Sermons on Bishop Michael Curry:

Year Of Faith And Evangelization Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 14, 2012

Despite the many forces arrayed against the Church's mission, we must follow the Gospel command to bring the Word of God to everyone.

Monday of 15th Week in Course July 16, 2012 Our Lady of Mt Carmel The Holy Father has announced the year of faith, to begin later this year with the next Synod of Bishops, and he has designated it as a time to dedicate ourselves to the New Evangelization. This may seem untimely. After all, the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:34-42

Denomination: Catholic

Bring Us Together By Thy Word Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 25, 2012

The existence of the Word of God makes it necessary to have a living and authoritative interpretator "of last resort," in the Church.

Monday of 21st Week in Course St. Monica/St. Augustine Verbum Domini St. Monica could easily be called the patron saint of frustrated prayer. A Catholic herself, she found herself married to a pagan, with a son who, unbaptized as a child, turned into a kind of semi-pagan hellion during his youth. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:13-22

Denomination: Catholic

Light Of The World Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 6, 2012

As the Synod Fathers gather to begin the year of faith, we consider the role of the Church as she takes up the mission of Christ to bring together all the people of the world in praise and obedience.

October 8, 2012 Monday of 27th Week in Course Vatican II As we begin the year of faith this week, I feel called to begin a new sermon series, setting for my theme the Holy Father’s admonition to return to the Documents of Vatican Council II. The Fathers of the Church were particularly ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Denomination: Catholic

Holy People Of God Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 27, 2012

The call to be the New Israel is a call to holiness and mission.

Monday of 30th Week in Course Lumen Gentium The Fathers of the Council looked at the Church from every direction, and gave us teaching on all the names of the Church. It seems to me that their favorite name for the Church is “People of God.” It, more than any other, shows the ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

The Purpose Of Liturgy Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 4, 2013

We need to understand what the Council Fathers intended for Liturgy, and the two things most people think they wanted which are not what they actually said they wanted.

Monday after Epiphany 7 January 2012 Sacrosanctum Concilium The mission of the Church on earth is exactly the same as the mission of Jesus during His thirty-some years on earth. He was, and we must be, the fulfillment of the twin commandment of God: love God with all our hearts and love our ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-25

Denomination: Catholic

The Two Most Important Moments Of Life Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 18, 2019

“What are the two most important moments in any person’s life?”

Tuesday of the 5th Week in Easter 2019 What are the two most important moments in any person’s life? In your life? In my life? I’ll come back to these questions–really a single question–in a moment. But first I’d like to point out that as Jesus concludes the long sermon at the Last Supper, He is ...read more

Scripture: John 14:27-31, Acts 14:19-28, Luke 2:34

Denomination: Catholic

That All Humans Be Saved Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 19, 2019

It is the will of God that all humans be saved, which was a crucial teaching of the Church all the way back to St. Paul.

Thursday of 2nd Week in Course 2019 St Francis de Sales Jesus, our Lord, constantly had His mission from the Father in mind during His time on earth. That mission is to teach and heal, and to suffer and die for our salvation. It was the Father’s will that the Son should live as a real human being, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 40:7-17, Mark 3:7-12

Denomination: Catholic

Contending With Evil Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 13, 2019

Just because we are chosen by God, baptized into Christ, does not mean that we are infallibly going to attain God’s promises. We are always tempted, as Christ was, to follow the allurements of the world, flesh and devil.

Saint Anthony of the Desert 2019 Saint Anthony–the less famous one we call “Anthony of the Desert”–died 1653 years ago today. Since he is also called “Anthony the Great” and “Anthony of Egypt” and several other honorifics, we might want to know more about him, and what he can teach us today. But ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:40-45, Hebrews 3:7-14, Psalm 95:6-11

Denomination: Catholic

Not For Shameful Gain

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 17, 2018

There are all kinds of examples, great ones and poor ones, among the popes.

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter 2018 Reformation/Revolution Today’s Catholic feast celebrates the “chair” or authority given by Christ to St. Peter and his successors, one that has its foundations in the Old Testament. We see St. Peter as the vicar, or maybe viceroy or even “chief of staff” of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4, Matthew 16:13-19

Denomination: Catholic

Fourth Sunday Of Advent, Year A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Dec 2, 2019

The same sign given to Ahaz and Joseph is given to you and me. "The virgin has conceived and has given birth to a Son. And He is Emmanuel. God with us." His name is Jesus.

Sometimes dreams are prompted by impressions and “residues” of the previous day that we take into our sleep, thus Joseph’s dream consists in his waking, conscious desire to protect Mary, preserve his own honor and resolve the dilemma of Mary’s pregnancy by divorcing her quietly. God uses Joseph’s ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-14, Matthew 1:18-24

Denomination: Catholic

Party On! Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 31, 2019

We all know that there were parties last evening, some that lasted well into the morning hours. But I venture to say that these parties were not celebrations of religious faith, such as the ones implied by today’s Scriptures.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Party On! Today’s Scriptures are so brief that if our minds are not focused, we might not remember any of them. I’ve wondered if that was an act of mercy on the part of those who back in the 1960's put together the three-year cycle of readings, and saw New ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21, Matthew 11:19

Denomination: Catholic

What Some Folks Don't Know About Christmas

Contributed by Curtis E. Nester on Dec 27, 2013

Explores what people should know about the birth of Jesus and how many are not aware of the true meaning of Christmas. Why we should be anticipating the second advent of Christ

TITLE: What Some Folks Don't Know About Christmas TEXT: Galatians 4:4-5 INTRO: For 74 years, Russia had no official Christmas holiday. The Communists replaced the Bethlehem star with the red star. They banned Christmas trees and turned Christmas into a holiday celebrating Father Frost. Then, in ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 4:4-5

Denomination: Baptist

Saint Joseph And The Joy Of The Gospel Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 14, 2015

We can learn much from Saint Joseph about the ways to fight acedia and to recover the joy of evangelization.

Feast of St. Joseph 2015 Joy of the Gospel It is humbling to lead this prayer service on a solemnity, especially that of St. Joseph. He is the patron of fathers, of workers, of carpenters, of social justice, and of the universal Church. He has titles such as St. Joseph the Worker and St. Joseph ...read more

Scripture: Romans 4:13-22

Denomination: Catholic

How Good It Feels To Come Back To Him Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 23, 2014

In St. Augustine we see the paradigm of the sinner become saint.

Feast of St. Augustine 2014 Evangelii Gaudium As we begin our reflections on Pope Francis’s exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, we happily find the cosmic convergence of these greetings from St. Paul to the Corinthians and the words of St. Matthew’s Gospel with the annual commemoration of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Denomination: Catholic

Character And Values Series

Contributed by Okoye Benjamin on Sep 14, 2014

THE NEED TO LEAVE AN ENDURING LEGACY FOR POSTERITY

The term values is used in many schools, but it can be a bit abstract. Virtues are values expressed in character, and character affects how we treat those around us. Character is a must for the sake of others as for our own sake. The perfect expression of this was Jesus Christ whom Christians ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:1-6

Denomination: Anglican