Oro Valley Catholic

Do you like yourself just the way you are? - Ep. 29

There is a great story about the English Catholic novelist Graham Greene who had converted to Catholicism and then fallen away. When in Italy, he had the chance to meet St. Padre Pio and at the last minute, he cancelled his appointment. When asked why, Greene said, “I believe that man can change me, and I like myself the way that I am.” What do you think? Good enough for eternity?
Music by the St. Mark Choir under OneLicense A-726294

Fleeing and Believing: Divine Providence- Ep. 28

“Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! " Lk. 24:13-35 When the early Church preached about the unblemished lamb of God, the apostles were using typology. Jesus is being understood by reference to the type of the Passover sacrificial lamb as found in the Old Testament. Typology is the Early Christian use of pre-figurations (events, realities, and signs) that point forward to and are fulfilled in Jesus, such as the sacrificial lamb. It is how the apostles were taught by the Lord to read sacred scripture. It is how God's Divine Providence uses history to reveal the meaning of human life.
Music performed under license from One License A-726294 by Russ Ronnebaum and Gina McCann.

To be perfect is to change often: Divine Mercy - Ep. 27

St. John Henry Newman said, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” Divine Mercy Sunday is a time to consider the role of change in our lives. We are imperfect creatures. God’s mercy allows us time and grace to change, to be transformed, into who God made us to be. God’s mercy also allows the Church to grow through teaching, fellowship, the Eucharist and prayer. What does God intend for us? Our answer is that we are called to be saints, to be set apart for God. Here is a story of change.
Music under One License, performed by the St. Mark cantor and musician.

An Empty Tomb, a New Creation and a New Heart: Easter- Ep. 26

The big picture. Sometimes it is hard to see the big picture. We can get all caught up in the personally pleasing or dissatisfying and lose the big picture. The big picture is what is important for everyone, everywhere all the time. The big picture questions are who am I, where am I going, what do I need to do. Lots of answers to those questions, but only one big picture answer. Easter!
Music performed by the St. Mark Festival Choir (2019) under license from OneLicense A-726294.

King Jesus, the New Moses, the New Joseph: Palm Sunday - Ep. 25

This podcast is about St. Matthew's Gospel and the Passion of the Lord. How does St. Matthew show Jesus as the New Moses, the New Joseph, and the Suffering Servant. How does Jesus fulfill ancient prophecy and why did the crown choose Barabbas or call for Jesus' blood to be "upon them and their children." This and more in this episode of Oro Valley Catholic.
Music by Russ Ronnebaum based on 'Tantum Ergo.'

Unsentimental and Uncompromising, the Tenderness of God- Ep. 24

“One of the tendencies of our age is to use the suffering of children to discredit the goodness of God, and once you have discredited his goodness, you are done with him" Flannery O'Connor wrote these words about our cultural aversion to suffering. The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in anticipation of his own Resurrection draws the faithful into a deeper understanding of human reality.
The music for this episode is recorded by the St. Mark Choir under license from One License, A-726294

Vision, hoarding pita chips and toilet paper- Ep. 23

“For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” Eph. 5:8-14
Music by permission of Russ Ronnebaum

A Women, a Well and a Wedding- Ep. 22

A first-century Jew like Jesus of Nazareth would have seen God in a very intimate way. From an ancient Jewish perspective, the one God—“the LORD” or “I Am” (Hebrew YHWH) (Exodus 3:15)—is not just the Creator, but the Bridegroom, a divine person whose ultimate desire is to be united to his people. Salvation is a relationship that is so intimate, so permanent, so sacrificial, and so life-giving that it can only be described as a marriage between Creator and creatures.
On the Third Sunday of Lent, the Church turns to the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well. Music is composed and performed by Russ Ronnebaum.

Charles Goodyear, the Transfiguration and Insight- Ep. 21

Insight is that mental (or inward) activity by which the mind grasps the intelligible connections between things that previously had appeared merely disparate. This act of understanding “sees” a pattern in data, where “seeing” is only a metaphor from physical sight. The Transfiguration of Jesus is a grace-filled insight into life's meaning and purpose. The story of Charles Goodyear, the inventor of the vulcanization process is an example of how insight operates.
Music by Russell Ronnebaum

Disordered Love, Pears and Tempting Jesus- Ep. 20

The choice you have in life is not between God and the Devil. The choice is between God and you. The battle is fought out for the believer in the choices we make between a disordered love and a rightly ordered love. Adam and Eve endured three temptations: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life – and failed; in his 40 days in the desert Jesus triumphed where Adam and Eve failed. The Catechism teaches that "By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert."
CCC 538 – 540.
Music composed, performed and licensed by Russell Ronnebaum at https://rronnebaum.com/