Jon Leonetti speaks on the 'pursuit of holiness'
SALT LAKE CITY — Jon Leonetti, a radio host and best-selling author, brought his message to Salt Lake City on Nov. 8-9, speaking at Catholic Utah’s Theology Uncorked event on Friday at Fratelli Ristorante and, on Saturday, giving a public presentation at St. Ambrose Catholic Church.
“I love being Catholic,” Leonetti said as he opened his Saturday talk, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Holiness.” “It’s who I am; it’s everything of what I’m about. I am not Catholic because I have my life all put together. I’m Catholic because I’m a mess and I believe that it’s in and through the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that offers me the best chance of getting to heaven with God. If I did not believe it is in and through the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that I have my best chance at becoming a saint – of being in heaven with God for all eternity, which is what a saint is, being in heaven – then I would not be Catholic. I am not Catholic because it’s easy. I’m not Catholic because it’s comfortable – it’s the most uncomfortable thing in the world.”
Catholics should strive to become saints, he said, “because in the end, there’s no other meaning, reason or purpose to your or my life than to become a saint, to be in heaven with God for all eternity.”
The goal of life is to have a heart that lives in God, “where I no longer live but he lives in me, as St. Paul says – where my life goes away and where his life now reigns. That’s tough; that’s tough to do. ... That takes a lifetime for us to be able to try to figure out, but the goal is to be on that path, walking that road,” he said.
The Christian life is about “dying to myself every day” and paradoxically finding life in Christ, he said, adding that Jesus commanded his followers to pick up their cross daily and follow him.
“If we’re comfortable, we’re doing this wrong,” he said.
Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, the diocese’s vicar for clergy, attended the presentation with several friends and family members. He said he liked Leonetti’s message about having to “deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow him. Sometimes we think that the Catholic Church is just a feel-good church, that we want to have our ears tickled, we want to come hear what’s going to make us feel good about who we are and what we’re doing without realizing that yeah, it’s a church that encourages us to pick up the cross.”
In the second part of his talk, Leonetti focused on three points: the need to pray, the necessity of partaking in the Church’s sacraments, and the benefits of developing a relationship with Mother Mary.
People need an intimate relationship with God, which can be developed through prayer, because “if we don’t feed our souls, our souls die,” he said.
Leonetti gave a brief overview of several types of prayer: traditional prayer, lectio divina, the rosary and meditation in the Catholic tradition. He also stressed the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and urged those who had not been recently to Confession to partake of the sacrament.
“Reconciliation reconciles me back in right relationship with Almighty God; brings it to light so I live in the light,” he said.
Leonetti’s focus on prayer resonated with David and Rachel Ng, who are new parishioners at St. Ambrose.
“It’s reminding us of what we should be doing,” Rachel Ng said. Her husband added that he plans to rededicate himself to his prayer life.
Catholic Utah, a nonprofit organization, was formed a year ago. It offers speaking events, family events and a book club for Catholics in their mid-20s to mid-50s. Their next Theology Uncorked event is scheduled for Feb. 20.
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