Sermons on Milton Cunningham:

Charity, Truth And Health Care Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 9, 2009

Charity in truth demands that we consider two moral criteria: justice and the common good. But truth must inform both.

Monday of 19th Week in Course August 10, 2009 Caritas in Veritate “Die to yourself” is a phrase that is no more popular today than in the first century. Jesus showed the way to this manifestation of charity in truth, by living for others during his earthly existence, and by dying on the cross so ...read more

Scripture: John 12:24-26

Denomination: Catholic

Is This His Body? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 9, 2009

Jesus claimed that the bread of Life is his body, and that his body is true food and his blood true drink. We look at three objections to this teaching.

Is This His Body? 19th Sunday in Course If you visit the ruins of the town of Capernaum–and I truly hope you bite the financial bullet and go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a Christian guide–you can see what is left of the synagogue built where Jesus preached the vital sermon on the Bread of ...read more

Scripture: John 6:41-51

Denomination: Catholic

Inconveniencing Ourselves For The Kingdom Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 15, 2009

As the young man in the Gospel was challenged to be inconvenienced to follow Christ, so the challenge to facilitate human development may inconvenience us.

August 17, 2009 Caritas in Veritate The sure path to eternal life, to enjoying the presence of God continually even before we die, is to imitate Jesus and Mary. They–and Jesus, the source of grace, first of all–are the great examples of bringing the Good that is God into contact with a world that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:16-22

Denomination: Catholic

Transcendent Vision Of The Human Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 29, 2009

The push for homosexual marriage is a denial of the transcendent nature of man, who is called to union with God, and to marriage which images the union of God and the Church.

August 31, 2009 Monday of 22nd Week in Course Caritas in Veritate Without a transcendent vision of the human person, without the vital link to God, there can be no true human development. What development is planned is “entrusted exclusively to man, who falls into the trap of thinking he can ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Denomination: Catholic

The Embodiment Of God's Unremitting Love Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 18, 2009

Jesus’s preaching differed from that of Jonah because Jonah prophesied judgement and vengeance, while Jesus embodied God’s unremitting love.

Monday of 16th Week in Course 20 July 2009 Caritas in Veritate Before continuing a commentary on the papal encyclical Love in Truth, let me spend a moment on this analogy to Jonah. Jesus is saying to these Jewish non-believers, in effect, “Jonah eventually got it, and you guys will never get it.” ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-42

Denomination: Catholic

No Saintly Life Is Tragically Short Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 25, 2009

Many saints’ lives seem "tragically short." Short, perhaps, but not tragic; Jesus’s life was the briefest of all.

Feast of St. James July 25, 2009 In our meditation on the mystery of Christ and Mary today, there is something that occurred to me that I knew wouldn’t survive the drive to church, so I typed it out. Both the Saturday Matins reading and the Mass text today are from 2 Corinthians, which is written ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

Truth Liberates Charity Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jul 25, 2009

Without truth, our charity degenerates into sentimentalism, and can be totally perverted into its opposite.

Monday of 17th week in Course July 27, 2009 Caritas in Veritate (3) Joachim Jeremias taught that the parables about the Church should be read holistically. For instance, Jesus would say, “The kingdom of God is like this situation: you plant the tiniest seed, and without your doing much, it grows ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:31-35

Denomination: Catholic

Jesus Exemplifies Charity In Truth Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 2, 2009

Charity in truth is not something we summon up from ourselves; it is a divine gift essential for true human development

Monday of 18th Week in Course Caritas in Veritate The occasion for Jesus’ withdrawal to a “lonely place” was the news that John the Baptist, his relative and mentor, had been murdered by Herod. Jesus was no coward, so we should think that this withdrawal was to achieve some time for His humanity ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21

Denomination: Catholic

Image And Reality Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 4, 2010

The Mass is offered in union with the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, his free self-offering, on Calvary. It is not a repetition, but a re-presentation of the one sacrifice, and carries forward into our work on earth.

December 6, 2010 St. Nicholas The Spirit of the Liturgy Today’s reading from Isaiah makes most sense if it was written at the time of the Babylonian exile. Because Israel had rebelled against the Lord, the covenant was voided and all the curses specified in Leviticus and Deuteronomy were ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10

Denomination: Catholic

Pleasure Or Joy Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 11, 2010

To understand our duty to ourselves and God, we must distinguish between seeking pleasure and seeking joy.

Third Sunday in Advent Dec 12, 2010 Spirit of the Liturgy–Sunday Series The haunting strains of chant mode 1 set the admonition of St. Paul in the Introit of today’s Mass, in both the ordinary and extraordinary form. The Church looks at the world through rose-colored vestments, not ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11

Denomination: Catholic

Worship In Continuity With The Synagogue Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 11, 2010

In form and spirit, there is good continuity between the building and worship of the Jewish synagogue and the Christian assembly and Eucharist

December 13, 2010 Santa Lucia The Spirit of the Liturgy You just have to sympathize with Baalam the prophet. He was called by King Balak to come and curse this upstart band of nomads invading his country. He was called because he was rumored to be a prophet of the same “god” the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:23-27

Denomination: Catholic

Orienting Ourselves Toward Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 18, 2010

From earliest times, the Church has worshiped in the direction of the east, toward the coming Christ, rather than toward Jerusalem.

December 21, 2010 Monday of 4th week in Advent Spirit of the Liturgy Isaiah told Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord YOUR God. Ask anything you like.” So Ahaz piously responded, “no, I will not ask for a sign. I will not put the Lord to the test.” And Isaiah, in obvious ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-14

Denomination: Catholic

Seeing With Our Eyes; Touching With Our Hands Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 23, 2010

John's sacramental vision was translated into a church building with two centers--a center of the Word and a center of Eucharistic celebration

Feast of St. John Dec 27 2010 Spirit of the Liturgy It is very appropriate to be preaching on the Spirit of the Liturgy on the Feast of St. John, because both the letters and the Gospel of John are so sacramental. One useful definition of sacrament is Christ touching us through sacred signs. Our ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-4

Denomination: Catholic

The Orientation Of Prayer Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 29, 2010

We must have respect for the symbols of our faith, especially the Holy Name of Jesus. We must also develop a respect for the traditions of our faith, like praying in the direction of the "orient," which is a symbol of the coming of Jesus

The Holy Name of Jesus January 3, 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, in heaven, on earth and under the earth.” The name, Jesus, or Yah-shuah, means “the Lord saves.” It is one of the principal symbols of the love of God for us, and ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:2-11

Denomination: Catholic

The Bride's Love Song Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 16, 2011

As Mary poured costly nard over the feet of Jesus, so the Church sings its love song to the Bridegroom sacrificed for our sins.

Monday of Holy Week 18 April 2011 Spirit of the Liturgy Mary loved her brother, Lazarus. When he took ill, she and Martha immediately sent word to Jesus, trusting that He would come and cure Lazarus. She waited, and waited, and watched her brother get progressively worse. Worse yet, the rumor ...read more

Scripture: John 12:1-11

Denomination: Catholic