Was there some particularly good point or line from the Sunday sermon you heard?
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Our youngish parochial vicar — the older pastor probably took his vacation this weekend for the particular reason of avoiding the topic — gave a solid, gentle homily on abortion and life issues.
This time you really had to be there in order to really appreciate it, but in a nutshell:
He talked about Hell, and that contrary to popular belief, it still exists and if you die with even one unconfessed mortal sin (which haven’t changed despite the “everybody’s doing it, so it’s okay now” attitude) on your soul you will go to Hell. Furthermore, he said that when you get there, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself, as you didn’t make use (or frequent use) of the gifts God gave, particularly Confession.
God doesn’t call us to do anything that he doesn’t also then equip us to attain.
Pray for vocations…pray for vocations…pray for vocations…the deacon gave a good homily on the necessity to pray for vocations to Religious Life, the priesthood and the diaconate.
My Sunday sermon started well, ended badly, but overall compared with usual it was good.
It’s Christian unity week, so our priest spoke about that. He spoke of the importance of unity, quoting scripture on the matter. He spoke of the fact that some reject the Eucharist and that some reject confession (and quoted scripture for the necessity of confession). He spoke about (though in unclear terms) apostolic succession and Bishops. All fantastic.
But then, he started saying something like: “Somehow, things went wrong, somewhere along the way. Who has the truth? Christian unity is about trying to come together and figure this out. It’s about getting back to what the original Christians believed. ”
And with that he destroyed his groundwork and injected modernism into his otherwise great sermon. “Somehow”? It’s not a mystery – it’s protestantism, and things didn’t go wrong for us Catholics, only them heretics. “Who has the truth?” We do. As for the idea that Christian unity is not about protestants converting, but all of us leaving our Churches behind and becoming something closer to the original Christians (as if Catholics aren’t the original Christians)…. well.
It was confusing, but perhaps that’s because I’m arrogantly reading into things, or perhaps I’m just confused myself. But I felt that the sermon was only 80% of the way there. He needed to drive it home that being Catholic is what Christian unity is about, and how fortunate we are to have the fullness of Christianity. Something like that.
Toward the end of a sermon on sin, particularly the sin of pride, our young priest became somewhat emotional and said (I paraphrase), “If a modern Mary Magdalene were to walk into the back of this church now, how would you treat her? Would you tell her to leave because of the way she is dressed? Would you condemn her in your pride and congratulate yourself like a Pharisee? Or would you show her Christ’s love and with Him say ‘Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more’….”
One could have heard a pin drop. He really touched us today.
EF (Dom rite) 3rd after Epiph: Gospel of the leper healed and the Soldier whose servant was sick of the palsy (Matt 8). Consideration of the nature of Faith and its obligations. The soldier had some faith unusually but the “children of the Kingdom” who should have faith were / are often unfaithful to theirs. Faith brings with it obligations as the soldier realised being used to a sense of duty. So obedience (to Holy Mother Church) and Faith are irrevocably bound together. Brief mention of Christian Unity week and what it means – one true Church and the need not only to pray for separated brethren but also for the lapsed. Not to be afraid when the opportunity arises to invite others into the Church.
The Church is not a penitentiary for the sinner rather it is a hospital which offers the sacramental therapies which cure mankind of the passions that sicken his soul. To deny oneself confession is to deny God’s healing balm.
Our pastor did one on “this too shall pass,” and how that makes sad people happy and happy people sad. Our young priest did repentance.
The priest used The Simpsons as a basis for his sermon. As I had never seen The Simpsons, I had to get a translation from my son later in the day. However, the point was on “selling one’s soul” to the devil, instead of giving one’s life to Christ as the apostles did. The emphasis was on how many modern people, even here is Ireland, deny the eternal soul in favor of the temporary comfort of their lives. I guess The Simpson episode was like a modern Faust, except after Bart sold his soul, everything went bad in his life. I guess there is another episode where Homer sells his soul for a doughnut. My kingdom for a doughnut doesn’t sound quite right.
I think most people got the message.
At a NO in upstate NY on a very cold morning: that actual grace is there when, how and as we need it.
Youngish priest preached on the error of millenarianism and the necessity of being prepared each one for his own death and all of us for the End Times, the advent of which is known only to God. Done with humour, sound doctrine & good sense.
Yesterday was Zaccheus Sunday and the deacon gave a homily that touched on the “I love Jesus, but Hate the Church” video. The best thing he said was when he remarked on the pride and hubris of an apparently twenty-something to think he has the answer to a problem of thousands of years.
Father preached about the heresy of modernism; the heresy of all heresies.
Abortion. It being the ultimate selfish act and a denial of the reality of God’s plan for humanity and our cooperation with that plan.
Contraception…the antecedent to developing a mindset that can not only countenance, but encourage abortion. Another act of “my pleasure first”, and a sin against the sacredness of the sacrament of Marriage…”I love you honey, but not enough to abandon ME to God’s will, and I just want to enjoy the pleasure without consequences”.
March for Life. If you aren’t there, then fast today as a personal reparation for being lukewarm about protecting the most vulnerable at both the beginning and at the end of life.
You can’t call yourself “Catholic” and cooperate with evil, or support those who do. Your first fidelity is to GOD, your second to the country. You don’t stop being Catholic when you step into the voting booth. Your eternal destination will take up a lot more time than the next 4 years, and where you spend it is a direct consequence of the actions you take during your life…so consider carefully what people in positions of power DO, not what they say.
You could have heard a pin drop.
The evils of abortion, and then Baby started fussing so I don’t know what else he touched on :)
Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, executive director of ICEL, at the Extraordinary Form Mass yesterday at St. Mary Mother of God in Washington, DC, in a typically thoughtful and inspiring sermon on living our Faith: lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.
I’m off to the March for Life. Pray for all expecting parents
I’ve never heard this particular homilist be hard-hitting before, but in his usual calm way he stated very firmly (using the HHS decision as a starting point) that abortion and contraception are Not Okay, and that our faith and the decisions we make as faithful Catholics absolutely do belong in the public square.
After hearing the centurion’s “servant” was his “boy”, I wasn’t thrilled. However, the priest gave an excellent talk on the anniversary of Roe vs Wade. He even quoted Obama at Notre Dame saying how he would support a conscience clause in his health reform plan and then last week overthrew the conscience clause. The priest even quoted Cardinal Mahoney blasting that decision.
Transitional deacon this time (we have a matched set: 1 permanent and 1 transitional), gave goodnexegesis on Jonah. Suggested that our reluctance to evangelise sometimes stems from an unwillingness to see God show mercy to our enemies. The only pro-life message was the usual annual announcement that a bus is leaving for D.C. if you want to go… Blessing of the RCIA one catechumen and one candidate. Still a shadow of my own “graduating class” of five.
We watched a televised message from our Bishop on a TV set up near the altar. This year, the TV was not -on- the altar, I’m very happy to report. The message was a fund raising appeal.
After a very very solid homily on the evil of abortion and the Church teachings on life, Father ended with, “there is no sin so great that God will not forgive through the Sacrament of Reconcilliation.”
Very powerful and I told him so.
I preached on the need for frequent confession of sins, with ample examination of conscience being so essential. Also daily examen along with daily confession of sins to God directly. Linked Confession to a more worthy preparation for Holy Communion.
At our little TLM chapel the priest spoke on the month of January being dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, and he used as his example for how to treat the Holy Name with reverence, the sufferings of St. John de Brebeuf, one of the North American Martyrs, after the Saint’s capture and torture by the Iroquois Indians.
Father didn’t go into all of the horrible tortures that St. John and his fellow martyr St. Gabriel Lallement went through (he mentioned only a few of them), but he emphasized the words of encouragement and pardon that the martyr said in the face of his captors and torturers. St. John didn’t utter a word of complaint; all he said was, ‘Jesus, have mercy on us’ (in the French of his day, ‘Jesus, taiteur!’).
Father also wanted us to make sure that we treat the Holy Name of Jesus with reverence, particularly in the face of the widespread irreverence that is so prevalent today. He wanted us to say ‘Jesus’ in a reverent tone whenever we hear it said in a not-so-reverent tone. [What I usually do whenever I heard Our Lord’s name used in vain, I say to myself, ‘Blessed be His Holy Name’ from the Divine Praises]
This particular priest is an excellent speaker, of all the priests of the religious community that serve our chapel. Once during this past Advent I said to him as a compliment (with an added ‘thumbs-up’ gesture), ‘You almost SOUNDED like St. John the Baptist!”
I think he liked that….. ; )
We had a really excellent homily yesterday, but I must confess that most of it was lost to me when at the end of Mass, we learned that our Pastor had left yesterday morning for the Mayo Clinic, with several concerns, at least one of which is quite serious. Please pray for him.
Our pastor asked, “What are the two most important times in your life?” No one new what to say. He then pointed out that we already know the answer, and we say it ourselves everytime we ask the Blessed Virgin’s intercession while praying the Hail Mary. The two most important times are: NOW; and AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH.
To paraphrase our pastor’s phone conversation that he shared with us:
Woman: priests have no business preaching about morality (abortion is wrong) because of sex abuse scandal
Pastor: So it’s good for priests to be silent about child abuse?
Woman: Of course, not!
Pastor: Why should priests not be silent about child abuse, but they should be silent about children being butchered in their mothers’ wombs? (my words not his)
Woman: I’ll get back to you, Father.
I went to a TLM and then a Novus Ordo Mass where I was sacristan, the homilies were okay.
The really interesting thing that happened was that at the Novus Ordo Mass I heard some beautiful liturgical chant; I was sitting near the back stairwell and it was wafting up from the basement… where thanks to some good ecumenical kindness there was an Orthodox Divine Liturgy occurring, by a group that is trying to build a church in this area (I cannot remember which kind of Orthodox but it is not the usual Greek or Russian, but a group that is heavily persecuted in their place or origin). The music at the Novus Ordo was skillfully done but very contemporary and for me it actually makes it more difficult to pray the Mass. But the tiny bit of sacred music I could hear, actually gave me a little happiness of heart and helped me to worship and adore Christ. I was uncomfortable though thinking what we must sound like to the small group of brother Christians in the basement.
Since it is the Week of Prayer for Christian unity, I was also moved to pray “that all may be one” as Jesus desires.
The homily was on repentance. How we often trust ourselves rather than the Church and end up going in the wrong direction. Spoke about how our politicians and the media lie about abortion and gay “marriage”. I thought it was a bold homily considering our fairly liberal parish.
Went to the Divine Liturgy this week at the mission across town. The overall theme of the homily was that the story of Zaccheus is emblematic of the spiritual journey overall. There were quite a few points the deacon made:
1. We are all Zaccheus
2. Gossip and other sins of the tongue can condemn you just as easily as any other fleshly sins
3. Going to Mass for 40 years and receiving the Blessed Sacrament may not transform you, you must invite Jesus in and make Him the center of your life, your heart, your home
4. What we are to be transformed into is the likeness of Christ
5. If the Lord asks you to do something for Him and you feel like you are equipped to do it, you had better check again because it may not be Him after all
Our young priest spoke compassionately about abortion and repentance. He’s got a JD, and is smart, holy, and humble. We are blessed to have him in our parish.
Let’s pray for all priests, young and old.
Good Homily from yesterday posted here
http://philotheaonphire.blogspot.com/
Bishop Nickless at the Cathedral of the Epiphany:
Jonah’s mission to Nineveh prefigures Christ’s coming, “to save us from what we deserve for our sins, eternal damnation in the fires of hell.” So, believe and repent with fasting and prayer! Then he went on to talk about abortion as a terrible sin. Then he talked about the HHS decision, naming names, and roundly condemning this attack on religious freedom. He quoted +Dolan several times. He ended by calling on us again to spend Monday doing penance for our salvation and that of our nation.
He was visibly tired from leading the local March for Life, but he preached exceptionally well. Please pray for him.
A good homily on forgiveness and worthiness. The ejaculation of the centurion was especially hard hitting and that we should find our own worthiness to receive Holy Communion based upon his statement to Our Lord.
“Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.”
Father spoke about how we are to look only with utter awe at the miracle of the Eucharist when the priest turns and holds the Sacred Host over the ciborium.
It was a truly beautiful homily.
Our associate pastor, a young priest who was ordained last May, 2011, gave quite a good homily. He said that most of us tend to have a holier than thou attitude, we think “other” people, the ones who have lapsed, the ones not attending regular Sunday Mass, all these “sinners” etc, are destined for Hell but not us. He said we will be surprised to see, on judgement day, who made it to Heaven and who made it to Hell. We should remember that it’s only by the grace of God that we are saved. He didn’t mention frequent confession is important which I thought would have tied in well with his homily. But it was a good homily for a young pastor.
the whole dang thing! here is link to fr tom hoisington’s blog where he posts his homilies. they are always good.
http://reflectionsonthesacredliturgy.blogspot.com/
peace!
Father spoke about how the marchers at the Pro Life march are modern day Jonahs and we should pray that peoples heart’s are changed like in Ninevah.
I appreciated hearing about Christian unity week from my latin rite priest talking about the orthodox churches in particular.
Walked out during the sermon. Left Mass. Pulled a Judas.
Very good homily — the priest mentioned that the Obama administration has declared open war upon the Catholic Church (referencing the decision on Friday).
Our pastor preached on the HHS decision at both the OF and EF Masses: “This has nothing to do with the institution of the church and the state. This has everything to do with the individual and the state, the pregnant mother and the state, the rights of every man, woman, child and baby, regardless of their religion, and the state.” You can read the whole thing here:
http://printedaspreached.blogspot.com/2012/01/third-sunday.html
Unfortunately, the sermon started with a diatribe about the new translation of the Roman Missal, and didn’t get much better. This is a priest who needs our prayers.
Our sermon included Polish poet and Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska’s A Word On Statistics, which I think you’d enjoy. You can read it here at The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/poetry/antholog/szymbors/stats.htm
What happens for how long if we go west when God says go east. How quickly things changed when He was obeyed, for a whole ‘city’, in comparison.