Homilies & Reflections – Cradio

Fr Michael Doody – Epiphany Homily

Fr Michael Doody — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 13:35:32 +0000

Homily for The Feast of the Epiphany
Delivered on the 6th of January 2019

Fr Michael Doody draws us to contemplate the three wise men on the feast of the Epiphany – and the rich symbolism and meaning behind each of their gifts. Fr Michael then goes on to help us realise the importance of spending time in Adoration. This homily was recorded at the Immaculata Mission School 2019.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

The Immaculata Mission School 2019 was hosted by the Immaculata Community at The Glennie School in Toowoomba, Queensland.

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Homily – The Holy Name of Jesus

Archbishop Julian Porteous — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 13:35:27 +0000

Homily for The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
Delivered on the 3rd of January 2019

Archbishop Julian Porteous reflects on the baptism of Jesus, a primary manifestation of the Trinity in scripture – and reminds us of the necessity of baptism for salvation. This homily was recorded at the Immaculata Mission School 2019.

The Immaculata Mission School 2019 was hosted by the Immaculata Community at The Glennie School in Toowoomba, Queensland.

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True Joy – Gaudete Sunday 2019

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 13:35:52 +0000

Homily for The Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, 2019

To be joyful is not to wear a permanent smile on your face. That is either madness or irritating.

In the midst of the penitentially joyful season of Advent, the church reminds us to exhibit an attractive joy which draws people into Christ.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

Image attribution: Brett Crandall CC BY 3.0
Changes were made to this image.

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Preparing for Christmas – Making a Good Confession

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 04:51:33 +0000

Homily for The Second Sunday of Advent, 2019

Father Michael speaks about the importance of going to confession before Christmas. He offers insights into the sacrament from the perspective of the priest and discusses the common tendency to put off a good confession, some common obstacles and how to overcome them.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Christ the King 2019

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 13:35:47 +0000

Homily for The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, 2019

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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From Destruction to Judgement

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 13:35:07 +0000

Homily for The 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Michael speaks about the particular and final judgement, what they mean for us, and how the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem is related to this.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Conversion

Fr Michael Doody — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 23:39:26 +0000

Homily for The 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Conversion is a constant process that is necessary for living out the faith. Through reflecting on his own vocation story, Fr Michael shares how daily mass is the most effective way to fall ever deeper in love with Our Lord.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Dual Delusions

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 13:35:18 +0000

Homily for The 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

In this homily today I want to put before you two delusions. One is what we see in today’s gospel – the Pharisee’s way. We hear that this Pharisee stands in the temple and says this prayer to himself: “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous, like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here.”

Find out how to avoid this – and the parallel delusion – in this week’s homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Spiritual Battle

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 13:35:32 +0000

Homily for The 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Michael Doody preaches on the necessity of continual prayer in spiritual battle – especially in visiting Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We are also encouraged to read the lives of the saints in order to grow closer to them in imitation of them.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Thank God

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 01:56:17 +0000

Homily for The 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Michael Doody preaches on the thanksgiving due to God in the mass.

Pope Pius XII on the ends of The Mass
“The second end is duly to give thanks to God. Only the divine Redeemer, as the eternal Father’s most beloved Son whose immense love He knew, could offer Him a worthy return of gratitude. This was His intention and desire at the Last Supper when He “gave thanks.”[65] He did not cease to do so when hanging upon the cross, nor does He fail to do so in the august sacrifice of the altar, which is an act of thanksgiving or a “eucharistic” act; since this “is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation.” –Mediator Dei 72, Pope Pius XII

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Increase Our Faith

Fr Michael Doody — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 05:04:49 +0000

Homily for The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

By drawing on the catechism and St Thomas Aquinas, Fr Michael explains the power of the apostle’s prayer in this week’s gospel to “Increase Our Faith” (Lk 17:5).

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Fall That Changed the Universe

Fr Michael Doody — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 03:15:41 +0000

Homily for The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Doody speaks about the cataclysmic event of the fall of man from grace in the garden in Genesis and warns us of the errors of universalism.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Prodigal Father?

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 02:35:55 +0000

Homily for The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

This week’s gospel tells us that heaven rejoices more over one repentant sinner than over 99 virtuous men with no need for repentance. Through the parable of the prodigal son, we see that the older son is representative of these 99. Jesus is warning us of having merely the appearance of real virtue. Everybody has need of repentance.
Father Micheal Doody reflects on the ‘older son’ mentality of many Catholics today, who try to tick all the boxes of being a good Catholic but don’t frequent the sacrament of reconciliation and can’t understand the boundless mercy of the Father. When we truly encounter the person of Jesus Christ, the Father makes sense, and we realise our need of his mercy.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Detachment

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 01:58:39 +0000

Homily for The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

The gospel this week tells us that we must hate our father and mother to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Fr Michael Doody unpacks this jarring statement of Our Lord, explaining that if we want to follow Christ, we must do it without reserve, preferring nothing to Him.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Deadliest Sin

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 00:57:35 +0000

Homily for The 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Pride, the deadliest sin, and humility, it’s corresponding virtue, are the focus of this week’s readings. Father Michael expounds upon why we must foster the virtue of humility and flee from the vice of pride, drawing on the words of Our Lord in today’s gospel.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Why Do so Many People Miss out on Heaven?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 03:22:23 +0000

Jesus says that many people will try to enter into heaven, but most of them will miss out. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL suggests in this homily that they fail to reach their destination because their starting point is completely wrong. This homily was recorded on the 18th Sunday in Ordinary time.

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A Martyr’s Heart

Fr Michael Doody — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 01:37:49 +0000

Homily for The 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Michael explains that the disposition of our hearts can drastically change the way we receive the words of Christ, and that we must have a true perception of ourself and acknowledge our flaws before we are able to accept Christ.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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I Believe

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 06:51:48 +0000

Homily for The 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Michael speaks about the responsibility that comes along with saying that you believe in God. We should take seriously the virtue of faith and always pray for God to increase that virtue within us.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Trust that God Will Provide

MGL Priests and Brothers — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 02:41:50 +0000

We often feel that we cannot follow God because we do not have the strength. Fr Chris Eaton says that we do not have to worry about the future if we trust that God will provide for us. This homily was recorded on the 18th Sunday in Ordinary time.

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Persistent Prayer

Fr Michael Doody — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 04:38:28 +0000

Homily for The 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Fr Michael speaks about the importance of persistence in prayer, and how this persistence reveals the enduring desires of our heart.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Via Sanctorum

Fr Michael Doody — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 02:34:12 +0000

Homily for The 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
The Way of Saints

Every aspect of the life of the saint is directed toward Jesus Christ. We must prayerfully discern where our focus is at all times.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Feast of Corpus Christi 2019

Fr Michael Doody — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 00:56:57 +0000

Homily for The Feast of Corpus Christi 2019
Fr Michael Doody speaks on the great importance of spending time in Eucharistic adoration on this feast of the Most Holy Body of Christ.

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The images used for this podcast come from Corpus Christi Watershed.

Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Feast of The Most Holy Trinity 2019

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 03:29:36 +0000

Homily for The Feast of The Most Holy Trinity 2019
Fr Michael Doody preaches on the mystery of The Most Holy Trinity – commenting on how The Trinity is revealed through creation and the human person.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Wind and Fire

Fr Michael Doody — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 14:30:05 +0000

Homily for Pentecost Sunday 2019
Fr Michael Doody compares the apostles preaching after Pentecost with the tower of Babel, and explains the message behind the imagery of wind and fire.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Being the Beloved of God

MGL Priests and Brothers — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:30:55 +0000

If we are able to encounter the truth of the cross, it changes how we see ourselves. In this Homily for Good Friday, Fr Chris Eaton MGL says that Jesus wants us to know ourselves as the ‘beloved’ of God.

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Why is it so Difficult to Receive Mercy?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 20 May 2019 14:30:26 +0000

Jesus pours out his love upon us as he humbles himself to wash our feet. As we enter into the mystery of God’s mercy on Holy Thursday, Fr David Callaghan MGL reflects on why it is so difficult for us to receive this gift of Christ’s mercy.

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Walking the ‘Thin Places’

MGL Priests and Brothers — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 13:00:37 +0000

The Irish have a saying that there are some places on earth where the veil between heaven and earth is very thin. Fr Chris Eaton MGL speaks about the mystery of the Transfiguration and the way that it reveals the presence of God to us in our ordinary life in this homily for the 2nd Sunday in Lent.

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Undeserved Love

Fr. Dave Callaghan MGL — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 13:30:44 +0000

In the story of David and Saul we see an example of true mercy and love. In this homily for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary time, Fr David Callaghan MGL says that this is an image for us of the love that Christ has for us and the love that we are called to have for others.

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Learning How To Trust

Fr. Ken Barker MGL — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 13:30:38 +0000

The greatest challenge of our faith is to learn how to trust God. Fr Ken Barker MGL speaks about how trust in God is the secret to finding true peace in our life in this homily for the 6th Sunday in ordinary time.

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Listening to God’s Call

Fr Michael Doody — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 13:30:18 +0000

Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Fr Michael Doody preaches on the dilemma we face if we are entrenched in Sin, and how it gets in the way of our ability to cooperate with God in listening to his voice.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Whom Shall I Send

Fr. Ken Barker MGL — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 13:30:14 +0000

Down through the ages, the Lord has been crying out the words that he spoke to Isaiah, “whom shall I send?” Fr Ken Barker MGL calls us to make the same response of complete submission to God in this homily for the 5th Sunday in ordinary time. This homily was recorded at St Benedict’s Parish in a special celebration to welcome one of the MGL sisters into the Novitiate.

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Love Never Fails

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 13:30:06 +0000

Homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
This Sunday’s reading from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians provides a very good way to examine your conscience. We must ask ourselves whether love is at the heart of our actions.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Do we really want Jesus in our life?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 03:15:00 +0000

The Gospel presents a scenario where one minute the people are celebrating Jesus, and the next minute they are trying to kill him. Fr David Callaghan MGL suggests that this reaction raises the difficult question of whether we really want Jesus in our life or whether we want to keep him at a safe distance.
https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/kmmvbf/MGL_Homily4thSundayC19.mp3

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The Power of the Sacraments

Fr Michael Doody — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 13:30:20 +0000

Homily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
The liturgical celebration of the Sacraments is the main channel through which God pours his grace into the world. This is especially true with the Holy Eucharist in the sacrifice of the mass. It would do us much good to often contemplate and give thanks to Almighty God for the greatness of the sacraments so that we are properly disposed to obtain the fullness of the graces offered to us.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Perfect Joy

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:30:35 +0000

Gaudete Sunday 2018
Joy is not a virtue or an emotion, it is distinct from pleasure and happiness. St Paul tells us that Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Joy is deeper than superficial emotions. We very often try to fill our lives with things that appeal to the lower appetites, things that bring us pleasure and happiness, but don’t ultimately fulfill us. All that can bring us true Joy, is found in Christ.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Be a voice in the wilderness

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 00:33:01 +0000

In this busy time leading up to Christmas, we are able to be a voice of hope. Fr Chris Eaton MGL speaks about the simple ways that we can witness to Christ to those around us during this time of Advent.
https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/6f4457/MGL_Homily3rdAdventC18.mp3

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Confession – Cleansing Your Soul

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 13:30:23 +0000

“Whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 11:27
The baptism which John offered was not sacramental, but only pointed toward and prepared the way for Christ. In the same way, let us prepare the way for Christ to enter into our own hearts by availing ourselves of the sacrament of reconciliation in the leadup to Christmas.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Running Forth to Meet Christ

Fr Michael Doody — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 13:30:15 +0000

Are we eager to run forth and meet Christ right now? Sometimes we have a fear of meeting Christ, due to not feeling ready or a warped view of God. This is all the more reason to get ourselves ready to meet Our Lord, so that we can have the eagerness to run forth and meet Him.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The coming of Christ

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 02:28:27 +0000

As we begin the time of Advent, we need to look inside our hearts to see whether we actually want Christ to come into our life. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the need to be honest with ourselves in this homily for the 1st Sunday in Advent.
https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/n6ep2n/MGL_Homily1stAdventC18.mp3

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The Kingship of Christ

Fr Stefan Matuszek — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 13:30:31 +0000

Fr Stefan’s homily for the feast of Christ the King. The Kingship of Christ transcends every political and militaristic mind of this world because it is deeper and more glorious than the world and all the riches contained within. The Kingdom of God can be found in every aspect of our society because he is The Lord, unconquered even by death.

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Image attribution: John Stephen Dwyer [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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The Reign of Christ the King

Fr Michael Doody — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 13:30:18 +0000

Fr Michael Doody’s Homily for the feast of Christ the King. We need to allow the triumph of Christ the King to permeate through our whole lives. The saints are the quintessence of allowing Jesus Christ to reign in every part of their life.

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Fr Michael Doody is the parish priest of St Augustine of Canterbury parish in Harehills, Leeds and the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Christ in the Apocalypse

Fr Stefan Matuszek — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 13:30:11 +0000

Fr Stefan preaches on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary time. The readings become more apocalyptic in nature as we approach the book of Daniel, which prophesies the coming of the Messiah. We must not lose sight of the fact that it is into these apocalyptic times that Christ comes and remains with us.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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When the Bridegroom returns

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 05:29:00 +0000

The second coming can seem like a scary thing, yet for those who believe it will be a moment of glory. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the great hope we have in this homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary time.
https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/r5xxbg/MGL_Homily33rdSundayB18.mp3

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Stretched by the Holy Spirit

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 09:43:51 +0000

As we open up to the gift of the Holy Spirit, God will be stretching us in our faith. Fr Chris Eaton MGL speaks about the call to give everything and trust that God will provide in this homily for the 32nd Sunday in ordinary time.
https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/ub4mj9/MGL_Homily32ndSundayB18.mp3

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Love, Law and Freedom

Fr Stefan Matuszek — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:30:19 +0000

Fr Stefan examines Christ’s exhortation to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbour as yourself, and all the nuance that comes with it. St Augustine says “Love, and do what you will because if you love, whatever you do will be right.” It is this love that sets us free from the law. This ‘freedom from the law’ is to have no desire to break it.
Fr Stefan explains that if we don’t live authentic Christianity in speaking the truth, and loving as Christ commands us, then we are not really Christians at all.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Know who you are

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 23:12:43 +0000

So much of our sin can be linked to questions around our identity and sense of self-worth. Fr David Callaghan MGL speaks about the need to know who we are in God in this homily for the 31st Sunday in ordinary time.
https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/my3kmg/MGL_Homily31stSundayB18.mp3

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Throwing off the Cloak of Sin

Fr Stefan Matuszek — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 13:30:19 +0000

Fr Stefan preaches on the concepts of exile and blindness as presented in the Sunday readings, and how these biblical symbols signify the spiritual reality of separation from God.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Bring your brokenness to Mass

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 22:39:30 +0000

In the Gospels, we regularly see that the people who encounter Jesus personally are the ones who are not ashamed of their brokenness. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about how this shows us the best way to pray for healing and transformation.

https://cradiomedia.podbean.com/mf/play/dmw275/MGL_Homily30thSundayB18.mp3

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What keeps you away from heaven

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 22:46:31 +0000

There are so many things in your life which enslave you and keep you away from being in close relationship with God. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the need to face these things head-on and fight to regain the true joy in your life. This homily was for the 28th Sunday in ordinary time.

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Missionary Marriage

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 02:15:05 +0000

Your marriage is missionary even if you don’t feel like you are doing anything amazing. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the powerful witness of this sacrament in this homily for the 27th Sunday in ordinary time.

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The courage to love your faith

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 09:52:39 +0000

At the final mass of the Ignite Conference, Fr Chris Eaton MGL said that Jesus doesn’t want anything to stop us from entering into the fullness of his love. We need to have the courage to walk the journey of faith no matter what come before us.

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The simple secret to being holy

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 23:25:09 +0000

Overcoming sin and becoming a truly loving person begins with one simple step. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the importance of letting yourself be loved by God in this homily for the 25th Sunday in ordinary time.

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Jesus Christ – Lunatic, Liar or Lord?

Fr Stefan Matuszek — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 14:30:06 +0000

Fr Stefan preaches on the authenticity and fullness of the truth found in Catholicism. We must faithfully carry our cross, even unto death, if we wish to have the integrity to be followers of Jesus Christ.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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What is faith?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 23:02:18 +0000

The letter of James challenges us to live a faith that changes the world. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the mystery of faith and how we need to go deeper into the mystery of the resurrection. This homily was recorded in 2015.

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Ephpheta – The Solution to Spiritual Impediments

Cradio — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 14:30:38 +0000

Fr Stefan explores the spiritual impediments which prevent us from developing our relationship with Jesus Christ and how the Church offers a means to healing these impediments through the Sacraments.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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The gift of the father

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 23:58:00 +0000

To know the Father is to know freedom. Fr Dan Benedetti speaks about the importance of knowing the father’s love in this Father’s Day homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary time

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Giving All to God in a Commitment-Phobic World

Cradio — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 00:23:33 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek explores the fear of commitment in our society, and Christ’s ultimatum on faith in the Eucharist to His disciples – and us.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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The Eucharist, Salvation and Deception

Cradio — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 14:30:30 +0000

Fr Michael Doody preaches on Jesus words on the Eucharist, salvation and recent scandals in the Church.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Explaining the Eucharist to Non-believers?

Cradio — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 14:30:22 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek preaches on the mystery of the Eucharist and how the Sacraments transform us.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Problem or Promise

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 09:03:05 +0000

There are two lenses we can use to view the empty and broken parts of our lives, problem or promise. Fr. Dan Serratore breaks open how Jesus’ promise to be the Bread of Life can transform the way we understand the stages of our spiritual journey.

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Christians who think like pagans

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 01:24:43 +0000

While we might act like Christians, there is a real danger that we still think like pagans. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL opens up the readings from the 18th Sunday in ordinary time to show how we need to have a complete change in our way of seeing the world.

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Is it your problem?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 05:16:15 +0000

The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves is a revelation of the divinity of Jesus, but it is also a challenge for the disciples of understand their calling. Fr David Callaghan MGL speaks about the personal side of this miracle story in this homily for the 17th Sunday in ordinary Time. This homily was recorded at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra.

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The Love of Jesus in Earthenware Jars

Cradio — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 04:25:10 +0000

Fr Michael Doody reflects on the privileged gift of the priesthood, and how they are – like the apostles who came before them – mere human beings.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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All Sinners Are Welcome!

Bishop Robert Barron — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 00:59:26 +0000

Bishop Robert Barron

While I was in central Georgia, filming the Flannery O’Connor episode of my Pivotal Players series, I saw a sign on the outside of a church, which would have delighted the famously prickly Catholic author: “All Sinners Are Welcome!” I thought it was a wonderfully Christian spin on the etiquette of welcome that is so pervasive in our culture today. In a time of almost complete ethical relativism, the one value that everyone seems to accept is inclusivity, and the only disvalue that everyone seems to abhor is exclusivity. “Who am I to tell you what to do?” and, of course, everyone gets inside the circle. What I especially liked about the sign in Georgia was that it compels us to make some distinctions and think a bit more precisely about this contemporary moral consensus.

Is it true to say “everyone is welcome”? Well, yes, if we mean welcome into the circle of the human family, welcome as a subject of infinite dignity and deserving love and respect. Christians—and indeed all decent people—stand against the view, pervasive enough in the supposed culture of inclusion, that the unborn, the aged, the unproductive are not particularly welcome. If by “all are welcome,” one means that all forms of racism, sexism, and elitism are morally repugnant, then yes, the slogan is quite correct.

But let’s consider some other scenarios. Would we claim that everyone is welcome to become a member of the college baseball team? Everyone is welcome to try out, I suppose, but the coach will assess each candidate and will then make a judgment that some are worthy of being on the team and others aren’t. Like it or not, he will include some and exclude others. Would we claim that everyone is welcome to play in a symphony orchestra? Again, in principle, anyone is invited to give it a go, but the conductor will make a fairly ruthless determination as to who has what it takes to make music at the highest level and who doesn’t, and he will include and exclude accordingly. Would we argue that everyone is welcome to be a free member of our civil society? Well, yes, if we consider the matter in abstraction; but we also acknowledge that certain forms of behavior are incompatible with full participation in the public space. And if misbehavior is sufficiently egregious, we set severe limits to the culprit, restricting his movement, bringing him to trial, perhaps even imprisoning him.

With this basic distinction in mind, let us consider membership in the Church of Jesus Christ. Are all people welcome to the Church? Yes of course! Everyone and his brother cites James Joyce to the effect that the Catholic Church’s motto is “here comes everybody,” and this is fundamentally right. Jesus means to bring everyone to union with the Triune God, or to state the same thing, to become a member of his Mystical Body the Church. In John’s Gospel, Jesus declares, “When the Son of Man is lifted up, he will draw all people to himself.” Bernini’s colonnade, reaching out like great in-gathering arms from St. Peter’s Basilica, is meant to symbolize this universally inclusive welcome offered by Christ. Is the Church, as Pope Francis says, a field hospital where even the most gravely wounded are invited for treatment? Is the Lord’s mercy available to everyone, even to the most hardened of sinners? Yes! And does the Church even go out from itself to care for those who are not explicitly joined to Christ? Yes! In fact, this was one of the reasons the Church was so attractive in the ancient world: when Roman society left the sick to fend for themselves and often cast away the newly-born who were deemed unworthy, the Church included these victims of the “throwaway culture” of that time and place.

However, does this mean that the Church makes no judgments, no discriminations, no demands? Does the Church’s welcome imply that everyone is fine just as he or she is? Here we have to answer with a rather resounding no. And that Georgia sign helps us to understand why. The Greek word that we translate as “church” is “ekklesia,” which carries the sense of “called out from.” Members of the Church have been called out of a certain way of life and into another one, out of conformity with the world and into conformity with Christ. Every ecclesiastical person, therefore, is a welcomed sinner who has been summoned to conversion. She is someone who is, by definition, not satisfied with who she is. To return to the Pope’s famous image, a field hospital receives not those who are doing just great but those who are deeply, even gravely, wounded. The problem is that anytime the Church sets a limit or makes a demand or summons to conversion, she is accused of being “exclusive” or insufficiently “welcoming.” But this cannot be right. As Cardinal George once put it, commenting upon the famous liturgical song “All Are Welcome,” all are indeed welcome, but on Christ’s terms, not their own.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

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Jesus: Shepherd, King, Hope in Dark Times

Cradio — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 00:10:30 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek preaches on Jesus as Good Shepherd and good King, and explores how we can participate in Jesus as King and Shepherd for the world.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Getting out of the Sacristy: A Look at Our Pastoral Priorities

Bishop Robert Barron — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 05:07:44 +0000

Bishop Robert Barron

For the past several days, I’ve been with my Word on Fire team, filming for the Flannery O’Connor and Fulton Sheen episodes of our “Pivotal Players” series. Our journey has taken us from Chicago to New York to Washington, DC, and finally to Savannah and Millidgeville, GA. At every step of the way, we have met numerous people who have been affected by Word on Fire materials: sermons, podcasts, YouTube videos, and the CATHOLICISM series. Many have told me that their exposure to Word on Fire started a process that led them back to the Church. Now I’m telling you this not as an advertisement for my media ministry, but rather as an occasion to muse about what I consider to be a needful change in the way the Church thinks about its essential work.

Throughout all the years of my involvement with the Church, the parish has been taken as the crucial ecclesial institution. Talk to almost anyone involved in Catholic ministry over the past fifty years and you will hear ample criticism of lots of aspects of Church life, but you will, almost without exception, hear praise of the parish. I think here of Fr. Andrew Greeley’s lyrical evocations of the parish as a uniquely successful social and religious institution. Certainly within the context of diocesan priesthood, parish work is the unquestioned default position. Ministry outside of the parochial setting—hospital work, seminary work, teaching, administration, etc.—is acceptable, but it is generally seen as not quite what a diocesan priest ought to be doing. I think it’s fair to say that the overwhelming amount of our money, time, energy, and personnel go into the maintenance of parish structures.

Now please don’t misunderstand me: I love the parish and believe in its importance passionately. Worship, instruction in discipleship, the building up of the community, formation for mission—all of this happens typically within the parish. I did full-time parish work for several years, and I’ve been involved in numerous parishes for the full thirty-two years of my priesthood. Now as a regional bishop in the largest Archdiocese in the country, I supervise and regularly visit roughly forty parishes. However, I do wonder whether, given the unique demands of our time, it might be wise to ask a few questions about our hyper-stress on the parish.

Survey after survey has shown that the number of the “nones,” or the religiously unaffiliated, is increasing dramatically in our country. Whereas in the early 1970s, those claiming no religion was around three percent, today it is close to twenty-five percent. And among the young, the figures are even more alarming: forty percent of those under forty have no religious affiliation, and fully fifty percent of Catholics under forty claim to be “nones.” For every one person who joins the Catholic Church today, roughly six are leaving. And even those who identify as Catholic are spending very little time in and around parishes. Most studies indicate that perhaps 20 to 25 percent of baptized Catholics attend Mass on a regular basis, and the numbers of those receiving the sacraments—especially baptism, confirmation, marriage—are in noticeable decline. Furthermore, objective analysis reveals—and I can testify from a good deal of personal experience—that a tiny percentage of the already small percentage who attend Mass typically participate in parish programs of education, social service, and spiritual renewal. The point—and again, this is to say absolutely nothing against those who do wonderful work within the parish—is that perhaps we should reconsider our priorities and focus, above all, on active evangelization, the great mission ad extra.

Pope Francis memorably told us to “get out of the sacristies and into the streets,” and to go “to the existential margins.” Especially in our Western context, the streets and the existential margins are where we find the “nones.” Two or three generations ago, we could trust that many people (Catholics certainly) would come to our institutions—schools, seminaries, and parishes—to be evangelized, but we absolutely cannot assume that today. But yet we still seem to devote most of our money, time, and attention to the maintenance of these institutions and their programs. Might it not be wiser to redirect our energies, money, and personnel outward, so that we might move into the space where the un-evangelized, the fallen-away, the unaffiliated dwell? My humble suggestion is that a serious investment in social media and the formation of an army of young priests specifically educated and equipped to evangelize the culture through these means would be a desideratum. But that’s a subject for another column.

The last time Cardinal George addressed the priests of Chicago, at a convocation just about nine months before his death, he made a prophetic remark. He told the Chicago presbyterate that, at the beginning of the Church, there were no dioceses, no schools, no seminaries, and no parishes. But there were evangelists. He said that, in light of our present challenges, this is worth thinking about. He was right.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

The post Getting out of the Sacristy: A Look at Our Pastoral Priorities appeared first on Cradio.

So They Set Off to Preach Repentance

Cradio — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 06:00:21 +0000

Archbishop Julian Porteous reflects upon the St Mark’s comment that Jesus’ disciples preached “repentance”, and how he was inspired to be a “missionary bishop”.

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Archbishop Julian Porteous is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hobart. This homily was delivered at St Mary’s Cathedral, Hobart.

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Called to be Prophets

Cradio — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 05:48:09 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek explains how baptised Christians are all called to be prophets, preaching with words and not just actions.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Little Girl Get Up

Cradio — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 14:30:57 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek shares a story of the hardest funeral he had ever done followed by a reflection on the Gospel story of the little girl raised to life.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Wake Up

Cradio — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 14:30:31 +0000

Fr Michael Doody gives a homily on Jesus awaking us from living in sin. He goes on to further explore three ways in which we may be “asleep” in our spiritual lives.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Claiming your inheritance

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 01 Jul 2018 22:53:49 +0000

The book of wisdom says that death came into the world because of the devil’s envy. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the need to rediscover our true inheritance and fight against anything that would steal it from us in this homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary time.

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What “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” Gets Right and Wrong

Bishop Robert Barron — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 23:13:29 +0000

Bishop Robert Barron

The original Jurassic Park film from twenty-five years ago rather inventively explored a theme that has been prominent in Western culture from the time of the Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment—namely, the dangers of an aggressive and arrogant rationalism. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, poets and philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Herder, William Blake, and John Keats warned that the lust to understand and control nature would result in disaster for both the human soul and for the physical world. Goethe, for instance, railed against the Newtonian scientific practice, which involved the intrusive questioning of nature rather than the patient and respectful contemplation of it. And Blake memorably complained of the “Satanic mills,” which is to say, the forges and factories that had begun to blight the English countryside with the onset of the Industrial Revolution.

But the most famous and influential meditation on this theme was undoubtedly Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. It is hardly accidental, of course, that the author in question was the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the greatest of the Romantic poets. As readers of Shelley’s book or viewers of the Boris Karlov movie can testify, Dr. Frankenstein’s successful attempt to create life artificially rather spectacularly backfired, producing misery on all sides. Shelley’s point was that seizing godlike authority over nature, though it perhaps satisfies our pride and our desire to dominate the world, in point of fact unleashes powers that we cannot, even in principle, control.

John Hammond, the character played so genially by Richard Attenborough in the original Jurassic Park, was an updated and far friendlier version of Dr. Frankenstein. Blithely turning back the momentum of evolution and placing ferocious life forms in a combination zoo/amusement park, he perfectly embodied the typically modern, rationalistic attitude that sees everything as an object of manipulation. That he was backed up by greedy financiers and lawyers only made him more dangerous. Jeff Goldblum’s character, the quirky chaos theory specialist, gave voice, wisely, to the standard Romantic critique: “John, the kind of control you’re attempting here is, ah, it’s not possible.” That the chaos theorist had it right was bloodily proven in the original movie and in pretty much every iteration of Jurassic Park since.

Well, in the most recent installment of the series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, still other Dr. Frankensteins and John Hammonds emerge. This time they are an elderly tycoon, his youthful business colleague, a ruthless wrangler, and a whole coterie of unscrupulous arms-dealers willing to pay exorbitant prices so as to acquire and weaponize the dinosaurs. And once more, the tale is told through rampaging beasts and piles of corpses: “The kind of control you’re attempting here is, ah, it’s not possible.” Please don’t get me wrong: this is a good message. Mary Shelley was right and so are the makers of the Jurassic Park movies. And if you want Catholic confirmation of this theme, take a good long look at Pope Francis’ letter Laudato si, which excoriates our arrogant attempts to master and manipulate nature.

What is bothersome in the latest film is the emergence of a new and much more problematic motif—namely, the moral equivalence of human beings and other animals. The heroes of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom want to rescue the dinosaurs from Isla Nublar, which is threatened by a catastrophic volcanic eruption—and, as Jerry Seinfeld would say, there is nothing wrong with that. However, when the dinosaurs end up on the mainland in cages and are menaced by the release of toxic chemicals (watch the movie for the plot details), one of the heroes elects to open their prisons and let them go free, which is to say, to wander out into the forests of Northern California. The final scene of the film depicts a velociraptor looking down from a ridge over a densely-populated area, evidently free to hunt at will. As she presses the button, freeing the dinosaurs, the young hero says, “We can’t let them die. I had to. They’re alive like me.” The pretty clear implication is that the dinosaurs have the same dignity as human beings and deserve to live as much as we do. They must be released, even if it means thousands of people will die.

Well…no. Nature should always be respected, and the arrogant attempt to manipulate nature indeed results in disaster. However, since there exists a qualitative difference between human beings and other living creatures, one must always, in a case of conflict, opt for the former over the latter. The Bible is quite insistent on the goodness of nature and how the non-human world is ingredient in God’s great plan of salvation, but it is equally insistent that human beings are made specially in the image and likeness of God and hence have a unique dignity and inviolability. No matter how magnificent an animal might be, it is not a subject of infinite value, as is a human person, and when that distinction is blurred, another version of Frankenstein’s monster is unleashed.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

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Holiness in Everyday Life

Cradio — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:30:20 +0000

Archbishop Julian Porteous highlights Pope Francis’ emphasis on the call to holiness for all Christians, and connects this emphasis with the work and thought of St Josemaría Escrivá. The homily was given for the Mass in honour of St Josemaría Escrivá.

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Archbishop Julian Porteous is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hobart. This homily was delivered at St Mary’s Cathedral, Hobart.

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Go And Rebuild My Church

Cradio — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 14:30:09 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek explores the rebuilding of God’s church through the life and example of St Francis of Assisi. He goes on to further explore the prophecy of Ezekiel and its place in history and what this means for us today.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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The Restoration of the Kingdom

Cradio — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 14:30:01 +0000

Fr Michael Doody shares a meditation on the prophecy of Ezekiel on the restoration of the kingdom and what this means for us.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Is your soul stunted and malnourished?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 23:40:55 +0000

Our society worries a lot about the health of the body but neglects the health of the soul. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about how we need to understand how God is at work in the trials of life to bring our soul to full maturity.

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Fortifying Our Interior and Spiritual Life

Cradio — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 14:30:43 +0000

Fr Michael Doody explores the meaning of the “unforgivable sin”. He also meditates on the importance of nurturing and building up our interior and spiritual life.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Weight of Glory

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 00:06:13 +0000

Our life here on earth is a training ground for eternity. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the glory that awaits us and the call to train ourselves in love in this homily for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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A Covenant Type Love

Cradio — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 14:30:06 +0000

Fr Stefan explores the notion of covenant in the Old Testament and how this is fulfilled in the New Testament with Jesus in the new and everlasting covenant.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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Called to Serve

Cradio — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 01:11:08 +0000

Archbishop Julian Porteous explores what it means to be a deacon, and the interesting history behind how it re-emerged as a permanent ministry in the Latin Church. This homily was given for the ordination of Michael Smith to the Permanent Diaconate.

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Archbishop Julian Porteous is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hobart. This homily was delivered at St Mary’s Cathedral, Hobart.

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Seeing the invisible

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 04:45:08 +0000

When we gaze upon the Eucharist, there is such a huge difference between what our eyes see and what actually is the reality. Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the need to see beyond the surface and encounter the transforming truth of this gift of love. This homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi was recorded at St Benedict’s mission centre in Canberra.

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We Cry Out Abba Father

Cradio — Tue, 29 May 2018 14:30:35 +0000

Fr Stefan shares a meditation on the father/child relationship between us and God.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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What It Means To Be A Disciple

Cradio — Mon, 28 May 2018 14:30:10 +0000

Fr Michael Doody shares a reflection on the mystery of the Trinity and God’s love. He also explores what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Spirit teaches us to call God ‘Abba’

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 28 May 2018 04:59:25 +0000

The Holy Spirit is given to us so that we can enter into a very intimate relationship with the Father. Fr Ken Barker speaks about how revolutionary this change is when we invite the spirit to enter into our life in this homily for Trinity Sunday.

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Pentecost: God Comes to His Church

Cradio — Tue, 22 May 2018 07:05:03 +0000

Fr Stefan Matuszek explores the connection between the Holy Spirit and the Church, and how the journey of the Hebrews to the Promised Land foreshadows Pentecost.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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The Ascension of the Lord

Cradio — Thu, 17 May 2018 14:30:00 +0000

Fr Stefan preaches about why we celebrate the mystery of Christ’s return to Heaven. He also explores how Christ has glorified and restored humanity by rising to heaven in his human body, bringing man into the communion of God. For where Christ the head goes, his body the Church will follow.

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Fr Stefan Matuszek is assistant priest at St. Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour.

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What Is Truth?

Cradio — Tue, 15 May 2018 14:30:04 +0000

Fr Michael Doody reflects on why our Lord is asking us to speak the truth with out fear. He also talks about the main characteristics of truth.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Love of God & Love of Others

Cradio — Mon, 07 May 2018 14:30:39 +0000

Fr Michael Doody reflects on personal friendship with Jesus and its intimate relationship with our love for others. This homily is for the 6th Sunday of Easter.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Being open to God when you feel unworthy

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 07 May 2018 00:43:38 +0000

Our sense of unworthiness can be one of the biggest blockages to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Fr Chris Eaton MGL speaks about how we can overcome this discouragement and be ready for Pentecost.

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Michelle Wolf and the Throwaway Culture

Bishop Robert Barron — Thu, 03 May 2018 14:25:55 +0000

Bishop Robert Barron

The other night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Michelle Wolf, who I’m told is a comedian, regaled the black-tie and sequin-gowned crowd with her “jokes.” Almost all were in extremely bad taste and/or wildly offensive, but one has become accustomed to that sort of coarseness in the comedy clubs and even on mainstream television. However, she crossed over into the territory of the morally appalling when she indulged in this bit of witticism regarding Vice President Mike Pence: “He thinks abortion is murder, which, first of all, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And when you do try it, really knock it, you know. You gotta get that baby out of there.” One is just at a loss for words. I mean, even some in the severely left-leaning crowd in Washington groaned a bit at that remark.

It might be helpful to remind ourselves what Ms. Wolf is referencing when she speaks of “knocking that baby out of there.” She means the evisceration, dismemberment, and vivisection of a child. And lest one think that we are just talking about “bundles of cells,” it is strict liberal orthodoxy that a baby can be aborted at any stage of its prenatal development, even while it rests in the birth canal moments before birth. Indeed, a child, who somehow miraculously survives the butchery of an abortion, should, according to that same orthodoxy, be left to die or actively killed. Sure sounds like fun to me; hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

I realize that these attitudes have been enshrined in American law for some time, but what particularly struck me about the Correspondents’ Dinner was how they were being bandied about so shamelessly for the entertainment of the cultural elite (you can look into GoodLuckMate to experience real fun). Let’s face it, the people in that room—politicians, judges, writers, broadcasters, government officials—are the top of the food chain, among the most influential and powerful people in our society. And while the killing of children was being joked about—especially, mind you, the children of the poor, who are disproportionately represented among the victims of abortion—most in this wealthy, overwhelmingly white, elite audience guffawed and applauded.

And this put me in mind of Friedrich Nietzsche. I’ve spoken and written often of the influence of this nineteenth-century thinker, whose musings have trickled their way down through the universities and institutions of the high culture into the general consciousness of many if not most people today. Nietzsche held that the traditional moral values have been exposed as ungrounded and that humanity is summoned to move, accordingly, into a previously unexplored space “beyond good and evil.” In such a morally unmoored universe, the Ubermensch (superman or over-man) emerges to assert his power and impose his rule on those around him. Nietzsche had a special contempt for the Christian values of sympathy, compassion, and love of enemies, characterizing them as the ideals of a “slave morality,” repugnant to the noble aspirations of the Ubermensch. Through his many avatars in the twentieth-century—Sartre, Heidegger, Foucault, Ayn Rand, etc.—Nietzsche, as I said, has exerted an extraordinary influence on contemporary thought. Whenever a young person today speaks of traditional ethics as a disguised play of power or of her right to determine the meaning of her own life through an exercise of sovereign freedom, we can hear the overtones of Friedrich Nietzsche.

All of which brings me back to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. When we live in the space beyond good and evil, when morality is construed as entirely the invention of personal freedom, when nothing counts as intrinsically wicked, when any claim to moral authority is automatically shouted-down—in other words, when we live in the world that Nietzsche made possible—then the will of the most powerful necessarily holds sway. And when something or someone gets in the way of what the powerful want, well then, they just “gotta knock it out of there.” Michelle Wolf’s comment was not just a bad joke; it was a brazen display of power, designed to appeal precisely to those who have reached the top of the greasy pole.

One of the extraordinary but often overlooked qualities of a system of objective morality is that it is a check on the powerful and a protection of the most vulnerable. If good and evil are objective states of affairs, then they hem in and control the tendency of cultural elites to dominate others. When objective moral values evanesce, armies of the expendable emerge, and what Pope Francis aptly calls a cultura del descarte (a throwaway culture) obtains. One of the indicators that this has happened is lots of people in tuxedos and formal gowns, sipping from wine glasses, and laughing while someone jokes about the murder of children.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

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I am the Vine, You are the Branches

Cradio — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 14:25:45 +0000

Fr Michael Doody explains that God deeply meets our need for relationship, gives us life and helps us to bear fruit. This homily is for the 5th Sunday of Easter.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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Are we living or just existing?

MGL Priests and Brothers — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 00:01:06 +0000

Do we really understand what Christ was trying to give us through the resurrection? What is holding us back from living this new life? Fr Dave Callaghan MGL speaks about the mystery of this new life in Christ in this homily for the 5th Sunday in Easter.

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The Shepherd who seeks the lost

MGL Priests and Brothers — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 09:34:51 +0000

The good shepherd is the one who speaks softly in our hearts. Fr David Lemewu shares his conversion story to explain the love of God in this homily for the 4th Sunday in Easter.

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Jesus Holds All Things Together

Cradio — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:30:39 +0000

Fr Michael Doody explains that Jesus is the cornerstone which holds all things together, and that rejecting him leads to break down for the world. This homily is for the 4th Sunday of Easter.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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The Good Shepherd

Cradio — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 01:27:44 +0000

Archbishop Julian Porteous reflects on Good Shepherd Sunday and the recent Archdiocese of Hobart Pastoral Plenary by explaining four aspects of how a priest and deacon should be a good shepherd to his flock. This homily is for the 4th Sunday of Easter.

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Archbishop Julian Porteous is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hobart. This homily was delivered at St Mary’s Cathedral, Hobart.

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5 Steps to Defeat Goliath

Cradio — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 23:43:30 +0000

Fr Michael Doody shares lessons that he received on a recent pilgrimage on defeating the devil, sin and darkness. This homily is for the 3rd Sunday of Easter.

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Fr Michael Doody is Parochial Administrator at St Joseph’s Parish, Castleford, and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds.

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An Exhortation to be Holy

Cradio — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 00:55:04 +0000

Archbishop Julian Porteous speaks on Pope Francis’ Gaudete et Exsultate, explaining that the call to holiness is for all, the connection between prayer and action, and the reality of spiritual combat. This homily is for the 3rd Sunday of Easter.

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Archbishop Julian Porteous is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hobart. This homily was delivered at St Mary’s Cathedral, Hobart.

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Our sin is obliterated

MGL Priests and Brothers — Sun, 15 Apr 2018 23:33:01 +0000

When God says that our sin is forgiven, he actually means that it now ceases to exist. Fr Dan Benedetti MGL speaks about the absolute freedom that comes from God’s mercy in this homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter.

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The Most Unexpectedly Religious Film of the Year

Bishop Robert Barron — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 03:18:26 +0000

Bishop Robert Barron

I went to see A Quiet Place, John Krasinski’s new thriller, with absolutely no anticipation of finding theological or spiritual themes. I just wanted a fun evening at the movies. How wonderful when a film surprises you! I don’t know if I can find the golden thread that draws all of these themes together into a coherent message, but I think one would have to be blind not to see a number of religious motifs in this absorbing film.

The basic structure of the narrative is laid out in simple, deft strokes. We learn that a terrible plague of fierce, devouring creatures has descended on the earth. Where are the monsters from? Outer space, maybe? We’re never told—which makes the story more compelling. The few people who have survived the holocaust have learned that the creatures, though blind, are extraordinarily acute of hearing. Therefore, the key to survival is silence. Our attention becomes focused on the Abbot family, two youthful parents and three small children, making their quiet way through a beautiful but dangerous open country. When the youngest of the kids flips a switch on his toy rocket, causing buzzing sound to pierce the silence, one of the beasts devours him just before his terrified father can save him.

We flash-forward several months later, and we watch the Abbots (can the name have possibly been accidental?) going about their lives in what could only be characterized as a monastic manner: no conversations above a whisper, elaborate sign language, quiet work at books and in the fields, silent but obviously fervent prayer before the evening meal, etc. (I will confess that this last gesture, so thoroughly absent from movies and television today, startled me.) Given the awful demands of the moment, any gadgets, machines, electronic entertainment, or noisy implements are out of the question. Their farming is by hand; their fishing is done with pre-modern equipment; even their walking about is done barefoot. And what is most marvelous to behold is that, in this prayerful, quiet, pre-modern atmosphere, even with the threat of imminent death constantly looming, a generous and mutually self-sacrificing family flourishes. The parents care for and protect their children, and the remaining brother and sister are solicitous toward one another and toward their parents. The young girl even regularly risks her life to pay silent tribute to her fallen brother at the spot where he was killed.

Monsters and beasts in the more reflective horror movies are evocative of those things that frighten us the most: illness, failure, our own wickedness, death itself. How wonderful that a Hollywood movie would suggest that what is needed to keep the darkness at bay in our time is silence, simplicity, a return to the earth, prayer, and care for one another.

The central drama of A Quiet Place is that Mrs. Abbott is expecting a child. The entire family realizes, of course, that a wailing infant would, given the circumstances, mean almost certain death for all of them. And yet, they decide not to kill the child at his birth but to hide him and mute his cries in various ways. When so many in our culture are willing to murder their children for the flimsiest of reasons, when the law gives full protection even to partial-birth abortion, when people blithely say that they would never bring a baby into such a terrible world, the monastic family in this film welcomes life, even into the worst of worlds, and even when such an act is of supreme danger to them. As the baby is coming into the light, the mother finds herself alone (watch the film for the details) and in the most vulnerable situation, for one of the beasts has made its way into their house. As she labors to give birth, the devouring animal lurks. I was put immediately in mind of the scene in the book of Revelation, where Mary is in the throes of child birth as the dragon patiently waits to consume the child.

As the abbess is struggling to give birth, the abbot has gone in search of his endangered children. He finds them, to his horror, trapped in an abandoned car, one of the beasts clawing at them through the roof, like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. After mouthing the words, “I love you; I have always loved you” to his daughter, who gapes at him through the car window, the father screams, drawing the monster to himself. This act of self-emptying love, which serves to liberate his children from danger, is beautifully evocative of the speculations of the Church Fathers regarding the death of Jesus. In his act of self-sacrifice on the cross, the fathers argued, Jesus lured the dark powers into the open and away from the human beings who had been in their thrall. Along similar lines, in an odd working of plot or Providence that can be likened to the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice, it becomes clear in the wake of the father’s death that he has left behind for his family the means by which the monsters can be defeated.

I have no real idea whether any or all of this was in the mind of the filmmaker, but I do know from John Krasinski’s Wikipedia page that he is the son of a Polish-Catholic father and an Irish-Catholic mother and that he was raised a devout practicer of his faith. So until definitively shown otherwise, I am going to maintain that A Quiet Place is the most unexpectedly religious film of 2018.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

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