Liturgy Live

This week on the  podcast we talk about motivation and what is required to keep us going. A few things we go over is companionship, mission, and knowledge of what you are  created for. The second reading we talk about the primacy of love in the use of our gifts. How love is what we are aiming at and the gifts are our arrows. Using the wrong arrows and not aiming at love can do great damage to us and those around us. We talk about the section of 1 Corinthians that has an objective standard of what Love looks like. We then go on to discussing the Gospel and how prophets aren ' t welcome in their own towns, or conversions are not understood by our family or friends. We talk about how we might not get to see the fruits of our work, and that the gifts are meant for others and will come around and be a blessing to all.

This week Fr Ian and Alanna discuss the connections within the Sunday readings. Ezra was a leader in the spiritual revival of Jerusalem after the time of Exile, Nehemiah was the governmental leader who came in and built up the protections for the people. Ezra was standing in front of the Water Gate, Christ is the gate and he opens to the water of eternal life. St Paul in the second reading exhorts us to not despair in our gifts but that they are so important and also should not be lorded over people. We talk about how important spiritual friendships are and the ability to share good news and accomplishments with them as well as our sufferings. The Mission statement by Christ in Luke wraps these readings up nicely with the direction our gifts should be worked towards. The mission above all the other missions. The question we should ask ourselves, are we aligning ourselves under this mission?

Fr. Ian Van Heusen and Alanna Burg discuss the readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary time. We begin discussing the topic of our identity and how we view ourselves before and after the encounter of God in our lives. We have considered ourselves forsaken, but now are called God's "delight". We then discuss the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how important it is for us to discern them in order to give back the love that God has given us, to experience joy by using your gifts for Christ. Finally the Gospel story of the Wedding at Cana, we go into the first miracle at the intercession of Our Lady, and while Jesus is the one who performed the miracle it took the cooperation of the servants to accomplish His will.    The event discussed in the show, Idaho Mens Conference. www.idahocatholicmen.org/

Do you have goals? Are you afraid to even set them?  What is the most important part of goal setting? Sterling and Alanna talk about how cultivating peace in the moment is the key to obtaining your goals! Watch and if you have any questions for Sterling please go to her Facebook page and ask! She can also be found at Coffee and Pearls podcast on Breadbox Media. catholicwomenshine.com sterlingjaquith.com www.facebook.com/sterlingjaquith/   You can Contact Fr Ian and Alanna Burg at Alanna@catholic-link.com

The alternate title for this week's recording is "Brimstone and Fire" because Fr. Ian said it so many times referencing his homily this past Sunday!  This week we start off talking about the lowliness of Bethlehem and how it is surprising that Christ came from there even though it was prophesied. There are so many paradoxes in the way God works in our world and how shocking it is for us to discover sometimes. We also talk about the legalism of sacrifice and how it became something that God no longer wanted because it didn't have the correct effect, which was to bring the people of Israel closer to Him in Love. Sacrifice is not the end it is the means to the end, and when we make it the end it can become corrupt.

This week we talk about the call to rejoice in the suffering of our time. We venture into anxiety and the culture, how to care for our spiritual health and our physical health. The implementation of gratitude is so important in fighting the dryness and anxiety, and the willingness to be in the discomfort while trusting Christ. The Holy Spirit is with us in our darkness and we are still called to Rejoice!

We talk this week about putting on the glory and the splendor of God, what that means for our church life and for the garments of the priesthood. How some dress lesser to seem lesser in false humility, and how some are in the rut of familiarity and routine. We talk about the morality of choices and why we shouldn't look at things at surface level to discern intent. We talk about getting out of the way of Jesus and what that might look like to different people. Then we discuss what "making his paths straight" means in historical context.