Sermons on Dei Verbum:

Word And Spirit Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:16-23

Denomination: Catholic

Divine Presence, Divine Inspiration Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: Mark 6:53-56

Denomination: Catholic

Four Helpful Senses Of Scripture Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: Acts 11:1-18

Denomination: Catholic

Words Of Jesus; Actions Of Jesus Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:32-42, Matthew 7:1-20

Denomination: Catholic

The Word And The Martyrs Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 11, 2012

In the witness of the martyrs we see the Word of God made visible and effective in the world; the martyrs give the ultimate testimony to the Truth.

August 13, 2012 Blessed Jakob Gapp Verbum Domini “The interpretation of sacred Scripture would remain incomplete were it not to include listening to those who have truly lived the word of God: namely, the saints. Indeed, viva lectio est vita bonorum. The most profound interpretation of ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 1:2-28

Denomination: Catholic

Jesus Was The Word And Kept It

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 3, 2011

Unlike the first Adam, who heard God

Monday of 2nd Week in Advent 2011 Verbum Domini As we hear the Word of God through Isaiah today, it’s hard to miss the fact that as soon as the words: “God will come and save you” are uttered, blindness and deafness are cured and the deserts become gardens and holiness fills the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:17-26

Denomination: Catholic

You Said What To An Angel Of God? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:5-25

Denomination: Catholic

Scripture In Relation To The Church's Living Tradition Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 weaknesses, ...read more

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 Power Of The Word Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Denomination: Catholic

The Analogy Of Faith Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-7

Denomination: Catholic

Perfect Interplay Between The Word And Faith Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-27

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 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

Tolerance Vs Inculturation Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 8, 2012

The Church loves sinners but abhors sin; instead of accommodating itself to the world, and tolerating sin, it should adopt a habit of inculturation as a means of spreading the Gospel.

10 September 2012 Monday of 23rd Sunday in Course Verbum Domini One of the most abused words in the English language is “tolerance.” These days it is often wedded to the word “diversity.” We live in a diverse culture, we are told, and so we are to understand and tolerate ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8

Denomination: Catholic