[00:00:00] Jim Jansen: Hey everybody. Welcome to the EquipCast. So today I sit down with Ma Pablo Mari is a missionary with the Evangelical Catholic. Uh, she has her own ministry. Mari is wonderful. Mari is a multicultural bilingual evangelist. She's just joyfully fearless about talking about the things that sometimes people just don't talk about. So we, we talk about how to have a difficult conversation personally, how she has addressed things from stage in her role as a public speaker. Uh, how she works to build trust with those. She's ministering with. We talk about. Hispanic ministry and connecting the Spanish speaking and English speaking church. Uh, it's really a fun, beautiful conversation. You're gonna love Mari and our conversation, so take a listen. Hey everybody. Welcome to the EquipCast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go. Mari Pablo, welcome to the EquipCast. How you doing today? [00:01:20] Mari Pablo: Doing well, thanks for having me. [00:01:22] Jim Jansen: Oh, I am. I am super excited to connect and not that like I have to share this, but behind the scenes, this is maybe like the longest I've been like, oh my gosh. Like wait, we need to like actually start the podcast 'cause we are just having fun talking. We're just like kind of connecting here. [00:01:37] Mari Pablo: Catching up. [00:01:38] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:01:38] Mari Pablo: We got a small Catholic world, you know. [00:01:40] Jim Jansen: Oh my goodness. Well, and we got a lot in common. For everybody else who's like, okay, fine. Like who is Mari Pablo? Tell us a little bit about your story. [00:01:50] Mari Pablo: My name is Mari Pablo. I live in Miami, Florida. Was born and raised here. My family is Dominican and Palestinian. I'm very proud of that and I will always be very proud of that. [00:01:59] Jim Jansen: Wow. Okay. Wait, wait. How did your parents meet? Like now I'm like, no, no, no. Forget about you. Give us the backstory. [00:02:05] Mari Pablo: So my grandfathers. My grandpa was born in Bethlehem and my other grandfather is from Beja la, which is right next to Bethlehem. And there was a big migration, though. A bunch of Palestinians ended up in Dominican Republic. And so the families, you know, Arabics around, around other Arabics. Right. And so they became friends, like the parents became friends, and then my parents met each other because their parents were friends. [00:02:31] Jim Jansen: Wow. [00:02:32] Mari Pablo: So I'm actually like, like three out of my four grandparents are from like. Bethlehem area. I'm like super Arabic. [00:02:41] Jim Jansen: That's awesome. [00:02:43] Mari Pablo: But I don't speak the language. I speak very little Arabic. [00:02:45] Jim Jansen: Yeah. But that's like a, that is a very unique. I think ethnic combination. Yeah. Because the geography and a number of things don't often, you know, we're like, I'm Irish and German, and it's like, yeah. It's like, so's everybody, Jim. You know? It's not like it's not a thing. [00:02:59] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:02:59] Jim Jansen: But that's [00:02:59] Mari Pablo: .It's a very great combo. I love it. It's been hard with everything going on in the world the past few years. Yeah. And that's been absolutely heartbreaking. And please, please continue to pray for a world peace and just situation in Gaza is just heart wrenching. But I'm very proud to, of where I come from. I'm very just very proud of it. So. [00:03:18] Jim Jansen: Yeah. And both Christian Catholic. [00:03:21] Mari Pablo: Both Christian Catholic, yes. Always been Catholic. Yep. Yeah. Everyone always asks me that question. Yes. Always been Catholic. And then my family officially moved to Miami after I was born and have two older sisters. Grew up super Catholic. So my parents are the founders of my parents. Were a part of a community, charismatic community called La Vivo, which means community of servants living Christ. Our founder is father in, um, who's actually from Canada. He's a servant of God and of course he's from Canada. Yeah, super random, but sent to Dominican Republic to start this charisma movement. It's a long story, but he's incredible. So I grew up going to conferences with like 10,000 people and it would be father and my dad. On stage just saying, all right, now there's someone who can is in a wheelchair and they can get up and start walking and they would get up and start walking. So like the miracles of the Bible? [00:04:19] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:04:20] Mari Pablo: I just saw that growing up. Always. And it was really cool. So I'm like the preacher's kid. People always say, oh, that's how you got here. I have two older sisters and they're in very different paths. So I think it's more like I've ex exposed to that. Um, but I've had 13 ear surgeries. I almost died when I was eight, and that's where my journey with the Lord really kind of started of just understanding I can pray to Jesus, not because my want, my parents want me to, but because. I'm in need and he's gonna meet me here. And that's where my love with the Holy Spirit really started. And I lived the hypocritical lifestyle for a while. 'cause being Catholic and practicing in Miami is hard when you're in high school. [00:04:56] Jim Jansen: Finally, thank you. Finally, something for me to relate to because I'm like, I'm feeling like I thought Mario, Bonnie and I are gonna be friends. And then there's all of this like, uh, okay. Canada, Dominican Republic, probably say, Hey, hypo hypocrisy. That's my connection. [00:05:10] Mari Pablo: There we go. So yeah, lived like in and out very, very Luke for for many years. Uh, and then I served at a, a Catholic camp in Georgia with actually life teen. I, I really just went, because I grew up watching Mary Kay Ashley Olsen. It takes two a parent trap with Lindsay Lohan, right. And my whole childhood through spent in a hospital and I really wanted to go to camp. So God used that to transform my life and ruin all my plans. And that's when I got really into my faith. Transfer schools went to Franciscan. I went from studying. Public relations of communications, so theology and psychology, and then all my ministry stuff started. So was a youth minister for three years, four years in. New Orleans. Then I became a teacher, morality, Tom, morality juniors in high school for eight years. And then in the middle of all that, my speaking stuff, the Lord is wild and creative and funny and just opened up a bunch of doors. And now I, I, I travel speaking, I work for Evangelical Catholic. I just started my own ministry and I've had so many moments that I'm like, Lord, you are wild. And your plans are so much better than mine. [00:06:17] Jim Jansen: Well, this is, this is connecting a lot of dots for me because, you know, we were talking before, you know, before we like turned on the mics and started recording, you know how. How the, there are so many themes, uh, and things that you have done ministry wise, things that you speak on, but that I noticed that there was a little thread going through is that you were able to speak on difficult topics, you know, I mean, spirituality, mental health, sexual addiction for women, surrendering to Jesus and. Knowing just a little bit of your bio is like, oh, I see that. Mm-hmm. I see that now. So before we dive into it, like I wanna give you a chance to talk a little bit. I mean, you said like all of a sudden the Lord's like, well, I, and now I go, okay, now I'm a public speaker again. You've been doing stuff for Ascension presents and you were one of the MCs for the National Eucharistic Congress. [00:07:15] Mari Pablo: That was awesome. Yeah. [00:07:16] Jim Jansen: Tell us just a little bit what that journey's been like. [00:07:18] Mari Pablo: God is crazy. So good. Okay. So long story short, I, I mean, I gave my first talk when I was 11 years old, but we don't count that. So I've been speaking for a while, you know, already, but in a very small, just with my community. Mm-hmm. The community that I'm a part of, they have different areas. We have like 35 houses worldwide, a couple in America. And so with speaking there. Then I was a, I had just moved back. I was teaching morality and sacraments and I went to a conference. I took some kids to a conference and someone was speaking on stage and I felt the Lord was like, I want you speaking. And I said, Lord, we're gonna make this real clear. I don't know if this is me or you, so if you want me speaking, I will do nothing. You will do everything, and you are a God, so you can make things happen 'cause you're creative and you're God. So if you want me speaking, get creative, Lord. I'm not gonna do a website. I'm not gonna tell people that I'm a speaker. I'm not gonna tell people that I wanna speak Lord. I will do zero just because I need to know that it's you and not me. [00:08:28] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:08:29] Mari Pablo: Amen. Right. So I didn't know this, but a year before that, when I was living in New Orleans, I had done Theology of the Body with Christopher West. The introduction with the Theology of the Body Institute changed my life. Drastically trained my life, massive opportunity for healing and just a lot of things. And I was nerding out about that. And I went to a random party at a friend's house and I was nerding out about the odd of the body to this guy. And I was specifically talking about how TOB needs to be in Spanish because there's so many resources that are so behind in Spanish community and how we need it in Spanish. And I was just going crazy about it. Well, long story short, I had no idea that that man worked for Ascension Press. No idea. Had no idea until two years later when he just called me out of nowhere to say, Hey, this is super random, but I actually worked for Ascension. We're looking for a new presenter. Your name keeps coming up in my prayer and I'm very confused by it. Would you be interested in being one of our presenters? And I was like, what's the project? And he said, theology of the Body for teens. And I said, ha ha. So I fell off my chair. Not an expression. I actually fell off my chair and that was the beginning. All the doors just like started swinging open in so many ways. And that's how. That's how the Lord works. [00:09:50] Jim Jansen: Hmm. Okay. Mari, I have to ask a follow, follow up question here. Why did you want to make sure it was the Lord and not you? [00:09:58] Mari Pablo: Because I can be full of pride sometimes and I can get in the way, and I am so big. I mean, I literally have this on my phone. It says I'm nothing and God, you're everything. Like I wanna make sure that everything that I do is of the Lord. Every single year in January, I say, Lord. If you want me to keep doing this, this is gonna bring me closer to you and other people closer to you. Let the calls continue, let the invitations continue. If anything is gonna take me away from you or anyone else away from you, everything can die. Like it's okay, Lord. Yeah, I'm working on that. So I just needed to know. I needed to know that it was coming from the Lord's will and not from my desire to like, be known or to mm-hmm. Be, you know, out there. I just needed to know that it was all Jesus. [00:10:47] Jim Jansen: Thank you. I mean, I, I really appreciate that. 'cause, although I didn't never kind of prayed. A prayer quite, uh, like that. Well, actually, no. I mean, some close, but I've, I've found a similar consolation that when I've been in places where I've been, you know, speaking at Seek or, or something like that, I've noticed my response to the, like, 'cause it's, it can be a head experience, right? You got the, like, the speakers name tag and you're like mm-hmm. Sitting, you're like, holy crap. I'm in the speaker's room with Father Mike. You know, and, and you're like, you're just, you're hanging out there. And it can be a heady experience, but to examine yourself and you're like, you know, but I don't need this. I'm doing this 'cause you want me to, Jesus. I'd rather just be just you and I together in the chapel. I don't need to be on stage. And just to kind of recognize it's consoling to say like, okay, this is fun, but. Um, I'm only doing this because you want me here, Lord. Mm-hmm. Lord, it's very, it's very freeing. Okay, so Mari, let's, let's dive into this. 'cause you spoken on a couple of like very difficult topics. Yeah, I, I listed a couple of them and everybody's like, actually no thanks. I talk, you know, I like, I don't talk about that. How did you get started? Speaking on such a wide range and particularly topics that are often uncomfortable to address. [00:12:13] Mari Pablo: Ah, yeah. I really think it's because I love teens. [00:12:20] Jim Jansen: Mm. [00:12:21] Mari Pablo: No, for real, I love youth ministry. [00:12:23] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Well, and they're, and they insist on difficult topics? [00:12:26] Mari Pablo: They do. They do. Yes. And not only do they insist on difficult topics, they're really good at knowing when you are speaking f like from a false place, or you're not being genuine and you're not being authentic, and they will call you out and they will call you, you out. Yes. [00:12:41] Jim Jansen: Yes. Which is frightening. At some level. [00:12:44] Mari Pablo: It's, it's, but when, when you work with teens, and if I work with teens and I'm not addressing the things that they find important or the question that they have, then I'm not building, I'm not making that connection. And so I What, the second I became a youth minister, I was like, what topics do you wanna cover? Whatever. It's, I'll cover it. Like You have questions, I'll answer it. [00:13:05] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:13:06] Mari Pablo: And so it pushed me to like do a lot of research. It pushed me to dive deeper. I am a huge advocate of mental health and I love that what the church teaches makes sense because objective truth on all categories. And so when I am explaining things. I'll bring in statistics, I'll bring in, you know, psychological studies. I'll bring in like mm-hmm. All these things. And so, you know, when you're, when you're in youth ministry and when you teach morality for eight years mm-hmm. To juniors in high school in Miami, you, you really, I mean, there's nothing you couldn't ask me. Whatever you like, Jim. There's nothing you can say that I'm gonna find shocking. I will. Right. I will respond to pretty much anything you say because. I, I've been put on the spot and been asked some crazy, ridiculous questions. [00:13:56] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Oh, that's so good. Yeah. And that's a challenge. I'm like, I, I got nothing. Like, I'm pretty sure I can't, you know, like, so we're not even gonna play that game. But, but I, but I am gonna ask you, I think, some important questions, but Yeah. I don't think, I don't think I can find something that'll trust me. That'll stump you or make you blush. [00:14:16] Mari Pablo: Yeah. Nothing worse than what I experienced as a teacher, because, like. [00:14:20] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Okay. How, how do you prepare? So you, so you're, you're coming, you talked a little bit about research. And I know you're a woman of prayer. How do you prepare when you're asked to address a difficult topic? [00:14:36] Mari Pablo: Yeah, pray I go to Jesus Adoration. That's my jam. Um, I go to Jesus. I will dive into the catechism. The catechism has almost everything, you know? Mm-hmm. That I need. So just like going into the catechism, what does the catechism say? What does church fathers say? Like, just kind of nerding out a little bit. Like what have other saints said? There's a lot of topics that you're, I mean, theology of the body, John Paul ii, covered things that you're like, did he really just talk about that? You know what, what I mean? [00:15:09] Jim Jansen: Give a few examples. I mean, this is an adult, you know, parents, parents, we're gonna, we're gonna cover your, your kids' ears if needed. [00:15:15] Mari Pablo: Yeah. Cover your kids' ears. But like, I mean, John Paul II talks about the importance of climaxing at the same time in mm-hmm. In like during the act of sex. Like, that's, wow. Like if a pope can go there. Right then I should be able to go to any topic. And I think this is the, the, the reason why I love addressing the things that are hard topics, it's because they're typically topics that should be addressed, that are valuable, that are that carry truth and and weight. I remember, you know, being 27 years old and going to Colombia for the first time. To give a week long course on theology of the body. Now, let's just paint the picture here. I'm 27 years old. At the time, I'm still not married. At the time I was not married. I was single talking about sex and marriage and pornography and masturbation and all of these things to a bunch of adults, like in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and I'm seeing their reaction. And I had a woman come up to me after I talked about pornography and masturbation, and she was just sobbing. And she looked at me and she said, you know, I'm 57 years old. Pornography ruined my marriage, and you're the first person that has ever addressed this topic to me. You are the first person that's ever spoken about it. You're the first person that has talked about the side effects. You have the like, because in the Hispanic world, there's a lot of things that we don't cover. [00:16:55] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:16:56] Mari Pablo: It's just like, especially that generation, you just don't talk about it. They don't cover it. And at that moment I just had like a, a realization of like, yes, this is hard. Yes, this is challenging and wow. Like, because. Because the Lord allowed me to notice things because I was, you know, it's a little bit uncomfortable, right. But because I was able to say it, this person was able to experience like new levels of healing and to encounter truth. Right. [00:17:25] Jim Jansen: Right. Yeah. Freedom and grace. I mean, and just, just so you know, my Irish grandmother wasn't gonna talk about that stuff either. [00:17:32] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:17:33] Jim Jansen: But there's, uh, like if we had eyes to see it. People are carrying scars and wounds that either could have been prevented, or at the very least can be healed now. Mm-hmm. By a courageous willingness to address these topics from a, a Christian perspective, right? Mm-hmm. In light of grace and mercy offered to us in Jesus Christ, I mean, thank you. What would be different? Because you have done the, you know, kind of like ministry as a teacher, as a public presenter, and then also very much as a, as a, just a, a friend sharing coffee. Mm-hmm. And in a small group context, what's different Yeah. About how you approach the conversation in those two very different contexts. [00:18:26] Mari Pablo: Okay. I could see a difference, but I could also see something, something that I learned really fast when I became a morality teacher. [00:18:34] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:18:35] Mari Pablo: Is that if I don't spend the first semester building relationship and trust with my kids, they're not gonna listen to anything I have to say about morality. [00:18:47] Jim Jansen: Which, which actually is wise. I mean, just, just to point out like would we want a young person to say like, I'm actually not going to listen. I wish they did this more intentionally with social media and with other forms. Like, Hey, unless I trust someone, I'm not gonna listen to what they say about morality. I wish they did that even more aggressively. Yeah, but go on. [00:19:07] Mari Pablo: Yeah, so I think that is gonna be constant that whether I'm having coffee or I'm speaking. You know, I think one of the things that people tell me the most, and I take it as like the highest compliment, and I also look at them with a face like, oh, what does it mean is Mari, you're just so re like, you're just so you. And I'm like, well, what else am I supposed to be like? [00:19:26] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. Well. [00:19:28] Mari Pablo: But I think. [00:19:29] Jim Jansen: Some of us aren't all the time. [00:19:32] Mari Pablo: But I think that that's. Needs to be constant. So whether I'm on stage, whether I'm having coffee, I just wanna be me, and I wanna be able to just give the truth from a place of, this is the best way that I can love them, is just by giving truth. Now how I do that, right, in a, in a general place, I'm thinking of make sure that I'm speaking to every single person that's in the room, every single person that's in the room, no matter what situation. So this is like a super minor thing? This is a very minor thing. [00:20:05] Jim Jansen: No, but I love where you're going. Say more. [00:20:07] Mari Pablo: But, but I recently saw a documentary on the intersex community. Do you know what that is? It's the hermaphrodites people that are born with male and female parts. Okay. [00:20:16] Jim Jansen: Right. Like literally the organs. Yes. [00:20:20] Mari Pablo: Like literally born this way after I saw that documentary, I won't say in a female talk that what makes a woman a woman is XX chromosome. [00:20:31] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:20:32] Mari Pablo: Now I'll mention that and that's important. But if there's someone there that's intersex, they can feel outcasted and isolated. Now, I understand the statistics, but that's super rare that they're probably in my room, but I wanna think about that person. [00:20:50] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:20:50] Mari Pablo: Because what if they are in my that room and they feel isolated and not heard and not loved because of one comment that I make. [00:21:00] Jim Jansen: You know, Mari, I, that's almost like I can hear when hear Jesus' ability to when he is speaking and teaching literally, and there's obviously a supernatural thing going on there for him, but he's speaking to every single individual soul. Of the 5,000 Right. You know, at the, whatever the, the sermon on the plane and the feeding of the 5,000 and all that. Like he's, yeah, he can, he can take all of the individuals in with without, in any way sacrificing the truth or their uniqueness. [00:21:37] Mari Pablo: Yeah. And that's the thing. And, and I'm gonna still talk about being a daughter. I'm gonna talk about all the things, but I wanna just be mindful of everyone now when I'm having coffee with someone. I'm gonna spend time, I dunno if you've ever heard of the threshold steepening conversion by Sher ell. Oh yeah. But I'm gonna spend time kind of thinking like, where are they at? You know? Mm-hmm. Um, because if I don't, if I don't, again, Jesus did this super well. He's Jesus. If I don't go to where they are, and my own sister has told me this before, that she has felt judged by me. [00:22:08] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:22:09] Mari Pablo: Because I just wanted her to follow Jesus, but she wasn't at the stage of following Jesus. She was a little bit, she's not there yet. [00:22:16] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:22:16] Mari Pablo: And if I don't adjust how I approach things with her, then she's gonna feel judged and isolated, and I don't wanna do that. Yeah. And so when I sit down with my family, when I sit down having coffee with someone. I'm gonna change my language. I'm not gonna use like theological terminology. I'm not gonna, you know, shove the catechism down their throat. I'm just gonna listen to them. I'm gonna listen to them. I'm gonna love them. I'm gonna hear their story. I'm gonna share my own thing. I think that's been a powerful tool, is just sharing my own story and sharing the things that have impacted me. That's gonna be really important. And so I think that's a big thing that all of us are invited to do. Just do what Jesus did. I know that sounds funny, but like he loved really well. [00:23:00] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:23:01] Mari Pablo: He loved perfectly, you know. [00:23:02] Jim Jansen: And he was willing to accommodate himself to the woman, not the Well or the Pharisee who invites him for dinner. And I feel like. I mean, it was so, I mean, gosh, you know, I've done the same thing with family members where I'm like, you know, they're, they're just not there. And I just keep giving 'em, you know, great Catholic books and it just wasn't where they were at. [00:23:27] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:23:28] Jim Jansen: And to realize like, wait, I'm not being unfaithful. [00:23:33] Mari Pablo: Mm-hmm. [00:23:33] Jim Jansen: To, to go to them and to meet them where they're at. If anything, I'm being more Christ Life. Yeah. Christ-like, than if I'm trying to, you know. Pull and yank them someplace that they're just not ready to go. [00:23:47] Mari Pablo: And when things do go rough in my family and when things are hard and when they have really intense questions, they, they come to me and it's, and it's beautiful, you know? And I think that's because I spend so much time making sure that I'm not, all our conversations are about faith. Mm-hmm. Like, it's just we're hanging out and we're getting to know each other and I'm hearing them, hearing them out. Yeah. In the, so where they're at? [00:24:12] Jim Jansen: No, I mean the, the fruit that I've been able to, to, to bear evangelistically in conversations with friends and family members. [00:24:20] Mari Pablo: Mm-hmm. [00:24:20] Jim Jansen: When I just stopped being an angsty missionary. [00:24:23] Mari Pablo: Yep. [00:24:23] Jim Jansen: And just started to be a good brother, a good son, a good friend. It's like, well, that is started to work. [00:24:29] Mari Pablo: And that is something I learned real quick because when you leave, you know, leaving Franciscan and you know you're on this like, everybody love needs, love Jesus. And then you're in the world and you're like, okay, the world is not like Franciscan, it's not the same. Mm-hmm. And, and when I was a teacher, I learned real quick how to adapt, how I connect with my kids. Yes. I learned real quick. Real quick because I wasn't doing things right at first. [00:24:56] Jim Jansen: Right. Well, and but And you got immediate feedback. [00:24:59] Mari Pablo: Immediate. [00:25:01] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:25:01] Mari Pablo: But I mean, just looking at my first year teaching the, the way that I started and the way that I ended was drastically different. [00:25:08] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Okay. So you spent a fair amount of time connecting with young people. They were formative for you, even as you were in a formation role for them? [00:25:19] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:25:19] Jim Jansen: What do you see in young people? That causes concern. And what do you see that gives you hope? [00:25:25] Mari Pablo: They're my favorite, Jim. I think teens will always be my favorite concern. I don't know if it's concern. I think my heart breaks for them. There's so much pain. There's so much that they go through that people don't understand. I think people are like, oh, well, you're 14. Like, what could you possibly have been through? You have no idea. Like the, the things that I've heard and the things that I've seen, man, like my heart, it shatters into little pieces. Just like the things that I, I've, I've personally have heard because I've been in a space that I've, I can hear their stories and that's been my absolute favorite, you know? So the things are concerning. It's, it's, it's hard. From mental health issues to family issues to the world that we're living in. I mean, social media adds so much thing of comparison. Like there's so many different levels of things that are concerning the world that we live in is kind of a mess. Um, there's a lot of things that's concerning. [00:26:23] Jim Jansen: Right. Well, and for the parents listening or just other adults, like there's good data to show. No, it, it just isn't like it was for you. [00:26:32] Mari Pablo: No. [00:26:33] Jim Jansen: They have some advantages that maybe you didn't have. You had to walk uphill both ways in the snow. But they have challenges that we did not, you know, gen X, millennials, baby boomers, whatever, like this generation is dealing with some things that we did not have to and, and without any hope to connect and help them is gonna begin. If we can come with a place of empathy to acknowledge. Mm-hmm. Hey. What you feel is real. Mm-hmm. And I'm not just gonna dismiss it 'cause you're 14. [00:27:04] Mari Pablo: Yes. Please. Can you just listen to them? I, I, I always tell parents, can you just listen to them and genuinely care and, and not throw at them like, well there's people in other countries that don't have anything to eat. Like, that's not helpful. That's not... [00:27:18] Jim Jansen: right. But that doesn't mean that. That I have anybody to sit with during lunchtime. I have food, but no friends. [00:27:24] Mari Pablo: Yeah. So. [00:27:25] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:27:26] Mari Pablo: That's all. Those are concerning the things that gives me hope. They, they give me hope. They give me hope, just them being them. Uh, there's, there's a desire in them that I see. They're, they're searching for truth. They're asking good questions. They're [00:27:40] Jim Jansen: mm-hmm [00:27:40] Mari Pablo: longing for deep connection. They're not afraid to talk about hard things or, I mean. The, the to protest when they see something wrong, like they, they give me hope in their zeal, in their convictions, in their ability, in their strength, in their excitement, in their passions, in their creativity, in the things that they're doing. They, they give me, they give me a lot of hope. [00:28:02] Jim Jansen: I think that was John Paul ii, like he was one of the first to kind of recognize this, that like, yeah. There, it's like, oh, there's life here. There's hope here. Mm-hmm. Right? And, and he, I feel like, he's like, okay, we're just gonna do World Youth Day once a year, just 'cause the Pope needs a recharge. You know? He just like realized it was just a gift to be with them. [00:28:22] Mari Pablo: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:23] Jim Jansen: Maybe. I don't dunno. I don't know if he ever said that, but, uh, I feel like it. [00:28:26] Mari Pablo: If any parent or any person in ministry is hearing me, please don't be afraid to cover the hard topics with kids with teens. They're way. Capable and ready to listen. They just want a real conversation and they just want you to be authentic, so don't be afraid to go there and don't sugar coat it. They just want the truth. [00:28:43] Jim Jansen: Yeah. As a parent who's like, you know, I mean, I, I've been a professional speaker, minister, whatever, and I'm like, oh, crap. It's like I, I've, I've covered this topic tons of times, but not with my own 13-year-old. [00:28:58] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:29:00] Jim Jansen: Like what they, they don't need you to be a professional to have all the right answers. No. They just need you to be present. They need you to be real. And if part of that realness is, I don't know. Yeah. I find this overwhelming. I find this confusing too. I don't get it, but I have to trust the church. 'cause that's what you like. That's actually really good. [00:29:20] Mari Pablo: They're gonna respond to that and don't afraid of that. They're to that. [00:29:22] Jim Jansen: Yes. [00:29:22] Mari Pablo: I, when I was a teacher, I would tell my my kids all the time, like, go home and ask your parents why you're Catholic, like why they're Catholic. Go home and ask your parents what their thoughts on this is. And they were like, wait, like we're not used to having these conversations. But it's like, share your story, share your experiences. Like these things are important. They wanna hear it, you know? [00:29:40] Jim Jansen: Well, and there's good data too, right? That they say like the difference between. Obviously it is the faith of the parents that is the biggest influencer of the faith of the children. Mm-hmm. But that gets qualified by more nuanced surveys that say it's not just mom and dad's beliefs. And it's not even just their practices, their ability to have a spiritual conversation Yeah. With their kids is the differentiator. Yeah. So it's if, so, if you could say like. Here's what happens when I pray. Mm-hmm. Here's why I pray. Mm-hmm. Here's how I made sense of your, you know, your grandfather's passing away and Yeah. Whatever. Yeah. The ability to speak [00:30:21] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:30:21] Jim Jansen: About the experience of faith, uh, is really the differentiator. [00:30:26] Mari Pablo: And to like process emotions with 'em. I mean, I bring up Inside out too all the time because it's like this movie about children, but it's really about yes. How to process emotions and like, what are you feeling and what's going on here? Like, those kinds of conversations. They, they're important [00:30:40] Jim Jansen: and there's space for all of them. I wanna give you a, a chance to talk a little bit about the, the difference between ministry and apostolate. [00:30:49] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:30:49] Jim Jansen: Partially because, you know, your, your colleagues with Peter Andros. Peter, you know, was, uh, one of our early guests on the Equip cast episode number 45 Ministry or postulate. Oh, nice. And we're like, we're like it, we're, we're over, well over 220 30 now. That topic has been so life-giving informative. Mm-hmm. It's been an epiphany for people. Mm-hmm. So I wanna give you a chance. Mm-hmm. Just to kind of, to riff on that a little bit. Like, okay, what's the difference between ministry and apostolate? And then even more like, how does it show up for you? [00:31:22] Mari Pablo: Yeah. Ministry is anything that flows from holy orders. So as father or Deacon asks you to do something, it's ministry, right? [00:31:30] Jim Jansen: Boom. [00:31:30] Mari Pablo: So anything that's like directly connected to the church, the parish father asks you to do it. Deacon asks you to do it. It's ministry. Apostolate is anything that I wanna do because I'm a baptized Catholic and I just want people to know Jesus, right? So if I wanna invite my friends to my house for. Wine and the word Wednesdays, right. Which is they come to my house, we have a glass of wine, we eat the word, and it's Wednesday, right? So [00:31:53] Jim Jansen: mm-hmm. [00:31:54] Mari Pablo: I don't need to ask father's permission to do that. [00:31:57] Jim Jansen: Right. [00:31:58] Mari Pablo: And I think sometimes, and I, I'll say this, especially from the, uh, Hispanic viewpoint, I think a lot of times people have this thought of like, well, I can't do anything with a Right. We need that. Mm-hmm. Like, we need father's permission. And I mean, this is what I tell people you see. Everyone listening, you have gifts that your priest doesn't have and you know people that your priest doesn't know. Mm-hmm. And you're in spaces and you work in spaces that your priest will never go. And what the Lord can do in and through you, he can't do through anyone else. And so just to understand, like us as baptized Catholics, we priests, prophet and king, and we have a mission to share the gospel and to live that out. And so. In regards to like how this has been effective For me, I mean, it's a little bit different because a lot of what I do is related to Jesus and apostolate and ministry and all the whole thing. Most of it's apostolate actually, but [00:32:50] Jim Jansen: mm-hmm. [00:32:51] Mari Pablo: On a personal level, I, let's be real, I travel a lot. I don't have time to have a consistent small group. It just doesn't, I, I don't have time. Yeah. And I travel too much, but I have a bunch of cousins. I have a lot of cousins. They're like in their twenties, 18, around there. When I am home, I make it a point to take them out for, you know, ice cream or we go have a drink or we go have dinner. Mm-hmm. We hang out, we go run errands together and that's kind of my apostolate and it's been kind of crazy. [00:33:24] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:33:25] Mari Pablo: I mean, one of my cousins in Madrid right now, and she goes to mass by herself every Sunday and I'm still like, wait, what? [00:33:32] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:33:32] Mari Pablo: You know, and all that from like just simple conversations and simple things and so. If you're listening, it's just a thing of, I always ask people, what are your gifts? Mm-hmm. What are you passionate about and who do you feel called to walk with? [00:33:45] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:33:46] Mari Pablo: Those are three really good questions. [00:33:48] Jim Jansen: Right. And it's like, it looks like coffee and small groups and dinner and sharing life and let's do errands together. And as I live my life as a faithful Catholic person in relationship with these other people, it's gonna rub off. [00:34:03] Mari Pablo: And if you're listening and you're like, well, I don't have time for all that. I have too many kids. Right. I always tell people, okay, you have kids. Great. Do you go to the playground? [00:34:11] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:34:12] Mari Pablo: Yes. Okay, great. Can you just invite other people to go to the playground at the same time as you? [00:34:17] Jim Jansen: Yes. [00:34:17] Mari Pablo: And you just talk to other parents while their kids are playing, and then you just close out the day with like a Hail Mary in our father. [00:34:23] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:34:25] Mari Pablo: That's all. Or you go to work and you sit down with the same person to have lunch every day. Maybe just have, try being intentional about those conversations during that time. It's just, it's just a little bit of a mind shift, [00:34:38] Jim Jansen: right? And that person, I mean, they're never, they're probably never going to, unless their journey eventually leads them into the Catholic church or into your parish, they're never gonna have a conversation with a parish staff member, with the pastor, unless you first start with like, Hey, what's your story? Yeah, like what's, you know, like who is God to you? You know? And just like start some of those conversations. [00:35:04] Mari Pablo: or how was your weekend? It was good. I went to Mass and father said this and it really struck me like, how was your weekend? You know what I mean? Like, [00:35:11] Jim Jansen: yeah. [00:35:13] Mari Pablo: Little [00:35:13] Jim Jansen: things. Not ro not rocket science. [00:35:14] Mari Pablo: Little things. Little things. [00:35:16] Jim Jansen: Okay. So I am, again, we were talking about this before we turn on the mics, I am super excited to give you a chance to, to talk a little bit about the, about this. Mari, obviously you, you're bilingual, you're proud of your Hispanic heritage. It just, you know, to be a little vulnerable oftentimes that there's a sadness. I feel noticing that English speaking and Spanish speaking Catholics are sometimes separated by more than just language. [00:35:45] Mari Pablo: Yeah. Mm-hmm. [00:35:47] Jim Jansen: And again, you, you have your feet in several different worlds and ethnicities. Mm-hmm. [00:35:54] Mari Pablo: Mm-hmm. [00:35:55] Jim Jansen: What do you want the church in the United States, particularly the English speaking church to see in Hispanic Catholics? [00:36:04] Mari Pablo: Yeah, the Catholic church means universal. I mean, it's very simple. I grew up in the Hispanic church, then I went to school and got to see the English church, and they're both super beautiful. There is a soft spot for the Spanish church for me. The way that they're like the passion and the openness and the zeal and just like, just praising. And I think it's because when I hear praise and worship in Spanish, it brings me back to my entire childhood. Right? There's like something that's, that's so. That comes at I, the first time I ever went to a Steubenville conference as a speaker, and it was the first year that they sang a bilingual song and they sang, oh, come to the Altar, and they did a part of it in Spanish. I sobbed because I was, I just felt, I felt seen in another level. And, and I know and I do wanna iterate, iterate this, like when I went to Franciscan, I realized that a lot of the things that were said that to many people could totally be seen racist and just like very wrong and super rude. I realized that it's not, it was just like ignorance. Like people just didn't know. Right? So they didn't, A lot of people didn't know where Dominican Republic was. They asked where my habit was and they had never heard of my country. Right? Like, I'm not, this is not a joke. They kept asking me about like spicy food and I'm like, we eat plantains and I don't do spicy, right? So like, um, so a lot of it is just you're not exposed, right? And so. But in exposing them, you know, I sat down with my friends and taught them about like, this is my country. These are my food items. This is what's important. Like, they're so good, Jim. Okay. Sorry. [00:38:05] Jim Jansen: I love plantain by the way. I could subsist on plantains. So, [00:38:09] Mari Pablo: and my friends, even, like we were talking about how to say my name, like, all these things are things that. I've had to kind of teach people. And when people are willing to listen and receive, it's so beautiful because they're exposed to new cultures and new foods and new spices and new music, and new ways of worship, and new ways of think. And I think both communities can learn from each other. I do think that the, the Hispanic community, especially with our traditions, especially with our different things, uh. We were talk, I was talking recently, like when someone passes away in the Hispanic community, a lot of times we do like nine days, like a novena of masses for the person that has passed away. Wow. And we don't see that a lot. [00:38:57] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:38:58] Mari Pablo: In the English community, when it's like they, the Nick Robbins do, and they do like multiple days of preparation during advent season. Mm-hmm. And Los, and there's this like. This whole plethora of experiences and cultures and traditions that we as the, that are based with Catholicism. Mm-hmm. By the way, that it's just an opportunity to see the beauty and goodness in like a whole new level. [00:39:24] Jim Jansen: Did you just write the article? I was reading one of the, the EC articles on the, the day of the debt. Did you write that? [00:39:31] Mari Pablo: No, I did not, but I. [00:39:34] Jim Jansen: But you know what I'm talking about. [00:39:36] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:39:36] Jim Jansen: Could you just give, give like the, the 62nd? 'cause, I mean, that was beautiful to me, is like, oh, I never, I never knew. And even just a, you know, I, I don't know. It was like, you know, four paragraphs. So like, this is awesome. I was so beautiful to learn. So just give us like a short little primer. [00:39:56] Mari Pablo: Yeah. I mean, this is one of my favorite things. So a couple of, just like a side note. One of my pet peeves when someone passes away and they say that they're an angel in heaven. 'cause we don't become angels, we become saints. That's my one pet peeve and my second pet peeve is when we canonize people all right away, someone passes away and we're like, they're so great. They're in heaven. They're in a better place. I'm like, you don't know that, right? [00:40:17] Jim Jansen: Well, well, and and sometimes there's somebody in the back who are like, you have no idea what they did to me. Yeah. [00:40:23] Mari Pablo: Like I've been telling people, this is a fun fact. Ever since I became a teacher and I teach this, I've been telling people, the second you find out that Ms. Pablo died, don't assume I'm in heaven, 'cause I'm probably in purgatory. Yeah. Please pray and please say a Hail Mary, our father, or if you can't offer a mask for me. Thank you. So Day of the Dead, again, it's kind of like Halloween. There's a right way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it, right? Mm-hmm. The tradition of Los MUTOs is a day to pray for the souls that have passed. Mm-hmm. And that includes like the people in purgatory and a day to like offer up and remember them. I mean, Coco does a really good job of doing this, of just like you take out pictures, you share stories about them. You go visit them in the cemetery, and it's an opportunity to just share to the younger generation about these people that have impacted our lives and why they're there and for their memories to continue. We don't think that they're gonna come back to life. We don't think that they're passing over we, or they're not gonna come back and eat. Like none of that is accurate. It's just when done properly in the way of the Catholic church. Again, it's just a way of setting up an altar with their images, praying for their souls. Intentionally. Right. Um, if you don't know about the Saint Gerry Prayer, look it up. It's a great way to pray for soul and purgatory. Yes. And just sharing about them and, and learning from them. So it's beautiful. I love it. And I'm not even Mexican and it's a beautiful tradition. [00:41:50] Jim Jansen: Right. And, and is it particularly Mexican? I don't know like how widely [00:41:55] Mari Pablo: dispersed it is. It, it's other places do it as well, but I would say that the people that do it, the, the largest, it's kind of like carnival, right? Like many places do it. Sure. But it's mostly known to Brazil and New Orleans. So like a lot of places do it, but it's mostly known and connected to Mexico. [00:42:09] Jim Jansen: Yeah. And talk about, again, oftentimes visually it's the, these beautifully painted. Skulls images. Yeah. Right. Of like a human skull painted, [00:42:19] Mari Pablo: yeah, [00:42:19] Jim Jansen: flowers, bright colors. Talk about the symbolism there. Which that, [00:42:23] Mari Pablo: okay, I've, if you know something, please say it. That's also really cool. I don't know if you've ever gone to the chapel in Rome that's made of the, they made art from, I have [00:42:33] Jim Jansen: not, but it's on the bucket list. What was it? Was it car? [00:42:35] Mari Pablo: The, it's a cap Chi. [00:42:37] Jim Jansen: Cap. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, we're literally the bone chapel. [00:42:40] Mari Pablo: It's the bone chapel turned into art and beauty and so it's, it's host to symbolize look like new life and, and the Lord like bringing beauty into that and life into that after death. And so it's supposed to, could be connected to like eternal life. But if you know something else from the article, please share because, well, [00:42:56] Jim Jansen: no, I mean, I don't think the article said this, but what came to mind was. That line from St. Paul, you're like, oh, death. Where is your sting? Yeah, where, where is your victory? That, that, to take a human skull, which at face value would be frightening and saddening and a sign of the end, and then to say, actually. We're gonna paint it with flowers mm-hmm. And bright colors. Mm-hmm. Because we know death is not the end. [00:43:25] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:43:26] Jim Jansen: We, we know there is life. Yep. Life for those in Christ. And so we celebrate with hope, even as we pray for those who've gone before us. [00:43:36] Mari Pablo: Yep. This is one of the things, you know, we, we've been talking a little bit about like how to merge both worlds. 'cause a lot of people come to me and they're like, all right, Mari. You're an, you're in the English world as a speaker, but in many ways I have been the person that has, you know, I've had people come up to me after Student Bowl conferences, especially when I first started, talk to me in Spanish just to see if I knew Spanish, and then I've had teens come up to me and say, I didn't know that we had a, a place on stage. [00:44:10] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. Yeah. [00:44:11] Mari Pablo: You know, and my heart just being like, oh, right. Um, so a lot of people have come to me like, what do I do with the, with the mixture? Because I don't know if you know this Jim, but statistics show that the majority of Catholics in America are Hispanic. Like officially we are the majority in America. [00:44:29] Jim Jansen: Yeah. And certainly younger, like if it's, if you start to go down the generations, that percentage gets higher and higher. [00:44:36] Mari Pablo: Yeah. And so there's a lot there. So. From that place. I, I actually just started a ministry called In His Heart Ministry slash Ong, which is a bilingual ministry where people could like contact in his heart and I could come in with like a bilingual team and we could do things simultaneously together. 'cause I don't think the answer is to do everything separate. 'cause that's not good. Right. Thank you. Yes. Yeah, I think the answer. Is, but also recognizing that a lot of times language is a barrier, right? So like, [00:45:12] Jim Jansen: yeah. [00:45:13] Mari Pablo: You know, where's the middle ground? I, I think the middle ground is being able to do ATO celebration and having a section where we're explaining to the Anglo community and people that don't speak Spanish, why this is important, and, and sharing our stories and our culture so that everyone can learn and celebrate from that. It's being able to, you know. I'll come in with an A team and we can do parish mission or something that is for the whole community. Our meals are together. Mass is bilingual together, adoration is together, but our talks are separate, you know? Mm-hmm. Because, and it's, and it's not just about coming in and having translations. Because mm-hmm. The way that I give a talk to the English community and to the Spanish community is different, not just by language, but by culture and experience and, and the things that we understand. And you know, when I talk about novellas in Spanish and I talk about Mia and son, I, I can connect in a way. That Anglo community is not gonna connect to. And I, and I have other ways to connect to the Anglo community. So it's not just about language. Yes, it's about culture. It's about experience, it's about understanding the challenges. You know, like the stories that I hear that are just so hard, you know, from the Hispanic community and, and the Ang community, but like, they're different. Mm-hmm. They're different experiences and, and I think that's important to know. And also like resources. You know I have a whole section on in his heart.com. Everything is Spanish and English. I'm all sectioned on resources because we're way behind on resources in the Spanish community, and I wanna be able to offer more and to do more and to serve more. Mm-hmm. Because, 'cause they need it. I just gave, I just spoke last weekend to 500 women in a Spanish women's conference and I spoke about Theology of the Body. Now, usually when I do an introduction thing for Theology of the Body, the majority of people know already. I've at least have heard of it. [00:47:15] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:47:16] Mari Pablo: The majority of the people in that room, I always ask like, who's heard of it? Most of them had never heard of it. [00:47:21] Jim Jansen: Yes. Yeah. [00:47:22] Mari Pablo: And so it's like, all right, we gotta, we gotta do more to offer and to serve and to meet them where they're at and to bring unity and to do things where it's not just, and diocese, please hear me out. You can't just have one person representing all of Hispanic ministry for the whole diocese. That's ridiculous. Like that's, we just need people that are Spanish and English in all the departments, in all the places. They're gonna serve the people in all the ways that are gonna give you this. Please. Sorry, you just hit a nerve, but like the budget. No, you go girl. Keep going. Also be the same because I'm sick and tired of hearing the budget for the English side in the diocese and the budget, the Spanish side. And it's very different. [00:48:03] Jim Jansen: It's different. Yeah. [00:48:04] Mari Pablo: Sorry, sorry. [00:48:05] Jim Jansen: No, no, no. I love. I, I really appreciate this part because like, there's like this, there's I think an insecurity and I'll, I can only speak for myself, but that a English speaker who's like, okay, I'm not bilingual, you know, it's like, of all the levels of fluency, of like, you know, like I, I have Sesame Street level, you know, fluent fluency. And yet there's a desire, I have a missionary heart. I, I want to serve, connect. I have, I have a heart for, for Unity. And I appreciate your willingness to, to play kind of an educational bridging role. [00:48:43] Mari Pablo: Yeah. [00:48:43] Jim Jansen: To say like, Hey, can we talk about this? Let me teach you about this. Let me share this, this is something beautiful. Mm-hmm. And to find the common ground mm-hmm. To, to find those, those places. I mean, just a really funny story about that. You know, we were talking about Deacon Gregorio Ade from, from our office, and we were looking for, we were talking, we were part of a pastoral planning conversation, part of a, a, a parish grouping that was English and Spanish speakers, and they're trying to talk about, like, how do you make the hard decision? [00:49:14] Mari Pablo: Mm-hmm. [00:49:14] Jim Jansen: And we were searching for a metaphor and all of the English speakers were saying things like, well, let's just wrap the bandaid off. Let's just bite the bullet. And he's like, I don't know what that means. And so we were spending a lot of time. Time, yeah. And then, you know what we came up with? We're like, oh wait, the perfect kind of bilingual metaphor was grab the bull by, by the horns. Oh, [00:49:33] Jim Jansen: yeah. And right. And like the, the rural Nebraskans. And of course, you know. You know, back to like, kind of Spanish we're like, ye yes, grab the blood. We, we both knew exactly what that meant. So he, the deacon has a little plaque in his office that, that I gave him like, let's, let's grab the bull by the horns. [00:49:48] Mari Pablo: Oh, that's awesome. I love that [00:49:49] Jim Jansen: because it's like, 'cause, 'cause we finally found a bilingual, if you will, a, a bicultural metaphor for making hard decisions. [00:49:56] Mari Pablo: There's a lot more that unites us, that separates us, and I wish people saw that. [00:50:01] Jim Jansen: Yeah, [00:50:01] Mari Pablo: and I've learned a lot from both communities and I have deep love for both communities and I belong to both communities, and I just wish that we did better to bridge that. Because it should be bridged because we're one church. And this goes for the, I've learned a lot from the Vietnamese community as well, and from the Filipino community and from the like black Catholic community. I mean, I've learned from a lot from all the communities and it's beautiful and it's lovely and we wanna be able to share that and, and not be afraid of that. [00:50:31] Jim Jansen: And we need each other too. I mean, again, like the, you know, just gave a shout out to the black Catholic community. Like, oh my goodness, like my black Catholic friends are like. Can I just say like, I don't belong anywhere. You know, like black people think I'm crazy Catholics, you know, don't know what to make of me. And, and I'm like, why are you Catholic? They're like, 'cause Jesus is in the Eucharist. I'm like, yeah, talk about common ground. I mean, it's just beautiful stuff. Mari, I wanna give you a chance, again, you have such a unique global kind of multi-ethnic perspective. What do you see the spirit doing in the church today? [00:51:11] Mari Pablo: There's a lot of things that are hard right now in the world. Um, I think it's an invitation for Unity. I think it's an invitation to hear people out. I think it's an invitation to put politics aside. And to actually look at what the church teaches because our church does not belong to a political side. [00:51:34] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:51:35] Mari Pablo: I think it's an invitation to listen to people's stories, to meet them there, to love them there, to not judge, to not freak out when someone has a different opinion as you. Mm-hmm. To not think that your, that your opinion. And the church's opinion are necessarily accurate because sometimes there's a disconnect. Okay. [00:51:55] Jim Jansen: Oh, totally. [00:51:56] Mari Pablo: Yeah. And to be open to that, right? Like I have learned a lot by not talking and listening. I've learned a lot by not talking and listening and being willing to learn and then having conversations that are not yelling, that are just like, okay, I see that you believe this. Can you explain to me where this is coming from? How it's connected. And you know, when we talk about hard topics and politics, you know, Pope Leo recently made the comment about being pro-life, how it's has to do with immigration and the, and being anti-death penalty and doing all these things and being anti-war. Like being pro-life is, I mean, you wanna talk about pro-life. There's a whole section of the catechism on pro-life, and there's like, I could list you 10, 12 topics. Racism is a part of, is a pro-life issue, like one of these things, [00:52:50] Jim Jansen: right? And that was hard for, for some people to make. People didn't know what to do with that because it didn't fit in the more narrowly, politically confined vision of what it meant to be pro-life. [00:53:04] Mari Pablo: Yeah. But it, but it fits with the Catholic church's teachings history from life. Right. And so I, that's what I mean by this. It's, I think it's invitation and, and I think this sums it up, and Father Josh Johnson said this years ago, like, everything changes when I see you and you see me as the body of Christ. And I think that's the key to everything that we're invited to in the church, that we need to start recognizing. Our own value in our own life. And then the value of every single life that we encounter and that we are the body of Christ. And that what affects, you know, sex in scripture, what affects one person affects us all. And so if one person's hurting, we're all hurting. Mm-hmm. And there are different communities that are hurting. Mm-hmm. And so what are we doing to be. A vessel of unity and, and peace and truth. Not to vision, not anger, not pointing fingers, not saying that one side's better than the other. Like where is Jesus? You know, like, where is Jesus? Mm-hmm. And how? How can we be vessels of that? And that's an invitation for deeper healing. That's an invitation for deeper self-evaluation. That's an invitation for self-assessment. That's an invitation to go to Jesus. Go to Jesus. And the more time you spend with him, he'll, he'll teach you what the church needs and what it needs is, is him. And if we're spending time with him, then we can be vessels of, of unity and truth and love amidst so much chaos. [00:54:37] Jim Jansen: Hmm. Mari, I'm gonna give you a chance here, kind of like some final words. Like, you know, you're gonna be coming in to help give a retreat for, uh, many of the parish leaders. Here in the archdiocese, evangelization coordinators, youth ministers, Dees, priests, deacons, everybody's welcome. I wanna give you an opportunity to kind of speak. Not everybody wa you know, listening to this will be able to make it. But for those who are like, you know, what's the invitation to step away be with Jesus? What do you wanna say? [00:55:14] Mari Pablo: Go to Jesus. I know that that sounds like, well, duh, but. I was a youth minister for years and I had Jesus down the hallway and I didn't go see him every day. And now I have to drive every day to go see him. Mm-hmm. Um, and I see him more now than I did when I was a youth minister, and he was down the hall. [00:55:37] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:55:37] Mari Pablo: I think it's an invitation to literally just go to Jesus, to be filled by Jesus, to understand the why. To let him love you, to let him heal you, to let him be the one to fulfill you. The invitation is to just literally be with him. He's it. I would not be here. Being in ministry is super hard. I would not be here if I didn't cling to the Lord for my dear life. [00:56:07] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:56:08] Mari Pablo: So my invitation is to take your heart in front of his heart in the Eucharist and to rest there. To not be afraid to go into those deep places of hurt and pain and joys, and to allow him to, to guide you to wherever he needs you to go, for your sake, not for the sake of who you minister to. [00:56:31] Jim Jansen: Hmm. Boom. Thank you. All right. How can people connect with you? [00:56:37] Mari Pablo: You could go to in his heart.com. It's my new website. Very excited about that. It's fully bilingual. All my shirts, all the resources, everything is bilingual about You have merch? I have merch. Isn't that exciting? Whoa. Okay. [00:56:51] Jim Jansen: Yeah, that's very [00:56:52] Mari Pablo: exciting. And are you ready? It's of my friend of me mine, Valerie. She is, uh, awesome Tax Valerie. It's our heart. My logo is our heart, literally inside the sacred heart of Jesus. It's really beautiful, so I'm very proud of that. [00:57:04] Jim Jansen: Nice. [00:57:05] Mari Pablo: And then Instagram, Mari Pablo 25 in His Heart Ministries. We can look all the things up and for everyone listening, I'm super excited to be with you in just a few months and I'll be praying for you and I'll see you in the Eucharist. [00:57:16] Jim Jansen: Awesome. All right. We're gonna link to those things in the show notes. Some of you, you're listening to this, you're like, okay, I am, I feels like camp. I can't go alone. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna text my friend and say, listen to this episode, and come with me to the retreat or to, you know, just listen to the episode and, and, you know, bring, bring your heart before Jesus. Let him do his thing. So, MARIDI, thank you. Thank you for being with us. [00:57:40] Mari Pablo: Thank you for having me. [00:57:41] Jim Jansen: All right, everybody. Share this out with a friend. Thanks. Thanks for listening to the Quip Cast. We hope this episode has inspired you to live your faith and equip you to be fruitful in your mission. Stay connected with us by going to equip dot arch omaha.org. God bless and see you next time.