Brother Priest Preaching Podcast

Was I too vulnerable in my recent homily? I always debate about the wisdom of sharing stories that involve my personal life. I only preached this homily at one Mass but now it's out on the web and anyone can listen. What will people think of me?

When our spirit is led by the Holy Spirit, it can lead the body and mind into a harmony, a human trinity. Christians are members of the Holy Trinity. From within the communion of the Trinity we can recover harmony in ourselves, our families, and society.

You can't force anyone into communion. Imagine a church where every member were set aflame by the power of the Holy Spirit and formed and equipped to share the good news with others. That is my dream!

When Jesus walked the Earth, the Holy Spirit kept him connected to his Father. Jesus ascends and the Holy Spirit descends. Now the Holy Spirit is here with us keeping us connected to Jesus and the Father. The Body of Christ has its head in the clouds!

Jesus is praying for us! He lives every day in deep, intimate communion with his Father. We are called to bring people into communion with God so they can also experience true communion with themselves, others, and creation. Come, Holy Spirit!

"As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” Many of us nod and smile at these words without realizing what they mean. Jesus is calling us to something far more radical than tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion. He wants us to enter into __

Physically speaking, we live in a very secure country. And yet we seem to be suffering from an epidemic of anxiety. Jesus offers a sense of safety and security that no one can take from us. Join me for an experience of the Good Shepherd.

Captained by Peter, the church is sailing into the Resurrection. Jesus is waiting there with a banquet. Peter is given his job description as the first Pope. Let us pray for a Pope who loves Jesus and will feed and tend His sheep.

Our eyes need to be opened to the ongoing presence of Jesus in our daily life. Most people will come to believe in the Risen Jesus when they see him in you!

If some guy in India died and then rose again, it wouldn't impact you very much. But what if your best friend rose from the dead? That would change your life! Many people experience Easter as just a nice day because they don't know Jesus personally.

Our own Good Friday experiences can cause us to doubt that God is a good father. The Passion reading is full of people acting out of self-protection and self-reliance. Do you live like Jesus, trusting in your Good Father, or like his persecutors?

God is with us! No matter how much we run from him, abandon him, or choose everything else besides him, God is still with us! And he chooses us. May this year's Triduum experience open your eyes, ears, and heart to God's presence.

God the Father calls Jesus to total self-giving love. We were made by love and for love. We only find fulfillment in self-giving love. So why can't we love like Jesus? Fear and selfishness become obstacles to truly loving.

What was Jesus writing in the dust with his finger? Sins? The Law? The names of the accusers? What is clear is that Jesus gives the woman a new life because he pays the penalty for her sin. Jesus has died for you. How will you live for him?

We are not expecting the father to welcome his prodigal son home again. God our Father is always gazing at us with love. Sometimes we are the prodigal son; sometimes we are the older brother. We must learn to live in the gaze of the Father.

We feel inadequate because we are inadequate. The world is too big for us and God asks us to do impossible things. We tend to respond by dominating and controlling or running and hiding. Instead, we can let God lead us.

Lent is a journey and today we are shown the destination. First, we are headed to Easter, to new life, and the most perfect sacrifice. Finally, and most importantly, our destination is eternal life.

When Jesus is at his lowest, Satan pounces. Jesus responds, not with his own words, but with the Word of God. God's word is on his lips and in his heart. Where do you turn when things look hopeless? Do you know any psalms by heart?

Imagine looking back on your Lent from the perspective of Easter. Is it easier to give up candy now if you remember that Easter candy is coming? In a similar way, how will your life look different from the perspective of eternity?

Why is Jesus expecting us to respond to evil in a way that is so impractical and unwise? Jesus wants us to realize that God is a good father and we can depend on him to protect us, to provide for us, and to be present to us.

Peter looks good on the surface. Underneath, he's not so good. But even deeper down, Peter is Very Good. Jesus invites Peter to move below the surface, through the layer of "not good", into that place of "Very Good".

Parents receive their child, nourish that child, and give him or her back to God. The light of faith has to be carried, nourished, and protected so that it can grow brighter and carry us to heaven. All of us must burn with the love of Jesus.

A Jubilee was a time of rest, freedom, and a fresh start. The Catholic Church grants a jubilee plenary indulgence every 25 years. When we draw near to Jesus, we experience the freedom, peace, hope and a fresh start. Jesus himself is the jubilee.

The Spirit gave Donal Walsh a deep sense of faith. When we try to build our own little kingdom, we will always run out of happiness. When we aren't afraid to faithfully serve each day, we find the Lord is turning our water into wine.

The Feast of Epiphany is older than Christmas. The frankincense and myrrh are the fruit of where the plants have been wounded. They symbolize giving Jesus our wounds, our very worst. Allow him to transform you from the inside.

Jesus comes not only to restore us as as individuals, but also to heal our family. He does this by revealing that our four fundamental identities are rooted in the True Love of God the Father and Mary our Mother. Let's turn to Mary our Mother.

No matter how far we wandered, we have never gotten out of our Father's back yard! When the time had come, God sent his Son Jesus into this cold, cruel world. He came to tell us that we have a Father who loves us and who wants us to come home.

Each of us is trying to be a star in our own show that is written, produced, and directed by ourselves. The Bible tells a different story. We each have a special part in the great "Theo-drama." Let Baby Jesus teach you how to play your part.

The ancient and medieval world was familiar with the example of the wheel of fortune: One minute you're on top of the world, the next minute you are on the bottom. We need to move from the chaos of the outside to the peace at the center.

We were made for communion with God, with one another, with ourselves and even with Creation. Communion means we want to dwell in God and have God dwell in us. Mary started from within God and then received God inside of her. We are the opposite.

A felt sense of safety and security is necessary for us to find peace. When peace is missing, there are many ways we might try to manufacture it, but God desires to make his people safe and secure. I share some ways to find peace and remain in peace.

We often think of Jesus as priest or as prophet. Today we focus on Jesus as King. We don't get to vote on the King, which is good, because we have a terrible track record when it comes to picking good leaders for ourselves. But we do get a vote…

Ancient people could count on the sun, moon, and stars. When everything else fails, we can still count on Jesus. His words are more dependable than heaven and earth. A constant reminder of Jesus' dependable love for us is the gift of our guardian angel.

Jesus is impressed not with the size of the donation; he is impressed with a generous heart. If you are generous with God, you will have some left over. Give God the chance to earn your trust.

The love of God should transform every aspect of our lives. The second level is the call to incarnate God's love in a unique and permanent way. The third level is the ongoing discernment of loving God and neighbor in everyday life.

I think people are leaving the Catholic church because being Catholic made them less happy. But they were thinking of happiness in terms of self-indulgence. There are forms of happiness that don't disappoint. These are rooted in self-control.

Jesus is leading home to the heavenly kingdom all who have heard his call and followed him. We gather at Sunday Mass to experience ongoing encounter with God's love and truth that brings us into wholeness and communion. Keep calling for Jesus!

Which better describes you — the three S's or the three C's? Consumers excel at comparing, competing, and complaining. Stewards are famous for their willingness to serve, suffer, and sacrifice.

What can our scripture readings teach us about stewardship? Marriage is a shared stewardship. The two become "one flesh", sharing everything with one another, and together exercise a stewardship of God's children. These are God's greatest gifts.

How would your life be different if you were able to live from your true identity as a child of God, temple of the Holy Spirit, and a part of the Body of Christ? Damascus Road Project loves trafficked women into their true identity.

Life begins at conception and that every child is a gift from God. Many parents nowadays don't want God to give them many of these gifts. Then we turn around and pay doctors and scientists or surrogate moms so we can buy ourselves a “gift.”

You don't have to look at every religion to find the true one, you just first have to answer this question: Is Jesus who he says he is? Jesus made a claim that no other founder of a major religion has ever made. And it means something for your life.

When working with foreign priests, I have learned that a "Yes" does not mean he has understood. I also need to not only listen to him, but try and truly understand. Let us pray that we can not only hear God, but also listen and understand.

Our external actions should show what is in our hearts. When there is a disconnect, the heart is the most important part. God wants to be with his people. Following his law leads to clean hands and hearts. From clean hearts flow clean actions.

Why have people left the Catholic Church? Because they want to be happy! Being Catholic gets in the way of having the things I want to have and doing the things I want to do. And it ends up revealing to us our heart's deepest desire.

Catholics have started to lose a sense of God's presence in the Eucharist. But first we lost a sense of the sacramentality of the whole world. The Eucharist gives us sense of meaning and purpose and reminds us that we are not alone.

We, too, are well-fed slaves! We are always hungry for more. Only Jesus can satisfy the deep hungers in the human heart. This is why Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist. When I allow Jesus to be the master, I find that I am truly free. 

I notice three lessons from the multiplication of the five loaves and the two fish. First, we are hungry. Second, Jesus sees you and knows the desires of your heart. Third, learn what to do with the little you have when it is not enough.

Bad leaders confuse and scatter. Good leadership leads to clarity, unity, and peace. We see Jesus leading through the National Eucharistic Congress. I have three suggestions for how to follow your Good Shepherd more closely.

Jesus sends out missionaries and he intentionally prevents them from relying on themselves. They are equipped with their true identity and also with the help of a fellow Christian. We, too, are always tempted to fall back on self-reliance. Repent!

The more we try to live a comfortable life, the more miserable we become. God needs to give us suffering, hardships, and thorns in the flesh to shake us out of our self-reliance. When we are too weak to rely on ourselves, then we are truly strong.