Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Did you hear a good point in the Sunday sermon?

What was it?

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47 Comments

  1. Polycarp says:

    We did not have a homily this Sunday. A lay couple (husband and wife) gave a short speech as way of introducing the Archbishop’s annual appeal video.

    I am in the St Paul, MN Archdiocese.

  2. anamaria says:

    “When you love, everything is kept simple, when we dont love, we complicate things”… Hmmm, seems to me he was thinking about my marriage when I forget who I am and what´s expected of me.

  3. MJFarber says:

    Quinquagesima Sunday – II Class

    Domine, ut videam. Lord, that I may see.

    Lord, we pray that Thou wilt shine the truth of Thy love on sinners. Give them the light to see their vocations and the strength to attain the dignity for which they were created. Do not let them die. Do not let them waste their lives living as the world lives, but strengthen them to live in Thy love. Let them see Thy love and run towards it, abandoning all things that oppose it. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth to expose their current lives as deceits of the devil and show forth the lives in Thy love for which they were created.

    Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
    Both now and forever through the ages of ages. Amen.

  4. MJFarber says:

    I just copied and pasted from eccehomocatholic.blogspot.com but it is essentially what our sermon was about yesterday. Fr. did mention things about faith, hope and charity as well and gave us some encouraging suggestions about Lenten penances.

  5. Katylamb says:

    The homily was about how our sins are what led to Jesus’ bloodshed and death on the cross. Father also referred to the bishop’s letter on the HHS mandate again and explained the situation. He said a copy of the letter would be in the bulletin every week until something changes.

  6. My Mass was for the Seventh Sunday (N.O. obviously) in an old folk’s home so I tried to keep it simple and reassuring: only our faith is established by God Who by His miracles has shown His will to forgive our sins and heal us. He has not abandoned us but has established the Church with its Priesthood to continue His ministry – all we have to do is have hearts that are open to Him and the will to ask for His mercy.

  7. Sweeny says:

    Along with other details, but what ‘stuck’ with me was the unsung friends of the paralytic. How this mans friends brought their friend to Christ, reminding us that we need to evengelize and bring those in need to Jesus, and his mercy.

  8. Gregg the Obscure says:

    Our transitional deacon preached on confession. Catchphrase: “God can turn our mistakes into miracles”.

  9. beez says:

    As a transitional deacon, I preached on the readings for the 7th Sunday in OT.

    Me theme was, small or great, no sin is unforgivablem but confession is the key to find healing from sin… Without direct confession, sin, small or great, continues to nag and prod.

    I did take the opportunity to invite ProLifers to try to be less harsh when dealing with women who, for whatever reason, have had an abortin because sometimes our rhetoric can make them feel beyond God’s love and grace.

    I finished with the invitation to come to the Sacrament of Penance to allow God to show us his love for us and “make our sins no more.”

  10. ipadre says:

    I based my homily on the first reading from Isaiah. “The people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”
    We are called to be different, this is why we need to defend our conscience rights, our right of freedom of religion. I used the thoughts of the Holy Father in the Spirit of the Liturgy. God delivered the chosen people from Egypt not to have a land or to worship, but to live His commandments. This is what makes us the Baptized different, we live as Christ and His Church call us to live. Liturgy is morality! I posted it on my latest podcast episode if you want to listen.

  11. Dax says:

    Was able to sneak away to the EF and listened to an outstanding homily based on the Epistle and Gospel. Canon tied them together beautifully and made charity and suffering the theme. He also mentioned St. Francis de Sales writings that spiritual almsgiving and interior mortifications are better than temporal.

    Lessons from Scripture and Holy Mother Church. Just what a homily should be.

    Pax

  12. texasbigchief says:

    Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins based on the faith of his friends. The deacon preaching today linked this to the souls in purgatory being cleansed of their sins and allowed into heaven due to the prayers of the faithful (the faith of the friends).

  13. HeatherPA says:

    “The birth of Christ was the turning point in the history of women.”
    Our priest gave a long homily regarding the HHS mandate and how the mainstream media is outrageously portraying the Catholic faith as “anti-women”, when nothing could be further from the truth. He was very passionate and spoke very well. In our bulletins, he included a stamped, addressed envelope, with talking points and suggestions, for us to write to our representative.

  14. Flambeaux says:

    I was unable to attend Mass yesterday due to illness.

    But my wife said the homily at the EF parish was excellent. The pastor preached on charity. What stuck with her was his suggestion that Paul’s Epistle could serve as an effective examination of conscience with regard to sins against charity.

    I was reminded, as one is, of a post some time back by John Hunwicke, about how Paul’s Greek is particularly acerbic. He observed that everywhere Paul says “charity is…” he’s explicitly noting, charitably, that the Corinthians are not.

    This, coupled with the sermons of Ambrose and Gregory that were in the Office of Matins yesterday morning, produced much reflection and discussion under our roof.

    Deo gratias!

  15. smmclaug says:

    The homily was about theocidy, basically. It covered how suffering can be redemptive if we bind ourselves to the Cross of Christ. It ended with a letter by the child mystic, Antonietta Meo, which was one of the most moving things I’ve ever heard from the pulpit. It was a solid preparation for Lent, delivered by one of the most joyful and spirit-filled priests you’ll ever meet.

    We’re very blessed at St. Rita Parish (Alexandria, VA).

  16. discerningguy says:

    It was alright. We got ANOTHER letter from our bishop read to us about the HHS mandate! We also all got a copy of it in our bulletins. HE Robert Guglielmone of Charleston is quite big on this issue. Additionally, our deacon went a bit into the readings.

  17. teechrlady says:

    Nothing that stands out at my parish, but I really liked Fr. Longenecker’s, “Why I Don’t Go to Church.”

  18. pforrester says:

    We had a visiting Franciscan priest from our local California Mission, San Luis Rey. He somehow began to speak about Hell by first asking if a loving and merciful God would send anyone to Hell. I thought to myself, “Ah..oh where is this going?” But he ended up saying that we by our choices send ourselves to Hell. He used the analogy that blaming God for sending people to Hell is like blaming electricity if he stuck a screwdriver in the electric socket and got shocked and blamed electricity instead of his choice to stick the screwdriver in the socket. Then I thought about

    Romans 9:22
    What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction

    Which can also be translated I have heard as, “the vessels of wrath fitted themselves to destruction.”

  19. jenne says:

    At NO mass we received the excellent reminder that are souls are paralyzed and the four men carrying the paralytic is the church. He told us to make use of the sacrament of confession for healing our souls. He also talked about why we need to confess to a priest versus just straight to God. It was a very good sermon that I cannot retell as well. Then we had the diocesan rep talk us through filling out the appeal envelop. And tying in the grace of repentance we had an announcement from a rachel vineyard rep who gave us her testimony.

  20. oblomov says:

    Father talked about healing, and how prayer heals, then he segued into a wonderful story about St Monica and how she had helped bring the son of a former parishioner back to the Church. Father was a medic under General Patton in north Africa and Europe during WWII, and loves to preach on healing. Something he does with great simplicity and love.

  21. jfk03 says:

    February 19, for Byazantine Catholics on the Gregorian Calendar was the Sunday of Forgiveness (aka Cheese Fare Sunday). Our priest’s sermon focused on the joy of lent. Our lives are focused on earthly things, and this is a time to reorient ourselves to eternal, spiritual things. The inner significance of fasting is best summed up in the triad: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Without prayer and the Holy Mysteries, unaccompanied by personal acts of compassion to those around us, fasting becomes pharisaical, even demonic. The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence on God. It leads us to an inner sense of brokenness and compunction. Fasting, particularly on the opening days, involves real hunger and tiredness.

    Our priest encouraged observance of the Orthodox fasting tradition, particularly during the first week. If one is healthy and able to do so, one should not take food on the first day of the Great Fast (Clean Monday); only one meal a day thereafter, after the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesdays and Fridays. This is hard to do for those of us who are a bit older and/or hold down full-time jobs, or who suffer from physical ailments, so the Lenten rules are to be approached not from a legalistic sense, but in the spirit of doing what one is physically able to do.

    Great Lent leads to the joy of Pascha, so at the end of Vespers portions of the Paschal Matins are sung.

  22. tealady24 says:

    The gospel was of the prediction of the Passion. The Apostles understood none of this, as we wouldn’t have, either. Our priest gave an excellent sermon, quite long, preparing us for the season of Lent, reminding us that it is for all of us, and that it needn’t be just about giving up, and fasting and feeling lousy. There is SO much more, and we absolutely need to give ourselves to God and let the days unfold as they will.

    After mass, we spoke with our priest downstairs during coffee and doughnuts, and he was quite pessimistic about the future; saying that it looks as if there will be “circuit rider” priests in the years to come. He looks to be in his late 70’s,. He quoted some statistics which has us facing real dilemmas by 2020.
    And that’s not far away.
    So, grab your rosarys and pray hard!

    This, from Sunday’s Divine Intimacy:
    ‘The human eye has not sufficient light to comprehend the value of the Cross; it needs a new light, the light of the Holy Spirit.’ Think on that today.

  23. tianzhujiao says:

    Healing of body and soul. Importance of the sacrament of confession. We were encouraged to attend Holy Mass more frequently during Lent, if possible daily.

  24. NoTambourines says:

    I went to the parish closer to my current workplace. It was a standing-room-only Mass, which tied in well with the Gospel.

    The pastor made many excellent points, including:

    – Referring to the second reading, he noted that even the demons Jesus cast out of people knew who He is, but the difference is that we say “yes” to God where they say “no.”

    – He emphasized that in the Gospel, it said “when Jesus saw their faith,” not just the faith of the paralytic. People acting together out of faith were essential to getting that one member of their community to Jesus.

    – Talking about the Cross, he noted that it has two beams. The first is the vertical one, pointing between heaven and earth, and talked about the need to pray in order to have strength to seek and carry out God’s will. When the vertical beam is strong enough, it can hold up the horizontal beam, which stretches out laterally toward others. He emphasized that we need that strength from God and as a community to answer things like the abuses of the HHS directive.

  25. Archromanist says:

    At the 9:30 am Solemn Mass at St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, CT, Fr. Richard Cipolla delivered an outstanding sermon on the confrontation between the current administration and the bishops. In essence, though the bishops are fighting under the banner of religious liberty, and may well win this battle, the war will be lost unless there is a fundamental change of strategy. It must be admitted that the essential issue is not political but moral, and that bishops and priests have failed for close on a half-century now to form their flocks according to the true teachings of the Church. What does it say about the Church when survey after survey shows that Catholics are virtually indistinguishable from non-Catholics in the matters of contraception, abortion, and sterilization? Could there be a more glaring contradiction to point up the dysfunction that has plagued the Church in America since the sixties? Conversion at the deepest levels is called for, in bishops, in priests, in deacons, and in the laity. The time is coming when the penitential practices of lent may need to be embraced year-round. The great trio of fasting, prayer, and alms-giving must be embraced anew. The sermon was, to repeat, outstanding, truly outstanding. It may appear soon on a certain high-profile website, so stay tuned.

  26. ShihanRob says:

    My daughter (Rohaigirl) and I attended a Ordinary Form Mass in Latin. It was, as always, beautiful. The homily was excellent and gave me some interesting and very hopeful points to ponder. The story of the paralytic and his friends was a foreshadowing of the resurrection.
    The digging through the roof was analogous to the digging of a grave. The lowering of the paralytic on his “bier” (Fr. said that the word used for the mat was the same as for a funeral bier) was symbolic of one being lowered into the grave. Jesus used the same phrase to command the paralytic to get up as he did with Lazarus (or was it the soldier’s daughter?) to get up.
    So, Jesus has power over our natural death and our spiritual death. He can raise us up from our spiritual death, brought about by our sins, and raise us to eternal life. And, what’s really cool, is that we, through our faith and prayers can help our friends attain Jesus’ mercy. How awesome is that!

  27. sallyr says:

    Cardinal George preached at Chicago’s cathedral. He took up the idea from Isaiah, that God is going “something new,” and that in part this referred to Jesus who not only heals bodies, but more surprisingly forgives sins. Then he discussed the healing of the paralytic, that Jesus set this man free from both his body’s limitations and from his sins, and how much we all long to be liberated in this way.
    He noted that it was the man’s friends who carried him to Jesus and let him down through the roof so Jesus could heal him. We need “friends” to bring us to Jesus, and this is the way the Church works, both through individuals and through charitable institutions. It was the “crowds” that stood in the way and made it difficult to get to Jesus, and he said there are crowds today that stand in the way and prevent us from getting to Jesus and being liberated – he drew a comparison to the HHS mandate and the threat to Catholic institutions. Then he drew in the reading from Paul and said that no matter the hardships we face, God is always faithful to his promises to us. It was a beautiful homily and heartfelt.

  28. The Sicilian Woman says:

    beez:

    I did take the opportunity to invite ProLifers to try to be less harsh when dealing with women who, for whatever reason, have had an abortin because sometimes our rhetoric can make them feel beyond God’s love and grace.

    Yes! A friend of mine recently revealed that she had had two abortions many years ago. She told me that it was the harshness from anti-abortion/pro-life folks, combined with having to deal with graphic images of abortion, that made it much more difficult for her to come out about the abortions, and to heal. This is a woman who was not raised in any particular faith, but found healing through an evangelical Christian church that she attended for a while. This would have been an excellent opportunity for a Catholic pro-lifer to have shown her compassion, and possibly lead her into the Church.

  29. tealady24 says:

    I’m feeding Basil, again; this has gotta stop!

  30. pinoytraddie says:

    I Can only Recall the Celebrant’s short story about his friend,an elderly woman who was not on good terms with a common friend also a priest,she asked the homillist to invite him and come he did to ask for forgiveness.

  31. Sid says:

    The priest minced no words. He told us that the Federal Government now has begun an open persecution of Catholics, that we therefore are to use Lent as a boot camp to prepare for this persecution, and that Lent 2012 has to be more than just giving up something: Our boot camp involves prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Father urged us to make Fridays in Lent fast days.

  32. Patrick L. says:

    One of the themes of the homily was how to prepare ourselves – particularly during Lent – for resisting the natural tendency to get caught up in cultural trends that can easily lead to immorality. He used the analogy that the spiritual life of a Christian is like walking upstream against a strong current. If we don’t keep moving or grab onto a stationary object, we will be caught by the current and carried away. He reiterated a common theme that we must be in the habit of denying ourselves legitimate pleasures when we are not being tested, so that we are prepared for the days when we are put to the test.

  33. catholicmidwest says:

    Not a word specifically about the HHS Mandate or anything remotely close to it. All about God forgiving you no matter what you do, with no mention of the sacrament of Confession. Apparently, according to these homilies, God forgives you no matter what you do, so you might as well do your worst. According to all these homilies, apparently God doesn’t care about us much, and evil apparently doesn’t count for much. That *IS* the logical conclusion whether people who utter such slop realize it or not. No wonder people trot right out of there and go take their birth control pills and so on.

    At the end, there was mention in the announcements of something important from the USCCB to read in the bulletin. It was said almost apologetically, like “Oh yeah, if you don’t mind, we were asked…..”

    If Churches don’t start taking this seriously, the Church is going to be in a world of hurt come August. Sandbox play time is over.

  34. LoriM says:

    Lent begins Wed. We need training and unload ourselves of excess baggage that weighs us down spiritually. Take a spiritual pilgrimage/journey, which involves meditation, which will open our hearts. At the heart of the silence is a Sacred Presence, which enters our lives which will make the journey better (need a better word there, sorry). Meditation can help us to see the presence of God and we have a right to see His presence in the entire universe. He then referenced the “interior castle” and our experiences in each room. He encouraged us to move deep into the heart of the castle to experience God’s presence and be in union with Him. Peace and joy will be experienced that no one can take away. We can go back out into the world and speak about what we have discovered in the interior castle. We find our true identity and great freedom. We can be like the paralytic who made the journey through the roof to be at the feet of Jesus.

  35. asperges says:

    Quinquagesima Sunday, OP rite. The gospel speaks of the Apostles failing to understand what Christ said to them on their visit to Jerusalem that the Son of Man was to be persecuted, spat upon etc but be raised up on the third day. They failed to understand the fullness of Charity which Our Lord was about to pour out in His voluntary supreme act of redemption of mankind. The apposition of the Epistle of St Paul on Charity, read as descriptive primarily of Christ, makes the two readings more meaningful and interconnected.

    A beggar cried out to Our Lord at the gate of Jericho. He is indicative of a soul at a barren place (without faith) crying out to someone he as yet imperfectly believes in. Our Lord says to him: “What wouldst thou that I do to thee?” to which he receives the answer: “that I may see.” Christ immediately heals him and gives him his sight – Faith. This Lent, we should earnestly pray for the lapsed and for those who are blind as yet or still to the Faith.

  36. pookiesmom says:

    Our wonderful pastor, referencing the HHS mandate, said that the situation the Church finds herself in is the result of more than 60 years of massive dissent from the Church’s teachings on contraception and nearly complete silence by the priests and bishops in the US. Also, what secular America and in particular the Obama Administration don’t ‘get’ is that the Church is a divine institution established to serve God not humanity. And just because a majority of Catholics contracept doesn’t make it right–what is wrong is always wrong even if most Catholics disobey the Church’s constant teaching on contraception.

  37. Catholictothecore says:

    Our associate pastor gave a good homily on praying for our loved ones and friends who have lapsed, have fallen away from the Catholic Church. He stressed the importance of Prayer and Penance and lastly our actions. What we do or say will not make them return to the Church. While I was listening to him my mind kept thinking about St. Monica and how she prayed for many, many years for her son, Augustine, to mend his ways and return to the Lord. Her perseverance and trust in the Lord certainly paid off for not only did her son return to the Church but became a great Saint. A shining example for us to imitate both of these great Saints.

  38. Catholictothecore says:

    Our associate pastor gave a good homily on praying for our loved ones and friends who have lapsed, have fallen away from the Catholic Church. He stressed the importance of Prayer and Penance and lastly our actions. What we do or say will not make them return to the Church. While I was listening to him my mind kept thinking about St. Monica and how she prayed for many, many years for her son, Augustine, to mend his ways and return to the Lord. Her perseverance and trust in the Lord certainly paid off for not only did her son return to the Church but became a great Saint. A shining example for us to imitate both of these great Saints.

  39. Chris Garton-Zavesky says:

    Week 2 of a seven-week “mini-mission” on the 7 capital sins. Last week: Pride. This week: Avarice.

    I really appreciate our new theology classes, now several months old, both for children and (separately) for adults.

  40. oldCatholigirl says:

    We had a choice of sermons: the young priest who said our EF hadn’t been there the week before, so he asked if we’d knew about the HHS fiasco. We all nodded, so he gave us a terrific sermon on Love, instead, focusing on the Cross. He suggested that instead of (or besides) giving up chocolate for Lent, we find a way to show sacrificial Love, which would probably be a lot harder.

  41. q7swallows says:

    Pastor: What kind of a god would punish me or send me to hell for eating a piece of chicken or meat on a day of abstinence during Lent?! What kind of a god is that?!

    Well, think of it this way: because of a piece of fruit, we lost paradise and sin and death came into the world!
    ———–

    Great perspective heard elsewhere: Lent is our tithe of 10% of one year to God.

  42. pm125 says:

    Confession vs. modern therapy. Repentance/forgiveness vs. tell all/understanding words.
    Speaking to God vs. public help tv shows or articles. Change vs. syndrome.
    Pride (on the roof outside the crowd) vs. humility (accepting or offering charity to find Jesus’ way)

  43. q7swallows says:

    Also, our Byzantine parish has had a great success with weekly family movie night and we are presently on Episode 6 of the 10-part “Catholicism” DVD series by Fr. Robert Barron. I think there are about 50-60 people there every week – whole families and parishioners of all ages. It’s almost like a travelogue of the Holy Land and the important cities of the Scriptures. The masterpieces of art and background music — magnificent. And the commentary is provocative in a great way. Even the children and young adults are interested and coming regularly! Many comments on how much people like it.

    Schedule:
    Wed. evening 6:30 pm Divine Liturgy + chanted prayers of thanksgiving
    Potluck supper
    1 episode (about 50 min. each)
    Spontaneous socializing and board games for the kids

    People are staying and visiting until 10pm! It’s been a great shot in the arm for our parish.

  44. Matt R says:

    My priest compared a father building a pinewood derby car for his Cub Scout son is in a similar vein to the acts of love done for us by God. It was an awesome homily.

  45. APX says:

    The people who try to kill us, rob us, or destroy our reputation aren’t our enemies, but those who try to take our soul are. Rather the aforementioned are tools used to sanctify us. Rather than complaining about those who do the aforementioned, we should be thanking them for giving us the opportunity to practice patience, charity, meekness and humility.

  46. poohbear says:

    Our pastor spoke about freedom, and how the only way to be truly free is by following God. He also brought in some thoughts on the HHS and actually used the word ‘evil’ while describing abortion. I wanted to applaud (and I hate it when people applaud in church!).

    He also, for the second week in a row, used the ‘Pastor’s Column’ in the bulletin to discuss the HHS mandate. This week he discussed the CHA, and how they are in opposition to the Bishops and don’t speak for the church.

  47. Ben's son says:

    Opening with “We have never seen anything like this”, Fr. asked us to imagine we were there, being amazed at the sight of four men carrying a bed through the crowd, the homeowner looking up and pondering a new roofing problem, and then after the lowering of their friend down to the floor and waiting for his cure, what does he get instead. Absolution. Hmm, not exactly what they were looking for, for all their efforts to get him there. Oh, it came later, but Jesus gave him what he “needed” first, and what he “wanted” second. The idea is that God will indeed give us what we need, and also answer our wants appropriately.

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