On Connecting the Diocese this week, Fr. Martin welcomes diocesan priest Fr. Jesse Burish, ordained in 2009, who shares his vocation story, parish assignments, and current service in Rome at the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, including how dicasteries function and what his office work entails, along with reflections on living in Rome, language challenges, and occasionally seeing Pope Leo XIV. The conversation highlights how God redeems gifts like Burish’s architecture background and how dioceses serve the universal Church by lending priests for wider needs. The episode then shifts to 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time readings with Fr. Steven Weller: Isaiah’s promise to foreigners, Romans on God’s irrevocable call and mercy for all, and Matthew’s Canaanite woman whose great faith brings her daughter’s healing, emphasizing evangelization, unity, and welcoming outsiders.

01:37 Vocation Story Begins

03:15 Parish Assignments Journey

04:13 Called to Serve in Rome

05:22 Gifts God Redeems

07:17 Rome Then and Now

12:33 Life in the Dicastery

13:32 Eastern Catholic Churches 101

18:16 Workday Rhythm and Culture

23:30 Do You See the Pope

27:02 Italians View of Pope Leo

28:16 Pope Meets Newlyweds

29:32 Presence and Pastoral Listening

31:00 Rome Pilgrim Tips

33:23 Mission Over Maintenance

34:35 Humility and Asking Help

37:40 Why Priests Serve Away

43:12 Sunday Readings Overview

46:06 Outsiders Welcomed In

51:24 Unity Amid Church Tensions

55:24 Canaanite Faith and Farewell

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