Sermons on Catholic:

Tolerance--No; Forbearance--Yes Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 5, 2015

We must go well beyond tolerance if we are to become the best version of ourselves, and always witnessing to the truth.

Thursday of 23rd week in course 2015 Joy of the Gospel About ten years ago I asked Abp Gomez to visit my religion class and talk about priestly vocations to my boys. He kindly did so and started out with a pointed question: why are you a Catholic? It swelled my heart to hear one of the class ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-38

Denomination: Catholic

Secularism And The Fight For The Family Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 7, 2015

The information-driven society is one that tries to secularize and pervert the human family into something it can never become.

Thursday of 5th week in Course 2015 Joy of the Gospel Jesus has such a sense of humor that some commentators have mistaken it for cruelty. Of course, Jesus never sinned, so thinking this comment about throwing the bread to the dogs is a real insult is wrongheaded thinking. In reality, Jesus was ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-30

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

Ordination And The Role Of Women In The Church Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 9, 2015

The twin command of Jesus to clergy is important to consider in any decision regarding ordination.

Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter 2015 Joy of the Gospel This is one of those liturgical days that is a little schizophrenic. In the historical Church, it is forty days after the Resurrection, so it is Ascension Thursday, as it was for almost two thousand years. But May 14 is the Feast of St. ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17

Denomination: Catholic

The Only Way To Solve The Problem Of Violence Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jun 2, 2019

We have to solve the problem back at the source of the problem. And that’s the human mind and heart.

Ascension Sunday 2019 “Let us then be children no longer, tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of . . .human trickery.” If you’ve ever been a supervisor of little boys, you know what St. Paul is writing about to the Ephesians. One little kid has a stupid idea–let’s throw some cats in ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-24, 1 Timothy 2:4

Denomination: Catholic

The Conflict Between Church And Secular States

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 29, 2012

There have been conflicts throughout two millennia between secular authorities and the Church, and the conflict between Thomas Becket and Henry II is reflected in the American situation today, but Jesus and the Church are not about power, but love.

St. Thomas Becket 2012 December 29–in the Christmas Octave We come to the end of a year that many in the Church see as an overall catastrophe. Our faith is in more peril in this country than at any time since the suppression of the No-Nothing party and the KKK. Most critically, this coming ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:3-11

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

Called In Family To The Family Of God

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 13, 2013

The Church, in Her Liturgy, continues the work of Jesus on earth, calling all in unity to obey the two great commandments.

Monday of First Week in Course January 12, 2013 Sacrosanctum Concilium Today we begin reading the Letter to the Hebrews, in which the author writes what may be the first theology of the atonement. We also see Peter, Andrew, James and John being called to be disciples, and ultimately apostles, of ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:14-20

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

What St Gregory Teaches Us About Evangelization Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 1, 2012

Prayer is pre-eminent; the Word must inform our music; evangelization must be done, especially with the help of women.

September 3 2012 St. Gregory the Great Verbum Domini The Book of Genesis envisions the creation of the world as more of a birthing than a creatio ex nihilo. We know that God created everything, and created it from nothing. But when the author of Genesis began his narrative, he picks up at a ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 2:4-15

Denomination: Catholic

The Word Does Not Accommodate To The Culture Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jun 23, 2012

There is a close relationship between the testimony of Scripture and the witness given by the lives of believers.

Monday of 12th Week in Course June 25, 2012 Verbum Domini Exactly why were the people of God thrown out of the land of God? Exactly why were the chosen people, the Jews, supplanted in the plan of salvation by the Catholic Church? And why, we should all ask, are we now being hammered by secular ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 17:5-18

Denomination: Catholic

What Leads Us To Believe The Gospel? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Catholic

The Dialogue Of Ecumenism Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 12, 2016

Our prayer is that all Christians be One.

Thursday of Fifth Week in Lent 2016 Joy of the Gospel The providential juxtaposition of St. Patrick’s Day with the readings of this Lenten feria should lead us to make a comparison between the call of St. Patrick and the call of the Hebrew patriarchs. Patrick was called by God to return ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 17:3-9

Denomination: Catholic

Discerning A Turning Point In History Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 13, 2014

Christians must discern whether changes in the culture are actually movements of the Spirit, or not.

Thursday of the 3rd Week in Advent 2014 Joy of the Gospel Yesterday we began the second phase of our Advent preparation. We ceased calling on Christ to return in glory, and we began our proximate preparation for the commemoration of the humble birth of the righteous branch who grew up to reign as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Denomination: Catholic

Squirming In The Lap Of The Trinity Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 28, 2020

When we are baptized into Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, we take our place within the embrace of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 131–a homily for today Today’s psalm, “O Lord, my heart is not proud,” is the kind of prayer-gem that can stimulate hours of meditation. If you pray it quickly, it takes less than a minute, even with a “Glory be. . .” But let’s start with the declaration to God right in the middle: “Like a ...read more

Scripture: James 2:2-3, John 17:20-26

Denomination: Catholic