Yooper Catholic Podcast

Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish virgins is a summons for us to be prepared for the most important day of our life, the day Jesus comes to bring us into his kingdom. Will we be prepared and ready? In this episode, Fr. Ryan discusses how we can always be vigilant in our relationship with God.

'Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,' Jesus says. In this episode, Father Ryan looks at this message that calls us to keep world politics in proper perspective and to labor in faith, hope, and love as believers in this world while making our pilgrimage to our true homeland of heaven.

In this episode, Father Ryan looks at how Catholics can bear good fruit for the healing of our nation as we engage in the political process. How are we to form our consciences, decide who to vote for, and engage with those who disagree with us, while maintaining civility?

In this episode, Father Ryan explores Jesus' parable about the sons and the vineyard.

Psalm 145 says the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, compassionate toward all his creatures. Grace and mercy and compassion don't always seem very fair. We often think in terms of people getting what they deserve. And who deserves anything from the Lord? In this episode, Father Ryan looks at Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard to examine the issue of fairness in God.

Jesus calls us to have confidence in him when we need to forgive our enemies and do good to those who hate us. When we suffer injustice for the sake of the truth, we need to trust in the ultimate judgment and justice of God.

The readings this week call us to have confidence in Jesus when we confront one another about wrongdoing and sin. In this episode, Father Ryan discusses how to admonish sinners and see this in the context of love and mercy.

Jesus calls us to be faithful in making present in the world his self-denying, sacrificial life, suffering, and death. The Church is not a business, but a witness. We provide a sacrificial service to the truth about God and man, even when it's rejected, mocked, or ignored. We focus not on immediate measures of success, but on faithfulness to Jesus. In this episode, Father Ryan breaks open what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

The Canaanite woman of Matthew 15 is an image of the Church as a suffering mother, interceding for her children who are afflicted by demons, dependent on the power and mercy of Jesus for protection and care. In this episode, Father Ryan discusses the ordinary, every-day temptations and afflictions of demons, and how we can persevere in prayer for others to obtain the healing we need from Jesus.

In the midst of worldwide challenges and pandemic, Jesus is still calling us to step out into the storm with our eyes fixed on him. He calls us like he called Elijah and St. Peter to be faithful to our vocations, raise up the next generation, and trust God will preserve his flock through the turmoil of history. In this episode, Father Ryan examines how we can have confidence in Jesus during tumultuous times.