Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies
Episodes
The Work of the Messiah
27 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel passage from the 4th chapter of Matthew's Gospel tells us, in very short compass, what the work of the Messiah was. Jesus proclaims the kin...
Behold the Lamb of God
20 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
John the Baptist's designation of Jesus as Lamb of God is, I submit, largely misunderstood. It has little to do with Jesus' meekness, mildness, or hum...
The Bending Low of the Son of God
13 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a celebration of God's great humility. In order to rescue us sinners, God the Son bent low and stood with us i...
Faith, the Friend of Reason
06 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
One of the truths that is manifested on Epiphany (that's what the word "epiphania" means) is the compatibility of faith and reason, of religion and sc...
Holy Family Values
30 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Paul lays out for the Colossians (and us) the virtues that make a family healthy. They include compassion, patience, bearing the burden of the other a...
Ahaz and Joseph
23 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Both Ahaz and Joseph are being summoned out of a narrow perspective and encouraged to dream big, to think of their lives within the context of God's p...
Repent!
09 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
John the Baptist sums up the Advent season. He lives in the desert, the place of no distraction, and he speaks a message of repentance and the confess...
Incoming!
02 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Advent is from the latin word adventus, which means coming or arrival. Some arrivals are positive; others are downright threatening. The Gospel for to...
David and Jesus
25 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Along with Moses and Abraham, David is the most important figure in the Old Testament. The first Christians read Jesus in light of these heroes of the...
The Birth Pangs of the Messiah
18 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Our readings for today are apocalyptic, which means that they describe the end of an old world and the beginning of a new one. The new world in questi...
Resurrection of the Body
11 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Both our first reading and Gospel for today present the distinctively Biblical view of what happens to us after we die. We do not so much escape from ...
Zacchaeus
04 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke is a kind of spiritual itinerary. If we attend to it carefully, we will learn the essentials of the life ...
Paul’s Farewell Discourse
28 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The second letter to Timothy is Paul's parting advice to his young colleague and spiritual son. He speaks of being poured out like a libation, of bein...
The Struggle With Amalek
21 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
An awful lot of people probably find our first reading for this week offensive. We hear that Israel mowed the Amalekites down with the sword. How can ...
The Lessons of Naaman
14 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Naaman the Syrian is not terribly well-known, but it contains some marvelous spiritual lessons for all of us. It tells us of the importan...
The Lament of Habakkuk
07 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The prophet Habbakuk expresses what most of us feel at some point in our lives: how can God be so indifferent to suffering? Listen carefully to the an...
The Poor At Our Gate
30 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Loss Of A Sabbath Consciousness
23 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The Reckless Abandon of God’s Love
16 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
God does not love as we do, in a calculating manner. He makes his sun to shine on the good and the bad alike and his rain to fall on the just and the ...
The Path of Dispossession
09 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus tells us that we must get rid of all of our possessions, including the people that we have turned into possessions. It is in this sense that he ...
The Addiction of Honor
02 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The lust for honor interrupts the great banquet that God wants us to enjoy. This is why Jesus interrupts the interruption in today's Gospel, urging pe...
Jacob Neusner, Benedict XVI, and the Vocation of Israel
26 Aug 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, Pope Benedict engages in a fascinating dialogue with the American rabbi Jacob Neusner on the identity and meaning of Jesus. In this s...
Trusting the Darkness
12 Aug 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Authentic faith has nothing to do with credulity or intellectual naivte. It has everything to do with placing one's trust in the God whom we cannot, e...
The Lessons of Qoheleth
05 Aug 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Both our first reading and Gospel function as a slap in the face, cold water, a wake-up call. They show how passing, ephemeral, and unreliable are the...
The Lord’s Prayer
29 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel for this week is of the utmost importance, for we hear the Son of God himself teaching us to pray. In this homily, I walk rather carefully ...
Paul's Suffering
22 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Paul says in our second reading that he "makes up in his own sufferings what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ." This means that Paul-and all of ...
The Natural Law
15 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
What the church calls "the natural law" is, as Moses suggests in our first reading, close to us, in fact, written on our hearts. Thomas Aquinas said t...
Gospel Freedom
01 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Our readings for this weekend are completely counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. We put a huge premium on freedom and self-determination in regard...
Great Canticle of Zechariah
24 Jun 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
A New Creation
08 Apr 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Easter is the dawn of a new creation. St. John tells us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early on the morning of the first day of the week. This i...
The Burning Bush
11 Mar 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Moses sees a bush that burns but is not consumed. This is a lovely symbolic expression of the way God relates to the world. The closer God gets, the m...
The Father in Faith
04 Mar 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Abraham was chosen by God as the founder of a people who would be the means by which God would save the world. His great mark is faith, that is to say...
The Three Temptations
25 Feb 2007
Contributed by Lukas
As we once again commence the penitential season of Lent, it is good to get back to basics. We journey with Jesus into the desert, and with him, we co...
Enemy Love
18 Feb 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The most troubling and challenging of Jesus' teaching is the command to love our enemies. In this homily, I explore four good reasons why it is so imp...
Where Do You Put Your Faith
11 Feb 2007
Contributed by Lukas
The readings for this weekend pose a blunt question: whom, finally, do you trust? "Trust" is meant here in an absolute sense. Where do you base your l...
What is Love?
28 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In the thirteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul sings a hymn to love. He tells us that love is "patient, gentle, kind, not ...
The Paradox of Walls
21 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Nehemiah, the 5th century governor of Judea, has an important spiritual lesson for us today. Nehemiah led the project of re-building the walls of Jeru...
The Task of the Church
14 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
As we enter into ordinary time, we reflect with St. Paul on the ordinary task of the church: the discernment and exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spi...
Biblical Family Values
31 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
There are family values in the Bible, but they might not be the ones you'd expect. The Biblical authors--both Old Testament and New--put a stress, not...
The Inexhaustibly Fascinating Figure of Mary
24 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
On the final Sunday of Advent, the Church invites us to consider the inexhaustibly fascinating figure of Mary. The Mother of God is a figure of faithf...
What Should We Do?
17 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel for today centers around a question that is bracing in its directness and simplicity. A group of people come to the Baptist and ask "what s...
Return Home
10 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In our first reading for this week, we hear the prophet Baruch predicting the return of the children of Israel to Zion. God will level the mountains a...
The Second Coming
03 Dec 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The readings for this first Sunday of Advent focus, not on the historical coming of Jesus at Bethlehem, but rather at his eschatological coming at the...
Pilate and Jesus
26 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In the confrontation between Pilate and Jesus we see, according to Benedict XVI, a clash of two visions of politics. Pilate, who cynically dismisses a...
Christ the High Priest
12 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
For the past several weeks, we have been reading from the extraordinary letter to the Hebrews, the principal theme of which is the priesthood of Jesus...
The Chief of the Nations
29 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Our first reading for Mass this week contains the most sacred prayer in the Jewish tradition, the "Sh'ma." In the Gospel, when asked which commandment...
The Voice of Ambition
22 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
James and John want to sit at Jesus' right and left when the Lord comes into his glory. What they don't realize is that his glory is the moment of his...
I Asked for Wisdom and Prudence
15 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
If an angel of the Lord stood before you and invited you to pray for one thing, what would it be? The book of Wisdom suggests today that you should pr...
The Two Become One Flesh
08 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Our readings for this week are all about marriage. In the Catholic understanding, a married couple do not so much receive a sacrament as they become a...
Cut It Off or Cut It Out
01 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus certainly manages to get our attention in this week's Gospel. Don't literalize his language, but feel its power. Are you willing to eliminate ce...
The Warfare Within; The Warfare Without
24 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
We have been reading for the past several weeks from the letter of James, which is a treasure-trove of practical wisdom. James tells us this week that...
The True Davidic Messiah
17 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Law and Laws
03 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Whatever we reverence--baseball, good music, golf, the spiritual life--we are surrounded with laws. Law is meant to preserve and enhance the integrity...
Many Went Away
27 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The Eucharist has been, from the beginning, a source of conflict and division. This is, of course, not Christ's will, for the eucharist is supposed to...
My Flesh is Real Food; My Blood is Real Drink
20 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel for this weekend is the climax of Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse from the sixth chapter of John's Gospel. Given every opportunity to offer ...
Myth and History
06 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In our second reading for this weekend, St. Peter tells us that, in sharing the Christian story, he was not trading in "cleverly concocted myths." The...
The Cross is Our Peace
23 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our reading of Paul's extraordinary letter to the Ephesians. We hear that the cross of Jesus has broken down the wall of enmity which divi...
The Five Act Drama
16 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
For the next several weeks, we are going to be reading from Paul's magnificent letter to the Ephesians. In our passage for today, we learn that we are...
The Call of the Prophet
09 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Every baptized person is conformed to Christ: King, Priest, and Prophet. Thus speaking the divine truth (prophecy) is not the concern of priests and b...
The Daughter of Jairus and the Book of Leviticus
02 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In order to understand the power of our Gospel reading for this week, we must attend to the book of Leviticus. In that great rule-book of Israelite li...
The 'De Profundis' Prayer
25 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Psalm 130 begins with the words, "out of the depths, I have cried to you, O Lord." Throughout the great tradition, the prayer ""de profundis,"" (out o...
The Mass and Sacrifice
18 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
For this feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord, I reflect on the Mass as a sacrifice. Sacrificial language runs right through all of our readings fo...
God Is Love
11 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
On the feast of the Trinity, we reflect on the uniquely Christian definition of God: God is love. Love is not something that God does, or an attribute...
Pentecost and the Tower of Babel
04 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
All the Jews in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost heard the disciples preaching in their own languages. This miracle of the Spirit is the reversal ...
The Da Vinci Code (Part 2 of 2)
28 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
This week I discuss two more themes that emerge in the Da Vinci Code: the Gnostic Gospels and anti-Catholicism. Much of the storyline of the Da Vinci ...
The Da Vinci Code (Part 1 of 2)
21 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
I don't like departing from the Scriptures in these homilies, but the appearance of the movie based upon the wildly popular novel The Da Vinci Code wa...
Christ Living His Life in You
14 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus Christ is infintely more than a moral ideal, a saint whom we admire from afar. In accord with the image from the Gospel for today, he is the vin...
The Risen Lord
30 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Luke paints a fascinating portrait of the risen Jesus in our Gospel for today. He stands in the midst of his disciples, gathering them as the new Isra...
The Disquieting Grave of Jesus
16 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Graves are usually places of peace, repose, and meditation. We sit by a gravesite or we stroll through a cemetery in order to reflect on lives well li...
The Master Has Need of You
09 Apr 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The donkey upon which Jesus rides into Jerusalem is a wonderful image for discipleship. He is a simple, humble, unassuming creature--and he is pressed...
God's Cleansing Anger
26 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
God sometimes expresses his anger at his people Israel. This is not an emotional snit into which God falls; rather, it is a way of expressing his pass...
Speaking to Moses and Elijah
12 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
For a Jew of Jesus' time, Moses and Elijah would symbolize the Law and the Prophets, the two major divisions of the Scriptures. Jesus' conversation wi...
Angels and Wild Beasts
05 Mar 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Our readings for the first Sunday of Lent highlight the cosmic and universal nature of God's redemptive purpose. The covenant of Noah was made, not ju...
New Wine and New Wineskins
26 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The new wine that Jesus speaks of is the Gospel itself, the Good News that God has joined our human condition. In order to take in such a message and ...
Carrying Souls to Christ
19 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In the wonderful Gospel story for today, the paralytic gets to Jesus only because there are four friends willing to carry him to the Lord. Are there p...
Giving God the Glory
12 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
In our second reading, St. Paul tells us to do everything--even such simple acts as eating and drinking--for the glory of God. We should make sure tha...
The Compulsion to Evangelilze
05 Feb 2006
Contributed by Lukas
St. Paul tells us in our second reading that preaching the Gospel is not a matter of choice for him; it is a compulsion, a necessity. In the homily fo...
The Distinct Authority of Jesus
29 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Detachment Again
22 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The familiar theme of detachment runs right through all three of our readings for this week. Paul tells the Corinthians who are married to carry on as...
Christ and the Nations
08 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus Christ is God's love made flesh, a gift to all the nations. As such, he transcends the disputes and squabbles that so often characterize the rel...
Haste, Astonishment, and Treasuring
01 Jan 2006
Contributed by Lukas
There are three words that jump out at me from our Gospel reading for today's feast: "haste," "astonished" and "treasured." Each one says something im...
A Baby Born in Straw Poverty
25 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, I read an interview with Bono, the lead singer of the group U2. Asked about his religious beliefs, he replied, "I think that there is a love...
David and Mary
18 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
For the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Church asks us to juxtapose stories of David and Mary. David decides that he wants to build a temple for the Lord...
To Heal the Brokenhearted
11 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Our first reading for this Sunday is an especially sacred one in the Christian tradition, for it was precisely this passage from Isaiah that Jesus cho...
The Gospel of Jesus
04 Dec 2005
Contributed by Lukas
In the very first line of his Gospel, St. Mark tells us that he is going to share with us Good News, Glad Tidings, about Jesus, the Son of God. In man...
O How We Need a Savior
27 Nov 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Lent is, of course, a penitential season, but Advent is as well. We get in touch with our sinfulness during Advent precisely because we want to prepar...
Peter Maurin and Matthew 25
20 Nov 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Maurin, the co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, took Jesus' words in our Gospel for today with consummate seriousness. He felt that the ...
Burying the Talents
13 Nov 2005
Contributed by Lukas
All of us believers have been entrusted with a treasure: our faith. What do we do with this treasure while we await the return of the Lord? We must ma...
The Wise and Foolish Virgins
06 Nov 2005
Contributed by Lukas
How do we wait? That is the question addressed by Jesus' parable for today. While we wait for the second coming of the Lord, we should keep our lamps ...
The Trouble With Religion
30 Oct 2005
Contributed by Lukas
At its best, religion orients our lives to God and moves us away from the terrible preoccupation with our own egos. But at its worst, religion reinfor...
The Greatest Commandment
23 Oct 2005
Contributed by Lukas
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind--and your neighbor as yourself." This is the way that Jesus su...
The Wedding Banquet
09 Oct 2005
Contributed by Lukas
God the Father has prepared a wedding banquet for his Son, and we are all invited. That is the poetic summary of salvation that can be found in the pa...
The Vineyard
02 Oct 2005
Contributed by Lukas
In this striking parable of the vineyard, Jesus lays out both God's vision for the world as well as his plan of redemption. The Lord wants us to be fu...
Jesus the Slave
25 Sep 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Our second reading, from Paul's letter to the Philippians, contains one of the oldest texts in the tradition, a "hymn" that Paul received and adapted ...
The Generous Landowner
18 Sep 2005
Contributed by Lukas
The parable that Jesus tells in our Gospel for today is one of his most disturbing and confounding. Giving the same wage to those who worked for one h...
Seventy Times Seven Times
11 Sep 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Our capacity to forgive others is tightly linked to our realization that we have been forgiven by God. When we try to justify an ethic of radical forg...
Offer Your Bodies as a Living Sacrifice
28 Aug 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Paul tells the Christians in Rome to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice of praise. I suggest that this Pauline image provides a very good contex...
Testing Our Faith
14 Aug 2005
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of testing faith is a common one in the Bible. Abraham's faith was tried on Mt. Moriah, as was Jacob's and Joseph's. The Gospel story of the ...
Walking on the Water
07 Aug 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Often in the Bible, water functions as a symbol of chaos and sin: the waters at the beginning of creation, the waters of the Red Sea, the waters of No...
The Loop of Grace
31 Jul 2005
Contributed by Lukas
It all begins with grace, and it all ends with grace. Bernanos' country priest summed up Christianity with the phrase "Toute est grace," everything is...