Was there a good point made in the sermon you heard during your Mass of Sunday Obligation?
Let us know.
For my part, I wrote the 7th and final offering in the Our Lady of Sorrows Project and then I penned a piece for the Catholic Herald. Lot’s of words today, and all of them mainly silent, just tap tapping and the bells relentlessly chiming the hours one by one.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
on Daily Rome Shot 1278 – The Parish™: “Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre fell asleep in the Lord on March 25, 1991. Merci, Monsigneur! Réquiem ætérnam dona ei Domine et…”
on Daily Rome Shot 1278 – The Parish™: “Is the first day of the new year (h/t AB). Is fitting the domination of Sauron was thus ended irrevocably…”
on Questioning the “success” of frequent Communion: “Reading Dr K’s latest offering – He mentions that many of the FSSP and ICK apostolates currently follow the Pre-55…”
on Questioning the “success” of frequent Communion: “Also note the emphasis within Novus Ordo parishes that the point of Mass is to receive communion. From a practical…”
on 24 March – Feast of St. Gabriel, Archangel – images – EXPANDED: “Here is something Daniel Mitsui is working on currently. The Hebrew are quotes from Genesis 2:9 and Isaiah 7:14 https://x.com/danielmitsuiart/status/1904356574308503615”
on Questioning the “success” of frequent Communion: “I say this to encourage that it can be done, not to say that I am holier than thou, I…”
on ASK FATHER: Is speeding a sin?: “Some traditional moral theologians spoke of “merely penal laws”. These are general human laws, which enjoin or forbid something that…”
on ASK FATHER: Is speeding a sin?: “The Fr Z garnished with a dollop of humor is my favorite Fr Z and has been for years. It’s…”
on ASK FATHER: Is speeding a sin?: “The big joke in my family and with friends is that I drive slow. I have driven cross country many…”
on ASK FATHER: Is speeding a sin?: “Is going the exact speed limit, just because I enjoy making people mad, a sin?”
on ASK FATHER: Is speeding a sin?: “When you cross the Coutts/Sweetgrass Canadian/US border into Montana there is a speed limit sign of 70 mph. I’ve always…”
on 24 March – Feast of St. Gabriel, Archangel – images – EXPANDED: “Thanks, Father! The Dante Gabriel Rossetti really is odd. Why is Archangel Gabriel naked under his garb (and casting a…”
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A Daily Prayer for Priests
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since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
24th ordinary Sunday. Deacon preached today. He said this Sunday could easily be called Divine Mercy Sunday as all of the readings deal with the Lord being merciful. In the OT our Lord was moved to mercy by Moses. Saint Paul by his own admission was one of the greatest sinners and became a great saint due to Our Lord showing mercy, and of course the Prodigal Son.
We have a painting of Our Lord of Divine Mercy in the church and the Deacon said we need to meditate on the words “Jesus I trust in you” and really trust Our Lord completely.
We also have a stained glass where Our Lord is knocking on an exterior door but the only knob is inside with us – The Lord stands knocking but it’s up to us to unlock it and let him into our hearts, by Confession and the Eucharist.
I thought the same thing, “Devine Mercy.” I may be in left field with the Gospel today, but I thought of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Our Blessed Mother is the woman searching for the lost coin, God the Father in the Prodigal Son, and the Holy Spirit the love and mercy in all three stories. God is the source of Divine Mercy and Mary distributes this Mercy and rejoices in God.
My pastor preached about the prodigal son but what really grabbed me was his statement that he was going to preach several sessions on two Sacraments — Confession and the Eucharist.
He also deftly said, if anyone wondered what to “do with their hands — raise them up or hold them out” during prayer, they could just do as the deacon or altar boys do, which is fold their hands at all times. He also suggested that eyes should be closed when receiving the host on the tongue.
Our pastor ribbed the new deacon by saying “I was considering paying him some overtime because that Gospel passage was so long!”
Other than that, we received a high-quality homily as always, and due attention was paid to the more minor parts. Pastor tells us that there is a “certain craziness” in God’s love here, because Jesus’ suggestions would’ve been regarded as absurd: leaving 99 sheep alone makes no economic sense; a drachma was about a nickel’s worth, so most widows’ neighbors would be flabbergasted that she’d made a big deal about searching for, and finding, a nickel that she threw a party for it.
And as I pondered the pericope of the day, I always enjoy pulling in some wider context. Of course the Prodigal Son is often analyzed in isolation from its context, which is when, where and why Jesus told it to his listeners. I haven’t consulted any commentaries yet, but I considered whether the Prodigal Son might’ve been kind of autobiographical for Jesus. He’d just been accused of eating with sinners, and here’s the son working among unclean swine, longing to partake of the pods they consumed. It’s too similar to be a coincidence. So how does the son’s squandering of inheritance relate to Jesus’ nature? All I can think of is the kenosis: Jesus emptied himself and became poor. His father ignored his plea to be treated “as your hired servant” but put a ring on his finger. The Other Son is Israel – who “refused to enter the house” when he heard of feasting and partying inside.
Our pastor has, more than once, drawn focus to the Other Son. This time he disparaged his warped concept of perfection: “I have served you and obeyed your commands” – if we think that that’s all there is to being Christian, then we’ve got another thing coming. And pastor called Paul’s writing the “linchpin” and hinge point of today’s theme. “This saying is trustworthy” indeed!
In the story of the prodigal son, not only was he in need of forgiveness but also the other son who stayed behind, who had never realized how much his father loved him as well.
Father also mentioned how we can be forgiven through the sacrament of reconciliation.
An excellent point was made, not in but during the sermon at the TLM we attended yesterday. No doubt every word of the pastor’s was worth hearing—they always are—but many of them were drowned out by an unusual outbreak of fussing, cooing, crying, and other reminders of the numerous babies and toddlers in the congregation, where young families bringing up many children, and bringing them to the TLM, are more the rule than the exception. Like little green shoots springing up in a field devastated by a fire or storm, they point us to the future and in which direction to look for it. In a sermon considering the Sorrows of Mary, not a point but perhaps counterpoint.
Mass in the Ordinary Form at one of our beautiful basilica shrines here in WI. Father preached, inter alia, of the importance of Confession (yay!), mentioning it several times as the way we can, like the younger son at the end of the parable, rise and go to our loving Father.
Father preached on the passage, I will go out and return to my father and how we too in the course of our lives have to return to our Father who will hear and forgive us. And he did mention – go to confession.
Psalm 51 “A clean heart create for me, O God,”
Fr. asked if we ever pray for a clean heart.
Attended TLM at Queen of the Holy Rosary Memorial Shrine,LaSalle, IL. Mass dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. After Mass we processed around the block singing songs to Mary. Then a short Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament followed by Benediction.
Father spoke of John 19: 25-27 and how Mary’s Sorrows reflect to pregnancy. How a mother gives all of herself for the sake of the child. And how from a young woman, Mary gave everything to Our Lord. That abortion is such a grave sin to lifeOur Lord and Mary.
The Shrine is the closest TLM to my home. 1.5 hours away. Rockford is 2 hours.
Father preached Confession, and made sure everybody knew when the usual times were. All week.