“The Beloved Son” — Sermon for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, A.D. MMXXVI

          The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord today concludes the celebration begun one week ago with the Solemnity of the Epiphany. We use the word “epiphany” to mean a brilliant or sudden insight, but its original meaning is a “manifestation,” a manifestation of God. The Epiphany, then, is all about Christ being manifested […]

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“Making Room for Him” — Sermon for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. MMXXV

          It almost happened by accident, that the prophecy was fulfilled. “AND THOU, BETHLEHEM Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah […]

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“God With Us” — Sermon for the IV Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXV

“The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”             In 733 B.C., the King Ahaz of Judah was stuck between the warring states of Damascus and Assyria. The northern Jewish kingdom, Israel, chose the losing side, Damascus, while Ahaz aligned the southern […]

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“Hearts Courageously Patient” — Sermon for the III Sunday of Advent, Gaudete, A.D. MMXXV

          During the season of Advent, we’ve been seeing how the introits, or entrance antiphons, set the theme of Sunday’s Mass. Today we’ve arrived at the most famous introit of the whole year: Gaudete! If we’ve heard of any entrance antiphon, it’s this one, the reason that we have the rose colored vestments (and our […]

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Prayer and Child-like Love — Sermon for the I Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXV

          [A friend of mine dreads the sermon for the First Sunday of Advent. It’s the most busy and hectic time of the year, and now they’re going to pile something “spiritual” on top of my never ending to-do list! They’ll give us the impossible task of fighting the secular and materialist spirit of Christmas, […]

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“The Kingdom of Authentic Humanity” — Sermon for the Solemnity of Christ the King, A.D. MMXXV

The year is 1925. World War I is over, and the United States is enjoying an unprecedented economic boom, but Europe is still devastated from the war (a war that will continue to be called in Europe, “The Great War” – the war that put the nail in the coffin of the old Europe of […]

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“Meditating on Death” — Sermon for the XXXIII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV

            At age 17, Francisco de Borja, son of the wealthy Duke of Gandía, was called to the court of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor – the most powerful man in the world. His father had obtained for him the prestigious post of chamberlain to Charles’s beloved Queen, Isabel. After twelve […]

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