Yooper Catholic Podcast

Many people don't really understand the Church's laws about love, sex, marriage, divorce, annulments, and remarriage. In this episode, Fr. Ryan examines the virtue of justice, which has to do with rights and responsibilities, and fulfilling our obligations to God and one another. The Church's laws come from the words of Jesus and 2,000 years of experience. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deepens and perfects the laws of Moses, which were lax in many ways and did not reflect fully God's intentions for us. Fr. Ryan explains the Church' laws of marriage and divorce and a divorce recovery group beginning March 18th

The virtue of Prudence helps us in every circumstance to know what to do and how to do it, and to know what to say and how to say it. Prudence helps couples and family members grow in good communication by respectfully making their needs and wishes known and responding to one another in love, without anger. In this episode, Fr. Ryan discusses the virtue of Prudence and how it assists couples in communication.

God's story of relationship with Israel - and us - is also the story of every marriage, a story of love, covenant, commitment, infidelities, suffering, forgiveness, and reconciliation. In this episode, Fr. Ryan explains the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, when Jesus enters the Temple to take his people back after their infidelities. And he explains how the virtue of temperance helps guard against infidelity, and deal with it when it comes.

The 47th March for Life took place January 24th, 2020 in Washington, D.C. In this episode, Fr. Ryan recounts the experiences of the group of pilgrims from the Diocese of Marquette who traveled to DC from Ishpeming. Learn what the March for Life is all about and share the fruits of the pilgrimage from those who went!

A common complaint from spouses is that they feel distant from each other and lonely. The virtue of responsibility is the habit of thinking, speaking, and acting not only for my own happiness, but also the happiness of the other. In this episode, Fr. Ryan explains the three phases of love and how we can take responsibility for all three phases in marriage.

At his baptism, Jesus revealed the meaning of Christian baptism. We are brought into the same intimacy, love, closeness, and relationship with God the Father that Jesus shared from all eternity. As a man, Jesus learned of the Father's love from St. Joseph as he entrusted himself to St. Joseph's care. The more we learn about St. Joseph, the more our images of fatherhood will be purified, healed, redeemed, and perfected. St. Joseph prepares us to receive a deeper encounter of the Father's love. His mission remains the same as it was on earth. Join Fr. Ryan in a 90-Day Spiritual Challenge to get to know St. Joseph. Sign up at ishpemingcatholic.com/90days.

Because of the damage caused by original sin, there's a powerful pull within us toward selfishness. We're tempted to turn in on ourselves and fulfill every desire for comfort, leisure, and pleasure. The good news is with God's grace and our effort, selfishness can be overcome through practicing the virtue of generosity. In this episode, Fr. Ryan explores how we can grow in generosity in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

Family life is hard work and can seem dull and dreary a lot of the time, but it truly is the place where the virtues and habits of love and life are learned and formed. In this series, Fr. Ryan will look at the virtues of family life and how we can practice them to counter the common weaknesses that cause conflicts in relationships. This episode looks at the virtue of respect and how to show respect in thinking, speaking, and acting.

St. Joseph was the first to make immediate preparations for Christmas. He teaches us how to prepare to receive Jesus not just at Christmas, but every day as he comes to us, and to be prepared for His second coming at the end of our earthly lives. In this episode, Fr. Ryan reflects on how Joseph made himself ready to receive Jesus and how we can imitate him.

The prophets lived in dark and fearful times for God's people, but looked forward with hope to the time when God would send a king to restore their fortunes. Yet all of them died without seeing the fulfillment of their hope in their lifetimes. In this episode, Fr. Ryan explains how we can have joy in the midst of tribulation as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and his second glorious coming at the end of history.