Ep. 6: I'm Not a Nerd – I'm a Dominican (Sr. Maria Frassati, O.P., Ph.D.)

which is just like not a great time for any new year,

and particularly for six years. And so myself in the world would have studied science, science, so that's the thing. The, I remember just one day just like, I was like so crying, little hand goes up.

Sister, you didn't go to Massachusetts morning to Jeff. I was like, no, look, yeah, they could tell. They're like, well, Sister, I was gonna do this today. Then she said, well, I'm gonna send you to study full time on these assignments. I was like, oh,

and I'm like waiting for her to tell me where and she didn't tell me where. You were supposed to spend. I was in suspense. But it's the Lord's plan for you.

Exactly. What are we doing, Jesus? Because I was like, in Saint Paul,

“no, I think we even asked in Saint Paul.”

I just said, no. (laughing) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Hi, and welcome to Dominican Sisters Open Mic.

My name is Sister Miriam, and I'm a sister of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Every week we sit down and we're talking all things Dominican, and on today's show,

we have our very own sister Maria Frassotti joining us for conversation about her Saint Frassotti. Thank you for coming, Sister. Thank you so much, Sister Miriam. And I want to tell our audience a little bit

about your biographical background. So you're from Illinois, originally. You entered in 2001. And you're certified to teach all grade levels. - Yes.

- But currently, you're teaching at the college level. Could you tell us what you're teaching, who you're teaching, what your subjects are focused on? - Yes, I teach at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas.

And I teach mostly English classes, I'm in the English departments,

“but I also teach for our core department.”

So I teach some of our foundational classes in the core curriculum. - Okay, you enjoying that? - Oh, yeah, it's so fun. - You like working at the college level?

- I do. - Yes. - It's understandable, but there's no parents involved at the college level. (laughing)

- So, sister, good for you. - Yeah, I love that you have Saint Frassotti as you're saints, and we wanna hear more about that, but before we get to that, okay? I thought it'd be interesting to hear how our Lord

worked in your life to get you here as a Dominican sister. So, could you tell us how did the Lord make his will known for you in your life? - Okay, well, I guess the really short version is that when I was a sophomore in high school,

after I got my license, I started thinking what I should do for Lent, and I decided that I would go to Daily Mass, which I could now drive myself to, and my grandmother had used to take me to Daily Mass during Lent, and so I did that.

And then I saw one of my classmates there at Daily Mass with her mom, and she invited me on a retreat. That was early in Lent of that of my sophomore year. And so, that was cool, and so I went with her. And on that retreat, when I was in confession,

which I normally didn't go to, unless someone put me in a line

“and was like, go to confession, and that's why I see her.”

It's easy to get to school, whatever. And the priest asked me to think to pray about whether or not I had a religious vocation, and I was like, but I don't want to do that. Like, that's, I don't want to do that.

- And you were, how old that, that's? - I was 16. - 16.

- And first, she asked me if I'd ever thought about it.

And I had, but only in so far, is when I started to develop a spiritual life, I started to think about the eternity and how eternal it was. - Okay. - It's long. - It's eternity is so important to spend it in the right place.

And so, I had been like, who is getting into heaven? Man, and that's like, I think Peter's got to be waving the nuns in, right? Like, that's not, and I was like, no, okay, wait, rejected. Not doing that.

Like, that's about it, yeah. Anyway, so then he asked me if I thought about it and I couldn't tell him no, because I was in confession. So I didn't, you can't lie. - Oh, yeah.

- And so, then he told me that my penance actually was to go and pray about my religious vocation. But then I had to do it, which was a very sneaky priest trick. Actually, so I went back out into adoration and I was like, Lord, let me remind you about the plan

for my life and where I'm going to college and what I'm going to study and how beautiful my plan for my life is. - So sister, did your plan for your life involve marriage and family?

- Yes, that's what you were thinking. - My older sister had just gotten engaged. So, and she went to the University of Illinois where my whole family went. And I was going to go there and study science.

That's what we all did. - Oh, really? - Yes. - I didn't know that. - Yes.

- Very generically. - Yes.

- So I never chose a science.

Anyway, but anyway, so then I was kind of holding this plan up to the Lord, like I had it my hands almost and I'm out in adoration. And then I realized that a problem with a plan

You know what I mean? The person who made the thing knows what the thing is for. And I didn't ask the Lord anything about this. And I still hadn't done my penance, actually. Like telling the Lord my plan was not what the penance was.

- So then I started to think, well, wait a minute,

“whatever you made me for is the best thing to do.”

And I want to do that the most. And because I'll be the happiest to doing that because it's the thing that will bring the most fulfillment, whatever. And I thought, oh gosh, that makes sense to me.

It makes so much sense to me that if it were a religious life, I would do that. And it was like, wow, you're doing it. - Is that what you felt in that moment, you're doing it? - Yeah, just like, know that, more like, that's it.

That's what it is. - That's what we're doing. And I was like, oh, I'm surprised by this. - It's just a very fast understanding that came to you. - Yes.

And looking back at it, because first then everyone was like,

well, now you have to discern. And I was like, what's discernment? And they're like, is when you pray about what the Lord wants to do, I was like, but I did that. - You know what?

I mean, I just got your answer immediately. - Yes, so I took me a long time to understand that that's not how it works for the Lord. And I think the Lord just kind of had to hit me with the ton of bricks, sort of, you know, to get the message through.

- Yes, yes. - Yes, yes. To me, it's very beautiful, and maybe unusual, that you were a 16 year old, and your Lenton practice was to go to Daily Mass.

So you were living in a way, where you were receptive to God's plan, or if there was an openness to you. - I'm wondering, was there something that your family did to foster that in you? An openness to God, a love of God that enables you

to go towards Him in that way? - I would think that the Daily Mass thing was, my grandmother, Mary, used to take me to Mass Daily Mastering Lent a couple times a week. - Okay.

- Growing up, our pastor specifically scheduled one, so that school children could be broad, and my grandma was like, I guess I'm bringing to school children. You know, and so, and so then when I was thinking,

like, what feels Lenty to do, you know, it was that. But also my older sister had kind of a big conversion experience, and the second part of high school,

“then into college, and so I think sort of her as you'll,”

then for the Lord, sort of kind of backwards and form the rest of the family.

We always went to Mass, and we went to ZZD,

but it wasn't, we weren't, like we weren't praying, the rosary together, doing some of those other things. - Okay. - Other devotional things. - Yeah, other devotional things.

So you have this moment where you're like that's it? - Yeah. - What did you do after that, you went home? - Yes, and then I didn't know anything. I didn't know anything about having a location

that you're supposed to be like scared or that like, people might freak out, or because it just like was made so much sense to me. I think looking back at it, it felt like there were all these pieces of my life that suddenly fit together.

- Oh, okay. - I got it. - So then I just came home and was like, guess what mom and dad, I'm gonna be a sister, I'm gonna wear a habit, I'm gonna teach.

And my dad was like, what? - You know? - Wow. - We think maybe you can teach and be a sister,

“but I don't know, just people, do people wear habits?”

Is that, or we still do in that? - You know? - Yeah. - And I was like, well, I'm gonna find them. It'll work out, they were like, oh, okay, sweetheart.

You know what I mean? But God bless them, like, that I wanted to be an astronaut or an architect or whatever, you know, you have to say things. - He says.

- And so they're like, well, I'm gonna ask her to homecoming and then this will be over. It was like, it's not. (laughing) - It won't be.

So anyway, I think they were surprised when I persevered, but I was like, no, it's what we're doing. So that's what we did. - How do you thought about being a teacher, specifically, our postlet is teaching?

- Yes. - Was that something that was on your radar as a profession? - Yes, yeah. Oh, my dad, my dad is a teacher in the teacher's high school, a college in geology and pretty much from the time

I started going to school. I was like, I would like to be a teacher. - Oh wow.

- So when you saw the Dominicans for the first time,

and maybe you could tell us where you encountered them, was that part of what drew you to the community? - Yeah, I think one of the things I did was go back to my high school, which was quite small, but had four priests teaching at it at the time.

- Oh, wow. - And a priest who taught me calculus. Anyway, thanks for listening to Jason Gray. (laughing) But I started telling them,

you don't have a religious vocation, I think I wanna teach you what do I do, and they're all like, well, visit different places. And so, okay, one of the priests at my house was now the Vicar General, the diocese,

a month's senior, Phil Paffaker. He is good friends with Bishop Mangling, Bishop Mangling actually brought him into the church. - Okay. - And so he had been up here visiting Bishop.

This is like now in 1999, right? - Okay. - And Bishop brought him out to where they were constructing the mother house. And so he had met our sisters then,

and was, I think, doing a retreat in the next spring. And so he was like, well, you should visit these people

And so, so then I came in the fall of my junior year, and it wasn't quite as instantaneous as like, you know, beams of light and inch of voices from the sky, you know? - But I just felt really at home with the sisters, and they just seemed so normal.

And I realized a couple of weeks after the retreat, I had sort of moved to Michigan in my mind, and was thought, well, that must be it then. - Wow. - So then I just had to wait to graduate from high school.

- And then you enter, and then I enter that. - That's right. - What do you love about the religious life? - Oh, wow. So many things. - I know.

- So many things.

I think people always ask this question,

and it's funny, but the best thing,

“and the worst thing about our life are the same thing.”

- Community. - Community living. - Community living. - Yes, yes, yes, yes. - Yes, why is it the best thing?

- It's the best thing. - Your sisters see you in ways that other people don't, and they can build you up, and they call talents out of you like podcast hosting, Which I'm sure you didn't think we're ever going to do that.

What's in on that vision that? So that kind of thing, or the things we get sent to study, the things we get asked, the two, the opportunities we have to do together, all of that, and the sort of the joy that we bring to everything.

That's that's all amazing.

And then we're all here focused on the Lord and doing this, and doing this work together to bring souls to him is awesome. It really is such a gift. I think for me, I love the community life aspect and so frequently, I feel the blessing of being inspired in virtue by the sisters that I live with

and seeing how they live or how they put a certain virtue into practice, that maybe is difficult for me. I think one thing that I find really beautiful is the generosity of the sisters and seeing them jump into things and helping out with a joyful spirit

“that it just gets me going. That's how I want to be.”

And so being able to grow in the life together and hopefully going and holiness together and helping us towards virtuous living is a beautiful gift. Right. How about the down the downside? It's a down the go. I guess, when you get married, you choose the other adult that you're living with.

And we didn't, you know, Jesus chose them for you, which can be both awesome and alarming. I think so. So we've got a lot of people living together with vastly different backgrounds, different corners of the country, different countries, who grow up and wildly different family expectations and cultures and things.

And all of that can just be, I mean, the kind of go-to metaphor is sandpaper, right, of the way that it smoothies each other out, but it can just be, like, I infuriate others and others infuriate me. You know what I mean? Like that, and just for like little tiny things of daily living. When I teach, this sounds unrelated but not, but when I teach about Dante,

which I do. Yes. So Dante is married to a woman who is not Beatrice, who he idolizes in the whole divine comedy and is that woman who is his muse, et cetera.

And the students are always puzzled by this. I was like, oh, no, this makes tons of sense.

Like, he barely ever talked to Beatrice. You know, Mrs. Dante probably leaves her dishes in the sink. You know what I mean? But Beatrice is like, she's perfect. I mean, he can just imagine whatever kind of perfect woman he wants her to be, and he doesn't really know her, so it works out. So, so I mean, but kind of that like, but Mrs. Dante probably leaves her dishes in the sink. I mean, nobody leaves dishes in the sink,

“but sort of the equivalent stuff in our life of like, why can't believe you're doing it that way?”

Like, why would you, even this history, I keep it with right now, when we switch driving partners, like, I like to have the air on my face, and she doesn't. And so we like have a whole routine of like, like, I got to close her events. I got to open her events. I got to switch the temperature. You know, and that's like not infuriating, but that's like, you know, but that's a kind of stuff like all the time with like everybody of like, wow, we just want to do this

and vastly different ways. Yeah. And this is part of her humanity. That's right. And living in community and being in community and with one another. That's right. And it's beautiful that at the center of our life as a sacraments, we have adoration every day and the benefit of daily masks and that these things help us. Right. I can remember when I taught sixth grade in Phoenix, there was a few times that year when we had masks in the afternoon,

instead of in the morning. And it was like, I had the sixth graders for this double block after lunch, which is just like not a great time for any of it. Oh, yeah. And particularly not for sixth graders. And so the, um, I remember just wanted to just like, I was like so pregnant. Little hand goes up. Sister, you didn't go to Massachusetts morning to Jeff. I was like, oh, really? Like, yeah, they could tell. They're like, oh, sister hasn't had Jesus today. So she's being wretched. Wow.

Anyway, this perceptive, but also, yeah, sister. So you have a PhD. I do. Amazing.

Yeah, I studied at the Catholic University of America for both a masters and a PhD in English literature. And so with a specialty in Shakespeare. Hence, hence the Dante reference, yeah, which is, I guess,

“related. Sure, why not? So did, had you ever, uh, envisioned yourself getting a higher degree?”

Probably not a PhD. I don't think. My mother is a medical doctor. So like, we do education in my family, and my dad has a masters in geology, et cetera. Um, but I probably, like, I mean, in myself, myself in the world would have studied science science. So that's a thing. Yeah, you know. Um,

so it was fun to, I got, so my first graduate program that I didn't finish was at the

University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, so purple U.S. D. Okay. Um, and I was sent there for someone. And I just loved studying so much. It's like, this is so fun. It was their Catholic studies program. And I was this, like, this was the best. And so then I was in Phoenix the next year, and mother, as some to called me. And she said, "Hon, I just want you to know, I'm not going to, they're about to get summer assignments." She's like, "I just want you to know that you're

not going to be assigned a study next year." And I was like, "Oh, she said, I just need to be crushed." And I was like, "I'm kind of crushed, mother." And so, um, then she said, "Well, I'm going to send you to study full-time on the assignments." I was like, "Oh, and I'm like waiting for it to tell me where." And she didn't tell you where. You were so expensive. I was in suspense. I was in suspense. But it's the Lord's plan for you. Exactly. What are we doing, Jesus? Because I was like,

"In Saint Paul?" No, I think I even asked. In Saint Paul. I just said, "No." And that was it. And so, and then I thought, you know, I think President John Garvey has been to visit the mother house recently. Oh, yes. And Sister Joseph Andrew has been telling me for years that I'm a good writer. So I bet I'm going to get sent to English. I got like you. Oh, okay. Yeah. And then I did.

And then you loved it, right? I loved it so much. Oh, my gosh. My first semester, I took

20th century Catholic fiction. This was the name of the class. It was kind of, and now I know very eminent scholar, Virgil N'Muyano. And I went to the books where to get my books. And it was like novels that I read for fun. This is what they do. This is my job now. Like, I would do this

“for fun in my free time. Like, this is now my job. This is the best thing ever. Like, why didn't”

nobody tell me this? You know, that's so wonderful. He did. Yeah. What you needed. Yeah. Wow. So then I got sent for the masters. And then I discovered while I was there because I didn't know anything about graduate school is that nobody pays to get a master's in the universities as that they're, oh, it's all like funded programs, which Catholic people has. They have scholarships for that, et cetera. And so

then basically I was done getting the masters. And they were like, but sister, you're a good student

though. And I was like, yeah, what do you, what? And so, like, where are you going? Well, what if we gave you one of the teaching fellowships for the PhD program? I was like, I don't know. Let me go call some people. You know, so then I had to ask mother about it. And so we prayed about it. And decided that it was, if the, since the Lord presented his opportunity, we would just do it. So, wow. Yes, sir. Yeah. Way to go. I was, we were all celebrating when you graduated.

In 2020, we celebrated. Because couldn't go to graduation and like all of that, you know, that was right. That was I felt over here. Yeah. But so sister, I want to get to your saying. Yeah. I feel that you are a specialist on Saint for Saadie took his name. And you went to the Canada. I did. Did you know Saint for Saadie when you first entered the comment? I did not. So, at the joy road school, there's a huge poster of him outside the gym. Because sister John Dominic,

new has met, had met his niece Vanda and knew about him kind of before he was cool, you know. And so, and I was like, who is that? And I was like, is this like, did one of the kids die? Like, why do we have this huge poster this kid? You know, he's young. Yeah. And so, he was about 16 in the photo. And then sister my Margaret is the one, when we were potions. Like, oh, that's pretty much a facade. And he was a third order Dominican. And this at the end, I was like, whoa, I'm

“sorry. His name was like too much, too hard. Like, I'm not, I'm never going to remember that. But”

thanks for telling me sister. Like, jokes on me. Yeah, you have his name now. I know. I was like, well, now I remember. And then I just felt during my potion, you know, I really wanted to take a Dominican name once I was, I didn't really know much about the Dominican until I was one. And then I was like, oh, yeah, no, I have secretly been a Dominican this whole time. We met a young man entering the central province when we were poshulants. And he was like, I just need a tissue that says, I'm not a

nerd. I'm a Dominican. And I'm like, yes, we feel this. And so, um, so then I really wanted to take a Dominican name. And there's a little book by Ann Volkald faces of Holiness that just has photos of

in there. And it was caption that he's a Dominican tertiary or a lay Dominican. And so I was like, oh, I'm, no, I'm interested. And so then I read that little chapter in there and I was like, well, that's pretty cool. And then I checked out to see what we have in the library. I had a couple of books about

him and I read them. And I thought he's really amazing. He loves our lady. He loves the hugerist.

He is normal and young, um, relatable. Relatable. Relatable. Relatable. Relatable. No, I hate the word. Relatable. It's okay. Um, then he's relatable. And so I then was like, but your name is so weird. I don't even know if I know how to print out. It's pretty joyful for Saudi. No, I'm saying. And so we had a long arguments about his name being weird, which he eventually won. And then

“you got the name. And I got the name. So that's what happened. Sister, I'm glad. Yeah. So”

could you tell us some by, by graphical information about this saying? Yes. Yes. Yeah. So pure Georgia for Saudi lived from 1901 to 1925. He's from Turin, Italy. So he died when he was 24. And he grew up in this sort of like upper middle class family. His dad was the founder of a famous newspaper in Italy, Lestampa. And then he ended up being a senator and an ambassador to Germany from Italy. And so he was sort of living this kind of embassy life there in his minis midlife

when they're having hosting parties and things. That sort of thing. And so the dad, the dad, the dad, the ambassador, as the ambassador. And so then his mom was an artist. So his dad is like business man.

Okay. Like newspaper effects. And he's not really fetching the faith is basically agnostic.

And then his mom is this like kind of super high strong artistic temperament. She was a painter. And really into looking good and like making a good show of things. And but the two of them by the

“time, the for Saudi. So pure Georgia had an older sister that didn't live that died as an infant.”

And then he was the second child and then his and his younger sister, Lestiana. And he and Lestiana were basically raised his twins. And so by the time that they were sort of like old enough to understand, their parents were really at odds all the time. And there was a very unhappy marriage basically for both of them. And but for Georgia, just even sort of in the midst of that partly under the influence also of his grandmother. And then just grew up to be this very

pious child. And so and and attend to other people. Also, there was a time when a bigger woman came to the door with holding an infant at like a little boy and asked for money. And he didn't have any money. And he knew that the his parents were not going to give this woman money. Basically. And so he just like sat down, took off his shoes, gave the woman his shoes and like slam the door because he didn't like. He didn't want to get seen. Yeah. That's right. That's right. That's so.

“And so then he grew up in the sort of like tense family situation. And he was he was not a horrible”

student. But he was not a great student either. He was in particularly wasn't good at Latin. So twice in his life, he failed his Latin exam at the end of the year and had to repeat like a whole year. And but to do that, they says parents sent him to the Jesuit school. So it was to turn that to be providential because that's where he started to realize he wanted to go to daily mass and receive the university. So he grew closer to Christ at that time. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And so then

he and then just kind of from there from this like very normal student life daily mask going going to school, having friends, just sort of in the midst of all of that, started to do a lot of political activism and that, but then also working with the conferences of St. Vincent DePaul in Turin, giving that aid to the the poor poor people in the city sort of just kind of with his physical strength. He was a very robust athletic kid. He loved amount of climbing and horseback

riding and soccer and like all of it. So sailing, swimming. Yeah. That's his, I'm thinking of his letters are kind of full of all of these things that he loves to do skiing. So just kind of with his like vigor of personality and like strength, physical strength, he would help people in the city, scrounging up money, giving away his bus fare, then running home for dinner, that kind of thing.

But his parents were kind of mean to him as well. Like his dad sort of thought he'd never

amount to anything and said so. And they would tell him, you would tell him, yeah, his mom was like, well, since you're fundamentally good for nothing, then you know, whatever. So they kind of didn't understand him at all. And his sister did more, but even she was sort of caught up in their sort of glamorous embassy party hosting life that they live and in a way that he wasn't. Could you give us a little rundown of lay Dominican? He's a lay Dominican. People might not know

that he is connected to the Hispanicans. But what is a lay Dominican? Right. So the Dominican's have our primarily the friars found out by St. Dominic, right? And then also the nuns who also were found out by St. Dominic to pray kind of for the work of the friars. And then there's

cloistered, right? Like we're still doing a more active apostolate. But then there's also sort of this group of lay people who don't necessarily live in community, but they gather in communities around usually around some of the friars or the sisters. And they feel called to participate in the Dominican Charism, right, of teaching and preaching and study. And they could be married people, and they make promises relative to upholding Dominican traditions etc. So we have a great group of

lay Dominicaners that we work with. Even today, lay Dominicaners are around. That's right. Yes, doing wonderful things. Exactly. According to the universal cares of our Dominican life, that's right. To teach truth and lead people towards God. Yeah. Okay. So St. Dominic, now I hear he has some saint, saintly, holiness, life has.

“Is that how you put it? That's how I put it. Yeah. The life hacks from peer Georgio of like how”

how to be a saint. So I've just kind of thinking through his life and like how would I frame like how did he become a saint? Like what would I say? So I've five. So you came up with these. I did.

Yes. Okay. Yeah. Basically it's based on my first time. First time. You put it here first.

Right. That's right. Okay. So the first one is you can't do it alone. I'd say that's kind of very fundamental and bite by it. I mean, holiness. Like you can't, you can't do your life alone. And so that is manifested for Pedro Joan a number of ways. One is the Eucharist. First primarily all the time. So after he starts receiving daily communion, it's just his life is kind of transformed by Christ. Right. And he would say like about his

visits to the poor. Christ comes to me every morning in Holy Communion. How can I not? But go out to others. Right. And so when a Aquinas talks about the mixed life being the most

“perfect life, right, in the suma, he says that it's for two reasons that it's the best kind of life.”

Like instead of just the contemplative life, one is the kind of life that Christ lived,

that he was both prayerful and and had this act of apostolate. But the second reason is that

the activity comes from an abundance of contemplation is what he says. So for Sonny sort of lives his life in this principle of overflow, right, from his life of Christ. Like so first, there's this his relationship with Christ. And that's overflowing into all of his other relationships. And like giving them strength and courage, etc. So the Eucharist also the Blessed Mother, not only did he pray the rosary, and he would sometimes on a train trip like pretend to be asleep,

but be praying the rosary. Or he would get up early to pray the rosary in his family's country home in the mountains. There was a shrine to our lady that he would climb to. So the lady but also he's devoted to the saints. He has friends. So that's kind of the first thing is that he's just surrounding himself with people that tell him he can't do it alone. Okay, so don't you can't do holiness alone. Okay. Second one. Second half. Second half. Second half. Second half. Second

life. Back from Prasaddi. I called it, I was thinking how do I say this. I called it stop and smell the roses because it was really good at just seeing things that were there to be seen. I guess you could also say live in the present moment. Okay. Yeah. He was just good at being where he was and noticing the things there. So instance, once coming into school there was like a security guard, it would sit at the door and he came in one day and the security guard was really sad. And he saw

that, which first of all, seeing the security guard at all. Yeah. There was a coming into school. Yeah. I mean, then he stopped and asked what it was and he said well my son just died. Oh my gosh, I'll pray for him. And a year later, Prasad is coming in on that same day and he said this is the day your son died and I remember him at last this morning. So that kind of just a tentiveness

to the people he's with and he would always just even literally stop and smell roses. Like when

he was out climbing mountains, he would stop and he would bring home flowers for the garden and he'd bring home rocks that he wanted to his rock collection and and that kind of thing. So he was

“just good at knowing that kind of nothing is too small to be an instrument of grace, I think.”

So that's he's just he was good at being present in the in the present moment for that. So sap and spell the roses. That's good. Okay. Number three. Number three is read good books. Which sort of brings the order to that? I know, I mean, I'm in into books. You know, it turns out the minicans are, you know. Then so sometimes because he failed Latin, people like, oh, he wasn't a good student and he didn't he didn't love school. Yeah. It's like,

well, but he was a Dominican though. So let it be known. He read books. And so he had this he had a passage from from the end of Dante's petted. So we're St. Bernard is praising our lady, copied out in his own handwriting and it's like tacked on his bedroom wall. Really? And he was

these really, really important authors. And so I think that's part of both like the building community, like there's a way in which books build community with other people who've read them and with the people in them kind of. And and also the sort of like cultivating that ability to see,

“I think is something. He also read confessions. I was another one. He's in his letters. He writes”

about how many things are saying in Gosson's confessions. So so he read good books. So I think that

that's that's another way to kind of extend those first two more. Like how to get formation in those

first two. Okay. So. Okay. Three. Yeah. Okay. Four. Oh, the fourth one is vaguely weird. Okay. So this is when I'm having the like professorial shorthand. Okay. As I'd create green spaces, we were talking about this yesterday. So oh no, everything's connected to Shakespeare in my mind. Okay. So so there's this Canadian theorist about Shakespeare who talks about his comedies, this, the theory is his name, North of Pry. He's got a theory of Shakespeare's comedies that they all

work the same way. And basically all ROM comes work this way. Okay. So you have like a guy who wants something usually a girl. And then there's some sort of irrational block. Like a her dad is crazy and obstacle or obstacle or like she's from a different social class or like you're a jack and she's a nerd or something like whatever. Okay. And so then to circumvent this obstacle, we have to

retreat into this green space. And so in Shakespeare plays it usually literally is a green space,

like go to the forest. Yeah. Like the forest of art in or like the forest outside the city. And like everything there is like works by different rules and it's kind of taught to you to

“be. I feel like in a ROM come you probably like go on a school trip or like you know what I mean?”

Like you like have some sort of different kind of get-aways. I get away. And and then somehow in that you circumvent that obstacle and then and there's this like new society forms out there in the forest and you like come back and it's like you the resolution, you know, the guy gets the girl whatever it is. Okay. And so I think that for Saudi was good at sort of living that way in a way that he made these creative green spaces and so far as his friends are kind of just like going

along doing their thing and like not really thinking about their life. And he's like come to me with them come with me to the mountains. You know, come play pool with me and like if you win, we go to a bar and if I win we go to the church. You know, so he was just creative, creative, absolutely like being attentive to the people around him and like kind of what would work. And he's like hosting dinners. He had a whole friend group named the Tipi Loski. I think it's

how you pronounce it. Okay. And that they had a little motto few but good like Macaroni. That doesn't even mean anything. Like it didn't even mean anything but like this whole secret kind of friendship society. Yeah, it was a it was a it was a culture and that he had that had its own like secret language and code names and all of these things and it was very elaborate.

“Right. And like you can almost not letters to each other almost incomprehensible because you're like what?”

What? You know because it was but that was a way that he didn't just like go out and like fight the culture or worry about like the culture in which he lived. Like he built a culture kind of in response to that culture and like was forming this little society to like help them face life in the big society. I guess it were. So that kind of so creating green space. I don't necessarily mean literal green space. So it could be like trips to the mountains, whatever. But kind of those creative

spaces where people step out of their regular life and like have a chance to encounter Christ in a new way that they wouldn't have had if they were just still doing their normal thing. A counter Christ and I think also to encounter the other. Yes, absolutely. In ways because because the distractions of life can be the obstacles of encountering the other and were made for communion. So establishing a forum where you can just be with another and to love them.

Yeah. Way and to know them. And to be known. Absolutely. Okay. So they're like like the hack. Okay. And then the fifth one is the last one. I would call it Do Things Badly. Interesting. As opposed to not at all. Right? Okay. I think we live in a culture where so often because like if it's not going to look good on Instagram. Like I don't want to do it. You know what I mean? Or if it's not going to be perfect. Like I was like why would I

I'll just I'll just ask I had to do it for me. I'll just you know whatever. Like so as opposed to just sort of getting your hands dirty and like getting there and doing stuff. So he so for side has got this friend group. And and it's like not perfect and it's probably a little clicky and whatever. But like that I mean he did do a lot with this conference as it visits a poll. But his like main apostolate in a way was to his like 10 friends and he became a saint. But like ministering to his

10 friends. You know what I mean? Like that's amazing. And so he just has this it's not like he

set out to like evangelize all of Italy. You know what I mean? He's like what do I got? I got some friends. I got a big house. I got the mountains. Like this like what I can work with that. You know? And so he's he was willing to sort of do what he could do. Like move furniture for people. Like whatever it is that's kind of on on deck. He's like ready to do it. And is and he's not

think? Like he's just he just like jumps in there and does it? And so I was saying do things badly

“as opposed to not doing them at all. Yeah. Yeah. But I think there's a confidence there. Yes.”

And in the fact that God can make things beautiful. Yes. And even if we don't plan it out perfectly. Exactly. But God can still work through things. Exactly. So these are very practical. Yes. Exactly. Well that's is a practical kind of thing. Yes. So how I'm I'm wondering what advice you might be able to to to give based on for study and the way that he lived that you would want our viewers to I know you gave you the hacks. Yeah. What what would you want our listeners to know or to

hear in terms of encouragement or advice? Yeah. I mean I think that the chief thing is we have so caught up at like my holding a checklist and like am I doing the things and am I praying the rosaries enough and I might you know and I think what for study shows us or like am I am this camp of people or in that camp of people and he just like love Jesus like make Jesus the number one

“thing and everything else will fall into place like if you focus your life on Christ and then”

you're really trying to focus your life on Christ. Nothing else nothing else matters but nothing else matters. You know like that's the that's the he's the one thing that matters. And so so for sorry he's got this like crazy family he dies he dies of polio he's 24 which he caught by working in the slums with people his grandmother died just a few days before him and that's when his

family is like you're completely useless you're never there when we need you can't believe you're

sick right now like this just like you you know but in the midst of his like crab family and his like you know dad making him give up his job that he wanted to have so that he could take over the newspaper like all these kind of things and sort of it was a girl he was had a crush on that he didn't pursue a relationship with because he knew his parents were just flip out and it would finally break their marriage down and that kind of thing and so just like in the midst of all that like

it matter but it didn't matter because Christ was the most important thing there's one of his famous letters he talks about he writes to Luciana after she's married which is also very painful for him he says that you know yes me if I'm happy like I'm like I'm in pain but I'm not not joyful you know like so he could distinguish like life can be hard but like fundamentally like Jesus and so how could I not be joyful and so that's kind of what gave him the the ability to do

all the things that he did and the confidence to do about the things he did so if we can live our

identity in Christ and like make him the most important thing we do like everything else will fall into

“place so that's beautiful yeah now just briefly yeah I think it's cool that you're at the”

canonization it was extremely cool just can you give us like what was that like for you I mean to be there this is your saint yeah it was so fun to introduce myself first of all to everyone and I'm like I'm just a rooftop like oh you know like oh are you related you're like but no but kind of I guess I don't you know so it was just such a cool opportunity and of course the date moved which was like very stress right yes thanks hopefully but it was so cool to be to be in Rome

first I was just cool to be in Rome full stop like then everywhere going Rome it's Rome the whole time like it was amazing and then just to be there with so many people that were like so excited about for sottie and like wanted to celebrate him and know and about Carlos Coutiste obviously who's who's can as you know it also was and he was like the more people were there for him it's fine it's fine okay but it was just so Peter would you like to send me on adventures oh okay and so

instance that I've been to five world youth days wow this is just have never been to anywhere

never been no one so I've been to five and I just I just know that this like what for sottie does you know what I mean and then anyway so the canonization it's originally at the during the youth Jubilee such a my Michael wrote to me said well we're gonna send someone with you so how figures physically rigorous is this gonna be and I was like oh sister it's not gonna be like a world youth day you know what I mean like it's just gonna be like one like long day on your feet

just like okay so just my group Marcus coming with me then I got this casual and I was like this is rigorous it's a world youth day like it's I was like you don't know because the last world youth day I went to I was like prejudge on that I'm kind of old like I'm no longer a youth like this is so fun but it was in Lisbon I was like maybe maybe we could not maybe we're done you know you're good you were good you were just feel him be like what is the world youth Jubilee

totally different you know it was like okay listen no more sleeping in a field with a million friends like I'm not we're not doing this and and so then the and then it was like then he was like fine

and so um but just to be there with sister my Margaret who had like introduced me to him so that was a fun book and you know yeah and just to be like there with everybody wanting to celebrate his life

“and I think in his sort of way that he does for me is he made it's kind of about communion and so it was”

of like community with the sisters who were there you know with like people I had already known some of the one of the presemen dices of Lansing has also got father funds has also got for Saudi as his patron and so he took his out for pizza and like some of my students graduates from U.S.T. were there and um like some other priest and like random people praying for us in jolato shops you know like it was just like such a joyful time of like good communion and sister

my Margaret and I both kind of didn't have a lot of goals we're just like the candidate is the goal and like everything else is kind of a bonus and so then we're just able to just like receive everything that happened as like great this is what we're doing today but we're not doing today you know like it was so

“fun it was so fun I think we were all celebrating that you were able to to be there and on behalf”

of our sisters too representing our sisters right there and just remembering that put and then Pope Leo's eyes also that was right so sister my Margaret her great uncle was the vocation director that brought um Pope Leo into the Augustinians and so she literally made a sign that said Dudley day O.S.A. is my uncle and she's like when we're holding it up you know and you could say it was so funny to see other people see it because they were like like smiling at us and they're like

what but hopefully I'll saw that but Pope Leo saw it and he was like thumbs up yeah he was like shops and then he wanted to know which one of us it was really it's her and then he just like totally like thumbs up you know like he was you know like he was yeah it was really watched the footage okay and yeah put it on slow motion yeah yeah no it's really so you could take it and it felt like it took forever

I took like one second you don't even know but it just felt like we had this extended interaction

with the Pope you know um so it was like that everything else and the Pope saw us so yeah it was wow yeah I get from Saint François he was are you ready for speed rounds this is gonna be our wrap-up here sister okay all right okay what is your favorite liturgical season and why Christmas best music do you have a hobby yeah what hobbies are my hobby I have so many hobbies what is your favorite game at the moment oh I love collaborative games we have one at the

mother house called Eto I think that's the rank things in order and it's was it involves a lot of conversation and um colorful cards nice yeah what is a book that you would recommend besides the Bible

first spiritual reading yeah one of my go-to recommendations is he lead it to me by father

“Walter Chizic just when you think your life is hard you're like not in the Gulag you know what I mean”

so yeah titles of our lady what's your favorite and why uh Mary cause of our joy just cuz it's awesome what age group do you most enjoy teaching and why gosh I have taught them all but college kids if you could have dinner with a saint who would it be and what would you ask them um probably for sottie and just um I don't know that I'd ask him anything a particular but we would just like hang out you know name an activity that brings you peace and refreshes your

spirit oh this is gonna sound weird but teaching I love teaching and I'm so happy while teaching

grading papers not so much but teaching yes is amazing so sir thank you so much for having

so much your love of saint for sottie really comes through when you're talking about him so thank you for coming and we want to encourage our listeners thank you for being with us and please feel free to pass along this podcast if you know a family member or a friend who might benefit from knowing saint for sottie more and hearing his story please pass it along and know that our Dominican listeners are praying for you and we pray for God to bless you and all of your loved ones have a great day