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What epic tale have we fallen into, and what role are we meant to play? This question lies at the heart of our exploration of authentic masculinity and spiritual warfare in a chaotic world.
Drawing from the wisdom of St. John Paul II, Henry David Thoreau, and even Sam Gamgee from Lord of the Rings, we examine the profound crisis facing today's young people. In a culture where 50% of teen girls report persistent sadness and 30% have considered suicide, something has clearly gone terribly wrong. Yet within this darkness, we're witnessing young men awakening to the realization that they were created for something more.
The Claymore sword—the heavy, two-handed weapon made famous in Braveheart—represents our approach to spiritual combat. Unlike the emasculated vision of manhood promoted by our culture, we recognize that authentic masculinity requires courage, strength, and a willingness to fight for what matters. But as St. John Paul II taught, the first battle must be fought on the battlefield of our own hearts—between love and lust, between selfishness and self-giving.
Download the Claymore Militus Christi Battle Plan and join us in reclaiming what it means to be a man. Share this episode with someone and discuss the questions together: What tale have we fallen into, and what role will you play in it?
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Discussion questions:
- What are some moments in your life when you felt a deep longing for truth, meaning, or purpose? How did you respond to that desire?
“You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, says the Lord.”—Jeremiah 29:13–14
- Sam Gamgee asks, “I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?”—do you feel like your life is part of a larger story? If so, who is writing it, and what role might you be playing?
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”—Ephesians 2:10
- In a world full of noise, opinions, and competing truths, where do you go—or where could you begin to go—to seek what is truly good, beautiful, and true? “
And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”—John 8:32
- The chapter mentions the “line between good and evil running through every human heart.” Where in your own life do you feel that tension most, and what helps you stay grounded in the fight for the good?
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”—Matthew 26:41
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Become who you Are podcast, a
production of the John Paul IIRenewal Center.
I'm Jack Riggert, your host.
After a week of being off forthe 4th of July.
This is our special weeklyFriday edition of Claymore, our
apostolate for young men and thepeople that love them.
A little housekeeping before weget started and before we get
into the heart of today'sepisode.
(00:21):
If you haven't already, makesure you download the Claymore
Militus Christi Battle Planfound on our website,
jp2reneworg.
Go to the top, go underresources and you're going to
scroll down.
You're going to see theClaymore sword that's behind me
here.
If you're watching on YouTubeor Rumble, you'll see it behind
me.
Scroll down to the PDF file.
(00:42):
Print it out To save ink onyour computer.
The first page is a beautifulpicture of St Michael the
Archangel with a big sword.
But go to the second page whereyou actually see kind of
another cover page with theClaymore sword on it.
Start printing it on there.
You'll save yourself some ink.
The Claymore sword is that sword, that big, heavy, two-fisted
(01:03):
sword made famous by WilliamWallace in the movie Braveheart.
For you younger guys, if youhaven't seen that movie, look it
up.
Braveheart.
It's an incredible movie basedon a true story.
If you watch it, you knowyou're going to see this big,
two-fisted sword.
I mean, those were men.
Were men, as gruesome as itsounds?
The Scots were invaded by theEnglish and that sword could
take out a horse's leg.
(01:25):
You know, it's amazing.
Can you imagine these guysgoing into battle with these
things, carrying these heavyswords around?
Powerful stuff, huh.
Today, you know, guys areplaying video games in their
basements against each other.
There's nothing against thatper se, but you can imagine.
You know, take that guy outthat's been sitting on the couch
day after day after day forhours and put him on a real
(01:45):
battlefield with men with thesebig swords.
You'd see the contrast right.
So why the Claymore Sword is ourtitle and logo?
Because we're in a brutalspiritual battle, perhaps like
no other in history, and theyoung men that we're meeting in
our apostolate with the JP2Renewal Center, they're waking
up to this reality.
It's really something to seeand they're realizing there must
(02:08):
be something more.
You know something more thatthey're created to be.
They sense this and they haveto become real men, what they're
created to be, not theemasculated men of our modern
age, if they're going to reallynot only survive the storm but
thrive in it.
They really got to stand up.
Too many men are justlackadaisical.
(02:29):
And you know, just go throughlife like that.
You'll never find this joy,this happiness, this enthusiasm
and passion for life.
You know, I'm getting older andmy dad is almost 100 years old.
He's still alive, old World WarII vet.
He still has the passion.
And why does he have thepassion?
Because you stepped into thearena.
You're fighting the battle.
(02:50):
You're connected to our Lordand Savior, jesus Christ.
You know, by the way, this iswhere we got the name for our
podcast.
You know, we're now on oursixth season of the Become who
you Are podcast, and the nameactually came from a woman, a
good friend of mine, a sister ofmine.
Get to know her, st Catherineof Siena, who was trying to wake
up the men of her day.
She wrote become who you are,who you were created to be, and
(03:19):
you will light the world on fire.
We need more women today, likeSt Catherine of Siena, don't we
To raise the bar?
Become the women who they'recreated to be?
So they were encouraged, youngmen to become real men, to take
up the claymore, to fight forthem, to respect them, to
protect them.
In a word, to raise the bar andbecome who they're created to
be, so that men understand that.
But even if they don't and weknow many, many women don't
(03:40):
understand that today we have tobecome warriors who know that
the first battle that they fight, as St John Paul would say, is
fought on the battlefield of ourown hearts.
Between love and lust, betweenbecoming a self-giving man and
who respects and protects life,especially standing up for the
most vulnerable and defenseless,the child in the womb and the
(04:01):
elderly, and for marriage andthe family.
And finally, we have to havethe courage to go out and do
battle and restore the cultureand our nation for your own
generation and the generationsto come, the children that you
may bring in in the world, ifyou end up getting married and
having families right.
We've been given this beautifulcountry and you need to be
(04:23):
patriotic, you need to have alove of your country, otherwise
we just let it go, and this is areal battle.
Today you have to pick it up,because you know if you're
looking at somebody else torescue you, you're not going to
find them right.
So don't be afraid to bepatriotic in this world.
And and you know, you hear allthese people fighting and we'll
be getting into more and moreand more of this.
(04:45):
Right Reading from the coverpage after that beautiful
picture of St Michael theArchangel, again, this is the
Claymore battle plan.
You're going to see a picturelike this and I'm holding this
up for those of you who watchthat video, but it's just.
You can download this and it'sthe second page.
On this second page you'll seethe Claymore Sword and John Paul
(05:08):
II writes a quote for all ofyou.
Pay attention.
Your life is not an endlessseries of open doors.
Listen to your heart.
It's always about the heart.
It's always about the heart.
It always starts at the heart.
Do not stay on the surface,like most people get blown
around by the spirit of age, butgo to the heart of things.
That means go deeper.
(05:28):
You get there through prayerand the sacraments.
We're covering all that, sojust take it all in for right
now and when the time is right.
John Paul said have the courageto decide, make a decision,
because if you don't make adecision, you'll never find what
you're looking for as a man.
You see, john Paul II was aprophet for our times and it was
clear how this was all going tobe played out and he wrote
(05:50):
incredible encyclicals andinformation to hand down to us.
And I gleaned all of that.
That's what the John Paul IIRenewal Center has done, and of
course John Paul didn't makethis up either.
He takes this from churchteachings et cetera, et cetera
that flow down to him and allthese wonderful people and the
gospels, et cetera.
(06:11):
But he also could read the signof the times and we're always
called to do that Like what arethe signs of today's times?
How are we going to apply theword of these relationships and
the relationship we have withGod into our present day?
Right To St John Paul II, itwas very clear to them and while
we're not trying to predict thetime of Jesus' second coming,
(06:33):
we know that history is movingever, ever closer.
John Paul II, sister Faustina,bishop Sheen, they all had a
sense that you know somethingnew is happening.
You know whether this is theend time we're getting close to.
We don't know.
We're not.
They all had a sense thatsomething new was happening.
Whether this is the end timewe're getting close to, we don't
know.
We're not going to exactlypredict that, but we know that
the evils of our days,especially with abortion and
(06:54):
these twisting and distortion ofmarriages, and the wars, the
endless wars, et cetera, etcetera.
We know it's moving closer, butwe don't get hopeless because
we're stepping into a story.
Right, we're stepping into astory and this is our
battleground.
This is the time we were born.
We were born here for a reason,but we're all sensing that
something is happening right now.
We're caught up in this greatspiritual battle for human souls
(07:17):
.
Don't forget, no matter whathappens in this temporal life,
we're set for eternity, andeternity doesn't mean tomorrow.
Oh, jack, you're talking abouttomorrow, I don't know about no,
no, no, eternity means forever.
We are already on the eternalstage and how we play this out
is going to mean everything.
(07:37):
We also know from experiencethat we're losing too many young
people who have lost their way,their faith, their hope, and
even lost what it means to be aperson of love and see.
Love is not an option for humanbeings.
It's our primary mode of being.
God is love and we're createdin his image and his likeness.
We're created, in fact, by love, in love and for love.
(08:02):
But we cannot give what wedon't have, in other words, if
we do not first receive lovefrom the source of love.
We live like cut flowers.
You know what cut flowers?
Huh, you go out and you cutthese beautiful flowers.
You put them in a vase, putsome water and put them on the
table.
They look great for a few days,maybe even a week or two, and
then what happens?
They start to boom, they startto wilt, and that's what's
(08:25):
happening in these young liveswe see around us.
So this is very practical whatwe're talking about, like a
branch disconnected from thevine, as Jesus so often put it.
This, of course, is the stateof our culture in the world
today, one that John Paul IIcalled the culture of death.
The men of Claymore pick up thesword and we're restoring this
(08:45):
culture of life that begins onthe battlefield of each one of
our hearts, men and women, youngand old.
This is why the battle planincludes that three-part simple
prayer each morning.
Hopefully you're all doing thatBefore you look at that phone.
I'll just go over it quicklyright here.
Before you look at the phone,it just takes you minutes.
Fall down to your knees, youopen up your heart.
(09:08):
It's all in the battle plan,with our blessed mother kneeling
aside you.
Let it be done to me accordingto your word.
We're going deep, we're openingour hearts up to God himself,
right?
And then, you know, I alwayshear in the back of my mind, you
know, from the wedding feast ofCana do whatever he tells you.
And that's the second thing Ithink of.
Okay, I'm open up.
(09:28):
Let it be done to me accordingto your word, do whatever he
tells you.
And then I watch for him duringthe day.
Second thing temptation is not asin, very, very important for
us today.
Temptation is not a sin.
Jesus himself was tempted, ifyou understand it properly, and
we've talked about this manytimes and I'll continue to talk
about it because I think it'sthe most important thing we can
know as men, that divine sparkssay lust, selfishness, porn,
(09:53):
whatever it is, laziness.
It could be a lot of differentthings, but a lot of you are
struggling with pornography andthose images.
You know, it's not aboutsuppressing those images.
You're trying to be good.
It's about opening up andknowing that every temptation
that comes into your mind, intoyour heart, is an invitation to
prayer, very, very important.
So do that.
And the next thing you get upoff your knees and love the next
(10:14):
person you see, authenticallyincluded in that is a divine
mercy prayer for the day, andit's only 30 seconds usually,
and then you say a little shortprayer.
It's all in the app there.
But don't skip that DivineMercy.
You play it, you can hear thewords of Jesus talking to Sister
Faustina and speaking to us,and you really start to realize
(10:38):
how God is calling us, how Jesusis calling us Very, very, very
beautiful.
So Sister Faustina, who spokewith Jesus, wanted us to receive
his mercy as we draw near tothe end of history, and this was
that spark that Jesus toldSister Faustina about.
You know, things are windingdown here and I want everybody
(10:58):
to know about my mercy and mycompassionate heart, just for
times like this.
So again, don't skip that.
It's going to be a great giftto your life in a short period
of time.
Finally, this episode today is areset of sorts.
It begins at the beginning of abook that I'm writing.
Look, I get into this a littlebit more later on in this
(11:19):
episode, but the book that I'mwriting, I sat down and so I'm
unpacking this.
The book's not quite done yet.
I'm still got.
Actually, I'm only about threequarters of the way through it.
I sat down and so I'm unpackingthis.
The book's not quite done yet.
I've still got actually I'monly about three quarters of the
way through it.
I got a lot of work and then alot of editing to do on it, so
it's going to be a while, butI'm unpacking these chapters,
starting again today, and soyou're going to get this tidbit
(11:39):
and we're going to really gointo a comprehensive story.
So it's going to be really,really good with short chapters.
Remember that we encourage youto share these Friday episodes
with at least one other personand discuss the questions in the
show notes together.
Also meditate them.
There's scripture references inthem.
You know really what you needfor this battle.
Again, over time, you're goingto be drawn closer to the heart
(12:01):
of Jesus Christ.
This is always our goal toencounter Jesus Christ, who
calls us his friends and, inlove, invites us, seeks an
intimate, very personal,intimate relationship with
himself.
This is what makes it different.
This is not just moreinformation.
This is the DNA, that desirethat we have for something more.
(12:22):
You know, god gave us thatdesire.
He has the same desire for us.
And one more thing take asecond to subscribe and hit the
like button.
When you do that, when you hitthe like button, the algos will
pick up on this and we'll getthis much needed message out to
more young people.
Okay, buckle up and get readyfor today's episode.
(12:43):
The Tale that We've Fallen Into.
The Tale that We've Fallen Into.
I love Henry David Thoreau.
He wrote this book called theWalden Pond that I used to when
(13:13):
I went backpacking.
I loved to read snippets ofthis book, and so he was going
to the woods just to figurethings out.
And this is what he writes.
I went to the woods because Iwished to live deliberately, to
front only the essential factsof life and see if I could not
learn what it had to teach, andnot, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived,For the mass of men lead lives
of quiet desperation.
(13:34):
So he's living deliberately.
This is what we do when we fallto our knees before that phone.
We're living deliberately.
That's what he's talking abouthere, so that I know you know
we're going to get into thismore, but John Paul said your
youth is a gift.
This is a time for you todiscover what life has to teach.
You See, this is what he'ssaying.
(13:55):
You know, writing for me ishard work and I asked myself do
young men need another book?
You know, I'm told that theyseldom read anyway.
Haven't they already grown upin this mind-numbing bubble of
noise, texts, images, endlessmessaging?
Aren't they constantlyinundated by social media
influencers, professionalmarketers, educators, all these
(14:18):
government experts, all tellingthem how to live, what to buy,
what to inject into their bodies, how to think, what to fear?
This leaves young people in anuncomfortable and confusing
vacuum, and what Pope BenedictXVI called the dictatorship of
moral relativism.
(14:38):
We live in an empty illusionwhere there is no truth, only my
truth or your truth, full ofnoise, people bringing in all
these directions, until youfinally just give up.
You play video games all day oryou numb yourself right,
because it's a painful place fora human being to live.
Statistics confirm it.
This is the most anxious, andI'm talking about Gen Z.
(14:59):
I love Gen Z.
I love working with them,because the men especially
respond to our witness storiesand the truth.
They're looking for somethingmore, but in general, this is
the most anxious and depressedgeneration of young people the
world's ever seen, and in justthe past few years the numbers
have spoke about this They'veskyrocketed.
I'll give you just a few.
(15:20):
According to the CDC Center forDisease Control, 50% of teen
girls say they feel persistentlysad or hopeless.
57% 40% of teens altogetherboys and girls report they felt
so down at some point during thelast year they couldn't do
their normal activities likeschoolwork or sports for at
(15:40):
least two weeks.
52% of teens who identify asLBGTQIASS plus say they struggle
with mental health.
30% of teen girls haveseriously considered suicide.
That's a huge number and anumber that's been rising and
risen 60% over just the lastdecade.
22% of LBGTQIASS plus teens saythey attempted suicide in the
(16:06):
past year.
It's a sad number, and that'snot even counting the fact that
100% of the young men I meettoday have been exposed to
hardcore pornography.
It's robbed them of theirinnocence, obliterated their
moral compass and many of themhave just given up altogether,
become part of a staggeringnumber of young people who die
each year from drug overdose andsuicide.
(16:28):
Thoreau was right the mass ofmen lead lives of quiet
desperation, but in the midst ofthis present chaos, really in a
very real attack on our youngpeople, I personally witnessed
so many young men especiallyrespond to the message we're
sharing with them.
We found that, despite all theendless chatter and advice to
receive from these so-calledexperts.
(16:49):
Again, young men were awakeningto the realization that
something has gone terriblywrong, and when they search for
answers, too often theyencounter people that lied to
them or who, despite goodintentions and try to help them,
have sat with that proverbialfrog in that big pot of moral
relativism for so long.
(17:11):
They become numb to the evilsof this day and they have
nothing then of substance toshare with anybody.
So I sense an urgency to comeup alongside these young men you
that are listening today, and Iasked our team to reflect on
their own journey and to sharethe impact that John Paul II's
message had on their own lives.
(17:31):
Without holding back, I beganto do the same thing I'm not
holding back with the youngpeople.
The results wereinstantaneously.
These guys would lean into ourwitness stories, they would ask
questions and then they wouldstart to share their own
heartfelt stories.
It's amazing how you canconnect when you're seeking the
truth.
For us, then, after that, therewas no turning our backs on
(17:55):
these young men and young womenwho became our brothers and
sisters in so many ways.
This is how Claymore MiletusChristi Claymore is the sword
Miletus Christi soldiers forChrist came about.
It's a framework for discipling, really journeying with the
young people that we meet andshow them how to journey
together.
So I decided, regardless of thetime and effort, to write it
(18:15):
down in a book, something thatwould serve as a kind of a
handbook to help them get theirhearts back, while also
providing a lens so they couldstep back and know the larger
story.
Both of those are important toget your hearts back and to know
the bigger story and how thisall fits together.
So to provide all of you withthe lens that you need to answer
(18:35):
this timeless questions.
You know we had these timelessquestions that everybody used to
try to answer for themselves.
Now, this is the first time inhistory, the culture has stopped
asking these questions and letalone trying to give you an
answer.
They don't even ask thequestions anymore.
These are the timelessquestions we all want to know
who am I?
What's the meaning of purposeof my life?
(18:56):
How should I live?
Why were we created, male andfemale?
I mean, you would think thatwould be a simple one.
Not anymore.
How do I find happiness heretoday?
How do I find love that lasts,that won't fade away?
I decided, despite the hardwork I would begin a book.
I ordered to the young men thatwe meet, to John Paul II, a
(19:16):
prophet for our time, whochanged my life.
So I picked up a pen and Ibegan to write.
And here's what I began towrite.
Looking back, I clearlyremember like it was yesterday,
being a young man who felt alonewith his questions that no one
could answer.
I felt the same thing.
So on the day I graduated fromhigh school, the very day I
(19:37):
skipped the parties, threw mybackpack, my hiking boots, a few
of my favorite books in my car,strapped my beloved bicycle I'm
still riding bicycles, I lovethem to the roof and I drove
west.
No cell phones to distract onein those days.
I lived in Denver for a while,moved around and eventually
landed in Southern California.
I was searching for the truth,wondering if I would ever find
(19:59):
it.
So I went to a new place.
I would go to a new scene, aplace to hang my hammock, beauty
to uphold, always keeping oneeye out for danger.
I wandered among the thousandsof people I passed.
I settled in Los Angeles, inthe Southern California area,
and I remember I would passthousands of people on the
streets of LA, and yet I wasalone.
(20:22):
Is there someone out there forme?
Out there, just, and and youknow I mean anybody.
What a difference that makesright.
Think about relationships.
I walk into a new city, whetherit's Denver or Los Angeles and
many other cities, moving,traveling, sometimes as a young
guy, and I remember you can get,really get alone, you know, and
(20:42):
I would walk among thesethousands of people.
I was amazed that you can bewith all these people and feel
this alone.
And it just takes one specialperson be with all these people
and feel this alone.
And it just takes one specialperson, anybody, a man or a
woman, just a friend, right, itopens up a whole nother world.
See, this is the relationshipwith God in our hearts.
You know, when we'redisconnected from God, we feel
alone, even among many people,even among friends, even if
(21:04):
you're married.
Sometimes, when you open up toGod, things start to change.
And this is that relationship.
We're made for theserelationships.
And then so I'm walking aroundLA thinking, man, I wish there's
somebody out there for me.
One late evening, after workinga dinner shift in a restaurant,
feeling particularly alone, Iwent off for a walk.
I wandered to the beach not farfrom my apartment.
(21:25):
I laid back in the sand, it wasdark and a vast panorama of
stars opened up.
It took my breath away.
I felt small and insignificantthen, and I heard the words of
Christ.
This is from John, chapter 1.
What do you seek?
What do you seek?
I responded in silence.
(21:46):
I'm seeking the truth, if itexists.
I'm seeking meaning and purposein my life.
I want to know is there a bestway to live Then?
A deeper silence, not emptiness, but peaceful silence.
And I realized I'm a tiny speckon the surface of this
gas-fired planet itself, a tinyspeck within a vast galaxy of
galaxies.
(22:06):
And yet yet, in that moment,hearing Christ's question, I
sensed that my life mattered.
I was not alone.
I was connected to the God ofthe universe.
I don't know why I felt likethat, but this is in our hearts.
I had not created the universe,nor was I the author of the
story, but perhaps I was in astory, part of something larger.
(22:28):
And I began to wander alongwith Sam Gamgee.
You know the Fellowship of theRings, part of the Lord of the
Rings series.
Well, this is from the TwoTowers, and Sam Gamgee and his
friend Fodor are on an arduousjourney and they're about
halfway through it and he justwonders out loud.
He says I wonder what sort oftale we've fallen into.
(22:51):
This is what we should beasking ourselves I wonder what
sort of tale we've fallen into.
Sam continues it's like thegreat stories, mr Frodo, the
ones that really mattered fullof darkness and danger they were
, and sometimes you didn't wantto know the end, because how
could the end be happy?
How could the world go back tothe way it was when so much bad
(23:13):
had happened?
But in the end it's only apassing thing.
This shadow, even darkness,must pass.
A new day will come, and whenthe sun shines, it will shine
out the clearer.
Those were the stories thatstayed with you, that meant
something, even if you were toosmall to understand why.
But I think, mr Frodo, I dounderstand.
(23:34):
I know now, folk in thosestories had lots of chances of
turning back.
Only they didn't.
They kept going because theywere holding on to something
that there's something good inthis world and it's worth
fighting for.
There's some good in this worldand it's worth fighting for and
(23:54):
it's true.
End, quote there.
So over time, I began to gatherclues and they began to form a
picture, one realization that Ihad creation is good and has its
own proper perfection, but itdid not spring forth complete
from the creator's hand.
I remember reading John Paul'swork and he would explain it
kind of like this you know, andhas its own proper perfection,
but it did not spring forthcomplete from the creator's hand
.
I remember reading John Paul'swork and he would explain it
(24:16):
kind of like this you know, theuniverse, like us, was created
in a state of journeying, movingtoward a final perfection, but
it's not yet attained.
God is the author and creatorof the story, but he allows us
as creatures to cooperate in itsunfolding.
We have our place here.
If the world's not perfect,we've been brought into the
world to make it more perfect inour own little way.
(24:36):
At the same time, we becomemore perfect.
See, this is the story.
He grants us not only ourexistence but the dignity of
acting, of being cases for oneanother and participants in his
plan.
One day I was in a publiclibrary.
I came across the writings ofAlexander Sholtsonitsyn, the
(24:56):
great Russian writer who hadspent eight years in the Soviet
gulags, the brutal communistprison system, for writing a
letter pushing back on Stalinthat somebody got a hold of so
suddenly, as I'm reading him,another clue on Stalin that
somebody got a hold of sosuddenly, as I'm reading him,
another clue.
See, we're looking for clues.
Things became clearer.
(25:16):
Schultz and Neitzan wroteMarxism.
This is the socialism,communism, marxism that we see.
It's a battle in our owncountry today.
Watch for this Marxism, claims.
He wrote, that some groups andclasses of human beings are good
and others bad.
So to perfect itself, humanitymust isolate and eliminate the
bad people.
Of course I decide who's goodand who's bad.
It's always the people in powerthat decide this, right.
But Schultz and Nietzsche cameto a deeper truth the dividing
(25:39):
line between good and evil doesnot run between groups.
Listen to this, because theywant to divide us into groups.
How does it run?
It runs through every singleindividual human heart.
The Marxist position, he wenton, was that humanity would be
perfected through the inevitableprogress of world history.
Didn't we hear that after COVID, the Great Reset?
(25:59):
Listen to this, build backbetter.
All of these European Union,the G7, everybody was saying
build back better, joe Biden,build back better.
Where do they got this from?
That's from here, right, theinevitable progress of world
history.
We're going to build backbetter.
But if the dividing lineSchultz and Nietzsche wrote, is
within every human heart, thenonly limited improvement is
(26:22):
possible in this life.
We do the best we can and wemake our small improvements, but
it's always going to need more.
But degeneracy, he said, isalways equally possible.
The Marxist position is to berejected, it seems, because it
overlooks the reality oforiginal sin.
End quote Original sin in thesense we all came into the story
(26:46):
and on the day that you and Iwere born, sooner or later we
find ourselves standing betweenthat tree of the knowledge of
good and evil from Genesis 3,created with free will, given
the divine gift of reason andintellect, we were given all the
tools we have to choose and ourquest for meaning and purpose
were sent on a mission to seekthe truth.
(27:08):
This is what our reason does,right.
Our reason is always searchingfor the truth and our free will,
if properly understood, will belike a little motor.
John Paul said to the good tochoose the good.
This is how we're moving on ourpath and determining ourselves
right To seek the truth and todecide which city we're going to
help build the city of man, theMarxist position, or the city
(27:29):
of God that we're created for.
Only at the end of our lives,st Paul said from 1 Corinthians,
when our partial knowledgegives way to full vision, when
we see God face to face, will wereally fully understand the
ways in which he guided uswithin this larger story.
See, this is the prayer, thisis the story, this is the sword.
(27:50):
We pick up Battle on our ownhearts first, so that we open it
up to God's plan, and he willbe the one to guide us.
He will send people into ourlives to guide us.
It's an amazing story.
In the meantime, we must trustthat someone, jesus Christ first
.
You know Miletus Christi.
We're soldiers of Christ, butthen we find mentors, we find
(28:10):
disciples to walk with.
This is the Claymore MiletusChristi battle plan, because
there's an enemy there thatwould like nothing more than to
keep us from the truth, to keepus from choosing the good.
And this is a battle.
It's a brutal battle.
This is what we're sensing.
Jesus turned to the disciplesof John the Baptist who were
following them in John chapterone again, and he turned to them
(28:33):
, and he turns to all of us andhe says what do you seek?
What do you seek?
And then they said to him rabbi, which means teacher, where are
you staying?
See, we sense something.
I hear the word.
I'm starting.
Yeah, I hear that word.
So where are you staying?
I want to follow you a littlebit further.
And what does Jesus say to them?
Come and see, come and see.
He doesn't give them anypropaganda, no ideology, nothing
(28:56):
to sell them, just come and see.
Ooh, good stuff.
Right, that's the end of thisepisode.
Let me just there's a call toaction here Download the
Claymore Miletus Christi battleplan this week.
Connect with a Claymoredisciple or invite someone to
become one and share yourjourney with you.
(29:17):
You're stronger together.
Ask them to watch this week'spodcast.
And then you have thediscussion questions.
I'll have them in the shownotes.
Let me go through one or two.
You can just see the beauty ofthese discussion questions.
What are some moments in yourlife when you felt a deep
longing for truth, meaning orpurpose?
Right, ask yourself that,because you see, this is our
(29:39):
story and our heart.
Sometimes we get so busy andlisten to so much noise we
forget that we're asking thesequestions.
So how did you respond to thatdesire?
Did you push it off?
Ah, you know, even the OldTestament prophets were speaking
about this.
Of course, this is timeless.
Again, this is from Jeremiah 29.
This is our Lord speaking, andhe's speaking through Jeremiah
(30:00):
than to other people.
You will seek me and find mewhen you seek me with all your
heart.
Remember it's always about theheart.
I will be found by you, saysthe Lord.
He's not hiding from us.
We got to get and do this.
Here's question number two.
Sam Gamgee says I wonder whatsort of tale we've fallen into.
Do you feel like your life ispart of a larger story?
(30:20):
If so, who's writing it?
Are you writing it yourself?
Yeah, pride, pride, this pridethat, well, you do write a story
.
You co-author, but you cameinto a story.
You're writing your storywithin the context of the story
between good and evil that youdecide.
You have a lot to do, a lot towrite here.
If I didn't, I wouldn't bewriting this book here, but I
(30:43):
didn't write the larger story welive in the contents of reality
.
Gravity really exists, good andevil really exist.
God is the good.
There's an evil one that wantsto take us down, and you see
this playing out in hearts.
Most of the evil that youencounter in the world today are
people that are cooperatingwith Satan, with the evil
(31:03):
spirits, right?
So who's writing that?
What role is he?
You know Ephesians.
St Paul writes in Ephesians 2,for we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for goodworks which God prepared
beforehand that we should walkin them.
See, the story is written.
Now we should walk in his story, and these are beautiful things
(31:23):
.
One more right In a world fullof noise, opinions, competing
truths, where do you go, orwhere could you begin to go to
seek what is really true, goodand beautiful?
Right?
And in John, chapter eight,which is a powerful chapter, and
you will know the truth, andthe truth will set you free.
And so, you know, go in, askthose questions of yourself, ask
(31:47):
them with somebody else.
So have a beer or coffee orwhatever you know with somebody.
And so have a beer or coffee orwhatever you know with somebody
and start to unpack thesethings using scripture coming
into the story.
It's a life-changing thing.
Hey, god bless you.
Don't forget to subscribe.
Hit the like button.
Also, we have great podcasts.
You know other podcasts thatare going to give you, you know,
even a different lens on all ofthis too Bitcoin, we just did
(32:11):
one the moral money.
Listen to that, eric Sammons,who's the editor of Crisis
Magazine, did a great job onthat.
Speaking really to the issuesof today for young people how
hard it is we talked about toown homes, those kinds of things
Very practical.
What we're talking about hereis practical stuff.
Also, on suffering, dr AaronCuriati.
(32:32):
He's an incredible young doctor, psychiatrist.
I really respect him.
I knew him and knew of himbefore this podcast.
It's a beautiful podcast too,so listen to some of those too.
All right, everyone.
Talk to you again soon.
Bye-bye.
Welcome to the Become who you Are podcast, a
production of the John Paul IIRenewal Center.
I'm Jack Riggert, your host.
After a week of being off forthe 4th of July.
This is our special weeklyFriday edition of Claymore, our
apostolate for young men and thepeople that love them.
A little housekeeping before weget started and before we get
into the heart of today'sepisode.
(00:21):
If you haven't already, makesure you download the Claymore
Militus Christi Battle Planfound on our website,
jp2reneworg.
Go to the top, go underresources and you're going to
scroll down.
You're going to see theClaymore sword that's behind me
here.
If you're watching on YouTubeor Rumble, you'll see it behind
me.
Scroll down to the PDF file.
(00:42):
Print it out To save ink onyour computer.
The first page is a beautifulpicture of St Michael the
Archangel with a big sword.
But go to the second page whereyou actually see kind of
another cover page with theClaymore sword on it.
Start printing it on there.
You'll save yourself some ink.
The Claymore sword is that sword, that big, heavy, two-fisted
(01:03):
sword made famous by WilliamWallace in the movie Braveheart.
For you younger guys, if youhaven't seen that movie, look it
up.
Braveheart.
It's an incredible movie basedon a true story.
If you watch it, you knowyou're going to see this big,
two-fisted sword.
I mean, those were men.
Were men, as gruesome as itsounds?
The Scots were invaded by theEnglish and that sword could
take out a horse's leg.
(01:25):
You know, it's amazing.
Can you imagine these guysgoing into battle with these
things, carrying these heavyswords around?
Powerful stuff, huh.
Today, you know, guys areplaying video games in their
basements against each other.
There's nothing against thatper se, but you can imagine.
You know, take that guy outthat's been sitting on the couch
day after day after day forhours and put him on a real
(01:45):
battlefield with men with thesebig swords.
You'd see the contrast right.
So why the Claymore Sword is ourtitle and logo?
Because we're in a brutalspiritual battle, perhaps like
no other in history, and theyoung men that we're meeting in
our apostolate with the JP2Renewal Center, they're waking
up to this reality.
It's really something to seeand they're realizing there must
(02:08):
be something more.
You know something more thatthey're created to be.
They sense this and they haveto become real men, what they're
created to be, not theemasculated men of our modern
age, if they're going to reallynot only survive the storm but
thrive in it.
They really got to stand up.
Too many men are justlackadaisical.
(02:29):
And you know, just go throughlife like that.
You'll never find this joy,this happiness, this enthusiasm
and passion for life.
You know, I'm getting older andmy dad is almost 100 years old.
He's still alive, old World WarII vet.
He still has the passion.
And why does he have thepassion?
Because you stepped into thearena.
You're fighting the battle.
(02:50):
You're connected to our Lordand Savior, jesus Christ.
You know, by the way, this iswhere we got the name for our
podcast.
You know, we're now on oursixth season of the Become who
you Are podcast, and the nameactually came from a woman, a
good friend of mine, a sister ofmine.
Get to know her, st Catherineof Siena, who was trying to wake
up the men of her day.
She wrote become who you are,who you were created to be, and
(03:19):
you will light the world on fire.
We need more women today, likeSt Catherine of Siena, don't we
To raise the bar?
Become the women who they'recreated to be?
So they were encouraged, youngmen to become real men, to take
up the claymore, to fight forthem, to respect them, to
protect them.
In a word, to raise the bar andbecome who they're created to
be, so that men understand that.
But even if they don't and weknow many, many women don't
(03:40):
understand that today we have tobecome warriors who know that
the first battle that they fight, as St John Paul would say, is
fought on the battlefield of ourown hearts.
Between love and lust, betweenbecoming a self-giving man and
who respects and protects life,especially standing up for the
most vulnerable and defenseless,the child in the womb and the
(04:01):
elderly, and for marriage andthe family.
And finally, we have to havethe courage to go out and do
battle and restore the cultureand our nation for your own
generation and the generationsto come, the children that you
may bring in in the world, ifyou end up getting married and
having families right.
We've been given this beautifulcountry and you need to be
(04:23):
patriotic, you need to have alove of your country, otherwise
we just let it go, and this is areal battle.
Today you have to pick it up,because you know if you're
looking at somebody else torescue you, you're not going to
find them right.
So don't be afraid to bepatriotic in this world.
And and you know, you hear allthese people fighting and we'll
be getting into more and moreand more of this.
(04:45):
Right Reading from the coverpage after that beautiful
picture of St Michael theArchangel, again, this is the
Claymore battle plan.
You're going to see a picturelike this and I'm holding this
up for those of you who watchthat video, but it's just.
You can download this and it'sthe second page.
On this second page you'll seethe Claymore Sword and John Paul
(05:08):
II writes a quote for all ofyou.
Pay attention.
Your life is not an endlessseries of open doors.
Listen to your heart.
It's always about the heart.
It's always about the heart.
It always starts at the heart.
Do not stay on the surface,like most people get blown
around by the spirit of age, butgo to the heart of things.
That means go deeper.
(05:28):
You get there through prayerand the sacraments.
We're covering all that, sojust take it all in for right
now and when the time is right.
John Paul said have the courageto decide, make a decision,
because if you don't make adecision, you'll never find what
you're looking for as a man.
You see, john Paul II was aprophet for our times and it was
clear how this was all going tobe played out and he wrote
(05:50):
incredible encyclicals andinformation to hand down to us.
And I gleaned all of that.
That's what the John Paul IIRenewal Center has done, and of
course John Paul didn't makethis up either.
He takes this from churchteachings et cetera, et cetera
that flow down to him and allthese wonderful people and the
gospels, et cetera.
(06:11):
But he also could read the signof the times and we're always
called to do that Like what arethe signs of today's times?
How are we going to apply theword of these relationships and
the relationship we have withGod into our present day?
Right To St John Paul II, itwas very clear to them and while
we're not trying to predict thetime of Jesus' second coming,
(06:33):
we know that history is movingever, ever closer.
John Paul II, sister Faustina,bishop Sheen, they all had a
sense that you know somethingnew is happening.
You know whether this is theend time we're getting close to.
We don't know.
We're not.
They all had a sense thatsomething new was happening.
Whether this is the end timewe're getting close to, we don't
know.
We're not going to exactlypredict that, but we know that
the evils of our days,especially with abortion and
(06:54):
these twisting and distortion ofmarriages, and the wars, the
endless wars, et cetera, etcetera.
We know it's moving closer, butwe don't get hopeless because
we're stepping into a story.
Right, we're stepping into astory and this is our
battleground.
This is the time we were born.
We were born here for a reason,but we're all sensing that
something is happening right now.
We're caught up in this greatspiritual battle for human souls
(07:17):
.
Don't forget, no matter whathappens in this temporal life,
we're set for eternity, andeternity doesn't mean tomorrow.
Oh, jack, you're talking abouttomorrow, I don't know about no,
no, no, eternity means forever.
We are already on the eternalstage and how we play this out
is going to mean everything.
(07:37):
We also know from experiencethat we're losing too many young
people who have lost their way,their faith, their hope, and
even lost what it means to be aperson of love and see.
Love is not an option for humanbeings.
It's our primary mode of being.
God is love and we're createdin his image and his likeness.
We're created, in fact, by love, in love and for love.
(08:02):
But we cannot give what wedon't have, in other words, if
we do not first receive lovefrom the source of love.
We live like cut flowers.
You know what cut flowers?
Huh, you go out and you cutthese beautiful flowers.
You put them in a vase, putsome water and put them on the
table.
They look great for a few days,maybe even a week or two, and
then what happens?
They start to boom, they startto wilt, and that's what's
(08:25):
happening in these young liveswe see around us.
So this is very practical whatwe're talking about, like a
branch disconnected from thevine, as Jesus so often put it.
This, of course, is the stateof our culture in the world
today, one that John Paul IIcalled the culture of death.
The men of Claymore pick up thesword and we're restoring this
(08:45):
culture of life that begins onthe battlefield of each one of
our hearts, men and women, youngand old.
This is why the battle planincludes that three-part simple
prayer each morning.
Hopefully you're all doing thatBefore you look at that phone.
I'll just go over it quicklyright here.
Before you look at the phone,it just takes you minutes.
Fall down to your knees, youopen up your heart.
(09:08):
It's all in the battle plan,with our blessed mother kneeling
aside you.
Let it be done to me accordingto your word.
We're going deep, we're openingour hearts up to God himself,
right?
And then, you know, I alwayshear in the back of my mind, you
know, from the wedding feast ofCana do whatever he tells you.
And that's the second thing Ithink of.
Okay, I'm open up.
(09:28):
Let it be done to me accordingto your word, do whatever he
tells you.
And then I watch for him duringthe day.
Second thing temptation is not asin, very, very important for
us today.
Temptation is not a sin.
Jesus himself was tempted, ifyou understand it properly, and
we've talked about this manytimes and I'll continue to talk
about it because I think it'sthe most important thing we can
know as men, that divine sparkssay lust, selfishness, porn,
(09:53):
whatever it is, laziness.
It could be a lot of differentthings, but a lot of you are
struggling with pornography andthose images.
You know, it's not aboutsuppressing those images.
You're trying to be good.
It's about opening up andknowing that every temptation
that comes into your mind, intoyour heart, is an invitation to
prayer, very, very important.
So do that.
And the next thing you get upoff your knees and love the next
(10:14):
person you see, authenticallyincluded in that is a divine
mercy prayer for the day, andit's only 30 seconds usually,
and then you say a little shortprayer.
It's all in the app there.
But don't skip that DivineMercy.
You play it, you can hear thewords of Jesus talking to Sister
Faustina and speaking to us,and you really start to realize
(10:38):
how God is calling us, how Jesusis calling us Very, very, very
beautiful.
So Sister Faustina, who spokewith Jesus, wanted us to receive
his mercy as we draw near tothe end of history, and this was
that spark that Jesus toldSister Faustina about.
You know, things are windingdown here and I want everybody
(10:58):
to know about my mercy and mycompassionate heart, just for
times like this.
So again, don't skip that.
It's going to be a great giftto your life in a short period
of time.
Finally, this episode today is areset of sorts.
It begins at the beginning of abook that I'm writing.
Look, I get into this a littlebit more later on in this
(11:19):
episode, but the book that I'mwriting, I sat down and so I'm
unpacking this.
The book's not quite done yet.
I'm still got.
Actually, I'm only about threequarters of the way through it.
I sat down and so I'm unpackingthis.
The book's not quite done yet.
I've still got actually I'monly about three quarters of the
way through it.
I got a lot of work and then alot of editing to do on it, so
it's going to be a while, butI'm unpacking these chapters,
starting again today, and soyou're going to get this tidbit
(11:39):
and we're going to really gointo a comprehensive story.
So it's going to be really,really good with short chapters.
Remember that we encourage youto share these Friday episodes
with at least one other personand discuss the questions in the
show notes together.
Also meditate them.
There's scripture references inthem.
You know really what you needfor this battle.
Again, over time, you're goingto be drawn closer to the heart
(12:01):
of Jesus Christ.
This is always our goal toencounter Jesus Christ, who
calls us his friends and, inlove, invites us, seeks an
intimate, very personal,intimate relationship with
himself.
This is what makes it different.
This is not just moreinformation.
This is the DNA, that desirethat we have for something more.
(12:22):
You know, god gave us thatdesire.
He has the same desire for us.
And one more thing take asecond to subscribe and hit the
like button.
When you do that, when you hitthe like button, the algos will
pick up on this and we'll getthis much needed message out to
more young people.
Okay, buckle up and get readyfor today's episode.
(12:43):
The Tale that We've Fallen Into.
The Tale that We've Fallen Into.
I love Henry David Thoreau.
He wrote this book called theWalden Pond that I used to when
(13:13):
I went backpacking.
I loved to read snippets ofthis book, and so he was going
to the woods just to figurethings out.
And this is what he writes.
I went to the woods because Iwished to live deliberately, to
front only the essential factsof life and see if I could not
learn what it had to teach, andnot, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived,For the mass of men lead lives
of quiet desperation.
(13:34):
So he's living deliberately.
This is what we do when we fallto our knees before that phone.
We're living deliberately.
That's what he's talking abouthere, so that I know you know
we're going to get into thismore, but John Paul said your
youth is a gift.
This is a time for you todiscover what life has to teach.
You See, this is what he'ssaying.
(13:55):
You know, writing for me ishard work and I asked myself do
young men need another book?
You know, I'm told that theyseldom read anyway.
Haven't they already grown upin this mind-numbing bubble of
noise, texts, images, endlessmessaging?
Aren't they constantlyinundated by social media
influencers, professionalmarketers, educators, all these
(14:18):
government experts, all tellingthem how to live, what to buy,
what to inject into their bodies, how to think, what to fear?
This leaves young people in anuncomfortable and confusing
vacuum, and what Pope BenedictXVI called the dictatorship of
moral relativism.
(14:38):
We live in an empty illusionwhere there is no truth, only my
truth or your truth, full ofnoise, people bringing in all
these directions, until youfinally just give up.
You play video games all day oryou numb yourself right,
because it's a painful place fora human being to live.
Statistics confirm it.
This is the most anxious, andI'm talking about Gen Z.
(14:59):
I love Gen Z.
I love working with them,because the men especially
respond to our witness storiesand the truth.
They're looking for somethingmore, but in general, this is
the most anxious and depressedgeneration of young people the
world's ever seen, and in justthe past few years the numbers
have spoke about this They'veskyrocketed.
I'll give you just a few.
(15:20):
According to the CDC Center forDisease Control, 50% of teen
girls say they feel persistentlysad or hopeless.
57% 40% of teens altogetherboys and girls report they felt
so down at some point during thelast year they couldn't do
their normal activities likeschoolwork or sports for at
(15:40):
least two weeks.
52% of teens who identify asLBGTQIASS plus say they struggle
with mental health.
30% of teen girls haveseriously considered suicide.
That's a huge number and anumber that's been rising and
risen 60% over just the lastdecade.
22% of LBGTQIASS plus teens saythey attempted suicide in the
(16:06):
past year.
It's a sad number, and that'snot even counting the fact that
100% of the young men I meettoday have been exposed to
hardcore pornography.
It's robbed them of theirinnocence, obliterated their
moral compass and many of themhave just given up altogether,
become part of a staggeringnumber of young people who die
each year from drug overdose andsuicide.
(16:28):
Thoreau was right the mass ofmen lead lives of quiet
desperation, but in the midst ofthis present chaos, really in a
very real attack on our youngpeople, I personally witnessed
so many young men especiallyrespond to the message we're
sharing with them.
We found that, despite all theendless chatter and advice to
receive from these so-calledexperts.
(16:49):
Again, young men were awakeningto the realization that
something has gone terriblywrong, and when they search for
answers, too often theyencounter people that lied to
them or who, despite goodintentions and try to help them,
have sat with that proverbialfrog in that big pot of moral
relativism for so long.
(17:11):
They become numb to the evilsof this day and they have
nothing then of substance toshare with anybody.
So I sense an urgency to comeup alongside these young men you
that are listening today, and Iasked our team to reflect on
their own journey and to sharethe impact that John Paul II's
message had on their own lives.
(17:31):
Without holding back, I beganto do the same thing I'm not
holding back with the youngpeople.
The results wereinstantaneously.
These guys would lean into ourwitness stories, they would ask
questions and then they wouldstart to share their own
heartfelt stories.
It's amazing how you canconnect when you're seeking the
truth.
For us, then, after that, therewas no turning our backs on
(17:55):
these young men and young womenwho became our brothers and
sisters in so many ways.
This is how Claymore MiletusChristi Claymore is the sword
Miletus Christi soldiers forChrist came about.
It's a framework for discipling, really journeying with the
young people that we meet andshow them how to journey
together.
So I decided, regardless of thetime and effort, to write it
(18:15):
down in a book, something thatwould serve as a kind of a
handbook to help them get theirhearts back, while also
providing a lens so they couldstep back and know the larger
story.
Both of those are important toget your hearts back and to know
the bigger story and how thisall fits together.
So to provide all of you withthe lens that you need to answer
(18:35):
this timeless questions.
You know we had these timelessquestions that everybody used to
try to answer for themselves.
Now, this is the first time inhistory, the culture has stopped
asking these questions and letalone trying to give you an
answer.
They don't even ask thequestions anymore.
These are the timelessquestions we all want to know
who am I?
What's the meaning of purposeof my life?
(18:56):
How should I live?
Why were we created, male andfemale?
I mean, you would think thatwould be a simple one.
Not anymore.
How do I find happiness heretoday?
How do I find love that lasts,that won't fade away?
I decided, despite the hardwork I would begin a book.
I ordered to the young men thatwe meet, to John Paul II, a
(19:16):
prophet for our time, whochanged my life.
So I picked up a pen and Ibegan to write.
And here's what I began towrite.
Looking back, I clearlyremember like it was yesterday,
being a young man who felt alonewith his questions that no one
could answer.
I felt the same thing.
So on the day I graduated fromhigh school, the very day I
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skipped the parties, threw mybackpack, my hiking boots, a few
of my favorite books in my car,strapped my beloved bicycle I'm
still riding bicycles, I lovethem to the roof and I drove
west.
No cell phones to distract onein those days.
I lived in Denver for a while,moved around and eventually
landed in Southern California.
I was searching for the truth,wondering if I would ever find
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it.
So I went to a new place.
I would go to a new scene, aplace to hang my hammock, beauty
to uphold, always keeping oneeye out for danger.
I wandered among the thousandsof people I passed.
I settled in Los Angeles, inthe Southern California area,
and I remember I would passthousands of people on the
streets of LA, and yet I wasalone.
(20:22):
Is there someone out there forme?
Out there, just, and and youknow I mean anybody.
What a difference that makesright.
Think about relationships.
I walk into a new city, whetherit's Denver or Los Angeles and
many other cities, moving,traveling, sometimes as a young
guy, and I remember you can get,really get alone, you know, and
(20:42):
I would walk among thesethousands of people.
I was amazed that you can bewith all these people and feel
this alone.
And it just takes one specialperson be with all these people
and feel this alone.
And it just takes one specialperson, anybody, a man or a
woman, just a friend, right, itopens up a whole nother world.
See, this is the relationshipwith God in our hearts.
You know, when we'redisconnected from God, we feel
alone, even among many people,even among friends, even if
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you're married.
Sometimes, when you open up toGod, things start to change.
And this is that relationship.
We're made for theserelationships.
And then so I'm walking aroundLA thinking, man, I wish there's
somebody out there for me.
One late evening, after workinga dinner shift in a restaurant,
feeling particularly alone, Iwent off for a walk.
I wandered to the beach not farfrom my apartment.
(21:25):
I laid back in the sand, it wasdark and a vast panorama of
stars opened up.
It took my breath away.
I felt small and insignificantthen, and I heard the words of
Christ.
This is from John, chapter 1.
What do you seek?
What do you seek?
I responded in silence.
(21:46):
I'm seeking the truth, if itexists.
I'm seeking meaning and purposein my life.
I want to know is there a bestway to live Then?
A deeper silence, not emptiness, but peaceful silence.
And I realized I'm a tiny speckon the surface of this
gas-fired planet itself, a tinyspeck within a vast galaxy of
galaxies.
(22:06):
And yet yet, in that moment,hearing Christ's question, I
sensed that my life mattered.
I was not alone.
I was connected to the God ofthe universe.
I don't know why I felt likethat, but this is in our hearts.
I had not created the universe,nor was I the author of the
story, but perhaps I was in astory, part of something larger.
(22:28):
And I began to wander alongwith Sam Gamgee.
You know the Fellowship of theRings, part of the Lord of the
Rings series.
Well, this is from the TwoTowers, and Sam Gamgee and his
friend Fodor are on an arduousjourney and they're about
halfway through it and he justwonders out loud.
He says I wonder what sort oftale we've fallen into.
(22:51):
This is what we should beasking ourselves I wonder what
sort of tale we've fallen into.
Sam continues it's like thegreat stories, mr Frodo, the
ones that really mattered fullof darkness and danger they were
, and sometimes you didn't wantto know the end, because how
could the end be happy?
How could the world go back tothe way it was when so much bad
(23:13):
had happened?
But in the end it's only apassing thing.
This shadow, even darkness,must pass.
A new day will come, and whenthe sun shines, it will shine
out the clearer.
Those were the stories thatstayed with you, that meant
something, even if you were toosmall to understand why.
But I think, mr Frodo, I dounderstand.
(23:34):
I know now, folk in thosestories had lots of chances of
turning back.
Only they didn't.
They kept going because theywere holding on to something
that there's something good inthis world and it's worth
fighting for.
There's some good in this worldand it's worth fighting for and
(23:54):
it's true.
End, quote there.
So over time, I began to gatherclues and they began to form a
picture, one realization that Ihad creation is good and has its
own proper perfection, but itdid not spring forth complete
from the creator's hand.
I remember reading John Paul'swork and he would explain it
kind of like this you know, andhas its own proper perfection,
but it did not spring forthcomplete from the creator's hand
.
I remember reading John Paul'swork and he would explain it
(24:16):
kind of like this you know, theuniverse, like us, was created
in a state of journeying, movingtoward a final perfection, but
it's not yet attained.
God is the author and creatorof the story, but he allows us
as creatures to cooperate in itsunfolding.
We have our place here.
If the world's not perfect,we've been brought into the
world to make it more perfect inour own little way.
(24:36):
At the same time, we becomemore perfect.
See, this is the story.
He grants us not only ourexistence but the dignity of
acting, of being cases for oneanother and participants in his
plan.
One day I was in a publiclibrary.
I came across the writings ofAlexander Sholtsonitsyn, the
(24:56):
great Russian writer who hadspent eight years in the Soviet
gulags, the brutal communistprison system, for writing a
letter pushing back on Stalinthat somebody got a hold of so
suddenly, as I'm reading him,another clue on Stalin that
somebody got a hold of sosuddenly, as I'm reading him,
another clue.
See, we're looking for clues.
Things became clearer.
(25:16):
Schultz and Neitzan wroteMarxism.
This is the socialism,communism, marxism that we see.
It's a battle in our owncountry today.
Watch for this Marxism, claims.
He wrote, that some groups andclasses of human beings are good
and others bad.
So to perfect itself, humanitymust isolate and eliminate the
bad people.
Of course I decide who's goodand who's bad.
It's always the people in powerthat decide this, right.
But Schultz and Nietzsche cameto a deeper truth the dividing
(25:39):
line between good and evil doesnot run between groups.
Listen to this, because theywant to divide us into groups.
How does it run?
It runs through every singleindividual human heart.
The Marxist position, he wenton, was that humanity would be
perfected through the inevitableprogress of world history.
Didn't we hear that after COVID, the Great Reset?
(25:59):
Listen to this, build backbetter.
All of these European Union,the G7, everybody was saying
build back better, joe Biden,build back better.
Where do they got this from?
That's from here, right, theinevitable progress of world
history.
We're going to build backbetter.
But if the dividing lineSchultz and Nietzsche wrote, is
within every human heart, thenonly limited improvement is
(26:22):
possible in this life.
We do the best we can and wemake our small improvements, but
it's always going to need more.
But degeneracy, he said, isalways equally possible.
The Marxist position is to berejected, it seems, because it
overlooks the reality oforiginal sin.
End quote Original sin in thesense we all came into the story
(26:46):
and on the day that you and Iwere born, sooner or later we
find ourselves standing betweenthat tree of the knowledge of
good and evil from Genesis 3,created with free will, given
the divine gift of reason andintellect, we were given all the
tools we have to choose and ourquest for meaning and purpose
were sent on a mission to seekthe truth.
(27:08):
This is what our reason does,right.
Our reason is always searchingfor the truth and our free will,
if properly understood, will belike a little motor.
John Paul said to the good tochoose the good.
This is how we're moving on ourpath and determining ourselves
right To seek the truth and todecide which city we're going to
help build the city of man, theMarxist position, or the city
(27:29):
of God that we're created for.
Only at the end of our lives,st Paul said from 1 Corinthians,
when our partial knowledgegives way to full vision, when
we see God face to face, will wereally fully understand the
ways in which he guided uswithin this larger story.
See, this is the prayer, thisis the story, this is the sword.
(27:50):
We pick up Battle on our ownhearts first, so that we open it
up to God's plan, and he willbe the one to guide us.
He will send people into ourlives to guide us.
It's an amazing story.
In the meantime, we must trustthat someone, jesus Christ first
.
You know Miletus Christi.
We're soldiers of Christ, butthen we find mentors, we find
(28:10):
disciples to walk with.
This is the Claymore MiletusChristi battle plan, because
there's an enemy there thatwould like nothing more than to
keep us from the truth, to keepus from choosing the good.
And this is a battle.
It's a brutal battle.
This is what we're sensing.
Jesus turned to the disciplesof John the Baptist who were
following them in John chapterone again, and he turned to them
(28:33):
, and he turns to all of us andhe says what do you seek?
What do you seek?
And then they said to him rabbi, which means teacher, where are
you staying?
See, we sense something.
I hear the word.
I'm starting.
Yeah, I hear that word.
So where are you staying?
I want to follow you a littlebit further.
And what does Jesus say to them?
Come and see, come and see.
He doesn't give them anypropaganda, no ideology, nothing
(28:56):
to sell them, just come and see.
Ooh, good stuff.
Right, that's the end of thisepisode.
Let me just there's a call toaction here Download the
Claymore Miletus Christi battleplan this week.
Connect with a Claymoredisciple or invite someone to
become one and share yourjourney with you.
(29:17):
You're stronger together.
Ask them to watch this week'spodcast.
And then you have thediscussion questions.
I'll have them in the shownotes.
Let me go through one or two.
You can just see the beauty ofthese discussion questions.
What are some moments in yourlife when you felt a deep
longing for truth, meaning orpurpose?
Right, ask yourself that,because you see, this is our
(29:39):
story and our heart.
Sometimes we get so busy andlisten to so much noise we
forget that we're asking thesequestions.
So how did you respond to thatdesire?
Did you push it off?
Ah, you know, even the OldTestament prophets were speaking
about this.
Of course, this is timeless.
Again, this is from Jeremiah 29.
This is our Lord speaking, andhe's speaking through Jeremiah
(30:00):
than to other people.
You will seek me and find mewhen you seek me with all your
heart.
Remember it's always about theheart.
I will be found by you, saysthe Lord.
He's not hiding from us.
We got to get and do this.
Here's question number two.
Sam Gamgee says I wonder whatsort of tale we've fallen into.
Do you feel like your life ispart of a larger story?
(30:20):
If so, who's writing it?
Are you writing it yourself?
Yeah, pride, pride, this pridethat, well, you do write a story
.
You co-author, but you cameinto a story.
You're writing your storywithin the context of the story
between good and evil that youdecide.
You have a lot to do, a lot towrite here.
If I didn't, I wouldn't bewriting this book here, but I
(30:43):
didn't write the larger story welive in the contents of reality
.
Gravity really exists, good andevil really exist.
God is the good.
There's an evil one that wantsto take us down, and you see
this playing out in hearts.
Most of the evil that youencounter in the world today are
people that are cooperatingwith Satan, with the evil
(31:03):
spirits, right?
So who's writing that?
What role is he?
You know Ephesians.
St Paul writes in Ephesians 2,for we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for goodworks which God prepared
beforehand that we should walkin them.
See, the story is written.
Now we should walk in his story, and these are beautiful things
(31:23):
.
One more right In a world fullof noise, opinions, competing
truths, where do you go, orwhere could you begin to go to
seek what is really true, goodand beautiful?
Right?
And in John, chapter eight,which is a powerful chapter, and
you will know the truth, andthe truth will set you free.
And so, you know, go in, askthose questions of yourself, ask
(31:47):
them with somebody else.
So have a beer or coffee orwhatever you know with somebody.
And so have a beer or coffee orwhatever you know with somebody
and start to unpack thesethings using scripture coming
into the story.
It's a life-changing thing.
Hey, god bless you.
Don't forget to subscribe.
Hit the like button.
Also, we have great podcasts.
You know other podcasts thatare going to give you, you know,
even a different lens on all ofthis too Bitcoin, we just did
(32:11):
one the moral money.
Listen to that, eric Sammons,who's the editor of Crisis
Magazine, did a great job onthat.
Speaking really to the issuesof today for young people how
hard it is we talked about toown homes, those kinds of things
Very practical.
What we're talking about hereis practical stuff.
Also, on suffering, dr AaronCuriati.
(32:32):
He's an incredible young doctor, psychiatrist.
I really respect him.
I knew him and knew of himbefore this podcast.
It's a beautiful podcast too,so listen to some of those too.
All right, everyone.
Talk to you again soon.
Bye-bye.
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