Count the Fruit: September Gospel Reflections

Send us Fan MailThe first day of October finds us buckling a car seat, grabbing microphones, and laughing through nerves as “baby day” finally arrives. Two weeks ago we thought labor had started—turns out it was two kidney stones at thirty‑six weeks—an ordeal that pushed us to ask better questions, lean on each other, and relearn the difference between bracing and trusting. From nesting wins to a quiet pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, we trace how grace threads through pain, humor, and ordinary preparation.Our conversation moves through September’s Gospels with fresh eyes. Luke 14 confronts the true cost of discipleship and why “hating” sin actually makes room for deeper tenderness. John 3:16 on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross reframes suffering with the serpent‑to‑cross arc: what once harmed can be lifted up and turned into hope. Then Luke 16 sneaks up on us—first with the “dishonest steward” as a jolting lesson in prudence and foresight, and then with the rich man and Lazarus, a stark warning about comfort, omission, and the people we stop seeing at our own gates.We also share why we’re taking a short hiatus to welcome our daughter, how a 33‑day Marian consecration and the Litany keep our hearts steady, and why turning outrage into real conversation might be the most countercultural act of love right now. If you’re here for Catholic faith that’s lived, not performed—for practical holiness, honest marriage talk, and Scripture that reads your life back to you—you’ll feel at home with us. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs some courage, and leave a review to help others find the show. We’ll be back in the new year—pray for us, and we’ll be praying for you.Litany of The Blessed Virgin Mary: https://www.nashvilledominican.org/prayer/litanies/litany-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/Joe's Resource for the Dishonest Steward: September Gospels: Luke 14:25-33Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,and he turned and addressed them,“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.Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after mecannot be my disciple.Which of you wishing to construct a towerdoes not first sit down and calculate the costto see if there is enough for its completion?Otherwise, after laying the foundationand finding himself unable to finish the workthe onlookers should laugh at him and say,‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’Or what king marching into battle would not first sit downand decide whether with ten thousand troopshe can successfully oppose another kingadvancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?But if not, while he is still far away,he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.In the same way,anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessionscannot be my disciple.”Love the creature, forget the creator - st augustineJohn 3:13-17Jesus said to Nicodemus:"No one has gone up to heavenexcept the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,so must the Son of Man be lifted up,so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,so that everyone who believes in him might not perishbut might have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,but that the world might be saved through him.Feast of the exaltation of the cross. The “triumph of the cross”The CrAn exclusive from Dery Media Podcasts. Explore diverse perspectives and enrich your knowledge at derymedia.com. Telling stories that matter, sparking meaningful discussions.