Your Sunday Sermon Notes

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

Let us know.

I’m curious. Was there any mention of the Synod and/or of NOW Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in SESSIUNCULA. Bookmark the permalink.

31 Comments

  1. amont says:

    Father Z- prayers have been offered at all Masses in my Parish for the Synod Fathers, that they might be “open with docility to the Holy Spirit” since the disaster on the Tyber started.obviously, they need all the prayers they can get!

  2. Lutgardis says:

    Archbishop Cupich is the bishop of my diocese. My parish priest gave a clear and charitable homily about how important inviolable consciences are and how he hopes priests will be supported in following their consciences in situations when they must refuse to do things that would violate the sacraments.

  3. Denis Crnkovic says:

    From the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Zagreb: The sermon centered on notions of authority, tied to today’s Gospel. I waited for mention of “synodality” but heard none; the celebrant steadfastly insisted that authority is hierarchical. Both the Synod on the Family and Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin were mentioned, the former rather in passing, the latter as an example of the essential importance of the nature of the family.

  4. Fuquay Steve says:

    Ef Mass…..synod not directly mentioned BUT a great sermon on Pauls epistle about girding your loins with the Truth….revealed through both Scripture and Tradition and how it can not change with the times….spent time speaking of the Powers and Principalities under Satan, how they want to destroy the Church from the outside and the inside…Things that make you go hm….What matters most, when all is said and done, is to remain true to the Apostles Creed, partake of the Sacraments frequently, pray for the protection of the Church and our priests….inspiring sermon.

  5. Adaquano says:

    Sts. Louis and Marie were mentioned. Fr. had a good homily regarding how missions start at homevand how parents are the first teachers of the faith. Mentioning grace before meals, bedtime prayers, blessing with Holy Water in church and how it is important faith must be lived outside of the physical church. He made references too about how those not yet married how important it is them to be witnesses and missionaries at work or school.

  6. Jack in NH says:

    Attended TLM today at the St. Benedict center in MA, and Father did an outstanding job of it. Using today’s reading of the unmerciful servant, he demonstrated the Lords mercy and our need for forgiveness, in kind. Then, he spoke of the synod attendees, that are essentially changing the definition of mercy to suit the needs of their agenda. He wondered aloud if any there had read Paul? Father’s point was of some trying to change canonical laws, after modifying the law to suit their definition of mercy.

    Using Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin as an example of solid family, he spoke against the ‘reevaluation’ of marriage definition.

    He encouraged the parishioners to contact Cardinal Mueller to register their discontent with the synod.

    Paraphrased quote of the day:
    “Just because some bishop or pope says so, canonical law cannot be changed.”

    This man was on fire…

  7. frjim4321 says:

    Three Truths about the Ministry of Suffering:

    (1) We see the human nature of Jesus most vividly through the his suffering and his taking up of the cross.
    (2) We are most intimately, humanly connected to Jesus through our experience of suffering.
    (3) The way in which we embrace suffering is our most convincing and powerful proclamation of faith.

  8. L. says:

    The only mention was in the Prayers of the Faithful: “8. For the Synod of Bishops: that God will give them deep understanding of the challenges which families face and lead them to new ways of strengthening and encouraging family life, we pray to the Lord…” Father approves them but doesn’t write them. No mention of it in the homily. I can’t really recall what was said, but I’m sure that wasn’t.

  9. Elizabeth D says:

    There was nothing about Louis and Zelie and the synod, it was understandably all about St Maria Goretti whose major relics were here on Friday and made a huge impression on all of us, especially because of the extremely fine sermon by the priest who organized the “Pilgrimage of Mercy” tour, at the Mass that was held in the presence of Maria’s relics. My catechism lesson on Abraham the patriarch (which also included Lot and Sodom in a vivid way, even though it was completely not mentioned in the textbook, gee thanks OSV) also worked in the story of St Maria Goretti which had the kids rapt, they are the same age as her. They seemed to “get it” about the power of her forgiving her murderer.

  10. WYMiriam says:

    Nothing was said today at our OF Mass about the newly-canonized Martins and others, and the only mention of the Synod was a brief (but solid, not fluffy) intercessory prayer .

    Today I liked one comment (a deacon gave the homily) so much that I circled it in my notes: “sometimes our hearts are so hardened that they need suffering to soften them up.”

    The deacon also talked about what religion is, and I found Fr.Jim4321’s #3 striking for the similarity between the two: the deacon said that our adherence to religion is the manifestation of our faith. An interesting thought to ponder.

  11. boredoftheworld says:

    Mass at the cathedral, the bishop warmly endorsed the synod’s work and the pope’s call to find a new way to engage non-traditional families.

  12. ChrisRawlings says:

    The priest lamented the heresy–his word–coming from the mouths of bishops at the synod. But he also warned that evil will always be with us, even in the Church. He gave a nice discourse on making suffering spiritually fruitful.

    In the bulletin he noted that he wanted to make it very public and very clear that if the Kasper proposal was adopted by the Synod or Pope not only would he refuse to comply, but that he would tell whomever he could find to do the same.

    Not messin’ around.

  13. James says:

    The Mass was offered according to the “Tridentine” Rite. The points made in the sermon included these:

    Father deplored the tendency of many in the Church to emphasise that God is Love. He explained his words by noting that God is certainly Love, but, that He is also Just. He suggested that maybe the first servant in the parable should be thought of as a high official employed by his lord; this was a suggestion to account for the greatness of the servant’s debt. He then warned against taking the parable as though it were history, and underlined its teaching purpose, and that it was as necessary today as when Our Lord uttered it.

    The vastness of the debt owed by the first servant was emphasised. Father remarked that the amount owed would have been greater than the wealth of some 1st-century states. The kindness of the master, who did not even suggest that the debt be paid gradually, but forgave the debt, and wiped it out entirely, was underlined, as was the ingratitude and inflexibility of the servant, who not only insisted that his fellow-servant pay him a very trifling debt, but took him by the throat and had him cast into prison, without even permitting him to pay back the debt by degrees.

    It was suggested that the servants who had seen the hard treatment suffered by the second servant, had previously been rejoicing with the first servant at the merciful treatment he had received, and this contributed to their indignation. The anger of the master with the first servant; Father emphasised that the unforgiving servant was not only cast into prison, but handed over to the torturers. Nothing was said of the selling of his family mentioned in the Gospel.

    At some point Father remarked that we must not occupy ourselves in finding fault and officiously correcting our fellow-Catholics, but that we must consider the greatness of the debt that we ourselves owe to God. He said this in order to prevent us from being busybodies who look to the conduct of others while failing to look at our own. He very briefly mentioned political correctness – I have forgotten the context.

    I was slightly surprised that two points in the parable were not touched on:

    1. The seeming injustice of the lord, in reviving the enormous debt which he had remitted;

    2. Whether our forgiving, or failing to forgive, others, is judged by God over the course of life as a whole; or, whether we are judged incident by incident. Is God’s Wrath at our unforgivingness revealed only when we are judged at death; or, is it at work after each time we do not forgive ?

    The chief lesson I took away was the importance of the confessing our sins in the sacrament of Confession.

  14. truthfinder says:

    EF. Father started by saying that all sins are offences against God: they’re not ‘just’ venial sins. He expanded on that and then followed by explaining that the debt of the servant was of such a high amount as to be completely impossible to be repayed by a servant. Thus, so are our sins. Nothing we can do on our own can repay for our sins. Confession is where we find this forgiveness from sins. He also warned about convincing ourselves that our sins aren’t really that bad, or if we’ve constantly confessed the same offences, that we shouldn’t just stop going. Confession is where that infinite mercy of God is.

  15. dochm13 says:

    The new pastor was installed by Bp. Olmsted at the FSSP parish in Phoenix. HE spoke on the reality and necessity of spiritual warfare, drawing on each of the battle dress references from the epistle. So many people are oblivious to the war that is raging, and there are too few warriors. We are very weak if we try to fight satan alone. But by donning the battle dress, with each piece we are putting on God, such that we go into battle from within God. And within God, we can be strong. Beyond excellent. +Olmsted is the real deal and I’m blessed to have him.

  16. RafqasRoad says:

    Fr. Jim 4321,

    Thank you for preaching on suffering. In a world that seems to have gone mad with suffering (I think in particular of my fellow Maronites in the ME and our ‘cousins’ the Melchites, Chaldeans and those affiliated with the Syrian Church of the East), we need these three deceptively simple yet crystal clear and nova brilliant reminders – to take up our crosses and be united with Christ, His Cross and Calvary.

    Rather than ask the age old question of ‘Why does a good God let bad things happen to good people?’ this reminds us that God, principally the Incarnation of the Second Person of the godhead, Christ Jesus became man (like unto us in all things except sin) and Himself suffered, encapsulating suffering as the Man of Sorrows, Acquainted with Grief.

    This turns our minds from the huin cry of ‘Why!?’ to ‘Lord, in Thy sufferings I shall embrace thee and follow thee for thou dost indeed know my pain’.

    Every time we receive the most precious body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we are united with His Passion, for without it there can be no empty tomb and through it the enemy is crushed beneath his own arrogance and we broken, bruised and suffering are set upon the path of healing, for by His stripes, we are healed.

    May I copy your three points and use them when speaking about this oft vexed issue with others?

  17. jfk03 says:

    It is the Fourth Sunday of Luke in the Byzantine calendar. The Gospel is Luke’s version of the parable of the sower. The sermon focused on the need to provide good earth for the seed, the Word of God, and to avoid the rocky soil or the thorns. No mention of the Synod. The Greek Catholic Church I attend doesn’t seem to be caught up in the chaos of the Synod. We are a placid backwater in a tempestuous Church. I note that a Greek Catholic priest from Paris made the point that the Synod doesn’t seem focused on the plight of persecuted Catholics outside of Europe.

  18. PhilipNeri says:

    Suffering. Of course.

    “Isaiah teaches us exactly how suffering is essential to sacrificial service: ‘If he gives his life as an offering for sin…the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.’ Note these three: “if he gives his life,” “because of his affliction,” and “through his suffering.””

    http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2015/10/29th-sunday-ot-fr.html

    Fr. Philip Neri, OP

  19. benedetta says:

    ^ How excellent…Someday I hope to catch in person one of Fr. Philip Neri, OP’s sermons.

    The homily was about divinization, and how an attitude of service contributes to that process of growth or conversion, referencing today’s Gospel in the ordinary form calendar of readings. And, our deacon led a prayer for parents in light of the canonization of the parents of St. Therese, Sts Louis and Marie Azelie Martin.

  20. Mike says:

    The priest is so unified to Christ that the words of the sacraments of Eucharist and Penance are the very voice of Christ speaking through him. Thus the human priest proclaims the eternal miracle of his union with the single and indivisible priesthood of Christ.

    For this reason the priest must care for things eternal — the glory of God and the eternal salvation of souls — not things temporal such as “climate change” which are the bailiwick of the State.

    This being the précis of the sermon preached this morning at the first Mass of Canon John Berchmans Tonkin CRNJ by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who knows a thing or two about souls and about States (not least authoritarian ones), I’m inclined not to dispute his message.

  21. billy15 says:

    While our pastor didn’t explicitly mention the synod, he did give an excellent homily at the OF Mass we attended on what mercy actually is. I have a feeling that he heard about Archbishop Cupich’s comments over the weekend (I’m in Illinois, but not the Archdiocese of Chicago), as he made it a point that just because someone thinks that they’re not sinning doesn’t make it so; there are such things as absolute truths, was the gist of it.

    He clarified what Pope Francis means by mercy, and that his words have been twisted by the mainstream, secular media. He gave various quotes from Pope Francis speaking on the issue of justice. I must say, about three months into this parish, and just about every time he says Mass there, this priest gives an excellent homily.

  22. VeritasVereVincet says:

    NOOF. Father used the example of a family whose baby was baptized yesterday to speak about sacrifice, and read one of the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, which was…”beautiful” doesn’t really cover it, but I can’t find the right word.

    The first petition began “For Pope Francis and the bishops” and I thought “Here we go”, but it ended up being about missions instead. So no mention of the synod or canonizations.

  23. Chris Garton-Zavesky says:

    Since today is Mission Sunday, we are reminded that the world needs to hear the truth about marriage.

    Canon didn’t preach directly on the Synod, but he did mention an idea I heard for the first time from the late John Cardinal O’Connor: not everything which calls itself mercy is actually mercy, and false mercy is deadly, even if well intended.

  24. iamlucky13 says:

    Nothing about the Synod, but he did talk in some detail about Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin. He tied their lives into the gospel through the message of service.

  25. Sliwka says:

    Father used the image of Glory from St Mark’s Gospel and other readings to, end up, making a beautiful point about the laity and the common priesthood.

    Paraphrasing and he had quotations from the CCC: the way the laity share in Christs priesthood amounts to that we can offer, or consecrate, everything to God through our high priest. Work, suffering, joy, our duties (as spouses and parents), prayer, and recreation etc. We place them spiritually on the altar and Christ perfects them as sacrifices to God.

    Maybe that was a veiled reference to Sts Louis and Zelie, don’t think it was explicit.

  26. JonPatrick says:

    No mention of the synod. Sometimes instead of a choice between good and evil, we are faced with a choice between two goods. He gave the example of some local people who are taking in a Syrian refugee family. Yet others say why are we focused on refugees when so many at home are in need (the church where we attended Mass is in the poorest county of Maine and one of the poorest areas of the country). The only solution is to be open to God’s will and after prayerful reflection, do what we perceive His will to be.

  27. Gregg the Obscure says:

    OF. No mention of the Martins or of the Synod in the homily (though the Synod was treated well in the intercessions).

    This is a brief and probably too clumsy paraphrase of our pastor’s homily: A few days ago, I was called out to perform anointing for a man who is near death. Talking first to his wife, I found out that they have been married for 63 years. I said “what a blessing!” She replied that she’d be glad to have 63 more years with him. Love persists, even through difficulties. Our society doesn’t recognize that, and so we see things like in California where the old and infirm are told to just quit living. There is no love in that. Love looks past annoyances at the person. So we see the Lord in today’s Gospel, He had every right to have been upset with James and John for their request, but He was patient with them and used this as an opportunity to teach them and the other disciples who were likely upset just at having not been as quick to make the same request. Remember that this came very shortly after the Lord had mentioned that He was going to Jerusalem to die. The disciples missed the point, just as we often do, but He persists in loving them and calling them back, just as He does for us.

  28. thomas tucker says:

    OR Mass. Only mention of the Synod was in the Prayers of the Faithful. Unfortunately, the newly-appointed pastor said he didn’t expect so many people to be in lind for confession prior to Mass, and then said that Confession is basically for mortal sin, and venial sins are taken care of during Mass. The clear implication was that you should only go to confession if you are guilty of mortal sin. I hate it when I have to explain to my children that what Father says during his homily is not strictly true.

  29. thomas tucker says:

    Sorry, that should have read “OF” Mass, but I’m sure you could figure that out based on my comments about the homily, etc.

  30. frjim4321 says:

    “May I copy your three points and use them when speaking about this oft vexed issue with others?” Rafquas Road

    Of course … here is the whole thing but it’s crude … these are my presentation notes only so there are a lot of gaps …

    /\/\/\/\/\/\

    There are many kinds of service in the church but one that we do not hear about often is the Ministry of Suffering.

    When we experience Illness, Loss, Heartbreak … real and true suffering…it can become a ministry in which we share.

    How can there be a ministry of suffering?

    If our definition of ministry is to serve as Jesus did, we need look no further than the scriptural readings today:

    Is 53: Song of the Suffering Servant which prefigures a messianic figure who will serve by suffering, who through suffering will justify many.

    Heb 4: We have a high priest who has been tested in every way except sin.

    Mark 10: The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

    So, if to minister means to serve as Jesus served, it is clear that there is a ministry of suffering.

    Three Truths about the Ministry of Suffering:

    (1) We see the human nature of Jesus most vividly through the his suffering and his taking up of the cross.
    (2) We are most intimately, humanly connected to Jesus through our experience of suffering.
    (3) The way in which we embrace suffering is our most convincing and powerful proclamation of faith.
    ?
    Suffering is at the heart of the ministry of all the members of the church. As is the case for example in the Rite of the Anointing of the Sick there are three ways:

    (1) To either be among those who chose to be anointed…
    (2) To be of prayerful support to those who were anointed…
    (3) And sometimes a little of both; how often to we see those in our midst who find that through service to others in spite of their own suffering, they are able to transcend their own suffering.

    Tie in with Eucharist.

    Grain – ground – bread – body

    Grapes – crushed – wine – blood

    James & John at first bargained, eventually as did they, Martha, Mary and the others gathered around Jesus embraced the ministry of suffering with acceptance and their lives are now a witness to us; as we who embrace the ministry of suffering are a witness to others.

  31. Hardworkingman says:

    Not a word about the Synod or the beautiful Saintly parents of Therese of Liseaux .

Comments are closed.