Jonathan Rumi, who plays Jesus in the hit TV show, The Chosen, joins us to talk about his journey as a Catholic actor, his faith, and his inspiration for the role of Jesus in The Chosen.
00:00:00.000Welcome to this episode of the John Henry Weston Show, where we are very privileged to speak with the actor who's playing Jesus on the super viral show, TV show that's going on right now called The Chosen. Stay tuned.
00:00:30.000Jonathan Rumi, welcome to the John Henry Weston Show.
00:00:36.500I'm doing very well. We'll begin as we always do with the sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
00:00:46.140I feel actually very privileged to talk to you. It's because your show has been a major impact on my life in this coronavirus crisis, because it is, I mean, it's a horrible thing.
00:00:58.220I go to daily mass, and I've been deprived of that. And so it's been a very difficult time.
00:01:05.700And yet, the advent of The Chosen, and for free, and hearing about it, has been an amazing thing.
00:01:12.440I binge-watched it for a few nights, and it was just superb.
00:01:17.740So I have tons of questions for you, as I'm sure many do.
00:01:21.000And by the way, those of you who are watching this, if you haven't seen The Chosen yet, you've got to check it out.
00:01:25.820There's an app online, The Chosen, but also you can see it on YouTube.
00:01:35.940It's really stunning to be able to portray Christ in film.
00:01:41.720The only one I ever saw in my life that I thought was good, this is good, is, of course, The Passion of the Christ.
00:01:48.520And so we want to ask you, first of all, did you get any inspiration into how you're doing, what you're doing with watching The Passion of the Christ?
00:01:58.540You know, well, first of all, thank you for having me on the show.
00:02:06.240And thank you for all who are watching and who have seen The Chosen.
00:02:11.180It's been quite an experience playing the Lord.
00:02:17.480It's been the preeminent experience of my life to an honor to play our Lord and Savior.
00:02:25.380Specifically watching The Passion of the Christ, one of the things I think that really generated a bit of inspiration for Dallas Jenkins,
00:02:39.460the creator of the series, The Chosen, was this snippet of a scene in The Passion,
00:02:47.000which is a flashback where Jesus is building a table and Mary is examining his work and then tells him to come in for dinner and reminds him to wash his hands.
00:03:00.140So he washed his hands and then he splashes her.
00:03:03.680And it's one of the very few light moments that you see in that entire film.
00:03:08.640And also one of the first times we've ever seen Christ's humanity, his relationship with his mother that wasn't scriptural,
00:03:17.400that was sort of in between and sort of gave us glimpses as to what, you know, Jesus the man might have been like.
00:03:24.720I think that's something that's always resonated for me.
00:03:27.540And I think that the depiction that we're able to bring for The Chosen is a testament to the writing and the Holy Spirit working through the writing of these scripts
00:03:43.820in a way that allows us through the use of time and through the medium of episodic television to be able to pace ourselves telling this story.
00:03:57.120So there's a lot more flexibility that allows us to see different sides of Christ that we haven't seen before.
00:04:05.640So there was very little that I could say that I could go off of that, that I could base my own kind of work on.
00:04:13.640And also as an actor, it's not something that I, that I would generally try to do because anytime you've got someone else's performance in your head
00:04:24.080or their sort of depiction, it kind of starts to influence your own interpretation of the role.
00:04:30.660And so what I try to do in that respect is essentially just, first of all, I pray and then I pray that I am sort of emptied of the role of whatever that I'm bringing to the role.
00:04:47.600I'm just asking God to kind of use me as a channel and anything that's me, that's residual, that doesn't need to be there for him to move it out
00:04:57.560and then just to send the spirit forth and that, you know, so people don't see Jonathan acting.
00:05:03.820I'm not sure that they see the spirit of, in the heart of Christ, hopefully coming through these words that were very beautifully written by our writers.
00:05:11.480Right, right. But I think the one burning question, despite your wanting to put our Lord first, is who is portraying Christ?
00:05:18.020Who is Jonathan Rumi? I'm sure people are wondering about who you are, but perhaps even more importantly about your own faith life.
00:05:25.760Yeah, well, I was raised with faith. I'm a practicing Catholic and I have always, Christ's always been in my life.
00:05:38.220But in the last several years, that relationship has really, really gotten stronger and more sort of myoptically focused, I guess you could say,
00:05:50.860on really trying to surrender my will to God's, you know, especially in approaching a business as chaotic as the entertainment industry
00:06:02.500and a business that's so full of distractions as well.
00:06:08.960My relationship in the last few years has come to a point of, I guess one would say reversion or deeper conversion.
00:06:21.120And that now is the sort of guiding principle for everything that I do.
00:06:28.540And I feel my mission on this planet is and why I'm here and why I'm playing Jesus in the chosen and not somebody else.
00:06:39.740So it's led me to kind of really reflect on where God's brought me along in my journey.
00:06:47.000And so, yeah. So, I mean, I go to Mass as often. I was going to Mass as often as I can.
00:06:53.900I lead a holy hour every day at 3 o'clock Pacific time on my currently on my Instagram page.
00:07:01.500I just did 40 days on Facebook through Lent and which was just something that kind of was born out of God putting this impression on my heart
00:07:11.700that I needed to offer some kind of prayer for people that would allow them to feel a little less anxiety.
00:07:19.540So we started praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which I'm a very fond devotee of.
00:07:27.420Yeah. And then we just started up again three days ago.
00:08:41.800It gives me a sense of clarity and of focus.
00:08:44.300And, you know, I feel that that allowed me to bring Him to the screen in a very, well, hopefully authentic way because it's changing my heart.
00:08:59.600And so I feel that if you are, as an actor, our job is to play truth under imaginary circumstances.
00:09:09.620So if I'm bringing this level of spiritual truth to my work from a human standpoint, it'll automatically have a resonance there that will be picked up on by, I think, the cameras and the people around me.
00:09:30.240And, you know, having that accessible to me, I think, just was just part of, I mean, it was part of my prep, you know, it was part of my active prep, believe it or not.
00:09:43.820Most people don't think of, you know, spiritual prep, but especially with something like this, it was mandatory.
00:09:53.460Absolutely. Now, this is a neat thing for you as a Catholic, as someone who has loved Christ and loved the faith.
00:10:01.720You had all sorts of prep, even a lifetime of prep, if you will, because getting to know Jesus has been sort of a lifetime occupation.
00:10:10.640But as a Catholic, not only Jesus, you've got to know Our Lady before doing this.
00:10:16.740And then also all of the characters, almost all the characters anyways, are saints.
00:10:20.840So, did any of that sort of preparation, if you will, lifelong preparation, play into your interaction now with the different characters that play the different saints, Our Lady and so on?
00:10:37.200And for me, it was really important to have an understanding of, you know, Mary's, Mother Mary's place in the series and, you know, at least at this stage and to really have a connection to her.
00:10:56.880I, I, myself, was consecrated to her, her immaculate heart two years ago.
00:11:03.380It was something that, you know, some friends from church, they had kind of suggested I did it, I do it.
00:11:12.060And then I, and I had some reluctance about it for my own personal reasons.
00:11:17.160And I just, mainly that I just didn't feel that I could sort of live up to her standard.
00:11:23.380And, you know, and the standards of, you know, what it meant to be consecrated to the Blessed Mother was kind of like, ah, man, I'm just, you know, I'm just a humble sinner here.
00:11:33.600Like, I, I, I don't know if I'm ready to, if I'll, if I'll make the cut with that.
00:11:40.840And then, and also, I mean, relatedly, I had had, you know, while I, I would say the rosary every so often, I, I, there was some kind of thing that was sort of, there was a little bit of resistance to, to, to sitting down to take the time to pray the rosary.
00:12:01.700And then all of a sudden, I, you know, I said to this woman who kept saying, why don't you go get consecrated every, you know, first Friday of the month.
00:12:08.920And I'm like, yeah, you know, I'll, I'm going to pray about it.
00:12:12.960And, and my prayer literally was, you know, uh, Lord, if this is something that you want me to do, you know, give me a sign.
00:12:21.020And then, uh, it was like a year later or something in like June, um, like the month before I got consecrated, I just got this impression where I, I, I, I mean, I feel like it could have even been blessed mother just saying like, now's, now's a good time to do this.
00:12:41.220You know, like now, now I want you to come do this.
00:12:47.900And so when that July, uh, I actually, the following month, I actually went and got consecrated.
00:12:56.200And after that, any resistance I had about praying the rose would just disappear.
00:13:01.840Everything just kind of doors just sort of opened up and, and, um, and my pastor really helped me also in making my decision, um, to understand the strength of her intercessory, uh, intercessory, um, power and, um, to really have a better understanding as to what role she could play in my life.
00:13:23.060And so, uh, and so, uh, obviously coming up to, uh, and it was actually, this is the summer before we started filming the children.
00:13:29.500Uh, and so, uh, a year later when we filmed the second half of the children, cause we filmed it in four episode blocks, um, I, um, you know, I was really like excited to get to, to work with whoever was playing, um, mother Mary, because now I had her, I had a revitalized relationship.
00:13:47.760I had a renewed relationship, um, with her and myself and I tried to bring my love of blessed mother, uh, to the role.
00:13:57.660Um, you know, there's a scene, for instance, when we reconnect, uh, which is episode five at the wedding of Kana.
00:14:05.480Um, I kind of bear hug her and lift her up off the ground.
00:14:09.200And, um, you know, I asked Dallas if it was okay.
00:14:12.600I did that because that's something when, um, my mother lives in New York.
00:14:16.240And so when I go home, that's how I kind of greet my mother.
00:14:32.680You're, you're, you're going to, um, the, the sort of, um, formator, if you will, of, of the body of the Lord in that, you know, he was conceived in her flesh and in her womb.
00:14:44.100And, uh, you, by going to her, consecrating yourself to her, are sort of being formed into her son.
00:14:51.440We're all supposed to be alter Christus.
00:14:53.460We're all supposed to be, you know, uh, St. Paul said, I live no longer now, not I, but Christ lives in me.
00:14:59.560Um, let, let's talk about that for a second, because I, I heard you on an interview with, with Dallas, uh, Dallas Jenkins, by the way, for everyone who doesn't know, is the writer, producer, uh, or excuse me, writer, director, and, uh, just fabulous Christian fellow.
00:15:13.020And, uh, you talked together about, um, really trying to live your life for Christ, uh, you know, and, and we're called to this huge vocation to, to be Christ to others in, in a, in a very real way.
00:15:25.840I mean, everyone, not only you and playing Christ, um, but you've now got this special role because you're supposed to, we're all as Christians are supposed to be Christ to others.
00:15:51.820It's challenging anyway to try and pre-Christ to others, but this added dimension, how's that, how's that going for you?
00:15:57.680Um, it can, it can be a little, uh, daunting at times, as you can imagine.
00:16:02.580Um, you know, there's, there's definitely this, uh, weight of responsibility that I feel, uh, very often.
00:16:14.120Um, and at one point, you know, it actually caught up with me in one of the episodes, episode six, we start seeing, uh, Jesus actually preaching to crowds, like a growing crowd outside of a house.
00:16:28.160And it was the first time we had ever filmed something like that before.
00:16:33.440And, uh, as we started, and it was a, it was a very conflict, uh, complicated scene to shoot.
00:16:39.860It took five or six days to shoot this whole scene.
00:16:42.500And there were all these different camera angles and we were outside and we were on the roof and we were in an alley and all surrounding this one central hub of activity, which was this house in the story, which was Zebedee's house in the story.
00:16:54.960And, um, so most of the, most of what you're seeing as I'm, as I'm beginning to preach as Christ in the scene is of all this activity that's happening at the same time, these converging storylines.
00:17:08.560So the camera wasn't focused on me, but I still have to deliver sermon, a parable.
00:17:14.940I still have to preach as Jesus to a crowd of people that have to look like they're wrapped in, you know, my every, uh, uh, phrase and word and just hanging on every word.
00:17:26.500And at one point, beginning of filming that it started to dawn on me, what I was actually doing and what, what I was actually saying to people and how this is going to be recorded.
00:17:40.420And people are going to see this and like, all of a sudden it got very meta and it's just like the camera just kind of pulled back and, and, and in my mind.
00:17:48.880And I, all of a sudden I had a bit of a crisis, I was going through a bit of a stressful point of anxiety attack.
00:17:56.880I wouldn't call it a panic attack, but I was extremely stressed for a moment.
00:18:01.880And I had to, I had to take Dallas aside for a second, just to say, Hey, can we hold on a second?
00:18:09.020Like we were kind of running through certain shots and I didn't feel I was getting what I wanted to do.
00:18:13.920And I, and I didn't want to screw it up.
00:19:01.520And all of us on this planet are here for specific mission and reason and to draw others to him.
00:19:10.380And I feel that it kind of clicked for me in that moment.
00:19:15.980Like it's me standing there and not somebody else.
00:19:19.780And I have to, I have to, I have to not question that because that was designed by God.
00:19:25.860And then as I look back and see all these little moments in my life that connect my experiences that lead me to that present moment,
00:19:36.720which is right here right now in this world in 2020 as the man playing Christ in this series that is now reaching every part of the globe.
00:19:46.740And I have to, I have to, I have to, I have to honor that and say, okay, God, God is using me for something pretty big.
00:19:54.820And I have to, I have to, I have to, I have to, I have to, I have to accept it and I have to be ready to just, you know, take on whatever comes my way.
00:20:09.740But trusting in him and knowing that he's got me, he wouldn't put me here if, if I couldn't handle it or if he wasn't going to take care of me, you know?
00:20:22.040Absolutely. Absolutely. There, there's so much there now. I want to ask you that.
00:20:25.500So first of all, you were mentioning points in your life that might have led here.
00:20:31.420Are there any specific points in your life, uh, your, your, your acting career, your early life that, that you feel led you here specifically?
00:20:41.740Any, where do you want me to start? Um, I'll tell you, I'll tell you the first, the first moment that was very, very, very specific.
00:20:53.680Um, growing up every Easter, I used to watch Jesus of Nazareth, the miniseries that premiered on NBC,
00:21:00.720I believe in like 1977. And it was just, and I'm sure, you know, it was just, uh, a beautifully directed, um, rendition of, uh, faithfully depicted, uh, rendition of scriptures, uh, in the form of a miniseries in six hours.
00:21:18.400And it dealt with the birth of Christ and, and then Christ's ministry through his death and resurrection.
00:21:25.580And as a 10 or 12 year old, I was probably closer to 12 years old as, but, um, as a, as a 12 year old kid that had seen this story, uh, and watched, you know, the passion as it was portrayed in Jesus of Nazareth.
00:21:44.740Um, I was, I had this memory come up about five or six years ago, uh, of being so profoundly moved by this depiction in the show and watching Christ go through his, his passion and his road to Calvary and, and, and the cross.
00:22:01.160That I remember after watching it, going outside my house, grabbing a couple of two by fours, building a cross, hammering nails into the hand, where the hands and the feet would be.
00:22:17.200Um, literally doing my own stations of the cross in my backyard as a kid, all the way to the hill, which was the side of my garage, where I would plant the cross, lean it against the garage wall, put a little cinder block to keep it in place and to step on the cinder block.
00:22:39.840Um, and just pretend I was crucified, like as a kid, like as a kid, I'm thinking, first of all, like, how did the cops not show up and start asking questions to my parents, you know, um, so, and then like what triggered that memory was, you know, X amount of years later, I'm performing the living stations of the cross here in St. Monica's, uh, in Santa Monica at St. Monica's church.
00:23:09.520And he, 15, I think it was for the first time and doing this very thing.
00:23:16.900And then five years later, four years later, I'm doing it for a TV show.
00:24:01.580Um, so they would do lives of the saints and they would send out these shows around the country.
00:24:07.420Uh, also in Canada, they would also perform in Canada where an actor, uh, and one or two assistants would travel around from church to church or school or wherever that, uh, these, these shows.
00:24:20.140Those would be, uh, subsidized and put up a play and you would have the actor, a couple of set pieces and the screen, um, on which was broadcast, uh, other characters, other locations.
00:24:32.940And, and the person on stage would interact with the characters on screen.
00:25:44.660And so at this one point, it had to be about 2003, I was going through a, uh, kind of a tough time.
00:25:52.300And I, my dad had already been a, uh, devotee to the divine mercy, you know, Vena and the divine mercy chaplet.
00:25:58.840And, you know, and I always knew for him that it was very powerful spiritual weapon.
00:26:04.440And so I wanted to pray and, you know, you're supposed to have, um, the, the icon with you, or it's, it's just something to kind of help focus.
00:26:14.040And I just didn't like the, the, the image that I knew.
00:26:17.140And I, I said to myself one day, or I prayed, I said, man, you know, and I was living in New York City in an apartment in Queens.
00:26:25.000And I said, you know, it would be really lovely if I could just find, uh, like a divine mercy icon or a divine mercy, you know, image in the style of a Greek Orthodox icon.
00:26:38.060Um, you know, something that would be nice and, and, and, and small, it could fit in my little apartment here in the city.
00:26:43.740I think, I think I'd really enjoy that, you know, um, more than, than the image I have here.
00:26:50.460I really wish I could find something like that.
00:26:54.580Three days later, this image showed up.
00:27:12.660I prayed for this very thing, very small, perfect for an apartment, the wall.
00:27:19.380And, and outside my, my door or the, or the mailboxes where people would leave stuff where you could get a, you know, you'd take something, leave something like books, DVDs.
00:27:30.540But for that to show up so specific to me, it was just another sign that God was starting to call me.
00:27:40.780So I told that story 10 years later to the director of Faustina.
00:27:50.040I mean, clearly, I mean, clearly there's a guy to be playing this story.
00:27:53.600If that's happening to you, divine mercy is getting into your life in this way, in a sort of a supernatural divine, divinely intervened kind of way.
00:28:25.760Another thing you mentioned in there that's very interesting, and it was, uh, recognizing your own unworthiness.
00:28:33.580Uh, we, you know, we call it mostly humility to the understanding that we're not worthy to represent Christ.
00:28:39.540And yet we all do in a way as Christians, we're all called to, uh, we're called to, to our children, to our families, to our friends, and so on.
00:28:48.440You bring that to, to your understanding, to your practice of your, of this role, which has not only, um, that aspect of, of your, you know, you're trying to be Jesus to your fellow actors and the director and everything else, but also portraying Jesus.
00:29:04.740But in a, you know, also in a very specific way, you are, uh, people see you now at post-production.
00:29:13.080Hundreds of millions of people have seen this and been massively affected by it.
00:29:18.840And so you're probably getting quite a bit of fan adulation, but in a weird way, the kind of way that, that, um, perhaps, uh, Jim Caviezel would express, uh, because people are looking at you kind of funny in a way right now.
00:29:32.380Um, yeah, uh, yeah, there's, there's definitely been a little bit of that.
00:29:37.200Um, but, uh, I have to say that the fans that I've had and, and have been so wonderful and beautiful and, and of the best intentions and, um, praying for me and sending me message of prayer and support and encouragement.
00:29:54.340Um, and, um, um, it's been overwhelming, the love and support has been overwhelming to me.
00:30:01.540Um, I have made, uh, a bit of an effort, um, in my, um, I guess through this devotional prayer hour that I felt called to do, um, you know, to express at times parts of my journey, which is a very human and, and broken road.
00:30:19.940Um, and, um, um, people's response to that has been, um, super encouraging and super supportive.
00:30:29.100Um, and I think it's, it's good in a way that people see that I'm a flesh and blood broken human being, like every one of us, um, that I'm no different than anybody else.
00:30:41.720Um, because I think it can, there is that room, um, for people to sort of have that line kind of waver.
00:30:52.400And, and I noticed it when we were, uh, especially when we were filming last summer, uh, episodes of five through eight, um, I would have to, um, not, I would have to, but, um, I would inevitably, um, run into many people that were either investors of the show
00:31:11.080or fans of the show, um, and, and, uh, and gratefully so, uh, meet them and, and acknowledge that how like we couldn't do the series without the investment and support and, and financial, uh, you know, the contributions of everybody that, uh, helped get the show off the ground.
00:31:31.580Um, uh, but there, there, there was, there would be moments that from time to time, and this might've even happened with some people that were a little more well-known or in the public eye where they kind of look at you and like, they're, it's, you can see, it's like, they're looking at Jesus, you know, they've seen the first four episodes.
00:31:53.660So there's this thing and it's, I think it goes a little beyond like seeing your favorite actor, uh, because it's, you're now representing the most personal relationship that they have in their life.
00:32:08.900Um, so, um, my, my, uh, my acting, uh, mentor, um, uh, the founder of the system that I studied, uh, Eric Morris,
00:32:21.660he, he, he calls, um, talks about, uh, levels of, of consciousness in performance.
00:32:29.440So, um, the 11th level of consciousness.
00:32:33.200So what you hope to have happen when you're performing a scene and when people are watching you perform is that on a scale of one to 10 of consciousness, uh, you are fully immersed in this world that you are inhabiting as an actor.
00:32:51.060You're fully engaged in the character emotionally, physically, mentally, but on the 11th level, you know, that this is not real, that there's, this is a facade.
00:33:08.600I'm, I don't actually speak with a middle Eastern accent.
00:33:11.700So I think it's kind of gently trying to also remind people that that 11th level exists when we have a face-to-face encounter so that they, that there's not all this expectation put upon me as, as a person.
00:33:30.400Cause you know, they'll watch, uh, on, uh, NBC on a Wednesday night.
00:33:35.480I turned up on Chicago med and I, I'm shooting heroin, not shooting heroin, but like, you know, I'm in the ER with, uh, with, uh, heroin track marks, you know what I mean?
00:34:03.700I, I'd love to have a conversation with him one day about it.
00:34:06.860Um, that hopefully you get to do a variety of things because as a performer, I can, I can still bring my spirituality to all these other stories.
00:34:16.980Obviously this being the greatest story ever told and the most important and the most impactful character that I will ever play in my life.
00:34:25.820Um, I never lose a focus of that, that is front and center, but, um, you know, Jesus died at the age of 33, you know, after that, as I get older, uh, hopefully there will be other things.
00:34:43.140And even while I'm my age now, I can still find, uh, in between the chosen projects to do, um, that again, will, I think anchor people, um, without, hopefully without detracting from the experience that they, that they get by watching the chosen, that the spirit is present in this work, in this depiction, in the, in, in these, uh, portrayals and in, in, in, in the scripts.
00:35:08.100So that the message is, is received by, by anyone and everyone that watches it.
00:35:13.800And I think that's something that has been profound to see.
00:35:16.900That's, that's been the overwhelming feedback as well.
00:35:19.740So, um, at the end of the day, you know, we all just have to trust that God knows what he's doing with all of this and he's not going to steer us wrong as long as we're, uh, our hearts are aligned to him.
00:35:32.100And that's a really astounding aspect of the chosen.
00:35:35.760Um, I, I mentioned at the top of the show, I, I, I'm, I'm rather critical of tons of portrayals, saints films, and, and especially films about our Lord, because it's just not, you know, it's cheesy and whatnot.
00:36:06.580It was, that's why I, I know, I mean, I just as a, as a, as a layman, but I can tell that the Holy Spirit is, has been in charge here because this is the most, I said, this is stunning.
00:36:22.160I, I, I, I was caught totally off guard.
00:36:25.720The Holy Spirit's moving here is, is very evident.
00:36:51.720Uh, are there other members of the cast too, or where is this spirit coming from?
00:36:56.080Is it all driven by obviously yourself?
00:36:58.000You're, you're, you're practicing your faith very, very, uh, stridently with, with the help, you know, with, with all sorts of the spiritual help that you can get.
00:37:04.720But, but tell us a little bit about Dallas and, uh, perhaps others who are directing this effort that, where is this spirit really coming from?
00:37:16.340Um, I, I can't quite speak to, um, anybody else, um, and nor do we, uh, sort of feel that it's our, um, that we're, that I'm able to, to, to, to speak about anybody else's spirituality.
00:37:31.420But all, all I can say, I mean, you know, Dallas is very open with it.
00:37:37.640Um, the overwhelming sense on set is a, one of, um, spiritual presence.
00:37:48.460Um, you can feel the love of God amongst, um, the cast and crew.
00:37:56.280Um, you know, there's, there's such a, um, a sense of love and pride about what we're doing, um, that it's, it's hard to, it's hard to ignore.
00:38:08.760Um, and I know, I know there are very, there are a lot of believers on, uh, on the set, both cast and crew, um, that I think contribute to the overall, um, gift that we've sort of been, um, given in the form of this, uh, project.
00:38:32.660Um, I mean, just how the project came to be, it was clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.
00:38:42.580I mean, if you, if you hear Dallas's story about the origins of, you know, how the Chosen came into existence, I mean, it was, the fact that it was crowdfunded, um, is, and, and doubled the, the record of the previously crowdfunded, highest crowdfunded project.
00:39:00.020It's just, it's just, uh, I mean, it's clearly, you know, there's a need for this.
00:39:06.280God wants his story to be told and he wants it to be told now.
00:39:12.040And he's, um, he's given us the opportunity to tell it and do it well.
00:39:20.020And he's brought, um, the nominations of every kind into the project.
00:39:26.380Um, and it's been such a wonderful ecumenical experience that has been, um, you know, a testament for me to, to the strength of, um, you know, um, you know, that it ultimately God is in charge.
00:39:46.400And, you know, if, if he wants something to happen, he'll find a way to make it happen and he'll find the right people to use, um, in the process of, of getting it done.
00:40:23.460Um, because of the amount of times, um, I've played Christ in a variety of projects in the last six, seven years.
00:40:37.480Um, it's, it's, it's became clear to me that God is using me in this, in this very specific and very literal way to bring people closer to his son.
00:40:50.120Um, and I, I don't even know if I can really truly wrap my head around the ramifications of that and, and, and the responsibility of that.
00:41:02.360Um, but, um, it's become a mission for me.
00:41:08.560You know, I, I always felt that he had given me artistic gifts for a reason and to use them to glorify him.
00:41:15.640And, um, this is, this particular role is, uh, he couldn't get clearer than that as far as wanting to me to use my gifts to glorify him.
00:41:27.420I mean, it's literally like, he, sometimes I, I think for me, he knows I need, um, I need sometimes a sign like held up, like do this, do this for me.
00:41:41.760Like now, you know, I'm like, Oh, wait, what?
00:41:47.360You know, I'm a little hard headed when it comes to subtlety.
00:41:50.580So he, uh, he, he took a much more, um, you know, uh, pronounced, uh, action by allowing me to, um, to play the role of his son and, and, uh, draw people closer to him.
00:42:07.500Um, and, um, the response as, as kind of, uh, born, born that out in, in that people have really been so, um, infusive in, in, in their, the revelations of, of themselves having a newfound relationship with Christ or having any kind of a relationship with Christ.
00:42:30.000I, I, I got a message from a woman in Japan who had had a very, a very tough life.
00:42:36.840And, um, and she was, she, for years, she worked in the pornography industry and, and finally quit that.
00:42:45.280Uh, and she got divorced and she had, was raising four kids on her own.
00:42:50.120And, uh, just like three, four months ago was studying, uh, you know, got involved with, uh, missionaries in Japan.
00:42:59.140And, and, and they, uh, she'd never picked up a Bible before and her particular mentor, missionary mentor recommended the chosen to her.
00:43:10.300And, and she watched the whole thing and she, I was convinced at that point after seeing that and after watching, um, the interview that Dallas and I did that she needed to give her life to Christ.
00:43:23.580And she was, she was telling, writing me to tell me that that's what she was doing.
00:43:27.860Um, the prayer hour that I've been doing for 40 days throughout length, um, on my Facebook page and now on my Instagram page, um, you know, I've got Christians and non-Christians, people of all denominations and faiths coming to this page.
00:43:44.460Um, my, my, my whole thing is like, leave your denominations at the door and don't get into, into denominational bickering.
00:43:53.540No, no wars on theology, like nothing.
00:43:56.440We're here to literally worship Christ, to ask for his, um, uh, blessings and his mercy and immerse ourselves in, in infinite compassion through the chaplet of the divine mercy.
00:44:08.740And, you know, I've got, you know, people writing me saying like, I'm Protestant, but I bought some rosary beads to say the chaplet because I love this concept.
00:44:22.400People have told me that they're, they've just gotten enrolled or they're getting enrolled in RCIA now.
00:44:27.880And like, you know, that the Catholicism has always spoke to them, but they never knew much about it.
00:44:32.380They had a lot of misinformation about it.
00:44:34.160So I also try to like tell them what's true and what isn't true and, and, you know, who we do worship, which is the man himself.
00:44:41.540Like that's, that's our God, you know?
00:44:43.520And, and so, um, I try to shed a little light in on, because so much light has been shed on my own journey, my own, uh, you know, uh, road to faith, um, that I just feel that, you know, to share that is now an extension of my mission as an active and to bring faiths together.
00:45:03.760Um, it's been something that's been such a huge gift for me.
00:45:07.320And, and that's how I think God is really trying to use me, especially now that we're wanting, you know, what else are you going to do?
00:45:21.540If you had a message to give a lot of our fans are very faithful Catholics, um, and, uh, there, there's some others as well who, who watched this program.
00:45:31.520Um, but what would your message be to them?
00:45:34.360Uh, and what would you be, uh, encouraging them to do right now, especially during the coronavirus crisis?
00:45:39.660Um, I'd encourage them to pray the divine mercy chaplain, whether it's on their own, people are happy, welcome to join me, say it in the three o'clock hour Pacific time, um, prayer, um, share your faith with other people.
00:45:57.800But if you're going to share, share it with boldness, but humility and love, and those are three components that I think have really kind of stuck with me.
00:46:12.160So, um, we're, we're, we're all God's children.
00:46:26.440Nobody has, um, the right to tear somebody else down.
00:46:38.580Um, with everything, uh, share everything, speak everything in your life with, uh, with love, uh, and compassion and, and forgiveness and mercy.
00:46:50.260Mercy is, um, mercy is one of the greatest traits that we can ever possess.
00:46:57.080And there's not enough of it now, especially at a time that we should be sharing, um, love and mercy and compassion with, with all our neighbors, you know, regardless of what they think.
00:47:08.320And what they, give them a pass, give people a pass.