Sermons on Milton Cunningham:

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

The Bridegroom Comes

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 6, 2013

The Baptism of the Lord should be seen as the coming of Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church.

Baptism of the Lord 13 January 2012 The Bridegroom Comes Today’s feast, the Baptism of Jesus, is the midpoint of a two-week festival called Epiphany, or “manifestation.” It begins with the Feast of the Three Kings, and their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh to Mary and Jesus. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:15-22

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

The Liturgy And Our Learning Obedience Through Suffering Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 19, 2013

Just as Jesus learned obedience through suffering, so St. Agnes and all the saints; we celebrate this in every Mass.

Monday of 2nd Week in Course 21 Jan 2013: St. Agnes Sacrosanctum Concilium Jesus offered up prayers and supplications during his mortal life, with loud cries and tears, to the one who could save Him from death–His eternal Father, and He was heard. And He learned obedience through suffering. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:1-10

Denomination: Catholic

The Sacrifice Of The Mass Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 26, 2013

The one sacrifice of Calvary is re-presented daily in the Holy Eucharist--for our sanctification and the salvation of every human.

Monday of 3rd Week in Course January 28, 2013 Sacrosanctum Concilium The sacrifice which the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, was a single historical event. But we must also acknowledge that from the beginning, the Church has recognized that we make ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:15-28

Denomination: Catholic

The Abbreviated Word Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 26, 2011

It is to our benefit that God condescended to become human. In the words of the Church Fathers, he "abbreviated" Himself.

Monday of the First Week of Advent 2011 Verbum Domini What a providential, or shrewd, juxtaposition we have this year on this first Monday of Advent. The word of God today brings together the expectation of Advent, our reflections on Verbum Domini, and the reintroduction of truly Scriptural ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:5-11

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

Not From A Distance Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 12, 2011

Let's us witness to a fundamental truth: that in the Incarnation, God truly came to be with us forever.

Fourth Sunday of Advent 2011 “Not From a Distance” The Spirit of the Liturgy About a quarter of a century ago a song that made it to number 2 on the Billboard chart taught us that “God is watching us–from a distance.” The idea was, I suppose, not much different from ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38

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

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

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

The Word Of God, Politics, And Protection For Preborn Children Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 21, 2012

The Word of God teaches us the value of every human life, and our responsibility to pray and work politically to share the Gospel of Life.

Monday of 3rd Week in Ordinary Time Day of Prayer for Legal Protection for the Preborn Verbum Domini Today is the Church’s day of prayer for legal protection for those not yet born. As a human being conceived in what was certainly a great family scandal, whose mother was sent nearly two ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:22-30

Denomination: Catholic