https://www.ryanohara.org/podcast/044

There is a weightiness to preaching that differs from every other kind of speaking. The message isn’t our own. The impact isn’t up to us.  It’s power comes from without, by grace lives within, and cannot be tamed, controlled, or cajoled.  As the Spirit blows where it wills, the preacher waits on the Lord. This is the burden of preaching. But it’s not a burden that rests heavy, only to crush, but a weight imbued with the Spirit that can (and must) be carried as the Preacher grows in trust of one greater, in trust of God, Father/Son, and Holy Spirit.   

As I spoke with today’s guest, my dear friend Fr. Andriy Chirovsky, he shared about the weight and burden that comes along with Catholic preaching.  I was riveted and I think you will be too.  It challenged me out of thinking that I’m doing much of anything when I give talks and has encouraged me to wait on the Lord, beg for his mercy, and plead with God to speak to his people. Can’t wait for you to hear this episode with my good friend, Fr. Andriy. 

The Right Reverend Mitered Protopresbyter Andriy Chirovsky, who prefers to sign his name as “Andriy, sinner-priest,” was ordained to the priesthood by the Confessor of the Faith, the patriarch of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church, Josyf Cardinal Slipyj in 1980. He has had extensive pastoral and academic experience across the United States and Canada, and has preached and lectured throughout North America, Eastern and Western Europe, and Australia. He founded the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies in 1986 at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was its first Director for 16 years. The author of several books and numerous articles, Fr. Andriy has now retired from academic work due to his health. He is currently pastor of St. Paul Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Mission Parish in Flagstaff, AZ, where he lives with his wife, Halyna (yes, there are married priests in the Eastern Catholic Churches) and has founded East by Southwest Ministries, through which he is developing a series of podcasts on various aspects of the Theology, Spirituality, and History of the Eastern Churches, with an emphasis on East-West Ecumenism, and when appropriate, a good dose of humor as well. 

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