We open the show on Oz Pearlman — the mentalist who's been showing up on every podcast and somehow keeps reading minds for a living. Adam just caught him on Modern Wisdom, where Pearlman walked the host through his exact internal thought process — what he picked, what he second-guessed, what he settled on — like he had a pipeline straight into the man's head. Adam now rearranges his schedule whenever Oz pops up on a screen. So consider this a formal invitation: Oz, come drink whiskey with us. Tell us our favorite bourbon. We'll pour the Glencairns.
Speaking of — this week we're sipping High West Campfire. A blend of straight rye, straight bourbon, and blended malt scotch. Yes, scotch. Peat smoke gives way to orange zest, English toffee, toasted brioche, salted caramel, leather, dark chocolate. It works.
Then Adam gives an update on baby Mary. New listeners — Adam's daughter was born very early with a heart condition and a long list of complications. She's been in the NICU since birth. This past weekend was her actual due date, and after a long string of holding-the-line W's, she's turned a meaningful corner. Off the paralytic. Better oxygen, blood pressure, heart rate. Swelling coming down. Still a long road — likely nine to twelve more months in the NICU. Adam and Lady Haylee are deeply grateful. Keep them in your prayers. Both of them.
Quick note from Dave: Good Shepherd Sunday in Tulsa. The pastor handed out cards and asked every man in the pews to write down the name of a young man who'd make a good priest. A thousand men doing that work together. Tulsa's per-capita priest count is already top five in the country — and we still need more.
Then we get into it. The King in the Tabernacle.
If the Eucharist is just a symbol, the Catholic Church is a 2,000-year deception. Flannery O'Connor's line — to hell with it — is the right one. But we don't believe it's a symbol. We believe what Christ said. Body, blood, soul, and divinity. The continuation of the Incarnation, until the end of the age.
David's been reading The Real Presence by St. Peter Julian Eymard (Cor Jesu Press). Eymard is the patron of Eucharistic adoration — one homily in him, gave it for a lifetime. And one chapter lays out a battle plan for how to actually spend a holy hour. Not just sit there. Spend it.
The four ends of worship — ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Eymard breaks the hour into four fifteen-minute sections. First fifteen: adoration. You don't walk into the royal court making demands. You fall on your knees and salute the King. Second fifteen: thanksgiving — for yourself, your family, the world. Thank Him for instituting the Eucharist at all. (Most of us forget that one.) Third fifteen: reparation. Stand in the gap. For your sins, for the world's, especially for the sacrileges against the Eucharist itself. Fourth fifteen: petition. Now you can ask. Ask large graces. Ask for the triumph of His Church. By the time you get there, you're asking for the right things.
We talk about the difference between knowing the Eucharist is Christ and acting like it. You don't accidentally get a six-pack at 40. You don't accidentally get holy, either. We're body-soul composites — what we do with our bodies forms our souls. That's why we genuflect. Dress for Mass. Kneel after Communion. St. Charbel had two modes: preparing to receive, or thanking God for having received. The bar he set is the right one.
We close with Eymard's image of the guard of honor. Jesus has made Himself vulnerable in the host. Heart pierced. Defenseless. Waiting on His men to show up and adore Him. That's the work. Guard duty. Get to adoration. Change your life.
Raise your glass.
TOPICS COVERED
Oz Pearlman the mentalist — and Adam's open invitation to come on the show
Baby Mary's update: off the paralytic, turning a corner after months in the NICU
Why prayer for Lady Haylee matters as much as prayer for Mary
Good Shepherd Sunday in Tulsa — a thousand men writing down names of future priests
Why the Eucharist is the reason to be Catholic — and why "to hell with it" is the right answer if it's a symbol
St. Peter Julian Eymard, the patron of Eucharistic adoration, and his book The Real Presence
Why the real presence is the continuation of the Incarnation
The actual battle plan for a holy hour: ACTS in fifteen-minute sections
Why thanksgiving in adoration is the most perfect act of love
Reparation — standing in the gap for sacrileges against the Eucharist
Why your petitions get sharper after you've adored, thanked, and made reparation
Knowing the Eucharist is Christ vs. actually acting like it
Why you're not going to accidentally get holy any more than you're going to accidentally get a six-pack at 40
Body-soul composites: how genuflection, posture, and dress shape the interior life
St. Charbel's two modes — preparing to receive Communion, or thanking God for having received
Lady Pamela stopping at every chapel she passed — and why that 60 seconds was worth more than Adam realized
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the excellent
The guard of honor: Jesus exposing Himself in the host, depending on His men to defend and adore Him
Bourbon of the week: High West Campfire — the rare rye/bourbon/scotch blend
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Books:
The Real Presence by St. Peter Julian Eymard (Cor Jesu Press)
Saints:
St. Peter Julian Eymard
St. Charbel
Mother Angelica (and her new shoes at adoration)
People & previous guests:
Joey Spencer — on Christ becoming the fruit hanging on a tree
Jeff Cavins — on talking to Jesus like He's actually there
Flannery O'Connor / Dorothy Day — "If it's a symbol, to hell with it"
Oz Pearlman (mentalist, Modern Wisdom podcast)
Lady Haylee Minihan
Lady Pamela Niles
Concepts & references:
The four ends of worship: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication (ACTS)
The National Eucharistic Congress
Good Shepherd Sunday
Eucharistic adoration
The continuation of the Incarnation
Substance and accidents (Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics of the Eucharist)
When Adam and Dave decided to lead their first pilgrimage, the same name kept coming up: Select International Tours. Having now used them, we can tell you they're the real deal. Whether you want to lead a pilgrimage or join one, Select has a tour ready for wherever the Lord is calling you. Head to selectinternationaltours.com and take a look.
