Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patrick and Rebecca Pulis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Patrick and Rebecca, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our Mission at Saint of the Month is to lead people to a deeper spiritual life and teach them stories of hero’s who have lived incredible lives. One of these hero’s, Saint Bernard, has a beautiful quote where he says “it was not by any movement of His that I recognized His coming…only by the movement of my heart…did I perceive His presence” Sometimes we discover our longing for the supernatural within our own hearts and realize that we are all truly made for something greater. Our company tries to awaken that longing to encounter God and realize our call to be the best versions of ourselves.

When I was younger. I wanted that sign from heaven. I wanted to see that shooting star that answers the moment I call. I sought for God in the grand miracles. But as “grand” as I thought this was, it wasn’t as grand in the eyes of God.

I love teaching people all about the saints and that is why I started Saint of the Month. In a small part we are the answer Pope John Paul II’s call for a wave of Saints. We want our world to be filled with Saints. So we send boxes filled with gifts and spiritual journeys that allow you to deepen in your faith every day and not just on Sundays. Each month you get a box and open the weeks gift. Then you work on the goal.

A little about Me and where I come from:

In College, I decided to discern the religious life and made that leap to go to Peru. Yes. That is crazy! But that is what the Lord was calling me to do at that moment. To go to a foreign land and to give up all my securities from all my possessions to my friends and family at home. I joined the religious life and gave everything I had. We did intense exercises every day. We prayed hard and every minute of the day was given to the Lord. I was like a candle who was burning for God. Then God put me through a deep crisis and I had to discern my vocation. It was like the whole rug was pulled from under me. But as I came home and was wondering what to do now that I felt alone more than ever before. I eventually began praying for my future wife. “Somewhere out there she was” I thought. I looked at the moon and knew perhaps she was looking too. Then I met Rebecca at a Stuebenville of the Rockies Conference (A Catholic Conference in Denver). It was there that I began to sell my first boxes of Saint of the Month. But I didn’t realize that someday I would marry this beautiful woman that I met there. She woke up early every day and carved out time to pray. I felt humbled to date her.

As we dated and I was ready to ask her to marry me, I prayed about which day I should ask Rebecca to marry me. I decided to look at days dedicated to the saints and saw Saint Raphael, the patron saint of love. I asked her on that feast day not knowing that Rebecca had privately prayed to Saint Raphael in hopes to find a husband. It was a small confirmation that Saint Raphael and all the Saints were beginning to play an integral part in our journey together.

Mother Teresa had a similar call within a call. She left the security of her convent and went to the streets of Calcutta. She struggled the first few months but God provided and her heart grew as much as her ministry.

We love to share stories of the saints and each box we send is jammed packed with stories and gifts related to that saint. In fact, each week we give you a goal to work on to help you grow in your faith. We know how hard it can be to think of things to do to deepen in your spiritual life…so we do all that preparation for you!

When Saint Bernard talks about “reading from the book of our experience”, he is telling us to look and see these desires within that are unfolding and leading us to God. If we saw the paintbrush strokes that God uses in our lives by reflecting and really praying, we would recognize His presence. As Bernard says “only by the movements of my heart did I perceive His Presence”

Wow! How powerful.

My wife and I have a sign that says “every love story is beautiful, but I love ours the most”. As I take time to pray and reflect upon God working in our lives, I come to realize how truly blessed we are. I am truly blessed and have fallen in love with our story.

I’ve come to love and appreciate the stories of the lives of the Saints as I research them and put together our subscription boxes on them. Each one diverse and unique. I used to dream of a life filled with miracles and stories gripped with adventure. I’ve come to realize that not only is my life filled with this same awesome adventure but their story of love is also my story.

At Saint of the Month we help people discover not only the amazing stories about the Saints but also each person has their own amazing story to tell and are called to that same greatness full of wonder and adventure towards a life to holiness and fulfillment.

Patrick and Rebecca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Saint of the Month began on Good Friday 2017 and since then has curated a box every month. This family owned Catholic business seeks to surround us with reminders that lift the soul towards God. The more we find tiny ways to remind us to think about Jesus and the Saints the more we will, with the Grace of God, desire Him fully. Holiness is not something we should place as a thing we do occasionally. Holiness should be the center of our lives and the great path that we walk upon each day. Becoming a Saint is our destiny and who God created us to be. It is possible to be a Saint and each reminder will teach us that we should seek all that is Good, Beautiful, and True. In each Saint of the Month box we carefully place gifts that become reminders of our daily quest. Many of the gifts are custom made and we have fun designing them to fit each saint. We began with a humble beginning of 9 subscribers and have grown to hundreds since. Our mission is to teach and inspire people about the lives of the Saints. Each saint is different and has something to teach us. The more we learn about what other children of God have done, who were recognized as people we can look up to by the Church, the more we can see it possible for us to become Saints as well. We, at Saint of the Month desire that all become Saints and will strive to reach across the globe to teach people our rich faith which, at the heart of it is it’s people. We are the body of Christ. Saints are one of the greatest ways to learn to be a Saint. Please join us and let the adventure begin.

When you subscribe to our boxes we send a new, never featured before, saint to your door. Boxes are sent on the 27th of each month so you can begin each month exploring a Saint. It is easy to subscribe and you can cancel anytime. You can do this yourself or reply to this email and we can help you out.

There are many options and you can order one month at a time or give your mother a continued gift by ordering 3,6 or 12 months at a time.

Just check out what some of our subscribers say:

“I ordered this for my Mom and she absolutely loves it! Each box so far has been more than expected and customer service is excellent. I was contacted within an hour after placing the initial subscription, right before Christmas. They gave me the option to send immediately so the first box could be there by Christmas. I definitely plan to renew for another six months!” ~Shannon

‘My daughter and I look forward to the box each month. We open the gifts together, and have grown so much in faith and spirituality. Definitely worth every penny for all the original gifts you get.” ~Denise

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Rebecca and I have felt the pressure. The storm rages in our lives. We are going from two jobs to one and I feel the weight of needing to provide come upon my shoulders. But the weight is so big I feel like it is impossible. Our health is struggling. Our car broke down. And we are at the point of looking up and asking “Why are we in this storm and when will it end?” Many people today are in a kind of storm. As anxiety and stress and mental exhaustion are on the rise.

But God is good and is speaking to us through scripture. Especially in one passage that hit me like a ton of bricks and shattered my idea of what success in the world means.

The Gospel passage where Peter and some of the Apostles go back to fishing came up a few times and I began to think of it. I think of Peter who lived and breathed fishing before he met Jesus. He knew so much. It was his livelihood. But Peter must have been to the point of being “burnt out”. He fished all day and was exhausted and he probably was questioning his return to this kind of work. It must have felt pointless or less important.

I can relate, and perhaps you can too. Have you ever done something for so long and it seems like the results never are where you are? Think of where you are financially, where you are in relationships, perhaps your house chores are getting a bit overwhelming, your “to do list” is getting longer… We feel like we put so much effort and get nowhere. We come to the point of Peter, where we have felt like we fished all night and are completely spent.

I sometimes feel like this when working two jobs and when I begin to desire more customers or more orders for Saint of the Month. And now, I feel like it isn’t such a hobby but our life depends on some of the income from this ministry. I know, it is a kind of worldly desire but perhaps not foreign to what Peter would have felt too. He was an entrepreneur who had a fishing business.

Imagine a stranger on the shore to tell you to give one more effort to cast your nets to another side of the boat. You probably would think “Are you crazy, I am tired and just want to throw in the towel”. You lack trust. But, you are at the point where you will try anything because you are despairing. What is this other side of the boat for you? Is it to dedicate time for prayer? Is God asking you to trust in Him more? Is he asking you to turn away from a vice? Is he asking for a transformation?

“Anyone got time for that?” You may be asking, but God knows what we need in the times we are to the end of our string.

For me, I lacked that trust that things will be ok. My wife on the other hand is so trusting that God will take care of us that she is excited and ready for this new step. I am like Peter who is hesitant to do something different. The task is so big, the horizon is so daunting, that I want to curl up and hide.

The Gospel story continues with Peter listening to Jesus and catching a huge amount of fish. I never realized this but it must have been Peter’s dream come true. It must be like winning the lottery and cashing in. It must have fulfilled his heart’s desire that he has thought about day after day for years. But Peter realizes that it wasn’t done with His efforts alone. He realizes that God is amazing and how he didn’t trust.

But the story gets even more interesting as Jesus is about to show Peter something even more amazing. If you think getting your heart’s desire fulfilled would be a dream come true, Jesus is telling us “You know nothing what is in store for you”.We are called to greatness and sometimes our idea of greatness is far from God’s idea for us. We think that “if we had more money”, “If we had more time”, “If we had a bigger house”, or “a better job”. These are all good but God has the best for us. What is that?

Jesus asks Peter “do you love me more than these?” (He must have been pointing to the fish) Do we love Jesus more than what our heart has been living for? Peter realizes his short sightedness. He was loving and desiring the fish. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t recognize Jesus at the shore, he was so blinded by his desires for success. He realizes this sin, how he has put other things above God and has been blinded. God is calling us to love him above all things. The greatest commandment, to love God and love your neighbor! This is greater than any idea of success we may have.

Look at your heart. Look at your daily thoughts. Is loving God one of the top things you see in your hearts deep longing? If not, maybe you are like Peter who loved things and Jesus is far from you. Do you hear that voice in your heart to deepen in your love with God? Do you hear him at the shore but don’t see God? Are you lost? Are you exhausted and tired and don’t know where to turn, what to do?

God is always calling us from the shore, looking to capture our hearts. He asks us the same questions he did to Peter, “do you love me?” He then invites us to sit and have a meal with him. (notice that Jesus had his own fish on the fire waiting for Peter) We don’t need that catch of fish. We realize that all that time, that our minds and hearts were wanting other things was such a waste. Peter leaves behind his catch. He leaves behind that ‘million dollar winnings’ and follows Jesus. That is the greatest prize.

I too realize that our ministry at Saint of the Month isn’t about the number of customers we have, or the big catch we pull in. It is about leading people to a deeper relationship with Jesus. That is the point of our work, whether we have 12 people or 1,000. It hurts to turn our hearts and minds from our worldly pursuits and turn to Jesus. But once we realize that following greed, pride, lust, and any sin is what actually makes our hearts spent, is a waste of time and actually is what leads us to despair and an empty life. When we see that our efforts were all done in vain, we can come to realize that nothing compares to the Love of Jesus.

At Saint of the Month, my biggest lesson has been that when the storms come we need to stand on solid ground to withstand and that no matter the success or failures we have, we are called to be saints and fix our eyes upon what truly matters in life. Success has changed for me over the years of running this company and I am grateful for the lessons I learned. The financial success comes secondary to the lives that we change. If we can inspire more people to lead a life of holiness and to be the best version of themselves, then we have done our job well.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Saint of the Month began doing well for the first 5 years. We have slowly grown month over month with organic reach. We didn’t spend a single dollar on paid advertising. We decided to try to set up an ad to see how well it would go. I never had any experience in ads and so I got a recommendation for someone to run our ads. As Christmas season was around the corner we quickly set up all the content and gave it a go. The ad was at first wildly successful, at least in terms of getting new customers and sharing out our mission with the world. We ended up expanding 3x our customer base in a matter of a few months. Then a devastating thing happened as our ads account got hacked and we were shut down. We tried to gain our account controls back, but it didn’t work. As the economy began to decline and prices began to inflate everywhere, we were losing customers month after month. We had never experience a decline in our customer base. Our business was on the verge of collapse as we had bought projecting for a growth and were now left with extra inventory that wasn’t leaving the shelves of our storage. My wife encouraged me through the whole process as we pivoted and kept pushing forward in hope that it would turn around. We decided to enhance our products and make them even better as we added custom bags for the gifts to come inside and focused on making the experience of each Saint box to the best we could. We also designed our first Martha Mary Planner and it became our second best selling product. The planner tries to unite work and prayer in a beautiful balance, which we found a lot of people needed. To my surprise, we didn’t keep going down in subscribers and began to level off and remain at a solid base. We learned the lessons to stick to our tried and true products of teaching about the Saints in the good times as well as the challenging times and we have come out more resilient.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.saintofthemonth.com
• Instagram: @saint_of_the_month
• Youtube: @patrickpulis7592