Podcast appearances and mentions of Josh Phelps

Join us this week as we review Grounded by Josh Phelps, a Cabernet Sauvignon from California. This week the boys get in touch with thir rebellious side, we explore the idea of terroir and we shout out our biggest fans, our moms! Show Notes: If you would like to listen to the interview with Josh Phelps of Grounded Wine Company, you can check out the Inside Wine Making podcast at the link below. Inside Winemaking: Interview with Josh Phelps Connect with the show. We would love to hear from you! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠stopwastingyourwine.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FaceBook⁠⁠

Join us as we explore the life of Josh Phelps, a seasoned player in the wine industry, from his roots in restaurant work to the strategic cultivation of his winemaking empire. Listen in as Josh recounts his time at Kimberly Jones Selections where he honed his skills in sales and faced the tough skin-building challenge of rejection, and shares how he scaled his initial 100-case winemaking venture to an impressive 40,000. Discover how Josh and his father work together to manage their wine brands while remaining authentic. Get a glimpse into their diverse wine projects, such as Steady State and Spaceage, and understand how these wines evolve with time. We also discuss effective wine sales strategies, the evolving landscape of market gatekeepers, and the indispensable value of personal connections in the wine business.  Resources from this Episode Grounded Wine Co - https://www.groundedwineco.com/ Instagram - @groundedwineco Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know we sent you.

Like father like son, grounded in Napa, affordable & scalable wines, the space age and interview with Josh Phelps, owner, Grounded Wine Company. ON THE ROAD with MR CA WINE is about California's cool, aspirational lifestyle and awesome wines hosted by Chuck Cramer, a California native, living in London and is the Director of European sales & marketing, Terlato Wines. This is a wine journey covering the hottest topics in CA wine, chatting along the way with the experts who make it all happen. This week's episode includes an interview with Josh Phelps of the Grounded Wine Co.

Editor's Note: Apologies for the unscheduled break. Between illness and a computer that suddenly borked, it made sense to just skip last week. Now we're back with fresh We Can Pod It Out as well as the new Willets Pod that dropped this morning, our college football “preview” with the Sickos Committee.Hey, Tim Locastro is back healthy after hurting his thumb in April. Just in time for the Mets' stretch r—okay, here's Tim's home run chain.* Tim Locastro hit his first home run off Nestor Cortes Jr., 7/31/19* Nestor Cortes Jr. gave up his first home run to Josh Reddick, 4/3/18* Josh Reddick hit his first home run off Brian Bass, 8/2/09* Brian Bass gave up his first home run to Casey Kotchman, 4/1/08* Casey Kotchman hit his first home run off Doug Waechter, 8/5/05* Doug Waechter gave up his first home run to Josh Phelps, 9/9/03* Josh Phelps hit his first home run off Jason Johnson, 7/17/02* Jason Johnson gave up his first home run to Mike Piazza, 8/27/97* Mike Piazza hit his first home run off Steve Reed, 9/12/92Ten years after that, Reed, who debuted with the Giants, and Piazza, who of course was a Dodger to start his career, were united as Mets, with the reliever working in 15 games where Piazza was his batterymate. They worked together to record 10 strikeouts, with Reed allowing no home runs to any of the 63 batters he faced with Piazza behind the plate.By that time, Piazza had homered three more times off Reed: at Coors Field in 1995 and Dodger Stadium in ‘95 and ‘96 while Reed was on the Rockies. Piazza was the only batter that Reed allowed more than two homers to in his career, and after the 2002 Jason Bay-Bobby Jones trade that brought Reed and Jason Middlebrook from San Diego to the Mets, Reed returned to Colorado. In 2004, he faced Piazza one last time, at Shea Stadium, inducing a 4-6-3 double play to end the seventh inning.The real drama that day involved Piazza on the other side of the ball, as Tom Glavine was working on a no-hitter, having allowed just a walk to Denny Hocking in the top of the seventh. After Jeromy Burnitz flied out and Matt Holliday struck out to start the eighth, Kit Pellow spoiled the bid for history with a double. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com/subscribe

Winemaker and entrepreneur, Josh Phelps talks to Robert Tas about his company Grounded Wine Co. They discuss reaching a younger generation, how climate change is affecting the industry, and packaging and marketing.  Josh shares his experience in making wine in different regions of the U.S.,  the reason behind the success of his company, and his plans for the future.  Key points include: The future of the wine industry Changing perceptions in bottling and packaging The terroir in Washington and California For more information on today's episode, and the wines you love to love, visit www.corkrules.com.

MJ's guest today is Winemaker, Environmentalist, and Outdoor Enthusiast Alisa Jacobsen. In this episode, Alisa and MJ discuss her remarkable career. Everything from growing a major brand, making wine around the world, purchasing her own vineyards, and launching her Turning Tides label. It's a raucous episode filled with insights and laughter. A huge thank you to Alisa Jacobsen Follow her on IG at @winesbyaj @turningtidewines @rarenorthwinesCheck out her website: https://www.turningtidewines.com/This episode's in studio wines:2021 Turning Tide Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Rare North Willamette Valley Pinot Noir_____________________________________________________________Special shout-outs to Bridget Birkeland, Brooke Sabel, and Josh Phelps!For information about organic certification check out CCOFUntil next time, cheers to the mavericks, philosophers, deep thinkers, and wine drinkers! Don't forget to subscribe and give The Black Wine Guy Experience a five-star review on whichever platform you listen to.For insider info from MJ and exclusive content from the show sign up at Blackwineguy.comFollow MJ @blackwineguy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, Tsang Gang! The theme of this week is soccer, or as my guest Joshua Phelps's homeland of Australia calls it, football. He is a professional soccer player for Statesboro's own South Georgia Tormenta FC. We talk about how he got his start and how he wound up in the states playing soccer, and offers advice for others who might find themselves in a similar situation. Whether or not you aspire to be an athlete, his story is worth a listen!Thanks for tuning in! Let's get Up and Adam!Find out more about The Joshua here:https://twitter.com/joshuaphelps_https://www.instagram.com/joshuaphelps_/Follow UKnowAdamTsang on Social:https://www.adamtsang.com?utm_source=podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uknowadamtsang/id1528220616https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z4FPVzEh3M9dBQ5YWMhAH?si=gec-DJCjSoiplCDM1veFWwhttps://redcircle.com/shows/uknowadamtsanghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/uknowadamtsang/ https://www.instagram.com/uknowadamtsang/ https://www.facebook.com/uknowadamtsang/

With the current water situation happening in the capital of Mississippi, Jackson has welcomed all types of organizations willing to lend a helping hand. The World Central Kitchen is one of those organizations that are on the ground in Jackson and Josh Phelps joins Deep South Dining to talk about their work. Later, Malcolm and Carol talk to one of the true friends of the show Chef David Raines. Known as the Flora Butcher, he talks about the food renaissance that is happening in small-town Mississippi. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On today's podcast Josh and I talk about keto, business, the trials of 2020, grilling and more! Josh owns his own company so we talk a bit about entrepreneurship as well as the best way to grill, how to manage being Keto when your family isn't, and growing your own food. Enjoy!

Episode thirteen jumps in with all the emotions of the Glass Fire of Napa Valley. The September 2020 police logs of St. Helena and Calistoga were discussed with St. Helena local, Josh Phelps. Josh brought along his delicious Grounded Wine Company Land Form Pinot Noir and Steady State Cabernet Sauvignon. He also shared his local knowledge and stories. Episode highlights include locals fighting fires, a missing car and the unknown fate of a rooster. This episode showed the resilience and support of this special community.

It was the best of wines, it was the worst of...nevermind, these were all good.  In this episode I met with Josh Phelps, winemaker of The Grounded Wine Company, and discuss his story, his wines, and what it is like to make wines from three very different regions.  Later, in my Take Five segment, I met with Josh Willougby, owner of Market on Main, one of Columbia's newest local restaurants.  Check it out! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

There was not one, but two shows with desert-wandering scenes this week. Chris and Andy talk about ‘Better Call Saul’ S5E8 (4:50) and the penultimate episode of ‘Briarpatch’ and what goes into creating a scene like that (11:49). Then, they get on the line with Josh Phelps, who works at José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, to talk about the organization's relief work (39:02). Finally Chris is joined by Laura Linney to talk about her electrifying role as Wendy on ‘Ozark’ (57:19). Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald Guests: Josh Phelps and Laura Linney

Josh Phelps is the founder and winemaker of Grounded Wine Co. making delicious, all-American, and approachable wines across the west coast while based in St. Helena, California. Josh’s roots run deep in Napa, raised in a winemaking family, he was exposed to the industry from a young age, starting his very first endeavor in the wine world, “Napa Valet”, at age 15. He continued to build his knowledge of the business through college, selling wine, working the harvest and creating wine for friends with his father, Chris Phelps (of Dominus Estate). As a Napa local, his philosophies on winemaking and business are advised from luminaries of the wine world he calls his mentors and friends like Joel Gott, Kimberly Jones and Leslie Rudd, and of course, his own father. With Grounded Wine Co., Josh hopes to build on this legacy and make his own splash in the wine world while exposing wine drinkers of his own generation to his hometown in wine country. As a part of his incredible résumé, Josh has been named to Forbes’s 30 under 30 list, Zagat’s 30 under 30 and Wine Enthusiast’s 40 under 40 – though one of his proudest accomplishments is still the Eagle Scout badge he earned at the age of 18. Grounded Wine Co. is being built to reflect his experience growing up in wine country, and his relationships in the wine community. A grassroots, all-American, wine label, the wines feature grapes from trusted, sustainable vineyards in California and Washington and showcase what it means to be a winemaker today. Working with trusted farmers and childhood friends, his company respects his deep understanding of wine, one that can only be developed growing up around the vines. In this episode we mention… Chris Phelps, Josh’s father Dominus Estate Caymus Winery Taken Wine Co. Chambers & Chambers Distributors Trinchero Family Estates Grounded Wine Co. Ad Vivum Cellars, Chris’ wine label Landform Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, newest label from Grounded Work by Gospel, Josh’s design team Terry Wheatly, Vintage Wine Estates the late Leslie Rudd Authentique Wine Cellars, Oregon Dan Petroski (interview 1) / (interview 2) Space Age Rosé of Grenache, Grounded La Gravette de Certan Massican Champagne Vilmart Champagne Pierre Peters Champagne Doyard Follow Grounded Wine Co. On… INSTAGRAMFACEBOOK WEBSITE

So today’s guest on the show is me. Last week I headed down to see the guys from The Unit Fitness in Godmanchester Rob Foster & Josh Phelps, to be on their podcast.  I have known Rob & Josh for 4 years now, and whenever we meet we always have fantastic conversations, and this time was no different, except we had microphones in front of us.  They asked me to be a guest so I could discuss some of the things I do, my story and who I help.  We actually ended up recording two episodes, the first being about my back story of why I got into what I do, and the second more of a Q&A.  As some of you guys know my backstory already I have put both episodes together for you so can get to to juicy stuff. Obviously, if you have never heard my back story before then the first 30 minutes of this interview will let you into my story. In the episode we discussed: My journey through illness to health  The mentor who changed my life Where I travelled to learn  The main secrets I learned to heal any illness The organic certifications you can trust  Why you should be of ‘Fit Sick People’ Why eating foods laden in chemicals can make you sick and fat The powerful benefits of fasting & much more You can find the episode here: www.reviveyourself.co  Enjoy the show and don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as well as writing a comment, or a review on iTunes. To Your Health & Happiness Ryan

So today’s guest on the show is me. Last week I headed down to see the guys from The Unit Fitness in Godmanchester Rob Foster & Josh Phelps, to be on their podcast.  I have known Rob & Josh for 4 years now, and whenever we meet we always have fantastic conversations, and this time was no different, except we had microphones in front of us.  They asked me to be a guest so I could discuss some of the things I do, my story and who I help.  We actually ended up recording two episodes, the first being about my back story of why I got into what I do, and the second more of a Q&A.  As some of you guys know my backstory already I have put both episodes together for you so can get to to juicy stuff. Obviously, if you have never heard my back story before then the first 30 minutes of this interview will let you into my story. In the episode we discussed: My journey through illness to health  The mentor who changed my life Where I travelled to learn  The main secrets I learned to heal any illness The organic certifications you can trust  Why you should be of ‘Fit Sick People’ Why eating foods laden in chemicals can make you sick and fat The powerful benefits of fasting & much more You can find the episode here: www.reviveyourself.co  Enjoy the show and don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as well as writing a comment, or a review on iTunes. To Your Health & Happiness Ryan

Paul talks with rising Napa Valley winemaker Josh Phelps about the story of Grounded Wine. Then, hear from veteran importer Guy de Rivoire of Bollinger Champagne.  

Live at The Wonderland Ballroom with Josh Phelps, Andrew Bucket, Maddy Brannon, Jenn Tisdale Jenn Tisdale for co-host Josh Phelps for World Central Kitchen Andrew Bucket for stand up Maddie Brannon for stand up The Wonderland Ballroom for venue Washington, D.C. for city Hour 9 of the 2/9/19 11 hour live marathon

David talks with Josh Phelps of the Grounded Wine Company in Paso Robles, makes of the new wine “Public Radio.” Grounded Wine Co. is the personal brand of Napa native Josh Phelps, built to reflect his experience growing up in wine country, and his relationships in the wine community. A grassroots, all-American, wine label, the Read More The post Episode #493 – The Grounded Wine Company appeared first on .

BYT contributor Josh Phelps has been to Puerto Rico multiple to help with the relief effort. You can too. This episode isn’t as boring or preachy as this description.

Over the past few years California wines often go to one of two extremes. They tend to either be sweet, high alcohol jam bombs that meet the likes of a few well regarded and powerful wine critics, or they tend toward the reactionary "new" school style of being intentionally low in alcohol, lean and under-ripe. Josh Phelps, a native of Napa Valley and son of a well regarded winemaker, is a millennial winemaker with a new brand called Grounded Wine Co. who is marching to his own beat. The initial release from Grounded Wine Co., a Bordeaux blend called Steady State is a truly balanced beauty. Phelps plans other new releases from growing regions in Washington State as well as Paso Robles which will be priced to be accessible to younger wine drinkers. But don't let a low priced wine from a young winemaker fool you. If  the wines to come from Grounded Wine Co . are as good as Phelps' inaugural  release, this is a guy you'll want to follow.

A few weeks ago I was very privileged to be asked by the guys at The Unit Fitness in Cambridge to be on their podcast. I've known the guys a little while and they are not only good at their job but they really care about helping people, which is why I think we get along so well. I wanted to share the interview with you because not only was the podcast a lot of fun, but we covered some great topics. You can listen to the episode and read what the guys had to say below…... Talkin’ TUF Podcast (special guest episode with Ryan from Revive Yourself) Listen here >> http://bit.ly/TUFPoddyRyanRevive We don't say this lightly but this week you NEED to make time to listen to this... This week we have Ryan Martin a Nutritional Therapist and Holistic Health Coach from reviveyourself.co If you are interested in the slightest in health you want to check out this guy Ryan Martin. We have been lucky enough to have an interview with him and he is dropping some knowledge bombs in the podcast and keeping it simple in our mini series. In the episode, he just touches the surface really in what's possible Health wise and how you can ultimately feel 100 times better each day. In the episode we cover: Ryan’s Journey To Health Why Looking Good Doesn’t Mean You Are Healthy The Importance Of Gut Health And What You Can Do To Stop Gas & Bloating The Benefits Of Fasting The Different Standards Of Organic Produce Why The Quality Of Your Food Rather Than Quantity Matters Who Ryan Helps & Much More Nowadays, we always hear do this and do that to FEEL better, but Ryan works with people from within and truly helps them change from the inside-out. This is achieved by addressing a number of issues caused by life in the modern world and is an eye opener for pretty much everyone who comes into contact with Ryan, and you can see this through the content he delivers and the results his work achieves. Check his site out here >> http://reviveyourself.co/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ReviveNaturalHealth/ Listen here >> http://bit.ly/TUFPoddyRyanRevive

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell **Today's guest(s):** Joshua Phelps, Associate Director of Pastoral Planning for the Archdiocese of Boston * [Office of Pastoral Planning, Archdiocese of Boston](http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services/Office-Detail.aspx?id=1448) **Today's topics:** Why Catholics don't attend Mass and why they should **Summary of today's show:** Josh Phelps talks with Scot and Fr. Mark about the work of pastoral planning, part of which is looking at the reasons Catholics give for not attending Sunday Mass every week. Also, our hosts and guest look at this Sunday's Mass readings and how they relate to our need to respond to God's Word by being part of our parish community. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Mark back to the show. Today's show will discuss why people make the decision not to attend Mass. Fr. Mark wondered if when people go on vacation they will bother to go to [MassTimes.org](http://www.masstimes.org) to find a local Mass. Scot welcomed Joshua Phelps to the show. He is a graduate of Boston College and worked previously as a Pastoral Associate at St. Patrick, Watertown before coming to work at the Archdiocese in the Pastoral Planning office. He and his wife have been married for five years and they have two children. A couple of years ago, their family was featured in an episode of the CatholicTV program "House+Home". Josh said it's a surreal experience for people come up to them and say they saw them on TV. Josh worked previously in retail forecasting and moved to pastoral planning. Pastoral planning is a catch-all for helping parishes be the best they can be. It's their hope to help parishes work toward the mission of Christ. When an initiative like Catholics Come Home starts, while it's a project mainly of Faith Formation and Evangelization, it's near and dear to Pastoral Planning because they see the statistics regarding the Church in Boston. They see both the downward trends in some parishes and upward trends in others and then they dig down to find out why the differences are there. Josh said leadership, mission, and vision are incredibly important. Parishes that are seeing increases are those that take Sunday Eucharist very seriously and where people see the Eucharist as a very important part of their lives throughout the week. The mission is to live out the Gospel of Christ and build the kingdom of God in that parish. Parishes that take it seriously are the ones that see growth. Josh recently helped two parishes in Wayland to complete a merger. The parishes themselves initiated the merger between St. Ann and St. Zepherin to form one faith community as Good Shepherd Parish. It was a lot of work by a lot of people. As a result of the merge, people now say to their neighbors, "I didn't know you were Catholic," because went to different parishes. Fr. Mark said the merger isn't complete, but goes on for years. While being in the same town, they are very different communities and it needs leadership like that of the pastor, Fr. Laughlin, to facilitate that. Even though they were so different, they were able to come together in a process that both could embrace through proper planning and setting a reasonable timetable. Scot said parishes with very different cultures can come together fully. As the archdiocese continues to look at pastoral planning, this model will have great import for the future. Josh said every parish starts by asking what is in the best interest of the parish to move forward and thrive. In Wayland, they decided it was to come together as one parish and one community. Across the archdiocese, people are realizing the same thing. Fr. Mark said that in some places they maintain two parishes with one pastor, but it's easier like here where it's just one pastor, one parish council, one pool of money for the budget and so on. One of the most important statistics that Josh's office tracks is Mass attendance, which is an important metric for the pastoral needs of the parish. Catholic speaker Matthew Kelly spends time in one of his talks giving an illustration of the problem with the Mass according to people's claims about why they don't like to go to church. (Just 4 minutes in the beginning of the video below) * [Matthew Kelly's 7 Pillars of Catholicism on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/user/DynamicCatholic#p/u/4/Syj8XHnClGM) Fr. Mark said he's most of those comments at one time or another in his priesthood. Scot said Kelly says the problem with the Mass is "me" and if we approach the Mass each Sunday with asking God to show us one new thing about how to improve ourselves, it would change everything. Josh said that instead people want to change the user experience as if that would make a difference. Scot said our culture is all about seeking entertainment and we're used to being spectators, but if we want to get the most out of Mass, we need to be an engaged participant by preparing: Reading the Sunday readings ahead of time; keeping a journal to Mass to write down one thing to make myself a better version of me and then to meditate on that throughout the week. Scot said he's never been let down when praying for God to help him to deepen his faith. * ["Catholics Who Have Stopped Going to Mass," Australian Catholic Bishops Conference](http://www.catholicaustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=livingfaith-reasons1) Scot said the Australian bishops conference commissioned a detailed study on why Catholics say they have stopped going to Mass: 1. Mass isn't a priority 2. Crisis of faith 3. Family or household related issues make it difficult 4. Changes to parishes or Mass schedule 5. Don't feel welcome because of their state in life, e.g. divorce or they have small kids. But the most important reason, 32% say, they don't feel it's important to go to Mass to be a good Catholic. Fr. Mark said people start by forgiving themselves and stop going to Confession. Then they decide they can pray on their own and don't need to follow rules that tell them where to pray. Scot said his brother, Fr. Roger Landry, that people who say they are spiritual, but not religious, really mean that they want God on their own terms, whereas a faithful Catholic would say that I want to love God on Jesus' terms. Josh said when he prays at home, he's praying by himself or with his wife and children, but when he's at Mass he's praying with the entire 1-billion person Church and even more if you include the saints in heaven. The Mass is an incredibly important part of our spiritual life. It is spiritual food for our souls. Fr. Mark said our community is less without the full community. The person not only needs the community, but the community needs them. The Church needs the full participation of the community, because without it we are less. Much of our culture is focused on individualism. We don't think of ourselves as part of a community. Scot said God created us to be part of a family and that's what each parish strives to be. Eucharist means "thanksgiving" and Scot's been thinking about how that relates to the American holiday. People will travel across the country on the third Thursday of November, even if they know it won't be the most fun or if it's a big hassle, but there's a sense that we're made to be with our family on that day. Our heavenly Father is like our parents who say all that matters is that the whole family is together on that. Scot said Cardinal Seán is writing a pastoral letter on Sunday Mass attendance and he will write about how much of the factors are within our control.  Josh said the Australian study shows that it's no one fact that pushes people out the doors of the Church. In many cases, it just happened over the course of a long period of time. Fr. Mark said he's been impressed by the people who come on the program who see a need in their parishes and participated and made it better rather than just leaving because it wasn't what they wanted at first. Scot said John Paul II described love, not as a feeling, but as a self-gift. Pope Benedict's first encyclical was the God is love. God loved us first and how do we love him back? Not through a feeling, but through an act of the will of a self-gift. Even if we're not active in a ministry, we can give of ourselves on a Sunday morning by witnessing to our community and neighborhood that this is a priority. for one thing, it's a different experience sitting in church that's packed full of people rather than a mostly empty one. Every time we make a choice to go to Mass, it makes a difference to everyone else in that church. Scot said another reason in the study was the Sundays are not distinct any more. Businesses are open, people have to work, people have to do chores, kids' sports are scheduled on Sunday morning. That makes it even more important for the Catholic to show neighbors by our witness that Mass is our priority. Those actions will make someone notice. Archbishop Dolan of New York recently wrote about threats to Sunday Mass. He said in recent years communication technologies have made it easier for us to be distracted and make church just another in a range of options on the weekend. Scot suggested that perhaps as a response it would be fruitful for Catholics to turn off TVs and computers and other distracting devices on Sunday. In his letter, Archbishop Dolan then responded to a lot of the same objections found in the Australian study. * ["Keeping the Lord's Day Holy," Archbishop Timothy Dolan's St. Patrick's Day, 2010, Letter to the Archdiocese of New York](http://blog.archny.org/?p=570) >“Sunday is our only free time together.” (Great, what better way to spend that time than by praying together at Mass). > >“I pray my own way.” (Nice idea.  But, odds are, you don't). > >“The sermon is boring.” (You may have a point). > >“I hate all the changes at Mass.” (see below) > >“I want more changes at Mass.” (see above) > >“Until the church makes some changes in its teaching, I'm staying away.” (But, don't we go to Mass to ask God to change us, not to tell God how we want Him and His Church to change to suit us?) > > “Everybody there is a hypocrite and always judging me.” (Who's judging whom here?) > >... and the list goes on. > >And the simple fact remains: the Eucharist is the most beautiful, powerful prayer that we have.  To miss it is to miss Jesus — His Word, His people, His presence, His Body and Blood. **2nd segment:** Now, as we do every week, we look forward to this coming Sunday's Mass readings to help us prepare to celebrate together. * [First Reading for Sunday, July 10, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Isaiah 55:10-11)](http://www.usccb.org/nab/071011.shtml#reading1) >Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. * [Gospel for Sunday, July 10, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 13:1-23)](http://www.usccb.org/nab/071011.shtml#gospel) >On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.  And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.  It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.  Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.  But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.  Whoever has ears ought to hear.” >The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”  He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.  To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.  Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears,  they have closed their eyes,  lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them. >“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.  Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. >“Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.  But he has no root and lasts only for a time.  When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away.  The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.  But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Josh said he sees two important aspects of the readings: The seed that is sown, which is the Word of God. The Word is perfect. And then the soil. A farmer would say there's only so much you can do with the rocky ground. He thinks of his own life and how he tries to live the Word of God superficially and he then has to uproot himself and change his life and move to more fertile ground in his life. Fr. Mark said the key is the roots. With regard to today's topic, we need an environment that isn't just a quick high, but creates deep spiritual roots. He related the story of Orpheus, whose music could seduce anyone, but when he stopped playing the people were left worse off, pining away for the music. He said the true test of a teen or college ministry is whether the young people can move on from the interesting, high energy Masses aimed at them and go to a regular Mass and remain fully engaged. Scot said the parable speaks directly to today's topic. The culture is hardened against the Word of God. When people don't understand a Church teaching, they just dismiss it rather than wonder if there might be some truth in that. He said that if we're reaching out to people to help plant the seed, but there needs to be reciprocity from that person. Even if they don't respond right away, we don't stop trying and letting the Holy Spirit work. Josh points out that the sower is actively sowing seeds, not sitting back passively. A parish should not sit back and just say that the doors are open if anyone is interested. A parish should be mission-oriented and entrepreneurial.  Fr. Mark said the deep roots he spoke about are built by spending time. We have a responsibility to bear fruit. It's not just about what can I get, but what can I give.