SJBExcelsior Podcast

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 06, 2024

This past weekend Fr. Greg Schaffer visited St. John's and spoke about the needs of the Archdiocesan mission parish in Venezuela called Jesucristo Resucitado. To donate to the mission, you can go to Faith Direct on our website linked here: https://membership.faithdirect.net/givenow/MN855

St. Augustine was asked, “how does one become a saint?” He answered, "The first part, humility, the second part, humility, the third part, humility." In his homily this weekend, Fr. Carlson shared the story of St. Jeanne Jugan, a woman who lived a life of great humility.

There are moments in our lives that are turning point - “I’m going to go deeper in my faith”, “I'm going to get married", etc.. All of a sudden fear and anxiety can set in. It’s important to remind ourselves when this happens - who doesn’t want us to turn towards God? The evil one. He’s going to try to put up as many obstacles as possible.   In these moments we can say, “get behind me, Satan”. The...

How important it is to spend time in prayer. We have to protect our time with the Lord. The world is full of noise, so it can be hard to hear God. Two practical ways to hear God in prayer: Leave the phone behind Silence

The commandments lead us into union with God. Fr. Carlson talks about the differences between traditions and commandments. Do your traditions undercut God’s commandments?

So often we can come to Mass with our hearts heavy. Fr. Carlson asks us: where else are we going to go? “To whom should we go?”, as we hear in this week’s Gospel. I hope that’s what you do when you come to Mass - pour out your heart. Let him be the one to answer all of your needs.

The Eucharist - the mystery that is above all words and songs.

God never tires of helping us. When we are at our lowest point, he is there. He wants to give us Himself to strengthen us.

Msgr. Peter Vaccari explains the work of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and Pontifical Mission. Three things you can do to help: Pray for the regions they serve and the work they do Learn the work that the Catholic Church is doing on the ground Donate to the mission: www.cnewa.org

Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist, we receive God Himself. When we go to eucharistic adoration, we are face to face with God Himself.

So often we can give into that temptation of go, go, go, go, thinking that’s what give us value, that’s what gives us purpose. How often do we think we have to take care of everything? Jesus is inviting us to rest in Him, to let him be the Good Shepherd, to receive his peace.

Jesus calls us, just as he did Amos and the 12 apostles, to let other people know about Him, and to help them enter into relationship with Him.

This Sunday we hear Paul talk about the thorn in his flesh. The Lord tells him, my grace is sufficient for you. Whatever suffering, whatever temptation, whatever weakness we're experiencing, he will provide. Let's not take on the thorn in our side by ourself; rather, may we rely on God, who always provides for us.

Jesus comes to heal and to give us life. He longs to be with us. God cares about you, and he wants you to approach him.

Trust the process that God uses to make us saints. Oftentimes we can say to the Lord, just like the apostles, “Do you not care?”. The Lord knows what the plan is, though, and never abandons us. We have to trust the process, growing in faith.

We can get so worried about the state of things in the world, but let’s not look at it with human eyes, but with the eyes of God. The parable of the mustard seed reminds us of this.

Jesus came to save us, from original sin, from that entrapment of the evil one that we heard about in the first reading this past Sunday. He comes to rescue us and says, “I’m taking you back. Not only am I taking you back, but I’m going to give you everything. You’re going to be my sons and daughters.”

Fr. Carlson's homily from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 2, 2024

God is love. So often though, we think of him as a hard master, over exacting, meticulous, setting traps, and anxious to catch us in wrongdoing. This is not God.  God longs for us to abide in him, and for us to experience his love in the depths of our hearts.

God truly longs to give us peace. A fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace. Let us pray, come, Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with the peace we are longing for!

The Ascension of the Lord May 12, 2024

Do we see Jesus as our friend? How would that change out lives? Listen to Fr. Carlson's homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

Jesus invites us to abide in Him. What does it mean to abide? It’s an invitation to dwell in the Lord.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday. In his homily, Fr. Carlson tells the story of the Shreveport martyrs, those priests and sisters who laid down their life for the flock God had entrusted to them.