James Caldwell (00:00.262)
Welcome to the Manly Catholic. In this podcast, we will inspire, challenge, and equip all men to become the men they were created to be. Join us as we journey together to become the best versions of ourselves and strive to change our communities one man at a time.
Father Dom(00:22.03)
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Good morning.
Father Dom (00:29.77)
Well, we have our intern with us today, Hunter. He's the one swinging the incense. So he'll be with us for six months. And I know OLC is used to having interns. I've never had an intern. So this is exciting and new for me. So after mass, if you'd like to introduce yourself to Hunter, please do so. And so we're looking forward to teaching him what it looks like to.
One day, God willing, be a priest and a holy pastor. And this is a great parish to learn as an intern. So we welcome him.
Father Dom (01:12.862)
A year before you're ordained a priest, you have to go through what's called CPE, clinical pastoral experience. And so, you're in a hospital for an entire summer. Every day, you're visiting those who are in the rooms, people who are suffering, every day, all day, with these people.
For an introvert like me, that can be very draining. But my goodness, was that rewarding. There was this old lady, old grandma, I think from Mississippi, Baptist, a Baptist grandma. And I would visit her. You get this manifesto every day, and you visit the Catholics, and then if there are any other Christians, you just pop in.
And you have your collar on, though you're not a priest. So they know that you're Catholic, and they say, hey, do you wanna talk? Some of them say no, I don't wanna talk to a priest. And some of them say, absolutely come in. And she was one of them. And I had great conversations with her, and she was suffering horribly from cancer. And she had maybe two weeks, and then she was gonna go home. Every single day I went in that room, she was more joyful than me.
And I couldn't figure it out. And I would ask her, I'd say, how you doing today? And her southern voice, she would say, oh, fine. So as we got to know each other, our conversations went a little bit deeper. And so I was honest with her. And I said, you know that you're going to die in two weeks, at least. She goes, I know. And you're suffering horribly. She says, I know. Why are you happier than me?
And she said this and I will never forget it. It's better to suffer with God than to suffer without God. I have never forgotten that. And that was a great lesson. And when she said that, something changed in me. Deeper reality of the Holy Spirit. In ever since that quote, famous quote she said to me, I could feel.
Father Dom (03:42.506)
Whether the person in the room I was going into the visit was suffering with God or without. Sometimes it's clear to see. Sometimes you go in the room and they'll throw something at you. I don't wanna see a priest, get outta here. It's like I'm not a priest, I don't care, get outta here.
Or sometimes I walked in here and all the rooms were warm, but I could feel cold. And as I talked with the person, I could clearly see that they didn't want anything to do with God. So I could tell this person is suffering with God, this person is not. And every time I walked into those rooms, whether I could feel they were suffering with God, I recognized that it was holy ground. Why? Because they were suffering.
So it was like I was coming before the burning bush, the Holy Spirit would say, remove your sandals for you are on holy ground.
Father Dom (04:37.086)
Suffering with God is holy. And that goes completely counter-cultural to our world, doesn't it?
The last thing we want to do as a human species is to suffer and die. But you guys, that's the reality. I don't care if they discover the longevity gene and we can live to be 500 years. I don't want to live 500 years on this earth. I want to go home. The last thing we want to do is to suffer. And that's what we avoid. We put all kinds of resources and energy and thought into eliminate suffering. And I recognize the advancements of technology are good. I see that.
but it's always supposed to draw us closer to God and to eliminate suffering completely, oh, we are missing out on something. That's hard to say, that's hard to realize, but it's the truth. And that's what our scriptures are talking about with us today, especially our first reading from the book of Job. What a powerful book that is. It's one of the oldest books in the Bible. Some say that it was maybe the first book to be written in the Bible. It's very old, it comes from our wisdom literature.
along with Proverbs and in Sirach because it teaches us much about the wisdom of the Lord it's very interesting if you don't know the book of Job when you hear our first reading you can hear Job wailing because he's suffering let's read that again if I could find it
Father Dom (06:06.766)
Here it is. Job spoke saying, is not man's life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages. So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. If in bed I say, when shall I arise? Then the night drags on.
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. They come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind. I shall not see happiness again. The word of the Lord. When we say thanks be to God? To understand what Job is saying, we have to understand the context. Job is a holy man. He's blameless in the sight of God. He is a saint.
then God allows Satan, who has been roaming the earth, looking for holy people, to test. It's a weird conversation. That's a whole different homily as to why God is having a conversation with Satan in this particular instance, but nevertheless, God gives Satan the ability to strike Job, but not to take his life, because God says he will remain holy, because he is a holy man.
Take everything from Job, but do not take his life. And that's what Satan does. For Job was the wealthiest and holiest man in the East. Camels and donkeys and sheeps, goats, vineyards, servants. He had everything, but he always put God first. That's why he was holy, even though he had everything. And so Satan comes and he takes all that away from him, even his family. So all that remains is just him and his wife.
Even his wife sees Job and his misery and drudgery. Even his wife says, oh, why don't you just curse God and die? And Job says, I will not because I have done nothing wrong. And Job has some friends that come and visit him too. And they say the same thing.
Father Dom (08:11.258)
using really good logic, philosophy, and theological statements, and they're true because they believe that if God has struck you and all these bad things have happened to you, you must have sinned, Job. Confess to God your sins. Curse God. Some friends, they are. Job says, I will not curse God, for I have done nothing wrong, though he does have arguments with God.
See, the difference between Job and his friends is that Job is conversing with God. His friends aren't, even though they're using deep, logical, philosophical, theological statements, they're all up here, it's not here yet, but Job is all here. He recognizes their statements, but he's always going to God. His friends did not, that's the difference. So Job remains blameless, even though he's suffering greatly, even boils on his skin.
Throughout the book, it's a beautiful poetic example of conversation with God and Job in the midst of suffering, and Job never gives up, never gives up. And so at the end, Job has a conversation with God. Finally, the Lord responds. For Job is in many ways complaining to the Lord. Then the Lord says this to Job quite strongly.
The Lord answered Job out of a storm and said, who is this who darkens counsel with words of ignorance? I love this, I have this quote in my office. Gird up your loins now like a man. I will question you and you tell me the answers. Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its size? Surely you know.
Who stretched out the measuring line for it and to what were its pedestals sunk and who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Where were you Job? Who shut within the doors the sea when it burst forth from the womb? When I made the clouds its garment and the thick darkness its swaddling bands. When I set limits for it and fasten the bars of its door. Where were you in the midst of creation?
Father Dom (10:23.614)
And he said, thus, far shall you come, but no further, and here shall you be proud, and your waves shall stop. Have you ever in a lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place, for taking hold of the ends of the earth to the wicked are shaken from it? After that, Job repents of his foolishness.
Job recognized that he is not God. And because of this God greatly rewards him, gives everything back to him tenfold because he stayed faithful in the midst of suffering.
Father Dom (11:04.898)
We can deepen our understanding of suffering and what it means to us and what we can do with that, recognizing that it is a gift that is hard to understand.
Father Dom (11:16.466)
One theologian said that suffering in this world is the only thing that wakes us up, that pricks our conscience, that allows us to ponder deeply and ask questions about life and what happens after life.
Another theologian said that suffering is a gift because it allows us to unite ourselves with Jesus in a very deep way, for without suffering, we cannot experience God's mercy, his love, his peace, his joy, his redemption, our deep need for him, for him to save us. Suffering is a gift and many saints say that.
Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, a new saint that I'm discovering, because I found this quote when I was suffering one day. She said, as she was dying and she suffered much, she said this as she was dying, I do not wish to die, for in heaven there is no suffering. I wish to stay here on earth so that I may suffer much for my bride, the one I love, Jesus, so that I can save souls. That's it.
St. Mary Magdalene de Potsy, she had it right.
Father Dom (12:29.93)
I heard a couple days ago at the Cherish event, one of the speakers said, the Old Testament can be summed up in this, God is. And that's where we find Job. God is, when God responded to Job, wow, what a powerful response. I am the Lord, you come before me, you bow before me. I am, God is. And then he said, the New Testament is this, love. Because of Jesus. God is love.
The answer to suffering is Jesus the Christ, God in the flesh. In our second reading, St. Paul knows this very well, one who had a deep, deep conversion.
Father Dom (13:11.338)
He says this in Colossians chapter one verse 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church. What is lacking in that? It's almost an arrogant statement by Saint Paul.
There's something lacking in that? How dare St. Paul say that? But he's right, what is lacking in that? Christ is hanging from the cross and he's beckoning us to bring our sufferings to him because he doesn't force us. We have to freely come to him and unite our sufferings with him. And when we do that, there's great redemptive value and grace. We can release souls from purgatory. We can pray for friends and family who have fallen away from the Catholic Church. We can pray to the end of war and famine and human trafficking and abortion. We can pray for peace. We can pray for all these things
suffering is with Christ because Christ's suffering from the cross did what? Freed us. God is, Jesus comes on the scene in the New Testament, love, love.
Father Dom (14:15.358)
Saint Paul and his suffering and his great love for the Lord as he spreads the gospel says in our second reading today, woe to me if I don't preach the gospel because he knows there's freedom in that. He's so filled with zeal and fire and on absolute fire for the Lord. And he suffered much shipwrecks and whips and beatings and stonings.
They thought he was dead and they threw him out of the city. He got up, brushed the dust off from him, and went right back into the city to proclaim the gospel. Uniting our suffering with Jesus gives us strength, gives us confidence, helps us understand that heaven is our home. This is not our home. The world is not our home. We're in the world, but we are not of the world. We're passing through on our pilgrim journey, and the church gives us strength and protection through the graces of the sacraments to weather the storm.
Stay on the ship, it will get you to heaven. The ship is the Catholic Church. There's so much more I can say about suffering. Please look up what suffering says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Beautiful, powerful words that are unpacked throughout 2,000 years of philosophy and theology, Christian doctrine and dogma.
Father Dom (15:33.898)
Yesterday, I had a call to go to Boulder Creek for an anointing. Last rites, really. And it wasn't a parishioner here. It was Father Tony called me, says, hey, Father Dom, I'm in Florida laying on the beach with Father Durkee. Ah.
There's someone dying at Boulder Creek. I need you to go. I can't find anybody. This was yesterday. I had a tour at Harmel Academy, and after that I was like, okay, I can go. So I went and I got the Eucharist, and I went in and I went to Ed, and got talking with Ed. He's almost 100 years old, a World War II vet. He was in the Navy. Then after that, he became a Marine so he could fight in the Korean War.
This is a man, talk about girding up your loins and suffering for those around you to fight evil. And he was dying, he only had maybe two days left. So I was probably the last priest that he ever saw. And so I gave him viaticum. Viaticum is a prayer through last rites, which means you're going home. So I heard his confession and I gave him the Eucharist. And I said to him, I said, you're going to die. And he goes, yep.
Are you afraid? Nope. What are you most excited for? To see Jesus. He said, could I have that faith? And he said, yes, it's been my suffering that has given me faith. It's been my suffering that has given me faith. Today, my brothers and sisters, as we lean into our readings today, we're confronted with the ultimate question of evil in this world.
Our response to the question of evil isn't to be an atheist and to curse God and hate God, for that is their modus operandi. That's their go-to move when you argue with them. Why is there evil in the world if there's a good and loving God? How do we respond to that? To the question of evil, we respond with this. Here I am, Lord, send me. What do you want me to do? Yes, there's evil in the world, and I'm a saint. You've given me the power.
Father Dom (17:47.158)
I want to fight the good fight with you. There's evil in the world. Send me, I am ready. What do you want me to do? Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Thank you all so much for tuning in to another episode of The Manly Catholic. If you have not already done so, please hit that subscribe button wherever you get your podcast to make sure you don't miss a single episode. It will also help grow the show and reach as many men as possible. We truly think this podcast can change families and help men to change the world. Thank you again so much for tuning in and God bless you.
