Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

Like the two disciples walking towards Emmaus, a symbol of worldly power and security, and away from Jerusalem, the center of sacrifice, we need to be stopped in our tracks. Christ appears to them, but they do not recognize him. They do not recognize him because they are walking the wrong way. The recognition of the pattern of Christ’s life does come until the Eucharistic act which presents the pattern of sacrificial love. Then they immediately go back to Jerusalem, the place of suffering love.

Jesus has come to bring us the divine life. Under his influence we become peaceful, unafraid, evangelizing, and forgiving. Through the Church, saints are made. This is because Christ is at the very center of the Church.

Our first reading for this Easter day is Peter's great kerygmatic speech on Pentecost morning. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter addresses the Jerusalem crowd, telling them the impossibly good news that Jesus of Nazareth, a man who moved through their ordinary towns and villages, has been raised from the dead. The Easter faith of the Church is not an abstraction, not a vague claim about God's fidelity or our hope for immortality. Rather, it is the startling assertion that God has brought this man Jesus back from the dead. May we bask in the glow of this still surprising revelation.

Death is not a condition God desires for us . Rather, God wants us to have life. However, death is a reality; but it is not the final word. Christ is the final Word - namely, the life-giving Word. Christ brings Lazarus back to life. He desires to do the same for us.

The healing of a man blind from birth is an archetypal story of coming to spiritual vision. Sin prevents us from seeing clearly. Christ is the light and he wants us to walk in his light. But we resist. Fortunately, if we stop resisting, Christ will enable us, like Adam in Eden, to walk in easy fellowship with God.

The story of Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman is a kind of template by which we can understand our own encounter with the Lord.

"Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and the rest will be given to you." Make God the center of your life, and you will be spiritually ordered in Christ's image. If you make wealth and security your center, you will be empty. You make the choice: will God be your center?

Jesus calls us to love. But few consider the radical nature of this calling. It entails loving the other, even our enemies, regardless of the response of the one who is loved. If you fail, and you often will, turn to God for the grace to live out this strange way of Christ.

Like a good healer, Jesus has not come simply to behaviorally modify us; he has come to heal us at the root of our being, eradicating all dysfunction from our most basic core.

The Beatitudes reveal the true path of joy is found not in grasping at power but in the willing surrender to God's mysterious grace.

All of us want to live to the fullest. However, most of us never find the one thing that will inspire us to dedicate our whole lives to it. It is amazing to hear of how the first people who responded to Christ dedicated their whole lives to him. Their encounter with Christ sent them on a path they never dreamed of. Paradoxically, this path was marked by great joy and suffering; but, nevertheless, they lived life to the fullest.

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he highlights the beauty of baptism and how it sweeps the baptized person into God's great theo-drama. God calls us out of the world of our narrow egos to partake in his redeeming plan of love of which the Church is the vehicle. Follow Christ, and peace will be given to you.

The problem with our world is that most people do not dream big. In experiencing hardship, we have a tendency to assume the worst, thinking narrowly. The Biblical vision is the opposite of this. Biblical figures see the world through the infinite possibility of God - based in their faith in the Lord. Ahaz refused to be surprised by God's possibility. Isaiah was ready to be surprised. This confidence in God allowed him to dream big.

Hope is not this-worldly optimism. In fact, from a purely natural perspective, pessimism is the right attitude. Hope is that supernatural virtue which orders our desire toward heaven and the things of heaven. What Isaiah talks about in our first reading is not an expectation that will be realized here below, but only in a transfigured world on high.

The first step in the spiritual life is simple: you must see your life not as your own project but as a vehicle for God's purposes. However, we are all absorbed in our own lives, forgetting that the road to God is one of self-forgetfulness. This disposition helps us to focus on Christ and his mission. But in order for us to do this we must be cleansed of all attachments and baptized in the fiery love of God.

Thomas Merton once wrote, "Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. And he is not at peace with himself because he is not at peace with God." Only when we are in communion with God will we be in communion with ourselves and our fellowman. This simple formula summarizes Israel's mission of gathering all peoples in right praise to God on Mt. Zion. Although the world is divided in countless ways, Israel's gathering mission is realistic because Christ, the Messiah, is Lord, and all things will be gathered in himself. For this we wait in joyful hope.

Our first reading for Mass this Sunday is taken from the opening chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians. There is no stronger statement of the absolute primacy, centrality, and importance of Jesus Christ in the entire New Testament. Jesus, Paul tells us, is the beginning and the end, the icon of the invisible God, the one in whom all things exist and for whom they are destined. And then the Gospel shows us this cosmic King nailed to the cross. This wonderful irony is at the heart of the Christian proclamation: the King of the Universe is a crucified criminal, who utterly spends himself in love.

All things pass away. Political and religious institutions, the family, bodily health; nothing lasts. Everything dies. So often we seek our fulfillment and salvation in these things. But Christ is telling us not to. He is telling us to seek the one thing that will last: Himself. So long as we cling to Him will our lives be secure. He is the rock of our salvation.

Today's Gospel reading tells us about the Sadducees trying to lead Jesus into a ridiculous conclusion. To them the Jewish teaching on marriage seems irrational. However, Jesus shows us that not everything that appears cloudy to our intellect is sub-rational. Rather, some times it may be supra-rational - beyond the finite intellect - making it rational, but the rationality of another dimension. The claims of Faith may not be comprehensible to our intellects now, but we believe that they will once we are in his eternal presence.

Zacchaeus is a man who has wandered far from God. But, often enough, people like Zacchaeus come back, again and again, to God because they cannot eliminate their hunger for Him. Once they open themselves to Christ he places himself in the most intimate parts of themselves, living there. Christ does not enter just a fragment of your life; he enters the whole thing! This is salvation. Let Christ shake and transform you.

Religion serves a unitive purpose. In uniting the person to God, religion unites people together. However, many religious people forget religion's purpose. They like to puff up their egos, reveling in their ability to live according to the Law. Seeing themselves as better than the rest, they forget that grace only comes to those who realize they are sinners. The tax collector, realizing he is a sinful man, does not focus on himself, but focuses his gaze and hunger on God - the source of salvation. Justification comes to those who do likewise.

The church militant is the church at war with all the destructive powers that want to undermine its unity. The Israelites battle the people of Amalek, a battle that symbolizes the spiritual warfare that each of us, as members of the church, personally undergoes. There is no escaping this reality, and so we must fight. But our fighting is unusual: we fight with peacemaking, forgiveness, education, etc. Our fighting is only sustained through prayer and the prayers of others. Please pray that the Church is strengthened in its fight against evil in the world.

From the worldly perspective, the worst thing a powerful person can do is admit his/her weaknesses to others. If done so, the person loses his/her position of power. Naaman the Syrian, a man of power, is an example of humility. He does not let embarrassment stand in the way of admitting to his weakness. By doing so, he is healed and offers right praise to God. Like Naaman, admitting one's weaknesses is the first step to proper worship.

Most of us find the homeless to be unnerving and annoying, telling ourselves not to give them money because they might use it for drinks or drugs. But think of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and did they have different fates! Lazarus was carried to Abraham's bosom and the rich man to the nether world, where he was tormented. The torment for the rich man began by locking himself in his narrow ego, going against his calling to give. As Catholic social teaching remind us, we cannot remain indifferent to the poor. They must always be taken into consideration or else we go to hell.

Most of us spur into action when we believe that our financial state is in dire straits. Why don't we act in the same way in regards to our spiritual state? Today people need the same spiritual concern that people had in the past. They need to want to establish a relationship with God, that which is of paramount importance. So wake up, and place God at the center of your life!

The God Jesus describes does not operate according to the same logic we do. In fact, He seems to be crazy. If God is supposed to be like the Shepherd who abandons the ninety-nine to find the lost one and the woman who diligently searches her whole house for a penny, then he must be crazy. But that is not so. God operates according to the logic of grace, defying our logic of justice. Being a Christian is learning how to operate according to God's logic.

The Letter to the Hebrews is a sustained reflection on the Mass as the source and summit of the Christian life and the pivot around which history turns. Writing from a developed understanding the Temple, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews shows how Christ's sacrifice on the Cross is the sacrifice that has and will restore the communion between God and creation. As a re-presentation of this act, the Mass makes present to us our final destiny: communion with God through Christ.

To gain eternal life is to participate to the fullest degree possible in the very life of God. It is to walk the path of love, surrendering to grace and allowing this grace to flow through you to the wider world. Is this an easy task? No. The Gospel of Luke tells reminds us that the gate is narrow precisely because it is in the very shape of Jesus Himself, and entrance through the gate involves conformity to his state of being. The path of love is traveled by taking up one's cross every day.

In contrast to our conventional view of the Virgin Mary as a shrinking violet, the book of Revelation presents her as a warrior who has brought into the world a new way of dealing with worldly power: Christ (i.e. Love itself). If we do not approach the world as a battlefield between love and violence, we will become spiritually blind. But the Virgin Mary, as warrior, helps us see this reality while assuring us that her Son has already conquered.

In the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Christ assures us not to be afraid. Fear is a spiritual state that causes us not to trust in the lordship of God and to play master of our lives. However, with the awareness that God has given all to us, we'll realize that we are basically a gift. Gifts are meant to be given, so confidently give yourself away. Do not fear that you will become nothing by giving yourself away for by doing this the divine life fills you anew.

Maturity comes in facing the reality of death and the transient nature of the world. In this regard, the Book of Ecclesiastes is full of wisdom: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity"; Everyone who thinks they are going to find their happiness in possessing the goods of the world will eventually have to face the truth that they will not. All passes away. Therefore, spend your time building a good spiritual disposition for you never know when your life will be demanded of you. My advice: devote yourself to love.

Although the little story of Martha and Mary has been interpreted throughout the centuries as a parable dealing with the "active" and "contemplative" approach to the spiritual life, it can be read as Christ's invitation to all people to partake in his inner circle of discipleship. Christ overturned the social conventions of his time by summoning all people to discipleship. Thus, we must remove all barriers to discipleship for all people.

During the 20th century, moral relativism was in vogue in elite cultural circles, but now it is the dominant moral outlook of the broader culture. Against this, C.S. Lewis argued for "the universality and inescapability of the moral law." Although there are subtle moral differences between cultures, if we look close enough, we can discern fundamental moral agreements. The Catholic tradition says that this moral bedrock is a reflection of the Eternal Law in the mind of God. It is the voice of God within us. Listen to that voice.

We Americans embrace freedom. However, a proper understanding of freedom must inform our celebration of it. In both classical philosophy and the Bible, "freedom is not so much individual choice as the disciplining of desire so as to make the achievement of the good, first possible, then effortless." This freedom may seem confining, but it is actually liberating for it aligns oneself to the truth. In Christ, by whom we are created equal in dignity, we become free. As Catholics, we can embrace America's protection of equal rights, but we must be critical of modern interpretations of freedom.

Freedom is not self-determination, but finding and doing what God wants you to do. Biblical figures did not choose their God-given role; God chose it for them. Thus, in order for us to fulfill our mission perfectly we have to get rid of all obstacles to freely following Christ. This means that we have to get rid of all that prevents us from perfectly loving God, neighbor, and self.

The Gospel present two tales of sin and grace, Christ's encounter with a repentant woman and the parable of the two debtors. Both illuminate for us not only the necessity of personal conversion, but our willingness to forgive those who have sinned.

The Church comes from the Eucharist for it is the sacrifice that makes saints. The Eucharist is essentially the fullest act of gratitude prefigured in Melchizedek finding its fulfillment in the sacrifice of Christ. Every Mass is a participation in and celebration of this sacrifice, but the feast of Corpus Christi is a time to be especially aware of the gift of the Eucharist.

Karl Barth said, "The central claim of Christianity is that God has spoken." The uniqueness of this claim has lead Christians to refer to God as a Trinity. The Trinity denotes God as speaker, the Word spoken (i.e. Christ) and the interpreter of the Word (i.e. Holy Spirit). It is always better to have the author interpret his word for you when reading his works. This is how the Church understands the Holy Spirit in helping her understand God's Word.

The first reading for this Sunday, taken from the fifteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, is about the Council of Jerusalem that allowed Gentiles into the Church. This Council, like all councils, is full of disputes. But it must never be forgotten that the Holy Spirit is guiding and directing the Church.

The second reading for this Sunday, taken from the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation, completes the Biblical story. The Bible tells us that the world will be transformed into a new heaven and a new earth through the One who "makes all things new."

The first reading for this Sunday, taken from the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, recounts the expulsion of Paul and Barnabas from Antioch. Paul's radical message of the Lordship of Jesus subverts all other power and authority. It is a public proclamation that is a challenge to all.

Our Gospel for today, taken from the wonderful 21st chapter of St. John's Gospel, is filled with mystical and symbolic allusions. The disciples in the boat are evocative of the church; Jesus on the shore calls to mind the eschatological fulfillment toward which the church is journeying; Peter calls to mind both sinful Adam and the promise of redemption. In all of it, we see a picture of discipleship.

Despite the locked doors, the risen Jesus stands in the midst of the disciples. This is a beautiful icon of the Church, the community gathered around Jesus and filled with his spirit. When the Lord, first appears, Thomas is not there and hence does not believe. Only when he returns to the apostolic circle does he encounter Jesus and make his great confession. This detail reminds us that we see the risen Lord only in the church and through its mediation.

The Church's Easter proclamation is the strangest message ever delivered: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. His resurrection is not merely a symbolic statement about Christ's historical importance or the affirmation that his cause goes on. Nor is the resurrection simply about some change in the the apostle's minds in regards to Christ after his death. The resurrection is about the real body of Jesus.

Today the Church proclaims the Passion of Christ. The story of the Lord's suffering and death haunted the minds of the first Christians. All the Gospels center around it and find their fulfillment in it. The special emphasis in this years account, taken from the Gospel of Luke, is Christ's struggle with the false kingdoms of the world.

In our second reading for this Sunday, St. Paul lays out his resumé. In terms of the Judaism of his time, Paul was about as accomplished as one could hope to be: he was a defender of the tradition, steeped in the wisdom of his people, and blameless under the law. But after seeing Jesus risen from the dead, Paul said that he counted all of those achievements as loss and refuse. So we, he implies, should not base our lives on our accomplishments, degrees, social status--but rather on Christ crucified and risen.

The parable of the prodigal son is a portrait of God's gracious love and two negative responses to that love. Both sons, in their own ways, indicate the disposition of the soul in estrangement from God.

Today's scriptures present stories of two trees: the burning bush, that represents the reality of a soul that is receptive to God's presence, and the fig tree, which represents God's presence resisted and refused.

The startling event of the Transfiguration displays a model of prayer. The mountain represents the place of Divine encounter, the radiance of the Lord displays the interior life of the soul in relationship to the Divine life, the conversation with the prophets is a symbol of the communion of saints. All this culminates is a sending forth in mission.

Today's Gospel presents the dramatic scene of the Lord Jesus' confrontation with the evil one. The evil one attempts to frustrate the Lord's mission by tempting him to become a "false" messiah by succumbing to sensual desire, exercising worldly power, and using the power of God for ego driven purposes. These temptations are intended, not just to frustrate the Lord in his mission, but our own mission as well.