In Sermons: showing 1,111-1,125 of 1,305

The Bride's Love Song Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 16, 2011

As Mary poured costly nard over the feet of Jesus, so the Church sings its love song to the Bridegroom sacrificed for our sins.

Monday of Holy Week 18 April 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy Mary loved her brother, Lazarus. When he took ill, she and Martha immediately sent word to Jesus, trusting that He would come and cure Lazarus. She waited, and waited, and watched her brother get progressively worse. Worse yet, the rumor ...read more

Scripture: John 12:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

Songs Of Rescue, Songs Of Praise Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 9, 2011

The psalms are particularly important as Christian songs because they subsume every human experience and emotion and thought into a song of gratitude and praise.

Monday of 5th Week in Lent April 11, 2011 The stories we have read today are rescue stories. Individuals–humans with infinite dignity–were saved from death by divine intervention. It is interesting to note that both of these passages are controversial. The first–Daniel and Susannah– is known in ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

The Blessings Of Our Eucharist Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 3, 2011

Our innate destiny is union with God, and it is celebrated and effected in Eucharist, during which we bless each other many times.

5th Sunday of Lent 2011 The Spirit of the Liturgy The great Christian author, C.S. Lewis, wrote an appendix to his masterful little book Screwtape Letters. In his moral tale, Screwtape is the name given to a kind of middle-management demon, who is responsible for training and supervising the evil ...read more

Scripture: John 11:1-45

Denomination: Catholic

Let Us Sing To The Lord Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 2, 2011

Our song of praise wells up from our heart as a response to God's saving act: we believe in God, in His Son, and we sing.

Monday in 4th Week of Lent April 4 2011 The Spirit of the Liturgy “In the Lord, I have trusted: I will exult and I will rejoice in Thy mercy: because Thou hast regarded my lowliness.” The words of today’s Introit make more real the meaning of Lent, that despite our lowliness, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 30:4-12

Denomination: Catholic

Five Principles Of Art And Architecture Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 26, 2011

From the iconoclast controversy we can derive the five principles that should inform our church art

Monday of 3rd Week in Lent 28 March 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy The onset of a dreaded disease is one of the most stressful events of any life. Today, cancer is the most dreaded, but in the time of the prophets, when no one knew about viruses and few people lived to an advanced age, it was a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:24-30

Denomination: Catholic

Images Of Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 19, 2011

In the icon of the crucifixion we find the same spiritual orientations we discovered in the eastward direction of our prayer.

Monday of 2nd Week in Lent 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy Over and over again the OT repeats the theme: God is merciful; His people are faithless. Original sin has not corrupted our natures entirely, but it has weakened them so that we find it an uphill climb to do good and avoid evil. Without the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:36-38

Denomination: Catholic

When Did We See You Hungry? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 12, 2011

Our good works for our brothers and sisters are icons of Christ in our culture.

Monday of First Week in Lent 14 March 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy At various times in the history of the Church, Judaizing elements in and outside the Church have risen up and waved the second half of the first commandment at the Church, and accused us of worshiping images and idols. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Catholic

Through My Most Grievous Fault Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 3, 2011

Change is inevitable; growth is optional, morally, spiritually, liturgically.

First Sunday of Lent 2011 The Spirit of the Liturgy The fruit was, she had to admit, highly attractive. Over the weeks since her creation, she had time to ponder it, to wonder why the fruit of this one tree was off-limits to her and her new husband. She had even invented a foil for her ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

The Cherubim Around The Ark Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 26, 2011

Depictions of events from the Bible in image are in no way a violation of the first commandment, but help the events transcend the passing of time and become present in our midst.

Monday of 8th Week in Course Feb 28 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy The young man arrived full of enthusiasm, and he went away sorrowful. The English can’t do proper justice to the original meaning of the Greek. The same word is used of the disciples when Jesus told them he would ultimately be ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-27

Denomination: Catholic

The Sacrifice Of Abel Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 12, 2011

Abel worshiped in faith, and so should we.

Ss Cyril & Methodius February 14, 2011 The Spirit of the Liturgy For a few months now we have been considering, with our Holy Father, the spirit of the liturgy. And so it is fitting that we hear today, and on Valentine’s Day, this marvelous lesson from Genesis, the story of accepted Abel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 4:1-25

Denomination: Catholic

The Law And Our Worship Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 5, 2011

As C.S. Lewis said, while we are wondering where our feet go next, we are not dancing; thus we need rubrics and familiar prayers in our worship.

Sixth Sunday in Course February 13, 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy Today we are challenged to consider the place of law in our lives. In the psalm we prayed for divine understanding, so that we may keep God’s law and observe it wholeheartedly. The Offertory verse pleads “Blessed are you, O Lord, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:17-37

Denomination: Catholic

The Eighth Day Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 4, 2011

The Sunday celebration, that of the new Sabbath, is the eighth day described by the Fathers of the Church.

Monday of 5th week in Course 7 February 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy The great myths of Mesopotamia were myths of creation. Gods battled and slew each other, and the cosmos was formed from the dead body of a god. And it was pretty rank and fetid. That’s the way pagans look at their world. ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

Middle Ages And The Real Presence Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 29, 2011

The Middle Ages gave us an understanding of the Real Presence of the personal Christ in Eucharist that demands a special place.

Memorial of St. John Bosco January 31, 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy What could be better than being approved by God for our faith, as the author of the letter to the Hebrews says about our spiritual ancestors? Yet he says that God sees something better for us. It is something so great that we ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:1-20

Denomination: Catholic

The Twin Real Presences Of Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 22, 2011

The two real presences of Christ in the Eucharist are really one.

January 24, 2011 St Francis de Sales The Spirit of the Liturgy The whole of the New Testament can be summarized in one sentence. In the words of Athanasius, God became human so that humans could become divine. The problem, of course, with that plan is that we are sinners. We are born with the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:15-28

Denomination: Catholic

Facing The Sign Of The Son Of Man Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 15, 2011

How shall we acknowledge the sacrifice of Christ re-presented in the Mass: by facing together in prayer the cross--the sign of the Son of Man.

January 17, 2011 St. Anthony of the Desert Spirit of the Liturgy New wine does not go into old wineskins, so the synagogue-Temple services, on which the Catholic Mass is based, have been replaced by the Liturgy of the Word and the re-presentation of the Calvary sacrifice. Here, the great High ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:1-10

Denomination: Catholic