Come Away By Yourselves

On Pentecost we invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives.  The Holy Spirit is God's great gift to us.  Himself the Love of God, we can use his presence to love God and others.  "The Lord, the giver of Life", the Holy Spirit can shake us out of lukewarmness and complacency. Becoming good students of the Holy Spirit, we learn to enjoy and use his spiritual gifts and fruits.

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

The month of May is Mary's month.  The Church teaches and lives an extraordinary love for Mary, our Mother.  This month is an opportunity to entrust big, important intentions and problems to Our Lady's loving care and intercession. 

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

For our 100th episode, we reflect on St. Joseph the Worker.   Providing and caring for Jesus and Mary was Joseph's most urgent reason for working and working well.  Loving God and others should also be a primary motive in our daily working lives.  Joseph's experience of being with Jesus in his workshop taught him to appreciate the great dignity of his work, to make room for Jesus in his way of working, and to work in harmony with God in his every action. 

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

The Holy Mass makes present Jesus' Resurrection as well as his sacrifice on the Cross.  The Body of Christ, as a resurrected body, is a gift that is given to others.  To receive our Lord is to become like him and moves us to imitate his goodness.  

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

Special thanks go to Quinn Grieco the younger for supporting this podcast.  

On Divine Mercy Sunday, we reflect on Jesus's message of peace to the Apostles in the upper room on Easter Sunday.  He brings them peace and joy when they are afraid and sad.  He gives them and us the means to return to peace, the sacrament of confession.  God's Mercy is powerful and enduring, only our pride can keep us from experiencing its marvelous effects. 

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

https://soundcloud.com/dave-grieco-1/tracks

"Behold the man."  These words of Pontius Pilate are an unwitting invitation to contemplation.  To behold Jesus in his passion is to see much more than meets the eye.  The cross reveals God's judgment of the world, a judgment at once harsh and hopeful.  The staggering mystery of good Friday is the mystery of the suffering and death of God himself. 

For St. John Henry Newman's stunning sermon, see: https://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume6/sermon6.html

For the musical intro and outro, "Crosses to Bear," see my brother's album: https://open.spotify.com/album/5XqqbnE7ywxlAPO9jXBACh?si=DYb0d5L0RfO50xGiLl_tRQ

or

https://soundcloud.com/dave-grieco-1/tracks

Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane is a model of Christian prayer.  His prayer is simple, honest, and focused on God.  He perseveres in trusting petition and is eventually strengthened by his heavenly Father.  The Agony in the Garden teaches us the importance of fidelity to our own prayer life.  We need to pray and in a mysterious way God needs our prayer. 

For more information and resources visit https://comeawaybyyourselves.com 

When Mary says "yes" at the Annunciation, the divine Word becomes flesh.  The mystery of the Incarnation entails a wondrous exchange of natures.  God takes on our human nature in order to have us share in his divine nature.  God became one of us so that we could become like him.  This lowering of almighty God to share in our human experience and our limitations is very personal.  He did it for you and me, for my good and for yours. 

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

As Good Friday approaches, we reflect on Jesus' death on the Cross.  In his Passion and death, Jesus turns suffering into love.   Love gives his suffering meaning and makes it fruitful.  Jesus invites us to likewise accept suffering as a means to loving God and others. Suffering is unavoidable in this life, the real question is what will we do with it?   

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com

"All you need is love."

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com