St. Pope Linus, St. John Vianney & Why Catholics Kneel vs. Genuflect

0:16 He Hello everyone. Now, whether you're joining us out of curiosity or you want to learn more about the Catholic Church, why you want to refresh your memory of some things you might have forgotten over there, Welcome to Catholic One on one. We will be talking about a faith that has shaped cultures, inspired saints, and guided millions over two thousand years. Now we're going to talk about who are the popes and the saints and what happens during the Catholic Mass. Now, some things we talk about it might seem a little mysterious or even a little outdated, but they carry a rich history and a profound purpose. This isn't just a lesson in religion. It's an invitation to see how faith, tradition, and community come together in the Catholic Church. You had a former way of life rooted and love, sacrifice and hope. Now everybody knows that Peter was the first pope. Do you know the second pope?

0:57 Pope Blindness? Popes. They weren't called popes until around the year three hundred. Starting with Peter, they were called the Bishop of Rome. Now the pope is still the Bishop of Rome, Linus. He is nowhere near is known as Peter, but his role was vital in the shaping of the world that we know today. Pope Saint Linas he was the bridge from the Apostles over to the generations that have followed since. Linus he was born around ten a d in the town at Volterra. It's in the hills of what we call Tuscan the Italy today. His dad was named Herculanus and his mom is believed to be in Claudia. Now Linus and Claudia, they're actually named in the Bible. Under Paul's second letter to Timothy four twenty one, Paul writes, you be list sins greetings, as do Prudence and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers, so you can see that Linus he was deeply embedded in the early Christian community. From a young age. Linus he was drawn to the teachings of Christ. He became really close companions with the Apostles, especially Peter and Paul. Now Linus he traveled to Rome with Paul and he saw Paul and Peter Martyr firsthand. When Peter was martyred, Linus he was chosen to succeed him as the Bishop of Rome, becoming the second pope and the first to carry forward the Apostolic mission. Now can you imagine the responsibility to Linus carried Christianity was illegal the followers, they were hunted down, in prisoned, or worse. At Linus he accepted that mannal of leadership with humility and courage. He didn't seek any glory.

2:15 He sought to preserve the teachings of Christ and unify the faithful. Now, there are not a lot of historical records of Linus, but we know that he issued one of the first people to crease that women should cover their heads when they were in church, a practice rooted in reverence and modesty. More importantly, though, Linus he ensured the continuity of the Apostolic succession. That's a cornerstone of the Catholic tradition that affirms that the unbroken line of spiritual authority from Christ to the present day linus papacy. It lasted from around sixty seven to around seventy six eighty, about a decade. Now, during that time, he shepherd a community that met in secret, they prayed in catacombs, they faced martyrdom. Yeah, with pretty much with the unwavering faith, is how he did. It, but Linus he ended up dyna martyr himself. Now, the exact circumstances of his death, yeah, they're kind of a mystery, but it is believed that he was buried on Vatican Hill across from where Peter was buried. Now it's now known as the Vatican. The crop lipsis beneath Saint Peter's Basilica and Vatican City, about seventy years old. Somewhere around there was where he was when he was killed. Linus he was venerated as a martyr and a saint. Now that is a rare unner.

3:18 Now his feast day is celebrated on September the twenty third. He reminds us of the quiet strength and enduring faith of those who built the church from the ground up. Pope Saint Lioness, he lived in the shadows of giants. That he is a giant in his own right, in quiet conviction and in the willingness to carry on the torch. He didn't just follow Peter's footsteps. He ensured that those footsteps would never fade. Remarkable a man now, whenever I read about the early Catholics and Christians, yeah, I just feel like a spo of bratt Now, all that they went through, and I've sometimes grown about having to kneel or genuflected church. Now people say that they get Catholic calacsthenics every Sunday when they go to church. Do you know the difference between genuflection and kneeling? Genuflection and his kneeling on one knee usually when you enter leave a pew kneeling if that's when you go down on two knees and then kind of stay there kneeling. It's more than just a ddition though. It's a sacred language of the body. It speaks about faith, reverence, and the love of God. In the Catholic Church, kneeling it's a powerful gesture of humility, reverence, and worship, especially during the most sacred moments of the mass So what exactly does it mean to kneel there in massa? It's a sign of adoration.

4:23 Kneeling expresses our submission to God and it's a physical act that mirrors our innerdisposition of our soul. It acknowledges God's greatness and our dependence on him disposition that's their character in our mindset. It's a way of saying that I am not worthy, like in the Bible under Math eight where the Romans in turns says, Lord, I'm not worthy to have you enter under my ruth. Yeah, you say it every week. Kneeling it also helps Catholics engage their whole being, body, mind, and spirit in prayer. Now it's a way to focus, to quiet the heart, and to enter into a deep communion with God. In early Christianity, standing was the main position for prayer. Yeah, whether you're in church or with a people. Yeah, in your grip. Yeah. Standing it symbolized resurrection. Kneeling it was for when you were prayed in private. In medieval times, kneeling it became the most important position during prayer, especially during the eucharistic prayer.

5:11 In the nineteen sixties, they helped post Vatican two, they clarified when you do the gestures that you do during Mass today, now these gestures they are not arbitrary. They are outward signs of an inward faith. It helps you enter into a deeper communion of God during the typical Mass. So let's kind of go over what you do every Sunday. So you genuflect when you enter your pew, and then as the mass begins. Everybody stands the symbolize as readiness and respect. You do the sign of the cross is made by the priest and the people it invokes at trinity. Now you stay standing while expressing contrition. Then you set for the first reading their response to oorial Psalm, and the second reading. Then you stand for the Gospel reading that's honoring Christ's words. You do the sign of the Cross on your forehead, lips, and your heart before the Gospel is read. It's asking to understand, proclaim and love the word. Then you sit for the harmonly, but pay attention, and you stand for the creating the prayers of the faithful.

6:05 Then you sit during the preparatory gifts. You stand for the prayer of our offerings and of a prefense. Now you kneel during the eclaristic prayer, especially at the consecration, and you stand after great of men. It's for the Lord's prayer. You kneel after the Lamb of God. That's in preparation for communion, and then you stand when you go to receive communion. You don't have to genuflect when you leave your pew on that. But then before receiving communion, as you go down the line, bower your head is fine, you know, genuflecting they can find out it kind of disrupts the communion line and it can be kind of difficult with people around. So the church says that just bowing your head is perfectly fine. Now, when you make it back to your peal, you kneel in silent prayer. Then you stand for the final blessing at the end of the mouse. Now, when you leave your pell, you gener reflect at that time. I don't know if I've seen this done though, but during the consecration you're never supposed to sit. Yeah, if you can't kneel, you're at least supposed to stand up. Well, I mean unless you're in a wheelchair obviously. But yeah. Now, when I think of all the people who have walked the earth in the last two thousand years since Jesus was here, I looked, comes to one hundred and seventeen billion. Yeah, the census is one hundred and seventeen billion have lived on Earth since the year of zero. Now they are over ten thousand Catholic saints, so that is point zero zero zero zero eight five percent of people in the world who walked it yeah, been Catholic saints. Now you don't need to know that. I just find it kind of interesting.

7:22 I'm getting ready to talk about one of those saints, father Saint John Vienni. In English, he's John Vienni. He was born Jean Marie Vannie May eighth, seventeen eighty six and dirtily friends to Matthew and Marie Vienni. Now he is baptized that same day. He's the fourth of six kids. He grew up in a Catholic home. In seventeen ninety, when the French Revolution escalated, priests they had to work in secret or they be executed. Now, John he just believed that priests where they were like brave and heroes. He just idolized priests. Thirteen years old, two nuns who had lost their convent during the revolution secretly gave John his catechism the structions for his first communion. After his first communion, he he taught him in secret. Now he was prepared for his confirmation, and when John was twenty, the Catholic Church was re established over in France. He was allowed to study at a Catholic school where it was mostly for future priests. He was in Eucule France.

8:11 Now he was taught math, history, geography, Latin, but because of the French relution, he hadn't been going to school. So yeah, he really struggled, especially with Latin, but he worked really hard to learn. Then, in eighteen oh nine, John was drafted into Napoleon Bonohart's army. Now, as a student of the clergy, he would normally have been exempt from military service, but Napoleon he started needing more men, so he canceled that exemption. John he reported a service then two days then he became really sick and ended up in the hospital. When he got out of the hospital, he went to the church to pray. There he met a man who said that he had taken back to his trips. Well, instead of taking him back into his trips, he took him deep into the mountains where military deserters were being hidden. In a small town of Less Nose, John, he was hidden in a farmhouse under the care of Claudia Field. She was a widow with four children. While he was there, John he started at school for the village children. Now, since the weather in those mountains it was really harsh in the winter, there weren't any soldiers patrol in the area, but when the weather got warm, Yeah, fringe soldiers. They'd patrolled the area looking for deserters. So John he would hide in stacks of from eating hay in the barn. After fourteen months there, the amnesty was granted to all the deserters, so Vienni he was able to go back to study at Ukale. Eighteen twelve, he went on to a minor seminary. In eighteen thirteen he went to a major seminary in Lyons and he was considered too slow once he got there. Yeah, they didn't think he was smart enough to move any forward. But some of the people on the staff and all that, they were able to convince the leaders that John's piety was great and they needed to keep him on. So yeah, they let him go on in eighteen fourteen. He was ordained a deacon. One year later on August twelfth. In eighteen fifteen, accomplished his lifelong goal. He adorned a preece. Yeah,

9:43 he said that one mass. His first mass. The next day in eighteen eighteen, Vinie he was appointed the parish priest for the parish of Ours. It's a town of two hundred and thirty people. Now he realized that the aftermath of the French Revolution was religious indifference and ignorance. On Sunday, the people they would just work in the fields and go dancing and drink in the tavern. He got really stern with them. If they didn't give up their behavior, he refused to give him absolution. So, yeah, he spent a lot of time in confession now and he preached sermons against blasphemy and dancing and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, sermons. They've been collected into the famous Sermons of the Cure of Ours if you want to read them. He became famous for his no nonsense but being extremely compassionate, not just locally internationally. By eighteen fifty five, twenty thousand people would programs to see him every year, and he would spend around sixteen eighteen hours a day just doing confessions. In one story, a woman she was devastated her husband had committed suicide, so she wanted to talk to the Great Priest, but she only had one day to do it. When she got there, that line was just so long there was no way she was aving to get to the priest. So as she started to leave, Vianny He came out from where he was hearing confessions and yelled at her, yep, over the entire crowd. He said, he has saved now the woman, she couldn't believe that he was talking to her. So Viennie repeated himself, you know, kind of stressing everywhere he is in. I tell you he has saved. He is in purgatory. You need to pray for him. Between the parapleot of the bridge and the water, he had time to make an active contrition, so pray for him. The crowd was kind of stunned. The lady was even more stunn Now the human side of John. By eighteen fifty three, Vienny he had tried to run away from ours four

11:14 times and always ended up coming back. He finally just decided, you know, this is where I'm supposed to be. He died August fourth, eighteen fifty nine, at seventy three years old. The bishop he presided over the funeral. Three hundred priests and over six thousand people attended his funeral. Eighteen seventy four, Pope Pious the Ninth proclaimed him venerable. Nineteen oh five, Pope Pious the Tenths proclaimed him blessed nineteen twenty five, hes Canon I as a saint by Pope Bias the eleventh, they made the patron saint of parish priest as feast day is August the fourth. Another remarkable man, you know, men like Saint John Vienny and Saint Popelinus. Yeah, they're not just great in the Catholic Church. They're just great men that should be celebrated off through all history and all people kind of stuff. You know what I should thank you all for listening today. You know, make sure you hit the follow button so this we're easy to find all that kind of stuff. Now, if you get a chance to go to an underneath for a show description, that'll give you links to what's going on with the rest of cool media and me. I have a daily show called History and Factoids about the day, and then they'll get you on the radio stations. But until next time, you guys, have an awesome day, and God bless you.