Ep. 1 - Everyday Faith

In this episode of Blazing Hearts we discuss the mundane of high school life, and how to live out your faith in the everyday. We talk about saints who modeled this living in the moment, unique ways to evangelize at school, and keeping a solid prayer routine. God Bless!

If you enjoy, subscribe and follow on Instagram for updates!

Keep your heart blazing!

@blazing.hearts.podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Welcome to Blazing Hearts Podcast, where we talk about living out your faith in high school, exploring practicals, and what it's like to live with a heart on fire for God.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

I'm Michael.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

And I'm Emily, and today we're going to be talking about the mundane of everyday life as a high school student.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Obviously, for Catholics, there's those like retreat highs that you get, or there's those, you know, low, my faith is down. But most of our days are kind of in the middle of that, just going through a routine, going through maybe the motions of life. And what we're going to talk about is kind of how to bring God and how to keep your faith in that mundane.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah, like some things that I think are just like good to do are just like practicals. Like, I don't know, if you're like walking in the hallway, just like maybe say a prayer, or you see this person, you're like, oh, I haven't talked to them in a while. Maybe like you go talk to them, or you're at school and you just like have a conversation with your friends about God who maybe aren't very close to the Lord, but just like doing the little things I feel like is like a big thing in like the mundane, because the little things are what like help get you through to like those retreat moments and that like the little things are what help build your relationship with the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Yeah, definitely. And I want to touch on your second point. I mean, you brought up you know break relationships, and I think that's something that's so important because relationships are kind of what helps us get to heaven. The church is isn't an individualistic church, it's not a church that, you know, yes, Christ died for you specifically, but he also didn't put you on this earth alone. Humans are very social creatures. We were designed that way. So having those relationships is a wonderful way to bring God into that mundane.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Yeah. Yeah, I feel like those relationships can help other people grow, like from your example, help them grow in their faith, or like the other way around, where your friends by their example can help you grow in your faith and like push you to strive to be like a better Catholic and be a better child of God and just like really grow deeper in your faith with the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Yeah, definitely. And I mean, also you said praying in the hallway. That's something I necessarily struggle with sometimes, is like those little short moments of prayer. But I will say, one way, one easy way to bring God into the mundane is to have a good prayer routine. I know one of my favorite forms of prayer is the Liturgy of the Hours, which is very routine and organized for morning, evening, and night. And I think having some form of routine is really helpful for bringing God into the mundane and into the everyday life.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

I agree. I think it's like something that maybe you have a day where you're like, I'm really tired, I don't want to go pray, or I'm angry, like fill in the blank, whatever it is. Like it helps you just like stick to that schedule and like be like, no, like I have this schedule and I'm gonna like do it even though I don't want to, but it still like just showing up and doing it is what like builds your relationship with the Lord and ultimately is like forms a habit over time and eventually you're gonna be like, oh wait, I actually want to go pray and I wanna go talk to the Lord, not just like, oh, I have to go do this, like type of thing, you know?

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Yeah, definitely. Because you're not always gonna have that feeling of I want to go do this, but that's not necessarily meaning that you know God's not there or God's not important. It's just it's kind of human nature to get like maybe stuck in an old routine, but you have to kind of think about it. But you know, sometimes mass isn't always the best thing, but it's something like Jesus still shows up whether you feel like he does or not. Yeah. So I think having that routine of some form of prayer is really important to a relationship with God, especially in the everyday.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yeah, I would agree. But I feel like that also ties into like how you said, like, the Lord still shows up, like he shows up for us every day because we're like walking tabernacles of him and his love. And so I feel like just like bringing that and like, yeah, he's showing up for me, so let me show up for him and like let me live as a witness to him, and like maybe that's like playing worship music, and then your friend asks what music you're listening to, and you tell them worship music or like talking to your friends about the Lord, like things like that, and just like like the way you treat people, like maybe you say hi to somebody, or you just smile at people in the hallway, even if you don't know them, or like you talk to that teacher that makes you really mad, but you don't show them that you're really annoyed with their class or you don't want to be there instead, you like talk to them like they're your friend, or like stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Yeah, definitely. You know, I find it funny you brought up like saying hi in the hall. Every single one of my friends will reali realizes that I am the person. If I know you from something and I remember your name, I will say hi to you in the hallway. Because I find that it's really difficult to go through life with like a pessimistic attitude. So having that more optimistic attitude of like, you know, why not say hi to someone? Why not try to grow closer to God even when you know you don't feel like it? And you kind of brought up the like walking tabernacles thing, which is absolutely true. And it's similar to oh my gosh, St. Paul, one of his letters, he wrote a lot of them, he mentions that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. And I think that's something that's really important is to just live with the idea that God is with you, even if you don't necessarily feel it.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Yeah. And I feel like something that goes along with that is like like because we're walking tabernacles of the Holy Spirit and we are like witnessing to God every single day in everything we do, like the things we do and say are very important because, like, yeah, even though it's mundane and it's everyday life, it's just like like our witness to the Lord might be someone's only time that they hear about him or like their only interaction with something even remotely close to the Lord because we have him like with us every day. So I just feel like it's very important to like live for him and live on fire for him, regardless if we want to or not, because he can use us in ways we don't even know whether like we know that he's using us or not. Like simply saying hi to somebody in the hallway might actually like change their day or change their outlook on life. Yeah, like I had one of my friends, I literally would just say hi to him in the hallway, and he wrote me a letter before he went to college, and it said, like, like you changed my life in profound ways that I don't even understand. But like to me, I was just saying hi to him in the hallway. Like I didn't know the Lord was using me through that like high in the hallway, but he was, and it's just like continuing to show up because you never know what he's gonna do because you genuinely can work through anything.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Yeah, absolutely. I while you're telling that, I was reminded of Blessed, I think his name is So John S. Casey. He was a priest, pretty sure in America, I'm not too sure much about him, but he was a doorman and he was I forget the technical term, but he was a priest who wasn't allowed to hear confessions, he could only say mass because he like wasn't necessarily bright enough in seminary to, you know, the bishop just didn't allow him to hear confessions, but so he was a doorman and a porter, but the reason he's on track to sainthood is because he would keep those interactions of welcoming people to the door with such holiness and such like joy for what he did. And I think that's something that's really important in our everyday lives is just bring that joy, bring that holiness into life, because that can be something that's really difficult to find.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

But so just being authentic in your joy.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah. And I feel like that is another thing, like intentionality ties into that because I feel like like, yeah, going through the emotions is okay sometimes, but also like being intentional and like being like, no, like this is like the Lord's day, and he woke me up and he gave me breath today, so like let me actually go live for him and like intentionally like go out of my way to like put others before myself, or like I don't know, like you fill in the blank, but like just like being intentional with him and like with your time and with your time with others, I feel like is very important.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, I mean, intentionality is something that's I feel like almost lacking in today's world because we find ourselves in such routines, especially in high school. I mean, it's wake up at this certain time, get to school. I mean, most most high schools have specific class order, you do this, and maybe do a club after school if it's Tuesday, and then you go home, do homework, be on social media, eat dinner at some point, and go to bed, and it's repeat that until the weekends, in which you probably have more homework. You're trying to get together with friends. And doing those things gets you into a routine very quickly, but what needs to be done is to be brought intentionality to routines.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah. Like just taking like time out of those routines, or like say, like, this is like my five minutes for prayer, like during like the middle of my day, like during my lunch period. Maybe I actually do this sometimes. I like put in AirPods, like put them on noise cancel and just like play worship music and just like sit with the Lord, or I just like talk to him when like maybe I'm bored or like class is annoying and I can't pay attention right now. So I'm like, okay, I'll talk to God because that's better than actually not paying attention about anything that I need to learn this for my homework. But like stuff like that, I feel like is like what can what you can do to like break up that like routine and like going through the motions to be like intentional throughout your day.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Yeah, I mean, I find myself doing something similar. I'll you know, go to lifts in the morning for football, and then as I'll walk back to my car to drop my bag off, and then I'll as I'm walking back into my school, I'll you know, open up my abbreviary and start praying morning prayer because it's just something that kind of brings God into the moment of I'm walking to my car. I could either be praying or on my phone. Right. So I think those moments of intentionally taking time to for God is really important. I mean, even if you don't necessarily feel like it, there are many days where I don't necessarily feel like praying. The liturgy of the hours. I mean, it takes like 15 minutes and it's reading and like I don't know. But there are but you know, doing this is helpful to get into a routine, which is something I can struggle with sometimes as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Yeah, no, I agree. I think something else that like again ties into that is like the Holy Spirit, and like Holy Spirit is always with us, like, and if we can choose to be like come Holy Spirit, like throughout our day, or like in chemistry when my teacher makes me really mad sometimes, I can just be like, Come Holy Spirit instead of getting angry about the chemistry because it's not that deep at the end of the day, or like like when my little brother is like yelling in my ear in the backseat, I'll just be like, Come Holy Spirit and like kind of stop that anger and just like re-center myself on the Lord. Because I feel like that is like another way that you can just like focus on him, and even just like inviting him in or being like, Lord, I'm gonna do like this homework for you, and I'm gonna like do this chemistry for you, or like this math that is really hard, and I don't really understand, and I feel like crying right now, but I'm gonna do it for you because like you're you and you're good, and the math, like I could care less about the math, but like you're still good, and like I'm here for a reason in this like vocation, like right now in my life, like as a student. So just like doing those things for the Lord because like at like right now, I'm like, oh, I want to be done with school, but like we're only a student for like 12, maybe 16 years of our life, which sounds like a lot, but like say we live to 80, that's not that much time. Like, like this time as a student is actually a blessing, so I just feel like finding every single way to bring the Lord into that as possible is like really good.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Yeah, so I mean making the mundane more holy time like set apart.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

I think that what that reminds me of too is rule of Saint Benedict, like or a more work and prayer, is kind of just bringing that prayer into and through your work as opposed to just working without a purpose or you know, praying at set points in the day. It's kind of bringing that prayer from these set points in the day, which is good and amazing, but bringing that prayer into the mundane and bringing God into the mundane is how you can make the mundane less boring.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Yeah. That reminds me of formerly known as Catholic Youth Summer Camp, but now it's called Damascus Summer Camp, where on like giant swing or high ropes or VPP, like literally any activity, paintball is like a big thing where they talk about redemptive suffering, and not that school is suffering because it's not really, even though sometimes it's supposed to be right. Like, I shouldn't be crying over math classes, but sometimes I do. But like, like that ties back into just like like offering it up to the Lord, and so like say there's like this person you know that's like maybe you like are hoping that they can grow closer to the Lord, or somebody needs prayers for this thing, like just offer up like that math class, or whatever is like hard or annoying for you, and like offer that up to the Lord as like Lord, I'm like praying this and I'm doing this intentionally for this person, or like this thing, or like I don't even know like why like you fill in the blank, but you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah, I think it's something that's that I sometimes struggle with because it's easy to do like prayer intentions, but like intentionally being like, okay, I'm doing this for ex.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

Even if that's not like the intended purpose, it's like, okay, this is a hard thing, let me bring it to God. And there's so many examples of saints who, in like sickness, were like, okay, I'm doing this for you know, these intentions. I know Carlo Acudis when he was diagnosed, uh, was it leukemia?

SPEAKER_01 16:06

I think so.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Leukemia. He was diagnosed and he wasn't discouraged. He offered up his suffering and pain for the intentions of the church and of Pope John Paul II, who was Pope at the time.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Yeah. So and also like with that, like just talking about prayer, like prayer is so powerful, and like maybe your prayer is like the thing that like like helps somebody, or like I went to the outpouring at Damascus last night and they were sharing like kind of like mini testimonies of like how the Lord has made impossible possible. And this guy said how his daughter-in-law span up somebody in his family was diagnosed with cancer, and they like got their whole family together and they were praying, and then like the doctor called this person and was like, You need to come talk to the doctor because like there's like something we need to talk about, and they looked at like a scan and the cancer was like fully gone, and that like happened again. And like I feel like just praying intentionally is very important as well because like I could just like pray like a prayer, like, oh god, like help me do good on my math test. But if I'm like actually believing that the Lord can like help me do good on the math test, like that's more powerful than just like saying stuff, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, definitely, and I think behind it.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

I think your example right there is great because we tend to associate miracles and saints with like the so holy end, like they are the models, they are the examples, I can't do that, and then you kind of start realizing that you know maybe it's not a huge miracle, but it's not that God doesn't work right in and through you.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

I also I mean, I was reminded of this summer I started praying with a group of friends at a summer camp that I was at, and it just was a way for everyone to be brought closer to God through a bunch of high schoolers praying. And I think that was kind of one of those moments where it was, you know, we're taking time out of our day to come pray together for 10-15 minutes. Maybe it didn't mean a whole lot, or maybe it did, and it kind of depends like how intentional you are about it, but having those relationships, like we said earlier, and having those moments of you know your day being elevated by bringing God into them.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Yeah, that's like a really good point. It just like brings people together as like a form of unity, like in the church. Yeah, so like recap. I think like mundane does not have to be boring, it's it can be exciting because we can bring the Lord into it. It can be like really full of joy because like praying every day and just like actually living on fire for the Lord is so joyful. Like, whether you're like, I don't know, cooking breakfast or like hanging out with your best friend in the whole world, like there's so much joy to be found in every situation, and it's just like your perspective on it. So I feel like like try to shift your perspective to be like like glass half full instead of glass half empty type of thing because like the Lord is always working and he's always moving, but also like we don't want to limit him because of our limited like belief, not imagination, that's not the word, but like belief in him.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

So yeah, just like I also think being intentional about you know bringing God into this, it doesn't you need to be intentional about your faith, it doesn't do much. God can't work if you're not intentional about things, about how you do things, and then being in relationships, being with others, bringing God into that everyday life makes yeah, it's mundane, it can be busy, but having that routine or bringing or those moments in your day and bringing God into them can make the mundane holy. That's gonna do it for this episode of Blazing Hearts. Thank you for listening. Follow us at the link down in the description and subscribe wherever you guys get your pods. Have a blessed day and a peaceful death.