Your Holy Day Sermon Notes

12 Comments

1. Gab says:

   1 November 2018 at 9:58 PM

   Went to Mass at another parish, run by the Dominicans. Lovely Mass mostly sung by the monks – all faced the choir, which meant their backs were turned to the congregation and the suspended Crufix above the altar. Even the readings were given with their backs to the congregation. Father’s homily was,I’m sure, wonderful and spiritually enlightening if only I could understand him. Father has a very thick Vietnamese accent. One word I understood was “beatitudes “.

   We do things differently Down Under. ?
2. hwriggles4 says:

   1 November 2018 at 10:25 PM

   Got home an hour ago. The parish near my office does Mass at 7pm on Holy Days, so there’s little excuse for saying “I had to work”. However, I did notice that the sanctuary was only 50% full, so I am wondering if some Catholics forgot (or if they thought the Holy Day was abrogated – not in our diocese) or had gone to Mass earlier in the day, but I digress.

   I was pleased with Father. He is the pastor and started his homily with, “Why is today a Holy Day? Because we need it.” Father explained that we need to remember the lives of the Saints, which are inspiring. Some are examples of sacrifices and trials and tribulations. Others are heroic. That is why the Saints are important, as well as their interceptions.

   When Father finished, he gave the same homily en espanol. He also did the consecration using the Roman Cannon. Well done. Gracias El Padre. Feliz el dia de Santos Todos.
3. Philomena Mary says:

   1 November 2018 at 11:44 PM

   Went to Mass at the Society chapel in San Antonio TX tonight – it was standing room only and the priest gave a wonderful homily on the four last things and how the saints are exemplars of the faith. Lots of really excellent stuff there – I am still thinking through everything said tonight.
4. zag4christ says:

   2 November 2018 at 1:01 AM

   Our Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Pearson, but the homily was given by Deacon Brian Ernst. He reminded us that we are all called to be saints, and to continue to strive for sainthood despite our sins and failings, giving the examples of St. Peter who denied Christ three times, and St. Paul who persecuted the Church. Normal attendance at the 6:30 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes is about 40 maximum, most being 60 years plus (including myself). This morning there were probably 250-300 souls, including wonderful crying babies and college students.

   Peace and God bless.
5. AutoLos says:

   2 November 2018 at 2:26 AM

   Sadly I wasn’t at the same Mass but the priest who said the Mass my wife attended made a simple point defending the invocation of the saints’ help using natural family relationships.

   After making the usual point from St. James that the prayer of the righteous is very powerful, he added that only a vain, prideful father would prevent the older siblings from uplifting and assisting the younger ones, making himself the only source of assistance. However, we do not have a vain, prideful Father! Our Heavenly Father knows that the older children He has formed (the Saints) are capable and reliable in helping the younger ones (us) – and any glory they receive is truly His own glory.
6. Gab says:

   2 November 2018 at 3:43 AM

   Okay, Today, Mass for All Souls Day, or as the N.O crew say, “All The Faithful Departed” day. Father started out but noting the All Souls vs Faithful Departed and wondered if that meant we can now pray for those who are atheists. This morphed into “but aethists are correct in saying they don’t believe in God because they cannot prove God exists. Of course, I’m the same. I believe in God but cannot prove God exists”. Um … I cringed at this.

   Maybe I should send Father – an oldish man from England originally – some of St Augustine’s works?
7. JonPatrick says:

   2 November 2018 at 5:20 AM

   At our evening Mass Father talked about the beatitudes. One phrase stuck out at me – we receive mercy to the degree that we offer it to others (that may not be his exact words but that was the gist of it).
8. (X)MCCLXIII says:

   2 November 2018 at 5:28 AM

   Hinc et nunc.

   We cannot wait until tomorrow to be holy.
9. Gregg the Obscure says:

   2 November 2018 at 7:10 AM

   The three-fold division of the Church, our dependence on the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering’s dependence on us. Given that my wife was recently seriously injured, it was a Godsend that Mass was offered in the hospital chapel for the thirty or so of us that showed up.
10. Fr Martin Fox says:

    2 November 2018 at 7:53 AM

    My homily for All Saints was mostly about grace: grace is what makes us saints. I explained the absolute necessity for grace — without it we have no hope — and that the sacraments exist to give us grace. They aren’t just rites of passage. I told the story about my nephew, when he was a baby; he was my sister’s first child, and as a young mother, she wanted to do everything right. She fed him an abundance of carrots, and he turned a little orange for awhile (this is a real thing, look it up). Similarly, grace turns us gracious; and ultimately will turn us into saints. I also talked about the saints helping us to become saints, by their prayers and example, and so it’s important to have patron saints and to seek their help and learn from them and to imitate them.
11. iamlucky13 says:

    2 November 2018 at 9:37 AM

    After some basic discussion about the saints reminding us what we should desire more than anything in our earthly life, the hope we can attain it, and their ability to intercede for us, Father talked mainly about devotions to individual saints. He encouraged us to learn more about our namesakes if we were named after a saint, or our confirmation patrons. We will probably find some parallels between their lives and our own. By learning about and developing a devotion to them, we can develop a form of friendship with them, which in turn can deepen our desire to reach heaven where we will get to meet our friends.
12. Charivari Rob says:

    3 November 2018 at 1:53 AM

    Father spoke briefly on how he has developed an increased understanding and appreciation of this Holy Day through the years of his priesthood. He went on to make the point that the Saints demonstrate that there is no one model/mold/origin that stamps out “holy people” – the Saints came from all different walks of life and no reason why we can’t as well.

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