Do we really believe in one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church?

Fr. Vincent Hawkswell
B.C. CATHOLIC

During the current pandemic, the decisions of the Pope and the bishops have startled some of us. Let us take them as tests of our belief in the Catholic Church, which we proclaim every Sunday.

Even when the Pope is not clearly speaking ex cathedra, said Vatican II, we must give his teaching “loyal submission of the will and intellect,” respectfully acknowledging his “supreme teaching authority.” We must “sincerely adhere” to his decisions according to his “mind and intention,” made known “either by the character of the documents in question, or by the frequency with which the doctrine is proposed, or by the manner in which the doctrine is formulated.”

We must “revere” the bishops in communion with the Pope as “witnesses” of the truth, submitting to their decisions in matters of faith and morals “with a ready and respectful allegiance of mind.”  (2021)

First Communion homily

Fr. Austin Fleming
A CONCORD PASTOR COMMENTS

More Homilies for this Sunday by Fr. Fleming

First Communion Homily (2015)
First Communion Homily (2012)

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A choice made in love

Fr. Evans K Chama, M.Afr
SINGLE HUMANITY

The readings of this Sunday reveal God’s love for us which is manifested through his free choice, making us a chosen people. But how conscious are we of our dignity of being desired? And how do we respond to the value and trust expressed in such election? Come along with me, and together, let’s discover the richness which has been bestowed upon us. (2018)

Fr. Chama’s homily is divided into the following sections:

• Wait a minute! Is it a rewind?
• I want, but I hesitate, to use the verb “to elect”
• What is to elect?
• You are elected in love
• We are beneficiaries and actors of the choice in love

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The elixir of love

Msgr. Joseph A. Pellegrino
DIOCESE OF ST. PETERSBURG

Our society perpetuates the great lie that love can be won through an elixir (potion).  The elixir may be becoming a professional who makes a great deal of money.  Money is supposed to guarantee that happiness can be bought. Or the elixir might be that having the perfect body will attract lasting love. But the beautiful bodies of the young become the bodies of the middle aged.  And that six pack chest turns into a full keg stomach.   Commercials try to convince us that the right perfume or cologne will do the job.  That’s as close to an ancient elixir as you can come.  But a good job never won anyone love, and a beautiful body may attract another person but it isn’t going to win his or her love.  And folks, a famous perfume like El Stinko #5 is not going to be a love magnet. (2021)

More Homilies for this Sunday by Msgr. Pellegrino

Love and Mercy (2015)
The Elixir of Love (2012)
Love, the Foundation of Christianity (2009)
Love is a Choice (2006 PDF)

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Love and leisure

Fr. George Smiga
BUILDING ON THE WORD

We find wonder through leisure. It is very important to understand what leisure is. Leisure is not the same thing as entertainment. Entertainment consists of the things we can schedule, a concert, a ballgame, a party, a vacation. But leisure is the ability, a habit of the heart, that allows us to see in those things and in all things, the beauty of creation and the presence of God. Leisure is the attitude that tells us it is not a waste to stop and gaze on a daffodil or to sit quietly for a few minutes and listen to the music of soft falling rain. Leisure tells us that it is important to recognize the beauty of our spouse’s smile and to relish the smell of the garlic in our grandmother’s marinara. Leisure says that there is a high priority to finding a few idle moments in even the busiest of days in which we can simply notice the beauty that surrounds us. The time we take to take that beauty in is not a distraction from life but actually delving into the very heart of living. It is in that moment that we touch the God whose life invigorates all things.

Wonder is a gift of the Holy Spirit, a necessary gift if we are to appreciate the presence of God in all created things. That is why the gospel today calls us to an attitude of leisure, an attitude that allows us to value the importance of wonder and to create a space in which we can experience it. Doing so is not optional or incidental. It is essential because every time we stand in awe, we understand better who we are and to whom we belong. Every time we are caught up in wonder, we know in our deepest heart that God is love.  (2009)

More Homilies for this Sunday by Fr. Smiga

To love as God loves (2018)
Jesus’ commandment (2015)
Mothers who affirm life (2012)

Click on title to read entire homily.

How should we love one another? It’s called agape.

Jamie Waters
AMERICA MAGAZINE

Why should we love one another? Today’s second reading and Gospel help us to answer this question. But the even more pressing question is how should we love one another?… The love that is envisioned by the Johannine community may be difficult, but it is essential that we all work toward it. The readings proclaim that we come to know God by being like God.

As to the question of how we can show selfless love, we might reflect on Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas about love and the Beloved Community: “Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys.” King’s vision of the Beloved Community was grounded in love, reconciliation, dignity and respect for all. Poverty, racism, violence and the conditions that stem from these evils are intolerable. By working to end hate and division, fighting conditions and practices that dishonor others, we show our love for one another—and we come to know God by being more like God. (2021)

Click on title to read entire homily.

Hankering after the “old faith”

Fr. John Kavanaugh, SJ
SUNDAY WEB SITE

To have or not have rules can be easy. To keep or break commandments can be easy. We can set up our lives in such a manner that we allow no restraint or limit on our egos and desires. We can also legislate our lives so relentlessly that we delude ourselves into thinking that we have actually earned, produced, and now control the love that our scriptures speak of.

But the love revealed in Jesus, simple as it might sound, is terribly arduous. That is why the history of our faith so often reads like a history of our resistance to love.

Give us rules. Give us magic. Give us threats. Give us mighty victories in war or splendid successes in the marketplace to insure our worthiness. Give us Communion counts, converts, and the approval of the nations to guarantee our righteousness. But the mystery of love?…..(1997)

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Not that we have loved God, but that He has Loved us

Christian Care for Creation

Laudato Si

“Homily helps and liturgy resources highlighting care for our common home.”