SOURCE: The Jesuit Post
SOURCE: Archdiocese of Brisbane Homilies
SOURCE: Fr. Kevin’s Homilies
The 1994 Rwandan genocide serves as a stark reminder of humanity’s capacity for hatred, while the teachings of figures like Moses, Jesus, and Lincoln advocate for inclusivity, unity, and the transformative power of love and forgiveness in overcoming divisions.
Bishop Robert Barron
SOURCE: Word on Fire
VIEWING GUIDE w/ Questions
2021 SERMON – Friends, let us rejoice whenever the grace of God is on display. The point of the sacraments is so that God’s grace may flood the world, but the Lord can operate outside of our formal structures. He desires these gifts for us, but as the creator of these structures, he is never limited by them.
SOURCE: Word on Fire
VIEWING GUIDE w/ Questions
2024 SERMON – The Church must prioritize unity, inclusivity, and collaboration over rigid structures and individual recognition to fulfill its mission and effectively spread grace.
Deacon Peter McCulloch
On the Four Chaplains
Num.11:25-29; Jas.5:1-6; Mk.9:38-43, 45, 47-48
2021 EXCERPT: So, what can we learn from this story? Well, it demonstrates what it truly means to have faith. It teaches us that regardless of our faith traditions, we’re all essentially equal and only our attitudes separate us.
This story also reminds us that if our faith is genuine, then our first priority cannot be ourselves. As Jesus tells us, the two greatest commandments are that we love God and our neighbour (Mk.12:30-31).
Jesus also says that there’s no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (Jn.15:13).
The Parable of the White Birds and Black Birds
Num.11:25-29; Jas.5:1-6; Mk.9:38-43, 45, 47-48
2024 EXCERPT: Why do I share this story with you? It’s because in Mark’s Gospel today, Jesus says that whoever thinks, says or does something nice for someone else – even as little as offering them a glass of water – will be rewarded.
That’s because the good you do always comes back to you. But whoever does the opposite, whoever does something nasty towards someone else – even if it’s only a bad thought – will suffer for it. Why? It’s because evil is like acid. It eats away at whatever it touches. And everything always returns to its source.
Fr. Andrew Ricci
We All Can Take Part to be Part of Something Great
2021 PODCAST: Both Moses and Jesus respond to division, encouraging us to look for ways that we can work together…rather than being torn apart.
Fr. Austin Fleming
The Divided States of America
2018 EXCERPT: The story of Eldad and Medad in the first reading is basically a narrative about “us and them,” or even better, “us VS them.” It’s the tale of a power struggle to determine “who’s right and who’s wrong” — “who’s in and who’s out?” and who deserves the seal of authenticity and legitimacy in the work that needs to be done… But… is Jesus seriously suggesting we pluck out an eye or cut off a hand or a foot?
- Regardless of which side of the legislative aisle we take our seat, no good is achieved by our demonizing the other side. Ideology of that kind does not focus our vision, instead, it blinds us and keeps us from seeing the whole picture, the whole truth. And it needs to be cut out.
- If the works of our hands fail the standards of honesty and fairness, if our hands take in for ourselves far more than we offer and give away to others, then we need to CUT OUT whatever injustice and selfishness keep us from standing in grace before God and our neighbor.
- If the path our feet walk fails to follow in the Lord’s footsteps, if we fail to go where God calls and leads us then we need to CUT UP the map we’ve drawn for our own purposes and begin to walk at the Lord’s side, with him as our guide and companion.
Dominican Blackfriars
2021 EXCERPT: Living the life of Christ involves a reconstruction not only of our life story, but also of our whole way of being in the world. The way we are involved in the world is through our bodies and the disorder of sin has a kind of physical effect on us. We do not function in the right way. The answer to this is not self-mutilation but understanding what our life is for. Jesus says we must have a broader and more generous vision of what life is about not a narrow vision such as John and the disciples seem to possess. He is saying that if certain aspects of our life seem to exceed our control. If we lose the harmony of the proper functioning of the whole of our existence then we have to undergo painful realignment. He uses the metaphor of amputation. Sometimes a diseased member of the body threatens the health of the whole and we have to do without it. Jesus is asking what is it to
Fr. Charles E. Irvin
Who’s “In” and Who’s “Out”
EXCERPT: Who’s in, and who’s out? That’s a question that cuts through so many areas in our lives these days especially in this political season. Here are a few for instance:
- What do the opinion polls tell us about the standings of those who are running for the presidency of the United States? Who’s in, and who’s out?
- How should we treat undocumented aliens? What benefits of U.S. citizenship should they enjoy, and what should they not be entitled to in our legal system and governmental social service programs? Who’s in, and who’s out?
- Which student applicants should be admitted and which should not be admitted to our public universities and what criteria should be applied to them?
- Some Catholics are busily concerned with “Who is a real Catholic and who is not?”
- Some Fundamentalist Christians are busily concerned with “Who is going to hell and who’s going to be saved?”
Fr. George Smiga
Valuing the Other
2009 EXCERPT:The attitude of intolerance flourishes whenever people adopt an “Us vs. Them” mentality. There are sure signs that this kind of thinking is growing among us. Internationally we see more and more examples of one country vilifying another. In our country politicians who disagree with one another are more frequently turning to personal attacks. In our own family and relationship this attitude of “Us vs. Them” can also take a foothold and hurt us. I found an effective description of this attitude in a passage called us “Us Versus Them.” I would like to read it to you.
- There’s us. And then there’s them.
- We’re all right. They’re not.
- We’re justifiably concerned for our family’s livelihood. They’re in it for the money.
- We’re resting. They’re self-indulgent.
- We’re pragmatic. They’re manipulative.
- We’re teasing. They’re mean spirited.
- We know the truth. They don’t understand. They’re ill-informed.
- We’re concerned for the common good. They’re out to grab whatever they can get.
- Don’t ever question our good intentions, our values or our patriotism.
- But watch out for them.
- You can trust us. But be afraid of them.
- We’re all created equal. But some of us are more equal than others.
- We are all children of God. But we’re God’s favorites.
- We’re the people of God. We pray for them.
Fr. Anthony Ekpunobi, C.M.
2021 EXCERPT: As Catholics, we are endowed with the gifts of the sacraments. They are revealed presence of Jesus Christ in the church. The catholic church through her institutions appreciate, celebrate and preserve the sacraments. The church is also aware that God is not confined to the sacraments. Divine wisdom can me manifested by any means it pleases God. Moses warned Joshua in the first reading – ‘Are you jealous on my account? If only the whole people of the Lord were prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all!’ The wisdom to prophesy was taken from Moses and given to the two men – Eldad and Medad. It is the wisdom of God at work in them. While we preserve the exclusive rights to the sacraments, we should be open to the fact that divine wisdom can be manifested outside of the sacraments. This is the reality of a universal faith. The universality of faith does not diminish the power of the sacraments. It seizes to be divine wisdom when faith is manipulated against charity. Faith is found in good works! When we commend good works, we commend faith.
Msgr. Joseph Pellegrino
The Grace of Our Eldads and Medads
2024 EXCERPT: Eldad and Medad may not have been in the tent. But the Spirit still empowered
them. Just as the Spirit empowers that husband who had been away from the Church for years, who mocked all things good and holy, but who, when he looked at his first born, said that he needed to change his life. He returned and returns daily. He continually asks forgiveness for the time he was away. Now, he is leading his children to God. The Spirit has given his life meaning and purpose. Like Augustine he grieves, “Late have I loved thee.” And like Augustine he has learned that God never stopped loving him.
Eldad and Medad may not be in the tent, but the Spirit still empowers them.
Just as the Spirit empowers that woman who had two babies by two different men, and an abortion due to another man, and now, through bitter tears and daily repentance, has chosen God. She works diligently caring for those who also tread the path of death she had been on, for those who have offended against the dignity of Christianity as she had offended against life.
Msgr. Charles Pope
Of Friends and Foes
2021 EXCERPT: In this Sunday’s Gospel there is a certain tension between legitimate freedom and truths we must insist upon. We also have a lot to learn in sorting out friends and foes.
I. Foe or Friend?
II. Friends are Fundamental
III. Falsehood is the Fiercest Foe
Bishop John Louis
2021 EXCERPT: Whereas God’s Spirit freely chooses those He wishes to use as His instruments of blessings and salvation, we are to identify the true servants of God. This may be a daunting task in our era which is full of “men/women of God” of all shapes and shades. However, with the grace of the same Holy Spirit, we can recognize the true servants of God. Supporting the ministry of such servants goes with a reward: “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward” (Mark 9:41). Let us, therefore, tap into the grace of God and make the effort to recognize them and support their ministry to the glory of God and for the building up of His Church. Amen!
Fr. Michael Chua
2021 EXCERPT: The opening and the concluding section of today’s passage reveals to us the nature of God – He is both merciful and just – one does not exclude the other. There is no contradiction. God welcomes and rewards acts of goodness wherever He finds it, and not just among those who claim to know Him or act in His name. As goodness can never be a companion to evil, so too God will not tolerate evil and sin within us. These have deep implications in our own spiritual lives – we too must welcome and celebrate the goodness done by others if in the end it is done for the sake of God who will see to their reward, but we must be constantly on guard against the scandal of evil and sin, and be prepared to take all necessary steps to remove them through sincere repentance, or be prepared to “be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out”.
2018 EXCERPT: Some have called it a schism (a sin that breaks the unity of the Church). Others have called it a civil war. Call it what you may, it is quite clear to many, both within and outside the Catholic Church, that she is deeply split and fragmented with not just a binary but a multifaceted factionalism, made out of various factions who often adopt irreconcilable positions that are diagonally opposed to each other. Modern and secular commentators often see it as a rift between left and right, liberal and conservative. To those who believe that they are defending the Sacred Tradition of the Church and her Magisterium, it is a fight between orthodoxy and heresy, plain and simple. To progressives, it boils down to either supporting or opposing the reform of Vatican II. It is indeed painful and saddening to witness the Body of Christ wounded by this, a Body that has been further scarred by the sexual abuse scandal, with various camps blaming the other for the mess.
Fr. Vincent Hawkswell
2021 EXCERPT: If your hand, foot, or eye “causes you to stumble, cut it off” or “tear it out,” Jesus said in this Sunday’s Gospel Reading; “it is better for you to enter life maimed” than to have a whole body and end up in hell.
The Second Reading implies the same: if your wealth causes you to stumble, give it away; it is better for you to enter life poor than to be rich and to go to hell. As Jesus warned, “it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is not commanding self-mutilation. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, the Fifth Commandment forbids amputation and mutilation (including sterilization) except for strictly therapeutic reasons. To understand what Jesus said, recall that after baptism, we live with two kinds of life: natural and supernatural. Natural life is the kind we get from our parents by birth. Supernatural life is the kind God lives in the Holy Trinity. By birth, we have only natural life. To acquire supernatural life, we must be born again, this time with God as our Father and the Church as our mother, so that we become Jesus’ siblings.
Fr. Denis J. Hanly
Fr. Tommy Lane
If your hand should cause you to sin cut it off: Avoiding occasions of sin and overcoming evil
EXCERPT: There is a battle going on in the lives of each of us, a battle going on for the lives of each of us, a battle between good and evil. At the end of that battle in the next life we will either hear Jesus say, “you are mine” or hear Satan say, “you are mine.” Through his cross Jesus has won the battle, but it is up to us now to accept his grace and live as those redeemed by Jesus. There are manifestations of grace and manifestations of evil all around us, but we can take the side of Jesus in the battle for our lives by overcoming sin and temptation.
Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J.
Perils of Wealth
EXCERPT: The problem of riches is one of the great secrets in capitalist Christianity. The truth would be too hard to bear. Popes and bishops might he padded in comfort, surrounded by silver and gold. And we ourselves are probably members of the wealthiest church in the most dazzling culture of the world.
Our television evangelizers are so intent on our money, they dare not condemn it. In fact, if you spend a month of Sundays listening to the preachers, it would seem as if Jesus never said a mumblin’ word about money. Proclaimers of the gospel are easily trapped. As one very wealthy man once said to me: “You better not love the poor too much. If you do, who’s going to give you the money to keep going?”
Money may be our biggest difficulty. Marx called it our “jealous god,” who can tolerate no other deity. “Only in money will my soul be at rest, in cash is my hope and salvation. It alone is my rock of safety, my stronghold, my glory.”
Bishop Frank Schuster
We Are Called to Evangelize
2021 EXCERPT: One of my favorite evangelical tools some churches employ is the clever use of a billboard sign. Have you seen those? Here are a few I have discovered that I like. “If God is your copilot, swap seats!” There is a deep thought, right? Another one was, “Forgive your enemies – it messes with their heads!” That is as good a reason as any I think. Another one was, “Honk if you love Jesus, text while driving if you want to meet him!” That is a pretty good public safety announcement. Amen to that, but my very favorite one was, “Tweet others like you would like to be tweeted”.
Why have I given you today some pearls of wisdom from some of these outdoor signs of other churches? Both the first reading and the Gospel reading compel me to do so. You see, in the book of Numbers, the Lord commanded Moses to gather 70 elders into the tent for the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Eldad and Medad, although on the list, didn’t go into the tent. The Holy Spirit, however, came to rest on Eldad and Medad outside the tent. Joshua, a very good rubricist, questioned the inclusion of Eldad and Medad, because they weren’t in the tent. Moses responded, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!” These are very interesting words from Moses in the Book of Numbers! And we have the same thing going on in the Gospel.
Mutilation?
2021 EXCERPT: What did the passage from Mark mean back then, when it fell from the lips of Jesus?
Jesus was not recommending mutilation. Mutilation is always and everywhere immoral. Of course, there are those times when doctors have to remove parts of the body because the health of the whole body demands it. Jesus is speaking in a typically Semitic way: graphic, vivid, and exaggerated. You are not meant to focus on the physical. If you do, you will miss the meaning of the message.
And what is the message? In your journeying to God you have to be ruthless against obstacles that keep you from God. Whatever supplants God in your life, get rid of it, let it go. If you want to be alive with God’s life now and forever, let no love so possess you that God and His Christ take second place in your life. That’s the message.
