Yes Catholic
Yes Catholic is focused on highlighting stories of people who rose up and started truly living as a Catholic. Stories are powerful. You really never know who could be inspired through listening to someone's personal story of conversion. As St. John Paul II said, "Remember that you are never alone, Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives!" Join us every week as we invite a new guest to share their story. Real People. Real Stories. All Grace.
Yes Catholic
Faith, Art, and Perseverance: The Inspiring Journey of Sam Estrada
What happens when you combine a deep-rooted Catholic faith, artistic talent, and a resilient spirit? Meet Sam Estrada, a Filipino American illustrator whose journey of faith, creativity, and perseverance is nothing short of inspiring.
Discover the remarkable story of Sam's upbringing in a devout Catholic family and his early aspirations to join the priesthood. From his parents' unwavering support to his transformative mission in Fatima, Portugal, Sam's path was anything but straightforward. A congenital heart condition posed significant challenges but also steered him to unexpected and inspiring turns. Through it all, Sam remained committed to God's will, using art as a universal language to connect and uplift.
The journey takes an even more heartwarming turn as Sam opens up about finding love during the pandemic. With a shared devotion to St. Joseph, divine providence guided him and his wife through time differences and physical distance, leading to a memorable meeting on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Their shared mission to inspire others through art and faith comes to life with religious graphic novels, children's books, and parish talks. Join us for this heartfelt episode that underscores faith, resilience, and the power of saying yes to God's will.
Welcome to yes Catholic, the place where real people share their real stories and realize it is all God's grace on the move. I'm your host, David Patterson, and every week we hear a new guest share their story of how they came to give their yes to Jesus and his church. So let's get started. A bit like site, tonight we've got Sam Estrada. Welcome, Sam. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story.
Speaker 2:Hi David, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. For those who don't know you, why don't you share a little bit about yourself before we dive into the rapid fire?
Speaker 2:Yes, my name is Sam Estrada. I'm a Filipino American Catholic illustrator. I've done graphic novels, children's books and eventually toys and card games. But I am working for a couple of different publishers. You've probably heard of Marion Press, tan Books and many others, so thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm sure we're going to get to know you a little bit more, but let's dive into the rapid fire. Just going to rhyme off some questions and try to tackle them as quick as we can. Here we go. Describe yourself as a kid in three words quiet, creative, curious, would you say. You're a morning person or a night owl when you get your inspiration? Definitely a night owl, I know. Yeah, yes, yes, not a morning person. Okay, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Speaker 2:oh uh, the powers of the flash, so the super speed is that related to doing art as well? Your, your work yes, that would definitely help me in the art realm get through all the deadlines.
Speaker 1:Just yeah, yeah, yeah definitely all right, go to order at a coffee shop. Do you drink coffee? Because my previous guest for a couple weeks don't like caffeine, so oh, interesting.
Speaker 2:Yes, well, I originally, uh, am a coffee drinker. I am veering toward tea, but if I were to get some coffee, it'd be a triple shot espresso in a grande cup. If you're going to starbucks, uh, with one pump of vanilla, one pump of white chocolate, mocha and a splash of heavy cream.
Speaker 1:Ooh, that sounds good. I'm going to have to try that sometime. I'm going to stop by Go-to short prayer. You're going about your day. What's your go-to?
Speaker 2:Jesus, make an humble of heart, Make my heart like unto thine. It's one of the early prayers I learned as a religious brother.
Speaker 1:That's powerful. Is it related to the scripture verse of come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden?
Speaker 2:It is. It's actually. It was taught to St Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:When he was describing his most sacred heart to her.
Speaker 1:Ok, if you could have coffee with any saints, who would it be?
Speaker 2:Oh man, there's so many good saints that probably, uh, I could pick their brain, but definitely saint john bosco. Yeah, he had a love for the youth, and so that's one of the main reasons.
Speaker 1:If you could ask god one question, it would be well, lord, how do I become a saint?
Speaker 2:how do I personally actually become a saint? Yeah, and at the state of my life right now, how do I become a saint?
Speaker 1:I love that man. Well, you flew through the rapid fire. That was fast and easy. Was I quick enough? That was good man. Yeah, it was fire. All right, let's begin with an opening prayer and then we will have you share your story In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. Amen. Come, holy Spirit, teach us how to pray. Father, I just ask that you would send your Holy Spirit to be with us in our conversation. Lord, I thank you for Sam and for his witness, for his yes. Lord, I just pray that you would open our hearts to receive what you want us to receive tonight. Just ask for your blessing upon us. We make this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. All right, sam, let's dive right in. Where does your story begin?
Speaker 2:I was blessed to have been born into parents who were practicing Catholics. They eventually had seven kids, so I'm the eldest of seven, praise God. And one of the first experiences I would say I had growing up was since my dad was in the military, in the Navy. We moved around quite a bit and so it was just practical that my mom would be a homeschool mom and I imagine all these kids you know with her, and she was a trooper, she was amazing. She homeschooled all of us First five years of my life.
Speaker 2:One of the benefits of that is being able to go to daily mass, and so I remember bringing all my siblings into the van. We would get to the mass and we're like you know ducklings who just walk in, one after the other going to daily mass. And we weren't the only know ducklings who just walk in, one after the other going to daily mass. And we weren't the only big family. There are many other military families just like us. But just having that in the early formative years of my life, being able not only to receive the Eucharist every day but to have confession available to meet good holy priests, have confession available to meet good holy priests I would say that was one of the biggest proponents of me fostering that vocation early in life, and so my relatives would often ask me, sam, what do you want to be when you grow up? You know I would always say I want to become a priest or a religious brother. They're like oh, you'll change your mind. You know that'll change. You'll probably. There's no money there.
Speaker 2:You know that'll change, you'll probably there's no money there, you know, you'll probably change your mind and want to become a doctor or something a nurse and I said, no, I actually do want to become a priest. I know a lot of good priests. They're cool. I want to be cool like them. You know, do you remember what age you were starting to say that you believe that you were called to priesthood? Since I was six. I remember, actually. I remember I was playing with my Legos in church. You know, I was this little kid, but I would always stop whenever the priest would raise the host during consecration.
Speaker 2:And many times I would turn to my mom and say I want to do that when I grow up. And so I was, like you know, just inspired by these priests growing up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, from an early age six, seven, and didn't really change. Eventually went to high school, learned how to play instruments, learned more about art. I fell in love with art. I actually wanted to create my own comic book based off of superheroes and all kinds of stuff like that.
Speaker 2:There was a time where my mom was like you draw these like superheroes, but they're so angry looking, here's a book about St Maximilian Cope. He was a true superhero. Or look at these, these angels, these, these angels actually do exist, you know, they're not fictional. And when she brought that to me I said my drawings look angry. She's like, yeah, even that one, it was Wolverine, right, he looks like a demon hungry. She's like, yeah, even that one, it was wolverine, right, he looks like a demon. And when she said that, that really struck to my heart. I was like, oh my gosh, I don't want to draw demons. So what I resorted to was drawing angels with the muscles of superman. They're like buff, you know, and I imagine my garden angel would look buff, right, if he's, uh, protecting me from devils. Like saint michael, oh, yeah, totally saint michael the archangel, the buffest, not some skinny, skinny guy. And so, uh, that was kind of like my inspiration growing up. You know, using american comics, allowing my imagination to dive into the true superheroes, which were the saints. And eventually, you know, my prayer was Lord, I'm willing to surpass all those things, my love for music I played saxophone, my love for art. I just want to serve you. And so I didn't know what order to really join.
Speaker 2:But when I was in ninth grade in high school, I was invited to go and had the opportunity to go to World Youth Day in Cologne, germany, and that was an amazing experience. And not only did my family go my sister and my mom but we went with some pretty cool religious brothers and they're the order of the Alliance of the two hearts of Jesus and Mary, so the two hearts, and they're young, they're like in their 20s, they're vibrant, they're prayerful and they went to mass every day. I mean, they served the priests, they had adoration, and not only, you know, an hour, they had like three hours of adoration. And during this time in Cologne, germany, I was able to accompany them in their adorations and their religious the hours, the morning prayers, the evening prayers and really get to understand what their life was like. At the end of the two weeks of that World Youth Day, I was like Mom, I want to join these guys. You know, this is the order God is calling me to. I want to be just like them. Their long cassocks are so cool, you know, I want to wear a long cassock.
Speaker 2:Ninth grade, and really just understanding that God was calling me, I mean it was very clear. And so my parents were like, well, let's finish high school first and then we'll see what happens. So toward the end of high school, I said well, I'm ready, I know the order I want to be in. Will you give me your blessing? And they said it'll be hard. You're the eldest of our children. Your sibling is going to miss you. But, yes, we want you to do God's will. We knew this since you were six years old. It's no surprise to us. And so they handed me off to the religious order.
Speaker 2:Man and it was just, I would say, looking back on it, it was like my first real big detachment from the world. In a sense I was learning how to trust more and got attached more to God. So I packed my bags and went and at that early age I didn't understand what growing chant was. I didn't understand that I had to wake up really early in order to, uh, be with the community. That was one of the most difficult parts was waking up early.
Speaker 2:And early with the. The order with. The order is about 3.
Speaker 1:It was about 3 am. Set like 10 alarms in the beginning.
Speaker 2:Yeah right and the alarms was, you know, a very kind brother pulling you up and, of course, the bell. The bell is the voice of God and, you know, as purifying as that was, I was attracted to it. It was courageous, it was something that you know. I felt like I was a soldier going into battle. Every time I was getting up and getting ready to go in the chapel. That's why I did it, and did it for 10 years.
Speaker 2:Eventually, after my formative years of novitiate, I was chosen to become a religious missionary, profess, which means I wore a collar, a collar around my neck and I look like a priest, but I was just a religious brother. I had the long cassock and it was just. I felt like I was in my element because I felt like this was where God was calling me to be. When I was a missionary, I was able to go to different countries. One of my favorite countries to go to was Fatima, Portugal. It was an amazing experience because at 9 o'clock every night, you hear this beautiful singing of Ave, Ave, Ave Maria, and I'm like, what is that? Is that like the speakers in my room? No, they're outside, at the you know sanctuary. All these pilgrims, hundreds of pilgrims just singing Ave in between the rosary. I thought this is such a beautiful place, this is amazing.
Speaker 2:One of the missions that we had to go to in Portugal during that time was visit street kids and I was, you know, struggling with my Portuguese, and so I was like how do I relate to these kids? I don't speak their language, they don't speak English. And I had a pen and paper, and so I was like I'm going to use this, and so I started drawing an angel and they're like okay, this brother is, he's not speaking gibberish to us and we understand what a picture is. So they started to get more curious and I was able to talk about the angel Portugal. The angel appeared to the three shepherd children and how they bowed in prostration before him when he held the Eucharist before them and he said you must make reparation.
Speaker 2:I was able to explain this with like little stick figures and as quick, as strong as I could do and afterwards, you know, I was able to build some type of reputation with them and I ended up going there for three more visits to Fatima, portugal, and, you know, eventually learned the language a little bit and, uh, they learned a little bit more of english as well. So during that time, I was like lord.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. I guess I didn't have to leave my dream of being an artist. I could use these talents to serve you as a missionary, yeah, and so that was one of the most um eye-opening things for me as a missionary. I was like I could still use my gift of art, my love for art.
Speaker 2:All for God's glory, all for God's glory, and they are able to.
Speaker 2:I mean, these kids are from Portugal. Many of them did not understand the message of Fatima, and it was heartbreaking for me because Our Lady appeared to children, and yet these children who live in Portugal don't even understand the importance of this message. And so, praise God, I was able to do some work of you know, catechizing the children of Portugal, but eventually, around 2017, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I was born with a heart condition, was not able to really keep up with the lifestyle of traveling to different countries every week, and so eventually I got really sick, had difficulty singing a mass I couldn't chant, you know, for the morning prayers and my superior actually approached me and said brother, you need to go home and recuperate. We're going to send you home. It'll be a challenge, but pray about it and get better. And I thought, lord, hopefully I recover soon so I could get this round trip and come back and be a missionary. I had no idea what would happen next, and so they sent me back home. The uncertainty, what?
Speaker 1:was that like for you?
Speaker 2:Because of the sickness. I thought it was temporary and so I didn't have too much fear. It wasn't like closing a door, but my prayer was always Lord, if you want me to go home, please let it be my superior who sent me home, because I'm not going to leave. I don't want to be against your will in any way. And eventually it was clear to me around probably like a month of being back home, like maybe God is calling me to a different order. And when that feeling came into my heart that's when the anxiety came I was like I thought that was my order, I thought that was.
Speaker 2:You know, it's just like being married or losing a loved one, you know, and you're divorced or you're separated. It's like I thought that was my forever and that was all taken away from me, and so I really felt distraught. So that led me to pray. And when I started praying, lord, where do you want me to go? I don't feel called to being married, so I'm not going to start dating, but please help me. That wasn't on your radar at all.
Speaker 2:No, marriage was not on my radar, mainly because I've been a missionary brother, a celibate, for 10 years and that's all I pretty much knew, and I wasn't really feeling the inclination to be married Right, I knew it was a beautiful vocation, but I didn't think it was for me. And so what did you say? Your?
Speaker 2:prayer was oh no, it was mainly Lord, please help me know my vocation, know where you want me to be. And so I didn't feel any signs immediately. And so I'm like Lord, if you're not going to answer me, I'm going to go to your mom. And so I was like Mary, please help me. And this is, remember, 2017, the 100-year anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima. I've been to Fatima many times. I thought, mother Mary, our Lady of Fatima, please help me in this quest to find my vocation.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, I was sick in bed. So all I had, pretty much, was like a pad of paper and my prayer book. So I was like, okay, I'm going to draw Our Lady of Fatima. Maybe this little project, you know, this little drawing, could be a way to reach out to her. So one drawing led to another. I was also thinking how can I appeal to the young people of nowadays and tell them about this beautiful story? And lo and behold, a publisher reached out to me and said we'd like to publish this. It ended up being like 50 pages and I thought, well, I guess I could publish it. I won't put my name on it, but it'll be dedicated to you, our Lady, you know for this 100 year anniversary. I did not know the timing of how long book takes to be published, but by October 13th, 2017, this book was published and I was shocked. I didn't think it would be in time for any anniversary. And this was, of course, the anniversary of the Day the Sun Danced the miraculous story of how, the very last time Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children, it was raining and the sun came out, looked like it was going to destroy the earth but miraculously stopped, dried up all the rain and all the. They say, 10,000 people were witnesses of this beautiful, miraculous event. We call it the Day of the Sundance. The book was out just in time, by the grace of God.
Speaker 2:After that, I think, our Lady answered my prayer because I felt called to join a religious order Franciscan Friars that next winter, and so, after discerning with them for one week, I said you know, father Paschal, I was wondering if I could just show you a token of gratitude and give you this book. Our Lady of Fatima. He's like are you a graphic designer? I said, yeah, I do it as a hobby. He's like would you be willing to be our graphic designer for the shrine here in Hansville, alabama. In Alabama, there's this beautiful shrine. It looks like it's from built from Europe yeah, like a place in Europe. I was able to go there and be their designer and he hired me.
Speaker 2:After that discernment period, I'm like Lord, I'm here trying to become a Franciscan friar and I get a job offer. I was so confused and so I told my parents about it. They said well, if you feel comfortable about it, maybe you could discern with them as you're working for them. I'm like, okay, that sounds good. So I pack up what little I have.
Speaker 2:And I moved to Hansville, alabama, and for two years I'm working in this beautiful place, have daily adoration, not just one hour but like the whole day Mass. Every day I'm talking to the friars and seeing their lifestyle and I'm just immersed in this prayerful environment. And it became clear to me after two years that I'm not called to be a religious, but I felt more called to use my talents graphic design and illustration to catechize young people. And it was very clear. I was like Lord, what does this mean? I guess I'm not meant to wear a habit. You put me through 10 years plus of formation and, if anything, it helped me be purified of all my you know selfishness and pride, which I still need to work on. By the way, it's a journey.
Speaker 2:It's an ongoing formation, you know, yeah, amen. But I was constantly asking Lord, I guess you want me to discern married life.
Speaker 1:And did this realization come about in adoration or was it a gradual time of prayer?
Speaker 2:It was in adoration, I. I felt that solid, clear feeling that it was not religious life. I felt that in adoration, yes, and it just wouldn't leave me. You know, I, I would go to adoration. I would be like, are you sure, lord? And it kept on persisting. Yes, I meant to discern married life, and so where'd you go from?
Speaker 1:there.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So after two years I was basically like, lord, I'll try dating. You know, I'll try the dating scene, we'll see what happens, because I've never dated anyone. I was prepared to become a religious celibate, you know. So I'm like, okay, I'll enter the dating scene. And so I tried this dating app. It's called Catholic Chemistry. It was advertised on EWTN. So I'm like, oh, you know, it's been tried and tested. You know, hopefully it's safe.
Speaker 2:And so around that time I said, lord, I'm going to try this. It's kind of difficult. You're basically putting it on your profile, all these preferences, and I felt, you know, a little uncomfortable. So I was like, lord, I'm not going to take too long on this. If I can't find my spouse by, say, a month you know, this subscription is probably like a month If I can't find her within a month, you know, I'm going to try the Franciscans, and so we'll see what happens.
Speaker 2:So this is 2020, around March, right? I don't know if you remember the beginning of the pandemic, but it was March 14, 2020. March 13, I received this notification from a girl in Washington State. Washington State I've never been there. Let's see how far that is 2,500 miles. We're not going to visit any from Washington. But maybe we could just start the conversation. And it was pretty amazing. It was pretty amazing Within the first 24 hours we just had this long chat of just pouring out different parts of our history and same attractions.
Speaker 2:We loved praise and worship, we loved to sing. She was musical. I'm like, oh, she's musical, that's awesome. She was a foodie. I was a foodie, you know, and we just clicked that initial stage and so I was like can I get your number Fast forward to the next day and the world shuts down, you know, march 14. She's like you know, I'm a teacher but I don't have to work today, so maybe I could talk to you. I'm like cool, sounds good to me. And so I said I'm like cool, sounds good to me. And so I said, annie, would you be willing to pray with me? Just a Hail Mary or maybe a rosary, if you'd like to. She's like, yeah, that'd be awesome. And one of the first things I thought about was like, do I just do a rosary or do I do like a consecration prayer? And I was thinking, you know, I know Father Calloway recently wrote a book about consecration of St Joseph and I heard, you know in the book that St Joseph is really good when it comes to finding your spouse. So I was like, okay, let me get this book and see if it's possible.
Speaker 2:So after I got the book, I was like so, annie, I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining me in not only a rosary but a consecration, which is about 33 days long, to St Joseph. She's like, well, there's a bit of a time difference, you know. It's like three hours or two hours from Seattle to Birmingham. And she's like I'll have to wake up early, but I'll do it with you. So we start praying the rosary and learning about St Joseph.
Speaker 2:And by the 15th day, david, I was like I got to meet this girl. She is waking up early, she's sacrificing and she's willing to pray with me. And we're not only praying but we're sharing more about our life after learning about St Joseph's life. And so it's almost like a Bible study. You could relate to that.
Speaker 2:But I was learning about this girl remotely during the pandemic. And so I'm like, st Joseph, if you are opening this door for me, please help me get there. I need to meet her, you know. And so I'm looking on Expedia and all the airlines. I'm like, okay, there's a plane ticket that's the cheapest.
Speaker 2:We're on May 1st, which is actually the feast of St Joseph the worker and the last day of our consecration. So I'm going to go for it. And so May 1st comes and I knock on her door and I said hi, annie, I'm willing to be six feet apart from you. I just wanted to meet you. And she comes out and hugs me and I was like Lord, thank you for bringing me here. Like Lord, thank you for bringing me here, st Joseph, thank you for bringing me to this moment and just allowing me to have the courage to do this. And we sit down and pray the last day of consecration with each other in front of our house and pray the rosary. And after the rosary I said would you be willing to go out with me for a date?
Speaker 1:she's like yeah that'd be awesome.
Speaker 2:and so that next day, uh, after spending, uh, the night at my hotel I didn't stay with her I brought sushi to her house because all the restaurants were closed, so I got sushi takeout and we literally had a picnic in front of our house, and it was we call it corn dating but, it was.
Speaker 2:It was what we could do during the pandemic, you know. And, um, I went back home after that weekend and I said, st Joseph, I really like her. If you want this relationship to grow, please, if it's God's will, please help me find a job in Seattle. And I kid you, not David, within one week, annie had a friend who was looking for a youth minister in Seattle and I literally had a Zoom interview a week after my visit. Wow. And I literally had a Zoom interview a week after my visit. Wow. And they said, you know, after the whole one hour interview, they're like all right, you got the job. When can you be here? I was like I was in tears, I was like trying to hold it back.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:I was like I could be there by July 1st, yeah, and so they're like OK, and so you know, fast forward to moving to Seattle during the pandemic and meeting her family, her friends. They're all very religious and prayerful, I just think, st Joseph, and I thank God for allowing me to have the courage to go through all those steps, but it was really a grace-filled moment.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. No, I just love the. The god winks, your entire story man. Like the, the feast day of our lady, of fatima, the day the sun danced, I mean the feast of the saint joseph the worker. I know for me that I came home to the church on August 15th 2009, when I was 21, and ended up proposing to my wife on the assumption as well oh beautiful, four years to the date. And so I just love those little God winks, right Of God, showing like I'm here and I'm I'm moving in your life. He's so faithful.
Speaker 2:Amen. Sometimes I do wonder why all those years of formation.
Speaker 1:And I was just about to ask you that question.
Speaker 2:You know, it's like maybe it was part of preparing me for my wife. I remember who I was before. I was a religious brother, and I was pretty much a jerk, very proud. Although I was the eldest of seven kids, I was not a good big brother, and so I learned a lot in formation. And I would say one thing that I would tell those who leave religious life don't regret it. Don't forget those years, because although it is difficult to leave, take the good with you. You learned a lot of good things. You were purified. If anything, you're pruned by god to be the strong tree that he wants you to be, so don't be discouraged in other words, time is not lost.
Speaker 1:Amen, yes, with that time. Right that god is is working for your good. I know I quote romans 828 all the time, but it is my favorite verse. So, yes, that God is working for your good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's on our side, so he wants us to be with him.
Speaker 1:Why would?
Speaker 2:he be against us.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of curious how the conversation went just about the fact that you spend so many years discerning religious life and then, all of a sudden, to be considering marriage. How did that conversation go?
Speaker 2:Oh right, yeah, I was very open about you. Know, you're one of the few I've dated, so please let me know if I'm doing something wrong. You know I was a religious brother for 10 years. I feel like she, in many ways, was at that position too, because she entered the dating app and said Lord, if this doesn't work out, I'll join the religious nuns, you know, and so we're kind of at that understanding, like we knew that we want to serve God. That was clear.
Speaker 2:Eventually, how, be it religious life or marriage, that was still in question. And so when we found each other, we were sharing all these experiences of what we went through. She went to retreats, almost like come and sees with sisters. They're always tugging at her and saying, hey, come join us. Very similar experiences to me, and so, uh, yeah, I think the conversation went fairly easily because we could relate with each other. Yeah, um, the the end goal was to serve god and to be with him in heaven, and if it's a community, who we get to heaven, or a wife or a husband, right, we're still going to try to get to heaven amen.
Speaker 1:It kind of reminds me of saint therese's parents a little bit. Oh, they were, they were discerning, right, but then, yeah, they came together and fell in love, which is which is beautiful, right oh man, if I could try to be something like the Martins. Oh man, that's such a high goal.
Speaker 2:But yeah, they're amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so how do you get inspiration for your art?
Speaker 2:Yes, well, I think I mentioned a little bit of this before. I did grow up with American comics, sure, and so you could kind of see that in my style. Some people have actually said St Joseph looks like a comic book character. I've seen. I'm like probably, you know, I read a lot of American comics growing up. More than the secular inspirations, god is my primary inspiration. When I look at nature, when I see beautiful couples going to Mass, families, I do look at how the light shines on them and how beautiful it looks when they pray with each other. I would say those are my real-life inspirations. I don't know if you've seen St Joseph the Graphic Novel, but a lot of the images of the family in the chapel is based off of my own family, of how we would walk into a church during daily mass, like ducks, you know, in a row, and it was beautiful when I would turn around and see my siblings, you know it was.
Speaker 2:It was my, one of my inspirations.
Speaker 1:Do you ever have moments when you are in prayer and have, like this random inspiration where you just feel like the Lord is asking you to create in that moment? Has that happened to you before?
Speaker 2:David, this year has been one of the most, I would say. I call it a dump, like a spiritual dump, but when the lord just floods me with these inspirational thoughts, um, recently there have been a lot, and so I'm just like I said, if I was a superhero and I had a superpower, it would be speed, so I could keep up with the lord, you know exactly. Um, but yeah, there are a lot, especially this year, and so I can't mention any projects at the moment. That's okay. I'm going to say no spoiler alerts, yeah, but coming soon there will be quite a few, by the grace of God, if he wants them.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to see it. And how do people stay connected to being able to stay up to date with the work that you're doing for the kingdom? Yeah, amen.
Speaker 2:I'm on social media, so there's Facebook I think that Facebook is prostrata underscore LLC and the Instagram. It's probably linked to your site right now, but it's samestrada, underscore art and that's probably the best place to find my work. I'll have links already linking to Our Lady of Fatima a graphic novel my first one and Our Lady of Guadalupe, she's Heart of St Joseph, and most recently I was able to work with an advocate for pro-life communities and she wrote a book about a boy with down syndrome, and so I'm doing children's books now. It's a amazing book. It's not particularly catholic but it's pro-life, and so a lot of those of different faiths are finding this a very eye-opening book. Yeah, because it just starts with the beginning. God made us. Everyone is image and likeness, no matter what abilities and disabilities you know, and we are all made with a purpose and a value and a worth so more to come that's beautiful man.
Speaker 1:I'm really looking forward to seeing it. The last question I always like to ask uh every guest is what is your hope for the future of the church? Any thoughts there?
Speaker 2:Oh, man, to inspire and form the saints of our times amongst the youth, amongst the young adults, amongst the elderly, because it's never too late to be a saint yeah, the elderly, because it's never too late to be a saint, yeah. But I would say that one thing I like to add is that my wife and I were recently called to kind of further this, this call to to form saints. I never found myself doing this, but we've been asked to, you know, give talks at parishes, show a little bit of my graphic novels and work, but ultimately to tell our story and to hopefully inspire young people to become saints by telling them the stories of the saints, tell them about our story and the fact that they can use their talents in order to glorify God. You know, that's one of the biggest things we'd like to share in these talks. So, praise God, we've been traveling quite a bit and hopefully can work out work with other parishes as well in the future.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how? If they wanted to reach out and actually have you there with your wife, how could they do that?
Speaker 2:They could message me on social media, so through my Instagram. I think that's the best place, perfect.
Speaker 1:That's great. Well, on that note, man, I just want to thank you so much for your yes to Jesus and his church, and it's been such a blessing, honestly, just to have you share just the ways that the Lord has moved in your heart, and I'm sure you still get a lot of inspiration just by sitting at the Lord's feet in adoration and just listening to him speak, which is such a gift.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I thank you for your yes too, david, because just knowing that you are bringing to light all these stories, I think it's definitely purposeful. You're inspiring people to say yes, not only hearing the yeses. You're inspiring people to say yes, not only hearing the yeses of others, but to say yes themselves. Yeah, that doesn't have to be drawing, doesn't have to be using their art, it could be anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just say yes just using those gifts, uh, for the greater glory of god. Right amen, yeah, on that note man, if note man, do you want to close us in prayer tonight? And thanks again, just so thankful for you, definitely In the name of the.
Speaker 2:Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen, amen. Dear St Joseph, thank you for guiding me in this mission and all those who have said yes to God's will Please help us be like you and to imitate you, because we know it is difficult to trust in the divine plan, just as you trusted. But we know that God will give us the wisdom He'll take us through the Egypts of our life and help us battle the Herods. So we pray for his grace to help us keep on going, and especially when it gets difficult to say yes. Glory be to the father and to the son and to the Holy spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now never shall be world without an amen. Amen, awesome Holy spirit. Amen, amen. Bless the Holy Spirit, amen.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the ministry, please share with others, post about it on social media or please leave a rating and review. To catch all the latest stories, you can follow us on Instagram at yescatholic and visit our website yescatholiccom. If you have benefited from yes Catholic, please consider joining our Patreon community. Visit patreoncom slash yescatholic. I would like to thank our current patrons for your ongoing prayers, support and contributions that have helped yes Catholic reach thousands of souls all over the world each week. 1 Peter 3.15 says Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you. You have a story. Don't be afraid to share the good news of how Jesus Christ has moved in your life with a family member, friend or colleague. Give Jesus your yes every single day and watch the ripple effect of the gospel. Join us next week. The journey continues right here at yes Catholic.