Sermons from the pew

The Canaanite women teaches us the power of prayer when it is absent pride, that yes, the house of Jesus is for all peoples, not just the house of Israel.

We learned that during times of stress and self-doubt, that the shaky ground should trigger our love response to call upon our Lord Jesus. We learned that God’s expectation for us is far greater, far more wonderful than we can imagine. That our Lord Jesus sees in each of us - not only his invitation to join his family, but our Lord Jesus sees in us the love of his Father, a love so large that he fed 5,000, so loving that he freely and completely died on a cross for each on of us. Today’s gospel helps us understand that the urgency of Peter’s grasp is real, and the God not only grabs hold, but directs the heart. Today, we get a clear line of sight that by following God’s plan for us, that seeking out his will, that our Lord Jesus is there every step of the way. Yes, get out of the boat – move beyond your comfort zone – and do it with complete trust in the Lord - do it in middle of a storm - do it during rough seas!  Yes, we are to get out of the boat and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Today this message resonates – today we are called!

We learned that our legacy is our answer to God’s call and that when we aligned with God, that we will experience his generosity. We are reminded that our Lord’s Jesus response to learning of John’s death was love, and that this response foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist. This movement of Jesus was not expected and signaled a step change in our relationship. We get a clear line of sight that by following God’s plan for us, that seeking out his will, we become generous with his love.  We recognize the privilege of participating in God's plan, that by playing on His team will help us to not squander the love he pours out.  We recognize that our enthusiasm sets up our legacy and encourages others to participate in God’s plan for our lives.  That any moment of choosing right or wrong is a pivotal decision, a legacy decision and that following our Lord Jesus's legacy for us, that this role, the role of a Christian, sets the table for a yield that is 100 fold.

Once again God’s love and his salvation plan an open book. We learned that our request to God, that our prayers, when aligned with God’s will bring fantastic results.  Solomon’s request was perfected by our Lord.  Like Solomon, we too should pray for wisdom. Wisdom, when properly exercised, shows us the truth of God’s word, a truth that we instantly recognize as being good, so GOOD, so BENEFICIAL, that we are called to URGENCY.  As we act, as we follow God’s word, we begin to realize that we are to build up treasures for heaven, that earthly possessions are just that – earthly. The analogy of Heaven being a treasure, teaches us that we need to eliminate all excess baggage in our lives. We are to occupy our mind space, we are to fix our eyes, mind and heart on our Lord Jesus.  That is priority in our hearts and minds will add valuable perspective – a perspective that has been written about by poets, and historians alike.  (if you listen closely, I quote Shakespeare.)  The pearl analogy encourages us to loosen the soil surrounding our hearts and to participate in God’s saving love.  And yes, we are reminded of the great harvest, a harvest we can participate in today!  Get rid of all obstacles that inhibit your ability to love God – make flat the mountains, straighten the pathway to your heart.

We learned that our Lord God is good and forgiving.  We learned that whatever the reason – fear of hell, or regret for offending our Lord Jesus, our friend – that contrition from the heart is critical in drawing attention to the harvest master our indelible baptismal mark as well as the four marks of our community.  We are reminded, that we cannot squirrel away our faith, that a strong plant can reach heights above the weeds of life and provide a recognizable fruit for all to see.   We were reminded again to loosen the soil surrounding our hearts and to participate in God’s saving love.  And yes, we are reminded that if God’s word sprouts in our life, that we are to nurture it. To be effective steward of that gift, we cannot cooperate with evil. I encourage you to get urgency about your faith in your life.  I challenge you to try to grow something as a spiritual exercise - I guarantee if will draw your attention to the Sower parables and make it present in your life. We are reminded to seek out reconciliation today! Lastly, let us pray that we do not cooperate with evil, that we are not put to the test.

We learned that our Lord God is good and forgiving.  We learned that whatever the reason – fear of hell, or regret for offending our Lord Jesus, our friend – that contrition from the heart is critical in drawing attention to the harvest master our indelible baptismal mark as well as the four marks of our community.  We are reminded, that we cannot squirrel away our faith, that a strong plant can reach heights above the weeds of life and provide a recognizable fruit for all to see.   We were reminded again to loosen the soil surrounding our hearts and to participate in God’s saving love.  And yes, we are reminded that if God’s word sprouts in our life, that we are to nurture it. To be effective steward of that gift, we cannot cooperate with evil. I encourage you to get urgency about your faith in your life.  I challenge you to try to grow something as a spiritual exercise - I guarantee if will draw your attention to the Sower parables and make it present in your life. We are reminded to seek out reconciliation today! Lastly, let us pray that we do not cooperate with evil, that we are not put to the test.

A well trodden path can be a lot of things and for sure our hearts, our spiritual defenses can be equally well trodden. The path to our hearts can be so tightly packed and jammed up with today’s headlines, tomorrow’s worries and yesterday’s regret that we forget to try to understand.  If we can anticipate God's Kingdom with eagerness, the eagerness will encourage us to understand.   Let's not remain in our comfort zones - as my mother once said - a turtle only moves forward when he sticks his neck out - let's push ourselves to understand and not wait in idle anticipation.  Unfortunately, the packed soil around our hearts disables our ability to recognize a even small “ping” from God’s seed of life. Let’s us pray for the soil surrounding our hearts to loosen up, to be more receptive to the word of God –

As a flawed humans, we understand the expression – find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life – indeed “love” is a secret sauce and it clears the room of fear, anxiety and disappointment – you see love makes the burden light. i.e., doing the dishes after dinner because your love your company is a lot easier than doing the dishes because you were told. We hear about how our spiritual journey is true exercise, that with repetition it becomes easier, that our spiritual “muscles” or ability to “flex and stretch” grows with the more we pray.  Indeed prayerful conversation with Jesus allows us to fall more in love with HIM, to the point of not sensing the days pass, to the point of preparing our souls for life eternal with him. Yes, the burden is light and the yoke easy Lastly, we lean that the humility is a our superpower, we learned that we are to live with the Holy Spirit and that forgiveness, being forgiven that going to confession makes flat the pathway of Jesus – that love attracts, and that by loving Jesus, we are no longer burdened in delivering his message of love to our family, friends and community.

  We learned that the first commandment is #1 for a lot of reasons, but mostly because we belong to God and this relationship needs to be protected - as sin separates man and God. We were reminded by St Paul of the importance of our baptism and how our baptism allows us to participate in Jesus life, death and resurrection. We learned in the example of the Shunemite women, that her loving generosity caused a response from Elisha that was completely unexpected and a true sign of God's generosity.  Today, as with every message jumping off the pages of scripture, is meant to cause urgency in our relationship with God - to not be fearful of proclaiming God’s word. Yes, we are reminded that that God’s salvation plan includes you, and that you are called into God’s family, to be closer to God, to have an every lasting life, an eternal life.  

We hear fatherly advice of encouragement, reminders of self worth, the importance to keep the faith and staying true to the mission. We learned the importance of developing urgency in our mission, that a friend is someone that helps you get to heaven, that iron sharpens iron. That to be a true friend to your friends, you are to help them get to heaven. We were reminded, that in times of absolute meltdowns, that our message is loving, that our message is to not be afraid of proclaiming God’s word, that there are worse things out there. We are not to be fearful in our mission. Yes, we learned that God’s salvation plan includes you, and that you are called into God’s family, to be closer to God, to have an every lasting life, an eternal life.

On the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, recall that it is to your advantage to commit yourself to God's will in your life.  God see's this commitment as an outward sign of your love to Him and He will bless you with many graces for your soul.  Padre Pio takes this axiom and turns it toward suffering when he says - "It is to your advantage to commit yourself to the sufferings that Jesus will send you.  Jesus cannot tolerate seeing you afflicted and he will send come to you and comfort you, blessing you with many graces for your soul." Hope for the best, and prepare for the best - never deny God's providence in your life. Thank you and God Bless. Please like and share this podcast with your family & friends. PS. Father JohnRose (deceased) was a loving and caring priest and I believe his prayer and intercession can help you - particularly for those couples trying to get pregnant, or those patients suffering from an angry prostate. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061420.cfm  

Today we speak about prayer and the importance of the Trinity in our prayers.  As Christians, our prayer is unified, our prayer is together, our prayer is within the context of the Trinity.  Taking a moment, thinking about today’s gospel, it provides a blueprint to orientate the mind & heart and reaffirm the importance of prayer.  Address your prayers to the Father in the name of Jesus. Why - because in prayer, we are surrounded by the Trinity. Our hearts are motivated by the Holy Spirit, our prayers are directed to the Father and they are wrapped in the name of Jesus.  This is because the sacred humanity of Jesus is the way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to God our Father.  Thy will be done… Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please share and rate on itunes.  This podcast can also be found of Spotify - "Sermons from the pew" https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s1c2a2.htm  

  As Jesus “breathes” on his disciples, God breathes into Adam.  And just as Adam’s life came from God, our spiritual life comes from Jesus.  We are reminded of a passage in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 37), were we read of dry bones coming back to life upon being prophesied over.  Friends, we are those dry bones being prophesied over.  All of the Scriptures and in particular today, is meant to bring us back to life.  Our dry bones are to be revitalized and that revitalization is centered on receiving the Holy Spirit!     We learn of our mission, that as the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends us. We are reminded that Jesus breathed on his disciples, giving us new life in Him, that the gift of the Holy Spirit came with the gift of forgiveness.  When we witness to others, we are to speak to their hearts using the universal language of forgiveness. Yes, we learned that God’s salvation plan includes forgiveness and that this is meant to encourage us, as everything we encounter in life is meant to bring us closer to God.  

We learn of our mission how we are to take God’s word to the ends of the earth. That even though he is departing from us, that we are reminded that we are to receive the Holy Spirit, and that this will unify us and fortify us to witness to others. Yes, God’s salvation plan is meant to encourage us, everything we encounter in life is meant to bring us closer to God, that even though He is ascending into heaven, that we are not orphans. That by truly loving God, and keeping his commandments, that our WITNESS is part of the beatific plan – our witness is necessary and it is an "ask" of Jesus. Wake up, and get busy - find the urgency! Why are you looking at the sky?

We discuss the importance of continual acceptance of suffering, referring to PT 4:1 "ceased from sin," Peter means that continual acceptance of suffering is incompatible with a proneness to sin.  We learn of freedom and happiness, that God’s salvation plan is meant to encourage us, that suffering has meaning, that we are not orphans and that if you truly love God, you will keep his commandments – not just the one’s in the old testament, but the new commandments we hear so often when we read the new testament. We learned that to love Jesus, we are to be faithful, not just during the good times, but during the difficult, nitty gritty times - that this is what it means to be a good steward of God's graces. If you like, please share and rate on itunes.  Additionally check out twitter for an interactive experience.

We hear in the gospel that Jesus will go, prepare a place for us and return.  Jesus is preparing a place for you - are you preparing a place for him?  Often when we prepare a place for someone, we clean the room, take out the garbage and stock the fridge.  With our own life, we need to clean our hearts, take out the garbage of sin and stock up on spiritual goodies.  Today we start with Stephen, how his mission of taken care of the neglected is still impact full given the conversion of Saul. We discuss the stone the builder's rejected, the royal priesthood and how to direct our prayers to find God's will in our life is the correct orientation that brings true happiness.   Two housekeeping items:  I am redoing my artwork - I trust you like it.  Also, I started a twitter account - "Sermons from the pew" follow me there for dialogue, direct messages, etc. - perhaps you want to submit a mp3 recording of your Sunday "sermon from the pew."  Take care, rate and share - thanks!

Today we discuss how practicing your faith creates "experience" and this in combination with hearing God's word - truth - creates urgency in our faith lives, that poor spiritual planning is rooted in a lack of urgency.  We discuss the need to repent and be baptized, and how that means for us in the pew, the call to renew our baptismal promises (found below). Thank you, God bless, please rate and share on itunes or other podcast platform. Thx! V. Do you reject Satan?R. I do.V. And all his works?R. I do.V. And all his empty promises?R. I do.V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?R. I do.V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?R. I do.V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?R. I do.V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.R. Amen.

The road to Emmaus is one of the great stories about doing a U-turn in your life, allowing Jesus to be the path of life in your life, leading you to abounding joy.   We hear about two disciples, discouraged about the passion of Jesus, leaving the action behind - effectively putting Jerusalem in the rear view mirror.  However, when the recognize truth, when they recognize the Lord, they urgently return to where the action is.  We are reminded to have urgency in our faith and today's sermon from the pew challenges us in this aspect.  I hope you enjoy & share and rate on itunes!  Thanks

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday.  We begin with the idea of Justice, and the implied relationship. That buried deep in the "justice is blind" is the idea of relationship and how mercy goes beyond justice, beyond relationship.  We touch on how mercy has to be received, what it means to forgive and forget.  WE close with the words of Jesus being truth, and that you can trust what you are hearing, because it is Truth spoken form Jesus.  Thank you and have a great day!

We review what Christ Jesus resurrection means to you. How to understand legacy moments, and how to incorporate Christ Jesus into our lives. Thank you for listening to Sermons from the Pew. Please share & rate on itunes #legacy #legacymoment #Easter  #Resurrection #Eastermorning

Special edition of Sermons from the Pew - a low tech answer to important problems.  Ideas are from the perspective of the person sitting in the pew.  Today's special edition is focused on prayer and coronavirus Covid_19.  We begins with understanding our lens that we view the world, that we view God. Discusses "wrath;" and how in correct worship changes our perception in God's answer to prayers.  Examines Matthew's gospel leading up to the Lord's prayer. Ends with "O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!" God bless! please share and if you like!

Listen to 3 simple reflections about the Passion, #palmsunday 1) a donkey, 2) the last supper, and 3) Jesus's cry from the cross   My hope is that this gets you excited to hear and read the upcoming Palm Sunday gospel. I appreciate the listen, please share and rate on itunes! Mt 26:14-27

Check out the movie by Terrance Malik, Tree of Life #Lazarus  

Siloam

March 15, 2020 Jesus and the woman at the well