Adult Ed, June 25th - Catholic Commentary on the Apocalypse, Session 4, The Four Living Creatures and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Revelation 4-7 (Part 4 of 9, Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

Outline of Session 4:  Commentary on Revelation chapters 4-7. The Heavenly Liturgy is opened before St John, the meaning of the Four Living Creatures and what the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse symbolize.  The Scroll with Seven Seals. 

Sunday Sermon, June 21st -- Meditations on the Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

June is the month of the Sacred Heart. In addition to the 5 first Friday devotion (receiving holy Communion in the state of grace as an act of reparation on the first Friday of 5 consecutive months), we encourage that Home Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - placing an image of the Sacred Heart in a prominent public place in the home (like the living room or entry way).

There are five specific characteristics of the image of the Sacred Heart that are a source for meditation on the meaning of this devotion and the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus.  1) The Heart, as a symbol of Love.  2) The Wound in the side.  3) The Crown of Thorns.  4) The Cross behind/above the Heart.   5) The Fire around the Heart.

Adult Ed, June 18th -- Catholic Commentary on the Apocalypse, Session 3, Letters to the Seven Churches, Chapters 1-3 (Part 3 of 9, Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

Outline of Session 3:  Commentary on the opening address of Revelation, Letters to the Seven Churches. Understanding the historical context of the letters, but also seeing the historical interpretation of the Seven Churches as representing salvation history or Church history. 

Adult Ed, June 11th -- Catholic Commentary on the Apocalypse, Session 2: Structure and Overview (Part 2 of 9, Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

Outline of Session 2:  Recognizing the place of Revelation in Sacred Scripture, we consider and overview of the basic flow of the book. The structure of Revelation is not at all clear, but certain themes seem to present themselves in a recurring fashion.  Our hermeneutic (i.e. basic method of interpretation) will be very important for understanding the many themes brought forward in this book.

Sunday Sermon, June 14 -- The Eucharist, Not Protests and Riots - Feast of Corpus Christi (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

The people of God have been deprived of Mass and the Eucharist (and in some places even of adoration and confession). Without Catholics offering proper public worship to God, there can be no peace in the world.

Meanwhile, secular forces attempt to cause upheaval in society and undermine core human values. Even some bishops are fooled by this and begin to believe that the wrongs of society (and especially the evil of racism) can be corrected through public secular protests and without recourse to God in prayer -- note that some bishops and many leftist politicians advocate the protests of thousands without any regard for social distancing, but continue to suppress Mass and even refuse to allow small numbers of people to gather in prayer.

On Corpus Christi, and remembering the solemn Eucharistic Processions we will be making on Sunday, we know that the only solution to racism can come from frequent confession, worthy communions, and many hours of Eucharistic Adoration! Our Eucharistic Lord will answer all our needs!

Sunday Sermon, June 7 -- The Love of the Trinity for Us (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Sunday Sermon)

The Apostle preached not only the doctrine of the Trinity, but also that the Most Holy Trinity loves each of us and desires our salvation.  "For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Consider the love of God the Father in creating you. He made you not because of any merits of your own, but simply because of his love for you. He does not love you because you are good, but his love makes you to be good.  And the Father's love is seen throughout the Old Testament.

Consider the love of God the Son in redeeming you. He desired to live among us and to be one of us so that we might know how much he loves each of us. While he was on earth, Jesus was nothing but merciful, gentle and loving with us.

Consider the love of God the Holy Spirit in sanctifying us. He lives within us and is active in us. We do not know how to prayer, so he prays in and through us. We do not know how to speak up for the faith, so he speaks in and through us. He guides the Church and keeps her true throughout all time.

Finally, the love of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is shown in the three sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation.

Adult Ed, June 4th -- Catholic Commentary on the Apocalypse, Session 1, Introduction: St John and the History of the Writing of Revelation (Part 1 of 9)

In this series, through June and July, we are discussing the Book of Revelation.

Outline of Session 1:  Introduction, St John and the history of the writing of Revelation, Revelation as New Testament “prophecy”, why called Revelation or Apocalypse, Revelation as part of the Bible, and debates in the early Church about the book of Revelation.

Pentecost Sunday Sermon, May 31st -- Desiring God's Will with the Holy Spirit's Aid (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

Pentecost is often seen as a healing of the Old Testament event of the confusing of languages at the Tower of Babel, and this is certainly correct.

Another aspect to Pentecost is to recognize that, according to a Jewish Tradition (which seems to be from about the time of Jesus, or perhaps just after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 - but still was influential on the early Christians and Fathers of the Church), the Jewish feast of Pentecost was not merely an agricultural feast but also a commemoration of the giving of the Law (the 10 Commandments) to Moses on Mount Sinai.

In this respect, we see a parallel insofar as the Holy Spirit rights the commandments of God upon our hearts. If we love God, we will fulfill his commandments - and the Law will not be something seen as restrictions placed on us from without, but as fulfilling our true desires.  The key to salvation, and the key to happiness in this life as well is to desire what God desires, to love what he loves - to say always, "Lord, thy will be done."   The Holy Spirit moves our hearts to be united with God's will.