Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “preaching”
Micah 5:1-4A Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 In the readings from Sacred Scripture throughout the season of Advent we hear much about the twofold character of this holy season. We begin Advent reflecting on the fact that Christ not only came as a little baby, born in a stable cave and laid in a manger (a feeding trough for animals), …
Genesis 9:8-15 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15 In the first two readings on this first Sunday of Lent we are reminded of the mercy of God and of his saving power through the waters of Holy Baptism. In the very first reading God speaks to Noah after the Great Flood and makes a covenant with him and all the …
1 Kings 19:9A, 11-13A Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33 The prophet Elijah begins our readings today by going to Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai, and one of the things that we don’t see in that passage (merely because of where the text today begins) is the reality that Elijah is fleeing to the “mountain of God” in fear of …
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12 Luke 1:26-38 Today, Holy Mother Church commemorates and celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. This feast celebrates the Church’s dogmatic teaching that the Blessed Mother was given the gift from God of being conceived without original sin. That is to say, that from the moment …
Tonight we have come together to celebrate and to pray. We celebrate life, and we do so by celebrating and praying these Vespers together-the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church’s second most important form of prayer and public worship, eclipsed only by the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself. In doing so we pray for all the …
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 Hebrews 12:1-4 Luke 12:49-53 People didn’t care very much for what the Prophet Jeremiah had to say. He was telling people that unless they repented, Jerusalem was going to fall and the people of Judah would be taken into captivity by the Babylonians. This was going to happen, Jeremiah said, because people refused to …
As several people have asked for me to publish my first homily as a deacon (I have not posted here at Life At 25 since well before our class was ordained), I will oblige that request. I am happy to publish my reflections here so long as readers actually wish to read them. A reminder of the readings for this …
Many wonderful things are happening here in the Diocese of Knoxville, and have been happening ever since our current shepherd, Bishop Richard Stika, arrived in the Diocese of Knoxville in March of 2009. Our number of seminarians and priests being ordained continues to grow. New diaconate candidates are in formation. While other dioceses are closing or consolidating parishes, we are …
On Thursday I had the opportunity (thanks to my Spiritual Director who was concelebrating and was more than willing to give me a lift) to attend the Funeral Mass for Father Jay Flaherty, a priest of the Diocese of Knoxville who was known as a very powerful preacher indeed. When Nicole and I were married, Father Flaherty celebrated our Nuptial …
Please remember to keep my brothers priests and I in prayer this week as we gather for our annual study days. This year we will be joined by Fr. Brendan Moss, OSB of St. Meinrad Archabbey who will share some thoughts with us on preaching. Hopefully you will see the fruits of our time away in our homilies this coming …