in the Old Testament named Uzziah who didn't listen. And instead of carrying it on poles, which God was very specific about, he thought he'd be like, You know, kind of novel and put it on a cart with wheels. And as this cart was like rocking back and forth and the ark was about to fall over, Uzziah stretched his hand out to like prevent it from falling. He touched it and lo and behold, he died. Okay. So, um, yeah, wild stories in scripture for sure. But anyways, like literally the, the, the ark of the covenant, like this was literally. The hope of the people of Israel, it was literally God's holy presence among them. Like if they had the arc, they won victory over their enemies. If they had the arc, they were blessed. If they had the art, they were safe. And eventually, you know, um, if, if, if, In scripture, you have this concept of typology. Typology is basically a nerdy term for something that happened in the Old Testament, but there is a parallel that happens in the New Testament. And this reality in the Old Testament sheds light on the reality in the New Testament and vice versa. So I think the most common one, uh, St. Paul uses a typology about the old Adam. Versus the new Adam, the old Adam, we all know he contributed to the original sin, the fall of humanity, but the new Adam is Christ, right? The old Adam was disobedient to God. The new Adam was obedient to God. The old Adam helped incur, you know, sin, suffering, and death. And the new Adam took on sin, suffering, and death and redeemed it on the cross. So you see, there's these parallels. Well, there's an old Eve, right? The old Eve was greeted by a serpent. Well, the new Eve, Mary was greeted by an angel. The old Eve basically fell into temptation by saying, I will not serve God. And Mary says in the new Testament, the new Eve, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to thy word. So you see, there are parallels. They're very striking. And so the arc of the old covenant, as I was talking about a second ago, pure made out of pure gold, incorruptible wood. Items of God that represent God. Okay, so who or what is the Ark of the New Covenant? Well, let's go all the way to Revelation. Saint John is like, just straight up having these wild visions. And right before he sees, right, and then right before the, The chapter I'm about to share, he says he sees the arc, a vision of the arc in the heavens and immediately thereafter, the next verse, the next chapter is about him seeing an image of a woman in the heavens, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars. It's crazy. And so, and so people are like, Oh no, well, John's just talking about, um, a symbol of Israel. Yeah, well, actually let's go a little bit further because it's very specific about how this woman gives birth to a child that will rule all the nations with an iron rod. Um, figuratively, yes, there is symbolism with Israel, but, uh, you can't figuratively give birth. There was someone who literally gave birth to this child and her name is Mary. And so the Ark of the New Covenant, if you work on that typology, the question is like, this old Ark of the Covenant was massively holy. It was God's present. So if Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, how holy would she have to be? Because here's the deal. Old cut, old Ark held, um, the two stone tablets, right? Well, Mary held the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, which the commandments symbolized, Right? Okay. Uh, the old, the old ark held the manna that fell from heaven, right? Well, her womb is holding the living bread that came down from heaven. Jesus Christ. Uh, the old ark holds the staff of Aaron, the symbol of the high priesthood. Well, Jesus Christ is the universal high priest who redeems all mankind back to his father. So question, how holy would Mary have to be? Pretty holy, like a
Track 1:Like, a lot.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:And so naturally these. These favors, these singular graces that God gave to Mary are hers and hers alone. And they're all by virtue of what Christ would do, even in the future. This is wild. It's kind of like back to the future, you know, even preemptively God was bestowing upon Mary, these graces that flowed from what he was going to do from the cross. And so
Track 1:wow.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:She's pretty impressive to say the least, but not just impressive. She is a work of mercy from God Almighty to us. And to think also that, you know, St. Paul talks about the body of Christ and how every body has a head and that head is obviously Jesus. Well, Jesus had a mother. And so naturally in the body of Christ, which we are all members of, we have a head, we have our, our Lord and savior, but we also have his mother. And the mother is not by any means a substitute for the savior. And, but, um, once again, at the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts all of his children to the mother. And so she is there, even after Jesus resurrects, after he ascends into heaven, she is there quietly, mysteriously, humbly praying with the disciples at Pentecost. She is present, she is praying, and it would be foolish, it would be terribly foolish to think. That she no longer cares that, and I hear this quite often, it is so bewildering to me, like it's because the theology isn't developed or it's because what people have been told at their pulpits for, for many years, it's misinformation and lies. And it's like in the words of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who said, you can't find a hundred people who actually hate what the Catholic church teaches. They hate what they think the Catholic church teaches. And. You know, it's these arguments of, you know, why, why are you, why are you praying to dead people? That's necromancy. That's, that's specifically warned against in the Bible. It's like, actually the scripture says that he is the God of the living, not the dead. You are gravely mistaken. It's literally the verse. So one, she's not dead. Number two, well, why are you, why are you asking her for prayers? Well, James 5, 16, the prayer of a righteous person prevaileth much. It's, it's the reminder that if you are tight with God, he's going to listen to your prayers. Well, why are her prayers matter? Well, just go to John chapter two, where through the behest of our lady who sees that the bride and the groom are out of wine at their, their party. Like she says to him, son, they're out of wine. That's intercession. And what does Jesus say next? He says, how does this concern me? I am not a wine distributor. No, he says it's not my time, right? And so Mary just says to the servants, do whatever he tells you. And like a good Jewish boy, he listens to his mom. And so he's honored. He's honored to hear the prayers of his mother and it was at her behest. And if you want to get even deeper, wow. Like we could just like open up the rabbit hole here, but like Notice he calls, he says, woman, how does this concern me? And people are like, the Protestants, Protestant friends are like, oh, he doesn't even respect his mom, see that? Well, if that was the case, how could he be a hypocrite? Because he literally says, honor your mother and father in the commandment. If God doesn't do it, you think he's being, you know, that wouldn't make any sense. Why is he saying woman? I'll tell you why. Very fascinating. Because all the way back in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, When Adam and Eve have sinned and God is doling out punishment to both Adam and Eve and the serpent What does he put in there like an easter egg? The easter egg is called the proto evangelion which in Latin means the pre good news And what is the pre good news even in the midst of the punishment where it seems like everything's lost? God says to the serpent Because you have done this, you will crawl on your belly, you will eat dirt all the days of your life, blah blah blah. And I will put enmity, hatred between you and the woman, woman, between your offspring and hers. He, you will strike at his heel, he will crush your head. Okay, now. What is happening here? Because he's not talking about Eve, the woman, anymore. Because Eve has fallen into original sin, so she has a lot to do with the devil now. But remember, God said, I will put enmity, which is hatred, complete darkness. I mean, you are completely at odds between you and the woman. So he's not talking about Eve anymore, he's talking about Christ. He's talking about Mary. Because if you want to, oh, I was gonna blow your mind like that. Symbolism.
Track 1:I'm, I'm, this is already blowing my mind.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:of Mary, the woman. Right. Because once again, let's fast forward all the way to John. Jesus public ministry hasn't started yet, but at the miracle of Canaan, it's about to happen. And through the behest of Mary, right, remember it was at the behest of Eve, my husband, try some of this fruit. Remember that? That was literally the, the invitation towards Jesus. Disobedience and death. Mary was saying to her son, Jesus, who is the new Adam, she's the new Eve. And of course they're not married. So the, the, the analogy doesn't go completely. However, Mary says to Jesus, my son, they're out of wine. Right. And what does Jesus say? Woman, how does this concern me? It is not yet my time. Meaning, Jesus is like, if you want me to do what you're asking me to do, you understand that my ministry begins now. And we are going to fast track all the way through towards Calvary. And this salvation is about to go down, like, and the suffering that's going to have to result prior to that. And Mary says to the servants, do whatever he tells you. How does this concern me? Woman, right? And then let's keep moving forward towards Calvary. What happens as he's dying on the cross? What does he say to her? Woman, behold your son. Okay. Woman, right? It's, it's absolutely wild how it's all here, but let's, let's take it a step further. Remember that, that proto Evangelion, Genesis 3 15, you will strike at his heel. He's talking to the devil, and he will crush your head. Do you know that Golgotha actually means the place of the skull? So consider the imagery of Christ's cross literally piercing the skull of that mountain and the skull of the enemy. He is literally fulfilling prophetically what was uttered thousands and thousands of years ago, and that had to do with Mary, and that had to do with Christ. And so Mary is wrapped up cosmically, uh, in scripture from Genesis all the way to Revelation to when John is seeing that vision and it said the ancient serpent, um, was there trying to devour her child, right? This woman who is clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet, crowned with twelve stars. And it says, um, there was another interesting verse in there where it says that, um, the enemy, the serpent waged fury against her children or her father, like I'd have to pull up the exact verse, but it speaks to the fact that this cosmic battle has been waging on for thousands of years and it's precisely, it's ultimately against God versus Satan, but Mary has such a pivotal role in all. And so here's the thing without sacred tradition. Without the authority of the church to interpret, to bind them to loose and to help give us insight, naturally, it's really hard for non Catholics to just read scripture at face value and come up with these conclusions by themselves. And this is why there's so much misunderstanding about her. Because she doesn't say a whole lot in scripture, right? She has like a pretty pivotal like place in the early chapters of Luke, but then she's just kind of MIA for a while. She just kind of has these little guest appearances. And so people are like, they misunderstand her. They don't like her. But beyond just not misunderstanding her and being confused about her, I feel like it just gets wrapped up once again in that cosmic battle. Satan hates her. In a very particular way, in a very particular way, St. Louis de Montfort, who wrote True Devotion to Mary, whose book has widely influenced St. John Paul II, so much so that his papal motto, totus tuus, comes from a prayer that St. Louis de Montfort wrote, totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tuus sunt, which basically means, Mary, I am yours and everything I have is yours. It's a total entrustment to Mary because his understanding, it was, he had no qualms about this. It wasn't idol worship. There wasn't Mary replacing Jesus. It was the understanding that if God could entrust his only begotten son to the woman married for nine months and beyond, as he raised, as she raised him. Then who am I to say that I can't entrust myself spiritually to Mary, right? I mean, yeah, it's pretty clear, you know, our faith, it's just so important to, it's just so helpful, and it's so important that we don't singularly rely on ourselves to interpret Scripture. Because there is, one, such a wealth of knowledge, but And I get into conversations about this all the time, um, you know, debates, if you want to call it that, online, where I'll post anything remotely Catholic on my social media, and then, you know, a whole, like, tribe of disgruntled Protestants will be telling me why I'm wrong, and why I'm going to hell, why Catholics aren't Christians, and why Mary is idolatry, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, there's just these fundamental gaps in their understanding of why I believe what I believe. And it's because Christ, He didn't leave us with the Bible. He left us with the church. I mean, he did leave us with the Bible in the sense that he inspired the word of God and there were all these scrolls in circulation. But the fact of the matter is it wasn't until the year 397 A. D. and the Council of Rome or Carthage, whatever you want to call it, that the canon of Scripture was all put together. And so, The question becomes like, what did the early Christians do for the first 400 years then before the Bible dropped? Right. And even when it dropped, it's not like we had the printing press. So they couldn't read it for themselves. What was being taught? Well, St. Paul in second Thessalonians says that, hold on, hold fast the traditions that I've helped, I've passed on to you through writing and word of mouth. So the word of God came to the early Christians in two ways, through scripture and through preaching, meaning. That it's not about sola scriptura, which is a heretical understanding that the Word of God alone suffices and that is our only source of information about what God wants. But according to St. Paul in this verse, he's saying, uh, the Word of God came to you in two ways through writing and preaching. So, just because it's not explicitly said in the Bible doesn't mean that it's not part of our faith. And I'll give you a primary example. The Trinity. The scripture literally doesn't even use that word. Nor does it explicitly express that God is one in nature and three distinct persons. You know that early Christians for hundreds of years, like, fought and squabbled over this? When you're trying to figure out who is God, what is the belief here? Are they all this? Are they all equal? Are they like kind of equal? Did God create Jesus or was Jesus begotten, not made consubstantial with the father? Like we had the luxury of sitting here and like saying the creed, like it's no big deal. And yet the church like had to labor over like figuring out what is God saying to the church? And so anyways, I'm going down a bit of a rabbit hole, but when it, whether, whether it's the Trinity, whether it's scripture, whether it's Mary, it's like. We're so blessed as Catholics to have this relationship with her, to have this understanding of who God made her to be. And for me personally, like firsthand experiencing how profound her role is, like in our lives and how she does intercede for us and how she is truly a mother to us, um, has been a real comfort. And so, um, yeah, that's, that's great. that's a bit of the story.
Track 1:Paul, that was so amazing. I feel like we just got, like, not only, like, the heart, you know, like, your testimony, but we also got the head, like, we just got, like, a, like, crash course, theology course that, uh, I, I enjoyed so much and I feel like everything you mentioned are like tidbits of scripture and revelation that I feel like I've heard in different talks or different books, but put all together in, in that way that you presented it, it just makes it, like you said, like. So abundantly clear how pivotal of a role the Lord gave to Mary and how it's not, you know, he's not, she's not just his mother. Like I've heard Protestants say that a lot, like, yeah, like sure you can like, you know, respect that she was the mother of Jesus, but like, that's about it. But you, you hear all this and you say like, there's so much more than. Just his mom, you know, which alone is like a good and holy and honorable task, but the way that she plays a role in salvation history to bring us the salvation of Christ, the way that she played a role in your life and in my family's life in mine. And I know so many other people who Mary has interceded for and has just actively like. Like you said, like, I think you called it signal graces. I feel like what I've heard before is like stocks. Like sometimes you get like a saint, like stocks. You like Mary sometimes just like stalks you, tracks you down. And she's like, no, seriously, like, let me into your life. I want to show you who my son is. Um, so everything you said, it was so, so beautiful. Um, wow. I just like, we, mic drop. We could just end it right there. That was great.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Yeah. No, it's, it's, yeah, she's, she's amazing. And. Yeah, just having experienced it and also, you know, just furthered my studies about Mariology and just kind of diving into the beauty of our faith. It really is so eye opening and it's so important, I feel, for Catholics of any age and any walk of life to also learn apologetics, right, which is ultimately the defense, defending our Catholic faith. And not to defend it that, you know, we have to somehow frantically try to defend that it is the fullness of what Christ left for us, but, but more just a witness to like people who really don't know and who have misinformation, who have been told lies and whether it's about Mary, whether it's about the sacraments, whether it's about the community of saints or the Eucharist or any other Catholic thing, it's like, We have literally no need to be ashamed, but we should be thankful. And with that level of thankfulness and gratitude to like, go out and give witness to the world of like the beauty of our faith. And, um, as I think first Peter says in scripture that, you know, be ready to give an account for the reason of your hope. Right. And that ultimately is Christ, but also like, yeah, just to like, be ready, be ready, um, by learning about our faith, like filling your mind with what is good, true, and beautiful learning the why behind the what, and you don't have to know everything. I certainly don't know everything. Um, I'm very far from it, but. But there's certain things that I'm versed in where, yeah, I can, I can share when someone has a question. And so, yeah, I just encourage people to learn about their faith, to dive in. There's a lot of great resources out there on apologetics. I think one of the most OG ones is like Catholic answers. They have pretty cool podcast and YouTube videos. And, um, and if you don't know something that somebody is asking you or challenging you about, there's no shame in saying, that's a great question. I don't know how to answer that, but I'm going to look into it and get back to you. And fair enough, go look into it and come back and have the
Track 1:totally.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:But don't make stuff up.
Track 1:True, true. Definitely not. That's beautiful. So we talked a lot about Mary and obviously the amazing role that she has played in your life and that she plays in all of our lives. Um, what about the rosary? That's something that Mary says a lot in her apparitions that many saints have spoken about that clearly is a, also a pivotal, um, you know, thing that we should be paying attention to. So. What has the role of the rosary been in your life, or what are some words of, you know, wisdom about the rosary that you would like
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:yeah, um, that prayer has been just profoundly helpful in, in ways that I can both describe and I can't describe. Because, you know, when we pray, it's hard to quantify, like, what exactly is happening. You know, when we go to the sacrament confession, we make a good confession. We know that our sins have been washed away that much. We understand, but like, When it comes to prayer, reading of scripture, like, what is, what is happening? It's hard to figure out how to answer that, but I will say that through the years as I've, as I've prayed the rosary, as I've made that part of my devotional life as a Catholic, and um, I've, I've seen the fruits of that. I've seen my life change. I've seen my faith grow. I've seen certain sins. Little literally be broken, like the chains that, you know, enslaved me through different sins, um, literally be broken away because of the grace. I believe that God gave me through the intercession of our lady to be freed of them. Uh, Mary, as you had mentioned in apparitions, as she's kind of like. Appeared in different countries at different times throughout the history of the church for various reasons, but oftentimes those messages are the same and it's that with earth and the people of this world and the people of God need to return to God, like it's a mother coming as a concerned mother to warn her children. And not out of like fear mongering, but out of genuine concern, like, Hey, you need to change, or there's going to be like suffering and punishment that are going to be incurred here. And it's not because God is out to punish the world, but it's because like the sins of men and women are like filling the cup so much that it's going to overflow and people reap, reap the fruit of the ugliness of sin. And so, like, she's appeared in Portugal, in Fatima, in Akita, Japan, in Mexico City, in Kibeho, Africa, I mean, literally every culture and race you can think of, like, she's appeared. And when she appears, she's usually saying the same stuff. Pray the rosary, return to my son Jesus, right? Receive the Eucharist. Um, stop doing sketch, read the word, pray and fast, you know, pray for others, repent, I mean, just like the key, key things in the gospel, right. Repent and believe in the gospel ultimately. And so, yeah. Mary has, in some sense, with a lowercase s, right, she has saved me by leading me to the Savior, who has capital S saved me on the cross, right? And so, we all have a role to play in, I mean, in some sense, it's not us who save anybody, really. It's the Holy, it's the work of the Holy Spirit, and ultimately it's, it's God himself. But does he delight in using us? Absolutely. Does he delight in allowing us to be instruments of his grace? 100%. In fact, I'm forgetting where in scripture right now, but it basically says that we are coworkers of Christ in his vineyard. We are co workers. And what does that mean? I mean, it means that God is delighted to invite us into his work of salvation. And we see that as the last commandment to the disciples is, you know, baptize all nations, you know, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. He gave them a very particular role in partnering, being co workers, to preach the word, to give witness so that his word could go forth. And so when you look at Mary, I mean, she does that par excellence. Like she is the premier missionary. I mean, just consider like 1500s, the Protestant reformation is happening and an estimated, you know, 10 million people leave the Catholic church as they join the Protestant sect and. Obviously that's a huge heartbreak to, to God because he didn't pray for division. He prayed that they would all be one. That's what he prayed at the last supper. And it was, I'm pretty sure it wasn't his will for his people to be splintered off into several different denominations, tens of thousands of different churches in 2024. This is not his will. And sure, there were problems in the church at the time, and there always will be. Um, there's this funny quote, I forget who said it,
Track 1:hmm.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:um, it was some bishop, and he had a real,
Track 1:I
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:he had some real sense of humor, but basically someone's like, the Catholic church will destroy itself. And the bishop looks at this person and says, sir, we have tried to destroy ourselves for hundreds of years, and we have not been able to do it.
Track 1:That wasn't the one that I was thinking of. The one quote that I've heard is like, Oh gosh, it was like, if you're trying to find a perfect church, like, wait till you join it, and now it's, now it's no longer a perfect church, you know, because like, every church is run by humans, and we're all imperfect, so good luck finding a perfect church.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:And on that note, yeah, our faith, our Catholic faith, our Catholic church is perfect in so far as we're talking about Christ, who is the head of the church. It is very imperfect. If we are referencing all of its members, all of us, but Mary, but going back to Mary, she's different. Because she received in a more excellent way, this gift of salvation and through a singular grace given to her by God, she not only was conceived without original sin, but she never sinned. And when she was assumed body and soul into heaven, she is the premier disciple. She is showing all of us like what we are truly called to be. And while we are not sinless and we have all fallen short of the glory of God, she still gives us hope that, um, that through the grace of God, she was able to win the race in her life. in such a beautiful way. And she was able to fulfill, um, ultimately that pre good news that even God in His mercy was, was saying back in Genesis chapter three. And so, you know, she doesn't flaunt that she's very humble about it. She gives praise and glory back to the Almighty who has done great things for her and wants to do great things in us. Um, but I believe going back to the process of reformation and 10 million, an estimated nine, 10 million people leaving the church. Well, not too long after that moment, guess what happens? She appears to Juan Diego in Mexico in a, in a, in Mexico at the time where there's, you know, the Aztec culture, um, they were doing terrible things like human sacrifices. They, they were under the impression that in order to keep the God, lower case G of the sun and the moon happy. You had to sacrifice human blood. And so it was terrible, terrible human rights violations to say the least, and just terrible things happening there. And simultaneously the Spaniards show up to colonize, uh, that country. And typically when you're colonizing. And enforcing your religion, it doesn't go well. And so there's not a lot of converts to Catholicism,
Track 1:No.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:but among them, among those converts is a man named Juan Diego, very humble man who loves God and loves the church and is, is just serving just very simply and humbly. And Mary appears to him and basically. Sends him to the local Bishop with a sign. And the sign is that image of the Tilma, our Lady Guadalupe that I was talking about earlier. And it's fascinating. Um, as I, I led a pilgrimage there a few years ago, and, um, it was just a beautiful, uh, beautiful sort of fulfillment of having experienced her intercession throughout my days. And then now. In my, my adulthood as a husband, as a dad, um, with all this reflection in my past, like to be able to go to the Basilica and see the actual image was very touching because for me, it was just a trip of Thanksgiving. And so anyways, um, Mary appears to Juan Diego and says, take these roses, which, um, we're not supposed to be growing in December in Mexico. Back in the 1500s. And they weren't supposed to be growing in Mexico at all because they were Castilian roses. They were roses that were unique to Spain. So there's no explanation as to why these were there. But she said, take these roses, tie them up in your toma, which was a cactus fiber fiber. Pancho and he was wearing one. So he ties it and takes it to the local bishop. So Bishop Zuma and says, you know, uh, our lady has sent me with a sign. He unties his Tilma and then the roses fall out miracle one, cause they shouldn't have been growing. And they were from his native country of Spain. And number two, the image of our lady, Guadalupe is emblazoned on, on his Tilma. And that's the image that we have today.
Track 1:it's hard not to.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:And this image, there's no explanation for it. It's miraculous in every way. Like as scientists have examined this thing, the tilna has like cactus fiber. It has a shelf life of 30, 40 years tops. It's been around for almost 500 years, you know? And when this image dropped back in the 1500s, it literally like it sent shock waves through that nation because whenever people would look upon this The image itself was so compelling to them. And compelling for many reasons. Compelling because if you look at the image, you see that she's standing on top of the moon. Remember they worshipped the moon, the god of the moon. Well, that means she's greater than the moon. And who is she standing in front of? The sun. There's sun rays behind her. So, in art, that basically shows that she's greater than the thing behind her. She's greater than the sun. Okay, so do we worship her? No, because she has her hands clasped in prayer. And her head tilted down, which means she is submitting to someone else. Who might that someone else be? Well, if you look closely, like around her neck, she has this insignia of the cross,
Track 1:around the world.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:she worships the God of the Spaniards. Whoa.
Track 1:Yeah.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Okay. But not only that, if you look at her face, this is very important. She is neither full, fully Aztec and indigenous, and she's neither fully Spaniard. She's. A mixture of both. She is, she is, um, in other words, if she was alive at that time, she would have had indigenous and Spanish parents come together and that's what her complexion revealed. And so that too was a very beautiful touch because it was Mary saying, I am the mother of all of you. I want you to get along. And then, and then she has, um, she has this fur around her, um, her wrists and that was a sign of royalty. So she's a queen, but then she also has a sash around her stomach. And that was a sign that she was pregnant with child. And even the decorations of the flowers on her, on her dress for the ancient Aztec people, this wasn't just a decorative feature. It was literally, it told stories, it told history, it told a message. And so all of these things combined. When the ancient Aztecs looked upon this image, which was out of this world, because once again, it was completely miraculous. They didn't have technology to print this. You know, it's not like someone painted it. In fact, when scientists have actually zoomed in on the fabric, there's no discernible brushstroke. There's no sign of it being painted. And so once again, it was so compelling to them. It was such a powerful witness that the mother of God was coming to Mexico and being a missionary, like only she knew how to do. And over the course of the next decade, there was an estimated 10 million converts to the Catholic faith. And so, ironically, when the Reformation, you know, made 10 million leave, Mary came to Mexico and made 10 million more appear. And once again, leading everyone to her son, leading them to Jesus, not to herself, to her son. And whatever honor we give to Mary, as, as I went to that basilica a couple of years ago on her feast day, December 12th, I was gathered with my family. There was an estimated like nine, I think it was like, no, no, no. I think it was like 10, 11 million people who showed up over the course of a week. Like, this is no joke in Mexico.
Track 1:Yeah. No, I know. We went last summer and it was beautiful.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Awesome. Yeah. I don't know what it's like in the summer, but on the feast day, it's crazy.
Track 1:I can't imagine going,
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:are packed.
Track 1:I can't imagine going during the feast day. I mean, we went, yeah, we went in the summer and it was like, it was pretty full, but, and we, I remember being there and us being just like, wow, imagine what it would be like on December 12th. Like you probably, like not even standing room only.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:had, you're literally like shoulder to shoulder with like hundreds of thousands of people who are all trying to get in and trying to walk past the miraculous image and whoever the engineers at this Basilica where they're actually really smart. Cause there's basically like four lanes of like, uh, flat escalators that are ensuring that people don't just like camp out.
Track 1:Right. You just zoom on through.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:It's like a ride.
Track 1:I mean, I wrote it like four times. I like got on. I was like, Oh my gosh, that's Mary. And I was like, wait, that I just, I got to do it again.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:was, that was literally me. I was like a ride at Disneyland. You know, I gotta get back on and I gotta see our mother again.
Track 1:Yes. Same.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Um, so anyways, when I went there and I saw, you know, the hundreds of thousands of people and the devotion that these, these Mexican Catholics had, um, as they greeted their, their reina, their queen, It was very, it was very like compelling. It was very beautiful because as I watched them honor our lady, I, I, couldn't help, but think back to what Mary did for Mexico, what Mary did for me, what Mary has done for countless people through the ages and leading them, not only being such a humble vessel to accept God's will, but to literally be the vessel, which gave birth to the Lord that fashioned his humanity. And even in heaven, she continues to love on us. Her children and to want one desire, and that is for us to also be saved by her son, Jesus. It's pretty amazing actually. So yeah, to be in Guadalupe and to kind of like wrap that up in a bow, it was, um, yeah, it was very amazing to just see the devotion there because of all the history of this culture and the people. But ironically, as someone who's not even Mexican, who is very much Korean American. To see how Our Lady for some reason was appearing to me, not literally in a vision, but, you know. In a mysterious way through this image. Yeah. It was really cool, man. So,
Track 1:No, I love that. I love that she has such a pivotal part of your story and that we were able to not just talk about Mary in general, but about Mary, you know, for our Lady Guadalupe specifically, I have a great devotion to her as well. The necklace I'm wearing is the one I literally
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:uh,
Track 1:last summer. And so she's always with me. So I'm surprised. I'm surprised. to be that we're talking about her because she is so
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:is. Yeah.
Track 1:before we wrap up, I have one last question I want to touch on quickly. And that would be, what is your advice? Um, you know, we've talked a lot about like who she is, how amazing she is, how plays. plays a role in our life. But what about the person who's hearing this and maybe wants to but feels intimidated by her for some reason or nervous or scared? What is your advice to someone, um, who doesn't really know where to start, um, on how to build a relationship
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Yeah, no, that's a great question because I do hear it quite a bit. I hear, uh, people outside the church, inside the church. Um, I've heard this question a lot. Like I, yeah. How do I, I want to like have a relationship with her. I don't know how to start, or I have my questions. I have my concerns. I don't relate to her as much. And. You know, for various reasons, too. Like, some people might not relate to her because, I mean, let's face it, maybe, maybe they didn't have a good relationship with their earthly mom, and the thought of turning to having another mom in heaven, like, that can be hard. Like, honestly, like, just on a very human developmental level, she can feel like, uh, I don't want a relationship with her. But, oddly, you can't really not have a relationship with her because, She is so part and parcel with what Jesus accomplished in this world. And regardless of whether we have that relationship or not, she is praying for everyone who is alive. And, um, so what I would say is what I said to my wife, which was, what would you say to the best mom ever? The mommy always wanted the mom, the most loving mother of all time, the sweetest, like gentlest, kindest, most virtuous, honorable woman, mother, Like, how would you speak to her? You wouldn't have to do much for her to love you. Cause that's what mothers do so well as they bring that comfort and that warmth to their children. And, And, so I would start there. I would just simply ask them to do what I asked my now wife to do, which is, would you like to just say a simple prayer to her? And you can speak to her. I mean, speak humbly, but speak honestly, like, Hey, I don't have a relationship with you. I'd like to get to know you. And I'd like for your prayers so that I can be closer to Jesus. So I can be a faithful disciple like you were so that I can, um, fulfill God's will for my life and, and, and, and be holy. Um, and so just as you would ask any other person who you perceive as Uh, holy or has a good relationship with God or is very devotional. And so naturally you don't go to the sketchy people and be like, Hey, bro, pray for me, pray for your prayers. You know, you know, I need your prayers. It's like, that's not what you're going to be asking for. You're going to go to the nun. You're going to go to, you know, the lady who's at church, like all the time, you're going to be asking, right.
Track 1:All the time. Yep.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Mary. Right. And so. Once again, she doesn't discriminate, even though she had a lot of reason to discriminate, right? I mean, she was there watching her son get brutalized and murdered on a cross. And yet she too extended her forgiveness to all those who did that. And we are all responsible, ironically, and yet she was willing to offer that mercy in union with her son. Um, once again, don't confuse it. She's not the savior. But her role was so profound in what Christ needed to accomplish in this world. And, and so spend time with her by just asking, honestly, um, there are some really good books out there, uh, that I'd recommend. Um, one of them would be by Father Mike Gately. It's called, um, 40 days to morning glory. It's about, it's all about Mary and what Mary and consecration means.
Track 1:Oh no, no. We're both wrong. It's it's 33, isn't it?
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:five. I'm sure. Yeah. Whatever. 50, 60, 99,
Track 1:I think it's 33 days to morning glory.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:So Father Mike Galey, uh, he's written a really great book there and, um, preparing oneself for Marian to entrust themselves to Mary. That's a really good book. Um, if you want to kind of go to like an old school, like classic, there's a book called true devotion to Mary. And, um, it was written by that French priest and St. Louis de Montfort. Um, the language is a little bit more like old fashioned. So people might. I mean, no, take it for what it is. It's, it's a beautiful book, but, um, it is a little, it's written in a different style, but I would say that father Mike Gates, Gately's book, he does a really good job of kind of making more contemporary, like, um, there's more of like a, what's the word it's more user friendly in the sense of like explaining what Marian consecration is all about. Um, yeah, I, I would, I would probably recommend that, but yeah, just spending time with the rosary, obviously. Um,
Track 1:Yeah, no,
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:Yeah, just, you know, even if it's just a decade, like I pray a decade with my kids every night and this one, our father, 10 hail Mary's in a glory being. And, and you'll, you'll see that one. It's very like meditative and that we're not just repeating prayers for the sake of repeating them. We're, we're meditating on the life of Christ. So even there, there's like a beauty to that prayer. Um, so that's what I'd recommend to people.
Track 1:Thank you. Yeah, I know. That's a great place to start. Paul, it's been so wonderful to have you on the show today. Seriously. It's been such a gift to have this conversation. I know that it's going to bless so many people. It's already blessed my life. So for coming on. Um, where can people find more of
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:ma'am. Um, they can, uh, if you want to check out my ministry website, it's pjkmusic. com. Um, there you can find out more about my ministry. I'm, I'm traveling all year long doing, uh, events, conferences, school assemblies, parish missions. So if you would be interested in having me speak in your community, it would be great. You can send my info to an organizer. If you're an organizer yourself, you can reach out. Um, if they wanna follow along on social media, you can just look up Paul J. Kim. Um, I'm most active on Instagram. Um, my account is, hey, P-J-K-H-E-Y-P-J-K. Um, I got some things on YouTube, but man, I, it's been a while since I've uploaded anything. I gotta get to that. And then lastly, um.
Track 1:YouTube is a commitment.
paul-j--kim_1_04-16-2024_130324:commitment. Sheesh. And then lastly, um, I wanna say to all the young adults out there, I created an online course a few years ago, um, to just help, um, young adults who are trying to tackle all the, the Catholic things that young adults are facing from dating, discernment, personal finance. How do I grow my faith? How do I do this life well? And you can find out more about that at Catholic adulting. But that's what I would share. And so I want to thank you, Mari, for spending time with me and allowing me to be on this podcast. And like you said, I hope it blesses somebody and yeah, may, may God be praised and may be praised through the intercession of his Holy mother and our mother.
Track 1:Absolutely. Amen. Beautiful. All right, everybody. We'll see you next Wednesday.