Sermons on Thursday:

Gather Up All Things In Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 28, 2016

We generate history, not by politics and war, but by service to the poor and helpless.

Thursday of the 30th Week in Course 2016 Joy of the Gospel Every time we turn a page in the New Testament, we are–if we are sensitive–struck by how counter-intuitive the Christian message is. Consider St. Paul’s life. He was, by his own account, a super-Jew. He observed every ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:3-8

Denomination: Catholic

Preparing For The Coming Of Christ Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 5, 2016

An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world

Thursday of the 31st Week in Course 2016 Joy of the Gospel We stand now very close to the conclusion of our liturgical year, our holy year of grace and mercy that concludes on the Feast of Christ the King. I’m doubly blessed because I get to celebrate Christ the King Sunday twice. In the ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:7-20

Denomination: Catholic

The Lure Of "Spiritual Worldliness" Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 11, 2015

Although the Christian life brings conflict, we cannot flee from a personal and committed relationship with God which still commits us to serving others.

Thursday of 2nd Week of Easter 2015 Joy of the Gospel If you have ever wondered why the Season of Easter is the longest one in the liturgical year, consider this: after the Resurrection of our Lord, we are living in an Easter season that will last until the Lord comes again! All our lives are a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:27-33

Denomination: Catholic

God's Plan Is Best Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 18, 2015

Like the eunuch from Ethiopia, we must be open to God's plan in Christ.

Thursday of 3rd Week of Easter 2015 Joy of the Gospel The Father was surely drawing this Ethiopian to Jesus, and–not by luck–deacon Phillip was on the same road as the African’s chariot. The eunuch had been in Jerusalem to pray and study, so he was either a Jew or an admirer of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40

Denomination: Catholic

Fraternal Charity, The Antidote To Wars Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Apr 25, 2015

We must follow the law of fraternal charity if we are to eliminate conflict in the Church and world.

Thursday of the 4th Week of Easter 2015 Joy of the Gospel One of the insights that modern scholarship has given us about the life of Jesus is a deeper understanding of His relationship with the betrayer, Judas. The Gospels record that Judas was their treasurer, and that he was a thief. But ...read more

Scripture: John 13:16-20

Denomination: Catholic

Ministry To The Young And Our Evangelical Mission Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 16, 2015

In our quest to be One Church, we must show forth Goodness, Beauty, and Truth, especially to the young.

Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter 2015 Joy of the Gospel It would not be disrespectful of St. Paul to point out that, even among his great works, he made some monumental personal blunders in his ministry. Last week we heard him trying to preach to the Athenians on a philosophical level. It fell ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

The Missionary Aspiration: Reaching Everyone

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 25, 2014

The Church must aspire to a necessary conversion so that our method and message is appealing to those who are in a sinful lifestyle, to return to Christ, convert themselves and be healed and reconciled.

Thursday of the 30th Week in Course Joy of the Gospel My wife was privileged to be the confirmation sponsor for a young lady this year, and her instruction to the girl was centered around this concluding passage from the letter of St. Paul to the church at Ephesus: “take the whole armor of ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20

Denomination: Catholic

A New Evangelical Explosion Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 1, 2014

The Pope calls for a missionary conversion of the whole Church, especially the papacy.

Thursday of the 31st Sunday in Course 2014 Joy of the Gospel The most pronounced conflict in the early Church was not a conflict with the Romans. Except for the persecution of the madman Nero, and a minor tiff with Claudius, the Church was pretty well left alone until close to the end of the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:3-8

Denomination: Catholic

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

Discerning A Turning Point In History Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 13, 2014

Christians must discern whether changes in the culture are actually movements of the Spirit, or not.

Thursday of the 3rd Week in Advent 2014 Joy of the Gospel Yesterday we began the second phase of our Advent preparation. We ceased calling on Christ to return in glory, and we began our proximate preparation for the commemoration of the humble birth of the righteous branch who grew up to reign as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Denomination: Catholic

We Are A People Of God Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jun 16, 2017

"To be evangelizers of souls, we need to develop a spiritual taste for being close to people’s lives."

Thursday of 4th Week in Course 2017 Joy of the Gospel This is a solemnity, one of the three or four greatest saints festivals of the year, and it comes on the heels every year of the solemnities of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart, and the birth of St. John the Baptist. Today we hear from St. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-19

Denomination: Catholic

The Glory We Share With The Father And Son

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 12, 2018

St. Gregory of Nyssa, and other Fathers of the Church, teach that the glory of the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit, who is love. The glory we are given is the Holy Spirit who enables us to image Christ in our world.

Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter 2018 St. Paschal Baylon The prayer of Jesus we just heard from St. John is part of the High Priestly Prayer Our Lord offered at the Last Supper. If you look carefully at it, you might call it the first Eucharistic Prayer, and here you find Christ offering His ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-26

Denomination: Catholic

That All Humans Be Saved Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 19, 2019

It is the will of God that all humans be saved, which was a crucial teaching of the Church all the way back to St. Paul.

Thursday of 2nd Week in Course 2019 St Francis de Sales Jesus, our Lord, constantly had His mission from the Father in mind during His time on earth. That mission is to teach and heal, and to suffer and die for our salvation. It was the Father’s will that the Son should live as a real human being, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 40:7-17, Mark 3:7-12

Denomination: Catholic

Yes, A Church Leader Must Have A Sense Of Humor Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Feb 23, 2019

We are told to have salt in us. Salt was used in the ancient world, and occasionally today, to preserve meat from corruption. So if we have spiritual salt, we will be preserved against that kind of corrupt thought and behavior.

Thursday of the 7th Week in Course 2019 St. Hilarius Today we have a rare treat because of the late date of Ash Wednesday and Easter. We get the rare festival of St. Hilarius, about whom I will speak in a moment. By now, most years, we are deep into Lent, and so the saints’ days are suppressed in ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6, Mark 9:41-50

Denomination: Catholic