ever wonder how the actor who plays Jesus on The Chosen praise will stay tuned because this episode we're going to interview Jonathan Rooney all about his relationship with God an awesome new initiative that he just recorded coming up next welcome to the show Jonathan hello hello how are you doing we are so excited to have you on yeah so a little bit about Jonathan and then we'll have him kind of give some of his background so Jonathan is an actor who currently plays Jesus on The Chosen series which is the first multi-season series about the life of Christ and is the number one crowdfunded media project in history so again we are super grateful to have you on the show Jonathan could you for our listeners who don't know about you or about your background could you tell us a little bit about your faith journey and how you got to where you are today yeah sure well thank you again uh for having me on I'm I'm honored to be here um so yeah I uh I

I'm from New York City. I was born and raised in New York City, in the suburbs of New York. I grew up sort of artistically inclined. I went to film school. I worked in the production side of films for a long time before I became an actor. And then once I decided I wanted to get real serious about acting, I knew that the only place to really see if I had a shot at this would be to come to Los Angeles. And it is there where I got cast as Jesus. And commentary, my faith journey deepened exponentially. So, I was raised mostly Catholic. I was baptized Greek Orthodox. And then when we left New York City, we sort of transitioned to a church that was near to where we lived. My mother's Roman Catholic, my father's Greek Orthodox, but adoptively Catholic. I kind of consider him since he went to Catholic school. And you know, it's, it's, there's a lot of

similarities between the Orthodox and the Catholic faith, so it wasn't such a difficult transition. I made my first communion and my confirmation as a Catholic, and um, I've just, yeah, my journey has led me deeper to the heart of the faith, um, and the uh, the original movement that Christ himself started so many years ago, um, yeah, and that's kind of, that's kind of the um, the bones of my journey. Now we're uh, were you always strong in the faith? I mean, were like from four years old, did you know that you were gonna be like Catholic forever and play Jesus on the chosen or yeah, I don't think I like that kind of insight. No, I think I was going to play, do something chosen at 4. Not quite that prophetic. Nah, no, I wasn't given the gift of prophecy. No [Laughter]. I did, I always was um, I was always connected to my faith, uh, you know, I remember my Irish grandmother visiting us when we were kids and us going to

Ireland when we were young and um you know reinforcing the prayers that our parents taught us and teaching us additional prayers as well. And you know, one of my earliest memories of prayer is kneeling by my bedside and my grandmother reciting all these different prayers like the guardian angel prayer line by line. So she would say, you know, Orange love God of God, my guardian dear, my guardian deer, and that's how I kind of learned my prayer um with a bunch of prayers uh. So I always kind of felt um the presence of God in my life and it was uh it was kind of like a warm blanket, you know. I guess if I had to put a metaphor to it for my life and there there were times where I kind of would leave the blanket on the bed and then just go outside and do whatever and then but I knew it was always there and whenever I you know felt called to or when I felt cold maybe I would just go and put that blanket on and you know make sure I was trying to um

always staying connected in one way or another, but it really didn't develop until I came out here many years ago, and then really just kicked into high gear the last three years, I would say. What brought upon that growth or that ownership in the last three years? I had a deeper spiritual conversion that came as the result of just a trial, you know, trial and tribulation in my own understanding of it. And you know, everybody, you know, suffering is subjective, and everybody's level of suffering is measured differently. And for myself, what that looked like was essentially me being completely in debt, broke, you know, enough food to last the day at one particular point three years ago, and not knowing where my next check was coming from, and not knowing how I would survive. And essentially getting on my knees as I would do for prayer, but out of essentially just desperation and complete and utter surrender.

and giving everything at that point in my life finally over to God in a way that I hadn't done before. And then that very day, Him sort of showing me that that was exactly what He needed from me. Um, because that morning that I woke up overdrafted by like, you know, 100 bucks, I had 20 bucks in my pocket. And that afternoon, four checks in the mail that came from all over, like, and completely just leveled the playing field once again. I'm like, what, you know? Um, and it was so, I mean, it was so um, shocking to me that I, that I uh, recorded the moment on my, on my, I kept it on my phone as I opened these checks because I just, I couldn't believe I was seeing. I couldn't believe that He had answered my prayers so literally and so immediately. But it really uh, it really told me that that I needed to commit to Him, to surrendering my will and, and my future, and not knowing where, uh, being okay with not knowing.

where things would come, where provision would come from, knowing that it would come in some way, one way or another, that I was doing everything I should be doing, and when it wasn't working, to not be anxious about it, you know? Yeah, the Sermon on the Mount is all about that. Yeah, um, so I'm like, okay, and then, you know, three years later, here I am, reciting those words, you know, back to myself in essence. So it's, it's, it's all been, uh, I mean, the only way I can describe, um, the whole experience and this journey is just divinely orchestrated. Yeah, it's, it's amazing how God works when it seems He just sits at the door and waits for us to surrender those things in our life, and that's so important, and it's so beautiful to hear from you, and how, man, it's, once, once He gives that over, then God goes, ah, like, fine, okay, let me now, I can, now we can work, now we can do some stuff. The joke that I would say would be like, it would be

God sitting there watching me being like, You got this. You're okay. You don't need... okay, I'll stay out the way. Yeah, yeah, finally me being like, Just take it. I'm like, Oh, oh no. You want me? You want me to just get involved? Okay, all right. Now get out of the way. We can actually... I can... let me do my job. Let me do my job, you know? But if you want to get... if you still want... I'm like, No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. This is yours. I'm sorry. Okay, so that's kind of how I see it. How do you maintain that level of surrender? Because I think, like, initially, a lot of us have experienced that, like, Hand it over to God, and then we, like, quickly slide back into, like, our normal way of living. How have you continued to live in that trust? I think, um, I think by really being present to what He did to that moment. I think by me capturing it, I can always go back to it.

and be like, There it is, it's on tape. I can't, it's not in the ether. It's there, it's a record of it. And whether you write those things down in a book like a book of miracles or happenstances or events or, you know, um, moments that are just inexplicable, um, I think it's important because we naturally forget good things. We remember tragedy, but we tend to just kind of disregard the positive things. We just kind of take those for granted, I think, because the negative has some sort of a more visceral, spiritual, physical impact on our psychology. Um, so I think it's important to kind of maintain a record of all the wondrous things that God does in the person's life because then you can look back and be like, No, this happened. Then it shouldn't have happened, but it happened. And it was, how incredible was that, you know? Um, so I think that's, and that day that, you know, it was

such a turn of events in my life. I mean, it changed my life 180 degrees. And three months after that day, I got cast and chosen. It was like I had a phone call from Jenkins, the creator, and he's like, Hey, I think we're going to do a series, like four episodes. Would you want to play Jesus again? And I had done three short films over the previous four years with him, and the last one was like a year and a half before. And so when he called, you know, three months after, I was praying for some change in my life. I'm like, Yeah, I'll do a series playing Jesus, sure. Four episodes, one episode, or whatever it is. Yeah, and then, yeah, and so, um, I think that's, you know, it was just like one of those things where I, it was, it probably took several moments of me getting smacked upside the head, and then this one actually just stuck where I was like, Okay, take it and

then I had committed that day. Once that happened, I said, All right, so complete surname, that's what we're looking for, huh? Yep, okay, okay, okay. And you know, even after we were, even up until filming, and even after filming the first four episodes of The Chosen, there were no guarantees on anything. So I was still struggling to pay my bills. I still, you know, I was starting to feel like, you know, things were changing, but I didn't have the bank account statements to prove it, to know that things would eventually change. But I didn't worry about it. I didn't, I just trusted that like, Okay, well, I made that commitment, and I have to honor that commitment to God because of what He did to me that day and showed me that like, 'No, He's listening. He's just been waiting for me to listen and to obey and to be obedient.' I think He brought up something really important that we found in our lives as well, that we are so forgetful as a people, and I and and

that's the story of the Old Testament, right? You look at the Israelites and Moses, like God parts the Red Sea for them, and then in the next, yeah, yeah, exactly. And then the best part is when you read that, and you're like, Oh man, the Israelites, yeah, they're like, how did they know first? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you realize it's the whole book is about you, and you're like, Oh yeah, I'm the one. Yeah, and I think that's just so, so important to be able to document that because people ask us a lot, How do you, you know, make progress in the spiritual life? And I think one of the really important ways is to document that so that you can look back and remember the amazing things that God has done in your life, remember the hardships that He got you through, and then, you know, it kind of takes the things that you're struggling with right now and puts reframes into a new lens, yeah, puts it into perspective. Absolutely, Jonathan, how

do you pray? What is your daily prayer life like right now? Where did it kind of come from to hear today? Um, I usually, I start my day with prayer, and I end my day with prayer, and then I'm praying in between, you know, appointments, and I mean, it's a constant, I feel like it never really stops, it's a constant dialogue. And then sometimes it's more formal in the, you know, like memorized prayer and, uh, or like the rosary or divine mercy chaplet, which I try to say every day. Some days I, I miss, and um, and uh, and that's okay, but I try to be really, really diligent about it. And if I miss, I don't, I don't, you know, flagellate my selfie from it, you know. I'm like, okay, it's okay, it's okay now, uh, and then I try to make up for it, you know, but like I, I always try to start the day giving thanks. Um, I was on retreat recently in a monastery and um, run by Benedictine, so I got used to

going to mass every day and trying to go to the liturgy of the hours, you know, which was lovely, to just have, you know, a couple, like a stone's throw from where you are, and just be able to pray and pray the psalms, and then share meals with these guys and have silence. Um, I think silence is really important. Um, but luckily, there are so many apps now, like there's, you know, with prayer, and not to make an obvious segue of any sort, but like Hallow. You can find there's like the liturgy of the hours, right, which is prayer like five times a day, and you have that on apps like Hallow. And, uh, and if you don't have the book, and it's just like, it's, it's, it's so easy to, to have access to prayer today, especially within the digital world that we're living in. Um, there's no real, there's really no excuse, you know, not to be praying or not to at least exploring, um, you know, maybe prayers that you're

not used to like, you know, I have a lot of, uh, friends and a lot of fans that are not Catholic, and they're discovering all these kinds of Catholic prayers and these devotions and these things that, you know, are meaningful or have become meaningful to them and have, um, changed their spiritual lives and their prayer lives. And I just think that's amazing, you know. Prayer doesn't have to be in just one format, you know. I mean, Jesus himself prayed in all different kinds of ways, and, uh, I think as long as, I think, you know, what better model, what better role model for prayer, you know, um, than him. So, I think, uh, I think if it's just a conversation in between, you know, a rosary in between a mass or something like that, um, I think that's, uh, I think that's, it's all great. I think as long as you're, you're trying to stay connected to what, where the spirit is leading you and being open and not trying to impose your will.

over God's will over your life. I think I think you're in good shape. How does your prayer life look like onset? Does it change? Are you able to pray? Are you able to go to mass? What does that look like when you're recording? It doesn't really um change. I just you know I have to work to find moments where I can be alone sometimes. I mean you know even on set like depending on what we're filming there'll be moments um where I'll just kind of walk off to pray and uh if it's before certain scenes you know I'll just take some time by myself and talk to God and other times I'll just you know pray prayers that I know and um [Music] and then sometimes it might be yeah a day doesn't go by where I I don't have some kind of conversation with God or say some kind of prayer or you know um [Music] yeah yeah I think having a sort of a an arsenal of of different kinds of prayers is kind of key and so

like if you know if you don't have the time to be a father, God, you know, I just want to talk to you about, you know, if you don't have that kind of time when you're in between running around and just like how married Lord, you know, even just kind of anything that just connects you to Jesus is um, that I take that opportunity wherever I am, no matter what I'm doing, pray at all times, Saint Paul said, right? That's right, yeah, amen. So, do you get the opportunity to go to Mass when you're on set? Yes, I, the first thing I do when I get to my hotel, wherever we're filming, is to find a local church and figure out where I can go to Mass and receive the Eucharist and get confession if I needed and um, and just kind of, I like to, I like to do all those things before I start, like go to confession, see if you kind of spiritually start with a clean slate before I um, you know, film, and that way I

I feel the most, uh, the line is kind of most directly connected when I'm spiritually cleaned out, so to speak, um, and um, yeah, I think it just makes more room for the spirit to work with within me and through me, um, for this project or any project really, but particularly this project, yeah. So, uh, you mentioned the Halo app, which we're really excited because, uh, you have just recorded all four gospels, is that right? Yeah, I'm so excited, okay, all by myself. [Laughter] To tell us a little bit about the 30-day challenge and what you have going on with Halo. Yeah, so the 30-day challenge on Halo is essentially my, um, reading, narrating of all four gospels, like a few chapters a day, so it's about 20 minutes a day of the gospels and me. I do all four of them, and it's essentially, you know, summer is a busy time for everybody. Um, I think one of the ways that a lot of people fall off once they're on vacation is is

like prayer, you know, just like, Oh, let me go. We're on vacation. We're hiking. We're doing this. We're doing that. You know, whether it's as a family or just as individuals. And um, I think this challenge is an awesome way uh, during the summer to be able to integrate prayer back into a person's routine for like 20 minutes a day, you know, because it's just little chunks where you're not, you know, taking hours and hours um, so it's really convenient to kind of like fit it in and pray along and meditate with with the scripture. And then I think there's also um uh uh commentary um by Dr. Sri and and uh Mary Healy. I think that is also going to be accessible for people to to go deeper into the the chapters and the and the scriptures. So um, I think it's just, it'll be a really lovely way to to just keep people anchored throughout the summer, the summer holidays. I really like that especially, and we found being in the military that whenever

We're moving, or there's some period where we don't have the structure like our normal day-to-day routine, that it's so easy to just let the prayer life go because you really gotta fight for it. So, to have something over the summer where now if you are traveling, going on vacation, your kids are out of school, whatever it is, now you just kind of have something that says, Okay, I can commit to 20 minutes a day. Yeah, and I think that's really beautiful. For those who don't know what Hallow is, it's a Catholic prayer app that helps. And what we really love about it is it's a resource that allows and helps teach you how to pray, as well as facilitates just the space and the time and the opportunity. And so, as a mom with kids running around, I love to turn it on while I'm unloading the dishwasher or making breakfast and turning those times into times that scripture is a part of that activity, of this prayer of service, into a prayer with the word.

I think that this is an incredible opportunity for people to learn how to pray. I think especially Ignatius contemplation is the idea of using our imagination to enter into scripture. One of the cool things I think about you reading it is you've given a lot of imagery to what Jesus' life was like, what it may have looked like, seeing what, heard, you know, all of our senses coming alive through that. And then to have you in your Jesus accent read the scriptures over me, I think is a very powerful way to just allow ourselves to be immersed in that moment, that it's a letter to us to be present. Yeah, I think it's been really fun for me, and for those who are wondering, does he read the whole thing in this Jesus accent? So, only the lines of Jesus, only Jesus's words are in Jesus's accent, just to be clear, you know. But I...

try to um I try to lift much like you know when we're bringing life to these characters in the show. I try to bring um life uh reverently um to the gospels themselves, you know, whether it's um the gospel of Matthew, and obviously it's in Matthew's voice. I'm not doing Matthew's voice or of Paris Patel as Matthew, but I'm narrating. And then when there are other characters um such as Jesus or such as, you know, Simon Peter or John, um, there will be distinctions. So, while it's not a full theatrical version, it's a reverently, I feel, engaging um, you know, narration so that we try to bring the stories to life so that people can visualize, and especially if they've seen The Chosen um, a lot of these things will just, it will be more of these, this kind of imagery that you mentioned that will just sort of come, fall into place. And also, you know, in The Chosen since we don't uh

we don't cover everything that Jesus said or everything that happened in every gospel because it's just not possible um to to do you know everything in a way that works narratively is a TV show. This is an opportunity to hear some of those scripture passages that you may not get to see in the show and still feel connected to the character of Jesus um through you know my portrayal for those who who are fans of the portrayal and the show. It just is a way to hear more of that portrayal come through on other scriptures that we we may not get to do or you know because of time and stuff like that. So I'm pretty excited about it. Yeah, you bring up a really good point of how complementary that it can be, you know, especially with other things in the Hello app um. You look at for if for our viewers who are listening to Bible in a Year timeline, you know, I would never throw shade at Father Mike Schmitz. How am I supposed to be watching this? Not throwing shade.

It's amazing, amazing, but like this can be you can do this together, right there. You don't have to do one or the other. You know, this can be something where you're learning about the scriptures in the Bible in your timeline and all about the history and what's going on in the scene. And now, like, this is just kind of another way to be immersed in the gospels, in the life of Christ, to enter into that prayer. So, absolutely, Jonathan, what's your favorite gospel? That's a tough one, all of them. Yeah, I think I have, I'll narrate to John and Matthew, I think are my favorites. John is just so different, obviously, from the synoptics. And it's got some really cool stories that aren't in the other ones. And then Matthew, like, you know, I mean, he's got the sermon, and it's detailed. And yeah, yeah, I would say those two, combination of those two, really cool. That's awesome. Should we do rapid fire?

questions. Yeah, okay. So, we have a shout-out. Um, said, Hey, do you have any questions for Jonathan? From a bunch of our listeners, and we got some really good ones. So, oh, they're not. I don't need a drink here. Hold on. There are no softballs in these questions. So, okay. All right. I think I'm ready. First, how do you start praying again after being lazy for months? You just start. You just start talking to God and ask Him for help. Yeah, you know, just like, Is there God? I've been lazy. Help me to not be lazy in my prayer time. And there, you just said your first prayer. There you go. Started the conversation. Are there prayers or resources, maybe a book that you would recommend? I don't know that I could pick one in particular. Uh, I would say start with the Bible. Start with the Word, you know? Yeah, just start with this 30-day challenge. Start with a 30-day challenge. Start with, I mean, seriously. I mean

As far as books like everything that you can find in the book, um, that's like the most important prayers. I think that you can find in books are on the Hallow app, you know, um, and anything that's not is, I think, falls into other categories where, you know, spontaneous prayer. Like, then it's like, yeah, there's no book on that. I mean, there might be books on that, but there's no, there's no, I don't see the point of a book on spontaneous prayer because it's, you know what I mean? So, uh, as far as books go, if you're like, oh, what do I read? Like, pick up, pick up, you know, dig into the app, see what prayers kind of speak to you, and then, you know, that will lead you to, I think, other, other books. Um, a book that I really like that I always promote that is great for, um, kind of keeping your feet on the ground, which has a lot of prayers, but it's kind of geared towards humility, which is, I think, everybody can use extra doses of.

there's this book here called How to Be Somebody by Mark Mendez. In fact, I just ordered a couple of copies for some friends. This book has served me and served so many people that I've told about it. Pastors have been like, Thank you for telling me about that book. That book is a life changer, a game changer. So, that's a really good one that you can order on Amazon. How to Be Somebody. And they've got all these different kinds of prayers from the church fathers, from more recent examples of prayers. So, that's kind of one that I have for just for that specific subject, which I just find, given what I'm doing for a living, is just always encouraging to me. And it always reconnects me with what's most important regarding my relationship with God and trying to just keep me obedient, humble. That's awesome. And we will definitely share a link to that in the description.

but you mentioned humility. So, for our next rapid-fire question from our listeners: How do you stay humble being an actor, being in L.A., being on The Chosen, playing Jesus, like all of those things? Because I know that I think part of it stems from this devotion that I've become really fond of called memento mori, with this skull rings. The skulls are a representative for me as a reminder of, you know, the death is imminent. Memento mori means remember that you will die, remember your death. And by focusing on our death and the fact that life is ephemeral and temporal, we can be more, we can lead more holy lives. And so, I think knowing that everything can change like that, that all of it could go away tomorrow for one reason or another, completely out of my control. And so, I think by being reminded of that, I know that what I have now, I just need to continue to be grateful for it and to steward my gifts as best as I can.

and try to see, you know, try to meet Christ in the face of others and, um, giving back wherever I can. Uh, I think that's, I think that's how the best way for me to do that is just know that it's all temporary. It's not, you know, we take none of this with us. So, I'm grateful for what I have and how I can use my gifts and, and whatever comes my way as a result, whatever, you know, um, blessings that God passes on to me or if I make more money than I did three years ago. It's great, you know, and, but at the end of the day, it's not my money. It's God's money, and I'm just shuttling it from one place to another. And if there's more, then there's more to give away, you know. So, that's kind of how I look at it. Beautiful. Yeah, absolutely. The another question, um, we talked a little bit about how you strive to pray without ceasing. And actually, this question said, Saint Paul tells us to pray constantly.

I but sometimes I'm afraid that I might be bothering God, uh, or that what I'm asking about is too small because He's busy with more important stuff. And so, what would you say to a Bart and I person who asked that question? Whatever you think is too small is the more important stuff that God's busy. There's nothing that's too small. I mean, He created you. He knows your prayers before you ask them, so ask them. There's something to vocalizing our prayers, you know, um, they say, um, if you sing, you're a prayer something, I'm paraphrasing, like if you're singing a prayer, you're praying twice as opposed to just praying, right? So, they say the language of the angels is song. So, there's something to speaking things out loud. When I had my mom surrendered, that was all out loud. That wasn't in my head, me just looking up in my [Laughter]. It was out loud, like why God, why, you know? It's like was the language of the psalms.

which are all songs, so speak it out loud and know that it's all um, it's all relevant and it's all important to God. Whatever is important to you is important to God because He made you. So, we are a reflection of Him here in this, you know, time and space, and uh, it's all important. There's no, there is no priority over one thing more important than another. It's, if it's important to you, it's important to Him. That's what I'd say. Oh, thank you. The next question, I how has plain the character of Jesus affected your personal faith life. Let's look at my shelf some. Yeah, I think, where is it? There, you know, uh, it's none of those. I didn't have that many spiritual books before I started this job, so that's, that's for starters. Um, it's, it's just deepened it exponentially. You know, when you spend so much time with any character, but especially Jesus, and you're allowing that character to affect you and affect your life, um, it can't help but, but change your

day-to-day, and now you see things and what you strive after, and the knowledge you seek, and the desire to be closer to him. I think that's the main thing. What surprised you the most in getting to know Jesus, living that out? Um, what surprised me the most? I don't know. I think um [Music]. I think what surprised me is the experience of this that other people have had that share that get one when they get the opportunity to share with me the impact of this um, this journey for me. I think that's been the most surprising thing, just the level and the depth that God is engaging with people's hearts and spirits um, you know, through the show and through the portrayal. That's been the most surprising thing. I it's still yeah, it's I don't know if I'll ever get used to to that. It's uh yeah, I think that's it uh being a Catholic representative on The Chosen. What is one of the most I common questions you get working with other denominations about

your faith. Um, I don't feel like I get a lot of questions from other people on set about my faith. Um, you know, it's like at the end of the day, that becomes a workplace for many people, and when you're on set, it's a workplace. So, it's not quite, I think it might not be the environment or the experience that people might think it is. Like, it's not like walking into church, do you know what I mean? Okay. Um, but it's a very different experience than working on a regular TV show, you know, um, where there's an openness and you feel this opportunity to express yourself in the way that you can. That, you know, whether it's talking about God just as a part of your vernacular language or, um, you know, being able to just take a moment to pray about something before a scene starts. Like, that's okay. Like, there's no, nobody thinks twice about that. So, I think that's where it kind of becomes um.

[Music] that's sort of how it works on a set, you know. And then if I've had side conversations with other members of the cast that are friends, and we've had our own personal discussions, but um, yeah, that doesn't really come in the form of um, questions so much, you know. Yeah, another question, I think we've touched on it a little about it, but if you want to expand uh on how you fit prayer into your super busy schedule. Yeah, I think I think kind of what I said earlier about just, you know, it's it's not like, Oh gosh, I gotta figure out what I'm gonna pray, you know. It's not because prayer is just a constant sort of, it's it's it's like uh, it's like a cassette tape running in the background, you know, like just somebody presses and just like, It's just always there in the background. And then it's like whether I go, I'm really dating myself with that reference, I just realized. Anyway, it's like a CD, it's like Spotify.

man, you just got spotted. My CD is still dating, and like, dang it. So yeah, we can edit that part out. That's right. It's like, uh, no. It's like literally just having a music track on in the background, and it's just like every so often, like when you finish doing something, you're like, Oh, let me turn that song off. You're like, Cool, all right, I gotta get back to work, and just turn it back down so I can concentrate on my job. So it's just there, you know? It's just always there. So um, if it's more of a ritualized thing like a rosary where I need to have dedicated like 20 minutes or 25 minutes or whatever, you know, um, then I'll try to, you know, it'll either be on my way to work or on my way home or uh, sometimes at lunch, but usually lunch, I'm once the day starts, I'm trying to work on, I'm working on scenes, and I'm in the middle of it, you know.

trying to think about what my next scene is and what my emotional state of being is for that scene. And do I know all my lines, or is there anything weird, or have I, do I have questions about seeing? So, if it's more of a stylized or, you know, um, ritualized format like a chaplet, then I'll usually pick at the beginning of the day or the end of the day, almost always at night before I go to bed. I'll do something if I haven't gotten to it first thing in the morning. I think that's such a powerful way to pray. The more and more people we interview, the more, uh, patterns that you've seen amongst people. And I think the kind of the bookend, like beginning of the day, end of the day, and then as much as you can just pray unceasingly, little prayers, listen to stuff. Then, uh, you're, because ultimately, I really feel that it's not about how much or, but it's just about your heart. God knows your heart. God knows that you are doing the best.

you can, you know, you're changing diapers and acting out scenes and all that stuff. So, it's just giving as much as you can to God. And, you know, you even said just in the start of the prayer, how do you start praying when you haven't prayed in a long time? And that's just to ask God to help you to do that stuff. So, if you're looking to want to pray deeper, pray more, ask the Holy Spirit, ask God to help you to try to do that. So, uh, okay, this is one uh from our listeners. Is there anything that you can tell us about uh the chosen season three? No, no, I know it's being written. I know it's uh being written. Uh, that's as because I know I know like it's a little ways out there. There you go. Yeah, yeah, I know they're in a pretty good shape with with the scripts. Um, so the biggest thing right now is I think there's construction of a sound stage, which is an enormous task. So, I think um, I think because

there's so much outdoor filming, um, and the challenges of outdoor filming depending on the time of the year you film can be pretty brutal, as we learned for season two. Um, I think having a sound stage as an option gives us much more flexibility with the time of year. So once I think that's finished being built, and again, I don't know the details because this is just what I've heard online like everybody else. Yeah, it's literally um, and then what I know about filmmaking, what you know, building sound stages and construction, and they're also building additional sets, like a lot more sets. Um, so all that stuff takes time. Um, but I think the scripts are in their final phase of being polished up, and, and uh, God willing, you know, sooner than later. You know, I, I, I don't have any other information other than that. I wish I did. Sorry, awesome. What's your favorite episode or scene been so far? Yeah, I, I can't pick one. There's been, there's been a range of them. I mean

season one. I had three scenes that I think I narrowed it down to, which was my appearance in episode one, the end of episode eight, the woman at the well, and then, um, the scene with Nicodemus with Erica Barry. Yeah, oh god. And then season two looks like there's so many good scenes in season two. Uh, yeah, episode. I loved working with, um, David Amito as John the Baptist in episode five, even though it was like a brief almost cameo in episode three of season two at the end where Jesus has been healing all day and he just kind of, oh yeah, cam correct, staggers back. Yeah, that was kind of cool for me. Um, that was something that I don't get to do often as that character, you know, showing just the ravages of being human on him. So, uh, and then episode one. I really enjoyed episode one. I think it was just such a beautifully interesting, interestingly told, um, combination of playing with timelines and characters. And, um, I think it kicked off the season really

really well, and I hope episode 8, which is coming up pretty soon, I hope it bookends it just as nicely. So, yeah, speaking of which, oh, you're just as excited, um, yeah, for all of our listeners. So, tomorrow night, Sunday, is the season finale of The Chosen. So, um, tune in to that because, uh, it's gonna be, it's gonna be awesome. I'm super excited to hear the Sermon on the Mount, yes, and that to see it. Yeah, I think it should be good. My first experience with reading scripture was actually the Sermon on the Mount in Hallow, and I was pregnant and struggling to sleep and put it on, and it just, um, knocked you right out. No, it did not. I actually stayed up for 40 minutes listening to it the first time. Oh, wow. Um, but the amount of peace that it gave and the insight that it gave into those words, to just have them over you, I think that there is something powerful about listening to scripture, and that is something um, I'm looking forward to this 30-day.

challenge um I know when I have put it on. You're even in the playroom with my kids running around to hear them, just see them, hearing it, but also even how God can speak amidst the crazy joyful chaos um and allowed me to hear verses that I've never heard before um speak a truth and a depth in it to my heart. And so thank you for that and for for all our listeners. Again, we'll leave links in the description but um check out Hello Through uh the link below. You can get a free 30-day trial which would coincide perfectly through the 30-day um challenge uh for to hear Jonathan Rumi pray through the scriptures. And then if you're listening to this like a month or a year later or whatever um they're gonna keep those uh those readings on there. So now you can just listen, you can just binge Jesus. Yeah, you know, just like oh no. I was just going to say uh just for for clarity, yes. So so while that through throughout the 30-day challenge, it'll be

parsed like there's a few chapters a day, and then after the challenge is done, it will be presented as an audio Bible, so you can just read the whole each gospel, you know, straight through, and it's actually Hallows' first audio Bible, so this is their entry into the audio Bible space, so very, very excited for multiple reasons here. So, um, yeah, I think I hope people will like it, and then thank you for sharing those words, uh, Katie, about the sermon when you were pregnant. I think that's awesome if people can get any kind of peace from hearing, you know, God's words, um, read to them, and I happen to be the person reading them. It's, uh, it's quite humbling and, and, uh, such an honor for me to hear that, so thank you for sharing that. Thank you, Jonathan. I feel like we could talk to you all day, but thank you, thank you for coming on the show. Where can people find out more about you, what you've got, uh, going on?

and really just everything, the awesome work that you do for God. Yeah, uh, for people that are curious about my professional life, um, I'm on imdb.com. You can just search my name on imdb.com. You'll see all the other stuff I've done aside from The Chosen, most of the updates that I do, but the things that I'm doing now, um, uh, whether it's Halo, whether it's The Chosen, or whether it's a bunch of other products that I've got coming out, um, I usually drop those on my Instagram account, which is uh, jonathanroomyofficial. And you know it's me because there's a blue check. If there's no blue check, it's not me. And I didn't write that message to you asking for your phone number, so just so you know, because that has happened. You're like, Is this really you? I'm like, No, just this one is me now here, this one, not that other one. And you know, it's really interesting. Um, I also have uh, Facebook is also at

jonathanroomyofficial and then Twitter um just at jonathanroomy uh that's it just uh yeah so those are the places that I update most of my stuff and I have a website that I just kind of just sort of a placeholder for photos and things like that so awesome well again thank you so much for coming on the show for all our listeners we'll leave links in the description to check out for uh for Hallow for The Chosen for all of Jonathan Roomie's social to follow him uh this has been amazing we hope that it has really brought [Music] some peace some joy and maybe a little clarity about prayer to you guys as our listeners and a little bit of insight into uh Jonathan Rooney's life so again Jonathan thank you so much for coming on the show for listeners we're praying for you all take care and God bless thank you so much God bless you all

How Jonathan Roumie Prays || Jesus from The Chosen Interview

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