Fr. Andrew’s 5th Sunday of Easter Homily Podcast
5th Sunday of Easter Mass Readings
The readings reveal two aspects of the Church: growing & glorified. Through the times of both blessing and burden the command of Christ to Love shapes our lives as disciples, and directs us to love each and every day.
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast – Thursday of the 4th Week of Easter
This homily, which takes places during a Healing Mass that offers the Anointing of the Sick, shows how the healing we receive finds its source in the Lord’s grace. What’s more, we not only receive Christ’s healing, but we also serve as the Lord’s healing instruments to those around us.
Study: Consider a moment when you felt unconditional love. How did you react?
Pray: Are there people in your life who are hard to love? Ask the Lord to soften your heart, and place in you the desire to want to love them.
Serve: Love is expressed in many ways. How can you share the Love of Christ with others today?
Let’s start with a quick overview of this week’s readings:
The Easter season proclaims the Lord’s triumph over sin and death, and inspires us to fix our eyes on Heaven as our destination and goal. United together with the Lord, we understand that we are pilgrims passing through this world – and our words and actions have power and consequence.
Think about it. The Lord commands us to love. This is not some pleasant suggestion or good-idea-if-you-have-time-to-fit-it-in…this command is our call to action: Love flows from the heart of Heaven, and in our Love on earth we practice for the day when we will stand before the Author of Love itself.
And lest we get caught up in some sort of warm fuzzy feeling about Love, we know that this command is hard to carry out! Love demands our forgiveness, patience, mercy, gentleness, peace, and understanding. Simply put, we are called to Love as Christ loves us – by laying down our lives for one another.
Love, then, is not only a principal condition for Heaven, but for the Church on earth as well. Nothing reveals our sincerity and authenticity as Christians more fully than when Love shines through our words and actions.
Our goal is Heaven, and while here on earth the Church follows the example of Christ – loving God and one another. May others see the Lord’s Love in our lives today!
Fr. Andrew’s 3rd Sunday of Easter Homily Podcast
Following the Lord does not mean that life is easy; rather, our faith gives us a strength to face the obstacles of life with the power of Christ’s love.
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast – Thursday of the 2nd Week of Easter
Empowered by the Holy Spirit and filled with the love of the Risen Christ, the disciples continue to proclaim the Good News in the face of open hostility. May we take their example to heart as we draw near to the Lord for the grace we need to confront the challenges and obstacles of daily life.
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast – Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Easter
The Apostles continue to preach the message of Christ in the context of persecution. They are freed from fear! How is this possible? Where do they get their strength? The Gospel answer: the Love of Christ poured out through his Death and Resurrection has transformed them. May the Lord’s love cast out our fears as well.
***************
Head of Christ, Richard Hook.
Study: Reflect on an experience where your faith got you through a difficult time. What (or who) in particular helped you?
Pray: Offer up the needs of loved ones who are experiencing tough times right now. Pray for them!
Serve: Is there a way that you can offer fellowship or support for someone struggling? How can you lighten their load?
Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast
The power of Easter shines through the Scripture readings this week:
The disciples, freed from fear, now boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. In fact, they wear their hardships like badges of honor – “rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” (Acts 5:41)
A key point emerges: being a Christian does not mean that life will be easy. On the contrary! Striving to live in a manner worthy of Christ means that we will stand out and at times face hostility because we seek to live a Godly life. At times we will encounter obstacles, setbacks, personal failures, and perhaps even ridicule – yet even in our weaknesses and failures we draw on the strength of the Lord for grace, mercy, and life.
This strength is highlighted in the encounter between Jesus and Peter, which takes place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection. Peter has to face the Lord (the one he betrayed three times) and confront his own personal failure as he meets his friend and Savior. Coming to Jesus (who knows his heart) Peter admits his inadequacy even as he affirms his love for the Lord.
These readings give us hope! In tough times or smooth sailing, we turn (and return) to Christ for the wisdom and guidance we need. And if we fail, we fall facing Jesus, who will lift us back up with a grace and strength to help us in our adversity – asking only that we renew our love for the one who died and rose for our salvation.
Study: Where in my life have I discovered God’s strength and grace? How have others helped me?
Pray: Where do I need God’s strength right now? Call upon the Lord with boldness to face the challenges of life.
Serve: How can I be an instrument of God’s strength to another? How can I help someone today?
Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast (7 minutes, given at Cathedral on April 4, 2015)
I can only imagine the surge of excitement that went through the disciples as the word was shared. Beyond the agony of the Cross and the sorrow of the Tomb on that first day of the week the message was proclaimed: He’s Alive!
And everything changes. This group of disciples – bound by fear and selfishness – are transformed with a new strength and conviction. Their encounter with the Risen Lord will empower them to face the obstacles of this world with joy and hope. They have seen the risen Christ…what is there to fear? They have embraced the one who has conquered sin and death – there is NOTHING that can shake their confidence in the light of Easter morning.
This same strength comes to us. Like the first disciples, we can turn to Jesus and allow his saving grace to renew us with a strength far beyond our own. We can claim a hope that sustains us in the midst of our challenges and struggles. The Easter sunrise brings light to the darkest corners of our hearts.
What in our lives needs to be touched by Jesus Christ? We are invited to boldly come forward, receive his resurrection strength, and face whatever this world presents with confidence: the victory of Christ enlivens us to travel through life with the conviction that the grace he gave his disciples continues in our hearts today.
May this Easter season be a time of transformation and renewal; a time where we embrace the gift of our lives with a new freedom and conviction. In the light of this Easter, may we follow the one who leads us from sin and death to the abundance of life…in this world, and the world to come.
Happy Easter!
***************
Walking with the Lord in Holy Week (March 9-12, 2015 – Our Lady of the Valley – Green Valley, AZ) This parish mission takes the listener on a journey with Christ – from his entry into Jerusalem, through the Last Supper, his Passion, and his Resurrection.
Fr. Andrew’s Palm Sunday Podcast
We read the Passion of Christ ever year, not as some sad, distant, impersonal story that happen long ago, but as OUR STORY – a reminder that Christ endured his Cross for US, for our our sins and transgressions. As we enter into this sacred season, may we draw near to the one who saves and sets us free.
And if you would like to have a mini-retreat this week, I invite you to listen to any of these podcasts from my Mission last year in Arizona.
Walking with the Lord in Holy Week (March 9-12, 2015 – Our Lady of the Valley – Green Valley, AZ) This parish mission takes the listener on a journey with Christ – from his entry into Jerusalem, through the Last Supper, his Passion, and his Resurrection.
Have a blessed Holy Week.
Fr. Andrew’s presentation on Mercy – 15 Minutes
How do we understand mercy as it applies to our lives? What does it mean and how can we practice mercy – both receiving and giving – in our interactions with the Lord and one another? This short talk offers some practical points and an example from Jesus in the Gospel of John. Given during the “24 Hours with the Lord” at the Cathedral on March 4, 2016.
Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 