Oro Valley Catholic

Choices: Prudence and False Promises

“The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie.”
― ― Ann Landers
Prudence is the virtue that protects us from being sucked into false promises - lies and lying liars - like Satan.  Prudence is a necessary virtue to a happy and sane life. The First Sunday of Lent, Jesus is tempted by the devil after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. 1 John 2:16 describes the nature of the satanic temptation - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of the world. All lies! They were Adam's temptations in the Garden of Eden. Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeds by seeing through all the temptations and satanic distortions. Prudence is the acquired virtue by which we make sober and sound judgments in the face of life's challenges.  It is how we avoid the lies. 
The readings for the First Sunday of Lent are: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030622.cfm
Music: Pizzetti - Dies irae - Messa di Requiem by The Tudor Consort is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 International License.

Temperance And The Joy Of Life

Ash Wednesday is beckoning us to joy. The Book of Sirach says, "As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just." This week Oro Valley Catholic discusses how the virtue of temperance brings joy from pleasure and protects them both from our passions, appetites and tendency towards self-destruction.
Readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022722.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.

Mr. Roger’s Neigborhood And Friendship

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood ran on Canadian and the American television from 1962 through 2001. Children are open to Mr. Roger's appeal to be his neighbor because we are made for friendship. This episode of Oro Valley Catholic explores friendship with God and with one another. I conclude that being Mr. Roger's friend is a good idea, but even better to be God's friend.
Readings for the 7th Sunday: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022022.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.

Self Invention And The Beatitudes

The fastest religion growing in American is that of self-invention. Harry Potter fan fiction, polyamory, yoga and Satancon are examples of making up reality for oneself. Why? T.S. Eliot said that "human kind cannot bear much reality." How do you make inhabitable, at least for a while. This week on Oro Valley Catholic.
Readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021322.cfm
Music: Arthur's Dream by Nutmeg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

Catholic Match, Dating And Marriage

Online dating is becoming a more serious option for Catholics actively seeking the vocation of marriage. As a pastor, I have met more couples seeking a wedding date that met on Catholic Match than ever before. I asked one couple, Christina and Allen to share their experience. Something to think about.

Mysticism and the transformation of experience

In Luke 5, Jesus calls Simon to follow him. Peter experiences a tremendous catch of fish, but, after all, he is a fisherman. Why does a boatload of fish compel him to describe himself as a sinful man. A mystical experience transforms how we see reality, opening our eyes to the presence of God, hiding in plain sight.
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020622.cfm
Music: Arthur's Dream by Nutmeg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

We Fail That Others Might Succeed

If your sense of meaning in life reduces to your personal success, then your success dies with you. Jesus' first homily in Nazareth bombed big time. St. Peter hit it over the wall in his first homily in Jerusalem. A lesson about the love of God and why an unknown nun in France became one of the best selling authors in publishing. Lots to learn for all of us.
Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013022.cfm
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.

Blombos Cave, Nazareth and the Mass

Blombos Cave is an archaeological site in South Africa where evidence of humans using abstracts symbols to express meaning were found. Our ability to reason, use metaphor and create symbols makes poetry, science, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Mass, possible. But there is a dark side!
The readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012322.cfm
Arthur's Dream by Nutmeg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

The Divine Bridegroom And Our Belly Buttons

Our navels are a sign of our dependence on our mother's, our connection to all of life going back through the ages. Marriage is the sign of the Divine Bridegroom's love for his spouse, the Church. Navel gazing get's us nowhere; following sacramental signs sure does. Marriage and Celibacy in this episode of Oro Valley Catholic.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011622.cfm
Music Arthur's Dream by Nutmeg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

What we need is a complete rebuild - Baptism of the Lord

The Baptism of the Lord brings the Christmas season to an end. The scriptures counsel patience with God, one another and ourselves as God works to rebuild his image in each of us through scripture, sacrament and a life of virtue.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010922.cfm
Music provided by the St. Mark Festival Choir pursuant to One License # A-726294