Here’s a little challenge. Instead of asking this on Sunday, let’s try for Tuesday.
Was there a good point in the sermon you heard last Sunday during your Mass of obligation?
Let us know!
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I heard one of the best sermons ever on Sunday!
Our priest talked about how the devil is real and how he wishes each of us in hell as much as Jesus wishes us to be with him in heaven.
He expanded on the devil being the father of lies and explained that the devil watches each of us and chooses his lies based on how we act.
He went on to say that the devil also uses two main lies on everyone –
#1. That you are alone
#2 That you don’t need God
Extremely well done homily, we were very blessed to hear it.
I was fortunate to attend a TLM and we heard a sermon on sin and temptation and how temptations can come from the devil, the flesh and the world.
The priest who offered the Mass I went to gave an excellent image of how the devil works in our lives. He has a mean right punch, which is to tempt us to those sins we are personally prone to, but he has an even worse uppercut, which is to get us to despair after our sin. He hits us with jab after jab and when he sees our defenses fall, he hits us with the uppercut.
Comparing and contrasting “Sin,” “Guilt” and “Shame” with respect to the nature of “Grace” and the divine indwelling. JPII’s take on the “Unforgivable Sin,” as the denial of the nature, truth and extent of Mercy. Betrayal of the Spirit as related to and similar to a denial of the divine indwelling. Breaking the cycle of shame and the extent to which regular (not occasional) participation in the Eucharist serves as a stern reminder of our lovability and forgivability.
For our first Mass of Sunday, we attend a Saturday evening Mass, where, during term time, there are plenty of youngsters, hence the sermon tends to be in more straightforward language than is sometimes used, and since our Italian is way behind Fr Z’s we can follow this level and have our Faith fed by a marvellous priest.
As with your other commenters, the priest hammered home the tricks the devil will use to try and cause division between ourselves and between us and God. He explained with great clarity the meanings of Satan’s different names, and most importantly, (we felt), what exactly IS the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
Here in Italy, once school has finished for the Summer, you rarely see the majority of youngsters again ’till September, so the priest reminded them that it would be the devil’s ploy to try and keep them aways from Mass and the Sacraments.
He then hammered home the importance of attending Mass, receiving Communion, GOING TO CONFESSION! and saying the Rosary.
God bless our priests.
EF Mass. God is concerned for his fallen creation. He seeks out the sinner that wants to repent and change. In contrast to the scribes and pharisees who treated the sinner as unclean and avoided them, Jesus associates with them. The shepherd does not punish the lost sheep when he finds it, but hoists it onto his shoulders and carries it home.
My FSSP parish had an incredible homily, because the pastor talked about marriage. He started a series of several semons by discussing the basics of marriage, talking about how: most people are called to marriage, save for some who have religious vocations. No one is called to be single. The primary purpose is children, with the secondary purpose the union. (I quote: “its not just to have some fun, and maybe a baby comes along”). All of the characteristics of marriage were discussed. He spoke discreetly around sex so as not to scandalize the (many) young ones, but still clearly. It was amazing. And my parents 30th wedding aniversary was the next day too, so he blessed their marriage again after Mass.
This past Sunday in the EF the gospel reading was about the murmurers. The priest in the rotation for this Mass approached his sermon as if he were speaking to murmurers and whited sepulchres, not the first time the tone has seemed this way in a sermon, though for all I know he has good reason to take that approach with this particular crowd.
In between a rather spirited defense of the Holy Father woven throughout, the main point of the sermon is that saving souls is a messy business that can require engaging with some unpleasant characters and places in an effort to find the lost sheep.