Fr. James Martin, Editor-at-Large at America magazine, recently had a quick chat with a bearded Stephen Colbert about his Catholic faith.
Here are a few things we learned:
1) What he’d like to ask Pope Francis
“What do you do to get that smile on your face in the morning?” is what he’d ask the Holy Father. Colbert says that Mother Teresa said that every morning she would make herself smile and say “yes” – a trick Colbert says he practices. He says that the Pope’s secret is probably just prayer.
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2) His favorite saint
He says he likes St. Peter “because he’s so flawed.” He explains,
“I always liked Peter because he’s the rock, but the rocks were between the ears. Because he has the insight, or the grace, to know that you are the messiah, the Son of God. And then he denies Christ. He’s angry, like he’s known as having anger. I like him because he’s super flawed. And yet he gets the big job.”
[See also: 5 Saints Who Totally Had Superpowers]
3) His Confirmation name
Colbert says he chose “Simon,” the name Peter had before Christ gave him his new name, in memory of his brother Peter who had died.
4) Favorite Scripture passage
When asked he, he recites from memory part of Jesus’ teaching on not worrying from the Matthew chapter 6. He said he likes it because not worrying helps a person to remain mindful, which gives them a chance to be joyful. He says that he had that passage read at his wedding.
5) His favorite hymns
“Hear I Am Lord” and “O Come, O Come Immanuel.”
6) He doesn’t like guitar Masses
After being asked if he likes church music from the 1960s, he responds: “No, I do not. I’m not a big guitar Mass person.”
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