← The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Fr. Mike Schmitz and Michael Iskander on "House of David", Catholic Faith, and More
00:36:29
Fr. Mike Schmitz sits down with Michael Iskander, best known for his role as King David in House of David, for a powerful conversation on faith, vocation, and the journey toward God. They reflect on David as a flawed man after God’s own heart, exploring what it means to live faithfully, trust God’s mercy, and simply do the “next right thing.” Michael also shares his journey to Catholicism, including his experience growing up in Egypt amid persecution and the moments that led him to a deeper relationship with God. Michael also shares his “five stones” for spiritual battle, which serve as a practical and powerful roadmap for staying grounded in the spiritual life: The Rosary The Eucharist Sacred Scripture Fasting Monthly Confession Don’t miss this inspiring conversation and be sure to check out Season 2 of House of David, streaming March 27 on Prime Video.
Loading summary
Transcript67 lines
- [00:00]
A
Coming up in today's episode. David is one of my favorite characters in the entire Bible.
- [00:05]
B
Why him? The guy that committed murder and committed adultery and like tons of other things. Speaking of Bible, in a year, by the way, the, the first place I went to when I got the rope, I went to your Bible in a year and I went to first Samuel. And that's what I, that's what I listened to. We all know, like, Saul killed his thousands. David has tens of thousands. Like, this guy had so much blood on his hands, you know, so why, why him? It really puts into perspective how far God can reach. No matter how, how far away we may go, he. He's got that reach that can just bring you out of anything. We are all called to be David, and we're all called to go up against the giant, the spiritual giant, and up against ourselves, against the flesh. And, and these are the stones that we battle that with.
- [00:56]
A
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension. Present today I have the opportunity to have a conversation, and the conversation is with a man named Michael iskander. He's a 24 year old actor who is best known for starring as King David in the Amazon prime series House of David. Michael and I got a chance to meet in person for about three and a half seconds maybe a month ago or so. And it is. I wish we had more time in person, but it's great to have, you know, you here now on Ascension presents virtually.
- [01:26]
B
Yeah, Father, it's so great to be here. It's so great to be chatting with you. And, and I'm so glad we got to meet. Even for that three and a half seconds. That was, it was brief.
- [01:36]
A
I was very. I, I was stoked to meet you. It was like, but, but here's the thing. I, when I was like, oh, this is Michael, I'm like, hey, me too. And, and we had just this interaction and I'm like, oh, that's David. What the heck I'm missing on the fact that this. Yeah, it was great to meet you. But you're David.
- [01:55]
B
Well, at least the TV version of it.
- [01:57]
A
Yeah. When people play a role that represents a religious figure, one of the things they wonder is okay for yourself, like you as the actor, not just as the character you're playing, but as the actor, I wonder, is this guy, is this man, is he a person of faith? Or, or is he just, you know, playing a role? Is he, is he an actor? Or is he an actor and a man of faith? And so I guess how Would you describe yourself when it comes to that particular kind of. That question that I'm sure people ask?
- [02:26]
B
That's a great question, actually, because, like, I think even, like, without being an actor, like, like, am I a man of faith? Like, are we, like, are we really men of faith? Are we worthy to call ourselves followers of Christ? I try in my day to day life to live that out as well. And, you know, obviously I fail all the time, but I'm trying my best to let him work through me and kind of push myself aside, you know?
- [02:52]
A
Yeah, yeah. Which is, you know, fascinating to be able to play someone like David who, I mean, even how Scripture describes him as a man after God's own heart and at the same time. So what a compliment to be described by the word of God as a man after God's own heart at the same time. We know David. When you read the whole story, you're like, okay, he wasn't a perfect guy. He wasn't without flaws or without faults. And so that ability to be able to enter into a character like that, again, a man after God's own heart with flaws is. Imagine an extension of us as men who want to be known in the same way as men of our God's own heart.
- [03:32]
B
Yeah, yeah. No, he's David. I mean, David, I think, is one of the most beautiful characters in the Bible. And like, it was always odd to me that David is the guy that, as Jesus is entering Jerusalem, you know, that is the son of David. Like you said, the man after God's own heart. Why him? The guy that committed murder and committed adultery and like, tons of other things. And like, you know, we all know, like, Saul killed his thousands. David has tens of thousands. Like, this guy had so much blood on his hands, you know, so why. Why him? And it was, I think, like, on the journey of the show and just like diving into who David is in general. It's been one of the most fascinating experiences for me because it's just. It really puts into perspective how far God can reach. No matter how. How far away we may go, he's got that reach that can just bring you out of anything.
- [04:27]
A
I think I've said it so many times in the course of, whether it be like Sunday homilies or even through the Bible in the year or where it just, like, David is one of my favorite characters in the entire Bible, and David probably is my favorite character in the entire Old Testament. Why do I resonate so much with David? And there's all these different layers for me One. One of them is when David goes before King Saul and says, you know, I'll fight Goliath on your behalf. And, you know, Saul pushes back and. And. And David describes how he lived his early life, that he was out in the field, not just hanging out, not just, like, relaxing, but he's like, no, my job was to fight for the sheep. My job was to be a shepherd and to battle the lion and the bear. And even how he describes that, he says, and if a bear would come after and drag one of my sheep, my dad's sheep off, I would go after it, seize it by the jaw, strike it, and kill it, you know?
- [05:21]
B
Yeah.
- [05:22]
A
And I just think, like, oh, that's so cool. Like that. That sense of starting to live your vocation now, as opposed to, like, well, you know, someday I'll be king. Someday I'll learn how to fight. Someday I'll learn how to defend those who are helpless. But that sense of like, no, we actually are in the midst of our vocation now. It's one of the reasons I resonate with David so much.
- [05:42]
B
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and too, it was like a. It was a season of waiting. You know, he didn't know what God was going to do with him, and he just waited and did what he had to do. And speaking of Bible, in a year, by the way, the first place I went to when I got the rope, I went to your Bible in a year, and I went to first Samuel. And that's what I listened to.
- [06:04]
A
Wow.
- [06:05]
B
So this is a cool moment for me. But he was doing what he was told and just following the Lord. And when the Lord called him to step up for his people, he was like, I have no other choice but to say, yes, I have to protect my sheep.
- [06:20]
A
It seems like in David's life, so much of his life is dictated by, okay, just do the next right thing. Now you're 24. And so my guess is that one of the big questions of life for you is God, what's my vocation? Like, what's your plan for my life? This is what you want me to do with this season. But. But what is the big plan? And then you realize, okay, God, your plan for my life is take the next step. How is that for you as an actor, where I imagine a lot of life can be. Can feel uncertain, feel kind of unknown. What is that like to live just that sense of trust in the Lord, That's.
- [06:57]
B
That's kind of the story of my life is like, I have no idea what's going to happen. And then the Lord just takes me on some journey and I'm like, okay. I found that in my life, God has prepared me for things that are way far ahead. For example, in high school I did shot put in discus. And it fast forward eight years later when I was doing House of David and learning to do the sling. The notes that I got from the instructor, the, the my coach to help me learn how to do the slang, they were the same notes that my high school coach gave me to throw the discus.
- [07:31]
A
Really?
- [07:31]
B
And that's like a small, tiny little example of like, oh, you were preparing me for this slang way before I ever even thought was possible. But that's just the slang, you know, and then the tons of other things that the Lord was preparing me for and the things that he's doing now, like, I don't know what the Lord has in store, but you know, those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. So I'm waiting, you know, whatever you have in store, I'll do it.
- [07:59]
A
That's amazing. That's even like you said, even the small things, like here I am going from the discus to the sling. Are there any other kind of like, if you're willing to share? Because I understand some things are just, you know, maybe too personal to share. But when it came to your, you said, you mentioned being a follower of Christ. When it came to your like, interior preparation or your preparation as, okay, here I am as a beloved son of God because of what Jesus has done for me. Any part of that that you'd say, oh, this also prepped me for this particular role?
- [08:35]
B
Oh, there's so much. I was born in Egypt and at a very young age I moved to America and I didn't know any English. So when I first moved here, I had to learn English on the fly. And my mom, she put me in school and she said, sink or swim, buddy. And that's been kind of how I've seen my life. And everything is sink or swim, sink or swim. And so whenever I see any challenge in front of me, I've always been to one. There is no option for sinking here. We have to swim. And the Lord has kind of taught me through learning English, through moving my life overnight and coming to a brand new country. I don't know the culture, I don't know anything. Teaching me through that and teaching me through the hardships that comes with that. Even beyond being an actor, it was his hand that protected me through every trial that I went through. And through those trials, he Taught me to trust him. Even if it's dark, even if it's painful, just set my eyes on him and he will guide me through. So I think approaching something like David, where, I mean, it was the first time I was ever on camera. It was my second ever professional job. And I had really no idea what I was doing. But I relied on my experience before and what the Lord taught me before of, like, trust me, because I'm not going to let you do this your way. I'm going to do it my way. Just like how I wanted David to do it my way. You need to be like him. You need to change your heart. I don't need you to just be a follower of Christ. I need you to. To show me you're a follower of Christ, to show others that you are my follower. Don't just say that you're a Christian or a Catholic. I want you to be a Catholic. So I'm still learning. And even through my recent conversion into the Catholic Church, I think that's been one of the most beautiful callings that I have answered throughout my entire life. I think there's no happier day than the Mass that I became Catholic at. And, like, just remembering that day and the ways that the Lord spoke to me that day, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
- [11:05]
A
Wow. Would you mind sharing something about that? Like, what was that process? Yeah, like what, again, I know it could be really personal, but what was that process of. You were. You already were Christian, right? You were Coptic Christian.
- [11:18]
B
That's right, yeah.
- [11:19]
A
And. And was that. Was that already like a. You already had a. That relationship with the Lord where you knew God is real and you were praying? Or was that something where it kind of fell by the wayside and God awoke in something? Or how that. What was the process like?
- [11:32]
B
It was. I mean, it was really a bit of both. So in Egypt, I obviously went to Coptic church. And I think growing up, because there was a lot of persecution in the Middle east and like, growing up at a young age, knowing that at any moment I can go into church and not leave.
- [11:50]
A
Yeah.
- [11:51]
B
And so at a very young age, I found myself asking the question of, what is Christianity? What is the relationship with God? What does he want? And am I willing to die for that
- [12:07]
A
at a young age? You were asking that question.
- [12:10]
B
Yeah, what is it exactly I'm dying for here? What's the point of all this? And so I found myself going on that journey very early on. And when we came to America, we didn't really go to the Coptic church anymore. We just went to, you know, just regular non denominational church. And, you know, it was. It was great and it was awesome. But I think I felt like I was missing something. Not to, like, you know, not to take shots at anybody. I just. For me, I always. I always. I felt hungry and I felt thirsty. And for a long time, I actually just didn't go to church at all. And I would just kind of go at home and I would just do my own research and like, learn about the different denominations or the history of Christianity or just read scripture, but I didn't go to church. That made life a little bit difficult because I think as Christians, we're called to be among other believers and we're called to work as the body of Christ together, so. And so that loneliness in my faith, it was difficult. And I felt a longing to be a part of the body of Christ. And I've shared the story with Jeff Cavins, who I know you guys are best buds. I love Jeff. But for me, I stepped into St Patrick's Cathedral and it was the first time I had been in church in years. And I saw the altar and I remembered the Eucharist. I was like, why haven't I taken the Eucharist in years? What's wrong with me? What did I do? And I just felt hungry for the body of Christ, both the church and his literal body and blood. And that kind of sent me on a journey of like, okay, you know what? I need to go back to church. And I found God putting a lot of people in my life who were Catholic. And so I would just go to mass on my own, or I would go with my friends who were Catholic. And I did a lot of research. And then I found that life kind of provided its own trials, whether it's through the show or just regular old life. And I found it necessary that I need to make a decision quick because I can't be floating out in the ocean by myself for too long. I need to hop on a big ship. And so I got in touch with a priest in my diocese, and I had done all this research. I knew all the differences between all the different stuff, but I needed to hear it out of his own mouth. I was like, I need to hear this for myself. So he went and got breakfast, and everything he said, it just clicked. And it's like he needed to say everything he said in that moment. And we had a beautiful conversation. And towards the end, he was like, michael, do you want to be Catholic? And what ran in through my head was like the calling, like Jesus calling the disciples. I was like, if I don't say yes now, when am I going to say yes? So in that moment, I made that split decision. I was like, yes, yes, I want to be Catholic. I'm not going to miss the boat here. I'm going to hop on. And we were kind of silent for a moment, and he smiled, and I was like, what does that look like? And he said, well, you're baptized in the Orthodox Church, so you don't need to be baptized in the Orthodox Church. There's something called Chrismation, so you don't need to go through confirmation here in the Catholic Church. The church accepts the sacraments of the Orthodox Church. But what you would need to do is basically just amass and you would profess your faith in the Catholic Church and you would be able to take communion. And I said, okay, let's do it.
- [16:07]
A
That's the shortest OCIA process in the world.
- [16:11]
B
It's like. It's a very. Yeah, very easy ocia.
- [16:14]
A
Breakfast is what it was.
- [16:16]
B
Yeah, breakfast is what it was. And then we had the Mass and. And my family was able to attend. And the readings were very special that day because I think it was the celebration of Saint Callistus. And the first reading was Psalm 89. It was the prophetic psalm of David and the promise that God gives him. And it began with, I have found my servant David with my holy oil I have anointed him. And I thought the whole thing was like a setup by the priest. I was like, all right, that's cool.
- [16:49]
A
Hey, good choice. Yeah, right?
- [16:50]
B
I was like, yeah, okay. All right, I get it. And then the second reading was from the Gospel, where Christ appears to St. Peter after his crucifixion. And he says, peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? And counteracting the three times that Peter rejected Christ and making up for that sin. And then the priest went up and he said, michael, if you think that I set this up, I didn't. These are the readings for today. And if you don't know this already, the Catholic Church has the readings set up years in advance, and you just happen to pick the day that these are the readings. So I think beyond the calling that God has for your life and your career, I think more importantly, the calling on your life to be a member of his church, that's what he wants from you. So it was. Yeah, it's been. It's been a special journey.
- [17:39]
A
That's Incredible. And even that last little, little detail, one of the. One of the things I'm hearing is that here is how God. I mean, here's Jesus. What did he say? He says the Father has counted every hair on your head. Like he. That he knows your name, he knows you intimately. And that sense of, none of this is an accident in terms of you're not forgotten by the Lord, and He knows you and he cares about you. You matter to him. So much so that here you are, Michael, in this moment where. Here's the reading and just that moment of God just affirming, I know you matter to me. I brought you here. And just that sense of, like, I don't have to rely on my own smarts or cleverness or strength, but, God, here's what you're doing. In my life, I didn't even know this. And the priest didn't know this, but this is. God knew this. That's something that's powerful.
- [18:39]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And it's. It's really, really beautiful, too, because I, you know, I think about the churches and I think about the body of Christ as a whole. And even, you know, I ask myself, like, well, if the Catholic Church accepts the sacraments of the Orthodox Church, I often ask myself the question, like, why are we separated? You know, And I. And. And kind of like, I love what Pope Leo is doing now of, like, you know, that effort to bring unity to the body of Christ, I think is vital. And I pray for that unity. And I know that Christ sees us as one, but I pray that we make his will done here on earth and become one.
- [19:25]
A
Yeah. When we have Mass on campus, I work at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and we have weeks. We have a lot of people who come to Mass who aren't Catholic. And so one of the things I always have to make an announcement about Holy Communion. And the reality, of course, is I always just say the kind of the same thing before time for Communion, of just that sense of the night Jesus gave us the Eucharist. He also specifically begged his Father that we would be one. Right. He begs the Father, may they be one as you and I are one and we're not one. And typically, you know, for the most part, we don't care. For the most part, we're like, whatever. You know, we're all different. Variety, spice of life. Until we get to that moment, right that morning, the Mass, where it's like, oh, we feel the pinch of what division is like. We feel the pain of what division is like. And then we Realize, oh, my gosh, like we walked in here, divided, and we're loved by Jesus, we love him back, and yet we still aren't united. And again, for the most part, we don't care about it until we get to that moment. So I always say, let's transform this moment of pain into a moment of prayer and to, like, beg the Lord to, first of all, give us a heart like his son, a heart that actually cares for unity, a heart that longs for unity. But then secondly, pray. Let's actually unite our. Not just our hearts, but our prayers with Jesus and pray for unity in his body. And even that bold prayer, I think that daring prayer that says God, we pray that even, maybe even in our lifetimes, you can overcome what divides us and unite us again. Because that could be the case. God can do that kind of a thing. So every Mass, every Sunday Mass, we pray that we take a moment and just then pray for that unity. Because, yeah, I think it's an offense to the Lord. He specifically prayed that we wouldn't be divided. But again, for how many of us just don't care? And so we're not interested in working towards or longing for or praying for unity until we. Yeah. Until we feel the division. Yeah. Michael, I just. There was a line you said when you said you were growing up in Egypt knowing that the next time you go into mat or to church, you might not leave. And that how. That. That. That puts kind of. It puts a fine point on your faith in that sense of, okay, we're showing up here, we're going to go pray, we're going to go profess our faith in Jesus, and it might actually cost us our lives. That reality, I think, heightens the stakes. And you feel it. How hard is it or how easy is it? I guess, how different is it to say, okay, here I am in the United States where chances are I can go to church and it might not cost me anything. Is there a difference in your experience of when you went to church in Egypt versus how you go to church in the United States? Other than your age?
- [22:19]
B
Other than. Yeah, I was eight. And now I'm. You know what? I have found that in the midst of persecution and in the midst of pain that people showed up to church more. Wow. And whenever our faith isn't under any pressure or when it's just like, oh, yeah, there's always church, then we get lazy and we don't go. And we say, well, Jesus is always here. But it's only when Jesus is taken away that we understand the value. And, like, I've always admired the faith of my people. And, like, I remember the. The story of the 21 martyrs. It was 2015. It was February 15th. So we just passed. I think they're 11 years, 10. I can't count 2015. We're in 2026. I'm gonna say 11 years. But there was an interview done with some of the wives, and one of the wives says, you know, how could I be sad? My husband is a martyr. And I think at one point she says, if he had denied his faith and came back to me, I would have killed him myself. You know what I mean? Is that important? Another wife, she said, you know what? At first I was sad, but I pray for these people that did this, and I know that Christ will bring them back.
- [23:45]
A
Wow.
- [23:47]
B
And just looking at the amount of love that they showed, the amount of courage in the midst of all of their pain and suffering, and them seeing the value and giving their life for Christ with this insurmountable love, I've never seen anything like it. And so that's what I saw in the midst of persecution, in the midst of pain. I saw faith grow and I saw it just explode everywhere. So I don't know. I don't wish for persecution, but I know that when it comes that, I think as a church, it can only have a tremendous effect of a ginormous blessing from Christ. And blessed are you when people persecute you and utter all sorts of evil against you. So,
- [24:42]
A
yeah, that's so good. Arthur Brooks had a conversation with him, a couple conversations with him. And he has his doctorate in the science of happiness, and he teaches on happiness and leadership at Harvard and all around the country and the world. And one of the things, a point he makes is he says, no one grows while they're on vacation. Like, no one really becomes the person they're called to be. Like, I really made leaps and bounds when I was at the spa. He said, it's almost always under some kind of painful, trying circumstances, and suffering is what has the potential. At least it doesn't always, but it has the potential to strengthen us, has the possibility. It has the potential to purify our hearts, has potential to help us grow. Have you experienced that? Are there any places where you'd say, okay, yeah, that's. That's. I can see God growing me or strengthening me or purifying me through this trials.
- [25:38]
B
I mean, pretty much like, every moment
- [25:39]
A
of my life is like, it's without reprieve.
- [25:45]
B
Yeah. I need. I Need maybe. Maybe a little vacation.
- [25:47]
A
We don't know exactly. Go to a spa.
- [25:51]
B
No. There's definitely things, I think just throughout my life in general, but also even through the show, there's things that I don't think I'll mention, but I wouldn't change them for the world because who I am after those experiences is someone who I'd much rather be than before. And I know that through all of it, God is. Is preparing me. Maybe not necessarily for anything big, but just to be a true follower of his, you know, I don't think, like, pain has to lead to, like, something huge or like, you're going to be famous. Sometimes it's not that. Sometimes it's just. I just need you to truly love me.
- [26:39]
A
Yeah.
- [26:40]
B
And for that, like, Lord, I'll go through all the pain.
- [26:45]
A
Yeah.
- [26:45]
B
So, I mean, please don't bring the pain, but if it's necessary, you know.
- [26:51]
A
Yeah, no, that, that, is that. That piece that says it's not just. I mean, I think so often we can get preoccupied by, okay, I'm going through this preparation because I'm going to do something big, like you just said. But something big in God's eyes is not necessarily something big in the world's eyes, and vice versa. That sense of I'm become famous as opposed to, I'll be famous to the 20 people that I pour my life out for that I can, I can love them well. I can stay faithful. My promises. I can all do all these things because God has prepared me to just be a good man or just be a man who belongs to him or go back to the beginning, a man after God's own heart.
- [27:29]
B
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, what a. What a great look there. That was great.
- [27:33]
A
You know, as you've been portraying David, have you found yourself? I mean, there's. There. We have House of David. We have the Chosen. I did the Bible in your podcast. There's been, seems like a resurgence of interest in the Bible, but not just interest, but people really allowing themselves to be impacted and moved by God's word or by his story. That has become our story. Have you. Would you say you've encountered people's stories like this? Or is it. Is it not yet people reaching out and sharing their stories with you?
- [28:10]
B
Yeah, I've definitely had people reach out, whether it's like through Instagram or social media or people on the street, but honestly, I didn't think that the story of David would have that impact, like, even compared to the shows. And you see Jesus in front of you in House of David, you see a bunch of violence and war and blood, and it's like Game of Thrones Bible. And so I wasn't sure how it would resonate with people, but I found that it's affected so many people and even people who are not of the faith. They say this story is making me think about God differently and making me think about the effect of trusting in God and what that does when they see someone who's so humble and so lowly be exalted by the Lord through just his humble heart, his humble, loving heart. I think it really puts into perspective for people what the effects are of trusting in God. And it's affected me. I mean, even through playing David. It's a really interesting thing because I think acting is an exercise of letting go. And so much in life we have to. We always want to take some sort of control. And David is already someone who I want to be like, now I get to do it for my job. Okay, great. And I found slowly and slowly portraying him as transforming me on the inside. And it's making me more bold and courageous in my faith. Maybe I'm not necessarily slinging an actual stone and taking down giants, but I have this card. It's Our lady of Medjugorje. Let me see if I can, if I can find it. So this is the card that I have. It was given by a friend and it says, if you knew how much I loved you, you'd cry for joy. And on the back it says, I give you the weapons against your Goliath. Here are your little stones, and here are the five stones that we have that we use to fight the spiritual giants, which are prayer with the Holy rosary, the Eucharist, holy Bible fasting, and monthly confession. We are all called to be David, and we're all called to go up against the giant, the spiritual giant, and up against ourselves, against the flesh. And these are the stones that we battle that with.
- [30:49]
A
Yeah, it's so good as you're mentioning that. The five stones, prayer and the rosary, the Eucharist, scripture, fasting, a monthly confession. So one of my first trips I ever took to the Holy Land, I don't know if that, hopefully this is not illegal, but we went to that wadi, right? We went to that dried up spot of land in the Valley of Elah, right? And. And there's this dried up riverbed and Jeff Cavins gave a talk there. And it's one of my favorites, one of my favorite places to go whenever I take a pilgrimage there. Even if it's not with Jeff. I'm like, hey, stop here. And they're like, why would you stop here? I'm like, because it's. We want to get out. We want to walk in the Valley of Elah. And I always invite our students to do what I did, which right up in the other room there, I have my five smooth stones. And what is the battle like? As St. Paul says, not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers. And how would we fight that? Well, the rosary, the Eucharist, scripture, fasting, and monthly confession. I'm so grateful. Thank you for saying those five smooth stones that are in your life and in the life of every Christian, if they want, which is pretty remarkable.
- [31:58]
B
Amen.
- [31:59]
A
Last question for you. I know there are people. It sounds like you just said that one of the things they take away is, okay, I see David and his trust, which I think is so, so critical for all of us. But if you were to say, man, here's one thing that I hope that when people watch this show, here's one thing maybe out of many, but here's one thing I want them to walk away with, or one thing I want. I want them to one impact I want this show to make on the hearts or the lives of people. What would you say is your hope and hope? One thing?
- [32:37]
B
There's so many. There's the obvious, which is the courage in Christ and loving God so much that you begin to be fearless against the enemy in front of you, which is ultimately sin. But I think beyond that, David has different messages for different people. And I think the message that I would want people who are of the faith to take from him is the purification of the heart. You know, I think oftentimes we get lost in thinking, you know, we're doing, we're doing. I'm doing this, and I'm doing this, and I'm doing this. And so I. I deserve. And I find people say I deserve. And I think David teaches us we don't deserve anything. Rather, we're called to purify our hearts through the sacraments and become like David and truly love Christ. And Christ says the ultimate love is to give one's life for another, whether that's by living our lives for him or giving our lives to him in a moment of persecution. I think we. The message from David is to purify our hearts, so that when the time comes and the Lord comes, that our lamps are lit and there's so many more, but that's the one I want
- [34:12]
A
to emphasize that's so good to have the courage to allow the Lord to do that. Like, truly to hear his voice that calls you out. I mean, not just calls you out, but calls you out of yourself. To have that courage to. Yeah. Profess faith, to live that faith out. And again, just like David, just like you and I, you and me, Proper English. We are both striving to be men after God's own heart. And yet in the midst of our own broken hearts. And so that's so, so amazing. I'm so. Michael, season two is coming out soon.
- [34:50]
B
Yeah.
- [34:50]
A
On Amazon Prime. Any release dates or anything? We should know how people can. Can jump on House of David season one and get ready for House of David season two.
- [35:01]
B
Of course. Well, if you haven't watched season one, go to Amazon prime and check it out now and then once you're done with that. Season two is releasing March 27th on Prime Video, and it's going to be open worldwide so anybody around the world can see it. And it's going to be a completely transformative season. You know, we talk about war. There's a lot of war this season. So it's going to be. It's going to be a fun one.
- [35:26]
A
Thank you for your time. Thank you for putting all of your skills and your talents, your life at the service of just proclaiming God's word and just being, again, a witness to Jesus in this world. I'm so grateful for you, Michael. And please know of our prayers up here in Duluth, the prayers of people at Ascension and all the people at Ascension presents our prayers for you, for your continued success, continued blessing, and also, of course, continued purification and protection because we're not done yet. We got to keep going.
- [35:58]
B
No, thank you so much, Father. It's truly, it's truly my pleasure to talk with you. And this is. Yeah, as I mentioned before, this is like a full circle moment for me. And so to get to chat with you is a blessing for me and everything you guys do at Ascension Press, it's, it's has a. It's had. It's had a transformative effect on my life. So thank you.
- [36:17]
A
I'm going to take that, receive it. I can hold on to it and just. Yeah. Treasure that. Thank you so much, Michael. Again, thank you so much. And from all serious, from all of us here at Ascension presents, my name is Father Mike. God bless.