Welcome to our new website!
June 26, 2024

The Everyday Apostle - Ep002 - Ignacio De Toro

The Everyday Apostle - Ep002 - Ignacio De Toro

What if maintaining your faith was as simple as a workout routine? This episode of the Everyday Apostle podcast promises to show you how. We sit down with Ignacio De Toro, a rising junior at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, who shares his journey of balancing academic excellence, athletic dedication, and a creative passion for making life better for children in hospitals. Ignacio's story, rooted in his Cuban heritage and enriched by his participation in wrestling and broadcast journalism, promises to inspire.

Throughout our conversation, Ignacio opens up about the challenges and rewards of keeping faith consistent in a school setting. He likens sporadic bursts of religious fervor to irregular gym workouts, stressing the importance of daily, manageable commitments for spiritual growth. The supportive environment at his Christian school has been instrumental, providing a fertile ground for integrating small acts of faith into his routine. Listen in as Ignacio shares practical advice on making faith an everyday affair, from group prayers before workouts to participating in family rosaries.

As we wrap up, we delve into the importance of nurturing faith through inquiry and consistency. Ignacio shares personal experiences of questioning and understanding religious beliefs, influenced by his mentors and family members, particularly his brother. Emphasizing small, consistent practices such as prayer and writing as forms of spiritual expression, Ignacio offers a heartfelt message for those on their own faith journeys. Join us for a motivational discussion that encourages you to stay connected to your community and take incremental steps towards nurturing your faith daily. Don't forget to like and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and visit us at everydayapostle.com. May you stay blessed and inspired!

Support the Show.

Chapters

00:01 - Faith and Fitness With Ignacio

13:24 - Strengthening Faith in Everyday Life

18:40 - Nurturing Faith Through Inquiry and Consistency

29:55 - Encouragement for Faithful Journeys

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:01.461 --> 00:00:07.573
Welcome to the Everyday Apostle, where ordinary lives meet extraordinary faith.

00:00:07.573 --> 00:00:17.734
Join our host, kendall Peterson, as we explore how everyday men and women bring the gospel to life wherever they live, work and play.

00:00:17.734 --> 00:00:20.528
Let's dive into it right now.

00:00:28.998 --> 00:00:29.219
Right now.

00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:33.884
Hello and welcome to episode two of the Everyday Apostle podcast.

00:00:33.884 --> 00:00:35.265
I'm your host, kendall Peterson.

00:00:35.265 --> 00:00:37.348
We've had a couple of week break.

00:00:37.348 --> 00:00:47.664
Obviously, you can tell by the way I'm entering into this that I'm out of practice, but it is an honor to be able to bring these stories of inspiration and faith to you.

00:00:47.664 --> 00:00:54.427
Guys had really really great feedback from everybody from the first episode we had, so I'm looking forward to getting into this one.

00:00:54.427 --> 00:01:01.667
A big thank you to everybody for the prayers, the messages, the support and especially the sponsors.

00:01:01.667 --> 00:01:05.953
This episode is sponsored by Ryan Young and especially the sponsors.

00:01:05.974 --> 00:01:17.459
This episode is sponsored by Ryan Young, founder of Camp Veritas, which runs five teen summer camps for middle and high schoolers two in New York, one in Ireland which is going on this week, one in Maryland and one in Florida.

00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:31.423
It is a wonderful way to get your kids engaged in their faith, get engaged with other teens and to bring faith and the socialization together.

00:01:31.423 --> 00:01:33.308
It's really an amazing program.

00:01:33.308 --> 00:01:35.632
I highly encourage you to look that up.

00:01:35.632 --> 00:01:39.509
Campveritasorg is how you can find them.

00:01:39.509 --> 00:01:54.212
I don't have any sponsors for the next couple of episodes, so if you are feeling it on your heart that you may want to support, either through donation or a true sponsorship, where I can give a shout-out to your business or whatever organization you have.

00:01:54.212 --> 00:02:00.862
Feel free to check us out everydayapostlecom and you can sign up there.

00:02:00.862 --> 00:02:05.272
You can make donations or you can actually inquire about sponsorships.

00:02:05.272 --> 00:02:06.762
Would love to have that.

00:02:07.403 --> 00:02:17.873
Today I have an incredible guest, somebody that I just met very recently I met on a mission trip, but somebody that has really impacted my heart.

00:02:17.873 --> 00:02:22.268
I was really impressed with this young man and the entire family.

00:02:22.268 --> 00:02:32.908
So today we have this inspiring young man with us who truly embodies the spirit of living in the faith in their everyday life.

00:02:32.908 --> 00:02:37.302
Please join me in welcoming Ignacio De Toro.

00:02:37.302 --> 00:02:55.204
Ignacio is a rising junior at Belen Jesuit Pre preparatory school in miami, florida, where he not only excels academically but also showcases his talents both on the wrestling team and as part of the broadcast journalism team at the school.

00:02:55.204 --> 00:02:59.432
When he's not at school, gnosio stays active by hitting the gym.

00:02:59.432 --> 00:03:01.644
Should have seen this guy work last week.

00:03:01.644 --> 00:03:10.110
It was pretty impressive and he exercises quite frequently, talks about exercise, talks about exercise routines and fitness and how to eat.

00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:12.627
He's really, really an incredible young man.

00:03:12.627 --> 00:03:14.806
He also has a creative side.

00:03:14.806 --> 00:03:24.943
He plays the drums and he indulges in his passion for writing, ignacio's dedication to his pursuits and his commitment to living a balanced.

00:03:24.943 --> 00:03:30.868
Ignacio's dedication to his pursuits and his commitment to living a balanced, fit and faith-filled life make him a fantastic role model for young people everywhere.

00:03:30.868 --> 00:03:35.334
I am thrilled to have him share his journey and his insights with us today.

00:03:35.334 --> 00:03:37.515
Please welcome, ignacio.

00:03:37.975 --> 00:03:38.877
Hi, how are you, kendall?

00:03:38.877 --> 00:03:41.622
Hi, ignacio, great to see you again.

00:03:41.622 --> 00:03:46.860
Thank you for joining me on the Everyday Apostle podcast to see you again.

00:03:46.860 --> 00:03:48.024
Thank you for joining me on the everyday apostle podcast.

00:03:48.024 --> 00:03:51.514
Everybody who joins me on the podcast gets a gift, so I'd like to give this gift to you.

00:03:51.514 --> 00:03:52.717
Uh, much.

00:03:52.717 --> 00:03:53.679
You can open it now.

00:03:53.679 --> 00:04:03.123
You don't have to open it now, totally up to you, like a little bit later, just a little, uh, just a little something to show my appreciation for you being here, um, so let's dive right into it.

00:04:03.123 --> 00:04:06.507
Um, for you being here, so let's dive right into it.

00:04:06.507 --> 00:04:08.008
In the intro, you have a passion for writing.

00:04:08.008 --> 00:04:11.131
I'd love to know a little bit more about that.

00:04:11.131 --> 00:04:12.551
What do you like to write?

00:04:12.551 --> 00:04:13.893
What style, what genre?

00:04:13.893 --> 00:04:15.914
How do you work that into your life?

00:04:16.375 --> 00:04:24.326
Well, I mean, since I was a little kid, I've always loved reading and I've been naturally really good at writing.

00:04:24.326 --> 00:04:27.833
In second grade I was writing multiple page stories and I've just always had a great knack for it.

00:04:27.833 --> 00:04:32.550
In Belen I've taken all the top level writing classes.

00:04:32.550 --> 00:04:36.607
I took AP Language last year and I definitely excelled in that class.

00:04:36.607 --> 00:04:49.966
And my friend Michael Vila he has this initiative at Belen animating others, where he'll make these animated videos for kids to see at hospitals, and I'm one of the writers on his team.

00:04:49.966 --> 00:04:55.752
So I try to use my skills for whatever good or whatever usefulness I can make out of it.

00:04:55.752 --> 00:05:03.334
And personally I like to write just for myself, to journal things or to write routines or schedules.

00:05:03.334 --> 00:05:06.904
So it's always definitely been a passion of mine oh, that's amazing.

00:05:07.064 --> 00:05:10.314
I would love to see some of that work when we get done here.

00:05:10.314 --> 00:05:16.021
I'd love to see some of that, and I'm sure the I'm sure the viewers and and listeners would love to see some of that as well.

00:05:16.021 --> 00:05:17.103
So we'll have to work that in.

00:05:17.103 --> 00:05:19.471
Um so nazio.

00:05:19.471 --> 00:05:20.213
Where did you grow up?

00:05:21.315 --> 00:05:24.764
uh, so both of my parents are cuban, but I was raised here in miami.

00:05:24.764 --> 00:05:35.983
Uh, for most of my life I've lived, uh, you know, locally in south miami here, um, you know, I I attended school at this little elementary school at little elementary.

00:05:35.983 --> 00:05:43.733
And then from there you know big difference I went to belen jesuit, which you know was a private, it was Christian.

00:05:43.733 --> 00:05:48.004
So it was definitely a big shift, but I was super blessed with Belen.

00:05:48.004 --> 00:06:00.505
I got great grades through all of middle school and then, um, in eighth grade, I joined the wrestling team, which was a big change for me because I was always a kind of a short, pudgy kid, I wasn't too athletic.

00:06:00.505 --> 00:06:04.512
And then, you know, I joined the wrestling team and I got, you know, crazy at it.

00:06:04.612 --> 00:06:07.223
I was, uh, I lost like 30 pounds in my first season.

00:06:07.223 --> 00:06:24.041
Uh, you know, I was wrestling on the varsity team and, um, you know, I continued that on to my to my ninth grade year and then, by 10th grade, I took for I took a break from wrestling just to they had me at, like some of the lower weight classes, so I wanted to bulk up.

00:06:24.041 --> 00:06:25.869
And then that's when I got my love for the gym.

00:06:25.869 --> 00:06:30.992
I started going six days a week, every week, for forever.

00:06:30.992 --> 00:06:37.653
When I went on this mission trip just last week, that was the longest time I'd spent away from the gym in over a year.

00:06:37.653 --> 00:06:43.750
So I've always loved fitness and I hope to go back to wrestling next year for sure.

00:06:43.771 --> 00:07:00.971
Wow, Well, well, between the picking and the shoveling and the hauling, cement, everything else that we did last week, then, yeah, I am sure that you got quite a workout, so so that's great, like honoring your body, you know, as a temple and very, very important.

00:07:00.971 --> 00:07:02.603
Especially, we view that in our faith.

00:07:02.603 --> 00:07:09.033
I I'm curious when it comes to faith in your school environment, or even in your home environment.

00:07:09.033 --> 00:07:10.156
What was that like?

00:07:10.156 --> 00:07:15.790
Is that something that has been there the whole time, or is that something that came later?

00:07:15.790 --> 00:07:16.872
What was that like?

00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:20.648
Well, both of my parents, they raised me as a Catholic.

00:07:20.648 --> 00:07:25.656
So, you know, I was born, I was baptized, I got my first sacraments and everything.

00:07:25.656 --> 00:07:28.423
But it was always kind of like you know, I was born, I was baptized, I got my first sacraments and everything, but it was always kind of like.

00:07:28.423 --> 00:07:41.531
You know, my parents are Christians, my family's Christian, so I'm a Christian and I think for the longest time I didn't really take my faith as a thing personal, but it was more of just a thing that was around me.

00:07:41.531 --> 00:07:42.173
So I did it.

00:07:42.173 --> 00:07:43.723
My parents went to church, so I went to church.

00:07:43.723 --> 00:07:44.423
So I went to church.

00:07:44.423 --> 00:07:55.661
My parents prayed, so I prayed, but I don't think I really thought about it that much until ninth grade year a new teacher came to belen, uh, brother hunter, and I was blessed with that teacher.

00:07:55.761 --> 00:08:07.600
He was, you know, uh, a radical religious man, in that, you know, he was obsessed with faith and he said it on one of the first days.

00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:17.966
He said, um, he put it like this if catholicism, if god, if christianity, if it isn't true, if it isn't real, then it doesn't really matter.

00:08:17.966 --> 00:08:28.826
You know, if you go to church, if you pray, it doesn't really make a difference, but if it is real and it is true, which the overwhelming evidence says that it is then it means everything.

00:08:28.826 --> 00:08:35.566
Every part of your life has to revolve around that and I, you know that stuck with me.

00:08:35.566 --> 00:08:42.066
I internalized that and it was like faith can't be a thing that you just do because everyone around you does it.

00:08:42.066 --> 00:08:46.214
It has to be a personal connection between you and God.

00:08:46.214 --> 00:08:49.128
It's not a casual thing.

00:08:49.128 --> 00:08:50.546
It has to be everything.

00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:56.105
So I started thinking, you know, I have to take my faith seriously, I have to start asking questions.

00:08:56.105 --> 00:08:58.447
I have to, you know, be more involved in that.

00:08:58.447 --> 00:09:01.168
And you know he got me asking questions too.

00:09:01.168 --> 00:09:05.741
He introduced the book of Job to me, which started with the problem of evil.

00:09:06.424 --> 00:09:15.952
And you know, for I think the first time in my life, I was really more involved with the faith and how I thought about things, and even for a while I think that took me away from it.

00:09:15.952 --> 00:09:43.059
But you know, just to really think about your faith seriously, not just as a thing you do because you're told to, that kind of switched around more later on, more ninth grade year, with another teacher, mr Terzouli, which is a brilliant mind, he's amazing, and he went more into the history of the church and all the ecumenical councils the boring stuff.

00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:56.851
But you know he answered questions which I would ask a lot, but you know he was a genius mind and he definitely got me more closer to God, I think, throughout that year.

00:09:56.851 --> 00:10:03.451
So I feel like, you know, obviously none of us are perfect, but I feel like I'm getting closer and closer, like faith-wise.

00:10:04.541 --> 00:10:07.416
Well, I think it's a never-ending journey.

00:10:07.475 --> 00:10:08.100
Yeah, exactly.

00:10:08.520 --> 00:10:10.288
It's one of those things, but you're on it.

00:10:10.288 --> 00:10:12.162
So I'm curious.

00:10:12.162 --> 00:10:23.515
That sounds like a profound impact on you when these two teachers kind of enter your life and they're sharing maybe a slightly different viewpoint than you'd heard before.

00:10:23.515 --> 00:10:27.145
Whatever it was, it just resonated with you, yeah.

00:10:27.145 --> 00:10:34.486
So what changed for you versus, let's say, before those two, those two teachers came into your life?

00:10:34.486 --> 00:10:39.029
You were living life, going to school, doing all of that stuff, typical teen right.

00:10:39.029 --> 00:10:43.662
What started to change, or what immediate changes did you see?

00:10:45.783 --> 00:11:01.456
You know, when I was a kid this is bad, but you know, at church and stuff, it would be like, you know, I don't want to go to church, or I want to spend my Sunday playing video games or, you know, being dumb playing around, whatever, and it's like, oh, we have to go to church.

00:11:01.456 --> 00:11:16.052
I like roll my eyes and sleep through the homily or sleep through the different parts, and then I think after that it's like, you know, church isn't really, it's not, it's not something you can take seriously.

00:11:16.052 --> 00:11:19.450
It's possibly, I think it is the most important part of any week.

00:11:19.450 --> 00:11:22.448
It's the hour that you, you sacrifice to God.

00:11:22.448 --> 00:11:28.793
And you know that goes with all like, like different aspects of church, like, or religion.

00:11:28.793 --> 00:11:37.568
You can't just pray, you know, to get it out of the way, or go to the church to get out of the way, you have to be in that, you have to think about it.

00:11:37.568 --> 00:11:43.192
So it's about that just taking your faith, you know, seriously and taking it personally.

00:11:43.822 --> 00:11:55.850
It's not just a chore to get out of the way so that's a fairly I would say radical mindset in itself for a teen, yeah, even a teen in a Catholic school, like you know.

00:11:55.850 --> 00:12:09.825
You know what I'm talking, yeah, so what's that like to have that mindset and be in the environment of school, right, teen, especially in all boys, school right, teen boys are teen boys.

00:12:09.825 --> 00:12:14.802
You know there's a mindset of what fun looks like and what activities look like.

00:12:14.802 --> 00:12:27.164
So you're coming at it with, I would say, a fairly mature way of looking at faith and exploration, right, a mature way, trapped in a teen body.

00:12:27.164 --> 00:12:31.076
So what does that look like for you?

00:12:31.076 --> 00:12:39.198
How are you—do you find it difficult to live that mindset in that environment, or what's that like for you?

00:12:40.147 --> 00:12:42.164
I think it's, you know, extremely difficult.

00:12:42.164 --> 00:12:54.686
And you know, ever since I started thinking about faith more seriously, that's when, you know, doubts come up and, uh, you know, is this religion to have problem with different aspects of the bible or different teachings?

00:12:54.686 --> 00:12:57.331
Uh, you know, questions pop up.

00:12:57.331 --> 00:12:57.932
Why doesn't?

00:12:57.932 --> 00:12:58.754
You know?

00:12:58.754 --> 00:13:00.275
Why do these bad things happen?

00:13:00.275 --> 00:13:11.589
If god is all good, or, um, you know, why doesn't it feels like god doesn't listen to prayers, or you know, doubts like that, and that'll start to come up.

00:13:11.589 --> 00:13:16.748
And that only comes up if you take your faith seriously, not just as you know another thing.

00:13:16.748 --> 00:13:22.576
Um, it's, you know another thing.

00:13:22.576 --> 00:13:23.857
It's sorry, I lost my train of thought.

00:13:24.018 --> 00:13:34.052
It's, um, hardest part of hardest part of living that way in the school, in the school environment, it's um, it's trying to, you know, it's like any consistent thing.

00:13:34.052 --> 00:13:39.087
I think, um, if it's not about you know, feeling inspired to.

00:13:39.087 --> 00:13:41.698
You know, one day you feel inspired to to pray a lot, and that's not about you know, feeling inspired to.

00:13:41.698 --> 00:13:44.268
You know, one day you feel inspired to pray a lot, and that's not really.

00:13:44.268 --> 00:13:53.336
You know, one day I'm like, oh, I got to be more holier than I pray five rosaries and then don't really touch any prayer for weeks after that.

00:13:53.336 --> 00:13:56.850
That's not, that's not really going to get you, you know, holier.

00:13:56.850 --> 00:14:06.392
I mean'm gonna this, this, um, this kind of you can put this in any aspect of life, but I'm gonna compare it to the gym.

00:14:06.392 --> 00:14:17.628
If you feel like inspired to go to the gym one day and you do an eight hour workout and then you never hit the gym again after that, that eight hour workout, it's not gonna do anything to.

00:14:17.628 --> 00:14:20.933
You're not gonna to, you're not going to build muscle, you're not going to become more endurant.

00:14:20.933 --> 00:14:22.355
That's not going to help you.

00:14:22.777 --> 00:14:24.940
And it's kind of the same way with faith.

00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:34.024
You have to, even if it's in little ways, like if you go to the gym 30 minutes every day, that person is going to surpass that one guy that did an eight hour workout one day.

00:14:34.024 --> 00:14:38.092
You have to try to put little things in all aspects of your life.

00:14:38.092 --> 00:14:47.265
If, uh, you know, when I go to the gym with my friends, I try to do a little, you know, gym bro, prayer before that, uh, my mom, she does rosaries with her friends all the time.

00:14:47.265 --> 00:14:53.628
I try to hop in every once in a while when I can, even to write down, to write as, if, you know, in a prayer format.

00:14:53.628 --> 00:14:57.158
Uh, you know, reflections and things like that.

00:14:57.158 --> 00:15:06.433
It's about just being consistent with your faith and not feeling more inspired one day than another, and that's, I think, what will make you grow more as a Catholic.

00:15:06.433 --> 00:15:15.647
But it is hard, it is extremely hard, and I think most Catholics can resonate with that yeah, absolutely, which is the purpose of this podcast.

00:15:15.687 --> 00:15:27.058
Yeah, to be quite honest with you, it's hard to live as an everyday apostle, right, wherever you are, whether in school or work, or or sometimes even in your family, right, um.

00:15:27.058 --> 00:15:35.658
But but the more we get to see other people do it, which is why I started this in the first place I'm curious, it's hard.

00:15:35.658 --> 00:15:46.880
You're there, um, you know what are some of the things that you do in the school environment, either with your friends, with your teachers, or just on your own.

00:15:46.880 --> 00:15:59.441
What are some of the things that you're doing in school to help ease that tension or make it better, or just allow you the strength to dig in and just keep going on that path?

00:16:03.605 --> 00:16:05.331
the strength to dig in and just keep going in on that path, well, I mean.

00:16:05.331 --> 00:16:11.879
But then it's, it's a little special bubble in a way, because you'll see that with most students, most students and most of my friends are, you know, christians and they're practicing christians.

00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:15.754
So you know, I feel comfortable with my friends at least, talking about faith.

00:16:15.754 --> 00:16:19.792
And you know, even with my friends, I go to fitness after school when school's in there and, uh, my friend drives me there.

00:16:19.792 --> 00:16:30.817
And then, you know, even with my friends, I go to LA Fitness after school when school's in there and my friend drives me there, and then, you know, we listen to music and stuff, and then right when we park at the gym, we'll always, you know, turn down the music for a second and we'll hit a little like prayer and stuff.

00:16:30.817 --> 00:16:34.556
So it's kind of that, you know, blend that environment.

00:16:34.904 --> 00:16:39.136
It's comfortable to be a Christian and to talk about your faith with your friends.

00:16:39.136 --> 00:16:46.267
So I think that helps a lot.

00:16:46.267 --> 00:16:52.469
You know, in a public school you never see that, obviously, because you know teachers especially aren't allowed to talk about religion and a lot of people have different views and you know a lot of agnostics and atheists.

00:16:52.469 --> 00:16:57.126
But Belen is special because you know you'll see that there, and even with teachers too.

00:16:57.126 --> 00:17:02.318
I feel comfortable going up to my teachers and asking them about faith-related questions.

00:17:02.318 --> 00:17:07.333
Most teachers, you know they'll do a prayer before class, so it's a very faith-filled environment.

00:17:07.333 --> 00:17:10.094
I think that helps a lot, for sure that's great.

00:17:10.605 --> 00:17:13.233
So you're a rising junior, is that correct?

00:17:13.354 --> 00:17:13.555
Yeah.

00:17:14.845 --> 00:17:16.827
Obviously as a rising junior.

00:17:16.827 --> 00:17:24.749
Having gone through that six times with my kids, yeah, start thinking about college.

00:17:24.749 --> 00:17:27.180
Right, it's kind of on the horizon.

00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:30.931
You've got the SATs and the ACTs and all of that preparatory work.

00:17:30.931 --> 00:17:39.695
How big of a part does your faith play in thinking about where you go to college?

00:17:41.260 --> 00:17:44.809
I mean, I haven't thought too much about college.

00:17:44.809 --> 00:17:49.690
Admittedly, I think I'm kind of floating around business or something.

00:17:49.690 --> 00:17:53.609
I like the idea of owning a commercial gym one day.

00:17:53.609 --> 00:18:00.673
So I'm kind of leaning towards, you know, health and fitness and you know business and kind of those things.

00:18:00.673 --> 00:18:06.105
But I don't know, I haven't really considered being.

00:18:06.105 --> 00:18:16.063
I know because fiu has been the top of my list and I know they have like a, you know clubs for for catholics or christians, so that's definitely going to be something I'm part of.

00:18:16.063 --> 00:18:22.424
But I mean, a lot of my friends that are coming from belen are also planning to go to fiu or a.

00:18:22.424 --> 00:18:39.792
So, you know, just to keep up faith with my friends at least, and those like in my circle, you know, I think that's how we continue to keep our faith, even beyond a controlled environment like Belen, where everyone is or mostly everyone is, you know, religious and can talk about that.

00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:45.806
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head earlier where you said you know Belen's a bit of a bubble.

00:18:45.885 --> 00:18:46.105
Yeah.

00:18:46.146 --> 00:18:49.750
Right, and then at some point you come out of that bubble and it's the real world.

00:18:49.750 --> 00:18:52.253
Real world can sometimes be harsh.

00:18:52.253 --> 00:19:00.943
You may not notice a difference, right, if you're surrounding yourself with with people of like minded values.

00:19:00.943 --> 00:19:02.066
So that may ease the transition.

00:19:02.066 --> 00:19:04.412
But I was just kind of curious how you were thinking about it.

00:19:04.412 --> 00:19:06.442
But maybe you're not there yet.

00:19:06.442 --> 00:19:13.213
So, over and above that, I the one.

00:19:13.213 --> 00:19:21.265
There was one particular moment when we were on that mission trip that really that really got my attention with you.

00:19:21.265 --> 00:19:23.798
I was just impressed with your work ethic.

00:19:23.798 --> 00:19:24.987
You're generally quiet.

00:19:24.987 --> 00:19:26.094
You were there with your work ethic.

00:19:26.094 --> 00:19:26.557
You're generally quiet.

00:19:26.557 --> 00:19:31.892
You were there with your brother and there was some great banter and back and forth and all of that with him.

00:19:31.892 --> 00:19:48.473
But you know we're all sitting around and you know, as Catholics, talking about the Catholic faith and all of that, and there was one particular moment where we're talking about transubstantiation and the presence of Christ in reality in the Eucharist.

00:19:49.519 --> 00:20:02.231
And you asked probably one of the most amazing questions that I've ever really heard, right, because what it represented was you truly thinking about your faith?

00:20:02.231 --> 00:20:08.222
And that was if that's's true, why is it important to us that that is true?

00:20:08.222 --> 00:20:17.903
And I kind of sat back for a moment and I listened to the answers and it was well, it's true because the Catechism says so, or it's true because this?

00:20:17.903 --> 00:20:20.128
And if you don't believe, then this right.

00:20:20.128 --> 00:20:28.354
But nobody really answered that question and I think all I really did was encourage you to kind of find the answer to that question.

00:20:28.354 --> 00:20:40.891
Those questions like is that typical for you to ask the intriguing questions and, if so, who do you generally get your answers from?

00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:45.027
Well, kind of like what I was saying earlier.

00:20:45.027 --> 00:21:00.692
Uh, I think it's, you know, dangerous, maybe even worse than just not being christian is being a blind christian, in that you just follow faith because you always have and you don't have, you know, you don't ever think about your faith.

00:21:00.692 --> 00:21:12.355
So I think those questions are important to ask, because if we have no understanding of our faith, then you know who are we to even practice it or tell others to practice it.

00:21:12.355 --> 00:21:25.532
That's, you know, kind of in all aspects of science and economics and politics, how can you support an opinion if you can't back it up, if you don't know why things are?

00:21:25.532 --> 00:21:29.785
Can you support an opinion if you can't back it up if you don't know why things are?

00:21:29.785 --> 00:21:30.827
So, yeah, that's definitely very typical of me.

00:21:30.827 --> 00:21:48.429
Um, in school, in you know, theology class with, uh, mr juzuli that I was talking about earlier, uh, you know, towards the later end of the class when everyone's kind of falling asleep and you know some kids are just doing something else or whatever, I'll always be the one asking him questions, because that's usually who I go to.

00:21:48.429 --> 00:21:51.887
I think I've emailed him already about some questions that I had over summer.

00:21:51.887 --> 00:21:56.250
So don't even leave him alone during his break.

00:21:57.422 --> 00:22:05.869
But usually I'll go to Balan teachers or even my brother, because my brother he's definitely a big influence on me in his faith and my brother he's inspired me, big influence on me in in his faith.

00:22:05.869 --> 00:22:08.642
And you know my brother, um, he's inspired me a lot for sure.

00:22:08.642 --> 00:22:11.588
Uh, you know just little things that he does.

00:22:11.588 --> 00:22:19.826
He started driving recently so, um, he'll be like, oh, you know, during church, where we usually go, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be hanging out with my girlfriend and it's like you know.

00:22:19.826 --> 00:22:22.056
So I think, oh, he's gonna skip church, whatever.

00:22:22.056 --> 00:22:31.000
But no, he drives by himself to go to church in the morning while all of us are like asleep or whatever, and I'm like, you know, wow, he's taking ownership over his faith.

00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:40.403
So, my brother, I go to him for a lot of questions too, because you know he, he knows probably more than I do, but, um, he's good for that.

00:22:40.403 --> 00:22:41.566
And my teachers at balloon too.

00:22:42.067 --> 00:22:43.667
Great.

00:22:43.667 --> 00:23:00.020
So I know I've heard a fair number of things that you do that I think are critical to anybody who is pursuing a life in faith, but I'd love to hear your version of that story right?

00:23:00.020 --> 00:23:17.834
So if you were to give advice or guidance to your fellow teens in school, or even adults, anybody listening, what would you say would be the things that help you on this path to living an authentic Christian life?

00:23:19.281 --> 00:23:20.586
Well, I kind of touched on it earlier.

00:23:20.586 --> 00:23:23.628
It's about little consistencies.

00:23:23.628 --> 00:23:35.768
You know, if you don't like reading books, don't read a whole book in one day, but read five to ten pages one day, and then the next day you do that again and again and again, and in a month you finish the 300-page book.

00:23:35.768 --> 00:23:38.227
It's kind of the same with faith.

00:23:38.227 --> 00:23:38.881
You just have to.

00:23:38.881 --> 00:23:43.384
You know, maybe you don't want to pray an entire rosary one day, but just do a short little.

00:23:43.384 --> 00:23:51.372
Our Father, you know, do a little before you eat, pray over your food, pray for others if you're worried about them.

00:23:51.372 --> 00:23:54.925
Just little consistencies and little everyday things.

00:23:54.925 --> 00:24:05.665
And I think that's what starts you on that, on that long, long staircase to to being, you know, more in touch with your faith and more holy as a person.

00:24:05.665 --> 00:24:07.627
So it's about that consistency.

00:24:08.448 --> 00:24:09.048
I like that.

00:24:09.048 --> 00:24:18.717
Yeah, I definitely heard earlier and then again now, small incremental steps of learning and application.

00:24:18.717 --> 00:24:29.692
I also heard you along the way talk about prayer and the importance of prayer, even like a little prayer before go in the gym or or more standard prayers like rosary and things like that.

00:24:29.692 --> 00:24:31.864
So sounds your sounds like your prayer.

00:24:31.864 --> 00:24:36.154
Life is pretty important in your, in your journey, is that?

00:24:36.336 --> 00:24:40.268
so yeah, especially in writing, that's, I think, how I pray the most.

00:24:40.268 --> 00:24:41.772
Okay, I'll write down.

00:24:41.772 --> 00:24:50.049
You know, instead of like a journal where I guess people would write to themselves or whatever, I try to write more to God, as if I'm in conversation with him.

00:24:51.192 --> 00:24:52.314
Okay, fascinating.

00:24:52.314 --> 00:25:09.460
I love that Prayer, writing, journaling, reflecting, and that inquisitive mind of yours are definitely, you know, kind of moving you in the right direction, are definitely kind of moving you in the right direction.

00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:29.672
So our sponsor, ryan Young, who founded these camps that I have participated in over the years, we have these themes for each camp and there are these questions that we build on through the course of the camp and the first question is where are we headed, or where are we going?

00:25:29.672 --> 00:25:31.326
What is the purpose of our life?

00:25:31.326 --> 00:25:41.530
Right, and the answer is heaven, right, so we kind of get all the kids to know that, and so the question is where are we headed?

00:25:41.619 --> 00:25:42.684
What is the purpose of life?

00:25:42.684 --> 00:25:44.246
Get everybody to answer heaven.

00:25:44.246 --> 00:25:47.663
And then we say, if not, you're wasting your time.

00:25:47.663 --> 00:25:49.807
And what I love about that is you start.

00:25:49.807 --> 00:26:08.576
You were talking about the stairway, right, that that slow, incremental, just steady progress along the stairway to heaven, to coin it, to coin a musical phrase, um, but uh, what great advice that is for just don't be a flash in the pan and don't forget about it altogether.

00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:18.203
Just incrementally move your way along the journey of learning, praying, engaging in your faith and I think it's important to think like you know what is heaven?

00:26:18.203 --> 00:26:20.907
Heaven is perfect communion with God.

00:26:20.907 --> 00:26:25.695
You know putting your soul completely with God, perfect communion.

00:26:25.695 --> 00:26:28.286
You know putting your soul completely with God at perfect communion.

00:26:28.286 --> 00:26:31.077
And I think our goal as Catholics is to build the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

00:26:31.077 --> 00:26:48.164
So it's about getting closer to God here on earth every day that we can to prepare ourselves for, for heaven after death, and I think that's what we need to do, you know every day and build up to that and that is why I asked you to be on the show this week.

00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:56.789
Those, those kind of things you're you're incredibly impressive young man we have.

00:26:56.789 --> 00:27:04.827
We have Ignacio's father in the studio, lorenzo de Toro, and just a big shout, lorenzo.

00:27:04.827 --> 00:27:08.882
I think you and your wife have obviously done a remarkable job.

00:27:08.882 --> 00:27:09.523
So thank you.

00:27:09.523 --> 00:27:13.875
There you are way over there, wow.

00:27:13.875 --> 00:27:16.280
Thank you so much for sharing those insights.

00:27:20.646 --> 00:27:25.613
Just remember what Ignacio said incremental progress.

00:27:25.613 --> 00:27:26.614
Stay in.

00:27:26.614 --> 00:27:35.205
It doesn't have to be all or nothing, it doesn't have to be all at once, just slow, incremental steps and work on your faith.

00:27:35.205 --> 00:27:38.585
Learn more, engage more, engage in the people around you.

00:27:38.585 --> 00:27:44.426
I also heard you say surrounding yourself with like-minded people and other people is very helpful.

00:27:44.426 --> 00:27:47.073
So that's definitely come up before.

00:27:47.073 --> 00:27:56.067
That's all the time that we have this week the really short episodes, and I wish they could go on for hours.

00:27:56.067 --> 00:27:58.588
I would love to just continue to explore that with you.

00:27:58.588 --> 00:28:02.779
So I have an exciting announcement.

00:28:02.779 --> 00:28:12.940
I actually so next week on Wednesday, we're just going to continue our weekly episodes from here on out, but next week either late this week, early next week.

00:28:13.020 --> 00:28:15.224
I've got two very special episodes.

00:28:15.224 --> 00:28:20.520
One is on the Queen of Peace Monastery located in North Carolina.

00:28:20.520 --> 00:28:31.508
I've got a highlight issue on, or episode on, that, and then I'm gonna do a highlight episode on our mission trip Our first guest with was cheeky Rodriguez with blue missions.

00:28:31.508 --> 00:28:38.693
We actually went on a blue missions trip, ignacio and the rest of his family and about 20 other people.

00:28:38.693 --> 00:28:40.480
We had a fantastic time.

00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:48.861
So I'm gonna do a whole highlight special episode on that, which I think you guys will really get a joy out of watching.

00:28:48.861 --> 00:28:59.623
Again, I want to acknowledge our sponsor, ryan Young with Camp Veritas, our producer, rachel Once again, fantastic job putting this together.

00:29:00.844 --> 00:29:04.468
I do want to include, before we go today, a prayer intention.

00:29:04.468 --> 00:29:13.317
Ignacio's cousin, jenny, is dealing with some medical issues and going through some testing.

00:29:13.317 --> 00:29:19.173
Those are generally stressful times for the individual going through it, as well as their family members.

00:29:19.173 --> 00:29:45.509
You guys, if you're listening, if you're watching, please pray for Jenny, for a safe and good outcome to the testing and any treatments that she has, but especially pray for peace for her family and for her as they go through that, because that can make all the difference in the world and God's will be done in that Shameless plug.

00:29:45.910 --> 00:29:55.221
We do need sponsorships for these episodes, so if you are called to action in that way, go to everydayapostlecom and you can see the information there.

00:29:55.221 --> 00:30:11.309
It does take a lot to produce these things and I just want to say, as a goodbye, I want to encourage each and every one of you guys continue on your journey and, as Ignacio said, small, incremental steps and just keep working toward it.

00:30:11.309 --> 00:30:17.386
Be in community, make progress, slow and stay connected.

00:30:17.386 --> 00:30:27.112
And with that, I wish you all a happy Wednesday, thursday, friday, whatever day you're watching this, and may God be with you Peace.

00:30:28.800 --> 00:30:31.287
Thanks for tuning in to the Everyday Apostle.

00:30:31.287 --> 00:30:40.011
Don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube, on your favorite podcast outlet, and at our website at everydayapostlecom.

00:30:40.011 --> 00:30:43.528
Until next time, stay blessed.