Our Lady Of Lourdes Podcast

What kind of person do you want to be? Resources referenced in today's homily: -"Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) -"By myself I swear, uttering my just decree, a word that will not return: To me every knee shall bend; by me every tongue shall swear." (Isaiah 45:23) Mr. Jones by Counting Crows -The Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio (see painting below) -"Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others." (Phil 2:3-4) -"Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped."

Homily at 18:35 Please consider donating to the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal. Together, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of those who are striving to make the world a more Christ-centric place! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JWqn45MRpU Homily: Matthew 20:12 Christianity is NOT bribery, despite what the world thinks. If we take up the Cross, we will find more joy here on earth than we ever could see otherwise. We as the Body of Christ need to give up the idea that life outside the Church is better. Don't give in to the lie that we as Christians "give up something now to become happy later." The truth is, Christ's yoke is easy, and his burden is light, because we are able to see joy even in the darkest of circumstances. Details about Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado: For sacramental inquiries: email admin@lourdesdenver.org Location: Denver, Colorado, United States Links: Donate: https://lourdesdenver.org/donate/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LourdesDenver

24th Sunday of Ord. Time | Freedom in Forgiveness | September 13, 2020 | Fr. Brian Larkin by Lourdes Denver

How does Jesus treat the Gentiles and Tax collectors? He pursues them and loves them, to encourage them to come to the Church. Ironic that this is in the book of Matthew, who himself was a tax collector. Courage and Humility: What Satan wants the most is for people to live alone in their sin; It's diabolical. We are meant to correct each other so that we can love each other and hold each other accountable. "Sin demands to have a man by himself." —Bonhoeffer Are you living in a lie? The more isolated you are, the more destructive power your sin will have over you. Father Brian says to have close people in your life that you confess your sins to. We believe in sacramental confession, but James 5 also tells us to confess our sins to each other. "My sister—I have pride in my heart." What happens is we realize we are not alone, and we can stop pretending we are not sinners. It gives us the courage to live in the light. May we have accountability and live in a place of mercy. Details about Our Lady of Lour

The Liturgy of Your Life | Does your Spiritual Life Spill Into Your Everyday? Homily at 17:53 What happens on the alter is meant to spill into your entire life. "When I come into Mass and I know what's happening, I know that the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the mystery that saved the world, is mystically made present, and something sacred is happening." When you have something sacred in your life, you act differently. When a priest kneels, he is one with the single sacrifice that happened on Calvary. Prayer for priests before Mass: "Give virtue, Oh Lord, to my hands, that every stain may be wiped away. That I may be enabled to serve you without defilement of mind or body." "Purify me, oh Lord, from all stains and cleanse my heart, that washed in the Blood of the Lamb, I may enjoy the eternal delights..." ...The point is, all these prayers say what I do outside the church is meant to mirror what I do inside the church. St. Paul says, "Be careful how you walk." In other words, live morally. Love your

21st Sun. of OT | Becoming Stones | Aug. 23, 2020 | Fr. Brian Larkin by Lourdes Denver

Homily at 18:05 In today's Gospel, Jesus is so hard on this woman: "Did Jesus just call this woman a dog?" And, it is so easy to bypass the difficult scriptures. However, the Law of God humanizes us. Without God's law, man behaves like animals—they eat, they sleep, they fornicate. Not much else. So, Jesus today knows that his mission is to heal the woman's daughter, and that his mission is going to go to the nations. Romans 15: St. Paul "I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised (the Jews) to show God's truthfulness. And, in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." Jesus is showing us his fidelity. When he makes a promise to you, he will fulfill that promise. He is always faithful. Election, Vocation, Mission—and the order matters. "The first stop is not mission, it is election—the Latin word for "choose." God loved you with a level of greatness that is beyond what any of us can comprehend. You were elected to follow Him before you arrived. Vocation means you are calle

Homily at 23:10 Matthew 14 When people suggest that Jesus never announces in the Bible that he is the One, True God, they are wrong. One of the signs that Jesus uses to illustrate that he is Lord is his mastery over the waters—water is chaos, and God brings order out of chaos. Storm on the waters, Jesus walks on the water. Jesus announces at this moment, "Ego Eimi"—or "I Am," which is the name of God from Exodus 3:14. "Do not be afraid, it is I." "I am." The New Testament doesn't just tell us He's God, he shows us all throughout the New Testament, and this is just one of many examples. Whatever challenges you, stick with it, you'll inevitably see a bunch of improvement. "Today's homily is for those who have taken the first step." Now, God is going to take you to the "elite" status, because you are called to a profound maturity in Christ. Jesus calls you to an excellence, a maturity, and a holiness that is far above what we can attain on our own. Romans 5:3—St. Paul says "rejoice in your sufferings, bec

18th Sun. Of Ord. Time | Seeking Your Space | August 2, 2020 | Fr. Brian Larkin John 1—Jesus came into the world, but the world did not receive him. John 15:18—"If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love it's own." We are not of this world. All over the New Testament, it says if you believe in Christ, you don't belong to this culture; you do not belong to the world. "Church is the Communion, and the fellowship of those..." When Jesus goes home to Nazareth, they rejected him. There are ways we stand up for the Church in this world, but when it comes down to it, we should not be surprised as the world rejects us increasingly more. Christ tells us in the Gospels that this will happen. "You Crown the Earth with Your Goodness"—Book of sermons by Balthazaar Balthazaar tells us the interstices (?) in between spaces cracks in masonry where tiny flowers grow. That is the life of a Christian. ✝️ If you follow Christ into the desert, you

Homily at 21:30 1 Kings 3: "Solomon, ask me for what you want." —God to Solomon. Solomon is known for his wisdom, and for being David's son, and for prefiguring Jesus. He is the son of the great King David, who appointed Solomon as his successor. At this point, Solomon became the 3rd king of Israel—Jesus fulfills the prophesy and became the much "greater Solomon." 2 Samuel 7—The Sandlot (God tells Solomon one of Solomon's descendants will rule for•ev•er) Solomon built the Temple, and God tore it down, and rebuilt it in three days. In the New Testament, Jesus refers to himself as the son of David. Christ fulfills this prophesy by building the New Temple, as the new son of David. Jesus built the true temple, where he said, "You are Peter and on this rock, I will build my Church."—The true Church—the Church of the living God. Jesus is the true "wise man," and anyone who listens to "these words of mine will become like the wise man." If we listen, we become wise. Crux to pray with this week: The image of modes

Join us for our Livestreamed Mass, recorded from Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver, Colorado. Homily at 26:12 Matthew 13 contains the 7 parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. "I want to talk about 'building paradise.'" Lockheed Martin built a "Eutopian headquarter community" in the early '80s. "You and I are called to a greater hope, and the hope that we have is the Kingdom of God." The Kingdom of God is where God is King—where he reigns. Jesus came to bring that kingdom. N.T. Wright "This is the image which haunts Isaiah and Daniel in the Psalms: The trees of the field will shout for joy, because God is coming to sort the mess out, and we all know in our bones that that's what we want." Maybe deep down, the reason we're getting nice countertops is because the world is a mess, and somehow we'll think things will be OK as long as we have a nice kitchen. "The folly of empire is the attempt to do here and now, in our own strength, that which God has promised that He will do through his Son and by his sp

Matthew 13 Parable/Mirrors Isaiah Chapter 6 Consequences "Why are you speaking in parables?" Jesus seems to answer with, "Because I don't want them to." Our faith is not a "do-over," because it is important. Your life matters. The decisions you make—every choice you make has eternal consequences. "By this, My father is glorified— That you bear much fruit." This mirrors Isaiah 5—when Isaiah goes looking for a vineyard. What God is looking for in us is the fruit of righteousness. Jesus speaks in parables as a judgment on the world. Isaiah 6: "go out and make sure that they don't understand." Why isn't God more clear? Why doesn't God want us to understand? If we refuse to hear the Word of God, and admit, "We don't want to listen," there is a consequence: we go deaf, and become unworthy to hear the Word of God. That's what happening in Matthew 13. The way to transform your heart is to begin to understand your faith. "God does not promise a smooth path." But, consequently, "Faith does not crumble under hard

Guest Priest, Fr. Greg Schmitt comes to Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver to speak about the Unbound ministry, which provides food, shelter, and clothing to children and seniors in impoverished countries throughout the world. Please consider a prayerful donation: https://www.unbound.org/MyOutreach/RevGregSchm Thank you for your generosity!

13th Sun. of Ord. Time | Hierarchy of Goods | Fr. Brian Larkin's 40th Birthday! | June 28, 2020 by Lourdes Denver

Join Fr. Brian Larkin for the celebration of the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, live from Our Lady of Lourdes. For more information, visit https://lourdesdenver.org Although "eccentric" has a societally strange connotation, Father Brian explains the call for fathers to eccentricity in an unconventional, Catholic way. "Every life contains a center that is eccentric—that is, outside itself." (Balthazar) Your ability to love externally is what saves your soul: every life, fathers, this is why fatherhood as a vocation saves your soul: the natural thing in this world is to make yourself the center of the universe, but something every dad knows, there is a miracle that happens when you have children—you become eccentric, meaning the center of your life is no longer inside of you. The love of your children, and the willingness to lay your life down for them in and of itself is salvific. So, how are you loving your children, today? Have you lost your life to your vocation, yet? Because when you do, your chil

Fr. Mike Rapp says his good-byes on his way to his new assignment. He offers deep gratitude for the Lourdes community, and recognizes the parish's unique zeal for the evangelization of Christ. His homily melds into the mystery of the gift of the Body of Christ, and how beautiful it is that we are such a small part of a large universe, and yet God still loves us this much—to change our very DNA. We are no longer children of despair, but children of God because he is engrained in our very DNA through the Body of Christ. "It's an identity that reminds us constantly that we are children of the Father, that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, and that we are filled with the Holy Spirit." The Blood of the Lamb is the key to unlock the one we are looking for. Just one drop of blood changes our identity. Revelation 12:11—"They have conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb." "Because you have the blood of Jesus running through your veins, you will always be children of God, you are assured of the promise t

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity | Desire for Knowledge | Fr. Brian Larkin | June 7, 2020 by Lourdes Denver

Pentecost Sunday | The Battle Within | Fr. Brian Larkin | May 31, 2020 by Lourdes Denver

Join us for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Mass livestream from Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver, CO, May 24th Homily at 13:35 Point #1: Matthew 28 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." "The Great Commission today is the Gospel." —An important figure in Fr. Brian's life was once asked why he is not Evangelical Christian—to believe simply that Jesus is the son of God, and that is enough. He responded, "Because of one word in The Great Commission: 'Go and teach them ALL that I have commanded you.' That one word, 'all' is the reason why I am Catholic." Although a lot of tremendous goodness exists in Evangelical Christianity, people of Evangelical descent often wonder why it isn't enough to love Jesus. Jesus does not command us only to observe that He is God; Jesus commands us to follow ALL of what he taught us. And, that fulness is found in the Catholic Faith. ---------------------------------- Point #2: There is a great spiritual battle going on. Make sure you are "backing the right horse."

May we all live as joyously as Paul did in the midst of his suffering. "All things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose." Pour forth your spirit upon us, oh Lord, and unite us to You. Thanks be to God!