The Dominus Project

Episode 6: Holy Habits of Grace with Deacon Eulis and Tammy Simien

Dr. Brian Pedraza: Peace of the Lord be with you friends; it's another episode of Holy Habits in the House!

My name is Dr. Brian Pedraza, Professor of Theology at FRANU and Director of the Dominus Project. As always, I’m joined by my good friend, my father, my brother, Father Josh Johnson!  What’s happening, man?  Always good to have you in the house.  

Father Josh Johnson: Always good to be in the house, cultivating Holy Habits. We have a holy couple here, Deacon Eulis and Tammy Simien, thanks so much for joining us.

Deacon Eulis Simien: Pleasure to be here.  

Father Josh: Now, we've shared many meals together since we became friends and Deacon, when you think about having a meal with Tammy and I what do you think about cooking for us?  

Deacon Eulis; Well, that's tough. If it was just Tammy, that would be easy, but then when we throw you in the mix, that makes it a little more difficult.  

Father Josh: Is it because of my tongue, I'm very particular about my taste? Is that what you're trying to say?  

Deacon Eulis: No, no, no. It’s just because I know her so much better.

Father Josh: Oh, okay, now we are getting somewhere deep already.  

Deacon Eulis: So, I’ll probably go to the grill, steaks, asparagus.  

Father Josh: To the grill sounds good to us. A cocktail?  One Manhattan?  

Deacon: Shaken for me always.  

Dr. Pedraza:  Thats a man who knows how to love, right?  

You know...Deacon is one of the best students I've ever had. I pretended to teach him.  He already has a degree.  I pretended to teach, and he would turn in 20-page documents for homework all the time.  

Father Josh: That's how he is.  He always cites all his sources and he's preaching. He makes a legal case; he makes an argument for it. That's right. Tammy is a lawyer as well, so we have so many lawyers in the parish. Whenever I do anything, I'm like Deacon..Tammy, we're good to go.  

Dr. Pedraza: This is a power couple right here.  

Father Josh: They are a holy power couple. Yes, that's right. Speaking of power, the power of Christ...

Dr. Pedraza:  There is this catechism passage that we were meditating upon for this episode, that talks about how grace really is the life of God  being given over to us. How blessed are we, that the Lord has given us the sacraments, especially the seven sacraments as the powerful, concentrated ways in which we can receive God's very life, into us. So, we were thinking about having you all on, especially to talk about the importance of sacraments within family life.  I think a lot of families, they probably think the sacraments are important, but they're more thinking about them in terms of these social rituals that we're supposed to go through because maybe mom and dad expect me to do it, or grandma expects me to do it, but not about sacraments as the life of God, that's going to do something within your family.  We were hoping to get a taste of the Simien household and how the sacraments have played an important role for ya’ll.

Father Josh: And if we can, I believe you're one of the few people, as a couple, who've received all seven sacraments. Baptism, Reconciliation, Holy Communion, Matrimony, Anointing of the sick. Has that happened yet?  

Deacon Eulis: She has  

Dr. Pedraza: Two become one, we count that!

Father Josh: and Holy Orders, so as a couple you have received all seven Sacraments.

Deacon Eulis: This is true.  

Dr. Pedraza: I'm not going to get them all and you're not going to get them all.  

Father Josh: I'm not. No, you're right. I performed them all, everything but ordination, I’ve been ordained, but not performed. Back to the Sacraments, talk about the sacraments in your life, the role they play.  

Deacon Eulis: They're very important, obviously because you've got to have something, particularly with kids, something that you can point to the kids that they can look at and materialize and say, oh, that means something to me. Now obviously, it means a whole lot more than what you see, but when you're talking to a kid, that to them, it gives them some foundations to start with.  

Dr. Pedraza: So, I take it, so there might be some families who watch this, and they're thinking, should I get my kids baptized? Wondering, is that important to me anymore?

Dr. Pedraza: What's it going to do? What would you say to a family who's thinking about that, whether they should do it or not?  

Tammy Simien:  I would say have your children baptized because what we are talking about here today too, is about grace, the grace that comes from Baptism, that enters that little child. If it's a child or adult, whatever, it helps them to do the mission that they're set here for. I would say Baptise them; you should go and get it right away. Our grandkids, we have two grandkids whose parents were not practicing Catholics and when they were babies, we kept saying, “Let's get them baptized”.  Not so much because we feared that if something happened to them, like the old people used to say they're not going to heaven, but mainly because we wanted, for them, that grace. After wearing them down a little bit, I think Nate was how old, and Matty was?  They were like five and seven and it was beautiful.  I remember Bishop Fabre, now Archbishop Fabre, he walked them down Sacred Hearts aisle and it was just beautiful, and you can see in their eyes they knew that this was so special.  

Father Josh: And the kids knew that.  

We had a confirmation at one of our school masses for one of their Grandparents, and in the mass, I preached about how when we're baptized, we receive gifts of the Holy Spirit, right? These charisms that we get, confirmation really strengthens us, we have more courage to share our charisms. When I talked about the powers of Christ that were going to be flowing through this woman, the little kids afterwards said, she really has powers? So, she really does have powers, their gifts, and I want more powers, too.  It's amazing how the kids were able to see or receive it, and then they began to long for the Sacrament at a younger age.  

Dr. Pedraza: That's Sacraments, I mean, they are important cultural rituals no doubt about that. That's actually a beautiful thing, that we celebrate as a community going through these things, but that invisible, the spiritual part, which is the most important part is receiving the life of God into us. I mean, baptism gives you something that you didn't have before. Like you get the Theological Virtues of faith, hope and love, by Baptism. I not only love you, with my love, I love you with God's love. Have you ever wanted to love somebody so bad and you're just like, man, I'm not enough.  I can't possibly love you as much as I want to love you. Well, with God's love you can, right? I mean, that's a gift that's really been given at our Baptism.  

Now I want to move a little bit through the Sacraments that families are typically encountering. Let's go to that beautiful moment of First Communion, when that happens, why is the Eucharist so important for families?  

Deacon Eulis:  I think it's important that we want to do it together as a family because we're obviously receiving Christ at that time. We're being strengthened, we're getting what we need in order, as Tammy said earlier, to fulfill the mission that we have, because we can't do it by ourselves. We need God's help in all important things that we need to do in our lives, and that (Eucharist) is a very nourishing act that gives us the strength that we need.  

Tammy Simien: Well, and, you know, when the kids see you, like, you bring them in as little toddlers, and you're going up there, but they can only get a blessing on their head. They want it, they want what you're getting.  They see the Eucharist as something very, very special and important.  

Fr. Josh: Yeah, it's beautiful for me to witness as a pastor. Both of you are so devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, right? Not only do you come into daily mass, but I also will go to the Adoration Chapel, and I'll see one or the two of you in prayer before the Lord. A defer of adoration is imitation, right? So, the more time you spend with Jesus, the more we're going to be like Jesus and both of you are so devoted to the poor, to our brothers and sisters who experienced poverty, and I know it flows from your relationship with Jesus. Okay, can you share with us how your prayer with the Blessed Sacrament has impacted your relationship with our brothers and sisters who are suffering.  

Tammy Simien:  You know, when we go out to make St. Vision to Paul visits, well, we are told before we leave to focus on Jesus in each of the people you visit. I think that the Eucharist and the other sacraments help us to do just that. I mean, I'm looking at them as you are Jesus to me, and I hope that I'm Jesus to you.  

Dr. Pedraza: Beautiful, yeah.  

Deacon Eulis:  The thing about doing that work is that we get thanked so many times, but we get so much more out of the experience of sharing their needs, sharing with them how we can not necessarily financially assist all the time, what they need, but can at least share the burden with them. What I usually like to tell them is that I'm getting way more out of this than you guys, because I'm doing what Christ did. I'm trying to imitate Him on Earth because that's what He told us as He left this earth, and He ascended back into heaven and he told us go out to everyone, to spread His name, but also spread the physical things that they need as well.  

Dr. Pedraza: Now, if you allow me.  Deacon is so intelligent, but there's always this, like an air of professionalism.  If I want to try to pry into your heart Deacon if you'll allow me. Is there a moment for you personally, in which the Eucharist has impacted you in a certain way?  

Deacon Eulis: When my oldest grandson received the Eucharist for the first time. It's an experience that I will never forget. My eyes will never forget it. I won't go any further than that.  

Dr. Pedraza: Yes, that's got to be beautiful, right? I mean, not only a child but a grandchild.

Without having the time to march through all of the sacraments, there's one really important sacrament that we can't do without when it comes to talking about Holy Habits in the house with a married couple and that's the Sacrament of Marriage, right? How long have y'all been married now?  

Tammy Simien: It's going to be 44 years in August.  

Dr. Pedraza: What has the Sacrament of Marriage meant for your marriage and your household?  

Tammy Simien: We wouldn't be together this long without that Sacrament, because, like everybody, we have ups and downs and all around, but when we're down, and we could focus on our vows and how important that is and why we shouldn't just throw it up real easily, that's how we stick together, I believe.  

Deacon Eulis: Oh, yeah, it's certainly a very, very important part of it. It gives you the strength that you need to recognize why it is important to continue to work together. Because without that strength, it's easy to be swayed away from doing that, but with that help and with that strength, it reinforces to us this commitment that we have to each other, and when we think about that, it becomes easy.

Tammy Simien: Yeah, and it helps us to love, I think, as close as we can on this earth as Jesus loved, unconditionally. You know, that's God all the way, that is nothing that we can do. You know, I just want the very best for him, whatever that would be and I tell him, I'm his biggest cheerleader. I think that the Sacrament of Marriage, you know, gives us the strength and the will and the desire to do that.  

Fr. Josh Johnson: There are a few takeaways I want to invite our families to practice. One is to speak of marriage. Go find the vows that we say to get married and as a couple, go through those vows and apply the steps of Lectio Divina to them.  Read them, what did they say? What did I say whenever I got married? What does it say to me now? Have a conversation with God then, about what it says to you and then after the conversation with God, share with each other. Have a conversation with each other about the vows.  

Then the second thing I would encourage all families to do, together, is to identify the date of your baptism and celebrate those days as a family. Make that day extra special, because just like a birthday, your natural birth is very special, your supernatural birth is also very special. I think it can be a very important and helpful practice for the kids to recognize the gift of the Sacrament.  And for dads, Deacon, it'll give you more money to spend on the gifts that you're going to get us for our baptism days. As you know my birthday is December 29, don't forget it now, St. Lucy in December is my baptism day, you can also give me an extra gift for that as well.  

Deacon Eulis: I'll keep that in mind.  

Dr. Pedraza: And it gives you a chance to break out that Baptismal candle that's probably shoved in Tupperware somewhere, right? Break it out and you light it up. Celebrate your baptism birth again, Love it.  

Fr. Josh: Thank you all so much. It's such a blessing to have you on.  

Tammy Simien: Thank you for having us.  

Fr. Josh: Absolutely.

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