St. Basil Catholic Church Brecksville Podcast

There are many things that compete for our attention when we pray, our preoccupations, technology, to do lists, and more. The Catechism describes prayer as a battle, how do we ready ourselves for that battle?   

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We see beautiful churches and are stopped in our tracks at the grandeur that they speak to our worship.  When that becomes the norm, and no longer stops us in our tracks, what can we do to reignite our worship?  

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Sometimes our world feels so black and white, but in the Christian life we find so often that it is not always either/or, but both/and. 

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Jesus tells us in the Gospel, you cannot love both God and mammon. How do we look at our money, and in trust give it back to the Lord?

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It is through the lens of the cross that the suffering of the world is redeemed.  In a world marked with sin, sickness, suffering, and death, let us draw close to our Lord and hold tight to the Cross. 

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The Lord asks us to leave behind everything to follow Him.  When we put other things in the way of following Him, we don't allow for the rush of His love to fall on us.  How can we truly allow the overwhelming love of the Trinity to fall on us?

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Little girls twirl around and ask "am I beautiful?" Little boys wrestle and wonder, "am I strong?" As we grow, the need for love and validation doesn't go away.  Do we allow the Lord to see us and love us? 

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As we think about our own stories, there are sorrowful, glorious, joyful, and luminous mysteries that have shaped who we are.  Jesus cares about those stories, and wants to understand your heart even more. Can you take the time to sit with Him and share? 

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The fire of the Holy Spirit burns within us and animates us, so that when we encounter division we can call upon Him to be with us and bring His love to the world.  

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Through Mary, we are given access to Jesus.  She gives of herself to her Son, saying "this is my body," so that He in turn is able to give the ultimate gift of himself to us, saying "this is My body." 

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Our society tells us we need the next thing, fast, bright, shiny, and loud. But what would happen if we waited, and allowed silence to come into our lives and make profound change? 

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There are different parts of our hearts that work together like a symphony, and though some parts are ready for God to come and be present, other parts are not.  What are the parts of us that are not ready for God? And how can we begin to work on opening those parts up to God?

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In our hearts are many desires, and often we can feel like they are unfulfilled.  Do we truly know what it means to give those desires to our Father, a good dad, who wants to give us everything?

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In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus calls Martha out of herself and her serving to relaxation and prayer. What is it that we need to be called out of? Fights with a friend? Anxieties about work? Messy homes? Allow Jesus to call you out of it and into His peace.  

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Who is Jesus? When encounter Him, who is He? Our Lord? Our God? Or our very breath? May we come to know Jesus so closely that He be our very breath. 

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As the faithful, we do the work of God in our everyday life. At St. Basil, this comes in many ways through many hands in many ministries. 

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Jesus asked Peter and Paul important questions in their journeys of faith.  As we sit with Jesus, will we put down our guards and allow him to ask us "why?"

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As we gather together around the altar, we approach the Eucharist not merely as individuals, but as a family.  

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Guest priest, Fr. Eric Garris, vocation director for the Diocese of Cleveland, shares an inspiring message, helping us to realize that in our givenness, the way we give ourselves to others, we find joy, peace, and the very heart of God. 

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We often misconstrue holiness for perfection or the chorus of angels singing around us.  But holiness looks like living out our everyday life well, and sharing our joy with the Lord. 

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Sometimes the Holy Spirit comes in loud, flashy ways.  But often, the Holy Spirit comes in the quiet, gently, helping us through our day, if we are attune to promptings of the Spirit. 

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When we call upon the Holy Spirit, the Lord rushes to our aid to be near, inspire, and lead us through life.  We become more and more like the Lord each time we call upon His name. 

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As we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, we cry out "Come Holy Spirit!" as we ask the Holy Spirit to be present in our lives, guide us, and come in our time of need.  

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As we celebrate Christ's Ascension, we remember that He has overcome death and awaits us in heaven.  We also celebrate the anointing of the sick knowing that though our bodies decay, the promise of heaven gives us hope. 

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The magisterium of the Church, the Pope and the bishops, set teachings for us to live by.  While to some, this may seem overbearing, in reality, living within the rules they set allows us to live in the great freedom that Christ gives. 

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In life, we face hardships, and we can either let them knock us down, or we can face them with the Lord and invite him into our struggles. 

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As a Church, Pope Leo XIV has called us to care for those in need, which we do together as a Church, as mothers caring for their children or as brothers and sisters caring for one another through Catholic Charities. 

 

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In the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles show us how to act on what the Lord tells us. We too, can listen to the voice of God and be His messengers in the world. 

 

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Fr. Jeffrey Liptak gives us a deeper look into Christ's peace on Divine Mercy Sunday.  

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The empty tomb is a sign that Jesus' Resurrection does more than just address the voids of unfulfillment in our lives.

 

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Suffering can make us bitter or better. 

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How humble and necessary it is to let ourselves be loved. 

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Tragedy or Triumph?  How is the betrayal and murder of Jesus something to be celebrated?

 

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We were deemed very good, then deemed flawed and fallen, but Jesus gets the last word.  

 

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"God has reconciled us to himself through Christ."  Sounds great, but what does that mean?

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Letting ourselves be moved by the goodness of the world and of God naturally leads to sharing it with others.  

 

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The story of Jesus' Transfiguration reveals many truths about communicating with God.

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We can think that because we are tempted, we are bad people, as temptation can lead to sin. But temptation is not sin. It actually makes us like Jesus, who was also tempted by Satan. When we are tempted, we call on Jesus to be with us and help us to resist the lure of Satan to sin. 

 

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As we enter the season of Lent, are we entering with busy hearts, just trying to fit everything into our lives.  Or, are we approaching Lent with humility and gentleness, as a time of retreat, allowing ourselves to be loved by God?

 

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Quite often, what is stored away in our heart is our neglect of ourselves.  When we take the time to listen to and honor what is in our hearts and share it with the Lord, we are able to come alive, and live in the Father's love.  

This homily was preached at the Marriages of Grace Catholic Marriages Day by Day Event. 

 

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When we take part in the Mass, we are engaging in something holy, where God touches earth in the sacred mysteries.  We use exquisite vestments, adorn our altar, process with a fancy Gospel book, to help awaken our senses to the truth that Infinite Beauty is present with us, and speaking to us through the Mass. 

 

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Jesus talks about giving us living water, but how do we find it? It is in the times of silence, 15 minutes a day as Bishop Malesic suggests in his new document, A Flourishing Apostolic Church, that we find the Lord and our thirst is quenched by His living water. 

 

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Just as Jesus got into Peter's boat, Jesus gets into ours, and asks us to be a part of His mission.  His mission may take us to a far away place, but most often it is at home, with our friends and family, loving them, caring for them, and teaching them of His love. 

 

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Simeon waited for the Christ in the temple for years.  In Simeon's perseverance and unwavering hope that what the Lord had promised would be fulfilled, we learn how to be beacons of hope and to share Christ in our daily lives. 

 

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When we come to Mass, we come with every part of us, the part that get distracted, the part that listens intently, the part that is more excited sometimes for Donut Sunday.  The Lord uses all of our parts to come back to Him, especially through His word, that He can speak to us and make us whole. 

 

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Beauty speaks to us in so many ways, including unexpected ones like sports. What we find beautiful points us to what is whole and complete and shows us the longings in our hearts for the Infinite Beauty, God Himself. 

 

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At our Baptism, we are are washed in the waters of Christ's merciful love that we too might go out into this world to bring Christ to others.  But He doesn't send us out alone, He gives us a community, specifically a parish community, which helps us to nourish and grow even in the midst of transitions. 

 

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As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, we reflect on our own families.  How can we build them up to be holy? As Mother Teresa suggests, we can change the world by loving our family. 

 

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Christmas answers for us the question, "what is God like?" Jesus comes not as someone who enforces rules and regulations, but as a little baby. He doesn't tower over us, but instead asks us to get down on his level.  

 

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As Advent draws to a close we hear the story of the Visitation. We can imagine Zachariah, who was mute during his wife Elizabeth's pregnancy, was forced to simply sit, be quiet, and listen during those nine months, during which time he was able to watch the Lord grow within his home, in the womb of Mary, and also within his heart, that what was spoken to him by the Lord might be fulfilled. 

 

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