10th Sunday of the Year Readings
Just as Jesus restored to life the Widow’s Son in the Gospel of Luke, God can also touch our lives with power and grace. Two thoughts emerge:
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast
Daily Mass Readings – Thursday of the 8th Week of Ordinary Time
St. Peter describes us as “Living Stones” built up into the people of God. May we draw on the Lord for the strength we need as we support and encourage one another!
Fr. Andrew’s Homily Podcast – Pentecost
Pentecost Mass of the Day Readings
Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles are filled with grace to go out into the world and proclaim the Good News of Christ. The Spirit continues to touch our hearts today – giving strength to our souls and uniting us with one another. Come Holy Spirit!
Study: Reflect on a time when you have experienced God’s grace first hand. How did the Lord help you?
Pray: Is there a situation or circumstance that seems bigger than you can handle? Call upon the Holy Spirit!
Serve: Check your heart…is the Spirit prompting you to help someone else right now? If so, how?
Pentecost Readings for Vigil Mass
Pentecost Readings for Mass during the Day
Question: Where do people get their strength to live their faith?
Answer: The Holy Spirit!
On this day we celebrate the infusion of grace that came upon the apostles following the Ascension of Christ into Heaven. The Lord said that he would ask the Father to send the Spirit – that the Church might always be guided and protected – with power and glory.
This is the Spirit that renews hearts that are weak and wounded. This is the Spirit that brings hope to those who are crushed with despair and fear. This is the Spirit that triumphs over the darkness of sin and restores our relationships with God and one another.
Let’s be clear: we can’t do it alone. We’re not suppose to! We are utterly and completely dependent on God: for our lives; our talents; and our opportunities to serve. The Spirit comes to us with the grace and strength that we need to fulfill the gift of life, giving glory to the Almighty for all that we have.
What’s more, we are called to communion – leaning on and supporting one another – and with the help of the Holy Spirit we deepen our relationships and reconcile when division and obstacles appear. Simply put, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live our lives at full power.
Call on the Spirit in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom, strength, and courage you need for whatever tasks are before you. This Spirit has been present to the Church since Pentecost, and this Spirit continues to empower and transform our lives today.
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily – Tuesday of the Octave of Easter
Both Peter and Mary Magdalene are transformed by the power of the resurrection: Peter, formerly bound by fear, is now on fire to spread the Good News; Mary, overcome by sorrow, is now filled with joy. What in our life needs to be touched by the power of Christ’s resurrection? How can Easter transform our lives today?
Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast – with a little help from his niece and nephews
Jesus heals the man with the unclean spirit, showing his power and authority. In the same way, we turn to the Lord to cast out what does not belong in our own hearts.
Theology on Tap Presentation Podcast (36 minutes)
Are you looking for some practical ways to transform your life? Do you long for something special, filled with power, purpose, and meaning? Fr. Andrew looks at 3 areas (Self, Others, God) and applies them to the ordinary and routine elements of daily life. This Theology on Tap presentation was given at Vintage Italian Pizza (VIP) in Superior, WI on October 22, 2015.
Study: Where have you seen signs of God’s grace at work in your life? How did it change you?
Pray: Are there people or circumstances in your life that are wounded or hurting? Pray for healing power!
Serve: Do you see someone in need? How can you help them?
30th Sunday of the Year Readings
The readings this week reveal a common theme of divine power:
Throughout these scriptures the Lord comes with dynamic energy: liberating, saving, healing and redeeming. This is Good News! In the midst of the challenges and struggles of human life we find Jesus coming to us – meeting us where we are – with the transformative power of his grace.
With this power in mind, I would suggest two points for consideration this week:
Let’s start with receiving. Where in my life am I wounded, hurting, or helpless? Do I identify with Bartimaeus, calling upon the Lord for pity? If so, our prayer (in private and at Mass) can be directed to heaven…asking for the grace we need to keep going.
Giving means we allow the Lord’s power to work through us. Giving requires that we see the needs of those around us, determine a proper response, and act in a manner worthy of Christ. We become the Lord’s hands and feet in service to others; our words speak encouragement and hope.
God continues to work with power in our world today, giving us all the opportunity to open our hearts to the endless grace of Christ. May we draw near to the Lord with confidence and allow his strength to work through us as we touch the hearts of those we meet.
Fr. Andrew’s Pentecost Homily Podcast
This homily was given at St. William Church in Foxboro, WI on May 23, 2015.
Like a gentle rain that nourishes and renews the earth, the Holy Spirit comes upon the world to bring life. The power of the Holy Spirit showers graces into our hearts with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. This happens in two profound ways:
A simple diagnostic tool: where do I see unity in my life? Where unity is present, we can build and grow stronger with the Spirit’s power. Where it is absent, we have the opportunity to call upon the Spirit for healing and transformation. Either way, come Holy Spirit!
Study: Reflect on a time when you encountered a difficult experience. Where did you find your strength?
Pray: Ask for the Holy Spirit to help you, especially to unite with others in challenging situations.
Serve: How can you help foster unity in your life? What can you do to bring people together?
Pentecost Mass During the Day Readings
It can be somewhat confusing to know what readings to follow – depending on the day and the options available a person can hear a number of different Scripture readings this weekend. Stepping back for a moment, however, we can tease out some major themes that surface on this important feast of the Church:
In many respects this feast marks the birthday of the Church. The disciples, having watched the Lord ascend to Heaven, are now “on their own” to carry out the Good News of Christ. The point, of course, is that they are not alone! Filled with the Holy Spirit their hearts are transformed and their lives forever changed. They have become willing instruments empowered by the Spirit to speak and act for the glory of God. They don’t look anything like their former selves – timid, fearful, and self-serving; they now fearlessly engage the world with the conviction that Jesus is Lord.
And as they are strengthened by the Spirit one sign increasingly becomes apparent – the unity of believers as a self evident sign that God’s grace is at work. Several approaches underscore this sense of unity:
Language, cooperation, fruitfulness, and forgiveness are all hallmarks of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. All are crucial and take an enormous amount of effort – supported by the POWER of the Holy Spirit!
Is there a place in our lives today that would benefit from unity? Are there relationships and situations that require healing and strength to grow? Do we recognize circumstances (perhaps beyond our control) that cry out for the Lord’s intervention? If so, then we can confidently turn to the Spirit for the grace we need to face what lies before us.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful , grant that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise, and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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Pentecost, Eugenio Hansen, OFS; 25 April 2012, stained glass, 2590 x 4115 pixels, Pelotas Cathedral, Brazil.
Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 