Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

One of the key themes of the Bible is the divine election, the fact that God chooses. But God chooses, not on the basis of merit, but simply through and because of his grace. And he chooses, not to glorify those whom he elects, but rather to give them a mission of love. Accordingly, he chose Israel so that it might be a priestly nation; and he chose the twelve so that they might proclaim the kingdom, and he chose us the baptized that we might be conduits of his grace to the world.

Paul's letter to the Romans explores the great theme of justification, the process by which we become rectified or straightened out in regard to God. Key to this process, says Paul, is faith, that is to say, trust in the Lord. What has thrown us off-kilter is precisely a tendency to rely on our own powers. But when we, like Abraham our father in faith, learn to trust, then the divine life can flow into us and through us to the world.

What is the foundation of your life? How goes it with your heart? Are you building your spiritual house on sand or on rock? These are the fundamental questions that both the book of Deuteronomy and the Gospel of Matthew pose for us as we return to Ordinary Time.

In 1264, Pope Urban IV asked Thomas Aquinas to compose the office for the newly established feast of Corpus Christi. Thomas's texts are both beautiful and profound. By studying them, we can learn much of the Church's theology of the eucharist. He tells us that Christ serves us, with his own hands, the bread of angels.

There is no question more important than this one: who is God? The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian answer to that question. The Trinity is simply a doctrinally exact way of stating the belief that God is love. If love is what God is, then in the very being of God there must be lover, beloved, and love.

The feast of Pentecost is the birthday of the church. Our readings show us the four major features of the church: it is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. What do these four things mean? Listen to the sermon!

Jesus assures his disciples that, if they pray for it, the Holy Spirit will definitely come upon them with great power. At the same time, he reminds them that the presence of the Spirit always awakens opposition and persecution. So ask for the Holy Spirit, but be prepared to suffer on his account.

As Pentecost approaches, the church gives us readings redolent of the Holy Spirit. Our passages for this Sunday speak in various ways of the presence of the Holy Spirit: bold speech, signs and wonders, joy, intellectual curiosity, and love.

All the readings for today are, directly or indirectly, about the priesthood, that office that all of the baptized share. To be a priest is to be a mediator between God and human beings and to be a person who offers right praise. This identity should play itself out in all that you do.

Peter's sermon on Pentecost morning is the model for all evangelical proclamation. He declares that Jesus is both Lord and Messiah, and this straightforward, unambiguous confession leads to conversion on the part of the people. When our preaching about Jesus is wishy-washy, unclear, tentative, we shouldn't be surprised that no one listens.