Sermons on The Evangelist Andrew:

Advent3c- Gaudete Sunday Series

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Nov 7, 2018

‘Tis the season to nurture a joyful spirit.

It’s Gaudete Sunday, ‘Tis the season to nurture a joyful spirit. To illustrate, writer Gordon McDonald tells about a Nigerian woman who is a physician at a great teaching hospital in the United States. This distinguished woman came out of the crowd to say something kind about the lecture McDonald ...read more

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-18, Luke 3:10-18

Denomination: Catholic

Advent4c- Mary And Elizabeth Series

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Nov 8, 2018

Mary and Elizabeth offer us some insights into the disciplines and practices of the interior life.

Our Gospel on this Fourth Sunday of Advent begins with: “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste.” This reminds me of a sign I saw outside a church this morning, “Hurry in this Sunday to beat the Christmas rush.” Mary’s visit to Elizabeth recalls the importance of spiritual ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:39-45

Denomination: Catholic

Christmas Is A Rapture In Reverse

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Nov 21, 2018

The Nativity of the Lord – Christmas Mass During the Night (Traditional Christmas Biblical reading).

The third grade was staging their annual Christmas pageant. Finally it came time for the birth. Mary was hidden from the crowd by bales of hay. A boy appeared on stage, in a bathrobe with sandals, a stethoscope around his neck. He disappeared behind the hay bales, and reemerged with a bundle. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-14

Denomination: Catholic

Holy Family

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Dec 2, 2018

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph: Don't Lose Your Footing

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph: Our First Reading says, “a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.” I read recently a humorous story about a young man who on his graduation from high school was chosen to give the commencement speech. He began by reading from his prepared ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:41-52

Denomination: Catholic

Mother Of God

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Dec 6, 2018

The infinite dimensions of Mary's the mind and will of God and her surrender.

Psalm 90:12 says, “Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” There should not be a New Year’s Day that goes by that we don’t remind ourselves of that truth one way or another. Last night, one guy was really counting down the time for the New Year. He remarked ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 6:22-27, Luke 2:16-21

Denomination: Catholic

The Epiphany Of The Lord

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Dec 8, 2018

Allowing oneself to be invaded and rearranged by objective value is what makes life worth living.

The Epiphany of the Lord is when Christ was made known to the magi, who represent all the nations. Today, when we say that someone has had an epiphany, we mean that the person has had a moment in which they have achieved a realization, an awareness or a knowledge of something. An AHA! MOMENT, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Denomination: Catholic

The Solemnity Of The Most Holy Trinity

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Apr 20, 2020

The true benchmark and model of true holiness is by recognizing the relationship of the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity.

Michael A. Harbin remembered that “one night during my time at the Naval Academy, the brigade was lined up for evening formation at the end of the weekend. All of the midshipmen were dressed in white uniforms freshly washed and pressed at the academy laundry. They were an impressive sight as they ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-3, John 3:17

Denomination: Catholic

Corpus Christi: Solemnity Of The Body And Blood Of Christ

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Apr 27, 2020

“Heavenly bread, hellish misunderstanding.”

Some years ago there was a Scottish regiment stationed in Edinburgh Castle. Some of the regiment’s officers were devout men. And every evening they’d gather together and drink a toast. The toast went like this: "A clean sword and a dirty Bible." The clean sword referred to their ...read more

Scripture: John 6:51-58

Denomination: Catholic

Twelfth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle A - Year A -- Sparrows

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 4, 2020

SPARROWS AND STORIES OF PROVIDENCE

In Granville, Ohio, there was a woman who was going through some difficult times. She thought that she would never experience joy in her life. However, one day when she was sitting in her kitchen crying, she noticed a small sparrow. Somehow it had gotten into her kitchen. Anyhow she opened the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:26-33

Denomination: Catholic

Sunday Of The Thirteenth Week In Ordinary Time, Year A; 13th Sunday, Cycle A-- Whoever Loves Father Or Mother More Than Me Is Not Worthy Of Me

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 8, 2020

The lady answered, “Tell Jesus not to kiss me — to stop kissing me.”

There are athletic passages both in Greek philosophy and in the Bible that say suffering can be useful like an athlete in training, because it can aid in the growth of virtue. A meme: They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At this point, my dear, I should be able to bench-press a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:37-42

Denomination: Catholic

Fourteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time , Year A; 14th Sunday, Cycle A-- Different Yokes For Different Folks

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 13, 2020

It is an act not of juggling balls on a stage, but of carrying eggs from a barn.

A yoke is a wooden frame fitted on working animals to evenly balance the load on each individual animal and allow them to work as a team. Jesus wears the yoke and we are yoked to him. A teacher read to her class the text, “My yoke is easy.” “Who can tell me what a yoke is?” she asked. A boy ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:25-30

Denomination: Catholic

Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle A-- 15th Sunday, Year A --The Sower

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 17, 2020

It is the intuitive mind alone that can penetrate the essence and heart of a parable. Then it becomes a living reality, thoroughly relevant to one’s own life.

“To throw alongside” a story with cryptic meaning is called a parable in Greek. In Zen Buddhism, a parable is like a “koan,” which is a spiritual inquiry using perplexing language intended to rouse a student’s innate wisdom-mind to apply it to their own life. As Rabbi Ibn Ezra said of parables, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-9, Isaiah 55:10-11

Denomination: Catholic

Ascension Day

Contributed by Andrew Hart on May 20, 2020

A neglected holiday,but a critical one

Ascension Day Ascension Day reminds me of Kevin McCallister of Home Alone fame. You remember Kevin, aka Macaulay Culkin ,right? The whole family was rushing around to go to Paris for Christmas, and in the confusion, Kevin was overlooked and left home alone. While we make a big deal of days ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-11

Sixteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle A; 16th Sunday , Year A-- Weeds And Wheat

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 21, 2020

This parable doesn’t mean that we tolerate all sorts of bad behavior. Jesus doesn’t condone weed (pun intended).

If we ask, "why is there evil in the world?" we must also ask "why is there good in the world?" We get our answers this Sunday: Beginning with pre-history “while everybody was asleep” (Matthew 13:24-30), the weeds represent the enemies of God, who are: Satan, demons, and humans ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30

Denomination: Catholic

Seventeenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle A -- 17th Sunday, Year A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on May 25, 2020

It’s so important that ordinary Catholics read Scripture as a devotional inquiry which the Catholic Catechism calls “the intimate sense of spiritual realities which believers experience.”

A foolish old farmer, so the story goes, concluded one day that the oats he had fed his mule for years were simply costing him too much. So, he hatched a plan: He mixed a little sawdust in with the feed, and then a little more the next day, and even more the next, each time reducing the amount of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46

Denomination: Catholic