Sermons from August 2020

Sunday Ordinary Time 22 A

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is going to Jerusalem and He tells his followers He will suffer and die at the hands of his enemies. Peter comes up and says, “Lord, this cannot be; we will not allow it to happen.” Jesus says to him, “You are like Satan; you are tempting me. You are encouraging me not to do what my Father in heaven wants me to do.” (To see the words of the gospel, click here.) Jesus says, if…

Sunday Ordinary Time 21 A

Today we have another story about Peter. He is an interesting man. He is the leader of Jesus’s followers, during the time when Jesus was on earth, and also after Jesus ascended into heaven.  What can we learn from the story of Peter? In the story today [To see the words of today’s Gospel, click here.] Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” His followers give different answers — Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, one of the prophets.…

Sunday Ordinary Time 20 A

Yesterday, August 15, is a special day every year, honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus. It tells the story of her assumption.  What does it mean? When Mary died, she was buried. But her body did not stay in the ground to waste away and become dust again. Jesus brought his mother’s body up into heaven. So now in heaven we have two glorious people, fully human: Jesus and Mary. So let me talk a little bit about Mary today.…

Sunday Ordinary Time 19 A

St Paul in the second reading today talks about his pain.  Let me explain the background.  (To see the words of the second reading, click here.)  Paul is hurt because he believes in Jesus, knows that Jesus is the one God sent to save them. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Savior. He is the Lord. Paul knows that his people, the people of Israel, have waited for centuries for the Messiah to come. The Messiah came — Jesus.…

Sunday Ordinary Time 18 A

The gospel today is the story of Jesus feeding a big crowd of people. (For the words of today’s gospel, click here.) Notice that the gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist and the story of a banquet.  King Herod had a banquet for his friends with much food and drinking. His stepdaughter came in and danced.  The girl pleased King Herod so much that he promised to give her anything she wanted. She asked her mother what…