Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Was there a good point in the sermon you heard for your Sunday Mass?

 

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19 Comments

  1. annmarie says:

    I would like to ask all the fair minded people on this blog, including Father Z. if it is true that Pope Francis does not genuflect at the Consecration in the Mass he is saying and why if true. Think it needs to be dealt with.
    Thank you in advance for answers.

  2. Prayerful says:

    The priest again concentrated on the Gay Marriage vote.

  3. Wayward Lamb says:

    EF – Canon spoke of the need for balance between our bodily and spiritual natures, with the body and its unruly passions being properly subject to our spiritual nature acting through God’s grace. He set the stage by identifying two extremes, namely beasts and angels. It’s impossible for us to be angelic because we do have two natures. Failing to control our passions and subject our bodies is tantamount to living as beasts. How we are to live is somewhere in between. Canon tied this back to St. James’ Epistle, which provides the blueprint for obtaining and maintaining the proper balance between our dual natures. Canon also pointed out the shift in the Gospel readings since Easter, from a focus on the Resurrection to preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

  4. Gentillylace says:

    As is usual on the first Sunday of the month in our parish, one of the deacons read the Gospel and said the homily. One point that he mentioned was about people who like to say that they can worship God on their own, without the need for a church community. He told of a priest who made a big bonfire in the church (rather like the way it is done at the Easter Vigil) and then extricated one ember from the fire. Of course, the ember quickly went out when it was no longer among the other embers. In order to remain in Jesus, we need to be part of a parish community, which entails (among other things) to help other, poorer, parishes in our diocese stay open. Then he talked about the appeal that our diocese does each year for the diocese’s poorest parishes and schools, and how our parishioners have not yet given to the diocese appeal all of the pledges that we promised at the start of the year. Yet if we pay our pledges together, we will bear much fruit in our discipleship — and so will the poorest parishes and schools in the diocese (the deacon stated that one altar in a poorer parish in our diocese has 2 x 4s holding it in the back, hidden away from the parishioners’ view. This shocked me: the altar in our parish is a very sturdy marble).

  5. zag4christ says:

    Our wonderful young, orthodox and courageous parochial vicar gave a wonderful homily on what it means to abide in Christ. He urged all to remain in Christ by especially persistent prayer, and worthy partaking of the Eucharist. He contrasted the “how to” with the “how not to”, mentioning all the addictions and attachments that cause us to spiritually wither away, to detach from the Vine, and as he pointedly said, “you do not want to go there”.
    Peace and God bless

  6. drohan says:

    Our priest focused on the allegory of the Vine and the Branches. We need to stay united to Christ, which is the Church. And the Sacrament of Confession is what keeps us united to the Vine.

    This is another Gospel reading that should be addressed every year at Sunday Mass.

  7. Sconnius says:

    Unruly children didn’t allow for me to pay a whole lot of attention during the homily, but I did catch this line from Father:

    “Just as the father of the child disciplines him out of love, not out of hate, but of love, in order to correct his behavior, so, too, does our heavenly Father provide those who correct us, or applies His punishment ourselves out of love.”

    Father told me after Mass that people were asking him if he had that in his notes or if he came up with it on the spot, since he was looking our way the whole time. He showed me where it said that in his notes.

  8. DavidJ says:

    Though a bit long, had a deacon give a fantastic homily on feeding your mind, soul and strength in order to live God and neighbor. Heard the term “corporal works of mercy” and my mind was blown. Many kudos for a solid homily.

  9. jfk03 says:

    Sunday of the Samaritan woman in the Greek Catholic Church. The woman finds herself face to face with the Messiah, And His Kingdom is present here and now.

  10. Bea says:

    There were flowers around the pulpit (from Easter decor). He plucked one and said that just as the flower he just plucked even if put in water will last in beauty for just a few days, so too, we will wither and die if we cut ourselves off from the Church and the Sacraments.

    Some people appear pious and beautiful on the outside but how do we behave at home? Loving wife/husband/child while in public but in the home there is much bickering. No. If we are still part of the vine then our branches should reflect what we are at home, only then by our fruits will the Truth of us be known.

  11. Sonshine135 says:

    Father made a very direct appeal for confession. He mentioned how we would not get a physical wound or cut and bleed all over the place- ignoring it until we can get to it. Why would we want to do the same with spiritual wounds? He mentioned that this is the prescription that Holy Mother Church gives us. The medicinal imagery was fantastic, especially considering Pope Francis’ imagery of the church being a “field hospital”. I hope it inspired others as it has me to seek spiritual medical attention more often.

  12. MikeS says:

    “I am the power cord, you are the cell phone.” The deacon explained yesterday’s gospel in terms that we moderns can understand, pointing out that a cell phone with a dead battery looks fine but is useless. Similarly, someone cut off from Christ appears fine, but there are consequences.

    He also pointed out that Christ didn’t tell us to bear fruit, but rather “remain in Me.” The foucus is on remaining in Christ, and He will take care of the fruit.

  13. Dialogos says:

    Father (attributing the thought to a priest acquaintance) mentioned that social engineering is preceded by verbal engineering.

  14. Latin Mass Type says:

    At the OF Mass Father held up a bushy branch he had plucked on his way to our church. He snapped off a smaller branch to demonstrate the vine and the branch–the branch that can’t survive on its own. He noted that the sap is what keeps the smaller branch alive and that in us the sap is the sacraments. And he stressed reconciliation as one of the sacraments. This is something we often don’t hear.

    Since Father is not from our area I was straining my eyes to be certain he hadn’t plucked a branch of poison oak for his demonstration. I was relieved to see that it wasn’t! (I’ve been itching from poison oak for the past week so it was very much on my mind.)

  15. Gregg the Obscure says:

    While Father did briefly expound on the vine/branch metaphor, he focused more on the Psalm. The ‘people’ mentioned in the refrain are the family created by God. Not just our natural families, but the Church itself is a family in which we each contribute according to our own state in life. Remaining in Christ requires fellowship in the Church. While we may not like each member of the family, we must love them.

    It struck me later that when I chat with him next, I’ve got a natural opening to mention the indissolubility of familial commitments and to encourage him to sign on to the letter of the Credo Priests.

  16. Cantor says:

    Best sermon I’ve ever heard, and it took place before Mass as father was getting lined up for the entry procession. A man walked up to our celebrant and said, “Father, do you have time to hear my confession?” Fr. Greg smiled and said, “Always.”

    And did.

  17. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Retired priest gave a homily on the Vine and the Branches that stressed how we are all supposed to have a direct relationship with God, and therefore we are all supposed to be Christian mystics. (In various individual ways.)

    Told two stories – one was that our relationship with Christ and each other is like a circle with Christ at the center, and all of us as points on the outside of the circle. The closer we get to God, the closer we are to each other, like lines coming from the circumference down to the center.

    Also talked about the hidden ways Christ’s love brings us together and helps other people love each other, as per this news story of a child saved by a firefighter.

  18. maryh says:

    The part that stuck with me was comparing the sacrament of Baptism to when we get “grafted” onto the vine. I thought it was a great metaphor.

  19. andia says:

    Sunday Mass was a First Communion for about 20 kids. The priest gave a nice sermon about we are what we eat, therefore if we receive regularly we become more holy, aimed at the kids. Then he gave the parents a lesson on how first could care less about the children’s first communion,,,,he said the priests care about the kid’s 100th communion, 1000th communion,,and so forth. He spoke about how when he was kid parents dragged kids to church–now the kids drag the parents to church. He spoke about how this is opposite of what should be and that the kids don’t have cars or licenses and the parents need to make sure to get the kids there.
    I don’t have kids, but I was proud of him for saying all that.

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