Advent Joy

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to Faith Break Finding God moments in your everyday. Each week on Faith Break, hosts Karen Luke and Ann Gallagher bring spiritual refreshment to your daily Life. Today is December 15, 2024, the third Sunday in Advent. Karen and Anne explore Advent's third weekly theme. Joy. [00:00:28] Speaker B: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to our weekly podcast. We are an Advent and we are taking a faith break together today. I'm Ann Gallagher. [00:00:38] Speaker C: And I'm Karen Luke. [00:00:40] Speaker B: And we are ministers together. We are moms, wives, friends. We are friends. And we are here to help you find God in your normal everyday life. [00:00:50] Speaker C: Yes. [00:00:51] Speaker B: So, Karen, do you have a God moment for this lovely day? [00:00:54] Speaker C: Yes, my God moment. So the third week of Advent is joy. [00:00:59] Speaker B: Yes. We're in Joy week. [00:01:00] Speaker C: We're in Joy week. And I have had so much joy in my little God moments with our reconciliation kids. Oh, yay, the littles on our zoom. So for those that don't know, we zoom our chapter classes and I feel like the Brady Bunch because everyone has their own little box. And we were talking about forgiveness. Well, obviously reconciliation and forgiveness, but we were talking about how, how we need to say I'm sorry and I forgive you. Like that whole reciprocation, right? And this one little girl raises her hand and she goes, what if we forget to forgive? What if it's too hard to forgive? And I'm like, wow, wow, is that not a God moment? Because. [00:01:52] Speaker B: Sometimes it is hard to forgive sometimes. [00:01:54] Speaker C: Right. And I had to be honest with them and I'm like, it's not always easy, but like just the God moment of their, their questions. [00:02:02] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:02] Speaker C: And they, you know, you want to know the meaning of life? Ask a seven year old, right? Because they have like, they have all the answers. [00:02:11] Speaker B: I love it. [00:02:12] Speaker C: So that's my God moment is just being, being present with them on their journey and their little questions. And sometimes I don't even, I can't even answer them. Right? I don't even know the answer. [00:02:23] Speaker B: Oh, I love it. [00:02:24] Speaker C: So what was your God moment for? [00:02:27] Speaker B: So this week, my God moment is about my oldest kid, Liam. [00:02:33] Speaker C: Love Liam. [00:02:34] Speaker B: Liam. So we spent the weekend. Liam's big into robotics and so there was like an off season event that was happening and Liam has a new school and a new team this year. So he's been going through lots of changes. [00:02:48] Speaker C: And did he get to do what I think he got to do? [00:02:51] Speaker B: Yes, he did drive the robot, but it's not about that. He did a great job driving the robot, but it was a joy for me to see him have so Much joy. And be so comfortable with his new team and in this new environment. And it's just. First Robotics is a great, welcoming, awesome, inclusive space for all adolescents. In my experience, it's just been an amazing organization to get to see how they work. But just to see him on his new team and it was just great. It was just great to see when you have a kid who's been struggling and then you see them just, like, kind of start to come into their own. Yeah. So that was just. As a mom, it was just, like, so great to see that. [00:03:38] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:03:39] Speaker B: And he'll be really mad that I talked about him on the podcast, but. [00:03:44] Speaker C: He doesn't watch it, so. [00:03:46] Speaker B: No, he doesn't. He doesn't. [00:03:47] Speaker C: Whoever knows him, don't tell him. [00:03:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So Liam and his new team are my God moment this year. [00:03:51] Speaker C: I love that. Oh, my gosh. [00:03:53] Speaker B: All right, let's talk about Joy. [00:03:54] Speaker C: Okay. Joy. [00:03:56] Speaker B: Joy. Well, last week you said you were gonna explain why the pink candle. [00:03:59] Speaker C: Oh, yes. [00:04:00] Speaker B: So why don't we start with why the pink candle? [00:04:01] Speaker C: Perfect. Okay. [00:04:02] Speaker B: We should have had an Advent wreath, but we didn't. [00:04:04] Speaker C: We failed. That's okay. Hey, it's a mom adulting moment. That. Whatever. So the pink candle, the reason why we celebrate Joy on the third Sunday is because it's the anticipation. And, like, we're almost there. We're almost ready for the birth of Christ. So that's why we have the pink candle. The other, our purple. Because this is a different Sunday. This. This is like our. Okay, we're almost there. We're ready. [00:04:35] Speaker B: This is going to be. I think I read an article recently about, like, anticipatory Joy, and it was about, like, sometimes it's more fun to, like, plan your vacation than to go on your vacation. I mean, it's still fun to go on your vacation, but that, like, a large amount of the pleasure we get from some of these, like, awesome things that happen. Like, you get it as you're waiting for it to happen or as you're preparing for it to happen. [00:04:57] Speaker C: Yeah. So as a church, we're supposed to be in this anticipation of joy, but as adults, in December, In December, we're losing our minds. I don't think we. I don't think we embrace that joy enough. I mean, I don't. [00:05:13] Speaker B: I know, right? [00:05:13] Speaker C: I don't. And I don't see it in the stores. [00:05:18] Speaker B: This is one of those times where it is awesome to work with young people in the church, though, because. Or just, like, I mean, for us working in the church, like, you just shared about the first reconciliation kids. And when I was thinking about our topic for today in joy and like, well, where have I felt joy? I mean, being in youth ministry, there are so many joyful moments. And like, definitely one of the best things about our jobs that we get to spend time with teenagers and all of their energy now sometimes it's a lot and, you know, up and down and all over the place, but, like, their capacity for joy is just huge. And I was thinking back to like last year, a year ago or so, when we got to go to the National Youth Conference. [00:05:58] Speaker C: I can't believe that's already been a year. [00:05:59] Speaker B: I know. It's time to gear up for the next one, too. [00:06:02] Speaker C: It's time. Yeah, I'm excited. [00:06:03] Speaker B: But just the experience of being in a stadium and like in a football stadium with thousands and thousands of teenagers who are rejoicing in prayer and like dancing and singing and laughing and I mean, it's just the best feeling ever. So I'm super grateful that I get to spend time with them. And even like that 10 hour bus ride was joyful. Remember, I like the kids in the middle of the night. Yes, it was. [00:06:33] Speaker C: Okay, well, it was probably more joyful for you because you were sitting with all of our people. I was. [00:06:39] Speaker B: Oh, that's right. [00:06:40] Speaker C: Myself. [00:06:41] Speaker B: You had Will with you for some. [00:06:42] Speaker C: Of it, and that was on the drive home. [00:06:43] Speaker B: Oh, okay. [00:06:44] Speaker C: So, yeah, the drive home was more of a joyful experience, but. [00:06:47] Speaker B: Gotcha. [00:06:49] Speaker C: Yeah. So we want to make that distinction in the third Sunday of Advent because it's not about. It's a joyful, you know, experience. And a lot of time we take into thinking and prayerful about what it means, and then this way we're like. It just twitches that. Okay, we're only a week away. And this year I'm so excited because the fourth Sunday of Advent is actually the fourth Sunday of Advent and not also Christmas Eve. [00:07:20] Speaker B: That was crazy last year. That's terrible when that happened. [00:07:24] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah, we have a nice long Christmas break. [00:07:26] Speaker C: Yeah. Not only that, but like, we as ministers, we can actually enjoy joy. The time frame and it's not so rushed. [00:07:39] Speaker B: Yeah, it'll be good. [00:07:40] Speaker C: But. So when I was looking up all this stuff for today, you found all. [00:07:44] Speaker B: Of our joy passages? [00:07:46] Speaker C: I found. Well, not all of them, because there is a total of around 430 times that the word joy, rejoice or joyful appears in the Bible. [00:08:00] Speaker B: Awesome. [00:08:01] Speaker C: I mean, that's super cool. You know, and sometimes we think the Bible is like, all this doom and gloom. But like, 436, 30ish times where this is the distinction. Now, this is interesting too. The word happy or happiness, which is different from joy, those words only appear about 10 times. So the idea, like, as I was doing research and stuff, but, like, joy is lasting over a period of time. Happiness is in the moment, like in the present. [00:08:35] Speaker B: More superficial, more passing. [00:08:37] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:08:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:37] Speaker C: So I was like, oh, that's kind of neat. [00:08:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I love it. And I was noticing in a lot of those scripture passages that you shared as we were preparing for today, and also with the. Some of the Mass readings for the third Sunday of Advent are actually relevant to joy. But, like, the joy is happening because God is present or because God is present, there's joy. Right. Like, so it's not just joy because something went well. It's joy because. Or, like, I'm in a good mood. It's joy because God is in it. And so it has to do with presence. And in Advent, of course, we are rejoicing because God is becoming present to us. God is being born into our world and into our hearts. And yeah, the. The psalm for this Sunday is, cry out with joy and gladness, for among you is the great and holy One of Israel. Right. We have joy because God is with us. [00:09:50] Speaker C: I like the idea of that lasting joy because happiness. I'm happy today, but who knows what tomorrow is going to be? But we are called to be joyful people, so we can always find those moments of joy. Even if there is moments of sorrow or moments of desolation, we anticipate that we'll always be there because of the presence of Jesus. [00:10:21] Speaker B: I like how at the beginning of Mass, Father Rob always asks the community for their joys. Like, what are the joys we're celebrating? He's got such a nice way of bringing the people together and. Yeah, like, sharing. Sharing that joy because God is with us in all these ways. [00:10:40] Speaker C: Can I give a little side note? [00:10:42] Speaker B: Sure. [00:10:42] Speaker C: Okay. So Father Mike doesn't do that. [00:10:45] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:46] Speaker C: And whenever it's my birthday weekend, it's always Father Mike. [00:10:50] Speaker B: Oh, you didn't get to share your birthday? [00:10:54] Speaker C: Oh, so it's so funny. It's like, I. I always, like. Because the kids know. The kids know when it's my birthday, and they're super sweet about it. And then, like, they're always like, oh, I'm gonna see it at Mass. I'm gonna see it. And then it's Father Mike, and they don't get to see it. [00:11:07] Speaker B: We can do it this Weekend. [00:11:08] Speaker C: No, it's okay. My birthday's passed. It's fine. [00:11:10] Speaker B: No, still your birthday month. [00:11:13] Speaker C: No, actually, it won't be. [00:11:13] Speaker B: It won't be your birthday month anymore. [00:11:15] Speaker C: My birthday month ends on Thursday. [00:11:18] Speaker B: Well, speaking of Father Mike, though, I got a shout out for him, too, though, because I was noticing we had a hard funeral recently. Another hard funeral. We've had a lot of them this year. But he's so good at. He's good at funerals. Rob is good at funerals, too. But Mike always makes a point of saying that the tears are a grace. And then he says, and the laughter is a grace. So as you're remembering your loved one who has passed, you know, enjoy the tears and enjoy the laughter and sometimes at the same time, because they both carry all this spiritual energy and all this. Yeah, it's just a release. Right. And, like, God's in all of that. [00:12:06] Speaker C: It's in all of it. [00:12:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:07] Speaker C: It's messy, but it's. [00:12:09] Speaker B: So they both do their own thing in their own way. Oh, absolutely. [00:12:12] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:12:14] Speaker B: Joy. [00:12:15] Speaker C: I love it. All right, so I'm just wondering. We talked about our joyful moments in ministry. [00:12:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:23] Speaker C: Okay. Do you have a joyful memory? [00:12:27] Speaker B: I do. I have one that came right to my head. It was so cute. This is a family one. It's about a family trip we recently took. So I have a cousin who lives in town who I'm really close with, and she has a boy about Liam's age and a girl about Bridget's age. And then she's got a third little guy, J.P. and it's so fun because, you know, the older kids are teenagers now, but JP Is still a kid, and so he always brings this, like, great joyful energy. But we did a combined trip to Disney in February of last year. God bless you. Talk about, like, having joy in the planning of your vacation. We did. It was fun, but we had this. Yeah. And it was, like, just a crazy week. It was so good. We made all kinds of memories. But there was one night when at Disney's Crazy now, you make, like, reservations for the rides, and you have to. [00:13:20] Speaker C: I don't even want to think about. [00:13:22] Speaker B: There's a whole thing like winning. We were deep into the detail planning of it, and we had. We had to get from one side of the park to the other side of the park to get a ride reservation for, like, the great big roller coaster at the end of the night. But we had to go through the parade that was happening and the fireworks that were happening, and we had to like, run. Book it. We had to book it. And it was through a huge crowd. And somehow earlier in the day, John, who's my cousin's husband, had let JP buy a sword at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. And as we were running through the parade trying to get to the rollercoaster, and he had taken the sword away, because when you buy a kid a sword, you immediately have to take it away because they're hitting each other, hitting each other with it. But we need to get through the crowd. And the pirates music comes on as part of the parade. And John looks at JP and he's like, it's time, Sun. And he gives him the sword. And JP just swashbuckled his way through the crowd, and he cleared a path and we just ran behind him. And I was laughing harder than I have ever laughed. It was just the funniest thing. And it was so just like the time. You couldn't have planned this. It just, like, happened. And this little kid was just, like, pirating his way through Disney and we were all along for the ride, and it was just pure, pure joy. Pure joy. [00:14:53] Speaker C: I think those moments where it's unscripted, those are the most joyous. [00:14:58] Speaker B: Yeah. How about you? Do you have one? [00:15:01] Speaker C: Oh, I mean, I have a lot of moments, but I think so. When I was growing up, it was very like, my grandparents house on Christmas Eve, and then my other grandparents on Christmas Day. And it was always like, I was a very. I'm a tradition. I love my traditions. [00:15:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:15:22] Speaker C: And the first year that my brother and sister got married, the same year, not to each other, to different people, but. And I asked them, I was like, look, can we just have one more Christmas morning? Because I was still living at home. They're 10 and 11 years old, 10 and nine years older than me, so I'm still living at home. And I was like, can we just have one more? One more Christmas morning? Aw. And that's all like. And they both agreed. So their spouses slept over, and we all woke up Christmas morning together. [00:15:58] Speaker B: We did matching PJs. [00:15:59] Speaker C: We did not do matching PJs. I don't think my brother would allow that. But it was just like, when I think back at it, that was just such a joyous time because they were willing to do that for me. And we had that whole day. But then those other joyful moments when they started having kids and I got to be the aunt that spoiled them. And then when my kids came along, and now we're all, unfortunately, we don't get together for Christmas morning anymore. But the cool part is that our tradition changed, so now you have your own. So now we have, like, one full day. We're not, like, running around at different places. But, like you were talking about, just laughing is hard and all of that. Whenever my brother and sister and I and my parents are together, just. There's nobody else in this world. Right. [00:16:52] Speaker B: That you can laugh with like you have them. [00:16:54] Speaker C: It just is. It brings tears to my eyes, the amount of laughter that we have. So I just. I cherish those joyful moments. Cause as stressed out as it is trying to coordinate when we get together. [00:17:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:10] Speaker C: That's always, like, the present in the moment. Joyfulness of being together is really fun. [00:17:17] Speaker B: And we're so close to Christmas now. [00:17:19] Speaker C: I know. [00:17:19] Speaker B: Coming up. [00:17:20] Speaker C: Yay. [00:17:23] Speaker B: I noticed something in some of these readings, and I brought a little something for show and tell today. This is. This is a gift that my sister gave me. She gives the best gifts. My sister's a really good gift giver, and she gave me this one Christmas. And it is. Well, hold on. I'll get to that. I'm going to back up into it. Because what I was noticing about the readings is that, remember last week we were talking about, like, peace being. Like peace guarding your hearts and being almost like armor in a lot of these passages about joy. The first reading from Mass this week is from Zephaniah, and it says, fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged. The Lord your God is in your midst. And then I was looking at some of the other passages you shared, and it feels like discouragement is presented a lot of the time as like, sort of the opposite of joy or the shadow. Like, joy overcomes our discouragement. [00:18:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:18:25] Speaker B: And I think, just thinking about my own spiritual struggles, that I think discouragement might be, like, my biggest shadow. Like, that's the area where you get. [00:18:37] Speaker C: Discouraged quite a bit. [00:18:38] Speaker B: Yeah, but I don't show it to people. I show it to you, and probably to Brian, but not a lot. Like, I think I project a lot of joy, but, like, on the inside, I feel discouragement a lot. And I just was really thinking about this, like, how joy can heal our discouragement or, like, when we are feeling discouraged, when we find the joy, we won't be discouraged anymore. Like, that's what brings us out of it. And so what my sister gave me that I love so much. This is a quote from Narnia. And so this is. If you've read the Chronicles of Narnia, you know, it's like an allegory for the Christian story, kids books. And the Jesus figure is a lion named Aslan. And when there's. In the first book, Aslan goes through the whole Christ story, the whole Paschal mystery, right? And so he dies and he's resurrected. And one of the things he says to Lucy, who's the little girl who is been faithful and there with him through his death and resurrection, he says, courage, dear heart. And this is what my sister gave me. And because I need to be told to have courage a lot. And when things get hard. And so this picture hangs, you know, in the morning, I like to do my. I have my God time and my workout time. [00:20:03] Speaker C: I'm so good at that. [00:20:04] Speaker B: And. But so this Aslan, like, here's my elliptical machine and here's my Aslan picture. It's, like, directly in front of me. Every morning I look at this picture and I think it's because I always need to be reminded to take heart, right? And the scene after he's died and comes back to life, the joy that the girls have with Aslan, like, he's like, get on my back. And so the girls get on his back and he just runs. [00:20:29] Speaker C: Runs? [00:20:30] Speaker B: Yeah, he runs. And it's all that, like, the joy that God wants to share with us. Like, take courage, climb on my back. We're going for a ride. So that was, I don't know, kind of a roundabout way of sharing my reminder to be joyful that I give myself every day so that I don't get discouraged when things seem impossible. [00:20:52] Speaker C: You know, what's. What's good about that is, like, we're not going to ever not be discouraged or sad. [00:21:00] Speaker B: Yeah, it's always. [00:21:01] Speaker C: But we like the whole point of God moments. Right. Or Jeff, who's on the back end of this, just told us that somebody he knows, one of the nuns he works with, calls them godwinks. How cool is that? No matter what we're doing or feeling, God is always present, and we just have to have our eyes and ears open to that. Oh, I love that. And there's different. There's different types of joy, you know, like happiness. There's one happiness. You're just happy. Like, there's different kinds of joy. I'm just gonna go through a little, like, a little bit of it because I think it's really interesting because sometimes we think of different words meaning completely different things, whereas they can be and. Or instead of totally separate. [00:21:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:54] Speaker C: So we have the joy of excitement, a feeling of being unable to contain one's joy. So think of, like, that's the NCYC moment. That's like when you're a little kid coming down from Christmas and you just see everything there. And we get, like, you know, go to my favorite place, ncyc, and things like that. Pleasure. An enjoyable experience that feels good in the contrast to pain and suffering. So, like, those moments of joy that we have, that pleasure of knowing that we have our family and things like that. Contentment, which I think you're really good at. Contentment. [00:22:38] Speaker B: Me? [00:22:38] Speaker C: Yes. [00:22:39] Speaker B: Why? [00:22:39] Speaker C: Because you make time for it. [00:22:41] Speaker B: Okay. Like, you're really good at just, like, not much time. [00:22:46] Speaker C: I know, but it's more than me. Right? So contentment is finding joy in what you already have and being satisfied with your possessions, status, and situation. You know, you're not looking for that. Grass is greener on the other side. Gratitude. Now, I would have. I wouldn't have thought gratitude was similar with joy. [00:23:07] Speaker B: Yeah, but it is, though. [00:23:09] Speaker C: But it is. And it's a positive emotion that comes from recognizing that you have benefited or been a recipient of wonderful intentions. [00:23:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think if you are remembering to be grateful, you're going to be more joyful. [00:23:26] Speaker C: Right. [00:23:27] Speaker B: Because it's that whole, like, you know, we have, like, that negativity bias. Like we focus on what's wrong, but when you train your brain to focus on what's good or what you have to be thankful for, it changes your whole mindset. [00:23:39] Speaker C: What is it like, for every five. Like, five, one positive for every five negatives or something like that? Like, it's weird. [00:23:48] Speaker B: I don't know, but it's. Right. [00:23:50] Speaker C: It's something like that. Like, you need. You need, like, five. No, I think you need five positive encouragements to weigh one negative. I think that's what I meant to say. [00:24:00] Speaker B: That feels true. [00:24:01] Speaker C: Right? [00:24:01] Speaker B: Mm. Okay, Then we need to have even more joys. [00:24:05] Speaker C: You have to have more joys, and it's hard, especially in this time of our society. [00:24:10] Speaker B: I gotcha. [00:24:11] Speaker C: Bliss. An intense feeling of joy where everything feels possible and you feel light as air. Have you ever felt blissful? [00:24:19] Speaker B: Yeah, at ncyc? Yeah, I'm a little hung up on it because you only get to do that once every two years. [00:24:26] Speaker C: Elation. An extreme, exhilarating joy that can feel like rising or expanding and may even cause lightheadedness. I felt that when I gave birth to my kids, but I think I was really feeling like I was gonna pass out. No, it was like. I think I felt elation when it was done. [00:24:48] Speaker B: When I was holding them. I know, right? [00:24:50] Speaker C: It was like, oh, my gosh. You were just in here, and now you're here and you're a person. Like, that's weird. [00:24:57] Speaker B: And guess what? God did that. [00:24:59] Speaker C: I know. [00:24:59] Speaker B: In Jesus. [00:25:00] Speaker C: It's so real. [00:25:01] Speaker B: Isn't that crazy? Do you ever just stop and be like, I do. What the heck was he thinking? [00:25:06] Speaker C: And, like, I know. [00:25:07] Speaker B: He became a person. [00:25:08] Speaker C: I think I'm gonna be even more elated. [00:25:10] Speaker B: Okay. [00:25:11] Speaker C: In January when my nephew and his wife have their baby and I'm going to be a great aunt. [00:25:19] Speaker B: What? I know. You're too young to be a great aunt. [00:25:22] Speaker C: I'm gonna be the greatest nonsense. Okay. Two more optimism, A form of joy that can be influenced on how you look at the world, which we don't. [00:25:32] Speaker B: Want to be optimistic. [00:25:35] Speaker C: And then gladness, just the overall experience of joy and pleasure. [00:25:41] Speaker B: And I. You know, like, different flavors of joy. A flavor for every occasion. [00:25:45] Speaker C: So, like, if we don't think that we are joyful people, you have, obviously, one of these seven. You have to feel hopefully at least once in your day. [00:25:55] Speaker B: So even if it's just contentment, that's joy. It counts. [00:25:59] Speaker C: It does go. [00:26:00] Speaker B: Right. [00:26:02] Speaker C: So I just share that because, I mean, we talk about. Mm. We think about a word as being only one thing. [00:26:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:11] Speaker C: And it could be much more, like. [00:26:14] Speaker B: Lots of different angles. [00:26:15] Speaker C: Right. [00:26:15] Speaker B: To get it the same. [00:26:16] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:26:17] Speaker B: Same virtue of joy. Right. [00:26:19] Speaker C: Because joy. [00:26:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:20] Speaker C: Joy is a virtue. [00:26:20] Speaker B: It's also something you practice. [00:26:21] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:26:23] Speaker B: Something that you just get. [00:26:25] Speaker C: Try to find some time that you are blissful and elated or just glad. [00:26:31] Speaker B: A little glad. That's fine. I feel glad today. [00:26:36] Speaker C: I feel contempt. Or. No, don't. No, I don't feel contempt. I feel content. [00:26:41] Speaker B: See? [00:26:41] Speaker C: There you go. [00:26:42] Speaker B: All right. Okay. I think that's. We've talked a lot about joy, but we gotta give a shout out. [00:26:47] Speaker C: I was gonna say our joyful shout out. [00:26:49] Speaker B: All right. Who are we grateful for this week? You do it. [00:26:52] Speaker C: Okay. I am grateful, elated, blissful, Everything for Pat Geyshock. [00:27:01] Speaker B: Yay, Pat. Pat is seriously one of the most joyful people I think I've ever met. She radiates. [00:27:09] Speaker C: She does radiate it. Like, I think she oozes just this awesomeness. [00:27:13] Speaker B: So Pat is a volunteer and, like, helps us out a lot with so many things around the parish. But one of the things she does so well is she welcomes all of our littles as they are coming into their religious ed classes on Sunday mornings. Yeah. [00:27:28] Speaker C: And she's like, my right hand. Brain. [00:27:30] Speaker B: Yep. [00:27:30] Speaker C: I don't wanna say right hand. Like, man, like, she's my brain. She reminds me of everything. And interesting story is she was my religious head teacher when I was in middle school and that was just last year. [00:27:43] Speaker B: Right. You look great. [00:27:46] Speaker C: So I wanna give a shout out to Pat because she is just so joyful. And I see her, no matter how I'm feeling, I just, I feel relaxed. [00:27:55] Speaker B: So. Yep. We love you, Pat. Love you for bringing the joy. [00:27:58] Speaker C: All right. [00:27:59] Speaker B: All right. I think that's it for the week. [00:28:00] Speaker C: Thanks, everybody. We will see you back for the Advent love. [00:28:06] Speaker B: That'll be our. [00:28:06] Speaker C: We'll wrap up Advent next week, final week of Advent. [00:28:10] Speaker B: All right. So find your joy this week, everybody. [00:28:12] Speaker C: Bye. [00:28:13] Speaker B: See you soon. [00:28:15] Speaker A: Thanks for taking a faith break with us today. Karen Luke and Anne Gallagher are lay ministers with the parishes of St. Catherine of Siena in Menden, New York, and Church of the Transfiguration in Pittsford, New York. More about our parishes, including weekly livestreamed Sunday Mass, can be [email protected] or transfigurationpitsford.org Engineering Today is by Jeff Beckett. Catch new episodes each week on your favorite podcast or music app.