Sermons on Maundy Thursday Reflections:

The Need For Contemplation Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 30, 2016

Our mission to others must be underlaid with a foundation of personal devotion to Jesus Christ.

Thursday in 6th Week of Easter 2016 Joy of the Gospel St. Paul’s relationship with the church at Corinth was long, fruitful, and fraught with problems. But it is Corinth that gives us testimony of the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles. “Before AD 50, an area 62 feet ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-8

Denomination: Catholic

Fulfilling Our Commitments As Evangelization Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 14, 2016

Doing what we should do can bring us joy, but we must still do it even if it leaves us dry.

Thursday in Pentecost Week 2016 Joy of the Gospel There are still some pundits and preachers out in the hinterland who insist that Jesus was just a great man, a great philosopher of love, that fire and brimstone have no place in religion, and that everyone goes to heaven. I suppose they ripped ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:41-50

Denomination: Catholic

Changing Hearts, Changing Worlds Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jun 11, 2016

The Holy Spirit knows well what is needed in every time and place.

Thursday of 11th Week in Course There’s a contrast between our two prophets–Jesus and Elijah–in today’s Scriptures. Elijah’s missionary method was pretty direct. When Israel defected from worshiping the true God, he called down a three-year drought. When he won ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:7-15

Denomination: Catholic

Pray For Us Preachers Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 3, 2016

The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness and ability to communicate to his people.

Thursday of 13th Week in Course Today Jesus’s words are about preaching and service. They are directed to us, to the clergy leaders of the Church, primarily, but really to all Christians. Saint Francis lived out this vocation–he took with him on his journeys almost nothing. He ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:7-15

Denomination: Catholic

Sharing The Father's Embrace In Preaching Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 26, 2015

The two sources of the scribe versed in the kingdom of God are Moses and Jesus

Thursday of 17th week in course 2015 Joy of the Gospel “Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” We need to see the revolutionary idea in this short and familiar quotation of Jesus. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:47-53

Denomination: Catholic

Ear To God's People Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 22, 2015

The preacher must know what the needs of the listener are.

Thursday of 21st week in course 2015 Joy of the Gospel St. Monica day We who minister to the Church are first of all your fellow servants. The parable Jesus is telling His disciples in this Gospel is first of all directed to those who lead the Church. We know this is true because only the chief ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:7-12

Denomination: 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

Can We Refuse To See Our Brothers And Sisters? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 3, 2015

We cannot love God if we refuse to work for the betterment and evangelization of the poor.

Thursday after Epiphany 2015 Joy of the Gospel St. John’s letter is pretty stark today: “If any one says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” Our love for our brothers ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

Evil Embedded In The Structures Of Society Leads To Death Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 17, 2015

The sacrifice of Christ needs to be imitated by the Christian, by loving service and working to put down evil.

Thursday of 2nd Week in Course Joy of the Gospel There is an innate drive in every human, once he has discovered the existence of a transcendent reality, a creative Being who can impact his life, to offer something to that Being. In pagan societies, where the forces of nature, or economics, or ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

Evangelization--Sacred Vs Secular Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 31, 2015

The pope encourages us to understand that non-Western cultures are suspicious of Christian evangelization because they confuse it with the spread of secularism and the culture of death.

Thursday of the 4th Week in Course 2015 Light of the Gospel St. Mark’s Gospel is rarely verbose. He always tells the story of Jesus using an economy of words, perhaps because the Church of Rome was too poor to supply him much in the way of writing supplies, or because it was often ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:7-13

Denomination: Catholic

How Can We Fail To Share That Love Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 6, 2014

Being a Christian is the result of an encounter with Jesus Christ, giving life a new horizon and decisive direction.

Thursday of 23rd Week in Course and Commemoration of 9/11 Today we remember the events of September 11, 2001. That day, called nine-eleven, the whole world changed. In the Muslim world, it was an anniversary of the battle that raised the siege of Vienna, a huge defeat for the Muslim Turks, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-28

Denomination: Catholic

Joy In Evangelization Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 13, 2014

"an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral."

Thursday of 24th Week in Course St. Joseph Cupertino Pharisees don’t come off very well in the Gospels. Pharisaic religion, though, was considered by the Jews to be the very summit of Jewish observance. After all, it applied to all its adherents the entire Law, even those clearly meant ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Denomination: Catholic

The Value Of Interreligious Dialogue Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 1, 2016

"Evangelization and interreligious dialogue, far from being opposed, mutually support and nourish one another."

Thursday in Second Week of Easter 2016 Joy of the Gospel Today we hear the story of Peter’s witness before the Sanhedrin in the months following the first Pentecost. To the authorities who had forbade preaching about Jesus, Peter reminds them that the Law of God goes before any human law. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:27-33

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

Homilies And The Joy Of The Gospel Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 11, 2015

"The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people. "

Thursday of 15th week in course 2015 Joy of the Gospel Today we see Moses, who you remember fled from Egypt after killing an Egyptian oppressor, being called by God to go and preach to Pharaoh. The message: let all your slaves go into the desert. Let them abandon their jobs for a week or two, ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:13-20

Denomination: Catholic