Archdiocese of Washington

Posts Tagged ‘homilies’

The Gospel for today has a number of “sayings” of the Lord Jesus which all amount to a kind of litany of love and setting forth of the gifts that He by his grace is and will accomplish in us. Lets get right to work and consider the wonderful gifts of grace. I. Power – [...] Read the rest of this entry »

The Second reading from yesterday’s mass (5th Sunday of Easter) is very Catholic and too informative to merely pass up. It presents a Church as rather highly organized and possessed of some the structures we know to day in full form. Granted, some of these structures are in seminal (seed) form, but the ARE there. [...] Read the rest of this entry »

The Lord says, “My Sheep hear my voice…” That’s right he called you a sheep. No come on, get a little indignant with me here! The Lord is comparing us, not to the swift eagle, , the beautiful gazelle, the mighty bear, the swift horse, the mighty lion, or the clever and intelligent dog. No, [...] Read the rest of this entry »

In the first reading from yesterday’s (Sunday) liturgy from the Acts of the Apostles (Full text here) we encounter Apostles and see that they are changed men. Prior to Pentecost, these had been frightened man, men who fled at the sight of trouble, en who could not be (except for John) found anywhere near the [...] Read the rest of this entry »

One option for the Gospel for Easter Sunday morning is from John 20:1-8. And like most of the resurrection Gospels it paints a portrait of a journey some of the early disciples have to make out of fear and into faith. It shows the need to experience the resurrection and then come to understand it [...] Read the rest of this entry »

Most of us are familiar with concept of a matching gift. So, if I work for a certain company and donate to a certain cause, my employer may match my gift up to a certain amount; a matching gift. And there is something of this evident in the Liturgy of Holy Thursday, which commemorates the [...] Read the rest of this entry »

The Passion which we read in today’s liturgy is too long to comment on in detail. We are only able to take a portion and examine it. The usual villains such as the Temple leaders, Judas, and the recruited crowd, which shouted “Crucify him!” are fairly obvious in displaying their sinfulness and are unambiguously wicked. [...] Read the rest of this entry »

The Gospel for today’s Mass is the well known Gospel of the woman caught in adultery. In this Gospel the Lord reasons with the men of his day (and with us) that the severe justice they want to render to this woman may be an unwise stance as they themselves prepare for their own judgment. [...] Read the rest of this entry »

This is a Gospel about a man who had two sons. And both of these sons forsook their father and refused to relive in relationship with him. Although, in our mind, both sons are very different at the level of personality, one outwardly rebellious, and the other outwardly obedient, inwardly, they have a very similar [...] Read the rest of this entry »

In the Gospel for today’s Mass (Wednesday of First Week of Lent) the Lord Lord says, This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah (Lk 11:30). The Lord Jesus says much in this brief verse, but perhaps we can first focus [...] Read the rest of this entry »

There’s an old Gospel song tradition that speaks of the Christian life as a ride on the “Gospel Train.” But the Gospel Train not always and easy ride with perfect scenery. But you gotta get your ticket for the Gospel Train and stay aboard. Mysteriously, the train sometimes passes through difficult terrain and life’s temptations. [...] Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s Gospel, we see the Call of Simon Peter. It is a call that takes place in several stages. And while it is presented in a compact time frame for Simon, for most of us it takes place over a longer period as the Lord works to deepen our faith and heighten our call. [...] Read the rest of this entry »