Central idea: True poverty and riches. Doctrine: Poverty of heart and Christ’s grief over the rich. Practical application: Growing in detachment. Read more »
True riches and poverty – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
The readings today are on the virtue of charity and on the call of the prophet Isaiah and of the apostle Peter. For an outline that focuses on the fear proper to a child of God, click here. For an outline on the virtue of awe and vice of presumption, […] Read more »
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ fellow townspeople flip from adulation to murderous anger. This is unfortunately the pattern of his life. Here are links to two full, updated and revised outlines. The first focuses on the virtue and acts of hope. The second focuses on the laity’s legitimate role in […] Read more »
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The lectionary readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time focus on (a) Ezra’s reading of the rediscovered Scriptures to the remnant who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity and (b) Jesus’ reading of the prophet Isaiah followed by his proclaimation that He is the promised long-awaited messiah. Here are […] Read more »
The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time is the Wedding Feast of Cana. Christ reveals himself to be God through his miracle. He also blesses human marriage, perhaps at that moment instituting the Sacrament of Matrimony. He also shows forth the spousal relationship between him and every baptized […] Read more »
The Baptism of the Lord
Our Lord’s public life began when he was baptized by St. John the Baptist at the River Jordan. Here are two outlines with different focuses for this feast. Central idea: At his baptism, Christ was anointed by the Holy Spirit to carry out the Father’s plan of salvation. Doctrine: Christ’s kenosis or self-emptying. Practical Application: Our daily […] Read more »
The Solemnity of Christ the King
Central idea: Christ is my King and God. Doctrine: Christ as Lord and King. Practical application: Reigning by serving. Read more »
Judgment: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: The last days and things. Doctrine: The Last Judgment and the hope of a new heaven and a new earth. Practical application: What to do now to be ready for the hour of our death. Read more »
Poverty of heart – Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: Give all you have to God. Doctrine: Poverty of heart. Practical application: Voluntary humility. Read more »
Love and Law – Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central Idea: We love God by obeying God’s law. Doctrine: God’s law. Practical application: Three means to grow in obedience to God’s law. Read more »
Gift of faith and our response – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: Faith which saves. Doctrine: Faith is a gift of God. Practical application: Faith in action. Read more »
Redemption and Co-Redemption – Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: Prayer in the face of difficulties. Doctrine: Christ’s redemptive death in God’s plan of salvation. Practical application: Co-redeemers with Christ. Read more »
The wealth of wisdom – Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: True wealth and how to attain it. Doctrine: The danger of wealth and the need for it. Practical application: Corporal and spiritual works of justice and mercy. Read more »
Conjugal fidelity – Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: What is marriage? Doctrine: Conjugal fidelity. Practical application: Witness conjugal fidelity in deed and word. Read more »
Ecumenism – The Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Central idea: Value the good others possess; abhor your own evil. Doctrine: Ecumenism. Practical application: How to be a more ecumenical Catholic. Written as an aid for homilists and a resource for the faithful, this doctrinal homily outline (1) provides insights into the Lectionary readings, (2) explicates a doctrine of […] Read more »