Ishpeming Catholic Podcast

We often think love and laws are opposite things, but Jesus teaches us that all the moral laws of God can be summed up in one word: love.  In this episode, Fr. Ryan breaks open the two greatest commandments and shows how God's laws teach us how to love.

It's not easy to fulfill our Christian duty to correct each other and reach out to people in serious sin.  But Jesus gives us a 3-step process to follow.  We are responsible for each other!  Let us participate in Jesus' call to be good shepherds and seek the lost to bring them back.

In this episode, Father Ryan explains how the Gifts of the Holy Spirit burn away the roots of the seven deadly sins in us, preparing the way for the Lord to come and help us bear good fruit of repentance.

Jesus predicts many bad things that are going to happen to us, but ultimately he wants to give us hope.  In this episode, Father Ryan shines light on our current situation and what God is calling us to as people of hope in the midst of trials and tribulations.

Jesus says he has come to cast fire on the earth.  Fire is frightening.  What can this image say to us about God's love?  Love is demanding, and the demands of love can be frightening.  When Jesus calls us, he doesn't allow us to stay as we are.  We must be changed, transformed.  What is disordered in us must be burned away so new life can grow.  In this episode, Fr. Ryan describes how Jesus' love and the demands of love lead to true happiness.

Jesus teaches the most perfect prayer when he teaches us to pray, "Our Father."  In this episode, Father Ryan explains the petitions of the Lord's prayer and how the Mass is the fulfillment of all we pray for in the Our Father.

The announcement of Jesus' death and resurrection is called the 'Gospel,' a word that means a life-changing event that radically changes our circumstances.  In this episode, Father Ryan proclaims the message of the Gospel of Jesus and the difference it makes.

The readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent call us to overcome the attitudes of condemnation and complacency, and grow in confidence in Jesus and His upward calling in our life.  In this episode Fr. Ryan explains how we can grow in this attitude!

The Transfiguration of Jesus has a long Biblical background of God's appearance as fire and cloud.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains God's promises to Abraham, and how Christ fulfills them and fills us to be God's presence on earth.

Jesus enters into spiritual combat with the devil and wins victory over temptations to pride, lust, and greed.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how we face the same temptations, and how we can win with the weapons of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

As we being Lent, Jesus calls us to suffer with him and embrace the cross.  In this episode, Father Ryan encourages us not to flee from losing our lives each day.

Jesus calls us to be fruitful trees through speech that builds up, helps others, teaches and leads others, and removes others' defects.  In this episode, Father Ryan examines how we can bear good fruit for the Lord as we prepare for Lent.

In his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus gives us his four-point peace plan when we're faced with hatred, hostility, exclusion, or insults because we follow Christ and His teachings.  In this episode, Fr. Ryan explains how we can live out Jesus' plan in our lives and live in peace with all people.

God always takes the initiative in our life to come close to us and call us.  Isaiah and Peter's response is to recoil in fear and shame at their sinfulness, yet this doesn't stop God from calling them.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains the lessons we learn from their experience, and how we experience it today in the Sacraments.

Caring for people with same-sex attraction has become part of the 'culture wars,' with seemingly two sides pitted against each other.  In this episode, Father Ryan talks about how to walk in the way of Jesus, the way of love, as we reflect unconditional love and also bear witness to the truth about sexual morality.

In this episode, Father Ryan speaks about his experience with a bus load of Yooper pilgrims to the 48th March for Life in Washington, D.C.  Many of the speakers told their stories of how abortion affected their lives, and how they found mercy and a future of hope in Christ Jesus.

The central ritual of entry into the Christian life is baptism, being immersed and plunged into water.  In this episode on the feast of Jesus' Baptism, Father Ryan examines ways we can 'take the plunge' headlong into the Christian life, rather than just look at or admire it from afar.

Children teach us the true meaning of Christmas really is to receive gifts!  In this Christmas homily, Father Ryan reflects on four of the gifts Jesus brings when we receive Him into our lives.

In the Old Testament, God showed he wanted to be Emmanuel, God-with-us.  The prophets foretold a time when God would not just be with us, but within us, that he wants to put his Spirit and his divine life in us.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how the Blessed Virgin Mary fulfills the expectation of Israel and is the model and hope for what God wants to do in all of us.

In the midst of the difficult circumstances of 1st century Palestine, God's Word came to John, as a voice calling out in the desert.  God wants to come to us in the often difficult circumstances of our lives.  In this episode, Father Ryan considers the ways God prepares us for his coming, and how we must lower the mountains of pride and fill the valleys of despair to make straight his path in our hearts.

The first words of the entrance antiphon for Advent 1 is "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul."  Jesus exhorts us in today's Gospel to "Raise your heads" in times of tribulation.  In this episode, Father Ryan draws some practical lessons from the Scriptures and from the first Christmas characters about how to lift up our heads when we want to give up.

Jesus warns us we must pass through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God, and that many will fall away from faith because of persecution and pressures from the world.  In this episode, Father Ryan encourages us to shine with the light of Christ as the darkness surrounds us.  The saints show us how to bear fruit like the fig tree as we wait for the summer of God's salvation.

Bartimaeus is an image for all of us born into this world ignorant of the truth about God and ourselves and needing the light of revelation to make known to us God's plan for our lives.  The readings for the 30th Sunday use the images of blindness and exile to illustrate our spiritual state apart from God.  But Jesus our high priest has pity on our ignorance and error and gives us sight!  In this episode, Father Ryan exhorts us to come to Jesus like Bartimaeus, to have our sight restored.

Jesus teaches us the true meaning of baptism and the Eucharist when he calls James and John to follow Him in service and suffering.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how the path to glory passes through the cross and the way of the Beatitudes.

Jesus gives us a positive, joyful, vision of the high calling of marriage in God's plan from the beginning.  Rather than focus on the rules, he wants spouses to focus on their relationship and the goodness of each other as gifts from God.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how spouses can appreciate each other more and more and rejoice in each other's goodness.

Jesus turns our idea of greatness upside-down and teaches us the way of humility and service.  In this episode, Father Ryan contrasts the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of Christ's kingdom, and how we can pursue greatness in God's eyes.

What does it mean to live by faith?  Faith is acting towards a future that is not yet here.  In this episode, Father Ryan examines how everyone lives by faith in something, and how we can know we're really living by faith in the coming Kingdom of God.

Isaiah predicted a coming King who would open deaf ears and blind eyes and pour out the Spirit like water upon us.  In Jesus, we see and hear God incarnate, and the Holy Spirit impresses the reality of Jesus' words and actions onto our soul, to understand His words and apply them to our lives.  

Happy Pentecost Sunday!  The Holy Spirit unites us firmly together in one mind and heart in Christ.  In this episode, Father Ryan draws from Acts 2 to show how the Holy Spirit unites us in the Church and transform us into the image of Christ.

Jesus promised when he returned to the Father he would be with us always, until the end of time.  He fulfills this promise in the Eucharist and all the Sacraments, and gives us his Spirit to live in us.  In this episode, Father Ryan begins a 3-part series reflecting on how the Eucharist builds the Church.

Jesus commands us to love because love is not a feeling, but a choice.  Love is in the will.  We choose to love.  In this Mother's Day episode, Father Ryan looks at St. Catherine of Sienna's life as an example of love poured out for the renewal of the Church.  

"Are you saved?"  This should be a burning question for all of us, and this weekend's readings give us signs by which we can know whether we're walking on the path of salvation.  Jesus is clear that we need to remain in him as our source of life.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how we can guard against becoming detached from Jesus, and how we can know if we are his true disciples.

Jesus' resurrection is the fulfillment of the Scriptures, and the affirmation of his unbreakable union with us forever.  In this episode, Father Ryan breaks upon the Scriptures of Jesus as the new Adam and father of the new human race.  In Jesus, we are empowered to put our sinfulness to death and walk now in newness of life.

The Gospel of God's love for the world sheds light on the meaning of suffering, for Christ so loved the world, he entered into our suffering and death, to fill it with his greater love and life in victorious resurrection.  In this episode, Father Ryan reflects on how the Gospel story of salvation gives meaning and beauty to our personal stories as sharers in Christ's sufferings.

To celebrate St. Patrick, let's not only drink copious amounts of green beer.  Let's learn from his inspiring example and imitate his generosity in God's service!  In this episode, Father Ryan speaks of four lessons we can learn and apply to our life from St. Patrick's heroic life.

Today's saint is John of God, a Portuguese soldier who abandoned that life to care for the sick.  The Scripture reading for today is the washing of Naaman the Syrian, which foreshadows Christ's spiritual work in the Sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation.

Jesus not only suffered for us - he also opens his suffering to us so we can participate in it, and join him in his work of restoration through reconciling love.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how we can be sharers in the sufferings of Christ.

Jesus reveals the definitive meaning of suffering in his divine and crucified love.  As the innocent lamb who offered his life as an act of love to the Father and to us, he filled the gap between us and God with perfect goodness.  Jesus didn't deserve to suffer, but freely accepted it to show his divine love.  We're called to share that mission as we receive his love and extend it to others.

Pope St. John Paul II's 1984 letter on the Christian meaning of human suffering is still a relevant message, especially after this year of suffering.  In this episode, Father Ryan begins to look at the redemptive purposes of suffering, and the reasons for our Lenten fasting and self-denial. 

Jesus and St. Paul prioritize the healing of souls and casting out demons by preaching the Good News of the Father's love.  The Gospel gives meaning and purpose and hope in a dark and hopeless world.  In this episode, Father Ryan reflects on the Gospel message in the midst of this pandemic.

Jesus is the 'prophet like Moses' who teaches with his divine authority.  His teaching has power to liberate us from the grip of evil, if we listen and respond with obedient faith and action.  Jesus' power is available to us in the Sacraments, especially Confession.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how we can respond to the Lord and live in freedom.

Jesus calls us to respond to his voice and not delay!  Through his Word in Scripture and the needs of other people, God calls us to show our faith and love through our actions.  In this episode, Father Ryan explores how we can do this, and how we can bring others to God as 'fishers of men.'

In this week's Gospel from John chapter 1, John gives us the image of staying with Jesus as one meaning of faith.  Like Samuel, we're called to stay by Jesus' side, listening, asking questions, seeking his will, and responding as we see what he wants us to do.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how we're called to listen and serve the Lord.

Jesus' baptism is his kingly anointing that begins his reign over God's kingdom.  The Holy Spirit's mission is to bring Jesus' kingly reign to our hearts and set us free from captivity to our unruly passions and desires.  In this episode, Father Ryan reflects on the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Jesus embodies the love and wisdom of God for us, a wisdom and learning higher than worldly knowledge.  In this episode, Father Ryan reflects on the Magi's journey of encounter with love and wisdom incarnate.

As we enter in Advent, the themes of darkness and light are symbolized by the Advent wreath.  In a world of darkness, we are called to be the light of the world!  As we wait for Christ's coming at Christmas and at the end of history, we are to stand out and shine with the glory of God.  In this episode, Father Ryan discusses what kind of people we are to be as we wait.

Christ the King calls us to join in his rule as a good shepherd over our own realms of responsibility and areas of influence.  Through the works of mercy, we can extend his kingdom over all the earth.  In this episode, Father Ryan reflects on our roles as Christ's kingly subjects.

Jesus tells the parable of the Talents to reveal to us what the 'final exam' of our life will be about and encourage us to make a good return for all we've been given.  In this episode, Father Ryan explains how we can work hard and labor faithfully to bear good fruit for Jesus.

Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish virgins is a summons for us to be prepared for the most important day of our life, the day Jesus comes to bring us into his kingdom.  Will we be prepared and ready?  In this episode, Fr. Ryan discusses how we can always be vigilant in our relationship with God.