SJBExcelsior Podcast

Adoration

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

If you don’t spend time with someone, how can you grow in relationship with them? This weekend, Fr. Carlson reminds us that spending time with Jesus, growing in relationship with Him, is the best way to spend our time.

Here at St. John’s we are blessed to have an Adoration chapel that is open every day and all are welcome to come visit. Whether you are signed up for an hour or just have a few minutes to stop by during the day, spending time in Adoration is a beautiful devotion. 

If you are interested in signing up for an hour or just viewing our schedule, visit https://stjohnthebaptist.weadorehim.com/. Keep an eye out in our communications for more about Adoration here at St. John’s and great resources for adorers!

Blind Guides

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

This weekend’s Gospel calls us to self-reflection. Jesus points out that a blind person guiding another blind person doesn’t go well! How often do we point out the faults of others’ and completely ignore or miss our own failings?

As we prepare to enter Lent, how can we allow Christ to heal our blindness? How can we incorporate prayer, fasting, and almsgiving into our lives?

Imitating Christ

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

Love your enemies? Do good to those who hate you? Today’s Gospel asks a lot of us. We may say we believe in Christ, but do we imitate Him? How often do we love our enemies or think to pray for those who have hurt us? How often do we instead let our anger get the best of us?

Jesus is calling us to imitate Him and live as He lived – loving others, even those who hate us.

Happiness

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

This week we hear a version of The Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel. They are put a little different than the version we are used to hearing in Matthew’s Gospel. However, they drive home the point that God doesn’t promise blessings/happiness in this world for doing His work, but He does promise blessings/happiness in the next.

If we live only for the things of this world, we will never truly be happy. But if we live for God, we can be happy despite hardships that come our way on this earth and we will be happy in Heaven as well.

How can we detach from worldly desires and better focus on serving God?

Allowing God to Transform Us

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

We hear the story of Peter being called by Christ this weekend.  Jesus called a fisherman – someone who may not have been the most educated or qualified in the sight of most people.  Yet, God chose to work through this ordinary man.  How is God calling each of us and how does He want to work in our own lives? 

Agape Love

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

Today, Fr. Carlson zoomed in on the second reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. We all may be familiar with the passage, “Love is patient, love is kind…” However, do we live it out as God calls us to?

God loves us and holds nothing back – Jesus died on the cross and made a total gift of self for us. We are called to accept that total gift of self from God and allow it to transform us and share that agape love with the world.

Being the Hands & Feet of Jesus

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

We had a visiting priest from Cross Catholic Outreach this weekend - Fr. Bernard Olszewski.  He reminded us that we really are all called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us.  At the end of our life, we will be asked if we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, gave water to the thirsty – what will our answer be?  How can we help those around us today?  One way to help those in poor countries is to learn about and consider donating to Cross Catholic Outreach.  In his homily, Fr. Olszewski shared a little bit about how they help the poor around the world and how you can help their mission.  To learn more, visit https://crosscatholic.org.  

Living in Relationship with God

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

This week, we heard the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana. This particular Gospel reminds us that Jesus wants to be our bridegroom -- the Church is His bride and we are all members of the Church. He chooses us and we in turn need to choose Him and nurture a relationship with Him by saying "Yes" to Him at every moment. 

Baptism: Entering the Church

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/readings/calendar

This weekend we celebrate Jesus' Baptism - this feast is a wonderful reminder of our own Baptism and the significance of it.

Pretty much all of us know and celebrate our birthday, but how many of us know the date of our Baptism?  Our Baptism date really marks the most important day of our lives as it is the day we are made members of Christ's Church - the Catholic Church. 

The Catechism states that “Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation.” (CCC 1272)

Giving the Gift of Yourself

This weekend, we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany – the day the Wise Men arrived and each gave baby Jesus a gift. In his homily, Fr. Carlson shared a recap of a story called “The Other Wise Man”, which was also made into a movie called “The Fourth Wise Man”. The story really asks the question of what can we each give Jesus? We may not have been able to bring a physical gift for His birthday, but what does Jesus really want from each of us as a gift?