 Hey friends, this is Dan and Stephanie Burke. You're watching behind the scenes Divine Intimacy Radio. We're going to be talking about a secret to help you with your prayer life in a minute and one that's helped me from early on and really helped me to get my prayer life moving and one that still helps Stephanie. So we'll talk to you about that in a minute. So stay tuned. I want to tell you about a couple of opportunities coming up. One is a webinar on purgatory. What is purgatory? I'm a senior pope from the Archdiocese of Washington, DC and my own son, Jordan Burke, who is a fantastic host. I might have seen him recently with Father McManus on What is a Ghost? So what is purgatory? If you want to sign up for that webinar, which is free, it will only cost you your time. SpiritalDirection.com forward slash events. What is purgatory? Father of MonsignorPopeSpiritalDirection.com forward slash events. The next one is our 2023 summit and we'll jump into the show. I'll tell you about this. The Marian Mystery and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart. It's going to be at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hansville, Alabama. If you have not seen it, it is off the charts. Amazing. Spectacular. It's a better word for it. Yeah, I mean, we've been all over the world and it is up there with world sites, of course, built by Mother Angelica and she's, her body is there. And has the second largest monstrance in the world. Second largest monstrance in the world, which is almost eight feet tall, I think. It's amazing. It's beautiful. So anyway, the Bishop William Kerry, Claire Dwyer, Father John Burns, Father Ignatius Schweitzer, Sister Regina Marie Gorman will be all speaking on the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, which we're all wanting to happen now. Kind of hoping we cancel the summit because it happens. And then we don't have to talk about it anymore. We just live it. So anyway, I'm kidding. Spiritsledirection.com forward slash event. Okay, so let's go ahead and jump into our show. On your mark, get set, go! This is Dan of Stephanie Burke. Welcome to Divine Intimacy Radio, your Radio Haven of Rest. Your Hermitage of the Heart. Your Monastery of the Mind where we lift our hearts and minds to heaven to draw upon the wisdom of the saints to help us navigate through this dark valley that we're in. And today we're going to talk about a secret that does light up the darkness and that does help you with prayer. And I'm going to start with you, Steph. Well, I'll tell a little bit of me and then I'm going to go to you. I started my prayer life, serious prayer life, as a Catholic when I was in seminary. Well, no, I wasn't a Catholic. I was an Anglican seminarian at the time. And they had us get a little icon and then a candle. And that was the beginning of my sacred space thing. And it really, the candles are mesmerizing like because of their beauty, their simplicity, but they're always changing. So I no longer use candles, but you still do at your altar. So it helped me a ton. But you've got, I think, 3422 candles on your altar. Is that true? Not true. Okay. Not true. But mine have become part of it is a is a votive offering because I do have a kind of elaborate sacred space that's developed over the over the years with very precious things that I've collected, an antique crucifix that's breathtaking and the icon from our honeymoon that we got at the top of the Vatican and things like that. And so the little votives that I use, I like them every morning as I go into prayer. And they also draw my heart to the saints to our Lord. And it is truly a light in the darkness because I pray in the dark. Yes, I use no lights. I really want to be in that darkness. It's very conducive to prayer. Do you ever focus on a candle if you're struggling with your distractions or how do they candle? I mean, it's beautiful, of course. It's more beautiful. I don't know if I'm inspired. On occasion I have. I can't say that I linger there mostly because I have it needed to. But for me, it's a votive offering and it's that light in the darkness that is just so extraordinary. So that's how it is. The church in ancient times, of course, is used candles to light things like bring light, but also with the recognition that this kind of light has the ability to draw us to prayer and to focus on prayer, just like church architecture and all the other things that are beautiful can help us in the most difficult thing about prayer, which is paying attention and not getting drawn away from distractions by distractions. So we have a friend, a new friend. Her name is Anna Camacho that's joining us joining us on the show today. Why don't you tell folks about Anna? Okay. Anna has been hand crafting Catholic candles since 2019 when she started Korda after St. Joseph gave her the nudge. Korda brings the light of the saints to the domestic church. This family run Catholic business helps folks create a place of peace and prayer with handcrafted candles featuring custom sense directly inspired by the saints and the faith. In addition to candles, artisans and spouses, Anna and Michael are also working to craft a meaningful Catholic business grounded in generosity. Welcome, Anna. Thank you. Anna, before we get beat up by our patrons about, you know, talking about something for sale, one, this is important for your prayer life. Two, if you're going to buy it from anybody, why wouldn't you buy it from somebody who's faithful? But I do have a question for you, Anna, to start out. You said you're crafting, hand crafting Catholic candles. Now candles do not have souls. So how is it that they're Catholic candles? I don't understand. Oh, you got me, Dan. One of the things that is unique about what I try to do with the candles that I make is that the actual experience of burning the candle is itself Catholic. So it's not just, there's a pretty picture on the outside or maybe even a prayer to the saint just on the outside of the glass, but it's actually lighting that candle and having the fragrance come into your space and surround you that is itself tied to the faith. And that's because every single scent that we have, I've custom blended and taken basically the life of a saint and translated that into scent. So you have this physical kind of connection to them and also this kind of window into their life and into their heart in this kind of tangible way, which as you guys were mentioning, you know, we all need sacramentals, right? Things that we love the theology of the body like that connect us physically to God and to other people. You know, this on top of the secret of the candle flame to one of the things you mentioned, I've also used when I was first starting out in prayer, just because I'm easily distracted, my mind is goes like crazy. I used to use incense, but in this case, you have both in one. What's interesting to me, I'm curious how you deal with the the scent itself because the scent, the purchase of the scent is expensive. The wax is fairly inexpensive, but the sense more and the reason I know is because I used to make them myself because I was tired of paying crazy prices. And then also I discovered that the secular stores, they will put like a layer of heavy scent on the top and then it disappears as you get in the candle and you only sort of notice if you're paying attention, which I did because I was praying and I thought these guys are ripping us off, right? But you don't do that. Like what's I mean, you're a ethical business. So is it blended through 100% of the wax? It is, yeah. And yeah, it's so funny to hear you bring up that stuff. It sounds like you're working for the wrong team here, Dan. We're on the same team. Yeah, it is interesting. I think probably any time you're trying to do something good, right? There's this kind of opportunity, opportunity after opportunity where you have to decide do I do what's right or can I just cut a little corner here or no one will really notice or that sort of thing. And that's from day one. What kind of ingredients am I going to use? What type of businesses am I going to buy from? How am I actually going to make that? How am I going to treat employees? How am I going to treat our customers? It's just layers upon layers upon layers of how can you, in a very concrete circumstance, do what is good and right for others, for God, for the world, for yourself, for your family. And that's one of the challenges, but also the joys, I think, of running your own business. And I'm sure you see this, too, with Avala Institute, with the radio program. You're constantly trying to say, do I choose virtue or something else? Yes. Great. Well, I want to get to St. Joseph. I love St. Joseph. I love it when our community consecrated ourselves to St. Joseph. So what does it mean when you say he founded your business? Tell us about that story. Oh, I love St. Joseph, too. So you may have to stop me if I go on too long. Joseph, I'm sure you all know, is the future and say that people who are looking for work are currently unemployed. And before quarter, I have lots of different jobs. The ones I was in at the time, I was just in front of a screen just all day, every day, clicking buttons, kind of moving things from point A to point B. And what I realized over time is I just really wanted to do something else, something that was creative, first off, something that wasn't in front of a screen and that would let me work with my hands. And I just couldn't figure out what that was. So I just went to Joseph, right? And I was like, this is your area. I have no idea what I want to do. I have no idea what I could do, but I want to please let it be creative and with my hands. And I prayed that prayer to him for six years. We're still in these jobs, you know, in front of the screen, which was with great people. Just not the right job for me. And just there's something really beautiful, I think when you have a petition that you just have to entrust over and over and over and over again, right? And it's sort of the act of praying itself, the act of surrendering it, the act of saying, okay, this isn't in my hands. It's in yours. I have this desire in my heart, but I don't know what you want. And just laying that kind of at the feet of Joseph to take to our Lord over all of these years. And so just really waiting to see what he would come back to me with is kind of the way that I looked at it. And then one day I was not praying to St. Joseph about that at all. I was in mass on the St. Joseph's side in front of his statue there and actually just praying and thanksgiving because he's such a good father and he's so faithful. And just really telling him thank you for his example and his love for the Holy Family. And it was literally in that moment when the idea for quarter came into my head. Recipes, so to speak, for like four different, you know, scent, candle, same combinations came into my head like all at once kind of out of the blue. And I know for a fact like this isn't something that, you know, I just threw together, came up with, it really does feel like a gift. And it feels like something that I've been kind of given the opportunity to do but also been asked to do. And so I feel like St. Joseph's been driving the bus the whole time and I'm just kind of along for the ride. That's really, really beautiful. And all the more because you weren't asking at that moment, you were actually in thanksgiving to him for being a good spiritual father to you and to your family. It's really extraordinarily beautiful. And it's a testimony to that moment when we surrender. And when we surrender is generally when the answer really comes because there's this laying down of our life and our hopes and our dreams and just saying I'm okay with what is and I surrender this and I leave it to God's perfect timing. And it certainly sounds like that was what was happening for you. That's beautiful. Hey, folks, we're going to head into the break. If you're wondering where Stephanie and I are going to be next or other opportunities for spiritual growth and formation, head out to spiritualdirection.com forward slash events or just spiritualdirection.com. In general, we have thousands of articles, videos, all sorts of things to help you to grow in your faith after the break. We'll be back again with Anna Camacho talking about this beautiful craft and turned into business of helping us to make our lives more beautiful both visually and in terms of olfactory stimulation. You want to know what that is? Return after the break. Okay. 1245 on your markets that go. Well, you know it before we do that. For those who are live or live streaming with us. I want to tell you about and one more opportunity. This will be the last one for the day. Introduction to spiritual theology. It's Friday, November 25th is when the class begins at 830 p.m. Eastern. It is a graduate level course and it's a disciplined exploration of sacred action into the sciences and the life of the church today. One of the most vital sciences, spiritual theology, which is really about holiness, relationship with God, mystical experience, progress of prayer, all these awesome realities that really the Avala foundation, Avala Institute is built around all that we do. So check that out at Avala-institute.org. Okay. You ready? Any more technical? This is Dan and Stephanie Burke. Welcome back to Divine Intimacy Radio. We're talking about one of the secrets to helping you to grow in your faith and in your prayer life. And you may think it's a little funny, but it's not. We're dead serious about it because we have them all over the retreat center. We have them on our own altar up in the chapel, of course, which is normal, but on Stephanie's altar. And that is that they are candles. But in this case, we're talking to a woman who is dedicating her life to making these beautiful scents and sites for us. And it's not just a business, a Catholic business. It's a mission for her. And Stephanie, you look like you have a question. Well, I want to take a moment and read the names of these candles because it's just really beautiful. And it's going to lead into the question. And you're going to have the listeners and viewers smell them. Yes. This is a scratch and sniff episode. So don't scratch your iPhone, though. It'll look weird. They'll think you're trying to get something off your screen. I guess. So, pardon me. So we have the Cloistered Heart, which is inspired by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, which you and I are in the middle of that arena. But you should read the back of this. This is kind of interesting. Okay. Well, just for this one, I'm not going to read it for all of them. So it says contemplative sense of cherry and violet are inspired by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Beautiful, you know, so contemplative sense. So then we have Shower of Roses, which is inspired of course, St. Therese. I knew, like the minute I heard the whole concept, I thought Therese is easy. Okay. I don't know how you do the other ones, but Therese. Okay. Okay. Here's another one. You might know it. Mystic Bliss. Oh, is you talking Teresa of Avila? Well, I got, so she helped me into the church. So I have to, I have to smell this. I'm sorry that our audience doesn't get to smell it. Okay. Okay. Does it have? Of course. It's very girly. Yeah. Roses in winter, which of course roses in winter. That's the clue. There are roses, but it's in wintertime. So that's our Lady of Guadalupe. Okay. Because the roses were miraculous because they were blooming in the middle of winter. Oh, that's right. Very cool. Our Lady of the Annunciation. That's fiat. We have night prayer, which is compland. But I want to ask her question. Oh, go ahead. I'm not done. I'm going to ask a question. I want to ask a question. Morning prayer. Lads. Okay. We have St. Padre Pio marked by love. Oh, see, let me smell it. No, no. Listen to the name. This is awesome. Okay. Padre Pio marked by love. He had the stick. Wow. This is so smart. This is so creative. Oh, I love this one too. Wait. St. Michael the Archangel. Ooh. You know what the name is? What? Battlecry. Ooh, look at that. And then we have... If I'm practicing mixed martial arts, I should burn this candle. This is another favorite for me, especially at three o'clock in the morning. Yeah. When I'm praying this over and over again. What? And that is a font of mercy. Uh-huh. It's the Divine Mercy Chaplet. So I love this. I love it. Can I ask you a question since you got to read all those? I guess so. So I want to add... Do you have any manly scents? Like, you know, have you ever seen... Battlecry? Like beard balm? Yeah. They have all like, you know, they have tobacco smells. What have you got on the manly side? We have quite a few men. So starting kind of from the top, bless up here, Georgia for Saudi is mountain air and pipe tobacco. Oh, there you go. Of course, we've got St. Michael. It is Battlecry. Mm-hmm. We have Carpenter Shop for St. Joseph, which is leather and sawdust. Mm-hmm. We have Martin... I got to say there was something very cool. So we have a workshop here. We have 64 acres. Oh, good. And it's the home base of the Aval Institute, the community of Apostoli d'A. And we have St. Joseph's workshop here, of course, that Georgia and Jordan made this awesome sign that says St. Joseph's workshop. So we have to get the candle just to burn in the workshop. Mm-hmm. All right. Okay, awesome. So here's the real question, right? Is how do you figure out how to put a saint into a candle? Like a saint into a candle? Like, how do you decide that? Yeah, it's my favorite part of the process to be honest with you, because it starts with just really getting to know a saint. And when I first started, I started with all my favorites, right? And I was like, oh, I know, you know, Therese, I know our Lady Star of the Sea. But, and you do, right? Like, we all kind of have these sound bite versions of saints that we've picked up, or we've heard bits and pieces of their life. But when you start with anything that the church has given us on them, like their litanies, you know, which is just title after title after title of these holy men and women, or a novena to them, or with the saints we have their homilies from their theatrications and their canonizations, and just all the riches of the church that the church has gathered about their lives, and then there's books about them, there's books by them, and it's actually, you kind of have to rein yourself in a little bit, because if I could just read and learn about the saints all day, I would. And it's really, you have to go in, or what I've found is you really have to go in just wanting to get to know them, to really say like, help me draw closer to you so that you can draw me closer to Christ, and see it as an act of prayer. Not like, okay, I'm going to go in there and I'm going to find, you know, a couple of things so that I can put this into a channel, but really trying to like see the person, and then things will come out, you know, and like Elizabeth of the Trinity, with Cloystair Hart, one of the, oh gosh, the cherry and the violet are so rich. There's actually so many different meanings with it, but if we just look at the violet, when she was a teenager, before she entered Carmel, she started writing poetry, which she continued throughout her life, and she would use this like bright, vibrant purple ink, you know, this violet ink, which you can just imagine like a girl today with her journal, like I want the purple pen, you know, and she's writing away, and I just love that about her. And then what I learned kind of diving into her life is, violets are actually a symbol of the Trinity. So there's kind of this prefigurement of what her religious name would be, and all of her mystical writings, and everything, and so from kind of medieval times that the violet was used to symbolize the Trinity, and so just kind of packing all of this meaning into the sense, and then, but even if you have the idea, right, like, oh, this would just make a good, first it has to smell good together, right? And it has to have this connection, but then you still have all the science of piano making, and you can't just throw things together. So there's a lot, a lot of trial and error that goes into it too, and you just kind of have to, you know, give it everything you've got, and also at the same time, know that none of it may work. Just like find a place of peace with that, and I always just trust it to them. I'm like, look, if you want a candle, you know, so-and-so, if it would be good to have a candle for you so that people can learn more about you, like, let's do it. If it's not the right time, that's okay too. You know, a little twist that I thought about is we're always trying to influence our families, you know, in subtle ways, but beauty is a very powerful way, I think, and that's really what you're doing, and so you could, for Christmas, you know, give somebody who likes candles these, and I think once, even if someone was not of any religious sentiment, if you gave them one of these and talked about the integrity behind the work, which so that you're not going to burn off the top layer and then have no sense left, you know, but these are actually beautiful, they're named after a saint, they're interesting. I think you could have an effect on other people that might pique their curiosity about the faith. Yeah, I think this is really beautiful. So I want to hear from you. What are some practical ways to integrate the sacred, pardon me, the sacred and the secular into our life? You know, how do we, what are some thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing is really just to realize the church has done that for us in so many ways, right? Like holy water is now sacred, candles are sacred, we use them on the altar, you know, we use them at sacraments like you were saying, like the whole world has already been caught up in all that is good and holy, and so we can do that kind of in our own domestic churches in very simple ways. And you were talking about, you know, just having a picture, right? Like something that, whether you're sitting down with it or you're just walking past it, you know, during your day and you catch it out of the corner of your eye, just kind of having things here and there that bring your thoughts like to what is beyond this earth is really helpful having sense, having just physical things around you to connect to the faith. And it doesn't have to be over the head, right? Like you don't have to have 30 crucifixes on your wall in order to do that. And one of the things that I love thinking about is what did the Holy Family's home look like? Because they wouldn't have had rosaries. They wouldn't have had crucifixes. You know, they didn't have pictures of the saints. And the Jewish faith is so rich and, you know, you have these little moments, you know, at the door posts or the oil lamp on the table that bring you back to God. But it doesn't have to be like an explosion in your house. And that's one of the things that, you know, with the candles, we really wanted to lead with beauty. It was the intentionality behind the design itself and exactly what you were saying where... I'm sure you guys have, I have many people that I love dearly who have stopped practicing. But you can share things with them that connect to the faith without hitting them over the head, right? And beauty is such a good way to do that. So that's why we don't have pictures of the saints or prayers or anything on the candles itself because you can just be like, here's this great candle that I found. And by the way, it's, you know, handcrafted and great ingredients or whatever, you know, where people are like, oh, cool. And then if they're like, hey, that scent is really great. You can be like, well, actually it's connected to this person. And I'd love to tell you about them. And here's their whole life story. And that's what you're enjoying, you know, that it's letting, it's kind of like opening the side door to the faith in a way that, you know, we can all connect around just a really cool person who lived, you know. That's awesome. So we were, we were so moved about your story about how you decided to come up with the scent for Elizabeth of the Trinity on your site, you know, cordacandles.com. Do you have some of those stories in there of how you did that? Cause I think that would be incredibly fascinating. I'd probably spend all day on your site reading it and then order one of everything. So from your nod, I take it it's on there, right? Yeah. Every single page has all that background on what went into the scent, who this person was. We also have blog posts where, and then we're also building out, we're going to start adding our favorite resources. So for instance, like for Joseph, here's my favorite books. Here's my favorite prayers. Here's my favorite pieces of art. Like if you just want to really get to know him better, like here's some places to start. So keep an eye out for those things coming in as well. Beautiful. So we'll head out to cordacandles.com. And until next time, we're going to have to wrap up. So until next time, may the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire spirit, soul and body irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Anna, thank you so much for the cool work that you're doing. It is. It's really awesome. Beautiful work. Thank you. It probably was a holy spirit nudge because we've never, of course, done this on Divine Intimacy Radio, but I thought, why not? It's interesting. And it's, your whole concept is interesting. And I, you know, I just like the.