Your Sunday Sermon Notes – Our attitude at the altar

Was there a good point or two in the sermon which you heard at your Mass in fulfillment of your Sunday obligation?  Let us know.

For my part, I connected the Gospel parable of the Pharisee and the Publican praying in the Temple, what our attitude in prayer should be, and what the priest expresses in the prayers of the Offertory in the Traditional Latin Mass, so very attenuated in the Novus Ordo.

These days our sermons are being recorded and put out there, so, here it is!

In the wake of the Pew Research about the lack of Faith of Catholics, I figure I will add a little more liturgical catechesis to my time at the pulpit.  It is good to know what’s going on up there.  Hence, today’s look at the Offertory, especially from the priest’s perspective.

BTW… we had a Solemn Mass with a deacon ordained in May.  He did a good job.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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13 Comments

  1. JTH says:

    Bishop Emeritus: Through all the tumult we face today, remember to love one another.

  2. GrumpyYoungMan says:

    Diocesan TLM. The ordinary way to receive God’s mercy is through sacramental confession.

  3. carn says:

    Based on Jesus words, that he came to bring division, Priest stressed that division can be good in several ways, for example division according to individual capabilities/skills, but also division in different callings; he also noted that division is to some extent our own choice, whether we go to pub or to mass; and that there is the division between right and wrong and that there cannot be harmony between the two.

    He managed that way to effectively preach against socialism AND abolishing priesthood without ever talking directly about that (which was better than directly talking about that, cause its not really a traditional parish)

  4. iPadre says:

    My sermon for both OF and EF was the same. I talked about the Pew Research Center poll results and challenged everyone to kneel and receive Holy Communion on the tongue. We need to be witnesses to the Real Presence.

  5. NancyP says:

    Our newly-ordained associate pastor gave a great homily about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Christ sets the world on fire for His mission through the Eucharist. He divides us from those things that prevent us from carrying out His mission.

    It is so lovely to see an earnest young priest on fire with the joy that can only have come from the graces of the sacrament of Holy Orders. Many, many parishioners have noticed his joy.

  6. CaliCatholicGuy says:

    20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Father preached on the gospel – Jesus coming to set the world ablaze and setting mother against daughter, 3 against 2 etc… Father said if we are united in faith then we would not really be 3 against 2, or family member against family member – we would all be in communion under Jesus Christ. But due to pride and not following the truth of our faith we allow ourselves to be divided – even among real Catholics versus those who say they are but do not follow the church’s teachings such as supporting abortion on demand or “pro choice” but he said pro-choice is a misuse of the word – what choice do the most vulnerable of our human family have when they are put to death? Father said we have to stick to our faith even when it’s hard or when others in our family are wrong – and pray for them and ourselves that we may have strength to persevere.

  7. JonPatrick says:

    Melkite Greek Catholic Rite, the Sunday of the healing of the epileptic son.

    When Jesus speaks of having faith the size of a mustard seed yet moving a mountain, the mountain can be considered that which keeps us from God, those things in us that are so hard to remove. God’s grace can eventually wear down that mountain, the way a stream of water wears down the rock it passes over.

    Father also preached on the importance of prayer and fasting. Fasting does not necessarily mean just food but anything we are attached to.

    After the liturgy Father blessed roses in commemoration of the Dormition of the Theotokos, particularly because of the tradition that when the disciples went to Mary’s tomb her body was gone and they only found roses there.

  8. Philomena Mary says:

    Diocesan TLM, excellent sermon about humility being the virtue that underpins all other virtues.

  9. Suburbanbanshee says:

    So I got fruit blessed on Assumption Day, and planned to give it out at work.

    Thursday night I had a plumbing flood. Fruit stayed dry, but forgot to bring the fruit into.work, all weekend.

    Today I remembered. Missed bus. Walked to.work with fruit.

    Co-workers ate all the blessed grapes, as per plan. Demons must be feeling frustrated!

  10. Mike says:

    [as an aside…] Two men go into the Temple [church] to pray… How seldom we find men doing that these days. Why do we leave it to the womenfolk outside of Mass time?

  11. jameeka says:

    Father C had a good homily for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
    Started by talking about dysfunctional families-and said even Jesus extended family (cousins, etc) thought He was “nuts”. This is a consequence of Original Sin.

    We don’t want to be reprimanded, we don’t want to be told to convert and repent. Jeremiah was thrown in the muddy cistern, to die. The language used is very similar to Pilate washing his hands of Jesus’ execution.

    But then Fr concentrated on the second reading: St Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, 12:1-4.
    When asked by a journalist a while back what was his favorite scripture reading, he cited this one. He also mentioned it to his (now deceased) friend, Fr O, who agreed it was one of his favorites as well.

    “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of
    shedding blood.”

    The “cloud of witnesses” refers to all the Old Testament prophets and saints who had gone before. The picture is as a race in a public arena, where we are stripped of all the burdens of sin, and run the race with our gaze fixed on Jesus Christ.

    Jesus trusted His Father so completely, He accepted the cross He despised, to bring us to His Father. His actions reversed the consequences of Original Sin–rooted in Adam’s mistrust of our Father.

    “For the sake of the joy that lay before Him”

  12. I spoke about the Pew study and also included an exerpt of the Archbishop’s letter about welcoming and assisting migrants, per his request. I connected them with St. Paul’s words about discerning the Body. I hit hard on the catastrophe of loss of faith in the Eucharist, explaining how we brought this on by trashing our tradition and doing grave damage to the Mass. And for those who think we just need to focus on justice and compassion, I said that if we don’t recognize Christ in the Eucharist, we will soon not recognize him anywhere else.

  13. Gabriel Syme says:

    Our sermon said that when presented with the tale of Publican and the Pharisee at prayer, our reaction can be to think that we ourselves must be more like one or the other.

    That is, we are either observant with our religious duties – and susceptible to being proud of ourselves for being so. Or, perhaps, less observant – but very much aware of our failings and accordingly humble.

    Our priest said that, rather than thinking we fit more one mould or the other, try to take what is good from both. That is, when it comes to our religious obligations, be dutiful like the Pharisee, but when it comes to prayer, be aware of our lowliness and be humble like the Publican.

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