Sermon in a Bottle

Before I began this blog I looked at a lot of blogs by Catholic priests.  They were from the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, and other places.  Almost all of them seemed to be not blogs, but thinly disguised vehicles for showing off their long sermons, and I dare say their lack of humility.  I swore I wouldn’t preach in my blog.

Then I saw a note by Father James Martin, S.J., author of the excellent The Jesuit Guide to (almost) Everything.  He is a big fan of the new media, and he tweets a 140 character sermon every day.  He said, I deliver a sermon every day at Mass to the handful who attend.  Why not share it lots more people?  (Don’t know the citation.  You’ll have to find it for yourself.)

So since I am beginning a new assignment I thought I’d break my vow (horrors!) and begin posting my Sunday sermons—with a twist.  Each will be less than 100 words.  Hence, sermon in a bottle.  For future reference I’ll list the liturgical feast if anyone wants to look up the readings.  I'll also provide a brief quote that reflects a point of the sermon.  Remember, less than 100 words.  Hold me to it!

 

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time—A.  “Take courage, it is I.  Do not be afraid.”

On this my first Sunday in St. Vitus and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes, I make two major themes of the ministry of Blessed Pope John Paul II my own:  “Open wide the doors to Christ” and “Be not afraid.”  Evangelization, the sharing of our Catholic faith, is the work of everyone in the Church.  Despite what the world gives us, we take courage knowing Christ never ever abandons us.  Let us together move forward into the future with faith and hope.

20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A.  “The Canaanite woman said, ‘Even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.’” 

Names are important.  In the biblical world to be nameless is to be without value.  Yet the nameless Gentile Canaanite woman one-uped Jesus’s insult and caused him to change his mind, about healing her daughter and about limiting his mission to the Judeans alone.   This story also has a moral which challenges our sins of prejudice and racism, when we belittle people (“dogs”) who are different than us.