Holiness for the Working Day: Recent Episodes
Fr. James Searby
From the classroom to the office to everywhere in between, struggling for goodness & holiness can be a daunting task. In these homilies, meditations, classes & talks by Fr. James Searby, discover the possibility of Holiness for the Working Day.
The final part of the 5 part series on spiritual, emotional and mental freedom in our lives.
Part 4 of 4: The Roman Republic and England
In this fourth part of our four-part series, we trace the roots of our Republic, from the ideas that shaped our Founding Fathers to the principles they built our nation on. But we don't stop at history. We ask what those same principles mean for the first nation: the family. Because if the family is the bedrock of a healthy republic, then renewing our country starts at home. My hope is that this series leaves us with real hope for our nation, by showing how the founding principles behind America can also shape and strengthen the families that remain the foundation of any lasting society."
Fr. James Searby
Part 3 of 4: Athens and the influences of Greece
In this third part of our four-part series We travel to Athens and the Greek influences, and we trace the roots of our Republic, from the ideas that shaped our Founding Fathers to the principles they built our nation on. But we don't stop at history. We ask what those same principles mean for the first nation: the family. Because if the family is the bedrock of a healthy republic, then renewing our country starts at home. My hope is that this series leaves us with real hope for our nation, by showing how the founding principles behind America can also shape and strengthen the families that remain the foundation of any lasting society."
Fr. James Searby
Part 2 of 4: Jerusalem and the Old Covenant
In this second part of our four-part series we go to Jerusalem and the old covenant , and we trace the roots of our Republic, from the ideas that shaped our Founding Fathers to the principles they built our nation on. But we don't stop at history. We ask what those same principles mean for the first nation: the family. Because if the family is the bedrock of a healthy republic, then renewing our country starts at home. My hope is that this series leaves us with real hope for our nation, by showing how the founding principles behind America can also shape and strengthen the families that remain the foundation of any lasting society."
Fr. James Searby
Part 1 of 4
In this first part of our four-part series, we trace the roots of our Republic, from the ideas that shaped our Founding Fathers to the principles they built our nation on. But we don't stop at history. We ask what those same principles mean for the first nation: the family. Because if the family is the bedrock of a healthy republic, then renewing our country starts at home. My hope is that this series leaves us with real hope for our nation, by showing how the founding principles behind America can also shape and strengthen the families that remain the foundation of any lasting society."
Fr. James Searby
The Parable of the Wheat & the weeds.
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
July 19th, 2026
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year a 2026
Matthew 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
In this episode, we sit with one of the most dramatic moments in the Gospels: Jesus asleep in a boat while his disciples panic in a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee. But the real storm in this passage isn't the one on the water. It's the one inside us. We explore the psychology of crisis, why we respond to the stories we tell ourselves more than to reality itself, and what it actually means to surrender, not as passive defeat but as the most courageous act a person can make. From the circus to the football field to the shores of Galilee, this meditation traces the path from terror to trust, and why Jesus sometimes has to let things get hopeless before he can show us what he can actually do.
1th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A. 2026
We are the lost ones. We are all troubled and abandoned. We are the sheep without a shepherd. And in that, He changes everything.
Grâce infinie de notre Dieu,
Qui un jour m'a sauvé.
J'allais errant de lieu en lieu,
Quand Il m'a retrouvé.
In this series we exploe what it means to be fully human towards a deeper understanding of the Pope's new encyclical on AI. I hope you enjoy, and I hope this summer affords you real rest and active receptivity of reality.
Nice is ignorance with a smile. Kindness is love with a spine. This is the time for a radical revolution of our time, one person, one act, one canvas at a time, a revolution of kindness.
Feast of the Ascension 2026
I will be on vacation the next two weeks and will not be posting to the podcast. Please pray for me on the journey to Europe and I look forward to posting again soon. All listeners are in my daily prayers. - Fr. James Searby
What if the restlessness you feel is not a problem to be solved but a compass pointing you home? In this third meditation, we go to the very root of that restlessness: eros. Not the shallow, pornographic version our culture has reduced it to, and not the sanitized, nervously-avoided version some Christianity has offered in response, but eros in its full, ancient, and serious meaning, the primal human desire to satiate in beauty and be happy. We trace it from Hesiod and Homer through Plato's ladder of love, through the boldly erotic imagery of the Old Testament prophets, through the Eucharist itself, and into the great question Thomas Aquinas forces us to face: is your soul ascending toward Beauty-itself, or has acedia quietly starved your desire until the climb no longer seems worth it? Along the way we tell the story of Eros and Psyche, one of the most theologically rich myhts ever told, and we let it do what great stories do: show us who we are, where we are in the journey, and why the Beloved who is already looking for us is worth every impossible task on the way up.
5th Sunday of Easter, Year A
Gospel John 14:1-12 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father."
On a dusk walk through Old Town, a chance encounter with a young man swooning outside his girlfriend's window becomes a meditation on one of the deepest hungers of modern life. Drawing on Joseph Pieper, Thomas Aquinas, and the medieval contemplative tradition, this episode explores why only the lover truly sees, and why that matters for everything from friendship and prayer to the quiet poverty underneath all our productivity. If modern life has trained us to move through the world like a camera, objective and detached, what does it cost us? And what would it mean to become a lover again, to let reality actually get through, and sing?
What does it take to stand firm when everything in you wants to fold — not just on the battlefield, but in the garden at Chelsea, in the courtroom, at the kitchen table with someone you love? In this episode we look at fortitude, what Adam Smith called "the uniquely splendid quality of man," through the eyes of Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, and some of the most vivid moments in Scripture, literature, and film. We start where the Church starts us this week — with the apostles, sprung from prison by an angel, walking straight back to the temple at dawn to keep preaching. That is fortitude in its purest form. From there we explore why only the vulnerable can be truly brave, why Aquinas says endurance is a harder and nobler act than attack, and why most of what the world calls courage is actually one of five convincing counterfeits. We spend time with Thomas More, standing quiet and unshakeable before the most powerful man in England, and we ask what his daily courage demands of us — not the grand martyrdom, but the ordinary refusal to smile and nod at what is false. Because there is no automatic victory in human affairs. The victory of truth depends, to some considerable extent, on your defense of it.
Divine Mercy Sunday 2026
Our pain, wounds, fears and flaws are "Transubstantiated" by His Mercy
Palm Sunday 2026
Enter this week in silence, get rid of the distractions if only for a week, and allow the Lord to invite you on the Way.
Some years ago, a simple car ride with my young nephew became something unexpected, a window into the deepest structure of the human heart. His endless questions, his wonder at everything from trees to passing strangers, revealed something we are all born with but often lose, what Luigi Giussani calls the religious sense. In this episode, we trace that childlike openness all the way to the Annunciation, where Our Lady, fully awake and receptive, encounters God in a way that awakens everything and demands a response. Drawing from Giussani, Thomas Aquinas, and Joseph Ratzinger, we explore how vocation is not something we construct, but something spoken to us, and how true freedom is not keeping options open, but giving ourselves completely to what is real and good. This is an episode about wonder, encounter, and the quiet, world-changing power of a single yes.
The Raising of Lazerus and the Pondering of Death
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A 2026
A Great Conversation with Fr. Ken Gerasi
I am honored to have Fr. Ken Gerasi on the podcast with me. Fr. Ken recently led our lenten parish mission here at the Basilica of St. Mary and our fireside chat was a real treat for me. I am happy to share it with you.
This is the link to the video: https://stmaryoldtown.org/searbygeraciconverse/ Fr. Ken Geraci lived the life of the prodigal son for most of his young adult life. Raised in a nominally Catholic family, who only lived the externals of the faith, as a young man, he left the Catholic Church for many years. During that time, he earned a business degree and achieved business success, but made little room for God. God, however, did not give up on him. During this journey, Our Lord presented him with challenges that forced him to question his personal beliefs and to ask the question "What is Truth?" Through a series of conversions, years of struggle, study and questioning, Fr. Ken found his way from agnosticism, to non-denominational Christianity, and ultimately back to the Catholic Church. Fr. Ken joined the Fathers of Mercy in 2006 and was ordained in 2012.
A talk to Atrium teachers in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
A special thanks for all teachers in this episode.
In this first part of a meditation on justice, we explore the classic definition given by St. Thomas Aquinas: "reddere unicuique suum"—to give to each person what is due to them. Beginning with powerful scenes from A Man for All Seasons and reflections from Aristotle, Chesterton, and the Christian tradition, this episode examines why justice is rooted in the dignity of the human person created by God. We consider the origin of rights, the meaning of "inalienable," and why justice ultimately begins not with defending our own rights but with giving others theirs. Along the way we reflect on the nobility of the human person, the dangers of societies that deny that dignity, and how justice shapes everything from public life to our interior attitudes toward others. This is the first half of a longer meditation that lays the philosophical and spiritual foundation for understanding justice in our time.
A warm evening walk through Old Town turned into a meditation on something I keep noticing more and more in our culture, the strange fear of growing older. The line between youth and adulthood has become so blurred that many people seem to cling to the appearance and customs of youth long after that season has passed. The old milestones of adulthood have faded or been pushed further and further out, and beneath it all there seems to be a deeper anxiety about aging, meaning, and death itself. In this meditation I reflect on how the classical virtue of prudence helps us see reality as it truly is and teaches us to live in harmony with it. Prudence allows us to accept the season of life we are in with honesty and even with a kind of elegance, rather than pretending to be something we are not. The Christian life ultimately frees us from the desperate need to stay young, because our hope is not in youth but in the eternal life promised by God.
This Lent, we step into a type of Groundhog Day and discover that the real loop is not time, but of the heart. Like Phil Connors, we can drift through repetition, chasing comfort and distraction, or we can let repetition become formation. Lent is not a diet, a productivity plan, or spiritual biohacking. It is a training camp for love. It is the joyful adventure of waking up to the ordinary day and choosing to grow in it. It is the season where the mind is reawakened, attention is purified, and sanctifying grace elevates our natural powers so we can truly know Christ and love like Him. This is the school of love, where virtue is formed through daily practice, where the fog lifts, where the intellect comes alive, and where the loop breaks not because circumstances change, but because we do as we journey to Easter.
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Gospel Matthew 4:12-23 or 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
This episode explores the fear that sits beneath both creativity and ordinary life, the quiet conviction that we are not enough, that if we stop producing we might disappear. Beginning with Tolkien's line about fearing "so small a thing," the reflection moves through impostor syndrome, perfectionism, and what John Barth called Scheherazade's terror, the belief that silence equals death. From there, it opens onto the Christian paradox that freedom does not come from control, but from surrender. Drawing on Tolkien's idea of eucatastrophe, the sudden turn when grace intervenes after our strength is spent, the episode argues that real creativity, real peace, and real joy emerge only when we let go and place our lives fully in God's hands. It closes with a quiet, moving image of childlike joy at a graveside, a reminder that surrender is not weakness but courage, and that resting in God is the only place fear finally loosens its grip.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary time, Year A
Gospel John 1:29-34 John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."
What if the reason we feel anxious, blocked, and exhausted is not a lack of effort, but a refusal to surrender? This episode weaves poetry, ancient myth, modern culture, and Christian wisdom into a single question: where does real creativity and real peace actually come from? From the Greek Muses and Plato's divine madness, through Homer and Shakespeare, to Augustine, Aquinas, Tolkien, and Christ in Gethsemane, this talk challenges the modern instinct to control, perform, and self-create. If you feel restless, afraid to let go, or stuck trying to hold your life together, this episode invites you to listen closely, because peace does not come from mastery, it comes from trust.
Jesus Christ is not something we watch or analyze; He is an event that addresses us and demands a response. This meditation explores how distraction and passive consumption dull our capacity to behold reality, and how attention, prayer, and creativity restore it. Rooted in the Catholic understanding of Christ as the One who encounters us, this reflection invites a return to seeing, creating, and living in response to Him.
Join me in this year of creating and not consuming. Join me on the journey to freedom and encounter.
Join me throughout this year as I post more material on my new Substack account.
@holinessworkingday on Substack.com
Feast of the Epiphany 2026
Gospel Matthew 2:1-12 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel." Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage." After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
4th Sunday of Advent
Gospel Matthew 1:18-24 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
How lost we are in the virtuality of life, scrolling through endless doors and borrowed selves, mistaking possibility for freedom, until we wake each day more familiar with other people's lives than our own. Somewhere along the way, we stopped living and began watching, comparing the hidden chaos of our days to the polished front rooms of others, and wondering why we feel so restless, so behind, so unfinished. This meditation is an invitation to step out of the performance, to stop wandering other people's gardens, and to come home to your own life. As we approach 2026, the question is simple and urgent, what if this became a year of freedom, not the freedom to be everything, but the freedom to be real, to clear the noise, and to let God meet you exactly where you are.
Mental prayer is the breath of the plan of life. If the Rosary carries the steady heartbeat, mental prayer is the quiet inhale and exhale of friendship with God. It shifts faith from duty to desire, from "I have to pray" to "I can't wait to be with Him." The episode reflects on the beauty of intimate conversation with the Father. Saint Teresa of Avila once called prayer a close sharing between friends, and this meditation unpacks what that means in real life, where honesty and vulnerability become the doorway to grace. It guides listeners through how to create inner stillness, how to approach God with curiosity, how to listen and be a friend and speak simply, and how to let silence deepen trust. Think of it as an invitation to breathe with God again, and to let prayer become the place where you are known, loved, and renewed; a place where you want to be.
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2025
Gospel Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
John the Baptist and the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A 2025
Gospel Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Friday, First Week of Advent 2025 Gospel Matthew 9:27-31 As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
This week's meditation explores the Rosary as the quiet heartbeat of a Christian's day, the steady rhythm that keeps us close to Christ the way jazz uses syncopation to hold a song together. The Eucharist anchors a life of prayer, but the Rosary gives it pulse. Far from mindless repetition, it becomes a slow, loving walk through the mysteries of Jesus with Mary as our guide. Its simplicity, even its boredom, creates the space where grace can move. It steadies the mind, sanctifies ordinary moments, and helps us see God's patterns in our own lives. Whether prayed in a chapel, on a sidewalk, or during a late evening walk, the Rosary trains the heart to persevere and rest in God. In this episode, we talk about how to begin, how to pray it faithfully in the middle of the world, and how its gentle rhythm becomes the spiritual heartbeat that carries you through the day.
The Basilica of St. Mary Institute for Faith and Culture Presents:
Beauty and the Beast, an Exploration of the Power of Beauty, Part 5 of 5
With Fr. James Searby
In this final class of Beauty and the Beast, we look at the tale's two feasts to understand beauty as a path back to communion, meaning, and sacramentality. The tavern scene becomes a picture of the ego- loud, empty, and isolating, while "Be Our Guest" reveals what self-giving love looks like when a community pours itself out in joy. From there, Fr. James Searby explores the vocation of the artist, the vulnerability of real creativity, and the way beauty acts almost like a sacramental, opening the soul to grace. This class traces the larger cultural story as well, from the Baroque renewal of the Church to the rise of modernity and postmodernity, and finally to our quiet rediscovery of wonder today. Using the fairy tale as a map, the episode shows how the loss of beauty disfigures a culture and how its return restores the human heart. At its center is the conviction that beauty heals, reveals, and reunites, and that when we allow ourselves to receive it, the beast in all of us begins to become whole again.
The Basilica of St. Mary Institute for Faith and Culture Presents:
Beauty and the Beast, an Exploration of the Power of Beauty, Part 4
With Fr. James Searby
In this fourth class of Beauty and the Beast, we explore beauty as communion, the way beauty draws us out of isolation and into relationship. Through Maurice's tenderness, Belle's self-giving, and the gradual healing of the Beast's house, Fr. James Searby shows how beauty creates openness, vulnerability, and shared life. Drawing on Scruton, Simone Weil, Martha Graham, theatre, liturgy, and the communal nature of art, this episode traces how beauty breaks self-enclosure, makes space for others, and restores what fear and hurry have disordered. It also looks at the danger of cultural elitism in the arts and why beauty belongs to everyone, not to a select few. At its heart, this class reveals how beauty invites us into a deeper communion with God and one another, preparing the way for next week's theme of beauty as contemplation.
The Basilica of St. Mary Institute for Faith and Culture Presents:
Beauty and the Beast, an Exploration of the Power of Beauty, Part 3
With Fr. James Searby
In this third episode of Beauty and the Beast, Fr. James Searby takes us into the heart of why beauty matters so deeply, not only artistically, but spiritually and morally. This class looks at the collision between a culture shaped by modern narcissism and a Christian vision where beauty, truth, and goodness are real, objective, and radiant. Using the story of Beauty and the Beast as a lens, he explores how our hurried, self-referential age blinds us to beauty and slowly disconnects us from what makes us human. From the sacramental meaning of the body to the power of the Eucharist, from Freud's mirror to Milton's Satan, from Gaston's hollow charm to the Beast's slow awakening, this episode traces how distraction and self-creation deform the soul, and how beauty becomes the doorway back to reality. With help from Aquinas, Balthasar, Scruton, Simone Weil, John Paul II, and classic stories like The Sound of Music, Babette's Feast, and This Beautiful Fantastic, we learn how to train the eye, the heart, and the imagination to recognize real beauty again. This episode is both an unflinching diagnosis of our cultural moment and a hopeful call to rediscover the contemplative life that heals, restores, and opens us to God.
The Basilica of St. Mary Institute for Faith and Culture Presents:
Beauty and the Beast, an Exploration of the Power of Beauty, Part 2
With Fr. James Searby
In this second episode of Beauty and the Beast, we step deeper into the story itself and uncover why this simple tale carries so much spiritual and human truth. Fr. James Searby explores the opening arc of the Beast, not as a children's plot point, but as a mirror of our own culture's drift into subjectivism, hurry, and the loss of virtue. Drawing from the older French versions of the tale, the golden age of Disney storytelling, and the wisdom of Aquinas, Balthasar, Plato, John Paul II, Simone Weil, and more, he shows how beauty forms the soul and why its absence slowly makes us less human. Belle's contemplative posture in a frantic village becomes a lesson in resisting the rush of modern life, while the Beast's curse reveals what happens when we turn inward and forget who we are. This episode opens up the rose, the mirror, the meaning of enchantment, and the hard truth that love and beauty both require us to slow down and see reality again. It's a thoughtful, richly layered conversation that will change the way you watch the film and the way you understand your own hunger for what is beautiful, noble, and true.
The Basilica of St. Mary Institute for Faith and Culture Presents:
Beauty and the Beast, an Exploration of the Power of Beauty
Part 1 of 5
With Fr. James Searby
This first episode of Beauty and the Beast opens with one of the most unforgettable scenes in The Shawshank Redemption, where a single piece of music breaks open a prison and reminds hardened men that their souls are still alive. From there, we explore what beauty actually does to the human heart, why it stirs hope, and how it can lift us beyond the walls of our own routine and cynicism. Drawing on art history, architecture, philosophy, childhood wonder, and everyday encounters with beauty, Fr. James Searby lays out the story of how our culture drifted from a world shaped by transcendent beauty into a landscape that often feels flat and utilitarian. More importantly, he shows why beauty matters now more than ever, and how it can become an entry point for renewal, depth, and authentic encounter with God. This episode sets the foundation for the whole series, inviting you to slow down, look again, and rediscover the freedom and hope that beauty awakens in every soul.
From the smoky cafés of 1920s Paris to the curated feeds of Gen Z, this talk traces a century of growing alienation and the quiet ache beneath every age. We look at how today's neo-pagan culture offers counterfeit gods of sex, power, money, and self, and how events like the murder of Charlie Kirk jolted a generation into asking what is truly worth living and dying for. In the middle of this war between two altars (the pagan and Catholic), we explore why young adults are drawn to the beauty, ritual, and authority of the Catholic Church, and how we can accompany them into real transcendence, authentic community, and a life of courageous mission in Christ.
This talk was given at the Diocese of Arlington Catechist Conference on Nov. 15, 2025
Slaying the Monsters: Safeguarding Your Children from Fear and Anxiety, Part 2
is a two-part talk series for parents who want to raise resilient, peaceful, and imaginative children in an fear-filled world. Using Hook & Peter Pan as a guiding story, Fr. James Searby explores how children mirror their parents' stress and how imagination, play, and wonder can heal the modern family. Drawing on psychology, neurobiology, and Christian spirituality, he shows why the antidote to anxiety isn't control but connection through story, laughter, beauty, and presence. This series invites parents to rediscover their own childlike joy and create homes where courage, faith, and wonder can take flight.
Slaying the Monsters: Safeguarding Your Children from Fear and Anxiety is a two-part talk series for parents who want to raise resilient, peaceful, and imaginative children in an fear-filled world. Using Hook & Peter Pan as a guiding story, Fr. James Searby explores how children mirror their parents' stress and how imagination, play, and wonder can heal the modern family. Drawing on psychology, neurobiology, and Christian spirituality, he shows why the antidote to anxiety isn't control but connection through story, laughter, beauty, and presence. This series invites parents to rediscover their own childlike joy and create homes where courage, faith, and wonder can take flight.
What does the Miraculous Medal reveal about the soul of woman? On this feast of St. John Paul II, Fr. Searby unites the story of the Medal's origins with the Pope's teaching on the feminine genius. Beneath the rays of Mary's open hands, we discover the quiet power of receptivity, compassion, and courage—the graces that still shape the heart of woman today.
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C 2025
Gospel Luke 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and take your place at table'? Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2025
Luke 14:25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2025
Gospel Luke 14:1, 7-14 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Peace in the Storm: A Catholic Approach to Anxiety and Resilience is a journey into the heart of what it means to live with courage and calm in an anxious age. Blending psychological insight, practical tools, and the rich wisdom of the Catholic spiritual tradition, this series explores how to face fear, steady the heart, and discover resilience rooted not in self-reliance but in God’s presence. Whether you wrestle with worry or seek to strengthen your interior life, these talks invite you to find peace in the storm and the freedom to live with greater trust, hope, and joy.
This is talk 4 of 4 from a series offered at the Basilica of St. Mary in Old Town Alexandria, VA in the Summer of 2025
Peace in the Storm: A Catholic Approach to Anxiety and Resilience is a journey into the heart of what it means to live with courage and calm in an anxious age. Blending psychological insight, practical tools, and the rich wisdom of the Catholic spiritual tradition, this series explores how to face fear, steady the heart, and discover resilience rooted not in self-reliance but in God’s presence. Whether you wrestle with worry or seek to strengthen your interior life, these talks invite you to find peace in the storm and the freedom to live with greater trust, hope, and joy.
This is class 3 of 4. Offered in the Summer of 2025 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Old Town, Alexandria, VA.
Peace in the Storm: A Catholic Approach to Anxiety and Resilience is a journey into the heart of what it means to live with courage and calm in an anxious age. Blending psychological insight, practical tools, and the rich wisdom of the Catholic spiritual tradition, this series explores how to face fear, steady the heart, and discover resilience rooted not in self-reliance but in God’s presence. Whether you wrestle with worry or seek to strengthen your interior life, these talks invite you to find peace in the storm and the freedom to live with greater trust, hope, and joy.
This is talk 2 of 4 offered in the Summer of 2025 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Old Town, Alexandria, VA.
Peace in the Storm: A Catholic Approach to Anxiety and Resilience is a journey into the heart of what it means to live with courage and calm in an anxious age. Blending psychological insight, practical tools, and the rich wisdom of the Catholic spiritual tradition, this series explores how to face fear, steady the heart, and discover resilience rooted not in self-reliance but in God’s presence. Whether you wrestle with worry or seek to strengthen your interior life, these talks invite you to find peace in the storm and the freedom to live with greater trust, hope, and joy.
This is talk 1 of 4 offered in the Summer of 2025 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Old Town, Alexandria, VA.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Father Disciplines because he loves you as a son, a daughter.
And after you listen to this I highly recommend you listen to Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2025
In this episode, Fr. James reflects on The Backpack Effect—the paradoxical truth that the more you travel, the lighter you pack… not just in your luggage, but in life. Drawing from Jesus’ instructions to the 72 disciples in Luke 10, we explore how the spiritual life calls us to travel light, to surrender control, and to cultivate deep interior peace through trust in God’s providence.
This isn’t just a homily—it’s a call to mission. But before we can share peace, we must receive it. Before we can preach the Good News, we must experience it ourselves.
- The Backpack Effect: Life isn’t about how much you carry, but how free you are to move.
- Mission as Formation: Jesus sends us not to use us, but to form us in freedom and trust.
-
Detachment as Freedom: Let go of stuff, stories, and control—so you can receive peace and purpose.
-
Detach from What Weighs You Down
-
Physical Clutter: Ask, “What do I own that owns me?” Let go of one thing a day.
- Emotional Baggage: Identify a wound or story you keep reliving. Write it down. Burn it. Surrender it.
-
Need for Control: Try a Trust Fast—for one day, don’t seek answers. Just act in faith.
-
Cultivate Interior Peace (Inspired by Jacques Philippe)
-
Peace is not the fruit of calm circumstances—but of radical trust.
- Begin each day: “Lord, not my will but Yours be done.”
-
Daily 3-Minute Peace Check:
- What upset me today?
- What can I do, and what must I entrust?
- Jesus, I trust in You. Give me Your peace.
Episode Summary:
In a world that glorifies burnout, this episode invites you to step back, breathe deeply, and remember: you are not a machine. With wisdom from saints, psychologists, and mystics, we explore the healing power of rest, rhythm, and above all—humor.
Fr. Jacques Philippe reminds us that balance begins with limits. Jesus Himself rested, laughed, and lived in rhythm. And saints like Teresa of Ávila and Philip Neri teach us that true holiness is steeped in joy. Drawing from neuroscience, spiritual tradition, and the wit of G.K. Chesterton, this talk unveils a forgotten truth: laughter is not a distraction—it’s a sign of spiritual maturity and trust.
Whether you’re battling spiritual exhaustion or chronic self-seriousness, this episode offers a gentle reboot for your soul, your schedule, and your sense of humor.
Reflection Questions for Journaling and Prayer:
- Where in your life are you resisting limits? What might God be inviting you to release?
- How do you experience rest? Is it true rest—or just distraction?
- When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? What did that moment reveal about your soul?
- Do you take yourself too seriously? What would it mean to become “light enough to fly”?
- How might joy and mirth be signs that you’re finally trusting the Father’s care?
The Body and Communion – Wholeness in Flesh and Relationship
Wholeness Series, Episode 4
Episode Summary: What if your body wasn’t just a tool for work or a source of shame, but a sanctuary—a vessel of memory, worship, and communion?
In this episode, we explore the profound connection between our physical bodies and our spiritual lives. From a grandfather’s Sunday jacket to St. Francis calling his body “Brother Ass,” we rediscover the body not as an obstacle to holiness but as a companion on the journey. Drawing from Aquinas, John Paul II, and modern psychology, this talk weaves theology, discipline, and delight into a new vision of embodied wholeness.
Whether it’s fasting or feasting, movement or rest, this episode offers a vision of the body as a living altar, capable of carrying burdens, expressing love, and becoming holy through small, daily acts.
We don’t need perfect bodies. We need present ones—offered, disciplined, and led gently toward communion with God, others, and ourselves.
Questions for Prayer, Journaling, and Reflection: On the Body as Memory and Offering: 1. What memories—joyful or painful—does your body carry? 2. In what ways have you used your body as an offering in love? 3. How can you begin to see your body as a kind of "sacrament"?
On “Brother Ass”: 4. How do you treat your body: as a racehorse, a machine, or a faithful donkey? 5. What might change if you viewed your body with affectionate realism rather than frustration or pride? 6. In what ways does your body carry Christ to others?
On Food and Fasting: 7. When do you eat from hunger, and when from habit or emotion? 8. What small, daily food-related disciplines could help train your soul? 9. How might you make meals more sacramental and less rushed?
On Movement and Strength: 10. How do you move your body each day? Is it with purpose, joy, or obligation? 11. What physical discipline helps you show up for others with energy and readiness? 12. How might your next workout or walk be offered as a prayer?
On Dance and Expression: 13. When was the last time you let your body express something wordless—through dance, art, or play? 14. What emotions might you need to move through rather than just talk about? 15. How could rhythm, music, and movement restore wholeness in your life?
On Sleep and Rest: 16. Do you see rest as laziness, or as worship and trust? 17. What rhythms of silence or sleep do you need to reclaim your peace? 18. Where is God calling you to surrender the illusion of control and rest in His love?
Let this episode be your invitation to wholeness not just in thought or feeling—but in flesh and bone, sweat and stillness, hunger and dance.
Subscribe to the podcast. Share it with someone who needs to be reminded: your body is not the problem. It might just be the path.
Healing and Wholeness: The 18-Inch Journey from Head to Heart
“The glory of God is man fully alive.” —St. Irenaeus
“God does not love some ideal version of you. He loves you—with your particular history, wounds, and desires.”
This episode takes you on what may be the most important journey of your life: the 18 inches from the head to the heart. Through the story of Blaise Pascal’s mystical night of fire, the gentle wisdom of Harvey’s Elwood P. Dowd, and the wisdom of the Church, we explore what it means to become an integrated person—one who lives not in fragmentation, but in communion.
We are not just minds or spirits—we are embodied, emotional, historical persons. And while trauma, generational wounds, and spiritual lies may have fractured our inner life, God is drawing us back into wholeness. This is not a journey of perfection, but of integration—of learning to live fully alive.
You’ll hear about:
- The role of the family in shaping our early spiritual imagination
- The wounds that distort identity and the lies we carry into adulthood
- How emotional maturity, spiritual direction, and community lead us to healing
- How God re-parents us through His Word, His Church, and His sacraments
This episode is an invitation to courageously face the inner story you’ve believed—and to let God write a new one with you.
Reflection & Journaling Questions for Prayer 1. Where in my life do I live more from my head than from my heart?
Where do I hide behind intelligence, control, or performance rather than love, vulnerability, and trust? 2. Have I made the 18-inch journey from being right to being real?
What would it mean to let go of needing to prove myself and instead seek communion? 3. What were the spoken or unspoken rules in my family growing up?
(“Don’t feel,” “Be perfect,” “Never be weak,” etc.) 4. What emotions were welcomed in my childhood? What emotions were avoided or punished? 5. What role did I play in my family system?
(Hero, invisible one, peacekeeper, rebel…) How does that still shape me today? 6. What is one lie I have believed about myself?
(“I am only loved if…”; “I must always… to be safe.”)
Ask: Where did I learn this? What is the truth that God wants to speak there? 7. What pattern have I inherited from my family or past that I want to bring into the light of Christ?
Pray: “Lord, show me where You were when I felt unseen.” 8. Which of life’s tasks—work, friendship, or love—do I tend to avoid?
Ask: Where do I need more courage to live generously and not self-protect? 9. Do I see emotional strength as a way to protect myself or to give myself away?
What would it mean to see my strength as a gift for others? 10. What private logic or internal script still shapes how I see myself, God, and others?
Bring one of those to prayer. Ask: “Jesus, walk with me through the rooms of my childhood. What do You want to show me?”
Living in Divine Communion: The Heart of Spiritual Health
In this episode, we explore the foundation of spiritual health—not as a religious add-on, but as the very core of what it means to be fully human. Drawing from Scripture, the theology of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and the ache of the modern soul, we reflect on how our deepest wounds and longings are not problems to fix but invitations into divine communion.
We examine what happens when we try to create ourselves apart from God—and how returning to our true identity as beloved sons and daughters brings clarity, peace, and wholeness. Through stories, reflection, and practical wisdom, this episode invites you to abide in Christ, reorder your desires, and live from the inner room where God dwells.
Spiritual wholeness isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence. Not about doing more—but about dwelling more deeply in the love of the One who made you.
At the end of the episode, you’ll find 10 journaling prompts and reflection questions to help you live out what you’ve heard. Let this be more than a listen—let it be a turning point.
- “Do I approach prayer as a relationship or a task?”
Reflect on your experience of prayer. Is it a checklist, or an encounter with Someone who loves you? 2. “What do I most deeply desire?”
Trace your strongest longings—are they leading you closer to God or away from Him? 3. “Where am I trying to create or prove myself rather than receive my identity from God?”
Explore the pressure you may feel to be self-made. What would it look like to rest in being God’s beloved? 4. “Do I live as though I am chosen and loved by God—or as though I must earn love and prove worth?”
Consider the emotional tone of your daily life—performance-driven or grace-rooted? 5. “What spiritual lie do I hear most often—and what truth does God speak instead?”
Identify one recurring falsehood (e.g., “I am unlovable” or “God is distant”) and counter it with Scripture. 6. “Where am I off course by ‘just one degree’ in my spiritual life?”
Is there a small misalignment—like distraction, a neglected habit, or spiritual drift—that could, over time, distance you from your true destination? 7. “What do I do when I feel disillusioned or disappointed?
Write honestly about times you’ve been let down or hurt. Where can healing begin? 8. “How do I abide in Christ throughout my day?”
Make a list of practices or reminders that help you stay rooted in Him—from Scripture, silence, music, to sacrament. 9. “Where do I resist God’s love or hide from it?”
Reflect on places of shame, fear, or control. What would it mean to allow God into those places? 10. “In my life right now, where am I being called to surrender, not try harder?”
Ask: Is this a moment for discipline—or a moment for deeper trust?
Holy Trinity Sunday 2025
What do a baffling university quote, swirling incense, and the mystery of the Trinity have in common? More than you think.
In this episode, we begin with Fr. Robert McGuire’s infamous “Red Zinger”—a cryptic saying meant to puzzle and provoke—and follow its thread into the deepest mystery of the Christian faith: the Trinity. Drawing from ancient philosophy, modern skepticism, and a splash of incense smoke, we reflect on why mystery isn’t something to solve, but something to enter.
God is one, and God is three—and that paradox isn’t a bug, it’s the feature. The Christian claim isn’t merely that God loves, but that God is love. In the Trinity, we discover not just a doctrine, but an invitation: to imitate the divine rhythm of love, self-gift, and communion.
We also confront our modern allergy to mystery. What can’t be measured, predicted, or tested is often rejected. Yet the deepest truths—love, meaning, beauty, even God—can’t be placed under a microscope. They must be lived. They must be received.
So pour a cup of coffee, breathe in the mystery, and let’s step into the rhythm of reality—one that can’t be seen with the eyes, but is revealed in the smoke, the symbols, and the stillness.
Pentecost 2025
Graduation season is a time of giving—gifts to celebrate, to remember, and to send forth with love. But what if the greatest gifts we receive aren’t wrapped in ribbons, but in the presence of the Giver Himself?
In this episode, we explore the love language of gift giving—not as materialism, but as the sacred act of saying, “You are seen. You are loved. You matter.” We then turn to the most profound gifts of all: the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, given by the Paraclete—our Advocate, who stands beside us as we step into the unknown.
Let this be your commissioning: to carry these gifts boldly into the world.
In this opening episode of The Road to Wholeness, we begin with a map—not of streets and cities, but of the human person. Drawing from St. Teresa of Avila, Benedict XVI, and the deep wells of Christian anthropology, we explore what it means to be made in the image of God. Before any healing can begin, we must remember who we are: someone, not something. This episode charts the terrain of the soul—our intellect, will, and capacity for love—and lays the foundation for a journey of restoration, not into self-perfection, but into divine communion. It’s not self-help. It’s grace.
Here are some journal and prayer prompts to help you dive deeper:
- What lies have I believed about myself, God, or others that keep me from living in the truth of who I am?
- How do I respond to beauty when I encounter it—in art, nature, or another person? What does that response reveal about my soul’s longing?
- When was the last time I felt truly seen and known? What did that moment teach me about communion and trust?
- What rhythms or practices help me live from grace rather than striving for control or perfection?
This episode reflects on the quiet aftermath of great missions—whether in war, in the early Church, or in our own lives. Drawing from a scene in Band of Brothers, the Ascension in the Gospel of Luke, and a moment from Black Hawk Down, it explores the kind of silence that follows profound revelation. Not a silence of fear, but of purpose. The Apostles didn’t retreat after the Lord ascended—they returned to prayer, to wait, and then to go back in. So must we. This homily is a meditation on that return: the hush before the mission continues, a mission that flows from the Ascension of Our Lord.
In this episode, we journey into the heart of the interior life—where sonship is not just a theological idea but a lived identity, rooted in the truth of God’s love. Fr. Searby explores how misbeliefs about ourselves and others become strongholds for spiritual distortion, and how forgiveness and spiritual warfare begin in reclaiming truth. This is a call to detach from the lies of the enemy, re-align our hearts with the Father’s voice, and live in the radical freedom of those who know they are deeply loved.
This episode explores the deep, sacred power of memory—not as nostalgia, but as a living, active force that shapes who we are. True remembrance, inspired by the Holy Spirit, makes the past present and meaningful. In the Church, memory is not just intellectual—it’s spiritual, personal, and redemptive. Through the Mass and the quiet reminders of grace, we are invited to remember who we are and carry that fire into the world.
Rest for Your Soul: Sabbath Wisdom for a Summer of Renewal 2025
This episode explores the sacred power of stillness in seasons of change, from the quiet “Room of Tears” behind the papal conclave to the quiet mornings of our own lives. Drawing on scripture, saints, literature, and films, we uncover how Sabbath rest is more than a break, it’s a threshold, a healing, a celebration, and a taste of eternity. Whether through Tolkien’s Shire, a walk by the river, or a meal with loved ones, this is an invitation to rediscover time as a divine gift, not a task.
The rediscovery of spellbound wonder is the rediscovery of our youth and the heart of the spiritual life
Anthony “Tony” Dolan was a gifted writer, journalist, and the chief speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, where he helped craft some of the most memorable and morally clear rhetoric of the era. A graduate of Yale University with a degree in philosophy and history, he brought depth, conviction, and eloquence to every word he penned. Beyond politics, Tony was a man of deep faith, loyal friendships, and a quiet humility that belied his profound influence. He believed that words, rightly used, could move hearts—and point them toward truth.
This is the second talk of 2 from a day long seminar on overcoming perfectionism, Acedia and Sloth. The two talks examine the struggle with perfectionism from both a psychological and spiritual perspective. I hope it helps many and that you share it with those who may benefit.
This is from a day long seminar on overcoming perfectionism, Acedia and Sloth. The two talks examine the struggle with perfectionism from both a psychological and spiritual perspective. I hope it helps many and that you share it with those who may benefit.
This was a homily on Epiphany for kids. They were so adorable, completely focused and locked in. Something for us all to aspire to. Happy Epiphany 2025!
Meditation 2 of 3 from 40 Hours Devotion at the Basilica of St. Mary, Old Town Alexandria, VA. 2024
Meditation 1 of 3 for 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration, Basilica of St. Mary, Alexandria, VA.
This was a meditation given during an evening of recollection for women. It is based on the Little Way of St. Therese.
I recommend it for all women and girls. I also recommend sitting back, turning down the lights and allowing yourself time of contemplative peace where you can lean in, listening, and allow the Father to hold you and speak to your heart as he delights in you.
- Fr. Searby
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
November 3rd, 2024
Gospel Mk 12:28b-34 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Gospel Mk 10:17-30 or 10:17-27 As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Prayer of Forgiveness
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you whom you need to forgive (family,
friend, abuser, yourself)
Picture the person in front of you and pay aBenCon to what you feel
in your heart and body
Make an account of the debt they owe you (what did they take from
you, how did they hurt you? It is okay to feel angry or nothing at all)
Imagine yourself telling them what they did to hurt you and how it
has affected you
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any identity lies you believe
about yourself based on that incident
Renounce the identity lie “In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce
the lie that I am not loved or cared for, that I have to perform well to
be loved, etc.”
Announce the truth of your identity in Christ-“In the name of Jesus
Christ, I announce the truth that I am seen, that I am valuable, that I
am loved, etc.”
Bring the person with you to meet Jesus on the Cross at Calvary and
look at His face of care and mercy
Ask Jesus to forgive the person
-
Ask Jesus to give you the grace to forgive the person
-
Pray a prayer of blessing for that person-as God to bless them and
heal them on their journey
-
Ask Jesus to seal this forgiveness and heal the wounds in your life
-
Thank God for His healing mercy and grace
22nd Sunday in Ordinary time, Year B
eading 2 Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 Dearest brothers and sisters: All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
This is a Homily about marriage & Ephesians 5 and I recommend it for all married couples or those discerning marriage.
This is a talk that was given at Theology on Tap at Murphy's Grand Irish Pub in Old Town Alexandria, VA. If you would like a more comprehensive exploration of anxiety and a Catholic approach to mindfulness and healing please search my podcast for a multi-part series I did called "Mindfulness in an Anxious World" some years ago. I also recommend another course I taught on the Podcast called "the Little Way" about St. Therese and her little way. I hope this talk helps anyone who is struggling with anxiety. I am praying for you.
Fr. Searby
16th Sunday in Ordinary time, Year B
Gospel Mk 6:30-34 The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Independence Day Weekend
First posted Homily from the Basilica of St. Mary in Old Town Alexandria, VA
My Last Homily at St. Timothy. A farewell to such a loving family.
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B 2024
11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B 2024
Darkness yields to dawn’s embrace, as courage lights the way ahead.
Through shadows deep and trials fierce, where many tremble, who are led
In the silence of the night, where doubt may spread its icy chill,
A flame ignites within the soul, a beacon on a distant hill.
And though the winds of fate may howl, and storms of fear may thrash the shore,
The valiant stand with steadfast will, for hope is kindled in their core.
The darkness whispers of defeat, yet in Christian hearts, a brighter song,
For courage draws the dawn anew, and from despair, the brave march on.
As courage leads and hope takes flight, shadows retreat, giving way to light,
And in the heart of every soul, a fire burns, undying, whole.
For in the end, the dawn will break, and courage will have won the day,
The brave will shine and light the way, to see God’s face at heaven’s gate.
This is a homily for the graduation of our 8th graders on the feast of the Visitation. It is a variation on a theme from the visitation homily earlier in the day. Congratulations to our 8th graders, the adventure begins!
The devil does not attack you because you are weak. He attacks you because you are a threat. Because there is something valuable inside of you
5th Sunday of Lent, Year B
Readings from Year A for the Scrutinies. The Raising of Lazarus 2024
This is the third and final meditation from the 40 Hours Lenten Retreat at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredricksburg, VA. Feb. 2024
This is the 2nd of 3 talks for the lenten retreat (40 hours) at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredricksburg, VA. Feb. 2024
This is a lenten series given at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredricksburg, VA, Feb 2024
In the initial uploads there was technical problem. My hope is that it is remedied with this fresh upload.
4th Sunday of Advent, Year B 2023
This is the new document from Rome that I refer to. I recommend you read it.
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia-supplicans_en.html
Welcome to Encounters
This is a new show on the Holiness for the Working Day channel.
Most conversational podcasts are often with influencers, CEO’s, billionaires, celebrities & the like.
This show is different, it’s real conversations with real people about real things. Think of it as wisdom of the common man in everyday life.
Those are the real influencers because they influence the everyday lives of everyday people and I want to give them a voice and also just enjoy the art of conversation with them for you.
In this episode I have he honor of speaking to Benedict Ohm, one of my closest friends and a man who has been enduring suffering and uncertainty with, in my estimation, heroism. I pray the conversation helps you and anyone who is or will be going through sufferings great or small.
Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe 2023
The Ceiling referenced is in the Gesu in Rome. A quick google search will yield much.
Welcome to ENCOUNTERS, a new series on Holiness for the Working Day. These "encounters" are conversations with people from all walks of life about creatively living the adventure of life and faith. I hope you enjoy it and share it generously.
Peter Searby is my younger brother and founder of Riverside https://rside.org/
His new book "Casting Fire: A Guide to the Adventure and Imagination of Boyhood" is available on Amazon. https://shorturl.at/cyIO2
I absolutely love this book and I think its a must read for all parents and educators, particularly those raising and teaching boys.
This is the book that I mention in the Podcast by my brother, Peter Searby.
Casting Fire: A Guide to the Adventure and Imagination of Boyhood
https://a.co/d/hUgWfX9
I highly recommend it and stay tuned for a future interview with him about his book on this podcast.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 2023
Jesus walks on the sea and a terror filled Peter follows.
Feast of the Most Holy Trinity 2023
A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL LISTENERS. THIS WEEKEND THE PODCAST SURPASSED HALF A MILLION DOWNLOADS. PLEASE KEEP SHARING FOR ALL THOSE WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM IT (and please pray for me).
I wish all of you a Happy Easter. HE HAS RISEN!
A special Thanks to my brother, Peter Searby, for writing and recording the new intro music. For more information on what he's creating please check out his educational program, Riverside, and his Reverb Nation page for music.
https://rside.org/
https://www.reverbnation.com/petesearby
Homily to the school children. Friday of the 5th Week of Lent. A special thanks to the altar boys that helped serve this Mass. We read the gospel before Mass and they shared their insights and graces. As the Holy Spirit inspired them, he inspired me through them and I preached from the shared encounter with the Word.
March 31, 2023
This 4th part of a 4 part series on the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux.
During this Lenten journey join me for this 4 part series that explores the theology and spiritual depths of the life, teaching and little way of St. Therese of Lisieux. This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of her birth. This radical and often misunderstood saint has much to teach us during this lenten season.
This is the 3rd part of a 4 part series on the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux.
During this Lenten journey join me for this 4 part series that explores the theology and spiritual depths of the life, teaching and little way of St. Therese of Lisieux. This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of her birth. This radical and often misunderstood saint has much to teach us during this lenten season.
This is the 4th and Final Talk in the Lenten Parish Mission at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Clifton, VA. A special thank you to the priests and people of St. Andrew. Their faith and enthusiasm was a gift.
March 22, 2023
This is the 3rd of 4 meditations for the Lenten mission at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Clifton, VA.
March 21, 2023
This is the 2nd talk of 4 at the Lenten mission at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Clifton, VA. March 20th, 2023
Meditation 1 in a 4 part series for the parish Mission at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Clifton, VA. Sunday, March 19th, 2023
This is the second part of a 4 part series on the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux.
During this Lenten journey join me for this 4 part series that explores the theology and spiritual depths of the life, teaching and little way of St. Therese of Lisieux. This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of her birth. This radical and often misunderstood saint has much to teach us during this lenten season.
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent, Year A.
Parable of the Prodigal son. Preached to the girls confirmation retreat
This is the first part of a 4 part series on the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux.
During this Lenten journey join me for this 4 part series that explores the theology and spiritual depths of the life, teaching and little way of St. Therese of Lisieux. This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of her birth. This radical and often misunderstood saint has much to teach us during this lenten season.
Friday of the 1st Week of Lent, Year A. March 3, 2023
Given during Mass during 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration in St. Timothy Parish
Thursday of the first week in Lent, Year A. March 2, 2023
Opening of 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration at St. Timothy's
This is a homily about the temptation in the desert directed at teens and young adults. It is an interation of the previous homily on the same gospel from the 1st Sunday in Lent, year A Feb 26, 2023
7the Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A
For more:
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/loving-your-enemies-sermon-delivered-dexter-avenue-baptist-church
This talk is about the Eucharist and sacrifice and how Jesus freely embraced the sacrifice of the Cross as a fulfillment of something written deeply in every human person and culture but also within the Old Testament promise of redemption. It came from an RCIA class as the first part of an explanation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Holy Mass.
Recorded in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, January 2023
A special thanks for Turkish Airlines & Fellowship Travel for making this amazing pilgrimage and encounter possible.
Homily given at the close of 40 hours devotion at Corpus Christi Parish in South Riding, VA. 2022
This is a homily given at the wedding of Thomas & Lucy Russo at Christendom College chapel on Nov. 19, 2022. Its message goes out to all married couples or those discerning marriage. Please pray for this newly wed couple.
In this final episode of our 5 part series on Restoring Relational & Sexual Wholeness we discuss gender development, developmental stages of gender differentiation and the power of parents. We also discuss same sex attraction and the growth in healing and understanding the whole person as made in the image of God.
Thank you for listening to this series and please continue to spread the word.
In this episode we discuss authentic masculinity, the wounds to it and the healing of handing ourselves over to Christ and living from the mystery of the Cross.
In this episode we discuss authentic masculinity, the wounds to it and the healing of handing ourselves over to Christ and living from the mystery of the Cross.
In this 3rd episode from the Restorying Relational & Sexual Wholeness seminar we explore the gift of the feminine mystery and the wounds brought about by misogyny and misandry.
Please share with those you think will benefit from this series.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
This is a link to the full interview I quote between Bishop Robert Barron & Shia LaBeouf
https://youtu.be/hjxKG4mR3U4
In this second episode we continue looking at shame. We begin with a meditation on the crippled man at the well of Bethesda and his encounter with the healing of the Lord. We then explore shame's origins in the fall of man and woman, and its manifestations in our lives.
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
Lk 16:19-31
Welcome to a new seminar called "Restoring Relational & Sexual Wholeness."
Episode 1: An introduction and exploring Shame
In an age of brokenness, join us for a new. formation seminar helping all to find healing and deeper relational and sexual wholeness in an encounter with the Father's love for you. This talk is open to all, whether you are struggling, know someone who is or raise those who could.
PLEASE NOTE: due to the mature nature of the topic it is not recommended for children.
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Readings can be found on: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091822.cfm
The parables of the Lost and Found
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Readings can be found on: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091122.cfm
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Readings can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090422.cfm
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Readings can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090422.cfm
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Lk 14:1, 7-14
The Litany of Humility: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/litany-of-humility-245
This was an outdoor summer talk to the men of the parish on the ever common fear of not being enough, of inadequacy, and being a man rooted in the Father. I pray it is edifying for men everywhere.
20th Sunday in ordinary time, year C
Special thanks to Sister Rosetta Tharpe for the postlude fire and letting it rain.
A Talk to the men's group of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredricksburg, VA. July 23, 2022
This 1st of a 3 part class is based on a pet project of mine that blends together the Church's rich tradition of mental prayer (meditation) with acting methodologies to bring the scripture and your prayer to life. I hope it helps you contemplate, imagine and come closer to the Lord (and, hopefully, makes it that prayer will never be boring again).
In this class we discuss how to educate children through the years regarding human sexuality, improving the romantic and sex life of your marriage & some bioethical considerations regarding fertility.
Due to the nature of the material of this class it is advisable not to listen to it with younger children.
In this second class on marriage and family as the answer to our times we explore the depth of the challenges of anger, sadness and loneliness and their remedies.
This is a special podcast from an interview I did with Josh Raymond on the Inner Life on Relevant Radio. I hope you enjoy.
https://relevantradio.com/listen/our-shows/the-inner-life/
11am CT Join the conversation: 1-888-914-9149
The Inner Life® with Josh Raymond is one-on-one Spiritual Direction on the radio. Every day, a Catholic priest joins listeners to offer spiritual advice and guidance designed to assist you along your faith journey, speaking about a variety of topics to help you overcome sin, grow in virtue, and strengthen your faith.
This is a talk given to men in the parish at our monthly Man Cave event.
We, most particularly, honor and pray for the Marines & Navy Corpsman that died in Kabul on Aug. 27th, 2021
Summer Morning by Rose Fyleman The air around was trembling-bright And full of dancing specks of light, While butterflies were dancing too Between the shining green and blue. I might not watch, I might not stay, I ran along the meadow way. The straggling brambles caught my feet, The clover field was, oh! so sweet; I heard a singing in the sky, And busy things went buzzing by; And how it came I cannot tell, But all the hedges sang as well. Along the clover-field I ran To where the little wood began, And there I understood at last Why I had come so far, so fast On every leaf of every tree A fairy sat and smiled at me! © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes
A special thanks for Bishop Robert Barron for the excerpts I took from his class on Confirmation.
In this second class we discuss the mission of Jesus Christ, the Mass and how the church is laid out to be a living embodiment of the story and experience of Jesus' redemptive mission.
Prayer of Abandonment
Written by Blessed Charles de Foucauld
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
In this episode we explore aspects of the mythology of Rome, the "cult" of Sts. Peter and Paul and the need for "Fides et Ratio"
Thursday Night Supper talk at George Mason Catholic Campus Ministry 2019
Recommended Reading: Leisure as the Basis of Culture by Joseph Pieper
https://amzn.to/2GDbS6x
As mentioned:
Patsy Rodenberg: Second Circle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub27yeXKUTY&t=11s
0000012E 0000012E 0000306E 0000326F 00046534 00046534 00007E91 00007CD6 0004651A 0004651A
0000027E 0000027F 0000228F 00002287 0004D34E 0004D34E 00007EB8 00007ED3 0005784E 0005784E
0000019E 0000019E 00002CD5 00002CD2 0004AC1F 0004AC1F 00007ED8 00007EDA 0009EA78 0009EA78
000003BA 000003BC 00004F31 00004EDA 00025EF0 00025EF0 00007EAF 00007F48 000A3FC6 000A3FC6