Quincy Illinois, 1869. Gus excels as a student at St. Peter's, championed by Father McGurk. But outside the school, the community boils with tension, harassing Gus, threatening Father McGurk, and jeopardizing Gus' future at the school. Now Gus begins to wonder, how can he live men's souls when their hearts are full of hatred? The Saints, adventures of faith and courage. A Gus' sister told him, episode 2, do this. Listen to all the episodes and discover new shows at TheSaintsPodcast.com Can you feel his despair, brothers and sisters? This man lies beaten, robbed, left for dead. But now those who should have compassion for him, the priests and the Levites, pass him by, and let us not forget where they were headed. Jericho, a place of pleasure for the wealthy of Jerusalem. There were no desperate matters they had to attend to. They simply would not have their own comfort interrupted. Is this Christian love? A Samaritan. An outsider. Think of it. It was in the eyes of his enemy that the wounded man's humanity was finally seen. Oh, my friends, that is no enemy. That is a good heart at work. A heart that God's own priests did not have. A heart that I think many of us here do not have. Lord, help us. For I tell you plainly, if we disregard our own on the way to Jericho, we cannot expect to be welcomed back into Jerusalem. Now, it is all stand and pray. Have a good day, Father. Good day to you. Thank you, Father. Good day, Mr. Jones. Bye, Father. Good day, Molly. McGear. Good morning, Mr. Walsh. Mrs. Walsh. Keep your good morning, Father. All I've got to say to you is goodbye. Don't expect to see our son in your school again. And don't look for our faces in your church. After this morning, we're gone for good. I'm sorry to hear that. Truly. We won't be the only ones. Others will follow. I suspect that's true. Father? Of course. Do you have a few minutes? Certainly I do. Let's walk about. I expect you want to discuss my sermon. It was really something, Father. Not just what you said, but how you said it. I get fiery when the truth is at stake. But I don't think you should do that anymore. No? I know it was for me. And I'm grateful. But I heard what the Walsh was saying to you. If you keep this up, people are going to leave St. Peters. Let them leave. But you count on donations from parishioners to keep the school going. Gus, I'm far more concerned about their faith than their money. I want Christ for my sheep. If I alter his teaching so it's easier to accept, it's not really Christ I'm offering. They'd be following the lie. They'd be enslaved to it, my lad. I don't want that. Nor do I. Leaving them enslaved to sin isn't a kindness to them. So I must speak the truth, no matter what. I'll be to share Jesus with all people, Lord. Show me how to make him known. Augustus, may the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul to everlasting life. Amen. May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, baby, you all right? You were right, Mama. May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, baby, you all right? I can't see me up there on the altar. Clear as day. Do this in remembrance of me. Do this in remembrance of me. Do this in remembrance of me. You better hurry if you don't want to miss out on your mother's Easter Sunday sweet potato pie. Save me a peace, Father. I'll join you all soon. Just thinking some thoughts. You've been under this tree for nearly an hour. You must have a great deal of thinking to do to keep you rooted here. A whole host of thoughts. And which of them is keeping you from your mother's pie? The sacred host, Father. When you held it up in communion today, it was like I saw Christ in it for the first time. And now his words are dancing in my head. Do this in remembrance of me. They keep going round and round. They won't stop. And do you feel that you are exactly who God created you to be? Yes. I know exactly what you mean, Father. It's amazing, right? I've never felt that before. I'm excited and eager and deeply happy. And I'm thinking about what I want to do. What I want to be. And what's that, Gus? I want to be a priest. I want to be a priest. Praise the Lord. I want to stand up there and say, do this in memory of me. I want to bring people to Christ in the sacred host. Father, do you think I can? I know you can, Gus. I've seen your faith grow. Just as I've seen you grow up. But how is that possible, Father? I ain't got no money. I'm behind in school. I'm a knee-grow. Isn't even possible. Do you believe this is the Lord's will? Yes, Father. Without laid out. Then you must run toward it without hesitation. But it will be a challenge. You must know that. All right. I can handle it. How do I start? First things first. You need to complete your high school studies. Can you commit to working hard enough to graduate in the next two years? Yes, sir. And I will commit to doing all I can to make this happen. You graduate and I'll arrange for your continued study in seminary. Agreed? Agreed. No. Your mother has some pay waiting for you. I bet she'd like to hear all about this. Thank you, Father. Thank you. Mama! Let it be so, Lord. I still prefer the original Greek. It can't seem to get my head around. Latin syntax. But Greek just has too big of vocabulary. Who needs seven different words for love? Sorry, gentle rubbed. Are you both here for lessons with Father Wegman? Are you Augustus? That's me. Oh. You sound surprised. I'm sorry. I don't mean to. I just... Well, to be truthful, I don't think either of us knew you were black. Well, for about 18 years now. No kidding. I've been white for just as long. Well, glad to know we've got something in common. Come on in, pull up a chair. Father Wegman's never been on time yet. I'm Henry. Henry? You can call me Gus. I'm Clement. Clement? Glad to meet you both. What's your story, Gus? I just graduated from St. Peter's High School. Father Wegman agreed to keep up my studies while they applied to seminary. Of course, I gotta be able to pay for it. If any place will take me that is. Got yourself a job to save up? Well, St. Peter's took me on as a custodian. Oh. That kind of work just isn't for me. You two elite, for it, Henry? No, no. Too much of a slob. I'd leave the place worse than I found it. Oh, hello boys. Am I late? Either that of the clock's fast, father. That clock is three minutes fast. I got this. Glad to see you. Glad you could make it. I was glad to be here, father. You've all introduced yourselves. In fact, we've already discovered we have a lot in common. Excellent. Now let's jump right in. I know you're meant to focus on Greek this evening, but I'm feeling rather poetic. Let's turn our attention to Virgil instead. Thank heaven. Jesus, my Lord, my God, my Lord. How can I love thee as I ought? And how revered this wondrous gift So far surpassing, oh, porthot, Sweet sacrament with the adore, Oh, make us love thee more and more, Oh, make us love thee more and more. I think I could only ever rejoice, Augustus, if I could hear you sing as a priest within these walls. Soon, father. Though we'll be hard pressed to find another custodian who can match you, you excel at everything you set your mind to, Augustus. Yeah, everything except getting into seminary. Speaking of which, I received a letter back from the St. Charles seminary in Ohio. And? Another no, I'm afraid. Well, that makes a dozen places that won't take a black man as a seminary. We're not out of options, lad. It's not just another rejection, that's the problem. Father Wegman's being reassigned. I won't have a teacher. How will I keep up my studies? Well, I've come up with a solution to that very problem. I have a dear friend, Patrick Dolan. We grew up together in Ireland. He's now a pastor in St. Louis. I took the liberty of writing him on your behalf, and he said that he'd be glad to tutor you. You mean, move down there? Well, what about my applications? I'll keep on top of all that. You just focus on your studies. Father Dolan is a fine teacher. This will be a good thing for you. I never imagined I'd go back to Missouri. May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul to everlasting life. All passengers for St. Louis! Stand clear! Back in our home state, Mom. Mm-hmm. If you don't step off that car, it's going to take you away with it. Mm-hmm. Slavery's over and done. No one's coming to get you. Step off the train. It's all right. All right. There we go. I beg your pardon? You wouldn't be the Tolstans. Yes, sir. Excellent. I'm Father Dolan. Oh, we didn't expect to be welcomed at the station, Father. This mighty kind of you. I'm Augustus. It's good to meet you. And this is Martha, my mother. Thank you for allowing me to come along, Father. On the contrary, Mrs. Tolstan, I should be thanking you. I couldn't believe my luck when you wrote me inquiring about the Housekeeper position here in St. Louis. You're an answered prayer. Shall we walk? Oh, God! Next stop, Kansas City! Father Dolan, I really can't thank you enough. Seminary won't happen if I can't keep up with my studies. You're even intellectual by nature. These lessons will be a nice relief from my pastoral duty. When can he start, Father? You all get your both settled into your lodgings. And then tomorrow, I see no reason we can't get started with your intellectual rigors. But I won't make it easy on you, young man. Are you ready for the challenge? I'm ready, Father. Hi, this is Peter Atkinson from The Marybeggers. Tune in to Episode 3. Free Slaves. To hear the next installment of Augustus, Tolten. Listen to all the episodes and discover news shows at theSaintsPoncast.com. The Marybeggers is the entertainment division of relevant radio.
