The Emmaus Pastorate’s Podcast

Homily from 12-17-23

COME!  LISTEN!  What do you hear?  What do you see?  As we near the end of our Advent journey and celebrate Rejoice Sunday (Gaudete Sunday in the Latin), we're again reminded that Advent isn't just a season of three or four weeks.  It should be a lifestyle we live.  This week, in what do you rejoice?  And where do you find Christ?

Homily from 12-10-23

The only reason Jesus came was to save us from ourselves.  That's it.  He didn't need to be a baby.  He didn't need to be from a poor family.  He simply came to save us from ourselves.  This Advent, take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation!  On Wednesday, December 13 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at St. Mark Parish in Edgewood, IA, 8 priests will be available to absolve your sins in preparation for Christmas.  A light dinner will also be served from 5:30pm-7:30pm.  Please join us!

Homily from 12-8-23

It's easy to confuse the Immaculate Conception with the Incarnation.  After all, they both involved Jesus, right?  And Jesus was certainly born without Original Sin!  But no.  The Immaculate Conception marks the annual reminder that Mary herself - the Mother of God - was also conceived without sin and that she also committed no sin during her earthly life.  She so perfectly answered God's call with her fiat - her "yes to God's plan - that Jesus redeemed her from all sin even before Mary was born!  Wrap that around your head!  The question for us all these years later is: Can we also perfectly respond to God's call?

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent

Come...  That's what God invites us to this Advent season.  Come... But come where?  To do what?  For what purpose?  Remember that Advent isn't so much a season but a way of life.  God wants to come into our lives so that we can allow him to come into other people's lives.  In so doing, our lives will change for the better.  In the zillion little daily ways, how are you coming to God in this new liturgical year?  

Homily on 11-26-23

Christ the King is here!  (Well, the Solemnity of Christ the King is here anyway!)  As we transition from one liturgical year to the next and wish each other a Happy New Year of Church, it's a good time to sit down and reflect a bit.  Looking at the last year, has Christ been the King of our lives?  Have we been good sheep following the shepherd's voice?  Or have we been more like goats who ignore the master and go their own way?  As we begin Advent next weekend, now is a good time for some internal preparation!

Homily on 11-19-23

God has been LAVISHLY good to us!  We have been given incredible gifts!  And God is wondering about his return on investment.  How have you been using what you've been given?

Keep Your Own Flask!

When it comes to being ready for the Lord's coming, you need to have your own oil!  As Advent draws near, we're again reminded that we never really know the day or the hour when Christ will return or when we'll be called home to heaven.  So, we must always be ready, just like the virgins had to be ready for the bridegroom to appear in the night.  How's your stock of oil?

Healed in Christ

This week in lieu of a traditional homily, Fr. John offered the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick to all who were experiencing chronic or acute illness.  If you would like to be anointed, remember your age does not matter, nor must you be on your deathbed.  Simply contact a priest directly or a parish office.

Today's episode also features the song, Healed in Christ, by Sarah Hart.  It is sung by John Uhal, Director Liturgy & Music and Webmaster for the Emmaus Pastorate, and accompanied by Becky Gundacker, accompanist for the St. Joseph Choir at St. Joseph Parish.  All music is streamed under ONE LICENSE #A-626030.

At the end of the episode is the closing prayer and blessing from the Rite of Anointing.

Homily on 10-29-23

Respect Life doesn't just mean protecting the unborn.  Yes, it begins there, but it only begins there.  Once we respect the lives of unborn children, we then have to continue respecting and protecting those lives until they naturally end.  Images across mainstream media depicting children being washed up on shore because they couldn't make the treacherous journey from their homeland to a safer place do not bode well with the Catholic understanding of a consistent ethic of life.  Protecting migrants in a Respect Life issue.  Sheltering the homeless is a Respect Life issue.  Feeding the hungry is a Respect Life issue.  Loving one other with our whole heart, mind, and soul is a Respect Life Issue.  Loving each other as God loves us is a Respect Life issue.  As we end October, let's be truly prolife!

Homily from 10-22-23

Being pro-life is much more than just advocating for the banning of abortion in your state or country.  Sure, that's a good place to start, but it's far from the end.  Professing a pro-life belief includes feeding the hungry, housing the homelessness, creating peace where there is violence, and providing for the safety and welfare of each individual person, whether young, old, sick, incarcerated, unborn, or of a different tongue or creed.  And being pro-life is not just praying for all those things (and more), but taking actions as well.

 

In this homily, the study Fr. John references can be found at www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/06/long-term.