February 12, 2019
This week on the livestream Fr Ian and Alanna go down the rabbit hole of Blessings and Woes in the Old Testament Covenant and the argument found in the wisdom literature about how bad things happen to good people. The second reading on the resurrection brings us to our own perspectives on death, Fr Ian dealing with current family medical issues, and Alanna remembering the death of her parents. The Gospel brings us to the blessing and woe of the New Covenant of Jesus that brings the suffering of the good into the equation.
February 5, 2019
This week on the podcast the readings have a distinct pattern. The person has an encounter with God, is moved to acknowledge their sinfulness, and then respond to the mission God presents. We discuss the purgation that happens after our encounters and how important it is for the completion of the mission.
January 29, 2019
This week on the podcast we talk about motivation and what is required to keep us going. A few things we go over is companionship, mission, and knowledge of what you are created for. The second reading we talk about the primacy of love in the use of our gifts. How love is what we are aiming at and the gifts are our arrows. Using the wrong arrows and not aiming at love can do great damage to us and those around us. We talk about the section of 1 Corinthians that has an objective standard of what Love looks like. We then go on to discussing the Gospel and how prophets aren't welcome in their own towns, or conversions are not understood by our family or friends. We talk about how we might not get to see the fruits of our work, and that the gifts are meant for others and will come around and be a blessing to all.
January 22, 2019
This week Fr Ian and Alanna discuss the connections within the Sunday readings. Ezra was a leader in the spiritual revival of Jerusalem after the time of Exile, Nehemiah was the governmental leader who came in and built up the protections for the people. Ezra was standing in front of the Water Gate, Christ is the gate and he opens to the water of eternal life. St Paul in the second reading exhorts us to not despair in our gifts but that they are so important and also should not be lorded over people. We talk about how important spiritual friendships are and the ability to share good news and accomplishments with them as well as our sufferings. The Mission statement by Christ in Luke wraps these readings up nicely with the direction our gifts should be worked towards. The mission above all the other missions. The question we should ask ourselves, are we aligning ourselves under this mission?
January 15, 2019
Fr. Ian Van Heusen and Alanna Burg discuss the readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary time. We begin discussing the topic of our identity and how we view ourselves before and after the encounter of God in our lives. We have considered ourselves forsaken, but now are called God's "delight". We then discuss the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how important it is for us to discern them in order to give back the love that God has given us, to experience joy by using your gifts for Christ. Finally the Gospel story of the Wedding at Cana, we go into the first miracle at the intercession of Our Lady, and while Jesus is the one who performed the miracle it took the cooperation of the servants to accomplish His will.Â
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December 26, 2018
Do you have goals? Are you afraid to even set them? What is the most important part of goal setting? Sterling and Alanna talk about how cultivating peace in the moment is the key to obtaining your goals! Watch and if you have any questions for Sterling please go to her Facebook page and ask! She can also be found at Coffee and Pearls podcast on Breadbox Media.
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December 18, 2018
The alternate title for this week's recording is "Brimstone and Fire" because Fr. Ian said it so many times referencing his homily this past Sunday! This week we start off talking about the lowliness of Bethlehem and how it is surprising that Christ came from there even though it was prophesied. There are so many paradoxes in the way God works in our world and how shocking it is for us to discover sometimes. We also talk about the legalism of sacrifice and how it became something that God no longer wanted because it didn't have the correct effect, which was to bring the people of Israel closer to Him in Love. Sacrifice is not the end it is the means to the end, and when we make it the end it can become corrupt.
December 11, 2018
This week we talk about the call to rejoice in the suffering of our time. We venture into anxiety and the culture, how to care for our spiritual health and our physical health. The implementation of gratitude is so important in fighting the dryness and anxiety, and the willingness to be in the discomfort while trusting Christ. The Holy Spirit is with us in our darkness and we are still called to Rejoice!
December 4, 2018
We talk this week about putting on the glory and the splendor of God, what that means for our church life and for the garments of the priesthood. How some dress lesser to seem lesser in false humility, and how some are in the rut of familiarity and routine. We talk about the morality of choices and why we shouldn't look at things at surface level to discern intent. We talk about getting out of the way of Jesus and what that might look like to different people. Then we discuss what "making his paths straight" means in historical context.
November 27, 2018
Join is this week for the discussion of the Sunday readings. Due to a technical difficulty we had to restart the stream and jump into the second reading right away. We still talk about part of the first reading about The Lord our Justice. Father Ian talks about how we need Justice to have Mercy and how without the recognition of sin we cannot have the Mercy that is called for. Alanna talks about how living the second reading is the key to reviving the Church, and that there are many problems and we may only be called to help fix one of them. The Gospel calls us to be standing straight with our head high in times of fear and for us to not have anxiety in the troubles.
November 20, 2018
This week we go over the prophesy of Daniel regarding the saying "one like a Son of Man". We discuss the charism of celibacy and the witness of joy in the culture. We go over the Revelation reading and discuss how we relate to Christ as a King and how we see him as a humble shepherd. The discussion turns to the vocation of motherhood and our relationship to our children looks a lot like God's relationship to us. How we need to break the chain of abuse or types of sin that we receive from our parents and hand down virtue.
November 14, 2018
Join us this week in our discussion on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. We discuss Daniel's apocalyptic prophesy and the three fold applications of it. A reminder that there will be a crisis in every generation to bring us to repentance and wait on the return of Christ and to be prepared for our judgement at our own death. We discuss the Parousia, the second coming of Christ in the end times and also daily in the consecration of the Eucharist.
October 30, 2018
In this weeks podcast we go over the meaning of the Shema prayer from the book of Deuteronomy. We shift into talking about the sacrifice of the Mass and the three reasons for the sacrifice. I love you, Thank you, and I'm sorry. We talk about the 2 greatest commandments, and how this scribe approached Jesus in a different way than the other Scribes and Pharisees. Christ welcomes questions when we are sincerely searching for the truth. We need to have an open disposition to receive the grace and truth that Jesus so wants to give us.
October 24, 2018
This week we talked about how it feels like we are a remnant of the church, growing up in the 90s and straying and returning we feel we are the products of an insufficient catholic teaching. We reflected on the progress of the New Evangelisation, and how there are so many more ways now, to bring the understanding of Christ to the people by way of technology. More importantly we talked about how faith lived out in the family is so much more important, that if we had had that we would not have strayed, or we would have "got it". The second reading we discuss the priests role in leading back the remnant of the church. That like Bartimaeus we need to know who we are and what we want so we can fully throw off our sins and go to Christ when he calls, knowing what to ask of Him. We will make others uncomfortable when we call out to Jesus and praise him, in return, call out louder.
October 22, 2018
This week we talk about the Suffering Servant, Christ who suffers for us so we can find Him in our own suffering. He has been tested so we can follow Him in our own testing. We bring in movies and sports to express stories and human tendencies. Should we strive for Glory? Sometimes we don't understand what we are asking God for. Thankfully God uses the misunderstood and the unqualified to build His Church. There is Hope, so Hold Fast!
October 22, 2018
This week on Liturgy Live we talk about Wisdom, the word of God, and the cost of discipleship. In the book of Wisdom, the Word is a "fierce warrior bearing the sharp sword", we see throughout the gospel how people hear the Word and are cut to the heart. Some don't have the disposition to grace to respond to God's loving gaze, let alone his call to follow him.Â
October 2, 2018
This week in readings might be the week people get ticked off. Marriage is a touchy subject in the life of the Church right now. We look at these important readings and talk about them in the light of the culture vs the light of Christ and what He wants from us. We have the job of cleaning up the mess that following the culture has made. The job is one of suffering and patience, all addressed in this weeks readings.
September 26, 2018
Each week we look at the readings and discuss what they mean from our perspective in our culture and in the time and culture they were written. In this episode we look at the story that brought about the elders gaining the portion of the Spirit given to Moses, how the overabundance of things can lead to rot and death in your spiritual life, and try to figure out if Greed plays a role in all the readings this week or if Alanna is just poetically stretching the definition.
September 21, 2018
This week we look at the readings in light of the scandal rocking the church and discuss what they mean from our perspective in our culture and in the time and culture they are written in. In this episode we look at the persecutions of those who follow Christ and the depravity that comes from despair and irreverence. Peace that Christ can give to cultivate around you while others are cultivating war. The response to the second revelation of His Passion, humility and the call to greatness. In the end a heightened refocus on the children of Christ.
September 11, 2018
This week on Liturgy Live we discuss the readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We go over topics including the Spiritual Liberation of Israel from the readings of Isaiah. What does it look like to have a working faith? The witness Jesus expects of us once the knowledge that he is Christ is understood. If you would like to join in the conversation LIVE we record this podcast on the Catholic Link English Facebook page on Mondays at 3pm EST!
