Father Steve Pullis: Welcome to yet another episode of Open Door Policy, your favorite unleash the gospel podcast, where each week we talk with a different guest from the Archdiocese of Detroit who is living the message of unleash the gospel. And today we are blessed to sit down with Father Mario Amore. How are you Father? Father Mario Amore: I'm doing well today. Thanks for having me. Father Steve Pullis: And, of course, Danielle Center. How are you Danielle? Danielle Center: Hey friends. I appreciate that cut against Father Mario's podcast in our intro. Father Steve Pullis: It wasn't meant to be a dig, but we'll talk about his podcast in a minute. But Danielle, what's God doing in your life? Danielle Center: Maybe this is an obvious one, but I love summertime. I love everything about it. Warm things, sunshine, leaves on trees. So, that's my grace is just being a part of this. How about you? Father Steve Pullis: Yeah. So, masses are starting back up after what seemed like forever not having public mass. Danielle Center: Dude honestly. Father Steve Pullis: And it has been such a grace, even with the different ways we're... With masks and fewer people and social distancing and all that, it's just been a real joy to be with people around God's altar. So super grateful for that. Danielle Center: Hey Father Mario, you ready for some rapid fire questions? Father Mario Amore: Let's do it. Danielle Center: Here we go. Number one, what was your first job? Father Mario Amore: My dad's restaurant. Danielle Center: What is the most beautiful church you have visited? Father Mario Amore: I don't know. Sweetest Heart of Mary in Detroit. St. Aloysius first, but then Sweetest Heart. Danielle Center: Sweet. What is the most recent song that you had stuck in your head. Father Mario Amore: Don't Stop Believin'. I was thinking about something from the seminary and that song came in my mind. Danielle Center: Good. In which fictional world would you like to live? Father Mario Amore: Narnia. Danielle Center: What is your favorite breakfast food? Father Mario Amore: Bacon. Danielle Center: What was the location of one of your most powerful encounters with God? Father Mario Amore: A chapel in Irene, South Dakota. Danielle Center: Nice. What Bible verse has recently struck you? Father Mario Amore: When Jesus says, "Not come to be served, but to serve." Danielle Center: Have you ever met anyone famous? Father Mario Amore: Yes. Amy Grant. She's kind of famous. Danielle Center: Yeah. Who is your hero? Father Mario Amore: My hero is my grandfather. Danielle Center: Aw. What is the favorite book you've ever read? Father Mario Amore: The Great Divorce. C.S. Lewis. Automated Voice: The Great Divorce is a novel by the British author C.S. Lewis, and based on a theological dream vision of his in which he reflects on the Christian conceptions of heaven and hell. Danielle Center: What is your favorite item of clothing? Father Mario Amore: Favorite item of clothing? Danielle Center: Mm-hmm (affirmative) Father Mario Amore: Shorts. Danielle Center: Okay. Perfect. That's it. Great work. Father Steve Pullis: No, that was great Father. So tell us a little bit about this place Irene, South Dakota. I think I know where this is, but tell us your experience there. Father Mario Amore: Yeah, so like you, Father [inaudible 00:03:19] in the seminary did a 30-day silent retreat at a place called Broom Tree in Irene, South Dakota. It's literally the middle of nowhere. So it's this retreat house with farms as far as the eye can see. And so, when you're on retreat for 30 days and your in silence you should be praying basically the whole time. But there are certain hours of the day dedicated to more intense prayer, I guess. So it was one of the days in there, one among the 30, was doing a holy hour, early evening time, probably about 4:00 or 5:00, and was just sitting alone in this empty farm chapel, church. It had a beautiful crucifix in it, and not much was happening during that time. But just in this moment my eyes drifted up towards the crucifix and in the silence and in the dryness of the prayer too, the Lord worked and I just remember Him speaking to my heart and the words that were used or the words that I heard were, "Let me be more for you." As I thought about it and prayed about it, my image and relationship with the Lord up until that point was a shaped piece of wood in the form of a man on a wooden crucifix, and this was a symbol of faith. Definitely not as much depth there as the Lord wanted, or that I wanted, and so that just became a moment of deeper encounter. "Enter into a true relationship with me. Give me the time that I want with you." And so that was a moment that changed my faith life, and my relationship with the Lord. Father Steve Pullis: And the 30-day silent retreat is exactly for that, right? It's meant to put us out of our normal routine and to go very deep in our relationship with the Lord. And so you talk about Irene being the middle of nowhere, I think of it like it's where people from the middle of nowhere go to get away from people. It is so unpopulated and it's a great place to encounter the Lord. What kind of restaurant did your dad have? Father Mario Amore: My dad had an Italian restaurant, of course. So he was in business with his father and so it took different forms throughout their business life together. So it was in different places, and specialized in different things at different times. But yeah. Those are some of the fondest memories of my childhood is being with my dad, going with my dad to work, being with him in the restaurant. Father Steve Pullis: So what did you do? Just a bunch of odd jobs? Or were you the guy who helped make the spaghetti? Or wipe down tables? What'd you do? Father Mario Amore: Yeah there was a little bit of everything. It was a family affair, so my grandmother worked there, my grandfather was there, my mom was there. And so as a kid, whatever they were doing and they invited me into. So I would bus tables sometimes. I remember, I mean I was probably sixth or seventh grade and I waited some tables. And it was probably against labor laws and things like that, but those... Father Steve Pullis: It's a family affair. Father Mario Amore: Yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah. A little bit of everything though. Father Steve Pullis: Did they have bacon at the restaurant? Father Mario Amore: Of course. Always. Father Steve Pullis: And tell us about meeting Amy Grant. Father Mario Amore: So when I was at Our Lady of Sorrows... So they do a big prayer breakfast. It's usually in the springtime, maybe May or something. But there's this big prayer breakfast in the area and it was held at Oakland University, and so one of the parishioners is in the official fan club of Amy Grant. I didn't know that those actually existed, but they do. So she's in the fan club. She goes to meetings and things like that. So anyway, Amy Grant was one of the featured speakers at it, so she got us a table and we were right up front because we were with someone who was in the... Father Steve Pullis: An official fan. Father Mario Amore: That's right. So we met her afterwards, got some pictures and then we were on our way. Father Steve Pullis: Danielle, have you met someone famous? We've asked a number of people this question. Have you met someone? Danielle Center: I think I might've said this. I was in the Salt Lake City Airport, and I saw Tan France walk through. He's known for fashion on a television show, and I saw him. I knew who he was. He was glowing. He looked beautiful, and I wanted to say hi because I'm like that, but also the shirt that I was wearing had a bleach stain on it and I knew it. And I was like, "He'll be able to tell, even though I'm wearing a sweater." So I didn't. How about you? Father Steve Pullis: I met Wayne Gretzky. That was pretty awesome, at Gordie Howe's funeral, which was here in Detroit a number of years ago. Wayne Gretzky, the second greatest hockey player ever, was there and it was a great honor to meet him there. Danielle Center: You know what? I am a little bit embarrassed to ask this question, but I'm just going to own this. Who's the first best? Father Steve Pullis: Oh, Gordie Howe. Danielle Center: Oh okay. So it was the two best hockey players in one spot. Father Steve Pullis: Yeah it was like LeBron being a Jordan's funeral. Danielle Center: Okay. Father Steve Pullis: To talk about it in terms of basketball. Danielle Center: Talk about it in terms of soccer. Father Steve Pullis: It was like Messi being at Pele's funeral. I don't even know if that's right. Anyway, Father Mario, thanks for indulging our rapid fire questions. Father Mario Amore: You're very welcome. Danielle Center: Father Mario, we did mention that you are a priest. Can you tell the listeners a little bit about where you are right now and where you're serving, how you got there, that kind of thing? Father Mario Amore: Sure yeah. So, I am currently serving at St. Aloysiuis in downtown Detroit. So that is the parish, and then we also have what's known as St. Aloysiuis neighborhood services which is an outreach center out of the parish, and also I oversee St. Dominic Outreach, which is the Wayne State area, or midtown Detroit. So I've been there for, it'll be a year in July, and just experiencing God in many different ways in all the different people in the way that we worship together and those who come to us in need as well. Danielle Center: How did you hear about St. Aloysiuis and what was your process like beginning to work there? Father Mario Amore: So I became acquainted with St. Aloysiuis several years ago in two different ways. So, when I was probably in my early 20s I worked with a Catholic organization who sends young people into different cities during the summer. It's called Young Neighbors in Action. So I was on the program staff for them. I was their music and prayer coordinator for the week when the teenagers came into town. So St. Aloysiuis was actually one of the work sites during the week, so I would go down and visit the work sites with the other team members and visit the teenagers who were there. Just a great spirit about the place and all the good work that they did, and then also I mentioned that I was doing prayer and music for them. I'm a musician as well, and so I would also help out with music at different churches on the weekends when they needed someone to fill in. So St. Aloysiuis, a few times, was one that I would go and play and sing for on the weekend. Father Steve Pullis: So before you entered seminary, you were a musician. Did you grow up playing music or is that a part of your life from an early age? Father Mario Amore: Actually no. So my brother, he started taking piano lessons probably when he was probably fourth or fifth grade. So he's more formally trained, and I am not. So I just kind of fake it as I go along. Father Steve Pullis: You fake it well, because I remember in seminary you would often play when the director music had the day off, or for certain events. So you're not just faking it, right? You know what you're doing. Father Mario Amore: Well, yeah I can fake it. I can fake it. Danielle Center: Good for you. So you've been at St. Aloysiuis for about a year. In that time, how have you seen God work> How have you felt yourself been stretched? What's going on spiritually? Father Mario Amore: Well it was my first assignment as what we call an administrator. So, basically functioning as the pastor without the official title of pastor. That'll come this July. But previous to be at St. Aloysiuis, I was at two other large suburban parishes, and I really loved those communities and I liked being there. But even when I was there, I'd always felt in my prayer that God was calling me to city ministry in one form or another. And I actually felt that call while I was in the seminary as well, as I was thinking and dreaming about what priesthood might look like for me and what God wanted it to be for me. So anyway, while I was at those suburban parishes getting a lot of experience, working with great pastors and being involved in schools, I still had this desire on my heart to want to be in the city and to have more of a connection to the poor. But when I was thinking about it and when I was praying about it, it always was sort of like, well most of the parishes in the city, or many of them, are run by religious orders. And I'm a diocesan priest. I'm attracted to city life as well, so I always thought it would be cool to live in New York or Chicago or something like that, or downtown Detroit. And specifically downtown, most of the parishes are run by order. So I though, "Well that's a great thought to have, but probably never going to happen." So I was at St. Hugo in Bloomfield Hills, and I was there for six months and a call came right after Christmas and said, "Well the Archbishop wants to meet with you." And that's either really good or really not good. Father Steve Pullis: I was going to ask. Were you worried? Father Mario Amore: I was. Father [inaudible 00:14:59] was very kind, though, and said, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble." I wasn't expecting, at all, to move, again because I'd only been there for six months. So that's what I thought. I was like, "Well he's not going to ask me move. So I'm not really sure." So anyway, I met with the Archbishop and he said that the Franciscans were no longer able to staff St. Aloysiuis and so he thought I would be a good fit there. Another cool part of the story is that he said, "I'm not asking for you to give me an answer right now. I know it's a lot to ask. And so you can pray about it." And as I was sitting there with him, I said, "Actually Archbishop. I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to do that. I thank you for the confidence you have in me, but I want to let you know this is what I have been praying for. So I can tell you yes." Father Steve Pullis: I don't need more time. I am ready to go now. Father Mario Amore: I'm ready. And then, just the cherry on top here, so that was a Saturday. And I was leaving that evening with the choir from St. Hugo. They were going to Rome to sing at St. Peter's for the Feast of the Epiphany, so I was going with them. So I went, and I couldn't talk with anyone about this because it wasn't public yet. So I was sitting on the plane for nine hours or whatever, and I didn't watch any movies, I didn't listen to any music or anything. I just thought about being at St. Aloysiuis. So anyway, the first place that we visited when we got there, the first place that we had mass, was the Church of St. Ignatius. In the church of St. Ignatius is an altar dedicated to St. Aloysiuis, and so that was the first place that I prayed in Rome. So it's just a special story, how God did work through all of it. My time at St. Aloysiuis has been really great. It's a wonderful community. The Franciscans have done a wonderful job connecting the community to service to the poor, and so we're champions of that down there. And just really dedicated individuals, and the parish is growing because of the many people who are coming and moving and working downtown, and so it's a place that's ripe for evangelization, and it's a great place to be and I really find myself blessed that I'm able to serve there. Father Steve Pullis: So we'll talk about that in a minute, because I do want to get to this moment being in the city of Detroit and being a pastor for the first time and all that. But if we could just spend another minute, Father Mario, to talk about your vocation and how you discerned your vocation of the priesthood. Did you think about it when you were younger? Did it come a little bit later, in high school or college for you? Just tell us a little bit about your own discernment to the priesthood. Father Mario Amore: Yeah. It definitely wasn't something that I thought about as a kid. So, when I tell my vocation story, my family is probably just a very typical Catholic family. My parents sent us to Catholic school. We were blessed to be able to go to a Catholic school. We went to mass every Sunday. We prayed before meals. But that was the extent of our prayer together. I'm sure my parents prayed for my brother and I often, but we were never the family who sat around dad's chair and prayed the rosary together. It just wasn't our experience. It wasn't until high school that I started getting more involved in the life of my parish. So I mentioned my brother's a musician, so he actually got a job at a very young age as the music director at our home parish, which is Our Lady of the Woods in Woodhaven. And so I would accompany him and I would just be around the church office and being in the church and around the priest, and then I got more involved in the youth group. And so it was at that moment that I really felt that service in the church God was calling me to in one way or another. I was fairly confident that it was probably the priesthood, but I guess I didn't want to admit that right away. And so I took an odd step, which most high school students don't do these days. But I actually enrolled at the seminary as a guest student in my last semester of high school. And so I took my first class then. Father Steve Pullis: Oh when you were still in high school. Father Mario Amore: Yeah. Yup. I had to meet with, at that time.. Danielle Center: Good for you. Father Mario Amore: Yeah. Father Lajiness, now Monsignor Lajiness, he was the dean of studies. I had to meet with him and I'm like a 17-year-old high school student. I guess in my heart I knew at one time sooner or later, I would enter the seminary so I kind of wanted to start to get ahead so I started taking classes. I took classes for two years and then decided to apply to the seminary, was accepted, ready to go, and then got cold feet. It was one of those situations where you always think the grass is greener on the other side, and I thought, "Well maybe I haven't really discerned marriage and family enough." So I stepped back for a while. Then went back into doing music in the church. Did that for two more years, but the call never went away. God kept nudging. And so it was sort of a moment of frustration where I said to myself, "You either have to go and check it out, or you need to just forget about it because you're driving yourself crazy." So I said, "Okay God. I'm going to apply again." And at this point, I did this one and they accepted me and I said no. So I don't even know if they're going to look at the application again. I'm going to do it. I'm going to fill it out and we'll see what happens. So they accepted me, they took a chance. And here we are now. Danielle Center: And just for anyone who might be listening, what does the application look like? If someone is curious, what does that feel like? Father Steve Pullis: Pretty simple, right? It's like a one-pager. Father Mario Amore: Not quite. I mean there's a series of questions and things that you have to talk about on paper. We say it's a mutual discernment, always, between the man and also the seminary. So you meet with different priests from the seminary, with the vocation director. There's paperwork that you have to do. There's psychological evaluations. There's physicals and all those types of medical things that you need to do. And then you have people vouch for you. Members of your family. "Why would Mario make a good priest?" Or your parish priests and then other people that know you, your friends. So it's a process for sure. Father Steve Pullis: And you got to do it twice, right? Father Mario Amore: I did. I did. I think I probably copy and pasted it though. Danielle Center: You're like, "My name is the same..." Yeah. Father Steve Pullis: I know we got to get out of this segment, but Father Mario if you can think back to entering seminary, one of the questions I want to ask you is, what was the biggest surprise when you entered seminary? You had taken classes there. I'm assuming you knew a lot about... You knew a bunch of seminarians and you knew the layout of the place. But did anything particularly surprise you when you started to live the life of the seminarian? Father Mario Amore: I think the community, the brotherhood that you come into and that you become a part of is... I mean when you think about the seminary, when you don't live in the seminary, you think about the seminary as a stuffy place and everybody is just praying all the time and really stiff and not very interesting. But it's not that at all. You do become a part of a community of brothers, and I describe it as a holy frat house. It's a good place to be. So I was pleasantly surprised by the community. Father Steve Pullis: Amen. Thanks Father Mario. So Father Mario, you are my pastor when I go to work. You're the pastor of the area that oversees the chancery, downtown's pastor. Tell me what it was like for the first time going from an associate to being a pastor where I imagine, never having been a pastor myself, little pity party over here but anyway, but I imagine you get this big chain of keys. Tell me what that was like the first time being a pastor. Father Mario Amore: Yeah. Speaking of keys, St. Aloysiuis has a key to every... Every single door has a different key. That was the most frustrating part of my transition. Danielle Center: True. True. Father Steve Pullis: Oh Danielle, you worked there right? You know this church. Danielle Center: I did. I had so many keys. And St. Anne was the same way. I think it's just ancient churches that have been lock changed like 400 times. Yeah. Father Steve Pullis: You literally did have a big ring of keys then. Father Mario Amore: I did. Yup. And if the listeners have every been to St. Aloysiuis, they know that... So we have the most unique church building in the country. Father Steve Pullis: Oo. Father Mario Amore: It's true. Yup. So it's three levels and there's, it's called a well which is basically a hole in the middle of the church so that you can see all three levels of the church from the altar. So the altar is separated by this well, and then there's more seating on the main level. But anyway, when I got all these keys, I got locked on the wrong side of the well I guess, because there's these gates and my mom was on one side, because they came to plant flowers and things, and I was on the other side. And I literally didn't have the right key. I don't remember how I got out of there, but that was the first day of being pastor at St. Aloysiuis. But it's been all uphill from there. It was pretty awesome making that transition. The one thing that priests learn very quickly is that when you're an associate pastor, it's always like, "I can't wait for the days where I can be the pastor." And older priest friends of mine would say, "Just wait. Enjoy these days now because right now you're living large. You don't have to make any of the big decision and most everybody likes you and all that kind of stuff."But when you become the pastor, then all the decisions fall to you and then you remember those days when most everybody liked you. It was a little bit easier. It is a real joy just being able to envision where I feel God is calling me to lend my gifts to this community and working with them to discern how we do unleash the gospel downtown, how we reach out to the many different people who make downtown their home. We're unique in that St. Aloysiuis has always been known as a service church, not necessarily Christian service although that's a part of what we do, but a service church in the sense of we are there for people for the different movements of their week, I guess. And so during the week we serve a specific population for mass, it's the people who work down there. And we also serve those who come to us in need. And then on the weekends we serve many people who come to us from the suburbs who have found a home at St. Aloysiuis, a church in the city. But that is beginning to shift a little bit because downtown is becoming residential. So we're learning what that means to be a true parish with people who do live and want to be invested more than just at a certain point in the week, although we do continue to reach out to all those different people. Father Steve Pullis: Was there anything when you started there... What was one of the great joys? You talked about being the guy who's got to make the decisions and the buck stops with you. What was a joy of the spiritual fatherhood of being a new pastor? Father Mario Amore: The generosity of people. I have firsthand knowledge of all the different people who support, especially the different outreach ministries that we do. And so the many benefactors who will send in donations month after month, and I'm really edified by those people who I know struggle financially but will send in sometimes $2, sometimes $5, and I'm always very moved by that, that they are so convicted in the work that the church does and is called to do and they want to be a part of it in any way that they can. So that's one aspect. The other aspect is just seeing how dedicated people are to the church, especially a church in the city. Most churches in the city are smaller communities, and so there's... People really are a family and they really look forward to gathering together to celebrate mass as a family. And so I find a lot of joy in that, in being part of that. A community life that might be missed in some of the larger parishes. Not always, but sometimes. Father Steve Pullis: But everyone would know everyone there, right? I mean, as you said, it's kind of a tight knit community that people would really get to know each other and you get to know everyone. Father Mario Amore: Exactly. Exactly. And that's what makes it... It's a very hospitable parish, too. And so because everybody knows everybody, when somebody that we don't know comes it's a receiving line of welcome, which I'm always really proud of as well. Danielle Center: So you came from a large, wealthy, suburban parish, right? Father Mario Amore: Correct. Danielle Center: Where do you see maybe disconnect? And where do you see places where bridges can be built? Because we're all the same church community, so where do you wish there was more collaboration and dialogue? Father Mario Amore: Yeah, I think what separates us the most is just the resources. You mentioned that I did serve at one of the wealthier parishes in the diocese, but they were also a parish who tithes even to this day. Shoutout to Monsignor Tocco, he's made it a part of the life of the parish to tithe their income. So when I was an associate there, I would see and sign the checks for all the different organizations that they support, and so that bridge was there, that financial bridge was there with that parish specifically. What we need to work on, though, is not just the financial resources but the human resources, getting people into the city, getting people into real service not just supporting financially but also meeting our brothers and sisters who are in need. And I don't want to say that that's not being done at all, because it is. And that's what I hear from suburban communities, that they do want to give their parishioners the opportunity to do that, and so it's on our part making that platform available for people. And that's something we're going to be working on here in the near future. Danielle Center: I think it's interesting because there's also... Something I encountered when I was working in a city parish was well-meaning people who would do what I would call, I don't know, missionary tourism. We can say that, right? They'd call and be like, "Hi I want to help at this day at this time and do this thing. I want to show up at 10:00 AM on Tuesday and do a soup kitchen." It's like, "Well our soup kitchen's in the evening because people here work." So there was a disconnect between helpful where it was, and I've been thinking about all of this through the George Floyd stuff. I think one thing that is really important is, frankly long-term accompaniment, and that's scary. That's super, it's like, "Oh my gosh. Commitment. Who wants it?" But I think that financial support is super key, but there's also the importance of... Ministry is so much about showing up, being present, hanging out with people, listening to their stories. I know you guys do a great job at that, but it's something that I'm thinking about a lot at this time. Father Mario Amore: We want to give people the chance to get their hands dirty. It's not just about coming and doing an act, but it's about establishing some sort of relationship with people. What we find downtown is people want to know and need to know that they're loved and that they're cared about. And we can do that on a certain level in a limited way, but our goal is to be able to do that even better, and so we need people to help us in that. And so many people are so very generous to us. God has really blessed us, especially during this time of pandemic. I mean, people have really come out of the woodwork to support us, and we so greatly appreciate that, but there's always ways in which, again, we need those volunteers and those human resources to help us in our mission. Father Steve Pullis: So Father Mario, let me ask you, the city of Detroit, especially your area around St. Aloysiuis has been changing over the last five years. You mentioned this, a lot more younger people moving into the redeveloped apartments and condos and townhouses in that area. You've been there a little over a year. What opportunities do you see within your parish boundary or around that for that bringing together people in the city who have lived there a long time, mostly African-American, and then a newer generation, maybe people more your age who grew up in the suburbs or other places and have moved into the city. How do you see that playing out at St. Als? Father Mario Amore: I think, again, the pandemic has bore some fruit for us. It has been a time of grace because we do have the younger people as part of our parish and who want to be involved or who are checking us out, and we know that for young adults, young people especially, one of the ways in which they want to get more active in their faith is through outreach. So through some form of Christian service. So when the pandemic began, I immediately reached out to them because on Washington Boulevard, or in the immediate vicinity of St. Aloysiuis, there are more than 800 senior citizens. So there are several senior citizen residences on Washington Boulevard. And so we see them, as every parish should, whether they're registered or not, whether they're Catholic or not, as our parishioners. And so they know they can come to us for, we have a full-time nurse, we offer food. Whatever they need they're able to come to us. And so as word gets out, those numbers are beginning to increase. But anyway, the real way that we were able to connect people was to pair one of the younger people with one of the senior citizens. So I have people who are calling and checking up on them, who are going grocery shopping for them. Some of them have met for socially distanced walks. And now what's really beautiful to see is that these senior citizens are starting to reach back out and check in on the young adults. Danielle Center: That is so sweet. Father Mario Amore: Yeah. The stories are... I have several stories about those kind of relationships being established, which benefits our community obviously, because it benefits not only the physical community that we're in, but also the parish community too because when everybody is back at mass together, those relationships have been formed even though we've all been away from each other. Danielle Center: Can you share one of your favorite stories with us? Father Mario Amore: Yeah. One of them actually was somebody who works with Father Steve. So Laura is one of the associates superintendents, she lives downtown and she was the one who was calling in to check on one of the senior citizens and that senior asked her if she wanted to meet up for a walk and they did that. And then the senior citizen keeps calling and checking in on her and will leave her little messages on her voicemail and she shares those with me. Yeah, it's just really sweet. Danielle Center: That is really sweet. Father Steve Pullis: We'll have to have Laura on here sometime because she moved from Nebraska here to Detroit and moved downtown, and it's been wonderful to see someone who doesn't know the city of Detroit, to see it through her eyes as a new person moving into the city and seeing the beautiful parts when obviously nationally Detroit has a negative perception. So I love that story partly because I love to see Laura fall in love with this city. Danielle Center: Coming soon to a podcast near you. That's a threat, we should warn her. You know what, Father? As we come to a close we usually ask our guest if they have any closing words or something to share with the listeners. Would you be so kind? Father Mario Amore: Absolutely. Absolutely. There's a lot that's obviously going on in our country, in our world, right now, and in our city. And just having been downtown, again, for almost a year, it's such a beautiful place to be. It's very peaceful. It's a neighborhood feeling, at least that's what I have now being part of the community, being the priest in the community. People are so very kind and they're looking to love and to be loved. And so I invite anybody who would like down, not just to St. Aloysiuis, obviously you're always welcome, but just to come down and see what's happening in the city, see the changes that are being made for the better, see the growth, and also see what we're called to continue to be a part of to change, because the Catholic church has to be a presence there. And I'm happy that I can be a part of that and I invite you to be a part of it too. Father Steve Pullis: Hey, so we're not going to let that be the last word because I told you we would talk about your podcast for a minute. Danielle Center: Oh right. Father Steve Pullis: So just tell our listeners about your podcast and how they can hear it. Father Mario Amore: Sure. So the podcast is called Certifiably Catholic because all three of us on it are baptized and so we thought that would be a good name for it because we wracked our brains about it. Father Steve Pullis: Yeah that's great. Father Mario Amore: So I'm on with Mary Wilkerson and Mike Chamberlain. They were drafted for the Eyes on Jesus podcast, too. I'm not bitter about it. Father Steve Pullis: Yeah I was going to ask, how do you feel about that? Father Mario Amore: I support them. But no, it's just, again, very conversational on what's happening in the world and a Catholic perspective on it. From a perspective, we say, of a stay-at-home mom, a Catholic priest, that's me, and a married man who works for the church. And so we try to give our thoughts, opinions, on things. We've all been friends of a while so it's always a fun time when we're able to get together. So we've been doing it about once a month. It's about time to do one again. And you can find it everywhere that you can find podcasts. Father Steve Pullis: And check it out. I enjoy it very much. So thanks Father Mario for being an awesome guest. Father Mario Amore: Thanks for having me. Father Steve Pullis: Well I'm so grateful to Father Mario Amore for being on Open Door Policy, sharing with us his own faith journey and his journey to the priesthood and how God is leading him as pastor of St. Aloysiuis in downtown Detroit. Danielle Center: If you liked this episode, please share it with your friends, your neighbors, your relatives, your Trader Joe cashier. You can also leave us a review on iTunes, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Our handle is @OpenDoorDetroit. Help us unleash the gospel. Open Door Policy was produced by Ron Pangborn and the creative team of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Father Steve Pullis: Any questions you have about it? Father Mario Amore: Is that it? Are we done? Father Steve Pullis: I'm Father Steve Pullis with Danielle Center. Danielle Center: And this has been another episode of Open Door Policy.