Sermons on St Clare:

Three Young Men, Trust, Epidemics And The Saints Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 13, 2020

It is truly time to emulate Our Lord and the great saints, who trusted in God and helped others who were in need or in peril.

Tuesday of the 3rd Week in Lent 2020 St. Patrick and Three Young Men and Trust When you pick up a King James Bible and read this story from the Book of Daniel, of the trust three young prophet-exiles had in their God, and their deliverance from the fiery furnace, you read this passage: “Therefore ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35, John 3:16

Denomination: Catholic

Party On! Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 31, 2019

We all know that there were parties last evening, some that lasted well into the morning hours. But I venture to say that these parties were not celebrations of religious faith, such as the ones implied by today’s Scriptures.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Party On! Today’s Scriptures are so brief that if our minds are not focused, we might not remember any of them. I’ve wondered if that was an act of mercy on the part of those who back in the 1960's put together the three-year cycle of readings, and saw New ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21, Matthew 11:19

Denomination: Catholic

Loving Lady Poverty To Pull Society From Chaos To Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 30, 2020

Francis, the poor friar in his garment of third-rate cloth who smiles through his poverty is enormously attractive, because he is totally exceptional.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi 2020 October 4, 2020 G.K. Chesterton said about St. Francis that “he plunged after poverty as men have dug madly for gold.” He was in love with what or who he called “Lady Poverty” for a crazy but practical reason and it has to do with spreading the Gospel of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:21

Denomination: Catholic

Water Flows From The True Temple Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 7, 2020

Jerusalem is on a series of hills, and water has to be brought into the city from elsewhere. But the real Temple of God, the Precious Body of Christ, is the source of living water.

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 2020 Water Flows from the Temple There are few feasts quite as confusing as today’s commemoration of the dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, a church in Rome. But it’s not just “a” church in Rome, it is the church in Rome. If I asked a thousand ...read more

Scripture: John 2:13-22, 1 Corinthians 3:9-17, Psalm 69:9, Ezekiel 47:1-12

Denomination: Catholic

God’s Christmas Present

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Dec 16, 2011

The greatest Christmas present of all time

Grimston 21-12-2011 and WSM 18-12-2011 Receiving a wonderful gift. In the approach to Christmas and the frenetic frenzy of buying Christmas presents that accompanies it I am reminded of this story. Story: The only son of a ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-14

Denomination: Anglican

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

Catch Fire With The Gospel Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 18, 2014

We can do our part to set our parish on fire with devotion to the joy of the Gospel

Thursday of 29th Week in Course Joy of the Gospel St. Paul had during his Christian life on earth at least one experience that he characterized as being lifted up to the heavens. He needed that consolation because of the hard work of evangelization he was called to perform. He saw the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:49-53

Denomination: Catholic

Celebrate God's Goodness Series

Contributed by Russ Barksdale on Apr 18, 2019

Brothers and sisters, your heavenly Father does not want or desire for you anxiety and depression. With all the chaos in our world and chaos in our country and chaos in our own lives, we must, we must find the path that leads to the calm and peace that God promises.

Celebrate God’s Goodness Philippians 4:4-5 I. Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. II. Rejoice in the Lord’s GOODNESS. III. Rejoice in the Lord’s SOVEREIGNTY. According to the New York Times, Americans are among the most anxious people on earth. One study found that Americans were ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-5

Denomination: Baptist

The Essence Of Joy As We Prepare For The Savior's Birth

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 13, 2018

Bring the Holy Family into the inn. Make your kindness known to everyone.

Third Sunday of Advent 2018 Rejoice The first words of our worship today, in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Holy Mass, are “Gaudete in Domino semper,” or “Rejoice in the Lord always.” These are the words of St. Paul in our Epistle reading today, and they stand out like a trumpet ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:10-18, Philippians 4:4-7

Denomination: Catholic

The Love Of God

Contributed by Geoffrey Foot on May 28, 2018

We all have our favourite verses from the Bible many we know by heart and they give us comfort in times of need. Many are from the Psalms or the Gospels and we focus on John 3:16 - God so loved the world..

The Love of God John 3:16 We all have our favourite verses from the Bible, it could be a verse from the psalms: ‘The Lord is my shepherd : therefore can I lack nothing.’ It could be a verse that Jesus said from the gospels: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart – for they will see God’ Or as we have ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-11

Our Face Set Toward Jerusalem Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 28, 2019

Athanasius taught that God became human so that humans could be made divine. But even the baptized struggle with the profound negative impacts of original sins in our physical, emotional and spiritual lives.

Tuesday of the 26th Week in Course 2019 St. Therese of Liseaux The connection between our two Scripture readings today is stark. The prophet Zechariah, writing a couple of hundred years before Christ, is in a society dominated by Hellenist culture, polytheism and utter contempt for Biblical faith ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:51-56, Zechariah 8:21-23

Denomination: Catholic

Contending With Evil Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 13, 2019

Just because we are chosen by God, baptized into Christ, does not mean that we are infallibly going to attain God’s promises. We are always tempted, as Christ was, to follow the allurements of the world, flesh and devil.

Saint Anthony of the Desert 2019 Saint Anthony–the less famous one we call “Anthony of the Desert”–died 1653 years ago today. Since he is also called “Anthony the Great” and “Anthony of Egypt” and several other honorifics, we might want to know more about him, and what he can teach us today. But ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:40-45, Hebrews 3:7-14, Psalm 95:6-11

Denomination: Catholic

Restless Hearts Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 24, 2019

The active atheist's life is not only meaningless,. . . but tragic in the worst sense, because, absent a miracle, he turned his back on a free offer of eternal joy.

Seventh Sunday in Course 2019 For the Catholic Students Group Today our Office readings begin a series from the book of Ecclesiastes, or Qoheleth, which means “the Teacher.” It is one of the best-known of the Wisdom books of the OT, purportedly written by King Solomon, who, at least in his youth, ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:45-49, Psalm 103:1-13

Denomination: Catholic

Just Who Are You, Anyway? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 6, 2020

The most important question any of us can answer is the same question John answered: "who are you?"

Third Sunday in Advent 2020 “Proclaim liberty to the captives.” Those words from Isaiah have never had such meaning for the prisoners of the world. Haven’t we all felt a lot like prisoners for at least part of this plague year 2020? Our governors, for the most part, have often acted like prison ...read more

Scripture: John 1:6-8, John 1:19-28, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, Luke 1:46-54

Denomination: Catholic

Everyone Who Asks Receives? Really? Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 2, 2021

“We should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” That’s not a suggestion. That’s a demand .

Monday of Epiphany Week 2020 It’s a good idea to read St. John’s words in this first letter perhaps every week of our lives, because in it we find the key to happiness and fulfillment. John says “we receive from [God] whatever we ask.” Hmm, that’s interesting. And we recall that Jesus Himself said ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-25, 1 John 3:23-24, 1 John 4:1-6

Denomination: Catholic