{"id":2307,"date":"2017-11-29T11:32:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T16:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=2307"},"modified":"2022-02-24T08:14:41","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T13:14:41","slug":"back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to the Basics, Part II &#8211; Advent 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yXUxciuYTN4?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>In this part of his talk, Jon discusses concepts of meditation, and confession. He discusses how the saints give importance to these practices and also keeps a devotion Our Lady in their daily lives. He encourages us to seek inspiration from them, so we too can live our life as a saint and be closer to the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2017-advent-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/audio\/10%20-%20Jon%20Leonetti%20-%20Back%20to%20the%20Basics%2C%20Part%20II%20-%20Changing%20Your%20Life%20%26%20Changing%20Your%20Soul.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Leonetti-Back-to-Basics-Part-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Leonetti-Back-to-Basics-Part-2-Transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Reflective Study Guide Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>&#8220;The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p><cite><em>Saint Thomas Aquinas<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The saints loved the sacraments and they frequented them. How are you able to incorporate more of the sacraments into your life? When was the last time you went to Confession? Can you make time to do it more frequently?<br><br><\/li><li>Jon suggests that we need to, \u201cclean up\u201d our souls. Confession helps us do this. It gives us the strength and graces we need to, \u201cgo and sin no more.\u201d We also have to choose and work at sinning less. What are ways you can work on that in yourself? What are the sins you\u2019re struggling with the most?<br><br><\/li><li>How would your life change if you went to one more Mass during the week?<br><br><\/li><li>The more we receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the more we change and the more we conform to be like Him. What are the ways you would like to become more like Christ? What are the areas that seem hardest for you to overcome to be more like Him?<br><br><\/li><li>The Eucharist moves us in grace and develops us in virtue. Consider picking a virtue to work on this Advent, and every time you go to Mass and receive the Eucharist, ask Jesus to help you grow in that virtue.<br><br><\/li><li>Our Lady ultimately knows what\u2019s good for us, and that is always Jesus, her son. If you\u2019re struggling with going prayer directly to God, take your intentions through the Blessed Mary. Ask her to pray for you and to help you with getting closer to Jesus.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Text: Back to the Basics, Part II<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Hey friends, Jon Leonetti here, and I am back with you. Hopefully you remember the first 20-minute talk. I want to be a saint, and I hope you do too. And I think the way to get there isn\u2019t to get really creative, it\u2019s to get back to the basics, the basics of what our faith has to share with us and has to give us. Let\u2019s start with a prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Opening Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<em>In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Christ Jesus, help us to be able to encounter You in a deeper way over the course of this retreat. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prayer, the Game Changer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Alright, we talked about prayer in the first talk. This was the number 1 thing for the saints, this was the game changer, this was everything that the saints knew and loved, was an intimate relationship with God. And they had it. We talked about time, that\u2019s how prayer is spelled, \u201ctime.\u201d We talked about developing a place, having a place where we can pray, or making a place scared in our life to be able to pray. And we also talked about how, or where to start, and that is just in silence. A lot of times we think that we\u2019ve got to do all the talking instead of letting God just work on us, right? In fact, Saint Therese of Lisieux once said she was&#8230; a sister yelled at her for falling asleep basically in the chapel, and Saint These said \u201cWhat does a doctor do when he works on you?\u201d She said \u201cHe puts you to sleep, right.\u201d So to the doctor of divines, our Divine Doctor, the doctor of our souls, Christ Jesus Himself, often times He can work on us without us kind of throwing everything at Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding Meditation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So, we\u2019ve got to pray, and that\u2019s the first and most important thing. And if you need a help in that, if you need some help, enter into the school of the rosary. It\u2019s an incredible school of prayer. That\u2019s what it is. I mean, it\u2019s a school, from beginning to end, where God allows us to come to know His life in a deep and personal way. It\u2019s one of the&#8230; I think it\u2019s one of the most genius prayers of the church, because it captures both meditation and contemplation. The world has kind of hijacked both of those words, at least meditation, right. I had a good friend once that said \u201cJon, I meditate.\u201d And I said \u201cHow do you meditate?\u201d And she said \u201cI get to know me better.\u201d And I said \u201cGross.\u201d True story. I was like \u201cGross,\u201d right. I don\u2019t need to get to know me, I\u2019m a mess, right. Meditation is not going inward, not turning in on ourselves. Meditation is what? Reaching to God. That\u2019s what meditation is. It\u2019s where you and I reach to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, when I come home from a long time on the road, I have a 2-year-old, my daughter Gianna. And she\u2019ll do one of two things: She\u2019ll either run in the other room and sit down and look the other way, and mom will say \u201cHey, Gianna, daddy\u2019s home,\u201d she\u2019ll go \u201cNa.\u201d \u201cNa.\u201d Or the other thing that she does is she runs around the corner to me, and she holds her arms up like this, \u201cDaddy, daddy, daddy, daddy! Pick me up!\u201d That\u2019s meditation with us and the Father, where we reach to God with our minds and our hearts. And that\u2019s what the rosary is, is that reaching to God with our minds and our hearts. And contemplation then is God reaching back down to us, the Father reaching back down to His son or His daughter, embracing them, picking them up, holding them close, infusing in them the great graces that God wants to give us. Meditation and contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So start with the school of the rosary, and when you pray the rosary, pray it slow, alright. A lot of times, you know, we think that we\u2019re at an auction when we\u2019re praying the rosary, right. \u201cHail Mary, full of grace&#8230;\u201d Whoa! Alright, we\u2019ve got to slow down a little bit, right. I think, and I really do believe this, Our Lady would rather us pray 3 slow Hail Maries than 3 fast rosaries. So pray. Pray the rosary if you can, enter into that. Lectio Divina, divine reading, right, where we can kind of enter into the scriptures in a deeper way. It\u2019s the most important book there is, right, and it\u2019s more like a library than a book by the way. But from beginning to end, God explained to us through story that He loves us. God is proposing to us a new way to be able to live our lives, and the saints got that. I want to be a saint, and I will yell that from the rooftop, which today in this day and age just means posting it on my Instagram. But I don\u2019t care, I want to be a saint and I hope you do too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Number one, they pray. Number two, this is important, alright. We\u2019re getting <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-iii-advent-2017\/\">back to the basics<\/a> here, of our faith. Number two, the saints loved the sacraments. They entered into the sacraments, and they did so every day. Alright, let\u2019s get real basic here. What\u2019s a sacrament? A sacrament makes grace which is invisible visible, audible, edible. Sacrament makes God\u2019s grace \u2013 you can\u2019t see grace \u2013 visible, audible, edible. Let\u2019s concentrate on the second most important sacrament I think. The first is the Most Blessed Sacrament. The second is confession, or penance, or reconciliation. It\u2019s the only sacrament with three names, right. Call it what you will. It is so powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why, friends, this is why I think our Lord gave this to us, and I think the devil\u2019s attacking right now. Why especially in the West so few people are going any longer. There\u2019s a great heresy going around the world today, a great heresy that says kind of \u201cbody bad and soul good,\u201d or body and soul are kind of at odds with each other. And this originated in the fourth century. And the church says heresy, right. The body is the mirror of the soul. And this is precisely why we go present our entire selves in front of the priest for the sacrament of confession. This is why we sit right there with him, in front of him, because where our body goes, our soul goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sacrament of Reconciliation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The priest, acting in persona Christi capitis \u2013 that\u2019s Latin for \u201cin the very person of Christ Jesus the head,\u201d right, gives us then His absolution, acting in for Jesus. That\u2019s why he says and speaks in the first person. \u201cI absolve you of your sins,\u201d he says. \u201cIn name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.\u201d Right. He is given that authority, that\u2019s why he wears the stole, it symbolizes his authority given right from Jesus to him. When Jesus says to His apostles, the first bishops of the church, \u201cThose who hear you hear Me, and those whose sins you forgive are forgiven then. Those whose sins you retain are retained.\u201d And the apostles went out, the bishops went out, and they ordained more to be able to help them to forgive sins. The saints knew how important it is and was for them to be able to enter into it right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, Mother Teresa was said often times to go to confession daily, or every other day. What did she do? Right, it\u2019s Mother Teresa. What did she do? Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that hearing a nun\u2019s confession is like being stoned to death by popcorn. I think it\u2019s true, right. What did she do? John Paul II went every Friday, Pope Francis goes every 15 days. And he\u2019s actually the first pope in history to ever be seen publically going to confession, Pope Francis. Pretty incredible. I don\u2019t think any of us are holier than them. Even the holy fathers, even the greatest of saints knew that they needed that sacrament. If you\u2019ve been away from that sacrament for a while, and you want to be a saint \u2013 and, again, there\u2019s no other reason that you and I are here, at least I buy into it. No other reason. If it\u2019s a lie, fine. We turn the other way. But if it\u2019s true, it\u2019s got to be the most important thing, or the most important things for us then is to encounter Christ Jesus right there in His mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And what a gift we have. The church says go to confession once a year. Now, that\u2019s official, right, that that\u2019s the minimum. But none of us are minimalists, at least I hope you\u2019re not, right. You and are, I mean, what would you house look like if you cleaned it once a year? Some of ya\u2019ll already do, but what would your house look like if you cleaned your car once a year? Right. We do it on a regular basis. It\u2019s the same thing with our souls. You and are have got to clean up, and that sacrament is one of the best places to do it. And I\u2019ll tell you, I have spoken with a lot of priests, I have spoken to a lot of their churches, gotten to know a lot of them. I was in the seminary for three and a half years, and many of my buddies are there now. I\u2019ve never heard a priest, never one time, say they don\u2019t love that sacrament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And many of them, they say that it makes them more humble, to be able to hear other people like this, and that it actually helps them. So I want you to enter into that sacrament. I want you to go. Maybe you need a lifetime confession. Maybe you haven\u2019t been in 30 or 40 years. A simple appointment with your priest will do. Or maybe you can just go back. Maybe it\u2019s been a couple of years, maybe it\u2019s been three, maybe it\u2019s been six months and you\u2019ve kind of jumped off. Go back, and don\u2019t be afraid. Don\u2019t be afraid of God\u2019s healing. Don\u2019t ever be afraid of God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saint Faustina said that Jesus once told her that when we go to His priest in the sacrament of confession, that our sins, after absolution, become like drops in the ocean of His mercy. Your greatest sin, friends, becomes like a drop in the ocean of God\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-message-of-divine-mercy-lent-2022\/\">divine mercy<\/a>. Imagine that. I can\u2019t go to the ocean now without hearing that line. I can\u2019t go to the ocean without thinking that. In fact, every time I see the ocean or large bodies of water, I\u2019m always thinking of God\u2019s mercy, and it\u2019s right there in the second greatest sacrament that we have at our disposal, to get us again right with God. And the saints all took advantage of it. So, I want you to go, and I want you to go back, and bring your friends and family along with you as well. If you\u2019re a parent, let your kids see you going, and let it be a regular staple to the family. But go. Go. Don\u2019t delay. Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nothing Greater<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Most Blessed Sacrament, the saints knew how important it was, and is, to their lives. Every saint, every saint, for them, there was nothing greater, nothing greater than Jesus in the Eucharist, nothing better to sustain them than the Eucharist, and they went, most of them daily Mass. Now, I\u2019m not going to challenge you to go to daily Mass, because I understand life\u2019s pretty chaotic, and I\u2019m assuming that everybody goes already on Sundays. But what if you added one more Mass to your week? How would your life change if you added one more Mass to your week? I can pretty much guarantee you this: One more Mass a week, receiving Jesus worthily in the Eucharist, you would not be the same person you are today next year. I don\u2019t think so. And maybe in a year from now you add another one. I think you would change if you enter into it. But the more we receive Christ Jesus in the Eucharist, the more we do change. We conform to be more like Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a great story of a Protestant minister that walks into town and he sees the beautiful Catholic church. And he goes to the rector and he knocks on the door, and he introduces himself and he says \u201cI\u2019m new here.\u201d He says \u201cAnd I saw your beautiful church, and I just wanted to get to know you. And if you don\u2019t mind, I wanted to take a peak in.\u201d The priest was really excited and welcomed him over to the church, and brought him inside, and was really proud of the church himself, and was pointing to all of the beauty and the stained glass windows and everything, and telling him the story of how it all came to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the Protestant kind of stopped the priest afterwards and he said \u201cWhat\u2019s there behind the altar in that old box?\u201d And the priest kind of chucked to himself a little bit and he said \u201cWell that\u2019s, that\u2019s the tabernacle.\u201d He says \u201cThat\u2019s where Jesus is.\u201d And the Protestant minister said \u201cYou believe Jesus is in that box?\u201d And he says \u201cYes. In the Most Blessed Sacrament, Christ Jesus is there fully present, body and blood, soul and divinity.\u201d And the minister looked at the priest and he said \u201cFather, with all due respect, you don\u2019t believe that.\u201d And the priest said \u201cExcuse me?\u201d And he said \u201cYeah, father, with all due respect, you don\u2019t believe that.\u201d He said \u201cFather, if I believed that Jesus was in that box,\u201d he said \u201cRight now, I would have crawled to Him on my knees and I would never leave Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about that. Think about that. Do we love Jesus that much in the Eucharist? Do we adore Him, body and blood, soul and divinity, that much? The Eucharist is a life soul, our life blood. The Eucharist is that for which sustains us. It\u2019s the gas to the tank, right, to be able to help us. It\u2019s what moves us in grace, and develops us in virtue. I want you to try to add one extra daily Mass. One extra. Maybe it\u2019s a Monday, maybe it\u2019s a Tuesday, maybe it\u2019s every Friday morning, you just go. And ask Jesus as He enters into you, body and blood, soul and divinity, ask Him to be changed, to be made new, closer to Him. The saints, friends, loved the sacraments, and I hope, I hope you do too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Love Our Lady<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, number three, I want to be a saint. How did they do it? The saints loved Our Lady, and they took her on, and they made her known. For Our Lady, there\u2019s a beautiful image in the Vatican that Pope Francis kind of, I would say, well, made known. I had no idea anything about her, a special devotion to her. Her name, a title, it\u2019s actually an ancient title. It comes from the early church fathers \u2013 \u201cOur Lady, undoer of knots.\u201d You know, Our Lady, of course, is the new Eve, another ancient honorary title that was given to her. Eve, as we know, the first woman, created perfect, and was given to be the mother of all the living was presented with a choice. A choice to be able to say yes or no to God. We know what she chose. Eating from the tree, Eve actually tied a knot into God\u2019s salvific plan for us. And the early church fathers knew it was going to take a new woman, a new Eve, to be able to loosen or untie that knot, to be able to bring us now back into right relationship with God. And it just so happened to be Mary. Created perfect, and given to us as the mother of all the living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In two specific spots in the scriptures, our Lord calls His mother \u201cWoman.\u201d And while that might sound disrespectful to you, of course in His day, that was the most honorary title. And they would have all known it that they could give, that He could have given her. He actually said \u201cWoman,\u201d and it would have been understood as they would have known Eve. And He was saying something very clearly to them during that first public miracle, that she is the new Eve, that Our Lady is the one that has untied or loosened that knot, giving us, being the first tabernacle, our Lord, Christ Jesus Himself, to be able to die for us, and now to be able to save us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it was only because of Our Lady\u2019s \u201cYes\u201d that this actually took place. The first place, as we said before, was the first public miracle at the wedding. They ran out of wine. It would have been, of course, humiliating for a young Jewish couple to actually run out of wine at their wedding, absolutely humiliating. They knew, and everyone else knew, and everyone else was embarrassed for them. So they went to Our Lady. And they couldn\u2019t have just went straight to Jesus, but they went to the one they knew had His ear, and they asked her, and it\u2019s there that Our Lady, the first public miracle, intercedes for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you need a miracle in your life? Do you have a struggle or difficulty? And I know you\u2019ve turned to God with it, I\u2019m sure you have, but I want you to try something new. I want you to go through Our Lady with your intention. And you notice I said through, not to, because what Our Lady does is she takes all of our intentions, everything that we have, and she presents them to God in a way that we can\u2019t. She presents them to God perfectly. And our Lord, as we know and many of the saints say, never says no to her. Do you have a relationship with Our Lady? If you don\u2019t, I really want you to start now. The new Eve, Our Lady, untier of knots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Lady of Guadalupe<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ll end this portion of the talk with this story: When we first found out, Teresa and I, that we were going to have a baby, of course, as you can imagine, we were pretty excited. And we were doing all the things that first time parents do, like trying to find a name, and we were, you know, figuring out how we were going to tell all our family. Well, we got to about 3 months into the pregnancy, and it took a pretty bad turn for the worse. And it turns out that Teresa was bleeding profusely in the middle of the night, and I took her to the emergency room, and the doctor came in and did some testing, and the doctor said \u201cIt looks like you\u2019ve lost your child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And of course we were devastated, you can imagine, and I\u2019m sure maybe some of you have. It was horrible to be able to hear. And I said to the doctor, I said \u201cAre you sure?\u201d And she said \u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d She said \u201cWe\u2019ll order an ultrasound anyway.\u201d So we did. And it was there at the ultrasound that I heard the most beautiful sound I\u2019ve ever heard in my life: I heard a heartbeat. And I remember we got back up to the doctor\u2019s office, and the doctor came in, and I said \u201cThe baby is alive.\u201d And she said \u201cYes, but it doesn\u2019t look like for very much longer.\u201d She said \u201cThe baby\u2019s barely hanging on.\u201d And she handed us a pamphlet, and she was great, and kind of coached us through what to do next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I went home and couldn\u2019t really think of what to do, and I couldn\u2019t get back to sleep, so I instead waited a little bit and went to the Catholic gift and book store here in Des Moines. And there was a pamphlet that was kind of out of place near some of the books that I was looking at, and it was a pamphlet on Our Lady of Guadalupe. Well, I knew a little bit about Our Lady of Guadalupe of course, appearing to Saint Juan Diego in front of the sun and standing atop the moon, and she appeared pregnant, and everyone would have known she was pregnant, especially Juan, because she had a bow tied around her womb, that would have symbolized an Aztec woman that was pregnant. And, as we know, she comes very prominently to them, they worship the sun and moon gods, and the Aztecs would offer their children as sacrifices. She comes bringing the one and only sacrifice, more prominent than any of them and their demigods, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, as we know what happens and the story goes, 9 million Aztecs converted to Catholicism in 10 years. I believe it\u2019s the single fastest and quickest conversion and largest group of people to convert from one religion to another in history. Well, what I didn\u2019t know is John Paul II, I believe it was the year 2,000 but I could be wrong on that, but John Paul II deemed her after a visit \u201cOur Lady of Guadalupe is now the patroness of all unborn children.\u201d And I read that in this Nine-Day Novena pamphlet on Our Lady of Guadalupe. So I took that home, and <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I put it on&#8230; I bought it for 15 cents by the way, and I put it on our kitchen table, and I opened it up, and I said to my wife \u201cWe\u2019re going to pray this Nine-Day Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.\u201d And she said \u201cWhat?\u201d And I said \u201cYeah, we\u2019re going to pray this for nine days.\u201d And she was just a couple of years Catholic, so she had actually never heard of a novena before. And I said \u201cWe\u2019re going to pray that our baby is born perfectly healthy. And as a testament to Our Lady\u2019s intercession, we\u2019re going to pray that our child is born on her feast day, Our Lady of Guadalupe\u2019s feast day, December 12th.\u201d Remind you, we were just 3 months in, so my wife looks at me and says \u201cLet\u2019s not get too greedy, right.\u201d And I said \u201cYou know what? We don\u2019t ask big enough things of God sometimes.\u201d So we did, and we began our prayer. And for nine days, nine consecutive days, we asked both of those intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure enough, the next time we went to the doctor, our baby was still alive. And the next time we went to the doctor the baby was still alive. And the next time, the baby was alive. And the next time the baby was getting better, and better, and better. Until finally, on the morning of December 11th&nbsp;at 5 AM, my wife, she walked into the bedroom and she said \u201cMy water broke.\u201d And I said \u201cThis is going to be a long labor.\u201d Yeah. And it was. 24 and a half hours later, our son, Joseph Augustine, was born on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 12\/12\/12. I tell you that friends, and I want you to hear it with me when I say this, I tell you that because I always knew about Our Lady up here, I knew the theology behind it, but I never had that personal connection like I do now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And Our Lady only wants to give us good things. But she knows what\u2019s ultimately good for us, and that\u2019s her Son, her Son Jesus. You know, Mary has said no to me way more times than she says yes. She has said no to me, like any good mother does, even to some of my most heartfelt prayers. So it doesn\u2019t always mean something\u2019s going to happen and it\u2019s going to happen the way we want it. In this it did, in others it certainly hasn\u2019t. But what Our Lady always does when we bring our intentions to her, she helps us and purifies them, presenting them to the Son. And of course, through that grace, the grace through her most Immaculate Heart that Christ Jesus sends, we\u2019re changed as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want to be a saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">About Jon Leonetti<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:23% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"382\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Jon-Leonetti-Headshot-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1866 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Jon-Leonetti-Headshot-1.png 310w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Jon-Leonetti-Headshot-1-243x300.png 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-jon-leonetti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Jon Leonetti<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/a>is an international Catholic speaker, best-selling&nbsp;author and radio host who conveys a message of lasting fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Through Jon&#8217;s keynote presentations and parish missions, thousands of Catholics each year discover the freedom Christ offers by&nbsp;way of&nbsp;his life and love.&nbsp;Jon&#8217;s two books\u2013\u2013<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jonleonetti.com\/motf.html\"><em>Mission Of The Family<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jonleonetti.com\/ygitb.html\"><em>Your God Is Too Boring<\/em><\/a>\u2013\u2013are published and featured in&nbsp;Matthew Kelly&#8217;s Dynamic Catholic book program. They have been endorsed by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz;&nbsp;the president of the U.S.&nbsp;Conference of Catholic Bishops,&nbsp;Mark Hart, Immaculee Ilibagiza, Brandon Vogt,&nbsp;Tom Peterson and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jon believes that our deepest longing for happiness and wholeness is fulfilled in the encounter with Jesus&nbsp;Christ.&nbsp;Through prayer, the Sacraments, family life, and the help of Mary and the saints, Jon wants to cultivate&nbsp;an&nbsp;intimate relationship with Jesus,&nbsp;and help others do the same.&nbsp;With this message Jon has been featured&nbsp;and interviewed by the nations top Catholic websites, blogs and radio shows, helping Catholics in all walks&nbsp;of life to&nbsp;fall in love and stay in love with the living God.&nbsp;At home, Jon enjoys reading, sports, exercising, coffee and,&nbsp;most of all,&nbsp;spending time with his wife Teresa and&nbsp;their children&nbsp;Joseph and&nbsp;Gianna. Jon is currently pursuing a masters degree in moral theology.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg 800w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"316\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-Bottom-Webpage-Image-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-Bottom-Webpage-Image-1.jpg 701w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-Bottom-Webpage-Image-1-300x135.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary In this part of his talk, Jon discusses concepts of meditation, and confession. He discusses how the saints give importance to these practices and also keeps a devotion Our Lady in their daily lives. He encourages us to seek inspiration from them, so we too can live our life as a saint and be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2233,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Back to the Basics, Part II - Advent 2017 - The Pray More Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back to the Basics, Part II - Advent 2017 - The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summary In this part of his talk, Jon discusses concepts of meditation, and confession. He discusses how the saints give importance to these practices and also keeps a devotion Our Lady in their daily lives. He encourages us to seek inspiration from them, so we too can live our life as a saint and be [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-24T13:14:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"22 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/\",\"name\":\"Back to the Basics, Part II - Advent 2017 - The Pray More Retreat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-29T16:32:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-24T13:14:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Back to the Basics, Part II &#8211; Advent 2017\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/\",\"name\":\"The Pray More Retreat\",\"description\":\"Pray More This Holy Season\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Back to the Basics, Part II - Advent 2017 - The Pray More Retreat","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Back to the Basics, Part II - Advent 2017 - The Pray More Retreat","og_description":"Summary In this part of his talk, Jon discusses concepts of meditation, and confession. He discusses how the saints give importance to these practices and also keeps a devotion Our Lady in their daily lives. He encourages us to seek inspiration from them, so we too can live our life as a saint and be [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/","og_site_name":"The Pray More Retreat","article_modified_time":"2022-02-24T13:14:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"22 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/","url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/","name":"Back to the Basics, Part II - Advent 2017 - The Pray More Retreat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-29T16:32:40+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-24T13:14:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Back-to-the-Basics-Part-II-Big-Image.jpg","width":800,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/back-basics-part-ii-advent-2017\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Back to the Basics, Part II &#8211; Advent 2017"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/","name":"The Pray More Retreat","description":"Pray More This Holy Season","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2307"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15568,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2307\/revisions\/15568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}