Sermon Central
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Verbum Domini
Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 8, 2011 (message contributor)
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1. Reflecting On The Word Of God
Contributed on Oct 8, 2011
To respond to Christ's command, we must take time to reflect on the Word of God and the words of God, so that we can spread that word to a world in desperate need.
Monday of 28th Week in Course 10 October 2011 Verbum Domini The gospel of God was promised long ago through the prophets of God in the holy scriptures. Some, like Jonah, Elijah and Michaeh ben Imlah, were verbal prophets whose words and deeds were later interpreted and written down by their ...read more
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2. To An Ever Greater Love Of The Word Of God
Contributed on Oct 8, 2011
Two guides help us in our journey with the Scriptures: St. Paul and the prologue to John's Gospel
Monday of 29th Week in Course St. Ignatius of Antioch Verbum Domini Our saint today, Ignatius of Antioch, is a most appropriate patron for our reflections on the Word of God. He was the third bishop of Antioch, but, more importantly, was a disciple of John the Apostle. His writings give us a ...read more
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3. The Word Of God--Constant Reminder Of Our Need To Repent
Contributed on Oct 22, 2011
This homily is largely identical to the previous week's, which I did not get to deliver. The relationship between the spiritual gifts and the deposit of faith in Scripture
Monday of 30th Week in Course St. Anthony Mary Claret Verbum Domini The early Church, built on the immediate remembrance of Pentecost, was “charismatic” in the best sense. That is, the spiritual gifts, interior and exterior, characterized the relationships between the Christian, ...read more
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4. The Meanings Of The Word Of God
Contributed on Nov 5, 2011
The Wisdom of God is another word for the Word of God, which itself has many meanings, primarily the Logos, the Second person of the Trinity
Monday of 32nd Week in Course Verbum Domini God’s word to us today is strong and admonitory. Seek wisdom–which means seek the will of God–and follow after it. Don’t think you can hide from God. The spirit of God is everywhere, and knows everything we think or say. ...read more
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5. The Word Of God, Secular Society And The Natural Law
Contributed on Nov 12, 2011
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and the natural moral law.
Monday of 33rd Week in Course Verbum Domini “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This is one of what the Egyptian hermits used to call “javelin prayers” that the Church has held dear from the beginning. The story we hear in today’s Gospel, which originated in ...read more
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6. The Divine Condescension
Contributed on Nov 19, 2011
Those who know God's word--like Mary--also know fully the significance of every creature.
Monday of the 34th Week in Course 21 November 2011 Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Verbum Domini Those who know God’s word also know fully the significance of each creature. For if all things “hold together” in the one who is “before all things” (cf. Col ...read more
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7. The Abbreviated Word
Contributed on Nov 26, 2011
It is to our benefit that God condescended to become human. In the words of the Church Fathers, he "abbreviated" Himself.
Monday of the First Week of Advent 2011 Verbum Domini What a providential, or shrewd, juxtaposition we have this year on this first Monday of Advent. The word of God today brings together the expectation of Advent, our reflections on Verbum Domini, and the reintroduction of truly Scriptural ...read more
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8. You Said What To An Angel Of God?
Contributed on Dec 17, 2011
The Word of God comes in silence and is revealed as the word of the new and everlasting covenant, so that when we celebrate Eucharist we are freed from our messy little daily sins and given strength for the journey.
Monday of 4th week in Advent 19 December 2011 Verbum Domini As a member of the tribe of Levi, and a priest, Zechariah would have been familiar with all the books of the Old Testament, just as he stood at the threshold of the New. He would have heard the Levites singing the psalm that praises ...read more
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9. Don't Chase Private Revelations
Contributed on Jan 7, 2012
Jesus Christ is the definitive revelation of God to humanity. Any private revelations that may come after Him must point to Him and do not have the authority of public revelation.
January 9, 2012 The Baptism of the Lord Verbum Domini Today’s feast, which usually occurs on a Sunday, commemorates one of the three great Epiphanies of Jesus. Jesus’s birth was obscure, his cradle a feed-box, with cows and sheep and a few shepherds to announce Him. The great ...read more
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10. Word And Spirit
Contributed on Jan 14, 2012
The Holy Spirit acts in the human author of Scripture so that every word is inspired and true; the Holy Spirit also acts in the proclaimer and hearer so that the word can be efficatious in human life.
Monday of 2nd Week in Course 2012 Verbum Domini Word and Spirit The anointing of Saul as king of Israel was one of those pivotal moments in salvation history that set Israel on a whole new course, and not an altogether good one. We see Samuel, one of the great saints of the OT, filled with ...read more
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11. The Word Of God, Politics, And Protection For Preborn Children
Contributed on Jan 21, 2012
The Word of God teaches us the value of every human life, and our responsibility to pray and work politically to share the Gospel of Life.
Monday of 3rd Week in Ordinary Time Day of Prayer for Legal Protection for the Preborn Verbum Domini Today is the Church’s day of prayer for legal protection for those not yet born. As a human being conceived in what was certainly a great family scandal, whose mother was sent nearly two ...read more
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12. Scripture In Relation To The Church's Living Tradition
Contributed on Jan 28, 2012
Our respect for the Word of God must always be subject to our understanding that the Bible is the Church's Book.
Monday of 4th Week in Course 30 January 2012 Verbum Domini In the OT, there are very few persons who are totally devoted to listening to and living out the Word of God. Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and then this wonderful, conflicted soul David, were four of them. Yes, they all had their ...read more
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13. Divine Presence, Divine Inspiration
Contributed on Feb 4, 2012
It is the enduring presence of God in His Church, His sacraments and His Scriptures that gives our life meaning and purpose.
Monday of 5th Week in Course St. Paul Miki & Companions Verbum Domini One of the critical teachings of both the Old and New Testaments is that the presence of God is not like the presence of the pagan gods. The latter came and went with their whims, and their arrival was usually bad news for ...read more
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14. Is The Church Just Our "Dotty Maiden Aunt"
Contributed on Feb 11, 2012
The word of God calls us to the obedience of faith. We cannot compromise with evil, even when tempted to do so by our convenience.
Monday of 6th Week in Course Verbum Domini Is the Church Just Our Dotty Maiden Aunt? “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I keep thy word.” There’s a memorable scene in A Christmas Story, in which Ralphie, who longs for a BB gun for Christmas, opens a parcel from ...read more
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15. Mary, Model Of Faith
Contributed on Feb 18, 2012
Jesus learned in his human nature that for God, all things are possible, through the words and example of his mother, Mary.
Monday of 7th Week in Course Verbum Domini I find myself in today’s Gospel; perhaps many of us do. Perhaps it’s because so many of us have been parents of teenagers, that human pupa stage that seems designed to enrage adults. In today’s Gospel, the youngster is seen as ...read more
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16. What Leads Us To Believe The Gospel?
Contributed on Feb 23, 2012
The Bible is the Church's book, so we must read it in faith and read it as a member of the community of the Church.
Monday of First Week of Lent Verbum Domini There are a whole series of websites on the Internet devoted to trying to debunk the Sacred Scriptures. For instance, with respect to the book of Leviticus, which we read from today, one can find tons of places where the clear natural law prohibition ...read more
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17. The Divine Words Grow With The One Who Reads Them
Contributed on Mar 3, 2012
The culture of death cannot win true arguments with the Truth, so they change the topic. But if we study the Scriptures with faith, they become more and more our prayer.
Monday of 2nd Week in Lent Verbum Domini The wicked and adulterous generation that our culture has become is heartily in favor of the words of Jesus here–it’s about the only ones they ever quote–“Judge not, and you will not be judged.” They believe that if one ...read more
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18. The Power Of The Word
Contributed on Mar 10, 2012
The story of Elisha and Naaman teaches us about the Word of Evangelization, the Word of direction, and the Word of testimony, all powerful in the saving of souls.
Monday of the 3rd Week in Lent Verbum Domini At least as early as the time of St Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century (On the Baptism of Christ), the Fathers of the Church were seeing this healing of Naaman the Syrian as a type of Baptism. The story is a compelling reminder of the impotence of ...read more
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19. The Word Was Made Flesh
Contributed on Mar 24, 2012
What do the first two principles of biblical interpretation teach us about the Annunciation story?
Solemnity of the Annunciation 2012 Verbum Domini When we pray together our profession of faith in a moment, the Missal instructs us to kneel for a moment (if we can) when we say that of the Son, “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” John’s ...read more
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20. The Analogy Of Faith
Contributed on Mar 31, 2012
New insights into the meaning of the Scriptures must always conform to the full faith of the Church, preached always and everywhere by everyone.
Monday of Holy Week 2012 Verbum Domini As we begin the most sacred week of our Church’s year of grace, we can again give thanks for the happy coincidence of today’s Word of God with the themes of the Holy Father’s exhortation, The Word of the Lord. Today the prophet Isaiah ...read more
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21. No Dualistic Approaches To Scripture
Contributed on Apr 6, 2012
The fact of the physical Resurrection of Jesus dominates the New Testament, but we must, when studying the various accounts, read the NT with the faith of the Church.
Monday of Easter Week Verbum Domini The apostles’ experience of the Resurrection of Jesus changed their lives forever. In the light of our week-long Easter festival, it makes sense to look at the Word of God recording the Resurrection, and to do so in the spirit of the Synod and the Holy ...read more
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22. Both Faith And Reason
Contributed on Apr 21, 2012
Both our faith and our reason must inform our study and preaching of Scripture.
Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter Verbum Domini The breaking in of the Word of God into the closed-in Jewish culture of the first century was heavily resisted by the Jews. In fact, by one estimate, only a small minority of Palestinian Jews turned to Jesus as the Messiah and became members of ...read more
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23. Four Helpful Senses Of Scripture
Contributed on Apr 27, 2012
We can see in the writing of the story of Cornelius and Jesus's words about the sheepfold very helpful examples of the literal and spiritual senses of Scripture.
Monday of 4th Week of Easter Verbum Domini The richness of today’s Scripture readings should suggest to us a couple of responses. First, we need several hours of study of the text and its meanings. Second, we should, in worshipful awe, spend a few more hours before the Blessed Sacrament ...read more
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24. Reflecting On The Dark Passages Of Scripture
Contributed on May 12, 2012
As in the story of Judas, there are dark passages in the Bible, but they can help us if we use an interpretation which enables their meaning to emerge in the light of the mystery of Christ.
Feast of St. Matthias 14 May 2012 Verbum Domini Today’s feast gives us an opportunity to reflect on one of the darkest moments in our salvation history. The crucifixion of Jesus was set up by a traitor, Judas “the Iscariot.” It also helps us to consider what the Holy Father ...read more
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25. The Ephesian Church And The Word Of God
Contributed on May 19, 2012
The growth of the first-century church of Ephesus shows how the Word of God overcomes world-systems by the power of the Holy Spirit.
21 May 2012 Verbum Domini The Word of God, Jesus, has overcome the world. Today’s reading from Acts gives us a glimpse of how the Word overcomes. The Word of God overcomes the world through the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples. The foundation and growth of the ...read more
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26. Perfect Interplay Between The Word And Faith
Contributed on May 26, 2012
The love that is the Holy Spirit is the power that saves us, and empowers us to be like Christ in the world.
Monday after Pentecost Memorial Day Verbum Domini Before the reform of the Roman liturgy back in the 70's, Pentecost had its own octave, culminating in Trinity Sunday. Whatever we may think of the change, we are now taken from the mountaintop experience of the commemoration of the coming of ...read more
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27. The Word Of God Forming Saints
Contributed on Jun 2, 2012
St. Peter gives us a program for becoming saints of faith.
Monday of 9th Week in Course Verbum Domini Sometimes the New Testament gives us a long or short example of the earliest movements toward what we call systematic theology. This second letter of Peter begins with something like that–a list of strengths or virtues in logical order. Each ...read more
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28. Sons And Daughters Of Encouragement
Contributed on Jun 8, 2012
Like Barnabas, we can be sons and daughters of encouragement if we see and make real the connection between Word and Sacrament.
Feast of St Barnabas 2012 Verbum Domini This annual celebration of one of the early Church’s lynchpins, St. Barnabas, brings to mind first of all the meaning of his Hebrew name: Bar-nabas, son of encouragement. (Acts 4:36) When you use that idiom about somebody, it’s like saying, ...read more
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29. The End Of The Drought
Contributed on Jun 13, 2012
The Word of God truly effects change, like the dewfall, and especially in the Bread and Wine.
Thursday of 10th Week in Course Verbum Domini Drought. Elijah had to get the Israelites’ attention, to help them return to the true God. Ahab and Jezebel stood in the way, worshiping the gods of the land. Yesterday we heard about the contest between Elijah and the false prophets, that ...read more
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30. Words Of Jesus; Actions Of Jesus
Contributed on Jun 16, 2012
In a passage that describes Jesus' teaching about our response to injustice and requests for loans, we must remember that Jesus is describing His own life.
Monday of 11th Week in Course 18 June 2012 Verbum Domini The Word of God is not some naive program to comfort humans in their preconceptions. Both Old Testament and Gospel passages today rub our Christian noses in the reality of evil, and challenge us to take up the hardest labors connected ...read more