Oro Valley Catholic

Magic, Faith, and Sacraments

The Bible is full of examples of magical thinking. Eve eats and apple thinking it will make her divine. Gen. 3 The Babylonians build a ziggurat thinking it takes them to heaven. Gen. 11 Judean soldiers wear amulets into battle for protection, but are slain. 2 Macc. 12. We think war, material goods and getting what we want will bring divine rewards - eternal life and happiness. Magical thinking is the belief that you can use a material cause to cause and divine effect. Sacraments are just the opposite. Magic, faith and the sacraments, this week on OVC.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100222.cfm
Music: Adoro te devote, St. Mark Choir pursuant to OneLicense Annual License w/Podcasting, A-726294

Jesus Condemns Blindness, Not The Good Things Of This World

"They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!" Amos 6:1-7. Jesus does not condemn the good things of this world, but he does condemn our blindness towards one another - The Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092522.cfm
Music:William Byrd - Civitas Sancti Tui by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.
COMPOSER: William Byrd

Gioia, Hopkins And The Catholic Poet

Dogma speaks to our intellects and erects the boundaries of understanding expressed in the Nicene Creed and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Poetry, a much more ancient religious language, speaks to us in delight, the experience of beauty and is capable of touching us very deeply. Why should we meditate on the poetry of the great Catholic poets in prayer and adoration? So that we might overcome the inertia that hampers our ascent to the Father.
Poems discussed by Dana Gioia are "The Burning Ladder" and "The Seven Sins" by Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. " “As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame”
Readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091822.cfm
Music by St. Mark Choir, " \Title: Regina caeli, H 32 - Antienne à la Vierge" Composer: Marc-Antoine Charpentier; Once License #
Annual License w/Podcasting, A-726294

Napoleon’s Tiara And Mercy

Napoleon gifted a beautiful papal tiara to Pope Pius VII - but it was too small for the pope to wear? Read about papal power, intimidation of the Church and God's mercy in this edition of Oro Valley Catholic.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091122.cfm
Music: William Byrd - Civitas Sancti Tui by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.
COMPOSER: William Byrd

The Right Order Of Love And Prudence

In Luke 14, Jesus tells his disciples "“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." Remember that in Exodus 20 honor your father and mother is the fourth commandment, the first three are about the love of God; a love Jesus claims as his own. How do we love rightly? This week on Oro Valley Catholic.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090422.cfm
Music:Bach: Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011 by Colin Carr is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

The Gospel, Frankenstein And Humility

"Frankenstein, or a Modern Day Prometheus" is one of the most popular stories of all-time. There have been about 76 film adaptions, not counting plays and derivative stories, that have featured the characters created by Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley in 1818 when she was about 18 years old having just lost her child. What does this story have to teach the modern world about humility. The Gospel from Luke is for the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time. For more information about the books mentioned in this podcast go to: https://stmarkov.com/news/the-gospel-frankenstein-and-humility
Readings for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082822.cfm
Music: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 (Mozart) by Musicians from Marlboro is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

The Assumption of Mary and the Book of Revelation

"God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." Rev. 11:19-12 The scriptural basis for the feast of the Assumption is found principally in the Book of Revelation. In this blast from the past, consider the scriptural underpinnings of Catholic Faith and the Assumption.
The Ark of the Covenant, thought to be lost at the time of the Babylonian Conquest, is as it turns out, not so lost. In what way is the Blessed Virgin Mary the eschatological icon of the Church? Looking upon Mary, who is completely holy and already glorified in body and soul, the Church contemplates in her what she herself is called to be on earth and what she will be in the homeland of heaven.
Music "Ave Maria" performed by Gina McCann and Russ Ronnebaum pursuant to One License A-726294.

Stephen Colbert, St. Anselm And Plato’s Cave

St. Anselm said, "For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe—that unless I believed, I shall not understand. —Saint Anselm
Human beings wonder about God. How do we understand who God really is as opposed to making up our own gods who meet our needs. Jesus came to bring fire, water and division - the things of God.
Readings for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081422.cfm
For extra credit read: Sullivan, Meghan; Blaschko, Paul. The Good Life Method (p. 153). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Music: Title: Regina caeli, H 32 - Antienne à la Vierge
Composer: Marc-Antoine Charpentier Pursuant to One License # A-726294

Faith And Storms In Life

"Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested." Heb. 11. Pope Benedict, relying on Paul Claudel, writes that the modern experience of Faith is like being lashed to a mast, floating in the midst of a stormy sea. St. Paul offers examples of Faith to his fellow Jewish believers in his Letter to the Hebrews.
Readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time may be found here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080722.cfm
Music: William Byrd - Civitas Sancti Tui by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.
COMPOSER: William Byrd

Generosity And The Good Life

Generosity is more than writing checks - it is our attention to the needs of others. Learn a little Christian history, something about generosity and the good life and take ways something to think about. Jesus urged his listeners to "not store up treasure for themselves" but to become "rich in what matters to God.”
Readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/073122.cfm
Music: William Byrd - Civitas Sancti Tui by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.
COMPOSER: William Byrd