09/28/14 The Secret: Admiration and Worship

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"I love that St. Paul's secret to joy in competition is 'I am not playing the game.' St. Paul is saying, 'Listen, everyone out there is trying to be better, trying to be smarter, trying to be holier, whatever the thing is. I am not going to play the game.' ... People are saying, 'Paul, you've got to stop these guys, they are preaching Jesus out of envy and rivalry! They're getting more popular than you, they're blasting you!' St. Paul says this, 'What difference does it make? As long as, in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Jesus Christ is being proclaimed? ... As long as Jesus wins, we win.' I don't need to compete. Because why? Because Paul is saying, 'I am not defined by my wins or my losses.'"

Mass Readings from September 28, 2014:
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 21:28-32


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09/21/14 The Secret: Acceptance

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"If I am unable or unwilling to find God in this moment I will be unable and incapable of finding God in any moment. Why? Because this is the only moment I have. You realize the future isn't real. You don't have a future. You only have a present. You don't even have a past, I mean, that's gone. The only thing you have is right now. That's why in the First Reading, from the prophet [Isaiah], he says, 'Seek the Lord while He may be found.' When could He be found? Right now. Not back then. Not up ahead. But right now."

Mass Readings from September 21, 2014:
Isaiah 55:6-9
Philippians 1:20-24, 27
Matthew 20:1-16

TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THIS LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc) ADDRESS BAR:
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Secret-Study-2104-One.pdf

09/14/14 The Difference the Cross Makes

Homily from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

"Today is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. If I look at this image on this back wall, this is the Crucifix. This is an image of Jesus dying, but we have to understand this, this is an image of Jesus being executed. We say, 'No, it's a sacrifice.' No, it's an execution! This is what the Romans would do to execute them. Jesus wasn't the only person who was executed, there were thousands of people who were executed at the time of Jesus. They all just had their lives ripped away from them. We know this, mere execution has the power to change nothing. Without Jesus on the Cross, if our lives just ended, we would just end, it would be a tragedy. But because of the Cross, everything changes, but not because it's an execution. But because it's a sacrifice. How do you know it's a sacrifice? ... There's one thing, there's one thing that transforms the Crucifixion from an execution into a sacrifice. And that thing is the Eucharist.'"

Mass Readings from September 14, 2014:
Numbers 21:4-9
Philippians 2:6-11
John 3:13-17

09/07/14 "When Your Brother Sins Against You..."

Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"What's the point of this conflict? What's the point of this conversation? Is it to win the argument or is it to win your brother? That changes everything! Is it just simply an information transfer or is it, 'I want to learn where you are coming from.' Jesus is saying this, your goal at the end of the conversation whether that's with your roommates, or with your parents, with someone you're going to get married to, someone you are married to, to an actual brother or to a fellow believer, the goal is never going to be to win the argument. It always, always has to be, how do I win my brother back? How do I win my sister back? That's going to be the goal.'"

Mass Readings from September 07, 2014:
Ezekiel 33:7-9
Romans 13:8-10
Matthew 18:15-20

08/31/14 One Suitcase

Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

'When it comes to making a decision, whether it's packing or whatever you want in your life, if I don't decide, ultimately a decision will be made, but if I don't decide it will be made for me. ... Either say, 'I am taking Jesus out of my suitcase," or "No, He is actually the suitcase. He is the essential thing that I cannot be here without."

Mass Readings from August 31, 2014:
Jeremiah 20:7-9
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27