“Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’”           After hearing St. Paul’s teaching on marriage – perhaps the most difficult reading of the entire three-year lectionary cycle, at least to our post-modern ears – we jump back to the Bread of Life Discourse and our Lord’s […]

Read more "“He has the words of eternal life” — Sermon for the XXI Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV"

Dominica XX per annum, B 18 August, A.D. MMXXIV             Last Sunday, we saw how there are two “this is my Body”s – the “this is my body” of Holy Thursday, when Christ gave His body in the Eucharist to His Apostles for the first time, and the “this is my body” of Good Friday, […]

Read more "“A Person, not a Thing” — Sermon for the XX Sunday through the Year, 18 August, A.D. MMXXIV"

“You are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”           We’ve mentioned the past couple of weeks that we are beginning the beautiful “Bread of Life Discourse” from St. John’s Gospel – the most complete and direct teaching on the Eucharist that our Lord gives […]

Read more "“The Food that Perishes” — Sermon for the XVIII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV"

          Amidst the powerful yet familiar story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes are two easily overlooked but very important details that St. John includes. The first is when the miracle takes place: “The Jewish feast of Passover was near.” John’s Gospel particularly takes account of time. It is John, for example, who […]

Read more "The Passover and Giving Thanks — Sermon for the XVII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV"

“His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”           The people coming in search of our Lord today were probably not primarily interested in learning. Most likely, they are sick and hungry. They have heard about the miracles worked […]

Read more "“Christian Docility” — Sermon for the XVI Sunday through the Year, MMXXIV"

          The Lord sends out twelve men today, men each with his own complicated history, his own trials and ways the Lord still needs him to grow. One particularly comes to mind, the ex-tax collector Matthew. When the tax collectors went out to John the Baptist and asked what they needed to do to truly […]

Read more "Forming a True Culture"

“Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”             There is a very popular quote that you likely have seen on Catholic t-shirts or alluded to in names of Catholic apostolates or […]

Read more "Power Made Perfect in Weakness: Sermon for the 14th Sunday through the Year, July 7, 2024"

St. Paul makes a spectacular claim in this Sunday’s second reading: There is something lacking in Christ’s sufferings. How could this be? How could Christ’s suffering on the Cross be lacking anything? Where could we possibly find a better example of a complete gift of self, a total outpouring of love? What more perfect suffering […]

Read more "What is lacking in Christ’s sufferings?"

One of the great things about our Catholic faith is that each Sunday, rather than the preacher picking a topic that he feels like it would be best to address, Holy Mother Church sets out a programmatic approach to the Sacred Scriptures and the mysteries of our faith. This is not just the selection of […]

Read more "The Spirit Will Teach You Everything"