 We are live. Welcome everybody watching behind the scenes Facebook YouTube. It's really the only places that we stream So that's okay. If you would like to drop a comment, please drop a comment We might get to them at the end of the show We're very special show for you today that we're gonna get into shortly and instead of just plugging a bunch of stuff because I have Nothing prepared. All we're gonna do is jump into the show. So on that note Hey, I'm Jordan Burke and welcome to Saints and Sages. This is a special episode with a special guest a dear friend of mine Subbing in for KP Catalina. Would you care to introduce yourself? Hello, everyone. I'm Catalina So I'm from Puerto Rico cradle Catholic born and raised Catholic all my life Raised in the East Coast, but I live in Puerto Rico right now, which is a blessing. It's a beautiful place And I love it in the mountains so I Work for a couple different people and do a little bit of Catholic projects everywhere First one is Bienvenido Catholic. It's a Hispanic outreach apostolate that we do where we promote Catholic values and Focus on pro-life issues It's mainly a not a political thing, but it's focused on voting rights and things like that We also I mean I also do Rosary coast-to-coast which I hope everyone has heard about Yes, Father Richard Helman, so Ambri Dale, they're a part of the team and they Do an amazing job and I am so blessed to be a part of this project. It's huge. It's praying the rosary. So what we do is we Unite people from different parts of the country and we pray the rosary together So at 3 p.m. We come all together Simultaneously and pray the rosary Rosaries coast-to-coast super powerful super powerful. Yeah, yes, and This year we haven't set a launch date yet, but we will we have people waiting around the country worldwide to do this and it's It's very very efficacious. So check it out rosary coast-to-coast.com and lastly a big project that I need prayers for is Viva Guadalupe and it is constructing a building right beside Mexico's city the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe And we are doing a little pro-life center and chapel dedicated to the VN born so it's called the International Memorial to the unborn Viva Guadalupe Calm so those are a couple of things that I do And most importantly you've graciously agreed to sub in for KP for the time being we're very thankful And you have a deep passion for the Saints. It's one of the ways that you and I connected initially Through Instagram. By the way, what is your Instagram for those who want to find you if you're throwing that out there? I know I just kind of threw now I have to George, right? It's Catalina dot Ramos and the number 13 and that's where you can find all of her pictures of the paradise that she lives in in Puerto Rico, which I'm probably pronouncing poorly But then also all the projects that you're working on from Rosary Coast to Coast You kind of keep people updated there as well, but that's how we connected we Most importantly we connected all with St. Alfonso's Liguri, which I don't want to jump too far ahead. I know we're gonna talk about that at some point But we both have quite the affinity for St. Alfonso's interestingly enough you introduced me to The book that I'm sure we will talk about but uniformity with God's will and it was life-changing absolutely life-changing so I'm gonna save that I'm gonna save that but today we wanted to do sort of a Saints 101 right it's it's what it what are the Saints? Why are they needed these sorts of things and I would love for you to kind of expand I know we talked briefly before this, you know, what is a saint if you want to get into that? Whether it's an exact definition or kind of like a layman's definition would be great You know, why are they needed any of these that you want to kind of touch on I'd love to talk about Yes, so I love the topic of the Saints and when it comes to basics of the faith I love it even more because I think we need to go back to the basics of our faith We've complicated it somewhat, you know with a lot of things Added and subtracted in the liturgy and the faith things like that. And so it's good to go back to the basics I love it. So a saint. What is a saint a saint is a person who we know is in heaven you cannot be a saint here on earth because We're not I Mean you just don't get that title here So once you hit heaven you get the title you're a saint, you know, you're a saint when you're in heaven So that's how we know these people are in heaven because they're they're canonized. They're canonized as saints They are people with heroic virtue and this is like extraordinary virtue something that they have worked their entire lives for This perfect virtue and obviously it is not by their own means, you know, this is something that God They need God for you need God Right now and I don't mean to cut you off I'm curious because you sparked a thought, you know, we don't get the title of saint here on earth But we do get some sort of titles. I was learning with blessed Chiara. Did I'm pronouncing that right? I'm sorry Servant of God see this is where it gets complicated. These are the titles, right? Yeah, there's servant of God. There is blessed. There's is venerable. Is it do you know the rankings? That's what I'm getting at. I don't know what the rankings are. Yeah, I don't know the rankings. Okay, I Know I know it goes hold on it goes I believe it goes servant of God venerable Blessed and then saint. Okay, that makes sense Okay, maybe somebody can correct us on that but that'd be great. Well people correct us all the time anyway, so it's good It's a good yeah, especially me. So, okay, so there's titles. We can't get we can't get the title of saint on earth Doesn't mean that we can't strive for sainthood. It's just we won't leave with that particular, you know, plaque so to speak but back to your point Why and forgive me if I'm jumping ahead Why should we strive to be saints? Because it's our purpose. That's the only way you're gonna get to heaven Jordan It's the only way we can get to heaven. We can be we cannot have stain and A saint is someone who has purified themselves so much the point that they are Perfect to enter heaven, right? It says it in scripture. I believe somewhere. I'm not really good at this You know blessed are the clean apart for they shall for they shall see God, you know all those things so Um Yeah, you have to be perfect to get into heaven. That's right. And that's the purpose right, so then I think and and you know, I'm not I apologize if I'm throwing questions at you But you're sparking all these thoughts Does that mean that once we go through purgatory? We are then saints or is There and I'm apologize if I'm complicating things here, but so I Adventure so you said we have to be purified which I agree with everything that you're saying We have to be purified in order to become saints. We have to have supernatural grace to become saints So does that mean that when we complete purgatory we become saints? Sure? I Would guess so I haven't been there yet. So Yeah, because Because we need to be purified right if not if we are not purified here on earth Then we go to purgatory we purify there and then Boom we hit we hit heaven, right? Okay, cool. Yeah You know you're sparking these thoughts and I'm curious I don't know if you had the answer or not so it's such an interesting topic though honestly because you think about the saints and you you think about their lives and You know we've been like looking at for example, St. Gemma Galgani or St. Catherine of Siena the doctor of the church St. Francis of Assisi seraphim, you know, we think of all these saints and we're like How can we do it? You know they they it seems like they have purified their entire like every step of their lives was a purification process you know and it was You know ultimately for God and and they went straight to heaven. I mean they purified on earth But yeah, I really think that once you purify in purgatory then you you go to heaven because there's no going down Right, it's just going up and in my thought process to or at least for people who are listening And I may have said this before but my goal personally is to purify as much here on heaven So I spent as little time in purgatory as possible my goal Is to go straight straight to heaven I mean straight to heaven if you're on I know you're familiar with this Catalina But the devotion to our Lady of Sorrows and one of the promises of our Lady of Sorrows is basically a View you continue to do this daily one of the promises you skip purgatory, you know, you Right, so Carmel to the scapulars. Oh gosh There's so much treasure in the church where you can make it to heaven, right? You can do it and Importantly all of these promises were delivered to us as far as I'm aware by saints The correct me if I'm wrong, but you know the so so our Lady Mount Carmel was delivered to who say who was it again? St. Simon's Okay, so a saint and then our Lady of Sorrows, right? You know, so so it all all of the stuff walks hand in hand and it's super interesting So then the question so then it begs the question. Great. That's awesome. These these saints are powerful. They're amazing There's all these promises. This is how we get to heaven. But why are they needed in our time? currently Yes, they absolutely are needed for our time because they Show us that we can do it that it is possible that we can make it to heaven. Why because they have They've gone through this life. They've gone through earth earth and they have done everything that we have done as well They were humans just like us and so they are in a sense. I Don't know if I'm about to go blasphemous or heretical, but in a sense. They're more They give us a gosh, this is terrible a better example than Christ of how we can walk To how we can get to heaven. I don't think that's the right way of saying it Because God he could do it right right and I and I have an idea of what you're saying You're saying basically They give us a more Maybe personal example, I think that's a better way of saying it. Yes. Yeah, it's a really hard thing to word I know exactly what you're talking about because it's I've said this before myself Where it's you know, the saints have this unique representation of they've they've paved the pathway for us But they all paved a different sort of pathway So like I will relate to a particular saint more than yes, you know I will relate to St. Augustine more than some people I love I mean, you know that it's someone everyone who listened to the show who follows me on Instagram You know, I mean you and I are friends, so you know this as well But I'm obsessed with St. Gemma, right? So I relate to her on a different level as I'm sure you relate to certain saints So it's not so much that they have a better example than Christ. It's just a an example Each saint provides a specific example that we can kind of grasp on to maybe more than others So we're coming up on a break here in a couple seconds, but when we come back from the break I really want to talk about What those pathways look like because each one has been different as we kind of mentioned Maybe some of the struggles maybe how they you know, maybe some of the underlying themes that each one had And and a few other things but anyway, we'll get to that after the break. We will be right back I think it was like two seconds early on that. Sorry if I'm throwing questions at I'm just I love it. No, I love it because it's better that way than me just kind of thinking and something else Right, okay good For those who are watching behind the scenes, thank you so much for hanging in there with us If you have any questions, please throw them in the chat and we may have a chance at the end of the show To get to them put them up on screen kind of cool interactive feature And also, do we have any classes that we need to promote? Avala-institute.org go find some classes. They're good for you. They're good for your soul. They're good for your brain They're good for your heart. What else is good? They're good for your eyes because it's holy things that you can gaze upon That being said, let's get back to you Welcome back to Saints and Sages. I am Jordan Burke with a special guest Carolina Ramos from Puerto Rico Is that accurate or my is my accent way off? No, you're great. Okay. All right. I have a feeling that you're being nice But that's okay. So before the break we were talking about the Saints their struggles Or we briefly touched on Saints that have struggled rather and why it's important for our time And and I would like to dive deeper into the struggle, especially now I feel like suffering in general is a topic that everyone really relates to I think it's really applicable in our time with everything That's going on in the world and I don't think that there is a better Representation on how to navigate suffering than the Saints. So would you agree and what what are your kind of what are your thoughts there? I absolutely agree. I think they give us the best example of how we can Overcome the struggles and really transform and redeem them and make them, you know purposeful and we suffer When we suffer without God we suffer with no purpose when we suffer with God We suffer with purpose and it has merit and that's the best thing It's almost comforting, you know that we can suffer and it's used more than just, you know That, you know, we could do so much more we could do so much with suffering and just to think that it can gain us access to heaven and Give us the ability to have that saint plaque on our desk Yeah So it's absolutely in a sense suffering is necessary, right, right? Yeah, necessary to the point where Jesus literally said if you want to be my disciple take up your cross and follow me and That is suffering itself. I mean, I know that I sound like a broken record I harp on this all the time But it's so important and it's something that I think people really struggle with Grasping or or it just kind of goes over their head. I'm not sure what it is There's some sort of disconnect when it comes to suffering But on that note one of the guys I think that teaches the best about suffering so far that I've read And I'm not it's not saying that I've read everything on the saints I most certainly have not but it's a book that you introduced me to in passing and it took off like wildfire We started promoting. Oh, wow. And and I was that maybe last summer and it may roughly and Yes, I think so not to date the podcast or anything But it took off like wildfire and I still buy it in bulk and give it out to everyone You know, you're right and it is uniformity with God's will by St. Alphonsus the gory. So can you you're at yes? Thank you for those who are watching behind the scenes She showed it on the screen. You're the one who introduced me to it. So why don't you kind of give a rundown of what it is? Okay, so uniformity with God's will I get so excited about this book. It's it's Sometimes I have no words because I can't I can't really explain the depth in the and the treasure that this book is Honestly, it is It is gold right to quote you Jordan. So um, I first I was actually Back up a little bit and I used to go to a latin mass when I lived in virginia And they would give this out for free and they would have them in a little table kind of outside the narthex and you know, just Catholic Catholic stuff information and they had this book there. I took it and I said oh uniformity with God's will that sounds interesting and I took it home and I stuck it away put it away and left it there for like ever And then I decided one day to pick it up and read it and I was amazed because I think it was perfect timing. It was a time in my life where I Needed to know God's will I needed to to be kind of liberated from just the The the gunk that I was in, you know, like I needed God to help me Basically in in my situation and so I read the book and I reread it And I said this is amazing uniformity with God's will is basically um, alfans's deligori talking about How we can Unite our will to God's will how we can be uniform with God's will how we can live in freedom basically In all things and all things and for those who are unaware. This isn't like this super thick book. It's not 300 pages It's more it's like a pamphlet if you're watching behind the scenes. She's holding it up. It's super tiny I actually used to carry it in my back pocket. That's how tiny it is For a couple months after I read it And my story with it is very similar to yours where it was at this point in my life where I was going through some tremendous hardships And I just and I was suffering and I and I I wouldn't say I was suffering well I I would say I was probably enduring the suffering Which are two very different things and this book allowed me to Embrace suffering in a way that I never have before and the book is not about suffering even though I've said that word about 12 times in the In the past 30 seconds It's about uniformity with God's will but it is on suffering And so in a little bit of background santo fonds the glory for those who don't know is a saint, right? Which is why we're talking about him. He's a doctor of the church. He is a spiritual powerhouse but he really in this book you really succinctly puts what it is to unite your will to God's will and He does it in such a clear and precise way And and if I was to break it down and I'd like you to correct me if if you think that I'm wrong Or if there's a better way to say it, but it really boils down to two things Whatever happens in your life or one thing really whatever happens in your life is either willed Or permitted by God one of those two. I mean, that's it. That's it. That's it I'm going to read it. I'm going to read the part This is my favorite part and I have to reread it all the time just to remind myself So it's a little basic part that I'm going to read from the book of uniformity with God's will says conformity Signifies that we join our will our wills to the will of God But uniformity uniformity of God's will means more It means that we make one will of God's will And ours so that we will only will That we will only what God wills That God's will alone is our will and that is a tongue twister, but it's so true Yeah, it's a complicated topic, but he makes it very very clear It's super clear. Yeah Yeah, I I love that book and this is this is the purpose. This is why we do this show This is why we study the saints. This is why as you said in the beginning The saints are the basics You know when we have confusion in the church when we have confusion and teaching when we have all these different things It's like, okay, let's go back. Let's go back to the basics. What did Alfonso? What Alfonso the gory say he's a doctor of the church. Okay, what did Augustin say? He's a doctor of the church. Teresa of abla. She's a doctor. She is a doctor of the church, right? I catch my okay. Thank you This is why we have a fact-checker on the scene because I have these moments of like my brain just kind of losing losing itself She's shaking her head at me. That's okay. I deserve it But this is why we do these things and this is why we study the saints So now I'm curious. So we touched on suffering and that is kind of a I haven't found a better way to say this but like a through line Or a Unifying factor may be a better way to say it with all of the saints that we know or at least all the saints that I've studied suffering and embracing suffering What are some of the other kind of common? Factors that you're aware of with saints things that we can kind of grasp on to and learn and use in our daily lives well Back to st. Alfonso's uniting our will to gods knowing All the saints did god's will they did god's will they pursued his will and everything And second to that humility and obedience. I mean these it's necessary these virtues are necessary to be a saint When we follow god's will when we when we ask for his will we are walking towards sainthood Because that's the only way we're going to get to heaven if we know god's will. I remember. I don't know if it was st. Gemma or saint st. Faustina It probably was st. Gemma where She She wanted to pray But god said no it's time for you to sleep right and was st. Gemma. Yeah. Yeah, it was the st. Gemma and Her obedience her obedience you had it's holy obedience. You have to obey Yes, praying is a good thing. Yes, it's really it's really really good, but But obedience is first and foremost and he wanted her to rest So uh obedience is absolutely necessary humility Uh to know that god Is the one in charge not you right, you know and and uniting our wills to hit our will to his Those are like the basics, right? No and prayer is necessary, but obedience prayer right more necessary to your right Yeah, absolutely Yeah, it's for those who are unaware of the story real quick st. Gemma had a very personal relationship with her guardian angel And had she had her way she and her guardian angel would have stayed up all night talking She'd ask him questions and just learn and pray And uh, yeah at one point her guardian angel said listen god said you need to go to bed Yes, that's right So prayer so suffering embracing suffering um Unifying our will to god's will Holy obedience Humility these are all common You know factors of what makes a saint or what is really prevalent in the lives of the saints and we have about I don't know two and a half minutes left What else can you think? In regards to like making a saint or why the saints are so important What are your what are your thoughts in general kind of on on this and saints 101? Uh, basically Uh, we all have we all should have a patron saint, right? Um, if you don't you can pick one and I know for example, my father He was confirmed, but he never chose a saint You know to to walk with him through his life And I think it's important that we take a specific saint that you were drawn to Um, I like to say that the saints have a smi. This is a military term a smi is I wrote it down before I forget subject matter expertise. They all have a specific Like something you mentioned this a little earlier that they have like this almost You're attracted to to st. Gemma for a reason, you know Somebody else to st. Augustine for a reason me to st. Catherine and st. Joseph for for some reason, you know They all have their specific subject matter expertise that they Can help you with for example, I love st. Anthony of powdwa Like he helps people find things the other day yesterday. I asked for his intercession And I found him like less than five minutes and I'm like, this is his subject matter expertise. This is Like his special thing. So If you pick a patron saint Choose your patron saint wise wisely whichever one, you know attracts you to them and and whatever they're they're specific Whatever is that you like, you know, um They will help you through life and they will never leave you like your guardian angel So that's kind of something a basic thing that everybody could do That's a powerful. That's a powerful point. I'm glad you brought that up And I'm I'm also glad that you kind of gave an example because I've actually had several guys come to me and say I don't have one and what do I do and I have up until this point. I've had no response for them Um, because I I just wasn't aware. So that's that's really helpful We are coming to the last 30 seconds of the show. This has been awesome. Thank you so much Um, I'm I really hope that this was edifying for others and kind of gives a little bit more Um information as to why we do what we do and why we spend so much time with the saints and why we should all spend more time with the saints So with that, uh, Catalina go ahead and give your instagram one more time if you don't mind and then we will close out Yes, so it's catalina dot ramos the number 13 Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much and we will see you guys in a couple weeks Have a good one. I don't know how to close it anymore. Bye. Be a saint. Oh, there you go. All right Yeah, you can put it offline. Yeah