St. Patrick Catholic Parish Podcast

www.stpatrickcatholicparish.org

www.stpatrickcatholicparish.org

In this homily given at St Pat's on May 22, 2022, Fr. Mathias explains that when understood properly the universal human experience of attempting to assuage guilt through blame, defensiveness and denial cannot bring the peace that God's forgiveness brings. God's mercy is the only way to peace we all need.  Therefore, we need to understand the negative response we're witnessing to the leaked majority opinion of the US Supreme Court (Dobbs vs. Mississippi) in light of this dynamic of the human heart.  Since men and women have been severely hurt by abortion, we shouldn't be naive about the fact that the one of the major reasons why people are "pro-choice" is because they or people they know have had an abortion and they are trying to resolve their own personal guilt that only God's mercy can give them.   

Father declares the power of God's mercy to give us peace and reminds us that if we don't believe in God's mercy we will never have peace.  In light of the upcoming SCOTUS decision, Father outlines four points for us to consider in this cultural moment:

1) Changing the laws of abortion won't changes people's hearts about abortion

2) Don't take personally any attack you receive for being pro-life.   

3) Nothing is more relevant than God's mercy.

4) Be apostles of mercy and never stop speaking about God's love. 

Now is the chance for the Church to witness to our wounded world that Jesus is our peace precisely because he is our mercy. 

www.stpatrickcatholicparish.org

www.stpatrickcatholicparish.org

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:28)

In this homily given at St. Patrick’s on the 4th Sunday of Easter (May 8, 2022), Fr Graham Keep speaks about Jesus the Good Shepherd desiring that all people be reconciled to the Father in the Spirit. All of humanity is made by and for union with God. Our fulfillment is in heaven, but there is an enemy who wants to rob, steal and destroy; to isolate us from our eternal destiny. Reviewing the kerygma: Relationship, Rebellion, Redemption and Response, we who are the sheep are called to mission. In our present time, we have moved from Christendom to an Apostolic Age.  There is an urgency to evangelize.  It is only possible to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit (see St. JPII Redemptoris Missio Chapter 3). Having Mary as our model, we are overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and present Jesus to the world.

In this homily given at St Pat's on May 1, 2022, Fr. Mathias preaches about free speech and perennial attempts by those who resist Jesus to try to silence or censor Christian truth. Like the Sanhedrin who ordered the apostles to stop preaching Jesus in Acts of the Apostles, we too find people today who seem to resent the fact that the truth of God revealed to us by Jesus is spreading today. How are we to respond in this cultural moment in which Christians are bullied, harassed, marginalized, and even called names for simply teaching Christian truth? Fr Mathias offers two ways we can respond like the early Church in the face of just efforts to silence us.

In this homily given at St Pat's on the Easter Vigil (April 16, 2022), Fr. Mathias reflects how the Resurrection scatters the darkness of suffering and death in our own lives.  He uses the Paschal Candle as a symbol of the Light of Christ that each of us are given in baptism and carry in faith.  As Christians we are to keep the flame of faith burning brightly so we can be Jesus' light in the world. Just as every candle needs fuel and oxygen to stay lit, each Christian needs sacrificial love and the Holy Spirit in prayer to stay burning brightly.  Father exhorts everyone to live in courageous lights in the midst of our increasingly dark world so that proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ, we say to a world in darkness that there's nothing to be afraid of because Christ our Light cannot be overcome.

In this homily given at St Pat's on Easter Sunday, (April 17, 2022), Fr. Mathias preaches about the truth of the Resurrection as it was first preached by St Peter, the first Pope, in the Acts of the Apostles. If Jesus really is risen from the dead, then God is looking for a response to the revelation of his love. As we look at our desire for heaven, we realize that what we're really desiring is Jesus himself and what he can offer us.  Since God will not force us to love him in heaven, Father Mathias challenges us to give Jesus a chance by getting to know him so we can freely respond. Jesus wants us to know him so we can live with him forever.  

For those interested in two resources on arguments for Jesus see these two books (one is simpler and other is more advanced). 

1) Yes, There is a God...And Other Answers to Life's Big Questions by John Bergsma
https://www.amazon.com/There-Other-Answers-Lifes-Questions/dp/1593253109/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WARPYA32UFE0&keywords=yes+there+is+a+god+bergsma&qid=1650219849&sprefix=yes+there+is+a+god+bergsma%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-1
 
2) The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ by Brant Pitre
https://www.amazon.com/Case-Jesus-Biblical-Historical-Evidence/dp/0770435483/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FZJL5RDORBUD&keywords=the+case+for+Jesus+brant&qid=1650219544&sprefix=the+case+for+jesus+brant%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1

In this homily given at St Pat's on Good Friday (April 15, 2022), Fr. Mathias preaches about God's response to evil and suffering in the world is to enter into it to transform it from within. The perfect image of this response is Jesus' death on the Cross. When we suffer in this life, Father challenges us to focus on Jesus on the Cross and invite him to draw near so he can transform us in it. God is not indifferent to our suffering and has done something about it. Fr Mathias ends by sharing a couple personal experiences of Jesus's redeeming grace in his own suffering, which point to the power of Jesus' resurrection and his power to bring good out of any evil.