Episode 1, "Into the Desert," features Molly Judd and Joe Dobrynski as they reflect on this Sunday’s Gospel passage and share their stories and insights about this season.

“The Whole 40” is a young adult podcast reflecting on the season Lent. Check back each week as young adults from the STLYA community share their Lenten journey.

Musical Credit:

The Oh Hellos

"Dear Wormwood"

2015

On this episode of the Catholic Gateway Podcast, you’ll learn about the Taize Community of Taize, France. During Memorial Day weekend 2017, May 26-29, the brothers of Taize, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of St. Louis and many other religious denominations and organizations in the St. Louis region, will host a “Pilgrimage of Trust” with the purpose of bringing together people of various backgrounds to help heal many of the obvious divisions that exist across our St. Louis community.

This episode features Br. Emile, who is one of the main organizers of the Pilgrimage of Trust St. Louis. Br. Emile shared some history of the Taize community, the purpose of the St. Louis Pilgrimage of Trust, and ways you can be involved. Leading up to the Memorial Day weekend events, many churches in the St. Louis area are holding prayer services and candid conversations on important topics.

Visit https://pilgrimageoftruststl.com for more information about Taize, upcoming events, and to register for the Pilgrimage of Trust in May 2017.

Also, on this episode we hear from Joe Kenny, a reporter with the St. Louis Review who recently attended one of the area prayer services and has an article about Taize in the February 20-26, 2017 edition of the St. Louis Review.

In an archdiocese that ranks 8th in the country in number of students enrolled in Catholic schools, Catholic Schools Week (January 29-February 4, 2017) is an important week of celebration. On this episode we hear from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in University City about some of their Catholic Schools Week celebrations and Sue Brown from the Archdiocesan Education Office joins the podcast.

Also, Jennifer Brinker provides an update on #BB203, a bill in the St. Louis City board of aldermen that could have a big impact on religious liberty.

Several hundred thousand people are estimated to have participated in the 2017 March for Life, including 2100 teenagers, youth ministers, chaperones, and volunteers from St. Louis who made the 18 hour trek to Washington, D.C. as part of the Generation Life Pilgrimage coordinated by the Office of Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Here is what some of those pilgrims had to say before they boarded the buses as they prepared for the trip.

Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis delivers his homily for Midnight Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis on Christmas Day 2016.

Well, here we are! Our Advent journey has transitioned to the Christmas season. Tomorrow, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior, the Messiah. Today’s Jesse Tree symbol is the "Chi Rho" which is an ancient symbol combining the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ," which means "anointed one."

Christmas itself combines many wonderful aspects of God’s Love: peace, joy, giving, as well as the birthday of His Son. The Liturgical year begins at Advent, and birthdays are a new beginning and great reminder of God’s love for us and our life-long journey with Christ.

To celebrate the birth of our Savior, we hope you'll consider joining us at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis for Midnight Mass tonight, or one of three Masses on Christmas Day.

In my family, we have an additional reason to celebrate and commemorate Christmas. Some years ago, when I was almost 4 years of age, my sister was born on Christmas Eve. I vividly remember different points from that Christmas-talking with my Mom over the phone to tell her what I received in my stocking to holding my sister in a stocking in the hospital waiting room. I have no doubt Santa and my relatives showered me with a multitude of tangible gifts that year, but the only points which stand out in my memory today are those surrounding my family and the loving gift of a sibling.

As we celebrate Christmas and rejoice in God’s gift of a Savior to us, may we be like the shepherds who upon Jesus’ birth shared the good news of his birth with others. May the Christmas season and birthdays throughout the year serve as a continuous reminder of a beginning and God’s love for us; and may this season of joy carry with you through the New Year. Merry Christmas!

Musical credit:

"O Holy Night" · Christine Westhoff · Timothy Allen

Hark

℗ 2014 Christine Westhoff

Today, the person that we are looking at is Jesus, and our symbol for the Jesse Tree is the manger.

An angel told the shepherds that they would find their Savior, Messiah and Lord “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12). So the shepherds went in haste and found Jesus - in a feeding trough - and they feasted their eyes on Him. How fitting that Jesus – who would grow up to say, “I AM the Bread of Life” – would first find rest in a place where animals looked for food.

Jesus is always available to satisfy our deepest hungers. If you are hungry for companionship, know that He is with you. If you are hungry for love, just ask Him to show you all the ways He is always loving you. If you are hungry for peace, spend some time in Adoration of the Prince of Peace. Our deepest hungers are always satisfied when we receive the Eucharist - Jesus, the Bread of Life.

The Lord came with great humility – choosing to be born as an infant, in ultimate poverty. Newborns rely on their parents for absolutely everything, and in these unique circumstances, Jesus’ parents couldn’t offer Him much: a stable that was probably more like a cave for shelter, surrounded by animals, shepherds His first visitors, and a manger for a bed. The King of Kings, Lord of the Universe, Mighty God – entered our world in the humblest of circumstances.

In these last days of Advent, as we prepare for Christ to be born again into our hearts, we’d like to challenge you to humbly do something generous, without seeking recognition. Give an anonymous gift to a coworker or neighbor, leave a generous tip for someone who serves you, clean up someone else’s mess without their knowledge.

By imitating Jesus’s humble beginnings, we can – hopefully – begin to look more like Him in our everyday lives. Happy Advent, and Merry Christmas.

Musical credit:

"O Holy Night" · Christine Westhoff · Timothy Allen

Hark

℗ 2014 Christine Westhoff

Today, our meditation on the Jesse Tree for December 22 is St. Joseph. His symbol on the Jesse Tree is a “Hammer.”

Let’s take a few moments to reflect on St. Joseph. We know he was a carpenter. That’s why his symbol is the hammer. Sometimes he’s known as “Joseph the Worker.” Joseph has been held up by the Church as an example of the virtue of good old-fashioned hard work.

When you work for something, it’s important to you. Every work begins with a plan, then the gathering of materials – depending on the project they may be a significant expense. The time and effort to create something is valuable too. Any real work is the product of hope and the investment of effort.

Our relationships, career, our home, our family; all are things we work hard for. What happens when they don’t turn out the way we hoped?

St. Joseph appears in the Gospel as a carpenter who is ready to start a family with a young virgin named Mary. But from Joseph’s perspective everything was falling apart. Mary was with-child and the child was not his. What a disappointment! What confusion Joseph must have been feeling.

But we know that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” The Holy Spirit conceived the child she carries. By letting go of his own works, Joseph was able to be a part of the greatest work in history - God’s work to save humanity.

You and I do not receive visitations of angels, but God still sends His message to us. God speaks through the teachings of the Church. He speaks to us calling us to a special vocation. God reveals His Son to us, dwelling with us, especially in the Sacraments.

As we prepare for Christmas, don’t be afraid to let go of our works and open ourselves to the will of God.

Musical credit:

"O Holy Night" · Christine Westhoff · Timothy Allen

Hark

℗ 2014 Christine Westhoff

Today’s Jesse Tree figure is Zechariah. Now there’s a difference between the gospel story of Zechariah and other biblical stories of children of promise. In other stories like Samson and Isaac and Samuel parents firmly believed that God would do what he said.

Now in Luke’s Gospel, Zechariah has a vision of Gabriel in the splendor of the temple, and yet he does not believe, and therefore as result he is struck mute until after the birth of his son John the Baptist. What Luke does is, Luke draws a contrast between the Annunciation given to Zechariah by the Angel Gabriel, and the Annunciation to Mary. Mary firmly believes although she does not quite fully understand, and as a result, she says, “I am handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word.” Zechariah in contrast, he hesitates and he doubts. We should reflect that on where our faith lies. Do we believe that God can do the unlikely and even the impossible in our lives?

Now you might remember in the gospel from this past Sunday that the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. "Do not be afraid." These words occur over and over in sacred scripture whenever a human being has an encounter with the divine. Those were also Gabriel’s words to Mary. The shepherds were told by the angels to not be afraid.

The Office of Sacred Worship for the Archdiocese of St. Louis is charged with the task of assisting and fostering the worship life of the people of God in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In the sacred liturgy we have an encounter with the divine much like Zechariah had an encounter with the divine in the temple when the Angel Gabriel appeared to him with the amazing news that he brought from God. In our sacred liturgy we have a divine encounter with Christ in his word and then we are given the necessary means of living out that word in our daily lives as we are fortified and strengthened with the sacred body and the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

As we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ among us in human flesh, the mystery of the divine condescension, the mystery of the incarnation. We pray that the Lord will open us up to experience an intimate encounter with him. Every time that we celebrate the Sacred Liturgy, and that the Lord will increase our faith in the understanding and belief that with God all things are possible.

On behalf of the Office of Sacred Worship for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, I want to extend to you and all those that you love a beautiful and loved filled Christmas and Christmas Season.

Musical credit:

"O Holy Night" · Christine Westhoff · Timothy Allen

Hark

℗ 2014 Christine Westhoff

Today’s Jesse Tree reflection focuses on Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist and cousin of Mary. Her symbol is that of a mother and child---something particularly important to our ministry at Good Shepherd and a wonderful reflection of the joyful hope of Advent. Pregnancy, like Advent, is a time of expectancy---of both longing and preparation, but it can also be a time of stress, fear and anxiety.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the home of Elizabeth, six months pregnant, in the days that followed the arrival of her cousin, Mary, now pregnant with Jesus! After all, Elizabeth had been barren all her life and had miraculously conceived in old age, and Mary…a virgin, had just said yes to the most important unplanned pregnancy in history – one that would bring our Lord and Savior into the world. I can only imagine that it made for some colorful dinner conversation between these now sainted mothers to be.

Assuredly, Mary and Elizabeth would have felt some of the same anxiety all of us experience when thrust into an uncertain situation or when things don’t seem to happen in the way we hope, pray, or expect. Why me? Why now? What if? I’m not ready! I can’t! It’s impossible! At the same time, they had each other, and they had their faith in God to guide them, and as the angel Gabriel said about Elizabeth’s pregnancy, “nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1: 37). Amidst what must have been a flood of understandable worry and doubt, both women repeatedly said yes---trusting in God’s perfect will and waiting joyfully for the coming of our Savior. May we find both peace and courage in the extraordinary witness of Elizabeth and Mary, and may this Advent season be a time of joyful hope, despite the worries of this world.

Musical credit:

"O Holy Night" · Christine Westhoff · Timothy Allen

Hark

℗ 2014 Christine Westhoff