St. Basil Catholic Church Brecksville Podcast

82. What Kind of Paper will you be this Sunday?

A reflection on where wax paper, notebook paper, paper towels, and YOU fall on the absorbency spectrum. 

80. Reflections on the Guy Who Threatened My Life 3x Last Week

Parking Lot Rage is real! Director of Evangelization Tommy Dome shares spiritual lessons after reflecting on a peculiar parking lot incident that happened to him.

74. Feel Like You're Losing Your Faith? Here's how that could be a good thing

There are different causes for feeling distant from God - some of them good and some of them bad.

72. Audio Bible - 2 Peter

BEWARE FALSE TEACHERS.  That's a main lesson of the Biblical book of 2 Peter, among a few others.  After 2 mins of background facts, the New Testament Letter of 2 Peter is read in full in just 10 mins.

71. A Dead Guy Told Me to Get Rid of My Smartphone

Tommy Dome shares the story of when a heavenly voice urged him to make a very specific change in his life.

70. Audio Bible - The Letter of 1 Peter

Practical advice and encouragement for undergoing suffering and persecution. After a minute of background facts about this book of the Bible, the New Testament Letter of 1 Peter is read in full.

67. Audio Bible - The Letter of James

After a minute of background facts about this book of the Bible, the New Testament Letter of James is read in full. Timeless wisdom and practical advice calls us out to live as better Christians.

62. Remind Me Again - Why does the Church have so many rules?

Why does the Church have "so many rules"? Can't I just follow my conscience, or the one Golden Rule?  We dig behind the question and address what's really going on.

59. Remind Me Again...If Atheists Can be Good, Why be Religious?

Why should I bother being religious if unbelievers can be decent, honest people too? 

The 5min video mentioned in this episode on the Moral Argument for God's existence can be viewed at http://bit.ly/MoralArgument

C.S. Lewis' short essay Man or Rabbit? mentioned in this episode can be read here. 

57. Remind Me Again.....Why Do Gospel Details Differ?

Some of the Gospels differ in minor details.  Does this mean they are invalidated?  Can we rely on the Bible at all?

53. Carpenter's tool or Carpenter's son? w/ Tommy Dome

A small adjustment of direction can change the whole trajectory of a life.  Tommy Dome spoke at the Gifts of the Spirit Women's Ministry, sharing stories of a few inflection points in his life that revealed more of who God is and who he is.  

51. Remind Me Again....Why do we say Jesus descended into Hell?

Every Sunday at Mass we say that Jesus descended into Hell.  Sounds strange or wrong, doesn't it?  Why would Jesus go to hell?  The knots get untwisted using Scripture and the CCC in just 7 minutes.

48. Remind me again.....Why do we call priests "Father" when Jesus said not to?

Why do Catholics call their priests "Father", especially when Jesus Himself says in Matthew 23:9, "Call no one on earth your father..."?

43. Remind me again....Why Confess to a Priest? Can't I go straight to God?

"Remind Me Again..." is a new series briefly covering common topics and questions that you have asked yourself at some point.  Share this episode so more people hear the answer.  "Why confess my sins to a priest?  Can't I just go straight to God?"

30. Meaning of the Mass - Why is Mass called Mass?

Our word Mass comes from the Latin word missa, which is at the root of the dismissal that gives us our mission. The final blessing gives us that last dose of supernatural grace we need to fulfill our mission to bring souls to Jesus' Sacred Heart.

28. Meaning of the Mass - The Bible and the Body

Why do we sit, why do we stand, and why do we fold our hands?

23. Meaning of the Mass - Why is Mass "the same" each week?

Way back in the year 155 AD, a man named Justin Martyr described something in writing. See if you can recognize what he was describing.

22. Meaning of the Mass - Holy Water and the Lavabo

Holy Water fonts at the entrance to the Church bring to mind our Baptism, which is how we entered the Church, the spiritual Body of Christ. Dipping our fingers in a Holy Water and making the sign of the Cross is how we enter the Church the physical building. The action of the priest washing his hands goes back hundreds of years when it was a practical necessity to clean his hands after receiving all the community's various gifts during the offertory. Now we spiritualize that action and the priest prays for interior purification so that he can offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist with a pure mind, heart, and soul.

20. Meaning of the Mass - Review - Stole, Chasuble, Procession, Genuflecting

Very quick 2 sentence highlights of the past 4 topics - the Stole, Chasuble, Opening Procession, and Genuflecting.

17. Meaning of the Mass - Genuflecting

Genuflecting is a sign of humility, an offering of service, and a proposal. Usually our souls lead our bodies to do the right thing, but sometimes we need our bodies to lead our souls to enter the right attitude for worship and prayer.

12. Meaning of the Mass - Opening Procession

The Opening Procession is a victory parade in which we are proud of what God has accomplished, and also a pilgrimage showing us our ultimate goal - reaching the table of the Heavenly Banquet. If we get on and stay on God's team, we'll reach it.

10. Meaning of the Mass - What We Receive

We receive quite a lot!

9. Meaning of the Mass - The Chasuble

The Chasuble is the outermost vestment worn by the priest and the color corresponds to the liturgical season or the feast being celebrated.  It also serves to hide the priest so we can more readily recognize that it is also Jesus at work.  

8. Meaning of the Mass - The Stole

5. Meaning of the Mass - The Ambry

2018-12-30.  The Ambry is a compartment in the sanctuary that contains the 3 sacred oils.  These oils are used in a variety of sacraments.  The ambry is a visible reminder of the connection we have with those we love who are not at Mass because we are connected through the sacraments we both received that made us part of God's family - the Body of Christ.  

4. Meaning of the Mass - The Ambo

2018-12-23.  The ambo is the structure in the sanctuary from which the Biblical readings are proclaimed.  Like the altar, it is also a table.  Whereas the altar feeds us the Bread of Life, the ambo feeds us the word of life.  We need both.  Before the Gospel is proclaimed, we make a triple sign of the cross on our foreheads, lips, and hearts.  The prayer we can pray at that time is "May the word of the Lord be on my mind, on my lips, and in my heart."

3. Meaning of the Mass - The Altar

2018-12-16.  The Altar is (1) a symbol of Christ, (2) a table for a meal, and (3) an altar for sacrifice.  We bow and the priest kisses the altar because it's a symbol of Christ.  It's a table just like Jesus had at the Last Supper when He instituted the Eucharist.  It's an altar for sacrifice where we place our whole selves to offer to God in union with Jesus' sacrifice to the Father.  

2. Meaning of the Mass - The Sanctuary

2018-12-9.  The Sanctuary is the place that is (1) set apart, (2) holy, and (3) where God dwells.  This floorplan of our church tells the story of the Christian faith and of our lives since we start with separation but then move into union. 

1. Meaning of the Mass - Why are we even here?

There are a lot of reasons we come to Mass, but God has a reason why we're here too.  2018-12-2