The Prodigal Catholic: Recent Episodes
Fr. Richard Conlin
For the blog post, go here: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/03/11/behold-thy-mother-john-1927-explained-3rd-word-from-the-cross/
Full blog post: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/03/07/today-you-will-be-with-me-in-paradise-luke-2343-explained-2nd-word-from-the-cross/
For the YouTube video, go here: https://youtu.be/jwskFlaXZnY
For the blog post, go here: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/03/06/father-forgive-them-explained-passion-of-the-christ-movie/
https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/29/a-word-to-the-thinkers-the-7-last-words-of-jesus-part-7-with-fulton-j-sheen/
For the blog post, go here: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/26/a-word-to-the-sensationalists-the-7-last-words-of-jesus-part-6-with-fulton-j-sheen/
"Whenever there is silence around meBy day or by night—I am startled by a cry.It came down from the cross—The first time I heard it.I went out and searched—And found a man in the throes of crucifixion,And I said, “I will take you down,”And I tried to take the nails out of his feet.But he said, “Let them be,For I cannot be taken downUntil every man, every woman, and every childCome together to take me down.”And I said, “But I cannot bear your cry.What can I do?”And he said, “Go about the world—Tell every one that you meet—There is a man on the cross.” - Original Poem by Elizabeth Cheneyhttps://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/26/there-is-a-man-on-the-cross-by-fulton-j-sheen-poem-for-lent/
For the text and blog post, go here: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/26/a-word-to-the-moderns-the-7-last-words-of-jesus-part-5-with-fulton-j-sheen/
For the blog post with text and video:
https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/20/a-word-to-the-intelligentsia-the-7-last-words-of-jesus-part-4-with-fulton-j-sheen/
For the blog post, go here: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/19/a-word-to-the-selfish-the-7-last-words-of-jesus-part-3-with-fulton-j-sheen/
For the blog post: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2024/02/17/a-word-to-sinners-the-7-last-words-of-jesus-part-2-with-fulton-j-sheen/
“I slipped His fingers, I escaped His feet, I ran and hid, for Him I feared to meet. One day I passed Him, fettered on a Tree, He turned His Head, and looked, and beckoned me. “Neither by speed, nor strength could He prevail. Each hand and foot was pinioned by a nail. He could not run or clasp me if He tried, But with His eye, He bade me reach His side. “For pity’s sake, thought I, I’ll set you free. ‘Nay — hold this cross,’ He said, ‘and follow me. This yoke is easy, this burden light, Not hard or grievous if you wear it tight.’ “So did I follow Him Who could not move, An uncaught captive in the hands of Love.”
Fulton Sheen's 1944 lecture on the 7 Last Words.
The first of seven possible attitudes toward the Cross is that of humanism, for the first group to challenge the Cross was the humanists. The term humanist is here understood in the modern philosophical sense and embraces all those who want a religion without a Cross. They believe that man is naturally good, that progress is inevitable through science, and that human reason, by its own effort, is able to restore peace to the world and to consciences.
The prototypes of the humanists on Good Friday were the "passerbys." They think themselves wise because they had a passing acquaintance with Christ.
Their words? “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:40).
Christ's response? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Magnanimity: "magna + animus" = greatness of soul
Discover this important virtue for learning a language.
Q. What is your magnanimous end in mind?
Humility is all about being well grounded, living in reality, and laying one brick at a time...
The lesson from my first week of learning is humility!
"In verità vi dico: se non vi convertirete e non diventerete come i bambini, non entrerete nel regno dei cieli." (Matthew 18:3)
Find out St. Philip Neri's secret weapon to be able to:
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The apostle of joy
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The apostle of Rome
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Raise people from the dead
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Levitate @ Mass
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Fall madly in love with Jesus
Part 2 of our stewardship homily series on the parish.
Prayer for the week: "How can I help?"
What is the world's greatest treasure?
Are you willing to burn the 4 ships that lurk in the bay to great that treasure?
God gave St. Catherine of Siena 3 signs to know whether we are going to heaven. Do you know what they are?
If the Catholic Church was a sport's team & had a mascot, would this mascot be the unicorn?
Find out why not...
Don't try to run away from the crosses that come... embrace them.
St. Francis de Sales invites us to a different approach
The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart.
This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.
He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.
Knowing that He would raise Him from the dead, WHY did Jesus still WEEP over Lazarus?
Meg Hunter-Kilmer answers the question.
If God gave you a magic wand & granted you 1 wish, what would you wish for? What would be the 1 thing for ask from the Lord?
Incense is a beautiful symbol of what it looks like to give God our worst and why it is so precious to do so.
Do you know what are the 2 tactics the devil uses to keep us out of the world cup of salvation history?
Do you believe you can become a saint?
Do you believe you can create just 1 holy moment?
A new analogy to understand the fire of God's love to melt away all of our sins in Confession
This Advent:
Will you be a consumer (and focus on yourself)?
or a consoler (and focus on Jesus)?
Join our parish-wide challenge!
3 reasons Euthanasia is wrong is that it's a failure to love yourself, others, and God.
One of my new favourite saints - a Chinese martyr of the 19th century... St. Mark Ji Tianxiang.
Mark was an opium addict at the time of his death.
- Not had been an opium addict... in some previous sinful life of his before he had some dramatic conversion story you read about in the lives of the saints...
No. Mark wasan opium addict at the time of his death.
There are two options to get to the top of Grouse Mountain
- Hike up - the hard approach
- Gondola - the easy approach
This is the same in life.
Allow the story of Blessed Pier-Giorgio Frassati to inspire you for greatness
The salmon's journey is a great image of the life that Jesus lived.
In today's 2nd reading,
we heard that
Jesus, for the sake of the JOY that was set before Him
- endured the hostility of sinners
- & the shame of the Cross
Jesus swam upstream
to the goal of heaven
And when Jesus ended His amazing journey
- to the place he came from.
just like the salmon
- In his death, Jesus was able to bring forth an abundance of new life - eternal life.
What is a man?
- Someone to idolize? Like James Bond?
- Someone to despise? Like Homer Simpson?
Or is there another way?
In a recent documentary, Matt Walsh, an American conservative political commentator for the Daily Wire & author of the popular children's book, Johnny the Walrus, travelled around the world asking this one question - What is a woman?
Our culture gives us 2 answers:
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An object of pleasure.
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A woman is someone who identifies as a woman.
Both of these approaches say the female body is bad!
And both of these approaches cause death.
In contrast, a Catholic answer is that a woman is the kind of person created to be a mother (often biologically and always spiritually).
Christopher West put it this way.
The only essential difference between men & women:
- Only men produce sperm and become fathers.
- Only women produce ova and become mothers.
That is the essential biological difference between a man & a woman.
So, unless priesthood has something intrinsically to do with maleness - which involves producing sperm and becoming a father,
- then it's simply a matter of unjust discrimination to say that women cannot be priests.
And that's exactly the point!
Priesthood has everything to do with maleness - which involves producing sperm and becoming a father!
The entire Bible can be summarized in 5 simple yet shocking words.
- God wants to marry us.
Yes. You heard me.
- God doesn't just have a crush on us and desires to date us.
- God wants to marry us
Challenge: Pray with Christina Perri's song, A Thousand Years.
- I have died everyday
- waiting for you
- Darlin’ don’t be afraid
- I have loved you for a
- Thousand years
- I’ll love you for a
- Thousand more
Dreaming about the day
when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for
has been here the whole time
If you could see that I'm the one
Who understands you
Been here all along
So, why can't you see?
You belong with me
You belong with me
- Are these the words of Taylor Swift or Jesus?
Homily for elementary school Mass after the tragic death of one of the grade 7's parents.
Deep in Bilbo's heart was a war between 2 family lines:
- Baggins - comfort
- Took - adventure
Deep in our hearts is a war between 2 family lines:
- human - comfort
- divine - adventure
Do you choose comfort or adventure?
Have you experienced the Holy Spirit in your life like a wild goose chase?
Share your story with me
Mattie is a profound example of living out today’s Gospel to “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
And Mattie did this in a unique way — through poetry he called “Heartsongs” — Mattie believed that everyone has a “heart-song” — a unique gift from God — a reason for being — a purpose in life.
God has written a song into each one of our hearts to be messengers of HOPE.
How can you be a messenger of hope today?
Are you an owner or a steward of your money?
Owners are like the Dead Sea
- possessive consumers
- often wasteful
- leads to toxic environments
Stewards are like the Sea of Galilee
- responsible providers
- often generous
- leads to healthy environments
- AND experiencing that "God is never outdone in generosity!"
How would you answer the challenge: "Prove to Me that You KNOW Jesus!"
What type of knowledge would you go for?
Factual knowledge?
Personal knowledge?
Which one counts?
What's the biggest mistake you've ever made?
Has Jesus transformed this biggest mistake into your biggest success story? (because that's what He wants to do!)
St. Peter provides encouragement for us to make this happen.
Click here to get Stephanie Gray Connors' book, Conceived by Science.
- 1:00 - What is IVF and why should we care?
- 5:30 - The commodification of the human person.
- 9:30 - Why IVF doesn't solve the real pain of infertility.
- 13:15 - Why conception should only happen in marital love
- 19:30 - Jesus and IVF
- 27:00 - The darkness of the IVF industry
- 36:30 - The cross of infertility
- 43:10 - Alternatives to IVF
- 47:30 - Message of hope for those who have already pursued IVF
O Jesus, source of all holiness,
Hear me.
From the lie that I cannot be a Saint,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that I cannot be a Saint due to my past sins,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that I cannot be a Saint due to my current struggles,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that I cannot be a Saint due to my future uncertainties,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that holiness is for someone else,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that holiness is not possible in today’s world,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the lie that holiness is a life of pain and suffering,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From any fear in the pursuit of heroic virtue,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From any disbelief in Your ability to make me a Saint,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From any discouragement in the pursuit of holiness,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That I may hold nothing back in striving for holiness today,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may hold nothing back in loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may hold nothing back in loving my neighbour in a real Christ-like way,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may fill up my day with dozens of holy moments,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may fill up my day with many acts of faith, hope, and love,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may rely upon Your grace like a 747 burns fuel at takeoff,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may rely upon Your grace like my lungs need oxygen,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may rely upon Your grace through the sacraments, especially Holy Communion and frequent Confession,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may prefer death before sin,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may be converted from good to better every day,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
That I may always keep my eyes on the eternal prize of heaven,
Jesus, make me a Saint.
Holy Mary, Queen, Mother, and Teacher of all the Saints,
Pray for me.
St. Joseph, protector, model, and guide for the pursuit of holiness,
Pray for me.
St. Therese, friend, companion, and intercessor for heroic virtue,
Pray for me.
All Saints, the only superheroes worth imitating in this life,
Pray for me.
Let us Pray.
Heavenly Father, I believe that You have called me to a life of great holiness. I reject the life of comfort that this passing world offers me and instead I choose Your awesome plan for my life. I stand in the truth that a life of holiness is a life of true happiness, that pursuing sanctity is the path of genuine joy, and that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Amen.
For the written text of these affirmations, go here: https://prodigalcatholic.com/2021/08/20/33-biblical-i-am-affirmations-for-catholics/
For the YouTube version, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XXT8RwXwCE&feature=emb_logo
Graves into Gardens by Fr. Richard Conlin
When Christ rose from the dead, the heavens rejoiced with great cheer,
For Adam's grave was turned back into a garden, casting out eternal fear.
No more graveyard shifts for our Blessed Lord, but peaceful gardening would be His delight,
For turning graves into gardens was His new mission, and our hearts were in His sight.
When Christ rose from the dead, the earth remained silent and still,
For our graves still felt lifeless, and death brought us a chill.
So we hoarded the pleasures of this world, and filled our graves with stuff,
to avoid that emptiness within, to pretend that we are enough.
Still our Lord searched among the graveyards, for a single soul to transform,
knocking on the tomb of each heart, aching for a garden to be born.
Ask Jesus 2 question:
- Jesus, what breaks your heart?
- Jesus, will you break my heart for what breaks yours?
Written out of an experience of sharing Jesus' broken Heart for lukewarm Catholics receiving Holy Communion
Burn the ships!
- Hernan Cortez's story teaches us about the value of 1 thing: Removing the temptation!
Pirate ships = mortal sin
- What pirate ships do you need to burn?
- Go to Confession
- Remove the temptation
Cruise ships = venial sin
- What cruise ships do you need to burn?
- Go to Confession
- Remove the temptation
God Himself gave St. Catherine of Siena 3 signs to indicate whether we are on the path that leads to heaven - the 1 bridge that safely crosses over death to eternal life - do you know what they are?
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The feet of Jesus - need for a Saviour & desire for Confession & repentance
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The heart of Jesus - love of Jesus & desire for prayer, Mass, conversion of life
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The mouth of Jesus - share in Jesus' thirst to proclaim the Good News to others
If you're not on this bridge, St. Mary Magdalene in today's Gospel gives us hope!!
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire to be popular, Deliver me, Jesus. (repeat after each line)
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire to impress others,
From the desire to be the centre of attention,
From the desire to boast and glorify myself,
From the desire to prove myself intellectually, physically, and spiritually,
From all egocentric and self-centred conversations,
From the desire to be thanked for what I do,
From all prideful desires & self-reliance,
That others may be more popular than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. (repeat after each line)
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
That I may delight in the gifts and talents and uniqueness of others,
That I may rejoice in the success of others,
That I may accept small irritations with good humour,
That I may always choose the more difficult task,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I have called to be,
That I may realize on a deeper level every day that apart from You, Jesus, I can do nothing,
O Jesus grant me:
Humility without sin, and the grace to always deepen my humility when I fall.
O Jesus grant me:
knowledge of my nothingness, and love of my littleness.
O Jesus grant me:
conversion from all my prideful ways and the grace to follow your narrow way like a little child.
O Jesus grant me:
perfect submission to the will of the Father, and the pure intention of serving God in all that I do.
Holy Mary, Queen, Mother, and teacher of the humble, pray for me.
St. Joseph, protector and model of the humble, pray for me.
St. Michael, the Archangel, who was the first to bring down the arrogant, pray for me.
St. Therese, most humble child of the Father, pray for me.
All Saints, sanctified by the spirit of Humility, pray for me.
Let us pray.
Father, give me the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its needs, welcomes advice and accepts rebukes. Help me always to praise rather than criticize, to encourage rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reflection Question - Are you living:
- the parable of the prodigal son? (self-centred, sin-focused, sad?), OR
- the parable of the prodigal father? (God-centred, grace-focused, joy?)
Challenge:
- Go to Confession focusing on living out the parable of the prodigal father!
Click on the time stamp to go directly to that section:
- 7:35 - 1st Key: The authority of Our Lord over demons
- 19:00 - 2nd Key: The authority of the Saints & Angels over demons
- 30:00 - 3rd Key: The authority of Sacraments & sacramentals over demons
- 41:00 - Bonus: The authority of fathers over demons
Click here for the written summary of this book my blog.