Sermons on Milton Cunningham:

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

Abraham, Man Of The Divine Gift Of Faith

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 30, 2011

The patriarchs were saints like us, venal, self-serving and often flawed, but devoted to doing the will of God as revealed to them.

Abraham’s Call and Covenant Abram ben Terah was in Haran when he first heard the call of the Lord: “Go from your country and kindred and father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

Against His Own Self-Interest Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 7, 2012

God loved us so much that He acted against His own best self-interest, by becoming human. In doing this, He exactly contradicted the secular world's view of leadership and government.

Epiphany 2012 Against His Own Self-Interest Spirit of the Liturgy One of the insights that Pope Benedict has shared with us over the past few years continually comes to mind when I read the Gospels. It is like a unifying theme of the Scriptures. God loves us so much that he does things for us ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Denomination: Catholic

Don't Chase Private Revelations Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: Mark 1:7-11

Denomination: Catholic

Your Sins I Will Not Remember Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 13, 2012

The tussle over paying for contraception has raised our awareness of sin; it should also raise our awareness of the need to repent, confess sin and receive the forgiveness of God.

Seventh Sunday in Course 2012 “Your Sins I Will Not Remember” There’s a story told about one of the members of our extended family, a man who was a smoker until his first heart attack, and about what he did on this Sunday before Lent. As the story goes, he bought a carton of cigarettes and smoked ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12

Denomination: Catholic

Mary, Model Of Faith Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 actually ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:14-29

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 Divine Words Grow With The One Who Reads Them Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 loves ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:36-38

Denomination: Catholic

The Lord Snatches Victory From The Enemy Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 8, 2012

There is cause for hope, even as the culture appears to be winning over the Church: Christ will be victorious though we will suffer for the victory.

Third Sunday of Lent 2012 Spirit of the Liturgy The Word of God today sounds a little like a conversation between a father and his child about spring break. Dad lays down the rules for his offspring’s safety: don’t pay homage to things that don’t deserve homage; don’t ...read more

Scripture: John 2:13-25

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 Unity Of The Whole Of Scripture Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 16, 2012

We can use the story of the finding of Jesus in the Temple to illustrate how the Scripture is best read as a whole, with the New Testament's meaning being fleshed out by its OT references.

Solemnity of St Joseph 2012 Verbum Domini The Solemnity of St. Joseph is a very appropriate day to line out some ideas about the Word of God, and interpretation of the Word. We can easily focus on the “unity of the whole of Scripture,” which is the first of the three marks of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:41-51

Denomination: Catholic

The Word Was Made Flesh Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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

Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-14

Denomination: Catholic

Learning The Ways Of Love Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 5, 2012

We can learn love from Jesus and Mary

Mother’s Day 2012 Spirit of the Liturgy To whom was Jesus preaching this incredible Last Supper sermon on love? Let’s make a short list: • Judas, the revolutionary and embezzler who had already sold Jesus out to the Jews • Simon, the Zealot, who most likely had a history ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-7

Denomination: Catholic

The Life Of Julia According To Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 12, 2012

To the two political views of the fictional "Julia," we must add a third in the spirit of Jesus

Mothers Day 2012 Spirit of the Liturgy Just in time for Mothers’ Day, we have been presented with three visions of the future for the women of America. We should be thankful for the opportunity to choose from these visions. Two are social and political, the third, the one we just heard, is ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17

Denomination: Catholic

Reflecting On The Dark Passages Of Scripture Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham 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 and ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:15-26

Denomination: Catholic