Sermons on Pope Victor:

An Unbroken Chain Of Witnesses Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 15, 2014

The rich man was isolated, even from his brothers. True faith comes usually from someone sharing it with us.

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent 2014 Lumen Fidei Recently we discovered an infestation of what are called “acrobat” ants, Crematogaster hespera, in our house. We had the pest control folks treat the house with good success. The treatment was a chemical friendly to the good fauna ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Denomination: Catholic

Seeing And Hearing In Order To Live Christ's Life

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 11, 2014

We cannot make Jesus into the Messiah we want; we must see His vision and hear His word so that His kingdom can be built within us, and we then can attract others to Him.

Thursday of 2nd Week in Ordinary Time Lumen Fidei Why are we so unwilling to do what Our Lord commands? The Israelites were directed by God to be His presence in a pagan world, spreading the word about His power and goodness, and ultimately drawing all to worship the One God. But if you look ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:40-45

Denomination: Catholic

Faith: Touching And Being Touched By Jesus

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 18, 2014

"the light of love is born when our hearts are touched and we open ourselves to the interior presence of the beloved"

Thursday of 2nd Week in Ordinary Time 2014 Lumen Fidei King Saul of Israel exhibited what we might call paranoid schizophrenic tendencies. He had an on-off relationship with his son, Jonathan, and the same kind of relationship, but even more intense, with the man he considered his main rival, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:7-12

Denomination: Catholic

Seeing The Plan And Hearing The Word

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 25, 2014

Like Augustine, we must integrate into our lives the need to see God's vision and to hear God's call.

Thursday of 3rd Week in Course 2014 Lumen Fidei The vision of God is always broader and deeper than any plan of a human. King David was in a really good mind when he wrote this prayer of thanksgiving to God. Remember that Saul, his predecessor, had wanted a dynasty, but he turned against ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:18-29

Denomination: Catholic

The Request God Never Turns Down Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 4, 2013

We don't have to look at Jesus's promise "Seek and you shall find" like a disappointed kid at Christmas, but with the light of faith. There's at least one prayer we always get a "yes" to.

Thursday of 27th Week in Course Lumen Fidei Today’s Gospel is written for adults, but the problem is that even in old age we tend to read it like an eight-year-old waiting for Christmas. We read “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:5-13

Denomination: Catholic

Seeing Things As Jesus Sees Them Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 19, 2013

Jesus came to free us from the slavery to sin through faith, through faith in what He taught, and through faith in Him as a person.

Thursday of 29th Week in Course Lumen Fidei Jesus was a very serious Savior. If you were a government official and happened upon a prison where several thousands of persons were enslaved under abysmal conditions, you’d want to free them. Now before Christ, we were slaves of sin. I know ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:49-53

Denomination: Catholic

Christian Faith Is Faith In The Incarnation And Resurrection. Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 26, 2013

Christian faith is faith in the incarnation of the Word and his bodily resurrection.

Thursday of 30th Week in Course Lumen Fidei As we consider the gift of faith, this gift of seeing far through new eyes, we are challenged to see beyond the sufferings of the present. St. Paul, in this astonishing chapter 8 of the Letter to the Romans, pictures us in a courtroom, before God, the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:31-39

Denomination: Catholic

A New Temple

Contributed by Kevin Ruffcorn on Oct 28, 2013

Solomon’s temple – a place of sacrifice and divine presence

1 Kings 5:1—5, 8:1-13 “A New Temple” INTRODUCTION Today we are focusing our attention on King Solomon, the son of David and one of the kings of Israel’s golden age. Solomon is remembered for several things. He was one of the wealthiest men, if not the wealthiest man, ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

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

Images Of Jesus And Mary Or Road-Kill? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jun 30, 2012

The Word of God calls us to practice justice and become images of God.

Monday of 13th Week in Course Verbum Domini Psalm 50 has one of the most convicting lines in Scripture: Do you think that I am like you? Those are the words the psalmist puts into the mouth of God. They are the Word of the Lord just as surely as Amos’s prophecy against Israel, or ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 50:20-21

Denomination: Catholic

Worship According To God's Will Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 18, 2010

We must worship God as he wishes, not as we wish.

Monday of 25th week in Course 20 Sept 2010 The Spirit of the Liturgy Try as we might, we cannot ever find Jesus “cutting a deal,” or negotiating the Truth. He seemed always to be spoiling for a confrontation with Sadducees–the crooks who ran worship–or Pharisees, or ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:27-28

Denomination: Catholic

Beatitudes: A Program Of Life Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 30, 2010

Our worship must be an authentic and total gift of self in the spirit of the Beatitudes

All Saints Day Nov 1 2010 The Spirit of the Liturgy Today is part of what we might call a great cosmic convergence, at least for our nation. Yesterday was both Hallowe’en, and, for Protestants, what they call Reformation Sunday, the anniversary of the great religious revolution that split ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Denomination: Catholic

Fear Of God Getting Out Of My Box Series

Contributed by Kevin Ruffcorn on Feb 16, 2010

Jesus is more than a great man. It is important for us to know the transfigured Christ--to see God in his glory and to respect (fear) him.

Matthew 17:1-8 “Fear of God Getting Out of My Box” INTRODUCTION Times have changed. When I was growing up, my parents and I would arrive ten or fifteen minutes before the worship service—when we went to church. We didn’t arrive early so we could secure our favorite ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-8

Denomination: Lutheran

Useless Or Useful? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 8, 2014

Mercy is the greatest of the virtues in the external manifestation.

Thursday of the 32nd Week in Course Joy of the Gospel St. Paul had a dilemma. One of his converts in Asia, Philemon, lived in Colossae. Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, had escaped and probably stolen property in the process. Escaped slaves were dealt with according to their owner’s whim ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:7-20

Denomination: Catholic

Open The Doors Of The Church Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 29, 2014

Jesus enjoins us to do the will of the Father, but learning how to do God's will is a lifelong journey.

Thursday of the 1st Week in Advent Joy of the Gospel When I read this passage from the great prophet of Advent, the Hebrew priest Isaiah, my memory goes back almost ten years to our pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Both the Old and New Testaments contain a recurring theme, one we see most perfectly ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-27

Denomination: Catholic