IWKnights Corner for August 6, 2023

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus? 

  “I’m not the real Jesus, let’s just get that out of the way,” Jonathan Roumie said with a big grin as he addressed the March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., last January. ‘Real Jesus, TV Jesus,’ he added, gesturing to the heavens above and then to himself as thousands of pro-life advocates cheered.

While there are few people who need to remind their audience that they are not actually the incarnate Son of God, Roumie might be excused for his chutzpah.  After all, he portrays Jesus on the enormously successful TV series The Chosen.  What began in 2019 as a crowdfunded effort has now completed three seasons and been streamed more than 500 million times worldwide.

Just a few months before sharing his powerful pro-life message on the National Mall, Roumie became a member of the Knights of Columbus.  In May, during a break from filming on the set of The Chosen, he shared with Columbia about his Catholic faith, how it informs his acting career, and what it means to be a Knight.

COLUMBIA: Earlier this year, you participated in the March for Life in Washington. Can you say a word about your sense of responsibility as a public witness to the pro-life cause?

JONATHAN ROUMIE: Part of my reason for committing to that was because a large number of young people were going to be there — and there aren’t very many people in my position that have stepped out in faith to remind people of how sacred life is from the moment of conception, how we are created in the likeness and image of God, and how that ought to be protected and not dismissed so readily.

As a Catholic, it’s part of what I believe.  And I wanted to empower people, especially young people, who may be struggling with decisions in their life where they don’t feel supported or feel they have nobody to help them.  No, there is support and you do have options.

Initially, I thought I would just be there sort of tacitly supporting.  And then I struggled for a couple of months writing my speech.  God was like, ‘Just speak from your heart.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but that’s going to be really scary.’  He said, ‘No, just be obedient.  Just continue to trust me.’  And I said, ‘OK, I promised I would, and I surrender.  You take it from here.’  And then the speech just wrote itself, basically.

During the rally itself, there were a couple of things that came up spontaneously, like calling on everyone to pray the rosary.  I think Our Lady was like, ‘Remind them about me.’  I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, you got it, Mom.’  And so I did, and that went over pretty well.

You know, it’s all about getting over fear and just locking into the faith and trust in God, especially when it comes to matters of life and death.  So that experience kind of changed my mind about how I could proceed in that area.

Recently an interview with The Chosen’s “TV Jesus” was published in the Knights of Columbus Columbia Online Magazine. The entire – much longer - interview can be found by following:  facebook.com/IWknights9981on IWKnights9981.com/bulletin, on facebook.com/IWknights9981, on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights and now in the Friday Flocknotes.