Transition of Hosting Duties and Gratitude for Free Resources on NewChurches.com

Speaker 2
The
Speaker 3
wife and I both. Now, my wife is taking the confirmation named Saint of Edith Stein.
Speaker 2
Okay. Teresa Benedicta? Yes.
Speaker 3
I think she's taking Teresa Benedicta. You could probably do either.
Speaker 2
Well,
Speaker 3
yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Yeah,
Speaker 2
I think she is Saint Edith Stein, but her, of course, religious name is Teresa Benedicta, but she could probably do either. Right.
Speaker 3
Well, mine is going to be after St. Stephen.
Speaker 1
Yeah.
Speaker 3
Now, there is a ton of stuff out there about Edith Stein, but there's hardly anything that I've been able to find about St. Stephen, and I didn't know if maybe you guys have a suggestion on where I can look, what books to get, stuff like that.
Speaker 1
Yeah, unfortunately, John, I don't know of any books specifically on St. Stephen. I don't even know if we have the relevant information to know about him than what we have in Acts chapter 7 in the New Testament, where St. Luke describes his martyrdom. Cy, do you have any info or more knowledge on this? I cannot think of a book on St. Steve. In part,
Speaker 2
I think it's because we have his beautiful witness unto death, but we don't really know that much else about him. That's right, that's right. So John, I would just recommend... I mean, other than what, he was related
Speaker 3
to Paul, correct? Well, I don't know. St.
Speaker 1
Stephen being related to Paul? Are you talking about St. Stephen, the first deacon who was martyred in Acts chapter 7? Correct. Correct. Yeah, with regard to his relation to Paul, that's slipping my mind. I'm not aware of that. But all I can recommend, John, unfortunately, would just be to meditate upon his martyrdom there in Acts chapter 7. But he's definitely a good saint to choose for your confirmation because of his witness to our Lord in and through the red martyrdom and giving up his life, of course, that through his intercessory prayer, you can have those special graces in your confirmation to be that martyr for Christ, whether that simply be through the white martyrdom of being persecuted for Christ or, God forbid, through blood martyrdom or whatever. But the point being is that through his intercessory prayer and establishing that deep, intimate friendship with him, he's going to be able to intercede for those graces to be communicated
Speaker 2
to you. So it's a great choice. But I'm sorry I don't have more information for you on that. There is an association with St. Paul, and I think that's what you were getting at, Carlo. Yeah, I think he's
Speaker 3
a cousin. Oh,
Speaker 2
well, I was just thinking of that St. Paul was there when he was killed, but I just mean they're associated in that way. I don't know about a familial relationship. I've never heard that. St. Paul was overseeing that martyrdom there.
Speaker 3
Hmm. Oh, yeah, I'll have to see if I can dig in more to it. But I need to ask Carlo Bruchard a real quick question.
Speaker 2
Okay. What does
Speaker 3
the Bible mean when it says to be a, I guess, a good follower of Christ, that one has to have control over their tongue? You know, what is the Bible actually saying, that if you don't have control over your tongue, you can't be a true follower of Christ? Well,
Speaker 1
I think the short answer to that latter question there, my friend, would be yes. And the reason is, is because as our Lord teaches us, it's not what goes into the mouth or the body that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth. So our words are expressing concepts and things that are flowing forth from our heart and our mind. And so if we're spouting out words that have attached to them within our universe of discourse, within our language, meanings that are of defilement, like bad stuff and immoral stuff or inappropriate meanings, then that's an indication that that's coming from our heart. And if bad stuff and immorality and impure stuff is coming from my heart, well, then that would indicate that my heart is impure and that I need to repent. And so we are called to exercise by using our free will control over our speech in order that what we say is holy and good and beautiful, and thereby expressing what's in the heart, hopefully, that which is holy, good, and beautiful. And so we definitely need to be aware and cognizant of the use of our tongue and what we say. And, you know, Scripture has several passages where it speaks about the power of the tongue. I'm thinking of Proverbs 18.21 is one example. I think James has some teaching on the tongue and the use of the tongue.

The Past and Future of Church Planting

New Churches Podcast

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

Helpful Resources:

Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts