Sermon Central
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Sacramentum Caritatis
Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 10, 2009 (message contributor)
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1. Church And Eucharist
Contributed on Jan 10, 2009
the Church is able to celebrate and worship the mystery of Christ in the Eucharist “precisely because Christ first gave himself to her in the sacrifice of the Cross.
January 12, 2008 Sacramentum Caritatis Through His Divine Son, the Father created the world. Through the same Son, He also recreated the world, once Jesus had been made–in the words of the letter to the Hebrews–perfect (complete) through suffering. “The Fathers of the Church often meditated ...read more
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2. Communion And Unity
Contributed on Jan 17, 2009
Eucharist is the supreme manifestation of the unity of Christians
January 19, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis There is a special co-incidence of today’s readings, the week of prayer for Christian unity, and the words of the Holy Father in Sacramentum Caritatis, where we are at article 15. This Mass, this memorial of Christ, is the supreme sacramental ...read more
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3. Completing Our Initiation
Contributed on Jan 26, 2009
Baptism is called the “portal to all the sacraments,” but it is our participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice which perfects within us the gifts given to us at Baptism.”
January 26, 2009 Timothy and Titus Sacramentum Caritatis On this feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, who are linked forever in the Church’s memory with St. Paul, whose conversion we celebrated yesterday, we continue with the Holy Father to reflect on the relationship between the Blessed ...read more
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4. Confessing Our Sins
Contributed on Jan 31, 2009
Before approaching communion, we are admonished to be in right relation with God and the Church; this is accomplished through Reconciliation.
Feast of the Purification/Presentation February 2, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis St. Luke must have had a terrific sense of humor, history and irony. He also knew his Bible–especially the prophets like Malachi. The picture here in Malachi is apocalyptic. The Lord visits His temple and purifies ...read more
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5. Coming To Communion, And Healing
Contributed on Feb 7, 2009
Sacrament of Healing and Eucharist; when to approach communion and when to pray in the pew
Monday of 5th Sunday in Course 9 February 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis The Gospels give us a real, human Christ to worship, emulate, and follow. This is a Jesus who was far more than a spiritual master. He ate and drank and slept and wept, and He had a physical presence so attractive that ...read more
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6. In Persona Christi
Contributed on Feb 15, 2009
The touch of God changes us, particularly those set aside for ministry.
February 16, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis There are two realities that flow directly from our understanding that there is a God and I’m not God. The first is that we owe God everything. The second is that we have to behave toward God and other human beings in the way He intends. The new ...read more
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7. The Charism Of Priestly Celibacy
Contributed on Feb 28, 2009
The priest and bishop who choose celibacy as a response to their call are imaging Christ, the Bridegroom.
March 2, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis The call to holiness that is summed up and made possible by the sacraments–especially this sacrament of charity–is universal. All the people of this new Israel, this Church, are to be holy. All are called to live a life of effective love of God and of ...read more
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8. Judging Actions, Not Interior Dispositions Of Others
Contributed on Mar 7, 2009
We may not judge the internal disposition of others, but we can judge the evil of what they want to do to society, especially against marriage.
March 9, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis How many times in recent years has this phrase of Jesus’s, “Judge not, lest ye be judged” been shoved into the faces of faithful Christians who are protesting the murder of the innocent, the perversion of the sacred union of husband and wife, or some other of ...read more
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9. Preaching The Truth, Convenient Or Not
Contributed on Mar 14, 2009
As Jesus did in his home town, we must preach the truth about marriage, even at some risk.
March 16, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis The prophetic call, whether to Elisha, Jesus, the apostles or you and me, is a call to take risks in order to reduce the greatest risk–that men and women lose their eternal souls. Here, Jesus tells the truth about his fellow Jews to the Jews and almost pays ...read more
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10. Eucharist And Eschaton
Contributed on Mar 22, 2009
The holy communion is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet with the Lamb.
March 23, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis Death and suffering and lamentation were never God’s intention for the world He loved into existence. Our human pride and rebellion brought these ills into the world, and by the grace of God they are doomed to be extinguished from human existence–even from ...read more
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11. Foretaste Of The Marriage Feast Of The Lamb
Contributed on Mar 28, 2009
What we do when we celebrate Eucharist is to have a foretaste of what we will experience when we reunite in the kingdom of God.
March 30, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis Recently this series focused for a moment on the distinction between hating sin and judging evil actions on the one hand, and loving sinners and welcoming them into the Church on the other. These two dramas from the Old and New Testament, these two rescues, ...read more
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12. The Eucharist And The Mother Of God
Contributed on Apr 4, 2009
The self-gift of Mary of Bethany echoes the lifelong gift of Mary of Nazareth, who was associated with Jesus, her Son, in all His mysteries, especially His sacrificial death.
April 6, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis Eucharist and the Mother of God The Blessed Virgin Mary, too, is the servant of the Lord. In fact, her assent to the angelic messenger and her only hymn in Luke proclaim her self-identity: handmaid of the Lord. The contrast between Mary of Bethany, the ...read more
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13. Beauty And Truth In Worship
Contributed on Apr 11, 2009
Our worship in the Eucharist must bring together what we believe with the way we pray, and reflect both Ultimate Truth and Beauty.
April 13, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis As we sit in the warm glow of Resurrection Day, we are invited to reflect on the connection between what we believe and how we pray. We believe that Jesus rose from the dead, that He conquered sin and death, and that we who eat the Flesh of the Son of Man ...read more
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14. The Subject Of Worship's Beauty Is Christ Himself
Contributed on Apr 18, 2009
The beauty of worship is more than decoration.
April 20, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis They prayed together, using the psalms, they told the story of the gift of God in Jesus, His rejection by Jew and Gentile, and they asked for divine help and got it. There was a little earthquake and they were filled with the Holy Spirit so as to proclaim ...read more
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15. Bread Of Life And True Worship
Contributed on Apr 25, 2009
There can be no contradiction between the art of celebration and the full and engaged participation of the Church in worship.
April 27, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis There is an incredible richness and flow in this sixth chapter of John’s Gospel that is so full of meaning that we must meditate on it over and over again. He begins with eating earthly bread, the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the people ...read more
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16. Receiving The Gift Of Worship
Contributed on May 2, 2009
As changes in worship style come, many will find the changes difficult to accept, but it will be easier if we see Liturgy as primarily a divine gift.
May 4, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?" When the RSV translation talks about “the circumcision party,” we get an unintended pun in English. Literally, it refers ...read more
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17. Keeping Order Among Our Passions
Contributed on May 2, 2009
Christ is our shepherd, because we are prone as sheep to wander about in pursuit of pleasure, and be devoured by our passions.
Tuesday of 4th Week of Easter May 5, 2009 “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” So Jesus talks about sheep. As the Jews of His day–and ours, for that matter–saw it, Jesus never talked plainly. But that wasn’t Jesus’ problem with the Jews, or us, for that matter. Our problem is that ...read more
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18. Obedience And Art In Worship
Contributed on May 9, 2009
As the disciple is obedient to the word of Christ, so we can witness our obedience to the Father in the world by respecting the need for beauty in worship.
May 11, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis When we read the words of the Last Discourse in John, which we will hear each day between now and the Ascension, we can be struck with an apparent disjoin in the conversation. The apostles often ask a question, and Jesus appears to give a good answer to an ...read more
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19. Spirit Is Alive Through Obedience
Contributed on May 17, 2009
The Church’s song is two millennia old and is deserving of use and respect
May 18, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis Acts 16: 11-21 and John 15: 21-27 When we listen to the Gospel of Luke and the Acts, and to the Gospel of John as well, we get the impression that the Holy Spirit was more active in the early Church than today. Paul was forbidden by the Spirit–probably ...read more
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20. Singing And Contemplation
Contributed on May 23, 2009
The point of art, and especially music, is to lead us beyond what we can apprehend at the material level, even to contemplative prayer.
May 25, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds; his name is the LORD, exult before him! 5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the action ...read more
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21. Word And Eucharist Are One
Contributed on Jun 13, 2009
The Gospel proclaims the divine reversal--the weak become strong by grace; thus also Word and Sacrament are the means by which weakness is strengthened.
June 15, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis Here in the penumbra of the Feast of Corpus Christi, it is particularly helpful to reflect on what many have called “the great reversal.” The Gospel is one frequently quoted to show the power of nonviolent resistence. Go two miles when forced to go one. ...read more
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22. Equal In Dignity, Diverse In Function
Contributed on Jun 21, 2009
In our worship, we are all equal in dignity, but, as Jesus gave different ministries to his disciples, in and out of worship, we differ in function and service; that is the meaning of hierarchy.
Solemnity of Peter and Paul June 29, 2009 The readings for this solemnity help us to understand how it is that Christ left us–as a gift–a hierarchical Church. I was reading some fairly recent articles in Pastoral Music recently, and came across a rather angry one from a nun who was complaining ...read more
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23. Engaged Participation In Worship
Contributed on Jul 4, 2009
We cannot come to worship unprepared. Silent prayer, fasting and confession are recommended.
Monday of Fourteenth Week in Course July 6, 2009 Sacramentum Caritatis The House of God and Gate of Heaven is, fundamentally, Jesus Christ. The woman with the hemorrhage found that out through her experience of the healing touch of His garment. The little girl experienced it through her ...read more
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24. On The Third Day, Do Whatever Jesus Tells You
Contributed on Jan 14, 2022
As in the early Church, the gifts are given to each of us so that we might build up the Body of Christ, making the Church stronger internally and more effective in spreading the Word of God.
Second Sunday after Epiphany Every three years we get to hear the story of Jesus changing a huge quantity of water into wine, after being asked by His mother to help a struggling newlywed couple. It’s a beautiful story often used at weddings. God designed human beings to marry and procreate—give ...read more