Fr. John Ehrich Podcast

Fr. John Ehrich For full video and worship service please go to www.stmglendale.org

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Fr. John Ehrich www.stmglendale.org

Fr. John Ehrich Stmglendale.org

How do we forge relationship, communicate and stay close to people when it can be difficult at times? Especially when we try to affect the truth of God in others who might not be receptive to the message, this can be a continual struggle and even feel like a challenge. For parents of teenagers, opposing family members, friendships, coworkers, and strangers - communication breakdowns about faith or theology, theopraxy, or morality can stifle connection and relationship.   In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus engage with a woman who is not a Jew, (and a woman), by showing genuine interest in her. He is more interested in her and her heart than in the cultural and social barriers of the time. He gets her to open up and be vulnerable and as she continues to speak with him, a trust between the two of them begins. Communicating an essential and candid message of mutual value and honor between one another can be the first pathway to connecting in truth together. This can affirm and strengthen all of our relationships and

There on the mountain, Moses communed with God for many years and brought back the promises to . This period of time was a well known to the followers of Jesus. So when they witness Christ being raised up, shown with Moses and Elijah, they know he is truly the Messiah. This means He is truly their deliverer and prophetic figure that the hearts of many were waiting for. What are our hearts waiting for? What future or unfulfilled promises do we carry with us; maybe even ask God to deliver us from? If Jesus is the Son of God, who died and rose and made manifestation our salvation, are we relying on Him during this Lenten time? The three theological virtues (Faith, Hope, and Love) can help us entrust ourselves to Christ’s light for healing, restoration and deliverance. As we hear and reflect more about Christ’s death, we can be reminded of our own mortality, our own suffering and hardship that we can bring the the altar, especially during this season of Lent. We are creatures destined for eternity - we should no

Sin and death came into the world, not simply because these first two human beings are the forbidden fruit. We know this Genisis story along with many others that are allegorical in nature. Without getting caught up in the historical accuracy, we can be attentive to the purposes of these stories and the wisdom they impart to us today.   We are given life by God as He breathes life into us from our birth. He made us male and female. He made us and saw “that it was good.” Satan is a the father of lies, but can successfully entice us with what we are convinced is good. He is a trickster, and with by adding our desires, often motivates us to be do wrong things for the right intentions.   Can we allow God to help us determine truth? Sometimes we struggle to find and choose the truth and reality of ‘good vs. evil.’ We. get ourselves into trouble with sin, we often are trying to take the reigns and commit acts of pride and envy rather than trust and confidence in Gods omnipotence and providence. Let’s look at our li

Fr. John Ehrich St. Thomas More, Glendale, AZ.

We all know friends or people in our own lives who truly struggle. No matter their upbringing, circumstances, issues such as addiction or abuse and their repercussions can be a damaging and lifelong battle for many people we might know intimately. Seeing the humanity of a person and the desperate reality they live in can be a very humbling sight. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to hear confession? It is a theme among a large number of people that we all are striving to be better despite ourselves. Seeing a priest as a conduit for God's Grace is a way to present themselves honestly and to make real moves to improve and make changes. Though we may struggle with the same sins constantly, it is a comfort to know how universal our human suffering can be. This idea also emphasizes a greater need for consistent compassion and nonjudgement when we interact with one another. When we see each other on a human level, we can see how remarkable each of us are as we acknowledge the many demons that we all face daily

It’s been said by many scholars of scripture that “Jesus is more about love than the law;” a statement that we can be attentive to. How easy it is for us, as members of nations, societies, religions, and clubs, to use language such this, which often can be dichotomous, dualistic or black/white thinking. While the lasting and promised mercy of Christ is certainly apart of our salvation, could it not be said that Jesus is “about” both love and the law? The two terms can be intertwined especially in the ways that Jesus expounds upon the law in today’s gospel. For example, Jesus explains that not only is the action of adultery or hate sin, but the very thoughts and mentality that lead up to those actions can also be culpable. Our heart is the very thing Jesus is after, not our good deeds. It’s important to remember that there is definitely an eternal value to our actions and that confession is an important element to how we treat our humanness. There can be two ways we deal with this internal reality. Sometimes

Have you ever been stuck in a room of total darkness? It can be terrifying to be in that disorienting situation, trying to stumble through to find a light switch and not trip over anything. Once the lights are suddenly turned on, we are immediately comforted and can see the reality of our surroundings, feeling much better. The divine revelation of our faith says that the world was in darkness, searching as lost children. When Christ came, He illuminated that darkness and brought deep peace while pointing us in the right direction. We are called to be the hands of feet of God by bringing that light into the world as well. Today’s gospel asks us to consider whether we bring light/dark, positivity/negativity, kindness/resentment, harmony/discord to the our own reality. In being light to others, we allow ourselves to Also bring Christ into the room.

Why, as people of authority, (parents, teachers, priests, leaders) do we try to enforce or expect others, such as our children, to learn the value of rule-following? Is it perhaps for the purpose of discipline, in hopes of the best interest of the other? Is it in hopes that children learn to take ownership of their lives as well set good boundaries for themselves? The very laws that are the hardest to follow, remain faithful to, or even accept into our lives at all, are always the laws that point to a greatest good.   The Jews were certainly aware of the root and purpose of laws; the definite value they present especially in relationship to God. The lawful act of praise and worship in a church and community is ultimately good for us- our very nature is affirmed in the act of letting God into the fabric of society. Going to mass weekly is not meant to be obligatory simply by the hand of authority or challenge, but to uphold and affirm our true selves, which is the very nature that is apart of His design. It is

The way that scripture presents the four disciples in these readings is that, at one encounter, they drop everything in their lives and follow Jesus. At first glance, this act of leaving everything behind seems almost un-virtuous as if they abandoned their families and responsibilities. It seems like to radical of a move without further reflection. On a human level, we can probably glean what really happened - what’s more likely, is that they knew Jesus already, enough to trust him and make a conscious free decision to follow him. They were predisposed to make a commitment to someone who they most likely had grown in trust and relationship. Invitation can be life-changing. When we ourselves don’t always stay committed to the things we want to, such as our faith life and even relationships, we can find ourselves invited in various ways to reconnect and even connect others to these areas of our lives. We cannot predict the ways that these invitations will manifest new and profound interior and exterior movemen

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” We can recall the history behind these scriptural words - the sacrificial lamb at Passover, the suffering servant in Isaiah, and the sacrifice that becomes the Eucharist as Christ’s body and blood. Today, we need to have a deep understanding of who Jesus is - not just academically or theologically, but personally. The modern culture around the church has declined in numbers and fervor mostly because of the rise of an apathetic and unbelieving attitude towards the person of Jesus. This means we are lacking in our personal prayer or effort in seeking time directly with God. How can we bring ourselves to not just do the actions of faith but bring our authentic hearts to prayer? Asking the tough questions, sharing anxieties and all emotions, being open to the reality of who He is. Every time we carry out any ritual in the church, we are invited to connect our deepest, most vulnerable selves to a truly real God. It might take a conscious act of Will

We hear about another manifestation of who Jesus is in today’s readings. We see Jesus being baptized with the entire Trinity being revealed in the voice of God and the appearance of the dove as the presence of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist explains this baptism as an act of repentance. And yet, even though Jesus does not need to repent, He still exemplifies for us the gift and sacrament of baptism; and as salvation history unfolds, He takes responsibility for all acts of repentance. This is a huge bit of truth. God did not enter into our story to just teach, to heal or to model morality. His existed for the sake of forgiveness and reconciliation with God our Father. How can we ourselves be brought back to God in reconciliation? As baptized, transformed and adopted children of God, we can become like Jesus in his mission by forgiving and understanding one another. Everyone has or has been challenged to forgive someone in their life. It is not always easy to do. However when we do not forgive, it can be to

Fr. John Ehrich, STL St. Thomas More Glendale, AZ

In the readings, we hear words like ‘obedience, honor, and subordination.’ One thing we can remember when we hear these terms, especially in the context of family and relationship with God, is that the desire to be obedient comes from a place of respect and love and awe for the other person. Even in the structure of the Holy Trinity, the three persons of God are completely equal, mutually respected and loved among the three. This Trinitarian relationship is meant to be made manifest in our marriages and in our families. Though we may. often forget this love and respect in our everyday lives, it is so important to continually be reminded of the honor that we can hold for each other. It is so important that children are taught obedience for the sake of learning these concepts of love and respect and honor. Subordination is not a synonym for being controlled. Rather, it is rooted in trust and intimate relationships. A husband cherishes his wife, and therefore a wife can trust in the love and respect she can als

Let’s say you were the author of a story. The characters that you created are vast and intimately known by you, their creator. You decide to give your characters free will because that way, they get to choose themselves rather than be controlled. What are you to do as the author brings their attention to you? Would you enter into their story? Maybe you could enter into that story so that you could communicate directly and say, “ I love you, I have created you from the beginning and I have always been with you.” It’s an analogy that we can reflect on as a way to potentially see God's perspective. To clarify, God did not create sin, nor evil, but as a consequence of free will allowed the possibility of evils suffering to be apart of our story. This does not mean we are abandoned. The very opposite is true - God takes responsibility for our own sins. The main point of God entering into Hos creation was for Our redemption. The power of evil is therefore gone. Though we might not feel like evil and suffering has

God does amazing things through the people who say “yes.” Abraham is the one who makes a covenant with God initiates this pattern in scriptures. When finally the angel Gabriel asks of Mary to bear the son of God, she said yes to God's plan even without knowing the full story. Joseph also was asked to accept a difficult truth and to say yes to the idea of raising a foster child. Without knowing the entirety of the situation, these figures in the Bible represent an abiding trust in simply saying yes. And this trust might be interpreted as recognizing that this might be God's initiative, that it could be a beautiful gift in the making. Which is what it truly was for all of humanity. We can never predict what our life will be like. We simply cannot know what will take place through all of our moments of saying yes. While it’s easy to look at other people’s lives and think our lives should be the same, the comparison is not a factor with a God who creates us all so uniquely and with different purposes. Perhaps if

Abraham and Sara wait and are blessed with the fulfilled plan of allowing them to conceive. Even we’ll pass their old age, they desire to conceive and are finally graced with a child. There are many similar storylines in the Bible that share this theme. Conception as a gift from God. Its almost as if God was preparing humanity for the big one. The immaculate conception and the very salvation that would miraculously enter into the world. Emmanuel, God with us. We see in this narration a God who takes responsibility for our sin, who desires to be with us in our suffering as the only way to restore us. It is not only a story that is a mystery to our scientific minds, but to our psyche - that Christ desires to be actually apart of human history by becoming human Himself. He desires to be close, to be with us even in our unfaithfulness. We can look at our lives; times when we have been prosperous and times of victory, but also times of great need for help and healing. This God wants to meet us and for us to trust