SJBExcelsior Podcast

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.

Jesus comes to rescue us. He wants to raise us out of darkness, death, sin, addiction. He wants to grab us by the hand and be our Savior. This is what we celebrate on Easter. We can’t rescue ourselves. God, in His great love, comes to our rescue.   Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord March 31, 2024

He went on the cross for you, for me, for us. He freely chose to go on the cross because he loves us.

Is there something in your life that prevents you from giving your full life over to God? Is there something you need to let go of? Deacon Nevin invites us to ask ourselves these questions. Where do we need detachment?

What happens so often in our life is we get full of dirt (sin), and we start to believe that this is who we are, rather than who God truly created us to be. God desires to help us. We need to let him work on us! What does that look like? Listen to Fr. Carlson’s full homily to see.

God’s law is not a burden set upon us, but is instead a set of loving guardrails to keep us safe and on course, to prevent us from straying too far from him.    What areas of your heart do you need Jesus to cleanse? What are the idols in our lives that need to be thrown down so that God can be at the center - busyness, work, money, sports, etc.?   It is never too late to begin again - invite Jesus...

Fr. Carlson explains the significance of the First Reading from this past Sunday. The ram in the thicket? The wood on Isaac’s back? Mt. Moriah? His only beloved son? What do these mean?

Each Lent we hear about Jesus going out into the desert. The desert was known as the devil’s territory. Jesus goes into the desert because he’s bringing the battle to the evil one. Jesus goes on the offensive. Why? Because he loves us, and doesn’t want us to be separated from Him.   As we enter into the season of Lent, let us remember that Jesus is the victor, and that he always goes before us and...

Leprosy separated the leper from their loved ones and their community. What’s more, they were not able to enter the temple to worship God. When the leper came to Jesus he asked him, “If you will it, you can make me clean”. The leper wanted to be able to worship God in the temple. He was longing to be one with God.   Sin is like leprosy - it separates us from God. As we enter into Lent, let us go t...

God cares about us. He wants to be with us, he wants to give us comfort, and healing, and His very self. Jesus heals; this is what he longs to do.   Here's a link to the prayer Father quotes at the end: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/prayer-before-mass-325

We’re not living just for this world. Our focus needs to be on the Lord, putting Him first. We often get distracted from this fact, though. In his homily, Fr. Carlson speaks about the importance of putting the Lord first, and the many ways we get distracted from this reality.

In his homily this past weekend, Fr. Larry Blake speaks about answering God’s call. Responding to God’s call in our lives means letting go of the attachments we hold so dearly, and following Jesus.

One of the beautiful opportunities the Lord gives us is to enter into relationship with him both individually and with others. One way we can foster our relationship with the Lord and with others it through small groups. Small groups enable us to encounter Christ and also to help one another see how God is working in their life too. To sign-up for a small group at St. John's, fill out the followin...