Our Lady Of Lourdes Podcast

Today’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051522.cfm “Heaven is real; it’s my inheritance, and because it’s real, I can walk through this world in a different way than I would have otherwise.” —Fr. Brian Larkin “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.”—Old Axiom “The greatest desires of you heart are far more than you could ever hope for. God has something like that for you.”—Fr. Brian Larkin “Satan cannot offer you anything real. The only thing Satan can do is to take something God gives us, and make a parody of it.”—Fr. Brian Larkin “It’s tempting to settle for the parody—to settle for something much less in this world.”—Fr. Brian Larkin Acts 14: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/14?21 St. Paul is on his first missionary journey with Barnabus “If you’re gonna be Christian, you’ve got to be strong. And part of my job and our job for each other is to strengthen each other to renew our hope in heaven.”—Fr. Brian Larkin Acts 14: 22 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/14 “Through many

Interpreting the Cross | Fr. Brian’s Homily for Mother’s Day | 5.8.2022 5/8/2022 Mothers “Good Shepherd: Are you calling me to give my life for you?”
 John 10: Good Shepherd Sunday usually dedicated to vocations “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” Romans 8: “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” Fr. Gawronski: Mandarin: The word for “goodness” is based off an image of a woman holding a child “What’s better in society than a woman holding her son or daughter? That’s what goodness is.” “Thank God today for mothers and for the feminine heart, which brings receptivity into this world. Mothers, you have a heart that we men don’t have. It’s different. You bring something to all of us that we so desperately need. And our society today doesn’t like

The Discomfort of Failure | Fr. Sean's Homily | 3rd Sunday of Easter | 05.1.2022 Today’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050122.cfm “Failure is Not Final.”—Fr. Sean Conroy “Jesus, I go to confession over and over again for the same sins. I’m still struggling with gossip. Or Internet use. Or pride and vanity. And I come to confess them, but I feel like a failure. I hope this doesn’t cripple you to the point that you no longer pursue the Lord. Because, your failure is not final.”—Fr. Sean Conroy “How could it be that He [the Messiah] falls? How could it be that he seems like a total failure, and then he dies?” “The good news is that that failure was not final.” —Fr. Sean Conroy “Through Jesus’s resurrection, he shows us that death—failure—is not final.” —Fr. Sean Conroy John 21: Epilogue to the Gospel of John https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21 Meant to be seen as parallel to Luke 5: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5 6 When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish an

Today’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/reading... “Mercy creates a community.” Fr. Brian Larkin Blaise Pascal: “There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who think they are sinners and the sinners who think they are righteous.” https://kidadl.com/quotes/blaise-pasc... “I want to invite you into being that saint. I want to invite you into that freedom of knowing that you are a sinner who is loved.” —Fr. Brian Larkin John 20: 19: “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20 2 reasons you lock the door on your life: 1. "Because you have a sin in your life that you have to hide from everybody. Maybe you feel you even need to hide it from God. It isolates us, and keeps us from actually loving each other."—Fr. Brian Larkin 2. "Maybe some of you don’t know that you’re sinners."—Fr. Brian Larkin “But Jesus bre

Readings from Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord's Supper: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041422-supper.cfm

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041722.cfm Washing of Feet: John 13: 1–17 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/13 Origen says Christ washes his disciples’ feet to make them beautiful. He also says the Apostles are going to be the first witnesses of the Gospel. So, in accordance with the prophecy (below), Jesus washes the feet at the Last Supper. Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!” https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/52 “Beauty evokes desire.”—Fr. Brian Balthazar (paraphrased): “If we don’t have beauty in our faith, we might know it’s true, but it doesn’t move our hearts, it doesn’t transform us.”
http://ccalouisville.org/blog/seeing-the-form-of-glory-von-balthasars-theology-of-beauty Luke 24:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/24 
Greek word: Léros = nonsense https://biblehub.com/greek/3026.htm The Easter Vigil: https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/triduum/roman-missal-and-the-easter-vigil The Easter Candle

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion: Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done April 10, 2022 Fr. Brian Larkin 
This week’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041022.cfm 
The Lord’s Prayer: https://www.usccb.org/prayers/our-father “You and I are not like other people; we are bought by the blood of Christ.” —Fr. Brian Larkin Holy Land: Topography & landscape St. Jerome calls the Holy Land the “5th Gospel.” “I thought that going to the Holy Land would limit my imagination… but was wrong. When you go to the Holy Land, it’s as if your faith is brand new.” —Fr. Brian Larkin House of Caiaphas: https://www.holylandsite.com/house-of-caiaphas Mount Calvary: https://holy-land-tours.com/gordons-calvary-the-garden-tomb/ Steps of Jesus https://abcnews.go.com/International/holy-stairs-believed-climbed-jesus-prior-crucifixion-unveiled/story?id=62331625 Jesus spends most of his life up in Galilee, then moves to the Jordan River, then moves to the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place that’s above water, on ea

5th Sunday of Lent | Identity, Shame, & The Healing Power of Confession | Fr. Sean Conroy by Lourdes Denver

The Prodigal Son: Jn 9:1-41 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/reading... Homily 1: Basic Message of Reconciliation “The Good News that you have a place at the Father’s table. If you don’t know that, this is the good news of Christianity.” —Fr. Brian Larkin Origen’s 2nd commentary of Leviticus 2: “Even to the end of the world, the day of reconciliation is today.” https://www.google.com/books/edition/... The story of all christians is a story of slaves and sons. Today is the day of reconciliation. Today, you belong in the Father’s house.”—Fr. Brian Larkin Homily 2: “God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation.” —Fr. Brian Larkin 2 Corinthians 5: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corint... Pliny the Younger: The story of the slave who has become a freed manhttps://bible.usccb.org/bible/philemon/0 Today's Sponsor: N.T. Wright: Paul (Book) https://www.audible.com/pd/Paul-Audio... Onesimus=Useful (Latin name) “I, Paul, an ambassador, and now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child, One

3rd Sunday of Lent Deacon Tom: True North & Continual Metanoia Exodus 17 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/17?3 The Miracles of Water Exodus 7: 14–25: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/7 Moses’s Staff turns the river to blood Exodus 14: Crossing the Red Sea, dry shod https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/14 Miracles of food: Manna from Heaven & quail in the evening https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/16 Israelites still mistrust the Lord, and death follows in the desert. Joshua leads the Israelites to the Promise Land across the River Jordan https://bible.usccb.org/bible/joshua/0 The Woman at the Well & the Living Water: John 4: 4–42 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/4 The longer Christ talks to the woman, the more her tone and attitude change—it becomes a metanoia for her to hear that Christ is the “Living Water.” “Maybe our own personal metanoia is minimal, but important if you want to ‘get where you’re going.’” —Deacon Tom Uschold Deacon Ernie McNally, of Camden, NJ Experienced a major

Homily #1: Transfiguration is at the top of the list for the richness of text. Homework for the week: Feast of Booths—A Jewish Feast https://www.jewishvoice.org/read/blog/sukkot-feast-booths-known-some-feast-tabernacles Homily #2 Christian Hope Luke 9: Worthy of prayer https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031322.cfm “I was wrestling with loneliness and hardship, and I looked out into the ocean. I was listening to ‘Beyond the Blue,’ and he says, ‘“I'll let go of all I could not hold onto For the hope I have in you’” “…the hope beyond the blue.” “Beyond the Blue” lyrics by Josh Garrels: https://www.google.com/search?q=beyond+the+blue+josh+garrels+lyrics&sxsrf=APq-WBvslVMKwnrpzj6303rbGmOA3IAsMw%3A1647192765315&ei=vSouYv3pEuT99APisL3YAg&oq=beyond+the+blue+josh+g&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMYADIFCAAQgAQyBQguEIAEMgUIABCABDoHCAAQRxCwAzoHCAAQsAMQQzoHCC4QsAMQQzoPCC4Q1AIQyAMQsAMQQxgBOgwILhDIAxCwAxBDGAE6BAgAEEM6CAguEIAEENQCOgcILhDUAhBDOgQILhBDOgYIABAWEB5KBAhBGABKBAhGGAFQ5QVYmRVgjBxoAXABeACAAVGIAeQDkgEBN5gBAKABAcgBEsAB

Simple signs tell you what did or didn’t happen, such as when a child still has ashes on their forehead three days after Ash Wednesday. Today’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030622.cfm St. Luke 4:1–13 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/4?1 David and Goliath: a premonition of the Tempting in the Desert: 1 Samuel 17 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1samuel/17 Into the Desert Fasting for 40 Days: “The Devil comes to you when he knows you are weak. He knows your Achille’s heel.” —Fr. Witold “Pleasures and comfort are OK in our lives, but God is always first. Then, we know the limits in our lives.” —Fr. Witold The very first temptation is: Idol of comfort & pleasure Idol of Power: (all the kingdoms) we want control Idol of Popularity/Pride: the desire for people to worship you The moment of the Great Fall of Adam was the moment the power over the world was handed from Adam and Eve to Satan. On the War in Ukraine: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/tags/1954/ukraine-war “The president of Russia

Bearing Good Fruit Parables: “Jesus Style” “The blind man cannot lead the blind man. You cannot trust the man who removes his glasses to get you safely to your destination. He or she cannot see, so they cannot find the way.” —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk “Each week, Jesus brings your spiritual vision to 20/20 again for the next six days. Not the priests, but Jesus Christ.” —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk “I wouldn’t depend on your own eye. You cannot correct someone if you have problems. If you have problems, you cannot advise. Fix yourself first, so you can help others along the way.” —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk “Fruits: if you see an apple, it means that it comes from a tree. It doesn’t just appear. If you are a Catholic, and you want to bear good fruit, you have to be connected to the tree. You cannot sufficiently fulfill your vocation, the way God wants, if you are not connected to God through his ‘tree.’” —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk War in Ukraine is official, because of the deeds of one person. We can speak to the world t

2 Latin Words: Ressentire: To feel something over again—origin of “resentment” https://translate.google.com/?sl=la&tl=en&text=ressentire&op=translate&hl=en Respectare: “To look at something again,” or, “to look back”—origin of “respect” https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/respecto#Latin 1st Reading: 1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1samuel/26?2 The Book of Samuel is all about the rise and fall of King Saul and King David—King Saul does not repent, but King David does. Psalm 51: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51 “Have mercy on me, O God, in your kindness. In your compassion, blot out all my offense.” Psalm 103: 12: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.” How far is the east from the west? Eternal. Saul has everything going for him as king—handsome, tall, everything a king should be. And, along comes King David. David is the one who sets Israel free from Goliath, and everyone rejoices, becau

To Taste Is Wisdom Sapore—Latin for “to taste”— An axiom or phrase that existed in the early Church said, “A man is truly wise when all things taste to him as they truly are.” Jeremiah 17—https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/17 reflects Psalm 1—https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/1 “To understand the entire book of Psalms, you have to look at it through the lens of Psalm 1.”—Fr. Brian Psalm 1 talks about a tree planted by streams of water. Only the people of the Holy Land truly understand the meaning of this. Most of this place is desert, and yearns for the rain. “All of today’s readings are about God’s blessings in your life. The tree in Psalm 1 is not just any tree—it’s about the Tree of Life, and what God wants today is to make you like the Tree of Life.” —Fr. Brian “It does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and it is not anxious in the season of doubt, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”—Psalm 1:3 “God wants to plant us by that stream of living water in the Garden of Eden

“I was in my room, on my knees, crying—to be honest, I don’t do it a lot, like Fr. Brian, but I was on my knees, and I just couldn’t resist anymore. I was on my knees, in my room, in complete darkness, and I was asking God, ‘I don’t have anymore plans for my life. What I had planned, it has been crashed. So I don’t know what to do. You have to tell me.’ He did. Ten years later, here I am in front of you, and I am so happy.” —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk “I still love physics, but God is my wife now. I am married to the Church.” —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk Paraphrased from a friend of Fr. Witold: “I cannot work here when the sin is supported, but I have to work to pay my tuition. I don’t know what to do." He lost his job to follow Christ. "We love to know what’s next, and when something is going to happen. Jesus doesn’t care about schedules—He has His own time. And, He knows what’s best for us."—Fr. Witold "We need to fill both boats, both parishes with Catholics. But we have to do just one thing—what St. Peter do

-Each and every one of us in this room is called to something amazing. Each and every one of us is called to something unique. Something that only you can fulfill in the Body of Christ. Each and every one of us has a mission, a specific mission that God calls us to. A specific vocation that God calls us to. —Fr. Sean -vocare (Latin): to be called -"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) -"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." (Jeremiah 1:5) -"God

"'The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field' (Mt. 13:44)...That field, it seems to me, is the scripture, planted with what has become clear in the words and other thoughts of the histories, law and prophets (for the planting of these words in the whole of scripture is great and varied). But the treasure hidden in the field consists of the concealed thoughts (underlying what is manifest) of wisdom hidden 'in mystery' (1 Cor. 2:7) and in Christ, 'in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' (Col. 2:3)." -Origen Spirit and Fire, 98 -"Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The one who is r

"Jesus told them, 'Fill the jars with water.' So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, 'Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.' So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, 'Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.'" (John 2:7-10) -The Eucharist is not possible if we don't have wine. There is always wine, because without wine, there is no Eucharist. The wine, this wine, in a few minutes will become the Blood of Christ, another miracle. The whole message in today's Gospel is not about drinking and knowing your limits, it's about inviting God into our lives. -Fr. Witold -"When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'" (John 2:3) -If your life doesn't taste great, invite God, and He will chan

Who you are in your life and your knowledge of who you are, touches everything you do. There's two places you can get your identity from. You can either get it from your relationships, or you can get it from what you do....Most of us draw our identity from what we do. Almost every one of us. -Fr. Brian -"Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations." (Isaiah 42:1) -"And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'" (Luke 3:22) -What if you actually believe this about yourself? What if you actually believe that God the Father saw you, and He said, "Behold, this is my son, this is my daughter, in whom my soul delights." -Fr. Brian -When you were baptized, you came to share in the identity of Christ. His father, became your father, His mother became your mother, His siblings became yours—the saints are your brothers and sisters. Your baptism brought you into a family becaus