Episode 54: The Best Version of Yourself (Is Jesus Living In You)

Welcome back to the St.

Louis Parish Podcast.

I'm Andrew Lane, and today I'm joined by our pastor, Father Keith O'Hare.

Father, good to see you again.

You too, Andrew.

So, recent development.

We got two new beautiful paintings installed and blessed by Bishop Burbage.

How does it feel to have the church adorned with such beauty?

It's such a gift.

The seminary that Father Luke and I both attended, Father Mulaney as well, in Philadelphia, was like a museum.

You were living in a museum and amazing works of art were everywhere you walked.

So so blessed that that seminary made available some of the artwork because they're transferring to another campus.

And as the Arlington Herald talked about it, from France via Philadelphia to Alexandria.

Yeah.

So one painting, um, the Good Samaritan, painted in the early 1900s, and the other one of St.

Louis, King of France, was painted in the early 1800s.

Just gorgeous works of art.

Yeah, it's so meaningful for me, especially, since that's where I prayed for five years being in the seminary.

Right.

And that's why Bishop came down, right?

Kind of the seminary holds such a special place in his heart because he was rector there for a number of years.

Yeah, yeah.

It it means so much to be um a seminarian who studied there, but even more for him who was the rector, and I think sixteen years of his life he lived in that seminary, either either as a seminarian or as a professor or rector.

Yeah, that's a big deal.

So why those two paintings, Father, specifically?

I mean, I understand why St.

Louis, given the parish uh namesake.

Yeah.

But what were you thinking?

I want these two specifically.

Honestly, I wasn't thinking.

I just acquired them at the amazingly discounted price they were made available.

It was by God's providence that they actually pair beautifully.

St.

Louis kneeling in prayer, the vertical element of Christian life, the Good Samaritan um parable depicted there, the horizontal, the love of neighbor element of our life.

So vertical, horizontal, and they pair perfectly, their size perfectly.

So it was really very providential that when you're in the church, on the one side to your left, the life of prayer, on the other side to your right, the life of charity, the love, the love of neighbor.

And that's pretty much the whole gospel, right?

So here at St.

Louis, we know that life is all about vertical union, horizontal union.

That's like the slogan here.

And you can see that slogan if you just look either side of the altar at those two beautiful French paintings.

Yeah.

You have another slogan that you say a lot.

Um, the best version of yourself.

Yeah.

But you adapt the meaning because you can hear it in different circles.

Sure.

So, what do you what do you mean by the best version of yourself?

Yeah, it's a great question.

So, first of all, it's just such an encouraging phrase.

Like we all want to be optimistic about life, right?

So, just best version as opposed to the second best or the mediocre version.

Who wants to be that, right?

So the best version of ourself, I take it from Galatians 2.20, it is no longer I who live, it is Christ who lives in me.

So we're all sinners, we're all broken, we're all, you know, a work in progress.

But the more and more that Jesus is living in me through prayer, through sacraments, through going to church, through being at the church and all the good things that happen there, through reading scripture, reading spiritual books, whatever spiritual things move our engine, more and more there's a Jesus emerging in my heart and soul.

And whether people realize it or not, that's the best version of you, that more religiously practicing version of you, to say it that way, right?

Um, the things we do in our religious life as Catholics are meant to create that reality from within.

Like I become a more forgiving person because I went to confession.

I become a more patient person because I went to confession.

I become a more thoughtful person because I'm listening to the word of God when I go to mass, right?

So it just kind of molds and shapes us gradually, the living of the Christian life, so that that best version of you emerges more and more.

Jesus living in you, that is the best version of you.

And who that reminds me, I forget who said it.

I think hopefully you can help me.

The glory of God is man fully alive.

Yep, Saint Irenaeus.

Irenaeus.

Very good, yeah.

Yeah, the glory of God, the greatest thing of God is actually him living in you.

Right.

You being fully alive.

Jesus said I came that they might have life and have it to the full, not that they might just follow rules and obey.

No.

No.

There can be a caricature of religion that makes it look just kind of like rules and you know, um restriction to say it that way.

Actually, no.

Life, live to the full, is what Jesus makes possible.

Yeah.

Now you talked about living out the Christian life.

Uh makes you the best version of yourself.

We talked about vertical, horizontal union.

So obviously, yes, coming to mass, receiving sacraments, but also the horizontal part.

Yeah.

So you have to enjoy or be enjoy fellowship, partake in fellowship with your neighbor.

And I think we offer both here at St.

Louis.

We have the gig coming up on Friday, April 10th.

Can you tell us a little bit about your vision for the gig, what it is, why we do it, etc.

Yeah.

I mean, think about people who love God but seem to not like people.

Not attractive.

Okay.

Wow, that person's so religious and he doesn't like people.

Um so you're supposed to do both.

Right.

So we do do both here, right?

So the love of God, beautiful, beautiful masses, liturgy, prayerfulness, adoration chapel, devotion, all great stuff.

But we also love people here, right?

Our website says love God, love people.

Very simple life, right?

So we love people in the cafe.

What a cool thing we have to hang out, just and credit to you, right?

Who run that place and make it great.

It's great coffee, great breakfast sandwiches, right?

So Monday through Friday and Sundays, we love people by just hanging out in a great cafe.

And then periodically, we have a basically a block party.

We enjoy being together, we enjoy being together, just hanging out like a neighborhood, right?

So, yeah, Friday, April 10th, from 5 p.m.

to 9 p.m.

We'll have Lewis the Magician, very cool guy in our neighborhood, great professional magician.

We'll have live music, noble soul, if you haven't heard of them.

And we'll have a dunk tank.

Father Luke is dunkable.

Okay, very dunkable.

I I've noticed that about him.

Um, and then lots of great food, right?

So the different parish groups, the uh Spanish prayer group, delicious pupusas, that's the longest line.

Knights of Columbus got their beer and hot dogs and hamburgers.

The Filipinos got some delicious, delicious food.

So just a great neighborhood block party.

You know, that's that's um part of what it means to live life to the full.

Yeah.

Fun for the whole family.

Yeah, fun for the whole parish.

Yeah.

Donations, give as you like, but it's it's a free event, you know.

Well, I'm looking forward to it.

Father, thank you for uh everything you do here.

Could you please close us out in prayer?

Sure.

Lord God, we give you thanks for your mercy, your goodness, your love, for the gift of faith.

We are the best version of ourselves.

The more that you are living in us, we give you thanks here at St.

Louis for all the ways you live in us.

May God bless you all, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.