Effective today and moving forward, the audio recordings of my Sunday and Holy Day homilies will be posted on our parish website rather than on this blog. We recently (two days ago!) launched a redesigned parish website that now allows mp3 files to be uploaded and posted directly to the site rather than going through a third party. I hope to return this blog to more regular reflections moving forward, but to find homily recordings, visit here:
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church - Homilies
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Citius, Altius, Fortius
Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Jeremiah 20.7-9 Psalm 63 Romans 12.1-2 Matthew 16.21-27
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
We can be faster, higher, and stronger – not in comparison to others, but through the grace of God, in reaching for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jeremiah 20.7-9 Psalm 63 Romans 12.1-2 Matthew 16.21-27
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
We can be faster, higher, and stronger – not in comparison to others, but through the grace of God, in reaching for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Liturgical Catechesis Homilies
Over the past several months, I have preached an ongoing series of homilies on liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the English translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, coming to Catholic churches in the United States on November 27, 2011. These homilies have not dealt with the Roman Missal directly as much as they have been on the liturgy in general, helping us understand and appreciate the Mass more and more. Below are collected links to audio (mp3) recordings of all of these homilies. They were recorded at Sunday Masses at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in New Albany, Indiana, and include the gospel reading of that day along with the homily itself. As we begin to make final preparations for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, my hope is that we can continue to explore the beauty and richness of the Mass in the life of the Catholic Church.
The Mass as Source and Summit of our Faith (8th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Structure of the Mass: The Pattern of Emmaus (Third Sunday of Easter, Year A)
The Sign of the Cross (Ascension of the Lord, Year A)
The Penitential Act (First Sunday of Lent, Year A)
The Breaking of the Bread (18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Blood of Christ (Holy Thursday, text only - no audio)
The Final Blessing (Second Sunday of Lent, Year A)
Liturgical Hospitality (Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A)
The Trinity and the Liturgy (The Most Holy Trinity, Year A)
The Eucharist Stays the Same (The Body and Blood of Christ, Year A)
Full, Conscious, and Active Participation in the Mass (19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Richness of the Roman Missal (21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Mass as Source and Summit of our Faith (8th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Structure of the Mass: The Pattern of Emmaus (Third Sunday of Easter, Year A)
The Sign of the Cross (Ascension of the Lord, Year A)
The Penitential Act (First Sunday of Lent, Year A)
The Breaking of the Bread (18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Blood of Christ (Holy Thursday, text only - no audio)
The Final Blessing (Second Sunday of Lent, Year A)
Liturgical Hospitality (Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A)
The Trinity and the Liturgy (The Most Holy Trinity, Year A)
The Eucharist Stays the Same (The Body and Blood of Christ, Year A)
Full, Conscious, and Active Participation in the Mass (19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Richness of the Roman Missal (21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Richness of the Roman Missal
Homily for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 22.19-23 Psalm 128 Romans 11.33-36 Matthew 16.13-20
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily, part of a series of liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.
Same Mass ... Different Words ... Deeper Meaning
Isaiah 22.19-23 Psalm 128 Romans 11.33-36 Matthew 16.13-20
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily, part of a series of liturgical catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.
Same Mass ... Different Words ... Deeper Meaning
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Tearing Down Walls
Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 56.1, 6-7 Psalm 67 Romans 11.13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15.21-28
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
Fifty years ago Saturday, a concrete wall covered with barbed wire was erected in the middle of Berlin, Germany. For almost thirty years, this wall separating communist East Germany from democratic West Germany was a symbol for the whole world of the deep divisions that had been created by different views of power, government, economy, and even religion. And even though the wall was toppled over twenty years ago, there are still deep divisions in our world – new ways that we continue to separate ourselves from one another. From the violent reaction to a multi-cultural Norway to the famines in Africa that widen the gap between the poor and the rich, the starving and the well-fed – it might seem like that the literal and figurative walls of separation are growing longer, higher, and stronger all over the world.
Our challenge and our call as Christians is to recognize where these walls exist and find a way around them. Scripture could not be any clearer … in Isaiah, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples;” … in Romans, God shows his mercy to all people, Jew and Gentile; … in Matthew, Jesus recognizes the faith of a foreign woman, greater faith from this outsider than from many of the insiders he had encountered. Our Church is a catholic Church, which means that it is universal – for all people – because God is for all people. Regardless of politics, or convenience, or economy, or personal preference – our challenge and call as Christians is to be a people that has no divisions, a people that welcomes everyone, a people that does not create walls to keep people out, or to keep people in. Because God does not build walls; He tears them down. God doesn’t separate people based on income, race, or country of origin; He brings people together. And we must do the same thing.
Isaiah 56.1, 6-7 Psalm 67 Romans 11.13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15.21-28
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
Fifty years ago Saturday, a concrete wall covered with barbed wire was erected in the middle of Berlin, Germany. For almost thirty years, this wall separating communist East Germany from democratic West Germany was a symbol for the whole world of the deep divisions that had been created by different views of power, government, economy, and even religion. And even though the wall was toppled over twenty years ago, there are still deep divisions in our world – new ways that we continue to separate ourselves from one another. From the violent reaction to a multi-cultural Norway to the famines in Africa that widen the gap between the poor and the rich, the starving and the well-fed – it might seem like that the literal and figurative walls of separation are growing longer, higher, and stronger all over the world.
Our challenge and our call as Christians is to recognize where these walls exist and find a way around them. Scripture could not be any clearer … in Isaiah, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples;” … in Romans, God shows his mercy to all people, Jew and Gentile; … in Matthew, Jesus recognizes the faith of a foreign woman, greater faith from this outsider than from many of the insiders he had encountered. Our Church is a catholic Church, which means that it is universal – for all people – because God is for all people. Regardless of politics, or convenience, or economy, or personal preference – our challenge and call as Christians is to be a people that has no divisions, a people that welcomes everyone, a people that does not create walls to keep people out, or to keep people in. Because God does not build walls; He tears them down. God doesn’t separate people based on income, race, or country of origin; He brings people together. And we must do the same thing.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Participating in the Mass - Body, Mind, and Spirit
Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
1 Kings 19.9a, 11-13a Psalm 85 Romans 9.1-5 Matthew 14.22-33
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
What does it mean to participate in Mass? – say the responses, sing the music, pay attention to what’s going on? When we come to the Mass, we are called to participate fully, consciously, and actively. Why? Because it’s the best way we know to encounter God.
1 Kings 19.9a, 11-13a Psalm 85 Romans 9.1-5 Matthew 14.22-33
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
What does it mean to participate in Mass? – say the responses, sing the music, pay attention to what’s going on? When we come to the Mass, we are called to participate fully, consciously, and actively. Why? Because it’s the best way we know to encounter God.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Breaking of the Body of Christ
Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 55.1-3 Psalm 145 Romans 8.35, 37-39 Matthew 14.13-21
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
When we're broken, Jesus doesn’t necessarily put all the pieces back together; sometimes he does, but sometimes he refashions the pieces and forms them into something new, something that we never would have imagined before.
Isaiah 55.1-3 Psalm 145 Romans 8.35, 37-39 Matthew 14.13-21
Click here to listen to or download an audio (mp3) file of this homily.
When we're broken, Jesus doesn’t necessarily put all the pieces back together; sometimes he does, but sometimes he refashions the pieces and forms them into something new, something that we never would have imagined before.
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